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The Search For Synergy (The Talisman Series #1)
The Search For Synergy (The Talisman Series #1)
Brett Salter | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A teen fantasy that brings danger, myths and dragons to life.

I'm always excited to start a new series and I wasn't disappointed with this one.

Brett Salter has created two different but connected characters in Rome and Julien. Their personalities spark off of each other well and it's fun to see how they interact with each other.
    The boys both grow in confidence and experience throughout the book, whilst still keeping their individuality and sense of humour.

The Search for Synergy puts a bit of a different light on the myths of dragons and Camelot which makes me happy. It also makes me glad that it's not real, I would be so creeped out!

Not only is this the start of what looks to be a fun and interesting series but it can also be read by a broad audience. As well as being something to read alone, The Search for Synergy, could (and should) be something that is read to a group. I know I said it's a teen fantasy but I also think it would be good for kick-starting the imagination of a slightly younger reader.

 @Merissa
  
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Merissa (12879 KP) rated Her Last Hello in Books

Dec 21, 2020 (Updated Aug 8, 2023)  
Her Last Hello
Her Last Hello
Tara Sue Me | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
HER LAST HELLO is a dark contemporary romance, with more twists and turns than you can shake a stick at.

Athena's life certainly hasn't turned out the way she thought it would, but she has survived. She is a hooker without a future but still dreams of being free. That dream is brought to the surface when she sees an old friend and finds out he is living and working nearby.

I loved how this story gave you all the information you needed but was not graphic or gruesome in any way. It messes with your mind the same way as it messed with Athena.

This was incredibly well-written, with nothing that jumped out at me as 'wrong'. I thought the 'happy' epilogue was wonderful, but the cliffhanger after...? No! Just no! Now I need to find out if that story has been released too.

For a dark romance, I have no hesitation in recommending this book.

* 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 21, 2020
  
Forget Me Not (Ceruleans #2)
Forget Me Not (Ceruleans #2)
Megan Tayte | 2015 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is book two of the Cerulean series, and it lets you submerge a bit further into Scarlett's life, how she reacts to situations, and how she will react. You find out more about Sienna's 'death' and the build-up to it. Jude is a contrary character who wants to do the right thing but doesn't appear to know the right way of achieving it.

I warn you now, this book will have you ugly-crying for the whole latter part!!! It tore me apart and I had to re-read parts because I didn't want to miss any of it. It ends on a literal cliff, with a bit of a cliffhanger too, but nothing major. Just enough to tempt you into wanting the next book IMMEDIATELY.

Extremely well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found, this book was simply amazing and highly recommended by me.

* 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!
May 1, 2016
  
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Rumpelstiltskin (Timeless Fairytales 4)
K.M. Shea | 2024
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
70 of 220
Kindle
Rumpelstiltskin ( Timeless Fairytales 4)
By K.M. Shea
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Things look grim for Gemma, a seamstress, when she is ordered under the threat of death by the insane King Torgen to spin straw into gold. Unwilling to forfeit her life, Gemma tries to escape her royal prison, earning her the respect of the mysterious mage, Stil. Stil offers to complete the impossible task... for a price.

Greedy and unsatisfied, King Torgen demands more and more straw to be spun into gold, and decrees that he will "reward" Gemma by marrying her. With death or marriage to a crazed king clouding her future, Stil offers Gemma a bargain that seems too good to be true.

Will Gemma's trust in Stil be her downfall, or will he defy the entire country to save her?

This was a really lovely retelling of Rumplestiltskin. It’s not a story I’ve really read much of which is why I really enjoy this series and KM Sheas work she tends to go a little puts the box. It’s a quick fun read especially if you like a retelling!
  
Sons of Anarchy  - Season 1
Sons of Anarchy - Season 1
2008 | Drama
Clever Writing (0 more)
The Sins of The Father Are Visited On The Sons…
When this show initially premiered I dismissed it entirely. I instantly assumed that it was just some manly, cheesy rubbish that wasn’t worth my time. How small minded of me. It was only after the caretaker in my work recommended that I give it a go that I went back to it. For the first few episodes, it seemed as though I was right. A bunch of leather clad manly bikers shooting up rival gangs and blowing stuff up, but stick with this show and you will see just how deep the rabbit hole really goes. The writing here is phenomenal, the show was created and co-written by Kurt Sutter, who also plays Otto in the show. He is clearly a literary genius, as he also penned The Shield, as well as the recent, brilliantly written Jake Gyllenhall boxing movie, Southpaw. The show follows a gang of bikers called SAMCRO, (the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original,) loosely based on the real life biker gang, The Hell’s Angels, (a few of which’s members actually have cameo roles in the show,) our protagonist is a young man named Jackson Teller, he is the son of John Teller, the original founder of the biker gang. Soon after Jax was born, his father was killed in a traffic collision, although it is suspected that there is more to his death than just that. Since then his mother Gemma has remarried to the current President of the gang, a man called Clay Morrow, who was also John Teller’s best friend and who co-founded the gang along with JT. When the show begins Jax is Clay’s Vice president, or VP and when Clay begins to lead the club on what Jax sees as a more violent, destructive path, he opposes him and he seeks a way to maintain the club, without having to kill anyone or take part in any shady business. Clay sees Jax as an idealist and tells him so, but Jax is persistent in his ideals, as he believes that this is the way that his Father would have wanted the club to be ran. The supporting cast of characters also add a lot to the overarching plot and each have their own respective back stories. There is Tara, Jax’s ex girlfriend, whom he falls back in love with, Gemma, who is Jax’s mother and the matriarch of the club, then there is Tig, Clay’s triggerman initially, but as the show goes on we see that he has a softer side, then there is Opie, Jax’s best friend from a young age who initially wants to leave the biker life behind, but after certain events in the first season of the show unfold, circumstances force him to stay by Jax’s side. There is also Chibs, the Scotsman who doesn’t mess about when it comes to dealing with a problem, there is also Happy, an emotional psychopath who is also played brilliantly by a real life ex Hell’s Angel member. Then there is Juice, a young Latino man who struggles with his personal demons throughout the show and lastly there is Bobby Elvis, another older member of the group who may be a big softie on the cover, but can also handle himself if anyone tries to cross him. From after the first season, the plot begins to twist and turn as we witness several double crosses and multiple agendas come into play and one of my favourite things about this show is that even though Jax is clearly the protagonist, he isn’t always the good guy and he makes some questionable decisions when he is put under pressure. I don’t want to say much else as I’m worried that I will spoil the show, but it definitely is worth your time and I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who is interested in a good crime saga.
  
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Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Attachments in Books

Nov 16, 2017  
Attachments
Attachments
Rainbow Rowell | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unconventional Romance (3 more)
Read Life Issues
Movie/Book References
Friendships
Love at First...E-mail?
I've seen some low scored reviews for this book on GR and I realized it may keep some people from reading it, but here are some points I think some should consider before not giving Attachments a chance:

1. This is Rainbow Rowell's first published novel, so of course for some it doesn't hold the magic like Eleanor & Park. Keep in mind many first books never hold against later published works, but are still good or why would the author be allowed to continue?
2. Even though it was published in 2011, it is based in 1999/2000 for plot reasons as to why Lincoln would have his job. This may offset some readers who might not realize how different 1999 is to 2017 Internet use wise for jobs.
3. The lack of reading into who and why the characters are as they are. In a way, it is the adult version of Fangirl, expect the roles are flipped a tad bit.

Anyway, I loved Attachments because it stayed true to Rowell's style, yet it felt raw compared to how she writes now. There is the unconventional love story of a man falling in love with a woman through the e-mails he reads as part of his job to ensure people are working and not nonsense while on the job. There's characters of all sorts with real world problems and real life flaws. There are topics covered of overbearing mothers and mothers who are too cruel both because of their own life. There is men who never want to be tied down, yet one does due to advice and the right woman. The book covers pieces life without taking from the plot whatsoever.

Lincoln O'Neil is a 28-year-old who could have been a successful man with a normal day shift job if a break up had not left him shattered nine years before. Maybe also if his mother had not coddled him, even though she clearly meant well as it is clear him and his sister, Eve, might have been her whole life. Yet we would not have the awkward, shy man working a the swing shift in the IT office as a "security officer" fixing computers in his spare time when he isn't reading through e-mails that come up flagged in the Webfence program. Apparently the security part was ensuring no one at the newspaper office was using the Internet to look at porn, gamble, or idle chit chat instead of working. Not quite was Lincoln had pictured and he doesn't enjoy reading people's exchanges, but the money is good and will grant him the chance to move out his mom's sooner rather than later.

His mundane routine and nothingness during his shift is filled with some enjoyment as Lincoln reads the e-mails flagged from Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder. There is nothing harmful. Innocent discussions of water cooler talk, life, relationships, and gossip. As much as he knows it is wrong to continue to read their messages about their lives without flagging them as he would anyone else Lincoln cannot help but to get a kick out of the e-mails.

However it soon becomes apparent Lincoln has fallen for Beth despite the fact he has no idea what she looks like or who is she outside of work. Not to mention she has a boyfriend, Chris, who even though she may rant about to Jennifer, she obviously has not intent on breaking ties with. Not for someone like Lincoln anyway. So he spends his time in turmoil trying to decide if a new job is in order, going back to college, or finding a woman to focus his attention on (which are the very things he tries to do). He even tries to ignore the e-mails, yet can't. He cannot help, but feel for Jennifer's worry over having a baby even though her husband wants one. He cannot help, but captivated by their friendship. He cannot help his feelings for Beth for who she is.

It doesn't help Beth has spotted him labeling him as "A Cute Guy" when he never realized she was around. It is like a game of cat and mouse between them then. Beth still unaware he is reading her e-mails. Lincoln unaware of how often she is close to him even when she is going out of her way to find him.

Thus a budding romance is born. But how much of a romance can it be when Beth has Chris and Lincoln can barely look a woman in the eyes?
  
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    Single

    K.L. Slater

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    ‘I keep feeling like I’m being watched – dropping the boys off at school, choosing wine at the...

Hunter's War (The Wolfborne Saga #6)
Hunter's War (The Wolfborne Saga #6)
Cheree Alsop | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
And here we have it. Hunter's War is the final book in The Wolfborne Saga and we come to the end of Zev's story. Fray is still in danger and Zev is determined to dive headlong into saving her. It doesn't matter if he is at risk so long as she is safe.

I've got to admit, I don't think I've ever read any other story where the hero has so little regard to his own life/safety but it fitted here, it really did. Zev manages to find a way to bring both parts of his life together, and it couldn't be more perfect. I adored the ending, although I always want that little bit more. It was perfect for an epilogue but I never got one (poor me!). That also means it's ripe for the story to continue so who knows?

Obviously, this book doesn't end on a cliffhanger but all the other parts are still there. Fantastic characters, brilliant world-building, and perfect pacing throughout. I really don't feel ready to say goodbye to this series but I've come to an end so I guess that's that... unless I re-read 😉

This series started off as 4-stars and has finished with 5, so if you are on the lookout for a clean paranormal story/series that just gets better and better, then why not take a chance on this one!

* 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!