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Debbiereadsbook (1702 KP) rated Captivated by Dominik (The Ralston Brothers) in Books
Jan 27, 2026
I just felt I missing *something*
Independent reviewer for BookSirens, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This appears to be a spin off series, in the Gen-Heirs world. I need to comment at that before I start.
For ME, and I stress ME, I think I maybe should have read some other books in this world to get the feel of it fully. I found myself feeling (and ya'll know about me sharing my book feelings!) I was missing some vital information that I should know about this world. At more than one point, I thought I had missed something but no, it was jusy dropped in like I knew what they were talking about.
The most obvious one, was what happened to the world almost a thousand years ago. I have know no idea, not a single clue as to what happened. Did I miss something along the way? I dunno. But book feelings are important to share and I'm-a sharing.
What I did like, though, was that this was a different world and the rules are different. They think nothing of contracting out a marriage a year, and then they move on. Or I should say, the powers that be do. Sienna struggled. Dominik comes along, as bodyguard for a mission, and she is thrown for a loop when he changes the contract to 5 years. But Dominik is a Beast Master, to Alisater, a hawk. The animal knows before the person does.
I liked that Dominink let Sienna call all the shots in their personal relationship. He let her know that he WOULD touch her, but only when she asked. And he waits. He lets Sienna, at every point, move their relationship along. I loved that she trusted him enough to do that. It gets steamy and smexy once Sienna really lets Dominik in.
I liked that both Sienna and Dominik get a say, as does Alisater when he's talking to Dominik. The bird has opinions! You get into both their minds, as they navigate this new contract, the mission and their growing feelings.
I think I'll read something else by this author, maybe about Dominik's siblings. I might find what I'm missing here.
A thoroughly enjoyable 4 star read
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This appears to be a spin off series, in the Gen-Heirs world. I need to comment at that before I start.
For ME, and I stress ME, I think I maybe should have read some other books in this world to get the feel of it fully. I found myself feeling (and ya'll know about me sharing my book feelings!) I was missing some vital information that I should know about this world. At more than one point, I thought I had missed something but no, it was jusy dropped in like I knew what they were talking about.
The most obvious one, was what happened to the world almost a thousand years ago. I have know no idea, not a single clue as to what happened. Did I miss something along the way? I dunno. But book feelings are important to share and I'm-a sharing.
What I did like, though, was that this was a different world and the rules are different. They think nothing of contracting out a marriage a year, and then they move on. Or I should say, the powers that be do. Sienna struggled. Dominik comes along, as bodyguard for a mission, and she is thrown for a loop when he changes the contract to 5 years. But Dominik is a Beast Master, to Alisater, a hawk. The animal knows before the person does.
I liked that Dominink let Sienna call all the shots in their personal relationship. He let her know that he WOULD touch her, but only when she asked. And he waits. He lets Sienna, at every point, move their relationship along. I loved that she trusted him enough to do that. It gets steamy and smexy once Sienna really lets Dominik in.
I liked that both Sienna and Dominik get a say, as does Alisater when he's talking to Dominik. The bird has opinions! You get into both their minds, as they navigate this new contract, the mission and their growing feelings.
I think I'll read something else by this author, maybe about Dominik's siblings. I might find what I'm missing here.
A thoroughly enjoyable 4 star read
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Serena (8 KP) rated Everything I Want in Books
Nov 22, 2017
With Lily graduating she can’t help but realise how far she has come, but she also remembers Alfie, knowing that she has made the right decision when she sees him with all the models, and that she would have resented giving up her dream for his.
Seeing Alfie again, after so long was hard, but again he is persistent, with a love like theirs coming only once in a life time. After talking with her best friend Jack, Lily is starting to think that maybe she needs to take another chance with Jack
With everything nearly perfect between Lily and Alfie, Lily’s friend reminds her that it is her that is putting the distance between them, that she is saying that she can’t have music and Alfie, and she can if she tries.
When the media starts posting photos, with Lily having no contact with Alfie since she left, it starts to have a major impact on their relationship, leaving Lily wondering if they still have one.
After a tragedy Lily realises that she can have Music and Alfie too, and they get their happily ever after.
Seeing Alfie again, after so long was hard, but again he is persistent, with a love like theirs coming only once in a life time. After talking with her best friend Jack, Lily is starting to think that maybe she needs to take another chance with Jack
With everything nearly perfect between Lily and Alfie, Lily’s friend reminds her that it is her that is putting the distance between them, that she is saying that she can’t have music and Alfie, and she can if she tries.
When the media starts posting photos, with Lily having no contact with Alfie since she left, it starts to have a major impact on their relationship, leaving Lily wondering if they still have one.
After a tragedy Lily realises that she can have Music and Alfie too, and they get their happily ever after.
Engaging!
I have read this book as a read-aloud to my class (5th graders) for two years now. Their reactions are always the same.. A very unexcited groan when I announce that I will be reading it to them for the foreseeable future... and then excited talking and cheering when it is time to read again. This book quickly becomes my class's favorite every year. It is filled with action, a lovable main character (who couldn't love a little warrior mouse in flip-flops that are way too big), and a grungy antagonist that we all love to hate. This book has sparked many "non-readers" to explore more books in this genre. It is wonderful to see them excited in reading and this book helps many of them. There is some mild language, however and many scenes that are a bit gruesome (but that's probably what draws them in to begin with- ha!) so just be warned about that. My brother read this when he was younger and it sticks with him, to this day, as one of his favorites.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Housekeeping: Faber Modern Classics in Books
Sep 7, 2017
Haunting imagery, tremendous classic American literature
There was something deeply unsettling yet moving about this book exploring abandonment, solitude and loss over the span of three generations of women in a family.
Ruth, who is our main narrator, is speaking about her childhood in which her sister Lucille and her were continually abandoned by one family or another. Eventually they end up with their deeply eccentric aunt Sylvie, and she seems completely incapable in many ways of being a responsible parent, but rather a sister instead. She leads a transcient life, having deserted her husband, jumping on trains to get from place to place. She's a spirited wanderer, and sees Ruth as an ally and her own sister, Helen, who killed herself at the start of the book.
Their solitary life of never mixing, but staying in the great outdoors both seems idyllic and claustrophobic. There are images of the lake where the children's mother committed suicide, that seem to draw the women to this area. The metaphors are cold and quiet hence it feels unnerving.
It's a classic American tale about real women, which makes this different to the old books talking only about marriage and fidelity.
Ruth, who is our main narrator, is speaking about her childhood in which her sister Lucille and her were continually abandoned by one family or another. Eventually they end up with their deeply eccentric aunt Sylvie, and she seems completely incapable in many ways of being a responsible parent, but rather a sister instead. She leads a transcient life, having deserted her husband, jumping on trains to get from place to place. She's a spirited wanderer, and sees Ruth as an ally and her own sister, Helen, who killed herself at the start of the book.
Their solitary life of never mixing, but staying in the great outdoors both seems idyllic and claustrophobic. There are images of the lake where the children's mother committed suicide, that seem to draw the women to this area. The metaphors are cold and quiet hence it feels unnerving.
It's a classic American tale about real women, which makes this different to the old books talking only about marriage and fidelity.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Dawn of the Dreadfuls in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
by Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith
Genre: Re-mixed classic
Rating: 5
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is hilarious! Hockensmith has captured Austen’s original characters and brought them back (from the dead) in a gruesomely wonderful prequel to Pride and Prejudice. This Zombiefied quirky classic will have you snickering and giggling like Lydia and Kitty. (By the way, I’m officially adding Zombiefied to my dictionary. It’s an awesome word.)
The writing was so much like Austen’s that I began to wonder if it really wasn’t by her. It was eloquent and witty and almost audible in that you could hear the accents of the speakers and the narrator.
Content: an occasional dirty word (I think d--- was used like, twice in the whole book?), very few sexual references. But remember that we’re talking about dead brain-eating zombies here, people. It’s not for the faint of heart (or stomach) and it’s not for kids.
Recommendation: 12+ If you love the paranormal, horror, or anything Jane Austen, this one is for you.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls will be published on March 24th 2010.
by Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith
Genre: Re-mixed classic
Rating: 5
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is hilarious! Hockensmith has captured Austen’s original characters and brought them back (from the dead) in a gruesomely wonderful prequel to Pride and Prejudice. This Zombiefied quirky classic will have you snickering and giggling like Lydia and Kitty. (By the way, I’m officially adding Zombiefied to my dictionary. It’s an awesome word.)
The writing was so much like Austen’s that I began to wonder if it really wasn’t by her. It was eloquent and witty and almost audible in that you could hear the accents of the speakers and the narrator.
Content: an occasional dirty word (I think d--- was used like, twice in the whole book?), very few sexual references. But remember that we’re talking about dead brain-eating zombies here, people. It’s not for the faint of heart (or stomach) and it’s not for kids.
Recommendation: 12+ If you love the paranormal, horror, or anything Jane Austen, this one is for you.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls will be published on March 24th 2010.
Debbie (52 KP) rated Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds To Hillbilly Elegy in Books
Mar 28, 2019
Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds To Hillbilly Elegy
Edited By: Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
West Virginia University Press
NonFiction (Adult) Politics
Pub. Date 1 March 2019
Pages 432
#Appalachianreckoning#NetGalley
<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/23cda8f5b390052c84bafb486921760c8733c9f5"; width="80" height="80" alt="10 Book Reviews" title="10 Book Reviews"/>
<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1"; width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>
I am not sure how to go about reviewing this book. This is actually the first book I have ever DNFed.
I decided to do this at 40%. I had a hard time reading this book because all it did was bashed Vance about his Memoirs. I have read Hillbilly Elegy and I never thought of things these editors are talking about. I have a hard time of people bashing someone memoirs. Memoirs are how people feel and from their point of view. I know by looking at the ratings on Good Reads I am the only one who feels this way. I really don't want to bash these editors so I will leave it at this. Sorry but I just couldn't continue.
Edited By: Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
West Virginia University Press
NonFiction (Adult) Politics
Pub. Date 1 March 2019
Pages 432
#Appalachianreckoning#NetGalley
<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/23cda8f5b390052c84bafb486921760c8733c9f5"; width="80" height="80" alt="10 Book Reviews" title="10 Book Reviews"/>
<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1"; width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>
I am not sure how to go about reviewing this book. This is actually the first book I have ever DNFed.
I decided to do this at 40%. I had a hard time reading this book because all it did was bashed Vance about his Memoirs. I have read Hillbilly Elegy and I never thought of things these editors are talking about. I have a hard time of people bashing someone memoirs. Memoirs are how people feel and from their point of view. I know by looking at the ratings on Good Reads I am the only one who feels this way. I really don't want to bash these editors so I will leave it at this. Sorry but I just couldn't continue.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2518 KP) rated A Skeleton in the Family (Family Skeleton Mystery #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Georgia Thackery has had to move back home to take her new adjunct teach job, but the bright side is that means reconnecting with her best friend, Sid the skeleton. Yes, Sid is a walking, talking skeleton, and he just appeared in Georgia’s life 30 years ago. But when he suddenly recognizes a face from his living past, he begins to wonder who he was and what happened to him. Georgia and Sid quickly realize they are dealing with a 30 year old murder mystery. Can they solve this cold case?
I don’t normally read paranormal mysteries, but I’m glad I made an exception in this case. The story is a bit slower than I would have liked, but it did pick up as we grew closer to the climax, and I was satisfied at the end. The characters are wonderful, and yes, that includes the very life like Sid. Sid’s puns help lighten the mood. After all, there’s no such thing as a bad pun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-review-skeleton-in-family-by-leigh.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I don’t normally read paranormal mysteries, but I’m glad I made an exception in this case. The story is a bit slower than I would have liked, but it did pick up as we grew closer to the climax, and I was satisfied at the end. The characters are wonderful, and yes, that includes the very life like Sid. Sid’s puns help lighten the mood. After all, there’s no such thing as a bad pun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-review-skeleton-in-family-by-leigh.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Lindsay (1807 KP) rated Submarines, Secrets and a Daring Rescue (American Revolutionary War Adventure #2) in Books
Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
This wonderful adventure book. Are you looking a book that helps with educational help with you children. Well that draws your boys and girls. It has talks about the history of America during the Revolutionary War.
This is the second book of the series. It got the twin doing a mission for their father. It goes on from there. There seem to be a spy that following them and giving enemy the information. Who could it possibly be.
Ambrose and John seem to be thrown into a mission to make sure gunpowder get where it need to be. In the process they also need to drive the first submarine. They got to make a prison break to save their older brother.
The authors do great job with the story and also having you and all his readers guessing though out the book. Will they save their older brother? You giving the American information to enemy?
The pictures are done well and you can see what the author is talking about. The image are caping to see and look at. The author does a wonderful job with it.
This is the second book of the series. It got the twin doing a mission for their father. It goes on from there. There seem to be a spy that following them and giving enemy the information. Who could it possibly be.
Ambrose and John seem to be thrown into a mission to make sure gunpowder get where it need to be. In the process they also need to drive the first submarine. They got to make a prison break to save their older brother.
The authors do great job with the story and also having you and all his readers guessing though out the book. Will they save their older brother? You giving the American information to enemy?
The pictures are done well and you can see what the author is talking about. The image are caping to see and look at. The author does a wonderful job with it.
Dana (24 KP) rated Le Morte Darthur: Selections in Books
Mar 23, 2018
This is a very long book. I am normally pretty okay with long books, too, but this one felt like it went on for an eternity. I think my biggest issue with it was the lack of quotation marks so we have no idea who is talking at any given time until they are half done with the conversation, which is super irritating to say the least. Another thing that made this hard to read is that there is no set timeline since it is a collection of books rather than a coherent novel. Because of this, there are characters who die and come back to life miraculously without any explanation or characters who are lost and never seem to find their way back to the story.
Overall, it was interesting to read. I am glad I got to read one of the source texts for some of my favorite series (television, film, and book). It is cool that I get to say I have read this in casual conversation with other book nerds because it is definitely an accomplishment to say the least.
Will I be reading it again? No. A resounding no to that.
Overall, it was interesting to read. I am glad I got to read one of the source texts for some of my favorite series (television, film, and book). It is cool that I get to say I have read this in casual conversation with other book nerds because it is definitely an accomplishment to say the least.
Will I be reading it again? No. A resounding no to that.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Fifty Shades of Grey in Books
Feb 23, 2018
I didn't intend to read this book, as I'd largely heard snark about it. A dear friend recommended it, though, so I finally gave it a read.
The writing definitely needs polish and a good editor--I couldn't possibly give it more than 3 stars due to that alone. The sexy is there, though, and that's the whole purpose of the book. It does follow most of the traditional romance tropes, which explains most of its acceptance, but the addition of spicier sex seems to be what has everyone talking. (I'd call it spicy more than truly kinky.)
The entire plot takes place in just three weeks, which isn't bad in the romance world. That doesn't leave much time for character growth, but there is a little. That brings the book up a star from where I'd put most romance novels.
If you want some light, sexy summer reading and don't mind the fact that this is so very obviously a self-published first novel, go for it. Some people will want to read it just because of all the uproar, I imagine. If you're looking for literature or true erotica, pass this one up.
The writing definitely needs polish and a good editor--I couldn't possibly give it more than 3 stars due to that alone. The sexy is there, though, and that's the whole purpose of the book. It does follow most of the traditional romance tropes, which explains most of its acceptance, but the addition of spicier sex seems to be what has everyone talking. (I'd call it spicy more than truly kinky.)
The entire plot takes place in just three weeks, which isn't bad in the romance world. That doesn't leave much time for character growth, but there is a little. That brings the book up a star from where I'd put most romance novels.
If you want some light, sexy summer reading and don't mind the fact that this is so very obviously a self-published first novel, go for it. Some people will want to read it just because of all the uproar, I imagine. If you're looking for literature or true erotica, pass this one up.