Sago Mini Doodlecast
Education and Photo & Video
App
App Store Best of 2013! Sago Mini Doodlecast is a unique drawing app that records your voice as you...
Merrick (The Vampire Chronicles, #7)
7.5
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Book
In her mesmerizing new novel, the author of The Vampire Chronicles and the saga of the Mayfair...
Vengeance
Book
Zachary Lazar's powerful and important novel was inspired by a passion play, The Life of Jesus...
You Think It, I'll Say It
8.0
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Book
Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes...
short stories fiction
Beyond Balderdash
7.3
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Tabletop Game
Beyond Balderdash is the expanded second edition of Balderdash. Balderdash is based on bluffing your...
BoardGames PartyGames
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated A Merry Little Murder Plot in Books
Oct 9, 2024
I always enjoy visiting these characters, and that was no exception. Having said that, I didn’t appreciate the subplot about book banning, mainly because it was just knee jerk storytelling and didn’t have any of the nuance that should be involved in the topic. Still, that was a minor part of a book I enjoyed overall. The plot was great and kept me guessing even about who the victim would be (I went in without reading anything about the plot). The twists kept coming after the murder, but everything made sense at the end. The characters, both old and new, were fun. I laughed quite a few times as I went along. And the festive setting added a nice touch to the book. There are some Christmassy extras at the end. Fans will love this book. Anyone looking for a fun Christmas mystery will be glad they picked this book up.
Cold Blows the Wind
Book
Hobart Town 1878 – a vibrant town drawing people from every corner of the earth where, with...
Historical Fiction Biographical Fiction Women's Fiction Australian Fiction
Merissa (14030 KP) rated Becoming Brooklyn in Books
Jul 13, 2021 (Updated Jul 17, 2023)
Brooklyn is a 9/11 baby, her father died in the terrorist attack. During a memorial service, terrorists attack again and Brooklyn, along with five others, are told the impossible -- that their parents had superpowers and worked with the government to stop terrorists. They are given the choice to follow in their footsteps. But things aren't always as they appear and they all have hard lessons to learn.
This was a great story. It is filled with action, adventure, and a touch of romance. I loved how the story panned out, and how they worked together, which made the ending even more jaw-dropping.
The characters are all well thought out and play to their own strengths. Told from Brooklyn's point of view, obviously, we learn more about her, but through her eyes, we learn about the others too. Brilliant storytelling!
I don't know if there are any plans for a sequel or series, but I would love to hear more from Brooklyn and see where the future takes her.
A fantastic contemporary superpower novel that I have no hesitation in recommending.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 13, 2021
Ross (3284 KP) rated American Gods - Season 1 in TV
Nov 27, 2017
The series is very stylish with excellent dream sequences and imagery throughout, a la Hannibal, however at times I felt this dominated the actual storytelling somewhat.
With something like Hannibal, you don't need to worry about the story too much, people get killed, someone is doing it, twists and turns and suspect caught. So it was right for the focus of that series to be on the imagery rather than the telling.
However, here I think the story and concept are quite hard to get used to initially (and I don't think it really gets nailed at all during the series) and more should have been done to explain it. I'm not saying everything needs laid out neatly with a little bow on, but I think the style needed toned down a little and more effort invested in explaining the world. It felt a little bit like a TV show made for people who have just read the book.
The cast is excellent and it is an enjoyable watch, but a lot of people will struggle to get the hang of it (and may only stick with it in order to say they did rather than because they enjoyed it!).
With such a cult classic book as the source material, I think there were high expectations for it, which may not have been met (mine weren't, sadly).