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My Absolute Darling
My Absolute Darling
Gabriel Tallent | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
4
6.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
There are books that make you love them from the first page. This one was not one of those!
There were millions of times when I wanted to give it up and put this book down - I found it extremely hard to keep going, but I somehow finished it.

The story itself is so twisted, it is just unbelievable. It is one of the most twisted plots I've ever read in my life. And there were parts I loved, but there were also parts I hated.

The thing I loved the most was the adventures Turtle had with Jacob.
The thing I hated the most... - Where do I start?
The relationship between Turtle and her father, the unrealistic characters description, the unreliable situations they find themselves into, the unreal thoughts that a 14-year-old girl might have, the swearing throughout the book.

I have never had such a feeling towards a book, and as much as I don't like it - it bothers me. It bothers me of what could have happened, what could be different, why this and why that...

It is definitely worth reading it, but only for those that can cope with it. I am not sure if I can...
  
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David McK (3425 KP) rated Jaws in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
Jaws
Jaws
Peter Benchley | 2005 | Thriller
4
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
Duh-dum. Duh-dum. Duh-duh-duh-duh ...

"We're going to need a bigger boat ... "

So says nobody, ever, at any stage during this novel.

The inspiration behind the movie that is often credited as being the first summer blockbuster movie, I actually have a confession to make - I've never seen that film.

Oh, sure, I know the basic plot outline, know some of the dialogue and have seen snippets of the movie, but actually sitting down to watch it from start to finish? It never really appealed to me all that much.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying you might wonder why I decided to read this book. The answer, I feel, is more out of curiosity than anything else - I wanted to see just what was so special about this (and have read at least one other by Peter Benchley).

The answer, I now feel, is nothing much.

NOT one for the kiddies, with death, dismemberment, swearing and even an adulterous sex scene, I actually found myself rooting for the shark more so than any of the main characters!

It doesn't help that the book just ... ends, with (pretty much) zero resolution to most of the plot-lines.
  
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James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Lil Pump by Lil Pump in Music

Oct 19, 2019 (Updated Nov 9, 2019)  
Lil Pump by Lil Pump
Lil Pump by Lil Pump
2017 | Hip-hop, Rap, Rhythm And Blues
1
1.0 (3 Ratings)
Album Rating
The 25875337th time he says Ouu is great (0 more)
The second it begins (0 more)
Gross
This is bad, not in usual Hip Hop terms as in "I just spat a bad ass rhyme", no, this is bad as in wack.

Lil Pump has rose to meteoritic fame and wealth and the reason why? His stuff speaks to kids of that age where swearing and talking about drugs upsets mummy and daddy.

This is mumble rap. I'm not hating on mumble rap, Some artists are artists. Pump however shouts a line, then says Ouu and then repeats the formula the entire album Ouu.

So we've established he can't rap, lyrically it's just offensive. Now I have a lot of horribly misogynistic hip hop but somehow this feels worse because there is no artistic element. Lil Pump shouts things like "I f##ked your daughter" Ouu, yeah, that is the base level, women are nothing but botches to abide and drugs are new and clever according to Pump. It really is playground level.

What about the beats? Ok anyone knows my output knows I sometimes play with distortion but Pump takes it up so it distorts and the base blows and I bet he giggles like a toddler and goes "that's great Ouu".

Utterly terrible
  
TD
The Devil's Only Friend (John Cleaver, #4)
Dan Wells | 2015
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This series just keeps getting better and better with each book. Dan Wells is another awesome author and writes this genre and series really well.
I remember after reading the first book in this series, I couldn't handle it and didn't want to read anymore because of how creepy it was thinking about your next-door neighbor that could be the crazy psycho on the loose. Then because I couldn't stop thinking about the book, I had to know what happened next so here I am almost done with this series and I don't want it to end.
He is good at writing this psychological suspense and such that can mess with your head, scare you and suck you in and not let you go until you know what happens and all the answers.
The thing that I come back to a lot with this series is how well he writes this so it creeps me out and yet uses little to no violence, gore, swearing, and such because clean reads are always a bonus and clean reads that creep me out like this are rare.
If you haven't checked out books by Dan Wells, you really should cause you're missing out.
  
This Charming Man
This Charming Man
C. K. McDonnell | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Humor & Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Are you feeling despondent? Need a little pick-me-up? Nothing too heavy? We all need (in this case) a book to make us feel happier and give us something to laugh at, and for me, that’s C. K. McDonnell’s job. I love these books. I really do laugh out loud.

The team at The Stranger Times have probably lost the will to laugh at their editor anymore. I mean, they see him every day, but his general bad attitude and shockingly bad work relations are hilarious.

Assistant Editor Hannah is back at work after her messy divorce, and Manchester is faced with what appears to be a bit of a vampire problem. But, you see, Vampires don’t exist. And everyone agrees on this.

Even when this book was being serious, it made me laugh. Banecroft’s interesting swearing system is workplace goals (although I work in Early Years, so still a no for me!), there’s a man on a canal boat who can’t lie and lives with a talking pug, the new journalist who lives in his van and lives on a diet of ice cream (and has terrible wind) - well. It’s just all delightfully wonky, funny and frankly genius!
I can’t wait for the next one!
  
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)
Kendare Blake | 2011 | Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars for Anna Dressed in Blood.

If you ever wanted to know how to write a decent and great ghost story, this is it! I had high hopes for this book, and it didn't disappoint.

However, I was expecting it to be a bit more scary, but I didn't find it scary at all. I wouldn't consider it as a horror book. Paranormal ghost story, yes.

I loved, loved, loved the character of Anna. I loved her so much, in fact, that I was wishing that she actually did exist so we could be friends.

I also loved the fact that it had swearing in it that wasn't OTT like a lot of older teen books. The way Cas swears made him feel more like a real teenage boy. What 17 year old boy doesn't swear!?!

The plot was quite good although, when it came to the story line of how Anna died and why she was the way she was, it was quite predictable...This is what made me give the book 4.5 stars instead of 5...well, that and it wasn't scary which I was hoping for.

Overall, this is definitely a good read! I can't wait to read Girl of Nightmares to find out more about (hopefully) Anna, Cas, Carmel, and Thomas.

This is a book not to be missed!
  
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Alice (117 KP) rated Ghosts in Books

Mar 3, 2021  
Ghosts
Ghosts
Dolly Alderton | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
6
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of its release!

I hadn't read anything by Dolly Alderton before but I'd heard great things about 'Everything I Know About Love' so when I heard about her fiction debut I knew I needed to try it! I love Dolly's voice, it's so wonderfully British which as someone who reads so much American based fiction was refreshing. There was quite a lot of heavy swearing so if that's not your thing be wary (but that's what you get for being British I guess). I loved the different aspects of ghosting that were covered from dating, to friendships fading, and to dementia and the ghosting of memories. It was such a poignant read. I enjoyed this book immensely but I just couldn't get invested, it took me quite a while to get through as I only found myself reading a chapter at a time so hence the reason for my lower rating but I think I'm slightly younger than the target audience for this book so that's potentially why but I'd say if you are older and single you'll definitely see a lot of yourself here, I'm young and single and I definitely did. It made me think a lot about the future.
  
Gentlemen Broncos (2009)
Gentlemen Broncos (2009)
2009 | Adventure, Comedy
I get a lot of the disdain but honestly, this is pretty much the exact natural evolution of 𝘕𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 - for better and for worse. Am I proving the (brilliant) point of this film - portraying the intrinsic merits of an original idea over that same idea bastardized by greedy agencies and/or people who claim to be supportive while in the same breath spitefully swearing 'their version' is inherently better - in suggesting that if Hess would have restrained his weird Hess-isms just a smidge, that this downright compelling premise would have built up a bit more crucial meat which would have made this the great film it deserves to be? Then again, if that were the case this would have also missed out on its deliriously kooky atmosphere which provides such unforgettable nuance. I don't get much out of the main characters here but the supporting ones are next-level delish - Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement are fully game for this ravishing surrealism and it shows. Has some funny fuckin' moments but - as with most of the director's work - I admit that it strains from time to time. It also happens to be both gorgeous design-fetishism *and* has a dope soundtrack - Jared Hess is essentially Wes Anderson if he was obsessed with gradeschool potty humor.