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My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day
Book and Education
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“Friendship is Magic!” MY LITTLE PONY is now available as an interactive storybook to read...
MaryAnn (14 KP) rated Keturah (The Sugar Baron's Daughters, #1) in Books
Mar 5, 2019
England, the year 1773. Keturah and her sisters find themselves heiresses to their father's properties and assets. A letter soon comes telling them of the drought, machinery failure and an overseer lost to the "fever", all with profits far lower than the last.
Lady Keturah is determined to make sure her sisters are well provided for and the three sisters head off to the West Indies, which was totally unheard of for ladies of England's society at that time.
Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson, a widow, from an abusive marriage has sworn that she will never marry again, but her childhood friend Gray Covington is traveling to the West Indies to develop his sugar plantation that happens to border Keturah's. Will Keturah's heart ever soften again?
This was a fantastic story of a woman bound and determined to make a way for herself, as well as her sisters in a society that demanded women to be dependant on men. Keturah's strong character is what makes this story flow. The reader is drawn to her supporting her and cheering her on throughout the story. A fast-paced read, and a truly enjoyable one. Set in the West Indies. The author has done a vast amount of research to make this novel so real to life, which makes it all the more enjoyable and true to the reader.
I was thrilled that the characters all leaned heavily on God in this novel. I think the lesson of this novel, or the point that is brought out, is that we too must rely on God, put our stubbornness behind us. A wonderful story of adventure, romance, and forgiveness.
. I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Lady Keturah is determined to make sure her sisters are well provided for and the three sisters head off to the West Indies, which was totally unheard of for ladies of England's society at that time.
Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson, a widow, from an abusive marriage has sworn that she will never marry again, but her childhood friend Gray Covington is traveling to the West Indies to develop his sugar plantation that happens to border Keturah's. Will Keturah's heart ever soften again?
This was a fantastic story of a woman bound and determined to make a way for herself, as well as her sisters in a society that demanded women to be dependant on men. Keturah's strong character is what makes this story flow. The reader is drawn to her supporting her and cheering her on throughout the story. A fast-paced read, and a truly enjoyable one. Set in the West Indies. The author has done a vast amount of research to make this novel so real to life, which makes it all the more enjoyable and true to the reader.
I was thrilled that the characters all leaned heavily on God in this novel. I think the lesson of this novel, or the point that is brought out, is that we too must rely on God, put our stubbornness behind us. A wonderful story of adventure, romance, and forgiveness.
. I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
BTPBookclub (18 KP) rated The Librarian of Auschwitz in Books
May 11, 2019
This book changed my look on life
Oh my heart. I teared up so many times througout reading this, I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like. Not an easy read, but one that has changed my life and will stick with me forever. It’s changed the way I look at life and realise how lucky we all are compared to how they were treated and had to survive in Auschwitz. Just terrible.
The Librarian of Aushwitz is beautifully translated and written by Lilit Zekulin Thwaites. It is based on a true story and it hurts how close to the truth it really is, makes it all the more real and heart-breaking.
Within the story you really get to know each character individually and when you lose one, IT HURTS! It’s upsetting. I felt that! The story highlights how important friends, family and books are… Even though there was only 8 books they meant the world to block 31 and the children. There are so many beautiful quotes about books in this story. It was their form of escape from reality during the worst of times.
Ditas character (based off a real woman). Wow. She was only fourteen and had so much responsibilty placed on her, she risked her life technically daily. She is one strong and determined woman. I really do look up to this woman and appreciate her and applaud her for what she did. What a wondeful woman! I love to meet her.
An absolute eye opener of a read! The truth is in this book about what really happened at Auschwitz camps. I’m tearing up writing this review. A must read. A well deserved five stars from me and it obviously has a space in my top twenty of the year and honestly this might be stuck with me for life. I learnt a lot from this book.
The Librarian of Aushwitz is beautifully translated and written by Lilit Zekulin Thwaites. It is based on a true story and it hurts how close to the truth it really is, makes it all the more real and heart-breaking.
Within the story you really get to know each character individually and when you lose one, IT HURTS! It’s upsetting. I felt that! The story highlights how important friends, family and books are… Even though there was only 8 books they meant the world to block 31 and the children. There are so many beautiful quotes about books in this story. It was their form of escape from reality during the worst of times.
Ditas character (based off a real woman). Wow. She was only fourteen and had so much responsibilty placed on her, she risked her life technically daily. She is one strong and determined woman. I really do look up to this woman and appreciate her and applaud her for what she did. What a wondeful woman! I love to meet her.
An absolute eye opener of a read! The truth is in this book about what really happened at Auschwitz camps. I’m tearing up writing this review. A must read. A well deserved five stars from me and it obviously has a space in my top twenty of the year and honestly this might be stuck with me for life. I learnt a lot from this book.
Kaz (232 KP) rated Three Things About Elsie in Books
May 16, 2019
This book has received a lot of praise in the last couple of years. So, I was a bit dubious as to whether this novel was all hype and not actually going to be as good as people claimed it was.
The true is, this is a gem of a book.
One of the things that is special about this book, is the writing. ‘Three Things about Elsie’ had likeable, believable characters and even the secondary characters were as equally well-formed, as the main ones. I loved Handy Simon and Miss Ambrose and was pleased to find that both young and old characters, were equal in the story.
I also adored the brilliant, often profound observations of ageing, loneliness and life in general. This book pulled me into its story and even now, I still think about it.
Joanna Cannon’s turn of phrase, even when writing about the simplest of things, had me laughing out loud at times. Her descriptions of the landscape in which the story is set, were very good and I could easily imagine what the characters were seeing.
Another thing I really loved about the plot, was its success at building tension and intrigue throughout. This was a book which dealt with ageing, but it also had a gripping mystery, weaving its way throughout. At no point during this book, did I guess what was going to happen and that kept me reading.
On face value, most people would think that a novel about a octogenarian, wouldn’t appeal to a wide range of readers. However, Joanna Cannon’s story of finding your place within the world, speaks to all ages
‘Three Things About Elsie’ is a humorous, entertaining and wonderful read, which I absolutely loved. This is the best book I have read in a LONG time. It also has one of the best covers too!
The true is, this is a gem of a book.
One of the things that is special about this book, is the writing. ‘Three Things about Elsie’ had likeable, believable characters and even the secondary characters were as equally well-formed, as the main ones. I loved Handy Simon and Miss Ambrose and was pleased to find that both young and old characters, were equal in the story.
I also adored the brilliant, often profound observations of ageing, loneliness and life in general. This book pulled me into its story and even now, I still think about it.
Joanna Cannon’s turn of phrase, even when writing about the simplest of things, had me laughing out loud at times. Her descriptions of the landscape in which the story is set, were very good and I could easily imagine what the characters were seeing.
Another thing I really loved about the plot, was its success at building tension and intrigue throughout. This was a book which dealt with ageing, but it also had a gripping mystery, weaving its way throughout. At no point during this book, did I guess what was going to happen and that kept me reading.
On face value, most people would think that a novel about a octogenarian, wouldn’t appeal to a wide range of readers. However, Joanna Cannon’s story of finding your place within the world, speaks to all ages
‘Three Things About Elsie’ is a humorous, entertaining and wonderful read, which I absolutely loved. This is the best book I have read in a LONG time. It also has one of the best covers too!
Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated White Squall (1996) in Movies
Jul 3, 2019
Skipper Kills All The Waves
The fantastic telling of the true story of the ill-fated Albatross. Sometimes you watch a movie at a young age, and the power of it sticks with you well into adulthood. White Squall is such a movie for me, and I imagine, many others. A sailor once, and a sailor someday to be, my father and I first watched this movie together when I was a youngster. Those silvered memories can be tarnished if a movie doesn't age well. Not the case with White Squall. Jeff Bridges is a powerhouse as the indomitable Skipper. You will instantly become caught up in the story of these young men learning what it means to indeed be called a man, especially on the sea. Some of the tropes are clunky, but merely a product of the time. You still buy in to the plot with little to no eye rolling. The archetypes of the characters run from Oscar level to 2D flat, but with a main cast of over a dozen, that is to be expected. Again, Jeff Bridges is amazing and more than carries the slack, performance wise. Parents be warned, this is based on a tragedy at sea. Do the math on that one, and adjust accordingly for the kids. The plot is fairly tame for the first half of the movie. The reason this movie gets high marks from me is the incredible direction from Ridley Scott, and the powerhouse sea visuals. The effects department really went to town on this one. You can feel the fury of the ocean, for she is a fickle mistress. They even used a full-scale mock-up of the ship in a horizon tank. Google that. It's awesome. With an amazing story, cast, score, all the above, this movie will always be the perfect with side of popcorn and a comfy recliner.
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TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Katherine's Arrangement (Shenandoah Brides #1) in Books
Feb 23, 2021
https://travelingwife4life.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/katherines-arrangement-book-spotlight
Katherine’s Arrangement
by Blossom Turner reminds me very much of a twist on Gone with the Wind for some reason. It is a the first book in a five book series :)
“The reason you feel so close to nature is because God uses creation to speak to people”
After reading the book, I went back and reread it. I liked the book, I really did. I thought that Blossom Turner did a great job showing some of the hardships of life after the Civil War and that her characters show TRUE genuine feelings rather than dumbing them down; It made the book all the more believable. I thought that Katherine shows strength and fortitude to do what was right for her family even though she was not quite happy about it. I also really felt for all that Blossom Turner put Josiah through. I thought he handled everything quite well (mostly) and I liked his maturity in contrast to Katherines. Both characters grew throughout the story and I thought the ending gave a good redeeming quality to both characters.
“The majestic flight of an eagle caught her eye, and she imagined what it would be like to soar high above the complexities of this life – to escape duty and obligation and fly far away from the weight of this decision.”
Blossom Turner writes with detail and imagination that is fun and engaging to read. However, the pace of the story appeared a bit slow and repetitive in places, and things were drawn out a bit more than I thought was necessary. But overall, the story was an interesting read filled with drama, scandal, and forgiveness.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars for the creative storyline, the real portrayal of the character's feelings, and for the redemptive story of Christ's forgiveness. I loved Blossom Turner's first book (Anna's Secret) and I will continue to read her books
Katherine’s Arrangement
by Blossom Turner reminds me very much of a twist on Gone with the Wind for some reason. It is a the first book in a five book series :)
“The reason you feel so close to nature is because God uses creation to speak to people”
After reading the book, I went back and reread it. I liked the book, I really did. I thought that Blossom Turner did a great job showing some of the hardships of life after the Civil War and that her characters show TRUE genuine feelings rather than dumbing them down; It made the book all the more believable. I thought that Katherine shows strength and fortitude to do what was right for her family even though she was not quite happy about it. I also really felt for all that Blossom Turner put Josiah through. I thought he handled everything quite well (mostly) and I liked his maturity in contrast to Katherines. Both characters grew throughout the story and I thought the ending gave a good redeeming quality to both characters.
“The majestic flight of an eagle caught her eye, and she imagined what it would be like to soar high above the complexities of this life – to escape duty and obligation and fly far away from the weight of this decision.”
Blossom Turner writes with detail and imagination that is fun and engaging to read. However, the pace of the story appeared a bit slow and repetitive in places, and things were drawn out a bit more than I thought was necessary. But overall, the story was an interesting read filled with drama, scandal, and forgiveness.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars for the creative storyline, the real portrayal of the character's feelings, and for the redemptive story of Christ's forgiveness. I loved Blossom Turner's first book (Anna's Secret) and I will continue to read her books
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Push in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist in this book is a nameless woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother, and this story is told from her perspective, kind of. The woman is telling us her life story: how she met her husband, about her pregnancy and her troubles with her daughter Violet, and other events that traumatise her for life. The characters in this book are quite disturbed, intense and very complex. For some strange reason, I could really relate to the protagonist. I understood her and her thoughts resonated with mine sometimes.
At the beginning of the book, I was not very impressed, I had no idea what it was about. But the more I got into it, the more absorbed I became. The narrative has several different lines and is telling the story of women from three generations. The protagonist is sharing the deepest and scariest thoughts of her life, and it got very intense for me sometimes. I really enjoyed the suspense, turns and twists. The topics discussed in this book are marriage, pregnancies, lack of motherhood instinct, mother-daughter relationship, children behavioural issues, grief, depression, trauma and many more.
The book is set somewhere American sounding (might be Canada), the atmosphere of this book is pretty dark and shrouded with mystery. I really liked the writing style of this novel, it is very honest, detailed and the mystery was kept perfectly. The chapters are pretty short, so this book was a true page-turner for me. I really loved the ending, because I was pretty confused with some stuff happening in the book, but the ending kind of clarified it for me. I have to throw in a warning, that this book has triggers when it comes to pregnancies, cheating, death of children, grief, psychotic behaviour.
So, to conclude, this book is a very intense life story, filled with very well crafted characters, that are intriguing, absorbing and the plot that is layered, complex and brutally honest.
At the beginning of the book, I was not very impressed, I had no idea what it was about. But the more I got into it, the more absorbed I became. The narrative has several different lines and is telling the story of women from three generations. The protagonist is sharing the deepest and scariest thoughts of her life, and it got very intense for me sometimes. I really enjoyed the suspense, turns and twists. The topics discussed in this book are marriage, pregnancies, lack of motherhood instinct, mother-daughter relationship, children behavioural issues, grief, depression, trauma and many more.
The book is set somewhere American sounding (might be Canada), the atmosphere of this book is pretty dark and shrouded with mystery. I really liked the writing style of this novel, it is very honest, detailed and the mystery was kept perfectly. The chapters are pretty short, so this book was a true page-turner for me. I really loved the ending, because I was pretty confused with some stuff happening in the book, but the ending kind of clarified it for me. I have to throw in a warning, that this book has triggers when it comes to pregnancies, cheating, death of children, grief, psychotic behaviour.
So, to conclude, this book is a very intense life story, filled with very well crafted characters, that are intriguing, absorbing and the plot that is layered, complex and brutally honest.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Drone (2017) in Movies
Sep 13, 2019
This is a film that I heard about a few years ago and never really got around to seeing what it was about despite being a fan of Sean Bean’s work over the years.
The concept and premise of this film is actually a clever one that if in the right hands could have been so much more impactful and thrilling, but the way they present things here just doesn’t work well at all.
Bean himself has always been a very solid actor but his performance here is quite mediocre and any attempt by him to make his character or the situation he finds himself in to be realistic fails to deliver.
The movie has much too many plot holes within the story which detract so much from being able to enjoy what they give us.
This is especially true when the story goes off on pointless tangents that don’t add to the story at hand at all.
Loved seeing Mary McCormack and Joel David Moore in supporting roles, yet neither is utilized nearly enough here and they both come across as being caricatures which is quite a shame.
For a thriller, this film is lacking heavily on the thrilling or suspenseful moments that would make it fit even better into the genre…
Pity….
Bottom Line – Very interesting concept that unfortunately isn’t presented very well at all. Bean is a solid actor, but he fails to make his character or the situation that he finds himself in seem realistic enough. The story is filled with way too many plot holes that detract from the enjoyment of this idea because it goes off on numerous tangents that aren’t really connected to anything worthwhile. Loved seeing Moore and McCormick in supporting roles, but neither of their characters are developed beyond a superficial level which is a shame. Isn’t nearly as thrilling as a film in the thriller genre should be.
The concept and premise of this film is actually a clever one that if in the right hands could have been so much more impactful and thrilling, but the way they present things here just doesn’t work well at all.
Bean himself has always been a very solid actor but his performance here is quite mediocre and any attempt by him to make his character or the situation he finds himself in to be realistic fails to deliver.
The movie has much too many plot holes within the story which detract so much from being able to enjoy what they give us.
This is especially true when the story goes off on pointless tangents that don’t add to the story at hand at all.
Loved seeing Mary McCormack and Joel David Moore in supporting roles, yet neither is utilized nearly enough here and they both come across as being caricatures which is quite a shame.
For a thriller, this film is lacking heavily on the thrilling or suspenseful moments that would make it fit even better into the genre…
Pity….
Bottom Line – Very interesting concept that unfortunately isn’t presented very well at all. Bean is a solid actor, but he fails to make his character or the situation that he finds himself in seem realistic enough. The story is filled with way too many plot holes that detract from the enjoyment of this idea because it goes off on numerous tangents that aren’t really connected to anything worthwhile. Loved seeing Moore and McCormick in supporting roles, but neither of their characters are developed beyond a superficial level which is a shame. Isn’t nearly as thrilling as a film in the thriller genre should be.