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Man of the Year
9.0
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Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Pieces of Her Soul (Soul Tenders #1) in Books
Oct 14, 2021
169 of 250
Kindle
Pieces of her Soul ( Soul Tenders book 1)
By Serena Lindahl
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
In the words of her schoolmaster, Kiarra is an erratic disaster. In the well-ordered and balanced society of the kingdom of Megreria, she is a failure. Every person in Megreria has an occupation in a specific House and a designated Soul Match.
Not Kiarra. She has delayed her exams until the last allowable minute, but her mind refuses to focus on one House. When she meets one man from each of the five Houses, her inability to choose extends to her heart. The rules demand she choose though, one House and one man.
What happens when she feels drawn to all five Houses and all five men who have captured her attention, and possibly her heart? Will she be doomed to a life of a Commoner? Will society and the kingdom shun her? Or have the Fates already chosen her destiny?
I really enjoyed this! For a reverse harem it was the type I like when you get to know each one before all the sec and entanglement starts. I love the characters they are well written as is the world building. I love that dystopian feel. Very good would highly recommend.
Kindle
Pieces of her Soul ( Soul Tenders book 1)
By Serena Lindahl
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
In the words of her schoolmaster, Kiarra is an erratic disaster. In the well-ordered and balanced society of the kingdom of Megreria, she is a failure. Every person in Megreria has an occupation in a specific House and a designated Soul Match.
Not Kiarra. She has delayed her exams until the last allowable minute, but her mind refuses to focus on one House. When she meets one man from each of the five Houses, her inability to choose extends to her heart. The rules demand she choose though, one House and one man.
What happens when she feels drawn to all five Houses and all five men who have captured her attention, and possibly her heart? Will she be doomed to a life of a Commoner? Will society and the kingdom shun her? Or have the Fates already chosen her destiny?
I really enjoyed this! For a reverse harem it was the type I like when you get to know each one before all the sec and entanglement starts. I love the characters they are well written as is the world building. I love that dystopian feel. Very good would highly recommend.
Merissa (11958 KP) rated Ghost of You (Phantoms #3) in Books
Apr 16, 2023
This is the third book in the Phantoms Series although it is the first book in it that I have read. This in no way diminished my enjoyment of the book as I was able to completely understand the story, and backstory, without any prior knowledge. What I will say is that I now want to read the first two!
This is a paranormal romance with a high element of creepiness! Phantoms is a paranormal fright show where they go and investigate things that go bump in the night. This one hits close to home though as it is in Sammy's hometown, with a story she heard about all her life, with a personal tragedy thrown in too.
The chemistry between the two main characters jumps off the page at you. I loved how they interacted with each other and every time a nickname was used, I laughed at the same time as I winced in sympathy (except for Firecracker!).
With a twisting and intriguing story that will grip you, even as you get goosebumps, this is one helluva story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 24, 2015
This is a paranormal romance with a high element of creepiness! Phantoms is a paranormal fright show where they go and investigate things that go bump in the night. This one hits close to home though as it is in Sammy's hometown, with a story she heard about all her life, with a personal tragedy thrown in too.
The chemistry between the two main characters jumps off the page at you. I loved how they interacted with each other and every time a nickname was used, I laughed at the same time as I winced in sympathy (except for Firecracker!).
With a twisting and intriguing story that will grip you, even as you get goosebumps, this is one helluva story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 24, 2015
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2171 KP) rated Christmas Dessert Murder in Books
Dec 9, 2023
Two Christmas Murders in One Volume
This book has two Christmas Hannah Swensen stories for you.
In the first, Christmas Caramel Murder, Hannah gets involved when her business partner is accused of killing her husband’s new secretary, who just happened to be playing Mrs. Claus to Herb’s Santa in the community theater. This book borrows a bit from A Christmas Carol, and that makes it a little weird for fans of the series, but it is still enjoyable, with a good wrap up and cameos if not large parts for the regular characters.
The second story is Christmas Cake Murder, which flashes back to Hannah’s first Christmas after her father passed away. In an effort to get her mother out of her grief, Hannah agrees to help put on a Christmas ball filled with cakes. The mystery doesn’t really kick in until late in the story, although there are bread crumbs early on. What is most fun for fans of the series is watching Hannah build the life we are already familiar with.
Between the two stories, there are lots of recipes for you to try at Christmas.
Obviously, if you already have the two books, you’ll be fine skipping this collection. But if you’ve missed them, you might want to consider this way to get the stories.
In the first, Christmas Caramel Murder, Hannah gets involved when her business partner is accused of killing her husband’s new secretary, who just happened to be playing Mrs. Claus to Herb’s Santa in the community theater. This book borrows a bit from A Christmas Carol, and that makes it a little weird for fans of the series, but it is still enjoyable, with a good wrap up and cameos if not large parts for the regular characters.
The second story is Christmas Cake Murder, which flashes back to Hannah’s first Christmas after her father passed away. In an effort to get her mother out of her grief, Hannah agrees to help put on a Christmas ball filled with cakes. The mystery doesn’t really kick in until late in the story, although there are bread crumbs early on. What is most fun for fans of the series is watching Hannah build the life we are already familiar with.
Between the two stories, there are lots of recipes for you to try at Christmas.
Obviously, if you already have the two books, you’ll be fine skipping this collection. But if you’ve missed them, you might want to consider this way to get the stories.
Merissa (11958 KP) rated Mirrors and Ashes: A Snow White Retelling in Books
Mar 6, 2022
MIRRORS & ASHES is a fantastic Snow White retelling that encaptures the reader and holds their interest from start to finish.
Ember is the main female and she has a lot to put up with from her mother, which she is made to believe is her fault. When things in the kingdom start going wrong, Ember is the one they blame. She has made friends with the Dwarves though and is welcomed among them when she escapes the death that waits for her. Through them, she learns about who she is and what love truly is, and what forms it can come in. Romance plays a part here but is not the focus.
This was very well-written, with plenty of depth and detail, giving this a polished edged. I loved the Dwarven way of life, their language, their customs, etc. I loved seeing the growth of Ember from a child, to a woman of two cultures.
The pacing was perfect for the story, and it always flowed and never faltered. A great retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Ember is the main female and she has a lot to put up with from her mother, which she is made to believe is her fault. When things in the kingdom start going wrong, Ember is the one they blame. She has made friends with the Dwarves though and is welcomed among them when she escapes the death that waits for her. Through them, she learns about who she is and what love truly is, and what forms it can come in. Romance plays a part here but is not the focus.
This was very well-written, with plenty of depth and detail, giving this a polished edged. I loved the Dwarven way of life, their language, their customs, etc. I loved seeing the growth of Ember from a child, to a woman of two cultures.
The pacing was perfect for the story, and it always flowed and never faltered. A great retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Right Place, Right Time (The Pilsdale Chronicles #1)
8.0
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Sometimes the path to true love twists so much that you end up right back where you started. Ben...
Contemporary MM Romance Age Gap Best Friend's Dad
Merissa (11958 KP) rated The Cursed Kingdom in Books
Mar 28, 2019
The Cursed Kingdom by Maya Daniels
The Cursed Kingdom is a historical fantasy romance that will sweep you back to the days of Persia and Babylon. Full of outstanding descriptions, this story brings Alexander the Great to life, along with Bela obviously! In a deal made with Ishtar, Bela is bound to Babylon. However, when an army comes a'knocking, Bela's brother makes a mistake. This sets off a series of events that will change their lives forever.
I read this book in one sitting! It was so easy to keep on reading, with a smooth and flowing pace, and fantastic descriptions of people and places. With sexual tension, intrigue, betrayal, there was certainly enough here to keep me involved and engrossed.
I certainly have no hesitation in recommending either this story, or the author! The only thing I would say, is I wish I knew what happened to one of the characters at the end. Still, that's me being greedy!
Brilliant story ~ excellently told ~ highly recommended.
* 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!
I read this book in one sitting! It was so easy to keep on reading, with a smooth and flowing pace, and fantastic descriptions of people and places. With sexual tension, intrigue, betrayal, there was certainly enough here to keep me involved and engrossed.
I certainly have no hesitation in recommending either this story, or the author! The only thing I would say, is I wish I knew what happened to one of the characters at the end. Still, that's me being greedy!
Brilliant story ~ excellently told ~ highly recommended.
* 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!
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Mars Room: A Novel in Books
May 6, 2019
Rambling and unclear
I really struggled reading this book. It isn't an extraordinarily long book, but it feels like it as the entire thing drags on and rambles on far too much. You know if someone tells you a story in real life and they go into far too much detail and you're just begging for them to shut up and get to the point? That's pretty much how this book is. It rambles off into completely irrelevant and unnecessary stories about the characters, but then doesn't bother later down the line to let us find out what happened to some of them. For a book that has chapters from the point of view of numerous different characters it really does not do a good job in tying any of these up. There is even one character who has very short, disturbing chapters who I'm pretty sure is never named, and having finished the book I still havent got a clue who this is meant to be. It's all very confused.
This had potential with the plot, but sadly it was very poorly executed. I really had to force myself to finish this one and the only satisfaction I got at the end was that it was finally finished.
This had potential with the plot, but sadly it was very poorly executed. I really had to force myself to finish this one and the only satisfaction I got at the end was that it was finally finished.
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Following up “Escape Plan”; Lionsgate and Sylvester Stallone have teamed up for “Escape Plan 2: Hades”. This time around Dave Bautista is teamed with Stallone as security expert Ray Breslin (Stallone), is trying to find a locale known as “HADES” where one of his top operatives Shu Ren (Xiaoming Huang), has become an inmate.
Life in the high-tech Hades is harsh as inmates are matches up to fight one another and the place appears to be escape proof.
In a race against time, Breslin must find out all he can about HADES and find a way into the prison in order to break out with his man before it is too late.
The film has good production values for a home video release. It may not have the grand scope of the previous film but it does have enough elements to entertain. I would have liked a bit more screen time for Bautista and Stallone but with a third film already reportedly shot, it would be great to see where the series goes next.
For now, the film despite some flaws is entertaining enough for fans of the original and does make for some decent viewing at home as long as you set reasonable expectations.
http://sknr.net/2018/07/05/escape-plan-2-hades/
Life in the high-tech Hades is harsh as inmates are matches up to fight one another and the place appears to be escape proof.
In a race against time, Breslin must find out all he can about HADES and find a way into the prison in order to break out with his man before it is too late.
The film has good production values for a home video release. It may not have the grand scope of the previous film but it does have enough elements to entertain. I would have liked a bit more screen time for Bautista and Stallone but with a third film already reportedly shot, it would be great to see where the series goes next.
For now, the film despite some flaws is entertaining enough for fans of the original and does make for some decent viewing at home as long as you set reasonable expectations.
http://sknr.net/2018/07/05/escape-plan-2-hades/
Merissa (11958 KP) rated Outrageous Offer (The Double O Saga #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
I received this book from Totally Bound Publishing in return for a fair and honest review.
This is a short but steamy tale of the old West, when men were men and women did what they were told. Hyacinth has been left high and dry by the two men she was supposed to marry, left in a town in the middle of nowhere and no-one will help her. Only one person will help but his offer comes with conditions.
In spite of this, he is her only chance of not working in a saloon so she accepts. Things very quickly heat up between them. The more time the spend together, the more they fit. Life doesn't have a way of running smoothly though and Offer and Hyacinth have their own hurdles to cross.
This was very well-written and moves at a very swift pace. My only concern is that it finishes quite abruptly, even though it is an 'ending' and not a cliffhanger. The characters are all relateable, whether you're supposed to like them or not, you follow the author's lead.
For a swift read about the Wild West, I can recommend this book.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is a short but steamy tale of the old West, when men were men and women did what they were told. Hyacinth has been left high and dry by the two men she was supposed to marry, left in a town in the middle of nowhere and no-one will help her. Only one person will help but his offer comes with conditions.
In spite of this, he is her only chance of not working in a saloon so she accepts. Things very quickly heat up between them. The more time the spend together, the more they fit. Life doesn't have a way of running smoothly though and Offer and Hyacinth have their own hurdles to cross.
This was very well-written and moves at a very swift pace. My only concern is that it finishes quite abruptly, even though it is an 'ending' and not a cliffhanger. The characters are all relateable, whether you're supposed to like them or not, you follow the author's lead.
For a swift read about the Wild West, I can recommend this book.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!