Marjorie
I first learned about Hannah Hart on her YouTube show, “My Drunk Kitchen,” and I introduced her videos to many of my friends and family. I was hooked by her creativity, funny cooking puns, and life morals after every episode. On film she is a positive force. I didn't know that from the comedy came a hard and trying life. She is an inspiring person with a story everyone needs to read.
Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded is a collection of journal entries, essays, and memories of Hart's life experiences which lead her to who she is today.
This book is incredibly moving. She talks about growing up with a mother who struggled with mental illness. She talks about her sisters and her slow understanding they weren't living like others. Her complicated relationship with her father and step-father. How that realization still affects them today. But she also still tries to help others by showing how she has overcome her battles with self-harm and stress. I felt a close connection to Hart's struggles with depression. And was making mental notes to try some of the exercises she uses to work through tough times.
It wasn't all doom and gloom. Hart did a great job of mixing the sad with the funny. It was nice to learn the beginnings of “My Drunk Kitchen,” the work that went into creating the business and the content she does today. Also, the meaningful friendships she has developed and the honesty of learning to embrace her sexuality, faith, and self worth.
She is an excellent writer. Her voice is strong and comes through as completely authentic through her writing. It reads as if Hart is sitting with you sharing her story. It takes a lot of courage to open up but by doing so she will help many others.
Thank you to Dey Street Books, HarperCollins, and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for this review which had no weight on the outcome of the rating.
Expected publishing date for Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded by Hannah Hart is October 18, 2016.
I received this ARC from my job and this, in no way, impacts my review.
A reality TV show where twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face survival challenges that will test their stills. While they are out there a flu spreads but is it natural or is it man-made and how far has it spread? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of the outside world. When one of them—a young woman called Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game. As the story continues she is tested physicality and mentally but Zoo thinks no matter what they do she will not give up. But what happens when it becomes just way to real.
What a great premise. It was a little slow to hook me but all of a sudden I almost missed my subway stop. The author is clear when switching between past and present time. I thought the way Zoo's mind dealt with certain situations was believable. I thought Zoo was a great character. The novel was short, entertaining, and very well written. I think people who watch reality TV shows will love this book. This is the author's first novel I can't wait for the second!
I received this ARC from my job and that in no way sways my review.
Lo Blacklock is coming off a stressful break-in and a big fight with her boyfriend and she can't let that stop her from her possible big break. She works for a travel magazine and she has finally been given the assignment that could prove to her boss she had what it takes: a week on a small luxury cruise. Everything seems perfect, until one night when Lo thinks she sees a woman tossed overboard but when she reports what she sees, all passengers are accounted for. Lo knows what she saw and starts digging but with the more she find will she be able to stay afloat?
It's hard to find locations in modern times where no cellphones/internet access is a thing except in the middle of the sea. It creates a great setting for an Agatha Christie type mystery and adds some realistic scenes. The writing is strong allowing the suspense to build well. In the time period of psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators the author allowed Lo's story to feel easy to believe and hang on to. Lo has her personal issues but the self doubt and strength she builds played better through the book.
Although I like the reveal moment the pace slows down and goes for on for a bit too long after that. I haven't read this authors first book but with the strong writing I would add it to my to-read list.
Her Fierce Warrior by Paige Tyler is the fourth book in the X-OPS Series. It is a paranormal suspense romance if the cover didn't give some of the genre away. Kidnapped and experimented on, Minka escapes the laboratory cage from scientist's who torture. On the run she is found by Special Forces soldier, Angelo. Can she trust Angelo, the only thing that can calm the beast inside, when she's not even sure she can control herself around him. Angelo recognizes a hybrid when he sees Minka and to help get her to safety he calls his former team leader, Landon. But Minka and the beast inside are only calm when Angelo is near so Angelo's protective instincts kick in and sticks with Minka, falling for the other each moment together.
I haven't read any other books in this series and wasn't confused when placed in this world. The world building was strong. The dialogue and characters were developed. The storyline was fun, and interesting with shady government cover ups, evil corporate dicks, as well as friends that help strengthen Minka's control.
What I like the most about this book was the growth Minka's character had through the story. She really gained a believable amount of confidence and strength.It had nice action sequences especially at the end. I like the therapy sessions featuring other shifters (I'm sure from other books) and the small glimpses into their lives.
I would recommend this book to people who like this genre. Can't wait to read more of the people and shifters in this world. Another ARC from my job and it in no way sways my review.
I received an ARC from my job. It in no way sways my review. I have read Deanna Raybourn's Julia Grey series and I loved them so I was excited to hear the author is writing another historical fiction series with another strong female protagonist at the center.
Veronica Speedway has no attachments after burying her aunt. She is finally free to resume her travels abroad with scientific studies involving her passion, butterflies. But when she returns home from the funeral finds an intruder that tries to kidnap her. With help from Baron Maximillian von Stauffenbach they defeat the kidnapper. The Baron reveals he knows about her past and believes she is in danger. Offering a ride to London and the promise to answer her questions she excepts. But when he drops her with an old friend of his, Stoker, for protection she finds herself thrown into an exciting adventure when the Baron is discovered murdered.
This was an amazing novel. The book is fast paced and keeps the adventure moving, fun, and never dull. I really enjoyed Veronica Speedwell. She is nothing like Julia Grey but still very likable. She was smart, stubborn, and funny. She is not the romanic troupe readers of historical fiction have been bombarded with and it's refreshing. I loved her fight to be the independent woman not excepted during those times. Stroker was a little hard to pin down. He is grouchy and tight lipped about his past. I thought he could be prickly but he definitely grows on the reader. It could be because of the interaction and relationship between Veronica and Stroker. Their dialogues throughout the book are smart conversations and arguments which grows and helps the characters see each other as equals.
I can't wait to read more mysteries involving these characters and see where their relationship can go. I'm sad to say goodbye to Lady Julia Grey but Veronica Speedway is a worthy successor. I am certainly recommending this book to others.
Published in 1869, it is astonishing the then future technology that was imagined in this Science-Fiction novel. It tells the story of Professor Aronnax after he, his servant Conseil, and Canadian whaler Ned Land wash up on Captain Nemo's submarine the Nautilus. They embark on an underwater adventure that takes them around the world.
First off, while reading this, I had to keep reminding myself the technology thought up for this novel was ahead of it's time. I did skim over some Verne's extensive scientific descriptions but the action and plot were really riveting. There is a clear picture painted of this underwater world and I loved the distribution of the life under the sea. The author leads his characters and the reader to the red corals of the Red Sea, lost shipwrecks from historic battles, and the discovery of Atlantis. And the pace of the story improves when the characters use diving suits to go pearl hunting and fight a giant squid. The biggest mystery is not in the depths of the ocean but the people themselves. The reader is the witness to the curious Captain Nemo's decisions and it is only hinted at why the Captain choices to exile himself from the world. While I'm okay with the mystery of the Nemo's past and motive, it does make you wonder about a man who will give a whole pouch of pearls to a poor Indian pearl diver but at the end destroy the lives of so many and leave his men up to a possible devastating fate.
I think this is a very worth wild read if you can get pasted the scientific jargon. It will not be a read for everyone but I am happy I read it.
I must say I liked this novel. This classic novel is Austen's Gothic parody. Catherine's love for reading the genre and over active imagination adds humor to the novel. There is a great scene where Catherine is snooping and unlocks the mysterious cabinet. Expecting to find something horrible, and finds only laundry bills. You feel embarrass for her but she has to fall a few more times before she learns to control her imagination. Northanger Abbey also deals with situations common to teenagers today. Catherine learns lessons of peer pressure, bullying, and reading people. I was angry by the Thorpe's manipulative, and ambitious ways but, by the end of the novel, Catherine learns to read people.
Favorite Quote: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not the pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
I believe this is a 3.5. This book has been compared with Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl but I think the only thing they have in common as novels is the unreliable narrator. The character's lives are clique gender roles. None of the characters are likable. Everyone is dysfunctional in some extreme way. The story dragged in some areas and just made the reader want to skip to the end. Also, that could be because key information is withheld until the end of the novel and the suspense element was working it magic. The author uses great elements of suspense to tug the reader in and hook them. I would still recommend this book to other readers. I could see it making an excellent Hitchcock style film.
I didn't love Little Women. It was a very moral based read and could be slow at times. Each chapter could stand on it's own with a lesson learned. Now days a woman doesn't need a good marriage to reach true happiness but it was a different time when this story was written and many lessons, like not allowing money to control you, can still apply today. Some chapters I enjoyed more than others. There wasn't much excitement or enthusiasm behind most life events. Maybe this style or writing is what left me less emotionally attached to the four sisters. If I only read the Little Women portion of the book I may have given it four stars on my Goodreads account but I must say I was surprised when what I expected to happen didn't.
I learned, when published, part two was a second book, Good Wives, which continues their story and this is where I struggled. The second half is where the story considerably slows downs. I can't put my finger on what changed. Everything just seemed more mundane. The interesting bits of their lives are farther apart and gets buried. If I was going to rate this portion of the book separately I would give Part two, two stars.
I rated the book three stars out of five stars. If I ever come back to this classic I will not continue past part one.