Search
Search results
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Elite (The Selection, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
The Selection has narrowed down to just six girls. Who will win the Prince and the crown?
**Please be aware of SPOILERS if you have not read The Selection**
Tensions rise as the selection is narrowed down. True motives are shown and more than one heart is broken. The intensity dramatically increases in The Elite. Rebel attacks become more frequent and violent. Passion is heightened and the stakes are higher than ever. Who will stay and who will be sent home?
"It wasn't like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn't some explosion; it wasn't fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out." - The Elite Page 298
I found The Elite even more engrossing than The Selection. An excellent continuation of the series. Kiera's writing improves with this book and I was very impressed. Little things in the dialogue from The Selection were ironed out in The Elite. As America's diplomatic training progresses, so does the writer evolve with her. Excellent!!! While the passion is slightly intensified, it remains "clean". Nothing goes farther than passionate kissing. Again, parents please use your own discretion for your kids. Already started The One...And I was smart this time...I also have The Heir in my possession. The Crown is the fifth and final book in the series, and is due to be released in May. I can NOT wait!!!
**Please be aware of SPOILERS if you have not read The Selection**
Tensions rise as the selection is narrowed down. True motives are shown and more than one heart is broken. The intensity dramatically increases in The Elite. Rebel attacks become more frequent and violent. Passion is heightened and the stakes are higher than ever. Who will stay and who will be sent home?
"It wasn't like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn't some explosion; it wasn't fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out." - The Elite Page 298
I found The Elite even more engrossing than The Selection. An excellent continuation of the series. Kiera's writing improves with this book and I was very impressed. Little things in the dialogue from The Selection were ironed out in The Elite. As America's diplomatic training progresses, so does the writer evolve with her. Excellent!!! While the passion is slightly intensified, it remains "clean". Nothing goes farther than passionate kissing. Again, parents please use your own discretion for your kids. Already started The One...And I was smart this time...I also have The Heir in my possession. The Crown is the fifth and final book in the series, and is due to be released in May. I can NOT wait!!!
This book was not for me
I want to say something positive about this book. Okay, it is a quick read, I actually wanted to continue reading it although I am not sure if my reasons for this were because of enjoyment. I chose this book as I am going to be writing a part memoir for my dissertation. I liked the synopsis because I enjoy a bit of humour. In the past I have read (and enjoyed) a book by Mike Gayle called 'Turning Thirty' which I thought, and hoped, this book would have been similar. WRONG!!!!
Edwards basically writes some (I believe) far fetched memoir but mingles it with self help bullshit that has been regurgitated from other peoples ideas. I am confused by the author's objectives. Whilst I appreciate any woman who is a good and opinionated feminist, I feel that Edward's 'Sisterhood' is cringey. The writer comes across as middle class and perhaps would have benefited from excluding her middle class status to seem less arrogant to working class readers.
I learned of a technique for essay writing in college (PEE) Point, Evidence and Evaluation. This is a formula that Edwards uses throughout her book and it makes the flow very artificial instead of conversational.
On the plus side, it was her first novel, and she managed to write it and publish it. It just wasn't for me.
Edwards basically writes some (I believe) far fetched memoir but mingles it with self help bullshit that has been regurgitated from other peoples ideas. I am confused by the author's objectives. Whilst I appreciate any woman who is a good and opinionated feminist, I feel that Edward's 'Sisterhood' is cringey. The writer comes across as middle class and perhaps would have benefited from excluding her middle class status to seem less arrogant to working class readers.
I learned of a technique for essay writing in college (PEE) Point, Evidence and Evaluation. This is a formula that Edwards uses throughout her book and it makes the flow very artificial instead of conversational.
On the plus side, it was her first novel, and she managed to write it and publish it. It just wasn't for me.
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies
Nov 12, 2019
Was great just not as good as the last
Homecoming was so much fun that, in a way, "Far From Home" had an almost impossible task. In the 10000000th reboot of the comic hero favourite, Marvel got it spot on, having this Spiderman be a geeky kid on a journey of self discovery, awkward in his neediness and unsure of his capabilities. Its created a vulnerable Spiderman that everyone can relate to and love and most importantly root for.
Far From Home is post 'Endgame' and sees Spidey thrown into the unwanted position of being one of the few Avengers around. Now he has to take on a ew threat where things are not all they seem to be but no spoilers here.
What lets this film down compared to its predecessor is there is a lack of surprises and character growth for Tom Holland to play with. However its still a lot of fun as we see him become night monkey and fight the forces of darkness once again, this time through various locations in Europe (I'm sure the writer just put some European cities on their wish list and wrote a movie around it just so they could stay).
Its still a lot of fun and loveable. I just want a little more but there is no way this franchise is stopping yet.
Far From Home is post 'Endgame' and sees Spidey thrown into the unwanted position of being one of the few Avengers around. Now he has to take on a ew threat where things are not all they seem to be but no spoilers here.
What lets this film down compared to its predecessor is there is a lack of surprises and character growth for Tom Holland to play with. However its still a lot of fun as we see him become night monkey and fight the forces of darkness once again, this time through various locations in Europe (I'm sure the writer just put some European cities on their wish list and wrote a movie around it just so they could stay).
Its still a lot of fun and loveable. I just want a little more but there is no way this franchise is stopping yet.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales in Books
Apr 2, 2020
Another great collection of stories
I feel like I need to include a preface with all of my Stephen King reviews, or some form of disclaimer, to warn any readers that he is my favourite author so my review may not be as neutral as it could be. Either that or he really is a great writer 😆
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Erika (17788 KP) rated The Starless Sea in Books
Apr 25, 2020
This book made me question as to whether or not Morgenstern's @The Night Circus was really as good as I remember.
This is the second novel by Morgenstern, and I was really excited to read it. The description sounds amazing. I liked how the book was organized, cutting to different stories, and all of the references to literature.
However, there was almost zero plot. The main character, Zach, was kind of... no, he was completely boring. Maribel was mysterious, which was alright, but there didn't seem to be a payoff behind the mystery. 'Dorian' was an ok character, but nothing to write home about.
I really liked the first half to 3/4ths of the book, and I thought it was coming to a close. I looked at how many hours were left of the audiobook...
THERE WERE FIVE FLIPPING HOURS LEFT. I was shocked. This book could have definitely been wrapped up sooner. It was just two long, and with a non-existent plot, it made it really hard to get through.
Sorry, this novel was just ok. I only rated it as high as I did because in the end, the beginning was good enough to outweigh the end. If you like literature, and want to slog through this book, go ahead and try. There's no doubting that Morgenstern is a fairly good writer, but but length and need to tighten up the story makes me question the judgment of her editor.
This is the second novel by Morgenstern, and I was really excited to read it. The description sounds amazing. I liked how the book was organized, cutting to different stories, and all of the references to literature.
However, there was almost zero plot. The main character, Zach, was kind of... no, he was completely boring. Maribel was mysterious, which was alright, but there didn't seem to be a payoff behind the mystery. 'Dorian' was an ok character, but nothing to write home about.
I really liked the first half to 3/4ths of the book, and I thought it was coming to a close. I looked at how many hours were left of the audiobook...
THERE WERE FIVE FLIPPING HOURS LEFT. I was shocked. This book could have definitely been wrapped up sooner. It was just two long, and with a non-existent plot, it made it really hard to get through.
Sorry, this novel was just ok. I only rated it as high as I did because in the end, the beginning was good enough to outweigh the end. If you like literature, and want to slog through this book, go ahead and try. There's no doubting that Morgenstern is a fairly good writer, but but length and need to tighten up the story makes me question the judgment of her editor.
The Life of Mr Richard Savage
Samuel Johnson, Nicholas Seager and Lance Wilcox
Book
The Life of Mr Richard Savage was the first important book by an unknown Grub Street hack, Samuel...
The Lost Imperialist: Lord Dufferin, Memory and Mythmaking in an Age of Celebrity
Book
Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2016 Frederick...
UF
Unforced Flourishing: Understanding Jaan Kaplinski
Book
Are we ill-suited for this world? Among Europe's major contemporary poets, Estonia's Jaan Kaplinski...
Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper
Book
Revelatory investigation into the police handling of the Yorkshire Ripper Case which spanned over 14...
Peake in China: Memoirs of Ernest Cromwell Peake
Book
Dr Ernest Cromwell Peake was the first medical missionary to arrive in the region of Hankow, inland...