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Body Clock Guide: Using Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Healthcare
Book
In China, the rhythms of time and nature are understood to affect the body and general health and...
The Game Changer (The Cleat Chasers #2)
Book
Pretending to date your best friend is always a good idea…right? Wrong. Greta Aske has a lot on...
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2173 KP) rated Hanging by a Thread in Books
Sep 30, 2023
Book Was Threadbare
Abbey is settling into her new life in Hideaway Grove, but it’s her aunt Sarah that is facing trouble. Blaine Hutchinson is opening a rival bakery. But before she can get it off the ground, she is murdered in her shop. With Sarah as a suspect, can the Abbey figure out what really happened?
I was hoping to like the second book since I saw potential in the first. Sadly, this book wasn’t that good. The main mystery was strong enough for a novella, and it was fleshed out with lots of subplots. I wanted to tell Abbey not to take on anything else at several points in the book. Not to mention that there wasn’t the follow up on things there should be been. We do have a good conclusion to the mystery at least. And I do like Abbey and many of the other characters, although what Abbey pulls on the potential love interest at one point wasn’t handled well. I support what she was going for, but this wasn’t how to do it. Since Abbey’s sewing studio is located next to Sarah’s bakery, we get lots of talk about mouthwatering desserts. Unfortunately, I think this will be my last visit with these characters.
I was hoping to like the second book since I saw potential in the first. Sadly, this book wasn’t that good. The main mystery was strong enough for a novella, and it was fleshed out with lots of subplots. I wanted to tell Abbey not to take on anything else at several points in the book. Not to mention that there wasn’t the follow up on things there should be been. We do have a good conclusion to the mystery at least. And I do like Abbey and many of the other characters, although what Abbey pulls on the potential love interest at one point wasn’t handled well. I support what she was going for, but this wasn’t how to do it. Since Abbey’s sewing studio is located next to Sarah’s bakery, we get lots of talk about mouthwatering desserts. Unfortunately, I think this will be my last visit with these characters.
The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
Book
Could everything we know about fossil fuels be wrong? For decades, environmentalists have told us...
Merissa (11961 KP) rated In Pain and Blood (Spellster #1) in Books
Jun 15, 2018
In Pain and Blood (Spellster #1) by Aldrea Alien
In Pain and Blood is the first book in the Spellster series, and has all the hallmarks of everything I enjoy - epic fantasy, m/m, romance, action, and adventure. Dylan has spent his life in 'the Tower' learning how to be a spellster. Magic comes easily to him, but his guardian keeps on telling him to stay safe in the tower, and not to make waves. However, one event shoves him to the forefront, and he sees more of life than he expected. Trying to make his way back to the Tower, he becomes part of a ragtag group and sees life in a completely different way.
This should have been a good book. I really wanted it to be a good book, but it fell short for me on a number of different levels. First of all, it's long. And I mean REALLY long. Now don't get me wrong, I love epic fantasy, and regularly read books of a thick volume. However, for this book, it felt like it needed some serious editing to get some of the monotonous repetition removed. Also, this land is supposed to be under attack, but they manage to completely miss any and every member of either army on their two month trek across the land - which we hear about in great detail. How this book started actually had me going back to check on the blurb as I thought I was reading a completely different book. It does change and become the story the blurb describes, but only after a long start. It is only the two main characters who we really meet, and I wouldn't say I 'know' them very well. Even their companions, who they spend so much time with, aren't really fleshed out. It didn't help when one of the main characters spoke to everyone as 'my dear hunter/my dear warrior/my dear spellster'. I know this was supposed to be one of his quirks, but I got it after the first dozen times. It really didn't need repeating multiple times on every page. The ending, such as it was, is the only thing in the book that felt rushed. Big events happen, something life-changing happens to a supporting character, opinions change, a lifetime's enduring love is pronounced, and it happens at the speed of light.
I struggled to finish this book. It was only my sheer stubborn nature and optimistic belief that it would get better (and if I finished it before it ended, I would never know) that kept me turning the pages to the very end. I am glad I've read it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This should have been a good book. I really wanted it to be a good book, but it fell short for me on a number of different levels. First of all, it's long. And I mean REALLY long. Now don't get me wrong, I love epic fantasy, and regularly read books of a thick volume. However, for this book, it felt like it needed some serious editing to get some of the monotonous repetition removed. Also, this land is supposed to be under attack, but they manage to completely miss any and every member of either army on their two month trek across the land - which we hear about in great detail. How this book started actually had me going back to check on the blurb as I thought I was reading a completely different book. It does change and become the story the blurb describes, but only after a long start. It is only the two main characters who we really meet, and I wouldn't say I 'know' them very well. Even their companions, who they spend so much time with, aren't really fleshed out. It didn't help when one of the main characters spoke to everyone as 'my dear hunter/my dear warrior/my dear spellster'. I know this was supposed to be one of his quirks, but I got it after the first dozen times. It really didn't need repeating multiple times on every page. The ending, such as it was, is the only thing in the book that felt rushed. Big events happen, something life-changing happens to a supporting character, opinions change, a lifetime's enduring love is pronounced, and it happens at the speed of light.
I struggled to finish this book. It was only my sheer stubborn nature and optimistic belief that it would get better (and if I finished it before it ended, I would never know) that kept me turning the pages to the very end. I am glad I've read it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
MoMoBookDiary (20 KP) rated Then. Now. Always. in Books
Oct 1, 2018
MoMo’s Book Diary highly recommends this latest release from the wonderfully talented Isabelle Broom.
Isabelle Broom has done it again. I had never heard of the town Mojacar on the south coast of Spain before reading this book yet now I have a strong desire to make time to go and discover this town for myself.
Isabelle Broom has a way of writing that takes you deep inside the story and you almost feel you are there along with the characters. I felt the bond between the characters was true to life and very real. The complex and at times troubles that we face through life are sprinkled here perfectly.
I will rave about this book to friends for a long time – and like I did with Isabelle’s last book – A Year And A Day – I will buy and send copies to good friends who I believe will enjoy the book as much as I did.
Thanks to Netgalley, Isabelle Broom and Penguin UK for the chance to read and review this book prior to publication. I was uncontrollably excited when I received the email asking if I would like to review this book and I just couldn't put it down...
Isabelle Broom has done it again. I had never heard of the town Mojacar on the south coast of Spain before reading this book yet now I have a strong desire to make time to go and discover this town for myself.
Isabelle Broom has a way of writing that takes you deep inside the story and you almost feel you are there along with the characters. I felt the bond between the characters was true to life and very real. The complex and at times troubles that we face through life are sprinkled here perfectly.
I will rave about this book to friends for a long time – and like I did with Isabelle’s last book – A Year And A Day – I will buy and send copies to good friends who I believe will enjoy the book as much as I did.
Thanks to Netgalley, Isabelle Broom and Penguin UK for the chance to read and review this book prior to publication. I was uncontrollably excited when I received the email asking if I would like to review this book and I just couldn't put it down...
Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Book
A new biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, shaped and structured around the story he himself tells...
Get the Glow: Delicious and Easy Recipes That Will Nourish You from the Inside Out
Book
In GET THE GLOW nutritional health coach to the stars Madeleine Shaw shows you that eating well can...
