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I took a chance on this book, based on the fact that Lucinda Riley is one of my friends' favourite authors. It's not something that I'd normally choose to read, but I'm glad I did. It's a really interesting story of how one of six adopted sisters, Maia, finds out about her birth family after the death of her adopted father. He leaves her some clues to help her, which to be fair, are pretty vague, and she enlists the help of a Brazilian author (whose books she translates from Portuguese to French) who also happens to be an historian.
Luckily, her adoptive father was very wealthy, and she has no financial need to find her birth family, but it must be nice when she discovers that they are an old Brazilian family, who were once very rich, and are now just plain old wealthy.
Maia also has a secret of her own in her past, one that has made her shut herself away from the world, and this trip to Brazil appears to be the start of her healing herself.
It's a lovely story, and I think I'll be keeping my eyes open for the other books in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and fairly review.
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated S-Town in Podcasts

May 22, 2019  
S-Town
S-Town
Society & Culture
8
8.5 (21 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Story-telling (1 more)
Characters
Not what was expected (may disappoint crime buffs) but worth sticking with (0 more)
An unexpected emotional ride.
As a fan of the Serial and This American Life podcasts I jumped on this podcast from the same makers. I love true crime and the initial hype around this sounded like it was going to be an investigative reporting adventure into a town where a rich boys murder had been covered up. However over the course of the podcast it changed into something quite unique.

Focusing on the person who initially contacted this American Life, John McLemore, it’s based in the small town of Woodstock and gives a stark look into the world of small town Alabama.. We get to know John well, he’s a horologist (clock maker / repairer - it was the new word of the week for me) who seems to be pretty well known in the industry for his restoration skills. John is an amazing character and as the podcast takes a dramatic change of direction we end up getting sucked into his story which is moving and full of lessons on living in a place you don’t feel you fit in.

It was an emotional ride and if you like This American Life, this is like an episode on steroids and then some.
  
Qualityland: Visit Tomorrow, Today!
Qualityland: Visit Tomorrow, Today!
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This story is told from multiple perspectives, sharing the lives of very different but interesting characters. The main character of this book would be Peter, a regular guy, who doesn’t really have many goals in life. He kind of goes with the flow, until he receives an item, that he didn’t want. There is this cloud of sadness surrounding Peter, he seems boring, however, he is witty and really kind man, and I really enjoyed his adventures. I did like the other characters in this novel as well, they portrayed different angles of this messed up country, and I really enjoyed their thoughts about machinery and consumerism.

I really liked the narrative of this book, it is constantly changing, diverse, and absolutely absorbing. This novel has a political spice to it, that some people might not like, but I think the rich vs. poor theme suited this book very well. This novel doesn’t have major twists in it, but all the turns and adventures were really interesting and entertaining.

I loved the writing style of this book, it is very thought-provoking, very well researched and educational. I am truly wondering, how Marc-Uwe Kling produced this wonderful book, how he came up with all this. The whole story is quite surreal but makes sense at the same time.
  
    Seven Knights

    Seven Knights

    Games

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    Meet a visually powerful RPG like you’ve never experienced before! We invite you to the world of...

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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Annie (2014) in Movies

Jul 31, 2022  
Annie (2014)
Annie (2014)
2014 | Drama, Family, Musical
7
6.0 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Having never seen the original movie, I went in to this with a clean slate and nothing to compare it to. Therefore this review will be based purely on just this version of the movie.

The movie begins with Annie giving her school report before summer break, the school bell goes and Annie heads........ Anywhere but home. It seems she stays out pretty late to the point where you think she's homeless, but then she finally goes home where she is met by a woman who is not very nice to her. She then goes to her room when we realise she's in foster care with 4 other children, and it's not long before they're singing and Annie is trying to find her real parents.

There seems to be a back and forth story with this rich guy running for mayor, but we soon find out his role in the story as he invites Annie to move in with him to boost his career.

At first I couldn't get into the movie, it came across as poorly acted and the songs wasn't very catchy. However, as the movie went on it got better and by the end there was definitely "dust in my eye". It was very much a children's film though, so whilst it may not have much of a rewatch factor for adults, kids will love it.