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Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World
8.0
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Summer 1867: four-year-old Daisy Belle is about to make her debut at the Lambeth Baths in London....
Historical Fiction
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (1986) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Following a continued trend of alternating duff and good movies, here comes the most ‘non-Trek-like’ movie in the series: “Star Trek IV”, aka “Whale Meat again”.
By watching the films in sequence, I find the destructive alien ship approaching earth to be an obvious re-tread of “The Motion Picture” premise. But beyond that, the plot is completely bonkers. The time travel is trivially referenced as if they are nipping down to the local shops. But once there, there is fun to be had. Cue lots of comical fish out of water (no pun intended) situations for the 23rd century crew:
Spock’s attempts to utilise colourful language;
Chekov asking San Franciscans for directions to the “nuclear wessel”;
“Computer?” asks Scotty to the Commodore 64 on the desk… (we won’t tell them that they don’t have to wait 300 years to be able to talk to computers!)
Catherine Hicks nicely plays the cute marine biologist and love interest (and only 10 years Shatner’s junior!) – – although her reaction to discovering the ‘truth’ is a rather unbelievable “oh!”. (Later edit: oops… dodgy maths…. the age difference between Shatner and Hicks is actually 20 years!)
All in all, although rather shoving its Greenpeace-style credentials down the viewer’s throats, this is a fun and family-friendly outing in the series.
By watching the films in sequence, I find the destructive alien ship approaching earth to be an obvious re-tread of “The Motion Picture” premise. But beyond that, the plot is completely bonkers. The time travel is trivially referenced as if they are nipping down to the local shops. But once there, there is fun to be had. Cue lots of comical fish out of water (no pun intended) situations for the 23rd century crew:
Spock’s attempts to utilise colourful language;
Chekov asking San Franciscans for directions to the “nuclear wessel”;
“Computer?” asks Scotty to the Commodore 64 on the desk… (we won’t tell them that they don’t have to wait 300 years to be able to talk to computers!)
Catherine Hicks nicely plays the cute marine biologist and love interest (and only 10 years Shatner’s junior!) – – although her reaction to discovering the ‘truth’ is a rather unbelievable “oh!”. (Later edit: oops… dodgy maths…. the age difference between Shatner and Hicks is actually 20 years!)
All in all, although rather shoving its Greenpeace-style credentials down the viewer’s throats, this is a fun and family-friendly outing in the series.
ClareR (6236 KP) rated The Hurricane Wars in Books
Jan 19, 2024
I think I came at this book from a completely different angle than all the 1-3 star reviews I’ve seen, because I thoroughly enjoyed it! The world building was perfectly done - I believed in these places, customs and conflicts. The magic element was exciting, and Talasyn’s journey to learning how to control and use her magic was fascinating.
And then there’s Talasyn’s love interest. Alaric uses a magic that’s the opposite to Talasyn’s - dark to her light. When their magic accidentally merges during a battle and creates a new, immensely powerful magic, Alarics interest is piqued. Talasyn hates Alaric and his kingdom - or does she?
There’s a lot of sexual tension going on in this book, and Alaric and Talasyn have a rather combative relationship. There was a part of me that just wanted them to sort it out, but there’s a lot of water under the bridge between these two, so it’s understandable.
So, I’m looking forward to the next book for a lot of reasons: there’s the “will they/ won’t they; whether Alarics father will ruin everything or not; whether the continents will survive the ensuing natural disaster; whether Talasyn will harness her powers in time; what’s going to happen to Talasyn’s friends?!
So many questions and I’m just going to have to wait!
And then there’s Talasyn’s love interest. Alaric uses a magic that’s the opposite to Talasyn’s - dark to her light. When their magic accidentally merges during a battle and creates a new, immensely powerful magic, Alarics interest is piqued. Talasyn hates Alaric and his kingdom - or does she?
There’s a lot of sexual tension going on in this book, and Alaric and Talasyn have a rather combative relationship. There was a part of me that just wanted them to sort it out, but there’s a lot of water under the bridge between these two, so it’s understandable.
So, I’m looking forward to the next book for a lot of reasons: there’s the “will they/ won’t they; whether Alarics father will ruin everything or not; whether the continents will survive the ensuing natural disaster; whether Talasyn will harness her powers in time; what’s going to happen to Talasyn’s friends?!
So many questions and I’m just going to have to wait!
Morgan Sheppard (1028 KP) created a post
May 29, 2026
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2579 KP) rated Fallen Star in Books
Nov 26, 2025 (Updated Nov 26, 2025)
Body in a Barrel
LA County Sheriff Detective Eve Ronin and her partner are called to the scene of a body found in the Malibu Lagoon. Of course, it couldn’t be a body floating in the water. That would be too easy. In this case, the body was found floating in a fifty-five-gallon drum. What’s even more shocking is that Eve recognizing the victim. With his ties to some of the most powerful people in the county, can she find the killer without getting impacted by the politics of the case?
This book does contain some heavy spoilers for earlier stories in the series by necessity, but there is enough background you could jump in here. And what a wild ride it is. The plot spins in some unexpected directions, but I believed it all on the way to the logical climax. The characters are a little thin, but I do care about them. And I appreciate the depth we did get for Eve. The banter between the characters was fun, and the locker room humor was kept to a minimum. The violence was a little more than in the books I typically read. I’m ready for the next already, and fans of the series will be glad they picked this one up.
This book does contain some heavy spoilers for earlier stories in the series by necessity, but there is enough background you could jump in here. And what a wild ride it is. The plot spins in some unexpected directions, but I believed it all on the way to the logical climax. The characters are a little thin, but I do care about them. And I appreciate the depth we did get for Eve. The banter between the characters was fun, and the locker room humor was kept to a minimum. The violence was a little more than in the books I typically read. I’m ready for the next already, and fans of the series will be glad they picked this one up.
Palaces and other Prisons (Part of: Tinsel and Tentacles 3.0)
7.5
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Sometimes the world is actually ending… Dawson Hill is used to the routine and isolation of...
MM Paranormal Romance
Merissa (14020 KP) rated The Dragon’s Fake Mate (Bad Dragon's Bride, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2023
THE DRAGON'S FAKE MATE is the fourth book in the Bad Dragon's Bride series and features Starla, the bad-ass witch who looks after her girls, and Mars, her emotionless, psychopathic stalker. We've met both of these characters before and it's hard to say which one is scarier!
I loved how both of them had a story to tell, with both of them having a rough go of it and both coming out the other side. Okay, so they're both damaged too, but when they realise that together they make a whole, it was brilliant.
For me, this book is easily the best of the series. I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books but this one blew them out of the water. The pacing is perfect and the story flows without any wasted words. The way the trust these two find in each other was shown was sheer perfection.
I'm really REALLY hoping Diesel gets his HEA though. He's one dragon who has stolen my heart!
All in all, the jewel in the crown (so far, for me) in this series and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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!
I loved how both of them had a story to tell, with both of them having a rough go of it and both coming out the other side. Okay, so they're both damaged too, but when they realise that together they make a whole, it was brilliant.
For me, this book is easily the best of the series. I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books but this one blew them out of the water. The pacing is perfect and the story flows without any wasted words. The way the trust these two find in each other was shown was sheer perfection.
I'm really REALLY hoping Diesel gets his HEA though. He's one dragon who has stolen my heart!
All in all, the jewel in the crown (so far, for me) in this series and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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!
Six Sweets Under
5.0
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In a cute new culinary cozy from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox, budding chocolatier Becca...
ClareR (6236 KP) rated The Water Dancer in Books
Feb 9, 2023
The Water Dancer byTa-Nehisi Coates is a book of contradictions: a book beautifully written about a shameful time in history.
Hiram is taken away from his mother as a child when she is sold to another owner. When his feats of memory are recognised by his owner/ father, he is taken in to the big house and educated. As he gets older, all Hiram wants is to be free to choose his own life and to have his own family.
When Hiram runs away, he eventually finds himself involved with the Underground Railway. And that is where he learns to control his ability to “conduct” himself to different places to help people.
I love magical realism and the way it makes us think about the way the world works in reality, as opposed to how we’d all like it to work. Hiram’s ability to conduct himself immediately to another place takes all the risk out of capture, the miles of struggle and needing to stay hidden. Of course, Hiram only gets to this stage after he experiences the trauma and inhumanity of being caught by the slave catchers himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - I listened on audiobook, and the narrator Joe Morton was amazing. Especially his singing - his voice just brought the characters to life.
A fabulous novel.
Hiram is taken away from his mother as a child when she is sold to another owner. When his feats of memory are recognised by his owner/ father, he is taken in to the big house and educated. As he gets older, all Hiram wants is to be free to choose his own life and to have his own family.
When Hiram runs away, he eventually finds himself involved with the Underground Railway. And that is where he learns to control his ability to “conduct” himself to different places to help people.
I love magical realism and the way it makes us think about the way the world works in reality, as opposed to how we’d all like it to work. Hiram’s ability to conduct himself immediately to another place takes all the risk out of capture, the miles of struggle and needing to stay hidden. Of course, Hiram only gets to this stage after he experiences the trauma and inhumanity of being caught by the slave catchers himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - I listened on audiobook, and the narrator Joe Morton was amazing. Especially his singing - his voice just brought the characters to life.
A fabulous novel.