A Water Matter is about The Dancing Mistress who is non-human and has powers that humans don't know about. These non-human feline species live among tA Water Matter is about The Dancing Mistress who is non-human and has powers that humans don't know about. These non-human feline species live among the humans but their numbers aren't that great. Then one day, a Shaman who is a human calls for The Dancing Mistress and wants their power and he also knows the language and the ways of The Dancing Mistress' people.
It was an interesting premise but the writing wasn't very captivating. But a good short story nonetheless.
The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles is a story about a small cat who survives earthquakes, fires, abductions and cold weather among other things. It wThe Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles is a story about a small cat who survives earthquakes, fires, abductions and cold weather among other things. It was also a story about belonging and finding your place in the world. The small cat is in search for her fudoki and she goes from one place to the other and eventually makes her way to the North.
I loved the illustrations more than the story itself and the writing was good but not as engaging for me as others have found. I liked it but didn't love it.
It's not bad but just when the story was getting more interesting, it ends abruptly. That title has nothing to do with the story except that Francis sIt's not bad but just when the story was getting more interesting, it ends abruptly. That title has nothing to do with the story except that Francis starts to read in bed in the beginning.
I liked the writing and would read more by this author but this was very inconclusive and unsatisfying.
Folktales from Ravka contain three short-stories - Little Knife, The Too-Clever Fox, and The Witch of Duva. All these short-stories are so good. TheseFolktales from Ravka contain three short-stories - Little Knife, The Too-Clever Fox, and The Witch of Duva. All these short-stories are so good. These are dark, twisted stories and would appeal to people who like Grimm fairytales. I have re-read these many times and I cannot get enough of them. My favorite from this bunch is The Witch of Duva. This was the creepiest and gave me chills, and I loved it.
Yeva is the daughter of a Duke and her beauty is so enchanting since her birth that the nurses have tried to steal her until her father hired a blind Yeva is the daughter of a Duke and her beauty is so enchanting since her birth that the nurses have tried to steal her until her father hired a blind nurse and every man who even glances at her becomes smitten and wants Yeva for himself. Yeva is not just beautiful but also kind but her father is greedy and his greed causes his destruction but also sets Yeva free.
Leigh Bardugo is the queen of dark, full of twists short-stories. I cannot get enough of these.
The Too-Clever Fox is about an ugly looking fox who saves himself from getting killed and trapped again and again using his wits.
Leigh Bardugo's folkThe Too-Clever Fox is about an ugly looking fox who saves himself from getting killed and trapped again and again using his wits.
Leigh Bardugo's folktale short-stories are pretty amazing. The stories start one way but end up in an entirely different way. Even though this was a bit predictable since I saw that on the cover, I still enjoyed it.
Music and art is not for everyone but only the Plutes and they are the only ones who can make money off it. A cognitive surgery is done for a hefty prMusic and art is not for everyone but only the Plutes and they are the only ones who can make money off it. A cognitive surgery is done for a hefty price and then the person wakes up all talented and gets consumed by whichever field of art they choose and Chanson industries holds the patents and copyrights for those surgeries. It is illegal otherwise especially for the Plebes.
Orpheus Chanson is the heir to Chanson industries and he likes music but doesn't want to have the ASA, the cognitive surgery but his father is pressuring him into it since all his friends have had the surgeries by now and they are all excelling in their chosen fields. Orpheus's fear comes from his sister since the cognitive surgery didn't go right for her and she barely functions and lives in a MediPlex with nurses looking after her. Then one day, he runs away and ends up working at a warehouse like Plebes work.
Zimri Robinson is a Plebe and works at a warehouse and lives with her grandmother. She loves singing and making music and also throws illegal concerts and whatever money she makes, she gives to the needy.
Orpheus and Zimri end up meeting at the warehouse where Orpheus goes by the name of Aimery. There's an instant connection between them where Zimri finds him to the most beautiful boy she's ever seen and Orpheus thinks that she's got her own grace and beauty. I hated this instant infatuation or whatever this was. Up until that moment Zimri was thinking about Dorian and almost kissed him and then walks in Orpheus and a love triangle.
I loved Orpheus from the beginning and I could actually see that he was caring and supportive. He cared for his friends and his sister. I liked Zimri in the beginning up until she was a bitch to Dorian. I found her to irresponsible when she knows that music concerts are illegal why do all that and get everyone in trouble. Yeah, she loves music but doesn't mean she had to get Dorian and others tagging along when it suited her purpose and then be a bitch to Dorian and I didn't even like Dorian all that much mostly because he was barely there in the story except for the love triangle part. And this is supposed to be a thriller, love-story but it takes one week for both the MCs to feel these deep feelings towards each other that I was thinking to myself, what?
The book starts off really slow and I DNFd twice before I decided to continue mainly because I loved the cover but it still didn't make any sense why there was a Dragonfly on the cover though. Yes, dragonflies were mentioned in the book but they weren't important enough for the cover imo.
For the first 80 pages, it was really boring except for Orpheus's chapters even those weren't enough to keep me going at one point but it picks up when Orpheus runs away. It was a predictable story and I could see all the revelations from pretty much the beginning even that DJ HiJax one. Also, what was that about Zimri singing Nobody from Nowhere when auditioning for Piper McLeo? Even an idiot could see that she will steal that song and spin a whole story about it.
It was an interesting concept which was not executed properly and had all the other YA dystopian clichés such as the star crossed lovers, childhood friends turned almost lovers, love triangle, girl being so different and talented, missing or dead parents, mean girls and you get the point. There were times where the author actually interchanged words Plutes and Plebes and I had to re-read just to make sure that I didn't read it wrong.
There were a lot of other characters including Zimri's best friend Brie but not much was said about her and Tati who helps fix technological items but none stood out for me. They were all one-dimensional and extremely forgettable.
Having said all this, I still enjoyed some parts of it and I really did find the concept wonderful and interesting. Also, I like that this is a standalone.
P.S. Can we please have other Indian names beside Rajesh/Raj and Ravi? There are literally millions of other Indian names that can be used.
Lou lives in an apartment with a cat and one day he buys a CRIMESTOPPERS™ VIDEO CAMERA from eBay. Whenever he presses shoot on the camera, who ever isLou lives in an apartment with a cat and one day he buys a CRIMESTOPPERS™ VIDEO CAMERA from eBay. Whenever he presses shoot on the camera, who ever is in the camera's frame commits a crime. Lou then blackmails them and shares half the loot with them. He comes across three people and spends time with two of them but when the batteries run out, the cat gets shot and dies, those people turn on him and his loot money turns out to be counterfeit money.
It was an interesting concept that I really liked in the beginning but it fizzled out towards the end for me. Writing wasn't bad. Overall a good story that left me wanting more.
When I read The Rain Is a Lie from this world, I knew that I had to read more from this Crewel world but this was not as good as the The Rain is a LieWhen I read The Rain Is a Lie from this world, I knew that I had to read more from this Crewel world but this was not as good as the The Rain is a Lie unfortunately.
It is still an interesting read but it didn't read as a stand alone. I think things would make more sense once I actually read the series but it was still mysterious enough for me to enjoy it.
What's the weather forecast for today? Well, to be honest I didn't check. But that's not the case in Arras because the weather forecast is announced eWhat's the weather forecast for today? Well, to be honest I didn't check. But that's not the case in Arras because the weather forecast is announced each morning and one morning before prime ministership elections, overnight rain is announced.
That same day nine year old James accompanies his mother to a shopping trip at the co-op and he meets a strange man who etches a message on one of the benches at the rail station. The message reads, 'the rain is a lie.' That same night it rains all night long but when James wakes up the next morning, there's no sign of rain or mud and his parents don't remember the rain from the night before. Is it real? Well, I have chills.
It is a mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I also found out that it is a short story for a series and I obviously want to read that. The writing was brilliant.
It was an interesting premise that shows how we humans always want to conquer death any which way. The lengths we go to console ourselves that there iIt was an interesting premise that shows how we humans always want to conquer death any which way. The lengths we go to console ourselves that there is an afterlife but in reality, no body knows what there is and what there isn't. A very engaging beginning but just before the end, I found myself getting bored.
The first book in the series didn't do justice to Ram's character in my opinion and it talked about irrelevant things. It wasn't a good start to the sThe first book in the series didn't do justice to Ram's character in my opinion and it talked about irrelevant things. It wasn't a good start to the series but I like Amish's imagination. 2 stars
The second book in the series was better and I liked Sita's character. Writing was much better than the first book and the second half of the book was action packed. 3 stars...more
A short-story from Four's POV. How can I resist? Yeah, I can't get enough of Four. He's my favorite character from the Divergent series and I just lovA short-story from Four's POV. How can I resist? Yeah, I can't get enough of Four. He's my favorite character from the Divergent series and I just love him. I'll read anything from his POV. I read this after I read the other short-stories from Four's POV (I didn't know this came out a long time before the other short-stories).
I loved Amar and Four together in this. A very interesting read and again I wish that if Divergent could have been from Four's POV.
Tamara Tafika is an archaeologist. Naturally, she loves everything stone-related from ancient stone circles to ruins. She likes to go sit at the SheepTamara Tafika is an archaeologist. Naturally, she loves everything stone-related from ancient stone circles to ruins. She likes to go sit at the Sheepstones in summer to have some quiet and peaceful time. On one such evening, when Tamara is sitting quietly and contemplating, she comes across a silver-haired woman who knows all about Tamara but Tamara doesn't know this stranger. On top of that, she offers Tamara a job to be a syndicate.
All Tamara has to do is to identify Arthur, in turn, one, and take the baby away to a safe, defended place and oversee their education and all that, protect them, plus catalyse the revelation of their identity later. Which in simple terms mean that Tamara would be playing the role of Merlin. Sounds simple enough until Tamara really finds out what this Game is all about.
I found the first few paragraphs not very captivating but once the silver-haired woman showed up, it got interesting. It felt like a teaser for a longer book at the least if not a whole series because of that ending. A fantastic short story that I enjoyed very much.
Lucia hails from an Italian family and she lives in New York city sharing an apartment with her friend, Autumn. She has a successful career but her faLucia hails from an Italian family and she lives in New York city sharing an apartment with her friend, Autumn. She has a successful career but her family doesn't recognize her career as a success since she is still single. They want her to get married and have kids. It doesn't help that her younger sister is married and is also pregnant.
It's not that she doesn't want a relationship. In fact, she wants that more than anything but she's had her heart broken one too many times so she's really cautious and also it is hard to meet guys when you are busy in your work. Her friend, Skyler suggests that she get on this online dating app called, Chat Love. Lucia can't decide whether she wants to online date or not since online dating is considered for losers. But when her friend makes a profile for her, she decides to give it a chance. She meets some disastrous dates, some of them fun and some funny too. But she isn't having any luck. When there is a date that she thinks is great, there is no chemistry and she wants passion above all else in her relationship.
She also has someone in her office that she likes but he's been too rude to her and also it doesn't help that the guy is infamous for sleeping around. With more and more pressure from her family plus her bad luck with online dating and the fact that she really wants a relationship, will she be able to find what she's looking for?
Chat Love came out in 2012, when online dating wasn't as popular as it is today. The blurb sounded fascinating and this was recommended to my by one of my Goodreads friend. Also, the description says that the characters are inspired by the four famous Sex and the City characters so obviously I wanted to read this. So what went wrong?
It started out really well. I loved it in the beginning. Lucia is a career woman and she has her best friend Danni who not only helps Lucia with her dates and finding men, she also helps her in her career since Danni has connections and knows every important person in the city. Her disastrous of a date with a guy who was too good to be true only to be let down by a nasty personal habit of his, it was absolutely hilarious. We also get to know of Lucia's past relationships and what went wrong with them. But then it got repetitive. Lucia wants a relationship and she keeps whining about it. Her parents want her to be in a relationship too but she cries about it saying that they don't see me as success without a husband and kids. She was such a hypocrite, she wanted the same thing as her parents so why cry about it when her parents call her out on this.
She was also the worst best friend anyone could have. Her friends, Danni, Skyler and Autumn even the guy friends Ian, Wayne and Corey who have been friends with her since they were kids, are always there for her. They are always encouraging her and listening to her complain about everything but when she meets a man, she has no clue what's happening in any of her other friends' lives. She hasn't even seen her best friend, Danni for over a month let alone anyone else. But she comes back to them as soon as something goes wrong with the man she's been spending time with.
Then there was the fact that I hated the guy she was interested in. Jackson, whom she works with and has a crush on was a complete jerk. He mistreated her each step of the way. But because she liked him, it was all right as there was passion in the relationship. Not to mention he was oh so strong and tall and rich and she felt safe in his strong arms and he could buy her gifts and cook for her and blah blah blah. These are actual lines in the book. To top everything else, there is a backstory given to Jackson explaining why he is the way he is with Lucia and other women. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman whom Jackson loved so much and was engaged to but she was a complete B and broke his heart in million tiny pieces and since then he is the way he is so it's all the woman's (in his past) fault and not at all his own.
There was a lot of tug and pull. Lucia tells him that she likes him but he tells her that he isn't the man she deserves and he wants to be worthy of her. To be worthy, he spends time with her and makes out with her every chance he gets plus he is still dating other women on the side. When Lucia gets to know that, she confronts him but he says that he told her from the start that he wasn't the man for her. Then they stop seeing each other but then they start seeing each other again with no development at all and the whole thing from the first time repeats until they stop seeing each other but the same thing happens again for the third time and they stop seeing each other for the same reasons. You get the point.
Whilst all this was going on, Lucia was talking to a guy online named Jack but he didn't have his picture on the profile and she gets attached to him. And at one point she is torn between Jack and Jackson. Turns out that Jackson is Jack, shocking! and he is also attached to this woman online. He didn't know it was Lucia that he was talking to because Lucia was using her middle name, Pia and also she was using a photo from 6-7 years ago where she had dyed her hair blonde but in her real life she has brown hair. After finding out all this, Lucia calls him a liar. Umm! dude you are the one who's been lying and using a photo from ages ago and he was at least using the name Jack instead of Jackson which could very well be short for Jackson. No, she doesn't see that, hypocrite I told you.
There was also a scenario where in the beginning Jackson keeps touching her every chance he gets in the office (way before she made her feelings known) but she doesn't think there is anything wrong with that but when another guy at work touches her, she feels uncomfortable. Why? Because she has the hots for Jackson so it's all good and justified but she doesn't like the other guy so yeah, there's a problem. The problem should have been in both cases but whatever. Also, Jackson dated other women but keeps getting jealous even if Lucia talks to any other guy and he tells her that it is bothering him. She finds it so romantic and cute that he is getting jealous and she tries to make him jealous even more by grabbing a stranger and dancing with them but when the stranger grabs her, it is an issue. Why? Because she's a woman and it gives her the right to grab a guy but it doesn't work if a guy grabs you after you grabbed the same guy? It works both ways not when you feel it convenient for it to work for you. I believe in equality for better or for worse.
For all the hoopla about online dating, there was not much mention of conversations that happened there except for couple of emails. There were lots and lots of grammatical errors too. At least in the copy that I was reading from.
There was overwhelming description of what everyone looked like. I'll give you some excerpts -
*Jackson is thirty years old and single by choice, or so I hear. He's handsome in a manly way, sporting blue-gray eyes, messy hair, toned muscles, and a permanent five o'clock shadow covering his chiseled jaw, plus long fingers that make you imagine what he can do with his touch, a deep voice that sounds like he just woke up after a long night of sex, and an ass that always looks good in a pair of jeans or trouser pants - not that I notice or anything.
*I look back to Autumn's table and take a good look at John. He is pale, with brown hair, brown eyes and a nice smile.
*He is a tiny, buffed-up, orange-tinted man who obviously spends too much time in both the gym and the tanning salon.
*Her brown eye reveal intelligence and she politely offers her hand to me as an introduction.
These are just some of the examples. There are sentences like that throughout the book. Lucia was a shallow, annoying, selfish, hypocrite, whining person who was never there for her friends and it was always about her. I did like her in the beginning but as the book progressed, I liked her less and less and by the end, I hated her completely.
"Everybody keeps saying that but you all know that I'm not that kind of woman. I don't need a man to make me happy." I say, frustrated. This was said in the last 10-15 pages of the book after she constantly complained throughout the whole book that she wants a guy and she was jealous of her friends finding love and being happy.
When Skyler gets married, Danni and Autumn aren't even at the wedding including Ian, Wayne and Corey even though they are supposed to be best friends. Also, I thought that at least Lucia would be a bridesmaid but she wasn't, she was just a guest at the wedding. I didn't understand that since it was advertised as characters inspired from Sex and the City and those characters were all there for each other and stuff except when they were fighting. Also, if I hadn't read that in the description, I wouldn't have been able to guess that the characters are inspired by Sex and the City characters.
I hated Lucia's sister as well. Even though I didn't like Lucia's character, her sister was even more annoying. She threw Lucia being single in her face every chance she got. Yeah, there is some sibling rivalry but all this was just too immature and hurtful in my opinion.
The reason my review is such a detailed one is because I am sick of seeing characters in the books like Lucia and Jackson. Lucia is supposed to be a modern, independent, career woman who needs no man but all her actions and monologue are completely different. Like I keep saying, hypocrite. And Jackson - he's so handsome and treats women like they are some playthings but all his behavior is justified because he's damaged and his heart was broken by a woman. I am so sick of this.
The author approached me by offering up a free copy of this after she saw it on my to-read list. Whilst I was not able to use the copy provided by the author as the issue with the link that she sent wasn't resolved. Amazon didn't allow me to use that in Australia and I had to migrate my account but couldn't because I don't have a USA address and contact number so that didn't work, I had requested my local library to acquire a copy of this and they did and here we are with this review. But still I'd like to thank the author as well as my local library in this instance.
I really wanted to love it and I tried really hard to love it but I just couldn't. I am giving it two stars because there were some things that I did enjoy like Lucia's dates as I understand they are author's own personal experiences plus other characters were quite good too.
Death is an end, an emptiness, a darkness. People want to believe in the light. Go to the light, they say.
Jennifer works at a toy company in product dDeath is an end, an emptiness, a darkness. People want to believe in the light. Go to the light, they say.
Jennifer works at a toy company in product development department. When she has to work on a project creating a line of Twinkle Fairy Dolls, she needs to do some research on the subject and gets to reading the classics. As she continues working, she finds out more and more information. Her father has Alzheimer’s and lives at the board-and-care home and she visits him often.
I didn't know what to expect before reading this but I was surely not hoping to like it as much as I did. A simple yet wonderful story full of marvels that changes the way one sees the world. Are things the way they seem to be? May be not. Writing was good and it was the main highlight for me and kept my interest in the story. I really enjoyed it.
I have never read anything about were-rats so it makes for a very interesting read. Along with were-rats, it also has vampires and warriors. I liked tI have never read anything about were-rats so it makes for a very interesting read. Along with were-rats, it also has vampires and warriors. I liked the fact that vampires can turn into a mist form and I also liked the characters even though Kit seemed a little immature but I don't mind as long as her character develops in the series. Writing was really good and this short story has definitely piqued my interest enough to read the first book.
Caris is a wannabe journalist in Bakerstown. When Caris hears rumors of pushback from a group of people in one of the factories in Metaltown, she knowCaris is a wannabe journalist in Bakerstown. When Caris hears rumors of pushback from a group of people in one of the factories in Metaltown, she knows that she's found a story that's going to prove her worth so she follows the rumors but would she find the story she's been looking for?
I was expecting a dystopian story with a full-on dystopia world. Whilst it starts pretty good with a young, ambitious sixteen-year-old female wanting to be a reporter and get that one story to make her career and for people to take her seriously, it soon becomes a story of instant attraction to a boy who saves her from some goons but could be dangerous himself as she doesn't know him but she trusts him anyway. I think the romance was totally unnecessary and I wish there was more explanation about the dystopian setup, the very reason that I actually read the story.
A lost civilization and its only remnant is a music box without a key. That music box sits in a now collapsed and abo“Would you like to hear a story?”
A lost civilization and its only remnant is a music box without a key. That music box sits in a now collapsed and about to be closed museum. Someone is reminiscing about the days past and the memories.
For lovers it was traditional to exchange music boxes carved by hand.
Writing was absolutely beautiful with enchanting words. It was like reading an old-worded poem (I love reading old worded and old poems). It was an interesting premise but it never really developed into anything more. I also didn't like the pointless ending. Yes, it is open to one's interpretation and I tried but I couldn't like it.
An interesting story about father and son bonding in their own way. I really liked the country/rural setting of the story. It was well written and kepAn interesting story about father and son bonding in their own way. I really liked the country/rural setting of the story. It was well written and kept me on an edge. It was not a bad story but it still fell short for me as it ended without much explanation and I wish there was more explanation about Angel hunting as well.
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