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Confessions of a Chelsea Boy
Book
Charming, funny, a good friend, a less than perfect boyfriend, Spencer Matthews is one of the most...
Heirloom by Ill Camille
3.5
Rate It
Album Watch
Ill Camille has been a vital member of the LA music scene for some years. Kendrick Lamar used her...
hip-hop
Park Lane
Book
London, 1914. Two young women dream of breaking free from tradition and obligation; they know that...
IW
I Want to be Happy: How to Live a Happy Life
Book
The harder we try to achieve happiness, the more elusive it becomes. In the process of trying, we...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Get Even in Books
Dec 10, 2023
192 of 235
Book
Get Even
By Martina Cole
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They got her man. Now she's going to get even...
Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn't question Lenny's business dealings and it isn't long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.
But one night Lenny doesn't come home. It isn't the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered - beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.
Now, twenty years later, Sharon is about to find out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to... GET EVEN.
Holy cow this was brutal! I don’t know why I’m so shocked I say the same after every Martina Cole. This was such a sad read in so many ways. I can’t imagine having to hide my life the way Lenny had to but then I’m conflicted at the pain he caused while doing it! Also so glad she finally got some peace even if it cost her. There are always cautions when reading these books as I said they can be so brutal.
Book
Get Even
By Martina Cole
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They got her man. Now she's going to get even...
Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn't question Lenny's business dealings and it isn't long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.
But one night Lenny doesn't come home. It isn't the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered - beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.
Now, twenty years later, Sharon is about to find out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to... GET EVEN.
Holy cow this was brutal! I don’t know why I’m so shocked I say the same after every Martina Cole. This was such a sad read in so many ways. I can’t imagine having to hide my life the way Lenny had to but then I’m conflicted at the pain he caused while doing it! Also so glad she finally got some peace even if it cost her. There are always cautions when reading these books as I said they can be so brutal.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Burning Girl ( Haunted Collection 5) in Books
Jul 10, 2023
91 of 235
Kindle
The Burning Girl (Haunted Collection 5)
By Ron Ripley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stefan Korzh’s desire to destroy the lives of everyone around him knows no bounds. Even as he’s hunted by enemies, Stefan shows no signs of slowing down. His deadly collection of antiques continues to spread and help his dreams become reality.
Meanwhile, Victor Daniels and Tom Crane have managed to build some resemblance of an ordinary life. They remain more determined than ever in their fight against Stefan, and will stop at nothing to put an end to the horrors of the Korzh collection. But life tends to take nasty turns when ghosts are involved.
Stefan’s latest threat is the fire-obsessed Molly, whose deadly ghost emerges from the pages of a novel. With the simple flick of a match, she satisfies her addiction for scorching buildings and burning flesh.
Victor and Tom quickly find themselves in the middle of a bloody trail of chaos, chasing after an enemy that will test the limits of their strength.
And they must hurry.
Because it doesn’t take long before Molly craves her next fiery fix…
This was one of my favourites so far! It was good catching up with Victor and Tom also finally seeing nasty Nicolas put in his place. I really enjoy this series of nasty little spirits and a vengeful man.
Kindle
The Burning Girl (Haunted Collection 5)
By Ron Ripley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stefan Korzh’s desire to destroy the lives of everyone around him knows no bounds. Even as he’s hunted by enemies, Stefan shows no signs of slowing down. His deadly collection of antiques continues to spread and help his dreams become reality.
Meanwhile, Victor Daniels and Tom Crane have managed to build some resemblance of an ordinary life. They remain more determined than ever in their fight against Stefan, and will stop at nothing to put an end to the horrors of the Korzh collection. But life tends to take nasty turns when ghosts are involved.
Stefan’s latest threat is the fire-obsessed Molly, whose deadly ghost emerges from the pages of a novel. With the simple flick of a match, she satisfies her addiction for scorching buildings and burning flesh.
Victor and Tom quickly find themselves in the middle of a bloody trail of chaos, chasing after an enemy that will test the limits of their strength.
And they must hurry.
Because it doesn’t take long before Molly craves her next fiery fix…
This was one of my favourites so far! It was good catching up with Victor and Tom also finally seeing nasty Nicolas put in his place. I really enjoy this series of nasty little spirits and a vengeful man.
Merissa (12919 KP) rated Write Christmas in Books
Dec 1, 2020 (Updated Aug 8, 2023)
WRITE CHRISTMAS is a seasonal story about someone who doesn't like Christmas due to an unfortunate event that shaped her life. Abby has chipped away at Christmas, slowly but surely, until her company and her home have no lights, no decorations, no nothing. Then she gets the opportunity to see what it would be like without it and the game changes.
I'm going to be honest here and say I struggled with this one. It reminded me a lot of It's a Wonderful Life which isn't one of my favourite films and the writing style took me a while to get into.
However, because I have an intense dislike for not finishing a book, I kept at it and almost against my will I found myself becoming gripped by the story. Just what would happen? How would it happen? When? You get the idea.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and thought it was perfect for the story as it gives everyone that seasonal glow and warm fuzzies.
I would recommend this book if you like the whole what-if part of Christmas.
* 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!
Dec 1, 2020
I'm going to be honest here and say I struggled with this one. It reminded me a lot of It's a Wonderful Life which isn't one of my favourite films and the writing style took me a while to get into.
However, because I have an intense dislike for not finishing a book, I kept at it and almost against my will I found myself becoming gripped by the story. Just what would happen? How would it happen? When? You get the idea.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and thought it was perfect for the story as it gives everyone that seasonal glow and warm fuzzies.
I would recommend this book if you like the whole what-if part of Christmas.
* 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!
Dec 1, 2020
Hunt In The Night (Blood and Bonds #3)
10.0
Rate It
Book
Book three in the Blood and Bonds series Hunting killers is Mason’s job. But falling for a...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Grandma's Boy (2006) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Life for video game tester is often filled with long hours, countless repetition and ever looming deadlines as the rush to get the latest games done and on budget is a key factor in the gaming industry. Often testers, much like the game coders toil away in obscurity with only their fellow gamers and personality quirks as their only companions. One such individual is a man named Alex (Allen Covert), a 36 year old professional game tester who suddenly finds himself out of his home thanks to a roommate who spends months of rent money at a local brothel.
Undaunted, Alex drifts from friend to friend often with disastrous results as he attempts to take stock of his situation and avoid the unpleasant alternative of moving in with his Grandmother (Doris Roberts) and her friends. With a deadline looming for his company’s latest game, a producer named Samantha (Linda Cardellini) is brought in to get the team on task. Faced with the reality of sleeping at his desk thanks to a rather embarrassing incident at a friend’s house, Alex is forced to reluctantly take refuge at his grandmothers.
Since Alex is the old man amongst the early 20’s testers who want nothing better than to break his unbeaten streak in head to head game challenges, Alex is forced to tell his co-workers that he spends his nights with three women and they wear him out. The sad truth is that Alex is worn out from 6:00 AM wakeups followed by three hours of chores before going to work. As if life was not complicated enough for Alex, the head game designer J.P. (Joel Moore), becomes more and more eccentric and this is only fueled by his interest in Samantha and his knowledge that Alex is attracted to her.
With a premise like this “Grandma’s Boys” has all of the ingredients to be a fun comedy that continues in the tradition of Adam Sandler’s comedies since his company produced the film. Sadly the film despite a few laughs becomes utterly predictable and drags in many places. The cast is enjoyable enough, but the jokes are too far between leaving the cast to carry the story which sadly is not strong enough to support the down time between jokes.
This is not to say that there are not some funny moments in the film as I can think of at least a half dozen good laughs. The issue is that when you have to wait 15-20 minutes between then in a film that is just over an hour and a half, it does tend to make the film drag. Also, much of the humor is derived from drug use. While it is funny in spots, the constant use of drugs, being stoned, and so on becomes old fast and makes the film seem like a one trick pony.
Covert who co wrote the film does his best in the film, but seems best suited as a supporting character as his character while likeable does not really connect with the audience the same way that one would with say Sandler, Schneider, or even Stiller. There are some good cameos in the film and Shirley Jones, Ms. Partridge herself is good as the older lady with a healthy libido, but I just could not help think that this film could have, and should have been much better than it was.
In the end, despite some good moments, there simply was not enough of them to save the film as the thin story, repetitive themes, and long gaps between good jokes ultimately sinks the film. It was nice to see a film about game testers as it is a group that is rife with comedic potential to be exploited, but sadly Grandma’s Boys barely scratches the surface.
Undaunted, Alex drifts from friend to friend often with disastrous results as he attempts to take stock of his situation and avoid the unpleasant alternative of moving in with his Grandmother (Doris Roberts) and her friends. With a deadline looming for his company’s latest game, a producer named Samantha (Linda Cardellini) is brought in to get the team on task. Faced with the reality of sleeping at his desk thanks to a rather embarrassing incident at a friend’s house, Alex is forced to reluctantly take refuge at his grandmothers.
Since Alex is the old man amongst the early 20’s testers who want nothing better than to break his unbeaten streak in head to head game challenges, Alex is forced to tell his co-workers that he spends his nights with three women and they wear him out. The sad truth is that Alex is worn out from 6:00 AM wakeups followed by three hours of chores before going to work. As if life was not complicated enough for Alex, the head game designer J.P. (Joel Moore), becomes more and more eccentric and this is only fueled by his interest in Samantha and his knowledge that Alex is attracted to her.
With a premise like this “Grandma’s Boys” has all of the ingredients to be a fun comedy that continues in the tradition of Adam Sandler’s comedies since his company produced the film. Sadly the film despite a few laughs becomes utterly predictable and drags in many places. The cast is enjoyable enough, but the jokes are too far between leaving the cast to carry the story which sadly is not strong enough to support the down time between jokes.
This is not to say that there are not some funny moments in the film as I can think of at least a half dozen good laughs. The issue is that when you have to wait 15-20 minutes between then in a film that is just over an hour and a half, it does tend to make the film drag. Also, much of the humor is derived from drug use. While it is funny in spots, the constant use of drugs, being stoned, and so on becomes old fast and makes the film seem like a one trick pony.
Covert who co wrote the film does his best in the film, but seems best suited as a supporting character as his character while likeable does not really connect with the audience the same way that one would with say Sandler, Schneider, or even Stiller. There are some good cameos in the film and Shirley Jones, Ms. Partridge herself is good as the older lady with a healthy libido, but I just could not help think that this film could have, and should have been much better than it was.
In the end, despite some good moments, there simply was not enough of them to save the film as the thin story, repetitive themes, and long gaps between good jokes ultimately sinks the film. It was nice to see a film about game testers as it is a group that is rife with comedic potential to be exploited, but sadly Grandma’s Boys barely scratches the surface.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Stronger (2016) in Movies
Jan 29, 2019
Heartwarming
It's a little unfortunate that Stronger was released in the same year as the other Boston marathon film, Patriots Day. Whilst the films are as opposite as they can be (one set from the point of view of a cop during the event & the ensuing investigation, whilst this focuses on the life of an injured survivor), I fear that Stronger has been dwarfed by the other bigger film. Which is a shame as this is a very good film in its own right.
This is a character led film, and tells the poignant and harrowing tale of bombing survivor Jeff Bauman. Jake Gyllenhaal excels in this, like he always does when he's given a proper character based story. The rest of the cast too are great and the entire film is just very well done. It doesn't shy away from showing some of Jeff's personal struggles and really is a heartwarming story. Especially when you know there's a happy ending at the end of it. The photos and updates right at the end of the film showing the real Jeff are so uplifting.
This is a character led film, and tells the poignant and harrowing tale of bombing survivor Jeff Bauman. Jake Gyllenhaal excels in this, like he always does when he's given a proper character based story. The rest of the cast too are great and the entire film is just very well done. It doesn't shy away from showing some of Jeff's personal struggles and really is a heartwarming story. Especially when you know there's a happy ending at the end of it. The photos and updates right at the end of the film showing the real Jeff are so uplifting.