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Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Bayou Bride (Sweetly Contemporary Collection Book 3) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Blake Page; Review: I felt like the plot took too long to develop. It was tooo predictable as well. I loved, however the tension between the adversaries.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Men of Intrigue; Brand: Visit Amazon's Doreen Owens Malek Page; Review: How lovely to see strong yet gentle men so well represented. The plots were true to life with great conflicts and battles. Loved them all!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Her Mr Perfect Christmas - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Melissa Jolley Page; Review: Plot moved toooo quickly, but story was great. Loved doms character. Would love to see a sequel or maybe one with Kaye.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The First Touch (Templer Series Book 1) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Duka Dakarai Page; Review: It has been a long time since I have read a tender yet fierce love story! I myself am in love with Drew. Frm the first moment he "crashed" onto the scene, I could not stop reading. What SUPERB writing. What o me s so touching is that the incredible love scenes only added to the deep romance and love that came across between the characters! Wow! What fabulous writing. I can't wait to read Jake and Mia's story. They NEED their own....they almost stole Drew and Tillys limelight. Can't wait!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kate's Kisses (Sweet Treats Bakery) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Mary Manners Page; Review: This story to me was too one-dimensional. The characters felt a bit under developed. I feel as though a longer plot, where the conflict could have been better developed with more description of first time round hurt/ pain, was needed. I still loved the story, but felt shortchanged on the description that gives readers a connection to the characters.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Everything I Left Behind (Men with Badges Book 1) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's JC Emery Page; Review: Absolutely fantastic writing! If you want a great read with characters that are realistic, warm, if crude, well rounded and current. Such an emotional story was woven! They were written to represent the real world stress that marriages, friendships, relationships at work and in life go through. The story held me spellbound; and truthfully the only sort of disconnect came for me at the ultra crude character introduced at the beginning in the airport. How he morphed into the semi rude one sort of threw me for a loop. I felt like he should have been cast in the more favorable light FIRST, as it made take a little while longer to fall in love with...and to understand why Colleen did. Regardless...it was a read I could not put down, and was sorry when it came to an end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Job Offer - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Eleanor Webb Page; Review: If you want a touching story this is it. In spite of that however I thought that a few of the events of the plot moved a bit too quickly. I felt a bit of disconnect between neither of the characters knowing who the other was. Altogether I still loved the story. Their very real love made up for the small flaw.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Waiting For You eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Tracy Tegan Page; Review: I was thoroughly moved by the intense depth of the story line and the too real characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: All These Pieces Of Me (The Stables Book 1) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's C.E. Kilgore Page; Review: Many see but few know the intricacies of the mind that is touched by grief, hurt, pain; Kilgore has plumbed the depths of mental, physical and emotional anguish so beautifully that I am left forever impacted. I have never had the fortune to read a love story so powerful that it brings to light the truth that even those society deems "scarred" have stories that can change a life, a perspective, and even the ability to foster acceptance of differences. These characters were so real, so believable, and had such depth that I am challenging you to crack open this book and dive head first into a love story that will touch you to the quick! Powerful!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Kindle_Store |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Lisle 49200 Heavy Duty Snap Ring Plier; Brand: Lisle; Review: Easy to use with multiple pins. 1 1 1 1 1 m1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 `1; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Edge Eyewear TSMAP218 Dakura Polarized Safety Glasses, Black with Aqua Precision Blue Mirror Lens,Edge Safety Eyewear,TSMAP218,TSMAP218" />; Brand: Edge Eyewear; Review: These shades compare similarly to the WileyX Airrage I own, except in price. The tint is not quite as dark though.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kobi Electric K1L9 15-watt (75-Watt) A19 LED 2700K Warm White Light Bulb, Dimmable; Brand: KOBI ELECTRIC; Review: Heavy and sturdy with a 5 year warranty. Have had no problems with the 50 or so bulbs I bought. I am seeing the saving from these already. It cost a little more but you get a whole lot more than most other brands.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ThruNite TN32 UT/TN42/TN42C Thrower Flashlight; Brand: ThruNite; Review: Good light. I'm not sure why I bought this and not the TN36. I have a TK75 which is brighter. Anyway, good thrower. I'll get the TN36 later.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ottomanson Softy Solid Red Set of 7 Skid Resistant Rubber Backing Non Slip Carpet; Brand: Ottomanson; Review: We love these things. They stay in place and our dog is not afraid to go up and down the stairs anymore.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Desk Lamp Aglaia Table Light 7W 12 LEDs with Flexible Neck and Lamp Shade, Suitable for Reading and Studying; Brand: Aglaia; Review: Just what I needed to work with. 3 brightness settings plus usb charger, which is cool.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hatch Dura-Thin Search Glove; Brand: Hatch; Review: The best motorcycle gloves for cool to warm weather.....IMO.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Swiss Legend Men's SL-30050-BKBSR Karamica Collection Chronograph Black Ceramic Watch; Brand: Swiss Legend; Review: Watch band requires special tools to resized. Could not find a jeweler locally that had the tools to do it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fruit of the Loom Men's Pocket T-Shirt Multipack; Brand: ; Review: Wish the cloth was a little heavier. Other than that, the tee's are great.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lindsay Phillips Women's Kelli Flip Flop; Brand: Lindsay Phillips; Review: love these snap flops; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Simplicity Women's Long Knitted Stretchy Fingerless Gloves; Brand: Simplicity; Review: great service, pretty, for my mom when she is at computer in the AC; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lindsay Phillips Switchflops Sharyn Slide Snap Shoe; Brand: Lindsay Phillips; Review: love all of her shoes!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lindsay Phillips Switchflops Mischka Bronze Snap; Brand: Lindsay Phillips Switchflops; Review: love; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lindsay Phillips Jordi SwitchFlop Women's Slim flip flop Snap Sandal; Brand: Lindsay Phillips; Review: love; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lindsay Phillips Jordi Pedi Set Go SwitchFlops Womens Sandals and 3 Nail Polishes; Brand: Lindsay Phillips; Review: love; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Apprentice (A Spell for Kia Book 3) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's J. P. Larson Page; Review: I liked how the series started, with a strong willed young lady. But in the second book and continued into the third book she has been turned into a victim where everybody abuses her for her own good. And she just accepts it. There comes a point well you have to let them make their own decisions and mistakes. It's part of growing up. Very disappointed with this third book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Extermination (Daniel Black Book 3) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's E. William Brown Page; Review: I have liked all 3 books in the series. Interesting characters and interesting plot.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Defend or Die (Aakron Annihilation Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Jack Kirk Page; Review: I like a high tech book as much as the next person but enough is enough. This book is 80 percent tech detail and 20 percent story. Had to stop reading half way through coudd not handle any more detail.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Martial God Asura; Brand: Visit Amazon's Kindhearted Bee Page; Review: I am assuming that this is a good book in it's org. language. But this translation is really bad. How it has gotten the reviews it has with translation this bad I can't imagine.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hero at Large; Brand: Visit Amazon's Timothy Ellis Page; Review: I tried to read this book twice. But both times I just could not get past the glaring inconsistencies. Example, when the space station is attacked by pirates the only person on the entire station who can fly out and save it is a 16/18 year old kid. Even though the station does have military personal on board.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Early Years (The Beginning After The End Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's TurtleMe Page; Review: Not a deep book, or great American novel. But for light enjoyable read it worked out very well. I enjoyed it for what it is.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ninth Euclid's Prince eBook; Brand: Daniel M. Hoyt; Review: While the main character has an interesting back story. The main character is boring and less interesting then the surrounding characters. You keep hoping he will get better but he never does.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Hunter's Kiss (Princeps Venator Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Niall Teasdale Page; Review: I have to say that it is not up to authors normal standards. Who the main character is flip flops through the book. It's almost if the entire book is an opening chapter, not a stand alone book by itself.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Journeywoman (A Spell for Kia Book 4) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's J. P. Larson Page; Review: Once again, the main character is degraded/beaten up and yet still asks for more please. She had a backbone at one point and that's when it was fun to read. Disappointed.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Dragon eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Greg Curtis Page; Review: The author created a character that you can't help but root for, even as he is battling his own demons. It's a one man saving the galaxy story, but in a way that you can't help but enjoy. This is one I would really like to see have a sequel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Absolute (Discipline Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's P. S. Power Page; Review: I am fan of the author and have enjoyed most of his books. However this one is not up to his normal standards. Most of the book is character development with not a lot of story. I kept expecting more to happen and it never does. Also feels like a lot of his character Proxy from the Infected series was duplicated in this book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wrecker's Moon eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Patrick McClafferty Page; Review: The author created a main character that is interesting enough to hold your attention through an entire story. Unfortunately then created plot holes that you have to force yourself through to keep going with the book. What are the odds of 15 year old girl born/raised on a pirate moon, just happens to be the first person on a crashed ship just in time meet the father she has never know as he dies.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The King of Las Vegas - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's John Van Stry Page; Review: It has a nice twist on the whole supernatural/vampire/were genre. Vampire/wares are no longer the king of the hill. It has nice character development in the main character trying to not be the worst he could be but at the same time living up to the potential of what he is. And of course the whole Elvis piece is just an amusing twist that works. Does make me think that the author must be real cat person taking into account he used cats as the main character in the Portals series and now in this book. I do think that the book was somewhat compressed. In that it should have been two books. One leading up to him becoming established in Las Vegas and coming into his powers and then another covering the development of his relationship with Janet and take over of Las Vegas.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord Athina (The Books of Athina Book 1) eBook; Brand: Danny C Estes; Review: The book takes a modern day man who owns his own construction business and drops him into the body of a young girl in medieval times with magic. And he arrives as she is giving birth, so an extreme shock to any man. So you have the potential for some significant character development and some nice action. Unfortunately the author immediately wrote out most of the opportunities for the character to do anything other then act like a 16 year old girl. Why bother to write a story about a older person from a more advanced world if you are not going to allow that aspect to be a significant part of the story. I even read all three books, hoping for more. The male personality struggling with the female body was well developed and nicely written, however the book was only half of what it should have been.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Ark eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Christopher Coates Page; Review: This was not your typical end of the world novel. Rather then being focused on one main character that saves all the survivors. You have multi characters that are well developed and work to save what they can of a world that is going to die. It also had well thought out tech. that was consistent through out the story. Not my normal read but I enjoyed this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Insurrection (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 5) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's T S Paul Page; Review: I have stayed with this series because I liked the premise behind it. An engineer that survived on her own for 11 years after being left behind after a battle. I have been disappointed in the first four books because they were more like partial stories. Now finally in this book there is actually a detailed story. Now this is what made me want to scream. 90% of the book was about a mutiny on a naval destroyer heading towards Hong Kong and 10% about the main character. Now while a detailed story is what I was waiting on, this much detail on the mutiny did not add any value to the story. I am really hoping that the author will continue this level of detail in future books while maintaining a clearer focus on the plot.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Red Angel; Brand: Visit Amazon's C. R. Daems Page; Review: I found the book not up to the author's usual standards. I could not get past the inconsistencies that popped up early in the book. The bad guys pull off well planned thefts multiple times, but are not smart enough delete the internet cookies off their inside persons tablets. Not once but twice therefore leaving a trail. Then five people with a fatal illness are able to steal a military shuttle, fly it to orbit and then land in a naval docking bay before being noticed. Then act like idiots chasing the main character around the ship. Think the author should have done more research into computer communications and naval protocol and ships.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Cosimo Yap Page; Review: The story has an interesting twist on the LitRPG genre that gives it a lot of potential. The writing itself is good, with no real grammatical/structure issues. The plot is alright with only a few holes that I had to just ignore to keep reading. The main issues I had with the story is that the main character is just boring and brings nothing to the story. It would have been more interesting to have the AI be the main character as the AI was doing most of the work. I finally had to stop reading at about 80% because I could not handle the main character any more.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pawn (The Pawn Series Book 1) - Kindle edition; Brand: Visit Amazon's Robin Roseau Page; Review: I have read about half of the authors books. I have found her books to be consistently well written. The reason I have only read half of her books is that it seems that half the time the stories just don't work. Example being her Fox series worked well, while the Amazon series was just weak. This book is working. The characters are interesting and well developed and the storyline is compelling. The only issue I had was that the ending seeming rushed, and left me thinking "what the heck just happened".; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Aebeling (The Casere Book 1) eBook; Brand: Visit Amazon's Michael O'Neill Page; Review: While I am a fan of this genre, this book does not get it. The main character is one dimensional and with no depth to the him at all. Is a master at all that he does and knows everything better then everyone around him. While the plot line had potential the author failed deliver on it.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Kindle_Store |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: A-MAZE-N 12'' Pellet Tube Smoker Oval Design; Brand: A-MAZE-N; Review: I love our smoker tube! I added this to our Traeger and it works great. I like that I can add a little extra smoke and not have to worry about cleaning out the creosote.. I own a smoke daddy as well and find myself only using the tube anymore.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pillow Perfect Outdoor Forsyth Wicker Loveseat Cushion, Turquoise; Brand: Pillow Perfect; Review: Bought this for a wicker couch that I bought at a thrift store. It looks great and held up great for the entire summer last summer.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A-MAZE-N 12'' Pellet Tube Smoker Oval Design; Brand: A-MAZE-N; Review: I bought this one as a wedding gift. I had bought one about a year prior to this and use it all the time on my traeger. I also own a smoke daddy big kahuna and find that I like and use this tube smoker more than the smoke daddy! Easy to fill, easy to light, and easy to use!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Classic Accessories 55-411-011501-00 Veranda Grill Cover for The Weber Performer; Brand: Classic Accessories; Review: Bought this for our weber performer grill. It fits great and seems very well made. Has straps for tie downs. Love it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bear Butt Hammock Straps - Best XL Lightweight Portable Hammocks Tree Strap for Outdoor Camping, Hiking & Backpacking; Brand: Bear Butt; Review: These straps are 100% worth the investment! I bought these to go with my bear butt hammock. They make it so easy to hang my hammock, and quick! I love that you can choose your color to match your hammock. Highly recommend these straps. Faster, Easier and Stronger than the ropes!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Patio_Lawn_and_Garden |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Bones Reds Skateboard Bearings 8 Pack; Brand: Bones; Review: Great bang for the buck as always! You can't go wrong with Reds!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brunswick Remove All Ball Cleaner Bottle; Brand: Brunswick; Review: Works just fine at cleaning the ball. But I believe it's just over priced Windex. It certainly smells and looks just like window cleaner as far as how it cleans and how fast it dries. But since I'm not entirely sure of this, I can't give it anything less than 5 stars since the product does work great at cleaning my ball.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ebonite Ultra Grip Rosin Bag; Brand: Ebonite; Review: Works great! But note that this is not meant for a smooth release with your bowling ball! Only use if you are having problems with the ball slipping off your fingers and need some extra grip. If your thumb is sticking, then you will want to use Ultra-Slide made by Ebonite. I have both products in my bowling bag and both work great for their intended purposes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Storm Bowling Shammy Bowling Ball Cleaning Pad; Brand: Storm Bowling Products; Review: Awesome product! Wipes the oil off much better than any towel!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bolle Mojo Snow Goggles; Brand: Bolle; Review: Good quality. I ordered Lemon since that is a #1 as another reviewer mentioned. 0 would be clear. #1 is slightly tinted. #2 is better for sunny days and so on. The only thing I wish it had was a simple clip on the strap to allow me to clip it around my beanie. This is a solid elastic strap that is adjustable. But I'm not going to let that effect my rating. I just wish it had better pictures. I wouldn't have ordered it if I knew it didn't have a connector clip on the strap. It would also have been better if the description specified the level of tinting for each color. But as mentioned, refer to the other reviewer's comments which gives the number for each color.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SOFTSPIKES Cleatkaddy Golf Wrench; Brand: SOFTSPIKES; Review: Works great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Practice Stick Ball Shagger / Retriever by ProActive Sports; Brand: ProActive Sports; Review: Works great! Fits in my stand bag just fine.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Greens Towel Microfiber (3 Pack), 16" X 16" with Carabiner Clip. The Convenient Golf Towel; Brand: Greens Towel; Review: My new favorite golf towels! These are much better than the expensive towels. I have one of those towels where you can wet the inside and keep the outside dry. It's bulky, heavy, and hard to clean your clubs. These lightweight microfiber towels clean the grooves VERY well. I keep two on my bag. One stays half wet and one is dry.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wedge Guys Complete Golf Grip Kit for Regripping Golf Clubs - Professional Quality - OPTIONS Include Hook Blade,; Brand: Wedge Guys; Review: Definitely a nice starter kit. But don't trust the squeeze bottle. Mine arrived slightly cracked where it leaks out of the cap. But I'm sure I'm the exception. Go ahead and buy this if you want to get started on some basic supplies.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: BreakMaster Digital Green Reader; Brand: BreakMaster; Review: (I am a 4 handicap) Works fantastic! After months of use, I am a MUCH better green reader now. This little thing has changed the way I see/feel slope on the greens. I also have charted out the greens on my home golf course. The process really helped trained my eye. Now that I trained my eye and the slope I feel with my feet, I don't really need to refer to my yardage book anymore. I am able to trust my reads now even at new courses! I would also recommend that you get a putting mirror to help with your alignment. Those two things have dropped my average putts per round by about 2 putts. I now average 30 putts instead of 32.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Northfork; Brand: Duel Farnes; Review: This is a top-notch film. Sometimes funny, sometimes grim, sometimes dreamlike, and always gentle. I've watched it three times, and each time is better than before. The closing words of Nick Nolte, whose strong and gentle portrayal of the Father alone is worth the price of admission, say it all: we are witnesses to the birth of things and the death of things. The town of Northfork is drowned, but nothing ever really ends. If we can live our lives in such a way that we learn not to fear death, then we will come to understand the fullness of life. The journey toward that knowledge is not easy, as this film shows. But in that knowledge, we reach a kind of beautiful transcendence.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Fisher King; Brand: David Pierce; Review: The only reason this movie doesn't get five stars is because of the occasional over-acting of Robin Williams. Williams, who so often gets out of control and overshadows the other actors, does exercise enough restraint in this film to make his character sufficiently rounded and believable as an ex-professor tormented by the tragedy that took his wife's life. Jeff Bridges portrays the darkness in his character, Jack, magnificently. Jack, a radio "shock jock" sets into motion a tragic event that destroys his career and sends him hurtling toward self-destruction. "Do you ever get the feeling," he asks, "you're being punished for your sins?" In this sense, THE FISHER KING is like the dark underbelly of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Jack doesn't discover he's done good in the world, but realizes his own capacity for evil. He wants to atone, but he wants to do it the easy way. As he tearfully relates to his energetic and devoted lover (Mercedes Reuhl), "I wish I could just pay my ticket and go home." And he does try various means of atonement until at last he realizes he must give his all in order to find grace. Bridges is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. His acting in both STAR MAN and THE FISHER KING is amazing; he brings out just the right balance of humor and tragedy in his characters. I've seen THE FISHER KING many times. Each time I reflect on how much our actions matter. In a now famous speech, Bobby Kennedy once spoke of sending out a tiny "ripple of hope," of how that ripple would spread and grow. THE FISHER KING warns us that negative energy acts the same way, spreading, growing. And, the movie warns us, what goes around comes around. I can't express the theme of the movie any more simply than that.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Empire Falls; Brand: Various; Review: No, this was not the worst movie I have ever seen, but it was very disappointing, especially given the cast of fine actors. I enjoyed NOBODY'S FOOL, a film adaptation of a Russo novel, but EMPIRE FALLS had very few moments of authentic emotion. Hoffman, as the doomed lover of Miles Robey's (Harris) mother (Penn) does give a quietly affecting performance. Penn is also affecting as the mother who swallows her dignity and sacrifices her chance at love for the sake of her small son. However, these performances are not enough to carry the movie. Harris, usually a strong actor, is curiously low-key, as though going through the motions of acting rather than actually acting, and Newman's portrayal of Robey's much-absent father is too farcical to ever elicit any sympathy for his character. Perhaps the worst aspect of the film is the overly dramatic plot element of the Columbine-like shooting, which tips Robey's daughter over the edge and is supposed to provide the resolution of the conflicts. I found such a devastating event to be unwarranted in a movie that, up until that point, seemed to be a satirical comedy about a disentegrating town. Moreover, many of the characters' motivations are not effectively portrayed. I also found the voice-over narration to be distracting, irritating, and out of step with the rest of the movie. All in all, this movie did not raise itself above the quality of a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie. The movie is almost completely devoid of emotion, and it also lacks dramatic tension, making it mostly a dull experience with brief moments of charm.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pather Panchali VHS; Brand: Kanu Bannerjee; Review: I'm sorry to see that as if this date Amazon has no copies of this film for sale. I hope this is temporary. It would be a shame if this film were not made available for people to own. I have all three DVDs of the Apu trilogy. This, the first in the trilogy, is the best one, I think. Three of the major themes are the irrevocable nature of loss, the power of human love, and the simple but powerful ways we experience redemption. Many reviews focus on the title character, Apu, yet this is also a powerful portrayal of various phases of women's lives: maiden, mother, and crone, if you will. Durga, the maiden, is often described as a petty thief, yet her acts often seem heroic to me and serve to underscore the pettiness and selfishness of her neighbors. Why should Durga have to steal guavas from the land that used to belong to her father? Why can't the neighbors share? As for stealing the beads, Durga's desire for something pretty, while not so heroic, is perfectly understandable when one realizes how little Durga is appreciated in a family that dotes on Apu, the boy. Yet there are no villains in this film. All characters are fully rounded. The mother, who often seems cruel, is also a sympathetic character who tries to keep her pride in tact while descending deeper into poverty all the time. The grandmother is, to me, the best character of the bunch. She's as mysterious as she is mischevious. The petty bickering between Durga's mother and grandmother doesn't show an absence of love but results from the pressures of day to day survival. The women, in fact, are woven into the same tapestry of life. In one brilliant shot, the mother is shown holding her weary back while the grandmother, bent from years of hardship and work, shuffles in the background. Life is hard and the inevitability of old age is just around the corner. How is one's hard work and sacrifice repaid? Are we destined to end up like Durga's grandmother, whom nobody seems to want? Nobody, save Durga, who has a pure heart and shows her love by bringing lovingly her hungry grandmother stolen guavas. The people and situations are never sentimentalized, not even the death of the grandmother, whose body is discovered by Durga and Apu. Yes, this is the story of Apu, a young boy, but it's also the story of the three main phases of women's lives. This film is rich visually and is one the viewer will think about for a long time. One of my all-time favorite films. PATHER PANCHALI is the best of the three, but THE WORLD OF APU doesn't miss this distinction by much.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Grizzly Man; Brand: Timothy Treadwell; Review: It's been several months now since I watched GRIZZLY MAN, and it just won't leave my mind. First, it is NOT a documentary about bears; it is about the contrasting points of view of Timothy Treadwell and Werner Herzog. Unlike Treadwell, who views nature in utopian, teddy bear terms (Treadwell actually takes his childhood teddy bear with him on his expeditions), Herzog sees nature as chaotic and dangerous. Yet Herzog, a master at what he does, is never judgmental. He portrays Treadwell, rather, as a kind of innocent whose death, while not a surprise, is nevertheless genuinely tragic. Watching the story evolve, one begins to wonder about Treadwell's mental state during the time he was filming his own "documentaries." Was Treadwell an innocent or was there a darker element involved in his choices: Was he mentally unstable? Herzog never says for sure; he leaves it for the audience to decide. This, I think, is what makes the film so moving and unforgettable. Herzog invites us into Treadwell's world but never tells us how to feel or what to think. Rather, Herzog takes us out of our comfort zone and makes us deal with ambiguities. Moreover, the music is hauntingly beautiful. The DVD includes a feature about how the music was created, Herzog calling all the shots from which musicians to use (none of the musicians had ever worked together before GRIZZLY MAN) to how the right tone should be struck for each scene. Watching the amazingly talented Richard Thompson create and play is a real treat. GRIZZLY MAN is a highly sophisticated film and will not disappoint those with an open mind and those interested in the modern philosophical view of nature. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Donnie Darko; Brand: Jake Gyllenhaal; Review: This movie is about learning to live. Donnie Darko is a troubled 15 year old who thinks life is absurd and meaningless because, in the end, everyone dies alone. Set in the Fall of 1988, the movie is about personal transformation and how through your own personal transformation you can change the world. The 1988 Presidential election serves as a handy backdrop for the despair caused by alienation and apathy. The country has emerged from 8 years of conservatism under Ronald Reagan and has a choice to make. This larger sense of place echoes within the community, where conservative values are prominent and people fear change. The only kind of "change" people accept comes from the self-help guru who spouts shallow epithets; whereas real works about transformation and change are shunned and called "pornographic," such as Graham Greene's short story which says, in part: "It was as though this plan had been with him all his life, pondered through the seasons, now in his fifteenth year crystallised with the pain of puberty." This could not be a better description of the angst of adolescence and of Donnie Darko himself, now in his 15th year, who is searching for the "plan" he needs to accept the yin and yang of existence: that destruction and creation work together to create change. Donnie is the only student in the class who understands the Greene story. When called upon by his teacher he says the story is saying that "destruction is a form of creation. So the fact that they burn the money is..,.ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. They want to change things." But how does one find transformation in a world that seems to offer only diminished possibilities? In a world that believes acquisition leads to happiness? What Donnie ultimately discovers--which is why he laughs and smiles at the end of the movie--is that meaning is found through your creative engagement with life and through the mark you leave on the world. The song "Mad World" truly encapsulates the thematic concerns of the movie beautifully. The music video, included as a special feature, is valuable in itself. Highly recommended movie.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Come Back, Little Sheba; Brand: Burt Lancaster; Review: This is a powerful drama. Lancaster plays a sort of Jeckyll and Hyde character named "Doc": calm and refined when sober, angry and dangerous when drunk. The scene in which, drunk, he attacks his wife, Lola, is harrowing. I've seen few scenes to beat it in terms of intensity and believability. Doc buries his disappointments in drink and harbors a deep suspicion of women's sexuality. Indeed, he is obsessed with female purity; thus the fact that Lola was pregnant before their marriage weighs heavily on him, and Doc, like Lola's father, never forgives her for this sexual "mistake." Booth, as Lola, is heartbreakingly poignant. The dominant symbol in the film, Lola's lost dog, Sheba, represents Lola's lost self: her youth and her dreams. Because she has no where to go when Doc becomes "sick" again, she is forced to resign herself to being a housewife who whitewashes her problems just like she gives her wooden ice box a fresh coat of paint. "You're all I have," Lola says to Doc at the end of the film. "You're all I ever had." Booth's genius in that scene is most evident. I once read that Inge, the author of the play on which this film is based, was an alcoholic himself and believed that each woman should always stand by her man. But one look at Booth's performance makes it clear that Booth didn't think so. Booth's Lola is desolate at the end of this film. Her mother and father won't take her in and her neighbor's only advice is "keep busy." This, Lola will do, as she must, as she has no choice, but at a high cost. The first time I saw this film I was 12 or 13 years old. I'm 50 now. I just watched it again tonight. I cried.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh; Brand: John Hurt; Review: Vincent Van Gogh is wildly popular today in ways he could have never imagined: his work is on post cards, in massive coffee table books, and on T-shirts, and he's even venerated in a pop song by Don MClean. Thankfully, this film by Paul Cox presents a more realistic view of Van Gogh, reminding us of the artist's anguish and the very great difficulty he had coming to terms with his sadness and inadequacies. Cox shows Van Gogh's need to give shape to his suffering through art. Van Gogh's life is rendered through his own words, from his letters, read by John Hurt, and through still imagery of the artist's sketches and paintings. These still images are interspersed with gorgeous nature shots, interiors, and the occasional effective recreation of spaces that inhabit Van Gogh's paintings. A really big bonus to this DVD is the interview with Paul Cox, in which you see how Cox's life somewhat parallels Van Gogh's in terms of childhood unhappiness, loneliness, and the need to express himself through imagery. This interview will appeal especially to artists because it is so inspiring. Cox reminds the viewer what art IS and why it is created and explains to us why there is so much mediocrity in film. Indeed, Cox's views on the need to rise above mediocrity are very similar to Van Gogh's.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wonder Boys; Brand: Philip Bosco; Review: WONDER BOYS is a story about making choices. It is about moving forward in your life and accepting yourself in a new role. The main character is Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas). Tripp is an excellent name for this character because throughout the movie, he experiences a series of falls, making it necessary for him to change his life. Tripp is a writer who had one successful novel but can't finish his second novel. This writer's block is symbolic of Tripp's inability, in essence, to take an active role in the transformation his own life. Douglas's performance of Tripp is masterful: sensitive, outrageous, and funny. James Leer (Tobey Maguire)is a younger version of Tripp. James has just finished his first novel, and in James, Tripp sees vestiges of his former self. Tripp, however, has lost his real reason for writing and has become jaded with writing and love. Leer is the perfect name for this character, since he "sees" into Tripp's soul and understands that the great man has become lost. Maguire's performace is as strong as Douglas's and in the same ways. At once we feel a fascination with James Leer, a great curiosity and also sympathy. James has talent but few people encourage him: this is why Tripp is so important to James. Tripp is the "best" teacher James has ever had because Tripp recognizes and tries to cultivate James's talent. At the same time, Tripp plays a fatherly role for James, initiating him into a larger, adult, world. Pittsburgh provides the perfect setting for characters who are trying to move from one shore to another in their lives. The characters continually cross one of the many bridges in that city, which is as beautiful in its hope as it is terrible with grit and despair. A series of events brings Grady Tripp to a point where he must make a choice about his life. Just as Pittsburgh is the place where three rivers meet (and thus is a place of magic and mystery, a sacred place), Grady Tripp is torn between three woman: the wife who has left him (who comes from an Ozzy and Harriet-type home); the young temptress (Katie Holmes) who is much like the women Tripp always "falls" for; and his mistress (Frances McDormand) who is more Tripp's age and who is his intellectual equal, if not his superior. A fun movie, packed with great sight gags, sensitive portrayals of characters, sophisticated choices by the director about setting and music, and witty dialogue. The DVD also offers the Dylan music video, "Things Have Changed" as a special feature.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beowulf & Grendel; Brand: Hringur Ingvarsson; Review: I am surprised at the negative comments about this movie. I am also a great fan of the epic, BEOWULF, having read it in highschool and college. I'm a university instructor and have used BEOWULF in my classes. (The Michael Alexander version is best). So I was very anxious to see this version of BEOWULF and was not disappointed. I thought perhaps the movie might have owed something to John Gardner's version of the story (GRENDEL). Gardner's GRENDEL goes a long way toward humanizing the "monster," but this movie goes even further, dropping the idea that Grendel was descended from Cain all together. In fact, the movie is a perfect representation of how the world has changed since the original epic was written. Our whole idea of heroes is different now. Hence Beowulf is conflicted and the differences between right and wrong are blurred. It is also refreshing to watch a movie that is filmed in a real location and not in front of a blue screen! The setting is bleak and beautiful. The acting is first rate. This movie is definitely worth watching.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Best of Americas Funniest Home Videos VHS; Brand: Bob Saget; Review: I know that I am probably in the minority in my opinion of this movie. This is my 50th Amazon review, and I generally only review goods, books or movies that I really like because I want to help shed some light on them for other people. Only one other time was I moved to give a negative review to something. I will preface my review by saying that it comes from a very personal place. As an artist myself, I think artists' efforts should be celebrated. I'm also all for artistic freedom. However, although I found much to like in this movie, on balance I found it to be just excessively vulgar. I like satire and I appreciated the fact that BORAT exposes elements of sexism and racism and almost every other kind of "ism." I especially appreciated the commentary on America's hyper-patriotism. But I thought the movie just went too far in its vulgarity and, as such, may be doing more harm to our society than good. We already live in a society where crudeness is rewarded by big money (Don Imus, Howard Stern). This in itself is a problem. Within that context, I find myself wondering why BORAT had to push the envelope so much: I just didn't think it needed to. So much of it was very, very funny: the running of the Jews, the scenes with the humor coach and the feminists, the scene where Borat is buying the car and is looking for a p*s** magnet. But other scenes are just too over the top: the nude wrestling match, the photograph of a [...], the [...] scene--why does the movie need these? For shock value? I am perplexed, truly. I also am a little concerned that many people won't understand that this is a satire. There is a fine line between attacking social conventions with humor and condoning those social conventions. I think this distinction is not always clear in BORAT. It does pain me to say these things, because there is much to like in BORAT. But we live in such a social climate of crass vulgarity these days that I find myself disappointed in the movie ultimately because I think it may be contributing to a climate of shallowness and an attitude of "anything goes." Many of my friends and colleagues like this movie, but I am troubled by it, and I think the maker of the film could have made better choices.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Y Tu Mama Tambien; Brand: Maribel Verd; Review: The coupling of sex and death is ancient. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a modern treatment of this theme. Two seventeen year old boys go on a road trip with a twenty-eight year old woman who is beautiful and who is dying. The boys don't know about her illness, however, and see the trip as an opportunity to further their sexual experience. They act as most seventeen year old boys do. They brag about their sexual exploits and their ability to please their girlfriends. Their dying companion takes it upon herself to teach the boys what women really want. Underneath this, though, is her fascination with the boys' youth and exuberance. Their bodies are strong and responsive, if a bit jittery and hard to control. Their energy is in stark contrast to her own, which must wane as her illness grows more severe. The road trip is replete with references to death. Even as the sexual adventure progresses, the boys' relationship with each other is also explored. One is rich, the other of a lower class. The boys have devised all sorts of chivalric rules to live by, yet the rules are broken. Not only do they sleep with each other's girlfriends, they relate to each other on the basis of social status more than they are willing to admit. The movie shows this in many ways, not the least of which is the way each acts when he visits the other's bathroom. This is a coming of age film which is not corny and which doesn't hide the more black elements of growing up and losing one's innocence. Yes, there is a lot of nudity, but the nudity is not exploitive or (...). It is natural and, I would argue, necessary to the film.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Bridge; Brand: Eric Steel; Review: _The Bridge_ was inspired by a 2003 New Yorker article called "Jumpers" by Tad Friend. The most disturbing, and the most controversial, aspect of the film is that you witness actual suicides as they take place. Steel was able to capture nearly all the suicides that took place in 2004 by setting up cameras and letting them run. Steel then interviewed friends and family members of people who jumped. What emerges is a story about intense pain and desperation, people who felt they were somehow on the outside of life. What also emerges is a story about the rest of us who really don't want to know about such things because they bring us pain. It's been nearly week since I saw the film, and I'm still haunted by the images, the people. I can't shake the thought that I witnessed their last act. One of them was a young man named Gene. I keep seeing him in my mind's eye, walking up and down the railing, his long black hair flying in the wind, waiting, searching, for the right moment to jump. This, of course, is Eric Steel's intent: I'm not supposed to be able to shake the images. I'm supposed to be disturbed by them. Watching, I thought of W.H. Auden's poem, "Musee des Beaux Arts": About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters; how well, they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. 1940 Steel wants viewers to make the connection to Auden's poem, I think. The spirit of the poem is suggested in the imagery several times. Steel shows us that suffering takes place all around us. Yet we don't notice because we have "somewhere to get to." We sail "calmly on." If you're looking for light entertainment or factual documentary, this film is not for you. I love dark themes and thought-provoking material, and I don't think anything else I've ever seen matches the intensity of this film. _The Bridge_ will encourage viewers to think deeply about artistic and social responsibility. And the film will engage you in a little known; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Factotum; Brand: Matt Dillon; Review: When you make a movie about a man who was as fiercely individualistic as Bukowski, you are bound to rub some of Bukowski's fans the wrong way. Each of us takes something different from the life and times of Bukowski. I have no doubt that many films will be made about Bukowski in the future; each will have its own vision. I've been reading Bukowski's work for more than twenty years and have always been drawn to the gentleness that I know exists within the hard man. So I loved this movie because it does touch, at times, on that gentleness. One aspect of Bukowski's nature that the film thankfully mentions is Bukowski's love of music: I wish the film could have brought that out more because I've always thought this was the keys to understanding the depth of this great writer. Music was Bukowski's sanctuary. However the film does an excellent job of portraying Bukowski's quest, which is not to be published, although every writer does seek that, but simply to live his own life and to write.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Quality Inn and Suites Downtown North; City: Austin Texas; Review: The neighbor hood is a shocker cause once you walk in it is very nice. Our room was decent, disliked all the bird poop and feathers outside of our window. The air conditioner sits right where the birds poop and was a little concerning to us. Not sure what we could breathing in. In the pictures the pool looks much bigger and it is super tiny. Plus to our visit was the sauna and breakfast. Great breakfast and eating area.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Express San Antonio N Riverwalk Area; City: San Antonio Texas; Review: Loved the hotel. The only negatives I have was it was muggy outside and the air off in hotel hallways which left a weird smell. Also the view from our room was bad but could have been a little better if the windows were clean. It looked like no one has cleaned them in a really long time like years. Other than that the staff was great, breakfast was awesome and our room was very nice as well.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: La Quinta Inn Suites Houston North Spring; City: Spring Texas; Review: We have stayed here before. We always get the suite because we have the boys with us. One sleeps on sofa bed other on Ottoman and there is no fighting. We like it for the price plus it has a kitchen if we decide we want to stay in.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Budget Inn; City: Las Vegas New Mexico; Review: If your looking for something cheap and a step up from motel 6 this is it. When passing through and only staying over night we don't like to spend very much but we do like to feel somewhat comfortable. The parking lot is very well kept and nicely lit up. We parked right by our door. The rooms are a little out dated but just perfect for our over night stay. Room even has a microwave and fridge. Clean,clean,clean for this type of hotel. If we had to again we would definitely stay here again. The next time we are on our way to Denver.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rodeway Inn Downtown Phoenix; City: Phoenix Arizona; Review: We decided to stay here because it was one of the cheapest and still in walking distance of all the restaurants and things to do. Overpriced for what you get. Continental breakfast is a joke! The owner was very nice and like I said it was right Downtown. We had our run ins with some shady people but we just kept to our selves.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Americas Best Value Inn Ashtabula Austinburg; City: Austinburg Ohio; Review: We needed to stay as close to Geneva as possible so for the price and location it was great. No elevator so had to go up two flights of stairs and the breakfast is muffins, cereal, bananas and coffee. Would have liked to see a little more like eggs. Hotel room even though it was a non smoking room wreaked of cigarettes. I believe they were smoking either across the hall or next door to us.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Americas Best Value Inn Legends Inn; City: Junction Texas; Review: We decided to stay here because of the good reviews. We were pleasantly surprised how cute the rooms were and how nice they were. No breakfast so went across the street to the Donut Place and it was excellent. Fresh donuts and the croissants are great to. We highly recommend this place to stay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: The Big Year; Brand: Steve Martin; Review: I originally ordered when I had trouble finding on TV / Cable. Now shown more often on TV. Not a classic film but is good if you have an interest in birding.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Masterpiece: Downton Abbey - Season 1, 2 & 3; Brand: Maggie Smith; Review: We had not watched the first three seasons of Downton Abbey. We purchased this on one of the daily specials for a low price and are working through the first three years; in the process becoming Downton Abbey junkies.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Veep: Season 1; Brand: ; Review: Cheap lowbrow humor; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Band Of Brothers (DVD); Brand: Damian Lewis; Review: One of my favorite series, I have watched the series a few times in the last few years. Gets better with each viewing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Band of Brothers(Elite SC/BD+DCExp12-21); Brand: Various; Review: One of my favorite series, I have watched the series a few times in the last few years. Gets better with each viewing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Doctor Thorne - Season 1 2015; Brand: ; Review: Slow, tedious; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: I'll See You in My Dreams; Brand: Brett Haley; Review: Good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Remember; Brand: Christopher Plummer; Review: Good overall, slow building plot, great ending.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Best in Show; Brand: Jennifer Coolidge; Review: Awful, just awful, turned it off, life is too short to watch; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The American President VHS; Brand: Michael Douglas; Review: Have scene it several times over the years, but is a good re-watch every year to two; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: The Hay Adams; City: Washington DC District of Columbia; Review: Situated across the "Church of Presidents", this hotel feels like another monument. It seems historic. Great service. Great bar. I found the room a little small and cramped. It may be about time to give this hotel a well earned renovation.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: WaterColor Inn; City: Santa Rosa Beach Florida; Review: I've stayed at WaterColor before, but always in a house with the family. This time my wife and I were able to get away without and children and we chose to stay in the Inn. We're going back in January. The staff is awesome. The rooms are very comfortable. The beachfront setting is fabulous. My wife tells me the evening cookies were fabulous. It must have been true, she resisted sharing. We're going back, just the two of us. Fitness Center is superb. Breakfast at Fish out of Water is terrific. The sushi is just so so. The bar gets a B+ After dinner drinks by the pool with the fires burning - A++; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Roosevelt New Orleans A Waldorf Astoria Hotel; City: New Orleans Louisiana; Review: I want the Roosevelt to be great. Some aspects of this hotel are. The sazerac bar is awesome. The entry hall if gorgeous. The room was beautifully appointed. There were drawbacks. The valet parking staff wasn't up to the task. They were very slow. To make things worse, they were surly. The hotel also has a problem with hot water. There never seemed to be enough. Now, that's a real problem.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Jefferson Washington DC; City: Washington DC District of Columbia; Review: The recently rennovated Jefferson is fabulous. No detail was overlooked in restoring this jewel. The staff is excellent. The hotel has a European feel, cozy but luxurious. The Quill is a great bar. My lunch in the atrium was memorable. Great hotel. Fitness center is small and under-equipped, but this is a hotel not a gym.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Georgetown Inn; City: Washington DC District of Columbia; Review: Great location on Wisconsin.. The service is very good. The rooms are clean and the beds are very comfortable. EVERYTHING needs to updated, upgraded and renovated The halls, the bathrooms, the doors, the elevators are all the worse for wear. This place could be a jewel with new paint, paper, doors, bathrooms, and carpet; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Linden Bed and Breakfast; City: Natchez Mississippi; Review: I arrived in Natchez with a reservation at another hotel. My hotel refused to honor my Hotels.com reservation. I was dismissed summarily from my hotel without any suggestion as to how I may find a room. I stumbled across Linden and I will be forever grateful. The wonderful hostess, Jeanette, was gracious and found a room for my wife and I. The evening began with cocktails shared with new friends on the veranda. The room at Linden was beautiful and very very comfortable. There was coffee just outside my room when I awoke. There was an incredible formal breakfast the next morning. Gracious hostess, engaging guests, terrific food and a beautiful home, what else could you want?; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Natchez Manor Boutique Bed and Breakfast; City: Natchez Mississippi; Review: When I arrived, the MANAGER told me they had no record of my reservation (which had been made through Hotels.com) They said they were booked and acted as if it was all my fault for using hotels.com. I was not offered any assistance to find another room in Natchez. I am a very experienced traveller and the rude treatment I experienced from the manager was appalling.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Capital Hotel; City: Little Rock Arkansas; Review: The Capital is surprisingly spectacular. We were greeted upon arrival in a manner that made us feel very special. The rooms were terrific. The staff was friendly and professional at every turn. This Hotel is worth the trip to Little Rock.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Four Seasons Hotel Washington DC; City: Washington DC District of Columbia; Review: I've visited DC many times for business and pleasure. I had always wanted to stay at the Four Seasons. Finally, I had the opportunity. Fantastic service from arrival to departure. The Jewel of Georgetown.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Body of missing Alabama girl found; 2 being charged; Abstract: Investigators searching through garbage found the body of a 3-year-old girl who was missing more than a week, and authorities are charging two people with murder, police said Tuesday.; Category: news
Title: Elton John Has Not Seen 'Bohemian Rhapsody' And Refuses To Watch It; Abstract: John and Mercury were just too close for him to handle the film.; Category: music
Title: Former NBA first-round pick Jim Farmer arrested in sex sting operation; Abstract: Farmer, 55, was booked for trafficking a person for a commercial sex act.; Category: sports
Title: Man's trip to a cheese shop helps unravel missing persons case; Abstract: Kris Zocco's whereabouts the morning Kelly Dwyer was reported missing would be the first in a series of clues as to what may have happened to the 27-year-old woman; Category: news
Title: Chick-fil-A Apologizes to Customers for Promoting National Sandwich Day Which Is on a Sunday; Abstract: Chick-fil-A Apologizes for Promoting National Sandwich Day; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Chrissy Teigen Apologizes for Her 'Tone Deaf' Joke About Her Mom; Abstract: "I'm sorry and I will do better to not be such an a------."; Category: tv
Title: Dean Martin's Daughter Speaks Out About John Legend's New Version of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'; Abstract: Dean Martin's Daughter on New 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' Version; Category: music
Title: Why Prince Harry Wore His Remembrance Poppy Differently from the Rest of the Royal Family; Abstract: Why Prince Harry's Poppy Was Worn on His Cap; Category: lifestyle | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Winfun Symphonic Grand Piano; Brand: WinFun; Review: We got this for Christmas gift to my kid. My kid loves it and I do as well! I hate the xylophone sound pianos and this sounds as the electric piano which I was looking for! For toddler, I removed the mike and didn't give it out yet for safety(long lines, just in case). She records her playing and sometime I play for her to listen. Love, love this!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Plan Toys Breakfast Menu (Solid Wood Version); Brand: PlanToys; Review: I've been looking for wooden kitchen accessories and this is the first item we bought. Like the quality and the look My child loves this, especially the raffle pepper and salt containers!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: ALEX Toys Little Hands String A Farm; Brand: ALEX Toys; Review: Love the quality of the wood(which I think this is better than Mellisa&Doug). My child loves this toy. And we can use this to identify the animals as well. Very cute; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Manhattan Toy Baby Stella Black Hair Soft Nurturing First Baby Doll; Brand: Manhattan Toy; Review: We bought Baby Stella Peach and Baby Stella Black Hair at the same time. But my kid doesn't like this one. This is very cute doll but be aware if your child doesn't like the feel of the hair(these are not hair-like but just fabric). Otherwise, this is very cute, soft doll!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Manhattan Toy Baby Stella Peach Soft Nurturing First Baby Doll; Brand: Manhattan Toy; Review: My child loves this toy. As soon as she sees this as her gift, she hugged her and kissed her! This doll is very soft and perfect size for toddler. And yes, it is machine washable!! Yay!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hape Shake and Match Toddler Wooden Shape Sorter Toy; Brand: Hape; Review: I've been looking for wooden sorter and this is what I was looking for! Yes, like other reviewers, it's kind of hard to get all those shapes out of the box with the string, but I like the fact that it keeps those shapes well and sometimes my kid uses it as musical instruments shaking this! So we love this. These various shapes are very useful and we are now learning the colors as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Manhattan Toy Baby Stella Goodnight Pajama Baby Doll Clothes for 15" Dolls; Brand: Manhattan Toy; Review: Cute outfits. but honestly, I would go to Target or ToysRUs to get cheaper brand for 9.99 as this is not that special clothing set.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Manhattan Toy Baby Stella Bringing Home Baby Doll Accessories Set for 15" Dolls; Brand: Manhattan Toy; Review: same as the other reviewers, the diaper is too tight and hard to close for children.. but the magic bottle, extra magnet pacifier, and the blanket are good. If I knew, diapers were like these, I would have looked for another item which can be easier for my kid.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Plan Toy Tea Set(Solid Wood Version); Brand: PlanToys; Review: This is very cute tea set! The size is not that big but I've been looking for wooden kitchen accessories and I like this product very much!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hape Gourmet Play Kitchen Starter Accessories Wooden Play Set; Brand: Hape; Review: Nice product with nice material. I've been looking for wooden kitchen accessories and this is good product. But like other reviewers, the size is not that big to carry the foods.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Skip Hop Baby Zoo Little Kid and Toddler 2-Piece Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bag Mealtime Set, Multi Otis Owl; Brand: Skip Hop; Review: My kid loves the character but I'm not sure if I'm loving it. It is easy to wash but I only putted dry food. So it could be changed when you put any possible wet foods. The reason I'm giving 3 stars is that it doesn't get dried quickly so it would be better if you have extra one to be safe. I still like this idea of reusable bag for the earth :); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hape Shish Kabob Basics Kid's Wooden Play Kitchen Food Set and Accessories; Brand: Hape; Review: Good material, durable toy for even toddler. My kid loves this toy!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Award Winning Hape Garden Salad Wood Play Kitchen Play Set; Brand: Hape; Review: We're collecting wooden kitchen toys and this is the great set! Nice finished wooden toys(except the ball) and great addition to kitchen collection.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Award Winning Hape Happy Hour Clock Kid's Wooden Time Learning Puzzle; Brand: Hape; Review: My kid received this as Christmas gift from grandparents. We use this to teach numbers, order of numbers, and introduction to read the time. Very smooth, nice finished wood material. Love this!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: B. toys - B. Dr. Doctor Toy – Deluxe Medical Kit for Toddlers - Pretend Play Set for Kids; Brand: B. toys by Battat; Review: We received this as Christmas gift and our kid loves it. Now it's the most favorite toy! Yes, like other reviewers, the containing box is big. But I see this as the positive point because as a child grows up more stuffs would be added like bandages, doctor gown and more. I've compared with many other medical toys and this was the best I can find.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: LEGO DUPLO Creative Play 10570 All-in-One-Gift-Set; Brand: LEGO; Review: Received this for kid's Christmas gift. This is the first Lego Duplo set for our child and loving it! As it has a cat and a dog, it would be great introduction set for a child. We are going to add one by one as our kid enjoys it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pacific Play Tents Kids Cottage Bed Tent Playhouse - Twin Size; Brand: Pacific Play Tents; Review: We purchased this for a toddler who was in transition to big girl's bed. It was a perfect choice as she loves it and she called it 'her new house for sleeping time'. And we successfully moved her to twin bed without any hassle. Only issue would be air ventilation in summer. We used so well during winter and spring time but we are thinking over for summer time since it would over heat the child.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 100-Piece Orbrium Toys Triple-Loop Wooden Train Set Fits Thomas Brio Chuggington; Brand: Orbrium; Review: Purchased for a Christmas gift for our child, it's a big hit! I've been comparing different type of train sets for months and I'm glad I purchased this one. I might add extra rails later but for now it is perfect toy for a toddler.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Toys_and_Games |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: This Man Confessed (This Man, #3); Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas; Genres: romance, fiction; Review: what can i say, this ending is fucking perfect!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brown-Eyed Girl (Travis Family, #4); Author: Lisa Kleypas; Genres: romance, fiction; Review: Sorry Lisa but i'm really felt disconnected with this book. somethings big is missing with this book. never happen with your book but this is a disappointment to me.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Darkest Before Dawn (KGI, #10); Author: Maya Banks; Genres: young-adult, thriller, crime, fiction, romance, mystery; Review: just because i love KGI series. if not for this series, i just give 2 stars. it took me days to finish this. sorry, just not into this story. can't feel any connection. glad to hear about the rest of Kelly Clan thou. hope next book will be better.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Desperately Seeking Epic; Author: B.N. Toler; Genres: romance, fiction; Review: i'm start to cry when i read the craiglist ad. i laugh then crying again. this is a great book but will be on my 1 time read only. i'm crying, ugly crying plus snot. even thou this is a great story i can't re-read because i know i will be in this ugly crying plus snot moment again. reading Desperately Seeking Epic is like read a diary. ups and downs and reasons for everything that happened in our life. always 2 sides of a story. well, i really enjoy this story. great job B.N Toler.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rock Chick Reawakening (Rock Chick, #0.5); Author: Kristen Ashley; Genres: thriller, crime, fiction, romance, mystery; Review: great story. have my tissue box besides me and worth it even my eyes are swollen...; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Isteri Tuan Ihsan; Author: Sara Kyoko; Genres: romance; Review: bacaan ringan yang berjaya buat i gelak besar. seriously, seroja irdina is a very naughty girl. keletah dia, ya Allah, kalah budak2. buat i terfikir pernah tak i berperangai mcm dia when i'm in 20s. hahaha... dan tuan ihsan, he's not perfect but he's trying to be perfect for seroja irdina. seorang lelaki yang sanggup belajar agama sebelum kahwin sebab nak bersama2 mengejar jannah dengan isterinya really melt my heart. tahniah sara kyoko for a good book. p/s: baru perasan ada sambungannya, Famili Tuan Ihsan:Cinta Sampai Jannah. seriously, takut nk baca sebab pernah terkena dengan novel Ombak Rindu, sambungannya buat i jadi kacau bilau. better left it alone.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Imitation in Death (In Death, #17); Author: J.D. Robb; Genres: mystery, thriller, crime, paranormal, fantasy, romance, fiction; Review: yeay! Peabody is a detective now..; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | goodreads |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Castrol 12614 Dot 4 Synthetic Brake Fluid; Brand: Castrol; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Permatex 81150 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, 0.33 oz. Tube; Brand: Spray Nine Corporation/Knight; Review: great for connections; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AIR LIFT 25804 Air Shock Controller Kit; Brand: Air Lift; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CRC 5089T Brakleen Brake Cleaner - 19 oz.; Brand: CRC; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MV8000 Automotive Tune-up and Brake Bleeding Kit; Brand: Mityvac; Review: grat; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Red Line 42904 V-Twin Primary Oil, 1 Quart, 1 Pack; Brand: Red Line; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ernst Manufacturing Greg's Drip-Free Oil Filter Funnel, Orange; Brand: Ernst Manufacturing; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NGK 6046 Spark Plug; Brand: NGK; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Thunder Heart Performance ECMs with Integral Autotune System for 2008-13 FLT/FLH (; Brand: Thunder Heart; Review: great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mens & Womens Motorcycle Cowhide Leather Biker Riding Chaps Pants Unisex (Thigh Measurement 17.5" = 2XS); Brand: Bikeraccess; Review: good fit; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harley Davidson Primary Drive Locking Bar 7.125"; Brand: Heartland Products; Review: make sure you get the right size. Measure between compensating sprocket and clutch. this didn't fit my application. Can be cut. My 2009 fltr used the 5.95; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Harley Davidson Primary Drive Locking Bar Tool Late 6 Speed 5.95 Inch; Brand: Heartland Products; Review: This worked great on my 2009 FLTR doing a clutch job.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: TMS HDRearLoweringKit-BC-K Rear Adjustable Lowering Kit (1-3" For Harley Touring Electra Glide Street Glide Road King 2002-2015); Brand: TMS; Review: creates other problems; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Leader Accessories Pick up Truck Cover UV Resistant; Brand: Leader Accessories; Review: very nice; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bussmann MAX40 Maxi Fuse; Brand: Bussmann; Review: ok; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Automotive |
Given the interaction history of a user with food recipes as follows:
Title: honey spice cookies; Review: I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies turned out REALLY good! I'm normally the type that needs something chocolate in my cookie, but not in these! Totally satisfying!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: roasted red bell pepper and ricotta sauce; Review: I tried this recipe as is and then tasted it and it was extremely bland. I added more garlic, more parmesan, some salt and pepper and tried it again and it was a little better. After adding pasta to the sauce, it again, tasted bland. I am not sure what I could have added to make it taste better. It just wasn't an exciting sauce.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: foolproof one bowl banana cake; Review: This is exactly what I was looking for! The cake was moist, fluffy, and tasty! Simple recipe with great results.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: chicken broccoli rice and cheese casserole; Review: This was really good! Instead of onion I cut up one stalk of celery into tiny pieces and sauteed that instead. I liked it that way and would suggest it as a good substitute for anyone who doesn't like onions. Other than that one change, I followed the recipe as written and was pleased! This was a great way to use up leftover chicken and a head of broccoli I had sitting in the fridge. Thanks!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: tsr version of t g i friday s black bean soup by todd wilbur; Review: I made this recipe exactly as written the first time and it was good. The second time I omitted the vinegar and the liquid smoke and I used smoked chili powder instead. The second time ended up way better than the first. Still a great recipe and you can play around with it to get the flavor you want. I highly recommend smoked chili powder and no vinegar!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: light and fluffy pumpkin pancakes; Review: This has become a recipe that I make over and over. I don't add or subtract from the recipe as there is no need for improvements. We love it. My toddler will eat them, I love anything pumpkin, and my husband is happy because pancakes are his favorite. It's a big win!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: hoisin oven barbecue chicken; Review: We really enjoyed this recipe. Quite yummy!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | food |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Gray Mountain: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's John Grisham Page; Review: Great read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Connelly Page; Review: I enjoy Micheal Connelly but was not impressed with this book. I felt it was weak in terms of both plot and characters. If this is typical if what we will be getting from Connelly in the Harry Bosch series, Harry definitely needs to retire!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Memory Cards; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael K. Brantley Page; Review: Michael Brantley's Memory Cards is an engaging read, containing many stories about rural life in NC as well as glimpses into family, growing up, vocational endeavors, and finding one's true place in the world. As a native North Carolinian who grew up on a farm, I smiled, laughed, and anguished with Brantley as he related his experiences. I was drawn also to his stories about the struggle to get his graduate degrees and finding his way back to his writing and teaching, the things he was born to do. I recommend this book highly, finding myself a little disappointed when it ended. I am now eagerly awaiting the author's next book!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Nightingale: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kristin Hannah Page; Review: Sometimes you run across an exceptional book on a topic that has been written about over snd over. The Nightingale is such an example. Hannah's storytelling is superb, presented in such a way to keep the reader totally engaged to the end!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Morning and Evening: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on The Holy Bible, English Standard Version; Author: Charles H. Spurgeon; Review: My favorite devotional, and I have had a lot of very good ones. It's special because Charles Spurgeon is a great expositor and one who truly knows Christ intimately. And there are two devotions per day for contemplation in the morning and at night. Highly recommend!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Eclipse (Twilight, #3); Author: Stephenie Meyer; Genres: young-adult, romance, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: I have read books One two and this one. The first one is Twilight... The second one is New Moon and the third one is Eclipse... this book.. I love them all and found myself up for hours not being able to put any of them down.. I am currently reading the last one of the saga and it is called Breaking Dawn... I found myself falling madly for Edward in this book and if you have read it you would understand... I LOVE THIS SERIES!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Twilight (Twilight, #1); Author: Stephenie Meyer; Genres: young-adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance, fiction; Review: This is the first of the saga and I did not put this down until I finished it.. I am planning on reading them all again...; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: New Moon (Twilight, #2); Author: Stephenie Meyer; Genres: young-adult, romance, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: This is the second book of the 4 book saga and I fell for Edward in the first one and thought that Jacob was really good for Bella too... These are a must read and gotta have..; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4); Author: Stephenie Meyer; Genres: young-adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance, fiction; Review: I love this book so far... It has me in constant AWE... I think anyone should read this saga of books.. this is book 4..; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1); Author: J.K. Rowling; Genres: young-adult, mystery, thriller, children, crime, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: I love love love this book I have personally read it several times and will read it even more... Harry is a wonderful character and I love Hermione and Ron.... ahhh I just love them all.. I do not want to give anything away in these book just in case you haven't read or watched the Sorcerer's Stone.... These are a must read... I am personally going to start reading them to my children.. they have seen the movies but you do not get the whole feel until you read them... Besides you find out so much more when you read the book...; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | goodreads |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: S'well Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 17 oz, Midnight Black; Brand: S'well; Review: Mine came this morning. Not having any real thirst needs planned for the day, I set up an experiment. Six cubes in the bottle, sealed up, set on the counter in the house at 9am. By noon there was no melting and the cubes were still "dry" like they came out of the ice maker. 6pm: six cubes still there and a bit less than 2 tbs of very cold water. While I am a bit concerned about the failures that others have experienced, I am satisfied that mine is well sealed and it looks like it will do the trick. I'm off to a festival next weekend and if there are any drawbacks encountered I will update this review. Otherwise, like I said, it's a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for [hopefully].; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: JASSINS Premium Bike Bungee Cargo Net - X-thick Cord - 6 Hooks; Brand: JASSINS; Review: As people going back a year so have mentioned, despite the photo, the item comes with cheap bent-wire hooks. Since my purchase they have added a version in red to the offering here on Amazon... it shows the hooks you will actually get. I had hoped to repurpose the hooks, so I was disappointed that photos for the current offering still misrepresent the product. I did discover, however, that the bungee cord itself was heavier than I had been led to expect by others reviews. That said, the net does have a very strong rubbery odor. Since it's going on a backpack, this is not a overly great concern for me. Don't expect too much from this product, and you won't be disappointed. At under five dollars for something you would have to pay 10 to 15 for at a motorcycle shop, it's not a bad deal. All I wanted was to be able to strap down a hoodie or the like to the outside of my backpack for easy access. I expect it will certainly work for that.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Boker Boker Plus Voxknives Gnome Knife; Brand: Bker; Review: This is a great "little" knife... just be aware of how tiny it is. It is appropriately named Gnome. You can see in the photo how it scales to a quarter. The Gnome came out of the box as sharp as you could want, and I actually like the drop-point blade shape much better than the Ritter. The detailing and work on the handle are really nice. Like I said, this is a great little knife. However, the reason I will be returning this unit starts with the sheath. You can also see how that scales to the one from my Doug Ritter CRKT necker. All the advantages of a small knife disappear once it is in the sheath. The ungainly and flat-out ugly flanges and huge rivets totally detract from the clean, sweet lines of the knife itself. Add to that the fact that the first time I shoved the blade in far enough to "lock" it into the sheath so it could not fall back out, it was so difficult to remove that I was worried about cutting myself in the stugggle. That is not going to be a great thing if you need it in an emergency when you might not have two hands to deal with it. That gives it a "Fail" as a neck-knife"... who want to risk cutting yourself in an already potentially bad situation. My final judgement is that this is not one for me. Compared to the DR/CRKT is too much of a duplicate in utility. As much as I wanted to have it grab me and become a favorite, I know it would languish in a drawer and I'd just be out the money... so, back it goes.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: TOAKS Titanium Long Handle Spoon with Polished Bowl SLV-11; Brand: TOAKS; Review: In the interest of complete clarity I need to say that I do not have the version with the matte finish, mine is the standard model. While my lack of satisfaction with this spoon is not enough to make me return the unit, it does not allow me to give more than three stars. I find the bowl shallow, and, because the spoon is stamped out of sheet material, it's overall feeling is quite flimsy. It seems sturdy enough, but I don't like the effect in my hand. It is however, handy to have the extra length when you are eating directly from a freeze-dried pouch or a MRE retort.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: MPOWERD Luci EMRG - Inflatable Solar Light; Brand: MPOWERD; Review: I purchased the smaller version [EMRG] to uses an "evening" light under my hammock tarp. On the low setting, it produces just about the amount of light that I need... the higher setting Is almost too much, but I do like the "red" mode to preserve my night vision. My true disappointment is centered in the fact that, even on a full sunlight charge, I get no where near the seven hours of illumination represented. The actual "burn time" is more like 1 1/2 to two hours... even at the low setting. It is impossible to switch it on, and leave it on, for any extended period of time. [Please note that this is after two years of ownership, but only a dozen evening's useage and ALWAYS under the shelter of the tarp] The purpose of my purchase was to be as lighting for the evening under the tarp, with the intention of giving it a charge everyday. It's useless if I have to fumble around in the dark to find the light just to use it. This last weekend, after I had just turned it on, and just before full dark, people commented on how there was such a nice moon light glow under my tarp... 30 minutes later, when it was full dark, I went over and there was barely any light left at all. Wouldn't buy again... too many better options that you CAN count on like USB charged lights . EDIT: After posting about my light's failure, I was contacted by the MPOWRD team and offered a replacement at no cost. It has now arrived, works perfectly and is greatly appreciated. Thanks MPOWRD. I needed to update this review to reflect their willingness to stand behind their stuff. That is the kind of CS that keeps customers recommending a product. The best thing of course about the Luci IS that it is solar. USB lights mean I have to carry more "stuff" along. So, I'm happy again, and I didn't miss a campout.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: KINGREE 9PCS Headbands, Outdoor Multifunctional Headwear, Sports Magic Scarf, High Elastic Headband UV Resistance, Athletic Headwrap, Mens; Brand: KINGREE; Review: These are a pretty fair value at the price. I have a "buff" I picked up years ago when they were made of tee-shirt material. I like the feel of this microfiber much better, and there are certainly enough colors/patterns to choose from. Very soft, very stretchy, very easy to get a couple of quick versions on my head. Great for keeping my bald head warm, so I'll be interested to see how they do in "wet mode" to cool it down. I didn't take a toque on my hammock camping trip recently. The wind and rain came up pretty strong, and one of these would have been might handy, either on my head, or around my neck. They are SO light there is no reason not to just toss one in the bottom of a pack pocket just-in-case! I am going to hold back one star from the review because of the QC on shipping... my "Totem1" set seems to have had substitution for one of the patterns. While this not a deal breaker, it would be disappointing if someone had their heart set on one of the patterns and THAT was the one left out. Still, I did get one for free as promised, and I'll be passing out my rejects at our next campout. [BTW~ I also got one of the "Shemaghs" from Kingree in the same order and I am very happy to pass on that it is one of the heavier versions, and had no odor whatsoever]; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Shoe Goo Repair Adhesive for Fixing Worn Shoes or Boots, Clear, 3.7-Ounce Tube; Brand: Shoegoo; Review: This glue worked great to glue the part of my sole that was pulling away from the shoe, but it's difficult to work with as it's very sticky.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sanuk Women's Yoga Mat Wedge Flip Flop Sandal; Brand: ; Review: The size itself is true to size as far as length but too narrow and tight under the straps. I don't think going up a size would help because then they would be too long and I doubt any wider where needed. Unfortunate as I really like the heel height and bought a pair in black and a nice colored dark brown. Returned both pairs. BTW, my feet are medium width.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Kamik Men's Sportsman Insulated Rubber Boots; Brand: ; Review: Size runs small. Returned for refund instead of replacement. They would probably be comfy in the correct size.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Kamik Women's Leeds Insulated Rain Boot; Brand: ; Review: Really cute rain boots. Too bad it rarely rains in Southern California! I like that it has drawstrings at the top to keep water out. It's April; still waiting for the torrential el nino rains.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A2 by Aerosoles Women's Matrimony Mule; Brand: ; Review: UPDATE - going up 1/2 size now fits well with socks I love Aerosole and A2 Aerosole mules and have ordered many over the years. I always felt confident that I can order from these brands because the sizing was consistent each time. However, these particular mules are a little too tight and a little too short. The newly added memory foam footbed though comfy has changed the sizing and such should be stated by Aeroles.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: LeSportsac Classic 3 Zip Pouch; Brand: ; Review: This pouch is either a knock-off or LeSportsac has lowered their quality standards. Flimsy fabric, no inner lining, and no logo on the zipper pulls. All for a mere $25.00. Back you go!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Meta-U Cute Cat Design Women's Casual Comfortable Cotton Crew Socks - 5 Pack; Brand: Meta-U; Review: Cute socks for cat lovers. Feet get tangled in the knitting inside the socks.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Crown Regency Hotel Makati; City: Makati Metro Manila Luzon; Review: Booked this hotel over the internet but when we arrived, we were informed that we could not be accomodated. Apparently, five of their rooms are being renovated but they failed to control the reservations. Since they are currently fully booked, they had to transfer us to Perla Mansion, a condotel. Unfortunately, this condotel is farther from the shopping area and the facilities are not comparable. Tried to talk to the night manager, a certain Angelo Manabat, but the receptionist was claiming that he was in a meeting. They promised to get back to me. They should have transferred us to a better hotel or at least given us a discount. (the internet rate of Perla Mansion is almost half that of Crown Regency). If they do not contact us, we will be talking to their head office tomorrow.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Bayfront Hotel; City: Subic Bay Freeport Zone Bataan Province Central Luzon Region Luzon; Review: Just arrived from Subic with my parents, brother, sister, and their respective families. We stayed at Bayfront Hotel (four deluxe rooms and a standard room). We arrived 2:30pm and the staff were apparently waiting for us. The deluxe rooms were obviously cleaned up, although my sister's room still smelled like someone had smoked in it. When she mentioned it, they replaced the beddings and when this did not work, they cleaned out the filters. The bathroom at the standard room was flooded so they still had to clean this up. The room interiors and bath are very basic and needs some facelift. It looks better on their website. We sort of expected this but the hotels that had more favorable reviews cost twice as much. Hence, we had to settle for Bayfront.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Boracay Beach Club; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: Came back from Boracy wherein we stayed at BORACAY BEACH CLUB. It's conveniently located as it is near Boat Station 1. You can reach the D' Mall area which has most of the commercial activity or you can simply walk further to Willy's Rock which is the best part of White Beach. It's a bit pricey but the rate is still comparable to the other accomodation within the area. We paid US$ 130 for a deluxe room with a king size bed but we were fortunate when the guest who was occupying the room that was supposedly assigned to us decided to extend their stay. As a result, we were upgraded to a general suite. The king size bed (in this suite) occupies most of the bedroom so we stayed most of the time in the living room area when we were indoors or not sleeping. Nevertheless, the whole room was very clean and was continually maintained this way throughout our stay. Finally, I cannot say enough good things about the service. Right upon our arrival, they were very accomodating and very quick to service our requests. The staff appeared genuinely happy and willing to attend to our needs. This hotel is one reason why we intend to come back same time this year to Boracay. I definitely RECOMMEND this hotel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: El Rio y Mar Resort; City: San Jose Coron Busuanga Island Palawan Province Mimaropa; Review: Just arrived this aftenoon from El Rio y Mar. This place is great if you want to relax and just lay back. The staff are very attentive and friendly. There was a Filipina guest during our stay and she acted like a brat but the staff remained focused. We stayed at the wooden cedar cabin because we wanted something rustic. Upon our arrival, we were warned that it could get warm after lunch even if there is air conditioning. The cabins, though, needs a bit of refurbishing as the faucet fixture easily fell off at the shower stall. They offered to transfer us to the newer rooms but since we could manage, we declined. The food is plentiful, although it could be tastier. You can't swim along the beach because there are a lot of jelly fish but you could swim in front of the reef bar where there are a lot of fishes. The packages are a bit costly but considering the place, it's worth it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Estancia Resort; City: Tagaytay Cavite Province Calabarzon Region Luzon; Review: We had our management team planning session in this hotel for three days two nights. The rooms are newly remodelled but remain plain and basic. The hotel is overlooking Taal Volcano but not all the rooms have a view. The food is not tasty at all, the servings are limited, and the presentation is dull. Worst of all, the service is slow. Our general manager didn't like the prepared breakfast so he ordered pancakes and bacon. He had to wait over thirty minutes and went it finally arrived, the food was cold. There are better nearby hotels at the price this hotel charges.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Beachcomber Resort Boracay; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: Beachcomber is a little past Station 1 as you walk northward along the beach. It is beside Jony's and three buildings away is Boracay Beach Club (BBC). Hence, it's just walking distance from D Mall or from the more exclusive portion of White Beach. The waters fronting it is probably the best in the island. It does not incline sharply so it's only around three fit high a hundred meters from the beach at high tide. We stayed in their honeymoon suite which is their best room. It's the same price as a deluxe room in BBC but is twice the size. BBC rooms are more updated and furnished. Unfortunately, Beachcomber does not have a restaurant. It can only serve drinks and appetizers and you have to book your breakfast the evening before. It is a pity because after a few days of going to D Mall or D Talipapa, we just wanted to hang around the resort and have our meals along the beach. Anyway, we were told the new owners would be investing in a new and expanded kitchen. For the New Year holidays, I stayed at BBC last year and this year at Beachcomber. Including Jony's (which does not have a pool for the kids), these three resorts are the best in terms of value for money.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel; City: Singapore; Review: Stayed at this hotel from April 10-13 as we attended a workshop sponsored by the company. My room was large enough; the king size bed was very comfortable and I slept very well. The bathroom may need some renovation but remained clean. The hotel is not along the shopping district so I don't recommend it to tourists. You will have to walk around 20 minutes to get to the nearest subway station but there are bus stops less than five minutes away. There is also a mall (5-10 minute walk) catering to the residential community nearby which has a supermarket, several fastfood outlets, and a number of outlet stores. The best thing I can say about the hotel is the service as they accomodated my request several times. Of course, it helps that a number of the service people were my countrymen.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shangri La s Boracay Resort Spa; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: I have been to Boracay around a dozen times since 1986 and I know the best thing about it is White Beach (the beach itself and the activity in the area). So I was never attracted to the Shangrila because it is remote from the White Beach and the price. So when I had the opportunity to stay over the weekend with my wife, I knew I had to have a very open mind and make the best of my stay here. The resort is at the north end of the island so the transfers from and to the airport is necessary as part of the package. Upon arrival, we were immediately met by a team from the hotel who whisked us away from the other passengers and handled the retrieval of our baggage themselves. A van then brought us to a private lounge located beside the main pier reception wherein we were provided with juice drinks and given time to refresh. Afterwards, we boarded a private speedboat that took us to the resort after a 15 minute ride. The resort itself is huge and sprawling. There are two wings, around four floors each. We stayed at the south wing in a seaview suite. The room is 99 sqm ; around 30sqm for the bathroom; which includes shower, toilet, tub, two sinks, sufficient closet space for your clothes, and a dressing area. In addition, there is a jacuzzi in the veranda outside the room. I understand the deluxe rooms are around 60 sqm in area without the bath tub and jacuzzi. On the other hand, the villas have their own private pool. There are four restaurants in the resort and we ate at three of them (except at the Italian restaurant Rima). Overall, the food was very tasty although it took a around an hour for our main dish to be served at the Sirena (seafood restaurant); which was surprising considering we ordered a set menu. The breakfast buffet at the Vintana was extensive and varied and we really took our time eating there in the morning. There are two beaches at the Shangrila but the waves are rough compared to the calmness of White Beach. Instead, try the swimming pools which are inter-connecting to each other and are facing the beach. In addition, there is an entertainment area wherein your can play billiards, ping-pong, and a variety of arcade games. Unfortunately, we were not able to try the spa. The resort is extensive so they provided their guests the option of being driven around by a golf cart. There is also a shuttle service to the White Beach (D Mall) which was convenient for us because we still wanted to go to that area. Although the resort is pricey, the accomodation, facilities, service compensate for this. If you've been to Boracay several times already, it is would also be nice to stay in some place in the island for some private time and this would be the Shangrila! Contact directly the resort: [url]; as their rates during the off season are; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bloomfield Hotel; City: Baguio Benguet Province Cordillera Region Luzon; Review: We stayed at this hotel primarily because of it's location. Upon our arrival in Baguio, we just walked across to SM Baguio and purchased a few groceries and did some window shopping. In the evening, we went to the corner and walked along Session Road to look for a nice place for dinner. Considering the difficulty in parking in this central part of the city, this was a huge benefit. Our accommodation was on the third floor, a Suite A; which consisted of a bedroom with a separate receiving area. The bed is king size; there is a living room set and television is a LCD. However, the closets in the bedroom is small and the furniture and fixtures are dated. The bathroom has a shower and there is hot water but again, the tiles and fixtures need replacement. In addition, although they supposedly cleaned the room on the morning of our second day, I still found stray hair on the bathroom floor. I have to mention that the service crew were friendly and helpful; especially the security guard and the room attendant who worked on the day shift. They helped us with our belongings every time we returned to the hotel. With regards to the front desk, I postponed my reservation three times and they still accommodated my request. If you prefer the older part of Baguio (in contrast to the John Hay area) and are not too sensitive to urban noise, this is the best hotel in the area.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Marriott s Mai Khao Beach Phuket; City: Mai Khao Thalang District Phuket; Review: We stayed at this resort from April 2 to 5 2012 at a two bedroom villa with a plunge pool. Each bedroom has a bathroom with tub; so my ten year old daughter was overjoyed as she was able to take a bath in each of the tubs, aside from having her own private pool. The villa has a living, dining, and kitchen area as the intention is for guests to feel at home. Being located at the northern part of the island, far from the more commercial and touristy area in the south, makes it all the more important if the guests do not want to travel far. A plus is the Turtle Village (mini) mall which is situated right beside as there are shops and two restaurants and a grocery at the basement; just in case you want some change in scenery. Over-all, the facility is five stars! The major drawback is the check-in and check-out time. We arrived at the resort just before two in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the check-in time was 4pm so they asked us to wait as the villa had to be cleaned up. We decided instead to spend time at the Turtle Village mall and as we walked passed our villa, we noted that there were no longer occupants. Upon our return at 4pm, we passed by the villa again and noticed that there were no cleaners and that the cleaning had not yet started. When we checked with the front desk, they told us that the room would be available at 530pm. I could not understand this because the villas and rooms are regularly cleaned every day; so why was it taking so much time for them to make the room available considering that the required check-out time, on the other hand, is 10am? In fact, when we checked out three days later, a family of four were getting irritated as they had arrived in the morning; only to discover that their accommodation was still not available. Definitely needs improvement!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel; City: Bangkok; Review: The hotel is located at the middle of the upscale commercial district of Bangkok. There are four malls within 100 meters of the hotel and the Chit Lom Sky Train station is just across. It is truly accessible to all the important places to go within the city. Although there are five hotels also within this area, we decided for Renaissance Bangkok based on the reviews here at Trip Advisor and the price being quoted. Fortunately, we were able to avail of the Marriott Friends and Family Rate and we just paid US$ 140 net per night, not including breakfast. Although our room was the basic, King Deluxe; it was very roomy, around 37sqm; has a 41 inch flat screen TV; and is generally clean. Some people might be alarmed because the separation between the toilet and the main bedroom is glass. However, you can just press a switch for a curtain to close. The service was also very accommodating such that assistance was promptly provided whenever we made a request or inquiry. Furthermore, they allowed us to use the locker and shower room on the day we departed as our flight was leaving at midnight and we had to check out at 2pm. Definitely, our preferred hotel whenever we visit Bangkok! By the way, I suggest you become a Marriott Rewards member (it's free) as you can avail of free wifi.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sur Beach Resort; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: Stayed at Sur over the week-end with my wife and daughter and it is now our place to stay in this island. We had the most basic room; at the ground floor with a queen size bed and regular bathroom. Nevertheless, it did not feel cramped as there was enough space (one of us had to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag). The room was over-all clean and the facility was thoroughly maintained. The service personnel were very attentive; although the security guard was too vigilant in lending out the beach towels. He probably has to be taught how to explain properly the procedure. And the food at their restaurant was delicious! Already planning for next year.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Subic Bay Venezia Hotel; City: Subic Bay Freeport Zone Bataan Province Central Luzon Region ; Review: I spent one day over the weekend with my wife and 11 year old daughter at Hotel Venezia Subic. It's located at the center of the hotel area of the freeport and is near a number of restaurants and shops. I booked for a Junior Suite and they upgraded me to an Executive Suite upon their reply. However, this did not do much as the rooms are already quite sizeable. The hotel, unfortunately, looks old and needs refurbishing. The carpet on the floor is faded and needs replacement and there are stains on the tiles of the bathroom. The king bed was sagging and my daughter also complained about the sofa bed. On the other hand, the service was more than satisfactory as the staff were very courteous and helpful. At least this made our stay at least acceptable.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Salisbury YMCA of Hong Kong; City: Hong Kong; Review: We spent the recent New Year holiday in this hotel with six other families and it was well worth it. The hotel is located right beside the Peninsula and is facing the harbour. It is five minutes away the Tsim Sha Tsui Station and is two blocks away from Nathan Road. We took the bus A21 from the airport; went down at the corner of Nathan and Middle Road and reached the hotel in less than ten minutes. You have to book early; especially during the peak (holiday) seasons, as this hotel is always full. I fortunately booked ten months earlier so we were able to get a room with the view of the harbour. We were able to watch the Light Show at night, as a result. The size of the room is around 21 square meters; which is not large. We combined a king with a single bed; and we could barely move around. The size of the bathroom was adequate, as there was a bathtub with shower, a dresser, and the regular toilet closet. They "clean" the room everyday although you have to put the "No Disturb" sign on your door if you still have to use it. On our first morning, we stepped out to the nearby McDonalds (24 Hours Open) to have breakfast; and when we got back, a lady was already cleaning our room. She continued with the task even if were inside the room; and only left once it was completed. The "cleaning" wasn't much as she simply vacuumed the only open space on the floor. Meals were not included so we were given discount coupons to be presented at either of the two food outlets in the hotel (Mall Cafe and 4th Floor Salisbury Dining Room). It rained when we arrived and we still had not yet taken our lunch so we decided to try out the buffet at the fourth floor. I was surprised to find a wide variety of dishes and which were also delicious. With the discount, we paid HK$ 450 for two adults and one child; which was not bad considering we were very full. On week-days, the rates are even cheaper. Over-all, I would stay in this hotel again if I wanted to be in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. The location is the biggest advantage and the price they charge (considering) is reasonable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Club Balai Isabel; City: Talisay Batangas Province Calabarzon Region Luzon; Review: Stayed at this resort-hotel over the week-end as our company held it's national sales conference. It is situated at the shores of the Taal Lake with a direct view of the volcano. The property is huge; with several buildings and villas scattered around. From Makati, it took me around eighty minutes to get there as you can pass the STAR tollway and exit at the Tanawan exit. From the exit, it is around 14km to the resort. Because of the size, you require sufficient personnel to maintain it. In this area, I am afraid they are unsuccessful. I had a Superior Room with a View at the third floor of the Agoncillo Building. It is fairly large and includes a kitchenette. On it's website, there is supposed to be a microwave but I saw none. I actually did not need it; but upon inspection of the cupboards, the insides were dirty and I noted a cockroach crawling inside. The cleanliness over-all left a lot to be desired. I would recommend this place if you have an event and you can negotiate for a good price. The food is above average and the service is also very good. However, I wouldn't pay for their published rates if I was going on my own; as there is nothing much to do here and the facilities are really not that luxurious.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hibiscus Garden Inn; City: Puerto Princesa Palawan Island Palawan Province Mimaropa; Review: I stayed at Hibiscus for four nights during the May 1 holiday with my wife and eleven year old daughter. We were picked up from the airport and brought straight to the hotel which is three minutes away. We had a morning flight but we were fortunate that our accommodation was already available. We had a Queen Room (no. 7) which is forty sqm in size and has a queen size and a single bed. Included is a bathroom which had the normal water basin, toilet, and shower. What was lacking was a separator (like a shower curtain) so the whole bathroom was wet whenever you took a shower. In addition, it was hard for the water to go down the drain so we had to remove the metal plug. A 29 inch television (with cable progarmming) is provided and also a mini ref and digitial safe. Free wifi is also accessible; albeit it was weak majority of the period we were there. The room was generally clean and the service was prompt and courteous. If not for the improvements to be made in the bathroom, wifi, and extra lighting; I would have rated this hotel a "5". I almost forgot, but the management should review their practice of adding a 4% charge on credit card payment. In order to avoid this, I had to pay in cash. It is good if there are nearby ATM's but I had to take a tricycle and because the first two weren't operational, I had to walk under the sun to a third bank.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Waterfront Cebu City Hotel Casino; City: Cebu City Cebu Island Visayas; Review: Our company had a function in this hotel and I was fortunate to be upgraded to an executive suite; instead of a deluxe room (they were fully booked). The suite was comprised of two rooms of equal size. The first one had a dining table for four and a sofa and a working table with a monitor with built in CPU and a printer. The second had a king sized bedroom and the bathroom had a separate tub and shower. It was really more than what I needed; considering I was just using it for sleep. On the other hand, the facility is showing its age and some of the fixtures needs replacement. The safety deposit box in my room, for instance, was not locking at all. At least, it was generally clean. The hotel is very popular with Koreans and with other nationalities. It actually is large; but still, the lobby felt like a market place considering the number of guests (I mentioned earlier they were fully booked). The food is nothing to rave about but will fill your stomach. And the service is not consistent as some of the personnel, particularly the front desk, are not accommodating nor charming. As a venue for a large group, I would recommend this hotel. However, if it is for a family vacation, there are better choices.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Cacala 100% Cotton Pestemal Turkish Bath Towel, 37 x 70, Aqua; Brand: Cacala; Review: soft and very nice; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bare Cotton Checkered Turkish Cotton Bath Towels, Set of 4, White; Brand: BC BARE COTTON; Review: perfect; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Clara Clark King Size Comforter Goose Down Duvet – White, Hypoallergenic Alternative, Box Stitched, Protects Against Dust Mites And; Brand: Clara Clark; Review: my son loves it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pfaltzgraff Everyday Simplicity 53-Piece Stainless Steel Flatware Set, Service for 8,Pfaltzgraff,5051756" />; Brand: Pfaltzgraff; Review: nice weight and looks great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mk Collection Solid Color Fleece Super Soft Blanklet (Queen, Navy); Brand: MK Home; Review: soooooooooo soft..love it. great to snuggle under and is warm; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: instecho Stackable Mixing Bowl Set | Nesting Bowls w/ Measuring Cups | Compact, Durable, & Lightweight; Brand: Dr.fasting; Review: just like the pic; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stainless Steel Skillet with Glass Cover - 12 Inch - Induction Compatible - 30 x 6.8 cm; Brand: Utopia Kitchen; Review: looks great !; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: BioPEDIC Coolmax Luxurious 400-Thread Count 2pk Bed Pillows, King; Brand: BioPEDIC; Review: they are coolllll; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America; Author: Visit Amazon's Les Standiford Page; Review: You have got to kidding me! Just call the book the cover up! I was stationed with dahmer in germany in the army and was his roomate/ supervisor in the late 1970s so i know what happened in miami!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Jeffrey Dahmer's Dirty Secret: The Unsolved Murder of Adam Walsh - Book One: Finding The Killer; Author: Visit Amazon's Arthur Jay Harris Page; Review: Art harris a complete certified idiot just read his first book then read the second book! Really? Adam Walsh is still alive?; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Jeffrey Dahmer's Dirty Secret: The Unsolved Murder of Adam Walsh: SPECIAL SINGLE EDITION. First the police found the; Author: Visit Amazon's Arthur Jay Harris Page; Review: Look at this book then read the second book! Really? Adam Walsh is still alive? Really? What the hell is wrong in with this story? Do you. Believe it? Because i don't ! I was stationed with Jeffrey dahmer in the army in the late 1970s in germany and also served in the air force for 22years as a flight medic! I am a highly decorated retired vet and very credible!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Perfect Poison: A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine; Author: Visit Amazon's M. William Phelps Page; Review: Great book because i worked at the veterans administration medical center in Massachusetts when this person Kristen Gilbert was killing our veterans and was also stationed with Jeffrey dahmer in the army in the late 1970s! Lucky me right? I am a highly decorated retired vet with over 22 years in the military 3 years in the army and19 years in the air force as a flight medic! I currently live in chicopee Massachusetts 2 miles away from Westover air force reserve base where i served . i currently am receiving 50 % disability from the veterans administration for agoraphobia and panic attacks.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jeffrey Dahmer's Dirty Secret: The Unsolved Murder of Adam Walsh: BOOK TWO: FINDING THE; Author: Visit Amazon's Arthur Jay Harris Page; Review: Great job on the first book! The second book contradicts everything you said in the first book! What an idiot you are! Adam Walsh is still alive! Are you kidding me? Really? What have you been smoking, boy? I was stationed with dahmer in the army with dahmer in germany in the late 1970s; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: All Season Mid-Calf Sock - Black; Brand: Hanz; Review: Stopped using it after the first day of canoeing. Filled with water immediately.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Columbia Men's Watertight II Front-Zip Hooded Rain Jacket; Brand: ; Review: Bought the large for my son that is 6'-1" and 185 lbs. The width was great and the torso length but the arms were a little short. the quality of tha jacket is great.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hi-Tec Men's Coyote Mid Waterproof Shoe; Brand: ; Review: Purchased for my son who hikes a lot with scouts. He said they are the most comfortable boots he has had. they are holding up very well so far.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Outdoor Products Mountain Duffle Bag; Brand: OUTDOOR; Review: Huge!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harken Sport Men's Spectrum 3/4 Finger Gloves; Brand: Harken Sport; Review: They are comfortable but do run large.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Chinese Laundry Women's Gladly Boot; Brand: ; Review: Very comfortable; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: NY Collection Women's Printed Long-Sleeve Blouse with High-Low Hem; Brand: NY Collection; Review: Very baggy.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: ExOfficio Men's Give-N-Go Boxer; Brand: ExOfficio; Review: My husband loves these. Says they are very comfortable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Russell Athletic Men's Dri-Power Pullover Fleece Hoodie; Brand: ; Review: Runs very large; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Jockey Women's Bras Zip Front Sports Bra; Brand: ; Review: My favorite sports bra.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: WLLW Women Casual See Through Floral Print Long Sleeve Chiffon Shirt Blouse Tops; Brand: WLLW; Review: Such a pretty shirt!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Volcom Women's Frochickie 5 Inch Shorts; Brand: ; Review: Very comfortable. Nice length.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: V-MODA Bass Freq In-Ear Stereo Headphone (Hot Pink) (Discontinued by Manufacturer); Brand: V-MODA; Review: These headphones are MUCH better than the ipod headphones and also way more comfortable. Before trying these, we tried some Phillips and several other brands, but these were the best sounding. We've purchased several pair because everyone in our family fights over them. There may be better headphones out there, but not at this price. Ours have lasted a long time--we've just now had one pair go out on one side and that's after several years of being toted around by kids, in the car, tangled up in a backpack etc--we are hard on equipment so I can recommend them. The bass sound is excellent and the small size goes a long way to keeping your ears from being sore!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AmazonBasics USB A to Lightning Compatible Cable (3 Feet/0.9 Meter); Brand: AmazonBasics; Review: Performs as expected-- much thicker than original cables-- I have high expectations that it'll hold up to my teenager who devastates cables....! I like the black color for the car as well! I haven't tried synching or anything-- we just needed a replacement and I trust Amazon enough that if they put their name on it- it'll be good. I'm pleased with this product and the price!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Microsoft Surface Touch Cover 2, Charcoal (N3W-00001); Brand: Microsoft; Review: This backlit keyboard rocks! I've been searching for something similar for my iPad and can find NOTHING even close to as awesome as this. We bought 2 for my girls Surface and I prefer their keyboards!!! The back lit is great for teens as they find themselves in their dark little caves doing homework or watching Netflix alot!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MoKo Fitbit Blaze Band; Brand: MoKo; Review: I love the multi colored band and get tons of compliments on it every time I wear it. My only issue is I have a small wrist and it's exceedingly long for me- wraps all the way up to the watch face on me...; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: TomTom Runner GPS Watch (Black); Brand: TomTom; Review: Bought this for my XC running 14 year old daughter. This is our 3rd watch for running---originally she just wanted a basic one from Target. She never used anything with any kind of consistency until she received this watch. She LOVES it! I quizzed her on it, so I could leave a review because I pour over reviews to help me make my decisions. I worried she would never recharge it, but to my surprise, she does! She loves the Pace feature and doesn't use the heart rate on it, I've been begging her to learn this as it should really help her--this will probably be one of those things somebody else will teach her about and THEN she will listen. It was important to me that it have a heart rate monitor on it...(sigh) I suppose that means I do not really know how well the heart rate function performs... Anyway- Great product for a runner!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Ateco 1384 Straight Spatula, 4.5 Inch; Brand: Ateco; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Victorio Kitchen Products VKP1010 Victorio Apple Peeler Stainless Steel, Multicolor; Brand: Victorio Kitchen Products; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Winco FST-6 6.5-Inch Blade Fish Spatula; Brand: Winco; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 5.5" Ivory Luminara Flickering Flameless Vanilla Scented Pillar Candle; Brand: Luminara; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: #1 Best Digital Meat Thermometer RiskFree Lifetime Money Back Guarantee 8" (20 cm) Extra Long Stainless Steel Probe; Brand: ; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ZYLISS Lock N' Lift Can Opener with Lid Lifter Magnet, White; Brand: Zyliss; Review: Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: OliaDesign Perfume Funnel Set, 6 Count; Brand: OLIA DESIGN; Review: Work perfect; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Winsome 92436 Luggage Rack with Shelf; Brand: Winsome; Review: Very good quality. Very pleased/; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: PetOde XK1002 Lemon Squeezer, 4 feet, Green; Brand: PetOde; Review: Heavy duty. Works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Norpro 24 by 18-Inch Microfiber Dish Drying Mat, Cream; Brand: Norpro; Review: Works great. Well made.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chrome Bottle Pourers Set of 6; Brand: Franmara; Review: Great quality.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Libbey Troyano Multi-Color Shooter Glasses, Set of 6; Brand: Libbey; Review: Fun.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Arc International Luminarc Cachet Red Wine Glass(Set of 4), 20 oz, Clear; Brand: Arc International; Review: Great for everyday use; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SunrisePro Supreme Knife Sharpener for all Blade Types | Razor Sharp Precision & Perfect Calibration | Easy; Brand: SunrisePro; Review: Great product. Easy to use. Knives come out like new.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tortilla Warmer 12" - Insulated Fabric Pouch by Camerons; Brand: Camerons Products; Review: Love this product. Works great. Keeps tortillas warm and easy to use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bold Brands 8 Oz. Hip Flask, Stainless Steel with Engraved Brown Leather Wrap And Funnel; Brand: Bold Brands; Review: Great quality; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Portmeirion A Christmas Story Dinner Plates, Series 2, Set of 4; Brand: Portmeirion; Review: I love this! Very durable, strong enough to have on your lap and write on. I even fold back the pocket side and tuck the snap flap under and neither show damage. I used it when interviewing and the pocket is large enough to hold resumes without getting folded. Even with a pen in the inside holder! If I was going to more meetings I would even purchase the plum color padfolio!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Better Butter Keeper, Ceramic Earthenware, 4 x 3.5-Inches; Brand: Mrs. Anderson's Baking; Review: I have this out on my counter all the time. Bought 2, one for myself and one for my dad. We both use it daily and love it. Follow the directions and change the water every couple of days.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kate Spade New York Gardner Street Cake 2-Piece Knife and Server Dessert Set by Lenox; Brand: Kate Spade New York; Review: I love this! Very durable, strong enough to have on your lap and write on. I even fold back the pocket side and tuck the snap flap under and neither show damage. I used it when interviewing and the pocket is large enough to hold resumes without getting folded. Even with a pen in the inside holder! If I was going to more meetings I would even purchase the plum color padfolio!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Baking Essentials Silicone Baking Cups, Set of 12 Reusable Cupcake Liners in Four Colors - USE for Muffin, Gelatin,; Brand: Zaza Kitchen; Review: I LOVE these! It really saves time cleaning my muffin tin because I just pull these out. Plus you could just put them on a cookie sheet and not need a muffin tin.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prepac WSC-4820 Monterey 3-Cubbie Bench, White; Brand: Prepac; Review: I purchased this as a small seat for my foyer. I can sit on it and it feels very sturdy. I keep a canvas box in one of the openings for all my dog supplies (brushes, nail clippers, waste bags) and in the other I keep seasonal stuff (flip flops in the summer and gloves/hat in the winter). My purse sits on top of the bench. It looks very nice and goes with my other decor. It was a little confusing to put together because it wasn't clearly labeled, but it wasn't terrible. You could easily add a cushion to the top to make it more comfortable and a place to put shoes on and off for kiddos. The compartments would easily hold multiple kids shoes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RiverRidge Horizontal Bookcase, Espresso; Brand: RiverRidge Home; Review: I bought this for additional shelf space in my office. I have a plant and a few frames on the top, then I keep binders, a tissue box, and my purse on the two shelves. Things that I want access to but didn't want in or on top of my desk. It was easy to put together and doesn't look like a kids bookcase at all. I have had customers ask me where I got it. It is simply a nice, clean bookshelf.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: R&M International 0495 Christmas 2" Pastry/Cookie/Fondant Stampers, Tree, Snowman, Gingerbread Boy, Ornament, 4-Piece Set; Brand: R & M International; Review: These are perfect! I used them for my pie crusts, they are very easy to use and clean. Highly recommend them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Household Essentials 35704-1 CedarFresh Clothes Protector and Moth Repellent Storage Accessories Value Pack (71 Items); Brand: Household Essentials; Review: It really does come with this many pieces! I put them in my closet, my sock drawer, in my blanket storage near the sofa, with my knitting yarns, with all my sewing fabrics. There are so many pieces you can put them all over your house in each clothing closet and with any other stored fabrics. The variety of shapes and sizes are great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Shop-Vac 90304 Cartridge Filter, Single Pack; Brand: Shop-Vac; Review: works great no complaints after much use; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CargoBuckle F103745 Mini G3 Retractable Ratchet Tie-Downs, 2-Pack; Brand: CargoBuckle; Review: works great used several times,, Friends have ordered sets , so far really good; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SE 8036TM-NEW 30” Telescoping Magnetic Pick-Up Tool with 15-lb. Pull Capacity; Brand: SE; Review: works great strong magnet.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Woods 50008WD Indoor 7-Day Digital Plug-In Timer, 1 Polarized Outlet; Brand: Woods; Review: Have ordered two of these about a year apart , both work well . first one a real bugger to change from military time . second one switches easy most every time when resetting.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Olson Saw FB23180DB 1/2 by 0.025 by 80-Inch HEFB Band 3 TPI Hook Saw Blade; Brand: OLSON SAW; Review: cuts well . had and still has some skip at weld had to file it down with flat file to smooth out cut. Will by again; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The New Glucose Revolution Shopper's Guide to GI Values; Author: Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller; Review: I have just started a low glycemic index diet, and needed a guide to go by on ratings for gly. index of food. I really looked forward to getting this book. I was somewhat dissapointed when I couldn't find certain foods in the guide. I also have not heard of "President's Choice, Blue Moon" products. Is there a reason that it has to be stated on every product they sell? I realize that this product is probably popular in what ever country that this book is written in, Australia, or maybe Canada. Otherwise, I do use this book on a daily basis to look up the gly. index number for the foods on my diet...or if they aren't on my diet. Thank you. [...]; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Message; Author: Lance Richardson; Review: I am still reading this book, but love it! Everyone should read this book to get the real MESSAGE! I have already told my friends about this book. It definitely gives you so much hope for the afterlife!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Candle in the Darkness (Refiner's Fire, Book 1); Author: Lynn Austin; Review: Love this book! I love reading anything about the pioneers of this country from a women's point of view. An added part of reading this book is all of the history involved with the civil war. I find myself looking up where the battles were, who the generals were and their strategies. I'm going to hate to finish this book!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beyond His Control - Memoir of a Disobedient Daughter; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Hale Bucklin Page; Review: I was reading this for a few nights, and just got kind of bored with it. I then found another book, and started reading it. I may go back to it, but for then, it didn't keep my interest. Maybe go back to it this summer.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fire by Night; Author: Visit Amazon's Lynn N. Austin Page; Review: Since getting my kindle I read one book of times during the Civil War. I loved this book! Was sad when I finished it. I even went on the internet to find the cities mentioned in this book and map them out. I now look for other books about the Civil War, and the families at home who waited for their men to come home. I will be looking for more books by this author!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas A. Desjardin Page; Review: Loved the beginning, but, after awhile, l lost track of who was who, and could not see the map of the battles very well. I think I would like reading in a hard back book better than my kindle. Love those civil war history books.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pray the Rosary; Author: Catholic Book Publishing Co; Review: Love this little book! It has everything that I want to teach my class. Thank you for publishing this booklet.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory; Author: Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg; Review: I am loving this book. Interesting views of people and their experiences. I am reading it nightly and hate to put it down.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Midwife's Revolt; Author: Visit Amazon's Jodi Daynard Page; Review: Loved this book! Just finished it last night, and now feel lost! I have to find another from this time in history. I love getting that feeling of how women handled the home front while the wars we heard about are going on. Looking today...Miss the adventures of Lizzie!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Captivity: A Pioneer Woman's Story of Her Life Among the Sioux; Author: Visit Amazon's Fanny Kelly Page; Review: I chose this book because I wanted to read about the real life of pioneer women. What this woman went through is unbelievable...but, true. I think that this is why I liked reading it so much. I don't think that I would have lasted through all of her torturous captivity. I have told so many people about this book. You find yourself just praying for her to get rescued!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: sisters of The Confederacy; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Loved this book, and engulfed myself in it every night! Loved each character and their descriptions. Hated it when I found out that I was at the end!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia; Author: Visit Amazon's Jessica James Page; Review: One of my very, very, favorite books!! Couldn't put it down! Lost a lot of sleep because of reading it too late for a few nights!! Now looking for one like itwill try The Gray Ghost of Civil WarVirginia next. This book is WELL WORTH PICKING UP!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sacrifice: A Novel of the War for Southern Independence; Author: Steve Freeman; Review: I really liked this book, I sometimes had a problem with keeping all the soldier's names clear, but kind of figured out who was who. Loved the family bond of these brothers. Very disappointed with the ending. But, would I read it again? Probably so. I read a lot of Civil War books, and this was one of the best!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: To Everything a Season (Song of Blessing) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Loved this book! I've been trying to keep in the right order of the series,but....it didn't matter....I still loved it!! I'm on to another one from her series! I love this author!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Johnstown Flood; Author: David G. McCullough; Review: I started reading it for a few days....and honestly, lost interest. And I have read 2 other books since then. No interesting characters. Maybe just not the type of books that held my interest.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: More Than a Dream (Return to Red River); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Finally, I've found an author that I really like! I love going from one book of hers to another. I got out of sequence on one, but loved it any way! I'm already into the next one. Thank you Lauraine Snelling for writing what I want to read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Harvest of Hope (Song of Blessing) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Love this series of books! I fall asleep with my beliefs in God strengthened! With all the violence to hear about, dailey hurdles, and challenges of life, I look forward to relaxing with these books before dropping off to sleep.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dakota Dawn; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Love this book! So glad that it is the first of a series! I love Lauraine Snelling's way of writing!! The way she describes each character, it's like I know them personally!! The only thing I don't like is that her books are much too short!! Thank you Lauraine Snelling for many nights of late reading!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dakota Dream (Dakota Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: I truly loved how Clara changed her attitude about this man! I love the way Lorraine Smelling describes everything so well!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sophie's Dilemma (Daughters of Blessing #2); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Loved this one!!@; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dakota Dusk; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Love every book!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dakota December and Dakota Destiny; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: I just love every one of Lorraine Snelling's books! I never have to be assaulted with crude language, or too explicit sex. I love that God is included in every part of their lives. Very strengthening.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Valley of Dreams (Wild West Wind); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Love this series! Love how Lorraine describes all her characters! She also describes food so well. Reading about their meals makes me hungry!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Place to Belong (Wild West Wind) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: So happy this book followed the last one. I just loved it!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blessing in Disguise (Red River of the North #6); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: I love all of Lauraine Snelling's books. This was another good one! I must confess, I did sneak ahead a little at times to see what was happening with Augusta more times, and speeding through times at the Bjorklands home in Blessing. I'd like a complete book about Augusta's life, afterwards. Thank you Lauraine Snelling for many enjoyable hours of reading!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Santa Fe Woman (Wagon Wheel Series #1); Author: Visit Amazon's Gilbert Morris Page; Review: Okay, needless to say, I loved this book, and going on to another of Gilbert Morris ' s books. I stayed awake reading his book until 2:30am finishing this book, just because I couldn't put it down and go to sleep!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rebecca's Reward (Daughters of Blessing #4); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: I love every book that I have read written by Lauraine Snelling....this one is as great as all the others. I hate it when I finish each book. I'm slowly running out of her books to read, and looking forward to her book coming out in September. I can't wait!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Among the King's Soldiers (The Spirit of Appalachia, Book 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Gilbert Morris Page; Review: I loved this book because it makes you feel like you are part of the family. Love the way they teach you to depend on God for everything they do. It's sometimes hard to close my kindle and face life on my own, but actually it has made me think about their strength all during my day.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Waiting for Hope (Laramie); Author: Visit Amazon's Karen J. Hasley Page; Review: This book kept my interest so much that I read too late for a few nights! The excitement increased towards the end....and I couldn't put this book down for anything....including my sleep! This girl, Hope, went through a lot!! You won't regret picking this book to read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Six Women West: Love and Danger on the Oregon Trail (The Journeys of Six Women in the Early West); Author: Wanda Reed; Review: Loved this book! Finally put this book down very late for a few nights. I don't want to leave these girls. I got do I felt like I was another one of the girls!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: So Wide the Sky: A Heart-Soaring Novel of Destiny, Love, Courage and Family; Author: Visit Amazon's Elizabeth Grayson Page; Review: Very interesting information on the Indian cultures, besides a great story. Could have cut back on some of the sex scenes, and I would have enjoyed this book more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: An Untamed Heart; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Another book from Lorraine Smelling filled with beautiful descriptions of life in Norway before the family starts up in America. This author's descriptions of places, as the steer in the summer are so real, it is like I am really there with the family. The descriptions of the foods and drink of the Norwegian family are like you can see, smell and taste them yourself! As a lover of coffee myself, I want to have a cup myself. When her characters fall in love, it is as if I am falling in love again myself. And also, as myself, it gives me strength in trusting in Our Lord. Thank you for your great books!! Next???; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Taming the Wind (Land of the Lone Star) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Tracie Peterson Page; Review: This book, besides having the Christian values highlighted. I loved the suspense, besides the quiet moments described in this book. I chose this book because I am really loving all of Tracie Peterson's books.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Veiled Reflection (Westward Chronicles, Book 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Tracie Peterson Page; Review: I chose a 5 star rating because I loved, yet another Tracie Peterson book! I only want to go on and read more of her books!! I love the era that these books are written. The characters are well described. And the Christian attitude is one that I can relate to. Thank you Tracie for the books that I've been looking for!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Until We Reach Home; Author: Lynn Austin; Review: Loved these sisters, and there journey to America!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Love Everlasting (Brides of Seattle); Author: Visit Amazon's Tracie Peterson Page; Review: I chose this book because it's part of a series, which I love! The last chapter s where so exciting that I stayed awake until 2:30 am reading!! I could not put it down!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Tapestry of Hope (Lights of Lowell Series #1); Author: Visit Amazon's Tracie Peterson Page; Review: On the edge of my bed reading this! Love all your books!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: This Treacherous Journey (Heart of the Mountains); Author: Visit Amazon's Misty M Beller Page; Review: Love this book!! Another good one that kept me up all night!!! Thank you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Breath of Hope (Under Northern Skies); Author: Visit Amazon's Lauraine Snelling Page; Review: Thank you for another good book! I love the way you describe your characters in the story. I love your books because the faith in our Lord is brought out in each character. The words of the Bible strengthens your characters, and myself. I never have to worry about trashy language, in your books....thank you! How you put it all together amazed me. It's hard to imagine what some of these immigrants had to go through to leave their countries to survive and make a life for themselves and their families. I look forward to reading all of your books!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Numb3rs: Complete anglais; Brand: ; Review: This series had Action, Drama, Human Interest and some comedy, I thought it was a nicely done, well acted series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: You Only Live Twice Deluxe Letterbox Edition [Laserdisc]; Brand: ; Review: What can I say; I'm a bond fan and needed three movies to complete my set - Sean Connery was my favorite Bond and I was pleased to find "You Only Live Twice" at a good price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 74: The Best Of Both Worlds, Part I VHS; Brand: LeVar Burton; Review: Although I enjoyed all of the various Star Trek series, TNG has always been one of my favorites (Patrick Stewart was particularly good as Captain Jean-Luc Picard).; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Second Season; Brand: Patrick Stewart; Review: As for seasons 1 and 3, I purchased used media and was very pleased with the quality and the value of the product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Third Season; Brand: Patrick Stewart; Review: Took a chance on used media to save money (and to get the original packaging - reviews of the "New Release" were less than rave). Was NOT disappointed - all discs and packaging were in very good condition (I'd even say excellent). For once, my attempts to reduce cost actually paid off .; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: M*A*S*H Goodbye, Farewell and Amen; Brand: ; Review: One of the great TV series of all time - it's a joy to get reacquainted. I've only made it through the first couple of seasons, but - so far - the product is as described.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: M*A*S*H; Brand: Alan Alda; Review: One of the great TV series of all time - it's a joy to get reacquainted. I've only made it through the first couple of seasons, but - so far - the product is as described.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Brand: Graham Chapman; Review: If you enjoy Monty Python's bizarre humor - this is some of his best.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Auditorium Rooms; City: Ravello Amalfi Coast Province of Salerno Campania; Review: A superb accommodation. Twin brothers Marco and Pascuale have created to most sensational rooms here with obvious Italian style and class and very affordable. Driving in to Ravello is an experience after negotiating the Amalfi Coast road, we struggled to find the right road but after ringing Marco he met us by the house and guided us first to the car park (30 euros for 2 nights but great to have it safely housed) On entering the room the first, and main, observation is the incredible view looking from 1200ft down at The Amalfi Coast. Actually this detracts from the delightful accommodation which is so stylish and beautifully decorated. A tiled floor and comfortable bed, an amazing bathroom and complete attention to detail - fridge, safe, tea making etc etc. Both brothers speak brilliant English and could not have been more helpful. Breakfast was served on the balcony and had everything we could have wished for provided. The 2 balconies are adjacent so you will get to meet your neighbours at close quarters, this was a pleasure for us! We walked to Amalfi - a 2 hour downhill endurance test, fabulous views at every turn. The town was crazy busy and after experiencing the high priced ice cream we were glad to get on the hectic bus back to Ravello. We should mention the paper works museum at the top end of the Amalfi main street, well worth a visit for it's history, peace and cool air! Ravello is a lovely little town steeped in history with elements of celebrity all over the place. Great restaurants and not ridiculously expensive. A fantastic experience, big credit to Marco and Pascuale for their fine apartments!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Il Convento; City: Naples Province of Naples Campania; Review: We were slightly apprehensive of staying in Naples after friends had spoken of chaotic streets and other difficulties. We booked Il Convento after reading Tripadvisor reviews and were not disappointed. The Hotel arranged a driver to collect us from the airport, this at a cost of 35euro. Itn was worth every penny as the Mercedes driver acted as a tour guide as he navigated the difficult roads into the City. DO NOT even think about driving in Naples!!! The standard of accomodation was excellent, we had a roof terrace with our room which gave us 'chill out' opportunity after walking the City streets. The hotel is situated in the middle of the Spanish Quarter surrounded by narrow streets of high old buildings, good restaurants nearby and ideally located for the various shopping streets. Great breakfast, good service and help from, the staff who spoke some English.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Residence Sassi San Gennaro; City: Matera Province of Matera Basilicata; Review: We booked the room based on Tripadvisor ratings and overall weren't dissapointed. The location is simply amazing with a very good standard of conversion from the primitive early dwelling. The receptionist spoke impeccable English and was most helpful when we arrived. Driving a rental car, we were prepared for parking issues with only residents allowed to park in the Sassi area. However the receptionist arranged a 'company' to take the car away for safe parking, to be returned when we checked out. This worked well at a cost of 35 Euro, quite steep for 2 nights but with peace of mind. Later that week I discovered that an attempt had been made to force to door lock, not at all sure when that happened but suspected it could have been during our stay. The rooms were clean and the basics were provided, we had to ask for a kettle and felt that a little more attention could have been paid to detail with perhaps some advise on the area, restaurants etc. By coincidence there was a religious festival in the town which we luckily found by accident, it would have been nice to have been told about this. Also we would have appreciated advice on local restaurants especially as we had difficulty finding anything open on the Sunday evening. We enjoyed the atmosphere in our room but were a bit shocked to find the bedding was rather damp due to the humidity and that there was a constant smell from the bathroom which we assume was from the sewers, unpleasant but certainly not overpowering. We did ask if this was typical and were told that it can be worse after a long dry period. No Wifi available, or if it was we couldn't find it! Overall a great experience albeit an expensive one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Santa Caterina; City: Palinuro Centola Province of Salerno Campania; Review: This hotel is a gem of a place, our room had a balcony with the most incredible view over the harbour area. The quality is excellent with nothing spared (other than tea making equipment which is our only criticism) We arrived on the eve of the local festival which made for a great experience, the hotel is situated midway on the main street which both evening turned into a street market. At night we were treated to an incredible firework display viewed from our balcony. despite being the end of the season the festival ensured a a great atmosphere. The breakfast was excellent and set us up well for a days walking and exploring. The town is lovely with delightful beaches, boat trips to the blue grotto, and loads of good restaurants. The reception girls both spoke excellent English and were most helpful with all our requests. Car parking was just across the road in their private area. Strong recommend for this hotel, a lovely spot !; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Le Chalet Del Pollino B B; City: Rotonda Province of Potenza Basilicata; Review: We spent a delightful 2 nights here as part of our 2 week road trip. This chaley=t style house suited us perfectly, our hostess Luciana was the nicest and most helpful person. Fortunately she speaks good French which enabled us to communicate quite well despite our lack of Italian. The bed room was fairly small but very well equipped, excellent bathroom. Breakfast was a very pleasant experience with Luciana preparing everything for us and serving us, she even managed English tea! 10 minutes down the road, Rotonda is small but full of life. We enjoyed strolling round the narrow streets and climbing to the top of the old town hill for the fantastic views. Make sure you visit the natural history museum and see the elephant, incredible! We also took a drive up the mountain, so peaceful with plenty of wildlife/birds and flowers. Luciana recommended a restaurant a short walk from the Chalet, Agriturismo Calivino, be warned they don't open till 8pm. Interesting selection of local dishes and a nice wine. This was a delightful stopover for us, strong recommend!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Amsterdam Wiechmann Hotel; City: Amsterdam North Holland Province; Review: We are 4 couples who take the same weekend each year as a City break. This years choice of Amsterdam was a great success largely due to the hotel which really served us well. Great history and character with very helpful and friendly staff. We had paid a little extra for canal views, well worth the cash and, yes, the stairs are steep - of course they are, this is old Amsterdam. The rooms were spacious and comfortable and with a little noise from the street helping to give the Amsterdam atmosphere. Very good location close to many cafes/restaurants and the main attractions.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: 10-Pack 15 Watt Bulbs for Scentsy Plug-In Nightlight Warmer wax diffuser, 15W 120 Volt; Brand: Memotronics; Review: Works great in my scentsy plug ins; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DEWALT DCK285L2 20V Max Lithium Ion Compact Hammerdrill and Impact Driver Combo Kit; Brand: DEWALT; Review: Excellent! Love Dewalt products and this did not disappoint.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Creative Bath Products 20063-ORB Complete Collection 2 Shelf Wall Organizer with Towel Bar, Oil Rubbed Bronze; Brand: Creative Bath; Review: I installed this in my shower to put soaps out of reach of the kids. It worked great!! Not too big and looks great mounted on my tile.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: InnoGear Upgraded Solar Lights 2-in-1 Waterproof Outdoor Landscape Lighting Spotlight Wall Light Auto On/Off for Yard Garden Driveway Pathway Pool,Pack; Brand: InnoGear; Review: Installed these at our gate so we could make sure it was closed at night. They work excellent!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Creative Bath Products 20063-ORB Complete Collection 2 Shelf Wall Organizer with Towel Bar, Oil Rubbed Bronze; Brand: Creative Bath; Review: I installed this in my shower to put soaps out of reach of the kids. It worked great!! Not too big and looks great mounted on my tile.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DeWalt DWST14825 10-Compartment Deep Pro Part/Tool Organizer with Metal Latch; Brand: DEWALT; Review: Nice storage box for large screws and nails.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Hosa HMP-003Y REAN 3.5mm TRS to Dual 1/4" TS Pro Stereo Breakout Cable, 3 Feet; Brand: Hosa; Review: This product had issues. It developed a hum in the low frequency range after 4 months. It has a one eighth inch male plug on one, and two (2) TRS one quarter inch phone style balanced inputs on the other. I would plug the one eighth mini plug into the line output, or the headphone output. And this hum hum hummmm would happen. It was very disturbing to listen to and I have had to unplug my computer from my speakers. I use my computer, a really spiffy desk top, or also known as a "tower" to produce music, but because of the hum hum hummmm from my monitor speakers, I can not make my music. So this cord is an important part of my existence. But I can not return it and I can not explain why because of rules in reviews that require so many words and not to talk bad about the you-know-who regarding the dispensation of this issue. The rating should reflect the overall experience with the product and other parties I can not name directly, or this review may go the way of the other ones. I would not buy this product again from Amazon. I shall copy this in case I have to post it again.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: [OLD MODEL] Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Audio Interface; Brand: Focusrite; Review: This unit developed a low frequency flutter across all three left output channels. I can only use it as a midi interface. Short (30 day) return policy makes it difficult to figure out how to return unit to factory. My old Tascam USB122 works as well as this, as long as you can work around the driver issue in Windows 8. Caveat Emptor. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don't.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: GLS Audio 6ft Patch Cable Cord - XLR Male To XLR Female Black Mic Cable -; Brand: GLS Audio; Review: exactly as advertised. Good product. Well built.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hosa MID-305BK 5-Pin DIN to 5-Pin DIN MIDI Cable, 5 Feet; Brand: Hosa; Review: Great product, performed as advertised.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: QSC KLA181 Pole 36" Loudspeaker for KLA181 Subwoofer; Brand: QSC; Review: POLE STAR; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Reliable Hardware Company RH-1606-8-A Guitar Amplifier Cabinet; Brand: Reliable Hardware Company; Review: Something's afoot with these things.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Musical_Instruments |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Orgeron delivers all-time great line in pregame interview; Abstract: The LSU Tigers welcomed the undefeated Florida Gators to Death Valley on Saturday night, and it's fair to say that Ed Orgeron was ready for it.; Category: sports
Title: LSU makes case as No. 1 while massive upset shakes up SEC picture; Abstract: ; Category: sports
Title: Coaches poll: LSU jumps Ohio State, Oklahoma to No. 3; Georgia falls; Abstract: LSU moved up three spots to No. 3 in the Amway Coaches Poll behind Alabama and Clemson. Georgia dropped seven spots after losing to South Carolina.; Category: sports
Title: 17 Hits Popular Musicians Hate Playing Live; Abstract: Sadly, not every musician likes playing their biggest songs. From "Like a Virgin" to "Creep," here are the greatest hits artists refuse to play.; Category: music
Title: Eddie Van Halen traveling to Germany to treat throat cancer; Abstract: You won't believe how Eddie Van Halen thinks he got cancer.; Category: music
Title: Harley-Davidson halts production of new electric motorcycles; Abstract: Harley-Davidson has halted production and deliveries of its new LiveWire electric motorcycle after reportedly discovering a problem with its charging mechanism.; Category: finance
Title: Watch: Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard make 'MNF' magic with jaw-dropping TD; Abstract: This score put the Packers within two points of the Lions, 22-20, with just nine minutes left in the game.; Category: sports
Title: Taco Bell seasoned beef recall: 2.3M pounds removed from restaurants; Abstract: Kenosha Beef International is recalling "an undetermined amount of seasoned beef products" from Taco Bell restaurants nationwide.; Category: health
Title: The most iconic album covers of all time; Abstract: Maybe it's an elaborate, commissioned piece of art. Maybe it's a photo that captures just the right kind of moment. Whatever the sleeve is, we know a great one when we see it, as it intrinsically ties our emotions to the music within.; Category: music
Title: Motorcycle Geometry Explained: Little Changes, Big Differences; Abstract: A great primer in what happens with each change.; Category: autos
Title: Why the 'midlife crisis' is a myth; Abstract: Research shows that while many people report feelings of dissatisfaction as they grow older, there's little evidence of a period of crisis in middle age. In fact, psychologically speaking things tend to get better.; Category: health
Title: Week 8 observations: Wisconsin exposed as fraud in title chase and that could hurt Big Ten; Abstract: Wisconsin showed it was not a real national title contender with a loss to Illinois that changes the landscape of the Big Ten.; Category: sports
Title: Tua Tagovailoa proves his value to Alabama in absence against Tennessee; Abstract: The Crimson Tide's offense wasn't the same after the junior quarterback left with a high ankle sprain. It's clear that as Tua goes, so, too, could Alabama.; Category: sports
Title: eBay Find: 1964 Chevrolet Bel Air Garage Find; Abstract: This car looks like a drag-racing project that got away from someone.; Category: autos
Title: If You Don't Eat a Banana Every Day, This Might Convince You to Start; Abstract: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Not so much. Try this fruit, instead.; Category: health
Title: 2020 Airstream Caravel Is a Miniature Hotel Room on Wheels; Abstract: Airstream's iconic exterior design and contemporary interior styling makes the Caravel the most fashionable compact trailer at the campground.; Category: autos
Title: Opinion: Zion Williamson's knee injury deflates Pelicans, NBA season before it begins; Abstract: New Orleans' growth will be stunted because Zion Williamson, the most touted rookie since LeBron James, is a key figure to their present and future.; Category: sports
Title: A Husband and Wife Went on Keto. He Lasted Two Weeks, She Stuck to It All Year and Lost 82 Pounds; Abstract: In June 2017, Keli Ricci and her husband, Tyler, made a bet to see who could go the longest on a diet.; Category: health
Title: Photos of College Football Cheerleaders; Abstract: Photos of College Football Cheerleaders; Category: sports
Title: The most notable celebrity deaths of the decade; Abstract: These are the biggest of the big-name stars we lost between 2010 and 2019.; Category: entertainment
Title: The biggest games in the month of November that will decide the College Football Playoff; Abstract: The month of November will decided which teams will be in College Football Playoff contention. A look at the biggest games in a jam-packed schedule.; Category: sports
Title: Predicting the College Football AP Top 25 Poll for Week 11: Georgia Climbs After Big Win; Abstract: Here's what we predict the college football AP Top 25 poll will look like after Week 10. The post Predicting the College Football AP Top 25 Poll for Week 11: Georgia Climbs After Big Win appeared first on Stadium.; Category: sports
Title: Niagara Falls: Boat stuck on rocks 101 years dislodged; Abstract: High winds and heavy rains dislodged the remains of a barge in the rapids above Niagara Falls that had been there 101 years.; Category: weather
Title: PHOTOS: America's Best High School Football Stadiums; Abstract: USA TODAY High School Sports has identified the 16 top high school football stadiums in the country.; Category: sports
Title: Unbeaten no more, Patriots fall to Jackson and Ravens 37-20; Abstract: The Baltimore Ravens posted a 37-20 victory Sunday night over the New England Patriots.; Category: sports
Title: Can Alabama, LSU give real meaning to 'Game of the Century'?; Abstract: LSU and Alabama play in a regular-season 'Game of the Century,' but the last five winners failed to win it all. Will that change this time?; Category: sports
Title: 'At 237 Lbs., I Was Embarrassed To Go To The Gym. So I Did An At-Home BeachBody Program And Lost 117 Lbs.'; Abstract: "I wanted to be me again."; Category: health
Title: 105 Black Friday Deals You Can Start Shopping Today; Abstract: Save with early bird deals from stores like Walmart, Target, Amazon, Costco, Sam's Club, Kohl's, Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's, which are offering deep Black Friday discounts on the hottest products on your Christmas list and your wish list starting on Thanksgiving, or even sooner.; Category: lifestyle | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Celebs and their cute kids in 2019; Abstract: Ellen Pompeo takes her daughter for a sweet treat, plus more photos of stars with their little ones!; Category: entertainment
Title: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Trusted Private Secretary Has Resigned; Abstract: She stepped down from the esteemed role on Friday.; Category: lifestyle
Title: Kate Middleton fired her longtime personal assistant amid split from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry; Abstract: Sophie Agnew, Middelton's longtime aide of seven years, was fired after she returned home from her honeymoon.; Category: lifestyle
Title: What Causes Vertigo? 15 Things Doctors Wish You Knew; Abstract: The spinning, dizzying loss of balance that indicates vertigo can come without warning.; Category: health
Title: Jason Momoa says his marriage to Lisa Bonet proves 'anything is possible,' plus more news; Abstract: Jason Momoa gets giddy about marrying his "childhood crush," Lisa Bonet. Plus, more celebrity news for Oct. 16, 2019.; Category: entertainment
Title: Liam Hemsworth moves on from Miley Cyrus with Australian 'Dynasty' actress, plus more celeb love life news for mid-October 2019; Abstract: Bella and The Weeknd spark reconciliation rumors, JWoww dumps boyfriend after he gets handsy with Angelina, Teresa faces new cheating allegations and more!; Category: entertainment
Title: 'The Masked Singer' Recap: A Grammy Winner Is Revealed As The Skeleton; Abstract: A new round of performances from masked singers led to one celebrity being unmasked at the end of the Oct. 16 episode of 'The Masked Singer.'; Category: tv
Title: A teen received a response to a message in a bottle he wrote 9 years ago after it traveled over 3,000 miles; Abstract: The bottle, which was placed into the ocean on a beach in Rockport, Massachusetts, was found off the coast of France.; Category: lifestyle | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Practical Fannypack Cotton Waistbag Travel Utility Belt; Brand: Lakhays; Review: I love this so much! It was a great price and it's awesome! I'm gonna be using it for every music festival I go to this summer =); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FINEJO Women's One Piece Swimsuit Bathing Beach Push Up Bikini Crochet Hollow; Brand: ; Review: I got a medium in this suit because the review said it ran small. I'm about 105lbs and a size 2 (the type of person who should be wearing something like this). The bottom fits just fine but the top part is a little big. Not a huge deal though, I'll just have to tie it a little tight. It's super sexy though =); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Amour-2 Pcs New Fashion Sexy Women Floral Purple/Blue Paisley Print Hawaii Style Padded Bikini Top + Bottom (M, Purple); Brand: Amour; Review: Gorgeous bikini, can't wait to wear it this summer!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sexy Women Fringe Tassel Padded Swimsuit Swimwear Collection; Brand: Ninimour; Review: I love this bikini, it's one of my favorites; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Anemone Women's Lace Bralette; Brand: Anemone; Review: I love these bralettes, they're so much more comfortable than bras. I wear these just about everyday.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sannysis(TM) Sexy Strap Blouse Vest Cut Out Shirt Summer Beach Tank; Brand: Sannysis; Review: This is probably my most comfortable bralette. Since it's winter the material is fine for now but I'm afraid it won't be breathable enough for during the summer months. Aside from that, I think it's super cute, versatile and comfortable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Kindle Fire Skin Kit/Decal - Elegy - Digital Blasphemy (does not fit Kindle Fire HD); Brand: DecalGirl; Review: Is this for the Kindle with buttons or the Kindle Touch? I need one for the Kindle with buttons, not the Touch...; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Linksys E1200 Wi-Fi Wireless Router with Linksys Connect Including Parental Controls (Certified Refurbished); Brand: Linksys; Review: Every 2-3 days the router drops the wireless signal. You then have to reset the router, reboot the computer and wait until the router shows a connection on the computer. If it was so fast compared to a 802.11 G. The wireless range of the router is also very long. Otherwise I would have returned the router.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Fintie Folio Case for Kindle Paperwhite - Fits All Paperwhite Generations Prior to 2018 (Not Fit All-New Paperwhite 10th; Brand: Fintie; Review: This case is great. I like the way it allows the PaperWhite to be turned on and off. It is very convenient. Great product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stylus, amPen Hybrid 3-in-1 Stylus for iPad Pro, iPad/2/3/4, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2/4, iPhone X,8,8Plus, Galaxy S8, S8; Brand: amPen; Review: I thought I'd given up on a stylus' after I retired my old Palm device but this works nice on my iPad and iPhone. I love the super fine tip on the pen. That's the main reason I bought it but then again the stylus works well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RAVPower Lightning Cable Apple MFi Certified 3ft 0.9m Lightning to USB Cable for iPhone 6S 6 Plus 6 5S 5C; Brand: RAVPower; Review: I bought and received this cable and I love it. Like others have said it is nothing but quality but you're dealing with RAVPower. They are a great company standing behind their products.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sandisk SDSDQM-016G - B35A 16GB MicroSDHC Memory Card, Class 4 (RETAIL PACKAGE); Brand: SanDisk; Review: Worked as advertised.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Box GS8000L Mini Dashboard Dash Cam - HD 1080P 2.7" LCD Car DVR Miniature Camera Video Recorder; Brand: Black Box; Review: Super camera. I really like how it works.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Double Splitter Earphone Jack Adapter Aux Audio; Brand: Coursin; Review: I really like it but it is NOT FINGERPRINT RESISTANT. Heck I have to wipe off fingerprints ever couple of days just like any other protector I've ever had. The cost was inexpensive for a thick protector. Would I buy it again. NO!!!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Endust for Electronics, CD/DVD Lens Cleaner, Blu Ray, Great for Desktop Computers and Players (262000); Brand: Endust for Electronics; Review: Works as advertised. Cleaned my malfunctioning 8 year old, never cleaned CD/DVD in 1 pass. My problem solved.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Amazon Kindle Replacement USB Cable, White (Works with 6", 9.7" Display, 2nd and Latest Generation Kindles); Brand: Smays; Review: Just what I needed. Now to keep my dog form running by it and pulling of the desk to the floor which jammed the cable screwing it up. Of well... I love my dog...; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Micro USB Cable, Insten 3 Ft Micro USB Charging Cable; Brand: INSTEN; Review: Seems to be working fine. The last one the plug shrunk back into the rubber molding so you couldn't use the plug anymore.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fintie iPad 2/3/4 Case [Corner Protection] - [Multi-Angle Viewing, Headrest] Stand Cover W/Elastic Hand; Brand: Fintie; Review: It is actually to big for the original size iPad. You have to do some tricks to make it work. Don't throw away the white foam lining that comes with it. You'll need it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with businesses as follows:
Title: The Southern Steak & Oyster; City: Nashville, TN; Review: No complaints about this place. Great atmosphere. Awesome server. We had oysters, hot chicken salad, and the brisket and everything was phenomenal!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bakersfield; City: Nashville, TN; Review: Margaritas were delicious. The guacamole was fresh and tasty. I had the chicken and chorizo tostada and then we had tacos . Food was very tasty. Giving it a four star because portions are on the smaller side. Not that it's a bad thing. I also don't think there was much chorizo on my meal and that's what I was looking for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Pancake Pantry; City: Nashville, TN; Review: Food was just ok. Not sure what the gigantic lines around the corner are for. Being from New Jersey I must say breakfast was sub par. Kind of disappointing and small portions.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Arnold's Country Kitchen; City: Nashville, TN; Review: This was phenomenal. Worth the wait by far. I would go there again any day. The roast beef and all the sides are on point! You won't be disappointed; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jackson's Bar & Bistro - Nashville; City: Nashville, TN; Review: Went for breakfast. Very slow to get food and forgot two items. Food was decent but the wait for some food items was a bit redic.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | yelp |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Marina Beach Motel; City: Santa Barbara California; Review: My husband and I (plus our doggy) stayed at the Marina Beach Motel in December 2004. The room was very cozy and the staff was friendly. The hotel offers lots of privacy and is in a great location. Despite the torrential rain, we had a fabulous time. We will definitely stay here again!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Napili Bay; City: Lahaina Maui Hawaii; Review: My husband & I just returned from a 7 night stay at the Napili Bay resort. We stayed in unit #218. The resort was very nice & right on Napili beach. It made hauling our beach chairs, books, towels, sunscree, and snorkel gear very easy, since we only had a few steps to go!! Unit #218 is very nice and the owners made everything go completely smoothly. The kitchen has been updated and all the furniture in the unit is in great condition. The Napili Bay Resort is a WONDERFUL bang for your buck. It was by far the least expensive beach front condo we reasearched. My only complaint is that we had to leave! We're definitely planning a trip back soon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Treebones Resort; City: Big Sur California; Review: My husband & I visited treebones for the second time this past summer. It's such a special and unique place. We stayed in a yurt with a vast ocean view and a fireplace. Within 10 minutes of checking in, we were sitting on the front porch of our yurt and saw several whales! It was an exciting way to start our stay. The people who run treebones are so helpful and really make the effort to make sure you have a great stay. Yes, you'll be paying a lot for a an upscale tent, but big sur is expensive in general and I really feel that you'll get your moneys worth if you stay at treebones. A few tips: - Don't order the ribs at treebones! They're tough and not good. All the other meals we had at treebones were delicious!! - Have lunch at big sur bakery. Soooo yummy! - We really enjoyed the Ewoldsen Trail hike at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. - We had massages at the esalen institute and while the hot springs are breathtaking, the nudity made us a little uncomfortable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Finest Playa Mujeres; City: Playa Mujeres Yucatan Peninsula; Review: Our family trip started off bumpy due to an emergency plane landing that resulted in missing our connection to Cancun. We were really hoping that by the time we reached The Finest (almost 24 hours later than planned), we'd be able to finally relax. Unfortunately, that isn't exactly what happened. Since we missed a full day of precious vacation time, the airline was quick to extend our trip so that we could fly out a day later. Considering The Finest was only at about 50% occupancy, I expected the same from them. NOT THE CASE. They insisted that since I made the reservation through Expedia, I had to deal with them. I spent over an hour on the phone with someone in India who frantically tried to get in touch with someone at the resort. The resort told them that the Expedia liaison was not there and to try later. Which meant that I had to call back a few hours later, sit on the phone explaining the issue yet again, only be to told that the hotel's expedia person was not available! The best Expedia could offer was to refund the $500 I spent on night #1 and re book me a night at the end of my trip for $900! WHAT?!?! Not acceptable. I ended up in tears after wasting several hours on the frustrating situation and after MUCH complaining, the resort finally extended my stay. Yes they made the change, but not easily or helpfully....only after I reached my breaking point. Finally, I thought, I can RELAX. Nope! Guess what! They wanted us (a party of 5) to MOVE rooms after night #2 because of a hot water pipe issue.......or so they claimed. They provided no help in packing up. Our new room was actually a HUGE downgrade since it was in the absolute furthest point away from the lobby and restaurants. It was an extra slap in the face the following day when we saw an advertising agency using our old room for a photo shoot. The Finest lied, totally inconvenienced us and put us in a terrible room. Definitely not the move of a 5 star resort who care about the comfort of their customers. I booked our package through Expedia & it came with a $200 credit at the spa. That's how it was worded, however, when I tried to book my services, I was quickly handed a letter that informed me that I actually had four $50 credits that had to be applied separately. I was not ready for a big fight so I just asked the spa, "do a lot of travelers get angry since this is not what they were promised?" "Oh YES! It's a big problem. That's why we have this letter. Could YOU call Expedia and explain??" This is supposedly a LUXURY resort. Why wouldn't they deal with this issue the first time it occurred?!?!? Why wait until guests show up at the spa? Someone at The Finest should have been on the phone with Expedia dealing with this, not typing; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mirbeau Inn Spa Skaneateles; City: Skaneateles Finger Lakes New York; Review: My senior citizen mom, pregnant sister and I just had a quick 1 night girls getaway to Mirbeau. Everything was really fabulous.....so much so that when I got home, I booked a return trip in April with my husband. The resort is beautiful and our room was super comfortable and cozy. The staff was wonderful. We spent from 2pm-7pm in the spa which was a real treat. We all loved our treatments (massages & facials) and my mom and I really enjoyed sipping wine in the hot tub. I think I'm a somewhat picky customer, in that, if I'm shelling out a decent amount of money, I expect things to go smoothly and to receive excellent customer service. Mirbeau did not disappoint.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Taj MG Road Bengaluru; City: Bengaluru Bangalore District Karnataka; Review: This is well located, you can get a lot of work done in the city. A good coffee shop - a very wide buffet menu, decent bar for the odd-free late evening, and well-sized rooms. The staff is friendly and efficient - right from the reception desk to the room service and coffee shop.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lemon Tree Premier 1 Gurugram; City: Gurugram Gurgaon Gurgaon District Haryana; Review: This is a surprisingly good hotel for a business traveller to Gurgaon. Priced reasonably, it is between the price range of an Oberoi / Taj and an Ibis. Not just functional - a bit more in store for the guest, it is not too ostentatious and without too many frills.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Canary Riverside Plaza Hotel; City: London England; Review: Great hotel for meetings in Canary Wharf. The place is back of beyond and tough to get to, so if you have meetings there, Four Seasons is a great place to stay. It has all the trappings of the usual Four Seasons standard. Highly personalized culture, warm and friendly and comfortable environment; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Capital Hilton; City: Washington DC District of Columbia; Review: This property now seems a bit old. The lifts, the lobby and corridor carpets and the overall feel of the place. However, it has an amazing location - a short walk from the White House, a reasonable walk from China Town, and not too far from the freeway for Dallas airport. It is not a quintessential modern Hilton, but when you learn that this near where Reagon was shot, the history of the place grows on you. I had a room facing the main road, and it was nice. I wondered how the rooms facing other buildings would be. The room was quite spacious for a US hotel. The Starbucks across the street makes up for not having a remarkable coffee shop. Overall good value for money.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Lalit New Delhi; City: New Delhi National Capital Territory of Delhi; Review: Well located business hotel. However, the room design needs greater planning and thought. There is no phone line on a wide and long table and one has to cross the large bed to reach the phone at the corner of the room. For a business hotel, this is not acceptable. Otherwise, excellent property and well maintained. Food and beverages staff is good. Excellent coffee shop - particularly the Kashmiri buffet. Overall, can improve in the value for money proposition.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Taj Mahal Hotel; City: New Delhi National Capital Territory of Delhi; Review: Well located, excellent service, good for lawyers (close to all the main courts), close to Lodhi Gardens, Khan Market - overall, a fantastic location and excellent service. The restaurants are well appointed and the breakfast is excellent. This is an important flagship property of the Taj Group.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Atlantic Palace Agadir; City: Agadir Souss Massa Draa Region; Review: This is a nice hotel. primarily a golf resort, one road removed from the sea front. Restaurant timings were rigid. The Maghrebi restaurant Taj Mahal was a great redeeming feature where we were fed although late. The spa is too mechanical and process-based and making the task of the therapists to impress clients extra hard. You actually have a form in a card that various people keep ticking as you proceed through the spa experience! New Year's Eve gala dinner was massive and excellent. We ate here and then hung out to see the sights and smell the odours of Agadir, to escape the boredom of small social talk on NYE. Rooms are spacious but quality is just average. Breakfast spread is wide and has a good range. Front desk staff was very good.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Les Merinides Fes; City: Fes Fes Boulemane Region; Review: This is a functional place to stay in. It has a coffee shop and a Moroccan restaurant, a bar and a lounge. It is a bit removed from the city of Fes. Good location for visiting the walled Medina and the markets. The hotel was a bit basic perhaps because of the season, it was not full, and had limitations in a feeling of being amidst a buzz.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Zaki Suites Hotel Spa; City: Meknes Meknes Tafilalet Region; Review: This is a really nice hotel. Fantastic interiors in the lobby. Very clean interiors. Rooms are a bit basic, but in a quaint charming small city in Morocco, one should not expect an international hotel chain luxury. The rooms are spacious, clean and well accessible. Hotel staff was very courteous, professional and clued into the individual guest. We were there X'mas Eve and the hotel did its bit for the X'mas mood. Food was very good too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Continentale; City: Trieste Province of Trieste Friuli Venezia Giulia; Review: This is an extremely well-located hotel. Clean hotel, spacious rooms, nice attached restaurant with a great buffet service. The hotel entrance is located on a no-vehicle lane, while it abuts a busy road. The sea-front is within walking distance. The hotel has functional free wi-fi. The staff and management are cheerful, with excellent spoken English. The large bathroom with a narrow cubicle for the hot shower is a great feature.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Parsian Evin Hotel; City: Tehran Tehran Province; Review: Parsian Evin Hotel is a nice place to stay for business trips. I was put up there for attending a conference, and it stood out for excellent room quality, cleanliness and a nice sit-out coffee shop. Despite my being vegetarian, it was possible to manage a good diet. The hotel also has a good range of English newspapers for the foreign tourist. Internet access on wifi is sold subject to some quota restrictions, but the connection was superb and one cannot complain about access. Conference facilities too were quite good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Amarano Burbank; City: Burbank California; Review: Amarano surprised me with its quality. Clean large rooms, well located for being able to eat inside or out, excellent swimming pool and gym, great staff, and excellent room service. A room was not ready when I got in since I got in earlier than expected, but the staff helped me manage the situation really well, enabling me to change and dine while the room was readied.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Carlton Hotel Singapore; City: Singapore; Review: Excellent location. Right across Chijmes and close to just about anything (yes, I know, anything in Singapore is close to anything generally, but even then, this is really well located). Cleanliness, friendliness of staff, efficiency (really quick check-in and check-out), responsive Conceirge, bell staff, are all good features. No surprises here - received the hospitality expected of an international hotel. Good value for money too.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Raksh Cottage; City: Siddapura Kodagu Coorg Karnataka; Review: I would strongly recommend Raksh Cottage for any family looking for a quiet time in Coorg. Located in Siddapur, a bit removed from the madding crowd of Madikeri, this home stay makes you feel truly at home. Run by Sujay and Deena, a really hospitable couple, assisted by an excellent staff both in upkeep of the property, and more importantly, with cooking. Excellent food, great location (all of Coorg is within driving distance) and quiet. An excellent play pen for kids tops up the pluses for families to stay. If you are looking for a simple and quiet getaway in Coorg, this is your place.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sofitel Hamburg Alter Wall; City: Hamburg; Review: This is so well located in Hamburg city. Close to the Aster Lake, Aster River, Neuer Wall, which houses great shopping avenues, and not far from the pub district and nice eating places, the location gives it a thumbs up. The experience at breakfast was a bit weird - unlike any other Sofitel anywhere in the world, the staff spends time getting every guest to sign a voucher while entering the coffee shop and chasing guests who have managed to get in while the staff is busy with other guests to confirm their breakfast status. Surely, this process could be more efficient - they could just get everyone to sign off at breakfast and then post the charge in the accounts of those whose breakfast is not covered. Right next to the river, the hotel also has a great view, fantastic reception staff, and secure and comfortable rooms. The bath is a tad small but typically European. The floors are one number away and that can affect a busy traveller's ability to recollect his room number (which adds to the confusion at the coffee shop breakfast!) - for example, rooms on the fifth floor start with "6"!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dead Sea Marriott Resort Spa; City: Sweimah Dead Sea Region; Review: The headline says it all. What more can one ask for?! Located at the very shore of the Dead Sea with views of Israel across the Sea and a complete overview of the sea, this resort has very good facilities too. The food range is good, restaurants serve well, good F&B staff. Also a wide vegetarian food range and non-alcoholic beverage range is noteworthy. The charging for wifi in the room is funny when it is free in the lobby - considering it is a resort where one would not be cooped up in the room generally, this policy deserves a re-visit.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Le Bristol Hotel; City: Kislovodsk Stavropol Krai North Caucasian District; Review: This is the place to go to in Kislovodsk. Located close to the central park and walking area, this is a nice, clean boutique hotel. Language may a problem for English-speaking guests but communication is not. The staff is very communicative despite the language barrier and goes out of their way to be hospitable to non-Russian-speaking foreign guests. If you are vegetarian, food can be a problem, but there are good stores very close to the hotel to pick up food from. The hotel is clean, the bath and hot water is superb, and rooms are well appointed.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ibis Moscow Centre Bakhrushina; City: Moscow Central Russia; Review: This is just the place to stay in if you want to be in the heart of Moscow and yet stay away from noise. Superbly located, this is a hotel that offers perfect value for money. Unlike the usual minimalist ibis hotels, there is also good staff support, even with luggage. The breakfast is copious even if functional and the hotel has amazing wi-fi access all across the property. The staff deserves high praise too for being really communicative and for going out of their way to help out guests and to overcome the language barrier in Moscow. Just be careful to ensure that your cabbie does not drop you off at ibis Paveletsky - don't let him go until you are sure you are the right place! It is another ibis very close to this one.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Padma Lodge; City: Jispa Lahaul and Spiti District Himachal Pradesh; Review: This place has the right balance between basic utilities and good comfort. On the Jispa road, out of the choices available, this is a airy and non-smelly and bright place to stay in. The hotel has expanded to two buildings, a large bunch of comfort tents and a separately located rental apartment block. The best place in Jispa in my view.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Royal Ladakh; City: Leh Leh District Ladakh Jammu and Kashmir; Review: This is a great hotel. Situated at the top of a hill, it affords a view of all of Leh from its balconies and verandehs. Fantastic wi-fi connection and a nice coffee shop make this a great place to stay in. The narrow lanes of Leh can make access a bit slow (one-vehicle lanes necessitate backing up the vehicle off and on) but once you reach the place, the location of the hotel and views make up for all the hardship. Views include the Stok range of mountains, the Leh Palace, castle and monastery, and the Shanti Stupa. Just 20 minutes from the airport at most times of the day, a bit distant from the main market and not too far from Changspa - surely give this a look if you are looking for a great place to stay in Leh.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Tashi Delek; City: Keylong Lahaul and Spiti District Himachal Pradesh; Review: This is a fantastic family-owned-and-managed hotel in Keylong. An excellent restaurant with good food, and personalized attention from the owner and his wife, this hotel is well located too. The room was clean, well-lit and very spacious. We stayed in the new wing. An excellent view of the valley and the trails to the Gompas are available from the balcony. If you are self-driving, the place affords good parking facilities. Located at the heart of the market place, a good wifi store across the road makes this a a great place to stay in and be connected despite being in the wilderness. Butler bells in each room gives a touch of luxury! Hot water with both solar and local geyser installations permits a hot water bath round the clock.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Red Fox Hotel Delhi Airport; City: New Delhi National Capital Territory of Delhi; Review: This is a fantastic alternative to Ibis. Better price point and a great transit / airport hotel. For a lower price, this even gives an edge - such as toothbrush and shaving kit in the bathroom, two sets of 30 minutes of free wi-fi, a great bed, comfortable bathroom (larger sized than Ibis) and excellent staff attention. Good restaurants at the adjoining Lemon Tree provide great places to dine too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jas Vilas; City: Jaipur Jaipur District Rajasthan; Review: If you are not looking for ostentatious 5-star stay in Jaipur but looking for a clean and excellent well-located place to stay, this is the place for you. The place has spacious rooms, a nice pool, a small garden restaurant, decent staff and good food. You could go to just about any place in Jaipur from here and it is a nice place to come back to after playing tourist all over Jaipur.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Boston Marriott Copley Place; City: Boston Massachusetts; Review: By American hospitality standards, this hotel has an excellent room size. The location is fantastic - close to almost anywhere in Boston. Wifi connection was great, in-room dining service was remarkably efficient, and the premises are clean. Lift renovation had led to floor access being a bit slow but it was not a big negative. The lounge, coffee shop and Starbucks on the first floor (called "second level") provide a good infrastructure. The bell desk staff too stood out for their politeness and efficiency.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: St James Court A Taj Hotel; City: London England; Review: This is a good hotel, shy of being a 5-star. It is a fantastic location - close to Victoria and St. James Park, giving access to most train lines, as indeed to Buckingham Palace and Westminster. The staff is very polite and efficient. The breakfast is widespread and utilitarian. Good restaurants too within the property and close to a great barber shop.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Parsian Evin Hotel; City: Tehran Tehran Province; Review: This was my second trip to Evin in Tehran after two years and I must say the quality was surprisingly consistent despite the hardships Iran has faced. The cafe at the porch was even better this time, the wifi connectivity superior (although I wish they did not use rationing of hours so much), and the food range was better at Breakfast. The food range in the lobby restaurant too is good. This is perfect foil for a business trip although a bit removed from the Centre, being in the North. Very close to Mehrabad airport although far from Imam Khomeini Airport.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Lineage; City: Lucknow Lucknow District Uttar Pradesh; Review: Lineage is well-located and reasonably priced. It not too far from the airport, located in Gomti Nagar, which is accessible easily, and has good infrastructure for holding business meetings. The hotel is in a quiet location, has good banquet facilities and has excellent front office managers and coffee shop managers. The rootfop restaurant and bar is nice too. It would do well to add a small gym.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Trident Bhubaneswar; City: Bhubaneswar Khurda District Odisha; Review: This is a classic Trident property. Neat, tastefully done, good breakfast, excellent staff and service, nice gym, clean rooms and value for money. Wifi is not free though. It is well located - not too far from the airport and quite easy to get around from here.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SAJ Earth Resort and Convention Center Kochi; City: Nedumbassery Kochi Cochin Ernakulam Dist; Review: This property has an amazing set of staff - all from Nagaland and completely international in their quality of service. The local Malayali staff in the food and beverages section are equally good. I chanced upon this resort where I had been put up for a night. I was surprised to see a resort with one large swimming pool like a moat all around the resort touching door to door, and that too at striking distance from the airport. The food was really nice too. Certainly a great place to stay on a short trip where one needs to stay near the airport.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Taj City Centre Gurugram; City: Gurugram Gurgaon Gurgaon District Haryana; Review: Not too far from the Delhi T-3 airport, this hotel has excellent staff, property and food. It is a good business hotel and is excellent value for money. A great coffee shop and breakfast is a good highlight.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Neemrana s Hill Fort Kesroli; City: Alwar Alwar District Rajasthan; Review: This is a fantastic concept and these folks have done a great job at turning a small fort into a nice hotel. Rooms created into the fort's walls, little garden patches, sit-outs on the ramparts, a pool on the wider face of the fort, conference room, coffee shops, sit-out dining areas and of course, a spa, mark this truly heritage place. The extremely attentive and polite staff are a bonus. Being a fort, and not a business five-star hotel, expect the unexpected and surrender to the place, to get charmed.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Geetika Galaxy; City: Kanpur Kanpur Nagar District Uttar Pradesh; Review: This is a well located property. Basically, clean and roomy, it is a nice place to stay in Kanpur when on work or attending social events in Kanpur such as weddings or other events. The rooms are clean, the bathroom spacious and generally the property outside the rooms too is very neat and well kept.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Old Bull Inn; City: Royston Hertfordshire England; Review: We had lunch here. It is cozy and nice with a responsive staff. I learnt that this is an institution in the village and every family would have have touched it at some point in their lives. The menu takes the form of large black boards, which are brought to each table for the group to choose from.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Singge Palace; City: Leh Leh District Ladakh Jammu and Kashmir; Review: This is a perfect place for families that visit Leh. The property has been done well, nicely appointed, with great housekeeping and clean beds. Located off the main market, it is within walking distance from the market and Changspa and yet removed from the noisy hurly burly of these locations. The hotel seems to have a penchant for serving Gujarati clients well - the buffet even has assorted farsan! This seems to be a haven for Indian tourists, particularly Gujjus.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel The Sacred Valley Home; City: Kathmandu Kathmandu Valley Bagmati Zone Central Region; Review: This is right at the mouth of Thamel and yet far removed from noisy tinny pubs and affords a great night's sleep on really comfortable beds in roomy rooms. Run by a family with personalized attention, I would strongly recommend this for both the solo traveller and families visiting Kathmandu. Food at the terrace is nicely done to individual taste by the kitchen team.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ITC Maurya a Luxury Collection Hotel New Delhi; City: New Delhi National Capital Territory of ; Review: The staff is the best asset for this hotel, apart from the highly-rated restaurants and an amazing chocolate boutique. The location is very good too - the airport is quick to reach from here as is indeed, Lutyen's Delhi. Well suited for business visits. So many staff members stood out for their personalised attention and care for detail over two stays for nearly a week each, that naming any one in particular would not be just. But some names that come to mind are Teresa, Irita, Vani, and all the reception staff at the Maurya Towers. The coffee shop stands out for the range of food and the service of the staff. In a nutshell, this is an excellent alternative to the other hotel chains for doing business in New Delhi.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Lasko Designer Series Ceramic Space Heater-Features Oscillation, Remote, and Built-in Timer, Beige; Brand: Lasko; Review: Very good heater. It's compact & lightweight but does a highly effective job in warming up a sizable family room area. The thermostat features works well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Secura Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder with Stainless-Steel Blades; Brand: Secura; Review: Very effectively grinds spices, flax seeds, etc. No problems with the motor -- just use bursts of grinding rather than long continuous runs of the motor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DANSK Kobenstyle 4-Piece Place Setting, Teal; Brand: Dansk; Review: Very pleased with the dishware set. I got a full set of place settings. A couple of them arrived broken; Amazon replaced them instantly. The dishware is very solid and quite attractive.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: EZ-DUZ-IT Deluxe Can Opener with Red Grips; Brand: John J. Steuby Co.; Review: I got this after a few months struggling with a can opener that I bought at a local grocery store. They were both about the same price, but that's where the similarity ends. There's absolutely no comparison. This opener is very solidly built with a good big of metal. The magnet holds firmly onto cans and the hand crank smoothly and cleanly cuts the lid off around the can's circumference. It's easy to use & clean (just rinse and hand dry) and makes opening any kind of can a breeze. I'm confident that I'll have it around for years.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mr. Coffee 2-in-1 Iced Tea Brewing System with Glass Pitcher; Brand: Mr. Coffee; Review: Makes very good iced tea. After reading the reviews here, I was concerned that the carafe might be too fragile. It seems quite solid, though, much more so than the ones in the company's coffee machines.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: John Taylor Butcher Block Conditioner Food Grade Mineral Oil and Natural Waxes, 12 fl.oz(355ml); Brand: John Taylor; Review: I ordered several bottles for conditioning a new butcher block counter. The conditioner is thick and heavy, but it applies smoothly. I've been using it a couple of times a day for the past four days, and the wood soaks it in, deepening in color & in sheen. The conditioner is giving the wood a smooth, satin-like hue and finish. I'll condition it for a couple more days before using it, but I'm very satisfied with the results so far.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Versailles Home Fashions Stainless Steel Indoor and Outdoor 66/120-Inch Duo Tension Rod, 3/4-Inch Diameter, Espresso; Brand: Versailles Home Fashions; Review: Purchased this tension rod for a 76-inch window frame on a sunporch. I was concerned about the reviews which noted that the product can sag under the weight of curtains. So far, that has not happened. I'm using it to hang Japanese noren (linen curtain panels) & it works very well. It was ridiculously easy to install and looks much better than standard tension rods. I'm very happy with the purchase.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SnapeZo Poster Frame 20x30 Inches, Black 1.25" Aluminum Profile, Front-Loading Snap Frame, Wall Mounting, Professional Series; Brand: SnapeZo; Review: I really like this frame. It's lightweight without feeling flimsy. It's unbelievably easy to insert & remove posters and was easy to hang using the anchors & screws that are included. I only have one reservation, and it's one that other reviewers have mentioned: the frame seems minimally packaged. Mine was undamaged, but I could see how getting tossed around could have an effect. That aside, I'd highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Fly Has A Hundred Eyes A; Author: Aileen Baron BARON; Review: It was a fast paced great read. I will definitely read more by this author!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Play Dead; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Frasier Page; Review: This was an excellent story. The plot had many twists and turns. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I really enjoyed this story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Aphrodesia: A Novel of Suspense; Author: Visit Amazon's John Oehler Page; Review: This was an excellent story. The plot was exciting with many unexpected twists and turns. An all around great read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pale Immortal; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Frasier Page; Review: A very suspenseful story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Garden of Darkness; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Frasier Page; Review: A good read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pretty Dead (Elise Sandburg); Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Frasier Page; Review: A very good read. Great characters and settings. A page turner.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Red Knight Falling (Harmony Black); Author: Visit Amazon's Craig Schaefer Page; Review: Great characters and a good story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harmony Black; Author: Visit Amazon's Craig Schaefer Page; Review: Very exciting story. Reads quickly and is very entertaining. Great characters too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Enchantress (The Evermen Saga); Author: Visit Amazon's James Maxwell Page; Review: The book had a slow start but was well worth the reading. Great story, great characters, and very imaginative situations. A very good read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hidden Relic (The Evermen Saga); Author: Visit Amazon's James Maxwell Page; Review: This was a very exciting story. I loved the characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Path of the Storm (The Evermen Saga); Author: Visit Amazon's James Maxwell Page; Review: This is a very exciting book. It was a real page turner. I stayed up way past bedtime to finish it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lore of the Evermen (The Evermen Saga); Author: Visit Amazon's James Maxwell Page; Review: A very good book. Well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Resurrection Maker; Author: Visit Amazon's Glenn Cooper Page; Review: I expected an exciting story and this was it. I was a little disappointed at the ending, but the twists and turns of the plot were good. Great characters too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax; Author: Visit Amazon's Dorothy Gilman Page; Review: I love this series. Funny and a great story and characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Blight of Muirwood; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: I enjoyed reading this story. Exciting with lots of interesting characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scourge of Muirwood; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: I really enjoyed this story. Very engaging characters involved in an exciting plot.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Wretched of Muirwood; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: This was a very interesting story. The author immediately engaged me in the story. And I really enjoyed all the interesting characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Thief's Daughter (Kingfountain); Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: A very good story. Great characters in an exciting story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Queen's Poisoner (Kingfountain); Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: A great story. Interesting characters and a plot with lots of unexpected twists.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood); Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Wheeler Page; Review: This was an exciting story and I really enjoyed it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Witch of Napoli; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Schmicker Page; Review: Great characters and an exciting plot. I am looking forward to this authors next work.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Egyptian (Dominic Grey); Author: Visit Amazon's Layton Green Page; Review: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and adventure. This book was a real page turner with lots of twists. Enjoy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Charms & Witchdemeanors (Wicked Witches of the Midwest) (Volume 8); Author: Visit Amazon's Amanda M. Lee Page; Review: A very good plot, light hearted and fun. Good characters too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Life's a Witch (Wicked Witches of the Midwest) (Volume 8); Author: Visit Amazon's Amanda M. Lee Page; Review: It was a very good story. Light hearted and great characters made it enjoyable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Reaper's Game (A Dominic Grey Novella) (The Dominic Grey Series Book 5) eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Layton Green Page; Review: A very good story. very exciting and entertaining. I recommend it to anyone who liked a fast paced plot full of twists.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic); Author: Visit Amazon's Melissa F. Olson Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book. A very creative plot and excellent characters. There were many exciting scenes and suspenseful parts.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Boundary Crossed: An Old World Novel, Book 1; Author: Melissa F. Olson; Review: I really enjoyed this book. A very creative plot and excellent characters. There were many exciting scenes and suspenseful parts.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Shadow Cartel (Dominic Grey); Author: Visit Amazon's Layton Green Page; Review: This was a very exciting book. I have read all of the books in this series and can't wait for another one to be written. Kudos, a very entertaining story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Diabolist (Dominic Grey); Author: Visit Amazon's Layton Green Page; Review: What a great story. Plenty of twists and turns in the plot and great characters too. Made the unbelievable, believable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Red Gold (A Gabe McKenna Mystery) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert D. Kidera Page; Review: I gave this book 5 stars because I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The characters are great and the twisting plot kept me guessing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Get Lost (A Gabe McKenna Mystery) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert D. Kidera Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book. Engaging characters and a plot with a lot of twists made this a great read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sans Pareil Mystery (The Detective Lavender Mysteries); Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Charlton Page; Review: A very good story with interesting and enagging characters. I will read all the books in this series because I really enjoy them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Vesuvius Isotope (The Katrina Stone Novels) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Kristen Elise Ph.D. Page; Review: Exciting, a real page turner with just enough history to be fascinating. I can't wait to read the next book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Death Row Complex (The Katrina Stone Novels) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Kristen Elise Ph.D. Page; Review: This book is a real page turner with just enough science to propel the story along and keep it interesting. A definitely good read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Black City (Ulysses Vidal Adventure Series) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Fernando Gamboa Page; Review: The author has a wonderful writing style the grabs the reader and carries him along. Excellent characters. The dialogue makes you feel as if you are listening to friends talk. The descriptions make you see the places. And the twists and turns in the story are very exciting. Five stars for sure. I can't wait for the next book in this series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Last Crypt (Ulysses Vidal Adventure Series); Author: Mr Fernando Gamboa; Review: What a great story. It had everything I love in a book. Interesting plot, characters and a lot of action with twists and turns. I definitely give 5 stars and a hearty endorsement.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Her Final Breath (The Tracy Crosswhite Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Dugoni Page; Review: I enjoyed this book. Exciting, lots of action and great characters. You want be able to put this book down until you finish the last page.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Sister's Grave (Tracy Crosswhite); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Dugoni Page; Review: This story kept me awake and reading most of the night. An exciting story that kept me turning pages. Great characters and much excitement makes me say read this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Obsidian Son: A Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller (The Temple Chronicles) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Shayne Silvers Page; Review: This was a great read. Not only a plot full of twists and turns but funny too. The characters were imaginative and personable. I couldn't put this book down. I can't wait to get started on the next book in this series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blood Debts (The Temple Chronicles) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Shayne Silvers Page; Review: Thus is a wonderfully entertaining story. Imaginative characters and plenty of plot twists make this a very good read. I will definitely read the rest of books in this series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Red Hill (Thomas Berrington Historical Mystery) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's David Penny Page; Review: Five stars is hardly enough. The book balances history and excitement. Great characters and lots of plot twists. I can't wait to read the next in the series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Reign of Madness (King's Dark Tidings Book 2) eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Kel Kade Page; Review: I can't wait for the next novel. This has excellent characters and a wonderful story full of plot twists and excitement. Keel Jade has a devoted follower!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dark Territory: Benjamin Ashwood Book 3; Author: Visit Amazon's AC Cobble Page; Review: I really enjoyed the three books in the series. I can't wait for the next book. I care about the characters and loved the entertaining twists and turns in the plot. Keep the books coming, Mr. Cobble.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Aloha!; Author: Stephen A. Enna; Review: good plot and a fun read. looking forward to the next two. This would make a great movie.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Power of Intention; Author: Dr. Wayne W. Dyer; Review: This book by Wayne Dyer provided me with a completely new understanding of Intention. This has been very powerful for me and has dramatically affected my life in a positive way.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The 4-hour Workweek: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich; Author: Visit Amazon's Timothy Ferriss Page; Review: Different perspective on life and I really like it. Very actionable. It has already change my approach and I am only part way through reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown; Author: Visit Amazon's Eric Blehm Page; Review: Excellent book. Hero in the greatest possible sense.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Excel 2016 Bible; Author: Visit Amazon's John Walkenbach Page; Review: Book has good depth of information. Written so I can follow how to perform Excel functions.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course; Author: Visit Amazon's Pia Nilsson Page; Review: Terrific book. Dropped my golf scores with one reading and a minimal understanding of the content. Beginning with the on course work now and I am confident further improvement awaits. This also applies to everything else in life. They back it all up by explaining the research of others and how it applies. What a difference this book can make.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: How to Make Big Money in Small Apartments; Author: Visit Amazon's Lance A. Edwards Page; Review: Presents a lot of good info. I have read extensively among multi family/ apartment investing books. Probably the best for solid introduction and steps needed to be successful. Excellent treatment of the importance of mindset.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Weight Training For Golf: The Ultimate Guide; Author: Kai Fusser; Review: I have been using his program for two months now. It has made a real difference. Getting a lot of strength back. Learning to engage the abs has been a revelation for me. Looking forward to more distance this spring.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Tiffen 58mm UV Protection Filter; Brand: Tiffen; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Tiffen 62mm UV Protection Filter; Brand: Tiffen; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control; Brand: Nikon; Review: as advertised; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tiffen 43MM UV Protector Filter; Brand: Tiffen; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Westcott 750 Photo Basics 6.5-Foot Light Stand; Brand: F.J. Westcott Co.; Review: as advertised; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Nikkor Zoom Lens Bulk packaging (White box, New); Brand: Nikon; Review: Good all around lens; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Olympus Digital Voice Recorder (VN 6200PC); Brand: Olympus; Review: Would not be without it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Encore Electronics Gigabit Ethernet PCI Adapter (ENLGA-1320); Brand: Encore; Review: It did not fit my PC and it is not work returning. The word limit is a problem. Need to review that consideration, I bet a lot of reviews are never posted because if it.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Sandisk 4GB MicroSDHC Memory Card with SD Adapter; Brand: SanDisk; Review: You can always trust sandisk; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 70mm Adhesive Mounting Disk for Car Dashboards Garmin TomTom GPS Dashboard Disc; Brand: ARKON; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: FlashWave-III Wireless Radio Slave Transmitter (Transmitter unit for Remote Wireless Flash Trigger System) - Transmitter unit; Brand: SMDV; Review: Best unit I have tried so far.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Koss CS95 Speech Recogniton Computer Headset; Brand: Koss; Review: This unit is a good addition to my system. It works as advertised and it is comfortable to use. I like it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Garmin nuvi 1450LM 5-Inch Touchscreen Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer); Brand: Garmin; Review: Not the 1st but the best GPS i have had.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NEW Logitech Webcam C210 (Cameras & Frames); Brand: Logitech; Review: Nice unit and it works well; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Roku 2 XD Streaming Player 1080p (Old Version); Brand: Roku; Review: Killer system and priced well too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tamron AF017S-700 Autofocus 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras; Brand: Tamron; Review: Good lens for not a huge cost.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Tamron Auto Focus 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR (Model; Brand: Tamron; Review: Good lens for not a huge cost.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SANOXY A12940 SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable; Brand: SANOXY; Review: Saved my data twice. Would not be without it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Vivitar 2X7N Auto Focus Teleconverter Lens for Nikon (2X7N); Brand: Vivitar; Review: Has focusing issues but it is OK.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 2x Nikon D-SLR D3100 D3000 Premium Clear LCD Screen Protector Cover Guard Film; Brand: N MARKET; Review: Necessary evil I guess.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Yongnuo RF-603 N3 2.4GHz Wireless Flash Trigger/Wireless Shutter Release Transceiver Kit for Nikon D90/D3100/D5000/D7000; Brand: YONGNUO; Review: Works almost all the time.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Neewer Professional Vertical Battery Grip Work with EN-EL14A Rechargeable Battery for Nikon D5600 and D5500 DSLR Camera (Battery Not; Brand: Neewer; Review: Great produrt and really helps.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Skylink 318R Wireless Receiver; Brand: Skylink; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 15 Pin SATA Male to 4 Pin Female Power Cable; Brand: Micro SATA Cables; Review: Saved all my data and a ton of rework.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kindle PowerFast International Charging Kit (for accelerated charging in over 200 countries); Brand: Amazon; Review: It was OK but it was recommended.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: ePhoto Articulating Magic Friction Arm Small Super Clamp For Dslr rig LCD Monitor RigClamp; Brand: ePhoto; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Square Perfect 1041 SS150 Professional Quality Photo Backdrop Stand for Muslin and Scenic Backgrounds; Brand: SQUARE PERFECT; Review: Works as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: ASST CD Paper Sleeves - Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Black - 100 Sleeves; Brand: STAR USA; Review: They add a bit of color to standard mailings.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Silicon Power 1TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive Armor A30, Shockproof USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, Xbox and; Brand: Silicon Power; Review: Works as advertised.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras; Brand: Nikon; Review: as advertised; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Parts Express On/Off Key Switch 2 Barrel Keys; Brand: Parts Express; Review: as advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Apple iPad with Retina Display MD513LL/A (16GB, Wi-Fi, White) 4th Generation; Brand: Apple; Review: It was a gift; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: SMALLRIG 1/4" Male -3/8" Male Converter Screw for Flash Mount Holder Stand (2-Pack); Brand: SmallRig; Review: Works as needed; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: BestDuplicator CDSLV-100-WH, 100 Paper CD sleeves with Window and Rear Flap; Brand: Generic; Review: as advertised; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dell Latitude D630 14.1-Inch Notebook PC (OS may vary) - Silver; Brand: Dell; Review: it is alright; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: G.G.Martinsen 16 GB Mini Usb Port Slim Small Multi-lingual Selection 1.78 LCD Portable Mp3/Mp4, Mp3Player , Mp4Player; Brand: G.G.Martinsen; Review: thought it was an iPod as that is what I searched for. It is not. It is a cheap knockoff.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: G.G.Martinsen Portable Mp3/mp4 Player 16 GB Blue; Brand: Furmax; Review: thought it was an iPod as that is what I searched for. It is not. It is a cheap knockoff.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Belkin 3-Button Wired USB Optical Mouse with 5-Foot Cord, Compatible with PCs, Macs, Desktops and Laptops, Black - F5M010qBLK; Brand: Belkin; Review: Great deal for the money; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SanDisk Extreme 128GB U3/UHS-I SDXC with 4K Ultra HD, up to 80MB/s Read; 60MB/s Write- SDSDXN-128G-G46 [Older Version]; Brand: SanDisk; Review: Great deal for the money; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: E-Age Ajustable 360 Degree Infrared Motion PIR Sensor Automatic LED Light Lamp E27 Holder Switch; Brand: E-Age; Review: Great deal for the money; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lacdo EVA Shockproof Carrying Travel Case for Seagate Expansion Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB 2TB 4TB Portable External Hard Drive; Brand: Lacdo; Review: Great deal for the money; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SanDisk 64GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SDSDUNC-064G-GN6IN; Brand: SanDisk; Review: Great deal for the money; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hyperkin 3-Port USB Hub with SD Card Reader for PS3/ PC; Brand: by
Hyperkin; Review: My PC keeps loosing them so the work half the time.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Saim AA 6V Battery Holder Case Wired ON/OFF Switch w Cover Pack of 2; Brand: Saim; Review: Well made and works well; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Roku Streaming Stick (3500R) (2014 Model); Brand: Roku; Review: A little harder to use that the box but works well; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: LimoStudio Photography 200W Photo Monolight Flash Strobe Studio Photography Light Lighting, AGG1756V2; Brand: LimoStudio; Review: Well made and works well; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: ZOSI 720P HD 1280TVL Hybrid 4-in-1 TVI/CVI/AHD/960H CVBS Security Surveillance CCTV Camera High Resolution Weatherproof Cameras 65ft IR; Brand: ZOSI; Review: Works as advertised. Good quality and function.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cables Direct Online 10FT SVGA Monitor; Brand: Cables Direct Online; Review: Works as advertised. Good quality and function.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ZiBay iPhone Lightning Cables 2-PACK Short USB Data Cord [12 Inches] for iPhone 6s / 6s plus, iPhone 6; Brand: Luvfun; Review: Works as advertised. Good quality and function.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GW Security Inc 2 Pack of 25 Feet All-In-One Siamese CCTV Security Camera BNC Video and Power Cable for Surveillance; Brand: GW Security Inc; Review: As advertised and works well; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: amzbasic Resistance Bands, Exercise Bands; Brand: Roku; Review: As advertised and works well but remote isn't always recognized easily; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: TNP Hook And Loop Tape Strap Cable Ties Fastener (Green) (15 Feet); Brand: TNP Products; Review: As advertised and works well; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jennov HD Color 1200Tvl Cmos Sensor CCTV Surveillance Security Camera Day Night Vision 48 Ir LEDs Waterproof Outdoor/Indoor Wide Angle; Brand: Jennov; Review: As advertised and works well; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mcoplus MP-MRF32 Universal Mount Macro Ring Flash Light Speedlite for Canon Nikon Pentax Olympus DSLR Camera; Brand: Mcoplus; Review: As advertised and works well but loose on the lens; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SmoTecQ Hybrid HD 1.3MP 720P AHD/TVI/CVI/960H 1/3 CMOS 1200TVL CCTV Home Surveillance Outdoor Day Night 3.6mm Lens Wide Angle Dome; Brand: SmoTecQ; Review: Looks and works great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: KOOTION 10 X 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Package Deal Memory Stick Thumb Storage Pen Disk in Red (16GB,; Brand: KOOTION; Review: Works we advertised; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SmoTecQ 1000 tvl 960H 720p AHD Dome Security Surveillance Camera Outdoor; Brand: SmoTecQ; Review: Well made product at a good price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NEOUZA Compatible for Brother Label Tape 12mm Combo Set 5 Packs P-Touch MK131 MK231 MK431 MK531 MK631; Brand: NEOUZA; Review: Great product, great price; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: WHITE 100FT CAT6 CAT 6 RJ45 PATCH ETHERNET NETWORK INTERNET CABLE 100' FT; Brand: Citi Electronics; Review: Great product, great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RiteAV 1 Gang 1 Port Cat6 Wall Plate - White; Brand: RiteAV; Review: Great product, great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kingston 4 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SD4/4GB; Brand: Kingston; Review: Great deal great product; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kingston 32 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SD4/32GB; Brand: Kingston; Review: Great deal great product; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Silicon Power 32GB MicroSDHC UHS-1 Memory Card - with Adapter (SP032GBSTHBU1V20SP); Brand: SP Silicon Power; Review: Great deal great product; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cmple - CAT 6 500MHz UTP ETHERNET LAN NETWORK CABLE - 7 FT Blue; Brand: Cmple; Review: Great product, good price, great value; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Everstone TV Wall Mount Bracket for Most 37-75 Inch Articulating Full Motion Mounts,LED,LCD and Plasma Flat Screen TVs,Curved TVs,With VESA; Brand: Everstone; Review: Great product, good price, great value; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cable Matters Snagless Cat6 Ethernet Cable (Cat6 Cable / Cat 6 Cable) in Blue 25 Feet - Availble 1FT; Brand: Cable Matters; Review: Great product, good price, great value; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Twisted Veins HDMI Cable 6 ft, 2-Pack, Premium HDMI Cord Type High Speed with; Brand: Twisted Veins; Review: Great product, good price, great value; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chromo Inc. 2x Pack 3.5mm Auxiliary Cable 1 Angled and 1 Flat Audio Music Aux - Black; Brand: Chromo Inc; Review: Great product, good price, great value; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SMAKN Dc/dc Converter 12v Step Down to 5v/3a Power Supply Module; Brand: SMAKN; Review: Great product. Works as advertised and at a great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sunpak 6700M Aluminum Monopod SLR Camera (Black); Brand: SUNPAK; Review: Great product. Works as advertised and at a great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: XCSOURCE 2X1100mAh Battery Rechargeable; Brand: XCSOURCE; Review: Great product. Works as advertised and at a great price. A must have....; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pixnor 1/4" Screw Tripod Mini Ball Head for DSLR Camera Camcorder Light Bracket Swivel; Brand: PIXNOR; Review: Great product. Works as advertised and at a great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Voice Recorder MECO Digital Voice Recorder with LCD Screen Multifunctional Rechargeable 8GB Digital Audio Voice Recorder Dictaphone MP3 Player; Brand: MECO; Review: It has VOX (Voice operated recording). I can not turn it off. It looks like a good product but no good to me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fasmov Heavy Duty Photographic Sandbag Studio Video Sand Bag for Light Stands, Boom Stand, Tripod,Pack of 4; Brand: Fasmov; Review: Great product. Works as advertised and at a great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Verbatim CD-R 700MB 80 Minute 52x Recordable Disc with Blank White Surface - 100 Pack Spindle; Brand: Verbatim; Review: I wanted DVD but it is too expensive to exchange them. Cost over $9.00 just top return them.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Memorex 16X DVD-R 100-Pack Spindle; Brand: Memorex; Review: Item arrived as described and on time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Foto4easy Camera Camcorder Tripod Monopod Ball Head Quick Release QR Plate; Brand: BLUECELL; Review: Item arrived as described and on time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kingston Digital USB 3.0 Super Speed Multi-Card Reader for SD/SDHC/SDXC/microSD/MS/Compact Flash CF Cards (FCR-HS4); Brand: Kingston; Review: Item arrived as described and on time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ELEGOO Electronics Component Basic Starter Kit w/Precision Potentiometer, Buzzer, Capacitor Compatible with Arduino UNO, MEGA2560, Raspberry Pi; Brand: ELEGOO; Review: Item arrived as described and on time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Replacement AC Power Adapter, Dell Latitude D800, D810, D820 Series Laptop by CBD; Brand: CBD; Review: Great product at a good price; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: JUANWE 5 Pack 16GB USB Flash Drive USB 2.0 Metal Thumb Drives Jump Drive Memory Stick Key Shape; Brand: JUANWE; Review: Great product; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Bellefit Postpartum Girdle with Zipper, Medical-Grade, Compression & Support; Brand: Bellefit; Review: I wish I knew about this after giving birth the first two times! This not only got me back in shape immediately but it also helped my back feel stronger.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ASICS GEL-Blur33 2.0 GS Running Shoe (Little Kid/Big Kid); Brand: ; Review: The color is one of the best things about this shoe. I can spot my daughter from a mile away. My daughter says they are very comfortable too! However the shoe started falling a part with a month of being used. We normally wear Nike only but I wanted to try ASICS since my daughter's track coach recommended them. We were very disappointed, the bottom of the shoe started peeling off and the shoe just started falling a part. My daughter was shocked because she had never experiences this with here Nikes. I will never waste my money on Asics again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: ASICS Kid's GEL-Extreme33 GS Running Shoe (Little Kid/Big Kid); Brand: ; Review: I bought these shoes for my 9 year old athletic son and the shoes started falling a part with a month of being used. We normally wear Nike only but I wanted to try ASICS since my daughter's track coach recommended them. We were very disappointed, the bottom of the shoe started peeling off and the shoe just started falling a part. My son was shocked because he had never experiences this with his Nikes. I will never waste my money on Asics again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Crocs Sexi Flip Women; Brand: ; Review: THE BEST SHOE EVER! So comfortable you can walk for mile in these!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beautees Big Girls' Girls Color-Block Full Skirt Dress; Brand: Beautees; Review: Nice dress but don't have high expectations on the quality. There was a slight wardrobe malfunction on the dress, there is a space between where the zipper ends and the zipper lining therefor my daughter's underwear was peeping ( very slightly) though.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spring Notion Baby Boys' Black Classic Fit Tuxedo Set, No Tail; Brand: Spring Notion; Review: I am so happy with my purchase. My 2 1/2 year old is a ring bearer in 2 weddings this fall. I looked all over to find him a reasonably priced tux and had no luck finding suits/tuxs his size and the one I did was not reasonably priced. So of course I ran to Amazon and found this tux. Came in the mail in two days and I love it! It fits him perfectly and doesn't look cheap or chessy. It is a bit thin, but you can't tell in pictures. Plus it's a lot of clothes, you don't want them getting too hot. Don't hesitate to buy this!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Miusol Women's Business Tunic 3/4 Sleeve Slimming Bodycon Pencil Dress; Brand: ; Review: Horrible! This went back immediately. Wasn't sewn properly. Don't waste your money; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Miusol Women's Scoop Neck Optical Illusion Belt Business Dress; Brand: ; Review: This looks horrible in person...don't waste your money; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Miusol Women's Deep-V Neck 2/3 Sleeve Slim Sexy Business Pencil Dress; Brand: ; Review: Very cute but i sent it back...it was too small. But overall it's cheap and cute; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Miusol Women's Business Optical Illusion Work Bodycon Pencil Dress; Brand: ; Review: This was a steal! Fits perfectly and looks so cute on! My favorite buy on Amazon; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: HOMEYEE Women's Stretch Tunic Pencil Sheath Dress U837; Brand: ; Review: PERFECT DRESS! Get it! It's true, this dress looks great on everyone!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Meilun Women's Celebrity Bandage Bodycon Dress Strap Party Pencil Dress; Brand: ; Review: What a great purchase! I actually preferred this dress to a similar Herve Ledger version...and of course a big difference in price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Shure SM-57 Cardioid Dynamic Instrument Microphone; Brand: Shure; Review: Great industry standard microphone for micing guitar cabinets, snares, and vocals.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Donner Dt-1 Chromatic Guitar Tuner Pedal True Bypass; Brand: Donner; Review: A simple, small, and basic tuner that frees up real estate on the pedal board. I have been using this for about six months now every weekend and it has done well. Once and awhile, the tuner may not pick up the open strings.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Graph Tech Black TUSQ nut 6 Stg Electric Nut 43 x 6; Brand: Graph Tech; Review: I bought thisTusq nut to replace the stock nut on my 2014 PRS SE 245. This nut drops right in without the need to sand or file. I also strung on 10-46 strings, and I can clearly notice the improvements in clarity, sustain, and volume unplugged, as well as, plugged into a tune amplifier. I watched and followed some youtube tutorials on guitar nut replacements, and everything turned out perfect. This is a great and simple upgrade to your PRS SE electric guitar that well make a significant tone and sustain difference which you can do yourself.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sovtek 12AX7LPS Vacuum Tube; Brand: Sovtek; Review: I purchased three Sovtek 12AX7 LPS to compare with Tung-Sol 12AX7 New Production in my Peavey JSX Head with matched JJ 6L6 and biased to -55 for 6L6 as required by the manufacturer. I placed the Sovtek 12AX7 LPS in V!, V2, and V4 or the phase inveter and left a Tung-Sol 12AX7 new production in V4 or the FX send and recovery. Compared to the Tung-Sol 12AX7, which I like and use in my other high gain amps, the Sovtek 12AX7 LPS is (1) overall much less mushy, (2) tighter in the lows, (3) less harsh in the highs, and (4) usable range in the mids. I did notice that I had to dial up on the mid and bass pots about twice the value to equal that of the Tung-Sols, but even then the mids and bass stayed tight and focused even from 7-10. Another thing worth noting is the improved sustain which makes the clean very 3Dish and lush. I will be purchasing some more Sovtek 12AX7 LPS to try in my Peavey 5150 and Mes Dual Rectifiers. I am very impressed thus far.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GBGS Birthday Par Uplighting Led RGBW 12W 8CH DMX512 Sound Activated Wall Washing DJ Stage Light for; Brand: GBGS; Review: I recently purchased two units to try out and compare with my Venue Thinpar 64s and Chauvet Slimpar 64s, and I run all my lights via DMX. First, the angle of throw or wash on the GBGS par lights is much wider then the Venues or Chauvets. Second, the brightness of the GBGS Par lights with all faders wide open (RGBW) is probably two times brighter than the Venues or Chauvets with similar settings. Third, the GBGS par lights have a few more DMX features such as strobe sound active or strobe static color which are really good, usable features. Fourth, the GBGS par lights have a dedicated "white" due to the quad led which allows much more accurate color mixing. Fifth, the price of 60.00 for the GBGS par lights is stupidly good for the size, brightness, and features of this unit when compared to similar products in the price range. With that said, I have not had these lights for long, and so I cannot speak on the durability and longevity of this product. However, the plastic housing and light duty metal bracket may not be adequate for mobile DJs or the constant moving and resetting up of these lights. But, being careful with lights is a must with any light fixture, so just be extra careful with these, and I am pretty sure they will last.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: dbx 234xs Stereo 2-/3-Way, Mono 4-Way Crossover with XLR Connectors; Brand: dbx; Review: I run 4 active 12 inch main top boxes and 2 active 18 inch sub-woofer boxes. My signal chain is mic/instrument/cd player --> mixer (HPF, gate, compressor, and parametric eq) --> 31 band equalizer (tune the room and ring out the feedback) --> DBX crossover (80-90 crossover point). Although my active 12 inch main top boxes have a built in 200 Hz crossover point or HPF and my 2 active 18 inch sub-woofers have a 130 Hz crossover point or LPF, I prefer to "set my own crossover point" and control the "gain" to the sub-woofer and mains separately with this DBX crossover while setting the signal gain and volume on my boxes at the most optimal point. This DBX crossover allows and affords you flexibility and control over crossover point, gain to the mains, and gain to the sub woofers. That is what you are paying for.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Musical_Instruments |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore; City: Tampa Florida; Review: This was the first time we stayed in a Crowne Plaza hotel and we were quite impressed. When we drove up to the front of the hotel it didn't quite have that warm inviting feeling that other hotels we've stayed at have. But once you get inside it's all quite nice. The front desk staff made for a quick check-in and were friendly. When we arrived the front parking lot was full and had to park at the rear of the building. From there it was a long enough walk back to the elevators through the hotel towards the front of the building. The room we had, on the 8th floor, was a nice size and accommodated our family of four easily without us running into each other like some hotels. Our only faults in the room was the lack of a bath tub and the air conditioner unit was a little noisy when it cut in. Overall the beds were comfortable, the room was clean and we definitely would stay here again if we return to the Tampa area. On a side note, we ended up leaving an item in the room but didn't notice it missing until we got home. We called the hotel the next day and it ended up that the item had been brought to the front desk. The staff had no problem packaging up the item and sending it to us. Our son will be greatfull when the item returns.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Travelodge Spruce Grove; City: Spruce Grove Alberta; Review: We were hesitant about staying here, not know anything about Spruce Grove, but from other reviews I read it seemed alright. The hotel was in a good location to the event we were attending and I got it for quite a reasonable rate. They were clean and the beds were very comfortable, and it was very quiet throughout the night. The staff were friendly and the continental breakfast had enough selection to feed the four of us (2 being children). We would most definitely stay here again if the need arose. The only downside was the lack of a swimming pool.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: River Grove Campground and Cabins; City: Drumheller Alberta; Review: We did a family vacation and thought about trying something different and rent a cabin for the time we were there. We didn't regret the stay but thought it could've been setup a little better. The cabin was about 600 sq. ft. with 2 bedrooms (with bedding), shower and satellite TV. We stayed for 3 nights and it's a good thing we brought our own cooler for extra food because upon arriving there was only a mini fridge. The pictures clearly show a fridge at least twice the size. The TV was also small, old and not conveniently located for watching from the bedrooms. Some of the cabins come with the use of a fire pit, but not this one...which we didn't have time to use anyways. Overall the place was clean but other thing, they don't clean during the stay...only upon checkout. So we had to go to the office to get extra amenities and towels.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Kanata by BCMInns Fort Saskatchewan; City: Fort Saskatchewan Alberta; Review: We wouldn't normally stay in Fort Saskatchewan but I won a 2 night stay at this hotel from our local craft fair. We had booked our stay one weekend but had to cancel due to the weather conditions. The hotel staff responded positively and said they looked forward to us booking with them another weekend. We stayed in the Jacuzzi suite and were quite surprised of the size of it. We had our two boys (8 yrs old) with us and everyone had more than enough space. The room was clean and the beds were extremely comfortable. The hot breakfast was a nice but did find some of the food to be not a fresh as it could be, but would not let that keep us from staying there again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Express Edmonton International Airport; City: Nisku Alberta; Review: This was the first time we stayed here and were quite impressed. Upon arrival you'd think it was a newer hotel but we later found out it's been there for 20 years. We chose this hotel because of the waterslide and pool with having 2 younger children. We had an executive 2 queen room which provided us that extra bit of space that a standard room doesn't offer. The room also came with a microwave and mini fridge. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom was large. Our only complaint with the room was the furnace, that was in a locked closet in the corner, was quite loud when it fired up...but that wouldn't keep us from staying here again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Homewood Suites by Hilton Calgary Airport; City: Calgary Alberta; Review: I was looking for a hotel that didn't cost an arm and a leg but would be comfortable for the four of us as we were staying for 2 nights...and this hotel did not disappoint. We arrived early evening and hadn't had supper yet. The lady at the front desk (Melissa) was very nice and suggested a place to eat close by and even offered their airport shuttle to take us and pick us up. Our room, the king suite, was a nice size. It had a separate bedroom with king bed, pull out couch in the main area for the kids and a full kitchenette. The room was clean and the beds were quite comfy. There is also a large complimentary hot breakfast in the morning too. I was worried when I booked the hotel that the close proximity to the airport would keep us up at night, but it turned out to be very quiet. You could only hear the planes when they were first taking off but it wouldn't be enough to keep us from staying at this hotel again in the future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Best Western Plus Service Inn Suites; City: Lethbridge Alberta; Review: The hotel overall was quite nice but I think I would try somewhere else if I were back in the area. The main reason we stayed here was because of the pool/waterslide for the kids and that I was able to get a good price through Expedia. The staff were awesome and the hot breakfast was good. The regular price of these rooms to me is not worth it. There's no extra space in these rooms, just enough space for the beds...although the beds were very comfortable and the whole family had a good sleep both nights. The kids went swimming the second night and I was disappointed with how small the pool was. We had to leave the pool after a short time because with a lot of people in this area it is extremely loud and it gets very crowded very fast. You can't even swim in the pool when people are using the waterslide, especially teens.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Radisson Edmonton South; City: Edmonton Alberta; Review: We stayed here for 2 nights during the Christmas holidays at the end of 2016 and really enjoyed our time. We had a King suite room with an inside balcony, which my two younger sons loved. Some hotel rooms are small and cramped but these rooms are quite roomy and we appreciate that. The room was clean (except for the condom wrapper under the bed) and the beds were comfortable...sofa bed included. We did eat at the Atrium café for breakfast and were mildly disappointed the food was not fresher and some dishes were not fully cooked. The staff on the other hand were very friendly and helpful both at the café and the front desk. We would definitely stay here again if the price is right next time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Best Western Plus City Centre Inn; City: Edmonton Alberta; Review: I was in for just one night on business and was surprised how comfortable my stay was. The room was clean and I had an awesome sleep even with being located right off the elevators. It can be a little pricey here but would stay again if I could get a good deal.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crystal Star Inn; City: Leduc Alberta; Review: We flew in on a late flight (got in at 2am) and just wanted to go to sleep. We got to the room and found the sheets on the one beds had large circular stains and what looked to be blood on them. We went to front desk to complain and they gave us more sheets to use. They did offer to move us to another room but at that time of the morning with two tired kids we just changed the sheets and went to sleep. The bathroom was not the cleanest either. There was dust everywhere, the faucet handle was barely on and there was rust on the bottom of the shower rod.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Orleans Hotel Casino; City: Las Vegas Nevada; Review: We took our boys to Vegas for the Christmas holidays this year and thought we’d try somewhere a little more kid friendly with the bowling, theatre and play area. The first thing they noticed upon entering was the heavy smell of smoke from the casino (which they are not used to). Fortunately we were able to bypass the casino when heading to our vehicle but taking the shuttle to the strip we did pass through the casino. The room we had was just a basic double queen. The sheets they use on the beds are very starchy which made for a noisy night of sleep when of others are rolling around...but the beds were very comfortable though and the room was clean. The sliding pocket doors for the bathrooms are quite loud from the floor above too.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Sutton Place Hotel Edmonton; City: Edmonton Alberta; Review: We were in town for for a concert and stayed one night. Upon arriving at 5pm, it was quite busy and there was about 20 people ahead of me waiting to check in, it took about 1/2 hour to get up to the desk. Once we got to our room on the 23rd floor and we were surprised how nice it was. The only thing we noticed was that the mirror, shower glass and handles in the bathroom hadn’t been cleaned. Otherwise the rest of the room was clean and very comfortable. It was quiet and we had a really nice sleep. We would definitely stay here again for other special occasions in the future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Friday Night Lights (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Collateral (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Open Water (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Matrix: Reloaded (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Notebook (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 50 First Dates (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Matrix: Revolutions (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Catwoman (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Chronicles of Riddick (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shall We Dance? (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mr. 3000 (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Punisher (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Supremacy (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Samurai (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spy Game (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hidalgo (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Seabiscuit (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Flight of the Phoenix (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Two Weeks Notice (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Troy (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Classic Albums: Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Taking Lives (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Finding Neverland (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Passion of the Christ (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: I (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Memento (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Manchurian Candidate (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Stepford Wives (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Face/Off (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Alien vs. Predator (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Code 46 (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Ocean's Twelve (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Yanni: Live at the Acropolis (1993); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Exorcist: The Beginning (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blade: Trinity (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Secondhand Lions (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Forgotten (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Exorcist 3 (1990); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Narc (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ladder 49 (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Phantom of the Opera: Special Edition (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Incredibles (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Raising Helen (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Rounders (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Salton Sea (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Assault on Precinct 13 (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beyond the Sea (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Aviator (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Meet the Fockers (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Closer (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Are We There Yet? (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Elektra (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: A Dirty Shame (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Be Cool (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spanglish (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: National Treasure (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Cheaper by the Dozen (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: In Good Company (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pay It Forward (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hitch (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 7 Seconds (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Constantine (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Coach Carter (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hostage (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hide and Seek (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Alexander: Director's Cut (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Cellular (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Upside of Anger (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sahara (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Guess Who (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Last Shot (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: White Noise (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Longest Yard (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Monster-in-Law (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Suspect Zero (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Big Fish (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Wedding Date (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: After the Sunset (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Crash (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: About Schmidt (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bewitched (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Saturday Night Live: Live from New York: The First 5 Years (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Man of the House (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Being Julia (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar; City: Punta Cana La Altagracia Province Dominican Republic; Review: I traveled from January 8-13th with my sister and sister-in-law. I have traveled to many all inclusives before including one in Punta Cana so I know what to expect as far as all inclusives go. The resort is beautiful. The grounds are clean, plush, and amazing to walk around. The pools were also great. There were a decent amount of chairs around and the swim up bars were fun and service was good. Weather was perfect everyday. We stayed in the adult only section which was nice and relaxing and I would definitely recommend that area for those not traveling with children. When we arrived we were greeted with a cold drink and service was fairly quick. We were brought to our room, but upon entering the smell of mildew was overwhelming and we asked to move rooms. They allowed us to move to the next building and that room was better. The room was a basic hotel room but lacked lighting in half of the room, so we found it very dark. We were disappointed that we had to call housekeeping every day because some item wasn't stocked. We almost ran out of toilet paper, water wasn't replenished, not enough towels were brought etc. I understand people sometimes forget things, but really- everyday. I didn't think that was acceptable. As others have mentioned, the beds were not comfortable. We definitely noticed a difference between the buffet in the adults only versus the other one. It had more choices and was better quality. We felt that most items on the buffet were cold though and there were not enough stations for grilling items or making pasta dishes etc. There was one guy making one pasta dish at a time at lunch. Again, I have always experienced more choices at a buffet with grilling options, smoothie stations etc. and this place didn't really have that. The ala carte dining was pretty good. We especially loved Olivios and all of the others in the adult section were acceptable. We did however have a very unpleasant visit to the gourmet restaurant. We were seated but no one even came over to acknowledge us for almost 45 minutes. we finally said something and a manager came over to apologize that they were short handed. Totally fine but at least come tell us and maybe get us a drink. Our first course was the lobster and mussel soup which tasted a little fishy. I took a few bites that I would soon regret. The chateau briand was really good, but I could only take a few bites because my stomach was starting to hurt. Within a few hours, my sister and I were both extremely ill. I have never been more sick in my life! Needless to say it put a damper on the rest of our days because we really couldn't eat or drink hardly anything at all. I suppose that could happen anywhere, but obviously it left a bad taste in our mouths. Literally! Not sure exactly what it was but I wasn't better for; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sandos Playacar Beach Resort; City: Playa del Carmen Yucatan Peninsula; Review: Just returned from Sandos with three other women for a girl's trip, and am happy to say I had little to complain about. We arrived via USA transfers, which I would highly recommend. Much less wait time than transfers that you book with your package, and a better deal. Will definitely use again! The rooms in the adult section were nice, clean, and well stocked each day.Beds were a little hard, but I asked for a mattress topper and it was fine. Beach was beautiful, we spent most of our time there. Went to the adult only pool once. It was nice, had a swim up bar, and a private grilling station for lunch/snacks. We tried all of the restaurants except the Italian buffet. They were all really good. Drinks were a little watered down, but all in all fine.Never had to make a reservation and we got into every restaurant within a few minutes. Service was wonderful as well. We only had to search for chairs at the beach once and we watched a few of the shows at night. All 4 of us had no complaints except that the adult only section is really far from the beach, but we knew that going in.We had a great time at Rio Secreto and going into town several times. It is very safe and there are some great restaurants. Las Hojas de Tostada had amazing seafood tostadas and ceviche. Would highly recommend! We also did a spa day and enjoyed our treatment at the spa. It is an eco friendly resort with a cat haven and donkeys in the middle of the resort. Thought it was a little odd, but at least they are animal lovers! Good times!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paradisus Playa Del Carmen La Esmeralda; City: Playa del Carmen Yucatan Peninsula; Review: We spent February vacation at this resort 2/19-2/27. My husband and I and our three daughters, 18,16, and 12 stayed in the concierge section of the hotel. It is a smaller property than we are used to, but the best part about the whole trip was the service! We have been to many all inclusives and even though the service at most has been good, I found Paradisus to be above and beyond! They made the trip! It was the fastest, most efficient check in we have ever had complete with drinks and our personal concierge showing us to our room. We had Olga and although with teenage daughters we really didn't need this service, it came in handy several times. Olga made all of our dinner reservations and changed them if needed and saw to it that we were all set each day. My daughter caught the stomach bug within 24 hours of arrival and Olga got me crackers and ginger ale. She was a love! We tried all of the restaurants including a few on the adults only side and all of the food was very good. Drinks were mostly top shelf, with several beer options and even the wine was decent. The buffet for breakfast was always well stocked and ordering omelettes and eggs was with little wait. The best part about dining is that they don't require men to wear pants with closed shoes! That really meant a lot to my husband. He hates putting on pants when its 80 out. The resort is pretty casual. The beach isn't the best I've experienced, it is kind of small at the resort, but you can walk to town in one direction and to the locals beach in the other direction and we enjoyed doing that. It is a little rocky to get in and out, but we found places to hang out in the water. We typically spend the whole day at the beach and loved having the beach grill to grab a burger, chicken sandwich, and salad. That made lunch so easy and the service at the beach is top notch. It was rare that we didn't have a fresh water or drink in our hand. The waiters were incredible. Gibron, Neffihan, and Jose were all amazing. All of the bartenders and wait staff were incredible and the place is constantly being cleaned. My only real complaint is that there is not a lot to do at night. there is a small stage with an evening performance from like 8:30-9 ish and not a whole lot else to do. Also, the hotel completely caters to young families so we were a little out of that age group, but we made the best out of the few screaming children we encountered. This place is perfect for young families. The family conciege will draw them a balloon bubble bath once during the trip and leave treats each evening. My girls enjoyed the treats and Olga decorated their room on my daughter's 16th birthday. She loved that as well. All in; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Riu Palace Las Americas; City: Cancun Yucatan Peninsula; Review: Stayed from Jan 28th to Feb. 2nd for a girl's week. Check in was extremely fast, we were greeted with a glass of champagne, and we were able to check in to our room even though it was only around 2pm. Hotel was beautiful and very clean in all areas. Pools were a little cold, but the ocean was really nice. All in all we had a really great time. Super friendly bartenders, wait staff etc. and I thought the service was exceptional. I have been to many all inclusives, and I thought the food at the a la carte restaurants needs to be upgraded. The buffets were good, lots of choices, and I always enjoy the omelette station, but the nightly restaurants were mediocre at best. Having said that, we certainly didn't starve, but I think could use some improvement. The beach was small, and I like to walk the beach for miles which this area of Cancun is very congested. Each hotel is right on top of each other, so not my preference, but we had a great time and enjoyed the hotel and our stay.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: GR Caribe by Solaris; City: Cancun Yucatan Peninsula; Review: My friends and I booked this resort for a Spring break trip. We had an absolute blast and would highly recommend going. It is affordable and such a great resort. The service and the rooms are amazing. Eduardo, Garcia, and Richard were such a pleasure, amazing staff. GR Caribe was a very quiet resort and very relaxing. The royal, next door, is where we would go to have fun and participate in activities. The food was very good and the rooms were comfortable. We went out to the clubs at night and the resort had many reasonably priced packages we could pay for. Great beach but a lot of seaweed. The only negative comment I would have is the WiFi, horrible connection around the resort.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hilton La Romana an All Inclusive Adult Resort; City: Bayahibe La Altagracia Province Dominic; Review: Just returned from a week at Dreams. We had a good week, and it was a relaxing time. I have been to many all inclusive resorts so I will highlight the pros and cons. Pros: Grounds are really nice and entire resort was very clean including the rooms. Food was pretty good, always something to choose from especially the omelette stations (no long waits) and we enjoyed all of the a la carte restaurants. Our favorite was the french and Olio. Drinks were fine and we paid for the preferred club so we had decent choices for beer and alcohol. Pools were nice and we spent most of our time at the adult's preferred beach and pool areas. Most employees were friendly and accommodating. We also enjoyed massages and a facial at the spa. Casino was a decent size and we gambled there a few nights and had fun. Water sports were also a great way to spend the day with paddle boards, kayaks, and hobies.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Iberostar Rose Hall Suites; City: Rose Hall Montego Bay Saint James Parish Jamaica; Review: Just returned from a week long stay at the Iberostar Rose Hall Suites. There were ten of us ranging in age from 9-49, and we all had a blast. The rooms were nice, a little dark, but other than that everything worked and the beds were comfortable. Each room has a nice balcony and you can see the ocean if you look to the side. We were barely in the room, only to shower and sleep so that isn't usually a huge deal for me. I have been to at least 15 all inclusives and I have to say the food was above average for an all inclusive. Breakfast was a typical large buffet with juice and egg stations with plenty of choices. Lunch was cooked on the beach each day, which we loved just grabbing something quick, and we tried all of the a la carte restaurants. My favorite was the steak house and italian, but they all had several choices that we all liked. Everyone was happy at every meal including the kids. We didn't have any issues making reservations for 10 and all of the wait staff was great! I can't remember our waiter from the italian, it began with a B, but he was awesome! The best part about our stay was the Star friends. They knew all our names within a day and encouraged us to participate in activities, but definitely backed off if we said we were all set. Their enthusiasm, excitement, and overall great spirits helped make the vacation really memorable. Thank you OMG, MiMo, Carlos, etc. for making everyone happy! You guys are something else. The beach was nice. You can't walk for miles, but you can take a decent walk. We never had a problem getting a chair, which was fabulous and we didn't have to save seats in the morning. The main pool had some fun activities including a foam party that the kids loved, and we enjoyed just hanging out at the pool bar. We went to a few shows, karaoke, and the disco and had a good time with that as well. All in all, i really don't have any complaints except my room was a double instead of a king bed and it was in a different building from my kids. We had to move the next day, but other than that, we all had a really good time.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Nani Mocenigo Palace; City: Venice Veneto; Review: From the moment you step into this hotel you will be impressed with its beauty, old world charm, and first class treatment. Our room was gorgeous, comfortable, and perfectly appointed. Don't miss having a drink in the bar with the bartender, Claude, who made our trip extra special. We had to stop by every night we were there to grab a drink and see our new friend! The front desk was helpful and accommodating and we took advantage of the free glass tour on Murano. It was very interesting and no pressure sales. The hotel was refurbished a little over a year ago, and it is just perfect. The hallway areas are spectacular and like no where I have stayed before. would definitely return! We tried the spa at the sister resort, AI Reali, and had a great massage and relaxing time enjoying the hot tub, steam room etc. My only suggestion would be to work on replacing glasses, cups, etc when breakfast is busy. Other than that, perfect place for your next stay in Venice.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: La Residenza; City: Rome Lazio; Review: Just stayed last week for 4 nights at La Residenza. It is an old building, but well kept and our room and bathroom were really large and comfortable. Convenient restaurant and bar downstairs, nice breakfast buffet, excellent staff at the front desk, and easy to walk to main attractions.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: A Child of A Crack Head; Author: Shameek a Speight; Review: Excellent writing. Wish the next book was free.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pleasure Extraordinaire 1 (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Liv Bennett Page; Review: Excellent read; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Child of a Crackhead IV (Volume 4); Author: Visit Amazon's Shameek Speight Page; Review: Needs to be proofread for spelling and grammical errors. Otherwise good book; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 100 Folk Songs and New Songs, with Guitar Chords; Author: Alasdair Clayre; Review: Thank You; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: First 100 Words (Bright Baby); Author: Visit Amazon's Roger Priddy Page; Review: Perfect for my grandbaby.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Giddy Buggy Flashlight With Easy-Grip Handle; Brand: Melissa & Doug; Review: Very cute design, easy to turn on/off and hold. Please note product dimensions when ordering - it is not heavy, but it is not tiny in size either. The light is very dim - so while they are staring right at it, it will not harm their eyes. It works best in darkened room. We have had no problems with the contacts so it will come on, though I do not look forward to changing batteries when time comes - the reason they are hard to change is for child safety which makes sense. I would not buy it again, though I generally like Melissa & Doug products, I get the feeling this one is out-sourced overseas and shipped in for them.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gund My First Drum Musical Stuffed Toy; Brand: GUND; Review: We received one of these as a gift and now it is our go-to baby present. Soft, plush, lights up and plays a cute little "drum" rhythm when they push/touch/bang on it. It will light up at loud sounds to. Seems totally safe - our grandbaby enjoyed it as an infant when we "played" it for her and at 6 months would laugh against it, drool on it, strike it. Continued to play with it until almost two. Great infant gift - interactive, does not come with batteries. Strongly recommend this and the Gund Color Fun Educational Stuffed Rattle Ball (pretty quiet) - both are excellent.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CHH P 9 Piece Set of Plastic Cribbage Pegs 3 Each of Blue, Green and Red; Brand: CHH; Review: Perfect replacement pegs, fits all of various cribbage boards.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: AppleRound Space Hopper Ball with Air Pump: 28in/70cm Diameter for Age 13+, Hop Ball, Kangaroo Bouncer, Hoppity Hop, Jumping; Brand: AppleRound; Review: Bought mulitples of this item as gifts. Everyone really enjoyed. I bought this size ball for height ranges of 5'6" to 6'4", with weights up to 220. No problems with anyone. For shorter, lighter folks - less air and for really tall guys, pump up the volume! Takes 5 minutes to inflate with hand pump. Keep pump in the box and save for when you want to put ball away for awhile. Easily returns back in box after deflation for storage. This is a great way to spend family time and get a workout chasing after grandkids on their smaller size balls.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Artifact Puzzles - APAK Fruit of Dreams Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle; Brand: Artifact Puzzles; Review: Received as gift from my wishlist - I really enjoy Artifact puzzles and love the artwork of the few APAKs that are offered. The puzzle was and will continue to be a joy to put together. The border detail and the cutting style and shapes of the puzzle are once again 5*. Artifact puzzles are well worth the money as you will want to put them together time-after-time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AppleRound Space Hopper Ball with Pump, 18in/45cm Diameter for Ages 3-6, Hop Ball, Kangaroo Bouncer, Hoppity Hop; Brand: AppleRound; Review: I gave bouncy or hippity-hop balls to the entire family - this was for the youngest member (the oldest being 6'4" and in their 20's). Hubby and I inflated all the balls b4 xmas morning and gifit wrapped the empty boxes. This made for the instant ability for everyone to enjoy their gift after opening their boxes. Pumping time is about 5 minutes and is not difficult. Do keep your pump in the box so you can deflate and store ball easily. If you have arthritis in hands, ask a neighbor or housemate to pump the ball up.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Melissa & Doug Tape Activity Book: 4 Rolls of Easy-Tear Tape and 20 Reusable Scenes; Brand: Melissa & Doug; Review: Another great Melissa & Doug product. Really great skills builder and grandchild loves using the colored tape, which tear easily enough or can be cut with safety scissors. Have not found this in shops, but only online. 5* item; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Toys_and_Games |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: K K Hotel Opera; City: Budapest Central Hungary; Review: I chose the K&K after reading the reviews on here and glad I made that choice. Booked through Expedia and got a great deal. As for the Hotel the location was great and a short distance from bars/restaurants, the main attractions and shopping. We walked everywhere and had a great time exploring. Breakfast buffet was excellent and very fresh. Our room was clean and modern and it didn't matter that it was on the small side because we didn't want to spend a whole lot of time there as it was a short break. The hotel staff were helpful and booked our dinner reservations and organised for us to go on a city bus tour which was excellent and great value. Budapest in general - there was a lot more we would have liked to have done but didn't have time. Budapest is also a really clean city, we didn't see any litter or mess anywhere. The food was particularly to our taste and prices were cheap to reasonable depending on where we went. Well worth a visit!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Groveside Guest House; City: Sidmouth Devon England; Review: We stayed at the Groveside for 2 nights for a friends wedding and we were really impressed. Space for cars, a yummy breakfast, short walk into town. The sheets were so soft that getting up was hard work! Great spot for exploring Devon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester; City: Manchester Greater Manchester England; Review: I have stayed at this hotel twice for work and was really impressed by it. Great location so easy to get around Manchester. Lovely rooms and a good bar too. I left my chargers in the room and getting them back was no hassle.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Onefifty Cowes; City: Cowes Isle of Wight England; Review: We stayed at Onefiftycowes when attending a friends wedding. We arrived late on the Friday evening - liked the touch of there being fruit and chocolates in our room which was tastefully decorated. After a good nights sleep enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the conservatory - nice choice. Would recommend!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Governors Il Moran Camp; City: Maasai Mara National Reserve Rift Valley Province; Review: This safari was our first stop on our honeymoon, and was honestly one of the best things we have ever done. It's hard to believe we were only there for three days as we have so many amazing memories. The journey to the camp was easy and after our greeting we were shown to our tent which was up on the river bank where we sat for a while taking in the view whilst watching the hippos in the water. Ok so it's camping but when your tent has a huge bed, roll top bath and rainforest shower it's very much glamping! The camp in open so animals can walk through and but the staff are always on patrol so we always felt safe. The safaris were just amazing, we usually went on 3 per day, but on one day chose to have one longer drive in the morning, plus the sunset drive. We were lucky in that the migration had started early so there were more wildebeest and zebras then I knew could exist in one place! Our guide Oliver really made the experience. We saw a cheetah on our first drive but this was just the beginning, we saw the big 5 - lions on every drive - and even the elusive Rhino, everything we wanted to see and more. We visited one of the villages too and this was a great experience. One tip is to take a longer drive and cross the river, many of the animals are the same but it's a different experience and at the time of year we went there were more elephants and giraffes over there. We stopped for a sundowner each day and it was so peaceful enjoying our drink and taking in the atmosphere. We really enjoyed the downtime at the camp, from snoozing in the hammock to eating the delicious food. I really would recommend II Moran camp, I would love to go back. I follow the Governors Camp and Marsh Pride on Facebook now and it's great to keep up to date when what is happening on the Mara.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Due Torri; City: Rome Lazio; Review: We spent 4 nights at this hotel for our wedding anniversary following a recommendation and we are very pleased with the choice. The hotel is perfectly located for all the sites, and we walked everywhere from the Vatican to Palatine Hill and the Forum. The breakfast set us up well for the day ahead and we took recommendations from reception for our meals. All staff were very helpful. Would thoroughly recommend if you are looking for a convenient base to explore this wonderful city; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: La Ciliegina Lifestyle Hotel; City: Naples Province of Naples Campania; Review: We stayed at this hotel for one night before flying home and we were pleased with our selection. The rooms are stylish and we liked the extra details such as a glass of fizz being delivered to our room upon arrival in the late afternoon and small desserts in our room at the end of the evening. The staff on reception were super helpful and provided us with meal recommendations and ideas of where to visit in the city. We enjoyed pre dinner drinks and breakfast on the roof terrace, a wonderful atmosphere and view. Felt very spoilt!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Valley; City: Carnon Downs Feock Truro District Cornwall England; Review: We travelled to The Valley for a family holiday with our 8 month old son. The cottage was spacious and kitchen fully equipped. We had our own en suite and our son had his own room with en suite too. We ordered the welcome pack in advance to get us started with the essentials. We are at cafe azur the first night and really enjoyed the meal. We didn't eat anymore as we were too full of Cornish Pasty and fish and chips! The location of The Valley is great for exploring Cornwall. We went to St Ives, the Eden project and Fowey and closer to home was Falmouth and the Roseland peninsula. On days we didn't traveling we used the indoor pool (weather was a bit ropey!) and visited both Trebah Gardens and Trelissick Gardens. We ate at the Punchbowl and Ladel pub and a yummy pizza van stops at the village on Thursday evenings. The staff were wonderful and super helpful, would absolutely recommend and hope to visit again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Pacific Resources Manuka Bio Active 20 Plus, 1.1 Pound (Pack of 6); Brand: Pacific Resources; Review: Good; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nespresso Compatible Capsules 60 Meseta Intenso Capsules of Gourmet Italian Espresso Compatible with Nespresso Machine .; Brand: Meseta; Review: Good strong flavors. Meseta is a quality brand with good coffee better taste than other brands.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Comvita Certified UMF 15+ (MGO 515+) Manuka Honey I New Zealand's #1 Manuka Brand I Raw, Non-GMO,; Brand: Comvita; Review: Love this manuka , hope it cost less; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Twinings Earl Grey Tea, Loose Tea, 7.05 oz Tins; Brand: Twinings; Review: This tea have an amazing taste. Highly recommended; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Illy MonoArabica Whole Bean Coffee Trio of Brazil, Ethiopia and Guatemala; Brand: Illy; Review: Strong yet good tasting coffee. I just say that he is in love! He likes to drink black coffee and most of the coffee we bought he always found too bitter for his liking. I drink my coffee with extra cream but when I tried my husbands black coffee I understood why he fell in love! This coffee is so smooth and there is no bitterness to mask with cream or sugar! This always has to be in stock at our house because he will not drink anything else. Great coffee!!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: WildCape UMF 10+ Manuka Honey, 500g (1.1 lb); Brand: Wild Cape; Review: good; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Grocery_and_Gourmet_Food |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Grapefruit and Dessert Spoon, Stainless Steel with Serrated Edge, 7-inch, Set of 8; Brand: Chef Craft; Review: not as "sharp" as I thought they'd be. Sometimes I have to make the extra effort to slice into grapefruit prior to using the spoon, first world problems, right? They are great dessert./grapefruit spoons!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kitchie Silicone Cupcake Baking Cups, Set of 12 (All Six Colors); Brand: Kitchie; Review: so easy to use and clean! no use for extra oils, buttering, or sprays. mini meatloaf, egg muffin, cupcakes...perfect. The colors are cute too!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MaidMAX Over The Door Hanging Shoe Organizer with 24 Clear Pockets and 4 Metal Hooks, 64 Inches High; Brand: MaidMAX; Review: perfect! I use mine to hang snack on the inside of the pantry door. So easy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: iPerfect Kitchen Envy Spiral Slicer - Best Vegetable Spiralizer, Peeler, Shredder, Zucchini Spaghetti Pasta Maker You'll Ever Use; Brand: iPerfect Kitchen; Review: Perfect zucchini noodles (zoodles) everytime! Careful, it's sharp!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eiffel Tower Backdrop Banner (9 Ft. X 6 Ft.) Evening in Paris by Fun Express; Brand: Fun Express; Review: This comes in 4 pieces, and folded, which made it hard to set up and lay flat against the wall. The picture is beautiful and perfect sized for a home party!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Big Dot of Happiness Paris, Ooh La La - Paris Themed Photo Booth Props Kit - 20 Count; Brand: Big Dot of Happiness; Review: Really sturdy on cardstock. Nice, long sticks to hold and the perfect amount of adhesives for the whole collection. These were perfect with the Paris backdrop!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Glotoch Food Storage Containers Set with Lid for Meal Prep and Portion Control in 2 Compartment Bento Box-Microwaveable, Freezer; Brand: Glotoch Express; Review: Smaller than expected, but so sturdy and clean easily. I got these quickly and packed perfectly!; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: The Last Waltz (1978); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Jackson Pollock (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hearts and Minds (1974); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Maria Full of Grace (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: V: The Original Miniseries (1983); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Cinema Paradiso: Director's Cut (1988); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Swimmer (1968); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Karate Kid Part II (1986); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rififi (1955); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Incredibles (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Team America: World Police (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Sideways (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Wedding Planner (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: S.W.A.T. (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: U.S. Marshals (1998); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rudy (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Cutting Edge (1992); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Men in Black II (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Steel Magnolias (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Gone in 60 Seconds (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: I (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Pretty Woman (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Legends of the Fall (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Entrapment (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Armageddon (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Men of Honor (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Kiss the Girls (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Gone in 60 Seconds (1974); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pearl Harbor (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: An Affair to Remember (1957); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: In the Line of Fire (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Along Came a Spider (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Rock (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Twister (1996); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Double Jeopardy (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Client (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Patriot (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lethal Weapon 4 (1998); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Grease (1978); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Independence Day (1996); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Day After Tomorrow (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ransom (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Con Air (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Green Mile (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Fugitive (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Titanic (1997); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Finding Neverland (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Made (2001); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Cellular (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Old School (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Manchurian Candidate (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: In Good Company (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spanglish (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 13 Going on 30 (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Death in Gaza (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Crash (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: RTGS 60 LEDs String Lights Battery Operated on 20 Feet Long Silver Color; Brand: RTGS Products; Review: I used these lights to make to different lights using repurposed items (coffee can & a bottle) and they turned out great! What is great about LED lights is that they don't give off heat so you don't have to worry about a fire hazard so you can put them in either a metal or cardboard can. A feature that is really awesome about the RTGS Micro LED 60 Warm White Color Indoor/Outdoor String Lights is that the strand part can be full immersed in water and so I was able to take this empty bottle and fill it with blue colored water and stuff the light strand inside (the battery pack is behind it) and make this cool light feature for the dining room. My husband thinks it would be really cool to attach to his line when he goes ice fishing this winter. We'll see if I let him use it or not, but because it is battery operated he could easily take it along with him. Also, the strand is actually 20 feet long (the wire is super thin) and he thinks it would be fun to put on the boat if we take it out at night. There are so many possibilities on where we can use this strand of lights. I am going to have to buy more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stark Safe Cut Resistant Gloves (1 Pair) Food Grade Level 5 Protection, Safety Cutting Gloves for Kitchen, Mandolin; Brand: Stark Safe; Review: I had never owned a pair of knife gloves before but thought it was time that we had some to use when my husband is fileting fish. He is a bit of an amateur at fileting fish and because he has cut himself before doing it, I notice he goes more slowly and carefully making it more tedious. Now he doesn't have to go so slowly. I bought a pair of XL gloves for him and they are supposed to fit snug on him and they do. I am happy that you get a set of 2 gloves because I have seen that other places just sell a single glove and with him being left-handed he is a bit ambidextrous and prefers having 2 gloves. Before we even used the gloves I tried slicing them several times with a knife over a cutting board (no hands in them) and it made no cuts at all.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Spa AquaCare Series Insta-Mount Towel Ring; Brand: Hotel Spa; Review: This was a quick and easy install. I tried it out inside the smooth fiberglass shower and it easily installed using the suction feature. I thought it is nice to be able to remove the towel ring in order to deep clean the shower. I finally decided that I wanted to install it outside the shower and I tried on both a smooth wall cabinet and they suction did not keep, but because it has the holder with very sticky adhesive I used that and it is hanging nicely.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GR8 Goodz LED Motion Sensor Solar Light, Bright, Weatherproof, Wireless Security, Automatic Dusk to Dawn Sensing, for Patio, Deck,; Brand: GR8 Goodz; Review: This was really easy to install. My husband followed the clear instructions (but is pretty self explanatory when you look at the product) and attached it with the hardware that is included. We had tested it out before installing it to make sure it would work and it worked just fine. It gives off plenty of light above our cabin door so that we can see the locks and use our keys to get in. Before we would fumble in the dark or park the car with the lights aimed at the door so we could see, but now it comes on automatically when we walk up. I am even thinking this might be a good thing to install on a pole by the garden so that it turns off and scares the deer away. I wouldn't hesitate to get one for our home either. I like the idea of using solar energy to power lights, in fact all of our landscaping lights are solar powered, but our security lights are all hard wired in to the electricity. Disclosure: I did receive this product for free in order to review it on my blog.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RTGS Products LED String Lights on Green Wire Indoor and Outdoor String Lights, Fairy Lights for Patio, Bedroom, Holiday; Brand: RTGS Products; Review: Disclosure: I reviewed this set of lights, along with 5 other sets of lights in other colors from the same seller. I received them free, but all thoughts & opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was received. All sets comes with 2 strand of lights and included the necessary batteries. Each strand is 3 feet long so you will have a total of 6 feet to decorate with. On the left you can see what the blue lights look like against the Tricks or Treats styrofoam tombstone. I just taped them using clear packing tape to these Dollar Tree Decorations. Because they are LED they are cool to the touch and I don't have to worry about it melting the tape or styrofoam.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Vulcan Ladder USA 3600735401986540 Stepladder Multi-Task Alu 17Ft, 17' MT; Brand: Vulcan Ladder USA; Review: I bought this for my husband because he needed an extension ladder beyond a 6 foot step ladder. We love how it can be used so many ways and is the length of an extension ladder that he wanted. I think this will be a very useful ladder for us.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Senlesen Oil Rubbed Bronze Bathroom Stand Flat Iron Holder for Hair Dryer; Brand: Senlesen; Review: Looks beautiful but is quite loud. I had read the reviews on how people said it was loud, but I really didn't think it would be this loud. I do like how heavy the faucet it. It really is a looker and the price is great.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Moving Pictures; Author: Visit Amazon's Terry Pratchett Page; Review: I have never seen this book before and I don't know why Amazon thinks that I have purchased it. I have purchased other Disc World books and I love them all but I haven't read this one. I probably will though, so get back to me then.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fade; Author: Visit Amazon's Kyle Mills Page; Review: l can't even remember how I came across this book but I'm glad that I did. So good that I gifted others with it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Second Horseman (Fade); Author: Visit Amazon's Kyle Mills Page; Review: I was very disappointed with this book. Having first read "Fade", the Fade in this title led me to believe that it was a precursor. I still have no idea why it is included in the title. That aside, the book lacks depth, detail. and basic believability.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Insane City; Author: Visit Amazon's Dave Barry Page; Review: So you don't fall out when laughter gets the best of you. I'm still savoring this book because belly laughs are few and far between in these troubled times. Dave Barry comes through again. I don't know if this story will ever make it to the big screen but if it does I will be the first in line to see it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Awol on the Appalachian Trail; Author: Visit Amazon's David Miller Page; Review: I have it on good authority that the author was really on a visit to his mistress in Argentina!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dynamite Fishermen (Beirut Trilogy Book 1) eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Preston Fleming Page; Review: I'm now on his second book, also in Beirut and I will no doubt go on to read all he has written. Great book and a bargain to boot.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Berlin Deception; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeffrey Vanke Page; Review: He should start the first chapter over and explain that this "spy" was actually trained by the Three Stooges, maybe that would explain all of the bonehead moves that the protagonists make. Nancy Drew could have captured them in about two hours. I'm convinced that the tag on the title that reads (ages 17 and above) is a misprint that should have read, (ages 7 and below), although a reasonably smart 7 year old would probably get a good laugh out of it.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: A gentleman in Moscow; Author: Towles Amor; Review: Just pure enjoyment and a celebration of the written word. Not one wasted phrase in the whole book. This is what literature should be. As you may guessed, I really liked this book; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Short Drop (Gibson Vaughn); Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew FitzSimmons Page; Review: Simplistic, lacking detail and the ending just sorta happens without much reason. No explanation at all about the society or how it wound up the situation it's in. Good plot, someone could probably flesh it out and make a good book but this isn't it.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Stettin secret: A novel; Author: James Stewart Thayer; Review: Different than the usual WWII thriller and very well written, from start to finish.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Divergent; Author: Visit Amazon's Veronica Roth Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Allegiant; Author: Visit Amazon's Veronica Roth Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Love Me Forever; Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: How to Tame a Wild Fireman: A Bachelor Firemen Novel (Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel); Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Bernard Page; Review: A great story, good characters and placesetting. Good way to spend an afternoon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Running Wild: The Men from Battle Ridge; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Death Angel: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Up Close and Dangerous: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fatal Justice (The Fatal Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Force Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fatal Affair: Book One of the Fatal Series: One Night with You; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Force Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fatal Consequences: Book Three of The Fatal Series: Fatal Destiny; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Force Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tears Of The Renegade; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Another great book by another great author!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tender Rebel; Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Savage Thunder (Wyoming-Western Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again. I can just sink right into her books.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Keeper of the Heart (Ly-San-Ter Family); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Love the sci-fi twist! Great author does it again!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Present (Malory Novels (Paperback)); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brave the Wild Wind (Wyoming-Western Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again. I can just sink right into her books.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Heart of a Warrior (Ly-San-Ter Family); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Love this sci-fi twist! A Johanna Lindsey book is always a good way to enjoy an afternoon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Love Only Once: A Malory Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: Johanna Lindsey does it again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Touch of Fire; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Lady of the West; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Howard Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Raising Atlantis; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas Greanias Page; Review: First T. Greanias book I've read...Great storyline, and great action...a bit overkill on the weapon descriptions (like he had to prove he was knowledgeable about each weapon). Overall a excellent read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The High King's Tomb (Green Rider, Book 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Kristen Britain Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's A. G. Riddle Page; Review: Excellent read!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Storey's Barn Guide to Sheep; Author: Editors of Storey Publishing; Review: Oversimplified - but gets the point across. Easy to read and covers several areas of raising sheep...but not much detail.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Land of Painted Caves; Author: Visit Amazon's Jean M. Auel Page; Review: An enjoyable read as always; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Georgiana Darcy's Diary: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Anna Elliott Page; Review: A good spinoff of a classic.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beast Master's Quest; Author: Visit Amazon's Andre Norton Page; Review: A good read, with good characters.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beast Master's Planet: Omnibus of Beast Master and Lord of Thunder; Author: Visit Amazon's Andre Norton Page; Review: A good read, with good characters.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Superfood Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Amazing Foods (Julie Morris's Superfoods); Author: Visit Amazon's Julie Morris Page; Review: Great recipes - still discovering the favorites.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mirror Sight; Author: ; Review: Awesome book in an awesome series! Very surprising twist in continuing saga...with several avenues to explore in future books. Can't wait until the next 'chapter!'; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Divergent; Author: Visit Amazon's Veronica Roth Page; Review: Awesome compilation! Love reading each book back-to-back, then getting Four's mini-life thoughts. Disappointed with the ending of 3rd book but glad the movie version fixed that ending. If Four was the 'favorite' character then Miss Roth should have centered the story around him.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Angel (Wyoming-Western Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Johanna Lindsey Page; Review: This is one of my favorite books, I originally bought this as a paperback...now rebought it as a Kindle version just so I could read it 'on the go' more easily!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Night Circus (Vintage Magic); Author: ERI MORGENSTERN; Review: Turned out to be one of my favorite books that I have read in the last couple of years. I bought it as an e-book but I might even re-purchase in paper cover to add to my physical book collection.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Crown's Fate (Crown's Game); Author: Visit Amazon's Evelyn Skye Page; Review: excellent condition!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blood Rose Rebellion; Author: Visit Amazon's Rosalyn Eves Page; Review: excellent condition!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows; Author: Visit Amazon's Leigh Bardugo Page; Review: excellent condition!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: The Complete Official Guide Collector's Edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Piggyback Page; Review: amazing guide! helped a ton with the game and making sure I got everything in it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Firstlife (An Everlife Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Gena Showalter Page; Review: Way better than expected. Love it and the characters!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: PetSafe Gentle Leader Head Collar with Training DVD; Brand: PetSafe; Review: Compared to other head halters this one works amazingly well and I loved that it came not only with training instructions but a video as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: PetSafe Gentle Leader Head Collar with Training DVD; Brand: PetSafe; Review: Compared to other head halters this one works amazingly well and I loved that it came not only with training instructions but a video as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Animal Essentials Seaweed Calcium; Brand: Animal Essentials; Review: Bought this for my pregnant/nursing cat and it is easy to use. Very happy with this product, I would recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow; Brand: Petmate; Review: A very easy to assemble and use model. My only complaint is that the filters weren't very efficient but it is easy to clean so I just stopped using them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow; Brand: Petmate; Review: A very easy to assemble and use model. My only complaint is that the filters weren't very efficient but it is easy to clean so I just stopped using them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: FunnyDogClothes Dog Diaper for Male Belly Band Waterproof and Padded Lining Reusable Washable for Small and Big Large Dogs; Brand: FunnyDogClothes; Review: Wonderful product and excellent protection; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wegreeco Washable Male Dog Diapers (Pack of 3) - Washable Male Dog Belly Wrap; Brand: Wegreeco; Review: Pricey but well worth the money. Excellent padding and I have not had any marking incidents to clean up while my male pug is wearing this. By far the best I have bought; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Pet_Supplies |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Progressive International HGT-11 Folding Mandoline Slicer (Discontinued by Manufacturer); Brand: Progressive International; Review: Just got this a few days ago and I have already used it several times. It works great on potatoes and cheese. I'm still trying more foods. I'm very pleased with the price too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gothic Halloween Skull Bat Sand Timer Decoration Figurine Collectible; Brand: SUMMIT BY WHITE MOUNTAIN; Review: This was a very nice piece. It felt heavy and didn't have any imperfections. The timer lasts for about 5 minutes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Silicone CARS AND TRUCKS Mold Pan For Muffins, Cupcakes, Jello, Desserts and Crafts Mold. Silicone by Polymerose T.M.; Brand: Polymerose T.M.; Review: I bought this mold to make little car cakes. They (mostly) came out of the mold well, but were very hard to frost. It was also very difficult to clean the cake out of the mold.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: 10Ft Rope Lights; Orange (Deep Amber) LED Rope Light Kit; 1.0"LED Spacing; Christmas Lighting; outdoor rope lighting; Brand: ORANGE TREE TRADE; Review: I bought these and the blue ones for a portal mirror and they work well. No burned out parts and the glow that comes off them is really soft and warm.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brita Standard Replacement Filters for Pitchers and Dispensers - BPA Free - 4 Count; Brand: Brita; Review: These have been working well for me since I ordered them. It's the best price I could find for them that doesn't involve a coupon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prodyne Acrylic Wine Bucket, Thick Clear; Brand: Prodyne; Review: I would say this thing holds a little more than half a bag of small ice. It's really thick and sturdy. I also love the price of it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Update International (BS-9) 6 Oz Stainless Steel Bar Scoop; Brand: Update International; Review: This was just what I was looking for. It's cheap, and gets the job done. It's not super heavy but does have a little weight to it. Would highly recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Portal Companion Cube Cookie Cutters (Set of 8); Brand: ThinkGeek; Review: I really wish I could say these turned out well, but they didn't. I don't know how they were able to get the cookies to turn out so perfect for the pictures, but mine would not. I tried to even refrigerate the dough and they just smooshed together and looked like blobs. The only ones that turned out well were the portals!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Back to Basics Home Canning Kit - 286 (Discontinued by Manufacturer); Brand: Back to Basics; Review: Great kit. Same quality I have found in other canning kits. I really like the funnel on this one, versus the light green set. The funnel on this set is much larger at the top.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Honey-Can-Do 2591 Junior Loaf Pan, 25-Pack, 6-Inches x 2.5-Inches x 2-Inches; Brand: Honey-Can-Do; Review: I would not buy these again. We used a banana bread recipe with oil and the parts of the pan that touched the oil, looked like they were soaked with oil. They were also really, really long, which I did not like. The directions said to fill halfway with batter, but that was not nearly enough batter per loaf.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Lysol No-Touch Automatic Hand Soap Dispenser, Colors Vary, 1 Count; Brand: Lysol; Review: Mine came with a disney princess cover, but that just slips right off. Under that is the "stainless steel" look. I like these dispensers, but the soap is so expensive for the refills.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Amscan 43601.05 Big Party Pack Plastic Spoons, One Size, Orange Peel; Brand: Amscan; Review: These are wonderful. They are very thick spoons. The spoons came, just as described. Would buy again. What more can you say about spoons.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dream Supreme Plus Gel Fiber-Filled Pillows, King (Set of 2); Brand: Dream Supreme; Review: For the price, these pillows are the best I have found. They are still fluffy after months of using them. Would recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: InterDesign Forma Houseware, Dishwasher Spinner, Frost; Brand: InterDesign; Review: Has a suction cup on the back and spins easily to clean or dirty. Not much else to say. works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eclipse 10707042X063RBY Kendall 42-Inch by 63-Inch Thermaback Blackout Single Panel, Ruby; Brand: Eclipse; Review: These work very well at keeping the sunlight out of our living room. During the afternoon the sun is directly in our front window, even the plastic panels weren't stopping all the light. These do a great job. Would recommend; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GoodGram Unique 5 Piece Window Curtain Set By Assorted Colors (Black); Brand: GoodGram; Review: Love these curtains. They are sheer, so they are not going to be blocking any light. They are one solid piece with two tie backs. They tie backs have holes in them for you to put some kind of hardware on the wall to hold them. It does not come with the hardware. I recommend simple gold hooks that you can get from lowes or buy on amazon. I read the other reviews and my curtains did not have any issues with loose threads (I looked really well for them).; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NICETOWN Blackout Window Valance for Kitchen - 52-inch by 18-inch Rod Pocket Blackout Drapery Curtain for Basement,; Brand: NICETOWN; Review: I bought the Turquoise set. I recommend buying double your window length so that you can scrunch them together like in the picture. If you don't, it looks very plain. The material is very soft and the color is a lighter turquoise (still turquoise but not bright like some shades).; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kenney Valencia 5/8” Standard Decorative Window Curtain Rod, Chocolate, 48-84"; Brand: Kenney; Review: Cheap plastic. The end pieces will fall off for no reason. Would not buy again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Goodia 10.49ft 30 LED Globe Fairy String Lights, Battery Operated Silver Moroccan Party Hanging Lights Decorative Accent Lamp for; Brand: Goodia; Review: These things are tiny! They glow well, but they are not strong at all. Ours broke after a month or two.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Vancouver Studios; City: London England; Review: This was my second time at Vancouver Studios and I was glad to know that this charming hotel had not changed. Clean and well equiped rooms, friendly staff and wonderful location. Everything you need to enjoy a pleasant stay in London. I will certainly come back!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: La Vela Hotel; City: Santa Margherita Ligure Italian Riviera Liguria; Review: This hotel is quite unique, a beautiful castle overlooking the town, spacious rooms, impressive staircase, magnificent building with elegant charm. Excellent service, delicious breakfast, just a short walk to the centre. Great value for money, highly recommended. I will certainly come back!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Nadler Kensington; City: London England; Review: This was my second time at The Nadler Kensington. Modern, comfortable and well equiped rooms. Fast Internet, spacious bathroom and friendly staff. Close to tube stations (Piccadilly Line, Heathrow). Highly recommended; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hyatt Place Miami Airport East; City: Miami Springs Florida; Review: Modern, clean, spacious and very well equiped room. Excellent wifi connection. Comfortable bed, delicious breakfast, food available 24 hours. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wants a nice place to stay in Miami.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Best Western City Sands; City: Wollongong New South Wales; Review: The hotel is very well located in lovely Wollongong. The room with sea view is stunning. The kitchen is very well equipped. Bed huge and comfortable. Very quiet and charming. The green large golf courses are a bonus. Highly recommended!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hamilton Heritage B B; City: Newcastle Greater Newcastle New South Wales; Review: Excellent accomodation, very warm and cosy. The owners make you feel at home! Delicious breakfast, comfy bed, spacious room. The free lift to the station and city tour was a lovely gesture very much appreciated!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Fox Racing Striker Vandal MTB Helmet; Brand: Fox Racing; Review: Talk about some large vent holes. I hope I don't land on a stick head first.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tall Neoprene Water Sport Boots with Sole | MINORCA made by Cressi: quality since 1946; Brand: Cressi; Review: I own a spa cleaning business and use these for work. Got a bit of frost bite in the late 80's and as a result my feet get sharp pains when cold. These boots and a pair of neoprene socks ensure my feet stay warm during a 8 hour very wet cleaning in near freezing weather.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: TETON Sports Mammoth Queen-Size Double Sleeping Bag; Warm and Comfortable for Family Camping; Brand: TETON Sports; Review: Purchased the TETON Sports Mammoth Queen Size Sleeping Bag 20 degree bag and have had a chance to use it twice. Once in about 40 degree, the second time in the mid 30's. Doesn't get much colder than that here in Texas. But being from Texas I am not use to the cold so 40's to me is freezing. I needed a bag to fit two, which this does with PLENTY of room to spare and a bag with cotton on the inside, which this has. Added bonus is the zipper opens from both sides of the bag allowing my girl to get up a zillion times during the night to use the bathroom without crawling over me and waking me up. Another benifit which is not in the description is a neck baffle (draft collar) which is an insulated tube that prevents heat loss from around your shoulders and neck. Don't know how well this works on a rectangular bag but had no problem staying warm.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: TETON Sports Mammoth Queen-Size Double Sleeping Bag; Warm and Comfortable for Family Camping; Brand: TETON Sports; Review: Purchased the TETON Sports Mammoth Queen Size Sleeping Bag 20 degree bag and have had a chance to use it twice. Once in about 40 degree, the second time in the mid 30's. Doesn't get much colder than that here in Texas. But being from Texas I am not use to the cold so 40's to me is freezing. I needed a bag to fit two, which this does with PLENTY of room to spare and a bag with cotton on the inside, which this has. Added bonus is the zipper opens from both sides of the bag allowing my girl to get up a zillion times during the night to use the bathroom without crawling over me and waking me up. Another benifit which is not in the description is a neck baffle (draft collar) which is an insulated tube that prevents heat loss from around your shoulders and neck. Don't know how well this works on a rectangular bag but had no problem staying warm.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hennessy Hammock Hex Rainfly/Rain Tarp 70D Polyester; Brand: Hennessy Hammock; Review: After searching reviews on numerous different flys for hammock camping, I settled on the Hennessy Hex Fly and have not been disappointed.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eagles Nest Outfitters - ENO Ember 2 UnderQuilt, Ultralight Sleeping Quilt; Brand: Eagles Nest Outfitters; Review: So you guys up north obviously know it doesn't get very cold here in Texas. But I'm accustomed to working outdoors in 100 plus degrees so when it drops below 65, I'm cold. This underquilt kept me nice and warm on camping trips during the winter months where temps at night were in the mid to low 40's. Will it do as well when the temp is below that? I'm not going to find out. And it fits tip tip tip under my Grand Trunk Double.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: YISCOR Camping Hammock - Lightweight Portable Nylon Parachute Hammock for Backpacking, Travel, Beach, Yard, Hammock Straps; Brand: YISCOR; Review: Well, they work. And the good thing is they hold two people. Other straps blew a loop. These seem to hold up much better.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Comfort Suites West of the Ashley; City: Charleston South Carolina; Review: Very pleasant stay in a room with a hot tub. Huge room tastefully decorated. Very quiet. Wide screen TV, hot tub microwave & fridge. Lots of drawer space. My wife's first reaction: "We could live here!" Nuf said. Loved the location a few miles from all the auto and foot traffic of the historic area. Only the breakfast was average. Also, the planners forgot to leave enough space for all the cars, so if you are one of the last 30 cars, you will have to "make a space". There is no street parking.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SpringHill Suites Orlando Altamonte Springs Maitland; City: Altamonte Springs Florida; Review: We learned a lesson last month when we stayed here based on two extremely pleasant stays in Springhill Suites Tallahassee north of town on Route 10. The room was clean and quiet and the bed was comfortable, but the room was relatively small and the free breakfast below average. Unlike Tallahassee, there were only prefab egg-like wafer thin rounds and poor flavor/texture wafer thin sausage rounds apparently meant for the stale, tough biscuits. The cereal choices were limited and I could not find the milk. The oatmeal was like babvy pablum and cold. In Tally, we enjoyed a great selection of meats, eggs, juices, coffees and fresh fruits along with a hearty bowl of hotr oatmeal that was obviously rolled oats made with a long simmer. In other words, the difference in the free breakfast was a 1 in Altamonte Springs vs a 9 in Tally (10 being at a high end resort hotel for $50 a pop). In addition, the Tally room could easily hold two Altamonte Springs rooms and included a full kitchen with cutlery, dishes & glassware as well as two flat screen TVs with double doors to separate the two room. The two are totally different in 7 out of 10 categories for the same money! Did I mention this is at a very busy corner and Tally is on a VERY PEACEFUL LAKE? We will return to the economy place a block away with somewhat better breakfast and a similar small room for half the price.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center; City: Titusville Brevard County Florida; Review: I like this place. Good location, above average room cleanliness and reasonable. It is only a few itmes short of a 5 rating. Minor, but inconvenient vs. convenient is the majority of the 5th star. Simple things like a $12 4-cup coffe pot that works faster than a 20-minute brew, a drain plug in the shower and somewhat better A/C. The first two needs no further details. The A/C is another story. The units are ineffiecient, noisy and, well, old........... (hey, I am talking about a room, NOT myself........what were you thinking?). I totally understand that given the American economy emphasized to the MAX in the 40 mile radius of Kennedy Space Center, so a bank loan is very tough to get for what are obviously well-intended owners & managers. But, I digress by not mentioning the GOOD stuff that make this a place worthy of higher ranking. The staff is accomodating and efficient. The matresses are incredible..........I am 66 next month, so that makes me an expert wearing Olympic Gold. Rooms are quiet, clean and nicely appointed. Pleasant modern decorating schemes. We were pleasantly surprised by the safe and mini-fridge, which we thought was part of the high-end room. Only thing missing was a microwave, which we use on occasion if snacking on a to-go dinner watching a late movie. I would love to see a local banker consider the potential of this place when NASA gets the contracts signed (in process, happening very soon) with private enterprise joint efforts that actually have already begun in April, 2012. Even a $10-$12 increase would not be an issue if this place got the chance to go to the next level.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dockside Motel; City: Cedar Key Florida; Review: This is not our first, but one of many stays at the Dockside. Two things made this trip special: (1) The rooms have been updated and (2) We got a chance to meet the owner, Hugh. Hugh is a fine Southern gentleman who lives locally (vs. many out of state and foreign remote owners). He was gracious enough to help my wife carrying the luggage up a flight of stairs and we chatted for awhile. The Dockside has one of the absolute best locations and views on Cedar Key - directly across from a relatively new fishing pier always full of fishermen and fisherwomen that always seem to catch a lot of fish. They are accompanied by the dozens of huge, people-friendly pelicans that are very open to picture and even petting if you are slow and gentle! The only minor issue to staying anywhere on Dock Street is the very limited parking, but the city parking is only 2 blocks away with no fee and we always find a space in front of our room after 7:00pm until 10:00am the next morning even on a holiday or event weekend. The rooms are HUGE, very well maintained and clean. They do not include a coffee maker, but the best coffee in town is right across the street at Ken's. It does include a mini-fridge that actually has a funtioning ice drawer, microwave & 27 inch TV. We love being able to walk anywhere within 10 minutes and we don't have to take out a loan to pay for our stay. I highly recommend the Dockside and if you are very lucky, you might meet Hugh.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Island Hotel Restaurant; City: Cedar Key Florida; Review: If you read TripAdvisor or look at my reviews at all, you know there is one stand-out high-end restaurant in Cedar Key. This is not on the level of that place. Although those who love the old-school menu will enjoy may dishes, the room is worn and some of the menu items are far from good. An example is the Oysters Rockefeller (sp?), which were bland and dry. They were a disappointment at $7.50. The crab bisque at $9.00 was very different from what we expected. It was not the thin and teasing flavor we expected, but not unpleasant with a thick and creamy almost cheesy consistency. Christina totally enjoyed her Hearts of Palm Salad and would come back to the bar for that dish alone. She also enjoyed the Crab Stuffed Shrimp. Again, somewhat heavy, but lots of flavor. I had the Rosemary Lamb, which was cooked to perfection and had a great flavor, but the outside fat should have been trimmed. Our bill was just under $110.00, which is hard to justify considering the mixed bliss vs. disappointments. We like certain menu items and will return to the bar for the menu that includes burgers, the bisque and the Hearts of Palms salad (Christina loves this first exposure to this salad) and the steak sandwiches. We think the reason for only 20% of tables occupied on a Labor Day Weekend is the value issue. I would not go back to the main dining room at the prices charged, but will gladly do a lighter menu at the bar.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Super 8 by Wyndham Forsyth; City: Forsyth Georgia; Review: At this price, we were happy to have a quiet room and a good bed. We got that. The location is great, the price is right. No frills, but no fru-fru priceither. we enjoyed the 1 night stay and the easy on/off from the highway.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Days Inn Suites by Wyndham Altamonte Springs; City: Altamonte Springs Florida; Review: We just had a terrible weekend at the Hilton with tons of hall noise, phone booth bathrooms and tubs that do not drain when showing. Forgot to mention that Hilton charges much more for much less - including no microwave and no mini-fridge. We have stayed here almost a dozen times without a complaint. No noise, yes to mini-fridge & microwave and the breakfast equals brand H, but you have to walk 200 feet instead of the 25 ft at the Hilton Concierge room. I think we need to know where our Congeressmen sleep here and have them explain the logic to taxpayers.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hampton Inn and Suites Chicago Lincolnshire; City: Lincolnshire Lake County Illinois; Review: We stayed here the last weekend in July with family and friends for a wedding. The location is immediately adjacent to several restaurants a short walk away, including Wildfire. Check-in and check-out were speedy and the staff was ready to make the visit pleasant. Room were clean, large and well-appointed. Our room was a reasonably-priced suite with a very comfortable king-size bed, two flat-screens in bedroom and the outer combo living area/ kitchen. Double doors closed off the living area, so that one night owl can watch ESPN or movies until dawn without waking the person sleeping comfortably. Both areas even had their own heating & cooling units. The kitchen had a full refrigerator/freezer that quickly made ice, cups, glasses, plates and flatware, as well as a dishwasher, microwave and single-serve coffee maker. My only complaint is the weird numbering system of even on one side and odd on the other, making it difficult to find your room in less than 10 minutes. I have never seen this system anywhere, so beware of this small glitch.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fairfield Inn Suites Louisville East; City: Louisville Kentucky; Review: We stayed here one evening and found it to be quiet, clean and comfortable with a typical breakfast in the am. The location is conveniently close to the Middletown restaurants and the outer beltway, both big pluses.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wingate by Wyndham Goodlettsville; City: Goodlettsville Davidson County Tennessee; Review: Nice room and breakfast with a very good location well back from the noisy road. The only odd thing was a carpet that was threadbare and a few minor things not functioning. Need some updating, but the room is quiet and comfortable.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Quality Inn Woodstock; City: Woodstock Illinois; Review: We stayed 4 nights simply due to sell-outs elsewhere in the area. Although we got a good rate, the place was in need of upgrading and a thorough cleaning. The pool is ice-cold. One would not have expected that in an indoor pool. The breakfast was in need of a spark. The only warm item was sausage links and so-so biscuits with flavorless sausage gravy. There was no sugarless syrup for the waffles. With the majority of Americans being either diabetic and/or overweight, this is just sloppy management. We did have a microwave, but it did not function, so why advertise a microwave. That is like a car without wheels. We will visit the area again, but we WILL NOT come back to this motel.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Versey Days Inn by Wyndham Chicago; City: Chicago Illinois; Review: We spent 4 nights this past week at this location, which is safe, affluent and ideally situated for those who like dining, entertainment and culture within walking distance. In addition, the rail and bus stops are closeby. The staff was courteous, friendly & helpful. So why only 4 stars? The room is much smaller than expected and the bathroom was the smallest we hace ever seen. In addition, there was neither a microwave, nor a mini-fridge. (I can understand the fridge due to lack of space, but without a microwave, we could not take a box of protions of uneaten great meals to reheat later.). Finally, the a/c was of the older, therefore high noise variety. The breakfast did include oatmeal and sugar-free syrup for the belgian waffles. For those on a tight budget, beware of the $26/night fee for parking. We were able to walk the 1.25 miles to the Lincoln Park Zoo & Conservatory, which remain free and worth a few hours of your time.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hampton Inn Suites Deland; City: DeLand Florida; Review: This is a new hotel (not replacing another place in an older building) with very nice, quiet rooms nicely decorated. very clean with a very nice hot breakfast that includes meat, eggs, waffles and oatmeal as well as the typical cold offerings. We liked the way the room was designed with the air conditioner on the end of the room with the sofa, rather than blowing over the bed. The bed linens were also very stylish, but quite heavy, so some may be too warm in bed. Although a bit pricey for Deland, this is a good place for all except those like me that sleep far better with a firm bed. We have a Sleep Number bed and I sleep on the 85 side (100 is max), while my wife uses 50-55. She slept sound and loved the mattress. Since that was my only issue, while my wife was a happy (Hampton) camper, I found no reason to dock more than 1 star.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hampton Inn Suites Baton Rouge Downtown; City: Baton Rouge Louisiana; Review: Thanks to my generous firm, I stayed here while leaning a new postiion at their location a few blocks away. The room was nicely decorated, with great bed linens a bit on the heavy side and very clean. The service was excellent and helpful. There are several good eating places walking distance away and the location felt safe & secure. I have nothing negative to add, so 5 stars.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hilton Garden Inn Fairfax; City: Fairfax Virginia; Review: We chose the location the nearby DC Metro Vienna train into DC. The rooms are nicely done and clean. Although they purport to practice Green, we were not offered any discount for not requiring daily maid service, a practice of many Hilton competitors. We were put-off by the $10.95 per person fee for a breakfast BOO-FET (the desk clerk's pronunciation). The buffet was no better than many free breakfast buffets and the price is the same if you only grab a cup of yogurt or a banana. Only the coffee is free. Warning to those who drive to the Vienna station (the beginning/end of the Orange line): Pay VERY close attention to any GPS or smart-phone instructions. The final exit to the station is the THIRD exit once you get off the highway and are within less than a mile. The exit sign is covered by brush, making it HIGHLY likely that most miss the exit, which will cost you a LONG and confusing 15 minutes more to return and try again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Staybridge Suites Tallahassee I 10 East; City: Tallahassee Florida; Review: Ours was a king bed suite with 2 large rooms divided by a set of double doors. The bedroom has a nice flat-screen and a comfortable king bed separated from the entry living area as large as the large bedroom. This area is separated from the bedroom by double doors and has a substantial kitchen and sofa-bed with a second flat-screen TV. This property includes a small lake and our room had a lake view! Wow! Breakfast was hot with all the trimmings of the best complimentary breakfasts and service is great. You may think the price is a little high until you experience this place. The Staybridge is at highway 90 and Interstate 10 - Northeast of the capitol building and one of Tallahassee's first exits. This is our fourth or fifth stay in Tally and all rooms have been at the Staybidge.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GuestHouse Inn Suites Lexington; City: Lexington Kentucky; Review: We were surprised at the quality of the hotel and its rooms. The room was clean, updated and nicely appointed. The big thing is always whether you can get a good nights rest. Here the answer was definitely yes. The location was convenient to the US 75 exit and near many food options.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Red Roof Inn Murfreesboro; City: Murfreesboro Tennessee; Review: We are a bit old school = never expecting that a Red Roof property would be up to par with the competition that tries to sell the higher prices. Having stayed here, we will definitely look for them more often. We can not find an issue with anything on our list. I will seriously look for this chain as we travel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Express Schererville North; City: Schererville Indiana; Review: We stayed here a couple of nights recently and found it to be a good choice. If you are visiting this area, the location is ideally close to shopping and restaurants near the junction of Routes 30 and 41. The rooms are big, clean and well-appointed. Morning free breakfast was hot with good selection of options. The rooms were very quiet, allowing a great night's rest.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hilton Garden Inn Orlando International Drive North; City: Orlando Florida; Review: We were visiting Sea World's Discovery Cove and Sea World to the south during the day and dining at two places north, so being in the middle was great. The room was big, clean and quiet, with a GREAT SELECT COMFORT bed like ours at home. Although breakfast is extra, it is top drawer, including omelettes of your choice. Unlike our experience with Virginia and DC Garden Inns, the cost of breakfast is disclosed on the web site. We had no issues other than the hideous traffic on I-Drive each day. That is on the City of Orlando, not Hilton.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Thermos ELEMENT5 16-Ounce Travel Mug; Brand: Thermos; Review: I have had this thermos over a year and use is winter and summer for cold and hot. It doesn't leak, unless you do like I often do and forget to close the lid. User error ... But then it only dumps coffee if you turn it upside down. I haven't had to replace a keyboard or mouse for over a year and probably saved a fortune in paper towels. And, it cleans easily even though the hole in the top is small there doesn't seem to be build up on the inside, like so many of the other brands. Use a bottle brush.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bormioli Rocco Dublino Collection Shot Glasses; Brand: Bormioli Rocco; Review: Very nice... I use with my morning vitamins and thought I was getting only two. Now I can have a vitamin party.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Zak Designs 19.5in x 11.5in Large MeeMe Serving Tray, Eggshell White LT; Brand: Zak Designs; Review: It's a nice tray and I would like to get more in a variety of colors. I use it for everything, it cleans well and is the perfect size.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bodum Columbia Thermal French Press Coffee Maker, Stainless Steel, 34 Ounce, 1 Liter (8 cup); Brand: Bodum; Review: This is a fantastic addition to my kitchen. It very nice looking and makes the best pot of coffee I've had in years. Easy to clean and keeping the shine doesn't seem like it's going to be a problem. I just ordered the cream and sugar set to go with it. I've been through 3 coffee makers in the past three years and they just seem to fall apart. That is not going to happen with this great pot. Now, it doesn't keep coffee hot for nearly as long as I will often let it set but it does stay hot for much longer than the usual glass press. I also found that if I just toss a dish towel over it that it will stay hotter a bit longer. Then it's a good habit not to make more than you intend to drink in a two hour period.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prodyne M-935 Metal Flatware Caddy, Chrome; Brand: Prodyne; Review: This is much nicer than I expected. I am very pleased. I moved into a studio, large studio, but the kitchen has very small drawers. Couldn't get a flatware thingy in there to save my life and it gives me the creeps to have my flatware just sitting in a bare drawer unorganized. This slips into a cupboard under the counter/bar and is easy to set on the counter when needed, and there is a place for napkins on it. It's modern looking and not one of those basket types you'd see on picnics. Wasn't going for the Early American barn look.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Metrokane 6119 Rabbit Wine Bottle Stoppers 2-Pack in Multi-Color (Colors Selected Randomly); Brand: Metrokane; Review: I really like these and they do their job. Now if I could remember to remove them from the bottle before tossing it I can use them more than once. Time to order more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 2-Quart Teakettle, White; Brand: KitchenAid; Review: It's what I wanted. White, boils water and not difficult to clean. Haven't done much with as yet but I have confidence that it will do it's job and not embarrass me, frighten small children etc....; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Malibu Mid Back Office Chair in White Leatherette; Brand: Passion Decor; Review: Really like this chair, it's a chair and not a bunch of fluff and cushions, nobs and promises. You should always buy a chair with the support on the sides and not just a little square plate under the seat, unless you have a Barbie Doll bottom and sit perfectly in the center of the chair and don't get up and down a lot. With this chair you don't need to worry about those quick sits on the edge of the chair and I'm guessing it fits perfectly to any curve. There is not a lot of cushion but we're talking a work chair not a recliner you are going to sleep in. Looks really good too. I'm changing the color of my office to White. I can't imagine it being difficult to clean or keep clean. This replaced one of those $1200 ergonomic chairs that I forced myself to like for nearly ten years. I was really happy when it broke down so I could get something else.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Anili Mili's Triple Stitch Embroidery Affordable 3 PC Bed Sheet Set - Twin Size, Chocolate Brown; Brand: Sanders Collection Inc; Review: I was pleasantly surprised and going to order more in different colors. Easy to care for and nice to feel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chezmoi Collection White Goose Down Alternative Comforter, Full/Queen with Corner Tab; Brand: Chezmoi Collection; Review: I've ordered a few comforters all of which are too heavy and full of feathers, landing them in the closet or worst the trash. This comforter is light weight, very warm and if there is a need for a color change just a cover thingy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 4-Pack Hotel Sleeping Pillows 100% Hypoallergenic White with High Thread Count 100% Cotton Shell. Made in USA.; Brand: Digital Decor; Review: I found these very big and fluffy like in the picture. I also can sleep at night now without all the allergy issues. I sleep longer and wake up without headaches and stuffy sinuses. I purchased 4 thinking I'd have to put two in a single pillowcase but not so. I have a visual ton of pillows now.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kitchenaid Knife Set Stainless Steel 3 Pieces; Brand: KitchenAid; Review: These were much better than I expected. Every knife set I looked at was over kill. I wanted a few well made kitchen knives not a butcher shop. A set I'd purchased prior to this one was so bad that if I set the in water you could see the rust coming to the surface, creepy. These handle washing very well and even the dishwasher. No rust anywhere. They have a good feel to them as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Elegance 72609 Serving Tray, Silver; Brand: Elegance; Review: I wasn't sure about this but very happy when it arrived. It looks nice and fits right in with my minimalist life style.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nexera 222233 Night Stand, Ebony and White; Brand: Nexera; Review: I like this little stand, fits in perfect with the rest of my decor. I could probably put a dozen of them together in an hour, now. This one took me all day because the instructions are just pictures and that might work for a 5 year old putting puzzles together but I really need a bit more. All screws look the same to me and there a bunch of them. However, I would buy another if ever needed. Tip: Use a bit of wood glue. It's not like you are really going to take it apart in the future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: InterDesign 3-Drawer Storage Organizer for Cosmetics, Makeup, Beauty Products or Kitchen/ Office Supplies, White; Brand: InterDesign; Review: I bought two to try out and love them and going to get a couple more. They just look nicer than anything else I've used. I put a tiny bit of double back tape on the bottom so they wouldn't slide around.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: STORi Clear Plastic 5-Compartment Organizer, 10" x 7"; Brand: STORi; Review: Great container and comes in handy. Looks good on counter and holds a lot more that is obvious. I would tell anyone to buy this.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Elegance Hammered 6-Inch Stainless Steel Bowl; Brand: Elegance; Review: This is my second one and they look really nice. I use one on my bedside stand as a catch all keeping the table top clear. If my place was bigger I'd get a few more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Calypso Basics by Reston Lloyd Powder Coated Enameled Colander, 1.5 Quart, Turquoise; Brand: Reston Lloyd; Review: Perfect size for me and it's cute. Have no clue how long it will last. Had my last one for 15 years so I'm guessing this one will be around as long.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fashion Shoe - mini, Mini Prints Art Print Poster by Todd Williams, 8 x 10 set of 4; Brand: Gango Editions; Review: I'm the worst at picking art but I like shoes and these are cute accent pieces for a small bare wall.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 12 piece set of Jobar Slacks Hangers Open Ended pants Easy Slide Organizers; Brand: Jobar; Review: I really like these and even use them at work for hanging table cloths. I will most likely buy many more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Francois et Mimi 14-Ounce Colored Ceramic Coffee/Soup Mugs, Large, Cappuccino, Set of 6; Brand: Francois et Mimi; Review: I've had these before and just actually ordered another set to fill in for the broken ones. I both last time and this order I had a couple of broken cups but they are so inexpensive I didn't make a fuse, it happens. Heaven knows they will get broken at some point in their existence.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Core Products Tri-Core Petite Size Firm Support Cervical Pillow White; Brand: Core Products; Review: This a great little pillow and I wouldn't suggest getting one of the larger ones. Realistically, how big can ones head really be... Within a few days my neck and shoulders were feeling so much better.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Core Products Tri-Core Petite Size Firm Support Cervical Pillow White; Brand: Core Products; Review: This a great little pillow and I wouldn't suggest getting one of the larger ones. Realistically, how big can ones head really be... Within a few days my neck and shoulders were feeling so much better.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sistema Multi Piece Food Storage Containers in Assorted Shapes and Colors, Set of 6, Assorted; Brand: Sistema; Review: I love these and recently ordered a second set.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crock-Pot 6.5-Quart, Programmable Touchscreen Slow Cooker, Silver, SCVT650-PS; Brand: Crock-Pot; Review: This is a lovely kitchen appliance. A bit bigger than what I had planned but I don't regret buying it. Cooks perfectly and easy to clean.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: OXO Good Grips 5-Piece Airtight POP Container Set; Brand: OXO; Review: These are great and I will be ordering a second set soon. They look nice, store easy and are easy to keep clean, I hate things on my counter with fingerprints or specks of stuff on them. These whip down easily without looking smudged. I also like seeing what is inside without having to open them. No matter how good a product is, if it looks ugly it won't be around long, these look great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Aroma Housewares 8-Cup (Cooked) (4-Cup UNCOOKED) Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer (ARC-914D); Brand: Aroma Housewares; Review: I have used this almost daily since I purchased. Easy to clean, easy to use and makes my life easier I. The end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fresh Salad Container Serving Cup Shaker with Dressing Container Fork Food Storage Bonus Recipes, Use This Bowl for; Brand: Dependable; Review: These are perfect for work! I plan on order more soon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sachi 36-044 Insulated Fashion Lunch Tote, Leopard; Brand: Sachi; Review: Haven't used it yet but I'm guessing it will do just fine.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fresh Ideas Ruffled Pillow Sham 2 Pack, Standard, Ivory; Brand: Fresh Ideas; Review: Nice and a great way to cover extra pillows.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ikea Striped Knit Throw, Black/white; Brand: IKEA; Review: This is a nice little blanket, much nicer than I expected.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kes Self Adhesive 30-Inch Pan; Brand: Kes; Review: I love this kind of stuff and order a couple of different ones. On some surfaces they stick great on others I had to improvise, such is life. They look great.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sorbus Storage Box, White (Set of 6); Brand: Sorbus; Review: I really didn't think these would be of much help, sort of like putting drawers within drawers. However, once I got all the goods into them I was impressed. Nothing gets covered up or hidden under other stuff.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FoodSaver FM2000 Vacuum Sealer Machine with Starter Bags & Rolls | Safety Certified | Black; Brand: FoodSaver; Review: I like what it does and will use it regularly. There are only three things that bug me. The electrical cord is too short, the unit is a bit large for what it does and the vacuum seal part is really loud. These things I can live with to save money and food.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fortessa Fortaluxe SuperWhite Vitrified China Dinnerware, Plaza 4-Piece Place Setting, Service for 1; Brand: Fortessa; Review: Just received my first set and very happy. They work well with my cobalt blue set. Cups are simple but nice and coffee seems to stay hot longer. Will be purchasing an additional set. I would like to just order the cups, bowls and smaller plates. The larger plate are good for serving.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver Food Storage Container, Large, 17.3 Cup, Green 1953849; Brand: Rubbermaid; Review: Very impressed. I spent a fortune on vacuum sealed containers that let me down from day one and I had to toss them out. I gave these a try and for a fraction of the price they did exactly as promised. I can purchase a sizable amount of produce and it will last two weeks or more using these simple containers. They have saved me money and time and I plan to purchase a few more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rubbermaid Premier Easy Find Lids Food Storage Containers, Gray, Set of 20, 1937643; Brand: Rubbermaid; Review: I like these a lot. I'm sort of OCD about storage containers, how well they work and look is a major issue. They haven't embarrassed me yet so I will get more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ECOVACS DEEBOT M82 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Pet Hair, Bare Floors and Low-Pile Carpet; Brand: ECOVACS; Review: My apartment has always been robot friendly so opting for another product of this nature was a given, but which one. I picked EcoVac because it's a great product for the right price, that's what it's all about. I need it to vaccum and find it's way back to the charging base. It would be nice if it said, "excuse me," once in awhile but I'll forgive the pushy behavior as long as it keeps on cleaning.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War; Author: Visit Amazon's Bruce Henderson Page; Review: As a former Navy A4 pilot(1963-1970) who flew 80 missions over N Vietnam off USS Intrepid, I feel this is a very life-like authentic read. Experienced much of what Dengler did minus the POW scenario. 5 stars!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War; Author: Visit Amazon's Bruce Henderson Page; Review: As a former Navy A4 pilot(1963-1970) who flew 80 missions over N Vietnam off USS Intrepid, I feel this is a very life-like authentic read. Experienced much of what Dengler did minus the POW scenario. 5 stars!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Down in Laos; Author: Francis J Partel; Review: As an A4 pilot flying off the USS Intrepid 1968 Tonkin Gulf, I can relate to this book very easily. Excellent read !; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Hampton Page; Review: Excellent-I am ex-Navy carrier pilot who flew A4's over North Vietnam 1967-1968; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Triple Sticks: Tales of a Few Young Men in the 1960s; Author: Bernie Fipp; Review: Excellent description of Naval aviators life flying combat missions with the A4 off Intrepid's deck during 1967 Vietnam cruise. I also flew an A4 off the Intrepid's deck during the 1968 VN cruise--VA 66. Great read & spot on!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Other Vietnam War: A Helicopter Pilot's Life in Vietnam; Author: Marc Cullison; Review: Excellent book-as a former Navy jet pilot flying off carriers in Tonkin Gulf-1964-65 & 1967-68-I wanted to know what the air war was all about in S. Vietnam from a helicopter pilots view. God Bless the USA!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chained Eagle; Author: Visit Amazon's Everett Alvarez Page; Review: Flew combat missions over NVN from deck of USS Intrepid Excellent read very informative for me who arrived home from the conflict safe and sound.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Le Peninsula Bay Beach Resort Spa; City: Blue Bay; Review: We stayed at the blue lagoon from the 18th May till the 28th May 2012. The hotel and all the staff very helpful and pleasent. If we had any problems they were sorted more or less straight away. The rooms were clean and pleasent. Linen changed every other day,and the food good.7 mins from the beach and town centre. not much further. Relaxing and a very peaceful holiday Thankyou to all the staff; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blue Lagoon Hotel Marmaris; City: Marmaris Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Co; Review: We stayed at the end of May in Turkey at the Blue Lagoon. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The rooms excellent. 7 mins from the beech, and not much further to the town centre. The food was good and varied. If we had any problems it was sorted almost immediately. A very peaceful and relaxing holiday; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Vespers by the Sea Bed and Breakfast; City: Glace Bay Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia; Review: This was the most beautiful restfull and quite place. The Landlady was very caring and made us welcome and nothing was too much trouble for her. The breakfast was good and wholesome. The veiw over the bay was awsome.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Park House Hotel; City: Blackpool Lancashire England; Review: The staff are cheerful helpful and always pleasent. They can most often then not sort your problems out. Or get someone who can. The food is very good and ways a good choice will definitely go back entertainment every night; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pasa Garden Beach Hotel; City: Marmaris Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Coast; Review: Excellent hotel very clean and friendly food could be a little better. The beer was quite flat and tasteless. Hotel in a good position by the beach. Reception clean and cool. Receptionist pleasant and helpful.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Park House Hotel; City: Blackpool Lancashire England; Review: Receptionist very helpful and friendly breakfast good and hot with plenty of choice. The waiter appeared a little slow. The room pleasant and clean plenty of hot water. The entrainment every night was good and the compare was friendly and funny; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: mophie juice pack Air for iPhone 4/4s - Red; Brand: mophie; Review: Love this. A bit heavy, with the phone attached, but really works well. I generally only attach it when I need to recharge phone. I also find it is best to recharge phone and Mophie separately, when I can, I feel I get longer battery usage.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Unlimited Cellular Pemium Holster Hard Case For Apple iPhone 4/4s With Locking Belt Swivel Clip for Verizon-Black; Brand: Unlimited Cellular; Review: I really like this. Very light and easy operations for IPhone 4. I have had this a few weeks now and still liking it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: eForcity Insten Stylus with Dust Cap for iPhone 4/4S/iPod touch/iPad (Black); Brand: eForCity; Review: I like the concept and the handiness, however for active person, it won't stay attached to the phone! If ur holding it all the time or maybe in a purse, ok, however if it is attached by a case on belt, etc. say goodbye, it will be gone. I have adapted it using Velcro and for now, seems to be working. Standard shipping is done by "Slow boat from China".; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wireless Charger, Qi Wireless Fast Charging Pad Station Mat 10W for Samsung Galaxy S8, S7, S6, Edge, Note; Brand: Smart Electronic Solutions; Review: Happy with this purchase.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: COVRWARE HTC Desire 610 - 3 in 1 Bundle - Armor Defender Series Protective Case [HD Film; Brand: COVRWARE; Review: I like it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stylus Tether, Wisdompro 10 Pack of Detachable Elastic Coil Tether Strings/Lanyards with 3.5mm earphone jack for Stylus Pens; Brand: Wisdompro; Review: The tips need to be softer! Needs to be pressed harder than other products!; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Cell_Phones_and_Accessories |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6); Author: ; Review: I just finished this book and I feel as if I've eaten an entire box of Chocolate Frogs. An immensely enjoyable experience to be sure, but you feel a bit bloated when you're done and more than a bit sad that the candy's all gone now. It's even worse knowing that there's only one more book left in the series. After that one, there will be no more Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling is an amazingly gifted story teller. She was what Stephen King calls "the gotta." As in you just gotta keep reading to find out what happens next. It's that guilty pleasure of staying up late with a book that you can't put down. I'd say Rowling has more of the gotta than any writer in history, but her writing style is not the greatest. Since I've read the books so many times out loud to my daughter, I find her overuse of the word "muttered" instead of the word "said" irritating. And she has an annoying habit of describing how every character says each sentence- Hagrid said gruffly. Harry said loudly. Ron said brusquely. Hermione said uncertainly. Dumbledore said calmly (Those were all found at random in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, by the way.) There's a cardinal rule for writers -if you find an adverb, kill it. The idea is that the reader should be able to tell how the character said the sentence by the words themselves. "I know what you've been up to, Malfoy, you sleazy dark wizard!" he said. See? You already know he said it menacingly or icily, or forcefully or whatever. Of course, with that kind of success Rowling has had, she can use all the adverbs she wants. And I'll read them, superfluous adverbs and all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Draculas: A Novel of Terror; Author: Jack Kilborn; Review: This is not your daughter's vampire novel. There are no pretty pale immortals, locked in a valiant struggle to overcome their bloodthirsty nature. The Draculas embrace their bloodthirsty nature. In fact, they revel in it. And they're not pretty. It all begins innocently enough when eccentric millionaire Moritmore Moorecook purchases the so called "Vampire Skull." After coming in contact with the fangs, he morphs into a hideous monster, right in the emergency room of a rural hospital. He goes on a rampage, attacking anyone and everyone, turning his victims into Draculas too. No one in the hospital is safe, not even the clown. (yes, there's a clown in this book). Of course there's a small band of brave wise-cracking heros, standing up to the hordes. They are hopelessly outnumbered and even when they do manage to overcome the monsters, the things just regenerate and come right back at them. Before the night is over, the hospital is piled high with blood and gore, and you don't know how these guys will get out of this. Or if they will. Reading "Draculas" was like sneaking into the drive-in for a double feature of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Night of the Living Dead." It's a gory scarefest and not for the weak stomached. In the introduction, JA Konrath says he wanted to make vampires scary again. He and his cohorts, Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand and F.Palu Wilson, succeed in doing just that. The ebook comes with lots of bonus material--short stories, alternate endings, author interviews and biographies, just like a DVD. Pretty nifty, eh?; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years; Author: Visit Amazon's Frank Bailey Page; Review: Although I believed it from the time I watched that infamous Katie Couric interview, after reading this book I am soooooooo relieved that our country chose not to have Sarah Palin in the position of being a heartbeat away from the presidency. Especially considering the fact the would-be president was 72, a cancer survivor and had spent five years in a POW camp. Even as governor of a state with only 700,000 residents, the woman was way over her head. Author Frank Bailey describes what it was like inside the Palin inner circle, first as a campaign aid for her 2006 run for governor and then as a Director of Boards and Commissions in her administration. He went in believing she was a breath of fresh air, changing "business as usual" attitude in his state. He believed Palin would clean up Juneau and get rid of the corruption and secrecy of the old boy network that had been in power for decades. "We'll hold ourselves to a higher standard," was their motto. And he threw himself into Palin's misson as one of the original "rag tags," running their grassroots campaign on a shoestring where paying $362 for a half page ad in a local newspaper was a strain on the budget. But early on he found himself fighting Palin's personal battles, from combating the negative comments of talk radio hosts to his role as "Troopergate Guy" when, as directed by the Palins, he tried to get Sarah Palin's ex brother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper. Those around Palin were subject to her mood swings, relying on the phone calls from her husband Todd warning them of her potential rages. Yes, the author is a disgruntled employee, writing another tell-all to make money. But there is the ring of truth and redemption to this book, at least for Frank Bailey. And although the book is written in first person, unlike his former boss, he does not pretend to have written it himself. Ken Morris and Jeanne Devon have their names on the front cover as contributors. (Devon is the editor of The Mudflats, a the wonderful blog on Alaska politics which I highly recommend. [...]) Bailey has many apologies in this book, especially for his wife and children who were essentially deserted for four years. He explains how he got sucked into it this way: "The process is seductive, the game addictive and the feeling of power can end up devastating lives, much like a river of ice..." I'm sure Frank Bailey and I would disagree on many political issues. But I believe he's a good man who learned a painful lesson.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Devil and Preston Black: Appalachian Gothic; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Jack Miller Page; Review: This is an author I discovered through Goodreads, one of many who've taken the ebook plunge. Thanks to my Kindle, I'm able to take a chance on authors I've never heard of, but who sound interesting, something I urge everyone with a Kindle to do. Rock musician Preston Black is in search of the father he never knew, and believes he's found a clue in a song called "The Devil and Preston Black." The search leads him on a musical journey through the mountains of West Virginia, where he discovers the traditional music of his home state. Along the way he must struggle with crumbling relationships with his foster family and his own inner demons. Especially recommended for music fans.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ghosty Men: The Strange but True Story of the Collyer Brothers and My Uncle Arthur, New York's Greatest Hoarders; Author: Visit Amazon's Franz Lidz Page; Review: This book turned out to be a lot shorter than I thought it would be--that's the downside of Kindle. I wish there were more of it. Lidz weaves the story of the infamous Collyer Brothers with that of his Uncle Arthur, who was also a compulsive hoarder. I ended up finding the Lidz family saga as weird and fascinating as that of the Collyers. Like all of us, Lidz wants to find out why Langley Collyer and his Uncle Arthur had to have so much stuff that was essentially worthless and dangerous. The issues of health, sanitation, and the whole idea of "Well, we'll just clean the place up!" keep popping up in both stories, but neither Langley nor Arthur agree to part with a single scrap of paper. I especially liked the newspaper accounts of the 1947 search for Langley after his brother Homer's body was found--blind and paralyzed he'd starved to death. There were hundreds of false Langley sightings, as he'd been killed by one of his own booby traps, only ten feet from his brother, lost in the maze of stuff. It took a month and the removal of a hundred tons of trash before Langley was found. I figure books like "Ghosty Men" and Homer & Langley by EL Doctorow, and the television show "Hoarders" are cautionary tales. When you're cleaning out the home office and you come upon those old notebooks from college, throw them out. Because you might end up like Uncle Arthur or Langley Collyer, surrounded by piles of newspapers and shoelaces and old socks.(less); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Good Day in Hell; Author: Visit Amazon's J.D. Rhoades Page; Review: Bail bondsman Jack Keller is back again, hot on the trail of Laurel Marks, a young woman with a long criminal history and a knack for getting into trouble. She's open for anything, including helping a washed up stuntman choreograph his cinematic vision of mass killings throughout coastal North Carolina. That happens to be my neck of the woods and he nails the area perfectly including Wilmington's reputation as "Hollywood On The East Coast." It is, of course, a bit graphic in the scenes of violence, with lots of death and destruction. But on the whole, it's a good and quick read, and made my flight from Cincinnati to Eugene, Oregon with the layover in Salt Lake City most enjoyable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Homer and Langley; Author: Visit Amazon's E. L. Doctorow Page; Review: I've always been a big fan of E.L Doctorow ever since I read "Ragtime" the summer of 1976. And of course, I have this thing about hoarding. So here is a novelization of the kings of hoarding, the Collyer brothers. Their once posh brownstone mansion in Harlem was crammed with junk, basement to attic, so much so that it killed them. Langley died when he set off one of the many booby traps he'd installed to protect his treasures. His brother Homer, blind and paralyzed, starved to death only ten feet away. Instead of focusing on how they died, Doctorow imagines how they lived, describing how the two gradually withdrew from a privileged life as members of New York's high society to their own world, where Langley worked on his never ending project to create the perfect newspaper that has everything in it, and added to what he saw as his priceless collection. As always, I enjoyed Doctorow's prose, and the storytelling. However, I felt he took too many liberties with the facts. The bodies of the Collyer brothers were found in 1947. Doctorow has them living on well into the 1970s, even having a group of hippies stay in their house. It's fiction after all, and Doctorow has been around long enough that he can write whatever he wants. But when the facts are as fascinating as the Collyer Brothers story, why make stuff up?; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About Her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding; Author: Visit Amazon's Jessie Sholl Page; Review: Okay, I confess. I have a morbid fascination with hoarding, as this is the third book on the subject I've read. (the other two: Ghosty Men: The Strange but True Story of the Collyer Brothers and My Uncle Arthur, New York's Greatest Hoarders (An Urban Historical and Homer & Langley: A Novel). And I've taken to lifting weights while watching episodes of "Hoarders" streaming on Netflix. I'm looking for an answer to one question--how does something like that happen? And possibly, a second, more sinister question--could it happen to me? In this memoir, Jessie Sholl makes a stab at providing answers. Her mother Helen's house is overrun with piles of moth eaten sweaters, thrift store purchases still in the bags, and boxes of junk she is sure she'll have a use for some day. Sholl has spent her life pleading, cajoling and begging her mother to just clean up the mess. Attempts to clean it up herself are always failures. Her mother just brings in more stuff. Sholl cites a great deal of research done on hoarders and she is well aware that her mother has a mental illness. Part of Helen's problem lies in perception. Everything has to be where she can see it, like phone numbers and address that she tapes to the walls. And items that most people would see as all the same, like toothbrushes, Helen sees as separate and distinct--blue ones, sparkly ones, striped ones, each one unique and valuable. Helen is addicted to the thrill of the purchase. She tells her daughter that every time she buys an item at the Savers Store, she believes it will change her life. It will make things better, even though it will just be tossed on an the pile and forgotten as soon as she gets home. Sholl describes the shame of growing up in the local "Junk House," as the daughter of the crazy lady in the ratty sweater. Although she went to live with her father and stepmother when she was seven years old, she always felt the stigma of her mother's hoarding, as well as an obligation to take care of her mother, since her mother could not care for herself. This was another book I latched on to, not wanting to put it down. There are spots where Sholl digresses, relating events from her own life that have little or nothing to do with her mother's hoarding. But in all, it's an honest telling of how a daughter comes to terms with her mother's mental illness. (less); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend; Author: Visit Amazon's John Woestendiek Page; Review: For the record, my family has a dog, a beautiful, neurotic border collie named Bailey. And we love him dearly. There's never been another dog like him and there never will be. He's sweet and crazy and we can't imagine life without him. Seeing as how he's six years old now, in about eight or nine years, we'll have exactly that--life without Bailey. And we'll deal with it. Woestendiek's book is about dog owners who love their dogs so much, they refuse to have a life without their one-of-a-kind companion, as well as the scientists and entrepreneurs who endeavor to recreate these much loved pets--for a hefty fee, of course. The book chronicles how a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast discussion at the home of millionaire John Sperling led to a ten year long quest to clone Missy, the family dog. The book traces this journey through the labs at Texas A&M and its attempts at cloning various species, including cats, bulls and pigs; to the Korean scientists who managed to clone dogs and market the business to grieving pet owners; and of course, the eccentric dog owners and the amazing dogs they loved so much. Woestendiek also relates the irony of just how many animals are required to re-create a handful of pets. "It took 319 egg donors and 214 surrogate mothers to produce the first five dogs and eleven cats--sixteen animals resulting from the creation and implantation of 3,656 embryos." (p. 218) I was especially fascinated by the story of a reclusive animal lover Bernann McKinney. Living on disability and handouts from her parents, McKinney still managed to have her beloved pit bull Booger cloned by RNL Bio in South Korea. The message of this book is obvious to everyone but the people who shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to recreate their canine friends. When that little ball of fur arrives, it is a genetic copy of the original, but isn't the same dog. Dogs, like people, are more than their genetic code. And when there are so many dogs out there in need of a home, who are every bit as special as the one you lost, how can anyone possibly consider this folly?; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Dead Saint (Bishop Lynn Peterson); Author: Visit Amazon's Marilyn Brown Oden Page; Review: After reading 18% of this free Kindle-download, I decided I have better things to do than slog through Marylin Brown Oden's idea of a thriller. Where to start? The story may not be original, but it is interesting. Episcopal bishop Lynn Peterson witnesses the murder of a beloved member of the New Orleans Saints football team and then finds herself drawn into a web of dangerous intrigue that leads all the way to the White House. To pull off a plot like that, you have to keep the action moving and make your characters genuine and compelling. Oden does neither. The characters in this novel are cardboard cutouts--a big black football player named Bubba, an evil villain intent on controlling the government, an idealistic woman who is the first female president. And of course Bishop Lynn Peterson, who doesn't seem to have much of a personality at all. The book is not action packed, but description packed. Mundane events like Lynn having a cup of tea go on for paragraphs when a sentence or two would have covered it. But it's the bad writing that clinched the one star for me. Words and phrases are repeated often. And the dialog is stilted and unnatural--"Be serious. This is not a time for badinage." (seriously?) or my favorite "What an honor it is to be invited to ride with the vice president." I'm sure forces of good triumph and the Evil Villain comes to a well deserved bad end. But I'd suggest saving yourself the trouble and getting a book by Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages: A Book Promotion Reference Guide for Authors and Small Press Publishers, Third Edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Christine Pinheiro Page; Review: Pinheiro's book is a huge assist in helping self published authors with this task of marketing their books. It is a compilation of review sites and bloggers who accept indepedent books. Everything you need to know is right there--the name of the main reviewer, the URL, what formats and genres the site accepts, and especially helpful, the reviewers' pet peeves with authors' submissions. It's definitely worth the price of the download. I've had several positive responses to my queries. Sitting with a list made marketing so much more organized. It provided me with some much needed direction and really helped me connect with the reviewers who were most interested in my genre. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's got a book to promote. Many of the reviewers post on Amazon and Goodreads, and do author interviews and guest posts, so you'll get even more exposure. Selling your own ebook is still hard work. But this makes it easier.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Virginia X; Author: Visit Amazon's Keith Nichols Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book. It's a good story, with likeable characters and the author keeps you guessing until the end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Doctor Sleep: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen King Page; Review: Danny Torrence from The Shining, escaping the horrors of the Overlook Hotel and his father's wrath. If you've seen the Kubrick film, you have an indelible image of a little boy riding around and around the foreboding hallways of the hotel on a plastic Big Wheel. What happens to a kid who's been through something so terrifying? He grows up and copes with it, that's what happens. Unfortunately for Danny, he copes with his demons the same way his father did. With alcohol and lots of it. Dr. Sleep opens with Dan reaching rock bottom. But when he stumbles into Frazier NH, he manages turn his life around. He sobers up and takes a job as an orderly at the local hospice where, with his special abilities, he helps the patients die. His tranquility is shattered when Abra appears, a girl whose power to shine is off the charts. Her powers have attracted the attention of an evil group of immortal nomads called the True Knot, who travel the country in Winnebagos, appearing to all the world as harmless middle aged retirees. The only threat they pose is slowing you down on the freeway and talking your ear off at the grocery checkout line. A great cover for child killers. It was so much fun to read this novel. I love the feeling of blowing off the morning chores because I have to find out how everything turns out. Also, King makes the point that the alcoholism can be just as horrifying as any supernatural monster and Danny's triumph over both is satisfying. A truly great read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Thirty Scary Tales; Author: Visit Amazon's Rayne Hall Page; Review: It's an interesting collection of short stories, not scary as much as having endings that jump out at you, though there are a few out and out ghost stories. It reminded me of the stories on that lesser known Rod Serling series, Night Gallery. My favorite is a story called "By Your Own Free Will" about a brilliant young business woman so in love with a co-worker that she seeks help from a witch to make him fall in love with her. As you can guess, the results are more than she bargained for. At the end of each story, Rayne Hall has a paragraph or two describing the inspiration for the story. If you're in the mood for a few quick shivers and a scare, check these stories out.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Thirty Scary Tales; Author: Visit Amazon's Rayne Hall Page; Review: It's an interesting collection of short stories, not scary as much as having endings that jump out at you, though there are a few out and out ghost stories. It reminded me of the stories on that lesser known Rod Serling series, Night Gallery. My favorite is a story called "By Your Own Free Will" about a brilliant young business woman so in love with a co-worker that she seeks help from a witch to make him fall in love with her. As you can guess, the results are more than she bargained for. At the end of each story, Rayne Hall has a paragraph or two describing the inspiration for the story. If you're in the mood for a few quick shivers and a scare, check these stories out.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bridges Of Madison County; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert James Waller Page; Review: This book was laughable. Francesca is a housewife living in Iowa where no one--not her children, her husband or her neighbors--see her for the beautiful, fascinating worldly woman she is. Until that fateful day when Robert Kinkaid, a handsome, fascinating worldly man shows up on her doorstep asking for directions. And talk about great timing! Her husband and teen-aged children just happen to be out of town for the next four days. How convenient. Francesca and Robert have four crazy, wonderful days together, falling madly, deeply, irrevocably in love. (for some reason I feel compelled to use lots and lots of superfluous adverbs when describing this book) He asks her to run away with him. Though it breaks her heart and his, Francesca declines. And everyone cries. Obviously, Waller is pandering to the dowdy housewives among us who yearn to have a handsome, worldly man who sees us for the fascinating women we believe ourselves to be. It's a fantasy. Waller ignores the fact that every man (even the jerkiest of jerks) can be wonderful for the first four days. From beginning to end, this book set my teeth on edge.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success; Author: Visit Amazon's Megan McArdle Page; Review: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I have to say I started this book expecting a touchy-feely, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" tome full of inspirational stories and ten point lists of Things You Can Do To Turn Your Life Around. Instead, the book turned out to be a thoughtful, well researched discussion of failure, from medical mistakes to personal job loss to the economic crash of 2008. As it turns out there is a lot of useful information in this book. It's presented in such a way that you understand why you handled your own mistakes and failures the way you did, as well as offering advice that could help you change the way you handle things in the future. There are times where I disagreed with McCardle's reasoning (cutting off employment benefits for example). She is a Libertarian blogger, so she does show her bias. But she makes her case without resorting to vitriol or disrespect. I volunteer with an organization that helps unemployed people find jobs and I plan on donating my copy of "The Upside of Down" as a reference book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: This Is Not an Accident: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's April Wilder Page; Review: It's been a long time since I've sat down to read a book of short stories, preferring to envelope myself in the unfolding plot of a mystery or thriller. I'd forgotten how satisfying it is to read descriptions that paint pictures in your head, without any regard to moving the plot along. Like this passage from "We Were Champions:" "The barbecue was a mean piece of hardware--a steel barrel sawed in half with posts and prongs and a crank welded to the sides. It was the work of a country boy consigned to a cubicle who gets fired for clogging up the network with right-wing chain e-mail." The stories are all slices of life--mostly dysfunctional life, but life all the same. The process of marriages disintegrating, dealing with substance abusing siblings as they make messes of their lives, recalling the conflicted feelings of an inappropriate relationship between a coach and a teen aged girl, that's what's here. I was impressed with Wilde's writing and I look forward to reading her next book. ***I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.***; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Joy Fowler Page; Review: Fowler opens her book with Rosemary, the narrator and main character, saying that in relating her story, she will "skip the beginning and start in the middle." And so she does, hopping around from her childhood to college years and back again. Rosemary's childhood was far from ordinary. As part of a grand research experiment conducted by her professor father and a number of grad students, Rosemary is raised from infancy with her sister Fern, a chimpanzee of the same age. When she is five years old, Fern disappears. Taken to live on a farm, her father says. They never speak of Fern again. A few years later, her older brother disappears too. Our family continues to get smaller, she says. Fowler does an excellent job of relating the story in bits and pieces, saving the best parts for the end. She also includes stories of actual research done on primates, including Washoe. the famous signing chimpanzee and Harlow's ghastly "love" experiments with Rhesus monkeys in which he replaced their mothers with chicken wire substitutes. It's a fascinating journey of how a young woman comes to terms with her family and her past. Well worth reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mash Up; Author: Visit Amazon's Joe Klingler Page; Review: Somewhere in the 600 pages of Mash Up, there's a good story, but around page 300 I gave up trying to find it and skipped to the end. Mash Up pretty much sums up this book. It is a mash up of techno-thriller, gory slasher, Girls Gone Wild with a liberal sprinkling of classical music references. Let's see if I can sum up the plot. Body parts of a missing San Francisco cellist are mailed to her friends along with a warning not to illegally download music. It's up to Alaska native detective Quigiq and his partner Kandy to find out what happened to poor Sally. At the same time, a rich arrogant computer mogul is developing clandestine software to combat illegal music downloads. Of course, it's all related. The sections of the book dealing with the evil software were for me the most interesting. The character of the lead programmer was the most well developed and I enjoyed reading the parts he was in. The whole concept of a company creating a virus that creeps into your laptop, deletes all the songs you forgot you downloaded from Limewire and then automatically posts your name, photo and a shaming confession ("My name is Suzy Jones and I steal music.") on dozens of websites all over the web is pretty damn scary. And fascinating. But there is just too much going on here--too much description of extraneous details, too many characters to keep track of, too many pages devoted to conveying action where a couple of sentences would do. (i.e. "The phone rang. Kandy answered it.") Suspense thrillers should be tight and focused and keep the reader's interest. While there were parts of this book that shone, there weren't enough of them, and too many of what Elmore Leonard calls "the parts readers skip over."; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon); Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Brown Page; Review: As long as you don't take any of Brown's assertions about the secret societies and direct descendants of Jesus seriously, it's a pretty good mystery. A bit far fetched at times and it loses steam toward the end, but on the whole a harmless, somewhat guilty pleasure.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair: A Novel; Author: Joel Dicker; Review: First, I enjoyed reading this book. There were plot twists and surprises to keep my interest all the way to the end. It was a good murder mystery. And I wish Dicker had stuck with that aspect of the story. Instead he's made a stab at writing an epic romance, a treatise on the writing craft and a commentary on American life. Or at least that's what I think he was trying to write. It's hard to tell. I don't know what the book was like in the original French, but in English, it doesn't feel at all like an authentic representation of Americans. Dicker's characters, especially the women, are ridiculous caricatures. Goldman's mother is a stereotypical Pushy Jewish Mother. Jenny Quinn is a stereotypical Pushy WASP Mother. They are over the top and annoying, even as plot devices. Nola, the 15 year old girl whose the object of Quebert's undying passion, has no depth at all. She's beautiful and she likes seagulls and that pretty much sums her up. Also, there are times when the dialog sounds so unnatural and clunky, not at all the way Americans speak. It takes a great deal of hubris on Dicker's part to write a book with an American narrator telling a story about Americans when the he himself is an outsider here. Maybe that's why it was such a bestseller in Europe. It's how Europeans think Americans behave. And it misses the mark.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir; Author: Visit Amazon's Roz Chast Page; Review: As our parents grow older, we like to believe we'll fulfill our roles as caring sons and daughters, willing to help out and do whatever it takes to make sure Mom and Dad are happy and properly taken care of. They've done so much for us and they deserve the best in their last years. Roz Chast's memoir knocks down that well meaning sentiment and shows the ugly reality of what it's like to deal with elderly parents as they came to the end of their lives. Using text and drawings, Chast relates the frustration and constant worry as her parents grew frail and were unable to take care of themselves, but refused to move out of the Brooklyn apartment they'd lived in for more than fifty years. This book really touched me, as my sisters and I went through very much the same thing with our own parents. As with us, it took a real health emergency to make the Chasts realize they could no longer live on their own anymore. And that finding them a spot in an assisted living facility did not mean all their problems were solved. They just got a different set of problems. If you are in this situation, I highly recommend this book. It's always comforting to discover that you're not alone, someone else has traveled the same journey and they weren't a saint about it, either.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Under the Influence; Author: Visit Amazon's Phil Hamman Page; Review: I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I thought Hammon was a decent story teller, relating his tale of overcoming an abusive childhood, but this book would have greatly benefited from a professional editor. It's a series of stories loosely strung together, grouped into three parts. It lacks a sense of cohesion. One chapter doesn't lead to the next. Instead it's a series of random anecdotes, some of them left me wanting to know more, and others didn't seem necessary to his overall story. A memoir is by far the most difficult book to write, especially a memoir of an abusive childhood. I would hope to see an edition where his story is presented in the best way possible.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Kashmiri Shawl: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Joanne Dobson Page; Review: Anna is a poor widow, eking out a living in New York selling poems to newspapers and magazines. She's back in the states after spending ten years as a missionary in India as a missionary along with her husband, who she assumes was murdered in the bloody rebellion. But everything changes when she learns the child she gave birth to and was told was born dead, is very much alive. Anna begins her quest to find her daughter at all costs. I'm not a big fan of historical novels, but I really enjoyed this book. Its rich descriptions of both the squalor of 1860 New York and the exotic lure of India drew me in and I devoured it from beginning to end. I read this book after reading Ms. Dobson's blog about why she decided to publish The Kashmiri Shawl through CreateSpace after agents and publishers turned it down, despite the fact that the author has a number of books published by the mainstream press. An agent told her the big publishing houses weren't interested in a historical novel about 19th century New York that moves back and forth between the city and India. But she might be able to sell it if Dobson added a serial killer. And I'm so glad Dobson left out the serial killer.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eddie & Sunny; Author: Visit Amazon's Stacey Cochran Page; Review: I will be honest, this was not an easy book to read. The title characters Eddie and Sunny are no saints. They love each other and they love their children but they are living life with their backs against the wall. They are desperate people doing desperate things to keep what little they have. They've spent their whole lives hoping for a break and it never happens. The story begins with the couple putting their four year old son to bed in their car, their only shelter. They have another child on the way, and although Sunny is presented as a good mother, she still likes to get drunk on a regular basis (Yes, that bothered me--a lot). Then the s*** hits the fan. Things just keep getting worse, they're involved in a shoot out with drug dealers, they become fugitives from the law, Eddie draws the wrath of gangsters....well, you get the idea. I kept on reading to find out what happens. Will they continue to have the hard luck lives they've always had, or will they manage to crawl out of their soul crushing poverty and live their dream of providing a safe, decent home for their children? The book is written in a sparse sort of prose that's as sharp and ragged as Sunny and Eddie themselves. If you like to read books where all the sentences have subjects, this is probably not the book for you. It is a thought provoking book and it did stay with me. I think we can all do with stretching ourselves reading books where the main characters are people with major flaws and do things we don't like or approve of.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: So You've Been Publicly Shamed; Author: Visit Amazon's Jon Ronson Page; Review: Ever see a tweet or link about someone who'd done or said something awful? Of course you have. And you probably even passed it along to friends, with your own comments. You may have called for some kind of consequence for That Person. They're heartless, thoughtless people who deserve to be punished. You join the ranks of the righteously outraged, clamoring for justice. Then you chortle with glee when you read they've been fired. It's no less than they deserved, right? Ronson takes those stories and humanizes the people behind them. Like that woman who tweeted "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white." She got on a plane in London for South Africa, fell asleep and when the plane landed 11 hours later, the whole world thought she was a monstrous racist bitch. Social media demanded she lose her job and she did. No less than what she deserved, right? That woman was Justine Sacco. She ran the PR department for IAC publishing in New York City. It was a job she loved and because nothing on the internet ever goes away, it became virtually impossible for her to find another job. All a prospective employer had to do was Google her name and it all came back. She didn't physically harm anybody or steal anything. She committed no crime. She just tweeted out a very bad joke and her life was ruined. This book made me think long and hard about how I've behaved online, how I've judged people I've never met by a single moment in their lives. It also made me realize that we are all one tweet away from total devastation--losing our jobs, our families, our reputations, everything we care about because the entire world now sees us as that stupid person on the internet. If you have a twitter account, read this book. It will make you think twice, or three times before you hit send.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Memory; Author: Visit Amazon's Doug Lloyd Page; Review: This is a wonderful debut novel about the time when a gay romance was far from romantic, it was in fact dangerous. Lloyd sets his love story against the backdrop of the early 1950s, which were good times if you happened to be straight, white and male. For everyone else it was a struggle. I admit, I'm not much of a romance fan, but I did enjoy this one. Well done!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Go Set a Watchman: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Harper Lee Page; Review: Yes, I really liked this book, but (no surprise here) not nearly as much as I liked To Kill a Mockingbird. And I suppose, because it's supposedly Harper Lee's first effort at a novel, and because, she is after all, Harper Lee, I'm willing to forgive some of the novel's transgressions. To sum up, Jean Louise Finch, known to everyone as Scout, returns to Maycomb, Alabama to visit her 72 year old father, now living with his sister and crippled by arthritis. Now living in New York, Jean Louise finds herself seeing her hometown and the people in it with different eyes. She feels an outsider among the people she's known all her life, including her childhood sweetheart, Hank, who wants to marry her. It's the mid 1950s, not too long after the Supreme Court's famous Brown vs the Board of Education decision, which declared segregation unconstitutional. The NAACP and other groups have come to Alabama for voter drives--though the local white population views their efforts as stirring things up that don't need stirring. Jean Louise has always believed her father to a man among men, with a sense of justice and fair play that applied to everyone regardless of skin color. In short, the Atticus Finch we all know and loved from To Kill a Mockingbird. She is nearly destroyed when she learns her father is, in fact a bigot. He believes the Negroes in town are like children and need to stay in their place. Along the way, there are a number of flashbacks to Jean Louise's childhood years, which as we know, captured the interest of her editor who advised her to write a book from the child's point of view. I enjoyed her take on her own small town. I happen to have grown up in a small town myself, and there's nothing more suffocating and comforting to live in a place where everyone knows everything about you. When you're there, it's so familiar and you long to be someplace exciting where no one knows you. But when you leave home, you find yourself missing that same familiarity. The book itself seems a bit disjointed--a lot of the stories she relates from the past don't seem to have anything to do with the story she's trying to tell. And since this is supposed to be a sequel to Mockingbird, there is one glaring inconsistency between the two books. I'm not going to say what it is. I'll leave it to you to find it. Still it's a good read and I'd advise you to keep your name on the the waiting list at the library.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blood Test; Author: Sarah Shaber; Review: And now for something completely different from Sarah Shaber. Best know for her historic mysteries, she's left her comfort zone (and that of some of her readers) to try her hand at a vampires. I enjoyed Shaber's tale of how a sleepy small town is turned upside down with the arrival of a mysterious young man who bears a striking resemblance to the long lost brother of the local dentist. Except he couldn't be, because James Godwin's brother would be 40 years old and Carl appears to be in his early twenties. Shaber has written a vampire story for grown-ups. It has enough twists to keep the reader's interest and she deftly makes the progression from ordinary reality to "something weird is definitely going here" to total vampire mayhem.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Devils And Dust: A Jack Keller Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's J.D. Rhoades Page; Review: I'm a big fan of Roades's Jack Keller books, always a chance to walk on the wild side, or get close to it. Lots of action and a good bit of violence, all in a plot that keeps you turning the pages. Bounty hunter Jack Keller has hung up his guns and settled down in a quiet, dusty desert town. He's got a job at a bar and a nice girlfriend. His demons are at bay, no more fighting and killing, he's leading a normal life. But not for long. His old boss Angela shows up, asking him to help her find her husband Oscar Sanchez. Oscar, an undocumented Colombian immigrant, had arranged for his sons to be smuggled into the country but they never turned up. So Oscar went to look for them and he's gone missing too. Angela fears the worst. And the worst is pretty bad. It involves a few nasty Mexican drug lords and a South Carolina white supremacist who's buying truckloads of illegal immigrants and using them as slave labor. Jack returns to action with a vengeance, seeing as how he owes his life to Oscar. I especially enjoyed the depiction of General Walker, the twisted white supremacist who runs the sadistic compound where Oscar's sons find themselves. A good summer read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sharp Objects; Author: gillian-flynn; Review: I'll be honest, this book left a rather nasty taste behind. I finished it, and yes, that was something I wanted to do, but on the whole, I didn't care for it at all. This is my third Gillian Flynn book and each one gets worse. I loved Gone Girl and I liked Dark Places but this one is just "ewwe!" Flynn's characters are often flawed and unsympathetic, but in this book, there's not a single likable person in any of the 254 pages. Okay, Camille's boss Curry is a decent guy, why he cares so much about her is beyond me. This is a dark, disturbing story about Wind Gap, a small town in Missouri. Mayberry it ain't, that's for sure. It's populated by bitter women who were once popular, hard drinking sexually precocious 13 year olds, bullying the other girls and manipulating the boys (not to mention the men). And now their 13 year old daughters are following in their footsteps, only worse. This is the hometown of main character and narrator Camille Preaker. She's sent there to cover a story about a possible serial killer who targets 10 year old girls. Camille has her own dark secrets, chief among them is her propensity to carve words into her flesh. Her entire body is covered in scars. She sought help when she ran out of space and struggles not to cut herself again. So she drinks. A lot. If Camille's afflictions weren't hard enough to stomach, there's her super controlling mother who's got her own issues and her vicious and cruel half sister Amma, one of the gang of 13 year old bullies terrorizing the town. On top of it all, there are some graphic descriptions of Camille's family business, an industrial sized pig farm that employs half the town. Those could turn anyone into a vegetarian. I think I'm done with my Gillian Flynn kick for now.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Fender 250L Nickel Plated Steel Electric Guitar Strings - Light; Brand: Fender; Review: Love pure nickel strings they purr, they growl I find them very sensitive to your attack. Nice with hummies or single coils Easy on the finger tips.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Seymour Duncan 1150030 Woody Series SC SA-3SC - Single Coil Acoustic Guitar Pickup; Brand: Seymour Duncan; Review: Simplicity. I've never been a fan of acoustic-electric guitars. Just don't care for the sound. I'd prefer a real acoustic mic'd. This does exactly what I wanted. My acoustic still sounds like my acoustic, crisp and clean. I don't have an acoustic amp but have no problem getting rich, sweet sounds from the clean channel of my Hot Rod Deluxe with an attenuator. But again, simplicity. It's a pickup and a cable and jack. The cable is plenty long to just plug into your amp and you can tweak it there or you may consider plugging into a volume pedal or effects box. Almost nicked a star for lack of features but can't, this is what it is and it's a fantastic bargain considering the sound for the price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Carl's Custom Guitars 16 ohm 50 Watt Speaker Soak guitar amp power tube mass/brake attenuator; Brand: Carl's Custom Guitars; Review: I honestly can't compare it to the units that cost TEN TIMES AS MUCH, but I doubt I'll ever have to. It does what I want it to do- just like it's supposed to. So far I'm only using it in the bedroom with my 5w Epi Valve Junior. Does it cut highs or whatever...? Uh, I won't get into that because every rig sounds different and I have no problem dialing in sweet tones with this unit. I don't use pedals often. Does the job if you wanna warm up those tubes. Not slick or fancy but works for me. UPDATE: A little new info... I gave this a try with my Hot Rod Deluxe finally and loved the tone, all channels. But-this puppy got HOT. Now granted I really worked it, volume at 10 or 12 for over 3 hours. It didn't fail but the heat could be enough to damage your cables. It was too hot to touch for a few minutes. A possible problem if you're not careful. But again I really worked it hard and I purchased it as a backup and I am still 100% satisfied.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Musician's Gear Deluxe SGS Solid-Guitar-Style Hardshell Case Black; Brand: Musician's Gear; Review: This fits my off brand SG style guitar perfectly. May not last 60 years but for the price BFD. Just what I wanted, does the job.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Behringer AB100 Instrument/Amplifier Selector; Brand: Behringer; Review: I actually failed to do my homework and ordered it by mistake. I returned and Amazon promptly refunded. I wanted to play my guitar through 2 amps simultaneously. This unit WON'T do that so I never even plugged it in. I read everything again carefully and it's not intended to so again the mistake was mine. It arrived promptly and was packed well, Amazon delivered, thus 5 stars, but I didn't use it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: D'Andrea 1313 Ace Guitar Strap Assorted Colors; Brand: D'Andrea; Review: About as cheap as they can be and still be acceptable. I'll pay more for better ones in the future but for what I paid I'm not complaining. I got three. They look cool. Unlike most straps, I can imagine these wearing out some day. But I got what I expected.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Musician's Gear Hardshell Electric Guitar Case; Brand: Musician's Gear; Review: Good budget case. NOT travel /airline quality but I just need cases for storage and transport to practice. These are fine.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fender 250L Nickel Plated Steel Electric Guitar Strings - Light; Brand: Fender; Review: Nice if you want to add some punch to your sound. Last considerably longer in a humid environment than standard strings. Slightly harder against your fingertips. Worth it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Musical_Instruments |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Seven Deadly Wonders (Jack West Jr, #1); Author: Matthew Reilly; Genres: history, thriller, crime, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Awesome book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide, #2); Author: Douglas Adams; Genres: paranormal, young-adult, fantasy, fiction; Review: Awesome book very funny.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ex-Patriots (Ex-Heroes, #2); Author: Peter Clines; Genres: thriller, comics, crime, paranormal, graphic, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Great sequel. Love it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1); Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs; Genres: young-adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance, fiction; Review: Awesome book. Really nice hero story! Loved it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything; Author: Joshua Foer; Genres: history, non-fiction, biography, historical fiction; Review: A very honest view on the world of memory.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1); Author: Cassandra Clare; Genres: young-adult, romance, mystery, thriller, crime, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: Not for me. This book suits a younger audience.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hell Island (Shane Schofield, #3.5); Author: Matthew Reilly; Genres: mystery, thriller, crime, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: Awesome!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Scarecrow Returns (Shane Schofield, #4); Author: Matthew Reilly; Genres: thriller, crime, fiction, mystery; Review: Fantastic, best Scarecrow book yet!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dune (Dune Chronicles #1); Author: Frank Herbert; Genres: paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: Not my type of book. I could not relate to the characters. The story did not appeal to me.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1); Author: Madeleine L'Engle; Genres: young-adult, children, paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: I enjoyed this book more as a child, when I read it for the 2nd time as an adult it was not as good.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, #1); Author: Lian Hearn; Genres: history, young-adult, romance, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fantasy, fiction; Review: Awesome book, very bittersweet. My type of book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Darth Plagueis; Author: James Luceno; Genres: paranormal, fantasy, fiction; Review: Great book, I loved the history of the dark side and the lightsaber battle's.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 14; Author: Peter Clines; Genres: thriller, crime, paranormal, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Awesome book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1); Author: Simon R. Green; Genres: young-adult, thriller, crime, paranormal, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Very interesting. The book cover a wide range of sci-fi subjects. Very enjoyable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | goodreads |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Visconti Cd21 Quality Soft Leather Wallet / Purse / Clutch / Holder; Brand: Visconti; Review: I just arrived from Europe and I was looking for a purse in which I could put the bills without folding them since dollars are all the same color to me, and I had to get everything out too find the amount I was looking for. This purse has loads of folds inside so I can separate the bills and I also placed my check book in there. Plenty of space for the cards and many other things. The window is too small for any ID, but it is fine to place photos off loved ones It seems of good make and I hope that it will last.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Clarks Women's Ingalls Tweed Bootie; Brand: ; Review: I was looking for comfortable shoes that are easy to take off and i found just that. They are not too big and tight enough around the foot so I don't loose them. I am a 6 and took a 6.5 to wear them with socks and it is a fit. They are very comfortable and the heel is small (I am used to high heels, so might not be the best adviser on height) and it feels like I am in flats. Would recommend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Clarks Women's Ingalls Tweed Bootie; Brand: ; Review: I was looking for comfortable shoes that are easy to take off and i found just that. They are not too big and tight enough around the foot so I don't loose them. I am a 6 and took a 6.5 to wear them with socks and it is a fit. They are very comfortable and the heel is small (I am used to high heels, so might not be the best adviser on height) and it feels like I am in flats. Would recommend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Steve Madden Women's Kween Dress Sandal; Brand: ; Review: I put a 2 because although they are nice, the sole and the straps are very narrow. I am a 6.5 and my little toes is just about on the sole. Also, the strap between the toes make them more a 6 than a 6.5..; I suppose they are meant for long and narrow feet... If you have those feet then do not hesitate, they are nice looking!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Nine West Women's Falixa Thong Sandal; Brand: ; Review: I was looking for a comfortable pair of Flip Flop and this is just it: The brown part comes up high on the foot and they are comfortable. They size quite large so the strap is not too tight, but since it comes up high, I do not loose them. They are a little bit golden and it is nice; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hoxis Aerin Classical Soft Faux Leather Hobo Tote Satchel Womens Top-handle Shoulder Handbag; Brand: Hoxis; Review: When I received it it did really smell of animal skin. Ok leather is supposed to smell but this was a bit strong and usually leather does not smell so strong. But the color is nice and the size is good and it has plenty of pockets. But I have used it for a couple of months now and it is already showing signs of wear.... The top layer is wearing off and it shows that the leather is not of such good quality; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The SAK Indio Satchel; Brand: The Sak; Review: Looks great and feels great. It seems to be well made and the design inside makes it fun. Really like it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nocona Boots Women's Coyote Vintage Cow Boot; Brand: Nocona Boots; Review: Ordered those because the reviews were so good. They are really well made but I ordered a 6.5 and although the box says it is 6.5 the boots say 6 and I cannot fit in. So I do not know if it is a packaging issue or if it is an issue with the boots! I am really disappointed since I do not want to reorder them in 6.5 if it is the same and a 7 is much more expensive and might be way too big..... Oh and they have little stains on the side like something was spilt on it but nothing that would have made me return them....; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Nocona Boots Women's Competitor Fashion; Brand: Nocona Boots; Review: I am definitely not meant to have nocon a boots. This is the second pair I buy and too small. Also, those are not made in the U.S. and it shows. They do not seem to be of a quality as good as the U.S. made I ordered previously and which i also return because too small. They are actually very narrow. All my shoes are 6.5 so I do not know why this size in this brand seems so much more like a 6....; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Nocona Boots Women's Ladies Legacy; Brand: Nocona Boots; Review: Nice but way too big... Tried the 7 because the 6.5 was so small but here I would need 3 pairs of socks to hold them on my foot. They were nice though.... A bit light in color but this is the style.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Canvas Low Top Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Core Ox; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Unisex Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top Red Sneakers - 4.5 D(M); Brand: ; Review: Quite large and big. Lovely red and quite comfortable; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Core Ox; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Women's Chuck Taylor All Star Core Hi; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Women's Chuck Taylor All Star Core Hi; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Unisex Chuck Taylor All-Star High-Top Casual Sneakers in Classic Style and Color and Durable Canvas Uppers; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Unisex Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top Red Sneakers - 5.5 D(M) US; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Core Ox; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Unisex Chuck Taylor All Star Ox Low Top Navy Sneakers - 9 D(M) US; Brand: Converse; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top Black MonochromeSneakers - 6.5 B(M) US; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top (International Version) Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse C/T All Star Hi Little Kids Fashion Sneakers Black; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Men's Chuck Taylor All Star Leather Low Top Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top (International Version) Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Unisex Chuck Taylor All Star Hi Top Sneaker Shoes Navy Blue (7.5); Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Canvas Low Top Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: XMAS present. Fit large but made a happy niece great color; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bottoms Out Women's Ladies Two-Piece Plaid Pajama Set; Brand: Bottoms Out; Review: Nice but too big. Bought a M but seems like a L.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: AME Sleepwear Little Boys' Despicable Me Character Cozy-Fleece Pajama Set; Brand: AME; Review: Great. Fleeced and therefore warm. My nephew loves it hardly have time to wash it before it wears it again. Seems well made and hasn't change despite a few washes. He is a tall 3 yrs old and I took a 4yrs old and it is fine.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AME Sleepwear Little Boys' Despicable Me Minions Bathrobe; Brand: AME; Review: Nice soft and warm. My nephew is a tall 3 and I bought it in 4 yrs old so might be slightly small. Made a very happy little boy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Salomon Women's Hime High Snow Boot; Brand: Salomon; Review: Very nice and warm. I hesitated as i read some reviews about how hard to put on they were, well I am not struggling. I haven't tested them in the snow yet but they should be ok. I bought a 6 from the size chart but I returned them and bought a 6.5 instead. All good! Can't wait for the next snow episode!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Tommy Hilfiger Women's Classic Chevron Down Coat With Faux Fur Trim Hood; Brand: ; Review: The jacket is nice. It is warm, even sometimes a little too worm. But it fits well and is nice. I read a few reviews about the arms, if you have big arm, don't take it, it is a little snug around the arms.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: FACE N FACE Women's Cotton Rolled up Sleeve No-Buckle Blazer Jacket Suits; Brand: FACE N FACE; Review: You get what you pay for. It does the trick for the low price. The cut is ok, but the inside layer is a little too big, so ironing it is a bit of a challenge. And it does arrive very creased. the fabric is also pretty cheap and look synthetic, but again for the price we cannot expect much more; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: EFINNY Women Summer Chiffon Sleeveless Blouse Tank Shirt Dark Blue; Brand: EFINNY; Review: Poor make and bad finish. There are pieces of sewing strings uncut everywhere It seems like the buttons are about to fall off It has a strange cut; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: JUESE Women's 1950's Sweetheart Cocktail Party Casual Polka Dot Top Tee; Brand: JUESE; Review: I am only 5'2 but I wear a d cup so I took an XL size from the size advices and it was Right for me. It is a nice top if you are not too scared of pushing your chest forward. For me it does not keep going up as for some other people but I guess that if you are taller than me then it is possible that it keeps moving up. Never use the zip on the size.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Women's Knee Length Waffle Weave Kimono Bathrobe, Short Spa Robes; Brand: Turkish Linen; Review: Just what I needed. Washed it when it arrived and all good. It is nice coming out of the shower or for slightly chilly evening. Perfect; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Metal Masters; Brand: Metal Masters Co.; Review: We ordered this as a 16th birthday gift for our son. It came in a nice presntable box and he loved it and the price was unbeatable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Easy Spirit Women's Vitaro Huarache Sandal; Brand: ; Review: These shoes are comfortable, fit very well and are cute. LOVE THEM!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MIXMAX Women Lapel Neck Long Sleeve Loose Dress Sides Slit Shirt Dress; Brand: Mixmax; Review: This top is really cute and the material feels great. I got the purple and it's a nice earthy color. My tummy is poochy and unfortunately it clings to it...so now I'm inspired to workout harder. But that's not the shirt's fault.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Colortone Tie Dye Tonal T-Shirt Kids & Adult up to 5XL; Brand: Colortone; Review: Purchased for my teen son. He loves it, it fits great and the price is perfect!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Colortone Tie Dye Island Collection Youth & Adult; Brand: Colortone; Review: Bought this for my adult son. The colors are bright and the price is right!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Milesline Fashion Vintage Womens Small Bowtie Platform Pumps Ladies Sexy High Heeled Shoes; Brand: Mostrin; Review: The fit is good and the price is right. But these shoes are not well made. I bought them in red for my Christmas party and received a ton of compliments. Because they aren't made well, I will only wear them once in a blue moon.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Colortone Youth & Adult Tie Dye T-Shirt; Brand: Colortone; Review: Got this for my husband and he loves it! Great price too!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Not Rated Women's Swanky Boot; Brand: Not Rated; Review: I loved the pics of these boots (even the customer pictures). But I ordered a pair in cream and they look awfully cheap. You can see the plastic lining behind the rhinestones. And the rhinestones didn't line up correctly and this was right in the front where it was very noticeable. On top of that, there were little pink marks on the material that stood out awfully. In fact that was the first thing I noticed when the boots arrived. I will be returning this pair.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Gone in 60 Seconds (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Pretty Woman (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Entrapment (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Six Feet Under: Season 2 (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Rainmaker (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Twister (1996); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Gladiator (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gosford Park (2001); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Independence Day (1996); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Con Air (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Green Mile (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Something's Gotta Give (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Serendipity (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: French Kiss (1995); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Losing Isaiah (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Woman on Top (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Commitments (1991); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Before Sunset (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Chocolat (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Better Off Dead (1985); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All the Pretty Horses (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Princess Diaries (Widescreen) (2001); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Sliding Doors (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Songcatcher (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Living in Oblivion (1995); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Japanese Story (2003); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Weather Underground (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Twice Upon a Yesterday (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Noam Chomsky: Distorted Morality: America's War on Terror? (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man 2 (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Lost & Found (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 100 Girls (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bush's Brain (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 4 (1997); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Best of Friends: Season 1 (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Passage to India (1984); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 5 (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 1 (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Best of Friends: Vol. 1 (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Simpsons: Season 1 (1989); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Finding Neverland (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Simpsons Gone Wild (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 9 (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 6 (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Motorcycle Diaries (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 2 (1995); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Best of Friends: Season 2 (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 8 (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A River Runs Through It (1992); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 3 (1996); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Word Wars (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Four Rooms (1995); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Aladdin: Platinum Edition (1992); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Friends: Season 7 (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Robin Hood (Disney) (1973); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Princess Bride (1987); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fat Albert (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Stage Beauty (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Turner and Hooch (1989); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Whole Ten Yards (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Finding Nemo (Widescreen) (2003); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Unfaithful (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Monsters (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Notting Hill (1999); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The King of Queens: Season 2 (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Best of Friends: Season 4 (1997); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Will & Grace: Season 2 (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 4 (1975); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Saving Private Ryan (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Saturday Night Live: The Best of Christopher Walken (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Almost Famous (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Freaks & Geeks: The Complete Series (2000); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Sex and the City: Season 1 (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 1 (1996); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Meet the Fockers (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Cruel Intentions 2 (2001); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Passionada (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Dying Young (1991); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Garden State (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Jet Lag (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Mummy (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Strictly Ballroom (1992); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Slums of Beverly Hills (1998); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Wild Things 2 (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: She's All That (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bedazzled (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gilmore Girls: Season 3 (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Dark Angel: Season 1 (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Neiko 11108A 4.5” x 7/8-Inch Aluminum Oxide Flap Disc, 80 Grit | Flat Type #27 | 10-Pack; Brand: Neiko; Review: well made; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 4-1/2" Cut-off Wheels for Metal, for Cutting All Ferrous Metals and Stainless Steel; Brand: Warrior; Review: well made; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Miller Electric 229895 Gage, Wire Metal Sizes; Brand: Miller Electric; Review: well made; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Honeywell AT150A1007 Transformer, 120V/208V/240V with Universal Mount, Foot, Plate or Knockout; Brand: Honeywell; Review: worked as expected, well made, good packaging/instructions etc.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 4M Table Top Robot; Brand: 4M; Review: Gifted; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Industrial_and_Scientific |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Batman & Robin (1997); Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller; Rating: 0.5/5.0
Title: Nightmare on Elm Street, A (1984); Genres: Horror, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Insomnia (2002); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Superman III (1983); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hurricane, The (1999); Genres: Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Friday the 13th (1980); Genres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Karate Kid, Part III, The (1989); Genres: Action, Adventure, Children, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: King Kong (1976); Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Halloween 7: The Revenge of Laurie Strode) (1998); Genres: Horror, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers) (1995); Genres: Horror, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Thor (2011); Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, IMAX; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Antitrust (2001); Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Insomnia (1997); Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Darkman (1990); Genres: Action, Crime, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Damien: Omen II (1978); Genres: Horror; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dark Knight, The (2008); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, IMAX; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fight Club (1999); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Matrix, The (1999); Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Inception (2010); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller, IMAX; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: American History X (1998); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003); Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001); Genres: Adventure, Fantasy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002); Genres: Adventure, Fantasy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Old Boy (2003); Genres: Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Django Unchained (2012); Genres: Action, Drama, Western; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | movielens |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: CUTE Little Boys British Style Clothing Sets Shirts+Shorts+Tie 3Pieces(3 Color); Brand: Cute; Review: Super cute & very comfortable soft fabric. I bought this for my 5yr old to wear to an outdoor wedding. It ended up being 95 degrees out & he was very comfortable-; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: B.O.C. - Womens - Kesia; Brand: B.O.C.; Review: Cute- I bought for my 9yr old for an outdoor wedding. They are comfortable & liked great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kidorable Boys' Little Pirate Gloves; Brand: Kidorable; Review: I purchased these as a replacement to ones that had broken (and were 4 yrs old). These ended up being to big for our stoves once on, I couldn't open the oven unless I took the overs off.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Franco Sarto Women's Bocca Loafer; Brand: Franco Sarto; Review: The shoes look nice but are very very stiff. As in hard to put on stiff. I had a Franco Sarto shoe that love but wore the heal through so I ordered this pair as a replacement. My previous pair was easy to put on so Im surprised how tight these are. Once on, the shoe is the correct size, but after wearing them around my house for a few days I realized itll take several more days to break these in.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Franco Sarto Women's Bocca Loafer; Brand: Franco Sarto; Review: The shoes look nice but are very very stiff. As in hard to put on stiff. I had a Franco Sarto shoe that love but wore the heal through so I ordered this pair as a replacement. My previous pair was easy to put on so Im surprised how tight these are. Once on, the shoe is the correct size, but after wearing them around my house for a few days I realized itll take several more days to break these in.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: AZLAND 3 Multiple Alarms Reminder Sports Kids Wristwatch Waterproof Boys Girls Digital Watches Camo; Brand: AZLAND; Review: I bought this for my 7yr old who has to take medication 3 times a day which includes during school. He loves it & the 3 alarms work well! Hes worn it in the pool & shower & it still works.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Iran decries 'cowardly attack' on oil tanker; Abstract: An Iranian government spokesman on Saturday described as a "cowardly attack" an incident that Iranian media have called the apparent targeting by missiles of an Iranian-owned oil tanker, and said Iran would respond after the facts had been studied.; Category: news
Title: Couple Didn't Know Why Car Was Running Strangely Then They Popped The Hood; Abstract: Earlier this week, Holly Persic was driving to work in Pennsylvania when her car suddenly started acting up. The engine was making a weird sound, and there was a faint smell of burning. Persic pulled over and called her husband, Chris. He suggested she pop the hood. And sure enough, this is what they found: Chris Persic Inside the engine compartment were hundreds of walnuts, along with some dry grass. A squirrel, it seems, had chosen the...; Category: lifestyle
Title: FW Officer Did Not Identify Himself Before Fatal Shot: PD; Abstract: The officer who fired the shot that killed a 28-year-old woman in Fort Worth early Saturday morning did not identify himself as a police officer prior to shooting, a Fort Worth Police Department spokesman says. The shooting happened just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday on the 1200 block of E. Allen Avenue in Fort Worth. The woman killed has been identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner as Atatiana Jefferson. Fort Worth Officer Shoots, Kills...; Category: news
Title: 'If I had never dialed the police, she'd still be alive': Neighbor who called a non-emergency number to ask for a 2am welfare check on a woman, 28, because her front door was open says he is horrified she was killed in her own home by a cop; Abstract: Officers arrived at Atatiana Koquice Jefferson's home after neighbor James Smith, 62, reported seeing lights on and her front door open around 2.25am.; Category: news
Title: Countries That Produce the Most Waste; Abstract: From the littered beaches of India to the vast waste dumps of the United States to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world is drowning in trash.; Category: finance
Title: Officer in viral-video shoplifting incident to be fired: Police chief; Abstract: The police chief of Phoenix said the Disciplinary Review Board's recommendation of a six-week unpaid suspension was not "sufficient" for Officer Chris Meyer.; Category: news
Title: Arctic blast to arrive TONIGHT bringing four days of bitter winds and freezing temperatures that will break hundreds of cold weather records and could see chilliest Veteran's Day ever; Abstract: More than 31 Million people were on freeze watches this morning, but from Sunday to Wednesday, temperatures will sink even lower to levels 15 to 30 degrees colder than average.; Category: weather | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: C#: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Herbert Schildt Page; Review: After picking this up, it quickly became the most used book in my library. This book contains a wealth of C++ information. It's coverage of new ANSI standard C++ features is easy to understand and quite useful, and gives this book a definite edge over older books. As other reviews have pointed out, it's not perfect, but if you want to gain a more in-depth knowledge of C++, this book is an excellent choice.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Windows Game Programming For Dummies?; Author: Andr LaMothe; Review: This book is great for those new to Windows game programming and DirectX. Andr covers all elements of DirectX 5.0, with the exception of Direct3D. His writing style is easy and enjoyable to read, with a lot of sample code, which, although not perfect, is good for educational purposes. The disadvantage to this book is it is becoming rather dated, so you're probably better off with LaMothe's Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, which is more recent, about twice as big, and covers everything this book does.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Art of 3D Game Programming: Writing Your Own High-Speed 3D Polygon Video Games in C; Author: Visit Amazon's Andre Lamothe Page; Review: If you are just getting involved in game programming, this book is a good place to start. The first half of the book covers general game techniques in 2D, and then the last half covers many concepts of 3D games. The book is written for DOS, but most of the principles apply to any platform. The 3D engine André develops is quite primitive by today's standards, but it at least introduces you to the terminology and ideas used in 3D games. The lower rating is because the book IS old by game development standards, so you going to have to do quite a bit of work if you want to use any of the code, but if you are new to 3D graphics, this book covers them in a clear and easy to understand manner.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: OpenGL(R) Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Version 1.2 (3rd Edition); Author: Visit Amazon's Mason Woo Page; Review: What can I say? This book lives up to its reputation of being THE book for learning OpenGL. It's extremely well written, contains easy to use and understand sample programs, is quite complete in its coverage, and it is entirely platform-independent. Anyone who wants to learn OpenGL should have this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus (2nd Edition); Author: Andre LaMothe; Review: At the time of writing, this book is the best introduction to game programming in DirectX available. LaMothe covers much of the same material covered in Windows Game Programming for Dummies, but does so in much greater detail. He also covers game physics and AI. There are a few problems with the code, it's direct and easy to understand, which is the whole point of the book. I'd highly recommend this book to any beginning-intermediate game programmers. Advanced programmers, or readers of WGPFD, may want to wait for Volume II.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Code Complete (Microsoft Programming); Author: Visit Amazon's Steve McConnell Page; Review: Out of the dozens of programming books I've read, this may well be the most useful. It covers basic software engineering practices that every serious programmer should adopt. Unless you're coding in a cave and never look at old code, you owe it to yourself and coworkers to read and apply the principles in this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 3D Game Programming with C++: Learn the Insider Secrets of Today's Professional Game Developers; Author: Andre LaMothe; Review: I'm frequently asked for book recommendations for learning Direct3D. For a long time, my answer was "There are no good, up-to-date books covering Direct3D". When I heard about this book, I had high expectations. de Goes' previous book had been well-received, and I had enjoyed many of his online articles. I was hoping I'd finally have a book I could recommend. Unfortunately, the book falls far short of my expectations, both in its Direct3D coverage, and in game programming coverage in general. First of all, more than half of the book consists of the appendices, which are nothing more than a DirectX reference. It's nice to have a printed reference, but since the same information is readily available as part of the DirectX SDK, it seems like a waste of space. The remaining 300 or so pages aren't much better. A good 100 or so are a code dump of his DX wrapper classes, which could have just stayed on the CD. The remaining chapters include a good chapter covering 3D basics, the apparently obligatory chapter on the history of 3D games, and then some moderately useful coverage of DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput, Direct3D, Artificial Intelligence and Physics. I say moderately useful because in regards to the DirectX coverage, he explains the most useful functions, and his explanations are accurate and detailed, but doesn't ever really show you how to use them. Some demo applications would have been very useful. The chapters on AI and physics are interesting, but again, some demos illustrating the principles covered would have been quite useful. I'd expect that most people would buy this book expecting that when they are done, they'd be able to create a basic 3D game. I honestly don't think that's a likely scenario. I read this already knowing OpenGL and the rest of DirectX quite well, but after finishing this book, I feel like I still don't know Direct3D at all.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Windows 98 Programming from the Ground Up; Author: Visit Amazon's Herbert Schildt Page; Review: This book is a great way to learn Windows programming with Win32. Although the book is written for Windows 98, it clearly highlights differences with Windows 95, and even Windows 3.x. Schlidt's expert knowledge is evident, his writing style is pleasant and easy to read, and he includes extensive sample code to illustrate each feature he discusses. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: OpenGL SuperBible, Second Edition (2nd Edition); Author: Visit Amazon's Richard S Wright Page; Review: It's hard not to write a review of an OpenGL book without comparing it to the Red Book, so I'll go ahead and do just that. Overall, I think the Superbible is every bit as useful as the Red Book, but in different ways. Although the Red Book has more detailed coverage, the Superbible focuses more on the practical side, covering the things you'll use and how you'll use them. Where the Red Book remains entirely platform-independent, the Superbible has quite a bit of Windows specific information, which is good since that's what a lot of us use. Finally, while the Red Book provides fairly generic OpenGL coverage, the Superbible is geared more toward real-time applications and games, which makes it a bit more appealing to folks like me. One really nice thing about this book is that it assumes no previous graphics programming experience (unlike the Red Book). It's also written in a more conversational tone. Those two factors combined probably make it a better book for beginners. If your objective is to make games, and you want to use OpenGL for them, then, at the time of writing, this is really the only book available on OpenGL containing any significant amount of game-specific material (though I *cough* have it on good authority that an OpenGL game programming book is on the horizon...) To sum up, I think that the Superbible's OpenGL coverage is quite good, it's extremely well written, and the code examples are both illustrative and useful. If you choose it as your means of learning OpenGL, you won't be disappointed.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, Book 9); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Jordan Page; Review: Like almost everyone else, I've been frustrated that the pace of the last few books has slowed to a crawl. Although, as another reviewer has noted, I'm not ready for the series to end yet, but I don't see the point of having the last two books contain hundreds of pages of filler leading up to the last few chapters, where the only real action happens. Winter's Heart is at least better than the last two books. I don't want to post any spoilers, but in this book, we have some long running plotlines finally being resolved. The ending, in particular, was quite satisfying - perhaps moreso than any other book in the series. Overall, although the book could have been much better, I enjoyed reading it. Hopefully it marks a turning point in the series, and that the next book will return to the quality of the earlier books.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Game Programming Gems (GAME PROGRAMMING GEMS SERIES); Author: Mark DeLoura; Review: There are many game programming books out there written for beginning to intermediate programmers, but unfortunately, advanced information is harder to come by, being scattered across web sites, magazines, technical journals, and in small sections of non-game-specific books. Game Programming Gems finally provides a single place where you can find explanations of advanced techniques that are actually being used in modern games. This book covers a broad range of topics and is written by many authors, so naturally, there will be some sections that are more useful to you than others. Overall, though, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a game programmer who wouldn't benefit in some way from this book. My only minor complaint is that although the vast majority of the chapters include sample code, not many include a complete demo. Although you can easily create your own project to dump the sample code into, it would have been nice to be able to immediate launch a demo as I read each section. That one shortcoming isn't enough to stop me from giving this a 5 star rating. I highly recommend it to any intermediate to advanced game programmer who wants to take it to the next level.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Computer Game Design: Theory and Practice; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Rouse Page; Review: Each of the chapters of this book fall into one of three categories: an interview with a prominent game designer, an analysis of a successful game, or a discussion of game design principles. Each is valuable for different reasons, so I'd like to review each of them separately. The interviews are interesting, and go into much greater depth than most interviews you see. As a result, you're able to get a good idea of how each designer approaches the game design process, which can be useful in analyzing your own methods. The chapters analyzing games focused on a single game, but also looked at similar games in the genre. If you're an aspiring game designers, you'll benefit from these chapters. Partially because you will see what these games did well, but moreso because they will encourage you to analyze the design aspects of the games you're playing to see what they do right, what they do wrong, and how you can apply that to your own designs. About half of the chapters of the book cover various aspects of game design, presenting the author's own theories about what's important, what isn't, and the things you should be thinking about. It's hard to review the value of this; some of it you'll agree with, and some of it you may not. Depending on your degree of experience, some of it may be obvious, some of it may be new, and some of it may help you focus on areas you've been neglecting. Overall, I wouldn't consider this book a must-have, but if you're interested in becoming a well-rounded and successful game designer, there's a lot in here that will be of value to you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 w/CD (Premier Press Game Development (Software)); Author: Visit Amazon's Ernest Pazera Page; Review: This is one of the most well written, easy to understand game programming books I have come across. The author obviously knows the subject matter quite well, and knows how to present it in a clear and consise manner. If you're a competent C/C++ programmer, but just getting started in game programming, this is a great place to begin. Although the focus of the book - isometric games - is a bit narrower than books like Tricks of the Windows Game Programming gurus, I think you'll be more satisfied with the look of the isometric games you create. In addition, the basics of DirectX and Windows programming are covered in a very understandable manner. If you're already a game programmer, and just want to pick up some iso techniques, feel free to skip the first part - there's nothing new there. Although the book's title includes "DirectX", the isometric algorithms are not API dependent, and can be easily adapted to other APIs (I was able to convert them to OpenGL in a matter of hours). My only complaint about the book is that the author obviously lost steam near the end, with the number of demo programs and code samples dropping to a trickle. This also means that there is not a complete game included with the book. However, there is enough good material otherwise that I'm not going to count that against it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beginning Direct3D Game Programming w/CD (Prima Tech's Game Development); Author: Wolfgang Engel; Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I've been waiting for a long time for a decent Direct3D book to refer beginners to, and this is one of the best so far. On the other hand, being the "best" among Direct3D books really isn't saying much, and this book is far from perfect. Overall, this book covers a lot of good material, including some of the more advanced aspects of DX8, and the code itself is pretty solid. Unfortunately, the explanations can be a little hard to understand, partially due to the fact that the author isn't a native English speaker (the chapters on physics and collision detection don't suffer this problem, though, being written by someone else), so you may find yourself having to reread things several times. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have some game programming and DirectX knowledge, but I would recommend it for someone who wants to get up to speed on the latest version of D3D, especially if they have used a previous version of Direct3D - or even another 3D API - or if they are willing to put the effort into working through the chapters to dig out the (truly useful) information they contain.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Game Programming Gems (GAME PROGRAMMING GEMS SERIES); Author: Mark DeLoura; Review: Like the first volume, Game Programming Gems 2 features an exceptional collection of articles written by a knowledgeable group of authors, most of whom are well-known and respected in the area they write about. This series (the third volume is already underway, as are related books focusing on AI and design) isn't intended to be a complete guide to all aspects of game development, but rather, a resource you turn to when you need help with a specific problem. As such, the series truly shines, and this volume is a worthy follow up to the first. The articles, or gems, included in the book cover intermediate to advanced topics in the areas of general programming, mathematics, artificial intelligence, geometry management, graphics display, and audio programming, each edited by an expert in the field. Most of the gems assume that you have a fundamental knowledge of the issues related to the topic, and get to the point quickly. As a result, on average the gems are shorter than the previous volume. Both of these things could be viewed as either positives or negatives, depending on your experience level. Regardless, almost all of the gems are well written and relevant. Most game programming books these days come with CDs packed full of demos, source code, and other information supplementing the book. Unfortunately, the CD that comes with this book isn't one of those. It does have source code from most of the chapters, but there are very few demos and no extras (unless you count GLUT and the DX8 SDK, which I don't since you can easily get those elsewhere). However, I'd count the CD as only a minor disappointment, since the book itself is so good. If you're serious about game development, I'd highly recommend adding Gems 2 to your library. You'll definitely find things in it that you can use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Physics for Game Developers; Author: Visit Amazon's David M Bourg Page; Review: This book provides a good starting point for anyone looking to introduce more realistic physics into their game. It provides an overview of the laws of mechanics, focusing on rigid body and particle dynamics. It then takes these principles and applies them to specific simulations which often come up in games, such as projectiles, cars, airplanes, and hovercraft. The math is simplified, so the results are not always completely accurate, but they should be good enough for many games. The book does have several shortcomings which prevent it from being a great book, the most important of which is that the content is fairly limited. It's less than 300 pages, and a significant amount of space (especially in the later chapters) is taken by source code listings. Of course, this is somewhat offset by the book's relatively low price. If you buy this expecting it to be the ultimate guide to physics in games, you'll be disappointed. However, if you buy it as an introduction to physics in games (which how it's intended to be used), I think you'll be happy with it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Focus On 3D Terrain Programming (Game Development); Author: Trent Polack; Review: Terrain rendering has become an increasingly hot topic as more and more games have included outdoor environments. There are many different ways to approach terrain rendering, and the articles covering these methods are scattered over various websites, journals, conference proceedings, etc. This book takes a number of the most popular of these methods and presents them in a clear, easy to understand way that is be easily accessible to programmers who are new to the topic of terrain programming. The methods covered include geomipmapping, quadtree-based terrain rendering, and ROAM - and it should be pointed out that the book also includes coverage of the ROAM 2 algorithm, which has not been officially published yet by its creator. Additional topics covered include simple collision detection, sky boxes and sky domes, and special effects such as water, particle systems, and fog. All of the topics covered are explained well, with a good mix of implementation and explanation. The author's writing style may be a bit too conversational at times, and the material covered is mostly available from other sources, but overall, this book makes for a great introduction to terrain programming that I'd recommend to anyone interested in the topic.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 3D Math Primer For Graphics and Game Development (Wordware Game Math Library); Author: Visit Amazon's Fletcher Dunn Page; Review: The authors state early on that this book is intended as the first book an aspiring game programmer should read, and I would agree that for the most part it lives up to that goal. Many 3D game programming books include math primers covering a chapter or two, but really, 3D math is a huge topic deserving an entire volume. This book provides a great service, then, in that it thoroughly covers most of the basic topics that graphics programmers need to know, in a tutorial style that should be accessible to all beginners. Hopefully, we'll start to see more game programming books that focus on their core material and defer coverage of 3D math to books like this one rather than trying to pack unavoidably incomplete coverage into a few dozen pages. So, what exactly does it cover? It starts off with a couple of chapters on coordinate systems, and then spends three chapters on vectors, followed by another three chapters on matrices and transformations. It then covers orientation, comparing matrix, Euler angle, and quaternion representations (including one of most clear explanations of quaternions that I've encountered), before diving into several chapters covering geometric primitives, including detailed coverage of working with triangle meshes. The book closes with a chapter applying 3D math to graphics in areas such as lighting, fog, coordinates spaces, LOD, culling and clipping, and so on, and another chapter on visibility determination, touching on things like quad- and octrees, BSP trees, PVS, and portal techniques. The explanations in these chapters are much less complete, taking more of an overview approach. Others have criticized the book for this, but I feel that an overview is appropriate, since it then sets the stage for these topics to be covered in detail in other game programming books. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone just getting started with game and graphics programming.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture; Author: Visit Amazon's David Kushner Page; Review: This was a really fun and engaging read. The book follows the story of John Carmack and John Romero from the time they started programming games, through the founding and rise of id Software and the Doom/Quake legacies, though Romero's departure to found Ion Storm, and ending around the time Ion Storm shut down and Romero founded Monkeystone. There has been a lot written about these events (in particular about Romero) so it was great to get an in-depth look at what really happened. There have been some concerns over its accuracy, but given that both Carmack and Romero had to sign off on it before it was published, it can't be too far off. If you're into games at all you'll probably enjoy this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master; Author: Visit Amazon's Andrew Hunt Page; Review: A friend of mine recommended this book to me a year ago and I finally got around to reading it. Not only do I wish I had taken him up on his recommendation immediately, I wish that I had read it years earlier. The book's subtitle "from journeyman to master" really sums it up nicely. The book contains practical advice from experienced programmers that will help you become a more effective software developer. Unlike many books which dogmatically preach a specific methodology, this book focuses on (not-so-)common sense practices that are simple yet effective, as well as highlighting potential pitfalls to be avoided. Many of them can be applied to your own development process without requiring radical changes, while others will require team- or project-wide changes. Fortunately the nature of the recommended practices is such that you don't have to adopt all of them to be effective. You can pick and choose which ones are most appropriate and gradually incorporate them into your development process. The range of topics covered is fairly broad, but the important themes are writing easy-to-maintain, reusable code, identifying and adjusting requirements quickly and effectively, managing large projects, and avoiding bad habits and developing good attitudes. Although I don't absolutely agree with everything the authors present, the justification they provide is thought stimulating and will probably change how you do things even if you don't consciously decide to adopt any of their practices. I found the exercises (and their accompanying solutions) scattered throughout the book to be extremely useful in internalizing the principles being taught, as well as gauging how well I approach problem-solving. I'd highly recommend working through them as you read the book. Finally, it's worth mentioning how enjoyable this book is to read. The authors' sense of humor and sprinkling of anecdotes make this an easy read without in any way detracting from the content. If you're a brand new programmer, you probably won't appreciate many of the ideas presented in this book, but come back after you have a year or two of experience. Successful, experienced programmers will find that this book confirms many of the things you're already doing, while providing a lot of useful ideas to become even better. Even if you're not a programmer, but manage or otherwise work with programming teams, you'll find a lot of helpful information here. If there were one book I could require all of my coworkers to read, this would be it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The CG Tutorial: The Definitive Guide to Programmable Real-Time Graphics; Author: Visit Amazon's Randima Fernando Page; Review: This is a well written book covering the Cg shading language. It contains a lot of useful information about Cg and graphics programming techniques in general. Unfortunately, I felt like it didn't cover as much of Cg as I would have liked, making the book less useful than it could have been. The book starts with a history of shaders and programmable hardware, an overview of Cg, and a summary of related technologies, such as HLSL and CgFX. It then spends some time covering the syntax and semantics of Cg, and then moves on to the core material of the book, in which the authors explain key graphics pipeline functionality and how it can be implemented using Cg. The book concludes with several appendices covering the Cg runtime, CgFX file format, and Cg standard library, as well as other reference material. The topics covered include transformations, animation, lighting, environment mapping, bump mapping, fog, shadow mapping, toon shading, and projective texturing. The explanations are all clear and understandable, in particular the chapter on bump mapping, which is one of the easiest introductions to the topic I've encountered. Features of Cg are introduced as needed while explaining these topics, rather than introducing them all at once, which is very conducive to learning. In addition, the authors include warnings and workarounds for techniques which may not be supported on older hardware, as well as advice on attaining optimal performance. I have two primary complaints about the book. The first is that they never really discuss the application code using the shaders, which made it a bit difficult to understand how they fit in at times. The second is that the book isn't nearly as complete a reference as you might expect. For a great deal of the functions and functionality in Cg, they simply refer you to the Cg reference manual. Although this electronic document is freely available, it's fairly brief at times, so a more detailed explanation in the book would have been appreciated. Similarly, I would have liked to have seen more detailed explanation of CgFX, as well as examples of using it. Overall, though, this book does a very good job of introducing the reader to Cg and to shaders in general. If you're new to these topics, I'd recommend it. Even if you're a DirectX programmer intending to use HLSL, you'll find this book useful since the languages are identical (though the usage is of course different). If you're already an experienced graphics programmer with some knowledge of shaders, then you'll likely be able to find everything you need in the freely available documentation instead.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics, Third Edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Eric Lengyel Page; Review: I gave the first edition of this book a 5 star rating, so considering that the second edition provides updates to the original as well as four new chapters, it's no surprise that the second edition earns a 5 star rating as well. The new material includes a brief but informative chapter covering graphics pipeline essentials. This should make the book somewhat more accessible for beginners - though it'll still be daunting for someone without at least high school level math. The shadow volume coverage from the first book has been broken out into its own chapter and greatly expanded. The remaining two chapters are dedicated to numerical methods and curves and surfaces. If you already own the first edition of the book, then the updates and new chapters probably aren't worth the cost. Otherwise, considering that they retail at the same price, there's no reason not to get this edition instead of the first. It's an excellent resource for anyone who wants a deep and broad knowledge of 3D math.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 3D Game Engine Design: A Practical Approach to Real-Time Computer Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3d Technology); Author: Visit Amazon's David H. Eberly Page; Review: I read this a few years ago, and have referred back to it many times, but I only recently realized that I neglected to write a review of it. This book is well-written and contains a lot of useful information. The author is one of the few people qualified to write a book of this nature, and he has done an admirable job. That said, the title is pretty misleading, since the book has very little to say about the design of a game engine. Instead, it focuses on implementation details and the math involved with them. Topics covered include geometrical methods, the graphics pipeline, tree-based scene graphics, intersections, collision detection, curves and surfaces, animation, terrain, spatial sorting (quad/octrees, portals, BSPs), special effects, object-oriented infrastructure, and numerical methods. The author doesn't gloss over anything, providing detailed mathematical derivations of how things work. Unfortunately, the math is so heavy that unless you're already pretty familiar with the subject matter, you'll probably have a hard time with the book. Therefore, I think that the target audience is much smaller that the group that would be attracted by the title. If you're involved in game engine development or just want to deepen your knowledge, I think you'll appreciate the fact that the author doesn't pull any punches. Otherwise, you'll probably be more interested in the author's new book 3D Game Engine Architecture, which was recently released.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology); Author: Visit Amazon's David H. Eberly Page; Review: One of the criticisms I had of Dave Eberly's previous 3D Game Engine Design is that it didn't really say much about how to design an engine. Rather, it focused mostly on the programming/implementation details, which was disappointing to some. This new book is what many people expected from the older book. In this book, the author walks through the design and architecture of a 3D game engine, using his Wild Magic engine as an example, but also drawing on his experience developing NDL's NetImmerse. Throughout, he describes why each design decision was made, and in many cases alternative solutions are discussed as well. This isn't just a high level discussion, however, as ample source code, figures, equations, and sample applications are included to get you started with implementation. The topics covered include the core engine systems, scene graphs, renderers, cameras, LOD, animation, terrain, special effects, physics and collision detection. Numerous sample applications and tools are also included. Dave's writing style is clear and minimally conversational, and he's kept the math to a minimum, making this a remarkably easy read. This isn't a complete treatment of a game engine, since some important topics (e.g. scripting, audio) aren't included, but the material it does cover is worth it. Whether you're currently working on a game engine, planning to start one, or just want to have a better understanding of how they work, you'll be happy with this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications: A Programmer's Guide, Second Edition; Author: James M. Van Verth; Review: If only every topic in game and graphics programming were covered as well as math. Over the past several years, a number of exceptionally good books covering math for game and graphics programming have been released, and I've had the opportunity to review most of them. Although, not surprisingly, there is some overlap between them all, each covers unique material and presents information in an original way so that collectively, the books provide an impressive body of work. Essential Mathematics stands out as one of the best books in the pack, especially in regards to its coverage of the math behind low-level rendering techniques. The book is broken into 4 parts. The first part, Core Mathematics, covers vectors and matrices, transformations, and number representation. This part will be useful to anyone doing 3D graphics. Part II, Rendering, covers topics such as lighting and shading, texturing, projection, and rasterization. This part was of particular interest to me because I've been working on a commercial renderer, but it should also be useful to those who want a better understanding of what graphics engines do under the hood. Part III, Animation, covers curves (very in depth) and representation of orientations (Euler vs. axis-angle vs. quaternions). Finally, Part IV, Simulation, covers intersection testing and rigid body dynamics. There are also a couple of appendices to help you brush up on trig and calculus, if needed. The book includes many C++ code samples and demos, including a handy math library and a simple rendering/game engine using OpenGL and GLUT. The authors are to be commended for their writing style as well. It's very easy for a book of this nature to get bogged down in an extremely heavy academic tone, but this book manages to avoid that, making for a remarkably easy read. I'm glad I don't have to choose just one game math book, but if I did, this would probably be the one I'd pick.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: City of Refuge: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Tom Piazza Page; Review: City of Refuge is a book about New Orleans. It is set in the few days prior to, the day during and the months after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee breaks. It is written in the historical fiction genre, using made up characters to drive home the scope of the disaster and the misery that followed. Interestingly, I didn't care for the fiction approach. Clearly the author, Tom Piazza, has extensive knowledge of the lead up to and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He describes the damages as one who was there when it happened. He brings to life the flavor of the Lower Ninth Ward, the uniqueness of New Orleans streets, the hopelessness of the elderly and the poverty stricken, the panic of the flood waters, and the lack of sanitation in the Superdome. He writes about the exodus, the lack of information regarding who was affected, the inability to know whether one's own family was alive, or dead. However, the drawback to the book was the characterization. The main characters are a white business man, Craig, and a black Vietnam vet, SJ. They are stereotypical, devoid of richness, and lack any dimension. They both suffer from prolonged internal conflicts, and marital stress. The author waxes too verbose regarding marriage counseling and its' benefits to Craig. At the same time, he portrays an unreal continued devotion of SJ to his dead spouse. Craig spends many pages coming to grips with his upbringing, but in such a way that you feel you are reading the notes of a psychologist, not hearing a real internal struggle. In turn, SJ thinks back to Vietnam and other stressors in his life with a similar clinical approach. Other than Wesley, SJ's nephew, and a Jen, who we see briefly as a friend of Craig, the characters are sterile and not compelling. I alternated between being entranced by the series of events and privations all of New Orleans faced, and trying not to throw the book in frustration because of the poor characterization. In the end, the historical details always brought me back for more.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sweetheart (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell); Author: Visit Amazon's Chelsea Cain Page; Review: Sweetheart is a sequel in a story detailing the relationship of a detective, Archie, and a female serial killer, Gretchen. It begins with a cliched worn out, run down, tortured detective who was allowed to live so that this woman could essentially torture him emotionally and mentally for the remainder of the book. In many ways, the book was easy to read through and the story line was engaging enough to keep the reader interested. However, it had several premises that were difficult to swallow. The prime one of these is its dependence on "Stockholm Syndrome" or a captive's ability to romanticize and side with his abuser, even after the physical torture had ended. It was hard to swallow Archie's dependence on Gretchen after heinous torture, even though the author continued to remind us of how "sick" our detective remained. It was also hard to believe that anyone would be as omniscient as Gretchen. She wielded uncanny abilities to lure men in, and get them to help her escape or kill for her. By the end of the story, she was nothing more than a mythical siren, constantly pulling unsuspecting males to their death...except for Archie, who was, of course, miraculously saved each time. If you are into the crime mystery/detective/horror genre, this is a fast book and will draw you in. Be prepared for graphic descriptions of torture.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Rutkoski Page; Review: I picked up this book because I was looking for another series to keep my kids engaged. They are ardent readers of fantasy novels and this one seemed to be right up their alley. I was extremely pleased with the book and thrilled with the response from the kids. In this book, Rutkoski combines the historical, the magical, and the emotional for a touching and engaging book about a girl and her father. The characters are well developed. The story line is complex without tackling too much, and there is not the typical disconnect between worlds that is often found in childrens literature. Although there are a few minor instances in the book where descriptions seem recycled or typical for the genre, the use of real places and cultures helps to bring a feeling of possibility. This feeling only increases the magic Rutkoski builds. After reading it, I handed it to my 13 year old girl, who passed it along to her 12 year old brother. Upon reading it, both of them asked for book 2. I call that a winning endorsement. This book is appropriate for all ages, but sensitive readers might be dismayed by mild violence including intentional injury to other persons.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris (Theodosia (Quality)); Author: Visit Amazon's R. L. LaFevers Page; Review: Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris is a fun book and an easy read. Theodosia is a very strong-willed girl,which I love. In addition to being strong willed and fearless, she is portrayed as smart, a problem solver, and quirky. For all of the millions of quirky strong willed girls out there, Theo will feel like a best friend. Set in England in the early 1900's, the book feels both modern in it's message and quaint in it's setting. We see a bit of history first hand as LaFevers recounts different myths and facts surrounding ancient Egypt. Using fiction to convey knowledge, there are details about archeology and social issues of the time mixed in with bits of magic, which kept myself and my kids entranced. This is the second book in the series and we were all reluctant to read it without having read the first one. I chose to read it anyway, and was pleasantly surprised that it was great as a stand alone book. LaFevers makes reference to the first book and Theo's adventures in it on a few occasions in the second book, but it never overwhelms the story, nor does it leave the reader confused. I would recommend this book and it's partner to childrens' libraries both public and private. An excellent addition for anyone who enjoys fantasy writing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Cure for Grief: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nellie Hermann Page; Review: This book was a very difficult read for me. Having lost a parent when I was 9, I felt very vulnerable to the detailed emotion Hermann is able to portray. She is quite good at painting the picture of Ruby, a youngest girl in a family of boys, and the variety of emotions she feels. She connects to a girl who is on the fringes within her family, but who also feels deeply for the trials they each go through. Hermann gives the emotion weight and description that portrays the amount of pain one is in when a family falls apart around you. I felt that as good as the book is, it did drag in places. Often, Hermann resorts to Ruby describing her feelings as "distant", "looking down on herself" and "out of her body". This feeling of disconnection is real in these types of situations, but was overused as literary description within the book. I believe this is Hermann's first novel and expect she will get even better with time. I look forward to reading more by her.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Helen Simonson Page; Review: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a novel about a retired man and his relationships with his son and his community and those in it. The Major is an old fashioned English Gentleman who has lost his wife and his brother, whose son is a disappointment to him and who is realizing that his community is not living up to his ideals. He becomes friends, and then romantically involved, with a female Pakistani shopkeeper, which becomes rather scandalous within his circle of friends and things are even worse for her. This book is well written and covers interesting topics, such as the racism still so prevalent against middle easterners in England. It is not the most entertaining novel but is well worth a read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Arcadia Falls: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Carol Goodman Page; Review: Arcadia Falls is a novel about mothers and daughters and their difficult relationships. It explores what mothers are willing to give up for their children, and sometimes what they are not willing to sacrifice. The novel explores feminist issues and asks whether a woman can be an artist and a mother or if one of those occupations will have to be put off in favor of the other. The book is full of plot twists and surprises up to the very end. The action takes place at a boarding school for the artistically inclined, a place where many strange things have taken place and continue to happen. The main character is a woman who has recently been widowed, who moves with her daughter to Arcadia Falls to teach at the school. Almost immediately they are immersed in mystery after mystery and even find themselves in danger. Though they are key components to this novel, these 2 characters are not fully developed characters. Though the main character's grandmother ends up being pretty important to the story, we are told almost nothing about her. Though I fully enjoyed the book and appreciated the suspense and the plot, I think a little more character development and perhaps one less plot twist would have made the book even better. What Goodman does exceptionally well is describe a scene. Her lush descriptiveness makes you feel like you are there and the fairy tales that are woven into the story are amazing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Mark Sisson Page; Review: I can't remember the last time I read a book that I wanted to share with everyone I care about, but this is definitely it. I've been aware of this book for quite some time, but didn't think I needed to read it due to visiting the author's blog and similar websites on a regular basis for the past several years. I was wrong. A friend of mine let me borrow it, and for several days, I couldn't put it down. Calling this merely a diet or fitness book would be a mistake. The Primal Blueprint is about a complete lifestyle. Sisson clearly and pleasantly explains his ten Primal Laws - not only what they are, but all the myriad benefits that come from applying them. Personally, I've been applying the Primal Blueprint myself for a while now, and the results have been just as promised: the fat has been melting off, I enjoy my food and never feel deprived (okay, I sometimes miss sugary foods, but less so as my body adapts, and I am able to indulge occasionally), and most importantly, I feel fantastic and full of energy. I would strongly recommend the Primal Blueprint to everyone.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dead Is a State of Mind; Author: Visit Amazon's Marlene Perez Page; Review: This book is about a strange family living in the even more strange town of Nightshade, California, where the supernatural is the norm. The narrator is Daisy Giordano, a high school student ad amateur sleuth who is out to find the killer of one of her school's teachers. Along the way she develops psychic powers, has boyfriend trouble, family issues, and concerns about the prom. This book is by no meas and example of literature but it is interesting enough and could probably keep the attention of girls from the ages of 11-15.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Widower's Tale: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Julia Glass Page; Review: The Widower's Tale is the story of Percy Darling, the eponymous widower, and his family, friends and neighbors. He lives in a small affluent town and tries to keep to himself. When he lets a local preschool occupy his barn, his life changes completely. This book raises the issues of illegal immigrants, homophobia, and environmentalism, among other less obvious issues, such as how a parent's choices affect a child. The book is broken into chapters that focus on four male characters. Percy is the narrator of his own chapters and I his chapters were my favorite. Julia Glass was able to write as Percy both convincingly and with wit and humor. I would have enjoyed the book even more had it been narrated by Percy throughout. The other male characters are an illegal alien, a gay preschool teacher, and Percy's grandson. While they add to the story, they are not as charming, interesting, or humorous as Percy. Overall, The Widower's Tale is a well-written and entertaining novel that also manages to raise a bit of social consciousness.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wildthorn; Author: Visit Amazon's Jane Eagland Page; Review: Wildthorn is a story about Louisa Cosgrove, a girl living in late 19th or early 20th century England. Louisa doesn't want to conform to society's expectations of her. Louisa is in love with her cousin Grace and wants to follow in her father's footsteps and train to become a doctor. When Grace's family fear that Louisa's behavior may threaten Grace's impending marriage, the conspire to have her taken where she won't cause any problems. Louisa believes she is leaving home to stay with family friends and finds herself instead in an insane asylum. Louisa makes it through truly awful conditions and even worse treatment and finally manages to escape with the help and support of a new love. Wildthorn has an interesting enough plot and the writing is fine but it was difficult for me to make myself continue reading it past the first few chapters. I'm sure there are plenty of people that will find it fascinating and hard to put down but I am not one of them.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Fetch; Author: Visit Amazon's Laura Whitcomb Page; Review: This book is the story of Calder, a boy who died in the 16th century at the age of 19 who is now a Fetch. A Fetch is responsible for escorting the souls of the dead through the Death Door and onto a path that will eventually lead them to the afterlife. Things get complicated for Calder when he falls in love with a beautiful mortal woman he thinks is a governess but who is actually Alexandra Romanov, the tsarina of Russia. His passion for her causes him to make a decision that will impact many lives, as well as the souls of the newly departed. The Fetch is extremely original, well-written and will keep you engrossed until the very last page.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Countess: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rebecca Johns Page; Review: The Countess is a fictional account of an actual Countess of Hungary named Erzebet Bathory. The Countess murdered at least 612 women and bathed in her blood in an attempt to retain her youthful appearance. She was considered a vampire by the people of the nearby village. In the book, she killed around 35 people and some of them accidentally. The book tries to make her someone we can sympathize with, despite her savage beatings and ultimately murders of several of her servants. I think following the historical facts would have made the book more interesting than trying to make her seem like a misunderstood woman who may have beaten a few of her servants a little too much and accidentally killed them. Erzebet Bathory was the first known female serial killer and may also be the most prolific. A book about a woman as disturbed and interesting as she was should be impossible to put down. This book may be considered a success by someone who knew nothing about the real Erzebet Bathory but to me it lacked the intrigue and horror that should be in any book with such an infamous woman as it's subject.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Charming Quirks of Others (Isabel Dalhousie Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: The Charming Quirks of Others is another philosophical novel from Alexander McCall Smith. If you are unfamiliar with McCall Smith's books, you should know that there isn't a lot of action in them. Some people might consider this book as well as the others by McCall Smith slightly boring but I am not one of those people. I love that his books are about everyday situations with fairly normal people. I love the Scottish setting, the Scottish people and the Scottish voice that comes out in these books. In this book, Isabel continues to run the Review of Applied Ethics, raise her son, and help those that come to her for her wisdom and kindness. Meanwhile, she deals with relationship issues, helps her niece run her deli, and discovers the source of an anonymous letter, all without much trouble.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time, Book Thirteen); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Jordan Page; Review: I'm one of those people who nearly abandoned the series. In fact, I waited nearly a year to even bother reading The Gathering Storm. I ended up devouring it in a few days. I then purchased the Prologue to ToM, read all of the sample chapters as they became available, and purchased this on the day it came out. I don't want to post spoilers by getting into specifics, but I really loved this book. Events are coming together in a most satisfactory way. Numerous times as I read I found myself choking up. My only disappointment was that it ended. I anxiously await the final book, and yet... I don't want the Wheel of Time to end. I've enjoyed these characters and this world for two decades and thousands of pages, and I'm going to be sad to see them go.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Todd Page; Review: A Lonely Death is an Ian Rutledge Mystery written by a mother and son writing team that are known as Charles Todd. The protagonist, the sad and lonely Inspector Ian Rutledge, is a WWI vet currently working for Scotland yard. He suffers from shell shock and routinely hears the voice of his friend and former fellow soldier Hamish, who Rutledge had executed for disobeying orders. Rutledge is sent to a small Sussex village to investigate the murders of three former soldiers that were all killed in the same way. The killer left the same clue behind in all three men but are these clues just misdirection? Rutledge's investigation is stalled when he is taken off the case but he is reinstalled when his superiors realize he was not the problem. Rutledge knows that the killings are revenge for something but he's not sure what. In the end he discovers the murderer but still has his inner demons to face. The writing is sharp and the historical background is accurate. If you like mysteries with some history thrown in, you should like this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe; Author: Visit Amazon's Andrew O'Hagan Page; Review: The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe begins with the birth of Maf, a Maltese born in the British Isles. Soon Maf is transported to California, where he lives for a time with Natalie Wood's eccentric mother. Lucky for Maf he is not forced to stay there for long because Frank Sinatra purchases him as a gift for Marilyn Monroe. Maf is a wise little dog and he narrates the book and is able to read the thoughts and feelings of his human companions. He accompanies Marilyn to parties and to visits to her psychotherapist, to the Actor's Studio,...everywhere Marilyn goes, Maf goes too. I was hoping that this book would include a guess as to Marilyn's last hours, a theory on her death, but it ends with Marilyn singing Happy Birthday to JFK. The book portrays her sadness and talks about her use of pills and alcohol to self-medicate but doesn't go much deeper. The only insight we are given is that Marilyn wanted to be taken seriously and that she never knew her father, something that affected her deeply. The book is original, if only because it is narrated by Marilyn Monroe's dog. It is low on plot and for me, a good plot is essential to a good book. I wanted to love this book but I didn't.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Paris Wife: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula McLain Page; Review: The Paris Wife is a novel that introduces us to Hadley, Ernest Hemingway's first wife, and to the life they lived after marrying and moving to Paris in the 1920s. At first, though they have no money, is filled with adventures and famous writers and artists like Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald and his eccentric wife. Ernest and Hadley have a very close and deep relationship and the journey from newlyweds to an estranged couple is a sad one. I liked this book a lot and appreciated the insight it gave me into Ernest Hemingway's early life. His wife Hadley must have been an amazing woman and I'm glad that someone chose to write about her and the experiences she had with this difficult man.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Secret Kept: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Tatiana de Rosnay Page; Review: Antoine Rey is an architect living in Paris after a recent divorce. He decides to take his sister on a trip to the island they visited as children for her birthday. While on the island, Rey's sister remembers something she witnessed as a child and, in the process of telling her brother about it, is so agitated that she wrecks the car and is seriously injured. One result of the accident is that she forgets what she was about to tell her brother, and this bothers Antoine, who wants to know what was so shocking that it caused his sister to lose control of the car. Another result is that Antoine meets Angel, a mortician working in the hospital where his sister is brought after her accident. Angel teaches him how to live and how to respect death. Throughout the book, Antoine experiences several events that change his perspective on life, family, love, and death. He discovers secrets from the past that change his relationships in the present. I enjoyed this audio book!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jacqueline Winspear Page; Review: I have read all of Jacqueline Winspear's books, despite not really loving them. Of all of the book she has written I like A Lesson in Secrets the most. There isn't as much annoying discussion between Maisie and her employee Billy and it held my interest with it's plot better than any of the previous books. In this book, Maisie is sent to Cambridge to work in a small college, to keep an eye on the interests of the crown. While at the school, a murder is committed and Maisie works to solve it while not losing sight of the initial reason she was sent to the school.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: Alexander McCall Smith's latest in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is another wonderful tale of the life and experiences of Mma Ramotswe and her friends and family. In this installment Grace Makutsi finds the perfect shoes for her wedding, only to lose them when she sees the ghost of Mma Ramotswe's tiny white van. Charlie the apprentice has some private issues to deal with and a new case causes concerns for a man and his cattle. In the end, everything turns out perfectly. Grace and Phuti are married, Precious is reunited with her tiny white van and Charlie grows up a bit.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: At Home with the Templetons: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Monica McInerney Page; Review: At Home with the Templetons is the story of a family that packs up and moves from London to Australia when they learn they have inherited a large, colonial house there. In order to afford living there they decide to restore the house to it's former glory and take people on tours through it. They dress in period costume and make up facts about the place as they go along. The neighbors want nothing to do with them but that doesn't stop the Templetons from barging in to the lives of their closest neighbor Nina and her son Tom. Tom is enchanted by the Templetons and their big personalities but Nina tries to remain distance but can't help but forge a kind of friendship with the Templetons' youngest daughter Gracie. The Templeton family is slightly more dysfunctional than most and it doesn't take long before their life in Australia falls apart and they return to England. Before they leave they hire Nina to keep an eye on the place and promise to be back soon, which never happens. When Gracie is in college she and Tom meet again and fall in love. Tom's mother Nina doesn't approve of the relationship and when tragedy strikes she manages to drive a wedge between them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Matchmaker of Kenmare: A Novel of Ireland; Author: Visit Amazon's Frank Delaney Page; Review: The Matchmaker of Kenmare is a book about Kate Begley, the Matchmaker, and Ben McCarthy, a man collecting Irish folklore while simultaneously looking for his missing wife. The two meet as Ben is roaming the Irish countryside gathering stories and their lives become deeply entwined for the next several years. The book takes place during WWII. Kate falls in love with an enigmatic American Captain and marries him, only to lose him in the war. He is reported dead but Kate refuses to believe her husband is dead and she drags Ben in to the heart of war-torn Europe to find him. The characters in this book are what keep it going as you are torn between hoping they each find their lost spouse and hoping they don't so they can be together.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ghost of Greenwich Village: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lorna Graham Page; Review: I think I would have liked this book more if it was simplified just a little. So many things happen to the heroine of the novel, Eve, and so many of them seem too easy That she writes a report on a man terrorizing women and then has personal experience with him. out of all the women in New York was too coincidental. This is one of the many, many coincidences that bothered me. Eve, an adult woman living with her father and working in his law office decides to move to New York city to walk in the footsteps of her dead mother. She moves into an apartment haunted by the ghost of a Beat-era writer. Eve lucks into a job with a Good Morning America-like morning news show as a writer. The author Lorna Graham wrote for several news programs and you get the feeling that she has a major grudge about writers not getting any credit. Eve becomes friendly with an older man that has used fashion to create art and learns that he and the ghost in her apartment had been friends until a woman came between them. The ghost in Eve's apartment had a protege that was her mother's lover before marrying Eve's father. If it weren't for the too convenient coincidences and what seems like a chip on the author's shoulder, I may have enjoyed this book. As it was, I was disappointed at the author taking what seemed to be the easy way out to wrap it all up.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Melanie Benjamin Page; Review: The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is a well-written book with an amazing heroine. The woman who would one day become Mrs. Tom Thumb was born Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump but was known to friends and family as Vinnie. Though Vinnie was under 3 feet tall, she had an amazingly large presence and spirit. Born to a farmer and his wife in New England before the Civil War, Vinnie was a true lady and comported herself properly in every situation. She was expected to stay at home and be cared for by her family her entire life. She surprised everyone she knew, first by becoming the town's school teacher and then by leaving home and joining a "floating palace of entertainment", a show boat run by a villainous scum named Colonel Wood that traveled the Mississippi river, taking on an audience at each port. This was Vinnie's introduction to show business and,though it didn't end particularly well, it helped her realize that she didn't want to be an unknown school teacher in a small town. She wanted to see the world and she wanted the world to see her. So when she was back at home with her parents, she wrote to the man she knew could help her make that happen: P.T. Barnum. Barnum was the opposite of Colonel Wood, treating Vinnie with respect and being a true friend to her. This friendship was tested when Barnum asked Vinnie to bring her even smaller sister Minnie into the business, a decision that Vinnie came to regret. It was through Barnum that Vinnie met her husband, whose real name was Charles Stratton. Vinnie married Charles not out of love but because, like Barnum, she could see that their marriage would make them both more rich and famous. The book ends soon after the death of Charles Stratton, though Vinnie lived much longer and even remarried. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Vinnie and can't help wishing that the book had continued to the end of her remarkable life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Quest for Anna Klein: An Otto Penzler Book; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas H. Cook Page; Review: The Quest for Anna Klein is a book that aims for intrigue and suspense but doesn't quite hit that mark. They begin with what they call "The Project" and by the time you learn what the Project is, they have already abandoned it and moved on to another plan altogether, which is also scrapped. The title character is a mysterious woman who you never learn quite enough about. The protagonist is an old man named Danforth, re-living his life by telling it to Paul, a man he has summoned on the pretense that what he has to tell him will somehow help in uncovering those responsible for the fall of the Twin Towers. There are many references to this incident in the book, which I found annoying because the book really has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. The way the book goes from past to present was another thing I found annoying because it is done in too much of a pattern. In the present, Danforth is telling Paul about his experiences before, during and after World War II and about a woman named Anna Klein. In the end, you learn that Paul is tied to this story and that is why Danforth is sharing it with him but you never learn enough about Anna Klein. Did she ever really love Danforth? What happened to her after he lost track of her? At the end of the book I was confused and bothered. It seemed like the author wanted to come full-circle and tie everything up nicely but, to me, that isn't what happened at all. You learn who the traitor was and how things ended up the way they did but the very end that explains who Anna was seems like it was hastily thrown in to appease the reader but that actually creates more questions that never get answered.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sister: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rosamund Lupton Page; Review: When I began reading this book I was captivated by the plot of the missing sister, later found dead and the question of what happened to her. As the plot progressed it became mired in an overly-contrived plot twist that took the book somewhere unexpected but not in a good way. It was hard for me to continue reading this book after a certain point and I was happy to be done with it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Winter Palace, the (Lib)(CD); Author: Visit Amazon's Eva Stachniak Page; Review: I love historical novels as long as they are fairly accurate, interesting, and make me want to know more about the subject. The Winter Palace did all of that. The only thing I knew about Catherine the Great before reading this book was that she supposedly had a voracious sexual appetite and that she was rumored to have died while attempting to have sex with a horse. The first part of this may be true to degree, there is no evidence that the latter happened at all and she certainly did not die that way. The book is told from the perspective of a palace servant, who befriends a young Catherine and feels a closeness to her that, in the end, she questions. Were they really friends or was she just being used? Catherine begins as a poor, scared German girl and ends as the beloved Empress of Russia. The book ends soon after she takes the power from her husband and I hope there is a sequel to teach me more about Catherine and about Russia.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Carry Yourself Back to Me; Author: Visit Amazon's Deborah Reed Page; Review: I don't generally like love stories but this book is so much more than a simple love story. Carry Yourself Back to Me tells the story of a woman whose successful music career has been derailed by the sudden and inexplicable departure of her long-time love. She is paralyzed by sadness and the feeling of betrayal. She is forced out of her depression when her brother is arrested for the murder of his lover's husband, a murder no one but the police believe he committed. As the search for the real murderer begins, so does the healing and the closure. I loved this book and would highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Flight of Gemma Hardy; Author: Visit Amazon's Margot Livesey Page; Review: I really liked The Flight of Gemma Hardy. It was well-written, the characters were well-developed, the plot was interesting. The book is a modern version of Jane Eyre, and while that may explain the interesting plot, Margot Livesey is to thank for the rest. I'm not going to go into a lengthy description of the plot, though if that is the kind of review you want you can read several other reviews. I am just going to say that if you enjoy literary fiction, you'll enjoy the Flight of Gemma Hardy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fodor's Costa Rica 2012 (Full-color Travel Guide); Author: Fodor's; Review: I ordered this guide to Costa Rica on the off-chance that I would be going to Costa Rica on my honeymoon. Though we ended up going to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I read and enjoyed the guide book anyway and feel fully prepared to visit Costa Rica in the future. I know now where I want to stay, what company I want to use to zip-line through the rain forest, what beaches I want to take naps on, where I want to snorkel and where to find monkeys :) I love travel guides and Fodor's travel guides have never let me down.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Vices; Author: Visit Amazon's Lawrence Douglas Page; Review: From the description of the book, I assumed I would really enjoy this book. I didn't. I found it uninteresting and wasn't entertained in the least. If you like books that delve deeply into the reasons people behave the ways they do, you may enjoy this book. I prefer a book that is more plot-driven.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Empire of Dreams; Author: Visit Amazon's Giannina Braschi Page; Review: Perhaps I am an uncultured swine but I could not get through this, nor did I particularly want to. This book was not for me.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Accidents of Providence; Author: Stacia Brown; Review: In this book, the year is 1649 and Rachel Lockyer is a poor glove maker's assistant living in London, pregnant with the baby of a married man that is in prison and who already has 14 children. After concealing her pregnancy, she gives birth alone to a daughter that doesn't live long. She takes the baby to the woods and buries her. When the baby is found, Rachel is accused of murdering her child. The rest of the book details the political and religious turmoil of the time and how Rachel got herself into this situation. I thought the book was both informative and entertaining. I think the author did a great job giving depth to the characters, taught me something about the time and place, all while keeping the plot interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How to Eat a Cupcake: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Meg Donohue Page; Review: First of all, don't read this book if you are trying to lose weight because I guarantee that you are going to want to eat cupcakes by the dozen. Well,...I did but I am inclined to eat cupcakes anyway. The main story line is about 2 twenty-something former best friends who open a cupcakery together after not seeing or speaking to each other for years. They become friends again, enemies again, and end up more like the sisters they were like when they were young. Along the way they face difficulties necessary to give the book a plot, but the difficulties aren't that interesting and a few are a little bit predictable. The book is enjoyable, though some of the humor seemed a little bit forced, like the author thought of a bunch of funny things, wrote them all down to remember for someday, and then found places for them in the book. If you like fluffy beach reads then you'll like this book. If you're looking for literary fiction, look elsewhere.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Time In Between: A Novel; Author: Maria Duenas; Review: The Time in Between is the story of a young Spanish woman who goes from being a humble seamstress living with her mother in Madrid to an international spy. Sira falls passionately in love with a scoundrel who takes all her money and leaves her in Morocco with a huge hotel bill to pay and other unsavory difficulties. Sira is wanted by the police and has to pay back the hotel bill before she is allowed to go back to Madrid. In the meantime, civil war has broken out in Spain and even if she was allowed by the police to go home, the borders are closed and there is violence and a lack of food there. She is lucky enough to make the acquaintance of a kind but rough woman who runs a boarding house and is also a smuggler. She helps Sira open her own atelier, where Sira sews clothes for the wealthy internationals stuck where they are. Through this business she not only makes a good living but is introduced to wealthy and influential friends that change the course of her life, help her get her mother out of Madrid, and, for the greater good, end up endangering her life. Though the book is quite thick, I finished it quickly because it was a book I was interested in enough to keep reading until it was finished. The plot is interesting and it taught me about the Spanish civil war and about what Spain was going through during World War II.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R.; Author: Visit Amazon's Carole DeSanti Page; Review: As I read the prologue for this book, I was afraid I would find it pretentious and annoying. Happily, that was not the case and I found the book exceptionally well-written and enjoyable. Eugenie finds herself in the all-too common situation of being pregnant and abandoned in mid-19th century France. She ends up in Paris, alone and with no way to make a living. She is lucky enough to meet a painter who wants her to model for him and they end up lovers, until he finds out that she is carrying another man's baby. She is then forced to become an inscrit, or registered prostitute. From there she loses control of her life for a while and is forced to abandon her baby to an orphanage. For the rest of the book she finds ways to get her life back into her own control and tries again and again to get her daughter back. While all this is happening, France declares war on Prussia and war ensues, making Eugenie's life even difficult, though she fares better than most. When France capitulates, civil war ensues. I don't want to tell you how the novel ends so I'll stop with the summary and just say that I truly enjoyed this book and feel like I learned a lot about that era of French history and how incredibly difficult it would have been to have been an unprotected woman at that time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Secrets of Mary Bowser; Author: Visit Amazon's Lois Leveen Page; Review: One thing that good historical fiction must do for me to really appreciate it is teach me something. In The Secrets of Mary Bowser, I learned quite a bit. For me to enjoy any book it has to evoke feelings in me, which this book definitely did. The Secrets of Mary Bowser is a book about a slave girl who finds herself freed by her mistress and sent to Philadelphia for an education. She is forced to leave her parents behind in Richmond, Virginia because, though her mother has been freed, her father has not and her mother will not leave him behind. This book reminded me of one of the most heinous aspects of slavery, that of separating families. Babies were sold as soon as they were born, brothers and sisters sold away to different families, and husband and wife were torn apart constantly. In this book, Mary, an actual historical figure, works undercover to end slavery, to keep families together, and to end the indignities heaped upon the African American population. This book is humbling, showing me what one person can do if she cares enough and is willing to risk her life for what she knows is right. I would recommend this book to anyone.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Taker: Book One of the Taker Trilogy; Author: Visit Amazon's Alma Katsu Page; Review: The Taker is novel that begins in 1800s Puritan Maine and ends in the present day. Our heroine is in love with a boy she can't have. When she becomes pregnant with his child, her family sends her to Boston to have the baby so they can avoid the shame that she would bring upon them. Once there, she falls in with a group of immortals, who make her immortal as well. Much of the novel is full of sexually explicit and sadistic scenes, so if that isn't your cup of tea, I would not read this book. The book is well-written but I found that the present-day scenes were lacking in the depth of the scenes from the past. Luke, a present-day doctor who helps our heroine, seems one-dimensional. The story line was fairly original and interesting but there were still times when the book was all too easy to put down and not want to pick up again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tides of War: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Stella Tillyard Page; Review: This book was a very dry piece of historical fiction that may have taught me a bit about the Duke of Wellington and the Peninsular War but it was hard to slog through since it had no central plot, perhaps other than that of cheating spouses. I think that the author should probably stick to writing history books or focus on creating a plot.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Diving Belles: And Other Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Lucy Wood Page; Review: I have heard that it is more difficult to write short stories than it is to write a novel because you have to get everything you want to say into far fewer pages. Lucy Wood has done an amazing job with this book of short stories. My favorite is Blue Moon, a story about a rest home for elderly witches and warlocks. No one else will give them a home because they are difficult to deal with and continue to use their powers, though it is against the rules. Everything about this and all the other stories is so original and so well written that even if you don't especially like the story being told, you have to appreciate it anyway.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shelter; Author: Visit Amazon's Frances Greenslade Page; Review: Shelter is a book about a family living in rural Canada. The father is a logger and the family lives a rather meager but happy existence until the father dies in a work-related accident. Without her husband to provide for her and her two daughters, Irene must leave her daughters behind with a former acquaintance of her husband's while she leaves to cook in a logging camp. Her daughters Maggie and Jenny are left with a cranky woman and her crippled husband, and when the money and the letters from their mother stop coming, they don't know what to make of the situation. I liked this book and would have given it 3 and a half stars if that was an option.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Playing Dead: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Julia Heaberlin Page; Review: A girl named Tommie has returned to Texas after the death of her father to get things sorted out and receives a letter telling her that she isn't who she thought she was. All kinds of $h! t hits the fan after that, with mysterious strangers showing up to ask her questions that she herself doesn't know the answers to. The book is suspenseful and does a good job of keeping the reader's interest.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Some Kind of Fairy Tale: A Suspense Thriller; Author: Visit Amazon's Graham Joyce Page; Review: Kind of a Fairy Tale is a book centered on a girl named Tara. Tara disappears at the age of 15 and returns 20 years later, looking not at all older and claiming to have been gone only 6 months. Her parents, brother and ex-boyfriend don't believe her story that she was taken to another realm by a man on a white horse and she agrees to see a psychiatrist in order to appease them. As more of the story comes to light, her parents are sick of listening to what they consider B.S., her brother thinks that she is using the story to subconsciously protect her from some horrible thing that actually happened, and her ex-boyfriend Richie almost begins to believe her. I like that the book seamlessly combines the real and the fantasy and does it in a way that you believe in the fantasy just as much as you believe in the realistic. The book is extremely imaginative and original and I didn't want it to end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen L. Carter Page; Review: This book had its good points but for me, it never really got interesting. I appreciated how the book let me experience a little bit of what it would have been like to have been an African American in the era right after the Civil War, and I liked that it taught me a tiny bit about Washington, D.C. in that time. The so-called intrigue and mystery didn't really work for me. The parts about the conspiracy...no part of the "conspiracy" seemed worth killing people over. It was never made clear that what they were conspiring to do was something illegal. The group of conspirators were anti-Lincoln but what was it they were conspiring to do?; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Roots of the Olive Tree: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Courtney Miller Santo Page; Review: The Roots of the Olive Tree is a book about a family of women, headed by the matriarch, a 112 year-old woman named Anna. Anna's daughter Bets, Bet's daughter, Callie, Callie's daughter Deb (who is in prison) and Deb's daughter Erin are the rest of the women in the family. The women all grew up on the family's olive grove and Anna attributes her longevity and continued physical and mental agility not only to her genetic make-up but to the olives and olive oil they produce. The family longevity gets the attention of a geneticist, and, as a result, family secrets come out. I liked this book, found it engaging and well-written. Anna is a great character and had me almost willing to drink spoonfuls of olive oil in an effort to reach old age with all my faculties intact.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Sharratt Page; Review: Hildegard von Bingen was an 8 year-old girl when her mother gave her to the church and to an anchorite named Jutta von Sponheim. An anchorite is a nun or a monk who gives themselves so thoroughly to the church that they are walled up in part of a church or monastey, where they live out the rest of his or her life. The bishop would say the office of the dead as the anchorite entered the cell, to signify the anchorite's death to the world. This is what 8 year-old Hildegard was subjected to. Despite her horrifying experiences being locked in a cell with the over-zealous and self-flagellating Jutta, Hildegard grew into a wise and kind woman. Upon Jutta's death, she was able to come and go freely, due to a daring idea. Hildegard claimed to receive visions from a very young age and eventually began writing them down. This account of her life is extremely interesting and very well-written. The lives of Hildegard and Jutta are fascinating and the fact the Hildegard survived her youth and grew to be a very powerful nun is nothing short of miraculous.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower; Author: Visit Amazon's Alison Weir Page; Review: I think Allison Weir is an amazing writer of non-fiction. Her fictions books are getting better but are still a little on the dry side. A Dangerous Inheritance is a novel about 2 Katherines, born almost 100 years apart, both of royal blood, both doomed to live under the thumb of those who rule them. Katherine Plantagenet, known in the book as Kate, is the bastard daughter of Richard III. As her father takes the crown for himself, she begins to hear rumors that her father has had her 2 cousins, one of which is the rightful King of England, brutally murdered. She doesn't believe her father is capable of such barbarism. Kate falls in love with her cousin but is forced to marry another man for political reasons. When her father is killed in battle and a new King is crowned, she is not allowed to mourn her father's death and becomes even less happy in her marriage. The other is Katherine Grey, sister of Jane Grey. In the beginning of the novel, Jane is forced by her parents to marry and is soon after crowned Queen of England. Jane ruled for 9 days before Henry the VIII's daughter Mary claims the crown for herself and has Jane and her husband imprisoned. Katherine's husband and his parents abandon Katherine to show Mary they are loyal to her. Mary forgives Katherine and gives her a high position at court. She is led to believe that she sill be Mary's successor, rather than Mary's half-sister Elizabeth. When Mary dies, Katherine assumes she will be made Queen but soon finds that Elizabeth has been made Queen instead. Elizabeth doesn't trust Katherine and believes that she would like to see her overthrown so she could be named Queen. She refuses to let Katherine marry because if she marries and has a son, she feels certain that the people of England will clamor to have the son put on the throne in her place. Unfortunately for Katherine, she has fallen in love. She marries secretly and soon finds herself with child. She tries to hide the pregnancy to avoid the Queen's displeasure but she can't hide it forever and when the Queen discovers her secret, Katherine is arrested for treason and locked in the Tower. To tie the two Katherine's together, each has an obsession with discovering what happened to the two princes that were locked in the Tower and never seen again. I don't think this was enough reason to have these two women share a book. Very little is known about Katherine Plantagenet and Weir has had to do a lot of surmising about her life. Even so, the chapters about Katherine Plantagenet just aren't very interesting. Katherine Grey's life was far more interesting and, had the book been solely about her, would, I believe, have been much better.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lonely Planet Discover California (Travel Guide); Author: Lonely Planet; Review: I moved to California last year and wanted a guidebook to point me in the direction of all the awesome things California has to offer. I live in San Diego and there are so many different neighborhoods here, tons of beaches, great bars and restaurants and this guide barely touches on any but the most obvious places. I suppose that is probably enough for travelers, the main audience of this book, but I wanted more than just the bare minimum. Also, I am planning a road trip from San Diego to San Francisco in the Fall and wanted to find the best spots to stop on the way. Again, only the obvious places are mentioned. I guess the kind of guidebook I'm looking for is the kind that will tell me where to find a man with a beard of bees, not just the obvious touristy stuff.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Unusual Uses for Olive Oil (Professor Dr von Igelfeld Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: I have read and enjoyed all of Alexander McCall Smith's books but the Irregular Portuguese Verbs books are my favorites and Unusual Uses for Olive Oil is my favorite so far in the series. Professor Dr. von Igelfeld reminds me a little of Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. He may be a genius but he's extremely socially backward, which is what makes this series so entertaining. I don't want to tell too much of the plot...just know that it's hilarious and that you should read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (9); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: All of the Isabel Dalhousie novels are seemingly interchangeable. Isabel ruminates on mankind and their thoughts and actions, and does some problem solving while she's at it. Most of the book is taken up with Isabel's musings and very little action and for some that might make the Isabel Dalhousie novels somewhat boring. The book is short on action and long on philosophizing but I enjoyed it all the same. Though all the books are similar, I still read every book that comes out and enjoy them very much. In addition, the books make me long to visit Edinburgh because of how wonderful McCall Smith makes it seem.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Imposter Bride: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nancy Richler Page; Review: The Imposter Bride started out very well. Lily Azerov arrives in Toronto after the end of World War II. She is a Jew that has survived and has managed to arrange a marriage for herself with a Jewish man living in Toronto. Her intended groom Sol sees he coming off the train and refuses to marry her, abandoning her at the train station. Sol's brother Nathan comes to her rescue and marries her instead. Nathan and Lily have a daughter, Ruth, and when Ruth is a few months old, Lily disappears. Throughout the rest of the novel we are given glimpses into Lily's past and find that she is not who she said she was. The bulk of the book is taken up with Ruth growing up and wondering about her mother. In my opinion, the book would have been much more interesting if it was taken up entirely with Lily and her past. Ruth is not interesting enough to take up so much of the book. If the book was more about Lily's escape from post-war Europe, it would have been much more entertaining.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Life After Life: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Atkinson Page; Review: I am a big fan of Kate Atkinson. Her novels Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Human Croquet were my favorites until this book. Life After Life is an amazing book about a girl named Ursula who lives almost the same life over and over. I don't want to give away the plot too much...just read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Daughter of Siena: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Marina Fiorato Page; Review: This novel...I received it free of charge in exchange for a review and, after about 30 pages, I had to force myself to keep reading, in spite of how much I hated it. The writing is terrible, full of cliches and exaggerated characters. In the end, I couldn't make myself finish the book. There are so many good books that I haven't read that it seemed criminal to waste any more time on this one.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Ashford Affair: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauren Willig Page; Review: This novel entwines the WWI ear with modern day to tell the story of three women. In the present are Clemmie and her grandmother Addie. The story alternates between Addie's childhood and young adulthood with her cousin and best friend Bea and the present day struggle of Clemmie, who is hoping to make partner in her law firm while her personal life is all but non-existent. When her grandmother falls ill, Clemmie begins to discover secrets of Addie's past and learns that life shouldn't revolve around her job. The Ashford Affair is well-written, with rich character development and riveting plot.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Maya's Notebook; Author: Visit Amazon's Isabel Allende Page; Review: Once I started reading this book, I didn't want to put it down. I was equally intrigued by what had happened in Maya's(and her family's)past as I was by what was happening in her present. The story of her past is at first the story of her wonderful upbringing by her amazing grandparents, who love and adore her after her mother leaves her with them as a tiny baby. When her grandfather dies, Maya changes into someone pretty despicable, though we still sympathize with her because we know what she has lost with the death of her "Popo". Her behavior gets her sent to a place in Oregon meant to rehabilitate teens. Eventually she escapes, only to find herself in a much, much worse situation. She hitchhikes to Las Vegas and lives among drug dealers, rapists, murderers, and crooked cops until she is finally found by her grandmother, who gets her the help she needs and then her off to a small island off the coast of Chile to keep her safe, where Maya begins to find herself again and to heal all the hurts of her past, until that past comes looking for her. The thing that I like most about Maya's Notebook is what it has taught me about Chilean history and culture. I learned a little about the dictatorship under Pinochet, under which people disappeared, never to be seen again. I learned about Chiloe island, where Maya is sent to live with her grandmother's friend Manuel, which helped me better understand Chilean ways of life and wish that I could experience it first-hand.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena; Author: Visit Amazon's Anthony Marra Page; Review: There is no way that I can do justice to this book in my review. I don't have the words to describe how amazing this book is. This book has opened my eyes to the horrors that happen all over the world, to the terror that others live through on a daily basis, and yet it has done so beautifully, showing that whatever the situation, the human heart is still capable of love, of kindness, and of an unfathomable amount of bravery. The book details what it's like to be Chechnyan, to be under the thumb of the Russians. A man named Akhmed saves his neighbor Dokka's daughter when Dokka is taken in the middle of the night, to a place called the Landfill. At the Landfill, people are tortured, asked to inform on their friends and neighbors, and almost always killed afterward. Akhmed takes Havaa to a place where she will be safe and ends up with a new purpose in life. This book should be required reading for everyone. Not only is it beautifully written and a wonderful piece of literature, but the world needs to be aware that the things that take place in this book are actually happening.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets; Author: Visit Amazon's Evan Roskos Page; Review: It seems that other people really love this book. I didn't hate it and found lots of humor in it. I ordered this book mostly for my 13 year-old son who, like James, the main character, suffers from depression and has thoughts of suicide. After reading the book I decided it wouldn't be a good fit for my son. Why? First of all, the book seems to be somewhat against medicating those with depression. My son's life has improved so much since he started taking antidepressants. He's much happier and has far fewer suicidal days. If this book put the idea into his head that he didn't need his medication, or that it was somehow stunting him and he stopped taking it, things would get ugly very quickly. Another thing I didn't like about this book is how cavalierly it treats teenage drinking and drug use. Maybe I'm uptight about this but reading about how normal it seems for these kids to be drinking alcohol might give the impression that underage drinking is no big deal, everybody does it, relax and have a beer, kid. I like that the book addresses depression in teens, that it talks about how to go about fixing it. I like the humor in the book, and the hope but other than that, I was not a fan.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Afterlife of Emerson Tang; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula Champa Page; Review: The Afterlife of Emerson Tang is an ambitious novel that, on the surface, is about the search for a car. Emerson Tang is dying. The son of a wealthy man and a Chinese woman rescued from Mao, Emerson never quite losing his mother at a young age. Now that he is dying, he is obsessed with reuniting the body of a vintage car with it's original engine. We don't know why he wants this car so desperately until almost the end of the book. At the same time, an French artist named Helene seems to want the car just as much. The book is narrated by Beth, a woman who feels she has no plot, who started her job as Emerson's archivist but turns into his most trusted caretaker and friend. It is through Beth that, in the end, all is set right. This book was beautifully written, has intricate and interesting story lines, well-developed characters, and overall is very good. I can't give it five stars, though because, in my opinion, some of the incidental details, such as the fact that Helene associated with Fascists in her youth, or the depth in which they talk about Helene's Speed Art, seem completely unnecessary (and uninteresting) to me.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Philida (Vintage International); Author: Visit Amazon's Andre Brink Page; Review: Philida is the story of a slave woman in South Africa on the eve of the banishment of slavery. It is a fictionalized account of the author's own ancestors, the Brinks. Philida's master's son Francois is the father of her 4 children, only 2 of which are living. Francois makes promises of freedom for Philida and her children but instead she and her children are sold when the Francois' father wants him to find a wife and doesn't want Philida and her children to be in the way. Philida seeks justice and learns that, in her time and place, for a slave woman, there is no justice to be found. Philida is an amazing character. Even in the bleakest of situations she finds the courage and determination to find a better life for herself and her children. Though the book is full of barbarism and horrifying treatment of human beings, the book is beautifully written and even carries a message of hope. I think the book would have been even better had it been written entirely from Philida's point of view, rather than from alternating narrators.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Poisoned Pilgrim (US Edition) (A Hangman's Daughter Tale); Author: Visit Amazon's Oliver Ptzsch Page; Review: The Poisoned Pilgrim is the 4th novel by Oliver Poetzsch about the hangman of Shongau and his daughter, Magdalena. I have read the first in the series and now the 4th and was happy to find that it isn't necessary to have read the previous books to be able to follow the 4th. They stand alone perfectly well, though now I know of their existence, I will certainly go back and read books 2 and 3. The books opens as Magdalena and her husband Simon are on a pilgrimage to give thanks that their 2 young sons survived a serious illness. Simon is a bathhouse surgeon, the meaning of which is not clear to me but he is also referred to as a medicus, which is a doctor. His wife Magdalena, being the daughter of a hangman, is considered an outcast. They arrive at the Andechs Monastery and find that a murder has taken place, followed quickly by more murders. When an ugly monk is accused of the murders and Magdalena learns that he is a friend of her father's, she sends a letter to her father, Jakob Kuisl, who hurries to Andechs to help his old friend clear his name. The hangman and his daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons get into all sorts of difficulties while trying to figure out what's going on and are themselves the objects of suspicion a few times. To see how it all turns out, you'll have to read it yourself, which I suggest you do because it's a very good book :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Claudia Silver to the Rescue; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathy Ebel Page; Review: While this book has lots of clever dialogue, the book itself isn't all that clever. We start out, very briefly, with Claudia about to leave college. She doesn't have a clue about what to do next and talks to her mother about coming home. She is told there's no room for her there and that she needs to make other plans, which surprises her. This is one of the things that I didn't like about this book. Claudia knows her mother and should have known that depending on her wasn't an option. Claudia is portrayed as a person who does the least amount of work possible to get by and at the same time, as someone who has pretty much always had to take care of herself. These two things seem contradictory to me. Growing up with a cold mother, she should realize that once she is done with college, which I'm sure she had to pay for by herself if she didn't have a scholarship, she would be responsible for herself. If she had no after-college plans or career goals, why bother going to college in the first place? People who grow up with little or no money do not take a college education for granted. They don't pay for 4 years of college to end up in a job where they order lunch for people. Once I was able to get past the first chapters that seemed so contradictory to me, the book got a lot better. The plot made more sense and was interesting. Claudia is completely unlovable from my point of view, though she does get some points for how much she cares about her sister. I don't know that her upbringing can be blamed for the selfish and horrible person she has become. She has this adoptive family who have done so much for her, and would help her out if she would only ask, and she repays them by stealing from them and destroying their family. She doesn't really deserve the happy ending the book gave her.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Love Water Memory; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennie Shortridge Page; Review: Love Water Memory is a book about a woman with amnesia brought on by a traumatic experience. Amnesia always seemed like a good soap opera plot device to me and I'm glad that this book was not at all predictable or in any way reminiscent of a soap opera. Lucie Walker is found standing in the chilly waters of San Francisco Bay with no idea who she is or how she ended up there. She is placed in a psych ward until her fiance Grady finds her and comes to collect her. She has no memory of him and they tentatively begin to get to know each other again. Lucie is a much sweeter person than she was before the amnesia and Grady isn't quite sure what to make of it. Eventually we learn what caused the amnesia and learn about Lucie's tragic past and understand what made her the way she was before she forgot everything about herself.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Keeper of Secrets; Author: Visit Amazon's Julie Thomas Page; Review: Parts of this book are interesting and well-written and the rest is incredibly boring and unnecessary. The book is about an extremely valuable violin that was taken from a family of Jews in Berlin and ended up with a Russian billionaire. The sections of the book that tell of the horrors of the Holocaust, the part the Soviets played in the war, and what life was like in Soviet Russia are very interesting and if the book dealt solely with those parts I would have given it a much better review. The first chapters of the book, about a boy named Daniel who is an incredibly talented violinist who wants to play baseball are boring and pointless. Perhaps if I was someone with deep knowledge of orchestras, conductors, etc., then this part of the book wouldn't have seemed so pointless to me but I doubt it. Also, and this is just a little thing that bothered me, Sergei's grandfather is said to be a "heavyset" man and is described as being 6'4" and over two hundred and eight pounds. A man that tall at only two hundred and eight pounds wouldn't be considered heavyset in the least. Perhaps it was a typo and should have read two hundred and eighty pounds, which would make a lot more sense.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Tidal Shift; Author: Visit Amazon's Dora Heldt Page; Review: Tidal Shift is a book about Christine, her boyfriend Johann, and her family. Christine and Johann are vacationing together on the island of Sylt, where Christine's parents live. The couple are actually staying with her parents, which doesn't seem like a vacation to me but whatever. When Christine and Johann arrive they see Christine's aunt Inge at the train station and learn that she has come to the island without her husband Walter. Inge won't discuss why she's on the island and all kinds of misunderstandings occur as a result. The misunderstandings are meant to be comical they weren't particularly funny. The book is written in a choppy kind of way, which may just be a result of the translation from German to English. I also didn't like that the book was so full of cliches and idioms.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Lost Husband: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Katherine Center Page; Review: I liked this book. At the beginning I was sure it was going to be quite formulaic and unoriginal and it was a tiny bit predictable but it had enough interesting plot twists and lovable characters that I didn't mind. The Lost Husband is a book about Libby, whose husband is killed in a car accident. Libby and her children have been living with Libby's difficult mother for a couple of years and when Libby gets a letter from her estranged aunt Jean, asking her if she would like to bring the children and live with her on her farm, Libby immediately decides to take her up on her offer. Libby milks the goats, makes cheese, and helps out on the farm and Jean takes Libby's kids to school and keeps an eye on them while Libby works. While living on the farm, the kids get stronger, Libby makes friends, and Jean tells her a something about her past that she had forgotten. The Lost Husband would be a great beach read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Husband's Secret; Author: Visit Amazon's Liane Moriarty Page; Review: The Husband's Secret is a novel about many secrets, although the main one affects most of the book's characters in one way or another. The book revolves around 3 women and their families: Cecelia, a perfect wife and mother, who finds a letter to open in the event of her husband's death, a letter that changes everything; Tess, a woman who thought her marriage was fine until she found out it wasn't; and Rachel, a widow whose 17 year-old daughter was murdered over 20 years ago. The author intertwines these stories, weaving a story that keeps you turning the pages and reading late into the night when you know you should put the book down and go to sleep. It's not great literature but it's well written and interesting and worth reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Half Forgotten Song: A Novel (P.S.); Author: Visit Amazon's Katherine Webb Page; Review: Zach is a man who has failed at just about everything. His wife has left him and taken his daughter to the U.S., his life as an artist didn't pan out, and his art gallery in Bath is hanging on by a thread. His only hope is to finish his biography of Charles Aubrey, the famous artist that Zach believes may be his grandfather. So Zach heads to Dorset, where Aubrey lived in the late 1930's. Once there, Zach meets Dimity, a woman who posed for Aubrey as a girl and whose obsession with Aubrey changed the course of several lives. As the book unfolds and we discover more and more about Dimity and about they lengths she would go to for the man she loves. Some secrets are uncovered and more remain a mystery until the end of the book. Zach unravels the mysteries of the man he has long admired and learns about himself in the process. This book is well-written, with well-developed characters and a solid plot. I read it while on vacation and it was the perfect lazy day book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Lovebird; Author: Visit Amazon's Natalie Brown Page; Review: When I first started the Lovebird, I will admit that I was bored. I read about 30 pages and then put it away for a while. In the beginning, the book seemed to be about another student/professor affair but this book was about much more than that. Margie is a young college student in San Diego, who, it seems, has led a very lonely existence. After losing her mother during her own birth and having an alcoholic father, she arrives in San Diego as alone as ever and is taken in by her Latin professor, Simon. He sees her loneliness and her fragility and gives her a home, a purpose, and himself. The purpose he gives her is as an animal rights activist and when Margie loses Simon, she takes the activism a bit too far. Some of the other reviews mention that they liked the first half of the book the most but I found the opposite to be true. In the second half of the book, Margie goes to Montana to escape the FBI. She is taken to the Crow reservation where she lives with an old woman, her son Jim, and Jim's daughter Cora. It is on the reservation that Margie learns who she is and finds what she's been looking for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Flora: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Gail Godwin Page; Review: Flora is a 22 year-old woman hired to stay with her 10 year-old cousin Helen for the summer while Helen's father is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee working on an important and secret project for the war (WWII). Helen's grandmother, who raised Helen since she was 3 years old has just died and Helen is left to deal with the pain losing her while learning to deal with her cousin, who has the habit of bursting into tears quite regularly. Flora is Helen's dead mother's cousin from Alabama and is completely lacking is guile. She is a sweet girl, lacking confidence and perhaps intelligence as well. Helen is a precocious and haughty child, who has ideas about how everything should be done. Her much older cousin Flora doesn't seem to know what is and is not appropriate to speak about and Helen is horrified over and over by Flora. Over the course of the summer, Flora and Helen make the acquaintance of Finn, a recently discharged soldier who was sent home for a collapsed lung. Helen dreams of inviting Finn to live with her and her father once Flora has gone back to Alabama. On the eve of her 11th birthday, she sees that things are not as she believed them to be and her actions that evening lead to tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it makes me want to read everything else Gail Godwin has written.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Leaving Haven: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathleen McCleary Page; Review: If you would like a summary of this book, read the one Amazon has on the product page. I'm going to tell you what I liked and didn't like about it. I liked the interesting, original plot. It's not your typical novel dealing with a cheating spouse because there are unusual circumstances that make the situation more difficult. I liked the second half of the book a lot more than the first half. I'd give the first half of the book 2 stars and the second half 4 stars. The first half of the book was confusing in it's going back and forth in time, in a way that didn't really seem to enhance the storytelling in any way. The first half of the book also seemed to have more unnecessary details than the second half. I don't mind details when they are well-written and useful to the story but many seemed mundane and unimportant and didn't flow well. If you're looking for an amazing piece of literature, this isn't it. If what you want is something not too intricate to read at the beach, this would fit the bill.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Ludwig Conspiracy; Author: Oliver P\Xf6tzsch; Review: I have read Oliver Poetzsch's books about the hangman and his daughter and have loved them. His ability to write about the Middle Ages has been proven. In the Ludwig Conspiracy, however, the author writes about the present and about the time just before Ludwig's death in 1886. Writing about the past, about history, seems to come naturally to the author. When it comes to writing about the present, the writing doesn't flow quite as well and much of the dialogue seems forced or unnatural. It may be that what they're saying would sound perfectly natural in German but translated into English, the dialogue sounds a little bit dorky. At any rate, the plot is interesting and not predictable and I think the main problems I have with this book come only from the translation and the differences in the things Germans say as opposed to what I am used to hearing or reading.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Disenchanted Widow; Author: Visit Amazon's Christina McKenna Page; Review: The Disenchanted Widow is about Bessie, the eponymous widow, and her son, Hercules (Herkie for short). The year is 1981, the year of many IRA deaths due to hunger strikes. Bessie's good-for-nothing husband has just died, taking with him the secret of the location of the money he has stolen from an IRA goon known as the Dentist. He is known as the Dentist because of his choice of a drill as a torturing device. Bessie and Herkie get out of town (Belfast) and head off to her sister's house, in hopes of borrowing the funds to help them disappear so the Dentist won't be able to find them and use his drill on them. They don't make it very far before Bessie's car breaks down just outside the wee village of Tailorstown. While at first this seems a bad stroke of luck, it turns out that being stranded in Tailorstown has its perks and things begin looking up for Bessie. The local mechanic takes an immediate liking to her (she's a bit of a blond bombshell) and rents her his aunt's house very cheaply, mostly so he can watch her from his house on the adjacent hill. She gets a job cooking for the local priest and even Herkie has found ways to "earn" money. They meet an artist named Lorcan Strong who, unbeknownst to Bessie, is also under the Dentist's thumb, who inadvertently puts Bessie in harm's way but more than makes up for it later with his kindness and generosity. The author of this book uses a lot of dialect in this book, which is one of the things I loved about it. If the dialect had been from, say, the deep south of the U.S., I would have probably felt different but because it was a dialect from Northern Ireland, I loved it. I think the author did a great job with this book. It's funny and a bit suspenseful and very well-written.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Tin Horse: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Janice Steinberg Page; Review: The Tin Horse is a book about octogenarian Elaine, a retired lawyer who fought cases against Joe McCarthy, went to bat on feminist issues and was labeled a ball-buster, and about her childhood in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Elaine is cleaning out her house and moving into a retirement home when she comes across a business card from a box of her mother's things that brings back past memories and old hurts. I'm going to leave my synopsis of the book at that because I think a review should be more about why the book was good or bad and not about what the book is about. You can read Amazon's product page for that :) The book is split between past and present and the author has done woven the two together perfectly. Janice Steinberg has done a wonderful job of writing about what it was like to be Jewish in the United States in the early 20th century and what it was like for the Jews that had to leave their homes in Romania or Ukraine to get away from the persecution of their homelands. I tend to think of Germany when I think of places where Jews were not wanted but this novel reminded me that atrocities against Jews happened all over Europe and in the United States as well. The Tin Horse is a great book and I'm excited to read more from this author.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ten Things I've Learnt About Love: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Butler Page; Review: In this book, world traveler Alice learns that her father is dying and returns home in time to say her goodbyes. Left with just her rather judgemental sisters and an ex-boyfriend in town that she still loves but can't make a life with, Alice is a bit lost. Interspersed with chapters in which Alice is the narrator, are chapters narrated by a homeless man named Daniel. Eventually we learn that the two are linked and the reader yearns for Alice and Daniel to meet, to see if they can fill the void they each have. At first, I was worried that this was just going to be a depressing book about death and about feeling like you don't belong but it was so much more. The chapters about Daniel made me want to be more compassionate, to actually look homeless people in the eyes and do what little I can to make them feel like human beings. The chapters about Alice helped me understand my own wanderlust a little bit better. The book is beautifully written and the ending, though a bit abrupt, left me with a feeling of hope for Alice and Daniel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Longbourn; Author: Visit Amazon's Jo Baker Page; Review: If you pay attention to this sort of thing, you'll realize that there are a ton of books written these days that are meant to be sequels to Pride and Prejudice. Some of them are good, some of them are awful and none of them even come close to being as brilliant as Pride and Prejudice, or anything else written by Jane Austen. What I like about Longbourn is that isn't trying to be a sequel and only barely deals with the Bennet family. Instead we are introduced to the staff and are allowed to see their hopes and dreams, when they have a spare second to hope or dream. Sarah is a maid who was rescued from the poor house by Mrs. Hill, Longbourn's head housekeeper, at the age of 6, after losing her family to consumption or typhus or one of those horrible diseases that were so common in Regency England. Now she's all grown up and wondering if there will ever be anything in her life except work. She loves Mrs. Hill and Polly, another little girl saved from the poor house, but she wants more. Suddenly, there are two new men in her life. James Smith, a man that shows up at Longbourn and is immediately given a position by Mr. Bennet, is full of secrets and keeps his distance from Sarah and the other, Charles Bingley's polished mulatto footman Ptolemy, does his best to woo her. As she gets to know them both better, her opinions of them change and she falls in love. When the militia comes to town, bringing the evil Wickham, the servant's lives are disrupted by Wickham perhaps even more than the Bennets are by his absconding with Lydia. Longbourn is well-written and does a good job of showing us what life would have been like for the servants of that time period. While the Bennet sisters were not considered wealthy or particularly fortunate (until their marriages, of course) their lives seem blissful compared to the lives of those who must serve them. If, by chance, you haven't read Pride and Prejudice, there is no real need to read it before reading this book, as it stands alone perfectly well. However, everything written by Jane Austen is amazing and you really should read all of her books as soon as you possibly can.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paris Was the Place; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Conley Page; Review: In Paris was the Place, the heroine, Wille, volunteers to work in a refugee detention center, helping young girls from India, the Congo, and other places, who have come to France seeking asylum. She also has a job teaching poetry. She moved to Paris to be near her brother Luke and her best friend from college. The first half of the book deals primarily with the girls seeking asylum. Gita, from India, is Willie's main preoccupation. Willie worries about what will happen if Gita is sent back to India, to be married to a man that is old enough to be her father and has already raped her. Willie does her best to help Gita, even to her own detriment. In the process, Willie meets Macon. Macon is Gita's lawyer, and eventually becomes Willie's boyfriend. The second half of the book deals with Willie's gay brother's HIV diagnosis. The year is 1989, Luke is sick with a "mysterious" illness, which, to me and probably to anyone reading the book, is obviously HIV. The fact that Willie is surprised by this diagnosis was strange to me. She's known friends of Luke's that have died of AIDS but it seems incomprehensible to her that her brother should have it. I liked this part of the book the best, in spite of Willie's shock at finding out her brother is HIV positive. It evoked the most emotion and real feeling. In addition to these 2 not very well blending plots, Willie goes to India to find the daughter of a poet to ask for her manuscripts, and experiences first hand what it would be like to live in a country with random violence and few amenities. She meets Gita's grandmother and delivers a letter from Gita. I think this book should have had one focus...either Gita and the refugees or Luke and his AIDS. Once Luke is diagnosed, everything about the refugees becomes forgotten, like they never existed. If these two themes were woven more skillfully throughout the novel, perhaps it wouldn't have seemed so much like two separate books.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Mourning Hours; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula Treick DeBoard Page; Review: The Mourning Hours starts off rather slowly. We learn what it's like to live on a farm in a small Wisconsin town in the mid 1990's. We see what happens when tragedy strikes and there are suspicions but no proof. We are shown what effect that has on those who are suspected, even perhaps by their family, of a heinous crime. But not until the end of the book was there a bit of excitement and only then was I truly interested in the outcome. Before that, the book had a hard time holding my interest.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Book of Secrets: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Elizabeth Joy Arnold Page; Review: I love books and I love books about books. And while this book talked about a lot of other books, it is not what made this book great. What made it great were the well-developed characters that I cared about and rooted for, the lyrical writing, the mystery and suspense, all put together to make an entertaining read. The Book of Secrets is a book about Chloe and Nate. Chloe met Nate and his two sisters at the age of 8 and, after marrying him in her 20's, after having been married to him for over 20 years, she finds that she doesn't know him as well as she thought she did. She comes home to find that he has gone, leaving a note that explains nothing, and not even bothering to take his cell phone with him. He has gone to see his sister, who has been taking care of their father, a strict former pastor whose past actions make it impossible for Chloe to forgive him. She finds out from Nate's sister that Nate isn't there with her and Chloe has no idea where he has gone or why. Eventually she discovers a notebook that Nate had been using to write letters to their son, lost in infancy. As she decodes these letters, Chloe begins to realize how she has misjudged her husband, sees how much pain he has endured, and finds herself falling in love with him all over again, though it may be too late. When past lies are revealed and brought out into the open, the end result is a shock that changes all of them forever.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Swimming in the Moon: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Pamela Schoenewaldt Page; Review: Swimming in the Moon is the story of 14 year-old Lucia and her mother, Teresa, a talented singer with a temper. Lucia was born when Teresa was only 14 herself, after being raped by a man in a mask. Teresa and Lucia emigrate to America after an incident with the Count they worked for and the rest of the book is about the struggles of 2 women trying to make their way in this new country. Lucia finds herself becoming an activist, urging others to strike for better working conditions. Teresa auditions for vaudeville and goes on the road, performing for a new crowd in a new city every night. Eventually, Teresa's shenanigans get her demoted and it doesn't take long before her dormant mental illness takes over. She is sent back to Lucia, who must now care for both of them, while leading a strike. I really liked this book. I thought it did a good job of showing the hardships of American immigrants, working in factories 60 hours a week under dangerous conditions and barely earning enough to keep themselves fed. The book is well-written and the different themes work well together.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Necessary Lies: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Diane Chamberlain Page; Review: In Necessary Lies, Diane Chamberlain explores the lives of poor welfare families in the rural south in the 1960's. Jane is new at social work and is getting her first experiences with 3 farm families whose ties go deeper than are at first apparent. Ivy and Mary Ella are sisters. Mary Ella is a simple minded but beautiful 17 year old girl with a 2 year-old son and, at 15, Ivy is sexually active but doing what she thinks it takes to not get pregnant. Jane is expected by her superiors to ready a petition that will allow the state to sterilize Ivy so she never will get pregnant. Jane's work puts her own marriage in jeopardy and makes it impossible for her to make friends with the women her husband so wants her to connect with. Jane gets involved in the lives of Ivy and Mary Ella and, doing what she thinks is right, causes a tragedy that could have been avoided. Afterwards, she does the only thing she can think of to help Ivy and as a result, none of their lives are ever the same again. This book takes a look back at what was not an uncommon practice in this country. If you were considered to be simple or feeble minded, the government took it upon themselves to make sure you wouldn't reproduce and produce children that would be dependent on the state. I know a couple, Judy and Ray, that were sterilized as children. Judy, now over 60 years old, still cries when she tells you that she was never able to have children. Whether or not they would have been able to care for children I can't say but I know how much they would have loved those children. This book does an amazing job of showing the toll it took on those who were forced into being sterilized. The book is well-written, the characters are well-developed, and the book gives you some serious feels.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Woman Who Lost Her Soul; Author: Visit Amazon's Bob Shacochis Page; Review: This book may be thoroughly enjoyable to people interested in U.S. foreign policy or to people who like endless detail in their novels. I don't enjoy either and had a terrible time forcing myself to finish this book. I was incredibly bored by this book, didn't like the characters, the plot, or anything about this book. I only give it 2 stars because I feel that maybe I didn't enjoy it because I'm not being smart enough for this book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Margot (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition); Author: Visit Amazon's Jillian Cantor Page; Review: Margot is a book about Margie Franklin, the American name Margot Frank has chosen for herself after surviving the Holocaust. No one knows her true identity, or even that she is Jewish. She realizes her father is still alive after the release of The Diary of a Young Girl, but doesn't contact him, doesn't let him know she's still alive. Margie works as a secretary in a law office, wearing sweaters in all kinds of weather to cover up the tattoo on her arm that tells the world what she has gone through. Her friend and coworker Shelby is clueless about her friend's identity and tries to get her to see the Anne Frank movie with her. Her boss, Joshua, seems to treat her differently than he would a mere employee but is about to get engaged to his girlfriend. Only when Margot is honest with herself is she able to be honest with those around her. This book had a plausible plot, was well-written, and full of both heartbreak and happiness. I like that someone decided to write a story for Margot, who is only known as Anne Frank's older sister. I also like that Margot got a happy ending, even if only in fiction.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Housemaid's Daughter; Author: Visit Amazon's Barbara Mutch Page; Review: The Housemaid's Daughter is a book set in the town of Cradock in South Africa. It starts out in the time between the 2 World Wars. Ada is the eponymous housemaid's daughter, a sweet, smart, talented girl who is treated like family by her Madam, even after events take place that Ada thinks she will never be forgiven for. While it has always been customary for blacks and whites to stay separate, apartheid comes along and makes it a law. For Ada and her baby that is not white and not black, but something in between and forbidden, life becomes dangerous. It is only through the love that Ada and Madam have for each other that they are all able to get through it. I didn't know much about apartheid before reading this book and I like that this book showed me a glimpse of how hard and how horrible life was for black people in South Africa.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Adriana Trigiani Page; Review: I have read all of Adriana Trigiani's books. I have liked most of them, loved a few of them and was completely shocked by how much I hated this one. Right from the beginning, something was off. The writing, the dialogue, the plot,...everything about this book felt flat and forced to me and I don't understand how this could have happened. If I had Ms. Trigiani's phone number, I would call her and check on her, make sure she's okay and that something terrible hasn't happened to her. A brain tumor or a stroke or just a really bad experience of some sort that has led to this book. Is she still alive? Are we sure there isn't someone out there writing under her name, cashing her checks, and disappointing all of us with this drivel? I'm not trying to be offensive here...I am truly concerned for her welfare. Someone, please, make sure she's okay.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Alan Bradley Page; Review: I love all of Alan Bradley's books about Flavia and her rascally behavior but this book was a little bit different from the previous books about the de Luce family. Flavia gets up to far fewer high jinks in this installment, which I found disappointing. I love this little girl who stumbles across dead bodies and solves the mysteries of their murders. In the Dead in their Vaulted Arches, Flavia's mother Harriet, who has been missing and presumed dead since Flavia was a baby, is finally returned to the village of Bishop's Lacey. As her mother's coffin is brought off the train, a stranger approaches Flavia with a cryptic message and seconds later is pushed in front of a train. Flavia has to decode the message, figure out why the man was killed, and try her best to bring her dead mother back to life. There is far less bickering, name-calling, and catty behavior between Flavia and her sisters in this novel and I found that I missed it, though I can see how the discovery of their dead mother could put a damper on them and leave them too sad to bother. This novel also brought about changes for Flavia that will make all future books about her quite different. I'm both excited to see what Bradley comes up with and a little sad to see her current situation come to an end. I'm not ready for Flavia to leave Buckshaw.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Wishing Thread: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa Van Allen Page; Review: The Wishing Thread is a book about a family of knitters. This family goes back to the Revolutionary War and the woman who started it all by knitting a spell to protect her husband. The Stitchery, in Tarrytown, neighbor to Sleepy Hollow, is the home of the Van Ripper family and the place for those in need of a little magic. Over the centuries, the guardian of the Stitchery has knitted spells for those in need, for those willing to sacrifice that which means the most to them. Aubrey Van Ripper, upon the death of her aunt Mariah, has become the newest guardian and must fight against the town council, who want to demolish the Stitchery and all of the surrounding area to build a mall. Aubrey's sisters return to Tarrytown, at first with the hopes of convincing Aubrey to sell the Stitchery, and finally, supporting her in her attempt to save it and the neighborhood. Aubrey thinks she must chose between her calling as the guardian of the Stitchery and her chance to be with a man who loves her. The Wishing Thread, for me, could have used more magic. If you're going to write a book that has supernatural elements, I don't want them in the background. I want magic all around! I'm not even convinced there was any actual magic taking place at any point in this novel. The things that happened could have happened whether there was a spell or not. Give me some serious freaking magic!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What I Had Before I Had You: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Cornwell Page; Review: This is the story of Olivia. Half of the book is a flashback on Olivia's youth with her bipolar mother and the other half is the present-day Olivia, looking for her 9 year-old bipolar son. Olivia and her husband have decided to divorce and Olivia brings her daughter Cassie and her son Daniel to New Jersey to visit her friend Kandy before moving to New York City. Daniel gets lost on the boardwalk Olivia grew up near and all sorts of memories come flooding back. I found the chapters that dealt with Olivia's past more genuine and more interesting. The chapters dealing with the present weren't nearly frantic enough. If I lost my son on a boardwalk in New Jersey, I would lose it completely. She seems way too calm for someone who's child has disappeared. This book was well-written and interesting and, having my own mental health issues, I related to it in many ways, It's good. Read it,; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Haunted; Author: Visit Amazon's Chuck Palahniuk Page; Review: Chuck Palahniuk is undoubtedly a genius. While the book is well-written and incredibly imaginative, I can't give it more than 2 stars because it made me almost vomit on a couple of occasions and gave me some pretty gnarly nightmares as well. I've read most of his books and I enjoyed them all but this one was just a smidge too disturbing/disgusting for me.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Midnight Dress; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Foxlee Page; Review: The Midnight Dress is the story of Rose, a girl with an alcoholic artist for a father, who lives here and there, wherever the wind takes them. Rose and her father have just arrived in a small town with their caravan. Rose attends school and meets Pearl, a beautiful girl that becomes her best friend. The town's harvest festival is coming up and for that, Rose must have a dress. Pearl tells Rose about Edie Baker, a strange, reclusive woman who grew up making dresses with her mother. Rose grudgingly seeks Edie's help and receives so much more than just a dress. Mixed in with the tale of the dress is a mystery. Someone is missing and presumed dead but we aren't sure who until the end of the book. Which creepy character is to blame? Why did it happen? The author weaves the magic of the dress making in with the mystery of the death and makes a wonderful book in the process.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Aftermath; Author: Visit Amazon's Rhidian Brook Page; Review: I found this book to be so good that, once I started reading it, I had a hard time putting it down. It takes place in Hamburg, Germany. World War II is over and the occupation forces, specifically the British, are having a difficult time in their new job. Colonel Lewis Morgan does his best to no longer treat Germans as the enemy. He sees them starving, homeless, and hopeless and does what little he can to alleviate their suffering. He has just been given a palatial home on the banks of the Elbe. The house has been requisitioned for his use and the owners must vacate to make way for him and his family. There are so many books about World War II and I love that this book shows us the difficulties that were faced once the war was over. Suffering continued on for years. Instead of showing us the ugly Nazi crimes against humanity, we see what was done to the German people as a result of having Hitler for their leader. This book shows how lightly the British had to tread, how it was crucial that they help the Germans rebuild their country. It shows that not all Germans were fans of Hitler and his regime, that they weren't to blame for the atrocities. Aftermath is just about how the war left the Germans, about how there was an uneasy peace with the occupying forces. It's also full of love stories. Of wives taking husbands for granted, of a mother's love for her dead son, a man's love for his dead wife. Both sides of this story are wonderfully well-written and intriguing. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Teatime for the Firefly; Author: Visit Amazon's Shona Patel Page; Review: Before reading Teatime for the Firefly, I had absolutely no interest in traveling to India. I love to travel and am always wanting to see new places and experience other cultures but after reading other books about India, especially the book A Fine Balance, I wanted no part of India. This book changed all of that. Teatime for the Firefly is the story of Layla. She was born under an unlucky star and assumes all her life that she will never marry. She lives with her grandfather, a kind, wise old man who believes that everyone is entitled to an education and so has opened a school for girls. On the day the school opens, Layla meets Manik Deb and instantly falls in love with him. His family has arranged for him to be married to Layla's neighbor Kona, a spoiled rich girl. Layla loves him from afar, quietly suffering with what she believes to be her fate. Luckily, Manik Deb is a smart man who manages to make his own fate. The bulk of this novel is about the tea gardens of India. It begins at the end of World War II and ends with the British leaving India. Though the book touches lightly on the violence and difficulties of the partition of India in to India and Pakistan, it is mostly a love story. Not a sappy romance novel, or a bodice-ripper, but a well-written story of two people who love each other and overcome all the barriers that try to keep them apart.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Marching to Zion: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Glickman Page; Review: Marching to Zion is not one tragic love story but several all rolled into one very sad book. Whether losing their spouse to the pogroms in Estonia or the race riots of St. Louis, every main character in this book loses the person they love in a horrifying way. In spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It showed me a small glimpse of what life in the early 1900's would be like for a black man in love with a white woman, a Jewish man whose entire family was slaughtered, or a woman on her own who is entirely helpless. I love all of the characters in this book. I cried at all that they suffered and rejoiced for the small triumph for 2 of the characters at the end, hoping that life in Israel will be as kind to them as they deserve. I don't want to tell you the entire plot of the book. If that's what you want, you can read the Amazon summary or another review. I'm just going to tell you that if you can handle reading a book that is full of tragedy and sadness, read this book. If you're looking for a light beach read, this isn't it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: This Dark Road to Mercy: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Wiley Cash Page; Review: I had a difficult time getting into this book but once I was several chapters in, the plot got going and in the end, I enjoyed it. Easter and Ruby have lost their mother to a drug overdose and are living in a state-run home. Their father, a former minor league baseball player, signed away his parental rights years ago but now he wants his daughters. In the middle of the night, their father, Wade, takes them and leaves town. Wade decides to take his girls to St. Louis to see Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire battle for the home run record. The police, the girls' caseworker, and a dangerous old enemy are all after Wade. Caught in the middle are Easter and Ruby. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone so my synopsis ends here.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Find Me; Author: Visit Amazon's Romily Bernard Page; Review: Wicket and her sister Lily are foster kids who finally seem to be with the perfect family. Their mother killed herself to get away from their violent and manipulative father, a man who has successfully eluded the police and still has control over Wicket. Seventeen year-old Wicket does her best to protect her little sister from the outside world and is happy that she, at least, fits in with their new foster parents. Wicket is a computer-savvy girl that does some hacking to make money in case she and Lily ever have to leave the comfort of their new home. Most of her business is for women looking for evidence of cheating men but one morning she finds a book on her doorstep. The book is the journal of her former friend Tessa Waye. Attached to the book is a post-it with the words FIND ME written on it. Later that day at school, Wicket learns that Tessa has killed herself and now the appearance of the dead girl's journal becomes even more mysterious and creepy. From the journal she learns Tessa has been involved with an older man, that the man became abusive, and that when Tessa couldn't get away from him, she decided to kill herself. She also learns that the man is now after another girl...Lily. Wicket has to find the man and stop him before he can hurt her sister. The book is well-written, suspenseful, and has well-developed characters. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Midnight Witch: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula Brackston Page; Review: The Midnight Witch is the story of a coven of witches called the Lazurus Coven, and more specifically, about the woman who has just become the Head Witch, Lady Lilith Montgomery. As if being the newly appointed head witch wasn't enough on her plate, Lilith is engaged to be married to fellow witch Louis, but is in love with a non-witch named Bram, she has to keep her eye on her brother's opium habit, and keep the Dark Spirit who has been invading her thoughts at bay. She also has to keep safe a magical elixir from a group of nasty sorcerers known as the Sentinels. The Midnight Witch is well-written, has an interesting plot and story line, but I was a little bored until I got well into the book. When it finally took off, though, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I appreciate that, though the story begins in 1913, the heroine Lilith is a strong woman who more than holds her own when confronted by evil men.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady; Author: Sally O'Reilly; Review: In Dark Aemelia, Shakespeare finds his muse in the mistress of Lord Hunstan. Aemelia and Shakespeare fall in love, Aemelia gets pregnant, and everything goes tits up. Aemelia is married off to her worthless cousin, who gambles away all of her money. This book could have been much better. There were touches of witchcraft and magic but not consistently throughout the novel, which I thought was weird. . Aemelia prays and worships God but immediately turns to the Devil and sorcery in times of need. Generally, I enjoy books about this time period and books about the plague but this one spread itself too thin. It has too many themes that aren't fully explored. I liked that Aemelia was a bit of a feminist of the Dark Ages but that was about the only thing I really liked about the book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Season of the Dragonflies: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Creech Page; Review: The Lenore family is a family of remarkable women. The first of them was Serena Lenore. About to be married off to one of her father's business partner, Serena meets Dr. Alex Danner. They fall in love immediately and Alex takes Serena to Borneo, where they start a family. After the collapse of the stock market and the beginning of the Depression, they decide to head back to the United States. With them they bring a magical flower, worshiped by the women on the island. The flower reaches out to Serena and she take it with her to their new home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. There, Serena begins a perfume company, Lenore Incorporated, a company that uses the magical flower make magical perfume, which gives those who wear it a huge boost in whatever career they have chosen. Celebrities and politicians pay huge amounts to wear the perfume. In the present day, Lenore Incorporated is run by Willow Lenore, great-granddaughter of Serena. Recently she's been experiencing memory loss and is beginning to think it's time to retire and let one of her daughters take over. The obvious choice would be Mya, her daughter that has been making magical potions and perfumes most of her life. But when Willow's daughter Lucia returns from New York City, Willow has to decide which daughter will be the best for the company. Also of concern is the fact that their crop of magical flowers seems to be dying. Serena had warned that bad things would happen to anyone who tried to alter the recipe of the perfume but Mya thought she was helping by changing the recipe for one difficult client. Enter bad things galore. Can they stop the bad things from happening? Can they keep the flowers from dying? Season of the Dragonflies also has several romances taking place while the women struggle to keep the company going. In the end, it's the love the women find that save everything. That sounds much cheesier than I meant it, but it's true all the same.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Swiss Affair; Author: Visit Amazon's Emylia Hall Page; Review: Hadley Dunn is a girl from a small, lower middle-class family. She applies to do a year abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland and is surprised and overjoyed when she is accepted. On her first night in Lausanne, Hadley meets several new friends and an attractive American man that ends up being her professor. Then she meets Kristina, a Danish girl who becomes her best friend. Kristina is wild and lovely and she has a secret married lover named Jacques. Hadley becomes more and more infatuated with her Hemmingway professor and Kristina becomes more and more distant. On the night of Hadley's birthday, tragedy strikes and she is left feeling guilty and sorrowful about what has happened. Then she finds out that what she thought was one kind of accident was actually another and she sets out on a quest. Helping her are Joel Wilson, the hot American professor and the other is one Hugo Bezier, an elderly retired author who spends his time drinking cognac in hotel bars. As Hadley and Joel become more and more involved, Hugo believes he has solved at least one of the mysteries that Hadley is trying to figure out. In the end, nothing is quite as you thought it would be and some of the explanations are more sad than you expected. Good job on the plot twist, since I thought I had it all figured out. The Swiss Affair is a great book. The descriptions of Lausanne and the mountains and Lake Geneva have me adding new destinations to my wish list, all due to the author's glorious descriptions. Characters are well-developed and thoroughly likable. especially Hadley and Hugo. Read it. It's good. You'll like it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: That Summer: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauren Willig Page; Review: That Summer is a book about two women in two different times. Julia Conley is living in New York City. The year is 2009. She has just found out that she has inherited a house in England, where she was born and lived with her parents until the death of her mother. Having recently lost her job, Julia has nothing keeping her from heading to England to deal with her new property, Herne Hill. Imogen Grantham is trapped in a loveless marriage with a wealthy widower. The year is 1849. In addition to her unloving husband, she is forced to live with her husband's first wife's sister, a woman who is much more in love with Imogen's husband that Imogen ever was. Luckily, her step-daughter Evie is a sweet girl so Imogen isn't completely miserable. Her husband invites 3 artists to dine with them at their home, Herne Hill. One of the artists attempts to woo Evie and another, Gavin Thorne, is hired to paint Imogen's portrait. Julia arrives at her house and finds her cousin Natalie there. She has been warned about Natalie's mother and is wary of Natalie at first, though she seems very eager to help. Natalie also introduces Julia to Nicholas, an antiques store owner who Natalie is obviously interested in. Nicholas helps Julia uncover several mysteries and in the process, they become friends. Maybe even more than friends. Then not friends at all and then more than friends again. Meanwhile, back in 1849, Imogen and Gavin Thorne fall in love while he is painting her portrait. They begin an affair that becomes complicated when Imogen learns that she is pregnant. She and Gavin plan to leave together but before they can get away, something happens that changes everything. That Summer is well thought out and very well-written. Lauren Willig is the master of seamlessly weaving two different time periods and alternating between the two is not confusing in the least. The ability to tie all of the characters together, from past and present, make the 2 stories that much more interesting. Well done!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Girl Defective; Author: Visit Amazon's Simmone Howell Page; Review: Skylark Martin is a 15 year-old girl living with her single father and her pig-snout wearing ten year-old brother Gully (Seagull), who lands somewhere on the Autism spectrum. Together they run the family business, a vintage vinyl shop. Sky's mother left to pursue her career as some sort of performance artist, leaving Sky to keep things running smoothly. Sky's friend Nancy is 19, experienced, and Sky is drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Nancy's shenanigans get Sky in trouble but they also help her grow up a little. When Sky's dad hires Luke, a hot guy with a tragic past, Sky's attentions are split between Luke and Nancy, until Sky learns that Nancy isn't worth her time. My favorite thing about the book is the character Gully. His detective work and just everything about his character are the most entertaining things about this novel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Secret Life of Violet Grant; Author: Visit Amazon's Beatriz Williams Page; Review: First of all, I would not categorize this novel as a romance novel. When I hear the term "romance novel" I run screaming. This isn't one of those insipid pieces of blech that I usually assume a romance novel will be. This book is so much more than that. Vivian Schuyler was born wealthy but is living in a crap apartment, trying to make it on her own in the 1960's. A trip to the post office brings a mysterious suitcase and a handsome doctor. The suitcase, she learns, belonged to her great-aunt Violet, a woman even more daring and independent than Vivian, who left her family behind to study physics in England in 1911. The doctor ends up being more mysterious than she bargained for as well. The book switches between time periods and between the two protagonists, Vivian and Violet, and it does so in a perfectly smooth and coherent way. There are many similarities between the two women and neither of them know if they can trust the man each of them is in love with. There is nothing predictable about The Secret Life of Violet Grant and it held my interest the entire time. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Vacationers; Author: E. Straub; Review: Renting a house on the island of Mallorca seems like the perfect way to spend 2 weeks but for the Post family, Franny and Jim and their children Bobby and Sylvia, this isn't the case. Throw in Franny's best friend Charles and his husband Lawrence and Bobby's much older girlfriend Carmen, and things get even more complicated. The complications are what make this book so great. That and the perfect combination of empathy and distaste the reader feels for most of the characters in this novel. None of them are perfect, which is so refreshing. Perfect characters are boring and these characters, most of them anyway, are quite flawed. My favorite character was Sylvia, a girl who will leave her family home in New York City in the fall to attend Brown University and who is out to lose her virginity. She may be young and rather innocent but she is far from stupid and her last encounter with her Spanish tutor made me cheer. The Vacationers is well-written, entertaining, and I read it all in one sitting. I'll be reading everything written by Emma Straub now.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Opposite of Maybe: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Maddie Dawson Page; Review: Rosie, 44, has been in a long-term relationship with Jonathon for 15 years. Rosie is lovable and sweet and to me, Jonathon seems like a bit of a dick. Anyway, Jonathon is obsessed with tea cups and when he gets the opportunity to help open a tea cup museum (seriously? Could there be a more boring museum in the universe?) wants to move to San Diego and take Rosie with him. Rosie decides at the last minute not to go (yay! Good girl!) and instead moves in with her grandma Soapie. Soapie currently has a hot dude named Tony living with her to help her, keep an eye on her, and pick her up when she falls. Oh, yeah,...Soapie is old and she's starting to forget things and she falls with alarming frequency. In addition to hot Tony, there is George, Soapie's geriatric boyfriend, whose wife has Alzheimers and is living in a nursing home. Rosie moves in with Soapie and gets close to hot Tony, though she keeps trying to push him away. In the meantime, Jonathon still wants Rosie to come to San Diego. I don't want to give any more of the plot away so I'm going to stop summarizing now and tell you what I liked about the book. Most of the characters are quite lovable but my 2 favorites are Soapie and Tony. They are genuine, sincere people. Soapie isn't your typical grandma. She likes to drink and smoke and have the sex with her married boyfriend. She isn't a sweet, cuddly woman. She's blunt. She tells it like it is. There aren't enough people in the world like Soapie. Tony isn't just a hot man. He is a hot man with a huge heart, a combination which also seems to be lacking in this world. Tony's wife has left him to be with a woman and that woman is keeping Tony from seeing his son Milo. The lengths that Tony goes to to see his son make most single fathers look like uncaring jerks. He also does a good job of making Jonathon look like the dick he is. This book was well written and interesting and not completely predictable, even if it wasn't the most original book in the world. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Then and Always: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Dani Atkins Page; Review: Rachel is about to go off to college when a horrible accident leaves her best friend Jimmy dead and Rachel terribly scarred. Five years later, Rachel has to return to her hometown to attend the wedding of her friend Sarah and has no desire to return. Jimmy is dead, her father is dying of cancer, and her former boyfriend Matt is with the vile Cathy...but then...Jimmy is alive, her father has never had cancer and Rachel is engaged to Matt. Like the movie Sliding Doors, Rachel is living in parallel universes but for some reason she can only remember the horrible one. Which one is real? Why can't she remember the life she's currently living? These questions are never really addressed. But lucky for Rachel, she gets a bit of a do-over and we are left to assume that at least one Rachel lives happily ever after. This is a quick read, perfect for the beach or an airport but it's not something that will stick in your brain or change your life.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What Strange Creatures: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Emily Arsenault Page; Review: I know enough not to judge a book by its cover but I still have to say that I don't think this cover fits this novel at all. This book is, mostly, a mystery but it is a mystery full of humor and sass and familial bonds, and a crazy cat lady that is completely lovable. Maybe I find the heroine, Theresa, so lovable because she reminds me so much of myself. One line in the book made me feel like someone had stolen my childhood diary. Theresa is explaining her childhood feelings for George Michael, how he'd been one of her earliest experiences of sexiness. "I'd found him mostly irresistible but slightly, inexplicably gross." Me, too! Maybe that thought isn't so rare. Anyway, Theresa has been working on her PhD dissertation for ages. She's the divorced owner of several cats and a dog, soon to be two dogs when she agrees to dog-sit her brother's girlfriend Kim's dog and she never comes back. Theresa's brother Jeffrey is accused of killing Kim and Theresa sets out to find out what really happened. For a mystery, this book was pretty comical and that's what I liked most about it. It was interesting and not at all predictable. I read it in one afternoon and was sad when I was done. I will definitely be reading more books by Emily Arsenault.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Girl Called Fearless: A Novel (The Girl Called Fearless Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Catherine Linka Page; Review: Avie is a 16 year-old girl living in Los Angeles but Avie's Los Angeles is a world largely without women. Women have largely died out as a result of a cancer caused by meat from cows that had been given a hormone. All females between puberty and menopause who have eaten beef have died and all the girls that were too young to get the cancer are now overly protected and treated as a commodity. Avie's father had promised not to sell her to a man until after college but when his business is in trouble, he sells her to a despicable man more than twice her age for $50 million. Luckily, Avie has friends. Her friend Yates, her teacher, and several complete strangers do what they can to get Avie away from her horrible situation. This book was so good that I read it all in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. There is so much inequality and misogyny in the world but in this book it is so much worse. These girls have absolutely no control over any aspect of their lives. They can't even have full access to the internet. They can't spend time with boys their own age, they can't go to college, they have to have bodyguards to ensure they aren't kidnapped and sold. I'm going to make my sons read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sea Garden: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Deborah Lawrenson Page; Review: The Sea Garden is a book made of three smaller, interconnected books. The first of these books takes place in 2013 and is about Ellie Brooke, a landscape designer who has been hired to restore a garden on an island off the coast of France. The garden's owner is an elderly woman that gives Ellie the heebie jeebies and Ellie isn't sure she wants to have anything to do with the woman or the garden. This part of the book was my least favorite. It was too detailed in speaking of the gardens, which didn't interest me at all. Also, the reader has no idea what this part has to do with the other two parts until the very end of the book. The second part of the book takes place during World War II in France. I was so happy to get to the second part, which I found far more interesting than the first. The Nazi occupation of France and the French Resistance is a part of the war that I don't know much about and this piece of historical fiction did a bit to fix that. The third pat of the book takes place mostly in England, mostly during the same time period as the second, towards the end of World War II. Iris is a junior intelligence officer who falls in love with a French man that may or may not be a double agent. It is Iris and her Frenchman that tie the three books together and in the end it is Iris who learns what happened to Ellie Brooke. Perhaps I found the second and third parts most interesting because I am a fan of historical fiction and the first part wasn't historical. For whatever reason, once I was done with the first 86 pages, I really started to enjoy this book. If you're like me and struggling to get through, keep at it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Supernatural Enhancements; Author: Visit Amazon's Edgar Cantero Page; Review: At the beginning of this novel, you think that maybe this is a book about ghosts and while there is a ghost in the book, it's about so much more than that. A . is a young Englishman who has just inherited a house in Virginia from a distant relative that he never knew existed. Less of a house really, more of a sprawling estate, which would have been complete with butler except that the butler seems to have disappeared. Accompanying A, is Niamh, a teenage Irish girl who is described on the cover as "punk" but the year is 1995 and, in my mind, she's too late for that To me, Niamh is an original and no one word can describe her. She's mute, she's different, and though she's younger than A. and not even legal (sexually speaking) both parties seem interested. To give a complete synopsis of this book would not only ruin the story, it would also be incredibly complicated. Instead I will tell you that there are several mysteries involved, a secret society, an unknown antagonist, incredibly vivid dreams, secret codes, hidden rooms,crystal balls, a dog named Help, and a swimming pool that comes in handy more than once and not in the way you would think. The only reason I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that the parts about code breaking were too long and complicated for me and that the explanation of Daenemarr's crystal balls confused me. There's a good chance that if my mind was stronger and able to grasp these concepts, it would have been 5 stars. So really, the limits of my brain and imagination are to blame.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Strength Training for Fat Loss; Author: Visit Amazon's Nick Tumminello Page; Review: I hate cardio, and I'm not a huge fan of dieting either. I do, however, love strength training. Somehow, I've managed to pack on some extra fat recently, so this book arrived at a good time. In it, Tumminello provides excellent coverage of how to approach fat loss using metabolic strength training (focusing on conditioning and endurance rather than building raw strength). He provides routines for various levels of training, with detailed descriptions of the exercises, including photos demonstrating how to do them. Naturally, he also provides an explanation of why this all works for fat loss. In addition, he provides common sense guidelines for diet and nutrition to complement your exercise routine. Far too often, I see people who want to lose fat spending hours on the treadmill, when what they'd benefit from the most is a solid weight training regime. This book is a great place to start.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scar Boys; Author: Visit Amazon's Len Vlahos Page; Review: Harbinger Jones (Harry) is writing an essay for his college applications but his story is too long for a 250 word essay. Harry was just a little boy when the neighborhood kids tied him to a tree and left him there during a lightning storm, leaving him both physically and emotionally scarred. With his deformities he was a natural target for bullies and never expected to make a friend like Johnny. Johnny was Harry's only friend until they decided to start a band. This was the early 80's and their music of choice was punk. Through music and performing with the band, Harry learns to accept his appearance and realizes that even though he's covered with scars, he has a pretty awesome life. I read a lot of young adult fiction and so many YA novels glorify sex and drugs and drinking and I was really happy that this one didn't. That's not to say that those things were completely absent, just that the book didn't give the reader the idea that all teenagers were constantly drinking and having nonstop sex. Maybe it's just because I have teenagers.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Never Ending; Author: Visit Amazon's Martyn Bedford Page; Review: Shiv and her little brother Declan are best friends and when Declan dies while their family is on vacation in Greece, Shiv can't deal with the grief and the guilt she feels about what happened. This book is written in chapters alternating between what happened on that vacation and what is happening at the Korsakoff Clinic, the facility where Shiv and 5 other teens are being treated. The author seemlessly weaves back and forth between the past and the present, telling the story of how Shiv fell in love with a beautiful Greek boy named Nikkos, how her brother died, and how she ended up being treated in a psychiatric facility. Never Ending is a book about tragedy but it is still full of humor, healing, and forgiveness.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Terms & Conditions: A Novel; Author: Robert Glancy; Review: Terms and Conditions is a book about Frank, a lawyer in the family firm, married to the beautiful Alice, who loses his memory after a horrible car accident. While his body heals, he tries to remember who is was and remembers tiny snippets here and there but all the big stuff is missing. One day it all comes rushing back and he remembers that he was miserably unhappy, at home and at work. Once he remembers, he realizes that it's time to change the things that are making him unhappy and he does it in such an awesome way. One thing I really liked about this book is that it wasn't like other books I've read about amnesia (and there are a lot of novels about amnesia out there). Generally in these books, the amnesia patient finds out that they had been an awful, horrible person and the amnesia changes them and all of a sudden they are lovely people. In this book, Frank was always a good guy but only after his amnesia does he have the courage to change his life for the better. This book is funny, well written, and makes me wish I had Frank's courage to start all over.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Maybe One Day; Author: Visit Amazon's Melissa Kantor Page; Review: Zoe and Olivia have been best friends since meeting at a ballet class at the age of 7. At 16, Olivia finds out she has leukemia and the girls' seemingly perfect lives fall apart. One of the things that I liked about this novel is that although it was sad and the topic is horrible, the author managed to add some humor, some young love, and some happiness into the book. When dealing with such a depressing topic, this is absolutely necessary. The book is well written and did a pretty good job of holding my interest but I think it could have been even better if it was just a little bit tighter. My favorite books are those that have nothing unnecessary or extra to them, nothing that doesn't have to be there.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Invisible Ellen; Author: Shari Shattuck; Review: There are several reasons that I liked this book. First, it's interesting, well written, and has well developed characters that are also extremely likable. What I like best about this book is the number of hopeful messages it gives readers. I don't mean that this novel is full of preachy messages to be better people...it just naturally and unobtrusively makes you want to help your fellow man. Ellen is a woman who prefers to remain invisible and has somehow actually managed to make herself disappear. Having been abused and then abandoned by her mother, failed by the foster care system, now she is on her own, eating for comfort and hiding from the world. Her invisibility comes in handy when she decides to step in and save a blind woman from 2 muggers and the blind woman, Temerity, becomes Ellen's first friend. Together, Ellen and Temerity begin to help those around them but the one who is helped the most is Ellen.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Melanie Shankle Page; Review: I don't read a lot of non-fiction and I never read books on how to survive marriage, though I probably should, but I chose this book because it had such good reviews and I figured I could stand to gain a little knowledge. I'm not sure how much actual knowledge I gained but I did laugh quite a bit and found myself finding my soul sister (is that a thing) in the form of the author. So much of what she said has come out of my mouth before. I, too, married a man in the late 90's who liked to kill things. The only differences were that I divorced his deer-killing a$$ and that where Melanie is obviously a God-fearing woman, I am not at all religious. Though this book did contain the odd Bible passage here and there, it wasn't trying to shove religion down my throat, which I appreciate because I get enough of that from my sister.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction; Author: Visit Amazon's Violet Kupersmith Page; Review: The Franginpani Hotel is a book of short stories that are all either take place in Vietnam or are about expat Vietnamese living in the United States. Many of the stories are creepy, dealing with some sort of supernatural power or other. One is about a man that is also a snake and many others deal with ghosts or spirits of some kind. The stories are enthralling, interesting, and well written and I read the entire book in less than a day. I enjoy the glimpse the book gave me into another culture, letting me see what it would have been like to have lived somewhere as different as Vietnam.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bellweather Rhapsody; Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Racculia Page; Review: Bellweather Rhapsody is a book that deals with many subjects and it does so brilliantly. The Hatmaker twins, Alice and Rabbit, are headed to Statewide, a musical competition that takes place every November at the Bellweather Hotel in the Catskills. Alice sings and Rabbit plays the bassoon. Accompanying them is their new music teacher/chaperone Natalie Wilson. Natalie is a former piano-playing prodigy and former student of Viola Fabian, the unbelievably bitchy interim head of Statewide. Viola's former lover Fisher Brodie is also there, hired to conduct the orchestra. The first night, Alice finds her roommate hanging from the ceiling but when she returns after getting help, her roommate is nowhere to be found. She then finds out that 15 years earlier, this room had been the scene of a grisly murder-suicide and works to figure out if and how the two are connected. Meanwhile, the only witness to the murder-suicide has returned to the hotel for closure and is also looking for answers. Meanwhile, Viola's former student and former lover have found each other, though Natalie is married. Natalie is still dealing with the pain inflicted on her by Viola and by a more recent traumatic event and she and Fisher bond and fall in love after sharing horror stories. And Rabbit, who wants to finally tell his sister he's gay, has found a strange popularity after standing up to the conductor and has also finally found a boy that is interested in him. In the background is Hastings, the concierge of the Bellweather, though his senility has rendered him more of an honorary member of the staff. The mystery of the missing girl from the same room that held the murder-suicide of 15 years before is the final straw in what is left of his sanity. I hope I haven't already given away too much of the plot. The characters in this book are so well thought out and realized and you will love some of them almost as much as you will hate Viola Fabian.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Life Apart: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's L. Y. Marlow Page; Review: A Life Apart is a book about Morris, his wife Agnes and the black woman, Beatrice, that he falls in love with. It begins against the backdrop of World War II, and continues through the late 80's. The only thing that makes the book different or in any way interesting is that it shows what it was like to be black when segregation was the norm and outright hatred and blatant racism were an everyday occurrence. The book reminds the reader that it wasn't that long ago that a black boy could be killed just for winking at a white girl. The main reason I didn't like this book more, besides that fact that it is basically about a man who gets everything he wants while hurting the women he's supposed to love, is that there is too much fluff. The book needs to be pared down to what is absolutely essential. There are scenes that do nothing to further the plot along, dialogue that is of no story-telling value.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Orphans of Race Point: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Patry Francis Page; Review: This is one of those books that I didn't want to put down until I had finished it, and even though I love sleep even more than I love to read, I stayed up until the wee hours to read it to the end. Hallie and her father Nick, the local doctor live in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a town on Cape Cod. When a local man murders his wife, his son Gus is left catatonic and mute and in the end, only 9 year-old Hallie is able to get him to speak again. As teenagers, Gus and Hallie fall in love and plan to leave Provincetown to start a life together where no one will know them or anything about their sad past lives. Instead, their mutual friend Neil sets in motion a horrible sequence of events that changes their plans and the rest of their lives. All of this happens in the first 1/4 of the book and so much more happens as a result but I don't want to spoil it for you. You just have to read it! Though this book is full of tragedy and loss, it still manages to have a happy ending, though not necessarily the ending one might hope for. Throughout the book there is love and hope and a reminder not to judge others.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Plover: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Doyle Page; Review: I don't even feel worthy to write a review of this book. I don't have the words to say what it made me feel and, unlike the author, I'm not good at making up words of my own. This book is whimsical yet deep at the same time. A great example of this is something said by the minister, a man who would like to somehow create the nation of Pacifica, a perfect, peaceful, imaginative nation. After telling Declan of his dreams and ambitions for this nation, the minister points out "if we do not dream, then I think perhaps we are misusing our heads. They are not on our shoulders only to be farms for hair". This book is a great reminder to me personally that I need to never stop dreaming. I don't know how useful this review will be but I want to recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of that which is the opposite of ordinary, anyone who wants something different to read. I read so many books and I remember very little about most of them because they made absolutely no impact on me. The Plover is a book that will remain with me, a book that I will recommend over and over to anyone I feel has the intelligence to appreciate it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 'Til the Well Runs Dry: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauren Francis-Sharma Page; Review: 'Til the Well Runs Dry begins in Trinidad in the year 1943. Marcia Garcia is a 16 year-old girl raising twin 3 year-old boys that many believe to be the product of inbreeding between Marcia and her father, an idea furthered by the fact that the boys aren't quite right. Her mother is dead and the neighbors have run her father off. She's all alone, doing the best she can to take care of 2 little boys when she meets Farouk Karam, a police officer of Indian descent. Farouk is 23 years-old and is determined to make Marcia fall in love with him. He visits Tanty Gertrude, a woman known for obeah, what I assume is some sort of black magic. Soon after this visit, the two little boys disappear and, having no one else to turn to for help, Marcia turns to Farouk. Farouk and Marcia fall in love, have children, get married, but they are never able to live as man and wife. Scandals and hardships abound, culminating in Marcia leaving Trinidad for America, where she believes she will be making clothes for a fair wage. Instead she finds herself trapped. I don't want to give away any more of the plot than I already have. The book is well written, the story is interesting, the characters are well developed, and it will make you so grateful for all that you have and leave you in awe at what people can overcome.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The HOLLOW GROUND: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Natalie S. Harnett Page; Review: It took me a while to get into this book, mostly because the secrets that the characters had weren't even hinted at until I was nearly half way through it. I think that if the author had given the reader a clue about what was going on a little earlier, I would have finished the book a lo faster than I did. The Hollow Ground is a book about coal mining towns in Pennsylvania during the 1960's. The mines are on fire, people are being forced to leave their homes and it's about the only situation I can think of that sounds worse than actually mining the coal. Brigid's family is forced to move in with her father's parents after her great aunt is swallowed by a sink hole or some kind of hole created by the fires. The tension seems to be due to the fact that Brigid's mother and grandmother hate each other but there is more going on than we are at first aware of. This book doesn't have a lot going on. It's more of a character-driven novel than a plot-driven one. There are some surprises toward the end of the book that explain why the characters are the way they are and that make the book a lot more interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nadia Hashimi Page; Review: This book shows us what it would be like to be a female in Afghanistan at the turn of the twentieth century and now through the lives of two women, Shekiba and her great-great granddaughter Rahima. The book alternates between one story and the other and, though separated by a hundred years, things are equally difficult for both women. Shekiba, disfigured, orphaned, and all alone, finds herself being given away as a servant by her father's family, given away again and again, made to live as though a man, and finally ends up with a relatively happy ending. Rahima is one of 5 daughters, whose mother decides she's going to change Rahima into a boy, to give her husband, an opium addict, the son he's always wanted. Rahima loves the freedom of being a boy but the ability she has to come and go as she (he) pleases has gotten the attention of a dangerous man, which has consequences for her entire family. Rahima's ending is rather less happy than Shekiba's but it's more of a new beginning than an ending. It's difficult to imagine that people actually live under these conditions, that women are still treated as property...and not even as precious property. All of the women in this book suffer in one way or another. Though times are changing for them, the women of Afghanistan still face incredible hardship. This book has opened my eyes to what these women suffer, as I hope it does for many others.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mercy Snow: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Tiffany Baker Page; Review: Mercy Snow is a girl trying to keep herself and her little sister Hannah fed and out of trouble while she attempts to prove that her brother is not guilty of causing a fatal bus crash. The town of Titan Falls has long believed all Snows to be nothing but trouble and are convinced that Mercy's brother Zeke is to blame. As Mercy tries to survive and clear her brother's name, June McAllister, the wife of the most powerful man in town, does her best to keep the suspicion on Zeke. In the process, she meets Hannah and wishes she could be a mother to the dirty little orphan girl, while doing everything in her power to get rid of her sister Mercy and brother Zeke. This book had great characters, some you love and some you hate, and a great plot and story line. I read it all in one afternoon. If I could give half stars, I would have rated this book 4 1/2 stars. It's good. Read it!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Moon Sisters: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Therese Walsh Page; Review: The eponymous Moon sisters, Olivia and Jazz could not be more different. Older sister Jazz is all business while Olivia's synesthesia, a disorder in which a person tastes sounds, sees flavors and smells, hears things other people see, is a bit more of a free spirit. When their mother dies in an apparent suicide, 18 year-old Olivia partially blinds herself staring at the sun, which smells like her mother. After months of inaction, Olivia sets out for some closure. She wants to visit the setting of her mother's unfinished novel, a West Virginia bog that is said to have will o' the wisps, or fairy lights, which some believe to be spirits. Olivia sets out but is soon joined by her reluctant sister Jazz, who wants nothing to do with Olivia's journey but Jazz has a big old bus that she and Olivia can drive to the bogs. Jazz wants to get this over and done with but several complications arise. Over the course of their journey, Olivia and Jazz come to terms not only with their mother's death but with each other. It took me a while to get into this book but it was good once it started rolling and the ending has a happy surprise for 2 of the minor characters.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Abroad: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Katie Crouch Page; Review: Tabitha, known as Taz to her friends, is an Irish girl doing a year of study abroad in Italy. She is pleasantly surprised to find herself asked to join an elite friendship with 3 other girls who seem to have it all. They get into all the best parties, don't have to wait in lines, and seem to have connections in all the right places. They call themselves the B4. Taz has another friend, an American named Claire, who, along with 2 Italian girls, shares a house with Taz. Taz and Claire become close friends but Claire is not welcome with the other girls of the B4. Eventually, the reason for Taz's inclusion becomes clear and Taz realizes that nothing about their friendship was as it seemed. This is book is loosely based on the Amanda Knox story, the American girl who was studying in Italy and was tried for murdering her friend. I don't know much about the Amanda Knox case but this book is quite riveting, as the reader knows, even if Taz doesn't, that something isn't right.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Everything I Never Told You; Author: Visit Amazon's Celeste Ng Page; Review: Lydia is a teenage girl feeling pressure from both of her parents to be what they wanted to be. Her father, Chinese American James, wants her to have lots of friends, wear pretty dresses, and wants more than anything for Lydia to fit in. Marilyn, a stay-at-home mother who was on the path to medical school when she became pregnant with Lydia's older brother Nath, wants Lydia to study hard, get good grades and have the career she always wanted as a doctor. What no one has stopped to consider is what Lydia wants, not even Lydia. All Lydia wants is to make her parents happy. She pretends to have friends, she works hard at school, but she is unable to give either of her parents what they want. Though she has an older brother and a younger sister, Lydia seems to be the only one that matters to her parents and when she dies, it throws the entire family off balance. You find out that Lydia is dead on the first page so I promise I'm not giving anything away :) Though this book isn't overly compelling or full of suspense, it was still a very good book that looks at the way parents put pressure on their children to live the lives they themselves wish they could have had and the dangers of doing so. It also shows us what it would be like to be different from everyone else at your school or in a small town, and how difficult that would be. I'm glad that the book clears up how and why Lydia died and I'm also glad that Lydia's parents eventually came around and realized that they still had 2 living children that needed them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Snow in May: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Kseniya Melnik Page; Review: Snow in May is a collection of short stories mostly set in the Siberian town of Magadan, a place famous for being home to one of Stalin's gulags. Many of the stories have characters in common, but not all of them. What they do all have in common is a spirit of survival and even triumph in the face of the trials and hardships of living in Soviet Russia, whether it be standing in line for hours for rotten bananas or being imprisoned for supposedly being a Japanese spy. Though they aren't living lives of ease, you don't get the impression that any of the characters in this book would have traded their lives for any other. The stories in this book are well written and thought-provoking, compelling even in their simplicity. The author has given us a view into a situation, into lives, that most of us would find nearly tragic and yet none of the characters bemoan their fate or believe they deserve anything different. Instead, they do what has to be done.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Above the East China Sea: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Bird Page; Review: Above the East China Sea is a book, above all, about family. Set on the island of Okinawa, the book is about 2 teenage girls, one, Tamiko, an Okinawan who has killed herself and her unborn son rather than be killed by the American invaders during WWII, and the other, Luz, an American living on the U.S. Air Force base Kadena on Okinawa in the present. Though separated by decades and death, they somehow are connected. Tamiko is a younger sister whose mother trusts her with the task of keeping her older, more delicate sister Hatsuko alive through the bombardment of their island. She does all that she can to protect her sister but, in the end, Tamiko kills herself rather than facing what she believes to be a certain violent death at the hands of the American soldiers. After 70ish years, her spirit and that of her unborn son are awakened by their ancestors, when Luz stumbles upon Tamiko's bones in an isolated cave. Luz is mourning her sister Codie and has been contemplating suicide when she nearly drowns. She finds herself in a cave with a young, starving Okinawan girl and her baby. The girl begs for help before Luz can do anything for her, her friend Jake arrives to take her out of the cave before the ocean fills it. When she looks back, the girl and the baby are gone and all that is left are bones. At first Luz assumes that she had been hallucinating but after telling Jake, an Okinawan, what she saw in the cave, he decides to help her solve the mystery of the girl in the cave. The story goes back and forth between Tamiko's story and Luz's and in the end, we see how they are connected. While I had a bit of a hard time getting into the book at first, it eventually became so engrossing that I couldn't put it down. I especially liked the parts dealing with the Okinawa of the past, that taken over by the Japanese and sacrificed to protect the mainland. I have read a lot of books about the European part of World War II but until now I haven't known much of anything about the Pacific side of things, other than the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This book has made me want to know more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Story of Land and Sea: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Katy Simpson Smith Page; Review: The best books are those that have nothing spare or extraneous, no words that are unnecessary. This is a book that doesn't waste its words. Though there isn't a lot of action and the book isn't dripping with plot, the book kept my interest until the very end and the end, to me, was the most important part. Tabitha is a girl without a mother. Her father, John, married her mother, Helen, on a pirate ship and sailed away with her without her father's consent. After Helen died in childbirth (in the year 1783), John did his best to raise his daughter. It is Tabitha's tenth birthday when she comes down with a fever, and John loses his daughter, too. Moll is a slave that was given to Helen for Helen's tenth birthday. They are only a year apart in age and though they fight, they are as close as sisters. When Helen's father decides to marry Moll to one of his neighbor's slaves, Helen believes it is the right thing to do. This book talks a lot about right and wrong and, in the context of slavery, the characters are very backward. They see setting their slaves free as wrong. If the save wants to be free, he or she must work to be able to purchase their freedom. Even though Helen and her father are not the stereotypical violent slave masters, even though they think they are being kind to their slaves, they are blind to the fact that what they are doing in owning people in the first place is where they are in the wrong. When Moll's son Davy, the only one of her children she has allowed herself to love, leaves to travel west with the bereaved John, Moll can no longer tolerate being owned and controlled by someone else. I wish I knew how she fared.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Corrupt Practices: A Parker Stern Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Rotstein Page; Review: Corrupt Practices has everything a person could want from a legal drama: sex, legal jargon, mystery, crooked lawyers, a creepy cult, murder, and a surprise, a twist, a moment that you didn't see coming. Maybe you could do without the legal jargon but luckily, the author keeps it pretty basic. Parker Stern is a lawyer who hasn't practiced law in years, not since the death of his boss and mentor has caused him to have severe stage fright every time he enters a courtroom. When Parker's former colleague Rich is arrested for embezzling from the powerful and secretive and super creepy cult I mentioned earlier, Rich calls on Parker to represent him. Parker, who is an adjunct professor, uses his 3 students to help him build his case. The plot thickens when Rich is found dead in his jail cell, supposedly a suicide but was it? WAS IT? Parker and his friends and his students go up against the super creepy cult and people get hurt but who is doing the hurting? The super creepy cult or someone you never would suspect? This is a good book, well written, interesting plot and great surprise ending. The one thing that really didn't sit well with me is when Parker gets all judgmental on a female character in the book for having briefly been a porn star. It is something that happened in the past. She was a consenting adult with other consenting adults. No one was harmed. It was absolutely none of his business and not his place to get all judgmental. Other than that, I liked the character of Parker, though he could have been a little more completely drawn.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Chinese Cooking for Diamond Thieves; Author: Dave Lowry; Review: This book has humor, mysterious Chinese girls, frightening thugs, missing diamonds, and detailed descriptions of Chinese foods you've probably never heard of. Tucker has just been kicked out college in New Hampshire. He decides to take a trip south to see what his friend Langston Wu is up to in St. Louis, Missouri. On his way, he comes across a mysterious Chinese-American girl, Corinne Chang,sitting alone at night at a rest stop. Both attracted to her and concerned for her safety, he offers her a ride. For some reason, maybe because he speaks Mandarin, she trusts him enough to go with him. He drops her off at her friend's apartment in Buffalo and doesn't expect to ever hear from her again. In St. Louis, Tucker finds a job in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant and is surprised to be contacted by the FBI, asking questions about Corinne. Wondering what he has gotten himself into, yet not hesitating to return to Buffalo to pick up Corinne when she needs him, we learn that Tucker is not just a sweet, funny guy but a serious bad a$$. I don't want to give away too much of the plot so I won't go into any more detail. This book is highly entertaining, full of humor as well as mystery. I picked it up and didn't put it down until I was finished.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paying Guests; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Waters Page; Review: Just outside London, a few years after the Great War, Frances Wray and her mother, find that they can no longer afford to stay in their home without taking in lodgers. The Barbers, Leonard and Lilian, are a young couple, married a few years, who become the lodgers in the Wrays' home. The Wrays, though genteel and upper class, have lost almost everything. Frances's brothers dies in the war and her father died shortly after her younger brother's death. Because of poor investments, Frances and her mother have very little income and are embarrassed to have to let their rooms but can think of no other options. As if that weren't bad enough, because they can no longer afford servants, Frances takes over the cooking and the cleaning, which her mother finds particularly horrifying. Frances bears it all with good cheer and tries to keep just how poor they are from her mother. At first things are awkward between the members of the household but eventually, Frances and Lilian become friends. After spending many days together and becoming quite close, Frances feels it is necessary to tell Lilian that she is a lesbian. That word isn't used in the book..maybe it didn't exist then. At any rate, Lilian pulls away from Frances and Frances feels that Lilian is disgusted by her. Soon, though, Lilian and Frances become friends again. Soon after that, the become more than friends. Frances has fallen in love with Lilian and Lilian feels the same about Frances. They begin an affair, which is tested when a horrible accident takes place. Will their love be able to overcome this hurdle? Was it love at all or was Frances just being used? Will they ever be able to be together? This book was well-written and the plot was interesting. The reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 are as follows: 1. the book seemed longer than it needed to be. Some parts dragged on a bit and could have benefited from some editing here and there, and 2. the lesbian sex scenes were surprisingly boring. If you don't want lurid sex scenes in your book, gloss over them entirely. Allude to them, hint at them if you want but don't write tepid, boring sex scenes. If there is passion between these two women, show us that. You don't have to get all Penthouse Letters but at least make them passionate and juicy.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie-Helene Bertino Page; Review: The thing I love most about this book is almost 10 year-old Madeleine, a modern-day Ramona Quimby with the vocabulary of a sailor and the voice of an angel. Madeleine's mother has died of cancer and her father is out of his mind with a combination of grief and drugs and can't be bothered to properly care for his daughter. The book opens with a very bad day at school for Madeleine. Her teacher, Sarina Greene, feels terrible for Madeleine but Sarina has her own problems. Newly divorced, Sarina accepts an unvitation (an invitation one extends in the hopes that the invitee will decline) to a friend's party, where she feels awkward and lonely. Attending the party as well: Ben, the one who got away, who married a horrible-sounding woman named Annie. In the meantime, Madeleine has learned that there is a jazz club, the Cat's Pajamas, in town and is determined to go there. The owner of the Cat's Pajamas, Lorca, is having problems of his own, the most pressing of which is a hefty fine slapped on him by the police and the threat of his club being closed for good if he doesn't shape up. As the day progresses into night, things start looking better for Sarina. Madeleine finds a way to the Cat's Pajamas. Lorca loses several things precious to him but in exchange he gets a better relationship with his son. This book is funny, sad, touching. magical, and highly entertaining. Even though she's just an almost-10-year-old girl, Madeleine is one of my new favorite literary heroines.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Adele Griffin Page; Review: Addison's genius for art was apparent from a very early age. What also became apparent was that she was suffering from some sort of psychosis. She could hear people in the walls of her grandparents' home, people who had lived their before. Of particular concern was Ida, a girl who spoke to Addison and told her to kill herself. Addison is dead, but how did it happen? Was it suicide or did one of her former boyfriends kill her? This book details the life of the fictional artist Addison Stone with interviews with the rest of the characters. It's an interesting format but overall, I think that is the thing that I didn't like about this book. It may also just be that I am a stay-at-home mom in her 40's and this is a book for teens and young adults and I'm just too old and uncool to appreciate it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Let's Get Lost (English Edition); Author: Visit Amazon's Adi Alsaid Page; Review: Leila is on a road trip to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. On her way, she meets lots of interesting people, all of whom are affected by Leila and her kindness. On her drive, she falls in love, gets arrested, nearly kills a boy and then helps him try to win the heart of his beloved, and gets barred from entering Canada. When she finally makes it to Alaska and sees the Northern Lights, she is awed by their beauty but depressed by the fact that they didn't help her the way she hoped they would. She returns home and only then does she find what she was looking for on her voyage. This book has some cheesy, unlikely bits but overall, it's a great book and Leila is a great character. You want to believe that there are more people out there like her and like the people she comes across on her way to Alaska. Read it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fourth of July Creek: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Smith Henderson Page; Review: Pete is a social worker in Tenmile, Montana. His job is to help families, and especially children and yet his own family has fallen apart. His estranged wife has taken their daughter and moved to Texas, his brother hiding from the law, and his father is just a dick. But Pete does what he can to help those in the small town of Tenmile, though things don't always turn out the way he hoped they would. One of those families, the Pearls, are an especially difficult family to help. They live in the mountains, off the grid, believing that the government is out to get them. He meets Ben Pearl when they boy shows up at a school one day and the principal calls Pete for help. Ben is malnourished and dirty and Ben gets him some food, some vitamins, and some clothes and takes him back to his father, Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a strange and dangerous man, and soon Pete learns that he is wanted by the FBI. Pete tries to help Ben and wants to help the other Pearl children too, but Jeremiah won't tell him where they are. Throughout this novel, Pete is attacked by dogs, held at gunpoint, and goes through all kinds of hell in both his personal and professional lives. The book shows just how difficult being a social worker would be, how heartbreaking and soul-squishing. That Pete is an alcoholic is no surprise. What is surprising is that Pete manages to be a good man through it all. Of course he's not perfect he makes some pretty serious mistakes, especially regarding his daughter. Though this book could have been really depressing, the author managed to make it interesting, entertaining, and even hopeful. It's a good book and if I could give it 4 1/2 stars, I would.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 100 Sideways Miles; Author: Visit Amazon's Andrew Smith Page; Review: When Finn was 7 years old, a dead horse fell on him and his mother. He survived but was left with scars and frequent seizures. His dad, a writer, wrote a book about a boy named Finn, a boy that shared many of the characteristics of Finn and Finn has always felt as though he is trapped in that book, as though the book and his father have his life all planned out for him. Cade is now in High School and wants to write his own destiny. Finn's best friend is Cade Hernandez, a hero to his peers and a nightmare to teachers. Cade is full of shenanigans yet never seems to get in any real trouble. Things just always seem to work out for him. Julia Bishop is a beautiful girl who transfers to Finn's school just as the school year is about to end. Finn wants to get to know her, and he gets his chance when she happens to walk past his house after he has had a seizure just inside his house and wakes to find her observing him. This book is funny and a little bit sad in parts. Finn describes time in miles...the amount of time it takes the earth to travel around the sun. It is probably supposed to be a charming quirk of the book but I kind of found it annoying. I also think I would have liked the book more if it was just a straight up story without the story of Finn's father's book. I still liked it, found it entertaining, but I think it would have been even better without constantly referring to this book his dad wrote. For parents, if you are looking at this book for your child, be aware that it contains some sexual activity and quite a bit of underage drinking. Oh, an lots of f-bombs.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances; Author: Visit Amazon's Ellen Cooney Page; Review: I really thought I was going to love this book. I LOVE dogs. I am passionate about adoption and spaying and neutering and rescuing and putting all puppy mills out of business. I wanted to love this book but I just didn't. I think it's the lack of plot. The book is headed in a direction, that of rescuing both the dogs and the main character Evie from their previous lives. I just don't feel like the book delivers. There isn't enough background on any of the characters. We know very little about any of them, though we know a lot about the dogs. I suppose the dogs are the main characters, more than the people. I feel like I learned things from this book, about how to behave with dogs, and I appreciate that. I just wish there was more to the book. I don't like that the book is written in large part as a form of lists that Evie keeps to help her learn to behave with the dogs and how to behave with them.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Life Drawing: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Robin Black Page; Review: Augusta, or Gus, as she is more commonly called, is a painter, mostly of landscapes. Her husband Owen is a writer who has been dealing with writer's block for many months. Years ago, Gus came clean to Owen about an affair she had had with the father of her student. It was over but she told him because she wanted to be honest with him. Owen stayed with Gus despite feeling as though it was impossible to do so. Their marriage has survived but things are different. Having moved to the country, the two were used to being mostly alone. When Allison, a beautiful divorced woman, rents the cottage next to theirs, she quickly becomes a part of their lives. Gus and Allison become very close, sharing secrets with each other that will later come to haunt them. Allison's daughter Nora is an aspiring writer who is in awe of Owen. In the beginning, Owen believes her worship of him is innocent enough and Owen is happy to help with any advice he can and the two spend hours together in the barn which he uses as a writing refuge. Gus doesn't like Nora and doesn't trust her but she has no idea how far-reaching the effects of Nora's crush could possibly be. This book is so well written, wonderfully lyrical with nothing at all extraneous or unnecessary about it. Every word feels exactly right.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Half Life of Molly Pierce; Author: Visit Amazon's Katrina Leno Page; Review: This book started out so well. So much mystery! Who is this guy dying in her arms? How does he know her name? Where does she go when she blacks out? I had my own theories about all of this and maybe that is why I wasn't really fond of the actual answers. If I had read the back of the book I would have known all along I was on the wrong track and then I might have enjoyed this book more. Molly is 17 years old. She feels like parts of her life are missing. There are times from her childhood that she doesn't remember and now she has begun losing blocks of time. She doesn't know how she got here, doesn't know what she has been doing for the last several hours. Slowly she begins to piece it all together with the help of her family, friends, and most of all, with the help of Mabel. If I could give this book 3 1/2 stars I would. I found it interesting but not all it could have been.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Say What You Will; Author: Cammie McGovern; Review: Amy has always had help at school, people to help her walk to class, to help her go to the bathroom, to do things for her that she can't do for herself. For her senior year, Amy has decided she wants kids her own age to be her aides. She wants to make friends. Amy's mother isn't sure about the idea but she gives in and hires 4 students to be Amy's aides. One, hand-picked by Amy, is Matthew. Matthew keeps to himself so no one will see how odd he is. He knows that the things he does are odd but he can't stop himself. He doesn't think anyone notices but Amy, though her body may not work and she can only speak with the help of a computer, she notices. As Matthew and Amy spend more and more time together, Matthew realizes he isn't spending time with her because her mother is paying him to. Amy has become his best friend, and maybe even something more. He asks her to the prom, which turns into a disaster and the night ends up changing their lives forever. Say What You Will is entertaining, touching, well-written, humorous, and an all around good book. It's a YA novel but I think most people would enjoy it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beautiful You; Author: Visit Amazon's Chuck Palahniuk Page; Review: Chuck Palahniuk has a strange but brilliant mind. Sometimes his books are a little too disturbing for me (Haunted, in particular) but they are always incredibly original and thought-provoking. His latest novel Beautiful You is no exception. I had already been reading all day when this book came in the mail and, though my eyes felt like they were dried up cherry pits by the end, I didn't (or couldn't) put this book down once I had started it. Penny is a rather plain girl living in New York City, working for a law firm and trying unsuccessfully to pass the bar exam. When she stumbles into the head partner's office, spilling coffee all over herself and landing in a puddle on the floor, she is astonished to be looking up into the face of the wealthiest man in the world, C. Linus Maxwell, and even more astonished when he asks her to accompany him to dinner. Max, as he is known, wines and dines her and they become a couple. Eventually, Penny realizes that she is being used for product testing on a product that seems harmless but in the end will change the entire world. Penny is determined to stop him but how can one girl stop the richest and most powerful man on the planet? Everything about this book is perfect, though you should be warned there are rape scenes. If you are uncomfortable reading about sex, do not read this book. If you want to read a book unlike any other and you aren't put off by a woman using her dead mother's decaying finger to pleasure herself, read this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Katwalk; Author: Visit Amazon's Maria Murnane Page; Review: Katrina is an accountant living in Silicon Valley, California. She hates her job and her friend Deb hates her job so they decide to quit their jobs and move to New York City for 2 months to add some adventure to their lives. Deb ends up backing out and shy little mouse Katrina is cajoled into going all by herself. Once there, Katrina becomes Kat. Kat makes friends easily, Kat gets hit on by married men, Kat takes up yoga, and Kat starts painting again. At the end of the 2 months, Kat doesn't want to leave. Her parents are pressuring to take anther high paying accounting job but she was miserable as an accountant and wants a change. There are things I like a lot about this book. I like that Katrina ventures out, takes chances and ends up changing her life for the better. I like the descriptions of New York City. I like the wisdom of Shana the yoga teacher shares in her yoga lessons. There are things that I really don't like about this book. At no point did I really like Katrina. She's not unlikable, she just seems flimsy and naive. She seems boring. Also, I didn't like most of the dialogue. To me, it came across as unnatural and kind of cheesy. I thought maybe the person writing the book was an older woman that had a hard time writing dialogue for younger people but that isn't the case. This book is good for a light beach read. There's nothing about it that requires contemplation or thought. It's not bad, just not my fave.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Last Night at the Blue Angel: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rebecca Rotert Page; Review: Naomi Hill is a singer in at the Blue Angel, a nightclub that has seen better days Her 10 year-old daughter Sophia sits backstage, waiting for her mother to take her home but more often it is Jim, the man who has been there all her life, who takes care of her and loves her but is not her father. Jim's love for both Naomi and Sophia is obvious but Naomi will not be tied down. Some nights she brings a man home to the hotel room she shares with her daughter and some nights she brings home a woman. She doesn't seem particularly choosy, as long as someone is there to love her. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present, from when Naomi was a girl growing up with a large family that had no room and no patience for her, to the present, when Sophia is the narrator and we see things through her eyes. It helps the reader understand why Naomi is the way she is now and how she got to this point. The novel deals with LGBTQ issues in a time when men could get arrested for touching each other in public. It talks about racial inequality. At first, this book seems like a fluffy bit of reading but in the end, you realize how much these characters have touched you. Rebecca Rotert has done an amazing job and I highly recommend this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Small Blessings: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Martha Woodroof Page; Review: I'm a little conflicted over this book. On the one hand, the description of this perfect little college town, filled with so many kind and lovely people, made me want to live there, work in the bookstore, and soak up the perfection that the author has created. On the other hand, nothing about this book is terribly realistic and I found myself getting annoyed by that. I was also annoyed by a character's sudden and uncharacteristic meltdown in a classroom that was never explained and that was described in far-fetched metaphors. Though there is a lovely little story here (for everyone but Marjory, who dies, conveniently for her husband, just when a new woman moves to town) and though it all ends quite happily, there were too many little things that I couldn't quite accept. If you're looking for light, happy reading with a happy ending that all seems a bit too easy, you'll love this book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands (Vintage Contemporaries); Author: Visit Amazon's Chris Bohjalian Page; Review: Emily Shepherd is a 16 year-old girl living with her parents in Vermont until the day the nuclear power plant that both her parents work at has a meltdown, killing her parents, spreading radioactivity, and leaving thousands of people homeless. After her school is evacuated, Emily hears people talking and realizes not only that her parents are dead but that her dad is being blamed for this tragedy. She overhears a man talking about Emily, saying they will make her testify that her dad had been drunk when he'd gone to work and she decides to disappear. The bulk of this book is about how Emily survives on the streets, about the people she meets and the horrific things she has to do. It's heartbreaking that there are people with no place to go, who live on the streets and go to extremes to keep themselves safe. Somehow, in spite of losing her parents, her home and life as she knew it, the author somehow manages to give the book a rather happy ending, which I appreciated. This is the first book by Chris Bohjalian I have read but I now plan to read the rest of them. He does an amazing job of writing with the voice of a teenage girl.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Long Man: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Amy Greene Page; Review: Long Man is a book about a strong-willed young wife and mother who refuses to leave her farm when the government has decided to evacuate and flood the area. When her daughter goes missing just as the area is about to be flooded there is a race to find her in time. That last sentence is really about the only thing that happens in this book. It is a beautifully written, thoroughly contemplative and incredibly slow-moving novel. I guess I like my books to have a bit more action because even though the writing was solid, I had a very difficult time slogging through it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy; Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Hattemer Page; Review: I'm not a young adult but I read a lot of YA fiction. I was excited to read this book because it had such rave reviews and it was being compared to books by John Green. I wanted to like this book but I didn't. It was a chore. The only thing that rang true for me in any of the characters was the teenage angst and unrequited love that Ethan had for Maura and the obvious crush that Elizabeth had on Ethan. I realize that these are not average teenagers but what the author should realize is that most of the people reading this book will be average teenagers. They are not interested (or at least I was not interested) in Ezra Pound or his poetry. That was one of the things that made reading this book not fun. I understand that I may be subjected to reading about class lectures in a book and the author of this book may have a special place in her heart for Ezra Pound but I suspect that most teenagers will not share this feeling. I also thought the book had an unrealistically happy ending, My favorite characters were Ethan's triplet sisters and the hamster Baconnaise. To me, they were the only truly authentic characters, though I do doubt that any hamster could truly do the things done by Baconnaise.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Virtues of Oxygen; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Schoenberger Page; Review: Holly is a widowed woman in her mid-forties with two children, a mortgage she can't pay and a job she may be about to lose. Vivian is a woman in her sixties who had polio as a child and has been in an iron lung since she was six years old. These women live in the small town of Bertram Corners, New York, a town that has been hit hard by the economic downturn but which has a strong sense of community, as shown by nearly everyone in town volunteering time to help care for Vivian, who can't be left alone for more than a few minutes. Holly is at the receiving end of a long string of bad luck. Her mother, who helped pay her mortgage, has had a stroke and is no longer in a position to help. Her rich brother's company has failed and he has been forced to declare bankruptcy. Her kids need money for band trips. On top of it all, the newspaper she works for may have to close its doors. Vivian has been unable to work, of course, but has made sound investments in the past. Her latest investment brings a handsome man to town, but both she and Holly wonder if he can be trusted. I really liked this book for several reasons. I like that Vivian, despite being trapped in her useless body, uses her mind to achieve financial success and also that she is not, for the most part, a whiny or self-pitying character. She is an amazing woman who does what she can to help others. I like that the book shows the reality of making ends meet when you are a single mother. I did, however, find this part of the book a little bit depressing and even though my family and I are now financially sound (I hope) it made me panic just a little bit. The book points out that you may have thought that your parents or siblings could bail you out if you have a financial catastrophe but you really can't count on anyone but yourself, which is a good lesson and one that should be taught early on in life. Overall, it's a great book and I found the stuff about polio very interesting (and sad). I would give it 4 1/2 stars if I could.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Troika; Author: Visit Amazon's Adam Pelzman Page; Review: Perla is a stripper in a middle-of-the-road strip joint. Not too fancy, not too sleazy but just the right mix of both for Perla. Perla left Cuba with her parents as a child and was raised in Miami. After losing her father at 14, Perla and her mother had to work together to make ends meet. As the book opens, Perla is working at the club and sees a man come in. This man is Julian. Julian was born in Siberia, the son of a successful hunter who is one day killed by the tiger he is hunting. Julian's heartbroken mother turns to drugs to numb the pain and then to prostitution to pay for the drugs and Julian is sent to live in an orphanage. When Julian is 10 years old, his mother comes to visit. He begs her to take him with her but she can't. As she leaves the orphanage, Julian sees what she has had to do to gain entry to the orphanage...the nasty old man that runs the place pushes her down to her knees. Julian sees it happen. He is filled with rage and some serious shizz goes down. I don't want to ruin it for you, though I have seen that other reviewers have already written about it. Julian at 10 years old is already a serious bada$$. By the time he walks into Perla's club, he's a successful, attractive, rich, and nearly perfect man. The author has made Julian into every woman's fantasy, except for the fact that he has a wife. Sophie is Julian's wife. They met in high school and have been together ever since. Sophie is smart, sophisticated and beautiful but after a car accident, she is paralyzed from the waist down. Sex is difficult and awkward, especially when she loses control of her bowels in the middle of the action. Troika is not your typical love story. It's the story of three broken people that are made whole through each other. It is a story of selflessness and a kind of generosity that has nothing to do with money. When I first started the book, reading about a strip club, I thought I had picked a book that I was not going to like. As I continued to read, I knew that I had been wrong and that this book had a deep and philosophical side that would stick with me. This book does have some rather sexual scenes so if you prefer your books on the wholesome side, this one may not be for you.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Don't Talk to Strangers (Keye Street #3); Author: ; Review: Keye Street is a former FBI agent asked to consult on a case of two murdered girls in the small rural town of Whisper, Georgia. Leaving her business and her boyfriend behind in Atlanta, she arrives in Whisper and finds that not everyone is happy to have her there. Major Tina Brolin and Detective Robert Raymond let her know how unwanted she is, while Sheriff Metzer seems to be interested in more than just her skills as a profiler. When another girl goes missing, Keye has to find the her before it's too late. The author has done a great job giving the characters depth and also manages to keep the story engrossing and ends the book with a surprising plot twist I don't think anyone could have seen coming.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Spark and the Drive: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Wayne Harrison Page; Review: When I started reading this book, I was bored and confused by all the car talk. All of the reviews I had read raved about this book and said that it wasn't necessary to know about cars or to be interested in cars in order to love this book so I kept reading and I'm so glad I did because this was a really great book. Justin is just a kid in high school when he meets Nick and Mary Ann and begins an internship in Nick's auto mechanic business. When he's done with high school he decides he doesn't want to go to college. He wants to work for Nick, to learn everything he can from this master mechanic who specializes in muscle cars, the kind they don't make anymore because the EPA has decided they're bad for the environment. It's the 80's and soon every car will be computerized to one extent or another. When tragedy strikes Nick and Mary Ann's little family, their marriage starts to fall apart. Justin worships Nick and lusts after Mary Ann and soon young Justin is involved in some pretty serious deceit. He wants Mary Ann to leave Nick and is afraid that she never will. He decides to take matters into his own hands and the consequences of his actions change all of their lives forever. Wayne Harrison has done an amazing job with this book. I'm so glad that I pushed on past all the mechanic lingo to get to the good stuff.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: I Am China: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Xiaolu Guo Page; Review: Iona, a Scottish woman living in London, is asked to translate letters and diary entries written by Jian, a Chinese punk musician living in exile after his political ideas got him kicked out of China and Jian's girlfriend Mu. Mu has been unable to locate Jian and is looking for help in finding him. Through the translated letters and diary entries, Iona enters the lives of these two strangers and becomes more than just a translator. She becomes invested in the story of Jian and Mu and she wants to help bring them back together. At the same time, the man who asked her to translate these writings, Jonathon, has become more than someone Iona is working for but Iona is used to being in charge of her sex life and isn't sure to handle something that may be more than just sex. Also, Jonathon is being threatened by the Chinese government after they somehow found out that he was having these writings translated in the hopes of one day publishing them. I really enjoyed this book. I always like reading about other cultures and I find the Chinese political world both sad and fascinating. Xiaolu Guo has done a wonderful job.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Little Mercies (English Edition); Author: Visit Amazon's Heather Gudenkauf Page; Review: Ellen is a social worker in Cedar City, Iowa who has helped hundreds of children and their families but when her own daughter's life is in danger she is charged with being neglectful. Jenny is a 10 year-old girl living with her father, who is not always on the right side of the law. When it seems the police might be on to him, they decide to leave town. As Jenny waits on the bus for her father to join her, she watches helplessly as he is arrested. Her fear of the police and of foster homes lead to her decision to stay on the bus. She ends up in Cedar City. Maudene is Ellen's mother. She is a waitress at the Happy Pancake and, when Jenny comes in all alone, she knows that something isn't quite right. She ends up taking Jenny home with her until she can find out who she belongs to. This novel could have been really depressing, with it's tales of neglect and child abuse but in the end it's a story of hope. The ending of the book, as in life, isn't perfect but the ending the characters receive is the best they can get. This novel points out that sometimes the people we revile for hurting their children really meant them no harm and that they are suffering the consequences of their ignorance and sometimes the abuse truly is the product of a purely evil individual. I think the author did a great job giving the characters depth, making them as real as possible.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Agincourt Bride; Author: Visit Amazon's Joanna Hickson Page; Review: The Agincourt Bride is a book about Catherine of Valois, narrated largely by the woman who was first her wet nurse and eventually became her most trusted servant. This servant, Mette, is just a girl herself when she is hired to be Catherine's wet nurse after her own baby died. She grows up quickly as she is left to care not only for Catherine but for her siblings as well. Catherine's mother Queen Isabeau is a cold, uncaring woman who has nothing to do with her children until they are old enough to be used as pawns in her political machinations and Catherine's father, King Charles is rarely sane enough to take care of himself, let alone rule France. As a result of Charles' insanity, various dukes struggle to control France, the most heinous of which is the Duke of Burgundy. He is a cruel and heartless man who uses Catherine to make a treaty with King Henry of England, who has just beat France at the battle of Agincourt. I enjoyed this book but I thought that it was a little bit too drawn out. There is at least one sequel to the Agincourt Bride and I think the author could have been a bit more succinct and make the 2 books into one. I was also bothered by the blurb on the cover: "Her beauty fuelled a war. Her courage captured a king." The war fought between France and England had nothing to do with Catherine or her beauty and it wasn't her courage that captured the king. Catherine was largely powerless and her fate was not in her hands. Still, the book is interesting and well written and if I could give it another 1/2 star I would.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Remember Me Like This: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Bret Anthony Johnston Page; Review: Eric and Laura have been waiting for 4 years for news of their kidnapped son Justin and when they get a call from the police, asking them to get to the station right away, they assume the worst. When they realize that their son is alive and has been in nearby Corpus Christie the entire time, they momentarily believe that the nightmare of the last 4 years is over. It doesn't take long for them to realize that life may never get back to the way it was. It helps that the kidnapper is in prison but when he is allowed to post bail, the family begins to fall apart again. Strangely, Justin seems to be the strongest out of all of them, or perhaps his little brother Griff. With the kidnapper planning to plead not guilty, a lengthy and ugly trial could be ahead of them. Justin will have to relive what was done to him. His father and his grandfather, however, have a plan. I am the mother of two boys and the things that happen in this book are literally my worst nightmare. It would be extremely difficult for me to sit by and wait for the law to punish a person guilty of abusing my child. This book made me realize how much more it would damage my children if one of their parents decided to take the law into their own hands. While I understood the desire to kill the man, I also knew that it would only destroy the family further. As unlikely as it seems, this book has a hopeful and very nearly happy ending. Bret Anthony Johnston has done a wonderful job with these characters. Even the minor characters have a depth to them that make them so real. His writing, the pacing, everything about this book is expertly crafted.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lisette's List: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Vreeland Page; Review: The year is 1937. Lisette and her husband Andre have left Paris behind to live in the village of Roussillon in Provence to care for Andre's ailing grandfather Pascal. Lisette loves Paris and reluctantly leaves her city full of art behind but she soon learns to love Pascal and she is also enamoured with Pascal's paintings. He has 3 paintings by Cezanne, 2 by Pissaro and a painting that was given to him by his son that he only knows was painted by a Spaniard. Pascal spends his days telling Lisette the stories of how he came to own these paintings, of the ochre mined from the mines of Roussillon that was used to make the paints, and stories about the men who painted them. It is important to him that Lisette and Andre understand all of these details before he passes on. Eventually, Pascal dies, leaving the paintings to the young couple. Soon after, France is invaded by Germany and Andre returns to Paris, joining his friend Maxime as they enlist to fight the Nazis, leaving Lisette behind in Roussillon. Before he leaves, knowing the Nazis will loot any art they find, he takes the paintings and hides them, not even telling Lisette where they are hidden. I don't want to give away any more of the book than I already have so my synopsis ends here. This book was a joy to read. From the very first pages, the images the author invoked made me ache to visit this small village in Provence and if I could time travel back to the 1930's, so much the better. I loved the villagers of Roussillon and wished I could meet these expertly drawn fictional characters. The book made me want my own goat and chicken, made me wish that I had bees so I could make my own honey, even made me think that using an outhouse was somehow charming and romantic instead of dirty and smelly. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book that the thought of finishing it made me sad, though I was unable to put it down until I had read the whole thing. Vreeland has written a masterpiece.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Song for Issy Bradley; Author: Visit Amazon's Carys Bray Page; Review: When I requested this book, I didn't read very closely what it was about. I noticed that it had good reviews from other readers and that was all I needed to know. When I opened the book, one of the first pages had a quote from the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of Mormon scripture, and I wanted to get as far away from this book as possible. Having grown up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and having decided long ago that I didn't believe what the church taught and didn't agree with a lot of its teachings, reading a book about a Mormon family seemed about as much fun as a colonoscopy. My entire family is Mormon, my ancestors on both sides of my family were Mormon pioneers, my mom tells me she knows the Church is true on a regular basis and my sister sends the missionaries to my house. I do all that I can to distance myself from the Church and I was afraid that reading this book would bring on some PTSD. Before I read the book I read about the author and noticed that she was also a former Mormon and realized there might be merit to this book after all. While the author does not in any way come out with any negative commentary about the Church, she manages to show the misogyny and double standards. The story revolves around the ability to keep your faith when you lose a child. Ian, a Bishop and lifelong member of the Church, is able to find comfort in his faith. For the rest of the family and especially for his wife Claire it isn't so easy. This book may answer a lot of questions that non-Mormons have about the Church and they may find it fascinating. I can relate to this book because I've lived with people like the characters in this book my whole life. It made me reflect on what I've been told over and over again and reminds me why I rejected it. Members of the Church might read it and find it somehow faith affirming because somehow the author manages not to write anything too critical against them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Take Me With You; Author: Visit Amazon's Catherine Ryan Hyde Page; Review: August is trying to get to Yellowstone when the engine on his RV breaks down and the cost of fixing it will make it impossible for him to pay for the gas to get there. Wes, the mechanic, has a plan that is a little unorthodox but that will allow August to take the trip as planned. Wes wants August to take his two boys, Seth and Henry, with him. Though he knows it's a crazy idea, August agrees, grudgingly, and the result changes his life forever...in a good way. I enjoyed the first half of this book so much. In addition to getting to know these characters, the author describes the gorgeous scenery of Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, the beauty of Moab and Delicate Arch. I've been to most of the places August, Seth and Henry visit and this book made me want to see them all again. The second half of this book isn't bad, I just like the first half better. In the second half, August is older and he's losing control of his body. The little boys he traveled with for a summer 8 years ago are now a college sophomore and a 15 year-old and they want to do for August what he did for them. This book makes me want to travel more but it also made me want to be the kind of person that would take 2 lost and lonely little boys on a trip that would change their lives for the better, that made them know there was at least one person out there that cared about them. The world would be a better place if there were more people like August.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spark: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's John Twelve Hawks Page; Review: Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. From the very beginning this book grabs you with it's originality, it's perfectly paced action and most of all with the questions you need answers to. Jacob is a contract killer for a seriously creepy group of people. He is particularly good at his job because he is dead. He is unable to feel fear, remorse, or much of anything really. He is a Spark inside a Shell. He wasn't always dead. He used to be a normal guy with a job and friends and a girlfriend. Now that he's dead, he doesn't like to eat, especially dead things. He doesn't like to be touched. Without his list of rules he would forget to shower. The one thing that Jacob likes...dogs. Emily Buchanan works for the Brooks Danford Group, the same bank that has Jacob on contract. When she disappears, Jacob is hired to track her down and figure out why. When Jacob leans that she has information damaging to one of the bank's powerful clients, he is ordered to kill her. The world that Jacob and Emily live in changed after an event called the Day of Rage, during which 9 bombs destroyed 9 schools all over the world, killing countless children. Since that event, people are monitored constantly, by cameras and by their Freedom Cards, an ID that lets those in charge know where everyone is all the time. Also, people are losing their jobs to nubots, human-looking and sounding robots. Only the people that are in positions of power or people who control technology have any sort of job security. This book is so imaginative and well-written and I can't recommend it enough. I rarely read a book I find so completely enthralling and perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Furies: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Natalie Haynes Page; Review: Alex is mourning the death of her boyfriend Luke when her old professor Robert asks her to come to Edinburgh to teach theater to kids who have been kicked out of regular schools for being delinquents. Her most difficult class is a group of 4th year students (15-16 years old) that the other teachers seem to live in fear of. Alex is able to reach them by not treating them like a group of idiots and by not judging them for what they may have done in the past. What she doesn't realize is that one member of the group is a little too interested in her and in the death of Luke. The first 3/4 of the book moves pretty slowly. The book is well-written but there isn't a lot going on. It switches between different parts of the past and the present, which the author does in a way that is not at all confusing. Almost immediately, we learn that something bad has happened but it isn't until almost the end of the book that we know what that thing is. It's at that point that the book became more interesting to me.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hawley Book of the Dead; Author: Visit Amazon's Chrysler Szarlan Page; Review: Revelation and Jeremy Maskelyne are famous magicians with a long-running show in Las Vegas. When one of their illusions goes wrong and Jeremy is killed, Revelation (more commonly known as Reve) learns that someone had planned his death and that she and her 3 daughters are not safe. Soon after the death of her husband, Reve gets a message from her grandmother (Nan), telling her to go to Hawley Five Corners, a place that Reve spent a lot of time as a child. So Reve plans a last show as a tribute to her husband and at the end of it, she and her daughters disappear. Reve has always been able to disappear. All of the women in her family have special powers and hers is the ability to disappear. Nan has many powers and Reve is sure that if her grandmother thinks she should return to Hawley, that returning is the best possible option to keep her family safe. Once back in Hawley Five Corners, Reve runs into Jolon, the man who had been her best childhood friend but who had moved away and not kept in touch. He was her first boyfriend and so soon after the death of her husband she is not sure how to behave around him. Soon, she's not worried about that because she needs his help as the local sheriff to find her twin daughters, who have disappeared. I don't want to give away any more of the story so my synopsis ends here. If you like books about witches and supernatural beings, you'll enjoy this book. It's well-written and has an interesting plot and I'm pretty sure there will be sequels.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Island of a Thousand Mirrors: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nayomi Munaweera Page; Review: It's hard for me to say that I love a book that contains so much sadness, heartbreak, and bloodshed but I couldn't give this book less than 5 stars because I think everyone should read this book. This book is about Sri Lanka and the war that has torn the country apart. I generally consider myself fairly well-informed but I had no idea, absolutely none, of the tragic events that were taking place in Sri Lanka. In this book the author shows us the ruling Sinhalese and the minority Tamil engaging in horrific acts of warfare. It seems that no family is left intact, no matter which side they are on. Both sides fight dirty, brutally. Yasodhara Rajasinghe tells the story of her family. She grew up with her parents, her sister Lakshmi, her fierce grandmother, and other family members in a big house, imagined by her grandfather, who sold everything he had to build it. When her grandfather dies of a stroke, his wife Silvia must rent out the 2 floor of the house to be able to keep her family fed. The Shivalingam family lives upstairs, a Tamil family, among them Shiva, the boy that was born at the same time and place as Yasodhara and who is Yasodhara's nest friend. . When fighting breaks out, people come for the Tamil family but Silvia protects them from the mobs, telling them there is only her family in the house. The Shivalingam family disappears in the night, leaving the country to find safety in England. Soon after, Yasodhara's family leaves for America. Saraswathi is a Tamil girl who is preparing to become a teacher when she is kidnapped by Sinhalese soldiers and raped. She returns home to a family that is not sure what to do with her. She brings shame on their family and so they send her to be trained as a rebel soldier. She becomes a ruthless killer, equally comfortable killing babies or full-grown men, When her wish of being accepted as a martyr to the cause is granted, she heads to Colombo to await her target, a Tamil politician who is a traitor to his people. When things don't go quite as planned, her actions change Yasodhara's life forever. This book not only describes the horrors of war but paints a beautiful picture of Sri Lanka before it was torn apart. It taught me a lot of things I didn't know and it made me want to learn more about it. It's not all sunshine and roses and it may make you cry but you should still read this.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bitter Greens; Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Forsyth Page; Review: This book pulled me in and wouldn't let go until I had read every one of its many pages. Bitter Greens is primarily about Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, a Frenchwoman born in the 17th century, whose Huguenot mother was locked away in a convent by King Louis XIV while Charlotte-Rose was kept a prisoner in her own house until she became old enough to be a maid-of-honor to the Queen. Neither beautiful nor wealthy, Charlotte-Rose had only her wit to rely on, though she often spoke when she would have fared better had she held her tongue. After more than 30 years at court, the king had finally had enough of her and sent her to live in a convent. It is only through the stories told by Sister Seraphina as they work in the convent garden that Charlotte-Rose manages not to give in to despair. Sister Seraphina tells her the story of a young girl, taken from her parents by an evil witch and imprisoned in a tower with no doors and only one high window. It is the story we know as Rapunzel, a story that Charlotte-Rose is credited with writing. Along with the story of the girl locked in the tower, Sister Seraphina tells the story of the witch, Selena Leonelli. The story weaves the story of these three into one enthralling and magical book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Chris Guillebeau Page; Review: I often remind myself that my life isn't very exciting and that what I need is some adventure. This book is full of adventures, or quests, as the author refers to them, including the author's own quest of visiting every country in the world. There are useful suggestions for questing, making goals, setting a time limit, preparing, etc. I was hoping that I would find this book so interesting and inspiring that I would figure out my purpose, my quest. I still haven't. I don't blame the author for that. He shared many anecdotes and lots of helpful advice but the book still didn't inspire me. I was actually a little bit bored reading this book and that may be just because I don't usually read self-help books or any non-fiction books if I can help it. Still, I really wanted this book to help me dig myself out of my rut. Maybe in a few days it will click and I'll discover my own quest. If that happens, I'll be sure to come back and edit this review.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Broadchurch: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Kelly Page; Review: The small Dorset village of Broadchurch is stunned when 11 year-old Danny Latimer is found dead. In a place where everyone knows everyone else, the idea that one of their own has done this sets everyone on edge. Detective Inspector Hardy is not from Broadchurch. His partner, Ellie Miller, was born and raised there. The victim was her son's best friend. His mother is her best friend. Together, Hardy and Miller work to solve this horrible crime while dealing with the press and other interference. When they finally find the killer, it is the last person anyone would have suspected. The plot, the pacing, the characters...everything about this novel was well done. Sometimes in books like this you can predict what happened and you know how it will end before you are half way through the book. The identity of the killer was a complete surprise. I also liked that, though this was a murder mystery, there was nothing too grisly or violent in this book. I hate reading about horrible, torturous deaths and was happy that this book contained none of that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Friendswood: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rene Steinke Page; Review: Friendswood, Texas is a small town that was made even smaller by many deaths caused by toxic chemicals buried underground. Lee is a woman whose daughter died of cancer after playing in a field full of the chemicals. Years later, she seems to be the only own ready to stand up to Avery Taft, a man who wants to build a subdivision on the land that is still toxic. Hal is trying to be a good man. He's quit drinking, he stopped having an affair, he goes to church and he prays. He doesn't understand why the Lord hasn't blessed him with wealth. Once Avery Taft asks for his help with a delicate matter, he's sure that Avery will be his ticket to making good money. Cully is Hal's son. He's not a bad kid but he's done something terrible and he's having a hard time living with himself. Willa is not like other girls. When her crush invites her to lunch, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. Dex is a nice guy. He does what he can to take care of his depressed and overweight mom. He likes Willa and after something awful happens to her, he tries to help her. While this book was well-written and interesting, I didn't love it. I wanted justice for Willa and I wanted the people responsible for hurting her to be punished. I wanted Dex to be rewarded for being a good person. I wanted Hal to stop trying to shove Jesus down everyone's throat, which, I guess he did a little bit. Of the two main story lines, that of Lee putting an end to the building on toxic land, and that of Willa and what happened to her, only the first one was satisfactorily dealt with. I also didn't quite see the point of Willa's visions. To have things appear to her but to never know the meaning or the reasons for her visions bothered me. They didn't move the plot along or really have anything to do with the story so why were they there?; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Florence Gordon; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Morton Page; Review: Florence Gordon is a 75 year-old writer, feminist, activist, intellectual, mother, and grandmother and she is one tough old bird. Her work is finally getting the attention it deserves. Young women are reading her work and singing her praises. If only her family would leave her alone, she would be able to get some more work done. Her daughter-in-law Janine worships her in the most embarrassing way and her granddaughter Emily might be okay and she might be an idiot...it's hard for Florence to decide. Her ex-husband can't deal with her success in the face of all of his failures and, because she pities him, he is one of the only people she isn't brutally honest with. While the other characters in the book are all experiencing problems of their own, to me, only Florence matters. Even though she's rude and dismissive, I can't help loving her and wishing she were my grandmother, if only so I could be genetically blessed with her mind, her spirit, and her ability to get away with things that no one else could possibly get away with. Florence Gordon is a book that is character-driven rather than plot-driven. The characters are all rather introspective and their inner monologues aren't the insipid and useless inner monologues of the masses. It's this that makes you want to keep reading, though there isn't much happening. Their thoughts make you realize that your thoughts aren't good enough.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Silent Sister: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Diane Chamberlain Page; Review: Riley is the executrix of her father's estate. Her brother Danny doesn't care what she does with any of their father's belongings and he refuses to help with any of it. Feeling not only alone but overwhelmed by the task ahead of her, Riley starts things off by letting a few people know that her father had left them something in his will. To Tom Kyle and his wife, her father left his rather valuable pipe collection, which seemed to anger the couple instead of please them. Through the process of clearing things out of her father's house, Riley comes across shocking information about her sister Lisa, a sister that committed suicide when Riley was just 2 years old. The more Riley digs, the more shocking the information becomes and soon she's on a quest to find out what really happened all those years ago. But Riley's digging could have consequences and if she isn't careful, she is going to put people she loves in danger. The Silent Sister was an intriguing read that explores the lengths that people will go to in order to protect the people they love. It was a book that I didn't want to put down until I knew how it would end.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Great Glass Sea; Author: Visit Amazon's Josh Weil Page; Review: Dima and Yarik are twin brothers, born in the USSR, raised during the fall of Communism, and now living in a Russia that is far from either of these times, not in years but in circumstances. The twins are as close as any two people can be until their lives take two very different paths. The brothers both work at the Oranzheria, a project that has eliminated darkness in their part of Russia by using mirrors. I can't say that I ever really understood exactly how that worked but that doesn't matter. There are constantly workers at the Oranzheria, either adding new mirrors or working the land beneath the mirrors, growing crops. Weekends are a thing of the past. People are working or they are sleeping. There is nothing else left. When the billionaire behind the Oranzheria takes an interest in Yarik and promotes him, Dima is disenchanted with his job and he quits. For a long time, he does nothing. Then, one day, he decides to recite Pushkin in the square. At first, his audience is small but soon it swells and with the crowd of people that come to hear him come the police. He is warned not to return but he has already done the damage. The people want more from their lives. The Communists want Dima for their side, the anarchists for theirs. All Dima wants is to be able to buy his uncle's old farm and live there with Yarik and Yarik's family and their mother. He isn't trying to start a revolution but somehow it seems that he has. Meanwhile, Yarik has become closer and closer to the billionaire. Soon, the only thing keeping Dima alive is Yarik's relationship with the man in power and the money he pays to keep Dima safe. At the same time he's embarrassed by Dima, by who he has become, and he stops seeing him, stops allowing him to come to his apartment to see his children. He is burdened with the responsibilities he has to take care of his wife and children, his mother, and his troublesome but beloved brother. While this book isn't full of action and is primarily about these 2 men and their lives, I still enjoyed this book. It isn't as much a book about a dystopian Russia as it is about two inseparable brothers who become strangers, and worse than strangers. It is a book about familial love and heartbreak.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The End of Innocence: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Allegra Jordan Page; Review: Helen Brooks is a member of the Boston aristocracy. Lately she's had a bad run of luck, mostly due to her mother's work to help the poor limit the size of their families. After her mother's arrest, Helen is snubbed in several ways. One thing she has going for her is her admittance into a class at Harvard. Not many ladies are allowed to enter the halls of Harvard in 1914 but one Professor Copeland believes that Helen is deserving. While at school, Helen meets the charming British playboy Riley Spencer and his German cousin Wils Brandl. She is immediately charmed by Riley but soon she sees that the man with more substance is Wils. Soon, it becomes necessary for both Riley and Wils to leave Harvard, to return to their respective countries, and to fight on opposite sides. I generally find books about World War I fascinating and, in part, this book was no different. The fact that two of the main characters were cousins fighting on opposite sides provided even more interest. However, I found the very first part of the book quite boring, thoroughly enjoyed the middle, and again found myself bored at the end. Once the 2 most interesting main characters are gone, I lost interest. I found the climax entirely anticlimactic.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Three Emperors: An Ethan Gage Adventure (Ethan Gage Adventures); Author: Visit Amazon's William Dietrich Page; Review: Even though this was the 6th book in the Ethan Gage series, it is the only one I have read. Even without reading the previous 5 books, I really enjoyed this book. This book has 2 narrators, Ethan and his wife Astiza. They have been separated and Ethan is trying to get back to Astiza and their son Harry. On his way across Europe, Ethan gets into multiple scrapes, gets conscripted into Napoleon's service, gets shot, shares a coffin with a dead woman, making enemies and a couple of friends along the way. Meanwhile, Astiza and Harry have been taken captive. Astiza's captors believe that she is capable of alchemy, turning base metals into gold and also find the key to eternal life. She is forced to work in a dungeon, keeping them at bay by pretending to be on the right track. They are also looking for an automaton called the Brazen Head, which is supposedly able to foretell the future. For this they also need Ethan. This book is full of adventure and humor and I think the chapters with Ethan as narrator are great. The chapters narrated by Astiza aren't as good in my opinion, mostly because they don't have the charm and wit of Ethan but also because all of her talk of mysticism wasn't interesting to me, Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I plan to go back and read all of the other Ethan Gage novels.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Anatomy of a Misfit; Author: Visit Amazon's Andrea Portes Page; Review: Anika Dragomir lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, a place where being half-Romanian is nearly unforgivable. She is the third most popular girl in school because she is friends with the most popular (and evil) girl at school, Becky Vilhauer. Even though Anika knows Becky is evil, she does what she has to in order to protect herself from becoming a pariah. Becky must be appeased. Logan McDonough is not cool. If Becky knew that Anika was secretly seeing Logan, she would make Anika's life miserable. Jared Kline IS cool...too cool for the likes of Anika, so why is he so interested in her? He's the hottest guy in town so why is he so taken with her? She can't be seen with Logan because he isn't cool enough but she really likes him. Being Jared's girlfriend would make her the coolest girl in school but she's not sure she trusts him. In the end, Anika wishes more than anything that she didn't care what other people thought. In the end, she realizes that Becky's hold on her needs to be destroyed. It's been a long time since I was in High School and, though I'm sure this kind of stuff happens, I really hoped that people had gotten past all of that crap where you worry about who is popular and who isn't. Who cares? Who cares what other people think of you? I wish it wasn't so difficult for people, especially young people, to just be themselves. Don't let the Becky Vilhauer's of the world get away with their bull$hit. The best thing about this book is that it's funny. Portes has done a great job of infusing the difficult situations in the book with a humor that makes this book so much better than it would be otherwise.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Firelight Girls: A Novel (Reading Group Gold); Author: Visit Amazon's Kaya McLaren Page; Review: There were things about this book that I really liked. I love the idea behind it. I would love to have been fortunate enough to attend a camp like this one as a child and I may have loved it even more as an adult. I love that it explores the extreme difficulties and heartbreak of being gay or lesbian, especially before this age where it finally seems to be getting a bit better. I love the friendships that these women have with each other, that, even after being apart for so many years, are still just as strong as they were the last time they saw each other. What I didn't love about this book was that it was a bit simplistic. Everyone has some pretty serious issues and they are all wrapped up nice and tidy, with hardly any difficulties. I wish life was like that. I wish that reality could be as sweet and simple and perfect as this book but it isn't. It just didn't feel authentic to me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Zac and Mia; Author: Visit Amazon's A. J. Betts Page; Review: Zac and Mia is the story of two teenagers with cancer. Seventeen year-old Zac has been in room 1 for a long time. He's had chemo, radiation, and a bone-marrow transplant to treat his leukemia and he's recuperating when Mia appears in room 2. He can't see her but he hears the drama coming from her room. The nurses are none too fond of the feisty Mia but Zac befriends her. Mia's tumor on her leg means her chances of survival are excellent but she's not one to look at the bright side of things. Zac leaves the hospital and he and Mia lose touch until one day she shows up at the olive farm and petting zoo his family operates. She's still angry and difficult but this new Mia is also damaged. She has run away from home, she's sick, and she needs help but is unwilling to be vulnerable. In the end, this turbulent friendship goes a long way to healing both Zac and Mia. There's not really a happy ending but it's also not as sad as it could have been. I thought the book was well-written and the characters had depth and were well-developed. There was a little bit of humor but not as much as Fault in Our Stars or other similar books.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Book of Strange New Things; Author: Visit Amazon's Michel Faber Page; Review: I loved Michel Faber's book The Crimson Petal and the White so I was super excited to read this. The first thing you should know, is that this book is absolutely nothing like that one. It's a good book but if you want a book similar to The Crimson Petal and the White, look elsewhere. That's not to say that The Book of Strange New Things is not good. It is. It's extremely original and well-written. Peter has been chosen by the USIC corporation to travel to the planet Oasis to preach to the native population. He's not entirely sure what he's going to find when he gets there, whether his new flock will be welcoming or hostile, but he's full of missionary zeal and he's ready to bring these alien creatures to Jesus. Leaving behind his loving wife Bea to look after herself and their cat Joshua in an increasingly dangerous and hostile London, Peter is transported to the faraway planet. This planet is, of course, very different from Earth. There are no lakes, rivers, or oceans but it rains everyday so water isn't a problem. There is oxygen. There is a native plant they call whiteflower and it's good that it's so incredibly versatile because not much else seems to grow on Oasis. The base that houses the workers from USIC has everything and there's no need to leave the compound....unless you are Peter, whose job is to preach the word of God to the native population. So he has Grainger, the base's pharmacist, take him out to meet them. Grainger is not a fan of the natives and she visibly shudders when having to deal with them. Peter has a moment of repulsion upon first seeing them but quickly learns to love and care for them. Luckily for him, a large group of them are very eager to hear more about Jesus, The first native Peter meets is Jesus Lover One. All those that are eager to learn more about the teachings of the Book of Strange New Things (the Bible) call themselves Jesus Lover and then a number, the order in which each of them were converted. It is only by their different colored robes and by their slightly different personalities that Peter can tell them apart. Peter lives among them for days, preaching to them and working with them to build a church. When Grainger returns to bring medicine, Peter goes back to the base with her, mainly so he can contact his wife in an intergalactic email-like hing called a Shoot. The messages from Bea are alarming. Horrible things are happening all over the world. Bea is scared and upset and doesn't think Peter understands the severity of the situation. She's right. Peter is far more concerned with his flock here on Oasis. The ending leaves things quite unfinished, leading me to believe there will be a sequel. I hope there's a sequel. I want to know if Peter will return to Earth and what will happen if he does.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Oleander Sisters; Author: Visit Amazon's Elaine Hussey Page; Review: Oh dear. This is going to be an extremely unpopular review. I got this book after seeing all of the 4 and 5 star reviews, figuring it had to be good with the ratings it had. So, I vehemently disagree with every other review of this book. I got 25 pages in and was so ready to quit reading. The insipid metaphors, the unnecessarily flowery language, everything about the writing annoyed me. I went back and read those 4 and 5 star reviews and thought it must get better so I kept reading. I got to page 73 and to this paragraph: "Emily dug through the flaky crust and into a mixture of peaches and cherries so deep she could see her future. The sweetness of love long denied wafted around her, and the joy of having a real family of her own." What? This doesn't even make sense. Don't try to make the language so colorful that the reader can't even get what you're trying to say. I kept reading, torturing myself, hating nearly every word, until I got to page 87. "If rage were a country, Sis would be China." Now, I understand what the author is trying to say but that doesn't mean that this makes sense. If the author didn't try so hard, writing such unnecessarily complicated and convoluted prose, I think the book could have been okay, As it is, I gave up. I couldn't make it past China. I prefer literary fiction, I'm okay with some chic lit, but this is the worst thing I have read in a long, long time.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: When We Fall; Author: Visit Amazon's Emily Liebert Page; Review: Allison is a young mother and widow returning to her hometown on Wincourt after living in Manhattan for the past 15ish years. Her parents are overjoyed that she and her 10 year-old son Logan are going to be living so close to them. Allison runs into her dead husband's best friend, Charlie. She and Charlie and Charlie's wife Charlotte become good friends until someone makes Charlotte think that Allison and Charlie are having an affair. Meanwhile, Allison is finally moving on and has met a man she can see herself being in a relationship. This book isn't terrible but I had a few issues with it. First, the product name-dropping. Everything from La Perla to Birkin is mentioned, which, I guess I understand because these are wealthy people we're dealing with. The bigger problem is the incongruity of some of the items mentioned. A woman with Louis Vuitton luggage is hardly going to be buying skincare at a drugstore, nor would she say that a woman had a Neutrogena complexion. No one with money is buying skincare at a drugstore and they sure as hell aren't using Neutrogena. Another mention had a woman wearing Ralph Lauren and Gucci together, That isn't going to happen either. The Ralph Lauren sweater mentioned is unlikely to be in the closet of a woman that wears La Perla underwear in the first place. Isn't Ralph Lauren for old people? Okay, I'm done nitpicking over this. Now to what bothered me more. Allison is perfect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her. Not only is she tiny and beautiful but she is smart, talented, kind, and forgiving. In short, she doesn't have a single flaw, which I find not only unrealistic but extremely annoying. At the same time, Charlotte is supposedly a kind person but the amount of bitchiness that comes out of her is hardly representative of a nice person. In short, the character development could have used some work.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Shadows (Fianna Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's Megan Chance Page; Review: As far as young adult fantasy goes, this is top notch. My rating of 5 stars is a rating that compares it to other YA fantasy, not to adult literature. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Fianna are a legendary group of ancient Irish warriors. They have been asleep for 2,000 years but have been summoned to help fight against the British in Ireland. However, they have been summoned to Victorian New York City in the year 1874. There is an economic depression and New York City is full of poverty, gangs, filth, and now, an ancient band of warriors. Grace Knox is about to turn 17. Her family lost its fortune after the death of her father and the only way to save them all is for Grace to make an advantageous marriage. Luckily, Patrick Devlin is wealthy and entirely devoted to Grace. He wants to marry her and save her family from the poverty they have been mired in. What neither Patrick nor Grace know is that Grace is somehow connected to the Fianna and her role could mean her death. This book kept me hooked from the first page. I find anything to do with Irish legends fascinating and the author has done an amazing job of bringing the ancient together with the more recent past. The only criticism I have is the fact that the Fianna can somehow speak English. I realize they are a magical band of warriors from 2,000 years ago but still...for them to speak English with thick Irish accents doesn't really make sense. Even with this small issue, I heartily recommend this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sway: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kat Spears Page; Review: Jesse is the man to see if you need a favor. Not a favor, actually, because a favor isn't usually paid for with wads of cash. If you want some weed, a keg, a girl to like you, if you need to get some bullies off your back, Jesse can hook you up. When a loathsome jock named Ken asks Jesse to help him get a date with a sweet and beautiful girl named Bridget, Jesse doesn't think twice. Ken hands over the cash and Jesse is on the job. It's not long before Jesse regrets taking this particular assignment. Ken is a dick and Bridget is perfect and soon Jesse finds himself with feelings he's not used to. I loved this book. It read a lot like a John Hughes movie, one of the good ones, not that Home Alone crap. If you are a Young Adult reading this review, as is very likely, and you don't know what I'm talking about, go watch Sixteen Candles and the Breakfast Club but first read this book because I think you'll like it. I liked it. I may be a 40 year-old woman with cankles but that doesn't mean I don't know good YA lit when I read it. This book is funny and well-written and,most importantly, it's real. There's nothing artificial or fake about this book. Everything about it is authentic. There's nothing about any part of it that doesn't fit perfectly.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Garden of Burning Sand; Author: Visit Amazon's Corban Addison Page; Review: Kuyeya, an intellectually challenged teenage girl, is found wandering the streets of Lusaka, Zambia. She has been raped. At first, no one knows who she is or where she lives but Zoe Fleming, an American lawyer and Joseph, a police officer, discover that she has been living with a prostitute who owes Kuyeya's mother for saving her live. Now they have to find out who did this. Was it random or was Kuyeya specifically targeted. When the evidence leads them to Darious, the son of a rich and powerful couple, they fear that a fair trial will be impossible. Was Darious trying to cure his AIDS when he raped Kuyeya, as the medicine man told him to do? Meanwhile, Zoe and Joseph are becoming close but Joseph has a secret that could keep them apart forever. Addison did a wonderful job with this book. The story stays interesting throughout, it's well-written, and the characters have the necessary depth to make them believable. I loved that it taught me things about the people and he landscape of Zambia, a country I knew absolutely nothing about.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hello From the Gillespies; Author: Visit Amazon's Monica McInerney Page; Review: Angela Gillespie is writing her annual Christmas letter when she realizes she has nothing positive to say. She starts writing and all the ugly truth about her kids and her husband Nick and their marriage comes out. She complains about Nick's bossy aunt Celia. She even adds her fantasy husband and child to the letter. Just as she's about to delete the letter, her son Ig has an accident and she has to rush him to the hospital. In the panic, she forgets all about the letter until a few days later, when her friend Joan comes over to ask about it. Somehow, the letter had been sent, and not just to Joan but to at least a hundred of her friends and family members. What will her daughters and her husband say when they read it? Angela is mortified, horrified, and desperate. When Nick reads what she wrote, will he leave her? In addition to all the stress of the Christmas letter, Angela needs to have some tests done. She's been having headaches and the doctors want to make sure it's nothing serious. She drives to Adelaide for the tests and ends up in an accident. When she wakes up, she believes she is someone else. Her husband and her kids have to find a way to get her to remember. This book had many entertaining characters and side plots, which I haven't covered in this review. It's a great book to read if you want to learn about living in the Australian outback on a former sheep ranch. Monica McInerney's books always feel like the literary equivalent of a cup of tea...comforting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rainey Royal; Author: Visit Amazon's Dylan Landis Page; Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed being privy to parts of Rainey's unstable and crazy life. On the other hand, the book didn't feel quite complete. Maybe if there had been more closure at the end or even just an ending that felt like an ending. Also, and I know this may just be the mother in me, I didn't like that 16 year-old girls were sleeping with 40 year-old men. And Gordy and his creepiness, especially since he had lived with Rainey her entire life, gave me the willies. I love reading about lives that are so completely different than mine and in that sense, this book did not fail me. There wasn't much description about living in New York but the life of an artist, of someone who seems compelled to do bizarre and not-always-legal things, that is a life that couldn't be more different from my safe little existence and reading about it was a pleasure.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Us: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's David Nicholls Page; Review: Douglas is a mild-mannered biochemist whose love life has been decidedly lackluster until he meets Connie. Connie is an artist, a free-spirit, and somehow she is actually interested in Douglas. Twenty-five years later, Douglas and Connie have a son, Albie. The three of them are about to embark on a month-long trip around continental Europe when Connie tells Douglas that she might want a divorce. Douglas sees this trip as a chance to change her mind. He also wants to forge a better relationship with his son. Instead of fixing everything with this trip, Douglas manages to make everything worse. It takes a lot to get me to laugh out loud. The most people will usually get out of me is a smile in acknowledgement that they said something funny. This book had me laughing, a lot. Though this book is about a failed marriage and a crappy father-son relationship, it's one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's the best kind of humor, dry and witty and sometimes so subtle you might miss it if you aren't paying attention. I can't wait to read Nicholl's other books and for him to write more of them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Madame Picasso; Author: Anne Girard; Review: Eva Gouel left her parents and moved to Paris on her own as a young woman. She found a job mending costumes at the Moulin Rouge and from there, seems to have had a meteoric rise. She became the lover of Pablo Picasso, soon displacing the woman that had been his longtime partner. This book tells the story of how this came to be, with a narrative I found to be a bit repetitive and dialogue I found trite. If you like romance novels, you may well have a different opinion of this book than mine. I was hoping for more of a historical fiction vibe and I was disappointed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Winter Guest: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Pam Jenoff Page; Review: The Winter Guest is the story of Helena, a young Polish girl who, with the help of her twin sister Ruth is raising her three younger siblings. Their mother is in a hospital after the death of her husband caused her to lose her mind. Germany has invaded Poland. Food is scarce and danger lurks around every corner. On her way to visit her mother in the hospital one day, Helena finds a wounded American soldier. She helps him find shelter, helps tend to his wounds, and brings him whatever scraps of food she can spare from her own meager supply. She knows that helping this man could endanger her family but she can't just leave him to die. For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. As difficult as it is to read about the atrocities that occurred during World War II, I think it's important to remember. It wasn't the most well-written book and there were some rather implausible events but overall, I enjoyed it and am glad that I read it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Another Night, Another Day: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Rayner Page; Review: This book is about several people having a life crisis and suffering depression as a result. I have lived with depression for most of my life and thought that I would be able to relate to this book. Instead I found it trite and annoying and I had to force myself to continue reading it. I didn't find any sort of depth to any of the characters, there wasn't much of a plot, and the parts containing therapy read like a psychology text book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Final Silence (The Belfast Novels); Author: Visit Amazon's Stuart Neville Page; Review: Rea Carlisle is cleaning out her deceased uncle's house when she finds a scrapbook. It looks like a wedding album but what's inside chills her with its gruesome contents. She calls her parents, and wants to call the police but her father is worried that his political career will suffer if it is known what his brother-in-law was guilty of. Without the support of her parents, Rea calls a man she used to date, Detective Inspector Jack Lennon. When Rea takes Jack to her uncle's house, the book is missing and Jack doesn't believe her story of the scrapbook of murders. Suddenly, Jack is accused of murder himself and he has to figure out who the real murderer is so he can clear his name. This is the first of Stuart Nevilles's Belfast Novels I have read but it won't be the last. Though I may have enjoyed this book even more if I had read the three previous Belfast Novels, I still thought it was a great book and I wasn't confused about any plot points. The characters are well-developed and the writing is perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hormone Factory: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Saskia Goldschmidt Page; Review: The Hormone Factory is a fictionalized account of the actual firm in the Netherlands that produced, among other things, insulin, testosterone, and the birth control pill. It focuses primarily on Mordechai de Paauw, the fictionalized version of the industrialist that started it all. Mordechai is on his deathbed, looking back at his life, finally suffering for his misdeeds as he watches his son follow in his oversexed, womanizing footsteps. As Mordechai and his brother Aaron and their partner Professor Levine built up their business, Hitler was busy rising to power in next door Germany. All three partners and many of the employees were Jewish but the main concern to Mordechai always seemed to protect the business from the hands of the Nazis. Mordechai is the anti-hero, a despicable human being but the protagonist of his own story. He is old, his body is frail and falling apart, he can't speak, but his mind is as sharp as ever. This is the punishment he gets for a lifetime of disloyalty, forcing his young and attractive factory workers to satisfy his sexual whims, and being an all around sickening individual. The author is far more subtle in her judgments of Mordechai than I am and I would have liked to see him suffer more for all the damage he inflicted. This book was riveting. Though I hated the main character and wanted to see him receive a far harsher punishment, I found the book itself fascinating. The invention of so many life-saving or life-altering drugs, being able to put TB hospitals out of business, all of this while fearing the advance of Hitler's troops makes for a truly interesting novel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Don't Touch; Author: Visit Amazon's Rachel M. Wilson Page; Review: Don't Touch is the story of Caddie, a girl whose mother and father are separated, whose OCD makes her believe that if anyone touches her skin, her father will never come home. Caddie attends a performing arts high school with her friend Mandy. Both want the part of Ophelia in the upcoming production of Hamlet and the damaged Caddie subconsciously uses her own issues to get the part. Playing Hamlet, Peter, the boy Caddie has had her eye on since they met. Peter likes her, too, which is a problem since Caddie can't let anyone touch her. This book explores both the usual drama that comes with being a teenager and the extra strain of what it's like to have a mental illness. Caddie doesn't want anyone to know her secret, afraid that they'll think she's crazy, but her friends, once they know, are nothing but supportive. The book also explores the trauma a divorce can inflict on children, something that nearly half of all families will experience. I appreciated that the book, while discussing sex and alcohol, didn't glorify it as much as many other YA novels.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nest; Author: Visit Amazon's Esther Ehrlich Page; Review: Nest is the story of Naomi, more commonly known as Chirp. Chirp loves bird watching and dancing and riding in the swan boats in Boston with her mother. Chirp's mom was a dancer but she hasn't been feeling right lately and now her leg isn't working. When she finds out she has MS, Chirp's mom's depression spirals out of control and Chirp's dad takes her to a mental hospital for treatment. Chirp and her sister Rachel live without their mother for several months while she's being treated. Chirp's neighbor Joey is someone Chirp thinks she should probably be afraid of. Her father says that his family has "significant issues". But Joey isn't like his rough brothers and soon Chirp and Joey are good friends. Joey understands what it's like to have family problems. This book deals with mental illness and suicide. It explores the way children cope with tragedy in their lives. I found it to be both enjoyable and touching and I would recommend it to anyone 10 and up.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sleep with the Lights On (A Brown and De Luca Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Maggie Shayne Page; Review: Blind self-help author Rachel de Luca's life is changed forever when Detective Mason Brown hits her with his car. He didn't hit her hard and she's fine but soon after the accident, his disturbed brother Eric kills himself and Mason wants Rachel to have Eric's corneas. After the transplant surgery, Rachel has horrifying dreams, dreams where she's killing men, men that look a lot like her brother Tommy, who has been missing. She wants to meet the family of the cornea donor to see what, if anything, her new eyes have to do with these dreams and is shocked to find that the brother of the cornea donor is the cop that hit her with his car. She had thought he sounded hot before she could see and now that she has her sight, she finds out she was right. While Rachel finds herself attracted to Mason, she can also tell that he's keeping a secret and when he's reluctant to tell her anything about his brother, she wants to know why. What Mason didn't want to tell her (and I promise this isn't a spoiler because it's on the first few pages) is that his brother was a serial killer, the man responsible for killing her brother Tommy. The problem is, his brother is dead now and the killings are still happening. Mason is sure these are copycat killings until Rachel tells him about the dreams she's been having. This book is suspenseful but it's also funny. Rachel is an awesome character. She's smart, sexy, and she swears like a sailor. While the book is well written and full of mystery, the best part of the book is definitely having Rachel as the protagonist.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man: A Novel (Ruddy McCann); Author: Visit Amazon's W. Bruce Cameron Page; Review: Ruddy McCann is a repo man. On the side he is the bouncer at the bar his parents left to his sister Becky. The bar isn't doing well financially and when Ruddy's boss's nephew Kermit gets involved, Ruddy is worried that things will go from bad to worse. As if that wasn't bad enough, after having a bad dream in which he was murdered by 2 men, Ruddy is now hearing a voice in his head. The voice of a man who was murdered. The voice of the man who is the father of the woman he is interested in. Now Ruddy has to solve a murder, help his sister so she won't lose the bar, win the girl, figure out how a relationship with her is going to work with her dead father in his head, and repossess cars when he has the time. Oh, and he has to keep the murderers from killing him, too. This book is funny and witty and wildly imaginative. I loved everything about this book. It has suspense, action, and is brimming with humor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wake to Darkness (A Brown and De Luca Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Maggie Shayne Page; Review: In the sequel to Sleep with the Lights On, self-help author Rachel Dr Luca is back on the talk show circuit for her latest book when Mason Brown shows up with bad news. There seem to be more murders connected with Mason's dead brother Eric. This time, it's the people who received Eric's organs that are getting killed. In an effort to protect all involved, Mason takes Rachel, her niece Misty, her dog Myrtle, along with his entire family up to a fancy ski resort to spend Christmas out of harm's way. The problem is that the murderer seems to have followed them and now they're all stuck there. In addition, Mason and Rachel are finding it difficult not to get physically involved again. I really like the Rachel Dr Luca novels. They're well written, witty, suspenseful, and full of humor.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Wonder of All Things; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Mott Page; Review: Ava and Wash have been inseparable since they met at the Fall Festival when they were 6 years old. Seven years later, a tragedy at the Fall Festival changes their lives and the lives of countless others forever. When the one-man airshow goes down in flames and Wash is fatally injured, Ava somehow heals him. With the whole thing caught on a cell-phone camera, the world has seen that Ava has the power to heal and now everyone wants something from her. It took a while for me to really get into this book and I didn't love it until the end, which also made me cry my eyes out, Ava and Wash are such wonderful characters, each with a maturity far beyond their years. It's the adults, most notably Ava's dad Macon, that seem to be lacking the strength and the wisdom contained in the two 13 year-old kids.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Migratory Animals: A Novel (P.S. (Paperback)); Author: Mary Helen Specht; Review: Migratory Animals is about a group of thirty-something friends who have all returned to Austin, Texas, the scene of their triumphant college days. Flannery has just returned from Nigeria, leaving behind the man she loves and intends to return to. When she arrives home, she finds that her sister Molly is showing symptoms of Huntington's, the disease that killed their mother. Flannery's best friend Alyce is in a deep depression, though no one seems to realize just how deep. Flannery's ex-boyfriend Santiago is still in love with her and Flannery takes advantage of this fact and repeatedly calls on Santiago for help. Santiago and Alyce's husband Harry are partners in a failing architecture firm that threatens to ruin their longstanding friendship. Other friends make cameos but they have no role in the novel, and I wondered a few times why they were included at all. I'm having a hard time reviewing this particular book. On the one hand, some of the writing was truly beautiful, some of the images invoked were incredibly vivid. Then there were overly detailed discussions of the science behind Flannery's research, where I thought more information about the need for her research would be more interesting. I took issue with Flannery using Santiago, the one character I truly liked. I felt like Molly's character was a little undeveloped and she just became "the sick one". Alyce's depression seemed to go away when she worked on her weaving but in the case of a suicidally depressed woman, I doubt she would even be able to get out of bed in the morning. You can't be yearning for death all the time and also be passionate about working on your immense wall hanging, can you? I may sound like I really didn't like this book and that isn't the case, I found parts of it very touching, found the parts about Nigeria interesting, liked the descriptions of Austin, but altogether it just wasn't quite what it could have been.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Further Out Than You Thought: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Michaela Carter Page; Review: At the beginning of this book I thought I may have chosen the wrong book. Reading about strippers is unusual for me. Soon I realized that this book was about so much more. Set against the Rodney King riots of 1992 in Los Angeles, Gwendolyn is wondering how this became her life. She is living with her musician boyfriend who spends his days dressed as a Revolutionary War veteran, trying to sell copies of his music on the street. He's constantly high, preferring to spend what little money he has on pot rather than on all the back rent that is due. Gwen is attending graduate school, writing poetry, and stripping earn enough money to take care of the two of them. Upstairs lives their best friend, the Count, who is dying of AIDS. When Leo decides that he is going to help put a stop to the riots by walking into them naked, holding a white flag, Gwen and the Count make a plan to get him out of L.A. before he gets himself killed. They take him to Mexico. On the trip, Gwen admits to Leo that she's pregnant. She'd not sure she wants the baby and she's not sure she wants Leo and her trip to Mexico and back help her decide. On the way back to L.A., Leo and Gwen say goodbye to the Count, leaving him with his mother to care for him in his last days, I liked they poetic nature of this book. I liked that Gwen is a strong woman who realizes that it isn't always for the best for a baby's father to be in the picture, to have the courage to strike out on her own, and that it isn't her job to save a man that won't save himself.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Clara; Author: Visit Amazon's Kurt Palka Page; Review: Most books about WWII are from the side of the victors or they are about the atrocities Hitler unleashed on the Jews. This book is about how difficult it was for those forced to fight for Hitler, forced to live under his rule. Before the war, before any knowledge that there will be a war, Clara is studying for her PhD in Vienna when she meets Albert. They quickly fall in love and becoming deeply attached. Clara is welcomed into his family immediately, though her family doesn't approve of Albert and try to dissuade Clara from seeing him. When Albert's brother is killed while carrying out some Nazi mischief, Albert's family becomes branded as Nazis. Albert is removed from his post in his Dragoon Regiment and his father is sent to prison. Having no other opportunities for work, Albert leaves Austria for Germany, where is made an officer in the German army and given extensive training, In the middle of Albert's training, he and Clara marry. Soon after, Hitler annexes Austria and Albert is sent to fight. Clara tries to get a job teaching at the University but is turned away because she is a woman and because she is not a party member. So Clara, and soon her firstborn daughter Willa, live on the army base. Throughout the book, Clara shows strength and courage in the face of tragedy and adversity and does so with a grace that is uncommon. This book has chapters about the past, the war years, and those of the present. The chapters about the war are the most interesting but the chapters about the present show how Clara has survived, how she managed to move on with her family after the war, when so many others were less fortunate. Because Clara is a student of philosophy, there are a lot of philosophical discussions in this book. Some may find this a bit tedious but I found that it gave the book even more substance. I love that this book shows what it was like for the unwitting or at the very least those that were not complicit in the atrocities and what it was like for them to live under Hitler's rule and then be forced after the war to accept guilt for what had happened.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: In Some Other World, Maybe: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Shari Goldhagen Page; Review: This is a novel that explores the character's lives, families, and relationships but there isn't much in the way of plot. Some authors do this so well that the lack of a plot doesn't seem important. This isn't one of those times. The story revolves mainly around Phoebe, an aspiring model/actress who has had limited success in LA and has ended up as a bartender. Adam is also an aspiring actor, one who ends up with a starring role on a SciFi drama. Adam and Phoebe met in an acting class, hooked up and have had a relationship of one kind or another for years. It takes the death of Phoebe's brother to show them how much they mean to each other. Other characters include Phoebe's high school boyfriend Oliver, Phoebe's brother's girlfriend Sharon, and various other family members. To me, there wasn't much of a reason to include Oliver or Sharon. They weren't important enough to play a role. Another thing about the book that bothered me was the amount of coincidence. Adam sits next to Oliver's sister on a plane, Oliver runs into Phoebe's mother in Macau, Oliver meets Sharon, etc...All these people connected to Phoebe, however tangentially, meeting randomly and mostly for no reason was something I found annoying. Also, the thing that ties the whole book together, the movie Eons and Empires, isn't really enough.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Language of Silence; Author: Visit Amazon's Peggy Webb Page; Review: It's the early 1970's and Ellen is a battered wife trying to get away from her abusive husband. She has tried and failed to escape him before but this time she has the help of her aunt Ruth, a tough old lady who has visions and visitations from her dead sister, Lola, Ellen's grandmother. Like her grandmother before her, Ellen decides to run away and join the circus, the same circus that Lola ran to to escape her abusive husband. Ellen and Ruth are immediately accepted and, in spite of using fake names, many of the circus's longtime employees can see the resemblance between Lola and Ellen and when it becomes known that she is hiding from her husband, the circus members close ranks and do all that they can to protect her. Especially protective is Razz, the man her grandmother fell in love with and planned to have a family with. There are parts of this book that I really enjoyed. I like that Ellen went from a shy housewife to a fierce woman who can fight her own battles. I didn't like the sort of love story between Ellen and Luca because it came out of know where. It could have used more back story. I think the author could have made better use of the parallels between the grandmother and granddaughter. I also would have liked to know more about Ruth's past. She's funny and tough and deserves a book all of her own. Overall, I enjoyed the book but wished it lived up to it's potential.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Where All Light Tends to Go; Author: Visit Amazon's David Joy Page; Review: Jacob is a dropout, the son of a drug dealing father and a junkie mother. Living in a small, backwoods town in North Carolina and working for his father, Jacob feels stuck. Because he knows he'll never be able to leave, he broke up with Maggie, the girl he loves, so she would be able to break free but he still loves her and when he realizes that she still loves him, too, they reconnect. Eventually he comes up with a plan that will help Maggie pay for college and, if all goes well, will get him out of there too. This book is full of violence and brutality and isn't really the kind of book I usually read but even so, once I started it I couldn't stop. Jacob is such a great character, someone that wants to be better than his parents but doesn't think it's possible. His life has been gritty and rough and he has seen and done things that haunt him but he still yearns for something better. I thought at first that the language used (grammatically incorrect, local dialect, and slang) would drive me crazy or make the book less enjoyable but I realize now that this book couldn't have been written any other way. Only this language can tell this story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Funny Girl; Author: Visit Amazon's Nick Hornby Page; Review: The year is 1964. Barbara Parker is a beautiful, smart, funny girl from Blackpool. Lucille Ball is her idol and her dearest wish is to move to London and make her way into television. Her father and her aunt Marie try to get her to stay but she can't be stopped. She moves to London, gets a job at a makeup counter, finds an apartment (complete with crazy flatmate) and gets an agent, who changes her name to Sophie Straw Her agent tries to talk her out of acting and to focus on modeling instead. All she has to do is stand there wearing very little and she'll be paid well. Barbara knows she's beautiful but that is far from all she is and she wants to star in a comedy. Her agent sends her to an audition for a show that sounds awful, with a script that is equally dreadful. Meeting with the writers, the producers and the male lead, Sophie not only gets the part but she gets them to change the whole show. It's success is due nearly entirely to her comedic brilliance. She becomes involved with Clive, the male lead and eventually they become engaged. After several years of the show, the writers are having a hard time coming up with new material at the same time that Clive and Sophie's relationship comes to an end and the obvious choice seems to be to end the show. With Clive gone, Sophie realizes that there is a man in her life that has been supportive and adoring since day 1 and that he is the one she should be with. I really enjoyed this book. It explored many interesting issues of the day, especially what it was like to be gay in the 1960's. One of the main characters, Bill, is a gay man that has had to hide who he is because homosexuality was illegal. As time goes on and things change, we see Bill beginning to be able to be open about his sexuality. The book also touches very lightly on racism. I think I would have enjoyed the book even more if it had been more about the difficulties the characters faced in their lives and about the events taking place in history rather than the details about the t.v. show they were making. Still, I found it very entertaining.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Everybody Goes to Jimmy's: A Suspense Novel (The Jimmy Quinn Mysteries); Author: Michael Mayo; Review: 3.5 stars If you like reading books about the gangster life during prohibition, if you like the language used by the writers of those old hardboiled detective novels, you may very well love this book. What I liked about the book was the way the author kept several mysteries successfully going throughout the novel. Is Anna duping Jimmy? Who are these Germans? How much money has gone missing and who does it really belong to? Jimmy runs a speakeasy towards the end of Prohibition. All of a sudden, crazy things start happening, people are watching him and he finds himself involved with some tough customers. The book is well-written, the plot is clever, and the mysteries are prolonged but I'm not a huge fan of the language.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Among Thieves: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's John Clarkson Page; Review: When ex-con Manny gets a call for help from his niece Olivia, his first instinct is to start killing whoever hurt her. Luckily, his friend James Beck is able to reason with him and agrees to help him help Olivia. As it turns out, the problem is a lot bigger than any of them first expected and James and his crew are suddenly involved in something truly dangerous and nasty. At first they thought they were just dealing with some Wall Street jerks but soon they realize that those Wall Street jerks have ties to some truly evil people, some of whom have contacts withing the U.S. government. Good thing James Beck is incredibly smart, tough, and seriously bad a$$. I love books that have adversaries that aren't just violent and good with guns but that are intelligent enough to manipulate a situation to turn out in their favor. In this book, there are the bad guys and the REALLY bad guys, and luckily the better of the bad guys are led by someone with brains.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Walking on Trampolines; Author: Visit Amazon's Frances Whiting Page; Review: Lulu and Annabelle are best friends until Annabelle steals Lulu's boyfriend. Years later, Lulu opens the door to her hotel room after Annabelle and Josh's wedding to find a drunken Josh, kissing her and leading her to the bed. Sleeping with him must have seemed completely natural, even if it was on the night of his wedding to her former best friend. Lulu is not proud of her actions and she retreats to her childhood home, with her parents, Harry and Rose. Rose has suffered a debilitating depression all of Lulu's life and Lulu is happy to see that her mother is doing quite well. Rose names all of her dresses and she wears certain dresses when she is in specific moods. That's one way Lulu can keep track of her mother's depression. Lulu can't stay with her parents forever. Her boss and friend, Duncan, needs her. He is dying and he needs Lulu to help him with his many ex-wives and his various children. He needs her help with his dog. Most of all, he just wants her near. When Duncan dies, he leaves Lulu his dog and a big house on an island. She's about to turn the house into a B&B when tragedy strikes again. There is a lot going on in this book and I haven't given the best representation of it. I enjoyed the characters in the book and found myself wishing some of them could be my friends, too. I want to have an amazing tree house built by a famous artist and I would love to have someone leave me their dog and a beautiful island home. Lulu's life is far from perfect but I think most of it sounds pretty awesome.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Prudence: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's David Treuer Page; Review: There were parts of this novel that I really enjoyed and others that I could have done without. I think if the author had focused more on the difficulties of a homosexual relationship in the 1940's or on the relationship between Frankie and Felix, I would have enjoyed the book more. For the book to be named Prudence seemed odd to me. She was one of many characters, and though the book began and ended with her death, to me she wasn't the most interesting or important person in the book. There was also a lot of random stuff in this book. The Jew that came to town seemed to be thrown in randomly.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: After the War is Over: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Robson Page; Review: The Great War has just ended and Charlotte has gone back to work for the suffragist Miss Rathbone after taking a leave of absence to work as a nurse during the war. Charlotte is doing her best to care for the poor of Liverpool, sometimes giving her own money to those in need. Charlotte is college educated, her parents are not poor, but she still has no hope of marrying the man she loves, especially since he has become the Earl of Cumberland after the death of his father. But of course this is a novel and things have a way of working themselves out. While the book had some predictable bits, overall, I quite enjoyed it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fog Island Mountains; Author: Visit Amazon's Michelle Bailat-Jones Page; Review: Alec married Kenae and stayed with her in Japan to have a family. Now Alec finds that his body is riddled with cancer and Kenae finds that she is angry with him, angry that he is going to die and leave her behind. She was supposed to be with him at the hospital when he received the news but she knew and she couldn't face it. Instead, she meets an old boyfriend and they become reacquainted...the naked and sweaty kind of reacquainted. Alec is angry that Kenae isn't with him at the hospital and he decides to leave. When his adult children come to the hospital and find him missing and learn from Kenae that she hasn't been with him, they report his absence to the police, who assume that Alec has left to take his own life. Meanwhile, there is a storm raging, a typhoon that will injure and maim and Alec and Kenae are out in the middle of it. This book has a very different voice and style of writing that I like but that can also be a bit confusing. It isn't always clear who is the narrator at any given point and it takes a bit of reading before you figure out who is speaking. The book isn't so much about what happens as it is about the relationship between Alec and Kenae and the relationships they have with their children. While Alec is filled with cancer, the book isn't about that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hellhole; Author: Visit Amazon's Gina Damico Page; Review: Max is an awkward, nerdy, paleontology-loving high school kid with a mom that will die without a heart transplant. Max is working, trying to pay the bills and take care of his mother. They are poor but they love each other and would probably be very happy if only his mother wasn't dying. In order to cheer up his mother, Max, who has never stolen anything in his life, steals a glittery bobble head cat. His theft has opened up a portal and through this portal comes a devil named Burg. Burg takes up residence in Max's basement and demands junk food and reality television. Max makes a deal with Burg to save his mother but is soon over his head in dealing with this devil. Luckily, he meets Lore, a sarcastic girl rumored to have some experience with these kinds of things. Hellhole is wonderfully odd, darkly comedic, and full of snark. While it is labeled a YA book, be aware that it contains quite a bit of swearing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hangman's Song (Detective Inspector MacLean); Author: Visit Amazon's James Oswald Page; Review: I am new to the Tony Maclean books and I have a feeling that if I had read the first 2 in the series before reading this book, I may have enjoyed it even more. As it is, I liked this book a lot, and I especially like the character of D.I. Maclean, one of the good cops. All of my previous experience with the city of Edinburgh has been through Alexander McCall Smith's books, which describe the city as a beautiful and peaceful place of art galleries and cheese shops. This book shows a decidedly different view of Edinburgh, a dark and gritty place. The book has three main plot lines, a group of prostitutes with a murdered pimp, a serious of suspicious hangings that are first thought to be suicides, and that of Maclean's personal life, in which his girlfriend Emma wakes from a coma with no memory and apparently with some supernatural abilities. It was this last plot line that I liked the least, I know that others enjoyed the paranormal aspect of this novel but to me, it didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Losing Faith; Author: Visit Amazon's Adam Mitzner Page; Review: Aaron Littman is a top attorney at a New York firm. He has a beautiful wife, two children, and a secret that could ruin everything. Unfortunately, Russian "business man" Nikolai Garkov knows this secret and is using it to blackmail Aaron into defending him at his trial for funding terrorist activities. Losing Faith has well developed characters, and perfect pacing. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I found the ending a bit implausible. Overall, I highly recommend this legal thriller and I can't wait to go back and read the other books by Adam Mitzner.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Losing Faith eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Adam Mitzner Page; Review: Aaron Littman is a top attorney at a New York firm. He has a beautiful wife, two children, and a secret that could ruin everything. Unfortunately, Russian "business man" Nikolai Garkov knows this secret and is using it to blackmail Aaron into defending him at his trial for funding terrorist activities. Losing Faith has well developed characters, and perfect pacing. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I found the ending a bit implausible. Overall, I highly recommend this legal thriller and I can't wait to go back and read the other books by Adam Mitzner.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wolf Winter; Author: Visit Amazon's Clare Francis Page; Review: Maija, her husband Paavo and their daughters Frederika and Dorotea have moved to the Swedish Lappland. The year is 1717 and life here is not easy. Just after arriving, Frederika and Dorotea come across a dead man, a man some will say was killed by wolves. Maija knows that this man was murdered. Only a rapier could have torn that hole down his chest. Maija sets out to find out who killed him. Meanwhile, Paavo has to leave, find work on the coast in order for his family to survive. Maija and her daughters are left alone on the mountain through an incredibly harsh winter but the weather isn't the only treacherous thing out there. I like the mystical mixed in with the practical. Books like this always make me more grateful for a warm place to live and plenty of food. The middle of this book was a bit slow going for me but overall I really enjoyed it. I wish things with the priest and Maija had ended up differently but otherwise I liked the ending.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Compulsion (Heirs of Watson Island); Author: Visit Amazon's Martina Boone Page; Review: Barrie's mother Lula has died and her godfather Mark is dying of cancer. Only after losing her mother did Barrie find out that she has an aunt, her mother's twin sister Pru Watson, as well as an uncle and 2 cousins on her father's side of the family. Barrie leaves San Francisco, the only home she's ever known, and flies to South Carolina to live with Pru on what used to be the Watson family plantation, located on an island with 2 plantations belonging to other families, one friendly, one foe. The rival family includes her uncle Wyatt and her 2 cousins, girls Barrie hoped to befriend. And while the girls are friendly, Barrie knows there's something about her cousin Cassie that can't be trusted. All her life, Barrie has had to keep her powers a secret. She and the rest of her family have a gift: if something is lost, they can find it. Turns out the other families on the island each have something unique as well. The Beauforts, the friendly family, know what people want. The other family, Wyatt, his girls and their ancestors have a curse instead of a gift. They are cursed to forever want what the other 2 families have. In addition to these gifts and curses, there are other supernatural elements to this book that are too confusing to explain in a simple synopsis. I struggled with the decision to give this book 4 stars instead of 3 but it's a young adult book and I think the intended audience will enjoy this book a lot. There's a bit of a romantic theme to go with the mystery and the supernatural occurrences and I think teen girls will especially like this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit; Author: Graham Joyce; Review: After reading this book, I'm a little surprised at all of the high ratings. I wonder if many people are just big Graham Joyce fans that can't imagine giving the late author a low rating. David is a college student, spending the summer working in the seaside town of Skegness, the place of his father's death when David was only three years old. His mother and stepfather don't want him to go, for reasons that are never really made clear, David's job is to entertain children and fill in wherever else help is necessary. On his first day, David meets Colin and Terri a married couple and janitorial team. Colin is an older, grizzled, rough man, while Terri is young and beautiful. David finds himself drawn to Terri while at the same time Colin tries to draw him into his political circle. While there is a ghost in this book (or 2) they aren't really the focus of the story. Maybe I didn't love the book because I was hoping for more of a ghost story and less of a coming of age story. As it was, not enough happened in this book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Same Sky; Author: Visit Amazon's Amanda Eyre Ward Page; Review: This book frequently shocked me, saddened me, but overall, the ending was a happy one. Carla is a little girl living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with her grandmother and her twin brothers, Carlos and Junior. Their mother is in Texas, working so she can send money home, trying to save up to pay a coyote to smuggle the rest of her family into the United States. One day a woman comes and takes Carlos, leaving Carla and Junior behind to cope when their grandmother dies. Carla is ten years old. Junior is only four (I think) and they are on their own. Tegucigalpa is a dangerous place. There are no jobs and everyone is desperate. Robbery and murder are common and Carla and Junior are alone. Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, Alice and her husband Jake have just had their baby taken back by the birth mother. After trying for so many years to have a baby, they decide it's time to give up. They've spent all of their savings and have had their hearts broken too many times. So they decide to concentrate on their business, a very popular BBQ place. When a local high school principal asks Alice to mentor a young at-risk girl named Evian, Alice decides to do what she can to help, which causes tension in her marriage and makes her think she was probably not cut out for motherhood after all. Back in Honduras, things have gotten so bad that Carla knows that she and Junior will die if they don't get to America. Junior has started sniffing glue (at the age of 6?!) and at twelve years old, Carla decides it's time to go. She contacts her mother, who tells her to stay put, that she can't pay a coyote to help them but Carla packs what little she has and with the help of a young gang member that suddenly shows up at her hovel, they leave. The trip is filled with danger. She sees people robbed, killed, and worse. I don't want to ruin the story by divulging too much so I'm going to end my synopsis here. This is one of those books that shows you just how fortunate you really are. You may think your life is rough until you read about a little girl who has to dig through trash all day so she can try to find something worth selling so buy enough flour to mix with water to keep herself and her brother from starving to death. This is one of those books that makes you feel like an incredibly wasteful and shallow person. This book will change you, will make you want to be a better, stronger, more helpful person. The way the author alternated chapters between Carla and Alice was perfect. Reading an entire book about Carla and her life would be way too depressing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Boy Who Stole from the Dead (Nadia Tesla); Author: Visit Amazon's Orest Stelmach Page; Review: Bobby is a hockey prodigy with a mysterious past who is arrested for murder and confesses, even though his aunt/guardian Nadia knows Bobby is innocent. When Bobby won't talk to her, won't explain what's going on and does his best to push Nadia away, Nadia has to do some digging to figure out what's really going on. Meanwhile, sports reporter Lauren Ross is digging into Bobby's past. If his true identity is discovered, his life will be in extreme danger. Nadia must travel to Ukraine, where she and Bobby are from, to figure out what is going on. The book is full of intrigue and suspense and has very good pacing. I enjoyed this book a lot, even though I haven't read the first book in the series. I like books that teach me something about other countries and I appreciate that this book taught me so much about Ukraine.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark (Nadia Tesla); Author: Visit Amazon's Orest Stelmach Page; Review: The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark is the last book in a trilogy and that picks up right where it left off in book #2, The Boy Who Stole From the Dead. In this last installment Bobby is emailed the link to a photo that takes him back to his past, back to the day that changed his life, the day of the meltdown at Chornobyl. Was Bobby going to be able to find the rest of the formula that would cure radiation sickness? This book, like the second in the series (I didn't read the first) is a suspenseful thriller that spans the globe and teaches you a bit of history and geography while keeping the plot moving forward. I didn't like this one as much as the second and the main reason is the ending. It was not the ending anyone would have hoped for but, in addition, it seemed like it was quickly thrown together, like the author just wanted to be done.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lovely Wild; Author: Visit Amazon's Megan Hart Page; Review: Mari is a wife and mother with an unusual past. She was neglected, malnourished and wild when she was found by social workers and then adopted by the man whose mission was to figure her out. Her marriage to Ryan has always seemed perfect but lately things are different. Ryan seems to be keeping secrets and things at work aren't going well for him. He's a psychiatrist, like his father, the man who rescued and adopted Mari, and after a huge lapse in judgement, he's put both his job and his marriage on the line. Ryan decides that what they all need is a summer in the countryside, and what better place than the house Mari grew up in, where she was starved and worse than her grandmother's dogs? While there, Ryan can write a book about Mari based on all of his father's research. Being back in the house she was born in brings back a lot of memories for Mari and surprisingly, they aren't all negative. She remembers a boy who took care of her, who brought her food and read to her. Was he real? Mari and Ryan find out a lot of things about Mari's past and Mari finds out some things about Ryan. Ryan's mother holds the last piece of the puzzle and tries to use it to turn Ryan and the kids against Mari. I really liked this book up until the very last part of the book. It seemed a little bit thrown together and the plot twists and climax were a little lackluster.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Fair Fight: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Anna Freeman Page; Review: The Fair Fight is a very original novel, set at the very end of the 18th century and staring a cast of characters that run the gamut from dirt poor to prostitute to Lord of the manor. Ruth and her sister Dora were born to a prostitute turned madame. Poor, dirty, with barely enough to eat, they fought their way through life until Dora was old enough to become a prostitute herself (at the age of 12ish?) and unsightly Ruth became a child boxer. The tough and scrappy Ruth would take on all comers and would usually wins. A wealthy business man named Mr. Dryer has taken an interest in both sisters. Dora has become his personal mistress, not allowed to take other customers and paid handsomely. Ruth fights for him, a novelty that he and his wealthy friends can place bets on. Add to this mix Charlotte, a lady of good breeding who is covered in small pox scars and forced by her brother Perry to marry Mr. Dryer. Her life is changed when she meets Ruth and begins to learn to box herself. This book is well-written and very original and I thoroughly enjoyed it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Deadly Obsession (A Brown and de Luca Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Maggie Shayne Page; Review: Rachel and Mason are now in an exclusive relationship, and the L-word has even been mentioned. But of course there will be drama and it will come in the form of Gretchen Young. After Mason suffers burns on his arm after saving two kids from a burning house, he becomes the target of one very dangerous woman's obsession. All those around Mason are in danger and the worst part is, no one is even aware of the danger except for Marie, Mason's sister-in-law who is in a mental hospital after killing several people and attempting to kill Rachel. Like all of the Brown and De Luca novels before, this book is full of suspense and danger and a healthy dose of humor. It's not literary fiction by any means but that doesn't mean it's not highly entertaining.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Romain Puertolas Page; Review: Ajatsashatru Oghash is a con man from India who has flown to Paris to purchase a new bed of nails from Ikea. He is wearing a borrowed suit with the tie pinned to his shirt because neither he nor his cousin have any clue how to tie it. The only money he has is a fake 100 euro note, printed only on one side. Instead of quickly buying the bed and returning to India the next day, Ajatsashatru is taken all over Europe, meeting some friends and some foes. In the end, he is a changed man. This book is full of humor, some of it pretty corny but overall, I really enjoyed this quirky little novel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sisters of Heart and Snow; Author: Visit Amazon's Margaret Dilloway Page; Review: Rachel and Drew Snow grew up with a quiet Japanese mail order bride mother and a controlling, dishonest, douche bag father. After being kicked out of the house at age 16, Rachel has managed to have a happy life, with a husband and two kids. It's Drew who is having a hard time, living in a studio apartment in L.A., working at a dog grooming salon to make ends meet between her jobs as a viola player. Their mother is in a rest home in La Jolla, suffering from dementia. When she suddenly becomes lucid and asks Rachel to retrieve a book for her, Rachel enlists help from Drew to recover the book from their father's house. The book is in Japanese but with the help of a UCSD student, Rachel and Drew learn the story of Tomoe and Yamabuki, one a warrior woman and one a delicate Japanese flower. Both are connected to Yoshinaka, as wife and concubine. Yoshinaka is a samurai fighting to regain his family's legacy and Tomoe isn't just his concubine but the head of his army. As a female samurai she's more of a novelty to others but she isn't just a figure head. She is more than capable when it comes to removing heads from bodies. Through the novel, Rachel and Drew become close again and Drew finally grows up. I liked the book, though I didn't feel that there were enough parallels between the Snow sister and the ancient Japanese sisters of the heart to put them in the same book. I think that the author could have easily written 2 books. one on each subject.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Before I Go: A Book Club Recommendation!; Author: Visit Amazon's Colleen Oakley Page; Review: Daisy has Lots of Cancer. After being cancer-free for nearly 4 years, she learns that a tumor in her breast has spread to the rest of her body. She doesn't want to die but more than that, she doesn't want to leave her husband Jack on his own. Who will cook for him? Who will pick up and wash his pile of dirty socks? Daisy wants to find Jack a new wife before she dies. She enlists the help of her best friend and they secretly begin the hunt for Jack's new wife. But the closer Daisy comes to finding a new wife for Jack, the more she realizes that she's not sure that's what she wants. Somehow, through all of this, Daisy has pushed Jack away. Though this book is obviously sad, there's also a lot of humor to it. I didn't expect to laugh so much about a book about terminal cancer. The humor definitely helped lighten the mood and keep things less dreary for the reader. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Breath: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kimberly Belle Page; Review: Ray has been in prison for the last 16 years for killing his wife Ella Mae. Now he's being released, but only because he's dying of cancer. His daughter Gia has come home to their small Tennessee town to care for her father with the help of a hospice nurse and, she hopes, with the help of her siblings, Bo and Lexi. In all the time her father has been in prison, none of his kids ever contacted him. They all believed he was guilty. But Gia has remembered something that could cause the blame to be put elsewhere and she has discovered that her uncle Cal did a terrible job with her father's defense. More and more things are surfacing that are making her question her father's guilt for the first time. Then there's Jake. Gia meets Jake on her first night in town. They become involved but there's something Jake isn't telling Gia that will change everything. This book keeps you riveted from the very beginning. I started reading and I didn't put the book down again until I was done.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Silver Witch: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula Brackston Page; Review: I have enjoyed all of Paula Brackston's previous novels but this one was a little different and not in a way that I enjoyed. The book alternates between two times, that of the present and that of around 915 A.D. The scene is a small lake town in the mountains of Wales. In the present, Tilda is trying to make a life for herself in the house that she and her husband bought before he was tragically killed. She is alone, until she rescues a dog, Thistle, from it's abusive owners. Strange things are happening, things that have never happened before Tilda came to this place. Clocks and watches stop working when she's around. Electricity goes out in her presence. Then she starts to see things, visions of people from the past. A horrible, mutilated woman's ghost. Tilda meets a history professor and his nephew, Dylan. Tilda asks the professor questions and he directs her to some books that help her figure a few things out. Those in the past include Seren, a witch and seer, a prophetess with great powers and with the love of the prince, though he is married to another. I think I would have liked this book more had it been simpler. Is the fact that Tilda an albino actually important? Does it matter that she makes pottery? These two seemingly unimportant facts are brought up so much that it began to annoy me. I know that to be an albino is different and that it connects her to the past and to Seren. I know that Tilda is a potter by trade but the book made her pottery into some sort of mystical thing. I don't care how beautiful your pot is. When the kiln opens I am not going to be struck dumb by it's beauty.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Fireproof Home for the Bride: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Amy Scheibe Page; Review: Emmy's future has been planned out for her, practically since she was born. She would marry Ambrose, they would take over her grandparents' farm, and she would have as many babies as Ambrose wants her to have. As she turns 18 and Ambrose officially proposes, Emmy realizes that what she thought she always wanted is now something she wants desperately to get away from, especially since Ambrose has shown her that he is not the gentleman she always thought he was and since she met Bobby Doyle. Emmy's mother won't allow any dissent and Emmy is forced to move out on her own. Luckily, her great aunt is there to take her in and helps her get a job at the local newspaper. Hidden behind these supposedly Christian farmers lies something much more sinister. There are those that want to keep outsiders from owning property in their town and while they seem outwardly peaceful, they will do whatever it takes to keep out the Jews and any people of color. As Emmy works to expose their evil deeds, she becomes a target herself. This book deals with many different issues at once and does a wonderful job of weaving them all together while keeping the reader interested. Emmy's life seems so old fashioned and foreign to me but it probably wasn't all that unusual at that time. It's fascinating to read about the antiquated and horrifying ideas that people had at the time.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Empire of the Senses: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Alexis Landau Page; Review: The Empire of the Senses is a novel covering the years between the beginning of World War I up to the years just before the beginning of World War II. Lev Pearlmutter is a German Jew who has married a Gentile and now he must go to war, to fight for Germany, to prove to his wife Josephine and her family that he is better than they believe him to be, that he is not a shirker. He leaves behind his young son Franz and his daughter Vicki. His experience of war is unusual, seeing no actual combat, living in the village of Mittau in Russia. There he meets Leah, a Jewish woman who intrigues him. They fall in love but as the war is coming to an end, the Russians are returning and Lev is being sent to the western front, to near certain death. Instead of going to the western front, Lev and his friend Otto go AWOL and return to Berlin. Josephine accepts his story of escaping from a Russian POW camp but he feels her disapproval of him. His daughter Vicki is overjoyed to have him back, his son Franz is disappointed in his lack of bloody stories. Years later, Franz is struggling with homosexual tendencies and has joined the SA, heading out with his thug buddies to pester Jewish immigrants. When Vicki becomes engaged to a Jew from Russia, Franz and his brown shirt friends feel the need to put an end to it. Franz has conveniently forgotten that he is half Jewish. I really enjoyed this book but I think I would have liked it even more if it had been split into two or even three books and had included an in depth look at the lives of the Lev and Josephine during World War II and a look at how Vicki and Geza fare in Palestine. I also would have loved a happier ending for Lev.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Dangerous Place: A Maisie Dobbs Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jacqueline Winspear Page; Review: For some reason, though I have never LOVED a Maisie Dobbs novel, I have read all of them and continue to read them as they come out. Jacqueline Winspear's stand alone novel The Care and Management of Lies was by far my favorite of her books, perhaps because it didn't take so much time with the meditating and philosophical deep thoughts that get a little old. I suppose the real reason I read all of these books is that they take place in Europe, mostly Great Britain, between the World Wars and I find the setting interesting even if I don't love the books. In this installment, Maisie is in mourning. She can't bear to return to London. She spends some time in Boston and India but her step-mother asks her to come home. Her father isn't getting any younger. She reluctantly leaves India and is almost home when she impulsively disembarks in Gibraltar. Almost immediately, Maisie becomes involved in a murder investigation when she stumbles across a dead man. Though she is told that she should stay out of it, Maisie can't leave it alone and begins her search for answers. Meanwhile, the Spanish Civil War is waging across the border and is somehow tied in with the murder. Soon, Maisie realizes she's being followed. Is her life in danger or is she being followed for her own protection? I think, overall, the book could have been better if it was a little more succinct and straight to the point. Also, the mystery wasn't very mysterious and I had it figured out far before it was revealed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Small Indiscretion: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jan Ellison Page; Review: Annie's son has been in a car accident and now he's in a coma. Somehow this car accident is related to Annie's past but it isn't until the very end of the book that we understand exactly what happened and why. Annie has been married to Jonathon for twenty years but their marriage is threatened when Annie receives a photograph from her past. The photograph reminds her of former lover Patrick, a man she was in love with while he seemed to take their relationship less seriously. Though happily married, Annie can't forget Patrick once she's been sent this photo, which she thinks was sent by Patrick. She goes to London and commits her titular small indiscretion, though there are other indiscretions the title could be referring to, and this one doesn't seem especially small, especially, one imagines, to Jonathon. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present a lot and not always in the most clear way. The flashes back and forth between the recent past and the present are especially confusing, since it's far more obvious when she's talking about the distant past. It is for that reason and because I felt like the book dragged a bit that I can't give it more than 3 stars. I think the idea behind it is good, I like the story but I don't love how it was executed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Her Name Is Rose: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Christine Breen Page; Review: I had high hopes for this book but found it just okay. So, Rose was adopted. Her father died of cancer a couple of years ago and her mother, Iris, has had a mammogram that was inconclusive and the doctors want to do more tests. Here is one of the things that annoyed me about this book the most. Iris panics and assumes she's dying. How about you wait until further tests are done before you go wringing your hands and picking out your coffin? Even if you do have breast cancer, it's very treatable and you could live another 50 years so calm down! Okay, so, Iris panics and decides that she has to find Rose's birth mother and she impulsively hops on a plane to the U.S. after learning that Rose's mother lived in Boston. Meanwhile, Rose is at some big deal music academy in London...sorry, the Royal Academy of Music, which is, as I said, a big deal. She plays the violin, obviously rather well since she's been accepted to the Royal blah blah blah and it turns out that her professor is a dick and she leaves and goes home to Ireland, partly because her professor is a dick and partly because she left her violin on the tube and it's been sent back to it's maker, who happens to be a dreamy surfer in addition to his luthier skills. Obviously, they are going to hook up, even though he's got to be way too old for her. I think the book said he made her violin when she was something like 13. Anyway, Iris meets some Jazz playing musician in Boston, who wrote a piece of music inspired by Iris's blue dress. After knowing each other for 5 minutes, he follows her back to Ireland. As for Rose's birth mother... I won't spoil it, nor will I tell you if Iris dies a horrible death because of her treacherous breasts. If you still care, after reading this review, then you should read the book for yourself.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Dead I Know; Author: Visit Amazon's Scot Gardner Page; Review: Aaron Rowe has a lot on his plate. He's just out of school, though there's no mention of graduating, just of leaving. He's been given a job at a mortuary, which will help him to provide for himself and for Mam. Mam hasn't been herself lately and it's only getting worse. Also, he's been sleepwalking, ending up in the neighbor's caravan, on the beach, on a sidewalk in front of a cafe. His boss, John Barton, does his best to help Aaron out, giving Aaron and Mam a ride to the ER when Mam breaks her arm bailing him out of jail for a murder he doesn't remember committing but can't say for sure that he didn't since he's not really in control of himself when he sleeps. In the end, it's his boss's bossy daughter Skye that helps him. By getting him to confront his nightmares, Skye helps Aaron to come to grips with the past and look forward to the future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: I Remember You; Author: Cathleen Davitt Bell; Review: There are some YA novels that, even as an adult, I feel like I can enjoy just as much as any teenager. You know what I'm talking about. Fault in Our Stars and books of that kind. While I found this book well written and interesting, this wasn't in the category of those books. I think teen girls may really enjoy this book and that is why, though I sort of had to remind myself that I had to read this to write a review for it, I'm still giving it 4 stars. Lucas remembers things that haven't happened yet. He experiences severe headaches and has memories of fighting in Iraq. He's only 17. His girlfriend Juliet is skeptical at first but when he knows particulars about certain events before they happen, she can't doubt him any longer. I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second. Once Lucas forgets his memories of the future, things become a little more dull.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Into the Savage Country: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Shannon Burke Page; Review: This isn't at all the sort of book that I generally read but after reading the reviews of others I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad that I did. This book has a bit of everything: romance, heroic deeds, treachery, history and loads of adventure. One of the reasons I may feel connected to this book is that I was born and raised in Cache Valley, Utah, named for the caches of fur left there by trappers like Jim Bridger, whose name is the origin of the area's nickname, Bridgerland. In the mountains nearby, there are frequent meetings of "mountain men", men that seem straight out of the pages of this book. I also enjoyed reading about the various Native American tribes and learning about the beef the Americans and British had over the trapping areas. One of the things I liked best about this book was the redemption of Henry Layton. In the beginning, Layton is a turd of a man but by the end he is a hero. This book could have been entirely about the wilderness, the danger, and the adventure but the author added the tale of a man overcoming his base nature, as well as a love story, to make the book more universally interesting.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: In Wilderness: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Diane Thomas Page; Review: Katherine is an executive at an advertising agency in the 1960's. That might be the most difficult to believe concept of this entire novel. Anyway, Katherine gets sick and her doctors have no idea what's wrong with her, but they do know that she will die. She can't keep food down and she's wasting away. Katherine decides to leave Atlanta and move to a cabin in the woods that she has purchased sight unseen. She packs all of her necessities in her sleeping bag and drags it up the mountain to her cabin, where she will live until she dies, which she thinks will be in a few months. Danny is back from the Vietnam war, squatting in the fire-damaged house on the other side of the mountain that Katherine lives on. Katherine has no idea that Danny watches her, day and night. She can feel something out there, knows she's being watched, but thinks it's a deer or some other woodland creature. Danny keeps his distance until he can't anymore. He needs Katherine. I really liked the first half of this book, with Katherine setting out on her own to live like a hermit, simply and alone. Once she meets Danny, things become less simple. The writing is well done, the characters perfectly fleshed out, and the story is interesting. It makes me wish for my own cabin in the woods, though I think I would prefer one without a Danny.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Odysseus Abroad: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Amit Chaudhuri Page; Review: Call me a philistine or a simpleton or anything else you'd like but I just couldn't get into this book. If I'd known it was meant to parallel Joyce's Ulysses, I never would have ordered it. The stream-of-conscious style, completely lacking in plot, is not something that can hold my attention. Many others have loved it, critics adore it, but for me, it just seemed pointless and boring.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: You Can Trust Me: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sophie McKenzie Page; Review: When Livy was in college, her sister Kara was brutally murdered. Now, her best friend Julia has died and the police believe it was suicide but Livy doesn't agree. While dealing with an ornery pubescent daughter and a husband that may be cheating, Livy decides to look into Julia's death. When she does, she finds that Julia had been on the hunt for Kara's killer and that she had found him. Now she knows that Julia didn't kill herself, that she was murdered by the same man that killed Kara and she might be next. Interspersed with the story of Livy looking for Julia's killer are chapters in which the killer is telling his story. He details his methods of getting women to trust him, takes his time, and in the end, kills them. Thankfully, the details of the murders themselves are not too gruesome. This book has plenty of mystery and tension, leaving you wondering who the killer is for quite a while. It wasn't predictable like so many books are and I appreciated that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Small Mercies: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Eddie Joyce Page; Review: Ten years after the Twin Towers fell, the Amandole family is still coming to grips with the loss of Bobby, the youngest of three boys. His wife Tina has started dating and telling Bobby's mother Gail wasn't easy for Tina or for Gail. Now Gail has to tell the rest of the family before Bobby Jr.'s birthday party on Sunday. She also wants to make sure that her son Franky doesn't show up to the party drunk. This book alternates between past and present in a way that can sometimes be confusing but eventually you realize what's going on. We learn how Gail and her husband Michael met, how Michael was supposed to take over his father's butcher shop but became a firefighter instead, how Michael wonders if taking over his father's shop would have saved Bobby's life. One of the biggest characters of the novel is actually the setting: Staten Island, New York. Staten Island is part of who these people are, something that chafes at some of them and fills others with pride. I've always been sort of jealous of people who come from a place that is so defining, so completely a part of what makes them who they are. I really enjoyed this book. It's a look at how the tragedy of 9/11 affected one family and how they have managed in the aftermath. Not knowing anyone personally that lost anyone in the incident, it was interesting to read and have a look inside what it might be like for the families that lost their loved ones on that horrible day.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bones & All: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Camille DeAngelis Page; Review: Maren eats people. The first person she ate was her babysitter. Maren's mother keeps them on the move so no one will no that her daughter is eating people but the day after her 16th birthday, her mother is gone, leaving Maren a note and $100. Maren must now make her own way in the world, learning who to trust and who to avoid. To say that this book is different or original is a huge understatement. The way the author makes us root for Maren, to hope for the best for her, is truly amazing. I loved every bit of this book until page 280. I really wish the author hadn't written the next few pages and I especially thought that the fact that Maren didn't seem sad or sorry was even worse. I like that she finds a place to fit in, though and I hope she finds lots of nasty frat boys to snack on ;); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Dog Who Saved Me: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Wilson Page; Review: Cooper is a cop in Boston on the K-9 unit until his dog, Argos, is killed. Cooper suffers some physical trauma as well but his real problem is that he can't gt over the loss of his dog. His wife leaves him, he's not working, and when his childhood friend calls to offer him a job in animal control in the small town where they grew up, he eventually takes it. The main problem with this situation is his father, Bull, and his brother, Jimmy. Bull is a recovering alcoholic, formerly the town drunk and Cooper doesn't want to be associated with him, even if he has gotten sober. His brother is a bigger problem, having just been released from 12 years in prison on drug charges, Cooper is pretty sure he's back to his old habits of dealing heroin. Then there's the yellow dog. He's been seen around, tipping over garbage cans and trying to get at chickens and Cooper needs to catch him before he causes any more problems. When he finally gets a good look at him, he realizes that the dog isn't just starving but has been severely injured. Only when the dog is very near death can Cooper catch him and bring him in. Going against the advice of the vet, who thinks the dog should be euthanized, Cooper nurses him back to health. Despite Cooper's care for the dog, the dog can tell that Cooper doesn't love him or really want him around and the two don't really bond. Once the dog is healthy again, Cooper sets out to find the dog's former owner, the one who did this to the poor animal. While the book is ostensibly about this dog and this man, there is much more to it. There's a romantic interest, there is the shady brother, there is a town full of people that Cooper has known his whole life, and there is his father, who seems to be trying his hardest to make amends for the way things were when Cooper and Jimmy were young but just can't quite get it right. There was really only one thing I didn't like about the book and that is that there were sections narrated by the dog. I would have preferred an omniscient third person telling what the dog thought or felt or, even better, just a description of the dog's actions in a way that let us know what the dog was thinking or feeling.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: This Is How It Really Sounds: A Novel; Author: Stuart Archer Cohen; Review: This is one of the more difficult reviews I've had to write, partially because the ending confused me so much that I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. This is a book about 3 men named Peter Harrington. One is a former extreme skier living in a small town in Alaska. One is a washed-up front man of a washed-up 90's rock band. The last is a banker, whose hedge fund antics have made him $800,000,000 and cost thousands of people their entire life savings, including the other 2 Pete Harringtons. The 3 Petes lives intersect in other ways as well. This book is extremely original, very well written, and a bit confusing but still very engaging. Once I started reading it, I didn't put it down again until I was done. Normally, that would earn a book an immediate 5 star rating but I'm so confused by the last page that I had to dock it a star. This is an advance reader's copy and I keep thinking that maybe I am missing a page that would make this all make sense. The other option is that my mind is not imaginative enough to comprehend what the author is doing and I'm afraid that is probably the more likely of the two possibilities.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Breakout; Author: Visit Amazon's Kevin Emerson Page; Review: It grows on you. Although there is talk of the f-word in the book, it doesn't actually have it written anywhere, nor were there other curse words in the book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paper Things; Author: Jennifer Richard Jacobson; Review: Ari is in her last year of elementary school and is working hard to be accepted into Carter Middle School, a school for the gifted, which her mother, father, and brother attended. The only problem is, being homeless is making it difficult to be a good student. When her mother died, she wanted Ari and her brother Gage to stay together so when he moves out of the home they live in with their guardian Janna, Ari goes with him. Unfortunately, Gage has been unable to find a real job and without a job, they can't get an apartment, even if Gage has some money saved up. SO they move from place to place, staying with friends one night and at a shelter the next. Though much of this book is sad, there is a happy ending for Ari and Gage. I think this would be a great book for fifth and sixth graders to read to teach them compassion for those who are less fortunate. The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that there are some parts of the book that I find a little bit implausible. The fact that their guardian would just let Ari leave strikes me as unrealistic. She's legally responsible for her welfare and to just let her go could get Janna in a lot of trouble. Overall, though, the book is good and if it can help children who are coping with homelessness or help others to be kind and helpful to those in need, then that is wonderful.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Postcards From the Past; Author: Visit Amazon's Marcia Willett Page; Review: Marcia Willett's latest book Postcards from the Past is the story of Ed and Billa, their half-brother Dom and Tris, the bad seed that was, for a short time, their step-brother. Set in Cornwall, it's the kind of book that makes you wish you were there in their little village, having a pint with them at the local pub. Ed and Billa's father died when they were young, not long after he returned from World War II. After his death they make a new friend, Dom, who looks a lot like Ed and their father. He's a little bit older than they are and they love him instantly. When their mother decides to remarry, Ed and Billa are unhappy to find that their new step-father has an odious little beast of a son, who seems to have no other purpose than to cause trouble. Now Ed and Billa are older, living together again in their childhood home after Ed's divorce and Billa's widowhood. Dom lives nearby and everyone is settled and happy in their twilight years until Bella receives a postcard from Tris that sends them all into a panic. They haven't heard from him since his father suddenly abandoned their mother a year after they were married and they're sure that whatever he has planned, it isn't good. I would give this book 4 and a half stars if I could. It made me want to hop the next plane to England, settle down in an old butter factory and live out the rest of my days with what are sure to be neighbors that become like family. Since I can't do that, I guess I'll just read more of Marcia Willett's books.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Deepest Secret; Author: Visit Amazon's Carla Buckley Page; Review: The Lattimore family has to deal with things that most of us will never have to worry about. Their son Tyler has XP, a condition that makes it crucial that he not be exposed to the sun, or even other kinds of lights, because it will literally kill him. A small burn on his arm caused by a car's headlights sends his mother into a panic. His mother, Eve, does everything she can to protect him and to make his life more bearable. His father, David, works in D.C. and is working his tail off trying to become partner in the accounting firm he works at. His sister Melissa has become a sullen teenage girl with whom Tyler has nothing in common. The deepest secret mentioned in the title comes rather early in the book and changes the feeling of the book. I was enjoying the book up to that point. I was interested in learning more about XP, assuming that we were going to be shown the difficulties, the early mortality, the family grieving for their dead son. This didn't happen. Instead, something terrible happens and the person who committed this terrible deed does something that I would consider out of character for her. After this happens, the book became a chore for me, I kept reading because I wanted to know how the book would end but I never regained my initial enthusiasm.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Rocheforts: A Novel; Author: Christian Laborie; Review: The Rocheforts are a wealthy family in Nimes who have made their fortune largely on denim and silk. Anselme Rochefort is the ruthless head of the family who rules his children and arranges a marriage between his oldest son and the daughter of a wealthy farmer Donatien Rouviere, whose daughter brings a dowry of several acres of trees housing silk worms. Anselme and his oldest son are deceitful and full of plans to further their own agendas, caring nothing for the wishes of others. His other children take after their mother and are kind and not interested in making money by the sweat and broken backs of the lower classes. Anselm's youngest daughter Faustine is in love with Vincent, the Rouviere's adopted son. Anselme won't allow his daughter to consort with a bastard, but if he knew who Vincent really was, he may have made an exception. This book is full of intrigue and family drama, as well as the drama of World War II. It's an interesting look at where the word and the product denim originated. The writing wasn't perfect but that may have more to do with the fact that the author is not a native English speaker and some of the artistry was lost in translation. Overall, it was a good book that made me want to move to France and be a farmer's wife.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hugo & Rose: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Bridget Foley Page; Review: Rose is a wife and mother of three young children in her waking life but at night, as she sleeps, she enters the same dream world she has every night since she was a six year-old girl. In her dreams she's on an island with pink sand, enormous spiders, and Hugo. Hugo is slightly older than Rose. They grow up together in Rose's dreams but never take on the pudge, the wrinkles, the graying or thinning hair of real life. One day, Rose and her kids have just left a rained-out soccer game about an hour from home and end of up in the drive-thru of an Orange Tastee. Working the drive-thru is a man who could be Hugo's fatter, balder twin. Rose is stunned. Hugo is just in her dreams. He doesn't actually exist. Rose becomes obsessed with this man who looks like Hugo, and what happens as a result could be the end of her life as she knows it. This is one of the most imaginative and original books I have ever read. I love that it's so different but that I can also relate to it as a wife and mother. Though I wish things could have ended a bit differently, I really enjoyed this book and would love to read more by this author.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Letters to the Lost: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Iona Grey Page; Review: First of all, I want potential readers to be aware that there is a rape scene in this book. It's not terribly graphic or descriptive but it's there, so...trigger warning. Jess is a young girl on the run from an abusive boyfriend. She ends up in an abandoned house in London, nearly broke and with nowhere else to go and no one to turn to from help. The house she has broken into is well-kept but it's obvious that no one has been there in quite a while. Even though it's been abandoned, mail is still being delivered and one day a letter comes from the U.S. to a Mrs. Thorne. Jess can't help herself. She opens it and discovers it's a letter from a dying man named Dan to the woman he has loved since he was a pilot in WWII. He wants her to know that he still loves her, that he never forgot her. Jess is intrigued and wants to find out if this woman is still alive but she doesn't have much information. She scours the house for clues and comes across a box of letters from Dan to Stella Thorne, letters that shed some light on the nature of their relationship. The book alternates between the past and the present. In the present, Jess is homeless, nearly penniless, and becomes ill while searching for clues about Stella. She meets a man name Will, who comes to her rescue and ends up helping her in her search. In the past we see Dan and Stella falling in love, suffering through the war, and struggling through other hardships and obstacles to their living happily ever after. I really enjoyed the parts of this book that were about the past. The present bits were good, too, though not quite as interesting. I really likes the characters of Dan and Stella, while I felt that Jess and Will were less fleshed out and were perhaps less interesting just because they're living in the same era as I am.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Did You Ever Have a Family; Author: Visit Amazon's Bill Clegg Page; Review: Did You Ever Have A Family is the story of a tragedy in a small town in Connecticut told through many different perspectives. Lolly and Will were about to get married. Lolly's mother June was hosting the wedding at her house and had allowed her ex-husband Adam to stay at her house for the wedding, along with her boyfriend Luke. When the house explodes, killing everyone except June, who was outside at the time, half the town blames Luke, the young black man who had gone to prison for dealing drugs. June doesn't blame anyone. She just has to leave. Luke's mother Lydia is used to being the topic of gossip but now the gossip is saying that her son blew up a house full of people and she can't handle it. This story is so well crafted, woven with all the voices of those involved, however slightly, in the lives of those that have been lost. It's a sad story but one that doesn't depress the reader in any way, only intrigues them and makes them want to know more about how this tragedy happened. It ends not necessarily happy but with a philosophical approach that ties it all up nicely. This is one of those books that you wish wouldn't end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Fires of Autumn (Vintage International); Author: Visit Amazon's Irene Nemirovsky Page; Review: Bernard Jacquelain is eager to become a soldier. At the first sign of war in 1914, he signs up, proud and ready to fight for France. It doesn't take long before he realizes that war is an ugly, horrible thing. At the end of the war he is jaded and disenchanted. He ends up marrying his cousin Therese, a war widow whose husband Martial died at the front. Bernard gets a job at the bank and his marriage to Therese is a happy one for a time. Then he becomes unsatisfied with his middle class existence. He wants more money and he wants Renee Detang. He gets both, working with Renee's husband to make money that may or may not be honest. He figures that someone is going to make money this way and it might as well be him. As far as sleeping with Renee, he doesn't even try to keep it a secret from his wife, the mother of his three children. When a second horrible war begins, the repercussions of Bernard's unscrupulous dealings come about in a most horrible way, making him realize what a horrible man he has become. Only this tragedy is able to put him back on the path to redemption. Irene Nemirovsky was an amazingly talented author whose books define the horrors of WWI and WWII so well because she was forced to experience them both first-hand though, sadly, she didn't see the end of WWII as she was killed at Auschwitz at the young age of 39. I think that her books should be required reading, not only because of the lessons they impart but because she was a master of her craft and should be far more appreciated than she is.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Basic Law: A Mystery of Cold War Europe; Author: J. Sydney Jones; Review: Ex-pat America journalist Sam Kramer doesn't believe that his former lover Reni Mller committed suicide. He feels there must be something out there to prove that she was murdered and he leaves his home in Vienna to find that proof. Along with him is Randall, another one of Reni's friends from the old days when they were young activists in Prague, protesting the Soviet takeover of eastern Europe. When Kramer learns that he has been named the executor of Reni's memoirs, memoirs that can't be found, he starts to wonder if Reni's killer could have been someone that didn't want their past known. It could have even been someone from their group of friends. As Kramer and Randall set out to find the answers, they find themselves suddenly in danger themselves. They danger gets more intense the closer they get to solving the question of who would have wanted Reni dead. This is a great book with lots of suspense and tension, as well as some history thrown in for good measure. The Nazi regime, Cold War combatants, and Neo-Nazis all play a part in this novel of intrigue, If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Whisper Hollow; Author: Visit Amazon's Chris Cander Page; Review: Trigger warning! This book contains an inscestuous rape scene. It's not overly detailed but be warned. This book is in two parts that almost read like two separate novels. Both halves of the book take place in the coal mining town of Verra, West Virginia but the first part begins in 1916 and the second in 1964. In the beginning we meet Myrthen Bergman, a young girl who lost her twin sister to a tragic accident she doesn't quite remember. As she matures, she becomes a beautiful woman, different from every other girl in nearly every way. Not only does she not go out of her way to be noticed by the dreamy John Esposito, once her father has promised him her hand, she does everything she can to get out of marrying him. She wants to be a nun, cloistered away from the world. In the same town lives Alta Krol, who spends her days caring for her widowed father and her brothers, dreaming of becoming an artist and moving to New York like her sophisticated aunt Maggie. She marries the kind coal miner Walter, bearing him a son, who also becomes a miner. Alta spends her days cooking, cleaning, and trying to get the coal dust out of the mens' clothes. It's not the life she had hoped for until one day she becomes more closely acquainted with John Esposito, who makes her happy for the first time in her life. Her new-found happiness is cut short by a tragedy in the mine that affects everyone in town. Fourteen years after the tragedy, Lidia Kielar is a young high school student and, like Alta, she is taking are of her widowed father and her mentally disabled brother. When she finds herself suddenly pregnant, she pins the pregnancy on Danny, the boy she loves. When she gives birth to a son, she terrified that Danny will see that he is not his son. Luckily, the only thing that stands out about her son Gabriel is that he's incredibly intelligent for such a young child. Sadly, some in town find Gabriel's precociousness creepy and maybe even satanic. Myrthen Bergman is especially unsettled by the boy and tries to get the priest to perform an exorcism, hoping that will keep him from spilling her secrets. In her attempts to keep Gabriel from telling the world what she believes he knows, she commits another heinous deed, one which sends her back in time to her sister's death. Luckily, there's a happy ending to this story. I would give this book 4.5 stars if I could.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Governor's Wife (Michael Kelly Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Harvey Page; Review: Private Investigator Michael Kelly has been hired to find Ray Perry, former mayor of Chicago who disappeared the day he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He's being paid handsomely but his employer has chosen to remain anonymous. What Kelly finds is a level of organized crime that is embedded into every part of the city. Before he can find Ray Perry, he has to learn what Perry was into and it's that information that could get him killed. Everyone he goes to for information is now a target and anyone he gets close to is put in danger. Is the governor's wife Marie his employer? Can she be trusted? I really liked this book. It was clever, fast-paced and, unlike so many similar novels, I was unable to solve the mystery myself before it was revealed by the author. I didn't realize when I got this book that there are others about detective Michael Kelly but that didn't matter at all. Not having read any of the other books made no difference to my enjoyment of this book, though I may have had a better understanding of Michael's character.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Novel Habits of Happiness (Isabel Dalhousie Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: I read everything Alexander McCall Smith writes but I love his books set in Edinburgh most of all (except maybe for the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, which is so funny). The Novel Habits of Happiness is another installment in the Isabel Dalhousie series. While there isn't much that happens in these books, there is a lot of thought-provoking philosophizing and lovely descriptions of Edinburgh. This time around Jamie and Isabel discuss the possibility of having another child, Cat finds herself a new (and surprisingly aceeptable) man, and Isabel is asked to help a woman whose child claims to have another home and another family. He can describe them in detail, causing Isabel to question her non-belief in reincarnation. What she finds in the end leaves her with more of an open mind. The thing I love about these books is that they are books that create a peace in me. This may not make sense to anyone but me but I read certain books and they make me want to eat or shop or travel or be a completely different person. These books calm me and make me content to be exactly who I am, even if I would rather be in Edinburgh.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rocks: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Nichols Page; Review: I loved this book so much and didn't want it to ever end. I loved the characters (even the terrible ones) and would have been happy to continue reading about them and, most of all, about the island of Mallorca, indefinitely. The book starts out in the recent past and goes backward. So, when we first meet Lulu and Gerald, they are old. They have a history that we know nothing about so we don't understand what they are arguing about. Each section of the book takes us further back in time, filling us in on the details that we were missing, until, at the end, we know everything that happened and why relationships fell apart. Best of all, we are given a glimpse of what it would be like to live on Mallorca and that glimpse has made me incredibly jealous of those that were raised there, or even those that just summered there. Or to be able, like Gerald, to sail around the Mediterranean, following the route taken by Odysseus, ending up more or less stranded but making a life for himself on Mallorca by tending to his olive trees and making olive oil to sell to local businesses. If I wasn't so old, I would move there myself, get a Vespa and a donkey and live the idyllic, though at times very turbulent, life of one of the characters in this book. Or, even better, sail around the Mediterranean, visiting all the countries it touches. This book makes me long for adventure.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: I Saw a Man: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Owen Sheers Page; Review: While there is nothing wrong with the writing or the plot, I just didn't find this book very interesting. I think part of the reason for that is that the event that is hinted at from the beginning of the book doesn't actually take place until the book is half over and when it does happen it is not nearly as exciting as one might have thought. What happens is not sinister, but merely a horrible accident. I had a difficult time connecting with any of the characters of this book, even the ones who aren't crappy people. Michael, the main character, seems like an okay guy, though the way his books exploit others made me like him less, but when it really matters, Michael shows what he is really made of and I despised him for it. The parts of this book I liked the most was the depictions of drone warfare. The book showed both the good and bad aspects of using drones to fight your enemies. I had never considered that there could be a good aspect of using drones, and I still consider them more bad than good but I at least now realize how many soldiers' lives can be saved because of them.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Shore; Author: Sara Taylor (author); Review: Trigger warning: this book contains depictions of rape and physical abuse. This book of connected short stories all take place on a group of smal islands off the coast of Virginia. The stories span generations but are not in chronological order. Though the going back and forth in time is slightly confusing, trying to remember which characters are related and how, the author did a magnificent job. The first story, about two young girls being raised by their meth-addict father, was a little dark and I was afraid that the entire book would be filled with stories of simillar horrors. I'm glad that I kept reading. This book is one of those that is hard to put down once you start reading, somthing that I rarely find in a book of short stories. The interconnectedness of the stories makes this book read almost like a novel and the writing, as well as the stories themselves are superb. While many of the stories are filled with a certain amount of misery, the book is still too good to pass up.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: In the Country: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Mia Alvar Page; Review: The stories in Mia Alcar's book In the Country all revolve around Filipinos, living in the Philppines or abroad. I've always been curious about the Philippines, an Asian country whose countrymen often have Spanish last names. This book cleared that up when it mentioned that the Philippines had been colonized by Spain. These stories are varied in many ways, but all have either the Philippines or Filipinos as the central character. Some are more lighthearted while others depict the horrors of living under the Marcos regime, though never mentioning Marcos by name. Another thing each of the stories has in common is that they are artfully crafted, with not a word out of place or in excess. Some authors don't now how to edit, what to leave out, but this author has it down. I appreciate these stories for the works of art that they are but also I am happy to have learned more about the people of the Philippines, who all seem to have an amazing work ethic and an indomitable spirit. Though many of the stories are sad, none of them are without hope.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fig; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Elizabeth Schantz Page; Review: Fig is 6 years old when she realizes there's something wrong with her mother. Fig is incredibly smart for her age but she still has a hard time with the word schizophrenia. Suddenly, Fig's world is turned upside down as she is sent to stay with her grandmother Fiona, after whom she was named. Fig and her grandmother don't really get along and all Fig wants is to have her mother back. Fig decides that she needs to make sacrifices in order to make her mother well again. She goes a day without drinking. She spends a day in which she can touch no metal. She continues these trials that she set for herself, thinking that they are working, until it is clear that no matter how much she sacrifices, she can't make her mother return to her old wonderful self. Throughout the book, Fig grows up. She is bullied at school, her father seems to consider her a burden, her grandmother is endlessly disapproving, and her mother is institutionalized. Only her Uncle Billy seems to see her and lover her exactly as she is. Along with everything else Fig has to deal with, she knows that she may also be schizophrenic someday. This book provided an inside look at families dealing with a loved one with a serious mental illness. Hopefully readers will realize that mental illness requires more compassion and understanding and less stigmatization and fear.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Saint Mazie; Author: Visit Amazon's Jami Attenberg Page; Review: Saint Mazie is the story of Mazie Phillips-Gordon, a girl born into poverty along with her two sisters. When her sister Rosie manages to get away from the abuse of her father and marry a kind, wealthy, though not necessarily law-abiding man, she returns for her sisters and takes them to live with her and her husband in New York City. Mazie loves the streets of New York and Rosie has a hard time reigning her in until her husband Louis asks Mazie to help him out at his theater. As a favor to her benevolent brother-in-law, Mazie agrees to sit in a cage all day, selling movie tickets. Meanwhile, her little sister Jeannie is dancing her way west, leaving Mazie to deal with her increasingly OCD sister Rosie all by herself. She gives up her chance to be with a man she loves because she can't abandon her sister. When the Depression hits, Mazie and Rosie are well taken care of but the people living on the street become Mazie's cause. She gives them the change in her pocket but, more than that, she gives them her respect. She cares deeply about these men and the people of New York City finally begin to see Mazie as she really is.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Weightless: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Bannan Page; Review: I'm giving this book 4 stars more because of its importance than for how much I enjoyed it. Bullying is such a horrible thing and so prevalent online, which is something people often overlook until it's too late. If this book can make people realize the truly awful consequences of gossip and malicious rumors, maybe it can help save a few people. This book reminds us how cruel high school girls can be. It reminds us that, even if we're not the ones bullying, if we see that behavior and do nothing to stop it, we are just as guilty.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kitchens of the Great Midwest: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's J. Ryan Stradal Page; Review: When I first heard about this book I wasn't sure that I would like it. It's got a lot of details about food and cooking and I thought that as a non-foodie, I wouldn't enjoy it. My favorite food is toast and the most complicated thing I ever make is pizza. But! This book is about so much more that food. It's the characters and their relationships that make this book so good. It's been a long time since I've read a book I enjoyed this much and I was very sad when it was over. Eva Thorvald hasn't had the easiest life. Abandoned by her real mother as a baby, orphaned by the death of her loving father soon after, Eva was raised by her father's brother and his wife, believing they were her parents. Eva was born with a very sophisticated palette and at the early age of 11 was already using her knowledge of food to make money. After a relatively rough childhood, Eva becomes incredibly successful. There's nothing terribly complicated or revolutionary about any part of this book but reading it is like snuggling with a dog. It just makes you feel better about life for some reason. Maybe it's just Eva, her kindness, wisdom, and ability to affect people through food. Whatever it is, I loved it and I hope to read more from this author.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kitchens of the Great Midwest: A Novel; Author: J. Ryan Stradal; Review: When I first heard about this book I wasn't sure that I would like it. It's got a lot of details about food and cooking and I thought that as a non-foodie, I wouldn't enjoy it. My favorite food is toast and the most complicated thing I ever make is pizza. But! This book is about so much more that food. It's the characters and their relationships that make this book so good. It's been a long time since I've read a book I enjoyed this much and I was very sad when it was over. Eva Thorvald hasn't had the easiest life. Abandoned by her real mother as a baby, orphaned by the death of her loving father soon after, Eva was raised by her father's brother and his wife, believing they were her parents. Eva was born with a very sophisticated palette and at the early age of 11 was already using her knowledge of food to make money. After a relatively rough childhood, Eva becomes incredibly successful. There's nothing terribly complicated or revolutionary about any part of this book but reading it is like snuggling with a dog. It just makes you feel better about life for some reason. Maybe it's just Eva, her kindness, wisdom, and ability to affect people through food. Whatever it is, I loved it and I hope to read more from this author.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Girl Who Slept with God: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Val Brelinski Page; Review: Jory is the middle of three sisters being raised in a very religious household in Arco, Idaho in the year 1970. Her 17 year-old sister Grace is the most devout of the sisters and spends a summer in Mexico as a missionary. When she returns she is pregnant and, according to her, God is the father of her child. Her mother is furious with her. Her father is compassionate to an extent but more than anything, he and his wife seem to be concerned with what other people will think. He decides to buy a house on the outskirts of town where Grace can live until she gives birth. Jory will live with her sister and take care of her. He can't let Jory return to her Christian school, where people will ask questions, so she is sent to the local public high school, where she has no hope of fitting in. At their new house, Grace and Jory have a neighbor, the elderly Mrs. Kleinfelter, who takes an interest in the girls and does what she can to help them. They also have Jory's friend Grip, the ice cream man that is probably twice as old as Jory and whose interest in her seems quite creepy. When their father tells the girls that Grace is going to have to give her baby up for adoption, it sets in motion a series of events that even further changes the lives of the girls, their parents, and their younger sister. I don't want to ruin it for you so I will stop with the summarizing and let you read it yourself. This book points out how wrong things can go when parents try to force their will onto their children, as well as the problems created by such strict religious households. Having grown up Mormon, I'm no stranger to these types of situations and maybe that's one reason I enjoyed this book so much. I've seen firsthand the damage that these religions can do.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Music for Wartime: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Rebecca Makkai Page; Review: I am not usually as enthusiastic about short stories as I am about novels but this collection is the exception. The author did such an amazing job crafting these stories, some based on historical fact, others completely fanciful. My favorite was Couple of Lovers on a Red Background, in which a miniature Bach climbs out of a woman's piano, grows to full size, and lives with her in present-day New York City until his fears begin to shrink him again. All of the stories are perfectly crafted, unique, and full of deeper meaning. Most short story collections seem to have at least one or two stories that are not as good as the rest but I didn't find that to be the case with this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fishbowl: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Bradley Somer Page; Review: I love this book so much! From the very first page I knew that this was a unique treat of a book and I was not wrong. Ian is a goldfish who has left his fishbowl and is now falling from the 27th floor of the Seville on Roxy, the apartment building he lived in with Connor, the oversexed grad student. As Ian passes the various floors of the building on his descent, he notices the inhabitants of the building. He sees what he thinks is a large woman in a dress, he sees a naked man sitting on a couch scratching under his balls, he sees paramedics arriving to help a woman who has just given birth. Luckily, the author gives the reader more than just a glimpse of these lives and, luckier still, the author leaves out any further information on the naked ball scratcher. In the end, all of the events in the book have taken place in a mere thirty minutes. Within that short period of time, a baby is born, an old man dies, a cross-dressing man learns to accept himself and share himself with others, love is found and lost, and a goldfish sets out on an adventure. I love everything about this book, from the concept to the expert execution. Not a word is out of place and there's not a single unnecessary character. It is perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Life and Death of Sophie Stark; Author: Visit Amazon's Anna North Page; Review: The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a novel about one woman's genius at film making and her utter failure at interpersonal relationships. From the very beginning, I was intrigued with Sophie, a woman unlike anyone I've ever met in real life. She loves fiercely but in the end she is only faithful to her films and if she has to crush you to make them perfect, that's what she'll do. The book tells of Sophie's rise to fame and her brief experience with failure, all in a way that keeps you riveted. If I could give the book 4 and a half stars, I would.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How to Write a Novel (Vintage Contemporaries); Author: Visit Amazon's Melanie Sumner Page; Review: How to Write a Novel is narrated by 12.5 year-old Aris (short for Arsistotle) Thibodeau. Aris is writing a novel so she can 1) avoid therapy, 2) marry off her mother, and 3) make money. She is using a guide called How to Write a Novel in Thirty Days to help in her task. Her father Joe died when her mom Diane was pregnant with her brother Max, now 8 years-old. Aris and Max have a nanny and positive male influence named Penn,. Penn is the man she wants her mom to marry and Aris does what she can to facilitate the merger. This book is unique and quirky and very funny and I enjoyed every page. I, like Aris, have often thought that if only I could write a novel or two, I could change my family's fortunes. Unlike Aris, I seem to be lacking the necessary confidence and skills. The author did a wonderful job of writing a book from a young girl's perspective without it sounding fake or contrived.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Night Blindness: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Strecker Page; Review: Reading the first few pages of Night Blindness, I was afraid I wasn't going to like this book at all. Descriptions of Jensen and her husband Nico and their uppity friends bored me. Luckily, things changed when Jensen got a call from her mother, asking her to come home. Doctors had found a tumor in Jensen's former pro-football-playing father's head. She returns to the east coast from Santa Fe to find that her first love, Ryder, is her father's neurosurgeon. Feelings return, sexual tension ensues, and we wonder if Jensen is going to cheat on her husband? Is her dad going to die? Is her mother cheating on her maybe dying father? What did Jensen and Ryder have to do with Jensen's brother Will's death all those years ago? Why won't Jensen play the piano? Lots of questions, some surprises, and overall, a happy ending. Some things could have been better (some of the characters weren't very well developed and some questions remained,,,why didn't Jensen's mom want her to call her mom?) but in the end it wasn't such a bad little book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Circling the Sun: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula McLain Page; Review: I struggled to decide between 4 and 5 stars for this one and would have given it 4.5 stars if I could but in the end, if only for the actual Beryl Markham, I have given this book 5 stars. Beryl Markham was an amazing woman, raised in Kenya before there was a Kenya. She was brought up by her father and allowed to run wild with the natives, learning to be independent and seemingly fearless. Circling the Sun chronicles both her personal life, with many failed attempts at love, and her professional life, both as a race horse trainer and as a pilot. As the first woman to become a licensed trainer and the first woman to be granted a professional pilot's license, she was a pioneer. Paula McLain did a wonderful job of detailing the life of this amazing woman.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Footprints in the Desert: A Novel; Author: Maha Akhtar; Review: I think I would have like this book a lot more if it had stuck more to the historical facts and left out all of the romance plot lines. Maybe it was just the writer's way of writing that made me not enjoy that part so much. It seems like the parts with the war and political intrigue could have been far more intriguing. The love story parts of it seemed to happen out of nowhere. Some man follows a woman, shows up everywhere she goes and she falls in love with him? I would call the police. A dude shows up at your cafe nearly dead and you take care of him and nurse him back to health, I get that you may start to have feelings for him but the writer gave us no evidence of that happening. It didn't build up but seemed to happen all at once. What I did like about the book is that it taught me a little bit about Egypt and Turkey and the Middle East, especially at the time of the first World War. I would have liked it so much more if I had been given a broader picture of the situation and far less fictionalized pairing off of random characters.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Challenger Deep (Golden Kite Awards); Author: Visit Amazon's Neal Shusterman Page; Review: Challenger Deep is a book about a young boy suffering from a mental disorder, though it takes a while for that to become apparent. Caden is having a difficult time discerning between what's real and what is in his head. For a while, he's able to keep his condition a secret but soon his parents become aware that something is very wrong and Caden is committed to a mental hospital. The chapters of the book alternate between the world in Caden's head and what is happening in the hospital. Though the chapters of what's going on in Caden's head are very imaginative, I liked the chapters about his real life a lot more, maybe because of the prevalence of mental illness within my own family. Overall, the book was very good and left me with a feeling of hope, that things would get better for Caden and his friends from the hospital.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 100 Days of Happiness: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Fausto Brizzi Page; Review: 100 Days of Happiness is that rare book that will have you laughing one minute, crying the next, and enjoying every single page. I loved everything about this book. Lucio is nearly 40. He has a wife and 2 kids. He has 2 best friends and he briefly had a mistress. When his wife Paola finds out about the mistress, she kicks him out of the house and he moves in with his father-in-law, a man who should be angry at him for cheating on his daughter but, as a man, he understands. I think it would be difficult to find this kind of accepting and forgiving father-in-law anywhere outside of Italy. His father-in-law owns a bakery, where he makes the most delicious donuts. Could there be a better father-in-law? As a donut lover, I think not. While he is separated from his wife, Lucio learns that he has a tumor, which he ironically calls "my friend Fritz". The tumor is malignant and the cancer has spread to his lungs. Chemotherapy will prolong his life but not save it. Lucio gives the chemo a shot but decides that he'd rather be happy for the time he has left on earth and he sets out to make it happen. He tells Paola about the cancer but the kids remain in the dark. He doesn't want them to see him as a sick or broken man and he does his best to remain cheerful. Paola still won't forgive him but she lets him move back in to their apartment. Over the next few months, Lucio does everything he can to get his wife to forgive him for his affair and in the end, he has a brilliant plan that he hopes will have the desired effect. This book reminds the reader to live while they can, which is one of my favorite things about it. So often, it takes something horrible and life-threatening to remind us to live life to the fullest. Luckily, this book reminded me to remember what's important in life...your family and friends and the experiences you share with them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crooked Heart: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lissa Evans Page; Review: Noel lives with his godmother Mattie but recently it's become clear that she is suffering from dementia. He doesn't want anyone to know or he would have to go live with the vile Geoffrey and Margery, who are Mattie's distant relations. Eventually, he has to go live with them but luckily, there's a war on and instead he is evacuated from London and is sent to live in St. Albans. He lives with a woman named Vee. Vee has a mother and a grown son and no money. She is doing her best to scrape by but Noel helps her come up with a way to make more money than she's ever had before in her life. They make a great team and in the end, he's more of a son to Vee than her own son ever was. Crooked Heart is full of both humor and sadness but in the end is much more lighthearted and happy. I love stories about how people managed to scrape by during World War II and this one was far less dreary and full of suffering than most. Vee's mother writes very entertaining letters to Winston Churchill that she is sure he finds most helpful. It's a wonderful book and I enjoyed every word.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Second Sister; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Bostwick Page; Review: This book is far from literary fiction but it makes a good beach read. Lucy is a political campaigner working to get her boss into the White House. On the day he is elected as President, Lucy learns that her sister is in the hospital after what may have been an accidental overdose. Her sister, Alice, was left mentally impaired after an accident in her teens. Alice wanted nothing more than for Lucy to return to their hometown for a visit but Lucy has done everything she can to avoid returning to Nilson's Bay but now she has no choice but to return. When she arrives, she learns that her sister didn't make it. Now she has a funeral to plan and Alice's belongings to dispose of before she can get back to her boss and Washington, D.C. She is unhappy to learn that her sister put a condition in her will that Lucy will only inherit the house if she agrees to live in for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks she is free to do with it as she pleases. There is quite a bit of predictability in the book but it's still entertaining enough. Lucy learns to unwind and relax while on her unwilling vacation. She makes friends and reunites with a high school crush, One thing I didn't like about the book is how little Lucy seemed to be affected by Alice's death. There were tears and a bit of guilt but, overall, Lucy seems to forget all too easily that her sister is dead. Lucy isn't the most likable protagonist so it was hard to root for her sometimes. I would have liked to see more misery at the loss of her sister.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Million Dollar Road; Author: Visit Amazon's Amy Conner Page; Review: There were things about this book that I liked but not very many. I liked that the male antagonist got what was coming to him. I liked that the heroine was able to make something of herself and stop having such a crappy life. I found the characters to be inconsistent. Liz worked her way up from nothing, became a lawyer, but now she's suddenly a not very intelligent trophy wife who is too stupid to realize that if her husband cheated with her he would cheat on her. My very least favorite part was what happened to change Lireinne's life when she was in Paris. I know that you want to make things interesting and that you want to give your character a happily ever after but this was just ridiculous. There were just too many unlikely occurrences and inconsistent characters in this book for me to be able to enjoy it.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Black Glass: Short Fictions; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Joy Fowler Page; Review: This reissued collection of short stories is like most collections of short stories. Some are great, some are okay. The first story, Black Glass, is not my favorite. It's a strange story of a man accidentally creating a zombie Carry Nation who is out to destroy all of the alcohol there is. My favorite was The Travails, a story in letters from Lemuel Gulliver's wife Mary, sent to Gulliver on his travels, reminding him that she and their children exist and that they would actually like to be able to see him once in a while. The Elizabeth Complex is quite confusing until you realize it isn't about one famous Elizabeth but several famous Elizabeths. The stories are all incredibly imaginative and well-written, some more successfully executed than others.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Liar's Bench; Author: Visit Amazon's Kim Michele Richardson Page; Review: The dialog in this book is so bad, so unnatural that it was painful to read. The rest of it is pretty awful as well. I wondered, briefly, if everyone in Kentucky was this difficult to understand but then I read another reviewer's take on this book and, as a native of Kentucky, she agreed that it the writing was terrible. So glad to know that I won't need a translator if I ever decide to go to Kentucky. Honestly, I didn't get very far in this book, which is the only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. While there is an outside chance that the book gets better, I'm pretty sure I would hate the rest of it as much as I hated the first 83 pages. I refuse to torture myself further.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Take Another Look; Author: Visit Amazon's Rosalind Noonan Page; Review: This was a pretty predictable, bad seed-type of book. It was pretty obvious from the beginning what was going to happen. If there had been some interesting twists or if the writing was better (I swear if I had to read Harper say "cray cray" one more time I was going to lose it) then I might have enjoyed it in spite of the predictability. As it is, I was pretty bored. Luckily, it only took me a couple of hours to read the entire thing and I was so happy to be done.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lovesick; Author: Visit Amazon's James Driggers Page; Review: This book is a collection of 4 short stories, all very slightly connected to one another. All are tragic, all contain a love story of sorts, and they all take place in the rural south. The first story is about a black man named George Butcher. After returning home after serving his country in the Great War, he finds that, at home, he is still looked down upon for his color. But he can cook and bake better than anyone and he knows that if he had a chance, he could open up his own place and make something of himself. When a contest opens up, looking for the new face of Mystic White Flower, he has an idea that will help him and the white woman he chooses to be his accomplice. Unfortunately, things don't work out quite as planned. The next story is about two sisters who are devoted to one another, who live together on the farm they bought with the insurance money they collected when their collective husbands died. Younger sister Jewel has decided it's time for another husband but this time, there's a complication and the sisters' lives are forever changed. In the third story, a widow loses her mind after losing her husband and becomes obsessed with a televangelist. Nearly twice his age, she buys sexy new underwear and attends his live meeting, only to be injured when he begins the snake handling portion of the evening. Somehow, she has come to believe that the snake is in his pants and must be rooted out. In the last and, to me, most disturbing (violence, rape, murder) story, M.R. Vale is a successful small town florist who becomes obsessed with a mechanic of dubious intelligence. They become involved but M.R. doesn't realize who this man he is in love with truly is. He isn't just rough around the edges. He is a seriously dangerous, brutal man. All of the stories are well written and interesting and the book can easily be read in an afternoon.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Courtesan: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Alexandra Curry Page; Review: Jinhua is seven years old when her beloved father is put to death by order of the Emperor. Her mother, a concubine, is long dead and her father's First Wife has no love for her. She is sold to a go-between who then sells Jinhua to a madam. Though it is a little late to do so, her feet are bound so she will be found attractive by the brothel's customers. She is taught how to do "bed business", though she is 12 before her first encounter with a customer, a fat rich banker who hurts her terribly. After some time as a courtesan, a man, Mr. Hung, comes to see her, believing that she is the reincarnation of his past love, a woman who hung herself on the day he married someone else. The man's wife purchases Jinhua from the brothel and she is sent to live with Mr. Hung and his wife. Eventually, this is too much for the wife and she, too hangs herself. Jinhua and Hung move to Vienna, where Hung is an ambassador to the "white devils". Jinhua learns German and, without Hung's permission, explores Vienna, meeting an exciting man and the Empress Elizabeth while Hung is away on business. When Hung returns, he is furious and he locks Jinhua up so she can no longer betray him. I don't want to give away anymore of the book so I'll stop with my synopsis. The book is well written and interesting and thankfully doesn't go into too much detail on the foot binding. There is a happy ending for at least one character, though I was sad that another well-loved character was not so lucky. The book provides a bit of a history lesson about the Boxer Rebellion, which I have heard of but knew nothing about. I wish there had been more about that in the book but I guess I can research that on my own. Overall, the book was good but kind of petered out at the end.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Best Boy: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Eli Gottlieb Page; Review: Best Boy is a touching novel about a man named Todd who has lived in a facility for the developmentally impaired for the last 40 years. He was just 11 years old when his mom dropped him off at the Payton Living Center. His parents, including his abusive father, are both dead now and his brother Nate calls once a week and visits when he can, once or twice a year. He's doing pretty well, all things considered, until he gets an annoying new roommate and the center hires a man that reminds him of his father, a man Todd calls Mike the Apron. Todd comes up with an Idea, a plan to return to the home he grew up in, near where his brother now lives with his family, in Grable, new York, more than 700 miles from the Payton Living Center. Todd's opinion of Mike, though based on nothing more than teeth and a look that reminds him of his dad, turns out to be well-founded. Todd decides it's time to implement his plan and he leaves his home at the center and heads out. It isn't long before he is found and returned and in that time, his brother has realized just how much his brother wants to come home and he finally lets him. The book does a good job of explaining the different forms of autism and shows up what it's like to live with autism through Todd's perspective. It also shows what it's like for the parents and siblings of people with severe developmental impairment, especially with the character of Martine, a deeply disturbed woman who poked her own eye out. I like that the book isn't all seriousness but also has quite a bit of humor.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Brutality (A Fina Ludlow Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Ingrid Thoft Page; Review: Fina Ludlow is a private investigator in a family of well-known lawyers. She works for the family's law firm but also does work outside the firm. When she is hired to investigate an attack on a woman who is suing New England University for cognitive impairment caused during her years of soccer playing at the university, her father allows her to proceed in the hopes that the woman's family to the family law firm. When the woman dies of her injuries, it becomes a murder investigation. Luckily, Fina has connections on the police force, including the man she has had an on and off friends with benefits relationship. She investigates several leads and comes under attack herself but in the end, she solves the case before the police. I liked that this novel is both suspenseful and humorous. I also like that Fina has a sex life in the book but that we aren't given a detailed account of it. The character of Fina could have been a hard, one dimensional character but she cares deeply about her family (at least the ones that deserve it) and friends.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Turner House; Author: Visit Amazon's Angela Flournoy Page; Review: The thirteen Turner children all have opinions on what to do about the house they grew up in on Detroit's Yarrow Street. It's not worth much of anything in the current Detroit real estate crisis and their aged mother still owes $40,000. The oldest child, Cha-Cha, is paying the mortgage until a decision can be made. In the meantime, youngest child Lelah has secretly moved back into the empty house on Yarrow after being evicted from her apartment. Her gambling addiction has left her with nothing, she's lost her job and her apartment and now she may lose her daughter and grandson as well. This book focuses on a few of the children's lives instead of trying to give much detail about each child. Cha-Cha, Lelah, and Troy get the most attention in the book, as does Cha-Cha's haint, the ghost that he first saw as a child and again recently, causing him to crash his truck. I liked this book for opening my eyes to another world, while at the same time having several parallels to my own. Being the youngest of ten children, I can understand a lot of the dynamics going on in the Turner family. Having parents that have gone through somewhat similar financial issues, I can sympathize with what the Turner children are dealing with, especially with all of the disagreements between the siblings. Overall, the book did a good job of keeping my interest while giving me an inside look on what it's like to live in Detroit.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Eight Hundred Grapes: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Laura Dave Page; Review: Georgia is at her final fitting for her wedding gown when she sees her fiance Ben walking down the street with another woman and a small child. When the small child calls Ben daddy, Georgia realizes that the woman with Ben is his ex, the actress Michelle Carter, with whom he apparently has a child. Georgia runs away to her family's vineyard in Sonoma and finds that all is not well there, either. Her parent's marriage is unraveling, her brothers are fighting and her father has sold the vineyard to the evil competition. This book is an entertaining read and I liked almost everything about it. The one thing I didn't like is that she doesn't seem to have even a mild flirtation with one of the characters and yet, suddenly, they become very interested in each other. I didn't feel like the author gave enough juice to the development of that relationship. This was just just a minor issue and didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the novel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beneath the Bonfire: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Nickolas Butler Page; Review: I'm not usually into collections of short stories but this book may have changed that for good. Each of the stories is fairly simple but the feelings they evoke are not. The story Morels was one of my favorites, in spite of its not-so-happy ending and I loved the story the book was named after, Beneath the Bonfire. The stories are perfectly crafted and will stay with you for a long time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Memory House (A Honey Ridge Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Goodnight Page; Review: This book reminded me of a Nicholas Spark's novel, even though I only ever read one of them. For me, this is the opposite of an endorsement but if you like Nicholas Sparks, you should also enjoy this book. Eli is an ex-con looking for work in the town where his son Alex lives in Tennessee, hoping that he can get to know him gradually while Alex lives with his great-aunt Opal. He is fortunate to find work at the Peach Orchard Inn, working for the lovely Julia, a divorced woman who lost her own son years ago. When Opal suffers a stroke, Alex must live with Eli at the Inn, a problem for Julia at first because of her own loss. Alternating with the story of Eli and Julia is the story of Charlotte and Will and others living in the same house but during the Civil War. Charlotte is married to the despotic Edgar but is in love with the Union Captain Will. The Union soldiers commandeer the house in rebel territory to care for their wounded and Charlotte does her best to ease the pain and suffering of the soldiers from the north. In the present, Eli and Julia find items from the past that make them want to know more about who lived in the house before them. Marbles made more than a hundred years ago keep appearing in strange places and when Eli cleans out the carriage house, he finds letters from Charlotte to Will. For my taste, the book was a little bit too cute and cheesy but a lot of people adore cute and cheesy and if that's what you like, you should enjoy this book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Day We Met: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rowan Coleman Page; Review: Claire is in her early 40's when she discovers she has a very quickly progressing case of early-onset Alzheimer's. She has a twenty-year old daughter, Caitlin, and a 3 year-old daughter named Esther and a new husband, the love of her life, named Greg. She is having a hard time remembering Greg. Most of the time she remembers that he's her husband but she has a difficult time remembering how much she loves him. Caitlin is having difficulties of her own and doesn't feel that she can burden her mother with what she's going through. Esther seems to think that her mother's behavior is wonderful because she's more childlike. Throughout the book, Claire has moments of clarity, the moments that make those where she is lost in her mind even more sad. I like the book for portraying just a bit of how difficult it must be for the family members of those with Alzheimer's.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Secrets She Keeps: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Deb Caletti Page; Review: The Secrets She Keeps is another one of those books that alternates between the past and the present. In the past, Nash works at the family divorce ranch and she is secretly in love with Jack, the rugged and handsome ranch hand that she caught skinny dipping with the lovely and very pregnant guest of the ranch, Lilly. In the present, Callie and Shaye, sisters, have come to the ranch to help their aged aunt Nash who has lung cancer and seems to be on some strange and secret mission. The sisters are also there to get away from their own marriages, which are currently less than ideal. Callie meets the hot and available BLM agent Kit who is near the ranch to gather a roving gang of wild horses. Callie and Shaye finally uncover their aunt's secret and do what they can to help her find someone that needs to know what Nash knows before she dies. This book is funny in parts and it's pretty good at holding the reader's interest. I did find it hard to care about Callie and Thomas's marriage and their problems, which didn't seem like a big deal to me. I was almost hoping for a different outcome where they were concerned.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Admissions: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Meg Mitchell Moore Page; Review: The Admissions is the kind of book that reminds you to slow down and enjoy your children while they're young. It also reminds parents not to put too much pressure on their children. I didn't really need those reminders but I really enjoyed this book anyway...maybe because I didn't need those reminders. Gabe and Nora Hawthorne and their 3 daughters live in Marin, California, just north of San Francisco. Gabe is a business consultant and Nora is a realtor. They are both among the best at what they do but they both also have some secrets that could seriously damage their careers. Their oldest daughter Angela is a senior in high school and obsessed with getting into Harvard, just like her father. But the stress and strain of all that she has to do is causing her to make some questionable decisions and to wonder when she will be able to stop hustling and just relax. After meeting the new intern in her father's office, she's dismayed to find out that she may never be able to stop pushing to be the best. Cecily is ten and she is the happiest Hawthorne until she makes a mistake during her Irish dance competition. Dancing is what she loves but one simple fall will change it all. Maya is in second grade and still can't read. Nora is afraid that it's her fault because of something that happened when Maya was a baby. When all of the secrets and lies are revealed, everything falls apart. Luckily, after things fall apart, the family is able to make several changes that are better for everyone.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Flame Tree Road; Author: Visit Amazon's Shona Patel Page; Review: Shamol and Shibani Roy have two sons. Their oldest son, Biren, is smart and good-looking. Their younger son Nitin is primarily interested in ants as a child but luckily he has more academic interests as an adult. When the boys are small, their father Shamol is killed by a snake. Shamol was the breadwinner for not just his little family but for his brother the rest of his extended family. Now that Shibani is a widow, she is considered bad luck and must be hidden away from the rest of the family, leaving the boys without a mother or a father. The owner of the company that had employed Shamol feels guilty about Shamol's death and decides to sponsor Biren and Nitin to attend an English school in Calcutta. Nitin was too young to go yet so Biren went alone. As Biren grew older he showed that he was intelligent and a hard worker, learning to do things that would normally only be done by those in the caste specific to such duties. Biren graduated and was accepted to Cambridge, where he studied to become a lawyer. His goal was to return to India and effect change in the laws regarding women. His mother shouldn't be shunned just because she was unfortunate enough to lose her husband. Girls should be allowed an education. These were his plans as he studied in England. When Biren graduated and returns to India, he initially finds it difficult to find a job but soon he is working for the English to help them deal with issues as they develop in the various villages. He is both revered and reviled by his countrymen, knowing he is a powerful man but hating him for working for the English. One day he sees a woman on a boat and is immediately smitten with her. He later meets her when he has a meeting with her father to see about opening a school for girls. Her name is Maya and they marry and are very happy. They have a daughter, Mitra, and everything is perfect....until it isn't. I read and loved Shona Patel's first novel Tea Time for the Firefly and I enjoyed this book just as much. She has a talent for writing in a way that evokes the actual scenes she's writing about more than most authors.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Dicks Page; Review: Caroline has always been someone who believes in keeping the peace but when a snotty woman angers her at a PTA meeting, she lets the f-word fly. Her husband, a deacon in their church, wonders what got into Caroline, who isn't in the mood to talk about it. The next day, Caroline gets a call from her daughter's school and is asked to come speak to the principal. Her daughter Polly had hit another girl...the daughter of the woman Caroline had sworn at the night before. Caroline suddenly decides to break her daughter out of school. They leave and head out of town on a mission that Caroline has been needing to take since the day her best friend Emily betrayed her and left her friendless and alone. Caroline and Polly have a few adventures and become much closer. Caroline's husband worries about her. Caroline's mother doesn't understand her need to confront her former best friend. Through all that happens, Caroline gains a new best friend in her formerly surly daughter Polly and learns to make peace with her past.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Beautiful Bureaucrat: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Helen Phillips Page; Review: Josephine and her husband Joseph have been evicted. They have been unemployed for ages and each is lucky to have landed a job. They are also lucky to be able to cheaply sublet a very unpleasant sounding basement apartment. They love each other and are happy together in spite of their less than perfect financial and housing situations. Josephine gets a job in a large concrete building. The building is labeled A to Z and Josephine works in Z. She is hired by a faceless person with terrible breath, a person that shows up immediately if Josephine makes the tiniest misstep, almost as if this person is all-knowing. One of the very few people she meets at her job is a woman named Trishiffany, a woman whose parents couldn't decide if they should name her Trisha or Tiffany so they combined them. Trishiffany knows a lot about Josephine, which unnerves her. Everything about her workplace unnerves her. She enters data into a computer day after day but has no idea what any of it means. She attempts to find other workers in the building but is mostly thwarted. She tries to take the elevator to a different floor in her building but is unable to do so. Her eyes are red and tired and her skin is drying out from all the paper she has to handle on a daily basis. In the meantime, Joseph seems to enjoy his job but is pulling away from Josephine. There are days that he doesn't come home and she fears she's lost him forever. They had been trying to have a baby for so long but now he was pushing her away. Josephine is becoming slightly unhinged at all the strange occurrences at her workplace and now at home and she's sure that she's seen a man in a grey sweatshirt following her. She's been able to piece together what the data she is entering means and she is extremely disturbed by it. She's even more disturbed when a file comes through with her husband's name on it. Only then does she begin to understand what has been happening in her life and where she can find her husband. I am not sure that I really like this book but I have to give it 4 stars for inventiveness and originality, It was a little bit bleak for me and if it wasn't so creative I would probably only have given it 3 stars.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Flame Tree Road - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Shona Patel Page; Review: Shamol and Shibani Roy have two sons. Their oldest son, Biren, is smart and good-looking. Their younger son Nitin is primarily interested in ants as a child but luckily he has more academic interests as an adult. When the boys are small, their father Shamol is killed by a snake. Shamol was the breadwinner for not just his little family but for his brother the rest of his extended family. Now that Shibani is a widow, she is considered bad luck and must be hidden away from the rest of the family, leaving the boys without a mother or a father. The owner of the company that had employed Shamol feels guilty about Shamol's death and decides to sponsor Biren and Nitin to attend an English school in Calcutta. Nitin was too young to go yet so Biren went alone. As Biren grew older he showed that he was intelligent and a hard worker, learning to do things that would normally only be done by those in the caste specific to such duties. Biren graduated and was accepted to Cambridge, where he studied to become a lawyer. His goal was to return to India and effect change in the laws regarding women. His mother shouldn't be shunned just because she was unfortunate enough to lose her husband. Girls should be allowed an education. These were his plans as he studied in England. When Biren graduated and returns to India, he initially finds it difficult to find a job but soon he is working for the English to help them deal with issues as they develop in the various villages. He is both revered and reviled by his countrymen, knowing he is a powerful man but hating him for working for the English. One day he sees a woman on a boat and is immediately smitten with her. He later meets her when he has a meeting with her father to see about opening a school for girls. Her name is Maya and they marry and are very happy. They have a daughter, Mitra, and everything is perfect....until it isn't. I read and loved Shona Patel's first novel Tea Time for the Firefly and I enjoyed this book just as much. She has a talent for writing in a way that evokes the actual scenes she's writing about more than most authors.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cleopatra's Shadows (A Fall of Egypt Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Emily Holleman Page; Review: Though this book is titles Cleopatra's Shadows, this book has very little to do with Cleopatra. Instead, the book is about her 2 sisters, Arsinoe and Berenice. Berenice is Cleopatra's elder half-sister, the daughter of Ptolemy and his sister, which was apparently normal and acceptable at the time. Berenice has ousted her father in a violent coup and has been crowned queen of Egypt. Her father has left with Cleopatra, headed to Rome to find help to reclaim his throne. Arsinoe is Cleopatra's younger sister. When the coup happens, her mother takes her two baby brothers and escapes, her father leaves with Cleopatra, and she is left behind to fend for herself at only 8 years old. She must beg her half-sister Berenice to have mercy on her and Berenice, against her counselor's advice, does. The book alternates between chapters about Berenice and Arsinoe. Each faces many trials and dangers and both do an admirable job of making it through treacherous times. When Ptolemy and Cleopatra return, each has a choice to make.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wolf by Wolf; Author: Visit Amazon's Ryan Graudin Page; Review: Yael is a girl of just 6 when she is sent to a concentration camp with her mother. She is immediately chosen as a subject for medical experiments that end up enabling her escape and setting her up for a very different kind of life. In this book, World War II turned out a little differently than it did in reality. The Germans won and Hitler is still in power in 1956. Yael is now a young woman and is an integral part of the resistance. She has been training to be part of an annual bike race and if she wins, she'll be able to get close enough to Hitler to kill him. There are aspects of this book that expect you to completely disregard what is and is not possible and I had a problem with that part. What Yael is able to do is not something even slightly believable and that is why I can't give this book more than 3 stars, even though I enjoyed the book for the most part.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Unnoticeables: A Novel (The Vicious Circuit); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Brockway Page; Review: This book reminded me of Chuck Palaniuk, which is high praise. It was weird and funny and gory and confusing a made me feel like I was on an acid trip (though I've never actually done acid, so that might not be at all what reading this book was like). Carey is a punk. The year is 1977. People are disappearing and he thinks the Tar Men are to blame until his friend Randall disappears with a beautiful but nondescript woman. Carey remembers that she's beautiful but can't describe anything else about her. She's an Unnoticeable. Kaitlin is a stunt woman in Hollywood. The year is 2013. One night, her friend Jackie forces her to go to an industry party with her. At this party she meets Marco, her teen celebrity crush, who offers to take her home. She's considering whether or not she's going to sleep with him when things take a different, super creepy turn. He tries to hollow her out. She manages to escape with the help of a homeless man named Carey, who has seen it all before. Carey explains to Kaitlin about the Unnoticeables, the Tar Men and the angels that aren't really angels. Together, Carey and Kaitlin take on the Unnoticeables and the angels that aren't really angels. This is Carey's second time around and he knows what he's doing but Kaitlin's skills as a bad ass stunt woman don't hurt. They work to save Kaitlin's friend Jackie, who hasn't been seen since the night Marco tried to turn Kaitlin into something like him. Trying to describe the story line of this plot is impossible so I'm going to quit trying. The book is very unique and it will keep your interest. If you like weird, indescribable books, you'll appreciate this one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Secret Sister (Fairham Island); Author: Visit Amazon's Brenda Novak Page; Review: I am having a hard time understanding why people are giving this book 5 and 4 star reviews. I have to admit that I am not a fan of typical romance novels. Upon reading reviews for this book, I decided it could maybe be considered more of something close to chick lit than a full on romance but I was mistaken. There is sex and romance but the rest of the book is pretty boring. The writing itself was stiff and unnatural and the characters were not at all likable. The mother is supposedly a horrible person but we don't really see any evidence of this. If you want a book with some steamy sex scenes but isn't necessarily well-written, with a plot that makes little sense, this may be what you're looking for.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Jade Dragon Mountain: A Mystery (Li Du Novels); Author: Visit Amazon's Elsa Hart Page; Review: It is early in the 18th century. Li Du is a disgraced man, exiled from Bejing, where he had been the Emperor's librarian. Now he wanders through China alone. Upon entering each new city, he must register with the magistrate and when he enters Dayan, he finds that the magistrate is his cousin Tulishen and that Tulishen is very busy preparing for the Emperor's arrival. The Emperor is coming to Dayan for the first time to make an eclipse take place, an event that will strengthen his status as one who was chosen by the deities to rule over all of China. Li Du has no plans to stick around to be seen by the man who exiled him until an old Jesuit priest dies and Li Du is sure that he was murdered. Tulishen wants to blame the Khampa, a Tibetan tribe considered dangerous, but Li Du knows it was not the Khampa and he sets out to prove it. There are many suspects. Among them are Lady Chen, the magistrate's consort, and the magistrate himself. Also of interest is the ambassador of the East India Company Nicholas Gray, a man trying to get the Emperor to open China to trade with the west by bringing expensive gifts. Little by little, Li Du begins to solve the mystery of the murdered priest, only to find that there is another, more dangerous situation unfolding, one that imperils the Emperor. This book is full of beautiful imagery and wonderful stories told by the character Hamza, a traveling storyteller. The story is very well crafted and isn't at all predictable, which I appreciate.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Plantation Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery; Author: Visit Amazon's Ellen Byron Page; Review: Plantation Shudders is a book full of southern charm and Louisiana history. The Crozat family has turned the old family plantation into a bed and breakfast and are struggling to make ends meet in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Daughter Maggie works both at the family B & B and at the Doucet plantation, the plantation that had been owned by her mother's family until they could no longer afford to keep it and it was donated to the state. The Crozats are happy to have the place booked solid for the last week in August but are less happy when a cantankerous old guest and his wife both drop dead on the same night. It could have been old age but it soon becomes clear that the unlucky couple was murdered. The chief of police, Rufus, is a member of the Durand family, a family that has long had a beef with the Crozat family. Luckily there is at least one cop who is interested in finding the truth. I'm giving this book 3 stars because it was a little bit cheesy. I found the humor in the book to be too contrived and many of the characters to be annoying, especially the Cajun Cuties (is it possible that there could be such a group? It seems unlikely to me) and the frat brothers from Georgia. Worst of all are the Boo Bears, which nearly made me vomit. It's not a bad book and there is mystery and even some recipes at the end of the book. I guess I'm just not an enthusiast of all things Cajun, unlike the Cajun Cuties.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Dust That Falls from Dreams: A Novel; Author: Louis de Bernieres; Review: Queen Victoria has just passed on and her son is becoming king. Celebrating the coronation are 3 families that live next to each other. On one side is the Pendennis family,fairly recently moved to London from America, made up of mom and dad and 3 sons, Sydney, Albert, and Ashbridge. On the other side is the Pitt family, English father, French mother, and two rambunctious sons, Archie and Dennis. In the middle is the McCosh family, a royal-worshiping mother, entrepreneur father, and 4 daughters, Rosie, Christabel, Ottile, and Sophie. All of the boys are in love with Rosie but she only has eyes for Ashbridge. Twelve years late, war breaks out in Europe. The Pendennis boys are Americans and not obligated to fight but they sign up anyway and are quickly shipped off to war. Before leaving, Ashbridge proposes to Rosie and she tries to talk him out of going. Archie and Dennis join up, too. Inevitably, tragedy strikes. Lives are lost and those who live are forever changed. The bulk of the novel takes place during the Great War and in the years afterward. I love Louis de Bernieres' books and this is one of my favorites. Somehow the author manages to add some humor to what could have been an extremely dreary book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Guilty One; Author: Visit Amazon's Sophie Littlefield Page; Review: Maris is a woman whose life has been turned completely upside down. Her daughter was murdered, her husband has asked for a divorce, and she's lost. Ron is also having a difficult time coming to grips with the fact that his son Karl is the one who killed Maris' daughter Calla. His wife Deb is determined to appeal the conviction of their son. When Maris receives a call from Ron, her life is further disturbed, which leads her to abandon her plan to visit her sister and instead rent a dingy apartment in Oakland and turn her back on her old life. Ron and Maris alternately learn to cope with the events that have unfolded in their lives and begin to find peace.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Vengeance Road; Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Bowman Page; Review: When Kate's father is murdered by outlaws, she sets out to get revenge. First, she has to go see Abe, a friend of her father's, who Kate was told to go to should anything ever happen to her father and she was alone in the world. Kate is just 18 years old but she is more than capable of taking care of business and takes care of one of the outlaws before even leaving town. Dressed as a boy, Kate heads out to find Abe. On the way she stirs up some trouble and is mistaken for one of the men she is looking for, sending others on her trail to collect the bounty on the heads of the gang members. In the process, she kills an innocent man and loses one of her horses but she doesn't have time for remorse. When she reaches Abe's house, she finds that he's been dead for a while. His daughter and 2 sons are there and Jesse, the oldest son, remembers his father telling them the day would come that his friend's child would someday come for help and it was their responsibility to help. Kate has introduced herself as Nate and when she realizes they are going to expect her to stay, she leaves out a back window. Jesse and his brother Will catch up to her and, since they are headed in the same direction, decide to accompany "Nate". Kate tells them she is looking for justice and the boys try to dissuade her from this dangerous task but since she won't give up, they promise to help. I don't want to give away any more of the plot. I really enjoyed this novel, especially because of the bad ass female protagonist. I found reading the improper grammar difficult but understand why it was necessary. This was the Wild West and people weren't bothered about speaking the King's English.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ones We Trust: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kimberly Belle Page; Review: Abigail Wolfe was a journalist but when she writes a piece that results in a suicide, she trades her press badge for a job gathering content for a senior health website. When the son of the woman who killed herself shows up at her apartment, asking for her help to expose the woman he blames for his mother's suicide, she feels obligated to help him. She finds that a woman she trusted and even tried to protect may be the predator and not the prey. In addition, someone has given Abigail some sensitive, classified information about the death of a soldier. When she meets the soldier's brother, Gabe, she knows that someone is trying to manipulate her into discovering what really happened. The problem: her father and her godfather were the generals (commanding officers?) in the case and her father warns her to leave it alone. Instead, she and Gabe do what they can to find the truth about his brother's death. What is becoming a budding relationship is in jeopardy when Abigail discovers what really happened.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sea Beach Line: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Ben Nadler Page; Review: Izzy Edel has been kicked out of college. When he learns that his estranged father Alojzy is presumed dead, he heads to New York City to find him. Until anyone can tell him for sure that he's dead, Izzy isn't going to believe it. He meets his father's friends and cohorts and gets into some illegal activities by following in his father's footsteps. His father was a street vendor, selling books, and Izzy takes over for him after a friend of his father's gives him the key to Alojzy's storage unit. Izzy had been crashing at his sister's house but he moves into his father's storage unit, making it easier for him to get the books out in the morning. When Izzy sees a girl that looks familiar, at first he thinks she's the girl in a painting painted long before she was born. It turns out she is a girl on the run from her powerful rabbi father and a bad situation. She moves into the storage unit with him and he does his best to care for her. In the meantime, his father's thug friends are putting Izzy to work but he's pretty sure he can't trust them. This book is mostly about Izzy growing up, learning who is he and where he came from. He also learns, the hard way, who can and cannot be trusted. I like the details about things I know nothing about, like New York City street vendors, immigrants trying to make a living, and a lot of information about different sects of Judaism.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How Winter Began: Stories (Flyover Fiction); Author: Visit Amazon's Joy Castro Page; Review: I am not generally a huge fan of short stories but this collection has changed my view on that. While some of the stories didn't necessarily speak to me, others were things I could have written myself if I had the talent. These stories are full of strong, resilient women, women who may be afraid but aren't going to be stopped. I don't usually throw around words like "inspired" but I actually was inspired. I love The River and I love Ilse, the old woman who is hosting a book club that sounds so much like my mother's book club, except for the young people in it. I read this book in one sitting, not wanting to stop reading these stories that resonated with me.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dumplin'; Author: Visit Amazon's Julie Murphy Page; Review: Maybe it's partially because I'm a fatty myself that I loved this book so much but I think not. This book should appeal to anyone teenage girl and anyone that was a teenage girl and maybe even teenage boys. If nothing else, it may help boys understand girls a little bit better. Willowdean is a fat girl. She's not apologetic about her size. This is who she is and she accepts herself and loves herself and she is and that is the character that fat girls everywhere have always needed. She is as confident as happy as the next teenager, which is to say that she still has her angsty times, as we all do, but she is not a self-hating character and I love that about her. She has not one but two guys that want to date her and one of those guys is seriously hot. The only thing holding her back is her sudden and uncharacteristic feeling that her peers are not going to accept that this hot guy is interested in her. Amidst the turmoil about boys are several other issues: her pageant-crazy mom doesn't accept her daughter as she is and when Willowdean signs up for the pageant, her mother is is aghast. Willow even inspires other misfits to join the town's illustrious annual pageant as well. In the meantime, Willow is losing her best friend Ellen to an evil beastie and is still dealing with the death of her aunt Lucy, who was more like a mother to her than her mother ever has been. This novel takes all of these issues and deals with them in a way that is both humorous and touching. Most importantly, it asks why fat people can't be accepted and loved as they are. Why does society expect everyone to look the same? Why does a little extra meat on the bones immediately make a person inferior to one who is thin? I'm so glad this book was written. I have always wanted to write a similar book myself. I hope that this book helps many adolescent girls accept themselves as they are and I hope it also helps the non-obese see those that have a little (or a lot of) extra weight as people that are perfectly awesome, just the way they are.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South; Author: Visit Amazon's Rick Bragg Page; Review: As someone who has never been to the south, I found this collection of stories from the author's life to be both informative and entertaining. Rick Bragg's stories make me nostalgic for a past that was never mine, though only parts of it. I'm not going to pretend that I would like to eat pork cracklins or crayfish or most of the other stuff that he goes on about at length but the other parts, the family gatherings, the outdoorsy stuff, and most of all the biscuits, all sounded pretty good to me. The south sounds like a place that you and your kin could slow down, relax, drink some sweet tea (not sure I'd like it but I'd give it a shot) and sit in your rocking chairs out on the porch, watching the fireflies after the sun sets while reminiscing about the old days and gossiping about your more distant relations. Reading this book kinda felt like that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Pawnbroker; Author: Visit Amazon's Edward Lewis Wallant Page; Review: The Pawnbroker is the tale of Sol Nazerman, a Holocaust survivor who lives with his sister's family. It is his job as a pawnbroker that supports his sister's family, a family he finds thoroughly distasteful, though he pities his nephew Morton, whose mother, father, and sister do nothing but pick on him. The pawn shop is owned by a man named Murillo, who has other "business ventures" and who uses the pawn shop as a way to launder money. Sol's assistant, Jesus Ortiz, wants to one day own his own business. He has ambitions but he also is impatient. He doesn't want to be an assistant. He sees the large envelopes of cash that are delivered to Sol and when he is approached by some neighborhood thugs about robbing the pawn shop, he decides to help them. In addition to Sol and Ortiz is a large, sad cast of characters. The people of New York City bring what little of value they own to pawn, to borrow money until they can get their treasures back out of hock. Sol sees the same people over and over, some pawning the same thing, time after time. It should make Sol sad but instead it just disgusts him. After all the atrocities he's seen, the poverty and desperation of strangers doesn't affect him much. In Sol's nightmares we see his wife, his son, and his daughter as they are taken to a concentration camp. We see the horrors, we know that he alone survived the ordeal. He watches as his friend Rubin is hunted, mauled by dogs, and ends up electrocuted by the fence. Sol takes care of Rubin's widow Tessie as much as he is able. The introduction to this edition of the Pawnbroker hails it as one of the first holocaust survival novels but as I read the book, it felt more like Sol, the "survivor" was constantly tortured by life, that death may have been more humane. Only at the end of the book does Sol return to any semblance of life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Scribe: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Guinn Page; Review: Police officer Thomas Canby was run out of Atlanta when a reporter accused him of taking bribes. His former boss needs him back to help him solve some grisly murders as the International Cotton Exposition is about to open. It's twenty(ish) years after the end of the Civil War and someone is murdering the wealthier black citizens of Atlanta and doing so in a very violent and horrifying manner. Canby wants to clear his name so he can win back the woman he was going to propose to years ago. To help solve the case, Canby is paired with Cyrus Underwood, former janitor of the police precinct and now the first African American police officer. Dealing with constant racism, the two set out to find the man who is committing these heinous crimes. I liked this book because it dealt with a topic less common than the Civil War but just as important: what it was like in the south for African Americans in the years just after the end of slavery. This isn't the main topic of the book but is, to me, the most important point the book makes. The white men, used to owning other people, are not quick to change their habit of treating people like property that can be easily disposed off. It seems as though the author may have wanted us to be surprised by the identity of the murderer. I didn't find that to be the case. However, the book is full of other creepy surprises and many twists and turns. The book was held my interest but if you are put off by anything really grisly, you may want to skip this one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Thing About Jellyfish; Author: Visit Amazon's Ali Benjamin Page; Review: The Thing About Jellyfish is a book about a child dealing with grief. Suzy has lost her best friend Franny, first when Franny decided that Suzy was too weird to hang out with in middle school and again when Franny died in a drowning accident. Suzy feels guilty about the last interaction she had with Franny and she has stopped speaking. Her divorced parents are worried about her and have her in therapy but because she refuses to speak, things aren't going very well. What Suzy doesn't understand is how Franny could have drowned. Franny was a good swimmer. When Suzy learns about a deadly jellyfish, she begins to research a particularly deadly jellyfish and decides that it was most likely the cause of Franny's death. She just needs help proving it. Suzy becomes obsessed with jellyfish and jellyfish experts and she finds an expert that she thinks could help her proving her theory, The only problem is that he lives in Australia. Suzy begins a plan to fly to Australia. She has things all figured out until her plans hit a snag at the last minute. Suzy is a great protagonist. She's incredibly smart and logical and the reader has no problem rooting for her.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Letter for the King; Author: Visit Amazon's Tonke Dragt Page; Review: The Letter for the King is a children's book about the age of knights and acts of bravery. On the eve of Tiuri's knighting ceremony, he hears a knock on the chapel door and a voice asking for help. As a boy about to be knighted, he isn't supposed to leave the chapel until morning but he also can't deny a cry for help. He leaves the chapel and finds an old man who needs help. He must find someone to deliver a very important letter to a mysterious knight. Tiuri takes the letter, "borrows" a horse, and rushes off to make his delivery. What he finds when he reaches his destination changes the course of his life and sets him off on a long and dangerous journey to another kingdom. Along the way, Tiuri makes friends and enemies and hopes that when this is all over, he will still be knighted. I like this book for children because it teaches them about honor and true bravery. I think they would find it so entertaining that they wouldn't even realize that they are being taught anything.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pretending to Dance: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Diane Chamberlain Page; Review: San Diego couple Molly and her husband Aidan want to adopt a baby. Aidan wants a completely open adoption, with the birth mother as involved in their child's life as possible. Molly is a little more hesitant, due to her own childhood, something she has kept secret from Aidan. Now she has to deal with her past in order to be able to get on with her life. Molly's father was everything to her. Her father is a wheelchair-bound psychotherapist. As a kid, Molly would help him by typing up his book manuscripts for him and would try to keep him cheerful despite the fact that he was no longer in control of his body. Her large extended family lived on a piece of mountain property known as the Ridge that had been passed down from generation to generation. Molly can't imagine ever wanting to live anywhere but on the Ridge with her parents, her aunts and uncles and even her weird cousin until something so awful happens that Molly leaves and never returns. It is this that Molly has hidden from her husband and only when she finally returns to the Ridge years later will she be able to get closure and a measure of comprehension about what happened all those years ago. There are several reasons I liked this book, beyond the style of writing and the interesting plot. One of the characters lives in Leucadia, CA, which is where I live. Molly and Aidan live in the Kensington neighborhood of San Diego, with which I am familiar. The biggest reason, however, is the lesson young Molly learns when she allows someone to pressure her into having sex before she's ready. If I had daughters I would make them read this and see how devastating it can be to let anyone talk you into doing something you aren't ready for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Line of Blood: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Ben McPherson Page; Review: When a London man, Alex, and his young son, Max, find their neighbor dead in his bathtub, Alex assumes it was a suicide. When the police begin investigating, it becomes clear that they believe it was murder and that Alex is a suspect. Alex and his wife Millicent are concerned about Max and what he saw and get him into therapy, though it seems that Max isn't that worried about it. He's far more concerned about his parents' marriage. As the investigation into the neighbor's death continues, secrets come out, suspicions are raised, and suddenly no one trusts anyone else. When the truth comes out, it changes this small family's life forever. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the way Alex and Millicent handled the situation at the end of the book but if I, honest with myself, I suppose I would probably want to do exactly what they did.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Emperor of Any Place; Author: Tim Wynne-Jones; Review: When Evan's father dies of a heart attack, Evan has no one to turn to but his estranged grandfather, the hard a$$ marine his father hated. When Evan finds a mysterious book that his father had been reading just before his death, he begins to read it. When he discovers that the book is connected to his grandfather somehow, he begins to suspect that his grandfather may be as bad as his father made him out to be and wonders what lengths the old man would go to in order to keep his past a secret. The best part of this book is the book inside the book, the story of the heart-shaped island and the enemy soldiers that end up there during WWII. The story reads like a fairy tale but on this magical, frightening island, incredible things can happen. I like this book's anti-war message and the message that family is what matters.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Breakaway: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Kat Spears Page; Review: Breakaway is a novel about a teenage boy dealing with the death of his sister, the absence of any real parental involvement in his life, the distance that grows between friends, drug and alcohol abuse, and first love. It sounds like it may be too much to deal with in one novel but the author does a great job of bringing it all together. I don't want to give away too much of the book in my review because I think just about anyone who reads it will enjoy it. The main character and his friends are teenage boys so there is swearing and talk of sex, because that's what teenage boys do. There is drug use but this novel does not glamorize it the way some others might and it's actually pretty anti-drug. It also depicts characters that are mature enough to know they aren't yet ready for sex, which I really appreciate, and taught what I have told my kids over and over: only have sex with someone that you are ready and willing to have a child with. I have 2 boys, ages 13 and 15 and I will be asking them to read this book and I think, when they do, they will enjoy it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Melanie Benjamin Page; Review: The Swan's of Fifth Avenue tells of the friendships between author Truman Capote and a group of wealthy Manhattan socialites, It begins in the 1950's, when Truman is a relatively unknown author who is lucky enough to meet and be accepted into this group of uber-wealthy women. He becomes especially close to Babe Paley, the chic, adored wife of Bill Paley, the head of CBS. Babe and Truman truly love each other, though Truman is gay and unable to love Babe in quite the way she would like. Babe and her friends invite Truman on their yachts, to their villas, they give him expensive gifts and introduce him to influential people. Meanwhile, Truman's writing gets more attention and he is becoming more famous in his own right. After the publication of In Cold Blood, Babe and the others realize that Truman truly is a literary genius and not just their amusing (if catty) friend. In the aftermath of the publication of his great work, Truman begins to change. He begins drinking too much, using drugs, and becoming unpredictable. His publisher wants another book but he has lost his work ethic. So, to stay in the spotlight, Truman writes an article for Esquire magazine and that article changes his life and the lives of his swans forever. This book is based on fact with some poetic license thrown in. Nobody but the people actually involved in these events knows exactly what took place but the author does a good job of filling in the blanks. If I had read a summary of the plot of this novel, I might not have been interested in reading it but, having read it, I can say that it actually was very interesting and extremely well written. The author did a great job in making me care about these people and about what happened in their lives, especially with the sympathetic Babe. It also explains how Truman Capote turned out the way he did, largely a result of being hated and abandoned by his mother.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Saving Sophie: A Novel (Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart); Author: Visit Amazon's Ronald H. Balson Page; Review: Jack Sommers' firm is handling the sale of a multi-million dollar company, enabling him to abscond with $88 million, earmarked to help him rescue his kidnapped daughter from her terrorist grandfather in Palestine. If that was all that was going on in this novel, it would already be more than enough but the plot gets even more elaborate (convoluted) , there are too many characters, too many coincidences, and altogether just too much, I think there are good ideas in this book but the execution is flawed. One thing I did like about this book is providing a bit of background into the Palestine/Israel conflict.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Good Goodbye: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Carla Buckley Page; Review: The Good Goodbye is a book about family relationships and the complexities and fighting in even the closest of families. Natalie and her brother-in-law Vince run what was once a successful restaurant together but when Vince lost a large chunk of their money in a bad investment, both the business and their relationships began to fail. Their daughters, cousins and best friends Arden and Rory are in their senior year with plans to leave the Washington, D.C. area for college, one to art school in California and one to Harvard when they learn that the money isn't there to pay for then to go anywhere to college but to a state school their grandfather is on the board of. While at school, the cousins start to grow apart. When tragedy strikes, the families have to try to put their arguments over money aside so they can figure out what happened to their girls. It becomes apparent that both girls had some pretty serious secrets, secrets that may be the reason they're now fighting for their lives.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Thirteen Ways of Looking: Fiction; Author: Visit Amazon's Colum McCann Page; Review: This book is made up of one novella and three short stories. The first and longest story is about an elderly widower on his last day and the lunch with his despicable son that results in his death. The last is about an elderly nun who had been kidnapped, raped, and tortured when she was younger and now her abuser is on television. The two stories in the middle are less dark. All four are well-written and interesting but my favorite was the story of Tomas, heading out for a swim on Christmas morning in his new wet suit. While there is an element of tragedy in this story, it is ultimately a the only truly happy ending.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Blossom of Bright Light (A Jimmy Vega Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Chazin Page; Review: Jimmy Vega is a New York homicide cop who just wants to spend a night with his girlfriend Adele. When she gets a call from the Latino community center she runs about the local nut claiming to have seen Mary and the baby Jesus, he convinces her it's nothing and that her time would be better spent with him. In the morning, they find out it wasn't nothing and there is a dead baby on Jimmy's conscience. From there, a series of seemingly unrelated events keep each of them busy until they realize what they're dealing with. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat while dealing with important issues facing our country. I enjoyed the plot, the pacing, and the author's style of writing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Searcher: A Novel (Solomon Creed); Author: Visit Amazon's Simon Toyne Page; Review: This book, from the very first page, had me wanting to know what was happening in the town of Redemption, Arizona and why. Who is this mysterious man, who knows nothing about who he is but knows that he is there to save a man named James Coronado. Unfortunately, he arrives in Redemption the day of James Coronado's funeral. The mysterious man, who learns his name is Solomon Creed, becomes aware of his surroundings just after a plane crashes in Redemption. Unbeknownst to him, the plane was carrying something very important to Mexico's most powerful, rich, and violent drug lords and this drug lord is out for vengeance for the loss of what was on the plane. At the same time, the town's mayor and police chief want to know who Solomon is and where he came from. Mixed in with chapters of the present are excerpts from the memoirs of the founder of the town, Jack Cassidy, who staked a claim on the area after finding mineral deposits in the late 1800s. His memoirs contain secrets and stories of inexplicable occurrences. The author does a great job of weaving the entire story together.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hours Count: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jillian Cantor Page; Review: Ever since first learning about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in school, I've been fascinated with their story so when I got the chance to read this book, I couldn't wait. For those of you unfamiliar with the Rosenbergs, they were a Jewish couple living in New York City during the Red scare of the 1950's. They were accused of spying for the Russians and giving them the instructions for building an atomic bomb. This book is a fictionalized account of these occurrences as seen through the eyes of a neighbor. The book's main character is Millie. She is a wife and mother living in the same building as the Rosenbergs. She becomes friends with Ethel and they bond over both having difficult sons. Millie's son David doesn't speak and is prone to tantrums and her husband Ed, a Russian emigre, wants to send David to live in a home so he doesn't have to deal with him anymore. Millie refuses to let Ed take her son from her but she must make some sacrifices in order to keep him. Ed is a thoroughly unlikable character and I found his situation at the end of the book quite satisfying. Millie meets a man named Jake at a party at the Rosenbergs' and when he tells her he is a psychotherapist and that he may be able to help David to communicate, Millie eventually warms to the idea and she and David spend many afternoons with Jake as he works with David. Millie begins to eagerly anticipate these afternoons with Jake and soon realizes that she's in love with him. Jake says he feels the same way but there are things about Jake that Millie doesn't know and these secrets could change her life forever. I appreciated this book's take on the Rosenbergs. I've always felt that they were wrongfully accused and I like that this book painted them in such a sympathetic light. I was unable to put this book down once I started reading it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: We'll Never Be Apart; Author: Visit Amazon's Emiko Jean Page; Review: On the day of her 6th birthday, Alice woke to find her grandfather, the only parent she had ever known, lying dead at the foot of the stairs. She and her twin sister Celia tried to make the best of it, surviving for as long as possible on the birthday cake their grandfather had made. They would have opened the cans of food if they'd known how to use a can opener. They huddled together to stay warm in the cold house but when the last bite of cake was gone, they had to venture out. After being found by a neighbor, the police were called and from then on the two of them were bounced from foster home to foster home, never being welcome in one place long because of Celia's disturbing habit of setting fires. After the latest incident, now that the twins are teenagers, they were sent to the Oregon State Mental Health Hospital. Alice, with the help of her boyfriend Jason, managed to escape from the hospital but now Jason is dead and Alice is back in the hospital. She has few memories of what happened the night of their escape but she remembers Celia setting the barn on fire, remembers Jason's arms around her. Alice is sure her twin is back in the hospital, too, being held in a different wing. Alice knows that Celia will try to kill her again and she's determined to get to Celia before Celia can get to her. Fellow mental patient Chase befriends Alice and when she tells him that she wants to see her sister, he does what he can to help. Together they make a plan to get Alice into Celia's wing of the hospital. Things don't go as planned but the two become close and Alice wonders how she can be falling for someone so soon after Jason's death. As Chase becomes more interested in Alice, he learns that not all is as it seems and he goes to dangerous lengths to try to help her. While Alice's doctor tries to heal Alice's mind, Chase finds a way that he hopes will help Alice be rid of Celia for good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beatrice and Benedick; Author: Visit Amazon's Marina Fiorato Page; Review: Beatrice and Benedick is a prequel Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. In Shakespeare's play, it is clear that Beatrice and Benedick were already acquainted and that they had had a falling out. This book is about how they met and how they came to be so embittered toward one another before finally professing their love for each other. I was pleasantly surprised that this book was as good as it was and that there were a lot of strong women standing up to the men that tried to rule them. Women were considered completely inconsequential when it came to anything but birthing heirs and for these women to stand up to their fathers or husbands took great courage. I was glad that this wasn't just a fluffy piece of romantic comedy. In addition to being a prequel to Much Ado About Nothing, there are hints of Romeo and Juliet and Othello in the book as well. One of the characters of the book is the man that many believe was actually Shakepeare, a Sicilian-born man who left Sicily and moved to England when his Calvinist leanings became dangerous in these times of the Spanish Inquisition.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: We'll Never Be Apart; Author: Visit Amazon's Emiko Jean Page; Review: On the day of her 6th birthday, Alice woke to find her grandfather, the only parent she had ever known, lying dead at the foot of the stairs. She and her twin sister Celia tried to make the best of it, surviving for as long as possible on the birthday cake their grandfather had made. They would have opened the cans of food if they'd known how to use a can opener. They huddled together to stay warm in the cold house but when the last bite of cake was gone, they had to venture out. After being found by a neighbor, the police were called and from then on the two of them were bounced from foster home to foster home, never being welcome in one place long because of Celia's disturbing habit of setting fires. After the latest incident, now that the twins are teenagers, they were sent to the Oregon State Mental Health Hospital. Alice, with the help of her boyfriend Jason, managed to escape from the hospital but now Jason is dead and Alice is back in the hospital. She has few memories of what happened the night of their escape but she remembers Celia setting the barn on fire, remembers Jason's arms around her. Alice is sure her twin is back in the hospital, too, being held in a different wing. Alice knows that Celia will try to kill her again and she's determined to get to Celia before Celia can get to her. Fellow mental patient Chase befriends Alice and when she tells him that she wants to see her sister, he does what he can to help. Together they make a plan to get Alice into Celia's wing of the hospital. Things don't go as planned but the two become close and Alice wonders how she can be falling for someone so soon after Jason's death. As Chase becomes more interested in Alice, he learns that not all is as it seems and he goes to dangerous lengths to try to help her. While Alice's doctor tries to heal Alice's mind, Chase finds a way that he hopes will help Alice be rid of Celia for good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: I'll See You in Paris: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Michelle Gable Page; Review: I'll See You in Paris is a novel of a vanished duchess, of lost love, and of a girl learning about who she is. Anna has recently graduated from college and has just become engaged to Erik, a marine who is shipping out to Afghanistan. It is the October following September 11, 2001. Anna and Erik haven't known one another long and Laurel is concerned, for more reasons than she can explain to Anna, that Anna may be making a mistake. Anna and her mother Laurel travel from their home in Virginia to Banbury, England so Laurel can dispose of some property inherited from someone known to Anna as only a distant relation. While Laurel is busy and tied up with the sale of the property, Anna keeps herself busy by reading a thin blue book she'd found in her mother's study, a book that seemed to affect her mother in some way. She also finds an older man named Gus in the local pub and when he finds her reading her mother's blue book, he's surprised and wants to know where she came across this book. He is able to tell Anna quite a bit about the author and about the subject of the book, the Duchess of Marlborough, who disappeared from Blenheim palace soon after the death of her husband the Duke and hadn't been heard from since. It was rumored that the now 90 year-old woman was living in Banbury in a dilapidated old manse and that she had gone quite mad. The writer, Win Seton, having been brought up with the outrageous stories of the beautiful Duchess, set out to find her and to write her biography. He finds the gun-toting, dog-breeding, sometimes naked Mrs. Spencer, who has many of the same acquaintances of the Duchess but insists that she in not the woman he is looking for. Nevertheless, she allows Win to stay with her in her house, along with her assistant Pru, an American orphan who was foisted upon her by her great niece in order to keep the old woman under some semblance of control. Win and Pru are told stories of Mrs. Spencer's friendships with great writers and artists, members of the royal family and famous actors and actresses but Mrs. Spencer continues to deny that she is the long-lost Duchess. As Anna listens to Gus tell the story, she begins to understand why her mother is in England, though Laurel has been very secretive. She begins to suspect that her mother played a part in the Duchess's story. When the truth finally comes to light, Anna finally begins to understand why her mother was so reluctant to see Anna become engaged to a marine and why her mother never wanted to talk about Anna's father. This book was thoroughly enjoyable, especially the tales of the Duchess's shenanigans and the parts concerning Win and Pru. I appreciated all the literary quotes and the fact that my two favorite authors (Hardy and Wodehouse) played a part in the story made me enjoy this book even; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Past: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Tessa Hadley Page; Review: The Past is a novel about the 4 Crane siblings returning to their grandparents' house in the country to spend what might be their last holiday there. The plan is to spend 3 weeks together before deciding if they should keep the house or if it's time to sell. Harriet is the oldest of the children, in her early 50's. She was a protester in her youth and now she helps refugees. She's come alone, without her partner Christopher. Roland is the next oldest. He's brought along his 3rd wife, the posh and beautiful Argentinian lawyer, Pilar, as well as his daughter from his first marriage, 16 year-old Molly. The next eldest is Alice, a 46 year-old failed actress who had brought her ex-boyfriend's son, Kasim, with her. Kasim is 21(?), wants to get away from his mother and has nothing better to do. The youngest of the Crane children is Fran, a teacher and mother of Ivy and Arthur, who've come with their mother, leaving their rock star father Jeff to tour with his band. The family mostly gets along, though there are spats here and there. No one but Harriet feels very comfortable around Pilar. Roland wants to keep Kasim away from Molly. Ivy and Arthur want to spend time with Kasim and Molly but want to explore an old cottage on their own, not wanting the others to know what they've found. Midway through the book, we're given a glimpse of the lives of the Crane children when they were young and before Fran was even born. Their mother Jill has left their father and taken them from their London flat to return to her childhood home in the country. Her parents are happy to have them all, though her mother thinks she shouldn't be so hasty to leave her husband, Tom. This view of their past was probably my favorite part of the book. While there isn't a lot happening in the book and it's far more character-driven than plot-driven, I really enjoyed it. The English countryside and the old house play an important role in the novel and are my favorite characters. The author's writing is skilled and compelling, even when writing about such everyday topics.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Orbiting Jupiter; Author: Visit Amazon's Gary D. Schmidt Page; Review: Orbiting Jupiter is a middle grade book about a troubled young boy who becomes a father at age 13, who isn't allowed to meet his daughter. Joseph is placed with a loving foster family who do what they can to help him but his abusive father isn't willing to let him go. This was a really sweet and touching book, despite the touchy subject matter. There is no discussion of sex in the book and there is nothing in the book to offend anyone. Even though a baby is made, this is a very innocent little book. This book points out how sometimes the deck can be stacked against someone through no fault of their own. Joseph isn't a bad kid but because of how his life has played out, he's judged and looked down upon. The only thing I would change about this book is the length. I think if it had been a little longer, the emotional impact, when it comes, would be even more significant.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All the Houses: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Olsson Page; Review: So far, it seems the other reviewers enjoyed this book far more than I did. Maybe it's my lack of interest in politics and the fact that the Iran/Contra affair was so long ago and that I was bored to tears by it at the time (I was a teenager girl, sick of Oliver North's face) but I just couldn't get into this book. The most interesting parts were definitely the flashbacks to pool parties with foreign dignitaries and learning that the sister was involved with an older married man. I guess I like the salacious parts :) Anyway, I am obviously in the minority but this tale of a woman returning home to care for her father after a heart attack just didn't resonate with me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What We Saw; Author: Visit Amazon's Aaron Hartzler Page; Review: What We Saw is an important book that I think all teenagers should read, their parents should read, and there should be a discussion about what it means when you witness one person harming another and you stand by and do nothing. In this book, a drunk girl passes out at a party and 4 of a school's top basketball players take that as an invitation to rape her. There are not only plenty of witnesses but the event is filmed on someone's phone. In spite of all of the proof, it is the victim that is blamed when the four boys are arrested and their previously promising basketball careers are ruined. It is so important for parents to not only teach their children that no means no and that a person that is unconscious can't give consent. They also need to teach their children that when they see someone being harmed, they step in and stop it. When people are called upon to bear witness to the crime, it is their duty to come forward. It's horrific when you read about something like this in the news, that a person was victimized and then blamed for coming forward. As parents, it is our job to raise children that will never commit these kinds of crimes and will never stand by and let someone else commit them either. Now I will get off my soap box and tell you a little more about the book :) Kate and Ben have been friends since they were 5 but recently (they are now juniors in high school) they have developed deeper feelings for one another. After a wild party on Saturday night, Ben makes sure Kate gets home safely after she's had too much to drink and then returns to the party. Later, four boys are arrested for raping a girl who was passed out drunk. Everyone seems to think that she was asking for it, having been wearing skimpy clothing and getting too drunk. People are angry at her for making the boys miss basketball practice, basketball games...the really important stuff. The basketball coach and the principal side with the boys, as do nearly all of the students. People in town comment that it's too bad that trashy girl had to go and ruin things for those boys. Kate isn't sure what to think. She wasn't there when it happened and doesn't want to think it's possible but someone claims to have video of the incident. She starts to dig deeper, asking Ben if he saw anything. Ben tells her he wasn't there and that they should just stay out of it but Kate keeps digging and what she learns changes everything. The 5 stars I'm giving this book aren't because I think this book is great in any literary sense. I give it 5 stars for bringing to the reader's attention something awful that must stop.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Free Men: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Katy Simpson Smith Page; Review: Free Men is the story of three unlikely companions meeting while each was on the run in the American south of 1788. Bob, an escaped slave, is looking for freedom, for a piece of land in the west that he can toil on for himself. Cat is a white man, a widow, an orphan, a sweet, simple man who has lost his wife and child after a lifetime of unpleasantness who has nothing to live for. Istillicha is a Muskogee Indian who has been betrayed by the woman he loved, whose chief is a murderer and who will do whatever it takes to return to his town and take it back from the man who took it from his uncle. Hunting these three men is Le Clerc, a Frenchman who has been living with the Creek Indians, who is sent by their chief to find these men and bring them to justice after a group of Englishmen are found murdered, and their silver missing. What makes this book so amazing, besides the author's perfect wording and pacing, is the friendship and even love that these three men develop for each other. They are travelling together through accident, having found one another on the path and stuck together for reasons none of them understand. The three men are all likable but due to the differences in their skin colors, are more likely to be enemies than friends. I appreciate the relatively happy ending of the book, especially since there is plenty of tragedy between the beginning and the end.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Katherine Carlyle; Author: Visit Amazon's Rupert Thomson Page; Review: Katherine Carlyle is an extremely well-written, original book. If I was judging solely on that, I would have to give it 5 stars. The reason I'm giving it 3 stars is that I didn't enjoy reading it. It caused me psychological discomfort. I am a person who lives too much in the books I read and living in this one was not pleasant. Kit is a 19 year-old girl living in Rome. Her father is a corespondent for CNN and her mother died of cancer 6 years previously. Her father is never around and Kit feels that he blames her for her mother's death, that he wishes Kit had died instead. Kit is the result of IVF, invitro fertilization. As a zygote, she was frozen for 8 years before being implanted into her mother's womb, a fact that she takes issue with. She feels as though she was abandoned for those 8 years. For about a year, Kit has been receiving messages but they haven't been for her until one night, she overhears a couple discussing a man, Klaus Frings, living in Berlin whose girlfriend has left him. They talk about his amazing apartment and Kit knows this message is for her. She leaves for Berlin, locates the street where he lives, and sets out to insert herself into Klaus Frings' life. She continues this trend with other men she meets along the way. They all want to sleep with her but she isn't looking for sex with these men. She wants someone to take care of her, to be a stand-in for the father she felt was never there for her. Throughout the book, Kit imagines situations in which her father comes looking for her. She paints herself as a victim, in spite of the fact that she threw away her chance to go to Oxford, her amazing life in Rome, in order to go to bleak, cold, horrible places. She has a mountain of daddy issues that seem to compel her to screw up her life as much as possible. I found Kit extremely unlikable. Only at the very end of the book does she seem to realize what she has done to herself and to her father by disappearing without a trace. From the very first pages, when it is apparent that she has the world at her feet and she gives it all up to punish her father for not loving her the way she wanted, I wanted to slap her. Perhaps it's the fact that, at twice her age, having all of my possibilities used up, I wish I could choose Oxford and the Italian prince.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Rest of Us Just Live Here; Author: Visit Amazon's Patrick Ness Page; Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a very unique and original YA novel dealing with a myriad of issues: anorexia, OCD, absent parents, unrequited love, and the Immortals trying to take over the world, one indie kid at a time. What's an indie kid? As far as I can tell, it's a hipster that is, for some reason, targeted by vampires, zombies, soul-eating ghosts, and the Immortals. All of these supernatural elements are kind of a background to the rest of the book, which deals with the more common issues that teens face. Mike has OCD and is in love with one of his best friends, a girl named Henna. Henna's parents are planning to take her to a dangerous African country where they will be missionaries/podiatrists. Henna is entranced with the new kid, Nate, whom Mike immediately hates and is suspicious of. Mike's sister Mel is recovering from anorexia. Mike's best friend Jared is a gay football-playing partial God. His grandmother was the Goddess of cats and Jared is loved by all cats, large, small, domesticated and otherwise. He has healing powers as well but they only go so far since he's only one quarter God. The book is definitely different but entertaining and heartfelt. The main characters are well-developed and likable. I think I probably would have liked the book more if it hadn't had all of the supernatural business going on in the background, since it was never very well explained and seemed to belong to a different book but I still enjoyed it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: It's. Nice. Outside.: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jim Kokoris Page; Review: It's. Nice. Outside. is one of the best books I've read this year. It's got humor, drama, heartbreak, lovable characters, a great story, and great writing. It's not a literary novel by any means but it's entertaining and touching and I loved the entire thing. John Nichols is on a road trip with his 19 year old son Ethan. They're driving from Illinois to South Carolina to attend John's oldest daughter's wedding. They're driving because Ethan doesn't do well on airplanes. Ethan has trisomy 9 mosaicism and is also mildly autistic, Though doctors predicted he may never walk or talk, Ethan does both. He's also really good at shooting hoops. He loves pickles and Sprite and his family. He's also frequently difficult to deal with. He throws tantrums, licks everything and requires constant supervision. This road trip to Karen's wedding is not easy. John's ex-wife Mary is already there and she's upset that Jon isn't there yet. Karen's sister Mindy, Princeton grad and SNL cast member, is dragging her feet about going to the wedding. She and her sister haven't gotten along in a while and Mindy feels like Karen doesn't want her semi-famous sister there to steal her limelight. John convinces Mindy to meet him and Ethan in Knoxville, Tennessee and drive the rest of the way with them. Before they can get there, the wedding is called off and Mindy learns John's secret plan for the days following the wedding. The result is a road trip for the entire family, one that is full of contention and hilarity.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Last Leaves Falling; Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Benwell Page; Review: Sora is a Japanese teenager with ALS. He lives alone with his mother and is progressively getting worse. He can no longer attend school because his school can't accommodate his wheelchair. He decides to join a chat room online and ends up making two good friends, Mai and Kaito. Mai wants to be an artist but her mother wants her to go to Harvard and be a lawyer. Kaito has recently decided to become a computer programmer. Sora would have loved to be a professor but he's not going to live long enough to make his dream a reality and this makes his friends' dreams more important to him. As Sora's disease progresses and he is able to do less and less for himself, he becomes depressed. His mother takes him to visit his grandparents in the country and he is able to enjoy himself but after returning to the city and witnessing the anguish of one hospital patient, he devises a plan that allows him to enjoy the time he has left. This is a book that teach children that whatever troubles they have, it could always be worse. When your kid is whining because you won't get him the latest iPhone, have him read this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: DC Trip; Author: Visit Amazon's Sara Benincasa Page; Review: This book was seriously hilarious. I hope they make it into a movie and somehow make the movie as good as the book. D.C. Trip is full of horrible teenage girls, underage drinking, accidental drug use, public bathroom BJs, many f-words, and all kinds of inappropriate behavior, which is part of what makes it so good. It made me wish I was a teenager again so I could get in the kind of trouble that makes a great story to tell the grandkids but doesn't do any lasting damage.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mare: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Gaitskill Page; Review: The Mare is the story of Velveteen, an inner city girl living in Brooklyn with her volatile mother and her little brother Dante. She is given the opportunity to join the Fresh Air Fund and she spends 2 weeks in upstate New York with Ginger and Paul. Ginger is unable to have children of her own and Paul has a child from his previous marriage. Ginger is immediately smitten with Velvet and wants to keep her for more than 2 weeks. Velvet also wants to stay because she has discovered that she has a talent with horses and the stable next to Ginger's house is the home of Fugly Girl, a mare that Velvet immediately feels connected to, despite Fugly Girl's violent nature and fugliness. Ginger and Velvet misrepresent the nature of the horse riding to Velvet's mother, who doesn't want Velvet anywhere near horses. Velvet returns home to her unsafe neighborhood but her relationship with Ginger continues. Ginger helps with homework, sends money to Velvet's mom, and buys Velvet clothes, which alternately results in her being spit on or beaten. Velvet returns to Ginger's to ride horses. Velvet is caught between two worlds and she doesn't fully belong in either one of them. The only place she feels she truly belongs is on Fugly Girl. The book is told in various perspectives, alternating in short chapters. Each character has its own distinct voice. What I found most interesting about this book is the view of what it's like for a poor inner city child and how it sometimes causes them harm when a well-meaning but out of her depth white woman tries to interfere.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All of Us and Everything: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Bridget Asher Page; Review: Some books seem as though they are going to be light and fluffy, a good beach read but nothing profound, nothing that will stick with you. All of Us and Everything seemed to be one of those books. From the first pages I thought it would be a fun, quirky, whimsical read that I would forget about tomorrow. It is fun and quirky and a bit whimsical but it is also so much more. My love for this book began with something oldest Rockwell daughter Esme wrote in her journal: "I feel otherly." I have always also felt otherly. Many other statements in the book stood out to me as well. Some seemed to have been taken from the mouth of Tina Belcher (if you don't know who Tina Belcher is, I recommend you google her and remedy that ASAP) and some were far more complex. My point is, on the surface this may look like chick lit. It isn't. It's otherly and it's awesome. The Rockwell sisters, Esme, Liv, and Ru, were raised by their single mother, Augusta. According to their mother, their father was an international spy and that is why they had never met him. For whatever reason, as far as they were aware, their father was absent from their lives and this absence had an impact. The girls have grown up and are each somewhat dysfunctional. Esme and her daughter Atty have been abandoned by Esme's husband Doug, who was in Paris chaperoning a student trip and fell in love with a dentist. Liv's third marriage has fallen apart and she is looking for husband number four when she sees a wedding announcement in the New York Times, announcing the marriage of her sister Ru to a very wealthy man and she wonders if stealing her sister's fiance would make her a monster. Ru, recently engaged, has absconded to Vietnam, claiming to do research for her next book. Her first (wildly popular) book was based largely on her sister Liv's teenage romance with a boy named Teddy and Liv isn't happy about it. Soon after hurricane Sandy, the sisters all return to the home of their mother. Augusta has just received a box of correspondence that surfaced in the wake of the hurricane and it's contents bring the past back to her and change her future and the futures of her daughters. This book was funny but it also got in there and poked at the feels. The sisters are vulnerable. Atty is a mess. All of them have issues, many of which I have, too. I read a lot of books and it's rare that I will reread anything but this is a book that I can see myself rereading in the not too distant future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Doubter's Almanac: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Ethan Canin Page; Review: This is a book that I shouldn't have liked. It's so full of math and people talking about math and mathematical geniuses and words that are math words that I don't know the meaning of. I am SO bad at math. When my kids ask me math questions, my brain shuts down. However, I did like this book. Milo Andret is a mathematical genius. He's also horribly socially inept, possibly a sex addict and definitely an alcoholic. He solved a proof (or something mathy) and won a Field's medal. He was given tenure and a chair at Princeton but lost it all (except for the medal) for attacking the husband of his lover. Now he's married to his former secretary and has two children, Hans and Paulette. Hans and Paulie are also mathematical geniuses but their mother has done what she could do make them more well-rounded individuals and exposing them to as much art as possible. She once pretended to be an art history major and decided to take a real interest in art history and did what she could to encourage that interest in her children. Living with Milo is difficult for all of them. He's a belligerent drunk and doesn't hold back his scathing and hurtful words. He teaches Hans privately, encouraging his budding genius but tends to ignore Paulie. Both skip many grades and before he's twenty, Hans has graduated from college and is making millions at a firm on Wall Street. Hans marries and has children and does what he can not to be anything like his father. Meanwhile, Milo is living alone in a cabin in the woods of Michigan and he's dying. Hans and his mother and sister return to the cabin to care for the difficult, horrible man and begin to understand him and to forgive. The book is long but because it's well written and interesting, I read it quite quickly. As I said, there are several things about it (math things) that mean nothing to me but it didn't cause me to like the book any less.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: American Housewife: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Helen Ellis Page; Review: American Housewife is a collection of humorous stories, some a little bit dark, some a little bizarre, but all will at least make you smirk, if not have you laughing out loud. As an American housewife myself, I saw myself in several of these characters but luckily not in all of them. My favorite was Pageant Protection, about a woman that saves little girls from their pageant mothers by kidnapping them and setting them up with wealthy Manhattan couples as new parents. If only there was such a person out there, saving those poor little girls! I enjoyed the last story in the book as well and will never look at a box of Tampax the same. American Housewife is a tiny little book that will take you a couple of hours to read, tops, but it will keep you thinking about what it means to be an American housewife.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Like Family: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paolo Giordano Page; Review: Like Family is a short novel about an Italian couple who hire a middle-aged widow to take care of the wife, Nora, when she becomes ill during pregnancy. After their son is born, they can't bear to lose Mrs. A, whom they refer to as Babette because of the feast she makes for them when she invites them to her house for dinner. She becomes their son's nanny as well as their cook and their maid. She becomes the glue that keeps the family together and when she becomes terminally ill, the family begins to fall apart. This book has little in the way of plot. It's more a look at the inner workings of relationships, what keeps them going and what can tear them apart. In this book, Babette is the one looking after everyone and keeping them sane.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: One to Go; Author: Mike Pace; Review: This was a weird book but, for the most part, I enjoyed it anyway. Tom Booker is a new attorney at a large and prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C. As he is driving to pick up his daughter at his ex-wife's house, he is texting and driving when he loses control of his car and crashes into his former sister-in-law's minivan. Because he was late to pick up his daughter, his ex called her sister Rosie to take Tom's daughter Janie, her cousin Angie, and two friends on their field trip. Now, that minivan is teetering on the edge of the Memorial Bridge because Tom was texting and driving. But suddenly, everything stops. The van and the girls in side are frozen in time and Tom sees two people coming toward him. Chad and Britney offer Tom a do-over. They will reverse time and keep the accident from happening but in exchange, Tom has to kill 5 people that will take the place of the 5 people in the minivan. Oh, and those 5 people will burn in hell for eternity. He had to make a kill once every 2 weeks by Saturday at midnight and if he didn't, the people in the van, his daughter, his niece, their friends, would die, one by one and they would be going to hell, too. Suddenly, Tom is driving, the minivan is swerving, and the accident never happened. He tells himself he was hallucinating but when he fails to live up to his end of the bargain, his former sister-in-law is brutally killed by her husband. Now he understands that to save his daughter's life and the lives of her friends, he's going to have to kill 4 people. He wants to find people that deserve it, people who've murdered and will murder again if he doesn't stop them. The rest of the book is Tom struggling with killing others in cold blood while also falling in love with the local public defender and being a suspect in the murder of a woman he had dated briefly. There is just a touch too much going on at times in the book and I wish the author would have done away with one of the plot lines. I think it could have made two separate books, one with the demon twins and all the supernatural business and one in which there was a cover up and conspiracy. As it was, the combination caused the book to become more than a little unbelievable.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Middle of Somewhere; Author: Visit Amazon's Sonja Yoerg Page; Review: Liz is about to turn 30, living with the man she loves after becoming a widow years earlier. She and her boyfriend, Dante, live together and love each other but Liz knows that when she tells him the truth about a couple of things, he'll be done with her. She has decided to take a backpacking trip through Yosemite and she was planning to do it alone but Dante, feeling her pull away from him, has decided to accompany her, despite not being much of a hiker. On their first day, they meet the Root brothers, Peyton and Rodell, and Liz instinctively feels that there's something dangerous about them. Dante thinks they are perhaps a bit stupid but considers them harmless. They also meet a famous actor whose manager has forced him to make the trek over the John Muir Trail to do research for a part in a film. After a few days, they become more accustomed to the hiking but their relationship takes a hit when Liz blurts out first one secret and then another. In addition to the rocky terrain, there are lightning storms, something Liz has always been terrified of, as well as more encounters with the Root brothers, which become more and more frightening. Soon, Dante realizes that the Roots really are dangerous and now it's just Dante and Liz in the mountains with two armed and dangerous men that seem to come straight out of Deliverance (except for the fact that they're more interested in Liz than in making Dante squeal like a piggie). Will Liz and Dante make it to safety? Will Dante forgive Liz for what she did and kept secret from him? I won't tell you. But I will tell you this: the beginning of the book was a little slow for me. The hiking parts didn't particularly interest me. The story of Liz's first marriage wasn't very compelling. There was some tension and suspense in the middle and toward the end that I liked but at the point where you are expecting something major to happen, some sort of climax, instead it just fizzles out. It goes from harrowing to fine and dandy all too quickly and I felt as though I had missed something.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mdicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois; Author: Visit Amazon's Sophie Perinot Page; Review: Medicis Daughter is a book about Marguerite de Valois, daughter of Catherine de Medici. It's the mid 16th century and Marguerite, or Margot as she is known to those close to her, is a young girl who has just been invited to live at court with her mother and her brother King Charles and her other brother, Henri Duc of Anjou. She is being educated and prepared for her future as a political pawn, when she will be married off to a king of one country or another to secure allies for France. In the meantime, Margot falls in love with Henri de Guise. Unfortunately for them both, her affections are not hers to give and when her family learns that she has been seeing Guise, they beat Margot and forbid any further contact. The king is attempting to keep the peace between the Protestants and the Catholics, though, as a Catholic, he is mistrusting of the Protestants and his conniving mother does all that she can to sway Charles against those she deems her enemies. When a marriage is contracted between Margot and her Protestant cousin Henri of Navarre in order to secure peace between the two warring factions, Margot is devastated. She wants nothing to do with him and considers him a heretic. She devises a plan in which, though they are married, they will never consummate the marriage. She promises to be loyal everywhere but the bedroom. Soon after the wedding, this loyalty is tested and it is only then that Henri of Navarre truly realizes what kind of family he has married into. The book is well written and interesting but nothing new if you are used to novels about the intrigues of court life in the 16th century. I think it may have been a little more interesting if there was more information about what made Margot's mother the way she is.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hummingbird: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen P. Kiernan Page; Review: If this book had focused solely on hospice nurse Deborah Birch and cantankerous patient Barclay Reed, I would have enjoyed it far more. If it had just been about those two and Deb's PTSD suffering veteran husband Michael, that would have been okay, too. The addition of the story of Ichiro Soka seemed to not really fit and was completely unnecessary to the book. The fact that the professor had written a book called The Sword and whether or not Deb believed it was true or not didn't add to the book for me but detracted from it. Why wouldn't Deb believe it? Why was it so important to the professor that she did? Why not focus instead on his difficult relationship with his daughter and his grief for his dead wife? I think that on it's own a book about Ichiro Soka would be interesting but I see no reason to think that a dying man and his hospice nurse and a Japanese fighter pilot from WWII have anything to do with each other. I enjoyed parts of this book but others really annoyed me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Catarina's Ring: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa McGuinness Page; Review: If you are a fan of chick lit and don't mind that an author does a lot of telling instead of showing, you may very well like this book. I didn't. I wanted to but I really, really didn't. Some authors alternate between two eras very well, tying them together in ways that actually advance the plot. In this book, there didn't seem to be much of a point in alternating chapters between Juliette and her grandmother Catarina. Instead, it was like reading 2 different, equally insipid novels at the same time. I'm not going to bother with a plot summation since you can read Amazon's blurb. I just want to move on to a better book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: A Step Toward Falling; Author: Cammie McGovern; Review: Emily is someone who does what she can to help others. She and her best friend Richard have started clubs to support youth activism. But when Belinda, a disabled girl at school needs her help desperately, she freezes. Another student, Lucas, was also there, a witness to what happened to Belinda. Because Emily and Lucas did nothing to stop the attack on Belinda, they must perform community service by helping at the Lifelong Learning Center, where they will be assisting in a class on relationships for young adults with disabilities. Lucas and Emily seem to have nothing in common. Emily is in AP classes. Her friends are few and not popular. Lucas is a football player, with a girlfriend and plenty of friends. Emily thinks Lucas is more to blame for not helping Belinda because he's large and intimidating. Belinda stays home with her mother and grandmother after the incident. She loves Pride and Prejudice and especially Mr. Darcy. She prefers the BBC version with Colin Firth to the film version with Keira Knightly and she knows every word. She sends letters to Colin Firth and she can hear him sending her messages. When she was younger, she acted in plays but since reaching high school, the drama teacher has told her that he can't put her in a play, even though she tries out every year. As Emily and Lucas work with the disabled young adults, they get to know each other better and they also begin to understand just how awful it was that they didn't do anything to help Belinda. They decide they are going to do something to make it up to her, though at first, Belinda wants nothing to do with Emily, who once yelled at her for hugging her. Eventually, Belinda is able to trust Emily and, in the end, Emily and Lucas are able to help one of Belinda's greatest wishes come true. I like that this book does such a great job of showing that people with disabilities aren't all that different, that they have feelings, that they need friends and relationships just like anyone else. Instead of focusing on what is different about them, it focuses on what is the same about all of us. Belinda is definitely the most lovable character. She will make you laugh and maybe cry and you'll be glad you read this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Piece of Mind: A Novel; Author: Michelle Adelman; Review: Because of a brain injury that happened when Lucy was young, she in unable to fully function. She suffers from debilitating migraines, is extremely clumsy and falls often, doesn't see well, and is messy and unorganized. She lives with her father, who takes care of her while encouraging her to get a job of some kind. Lucy has a college degree but has been unable to hold down any kind of job. Lucy is an artist and she loves animals but these two things don't really qualify her for much. When Lucy's father suddenly dies, her younger brother Nate has to drop out of college to take care of Lucy. He gets a job waiting tables and works all day just to be able to keep them afloat. He's exhausted and unhappy and under too much stress. Lucy is at first unwilling to leave Nate's apartment but when she feels guilty about not pulling her own weight, she sets out for a job interview. She doesn't get the job but she does find a coffee shop where she meets Frank. Frank also suffers from a brain injury and the two of them quickly become close. She also meets Enid, an older woman who wants Lucy to draw her beloved dog that has passed on. With the help of her new friends, Lucy becomes a little more independent, traveling New York City on her own, visiting the zoo and her favorite polar bear, Gus. When Nate doesn't come home one night, Lucy is terrified. He calls to tell her that he'll be gone for a while but that his friend Byron will bring food and that if there's anything she needs, she can call Byron. Lucy doesn't know why Nate has left or where he's gone. She's scared but his absence is actually good for Lucy, who learns that she can take care of herself to some degree.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Werewolf of Bamberg (A Hangman's Daughter Tale); Author: Visit Amazon's Oliver Ptzsch Page; Review: I really enjoy the Hangman's Daughter series. If you haven't read any of the previous novels, you won't be lost if you decide to read them out of order but I would encourage you to read all of them from the beginning. They are well written, suspenseful, yet full of humor at the same time. In this installment, Jakob Kuisl and his family are travelling to Bamberg to attend his estranged brother Bartholomaus's wedding. Bartl is marrying Katharina, the daughter of a clerk, something that is unheard of since Bartl, like his brother Jakob, is a hangman, a group that is shunned by society and not allowed to marry any but the lowest classes of people. Upon arriving outside the gates of Bamberg, the family sees a severed arm lying in a ford. When they reach Bamberg, they hear tales of a werewolf that has been abducting people and tearing them apart. Several people have gone missing and the whole town is in a state of terror. Jakob and his family don't believe this is the work of a werewolf and they set out to solve the mystery of the villagers being killed and dismembered. Meanwhile, Jakob and Bartl are still angry at each other over events that took place long ago. They eventually put their anger at each other aside to help an actor who has been arrested as a suspected werewolf. Jakob's daughter Barbara has fallen in love with the actor and neither hangman wants to have to torture a confession out of the poor boy. The brothers put aside their differences to help the boy, and later, those who have been taken by a madman bent on revenge.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Center of the World; Author: Visit Amazon's Jacqueline Sheehan Page; Review: When I first started this novel, I was worried that it was going to be chick lit. I was very happy that I was wrong. Sofia has always known that she was adopted but, until she receives a letter from her recently deceased step-father, she had no idea of the actual circumstances of how she came to live with her mother Kate. Kate had always told Sofia that she had adopted her in Mexico but the truth is much more grim. When Sofia realizes her mother has been lying to her for all these years, she refuses to talk to her. Only when Kate agrees to take Sofia to Guatemala, the place she was actually born, does Sofia begin to forgive her. The Center of the World is a book depicting the terror and bloodshed of a country at war with itself. Throw in some scheming secret agents from the U.S. government and you have the nightmare that led to Kate smuggling Sofia out of the country. This is a book that you won't want to put down until you have read to the very end. It is full of heroism in the face of absolute terror and acts of sacrifice that will break your heart, while somehow managing a happy ending.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fans of the Impossible Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Scelsa Page; Review: Jeremy is a lonely kid just returning to the private school he has attended since childhood after absence due to some incidences of bullying. Soon after returning to school he meets Mira, a girl who has transferred from another school, and her friend Sebastian, known as Sebby. Sebby doesn't go to their school and, due to his own experiences with bullies, he doesn't go to his own school much anymore either. Sebby is a gay foster kid living with a conservative, religious woman from whom Sebby must hide his true self. Sebby and Mira met in a mental hospital and their bond is the only thing that kept them going. Sebby and Mira quickly see that Jeremy is a kindred spirit and the three become close friends. Soon, Sebby and Jeremy become more than friends. Mira worries that she will be a third wheel but when Sebby begins using drugs and occasionally disappearing, it's Mira and Jeremy that become closer in their search for their friend. I really enjoyed this book. It has both humor and sadness and deals with important issues facing gay teens and anyone who just doesn't quite fit in. Their is a bit of sex in the book, though none of it is lurid or detailed and if you aren't paying close attention, you may not even realize quite what's happening. There is also drinking and drug use but it isn't glorified and in fact, may make teens think twice before using substances that will be damaging.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Masked Truth; Author: Visit Amazon's Kelley Armstrong Page; Review: Riley was babysitting a little girl while her parents were brutally murdered. Did she see someone that night? She saw a man with a not-so-concealed gun but, her father, who until recently had been on the SWAT team, had always told her that there were plenty of people who legally carried weapons and she thought nothing of it until it was too late. She hadn't seen his face and couldn't identify him for the police. Since that night, Riley has been having problems and now her psychiatrist has signed her up for a weekend at a sleepover group therapy session. Things go wrong almost immediately as a trio of masked men appear and are holding all of the kids for ransom, especially the uber-wealthy Aaron. It seems a little too coincidental that Riley is again embroiled in something so dangerous but it turns out it isn't a coincidence at all and that the masked men weren't just there for Aaron. Fellow therapy session attendee Max has always seemed annoying and smug to Riley but it is thanks to him that the two of them manage to escape. She's been stabbed but he calls 911 and the 2 of them are saved. They later find out that another girl may survive as well. Once in the hospital, Max becomes a person of interest and the police are actually trying to convince Riley that he was the one to blame for all that had happened and that he had somehow brainwashed Riley into thinking there were others involved. Riley isn't stupid and she's not crazy and she knows that Max saved her life. She sets out to prove that Max is innocent and find the masked men who wanted them all dead. This novel was interesting enough but it was all so unlikely. First of all, a weekend therapy sleepover? In a more or less abandoned building? I won't spoil anything by telling you all of the other things I found hard to swallow, if you still want to read it after reading my review. There is suspense and the book will keep you guessing but I was too bothered by all of the unlikely things that continued to happen.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Drifter (A Peter Ash Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Nick Petrie Page; Review: Peter Ash is an Iraqi war veteran whose PTSD won't allow him to stay indoors for long. Any prolonged stay inside leaves him with a white static in his head. So he lives in his truck. When he learns that his friend and fellow Marine Jimmy has committed suicide, he goes to Milwaukee to help Jimmy's widow Dinah with some work on her ramshackle house. While fixing the porch, Jimmy finds two things: a massive, slobbering, growling, stinky dog and a suitcase with $400,000 cash and 4 pieces of C4. Peter sets out to find out where the cash and explosives came from and what they have to do with Jimmy. The dog, after a period of getting to know one another, becomes Peter's new best friend. While looking into the money, Peter becomes the target of much violence. As a marine, he's more than capable of giving as good as he gets and anyone that messes with Peter generally comes out bloodied and broken. But who is sending these men to kill Peter? He knows he's close to figuring out what's going on but can he keep Dinah and her two sons safe while he does it? Who is looking for these explosives and the cash and what are they hoping to blow up? This novel will keep you reading until the last page. It's full of suspense and will keep you guessing. I found Peter to be a bit like Lee Child's Jack Reacher except he is far more likable. He's not sleeping with every woman he meets and he's far more humble and vulnerable. The fact that he isn't perfect makes him a much more interesting character.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Forgotten Room; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen White Page; Review: The Forgotten Room is a novel about three women: Olive, her daughter Lucy and Lucy's daughter Kate, and the men who love them, who are also a man, his son and his grandson. Olive is working in the Pratt mansion in order to avenge her father's death. As the architect for the mansion, when Mr. Pratt refused to pay Olive's father for all the work he had done, he knew his name and reputation were ruined and he killed himself. Olive is working as a maid to find proof that the Pratts didn't pay her father for his work. She's also working as a maid because she and her mother are now destitute. Henry Pratt is one of the twin sons of the elder Pratt and he becomes enchanted with Olive and asks her to pose for him in his attic studio. Olive is reticent but lets Henry sketch her, then later poses for a portrait. They fall in love but Olive is certain that Henry will lose interest in her and Henry's sister Prunella has threatened to share something about Olive's father that will hurt her mother and further tarnish his good name. Lucy is a young independent woman. Her parents are both dead and her father's mother has told her that she wasn't actually her son's daughter. She heads to Manhattan where she boards at what was previously known as the Pratt mansion, a building her mother had had some connection to. She sets out to discover who she really is and in the process, falls in love with a man she can't have, a man who recognized her from a miniature portrait by his father. Kate is a doctor working to save the lives of soldiers returning to New York from WWII. She works in an old manor house that has been turned into a hospital. She lives in a small attic room until the hospital is so full that she has to give her room up to Captain Cooper Ravenel, with whom she feels an instant connection. After saving his leg from amputation, Kate and Cooper become close. Cooper is engaged and Kate is dedicated to being the best doctor she can be but they each feel pulled toward the other. The more time they spend together, the more their shared past comes to light. Will they do what their parents and grandparents did or will they give in to the love they have for each other? This book is a little bit cheesy and a little bit predictable but I still enjoyed it. It's not completely chick lit.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Keep Me Posted; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa Beazley Page; Review: Two sisters decide to keep in touch through regular mail instead of email. Cassie lives in New York City with her young twin sons and her husband. Sid lives in Singapore with a teenage son from a previous relationship, a baby daughter and her husband. Their letters are full of what you'd expect. From Cassie: motherhood is difficult, living in a New York City apartment with children is hard, being married is hard, my ex-boyfriend is hot and successful and I fantasize about making out with him, etc. From Sid things are a little more exciting: she's helping her new maid/nanny/cook to save money to send home to her family and she's helping the other expats' maids/nannies/cooks. Her husband may be cheating on her. Overall, there is nothing very interesting about this book. It works up to a big reveal that isn't that big and that seems like an impossible mistake to make unless you are a complete idiot. This book was just a little too trivial and pointless for me. The writing was fine but the plot was lacking for me.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Regional Office Is Under Attack!: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Manuel Gonzales Page; Review: This book is entirely unique and original and extremely entertaining. The Regional Office is a secret underground group of super powered females who are trained to fight evil. When the office is attacked, it's clear that it was an inside job. Can Sarah save what's left? Is Henry involved in this? Did the Oracles forsee this?; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia; Author: Visit Amazon's C. W. Gortner Page; Review: The Borgias were an incredibly interesting family and Lucretia's history, whether you believe she was an innocent pawn or that she was more than happy to participate in her family's shenanigans, is even more interesting. Sadly, this book didn't do Lucretia or the rest of the Borgia family justice. I found it quite boring, though it aimed for salaciousness. I was hoping for more of a historical novel than a common tawdry romance novel. Skip this one.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Eleanor: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Gurley Page; Review: This is not your average novel but I am torn between giving it 3 stars or 4. If my rating was based entirely on originality, I would give it a 5. The problem is, I don't actually like the originality. The book begins with Eleanor, a married woman with a 6 year old daughter named Agnes. Eleanor is expecting another child. Finding she is pregnant again has deepened the despair Eleanor feels at being a mother. Eleanor is a swimmer, once an Olympic hopeful, now trapped with a husband and soon to be 2 children. She goes to her favorite island off the coast of Oregon, starts swimming, and is never seen again. Many years later, Agnes has 6 year-old twin daughters, Eleanor and Esmerelda. She is on the way to the Portland airport to pick up her husband when she is in an accident and Esmerelda is thrown from the car and killed. Eleanor is now a teenager, missing her twin and trying to keep her alcoholic mother alive. Her mother hates her, blames her for the death of her sister, and has driven her husband away. Eleanor is dealing with far more than the usual teenage crap already but then something happens. She disappears. She enters another realm. She doesn't know how and she doesn't know where she goes when she disappears. Something is bringing her there. This is the part I have a problem with. If this book had stayed away from supernatural stuff, I think I would have liked it far more. The parts with the supernatural business were confusing at first and by the time I actually understood, I was just kind of annoyed by it. The thing is, it's a well-written book, it's interesting, I feel like I should have liked it and I did like most parts of it. I just feel like I would have liked it even more without the supernatural aspect.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Just Fall: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nina Sadowsky Page; Review: Just Fall was a bit of a chore to read. It is written in chapters that alternate between Now and Then but the "thens" aren't necessarily in sequential order and the writer doesn't do a very good job of being clear about the timeline, leaving the reader a bit confused for a while. Once I understood what was going on, I was pretty apathetic about the plot and I didn't really like the writing. While sex scenes are written out in detail, other, more important occurrences are less detailed and a little confusing. By the time I finished the book, I understood but I didn't like it.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: I'm from Nowhere; Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Myers Page; Review: Wren is a normal teen girl living in Ventura, California when her mother Hannah receives an assignment to do some reporting on an ice sheet in Greenland. Wren was raised by her mother, never knowing the identity of her father, despite asking her mother repeatedly for clues to the missing donor to the other half of her DNA. Because it's just the tow of them and because Hannah can't take Wren to Greenland, Wren is shipped off to the east coast to attend Hardwick, the boarding school her mother had attended when she was in high school. Wren feels a bit abandoned and lonely but soon enough makes friends with Eloise, India, and Chazzy, a boy whose sexuality is up for debate. The only real problem is Honor Gibson, the beautiful heir to the Gibson department store fortune. Honor seems to have a serious problem with Wren and Wren has no idea why. At the school, Wren does a little digging into her mother's past and has a few new theories on the identity of her father. When an accident in Greenland leaves Hannah unable to communicate with Wren or with Hardwick, Wren's ability to continue at the school is jeopardized. Luckily, she finally figures out who her father is, just when she needs him the most. I liked this book. It made boarding school sound awesome. Also, Wren's taste in music is better than most girls these days and I appreciated that as well. Some parts of it were a bit predictable but it didn't ruin the story. The way the book ends makes it set up well for a sequel and I hope the author has plans for many more books about Wren.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: News of the World; Author: Visit Amazon's Paulette Jiles Page; Review: News of the World is the story of a young girl, Johanna, who was kidnapped when the Kiowa tribe killed the rest of her family in a town near San Antonio, Texas. The Civil War is over and Texas is a dangerous place. Now it's up to 71 year-old Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd to return Johanna to her relatives. The trip from Wichita Falls to San Antonio is 400 hundred miles, much of it rough both in terms of topography and in the kind of people that may be ready to attack two relatively defenseless travelers. Johanna was unhappy to be torn from her Kiowa family, who had become the only family she remembered. She is no longer capable of any language but the one taught her by her Indian family and, in the beginning, she tries repeatedly to return to her former captors. Eventually she and the Captain form a bond and even save each other's lives. By the time they reach her aunt and uncle, neither are sure that she should be returned to live with them. At the beginning of this book, I worried that I would find it a bit boring. I was happy to learn that I was wrong. This short novel not only entertained me, it also had me in tears by the end. Good, happy tears.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Opposite of Everyone: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Joshilyn Jackson Page; Review: Paula Vauss is a successful attorney in Atlanta, working in a partnership that specializes in divorce. Raised mostly by her mother Kai, who named her Kali, a Hindu goddess of destruction, among other things, Paula was told the stories of the Hindu gods and goddesses all her life. As Kai moved from boyfriend to boyfriend and town to town, Paula yearned for a little more stability, and once she found it, she was not happy when her mother moved her from the first place she'd felt she belonged. Paula's revenge for her mother's moving her would change the course of several lives. This book moves deftly between past and present, between Paula's childhood and her present. The author does a great job of weaving the two together and explaining how Paula became the woman she is. I don't want to give too much of a synopsis of the book. I will just say that the book is well-written and interesting, giving the reader a look into many different worlds, i.e. the foster care system and the world of highly paid divorce lawyers.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Golden Son: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Shilpi Somaya Gowda Page; Review: Anil Patel has left his home in India to do his residency at a hospital in Texas. His family in India count on him as the oldest son to fulfill certain duties, especially after the death of his father. His mother wants him to return home and take his place as a sort of ombudsman for the locals, settling arguments for the villagers. Anil has no plans to leave his residency, in spite of difficulties both personal and professional. At home, Leena, the girl he played with as a child is now a married woman. Unfortunately, her new husband and his family treat her like a servant and when she dares to ask to visit her parents, the unthinkable happens. Luckily Leena makes it out alive but her husband's family want reparations for her absence and her parents are worried about retribution from the in-laws and judgment from others for their rebellious daughter. When Anil learns of Leena's situation, he is torn between the life he has made for himself in the U.S. and his love for Leena and his concern for her well-being. The Golden Son is incredibly interesting and gives you a glimpse into what it's like to be Indian, both as someone living in the U.S. and trying to adjust to the different lifestyle, and as a woman living in India, where you have little control over your own life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Girls She Left Behind: A Novel (Lizzie Snow); Author: Visit Amazon's Sarah Graves Page; Review: Lizzie Snow is a transplant to the small town of Bearskill, Maine, where she works as a sheriff's deputy after working as a homicide detective in Boston. Tara, a teenage girl known for running away, has gone missing and it's assumed that she has just run off again until her mom receives an alarming text. Lizzie is sure the mother is hiding something and needs to know what so she can put together what has happened to Tara. This book is full of suspense and is difficult to put down once you start reading it. This is the second in the series and even though I haven't read the first book, I didn't feel at all lost.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Forty Rooms; Author: Visit Amazon's Olga Grushin Page; Review: Forty Rooms is a very unique novel, written from the perspective of our nameless heroine, who we can put a name to only after she is married and becomes Mrs. Caldwell. Born in the Soviet Union, raised by an intellectual, educated at an American University and made to be a poet, our girl decides early on that her art, her poetry, is the most important thing. Somewhere along the way, she forgets or maybe changes her mind, and does things she was never going to do: get married and have children. Her husband doesn't really know her. She never shares her poetry with him. Her children take her away from her poetry. She becomes a different person, a woman that is concerned with interior design and designer gowns. She's lost in the life she has fallen into, a circumstance I imagine many wives and mothers find themselves in. I feel like most of us experience this to some degree and it's what makes reading this book so easy to relate to, while at the same time, reminding you that this isn't exactly the life you wanted.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Revolving Door of Life (44 Scotland Street Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Alexander McCall Smith Page; Review: The Revolving Door is another installment of Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful 44 Scotland Street series. This series and his Portuguese Irregular Verbs series are my favorite of his books because of their light-hearted and whimsical plots. The hardest thing about reading his books is how much they make me want to travel, mainly to Edinburgh but also to Botswana. In this book, Bertie Pollock has turned 7 and his mother has mistakenly been added to a harem somewhere in the Middle East. Bertie is secretly thrilled that his mother is unable to force him to go to yoga or to see a psychiatrist. His wonderful grandmother Nicola has come from Portugal to help his father Stewart care for Bertie and his younger brother and she lets Bertie eat pizza and wear jeans. Bertie is in heaven. In the meantime, Matthew and Elspeth and the triplets have bought a larger place from the man who calls himself the Duke of Johannesburg. When they move in, they find a secret room, containing treasure. Matthew can't decide if the contents of the room belong to him or to the Duke. The Duke has his own problems with officials who want him to stop calling himself the Duke of Johannesburg. Angus and Domenica are getting accustomed to married life and Pat saves her father from an unwise match. As always, this book is full of random events and humor, mirth and whimsy and I loved every minute of it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Relativity; Author: Visit Amazon's Antonia Hayes Page; Review: Ethan is not like other boys his age. He's incredibly intelligent and rather socially awkward, making him a target for bullies, including his former best friend. He's being raised by his single mother and knows nothing about his father until he opens a letter his father sent to his mother, Claire, asking her to allow his dying father to meet Ethan. Claire and her estranged husband were deeply in love when something happened to their son Ethan that changed the courses of all of their lives. The book keeps you guessing about how Ethan's brain became the wonder that it is until the very end, an end you'll wish would have been different. It's an interesting read with a lovable little boy and his flawed but well-meaning parents.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shaker: A Thriller; Author: Scott Frank; Review: Los Angeles has had it's worst earthquake in recent history. Buildings are destroyed, cell towers are down, and the city is an inch away from an all out riot, due to the fact that the wealthier areas were not hit as hard as those in the poorer neighborhoods. Roy Cooper is in Los Angeles on assignment. His job is a dirty one: he's a contract killer. He arrives, does his job, and stumbles upon an alleyway where three young black men are holding an older man at gunpoint. Soon, a fourth young man has a gun on him and they've taken his gun, the one he has just used in his hit. They kill the older man and are about to kill Roy when a security guard comes on the scene with guns blazing, scattering the killers and leaving 3 bullets in Roy. Roy is in the hospital and a video of what happened in the alley is on all of the news channels. Roy is being called a hero for standing up to the boys, his own violent past not yet known. Unfortunately for him, people from his past, people who thought he was dead, also see Roy on the news and now they now exactly where to find him. This book moves very quickly and you won't want to put it down once you start reading it. I just moved from southern California and never had any problems in L,A., was never scared while I was there, but this book will make you think that Los Angeles is the scariest place on earth. Maybe I was just never in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time but I have to say that I've never seen any gang activity or had any fears while I was there.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Try Not to Breathe: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Holly Seddon Page; Review: Alex Dale is a disgraced journalist, whose alcoholism has ruined just about every part of her life. She's gotten her life together enough to work during the day and drink herself into a stupor every night but she's lost her husband, ruined her career, and still can't make herself stop drinking. She's given an assignment to write about hospital patients in vegetative states when she comes across Amy Stevenson. Amy was the same age as Alex but had been found beaten and left for dead as a teenager and now she was here, unable to do anything but lie in bed. Her doctor had been working on a way to get patients like Amy to be able to communicate and it becomes clear that Amy is still in there, still able to think, even if she can't do much of anything else. The book alternates between the past and the present, between what happened to Amy as a teenager and what is happening now, with Alex digging deeper and helping discover the truth. The author does a good job of keeping the reader interested and in suspense, never giving too much away.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: What Lies Between Us: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nayomi Munaweera Page; Review: Our narrator, our heroine, is not given a name until the end of the book. She is a daughter, then a wife, then a mother, and, eventually, she is a desperate, paranoid woman who makes a terrible decision. She grows up in Sri Lanka with her mother, her father, and their two servants. One is the lady that cooks for them and one is Samson, a man that grew up with her father, who calls her Baby Madam and lets her ride on her shoulders. As she grows older, she grows fearful of the man that comes and touches her, hurts her. One night during monsoon season, her father and Samson have a fight and neither are seen alive again. Her father's body is discovered and Baby Madam and her mother are forced to move to America, to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. She and her cousin become best friends, sharing everything and becoming more and more like the average American teenagers. They grow up, determined not to be like their parents, not to have their lives and their marriages arranged but her cousin changes her mind and our heroine is on her own. She goes to college, meets a boy who changes everything. He's an artist, not a very successful one at first, so she supports him. They are perfect together, not wanting to change things by adding children but when she discovers that she's pregnant, she finds that she wants to have this baby. He's not as sure as she is, would prefer to keep things the way they are, but relents. Becoming a mother changes her. She has a new priority and her husband is no longer it. As husband and wife grow apart, he begins to worry about the safety of their daughter. What is happening to his wife? He decides that he doesn't feel that she can take care of their daughter and his decision will change all of their lives forever.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Thicker Than Water; Author: Visit Amazon's Kelly Fiore Page; Review: Cecelia Price and her brother Cyrus were close when they were younger but his rise as a soccer player and horrible descent into drug use after a debilitating injury have driven a wedge between them. By the time Cecelia is arrested for her part in his death, Cyrus was barely recognizable as the brother she played with as a child. Now Cecelia is in a behavioral treatment facility awaiting trial and is finding it impossible to forgive herself. This book alternates between before and after, showing the reader how things came to such an unfortunate end. The author does a great job showing the ugly family life of someone abusing prescription drugs, how it negatively affects everyone around the addict. This book showed me the horrors of loving an addict, as well as what addiction looks like. A really great book for anyone dealing with addiction themselves or within their family.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Carry Me: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Behrens Page; Review: Billy Lange was born on the Isle of Wight a year after the birth of Karin von Weinbrenner. Both are half German, half Irish. Karin's father Baron von Weinbrenner is a wealthy, Jewish industrialist and Billy's father Buck is the captainof the Baron's yacht. At the outbreak of World War I, Buck is interned in a prisoner of war camp in London, leaving young Billy and his mother on their own. They make it through the war years with the help of her father and Buck's mother but after the war, Buck is forced to leave England for Germany. With hardly any money and only a few possessions, the Lange family leaves for Germany. Luckily for them, Baron Weinbrenner wants Buck to work for him again, this time as a trainer of race horses. Billy and his parents take up residence at the Weinbrenner's estate, where Billy renews his acquaintance with Karin, whom he hadn't seen since before the war. They strike up a quick friendship but Karin is home only briefly before returning to her boarding school in England. Years pass, Billy grows up, and things in Germany become ugly and dangerous. The formerly rich and powerful Weinbrenner family become the target of those full of hatred for Jews and their art collections, and eventually even their home, are taken by the Nazis. Billy has been trying to take Karin out of Germany and finally she agrees, when it's almost too late. Before they can leave, something happens that changes everything and the life that they had been planning to live is overshadowed by the horrific acts of Hitler's henchmen. Carry Me is a book that starts with characters eager for adventure and full of vibrancy and ends with the ache of lost loved ones and shattered dreams. It's a different sort of look at Germany in the time between the two wars, at the beginnings of the atrocities against the Jews, before they became so commonplace. This is not a short book but you will have a hard time putting it down once you begin. This was a book that I feel will stay with me.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Front Lines; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Grant Page; Review: In Front Lines, Michael Grant writes a slightly altered version of WWII, one in which women are not only allowed to serve but are also subject to be being drafted and forced to serve in the armed forces. Three of these females, two of which are too young to be called women, from different places, different races, and religions, are the focus of the book. The first is Rio. She's not yet 16 years old when she signs up for the army, lying about her age along with her best friend Jenou. Rio signs up because her sister has been killed in action and because Jenou has convinced her that the women will be given cushy office jobs. Next is Frangie, a tiny African American girl who joins up to help support her family, who are nearly destitute after her father was injured on the job. Frangie wants to be a doctor and hopes to be given a job as a medic. Our third woman is Rainy, a Jewish girl from New York, whose capabilities have landed her in Intelligence. She signed up to be able to put a stop to as many Nazis as possible. The book alternates chapters between Rio, Frangie, and Rainy, though it seemed to me that Rio is the main heroine of the book. Rio has a boyfriend from her small town in northern California that she writes to but also finds herself attracted to the red-haired Englishman serving in her troop (squad? platoon? whatever) Though she had hoped with her friend Jenou that they would be secretaries or drivers, somewhere out of harm's way, they end up on the front lines on northern Africa, firing on Italian and German troops. If this book wasn't YA, I would probably give it a lower rating. The feminist in me also wants to give it a lower rating. While the author clearly doesn't intend to in any way belittle the women in his book, the love triangle between Rio and her two men and Jenou's characterization as a boy-crazy flirt come make these two women seem flighty and weak. This isn't a love story. It's a book about war. I also found it difficult to suspend belief enough to accept that women would have been allowed into the armed forces in the 1940's, a time when women weren't even commonly allowed to wear pants, unless they lived on a farm. I think a little more of an alternate universe would have helped me. I did like that the women in the book were, for the most part, strong and capable and not about to take crap from anyone. The book also dealt with the race inequalities in the U.S. at the time, showing how much disrespect there was for people of color in the service, how white men would refuse help from a black medic. I think what I would like more is a book about what actually happened during WWII, with women actually doing quite a bit of war work, from deciphering codes to spying to nursing, there; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Chasing the Last Laugh: How Mark Twain Escaped Debt and Disgrace with a Round-the-World Comedy Tour; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Zacks Page; Review: Mark Twain found himself deeply in debt in his later years. After several bad business decisions and even worse investments, the popular author was at risk of losing everything. His wife and daughters were accustomed to a certain level of wealth and comfort and Twain was pained that their reduced circumstances were so especially hard on his wife. When no other options were available to him, Twain decided to tour the world, performing for crowds, doing "readings" that were not so much readings as performances. He told stories and had perfected his comic timing. He knew how to get a laugh, but it made him feel like a cheap clown. He wanted to be known for his more serious works, like his book on Joan of Arc. But he had to make money and this was the only option he had left. Along for the ride were his wife Livy and his daughter Clara. His two other daughters stayed in the U.S. with their aunt while Twain, Livy, and Clara toured first in the United States and then in Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa. They endured some horrible ocean voyages, rowdy crowds, and personal tragedy. All in all, Twain spent 5 years doing his show all over the world. This book is both highly entertaining and a little bit bogged down in detail. This book shares things about Twain I've never heard before I was glad to be able to read about them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Serpent King; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Zentner Page; Review: This book started out a little bit slow for me but by halfway through I was deeply invested in the lives of these teenagers and crying my eyes out. Dill is the son of a disgraced snake-handling preacher who is serving time for having child porn on his computer. He and his mother are barely scraping by, he's a target for bullies at school, and his mom would prefer he drop out of high school and work full time to help pay off the family's debt. Luckily, he has friends Travis and Lydia. Travis is a hard-core fan of a Game of Thrones-type fantasy novel, wears a dragon necklace and carries a staff. Lydia is a fashion blogger in rural Tennessee but has caught the attention of the rich and famous in New York and hopes to room with the daughter of a famous fashion editor at NYU. She keeps Dill looking good with vintage clothes at bargain prices and Dill loves her. While Lydia is the daughter of a dentist and has plenty of options in life, Travis and Dill have no plans to go anywhere. Dill will stay and work at the grocery store he now works at after school and Travis will keep working at the lumberyard owned by his abusive father. But Lydia wants more for her friends and doesn't understand why they don't want more for themselves. Then Dill makes some videos of himself singing and playing the guitar and his videos become popular and change the way Lydia sees him. This book is happy, sad, and inspiring and I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chasing the Last Laugh; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Zacks Page; Review: Mark Twain found himself deeply in debt in his later years. After several bad business decisions and even worse investments, the popular author was at risk of losing everything. His wife and daughters were accustomed to a certain level of wealth and comfort and Twain was pained that their reduced circumstances were so especially hard on his wife. When no other options were available to him, Twain decided to tour the world, performing for crowds, doing "readings" that were not so much readings as performances. He told stories and had perfected his comic timing. He knew how to get a laugh, but it made him feel like a cheap clown. He wanted to be known for his more serious works, like his book on Joan of Arc. But he had to make money and this was the only option he had left. Along for the ride were his wife Livy and his daughter Clara. His two other daughters stayed in the U.S. with their aunt while Twain, Livy, and Clara toured first in the United States and then in Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa. They endured some horrible ocean voyages, rowdy crowds, and personal tragedy. All in all, Twain spent 5 years doing his show all over the world. This book is both highly entertaining and a little bit bogged down in detail. This book shares things about Twain I've never heard before I was glad to be able to read about them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Charm Bracelet: A Novel (The Heirloom Novels); Author: Visit Amazon's Viola Shipman Page; Review: This book isn't terrible, it's just not for me. It's cheesy and insipid and the kind of thing plenty of women will probably love but it's full of stuff that makes me need to barf. Three generations of women, one not following her dreams, one starting to lose her memory and one girl unhappy with her college major. The grandma delivers wisdom, her daughter finds love, everything is great. Formulaic and predictable.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Contrary Motion: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Andy Mozina Page; Review: I had a really hard time getting into this book. Matt is a divorced father of one little girl who plays the harp and can't get an erection. That is really all you need to know about this book and if that sentence made the book sound interesting, then I've oversold it. The book is character-driven, with little happening in the way of plot but the problem is, I didn't really like the character or find anything about his life particularly interesting. While a male harpist might be rare, that doesn't make him interesting and while erectile dysfunction might be interesting, it isn't rare. Throw in a man who misses his ex-wife and daughter and you have half of American males. The writing was fine and other reviewers seem to have enjoyed this book but I just couldn't get into it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Loose Ends List; Author: Visit Amazon's Carrie Firestone Page; Review: This YA novel is a little irreverent, a little bit sad, and very entertaining. For those parents out there that want to know what their kids are reading, this book does have swearing, drug and alcohol use, and sex. None of it is gratuitous, the drug and alcohol use is not glamorized, and the swearing isn't ubiquitous. But if you're uptight about these things, you may want to skip it. If you do skip it, however, you will be missing out on a great read. Maddie is just graduating from high school and is looking forward to attending NYU in the Fall. Her summer plans included her best friends and her boyfriend and the usual summer activities of privileged teens, until her grandmother Astrid announces that she is dying of cancer and that she is taking the entire family on a cruise. This cruise is unusual. All of the passengers are either dying or family members of the dying. It sounds pretty depressing but the ship is a way for these people to spend their last days surrounded by those they love, being pampered, seeing the world, and when they are ready, when they have decided that the pain is too much, they are attended to by professionals who help them end their lives in a peaceful, pain-free way. The Loose Ends List is memorable for several reasons. The originality of the plot is one, the places described while the passengers are on their travels is another, but the most important and most memorable to me is the relationships that these characters had with each other. Each of Astrid's companions had a close and loving relationship with her and her death will be extremely difficult for each of them. This book reminded me that life is about 2 things (to me, anyway). First, it's about your relationship with your loved ones. Having family and friends that you love and who love you is the most important thing. Second, it's about experiencing life. Living doesn't mean waking up every morning, doing the same thing everyday, suppressing your feelings of dissatisfaction as you continue to do the same thing day after day, year after year. Life is about getting out there and experiencing what the world has to offer. This book reminded me to enjoy life and enjoy my family and that, to me, is a great book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Paperweight; Author: Visit Amazon's Meg Haston Page; Review: Stevie has been admitted to a facility that treats eating disorders and almost immediately regrets letting herself be talked into this. She tries to check herself out but learns that it isn't that easy. She doesn't want treatment. She wants to waste away to nothing. It began when Stevie's mother walked out on Stevie, her brother Josh, and their father. Then Josh died and being skinny wasn't enough anymore. Stevie wants to die, too, for what she considers her part in her brother's death. Once Stevie is in treatment, she is ashamed at being grouped with the bulimic girls. It makes her feel weak-willed. If she was stronger, she wouldn't have to binge and purge. She sees anorexia as a high achievement. Eventually Stevie becomes friends with her roommate. Ashley, who she had originally given the name Chubby Girl. She doesn't want to be like Ashley. She doesn't want to improve. She also doesn't want to be like Cate, a girl who has a feeding tube due to her continued refusal to eat. If Stevie is forced to have a feeding tube, she won't be able to die from starvation. Paperweight is disturbing at times but it gives the reader a look at what it's like to have an eating disorder and what a treatment facility might be like. I don't know if the author has any personal experience but the everything seemed pretty accurate, including why a person might develop an eating disorder. Hopefully, any young girls who read this book will see that being thin isn't the answer to their problems and that being healthy, mentally and physically, is preferable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beasts and Children; Author: Amy Parker; Review: Beasts and Children is a collection of short stories about some pretty dysfunctional families. While the stories are well-crafted pieces of literature, it seems they are written to disturb. The stories made me sad. There was a theme of animal abuse throughout, not something the author is championing or glorifying, but still, a thing that made me sad. Children were abandoned, women were mistreated, bad stuff happened, as it does in real life. If you're looking for happy little stories, look elsewhere. If you want to read something that will make you ponder what life is like in other places, for other people, a book full of stories that don't end happily, all tied up in a little bow, then these are for you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ecliptic: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Benjamin Wood Page; Review: While reading the Ecliptic, I thought I had a pretty firm grasp on what was happening. Only at the very end did I realize I had been so thoroughly deceived, in a good way. It reminded me of the book I Am the Cheese, a book I read 30 years ago and still think about. Portmantle is a retreat for artists who have reached a degree of fame and/or fortune but are creatively blocked. They have to be considered exceptional before they will be allowed entry. It's residents include artists, playwrights, musicians, architects, any person whose creativity and talent need some nurturing. It is on an island off of Turkey and it's location is a secret. It's very existence is known only to those who have spent time there. To be allowed inside the gate, one must have a password. Those seeking to stay at Portmantle must follow rules and leave all personal items outside. Knell is a painter in residence at Portmantle. She's been there ten years when she and her fellow artists are thrown by the arrival of a 17 year-old boy. Who is this boy and how can he have the credentials to be here? What is his art? He has a guitar...is he a musician? Knell feels a motherly affection for the boy and is concerned by his behavior. Interspersed with chapters about Knell's life at Portmantle are chapters about the beginning of her career and how she came to be at Portmantle. She began as an artist's assistant and eventually her paintings were considered better than his and he disappeared from her life. As her success builds, so does her stress and her inability to paint anything she can be proud of. I can honestly say that without going back and reading a large portion of the book, I will remain confused about a few things about this book. That's not a bad thing. The complexities and confusing nature of this book didn't take away from it. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and will probably read it again someday.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Translation of Love: A Novel; Author: Lynne Kutsukake; Review: Aya and her father were forced to return to Japan after being released from the internment camp they'd been forced to live in during the war. Aya knew only a little Japanese, learned form the soft voice of her mother who had died while interned. Now in Japan, Aya is lost. Her Japanese isn't good enough, her father works all day, and the place they live in dirty. Fumi is waiting for her sister to come home. Soon after the end of the war, her sister Sumiko went to work in the city, dancing with GIs so she can earn money to buy food and medicine for Fumi and their parents. She used to visit but Fumi hasn't seen Sumiko for a long time and she misses her. The two girls meet at school and, in the beginning, Fumi is cruel to Aya. Eventually, Fumi sees the value of having a friend that can speak English and the two become best friends. Fumi tells Aya about her sister and asks Aya to write a letter to General MacArthur, asking him to help her find her sister. The girls try to deliver the letter to MacArthur themselves but are intercepted. They meet Matt, a Japanese-American working as a translator for the occupying army and Matt promises to help. Fumi gives Matt the only picture she has of Sumiko to help in his search for her. When office mate and fellow Japanese-American Nancy learns of the quest, she offers to help. The book tells a little bit about what occupied Japan was like after the war and also how terrible it must have been to be an American or Canadian of Japanese descent during the war. Being Japanese meant being stripped of your land, your belongings, and being sent to live as a prisoner. After the war, people lucky enough to return to their former lives found that their land, their homes had been taken from them and weren't going to be given back. Others were forced to leave, to "return" to Japan, even if they'd never lived there. The hardships these innocent people were forced to endure are an often overlooked part of the war and it was this aspect of the book that I found the most interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: No Fears, No Excuses: What You Need to Do to Have a Great Career; Author: Larry Smith; Review: With the title of this book being about fears and excuses, I really hoped this book would focus on the fears and excuses that keep us from having a great career. This book is about finding your passion and turning it into a career. That would be super helpful if the passions-turned-careers in this book were not jobs like HR specialist, landscaper, accountant...are those really passions? I guess they are. I was hoping the book would help me turn my passion into a career by helping me overcome my fear of failure and destroy all the excuses I have for not going for it. There were little bits about fears and excuses at the end of the book, almost as an afterthought. My passion is books. I read them constantly and would like to write them. My problem is a deeply ingrained fear of failure, started by my mother who felt that if I never tried anything, I would never get hurt when I failed. This led to not only my fear of failure but a complete lack of self-confidence. Even my mother thinks I will fail! This review is quickly turning into a little therapy session so I'm going to get back to my point. If your passion is a regular job that you have the skills for or you are able to obtain those skills in some way (school, vocational training,...) then there is no reason you shouldn't have a great career in a field you are passionate about, and this book may help you find that career. It didn't help me get over my fears or negate any of my excuses, but again, it may take a lot more than a book to accomplish that.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: One-in-a-Million Boy; Author: Visit Amazon's Monica Wood Page; Review: Ona Vitkus is 104 years old and still living in her own house. When the Boy Scouts bring over a boy to some some work around the house, she assumes he'll be more or less useless, like all the boys who've come before him. But this boy is different. He's not only helpful, he's also kind and interested in her life. Others may find his differences odd or annoying but Ona sees how special he is. When a man comes to the house to finish up the work the boy started, Ona is annoyed. Where is the boy? The man, Quinn, looks a little like the boy and must be his father. She doesn't want the father, she wants the boy. Quinn is a guitarist who has long been hoping to make it in the rock world. After impregnating the boy's mother, he gave marriage a shot (twice) but didn't seem cut out for it and he was cut out for fatherhood even less. Now, his boy has died before Quinn even got to really know him and his ex-wife has asked him to finish the job with the old lady. Quinn and Ona gradually get to know one another and Ona reveals that the boy had been helping her research becoming a record holder as the oldest person with a driver's license and maybe, eventually, the oldest person alive. Quinn decides to take over this job, too. The book delves into the past of Ona Vitkus through tape-recorded interviews with the boy. He ask her questions and she finds herself telling him things she's never told anyone, about running away to join the circus at 14 and returning, pregnant and alone soon after. About her Lithuanian parents and their desire for her to speak English, even if it meant they were unable to communicate with her. About the woman who taught her everything and who adopted Ona's son and took him to Vermont. About Ona's husband, a man who fathered her 2 other sons and who she never loved. In the end, Ona helps Quinn almost as much as Quinn helped Ona. They become friends and then they become the family that both lack.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Bed Moved: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Rebecca Schiff Page; Review: The stories in The Bed Moved are funny and sad. I don't mean that some are funny and some are sad. The stories, almost all of them, are both funny and sad, and that makes it a pretty good portrayal of life. In one story, girls fight for the affections of a dying, married man. In another, a girl finds her dead father's porn. Multiple characters have sad, disappointing, sex. Pity sex. There's a lot of cancer, a lot of flawed parents, and a lot of humor. Some are outrageous, yet say a lot about modern society, like the story Rate Me. Funniness and sadness aside, the stories are well-written, irreverent, and entertaining, even when discussing the mundane.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All the Winters After; Author: Ser Halverson; Review: Kache is returning to Alaska for the first time in 20 years. His grandmother Lettie is in a nursing home and his aunt Snag tells him she probably won't be alive much longer. Kache left Alaska soon after the plane crash that killed his parents and his older brother Denny and hasn't been back since. He also hasn't played the guitar since then, a fact his friends and family find hard to believe. He arrives to find that his grandmother is in better shape than he had been led to believe and that his aunt Snag had not been taking care of his family's cabin, as he had been led to believe. She hadn't been there once in the twenty years he'd been gone and Kache was sure he'd find the place in shambles. When he arrives, he finds a woman named Nadia living there. He frightens her and only when she realizes who is is does she agree to talk to him. She is an Old Believer, a member of a Russian sect of Christians that strictly eschew modernity and any changes to their religion. She has been living in the cabin for the last 10 years and has been looked after by Lettie. Before Lettie went to the nursing home, she brought Nadia a puppy and a truckload of toilet paper and Nadia is happy to learn that Lettie is still alive. Nadia and Kache work together, eat together, and eventually, fall in love. It's all very nice but it's also quite predictable. Nadia fills Kache in on why she left her family and why she's in hiding. She decides she'd like to go to college someday but knows that she'll need documents, like a birth certificate. Kache and Nadia return to her village and her family, where she was thought dead for all these years. I thought the brief account of her return to her family could have been longer, more detailed. The end of the book is not as predictable as the rest of it, which I appreciate. The book isn't bad and I struggled between 3 and 4 stars but in the end, I had to think of the number of times I rolled my eyes while reading the book and realized it was a few too many for a 4 star review.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Birds; Author: Tarjei Vesaas; Review: Brother and sister Mattis and Hege live together in a cottage by the lake. Hege takes care of Mattis, who thinks a little differently and finds it difficult to perform tasks correctly. When helping a farmer pull weeds, he finds himself uprooting the turnips instead. Hege knits sweaters to support them. One night, Mattis notices that a woodcock has changed its flight pattern and now flies over their house. He finds this remarkable and wants Hege to be as amazed as he is. Hege doesn't find it all that interesting. When a boy kills the woodcock, Mattis is deeply saddened. He and the woodcock had been writing to each other. No the woodcock was dead and Mattis buried him. When Mattis takes his boat onto the lake one day, he meets some kind girls who rescue him after his boat has filled with water. He decides to become a ferryman with his patched up boat, to try to meet more nice people. One day, he meets a man who needs his ferry services. Mattis ferries this man, Jorgen, across the lake and to his house. Jorgen rents their attic to live in while he works as a lumberjack nearby. Things begin to change around their house. The changes make Hege happy and Mattis nervous. He doesn't want Hege to leave him. This book is rather a simple one but I enjoyed it all the same. It served as a reminder, if a reminder was needed, to be kind to everyone. A man may be considered simple or slow but that doesn't mean that he should be treated any differently than anyone else. The simplest kindnesses meant the world to Mattis. The book has a not-so-happy ending, although things are left somewhat ambiguous, and the actual end is not really known. The reader can decide how things end for Mattis.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Before the Wind: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries); Author: Visit Amazon's Jim Lynch Page; Review: I was interested in this book because: a) I just moved to the Seattle area and the author lives in Olympia and the book is about the Seattle/Olympia area, and b) I love boats and would love to own a boat yet know nothing about sailing and have to take Dramamine and wear Seabands if I'm even going to look at a boat. This book went way beyond my expectations, with a family dynamic that reminded me a bit of the Royal Tennenbaums, which I consider a huge plus. This wasn't just a book about a family that builds and sails boats in the Pacific Northwest. This was a book about family, about love, about physics and astronomy and math and sailing and helping those around you without expecting anything in return. It gave detailed reasons not to own a boat and it didn't dissuade me one bit. Josh Johannssen, and his siblings Bernard and Ruby are part of the Johannssen boat designing family. His father and grandfather, Bobo Jr. and Bobo Sr. have sailing in their blood. The three siblings were raised sailing but the most gifted sailor in the family is Ruby, who seems to be able to find wind when there is none. Their mother is a high school math teacher who loves astronomy and Einstein and has little use for sailing. Their father lives for sailing and wants nothing more than to regain the lost glory to the Johannssen name. When his children have other plans, his dreams are crushed and he makes riskier and riskier boats to make up for it. Our narrator is Josh, a single man in his early thirties giving internet dating a try, much to the amusement of his co-workers at the shipyard. No one seems to be interested in a man living on a run-down boat in a run-down marina, who has permanently dirty fingernails and who doesn't even own a car. But what Josh lacks in material wealth he more than makes up for with his kindness, his willingness to help others on the marina fix their own dilapidated boats, even if he knows they can't pay him. To me, his only imperfection is his lack of a dog. Josh is the glue that holds his family together, though his sister and brother left long ago and rarely get in touch. There are no huge events in this book and it was perfect without them. I can't put into words, exactly, why I enjoyed this book so much. I only know that I did.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Just Life: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Neil Abramson Page; Review: There were parts of this book that I loved and parts of this book that I found a little too cheesy. If I could I think I'd give it 3.5 stars. Sam is a veterinarian who runs a shelter for dogs. Her career goals changed the day she graduated from veterinary school and learned that her father was not the hero she thought him to be. To make up for some of the evil done by her father, Sam decided that saving homeless dogs was more important than working as a vet. She is aided in this dog-saving endeavor by a random bunch of misfits, including a boy just out of foster care, a former psychiatrist who is working for Sam as part of her parole, a priest with Alzheimer's, a good NYC cop, and a few others. They live and work in Riverside, a neighborhood of New York City. When young children begin dying of some unknown disease in Riverside, people start to panic. The assumption is that the disease is an animal-born pathogen, like the bird or swine flu. When the deaths are linked to rabies, specifically to rabies carried by dogs, panic sets in and different political factions begin warring over what should be done. The governor wants to quarantine and kill the dogs if necessary but the mayor of New York City knows that the governor is using this as an opportunity to gain political points and is pushing back against his machinations. Dr. Jaclyn Morgan, also a veterinarian, seems to somehow have something to do with what is happening and Sam and her crew have to figure it out before it's too late and all the dogs they are trying to save are put to death. I love dogs and I love books about dogs. Parts of this book had me ready to open my own animal shelter to try to save as many dogs as possible from living scared and alone in a cage until their time ran out. There were parts that were very touching, like the priest visiting dogs that were about to be put to sleep and giving them one good day before their time was up. If the entire book was like that, I would have enjoyed it more. The parts I didn't enjoy as much were the political parts and some extra difficulties thrown in in an effort to ramp up the tension but instead just felt extraneous. Also, the characters meant to be the bad guys in this book reminded me of the villains in an episode of Scooby Doo for some reason. Maybe my mind just correlated the two because Scooby Doo is a dog, maybe it's because today is April 20th and I've been celebrating and thinking of Scooby Snacks. Whatever, read it, don't read it....I don't care. If you can, adopt a dog. Adopt! Let's put breeders and puppy mills out of business.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Given World: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Marian Palaia Page; Review: Riley is a young girl in Montana when her brother Mick goes off to the Vietnam war and never comes back. Mick had been her best friend and his loss was not something she could get over. At 18, after watching another man she loved head off to war, Riley leaves Montana and heads west to the ocean. She ends up in San Francisco and that is where she stays, mostly. Riley is self-destructive. She abuses substances, gets injured at her job, stays with an abusive boyfriend,...she lives a hard life. Most of the book is taken up by Riley's history of bad decisions or the bad decisions of those around her. At the end of the book, Riley finally makes a couple of good decisions, that one hopes will help her to finally heal. The book is well-written and gives the reader and interesting look at San Francisco during a particularly difficult time and at Vietnam long after the end of the war. While I enjoyed it, it wasn't one of those books that you can't put down. For me, it was a book I had to keep making myself pick up. I think I wanted some closure for Riley and I knew that it would take a long time to get there.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Three-Martini Lunch; Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Rindell Page; Review: Three Martini Lunch is a book about New York City and the Village in the late 1950's and early 1960's. It was the era of beatnik poets and extensive use of a myriad of drugs. It was a time when racism and sexism was blatant and open and homosexuality was illegal. Eden Katz arrives in New York City from small-town Indiana with dreams of becoming a book editor. She has two letters of recommendation from a professor, one using her actual name and another with the name Eden Collins, in case she wants to keep her Jewishness a secret. She secures employment at one of the large publishing firms using her real name but soon learns that the woman that hired her is out to ruin her and that most people expect her to eventually give up her too-big dreams, get married and stay at home where she belongs. Cliff Nelson is the son of the editor-in-chief at another publisher. He's been cut off from his family's wealth after dropping out of Columbia. He wants to write and he doesn't need to attend college to become a writer. Miles Tillman is a black man about to graduate from Columbia. After being deemed gifted and highly intelligent by someone at his public school, he was awarded scholarships to attend a private school where he would receive a better education. Now that he is about to become a college graduate, he finds that he doesn't really fit in anywhere: too educated for his own neighborhood and too black to be able to find the kind of job he deserves. The three of them meet in the Village, along with a cast of lesser characters who all play more or less minor roles in the book. Eden and Cliff are casual acquaintances until the day Eden becomes ill at work and Cliff is there to catch her as she faints. After nursing her back to health, he finds that he likes spending time with her and eventually they marry. They keep their marriage a secret from their families, especially Cliff's family, since Eden works for Cliff's father after being fired from her first job. Eden believes in Cliff's ability to become a great novelist until she reads what he has written. If his terrible writing were his worst flaw, things might have been okay. Unfortunately, Cliff is a rotten SOB who will stop at nothing to become published and to prove to his father that he isn't worthless. Miles, meanwhile, has been given a task by his mother. His late father kept a journal as he fought during WWI and again during WWII. His father left the journal in a locker in San Francisco before shipping out the last time and his mother wants him to find it. After an extremely disturbing incident takes place at Cliff and Eden's place, he decides to go. Miles works to save money for the bus to San Francisco and for lodging once he arrives. It seems, at first, that he will be unable to find the journal until; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: This is the Part Where You Laugh; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Brown Hoffmeister Page; Review: Travis has not had an easy life. He doesn't remember his father and it's been a while since he's seen his junky mother. He lives in a trailer on the edge of a lake, half of which is surrounded by the homes of the wealthy and the other half of which has more trailers like the one he lives in with his grandma and grandpa. When his grandma is diagnosed with cancer, Travis does something he thinks will giver her something to think about and talk about that will keep her mind off the cancer. He releases 2 crocodiles into the lake they all live next to somewhere in Oregon. It's summer and Travis and his best friend Malik, better known as Creature, are working out, shooting hoops, and getting ready for the next basketball season at their high school. Travis had been thrown off the team the year before for punching someone on the opposing team who made a comment about his mother. Now Travis needs to keep his nose clean if he wants to play. A new girl moves into one of the nicer houses nearby and she and Travis become close. She is also an athlete, healing from an ACL torn while playing soccer. She has a creepy step-father she is trying to steer clear of and she and Travis begin spending more and more time together. I don't want to give away the plot of the book but I will give you a heads up about a few things. There is drug use and teenage sexual activity in this book. There is homelessness, poverty, sickness, and death in this book. There is also first love, true friendship, and a sweet kid who wants to help everyone he loves but who has a hard time controlling his anger. I'm giving this book 3 stars for a couple of reasons. 1. The release of crocodiles into the lake was not necessary to the plot and I didn't like how cavalier Travis was about the fact that they were eating his neighbors' pets. He didn't seem to feel bad about that at all. If you want to do something to entertain your sick grandmother, I can think of way better ways. It seemed really pointless to me. 2. The stories about Russian princesses written by Malik seemed out of place, a little inappropriate, and not at all interesting to me. After the first few, I began skipping them. They also seemed to add little and were not at all necessary to the plot of the book. 3. Travis seems to have a problem with his grandfather using medicinal marijuana but doesn't seem to think it's a big deal that he is taking his grandmother's percocet and other drugs to fight her pain. Maybe the author thought it would be obvious to the reader that Travis was being ignorant and/or hypocritical in his drug use but I think, as this is a young adult novel, that it would have been useful to point out that prescription pain medications can be far more; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Britt-marie Was Here (Thorndike Core); Author: Visit Amazon's Fredrik Backman Page; Review: Britt-Marie is looking for a job. Her job was looking after her husband Kent but Britt-Marie could no longer overlook the fact that Kent was involved with another woman so she left. Now she is at the employment office, asking for help in finding a job. Britt-Marie is lacking in social skills and is not only offensive to the poor girl trying to help her, she doesn't seem to realize when she is being asked to please go away. A position is found for Britt-Marie in the town of Borg. It's no longer much of a town...more of a couple of buildings and some houses on the road to somewhere else. Most of the businesses have closed down. Britt-Marie's job is to run the recreation center until it can be shut down like the rest of the businesses in Borg. The first person Britt-Marie meets in Borg is an alcoholic woman in a wheelchair that she refers to only as Somebody. Somebody runs the pizza shop, the small market, the post office, and a few other businesses all inside the same little building. She is even the one to fix Britt-Marie's car when it blows up. When Britt-Marie first arrives, she's not really sure what she's supposed to do but the building is filthy so she cleans it...constantly. She's not good with people and does her best to keep her distance but somehow she ends up as the soccer coach for a group of kids. She even has a man interested in her. She becomes more and more competent on her own and even assembles IKEA furniture without help. Just as Britt-Marie thinks she couldn't be more surprised, her husband shows up in Borg. This book is about a woman (who seems as though she may be on the autism spectrum), who has lived all of her adult life taking care of one man and when her life changes abruptly, against all odds she ends up creating a very happy and fulfilling life for herself. She goes from being a huge pain in the butt to being someone adored by all around her. She makes a difference in a town that had given up all hope and she learns that she is needed, wanted, and loved. The book was entertaining and touching and reminded me that it's never too late to live the life you've always wanted.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Honeymoon: A Novel of George Eliot; Author: Visit Amazon's Dinitia Smith Page; Review: The Honeymoon is the story of George Eliot's marriage to a man 20 years her junior and how it came to pass. Born Marian Evans, Eliot became famous for her popular novels, written under a pseudonym at a time when women authors were taken less seriously and so Eliot could maintain her privacy. Her novels were so popular, however, that people demanded to know the real person behind the pen name and soon she was a very famous and easily recognized author. Growing up, Eliot (as I will continue to refer to her) lost her mother at a young age. She later lost the love of her brother Isaac, whom she adored, first when she denounced her faith and later when she and George Lewes began living together as husband and wife, even though Lewes was already married. In Lewes, Eliot found what she had always been looking for: someone to love and adore her and someone to take care of her. They were not just lovers; Lewes also helped Eliot with her writing and was himself a writer, though not of fiction. When something was lacking in her stories, Lewes always seemed to know what they needed. The true story of the Honeymoon comes about after the death of Lewes, when Johnnie Cross, a man Eliot and Lewes had always thought of as a nephew (though there was no relation between them), began courting Eliot. Cross was 39 years old to Eliot's 60 and Eliot at first refused. Eventually Cross was able to convince Eliot to marry him. Johnnie had always been kind and doting but while in Venice he began to act strangely, even a bit violently toward Eliot. When things reach a dangerous point, Eliot summonses Cross's brother and only then does Eliot learn the truth about her handsome, young, new husband. I was wondering, before reading this novel, if a book about George Eliot could hold my interest. The author does a very good job of alternating past and present to keep the reader in suspense. I learned that I didn't really know a thing about Eliot's life and that she was far more interesting than I would have ever given her credit for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Missing, Presumed: A Novel (Manon Bradshaw); Author: Visit Amazon's Susie Steiner Page; Review: If I could give this book 4.5 stars, I would. It's not just a mystery...it's got humor and a lot of other qualities not often found in a mystery novel. Edith is a grad student at Cambridge, living with her super attractive boyfriend, living off her wealthy father's money, when she suddenly goes missing. In the hunt for Edith, secrets about her personal life come to light, damaging some of the people closest to her. DS Manon Bradshaw and her colleagues are on the hunt for Edith, finding few good leads but a couple of strange connections between Edith and an ex-con and a man who smuggles people for a living. Along the way to solving the case there are many twists and turns and all the secrets come out, and they aren't what you're expecting. The misadventures of Manon's dating life added a humorous side to the book, though her desperation was also a little sad. The author evokes a bit of a Hot Fuzz vibe in the police station (if you haven't seen Hot Fuzz, stop reading this review and go watch it right now), which I enjoyed.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Reliance, Illinois; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Volmer Page; Review: Madelyn and her mother Rebecca arrive in Reliance, Illinois under false pretenses. Rebecca is Madelyn's beautiful mother, who has found herself a husband through an ad in a newspaper. Madelyn feels ugly next to her mother, largely because of the large wine-colored birth mark that covers part of her face and body. When they meet Mr. Dryfuss, Rebecca's intended, he is surprised that there are 2 women arriving for him to support but he suggests that they go to the courthouse immediately, so he must not be too upset by it. Madelyn is not happy living in Mr. Dryfuss's home. She's made to work hard, as is her mother, and she no longer shares a closeness with her mother. What she does like is William Stark, a man who lives at the Dryfuss home, though Madelyn isn't sure why. Mr. Dryfuss certainly doesn't seem to like him much and the way he looks at Madelyn's mother is hardly appropriate. But there's something about him that Madelyn finds alluring and she becomes his shadow (or stalker, if you're feeling less generous). Eventually, Madelyn goes to live and work at the home of a former actress, Miss Rose, whose father was the founder and three times the mayor of Reliance. Her father is old and unwell and it is Madelyn's job to read to him and to help the nurse care for him. In return, Madelyn receives not only room and board but an education as well. In charge of her education is Mrs. French, a suffragette who lost her sons and husband to the Civil War and the Great Chicago Fire, respectively. She lives with Miss Rose, and together, the two of them try to educate a few of the women in town about a form of birth control called the womb veil, which I assume is something like a diaphragm. When Miss Rose's father dies, secrets come to light that changes the lives of all of the main characters. The mighty fall and the humble are raised up. Reliance, Illinois is a book that illustrates how much more difficult it would have been to have been a woman in the time just after the Civil War. Though we still haven't reached true equality, it's difficult to imagine how women put up with all the crap they had to deal with before they could vote.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paris Stories (Everyman's Library Pocket Classics Series); Author: Shaun Whiteside; Review: Paris Stories is a collection of stories about Paris (duh). The collection contains selections from books by Rabelais, Balzac, Victor Hugo, Emil Zola, Flaubert, among many others both well-known and not so familiar. Some were written as early as 1534 and the most recent written in 1991. Some are excerpts of books, like the selection fro Les Miserables and some are short stories. Most are written by French authors but there are also excerpts by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Djuna Barnes, among other non-French writers. My favorite of all was a short story by Guy de Maupassant called A Parisian Affair. A woman who can imagine nothing more wonderful and cosmopolitan than the city of Paris. She is sure that there are many debauched orgies going on and imagines that she would like to be a part of it all. She and her husband live in a small town but she manages to secure an invitation from distant relatives to spend some time with them at their home in Paris. While there, she manages to make the acquaintance of a famous writer. She spends the entire day with him, doing with him exactly what he does on an average day. Only after she has gotten exactly what she always thought she wanted does she realize it isn't what she wanted at all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Anatomy of a Soldier: A Novel; Author: Harry Parker; Review: Anatomy of a Soldier is unlike any book I have ever read. The narrators of the book are objects, many of them belonging to a British soldier, named Tom, that tell the story of Tm's tour of duty, his injuries, and his recovery. These objects include a beret, his boots, a wheelchair, dog tags...we are told the story from their perspective. The story also includes the viewpoint of objects belonging to the people living in the country where the soldier is fighting and they describe, mainly, the actions of two former friends, Latif and Faridun, one of which fights for the rebels and the other works for his father, who has tried to work with the soldiers who have come to his country and is therefor seen as a traitor. The interesting thing about viewing the events that take place through the objects is, there is not an emphasis on good guys and bad guys. Everyone is trying to live their lives. Some feel they have a duty to fight in a country that is not their own, but a reason they feel that way is not given. Others feel that they must fight against the soldiers that have come to fight in their country. The objects telling the story are not biased. They do not praise one and condemn the other, which leaves the reader to perhaps question which side is in the right. We are able to see that the situation is not black and white, good vs. evil.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Run; Author: Visit Amazon's Kody Keplinger Page; Review: Agnes has always been an ideal child as far as behavior is concerned. She goes to church without complaint, she doesn't talk back to her parents, she doesn't drink or go to parties or do any of the things that cause a parent of a teenager concern. She's never really had the opportunity to do those things because she is legally blind. She can see shapes and lights but details are lost on her. Her friend Christy has never invited her to the parties she goes to because she doesn't want to have to lead her around. All of this changes when Agnes begins spending time with Bo Dickinson. Bo's family has a reputation and it isn't good. Everyone at school thinks Bo is a slut (their word, not mine) and they talk about her behind her back and to her face. Agnes doesn't care about any of it. Bo is nicer to her than her so-called best friend ever was and she knows that she can depend on Bo. The two of them go from virtual strangers to best friends virtually overnight. When Bo's mother is arrested for drug use, Bo and Agnes decide to run away so Bo won't end up in foster care again. But Bo is keeping a secret from Agnes that damages the trust Agnes had in her and changes their relationship. Run is well-written and holds the reader's interest but, if you're anything like me, you'll have a difficult time reading something so full of grammatical errors. The errors are there on purpose, since that's the way the characters speak, but it was still jarring. If I had kids that had a difficult time with grammar, I probably wouldn't want them to read this and be further confused. I'm sure there are people who will read the book and it will sound perfectly natural to them because of where they're from but it may cause others a deep annoyance.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Drag Teen; Author: Jeffery Self; Review: JT is stuck in Clearwater, Florida, working at his parents' gas station and dreaming of going to college someday. His boyfriend, Seth and his best friend Heather want JT to follow his dreams and get out of Clearwater and Seth thinks he may have found a way. In New York City is a drag competition and the grand prize is a 4 year college scholarship. JT had attempted a drag performance once before, in his high school talent show. It didn't go so well. He was booed and laughed at and he has no desire to go through that again. On the other hand, he also doesn't want to work at a gas station for the rest of his life. In the end, Heather and Seth convince JT to give it a shot and the 3 of them head to New York. Their trip is filled with adventure, mishaps, and extremely lucky and unlikely occurrences. In the end, JT has discovered who he truly is and has learned to love himself. While there are a lot of entertaining parts of the book and while I appreciate the message of accepting and loving yourself for who you are, I can't give this book more than three stars because there are too many parts of the book that made me roll my eyes at how unlikely, coincidental, and convenient things were. I know it's a work of fiction and that things don't have to be likely to happen in real life. Still, I appreciate it when authors don't push it. As a 42 year old woman, I realize that I am not the target market for this book. Take that into account as you read my review.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Crow Mountain; Author: Visit Amazon's Lucy Inglis Page; Review: Hope and her mother Meredith have traveled from London to Montana so Meredith can study the ecosystem of something that clearly wasn't interesting enough for me to remember what it was. Meredith is a hardcore feminist and is more than a little bit controlling of her daughter. When they arrive at the airport, Cal Crow, the sexy and slightly-older-than-Hope cowboy is there to drive them out to the ranch that he lives on with his parents, where Meredith and Hope will be staying. On the ranch, Hope finds a diary belonging to a girl named Emily who also came to the U.S. from London, a long time ago. Soon after the end of the Civil War, Emily sailed from London to the United States and is now traveling by coach to reach Portland, where she will meet the wealthy man her equally wealthy parents have arranged for her to marry. On her way west, her coach is overturned and all of her companions are killed. A mysterious man saves Emily from the overturned coach and attends to her wounds. His name is Nate, and at first she's unsure whether or not she can trust him. The book has chapters that alternate between past and present, the stories of Cal and Hope and Emily and Nate. There are similarities between the stories, coincidences that may have been meant to enhance the story. To me, the coincidences are too convenient. While I found the bulk of the book interesting, by the end I was a little disappointed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Unbecoming; Author: Visit Amazon's Jenny Downham Page; Review: Katie is a teenage girl going through a bit of a crisis when she finds out she has a grandmother named Mary. Katie's mother Caroline has been estranged from Mary for most of her life, having been raised by Mary's sister Pat. Now, Mary is alone and seems to have a bit of Alzheimer's and it is up to Caroline to care for her mother. She has no desire to have Mary in her life and she is trying to find other options, a rest home, anything, in order to get rid of her. Caroline has enough on her hands with her special needs son and a teenage daughter, especially now that her husband has left her for a much younger woman. Caroline is bitter toward Mary for abandoning her as a baby and then returning to disrupt her life as a child. Katie, on the other hand, enjoys Mary and is helping her remember her life by keeping a record of all the stories Mary tells her. Keeping track of Mary also helps Katie keep her mind off the fact that she is an outcast at school after kissing her best friend. Suddenly she is being ostrasized for being a lesbian, yet she isn't entirely sure what she is. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, telling the story of how Mary came to give up her child, against her will. The stories of the past are the more interesting parts of the book, though the author does a good job of weaving the past and present in a way that pushes the story forward without causing confusion.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: At the Edge of Summer: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jessica Brockmole Page; Review: When Clare's father dies when she is just 15, she is taken from her home in Scotland to live in France with a woman and man that were friends of her mother's when her mother, who ran off years ago, was attending art school. Madame and Monsieur Crepet welcome Clare into their home, a once grand castle that is now in a bit of disrepair. The Crepets have a son, 19 year-old Luc, and it doesn't take long for Clare to become quite enamored of him. Luc is equally enamored of Clare but sees her as a child and tries to keep his distance. Clare longs to be an artist, like her missing mother, and spends much of her time sketching. Monsieur Crepet had been a teacher at the art school Clare's mother and Madame Crepet had attended and he begins giving her lessons. Luc spends the time that he isn't at university or at his job as a waiter playing tennis with his German friend, Stefan Bauer. They are both very good at tennis and hope to one day play in the Olympics. Bauer is ruthless, not only at tennis. When he tries to get Clare alone, she does an admiral job of fighting him off. Soon after, her grandfather, after hearing of Clare's father's death, comes to collect her. She is sad to leave Luc but knows that her place is with her world-traveling grandfather. Luc and Clare send each other letters dutifully until one is unreachable in the jungles of Africa and the other is being pulled into war. The year is 1914 and Luc must fight the Germans. One night, he makes the mistake of trusting an old friend and loses a new friend and nearly his own life. While Luc is fighting, then recuperating, Clare is working on sculpting and painting masks that can be worn by soldiers whose injuries have badly deformed their faces. It is this work that brings the two of them together again. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two thirds of this book. It was interesting, well-written, and made me wish equally for a cottage in the french countryside and a life of adventure in Portugal and Morocco. I was less impressed by the last third of the book, with events that were much too coincidental to be believable. I realize that this is a work of fiction but even in a work of fiction, things shouldn't fall into place quite so conveniently.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sky Over Lima; Author: Juan Gmez Brcena; Review: Carlos and Jose are privileged members of Lima society in 1904. They're law students but neither of them has interest in studying law and they skip classes more than they attend them. What they want is to be poets, like the great Juan Ramon Jimenez, the Spanish master of poetry. They want his latest book of poetry but it isn't available in Peru so they decide to write to the poet, claiming to be a woman named Georgina. They put their poetic skills to the test, doing their best to woo the poet into giving them a copy of his book. When it works and they receive the book, they decide to take things a little further. They intend to make the poet fall in love with Georgina so he will write a poem about her. The author of this book writes beautifully and must be a bit of a poet himself. Apparently, this is a true story and these boys really did inspire the poet to write a poem for the imaginary woman he fell in love with. The book isn't all hearts and flowers-there are details of the social unrest and the huge economic disparity between the rich and the poor, in a time before the 8-hour work day and minimum wage, when you could work all day and not have enough money to buy more than a piece of bread. Carlos, who I consider the protagonist of the story, seems to be more concerned about these things, though his father regularly beats his rubber plant workers to death without batting an eye. In the end, though, even Carlos seems to have lost most of his humanity for some reason.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dear Fang, With Love: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Rufi Thorpe Page; Review: Dear Fang, With Love is a novel primarily about Vera and her dad, Lucas. The Fang in the title is Vera's boyfriend, to whom she sends emails while she and her father are in Vilnius, Lithuania. Vera has been diagnosed as bipolar after having a bit of an episode at a party. Her never-married parents Lucas and Katya are concerned, maybe even a little panicked, and definitely at a bit of a loss. Vera is given medication and therapy, and though the meds are making her hair fall out, giving her zits and making her fat, her parents are relieved that she seems to be on a healthy trajectory. When her father is given the opportunity to travel to Vilnius, the birthplace of his grandmother Sylvia, for a history tour, he decides to take Vera along. While in Vilnius, Lucas and Vera become closer than ever before and Vera seems to be back to her old self, Lucas allows himself to relax, to believe that Vera is just fine. Vera believes it, too. I myself am a wee bit bipolar and could relate to this book on many levels. Some little things bothered me, like every time they said Vera HAS bipolar. She doesn't have bipolar.. She is bipolar. You can say a person has bipolar disorder but saying a person has bipolar is incorrect. Another thing that didn't sit right with me is how little hope Vera's parents had that she would ever have a life where she could do things like go to college, get married, have a job. There are different levels of bipolar disorder and there are definitely some that make any kind of "normal life" difficult. But people can and do have normal lives in spite of being bipolar. Medications can have a lot of horrible side effects but they also do a pretty great job of keeping the crazy away. I don't want anyone with serious mental health issues to read this book and think that going off their medication is the best option. It almost never is. Enough about me and my crazy...this book is funny and smart and touching and would be enjoyed by just about anyone in my opinion. Just read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sky Over Lima: A Novel - Kindle edition; Author: Juan Gmez Brcena; Review: Carlos and Jose are privileged members of Lima society in 1904. They're law students but neither of them has interest in studying law and they skip classes more than they attend them. What they want is to be poets, like the great Juan Ramon Jimenez, the Spanish master of poetry. They want his latest book of poetry but it isn't available in Peru so they decide to write to the poet, claiming to be a woman named Georgina. They put their poetic skills to the test, doing their best to woo the poet into giving them a copy of his book. When it works and they receive the book, they decide to take things a little further. They intend to make the poet fall in love with Georgina so he will write a poem about her. The author of this book writes beautifully and must be a bit of a poet himself. Apparently, this is a true story and these boys really did inspire the poet to write a poem for the imaginary woman he fell in love with. The book isn't all hearts and flowers-there are details of the social unrest and the huge economic disparity between the rich and the poor, in a time before the 8-hour work day and minimum wage, when you could work all day and not have enough money to buy more than a piece of bread. Carlos, who I consider the protagonist of the story, seems to be more concerned about these things, though his father regularly beats his rubber plant workers to death without batting an eye. In the end, though, even Carlos seems to have lost most of his humanity for some reason.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Highly Illogical Behavior; Author: Visit Amazon's John Corey Whaley Page; Review: Solomon hasn't left his house in three years. He suffers from terrible panic attacks and is agoraphobic. Lisa witnessed Solomon's last public meltdown that happened on his last day at a public school. Lisa is applying for a scholarship at the nation's second best psych program and believes that if she can cure Solomon, she will be able to write an essay that will win her the scholarship for sure. Clark is Lisa's boyfriend and all-around good dude. When Lisa tells Clark her idea about Solomon, he's not sure it's a good idea but he agrees to meet Solomon. Lisa and Clark become close to Solomon, and things are looking up. But will Solomon find out that Lisa is only spending time with him so she can get a full ride? Does Clark like Solomon more than he likes Lisa? Highly Illogical Behavior is a funny, sweet book that looks at what it's like to be a teenage boy with a mental illness. I think teens would find it both entertaining and informative and I appreciate that it isn't full of sex, drinking, or drugs and only a tiny bit of swearing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: June: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Miranda Beverly-Whittemore Page; Review: Cassie Danvers has inherited her grandmother June's house in St. Jude, Ohio, a place where nothing of note ever took place except the filming of a movie in 1955. Cassie was raised by June after the death of her parents when she was a child and the loss of June and the guilt she feels about a disagreement they had not long before June's death has left Cassie with no will to do much besides drink and sleep. She's living in her grandmother's house, the formerly grand edifice known as Two Oaks, and can't seem to bring herself to do anything about the fact that it's falling apart around her. She doesn't open any mail that comes or answer the landline and has tossed her cellphone in a river. So when a man comes knocking at her door one day, it seems most likely to her that he is there about some bill she hasn't paid. Instead, the man is there to tell her that she has just been named as the sole beneficiary in the will of a very famous, fabulously wealthy, recently departed actor named. The book is written in chapters about the past and the present, each with an equally interesting cast of characters. The chapters that take place in the past focus on the time during which a film crew came from Hollywood to film a movie that was set during the civil war and used many of the townspeople of St. Jude as extras. The two stars of the film each got a little more involved in the town and the chapters that take place in the present are dealing with the consequences of that involvement. While I think that 2 of the main characters, June and Cassie, could each have been a little more developed, I really enjoyed the book and though it was rather thick, I finished it in one day, unable to put it down once I had started reading it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Girls on Fire: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Robin Wasserman Page; Review: Girls on Fire is a dark look at two teenage girls' relationship as it descends into some pretty serious and messed up stuff. People either seem to love or hate this book. I am closer to the hate end of the spectrum. It was just too dark and too violent and too yucky. It's not the sex or the swearing that bothers me, though there's plenty of that. Set in the early years of grunge, with Kurt Cobain as Lacey's hero, the girls want something different than their boring town. They take teenage mean girl stuff to seriously scary levels. While the book is well-written and interesting, it's just a book that was too unpleasant for me to enjoy.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mother Knows Best (A Margie Peterson Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Karen MacInerney Page; Review: Margie Peterson has her hands full. Her husband secretly has a thing for drag queens, her daughter thinks she's a dog, wears a collar, eats from a bowl on the floor, and likes to growl at people, and her job at a detective agency has her getting in some pretty tight spots, which always end up being hilarious. I don't want to give anything in this book away but I will say that Margie does an admirable job of dealing with snooty parent's at her daughter's new school, is a super sleuth at discovering the motives for the murder of her daughter's school's headmaster, could have a future in hog-tying and probably wouldn't make the best stripper. The way Margie deals with circumstances that would make most of us run and hide is commendable and she's one of the best characters I've come across in a long time. I am definitely going to read all the other books in the series that came before and that may come in the future. The author does a great job of taking things that seem too ridiculous, almost slapstick in nature, and make them not at all hard to believe. Also, if my mother came to my house and threw out my Froot Loops and all of the edible food and tried to make my kids and I eat kale, I wouldn't have been nearly as patient as Margie managed to be with her mother. If Margie was a real person, I would love to hang out with her, even if it meant being falsely accused of murder. Okay, maybe not.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Between Black and White (McMurtrie and Drake Legal Thrillers); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Bailey Page; Review: In 1966, 5 year-old Bo Haynes watched as the KKK came for his father. He watched as they put a noose around his neck and hung him. He heard the voice of the leader and knew that it was his father's boss, Andy Walton. Not long after, Bo's mother ran off, leaving him to be raised by an aunt and uncle. Now, it's 46 years later and Bo is a successful attorney in the same town he grew up in, the town where his father was murdered: Pulaski, Tennessee, the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. His marriage is in bad shape and his wife has taken their two children to Huntsville, Alabama. To make matters worse, it's the anniversary of his father's murder and who should he run into but Andy Walton. Having had too much to drink, Bo can't help but threaten the old man who owns more than half the town and who never paid for what he did to Bo's father. The next day, Andy is found dead and it doesn't surprise anyone that Bo is the only suspect. Bo had been seeking justice for his father's murder his entire life and had just been heard threatening Andy. What is surprising to Bo is that there is strong physical evidence that he was in fact responsible for the murder. Bo's friend and former law professor Tom McMurtrie is the only man Bo trusts to get him out of this. Along with his partner Rick, Tom has to work to clear Bo and find the real murderer to keep his friend off death row. This book is the second in the McMurtie and Drake Legal Thrillers series. I didn't read the first one, the Professor, and I didn't feel like I was missing anything but I enjoyed this book so much that I plan to go back and read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Furious (Faith McMann Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's T.R. Ragan Page; Review: When Faith McCann is left for dead, she wakes in the hospital to find that her children have been kidnapped by the men that killed her husband and tried to kill her. As soon as she is recovered, she wants answers. Why aren't the police more organized? Why can't they tell her if they have any suspects? What is it going to take to get her children back? She doesn't feel they are doing enough to find her children and decides to take matters into her own hands. Along the way she makes some allies that help her track down and put the hurt on a child trafficking ring of dirt bags. This novel contains some pretty disturbing stuff. If a gruesome murder right off the bat isn't enough, there's the children being forced into the sex trade, being beaten, maimed, etc. I personally hate reading about that kind of thing and if you are sensitive, you may want to skip this one. Faith is a great character, a mama bear out to rip the throats out of anyone that hurts her children. Unfortunately, the book ends with a cliffhanger but I believe the next book in the trilogy is already out, making it less of a nuisance.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Summer Guest; Author: Visit Amazon's Alison Anderson Page; Review: When a London publishing company asks Ana to translate a diary from Russian into English, she had no idea who the diarist was or why her diary was important enough to be translated and published. As she began reading, she realized that one on the people our diarist, Zinaida, is writing about is the famous Russian playwright Anton Chekov. Zinaida and her family live in a peaceful country village in the Ukraine before the turn of the 20th century. Zinaida was a doctor before she was diagnosed with a brain tumor that has caused her to go blind. She and her family are renting part of their property for the summer and it is Chekov's family that stay there. While translating the diary, Ana learns that Chekov spoke to Zinaida about writing a novel, a novel which, if written, had yet to come to light. Ana grew excited at the prospect of also being able to translate an unheard of Chekov novel and wrote to the publisher, asking about the diary and the possibility of a novel. When she doesn't hear back from the publishers, she decides to go to Ukraine herself, even though it is now 2014 and Ukraine is full of violence. What she finds when she gets there is not what she was expecting. The Summer Guest is a novel that will make you wish you could go back in time and spend a summer in pre-revolution Russia, fishing in the lake with Anton Chekov, who, by all accounts was both charming and a total hottie. Alison Anderson has written a book that will both entertain you and cause you to compare yourself, most likely unfavorably, with an uncomplaining blind woman who is dying but living more fully than you in the meantime. Maybe that's just me.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: When Friendship Followed Me Home; Author: Visit Amazon's Paul Griffin Page; Review: Ben Coffin had been a foster kid most of his life. When he was 10, he was adopted by an older woman named Tess. Now he is 12 and several things happen to change his life. I don't want to give away the whole plot of this book so I will only mention a couple of them. First, he finds a stray dog that looks as though it is starving and as though it has had a rough time. He lures the dog home with him, feeds him, bathes him, and loves him. In return, the dog is completely in love with Ben. The second thing that happens is, Ben meets a girl. Her name is Halley and she is magical. He loves everything about her. I really can't say too much more without ruining it for you. There is a lot of sadness in this book but, even when things are their saddest, you know that everyone is going to be okay. I think it's a great book for kids ages 10 to 13, though kids older and younger may also enjoy it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Some Kind of Courage; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Gemeinhart Page; Review: When 12 year-old Joseph learns that the man he has been living with since his father's death has sold his horse Sara, he waits for the old drunkard to pass out, then takes the money he got for her, takes his father's pistol, and heads out to find her and get her back. Unfortunately, the man who bought her is a mean old cheat and even if he can track him down, the man is unlikely to sell Sara back to him. Along the way he meets Cheng, a Chinese boy that doesn't speak a word of English but who is obviously all alone in the world. Joseph knows that if he leaves Cheng where he is, he'll likely starve to death so Joseph gives Cheng some food and water and gets him to join him on his adventure. Together, the two of them have quite a wild time filled with several near-death experiences and a few other exciting events that you'll just have to read about. Even though they don't speak the same language, Joseph and Cheng save each other several times and become very good friends. When Joseph thinks he is about to finally catch up to his horse, another stumbling block occurs, this one perhaps the most dangerous of all. Will he be able to get Sara back? Will he make it out alive? Will she? You'll have to read the book if you want to know and you really should read it. It's amazing how strong and independent Joseph is, how honorable and caring, even when people have done him harm, he just wants to find his horse.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights; Author: Visit Amazon's Brooks Benjamin Page; Review: I am looking at all of the 5 star reviews of this book and feeling like there's something wrong with me. First of all, I am a 42 year-old woman and therefore not the target audience. I read a lot of children's and young adult literature, though, and none of them have left me feeling as completely lost as this one. Dillon wants to be a dancer. He and his "crew"...see, I can't even say that word without the quotation marks...are dance crews really a thing outside of crappy reality t.v. shows? I guess they are. It's just really hard for me to relate to. I have 5 teenage boys and 2 girls and nothing in this book even remotely relates to them at any stage of their lives. But I don't think they know any people like the characters in the book, either. I certainly don't. I've known plenty of girls who dance at dance studios, who perform and compete, and I have known 2 males who have danced at dance studios (because their father was the teacher and he made them). I don't live in a place where some teenage boys are going to think it's cool to dance. I'm sure those places are out there...I just have a really hard time picturing it, just as I had a hard time picturing 99% of what was taking place in this book. The way the kids spoke, acted, the things they did...completely foreign to me. Maybe it's a geographical thing but my kids and their friends have absolutely nothing in common with the characters in this book, except maybe the splitting of the pants.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Soft in the Head; Author: Marie-Sabine Roger; Review: Germain is a simple man with simple needs. His friends and his mother would probably say that his is a simple-minded man but really, he just never had a chance. His mother didn't want him and never had a good thing to say to him. His teacher called him an idiot and treated him like garbage. Really it's not surprising that he's 45 years old and can't really read. One day while Germain is in the park, about to count his pigeons, he comes across a small old woman, sitting on his bench, also counting his pigeons. When he realizes that she, too, is counting the birds, he realizes she is not like everybody else. Her name is Margueritte and she doesn't think of him as simple-minded, or, if she does, she doesn't talk to him as though he is. She treats Germain as though he is just as smart as she is, and he can tell that she is very smart, even before she tells him that she was a scientist. She always has a book with her and she offers to read to Germain. They start with the Plague by Camus and soon Germain realizes that he really quite likes books, even if he's never read one. In her sneaky and kind way, Margueritte gets Germain to fall in love with learning. His friends don't know what to make of him. He suddenly knows things. Soft in the Head is such a funny, touching, heart-warming book. I love the character of Germain. For a man who has always been treated like he is useless, he manages to be a sweet, kind, funny human being. Margueritte seems like the perfect grandmother, kind and patient and full of encouragement. It's a short book that I read in just a couple of hours but I will remember this book and these characters for a long time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Save Me a Seat; Author: Sarah Weeks; Review: Save Me a Seat is a cute book about what it's like to be different, to be a new student, and to be bullied. Ravi has just moved to New Jersey from India. He was the top of his class and is eager to show his new teacher just how smart he is. The problem is, Ravi's teacher and his classmates have a hard time understanding him, even though he is is speaking English and has been speaking English his whole life. His teacher wants him to see Mrs. Frost, the resource teacher and Ravi is crushed. The only thing that keeps his spirits up is that Dillon Samreen, the most popular kid in his class and an American-born Indian, keeps winking at him, which he is sure means that he wants to be his friend. Joe is also in Ravi's class. He's been in school with Dillon Samreen long enough to know that he is a bully and that he is also a kleptomaniac. Joe has a hard time with loud noises and sees Mrs. Frost to help him deal with his Auditory Processing Disorder. Unfortunately for Joe, his bullies have something new to tease him about, since his mom has just taken a job as a lunchroom monitor at his school. Also, his teacher doesn't seem to realize that his disorder makes it difficult for him to read in front of the class. Ravi and Joe get off on the wrong foot, when Ravi thinks that Joe is the bully in the class. When Ravi realizes it isn't Joe that's been picking on him but Dillon, he gets discouraged and wants to quit and move back to India. This is a great book for children that will hopefully teach them that people come in all different varieties but that we are all still people, that we all have struggles and hopes and dreams and feelings.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dreamology; Author: Visit Amazon's Lucy Keating Page; Review: Dreamology is the story of Alice Rowe. Alice has a dream boyfriend named Max. I don't mean that she has a boyfriend and he's dreamy or the boyfriend of her dreams. Max only exists in Alice's dreams. She's been dreaming about him since she was a little girl. Her dreams are always magical and they always include Max. When Alice's grandmother dies, she and her father move from New York to Boston to live in her grandmother's old house. At her new school is none other than Max. The Max. The problem is, Max doesn't seem to know Alice like she knows him and, even worse, Max has a girlfriend. Alice sets out to discover why she dreams of Max and why her dream life...things like floating above the ground...seem to suddenly be occurring while she's awake. This book is very original and extraordinarily entertaining. It also has the required teen love triangle, though this one may be more of a square. There are parts of it that reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, though I can't quite put my finger on why, aside from the magical realism in the book. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would bet most teenage girls will, too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Memory Book; Author: Visit Amazon's Lara Avery Page; Review: Sammie is a very ambitious high school senior who plans to win a big debate tournament, become valedictorian, and go to NYU next year. She's also just been diagnosed with a rare disease that will cause her to lose her memory, cause her body to fail, and will eventually kill her. But Sammie isn't going to let that stop her. She even has a boyfriend, Stuart. She hasn't told him about the disease. She doesn't want him to look at her differently. She has told her childhood friend Cooper, a friend she drifted away from when his main interest became smoking weed all the time. Luckily for her, Cooper is still looking out for her. Unless you have a heart of stone, this book is going to make you cry. You may think that's a reason not to read it. You would be wrong. This book is amazing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Julia Vanishes (The Witch's Child); Author: Visit Amazon's Catherine Egan Page; Review: The first in a new trilogy, Julia Vanishes is a book that will keep you reading until the very last page. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Julia and her brother Dek were children trying to survive on the rough streets after their mother was drowned for being a witch. A thief named Esme took them in, took care of them, and taught them to steal. Julia can pick a pocket, pick a lock, and con her way out of anything. She can also disappear. When she is asked to pose as a maid in a grand house in order to see what's going on and report back, she is unprepared for all that she discovers. This book is full of the supernatural, including witches, werewolves, and a trio of beings that are something I can't really explain. The book is very original and the plot will keep you wondering who is good, who is bad, and which group Julia really belongs to. There were elements of this book that reminded me of Harry Potter, which is the highest praise I can give it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hot Little Hands: Fiction; Author: Abigail Ulman; Review: I don't usually love collections of short stories. These are not your average short stories. They are full of girls and women making their way through life the best they can, though sometimes their best leaves much to be desired. My favorites were the three about Claire but I also enjoyed the story of a young woman who has given up on writing a book and decides to get pregnant instead. All of the stories have a bit of a shock factor to them. Some are quite sad. All of them are awesome.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Last Ride to Graceland; Author: Visit Amazon's Kim Wright Page; Review: Cory Beth Ainsworth is on a mission to find out if Elvis is her father. What makes her think Elvis was her father? A few things. Her mother was one of his back up singers, she knows that the man who raised her is not her father, and she just found one of Elvis's favorite cars in the shed behind her parents' house. Her mom has passed on, Cory is barely making ends meet singing in a local bar, and she's not really headed anywhere with her life. Then she finds the car. It's been sitting in a shed since 1977, full of clues about the last time it was driven. She asks her buddy to come make sure it's safe to drive, and after a bit of work, Cory is on the road to Graceland. Cory finds a lot of things and meets several people on her journey. She also acquires a dog. She sets out to find out who her father was but in the end, she learns a lot more about who her mother was, and a bit about herself as well. The book is well-written and original and a fun read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Blue Bath: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Waters-Sayer Page; Review: In the beginning, I had a difficult time getting into this book. Luckily, things picked up about a third of the way through the book and the rest of it was fantastic. Kat was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she met Daniel. They fell in love quickly and she moved into his artist's studio with him. He painted her and only her. Years later, Kat and her husband Jonathon are wealthy Londoners with a son named Will when Kat learns that there will be a show of Daniel's work. Jonathon is in China and Kat attends the show with her friend and discovers that all of Daniel's paintings are of her, as she was when they were together. Each painting is just a part of her. She is shocked and worried that people will recognize her in the paintings. Daniel asks her to meet him to discuss giving her a share of the profits. Kat is angered that he thinks she wants money from him. Daniel is angry that she left him all those years ago in Paris. Right about now is the place in the book when things start to get interesting in the book and I don't want to ruin anything for you so my synopsis ends here. The writing is wonderful, the characters real, the plot tense, and the ending....I'm not going to tell you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: And After the Fire: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauren Belfer Page; Review: I so wanted to love this book. I usually do enjoy most historical fiction and especially anything dealing with the Holocaust. And while this book did have some great moments, over all I was too distracted by the parts that weren't so great. Some things (like chapter 16) seemed to be added just for filler and I found these pages both unnecessary and insipid. I found the parts about the actual historical characters much more interesting that the sections of the book dealing with the modern-day characters and wish the author had concentrated solely on the historical aspect of the book. I think a book dealing entirely with Bach's anti-semitism, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, and Sarah Levy and her family would have been much more interesting, even if it didn't have the added drama of the Holocaust. I may be entirely alone in these opinions but that is my take on the book. Historical parts=good, not historical parts=meh; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Suffer Love; Author: Ashley Blake; Review: Suffer Love is the story of a boy and a girl who meet and fall in love but face odds not entirely unlike those of Romeo and Juliet. The characters are perfectly fleshed out and the writing is superb. This is a great new book for young adults.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ivory and Bone; Author: Visit Amazon's Julie Eshbaugh Page; Review: Kol and his brother Pek are worried about finding mates. It has been years since they've seen another clan with eligible daughters for them to marry and if they can't marry, what will happen to their clan. When a man and his two sisters arrive in their village, things begin to look up. Pek and Seeri seem to fall in love immediately but Mya seems to have nothing but disdain for Kol. When another clan lands on their shores, Kol hears the story of how one clan split to become two,and how it was Mya's family's fault. Lo, the girl who used to be friends with Mya, tells a story that turns Kol against Mya, until he sees the truth for himself. Though I was skeptical that the author would be able to pull off this young adult, almost romance novel in a prehistoric era, she did an amazing job. The book has mystery, violence, bravery, deception and lots of love. Once I started reading, I was hooked.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bones of Paradise: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jonis Agee Page; Review: It is ten years after Wounded Knee, not far from where the atrocities took place. When Ry Graver comes across 2 dead bodies, he feels it his duty to stop and investigate. Graver was on his way out of the sand hills of Nebraska after the death of his wife and children due to starvation when he comes across the body of J.B. Bennett, the only man in the area who did anything to try to help Graver's struggling family. The other body is a young Indian girl, clutching a locket. Graver's bad luck continues as he is suddenly under fire himself. After his old horse is shot and he is shot in the shoulder, he tries to mount J.B.'s horse but loses consciousness. When J.B.'s ranch hands find J.B and the dead Indian girl, they think it must have been Graver that shot them. Graver is still alive and they carry him back to the ranch to patch him up and question him. It doesn't take long for them to dismiss Graver as a suspect but if it wasn't Graver, then who was it? And why would they want to kill J.B.? And who the dickens is this young Indian girl and what is she doing with J.B. in the first place? From here we are given a story that combines the complex family dynamic of the Bennett's with the horrific tale of what took place at Wounded Knee. I love books that teach me things about the past, especially books that tell the truth about what happened and not the whitewashed version taught to kids that tries to always make it look like the United States government is not the bad guy. I don't remember being taught anything about Wounded Knee in school, but I'm sure if I did, it was nowhere near the truth. The way our government systematically killed off Native Americans should be taught about the way the Holocaust is. Our schools need to teach about the shameful, horrifying things our government did. They need to stop glossing over these events as though they were insignificant and we need to take responsibility for wiping out millions of people. Okay,...I'm done ranting. I may have just made it sound as though this book is a call for the white man to accept responsibility for these atrocities. It isn't, really. It's a story of greed and corruption and an ornery old man who comes between his son and his daughter-in-law, who believes it is his right to take his grandson and raise him with an iron fist, beat sense into him, and teach him how to be a man. It's the story of a girl, seeking revenge for the death of her mother. It was a great book and I highly recommend it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dinosaurs on Other Planets: Stories; Author: Danielle McLaughlin; Review: This is a very entertaining book of short stories, some lighter and than others but nearly all with something sad or desperate. Plots range from cheating husbands to middle-aged women throwing themselves at much younger men, to a young girl who pays her mink-farming father's bill for fish guts by sleeping with the fish gut purveyor. All of the stories have something of a universal truth about them. They may make you uncomfortable or sad but you will be able to relate to one part or another of most of these stories. They are the tales of humanity, in all of it's messy, stupid, jealous glory.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Summer That Melted Everything: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Tiffany McDaniel Page; Review: When the devil comes to Breathed, Ohio in the summer of 1984, he's not what one might expect. Instead of a menacing beast, when the devil comes to town he comes as a sweet 13 year-old black boy, one who still remembers what it was like to fall from God's grace. When Fielding Bliss finds the devil, who calls himself Sal, he befriends him and takes him home, where Sal is welcomed by Fielding's parents and brother Grand. Along with Sal comes an unbearable heat that contributes to a delirium over Sal. When a series of accidents take place in town, the Bliss family's neighbor, Mr. Elohim, begins spreading the word that it is Sal's fault. He becomes fanatical in his attempt to convince the townspeople that everything wrong with them should be blamed on this boy who claims to be the devil. Meanwhile, Sal is much more of a saint than a sinner, being a friend to everyone he meets. This book is so original and so unique and I loved every page, even when it made me cry. While the premise of the devil coming to down in the guise of a young boy is unlikely, the events that unfold are all too easy to imagine, when one person spreads lies and hatred about another person. While so many events in the book are heartbreaking or horrific, it also shows the good side of humanity in Fielding Bliss and his family.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Book of Harlan; Author: Visit Amazon's Bernice L. McFadden Page; Review: This book takes the usual horrors and hardships that the black communities of the U.S. have had to face and adds one more tragic experience to the list. In the face of racism, little education, and no money, Emma and Sam eventually move from Macon, Georgia to Harlem. Their son, Harlan, who has been living with his grandparents, joins them. They have a house, Sam has a job, and Harlan has found a love for the guitar. He learns quickly and in no time is playing for the band of his mother's best friend, Lucille, who has long had a successful music career. Harlan goes on the road and discovers women, alcohol, and weed. When he comes back to his parents, he is no longer the young innocent they sent out. He's had a taste of the life of a musician and he loves it. When Harlan meets a trumpet player named Lizard, they form a band and have a chance to travel to France to play in a jazz club. The year is 1939, Europe is unstable, and Lizard doesn't want to go. Harlan convinces Lizard that they'll be fine and the band travels to France. Everything is fine until one day it isn't...Germany has invaded France and no one is safe. The rest of the book contains the type of unimaginable horrors you read about in most books about the Holocaust, We are given an inside look at a concentration camp see the atrocities brought about by the Bitch of Buchenwald. I don't want to ruin the book for you by telling you anymore but I have to say something about the rest of the book. In it, we see horrible racism toward black people in New Jersey in the post-war era. Cops target black men, black families are only allowed to live in certain areas, white people treat their black neighbors as they would treat their worst enemies, all because of the color of their skin. It would be nice to think that these things happened a long time ago and that they are in the past but the sad truth is that racism is still rampant. Prisons are full of black men and women while white perpetrators get a slap on the wrist for the same crimes. Police kill unarmed black men and women all too frequently. In the book, Harlan makes a very good point. White people call black people protesting against injustice a riot but really it is a rebellion against those injustices perpetrated by white men and women. I am a white woman and I am so disgusted by the racism and the injustices that people are forced to endure simply because of the fact that they have a darker pigment to their skin. How can people be so horrible and so stupid? Anyway, enough of my rant. The Book of Harlan will stay with you a long time. I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Absalom's Daughters: A Novel; Author: Suzanne Feldman; Review: Absalom's Daughters is a book that at first seems to be firmly grounded in reality but veers off into the fantastical a bit. While I enjoyed the entire book, this little taste of magical realism was my favorite part. Cassie and Judith are half sisters. Everyone in town knows that Judith's white father slept with Cassie's black mother. Eventually, the two become friends and later on, they become as close as the sisters they are. When they learn that their no-good father is about to inherit the estate of a distant relative, they decide to find him and get their share of it. They pack up and leave Mississippi in a junky old car and head to Virginia. Cassie's neighbor Beanie Simms tells the girls to stop by Porterville on their way and it is in Porterville that the magic happens. Judith is a scrawny, illiterate white child who doesn't look like she'll amount to much but, in spite of her dreadful speaking voice, the girl can sing. Along the way, the girls use Judith's singing to get them invited for dinner and sometimes they're given a place to sleep for the night. Judith even begins to make money with her singing, and soon the plan isn't just to stop in Virginia. Judith plans to go to New York City, where she will be able to sing and be heard on the radio. Cassie isn't sure what she wants to do but once she has spent time in Virginia, she knows that she wants to get her mama out of Mississippi. The book takes place long before the south was integrated and the girls frequently have to pretend that Cassie works for Judith, which is interesting, because of the two, Cassie is far more educated and capable. Luckily, Cassie knows her value and, when given a choice, chooses to stay just the way she is.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Glorious Heresies: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa McInerney Page; Review: One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was that it was advertised as funny. I usually like dark comedy but this book was just too depressing for me. Nearly all of the characters have pretty dismal lives and the violence and poverty and drug use and all of the dark parts of the book seemed unending. If the plot were a little tighter I might have enjoyed it more but as it is I just found it a chore to read.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Champion of the World; Author: Visit Amazon's Chad Dundas Page; Review: Pepper Van Dean is a disgraced former lightweight world champion wrestler. He and his wife Moira were giving the good life until Pepper lost his title and they were forced to join a traveling circus in which Pepper would perform a potentially deadly trick. When they lose even this unsavory job, they are forced to join up with a man Moira blames for all of their troubles, Fritz Mundt. Mundt has got Garfield Taft, a huge black wrestler, and he wants Pepper to train him. Pepper doesn't know if any of this is legit, especially when Pepper realizes an old enemy is working with Mundt. Is anything as it seems or is there some con going on? It took me a long time to get into this book but I kept going because I had read other reviews that were nothing short of glowing. I was nearly 200 ages in before I really started to enjoy the book. I don't think I ever did enjoy it to the extent that other readers did but it is a well-written book and in the end, I did come to appreciate it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cooking for Picasso: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Camille Aubray Page; Review: Ondine learned to cook working in the family's cafe on the French Riviera. Her lover Luc has gone to make his fortune so he will be worthy of Ondine's hand and she hasn't heard from him in months. When a very special patron requests that the cafe have meals delivered to his villa, Ondine takes the hamper of food packed by her mother and rides her bike to the villa, where she discovers that the important patron is Pablo Picasso. Everyday, Ondine brings him his food everyday and eventually they become close. He asks her to pose for him and even paints a portrait of her that is far from his characteristic style and tells her that when he is finished, he will give it to her. They become lovers and then, suddenly, Picasso leaves her small town, leaving her without the painting he promised her but with what may be a much greater gift. Years later, Celine, Ondine's granddaughter, is trying to save her mother from her half-siblings. Her father has recently died and her mother allowed him to bully her into giving his son and daughter control over her and her estate. When she suffers a stroke, Celine's siblings put her mother in a rest home and she is powerless to help and isn't allowed to move her. Celine begins looking for some of her mother's favorite family heirlooms, only to find that her siblings have gotten rid of them all. What she does find, in her mother's secret hiding place, is an itinerary for a trip her mother was planning to take to the French Riviera, to take a cooking class from a celebrity chef at an old french farmhouse in the town where her mother was born. Her mother had planned to go with her sister-in-law and Celine decides to go in her mother's place to see what she was up to. Her mother would have never booked a trip unless she had a reason. The author weaves the past and the present well, sharing first the story of Ondine and Picasso and then Celine as she tries to solve a mystery and come up with a way to save her mother from the clutches of her half-siblings. In the end, she finds both a treasure, a man, and uncovers a secret she never could have guessed.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hidden Letters of Velta B.; Author: Visit Amazon's Gina Ochsner Page; Review: A young Latvian boy is summoned to his dying mother's bedside to hear his family's history. A great-grandfather was sent to Siberia for owning a Bible. A great-grandmother's letters reveal some of her inner turmoil. The characters in the book are beautifully realized and the writing is lyrical. Young Maris is named after his mother's disreputable uncle, whose shenanigans caused a rift between his mother's family and the family of her Jewish best friend. When a rich couple with many expensive German cars move in, with dreams of opening a Latvian Riviera, they give the villagers jobs but they also stir up anti-foreigner sentiments and jealousy over their wealth. There is no real central plot to this book. It's a tale of growing up in a post-Soviet Latvia combined with a the sad tales of a Soviet-era Latvia. In spite of a lack of plot, it's a wonderfully crafted story that is in turns joyful and heartbreaking.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How It Ends; Author: Visit Amazon's Catherine Lo Page; Review: This book is a pretty good representation of what is wrong with teenage girls. When Annie starts at Jessie's school, Jessie is shocked that Annie wants to hang out with her. She's not popular and the girls that used to be friends with her are openly rude to her. Annie and Jessie are tight until Annie starts dating a boy that Jessie had a secret crush on and, much worse, begins spending time with the girls who have been so mean to her. When Jessie talks to Annie about the mean girls, Annie thinks Jessie is just paranoid and jealous. Thanks to misunderstandings and jealousies, the girls become estranged and it's only when Annie's life is completely turned upside down that things get back on track for the girls. Hopefully, teenage girls will eventually be smarter and less competitive and learn to stand together to fight the B.S. heaped on them by teenage boys and society in general.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Life of the World to Come: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Cluchey Page; Review: Leo Brice is just graduating from law school when his girlfriend Fiona leaves him for a hunky but stupid actor that she worked with on a soap opera. He is devastated. He thought he'd be with Fiona forever. He begins to obsess about other worlds in which he and Fiona are together forever. His friends rally around him and even his new employers do what they can to distract him and get him to move on. When he is sent to work on an appeal for a death row inmate, he learns more about life, himself, and what it's like to embrace death. This book is well-written and the character of Leo is one you will root for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: American Girls: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Alison Umminger Page; Review: When Anna's parents tell her she's going to have to leave her private school to save money, she "borrows" her mother's wife's credit card to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles to visit her actress sister, Delia. Her mother has been treating Anna like she's nothing but a burden lately and Anna doesn't think her mother will even care that she's gone, only that she stole from her stepmother. She's not entirely wrong. Anna ends up staying with Delia for the summer and even gets a job working for her sister's ex-boyfriend as he is researching Charles Manson and the girls that followed him. As Anna reads about the Manson murders and the girls involved, things are happening in real life that are freaking her out. Why is her sister treating her boyfriend like this? What secrets is Delia keeping from her? Is her mother ever going to welcome her back home? In the end, Anna is able to return to her mother, after learning a lot about life in L,A.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Secrets of Flight: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Maggie Leffler Page; Review: Mary Browning feels as though she has just seen her long lost sister when 15 year-old Elyse walks into her writers' group. With her long braid down her back she looks just like Mary's sister, who died of tuberculosis more than 50 years earlier. Maybe it's because Elyse reminds her so much of her sister that Mary asks her if she can hire Elyse to type up her memoirs. Mary was a pilot as a young woman, and though she wasn't allowed to fly during WWII, she and her fellow female pilots were able to help the war effort in other ways. Elyse learns, among other things, that Mary's real name is Miriam and that she and her husband Sol had changed their names to Thomas and Mary Browning so Sol could attend medical school (he had been turned down several times for being a Jew) and that the two of them posed as Lutherans and raised their son as a Lutheran. Elyse and Mary become more than just employer and employee and when Elyse wants to fly to Florida to see her dying grandmother, Mary pays for her flight. When Mary is in the hospital, it is Elyse that visits her. The end is quite a happy twist but the entire book is interesting and will keep you hooked until the very end.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Dark Lady's Mask; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Sharratt Page; Review: Aemillia Bassano is just 7 years old when her beloved father dies and she is in danger of becoming a ward of her evil brother-in-law. Instead, she is taken to live with Susan Bertie, the Countess of Kent, who takes Aemillia under her wing and gives her a humanist education, giving her a tutor to teach her Latin and other things not usually taught to females of that age. Aemillia flourishes under Susan's care and decides she wants to be a poetess. When Susan marries Aemillia's tutor, Aemillia is left to the care of Susan's unkind sister-in-law, who banished Aemillia from her house when she believes she has discovered an affair between Aemillia and her husband. Aemillia leaves and finds comfort in the arms of Henry Carey, Lord Hundson, Henry VIII's bastard son. Old enough to be Aemillia's grandfather, she becomes his mistress and she is well taken care of until she becomes pregnant with his child. As a result, he marries her off to her cousin, Alfonse Lanier, a court musician. Aemillia and Lanier do not get along and Aemillia must find ways to make money as Alfonse spends much of her yearly stipend from Lord Hundson. She wants to write poetry and when she is introduced to William Shakespeare, she knows that they would make a great team. Many modern-day scholars believe that Aemillia Lanier is the actual author of many, if not all, of Shakespeare's work. In this book, William and Aemillia are first co-writers, then lovers. Aemillia becomes pregnant with Shakespeare's child and he marries her, even though they are both already married. Soon after, he decides that she has used some potion to make him fall in love with her and he turns his back on her. She is heartbroken and returns to her useless husband. When Aemillia is in need of money and her heart has had some time to mend, she recommends to Shakespeare that she use her influence with Lord Hundson to produce the plays that they had written together. As a female, Aemillia must remain in the background, which means that Shakespeare receives all the credit when they play, Twelfth Night, is a huge success. I'm not going to give you a full synopsis of the book or you will have no reason to read it for yourself :) Aemillia continues to have up and downs but throughout the book she is a strong, wise woman who refuses to break under her hardships. It would be wonderful to know if Aemillia really did write any or all of Shakespeare's works so the world could give credit where credit is due.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Devils of Cardona; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Carr Page; Review: This piece of mystery/historical fiction is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's not only full of intrigue and plot twists, it also is full of the gruesome history of the Spanish Inquisition. The main character Bernardo de Mendoza is everything you want in a protagonist: smart, capable, and nearly entirely trustworthy (I wouldn't leave him alone with my wife). His cousin is even more of a rogue with the ladies and would make a great leading man himself. Throw in a countess that with views and habits that are way before their time and incredibly dangerous in the time of the Spanish Inquisition and you have a great book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Devils of Cardona eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Carr Page; Review: This piece of mystery/historical fiction is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's not only full of intrigue and plot twists, it also is full of the gruesome history of the Spanish Inquisition. The main character Bernardo de Mendoza is everything you want in a protagonist: smart, capable, and nearly entirely trustworthy (I wouldn't leave him alone with my wife). His cousin is even more of a rogue with the ladies and would make a great leading man himself. Throw in a countess that with views and habits that are way before their time and incredibly dangerous in the time of the Spanish Inquisition and you have a great book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Valley of the Moon: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Melanie Gideon Page; Review: Valley of the Moon is a pleasant surprise of a novel. It starts out seemingly simple, a single mother and her son living in San Francisco in the 1970's. She sends her 5 year old son Benno to visit her estranged parents on the east coast for a week and takes herself camping . She heads to Valley of the Moon in Sonoma. On her first night camping, during the full moon, she gets up for a pee and stumbles into a fog. After walking a short distance she sees a light. The source of the light seems to be a commune. As she approaches, she sees people dressed as though they're from the past. in the year 1906, San Francisco experienced a devastating earthquake. Joseph Bell and his wife Martha had built a community of hundreds living together, all as equals. Everyone works together to grow their food, to teach the children. They are a self-sustained community. When the earthquake hits, the community is unharmed but the next day they are surrounded by a dense fog. As people try to head out to check on neighboring communities on the other side of the fog, they die. No one can enter the fog without dying. The community is trapped. Four months go by with no contact from the outside world until one day, a woman appears through the fog. A woman wearing pants and other strange clothing. Lux begins a relationship with Joseph and his community and returns as often as possible. Every time there's a full moon, she returns to the Valley of the Moon and hopes to see the fog that will allow her to enter the past. Her forays into the past effect her life with her son and her friends. Time passes differently on the other side of the fog and, though she's only gone for a few days on one side, when she returns to her own life she learns that she's been gone much longer. This book is incredibly unique and imaginative and I loved it. It was sweet and sad and happy all at once and I highly recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Castle of Kings; Author: Visit Amazon's Oliver Ptzsch Page; Review: I am in general a big fan of Oliver Poetzch's books. His Hangman's Daughter series is wonderful. This book is just a bit too long and a bit too dry and asks for a little too much suspension of belief. Agnes is the daughter of a castellan, a former knight who was given a castle and land and peasants to rule over. She is not your typical 16th century girl. In addition to training a falcon to hunt, she is also best friends with the blacksmith's son Mathis. One day she is hunting with her falcon when she hears a loud boom that startles her falcon and he becomes lost. She looks for the cause of the noise and finds Mathis with one of her father's firearms. The sound has also attracted the attention of a local band of robbers, who realize who Agnes is and attempt to kidnap her for the ransom. Instead, Mathis shoots one of them and Agnes and Mathis escape. From that point on, their lives become difficult and they are thrust into the events of a peasant revolution. A fair bit of magical realism is thrown in, there's a magic ring and Agnes has vivid visions and,...at this point I was kind of just wanting to be done.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Country Road, A Tree: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jo Baker Page; Review: A Country Road, A Tree is the story of a struggling Irish writer living in Paris during WWII. Though throughout the book he is known only as Samuel the protagonist of the book is Samuel Beckett and the book is based on his life and his work for the French Resistance during this period. The book shows Beckett as a humble man who wants to do well but is suffering from writer's block. His partner, Suzanne, is enchanted with him in the beginning but when she opens his notebook and finds only scribbles, she becomes more scornful. When Sam is caught working for the French Resistance, the two end up on the run from the Gestapo. They head for the coast of France where Suzanne has friends and where, once again, they get involved in the resistance movement. The book is wonderful, if somewhat dreary at times. Before I realized the main character was Samuel Beckett, when I thought he was just a fictional character, I was loving him and his generosity with those who had even less than he did. He was far from perfect but it seems he was always most concerned with doing that which must be done.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Swimsuit Body (The Cypress Bay Mysteries); Author: Visit Amazon's Eileen Goudge Page; Review: Property manager and recovering alcoholic Tish is surprised at how much she likes starlet Delilah Ward. She seems nice and down to earth and when she finds her dead the next day lying next to her pool she is not only shocked but quite saddened. No stranger to finding dead bodies, Tish quickly downloads all of the info on Delilah's phone to her iPad. She then proceeds to do what she can to solve the crime, particularly after her brother becomes a person of interest and she becomes a target. Her nemesis, police officer Spence Breedlove is on the case, which, in the beginning, only makes matters worse. To be honest, this isn't the kind of book I usually read and it really didn't appeal to me that much. However, I gave it 4 stars as opposed to 3 because for people who like light mysteries with some romance novel stuff thrown in, you will probably enjoy it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Wolf Road; Author: Visit Amazon's Beth Lewis Page; Review: Elka doesn't remember the name her parents gave her. The Trapper who found her after the storm pulled her out of her grandmother's house named her Elka when she showed up at his house as a 7 year old, stealing his jerky. The Trapper taught her everything he new about hunting, skinning, and surviving. After 10 years living with the man she has thought of as her daddy, she learns that the Trapper is not who she thought he was. He's a murderer named Kreager Hallet. Kreager is wanted for, among other things, killing the child of the new magistrate, a woman named Lyon who is relentless in her search for the killer of her son. Lyon is also on the hunt for Elka. Elka heads north, looking for the parents that left her with her grandmother all those years ago so they could travel north to find their fortune digging for gold. Along the way she has comes up against all kinds of perils, from nature and, much worse, from people. This book shows how much people can endure, how people are able to survive just about anything. It's the kind of book that makes you realize how lucky you are and how, if you were to switch places with someone like Elka, you would be dead in about 30 seconds. I would, anyway. This book is incredibly original and keeps you riveted, hoping that Elka survives and is able to find her long lost parents.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ballroom: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Anna Hope Page; Review: I loved this book. It may have something to do with the fact that I probably belong in a place like the Sharston Asylum myself but I think it's more because it's a beautifully written tale of finding love against all odds. Ella is surprised to find herself newly ensconced in the Sharston Asylum. She remembers being at work in the factory and needing air and breaking a window but how she ended up in the asylum is a bit hazy. She makes a friend named Clem, who helps Ella get through the days in this brutal place. Dr. Fuller leads the asylum orchestra, which plays for the patients every Friday night. The patients who have behaved themselves all week assemble in the ballroom for a dance. Dr. Fuller is very interested in eugenics but believes that music and keeping the patients separate is the answer, while others promote sterilization. Dr. Fuller is especially interested in a Irish patient named John, who is strong and silent but clearly a lesser man than Dr. Fuller (that was sarcasm...Dr. Fuller is a piece of poo). Left to themselves, Ella, John, and Clem may have all been just fine but Dr. Fuller, in his attempts to "cure" them does far more harm than good. The book will leave you deeply invested in the outcome of these characters and they will stay in your head and your heart and your whatever for a long time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Laurie Notaro Page; Review: I feel a deep connection to the author of this book. It's like we're the same person. She's hilarious and messy and a hoarder and I am all of those things, too. I live in Portland, she lives in Eugene, and I am totally going to try to be her new bestie. Housebroken is a book full of essays about life as lived by the author. Think of one of David Sedaris' books. It's like that except she's not a gay man. Everything she talks about is extremely relatable and also very funny. It's a quick but entertaining read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Fine Imitation: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Amber Brock Page; Review: Vera grew up in a very wealthy family and was given every advantage in life. What she never had was freedom. Her mother made all of her decisions for her and any signs of the slightest rebellion were quickly quashed. Now she's a married woman whose husband is never home, who spends all her time going from one luncheon to another. When the tenants of the very posh building that her husband built, where Vera and her husband reside in the penthouse, decide they want a mural for the pool room,they begin the search for an artist to paint it. Vera studied art history at Vassar and they ask her advice on the matter. The artist they choose to create their mural is Emil Hallan. When Emil first moves into the building, where he has been given his own apartment to live in while he does his work, all of the ladies of the building want to host him for dinner, want to know all about him. Emil, however, only seems interested in Vera. Can he tell just by looking at her how starved she is for love? The book alternates between Vera's past and present. While she was at Vassar, she met a girl named Bea who was unlike all the other girls. She came from money but she had a wild and independent streak. Bea and Vera become friends and Bea shows Vera what life could be like if she just took more risks and learned to defy her mother. In the end, it is Bea who suffers when Vera is caught breaking the rules. In the chapters of Vera's present. she is learning to break the rules again but she is scared that Emil is only interested in her money and she's concerned at how little she knows about him. When the other tenants of the building turn against him, Vera must make a decision. This book is well written and has a great story line. It makes you realize that just because you have mountains of money, it doesn't mean you're happy.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Nix: A novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nathan Hill Page; Review: The Nix is a book about a boy, the mother who left him as a child, and how and why the two of them reunite. Samuel hasn't seen his mother for a very long time when he sees her on the news, throwing pebbles at a conservative politician. When she is arrested for this act, her lawyer contacts Samuel to write a letter in her mother's defense. But Samuel also has a publisher on his butt for a book they paid him to write, which he never did. Maybe he can write a book and get back at his mother for leaving him all at the same time. The book travels back and forth between Samuel's childhood, his mother's childhood, and the present, where things are not going so well for either one of them. Samuel may lose his job as a professor of English literature because of one very entitled and devious student and his mother may be in more trouble than anyone ever realized and doesn't even know why. Once Samuel begins to learn more about her mother and her youth, he is able to let go of his anger at being abandoned and learn some things about himself. The Nix is a hilarious and touching book about ghosts from the past and redemption that comes about in a very unusual way. It's shocking that this is the author's first novel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Crafting with Feminism: 25 Girl-Powered Projects to Smash the Patriarchy; Author: Visit Amazon's Bonnie Burton Page; Review: As a book for crafting ideas, this book isn't the best. What is awesome is the feminist, anarchical vibe of this book. If women want to craft, they may as well use their crafty power to make vaginal Christmas ornaments and Ruth Bader Ginsberg finger puppets. In addition to craft ideas and instructions are lists of feminist films, playlist, and holidays, as well as quotes by famous women. As a piece of feminist literature and fun rebel girl ideas, this book rocks.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lady Cop Makes Trouble (A Kopp Sisters Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Amy Stewart Page; Review: This book started out really well but the end was a bit of a disappointment. Once the case is solved, in a rather anticlimactic fashion, the book just kind of peters off. The day after I finished it, I couldn't remember if I'd finished it or not because the ending was so lackluster. I love that it's about a female police officer in a time when such a thing was unheard of and not even entirely legal, since to be a deputy you had to be eligible to vote and women at that time were not allowed to vote. I like the characters of Constance and Norma and Sheriff Heath but some of the others lacked depth. I haven't read the first of the Kopp sisters novels and had no trouble keeping up with the plot of this one, though I did have some questions about Constance's daughter, who thinks she is Constance's sister, and wondered if maybe they covered all of that in the first in the series and felt it unnecessary to address it again in the second. I suppose I'll just have to read the first one if I want to know.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Girl in Pieces; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathleen Glasgow Page; Review: Charlie Davis is the title girl in pieces. Physically, she is mostly in one piece, in spite of being a seasoned cutter and in spite of a recent attempt to end it all by cutting a little deeper. After her father's death, her mother's abuse became too much for her and she ended up on the streets. Her suicide attempt has failed and now, instead of being homeless or, worse, in the hands of a man who wanted to pimp her out in exchange for a roof over her head, she is at a treatment facility. She has no idea who is paying for it but she is overjoyed to be there. Unfortunately, her luck runs out and the facility is releasing her to her mother. When her mother tells her that she isn't coming home with her, Charlie is lucky not to end up on the streets again. Instead, she is given a bus ticket to Tucson, where her friend and former crush Mikey lives. Mikey is currently on tour with the band he manages but while he's gone, he invites Charlie to stay in his place. Charlie hopes that when Mikey gets back, he will give her a shot at being his girlfriend but several things come between them, including a man named Riley, who gives Charlie a job washing dishes at his sister's coffee house. Riley is obviously trouble but he's highly attractive trouble and Charlie has a hard time staying away from him. I'm not going to give you a full synopsis of the book or you would have no reason to read it. This book gives hope to those of us who are screw ups in one way or another and lets all those girls (and some boys) out there who are cutting themselves that they are not alone. Charlie is one of the most screwed up characters I've come across recently and if she can heal, so can we all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Clay Girl; Author: Visit Amazon's Heather Tucker Page; Review: This book blew me away. It was full of every aspect of life and as I read, I truly felt all of it. The author has done a magnificent job. Hariet is the youngest of 5 daughters. The rest of her sisters have beautiful blond hair and names that begin with J. Hariet has a name that starts with an H and is missing an R. She is 8 and she is being sent to live with her aunt Mary on the Canadian east coast. Hariet's mother doesn't approve of Mary and her lesbian lifestyle and if she had her wits about her, Hariet wouldn't be going to stay with aunt Mary. Lucky for Hariet, her mother is currently without her wits so Hariet gets to stay with Mary and Nia, Mary's partner, and their dogs. While there, she is renamed (Ari) and meets Jake. Jake is an orphan being raised by Mary's neighbors. Ari loves Jake and Mary and Nia and everything about her new home but eventually, her mother regains her wits and Ari has to go home. Her mother has remarried, and somehow her useless but beautiful mother has managed to marry a wonderful man named Len. Len is on Ari's side when her mother is raging against her. He lets Ari work at his store. His uncle and his mother live at the store and they love Ari as well. Soon, Ari's life becomes far more difficult than ever before. She has the help of some of her teachers but she has lost Len and now her mother and her bad cop new husband are making her life miserable. She has to get away from them before something truly awful happens. She wants more than anything to return to Mary and Nia and Jake and just when she finally has the opportunity, she has to make a difficult decision. This book was wonderful and sad and terrifying and everything you want in a book. It's scary how terrible parents can be to their children and amazing how resilient those children can be.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Tea Planter's Wife; Author: Visit Amazon's Dinah Jefferies Page; Review: Gwendolyn is just 19 years old when she travels to Ceylon to be with her husband Laurence, a man much older than her, who was previously married and widowed. On the ship, she meets a handsome artist named Savi who helps her when her husband is late picking her up at the dock and who will have a bigger part in Gwen's future than she realizes at this point. Her husband owns a tea plantation, where there are both Tamil and Sinhalese workers. Gwen settles in but has a problem with her sister-in-law and finds out that there are things she was never told about her husband's life with his former wife. When Gwen becomes pregnant, she and Laurence are overjoyed but when a complication arises when she gives birth to twins, Gwen keeps it a secret from her husband and it causes her huge amounts of emotional pain. The book briefly covers some of the difficulties the plantation workers had working for the white plantation owners, and almost as briefly covers the difficulties of the plantation owners with the workers. Mostly the book is about the sinister-seeming sister-in-law Verity, the secret Gwen keeps from her husband, and living in the beautiful but sometimes treacherous country of Ceylon. It was well-written and the secrets keep it interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Running Girl (Garvie Smith); Author: Simon Mason; Review: Garvie Smith is not your average teenager. He's smarter than people. Most people, not just the kids his age. However, he will flunk out of school if he doesn't stop slacking off and smoking weed with his friends. He attends the Marsh Academy in England but if he doesn't shape up his mother is going to move them back to her home country of Barbados. When his classmate Chloe Downs is murdered, Garvie is determined to solve the case. Detective Inspector Singh is in charge of the case and is unhappy with Garvie's interference. If Garvie wants to solve Chloe's murder, he has to convince his mom to stay put and to do that, he has to do better at school. But school is taking too much time away from his investigation. Will he manage to solve the case and pass his classes? Will he live long enough to take his exams? If he doesn't stop pissing off the wrong people, he may not. This book was a pretty good YA mystery novel. Garvie is a likable character, a nice kid who is smarter than everyone else but isn't a jerk about it. Garvie and the mystery of who killed Chloe keep the book interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Call; Author: Peadar O'Guilin; Review: This book has an interesting premise but was so full of violence and creepy, disturbing imagery that I had a difficult time enjoying it. In Ireland, teenagers rarely live to see adulthood. One in ten make it. Once a teen is called, he or she has 3 minutes before they (or their dead body) will return to the real world but those 3 minutes are a full day in the land of the Sidhe, where they will be hunted, tortured, and killed. Kids are sent to training schools at the age of ten or eleven to learn how to survive. There is a very Hunger Games vibe to the book but it somehow manages to be even more savage and brutal. The central character is a girl whose legs were damaged by polio. Most people believe her parents should have done the humane thing and killed her when she was younger. No one believes that she will be able to survive the call and she is determined to prove them wrong. That part of the book I liked. I liked that she was unwilling to take the easy way out. Her legs might not work very well but she is strong and she's smart. She's a great protagonist.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Notwithstanding; Author: Louis de Bernieres; Review: I loved this book of connected stories about the bucolic but fictional English village of Notwithstanding. de Bernieres has written stories to honor his own upbringing in a similarly located village, about the quirks and comforts of a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. These are the stories that make you wish you were able to have this kind of childhood, where you could fish in the local pond and watch the nuns drive erratically and dangerously down a mountain, where your neighbor drives by with a goat in the backseat, and everybody mourns the passing of a crusty old codger that had been around since the dawn of time. Some of the stories are slightly sad but all have something humorous about them. They're whimsical little stories and reading them made me both happy and envious. I want to live in Notwithstanding.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sun is also a Star; Author: Visit Amazon's Nicola Yoon Page; Review: The Sun is Also a Star is very well written and it pulls you in immediately. Natasha is in the U.S. illegally and she and her parents and younger brother are going to be deported back to Jamaica immediately unless she can get someone to help her stop the deportation order. Daniel is a Korean American whose parents expect him to get into Yale and become a doctor. Natasha and Daniel meet and for Daniel, the connection is immediate. Natasha is more scientific and cynical and, though she is attracted to Daniel, she doesn't believe him when he says he can make her fall in love with him in less than a day, The story is told in alternating short chapters, mostly through the eyes of Natasha or Daniel, some through the more minor characters. The author is very good at this and it is never confusing. While reading the book, you want Natasha and her family to be able to stay, you want Natasha to fall in love with Daniel and you want a happily ever after. The reader becomes invested in the lives of these fictional characters that the author has done such a good job of developing. Both Natasha and Daniel are thoroughly likable characters and you can't help rooting for them, hoping that each of them is able to achieve their goals. In the end, things may not end exactly the way the reader wants them to but that doesn't mean there isn't a happy ending.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Claiming Noah; Author: Amanda Ortlepp; Review: The idea behind this book is an intriguing idea but I think the story could have been executed a little bit better. A couple have become pregnant through IVF and have donated a leftover embryo to be adopted by another couple hoping to have a baby. Both couples have babies. One of the mothers struggles with motherhood and experiences postpartum psychosis. The book calls it something else but I believe that in the U.S., postpartum psychosis is the term used. The other mother has no difficulties postpartum and seems to excel at motherhood. Several things happen ( I can't tell you what they are!) and the two sets of parents become aware of each other because of them. Both families attempt to lay claim to Noah. Who will have a happy ending? Somehow, the author manages to give both couples a happy ending, which is nice, if not exactly realistic. The author does dialog well but her other writing is a bit dry and very simple, with short sentences and a lot of telling rather than showing.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: With Love from the Inside; Author: Visit Amazon's Angela Pisel Page; Review: With Love From the Inside is a book about a mother, Grace, accused of killing her infant son and is on death row. Grace has been trying to get in contact with her daughter Sophie, who was 12 or 13 when Grace was sent to prison. Sophie is married to a doctor and they are happy, though she lied to him about her mother when they first met and never got around to telling him the truth. Now her mother is trying to contact her and Sophie is trying to keep her two worlds apart. For the bulk of the book, I wasn't completely in love with the writing or how the story was progressing but by the end, I was in tears. I can't imagine being in prison for a crime you didn't commit, or having your mother go to prison when you are just a girl. This is a reality that thousands of women probably face and many more, hundreds of thousands, of children whose parents aren't there for them because they're locked up. This book made me realize how deeply flawed our criminal justice system is, though the book doesn't overtly discuss any of that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: My Sister Rosa; Author: Visit Amazon's Justine Larbalestier Page; Review: For a YA book, this was pretty terrifying. Che and his sister Rosa have very unconventional parents. They want to be called Sally and David instead of mom and dad. They move around a lot, creating businesses and selling them. Che is a 17 year-old boy who just wants to go home to Australia so he can see his friends and live like a normal teenage boy. He wants his little sister to stop being a sociopath. He wants his parents to let him spar in the boxing ring and lastly, he wants a girlfriend. He gets a couple of his wished, eventually, but will never be able to change his sister's sociopathic behavior. He gets her to promise that she won't hurt anyone but she always manages to find loopholes. By the end of the book, Che has realized that he has a much bigger, scarier problem than his sister. I'm not going to tell you what it is.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Fire by Night: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Teresa Messineo Page; Review: The Fire by Night is a gripping story of 2 friends, both WWII nurses, and the horrifying experiences they endure during trying to keep soldiers alive during the war. Jo and Kay met as nurses and became friends. When they joined the war effort, Jo was sent to Europe and Kay to the Pacific. They struggled to keep in touch through the war, while one became the last medically trained person trying to keep 6 soldiers alive single-handed and the other became a prisoner of war in the Philippines, nearly starving and watching as those she had worked with and those she had cared for, dropped like flies all around her. The book alternates between chapters about each of these women and their stories are heroic and amazing. They face not only the brutality of war, disease, and malnutrition, but misogyny and sexual predators as well. They are able to survive in the most horrifying conditions imaginable and come out the other side of it sad but not broken or bent. This book makes me wish that, 20 or 30 years ago, I had taken some time to talk to WWII veterans, especially women, to get their stories.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Love and First Sight; Author: Visit Amazon's Josh Sundquist Page; Review: Will Porter is a 16 year-old blind boy who has convinced his parents to let him attend a normal high school instead of the school for the blind he has been attending since he was a child. In addition to the usual difficulties a new student might have, like not having anyone to sit with at lunch and not being able to find his classes, he accidentally feels up a girl and learns that what he thought was the boy's bathroom was not. Will is lucky to find some friends, and someone who may end up being something more. When his family learns about an experimental and potentially risky treatment that may give him the ability to see, he has to decide if he will give it a shot or remain as he has always been. This book is both funny and touching and I highly recommend it, especially for teens.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lucky Boy; Author: Sekaran Shanthi; Review: Lucky Boy is the story of two mothers and the little boy they love. Soli is a young woman (18?) who leaves Mexico for a better life in the United States. Along the way she meets a boy and falls in love. Unfortunately, she then loses this boy and many horrific things happen. She arrives, illegally, in San Francisco, and makes her way to Berkley, to find her cousin Silvia. Silvia takes her in, finds her a job, and teaches her how to survive as an illegal alien in the United States. It is Silvia who first notices that Soli is pregnant. Soli's job cleaning for an American couple becomes more difficult as her body changes and grows but she manages and gives birth to her son, Ignacio. Kavya is an Indian-American. She and her husband Rishi have been trying to have a baby and have not been successful going about it in the usual way. After spending all of their money on fertility treatments and still having no baby, they decide to try to adopt. Learning that adoption is expensive, they decide to adopt a foster child. The problem they face is that the mother of the foster child still very much wants her child and is unwilling to let him go, even if it means a better life for him. This book opened my eyes to many difficulties people face, especially the hardships faced by people who come to the U.S. illegal, have children, and are then deported. What happens to those children? Does the U.S. government have the right to separate children from their parents? They shouldn't but it seems that they do. In the end, there is no perfect ending for this book. You care for both of the mothers in this situation. You are rooting for both of them. But they can't both win and there is no easy answer, no right answer to their problem. It's a heartbreaking thing that surely happens far more often than we are aware.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Other Einstein; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Benedict Page; Review: The Other Einstein is the story of Albert Einstein's first wife. If you are a big fan of Einstein, you may not want to read this book, although I think you should. I was never a particular fan of his, though I did appreciate his unusual choice is hair styling and he seemed like a pretty smart dude. I still appreciate these things but now I also kind of want to slap him. I know he's dead. I'm not an idiot. But if he were alive, I would very much like to have a word with him about his behavior toward the gentle, genius, amazing woman that was his first wife. Mileva Maric was born in what is now Serbia. Her father knew she was unusually intelligent and was in a position to ensure that she would receive a good education, even though she was just a girl. She was able to attend the Zurich Polytechnic, where she first met Einstein. Though the book takes a few liberties, being a work of fiction, there is no question that Mileva was a brilliant woman. Einstein courted young Mileva and eventually she became pregnant. As a result, she had to leave the school in Zurich and return to her parents' home to give birth to her daughter, Lieserl. In the book, Einstein was rather blase about the birth of his daughter and has no chance to meet her before she dies. Mileva is heartbroken and returns to live with Einstein. Eventually they marry and Mileva gives birth to two more children, both boys. For a while, Albert is a loving father and a good enough husband, if you don't consider the fact that, according to the book, which, again, is a work of fiction,...according to this book, it was Mileva that came up with the Theory of Relativity, not Albert Einstein. This doesn't come out of the author's imagination but is based on correspondence between Albert and Mileva and based on the fact that Albert gave the entirety of the Nobel Prize money he received for the theory to Mileva after their divorce. I would love to see further research into this topic because if Mileva Maric truly did come up with the Theory of Relativity, the world should know. If Einstein stole his wife's work and put his name on it, she should get the credit. What isn't in doubt is that Einstein was a terrible husband, a middling father (at best) and, if I could use a harsh word to describe him here I would but Amazon won't let me so I will call him a poo. I think I can get away with calling him a poo.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Other Einstein: A Novel - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Benedict Page; Review: The Other Einstein is the story of Albert Einstein's first wife. If you are a big fan of Einstein, you may not want to read this book, although I think you should. I was never a particular fan of his, though I did appreciate his unusual choice is hair styling and he seemed like a pretty smart dude. I still appreciate these things but now I also kind of want to slap him. I know he's dead. I'm not an idiot. But if he were alive, I would very much like to have a word with him about his behavior toward the gentle, genius, amazing woman that was his first wife. Mileva Maric was born in what is now Serbia. Her father knew she was unusually intelligent and was in a position to ensure that she would receive a good education, even though she was just a girl. She was able to attend the Zurich Polytechnic, where she first met Einstein. Though the book takes a few liberties, being a work of fiction, there is no question that Mileva was a brilliant woman. Einstein courted young Mileva and eventually she became pregnant. As a result, she had to leave the school in Zurich and return to her parents' home to give birth to her daughter, Lieserl. In the book, Einstein was rather blase about the birth of his daughter and has no chance to meet her before she dies. Mileva is heartbroken and returns to live with Einstein. Eventually they marry and Mileva gives birth to two more children, both boys. For a while, Albert is a loving father and a good enough husband, if you don't consider the fact that, according to the book, which, again, is a work of fiction,...according to this book, it was Mileva that came up with the Theory of Relativity, not Albert Einstein. This doesn't come out of the author's imagination but is based on correspondence between Albert and Mileva and based on the fact that Albert gave the entirety of the Nobel Prize money he received for the theory to Mileva after their divorce. I would love to see further research into this topic because if Mileva Maric truly did come up with the Theory of Relativity, the world should know. If Einstein stole his wife's work and put his name on it, she should get the credit. What isn't in doubt is that Einstein was a terrible husband, a middling father (at best) and, if I could use a harsh word to describe him here I would but Amazon won't let me so I will call him a poo. I think I can get away with calling him a poo.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kids of Appetite; Author: ; Review: Vic is a boy who lost his father to cancer and whose mother is dating a man he is less than fond of. When the man proposes, Vic absconds, taking his father's ashes with him. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, he ends up making friends with a group of kids (I'm old...everyone is a kid to me but Baz, the oldest of the group is actually an adult I believe) who have no one but each other. One member of the group, Mad, is especially appealing to Vic. The group allows Vic to become a chapter (you'll have to read the book) and let him stay with them in their makeshift home. They also help him in a quest to disperse Vic's father's ashes as he would have wished. Along the way they encounter a bit of trouble and one of their members is accused of murder. This book is funny, touching, sad...all of the kids have lived through terrible tragedies. The fact that they have found each other, made each other their families, come out the other side of tragedy and become truly great people, especially brothers Baz and Zuz, whose lives have been more horrific than all the others combined. The author does a great job of telling the story in an unusual way. I can't wait to read his first book, Mosquitoland.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Weight of Zero; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Fortunati Page; Review: Seventeen year-old Catherine has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and feels that life is pretty much over for her. She made the mistake of opening up to her two best friends and now they not only want nothing to do with her, they openly mock her. She has started seeing a new therapist and now she is going to be spending everyday after school in group therapy. But Catherine has no hope for her future. She tried and failed to kill herself once before but she's planning to do a better job next time. What Catherine doesn't seem to realize is that things are getting better. She's been neither manic nor depressed for a while now. She's making friends at group therapy and she has met a boy. But Catherine still believes that Zero will find her again and when it does, she will be ready to go. For a lot of people, this book may provide an inside look at mental illness that may help them understand what it's like. It may also help to de-stigmatize mental illness. As a person who is familiar with this world from the inside, I can tell you that it's quite accurate. The plot keeps the book moving along and gives you a reason to root for Catherine and her fellow sufferers.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Karolina's Twins: A Novel (Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart); Author: Visit Amazon's Ronald H. Balson Page; Review: The thing that is keeping me from giving this book 5 stars is the modern-day courtroom drama aspect of the book. All of the parts about the lawyer and her private detective husband kind of annoyed me. I know that these are characters the author has written about before and that this is in a way a sequel but to me, these parts of the book were just a distraction from what was truly interesting and great about the book. Lena Woodward is an old woman with one wish: to find the twin daughters of her best friend Karolina. Her son Arthur is a petulant bully who wants to stop her from wasting his inheritance on looking for people he doesn't even believe exist. Lena was a young Jewish girl in Poland when the Nazis came. Her mother, father, and brother are taken one night while she hides in a secret closet, after promising her father that she will get herself to the farm of a family friend. But curiosity about what happened to her family brings her back to the city and she is caught and taken to the ghetto. She and her best friend Karolina are lucky enough to be given work in a factory making coats for German soldiers. With the help of a few friends, the two girls manage to survive for years until the factory is closed, the ghetto emptied, and all of the remaining Jews in the area sent to Auschwitz and other nearby concentration camps. By this time, Karolina has given birth to twin girls and both women know that there is no way the babies will be allowed to live in Auschwitz. To save the babies, they do something so drastic, something that might even kill them, but is their only shot at ensuring the babies have a chance at survival. This book, like all books about the Holocaust, is both tragic and fascinating. If it had left out all of the legal hullabaloo, it would have been even better.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: What Becomes Us; Author: Visit Amazon's Micah Perks Page; Review: Although I had some issues with this book, particularly characters that weren't as fleshed out as I would like, in the end, I can't give it less than 4 stars, if only because of the uniqueness of it. For one, it is narrated by the unborn twins being carried by the main character. Evie is a school teacher in Santa Cruz, California until she decides to leave her creepy and controlling husband and go where she hopes he won't find her and the babies she is carrying. She ends up in western New York in a rural, tight-knit area where everyone knows everyone else and all of their business. She ends up in a cottage in a small neighborhood of people who are especially close, a man, his sister and her husband, and a few other families that are all friends and/or co-workers. Evie is the outsider but soon enough she is welcomed into the group. Some people are more friendly than others, most notably the married man next door. Evie is given a job filling in for the recently departed high school history teacher, who was fired after teaching from a controversial book. When strange things start happening to Evie in her house, she thinks someone is breaking into her house and hiding things. Then she begins dreaming about the people in the controversial book as though she was the woman who wrote it. Though there is a lot of strangeness in this book, it's one of the things that make it so interesting. Just as Evie begins to feel a part of this little community, welcome and appreciated, events occur to make some of her neighbors not like her much. Can she keep living there, where she is happy, or will she have to leave? The author writes beautifully, making the entire book a pleasure to read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Surprise Me: A Novel; Author: Deena Goldstone; Review: I didn't love this book and would probably give it 2.5 stars if I could. It was a bit rambling and disjointed to me and, when I think about it, it seems like it was 2 books smooshed into one. Isabelle is in her senior year of college and she is doing this one on one writer's mentorship with a professor whose first book was considered a near masterpiece but every subsequent book has been less than stellar. Isabelle's decision to participate in this mentorship is for some reason considered questionable by her parents and her boring boyfriend. Isabelle and the professor, Daniel, get off to a rocky start but soon become quite close, which leads to a nude scene that I still don't understand. Oh, I forgot to mention that Daniel is agoraphobic and hates to leave his house and only does so to go to his office. Isabelle graduates and goes to work in her father's law office and then goes to California (I forget why) and ends up falling in love with a Californian. Stuff happens, she stays there, her parents disown her, which I think would be a huge favor considering what a piece of work her mother is. Isabelle and Daniel email each other now and then. Daniel has moved on, eventually moving into a vacant cottage where his daughter, who refuses to speak to him, lives. I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it was that I didn't like about this book. I think it may be that it started out a book about Isabelle and Daniel together and then told the stories of both of them separately and then briefly together...maybe it was just that weird and seemingly pointless nude scene in the beginning still bothering me. Whatever the reason, though I found aspects of this book appealing, as a whole I just didn't love it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF NIGHT, THE; Author: Howard Hughes; Review: The House at the Edge of the Night reminded of me of 100 Years of Solitude, though much of the magical realism taking place in this book takes place only in stories collected in a red book by one of the main characters. It takes place on the small island of Castellamare, near Sicily. The book is predominantly about the Esposito family but it's also about all the residents of the island and about the island itself. The story spans over a hundred years and several generations of the Esposito family. It's a story of love, loyalty, community, traditions, and family. It's one of those books that you wish you could inhabit, that you could choose to be one of the characters and live on this island with these people as your family and friends. I'm not going to give you a synopsis of this book because I don't want to spoil even a second of it by my less-than-perfect account. Just read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: If I Fix You (Harlequin Teen); Author: Visit Amazon's Abigail Johnson Page; Review: Sixteen-year-old Jill is handling a super crappy situation in the best way she can. Her mom has left, leaving only a post-it note behind as explanation. Jill doesn't need an explanation after what she saw in her own living room the night her mother left. Her relationship with her best friend/crush Sean has also been destroyed. Luckily, Jill has an amazing dad that she is very close to and the mechanic shop they both work in to help her deal with all of the terrible stuff going on in her life. Unfortunately, she can't tell her dad what is really bothering her because it would break her heart and he would probably kill Sean. Then Jill gets new neighbors, a woman and her son. The son, Daniel, has also had a lot of crappy situations and a mother who is far from perfect. Jill and Daniel become friends and find that they can talk to each other about things they could never say to anyone else. This is great YA fiction and I highly recommend it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Setting Free the Kites; Author: Visit Amazon's Alex George Page; Review: Robert Carter lives in a small town in Maine that would only be a place for tourists to pass through on their way somewhere else if it weren't for the amusement park built by his grandfather. He lives with his parents and his brother, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal genetic disease that Robert is lucky not to have as well. in 1976, on Robert's first day of 8th grade, as he is taking his beating from the bully that has made his life hell for years, he meets Nathan Tilly and from that moment on, the two of them become best friends. Together, the two of them have a lot of fun and adventures but they also share several moments of grief and loss. Nathan lives with his distant mother, who, as far as Nathan knows, does nothing but type on a typewriter with no paper all day. So, Nathan stays with Robert's family as much as he can. When the two boys are old enough, they are finally allowed to go to work at Robert's family's amusement park, which eventually sets in motion the book's final tragedy. Though this book is full of loss, it's not a depressing read. You may cry but there are also plenty of humorous parts. By the end of the book, you're just happy for those who have managed to go through a lot of crap and still be able to get on with life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Adventures of Joe Harper; Author: Visit Amazon's Phong Nguyen Page; Review: The Adventures of Joe Harper apparently starts off where Tom Sawyer left off. I never actually read Tom Sawyer (for which, I assure you, I feel a deep sense of shame) and I still managed to fully enjoy this book. Joe has returned from his years as a pirate to Missouri and, after learning that his mother is gone, decides he's going to find himself a cave to crawl in, with the intention of dying there. Along the way to finding himself a cave, he finds himself in one predicament after another, as a character created by Mark Twain is bound to do (I've read plenty of Twain, just not Tom Sawyer. I'm not a complete philistine.) He finds himself in the company of a Chinese-American named Lee, who wants to return to his home in California, and an Amish woman named Ruth, who is running away from the man her father chose for her to marry. The three of them, without a cent between them (though Joe does have two sizable diamonds left from his pirating days) decide to live and travel like hobos in order to reach Lee's destination of San Francisco. They jump trains. They ride inside them when they can and on top of them when they have to. When they aren't catching free train rides, they're accidentally getting high with a strange group of men, getting taken in by kind prostitutes, and having adventures with a wealthy man pretending to be a hobo for the fun of it. A couple of times, things look really bleak for one or more of our trio but somehow they always manage to find a way out. At one point, when we begin to think it really might be the end of our friend Joe, an old friend comes along just in time to save him and help him to rescue his friends. This book is full of adventure, humor, friends and foes and it was a pleasure to read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Patriots: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Sana Krasikov Page; Review: Florence Fein was attending college in the midst of the Depression when she became acquainted with members of the Communist party in the U.S. After meeting and falling in love with a Soviet engineer, she decides to follow him and takes a boat for Russia. She quickly learns that her romantic ideas of how communism works are flawed and that living under Stalin's iron fist is full of deprivations and the constant threat of being declared an enemy of the state. Florence and her husband both end up in prison, leaving their son Julian to be raised in an orphanage. Later, Julian is a grown man with a family of his own, living in the U.S. but with business dealings in Russia. His son Lenny lives and works in Russia and Julian does his best to get his son to return to America. Julian begins to look into his mother's past, wanting to know exactly what happened all those years ago. This book is so well researched and the writing is superb. However, I found this book a bit depressing and had to take breaks from reading it for the sake of my mental health. Perhaps if it wasn't winter, if I was reading this outside in the sun, I wouldn't have had a problem.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dragon Springs Road: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Janie Chang Page; Review: Jialing is just 7 years old when her mother leaves her behind. She is to stay quiet and hidden in the western residence, the home they have lived in since coming to live with Noble Uncle and his family on Dragon Spring Road. But Jialing is hungry and scared and can't help crying. When she is found by the Yang family, the new owners of the property, she is allowed to stay. She is guarded by the fox spirit that lives in the courtyard of the western residence, and with her help, she is allowed to go to the mission school, where she is educated, a privilege not even the daughter of the Yang family has. This book is beautifully written and there's so much more to it than the little I have written here. It has elements of magical realism that add charm and mysticism to a book that otherwise would have been a bit mundane. I love learning about the history of China and the customs that were common before China became a Communist country.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: City of Saints & Thieves; Author: Visit Amazon's Natalie C. Anderson Page; Review: Tina and her mother were refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. When they arrived in Sangui City, her mother found a job working for the Greyhills as a maid. Mr. Greyhill is rich and powerful and perhaps unethical. Tina's mother soon gives birth to a baby girl, and Mr. Greyhill is the father. When Tina's mother is murdered in Mr. Greyhill's office, Tina is sure that he is the murderer and she wants revenge. While her sister is safe at a convent school, Tina joins a gang and starts planning. All she wants is to avenge her mother's death. Unfortunately for Tina, she has joined up with some dangerous people in her quest for revenge. When she finally learns the truth about her mother's death, she realizes that she has put herself and those she loves in great danger and she has to find a way out. This book is fast-paced and intense and doesn't read as YA literature necessarily, though that's what it is. I would recommend it to any readers age 13 and older.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Orphan Mother: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Hicks Page; Review: The Orphan Mother is the story of Mariah Reddick, a former slave who has delivered most of the babies in her Tennessee town, both black and white. When something horrific and unbearable happens, Mariah has to know who is to blame. This book is an interesting look at the post-Civil War South and the dynamic between people former slaves and their former owners. Even if the situation was one of the relatively less degrading, less violent, less awful examples of slave ownership, how can a former master and her former slave have a relationship going forward? Most importantly, it shows that white men were no more likely to treat a black man as a man than they were before slavery is outlawed. Luckily, Mariah has friends that are smarter than these white men and she is able to get a bit of closure. This book is both well-written and fascinating and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Girl in Green; Author: Visit Amazon's Derek B. Miller Page; Review: The Girl in Green takes place in the Middle East. Arwood Hobbes, a young, seemingly ignorant American soldier in Iraq in 1991, just after the cease-fire, meets Thomas Benton, a British journalist who is looking for a story. When something horrific happens right in front of them, it's something that neither of them ever forget. A girl (in green, obviously) becomes a casualty of post-war politics and the inhumanity of men on both sides of the conflict. Twenty years later, after no contact, Arwood calls Benton after seeing something he knows can't be possible. The girl in the green dress is alive, the same age, and her image has been shown on newscasts around the world as she is present when a bomb goes off. Arwood convinces Benton, now a 60 year-old man, to take the next flight and meet him in Iraq, where refugees from Syria are gathered. I am not going to tell you more of the plot. I will just say that the book is both funny and very deep. There is also plenty of suspense and action and some bloodshed, because this is, after all, the Middle East and it seems there must always be bloodshed. This isn't the kind of book I generally read but I really enjoyed it and I didn't stop reading until I was finished.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Speed of Life; Author: Visit Amazon's J.M. Kelly Page; Review: Twins Crystal and Amber have not had an easy life. Living in Portland with their mother and stepfather in a bedroom that used to be a garage, they plan to work until they have enough money to move out and get a place of their own. Crystal works at a gas station/auto body shop and hopes to learn everything there is to know about cars. Amber works in her aunt's restaurant and hopes to one day run the place. Two things happen that change the trajectory of their lives: first, one of them gets pregnant. Only when the other promises to help, to make the baby THEIR baby, will the other agree to keep her. The second thing: Crystal is encouraged to apply to a prestigious school for automotive restoration. I appreciate books that show what it's like for real people with no money and few opportunities. I especially like books that then show that people can triumph in spite of the lack of money or opportunities. It's so easy to forget that there are people in the world that can barely afford the most basic necessities of life. I like that the Speed of Life shows this world without making it overly sad or depressing, showing us what strong and determined people are able to accomplish when they put their minds to it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Signs of You; Author: Visit Amazon's Emily France Page; Review: This book was so well-reviewed that I had no doubt that I would enjoy it as well. I was wrong. From the beginning I was annoyed that, one minute a girl is upset about her dead mother and the next she is worrying about the affections of a boy. If the circumstances were ordinary, that might hold some water but considering the supernatural aspect of the book, if the events taking place can't take precedent over her feelings for a dude. At the end of the book (which is beyond lacking) there is a kiss that is somehow supposed to make up for a lack of a resolution. Besides all of this is the fact that we are supposed to believe that 4 flunky teenagers are able to somehow decipher an ancient religious text that actual scholars had been unable to translate. B.S. Too much of the book was beyond belief, and I'm not even talking about the supernatural bits.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: All Waiting Is Long; Author: Visit Amazon's Barbara J. Taylor Page; Review: All Waiting Is Long is the story of two sisters, Violet and Lily. Violet, at 25, is the older, more responsible sister. Lily, 16, is spoiled and a bit reckless and now, because of her recklessness, the two sisters have had to leave their home in Scranton to travel to Philadelphia, where they will live in a convent until Lily gives birth to her child. They will then return to Scranton without the child, leaving all trace of shame (and the baby) behind them. Violet is practically engaged to Stanley, who is also in Philadelphia getting his law degree, but Lily doesn't want Stanley to know about her predicament so Stanley is unaware of Violet's proximity. While the Sisters at the convent are both loving and strict, the doctor that has been helping with the births is an uncaring and even cruel man, though he professes to be devout and was almost himself a member of the clergy. He is an enthusiastic supporter of eugenics and would like to see anyone he deems unfit to reproduce sterilized. When it's time to return to Scranton, though Violet and Lily had a plan, one of them is unable to stick to it and their lives are forever changed as a result. From the very first pages of this book I was hooked. The first half of the book, when the sisters are at the convent, was definitely my favorite. I also appreciated the blurbs at the beginning of each chapter, coming from a 1929 book about the sex lives of women. I'm sure that the author of this 1929 book held views that were quite common at the time and that he was not alone in his sexism and misogynist attitude. It's nice to see that there has been progress over the years, and that women, though still not treated as equals with men, have gained a lot of ground over the last century.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Heartbeats of Wing Jones; Author: Visit Amazon's Katherine Webber Page; Review: Wing is half Chinese and half black and very tall, which is unfortunate, since she wants to be as invisible as possible. She is bullied by her high school's evil white girl and her only friends are her brother, his girlfriend, and her brother's best friend Aaron, with whom Wing is hopelessly in love. When tragedy strikes her family, Wing transforms into someone new, someone who no longer wants or needs to be invisible. She starts running and realizes that she is really, really good at it. This book is a touching look at the lengths people will go to for family and for those they love and it also shows that we can do so much more than we realize.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mirage; Author: Visit Amazon's Tracy Clark Page; Review: I had a hard time getting into this book and I think part of it was that I didn't love the main character enough to care about what happened to her and the other part was that I literally didn't understand what was happening. There's some woowoo, supernatural something going on but, until the end of the book, you have no idea what it is...or at least I didn't. I spent much of the book being confused and wondering what the deuce was going on and therefore, I didn't really enjoy it. Short synopsis: daredevil girl drops acid and starts seeing eyes and hearing voices and stops being a daredevil and starts being a danger to herself and others in a different, more mentally unbalanced way.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 10 Things I Can See From Here; Author: Visit Amazon's Carrie Mac Page; Review: Maeve is a teenage girl with more than the usual amount of anxiety. She suffers from panic attacks and always assumes that the worst is about to happen. Her mother is sending her to Vancouver, B.C., to live with her dad, her pregnant step-mom, and her twin half brothers while her mom travels out of the country. Maeve's temperamental, recovering (?) alcoholic father makes things even worse by behaving strangely and putting the happiness of his wife and children at risk. But, on the bright side, Maeve has met Salix, a girl unlike any other she has ever met and Maeve is enamored. One side of her really wants to go back to her house in Washington, and the other half wants to spend all the time ever with Salix. This isn't a terrible book by any means but it kind of bored me. This may sound insensitive but I got really tired of all of Maeve's anxieties.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: My Darling Detective; Author: Visit Amazon's Howard Norman Page; Review: I really had a hard time with this book. It was disjointed and trying to be suspenseful but none of it made any sense to me. The book is about a man, his mother, his girlfriend, and the man who is his biological father. I think it was supposed to be a bit of a mystery but it wasn't. Throw in the plot of a radio show that the main characters listen to (WHY?) and it's just a mess. I kept reading in the hopes that it would all come together in the end, that there would be some point to all of it, some actual mystery but, no.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Confessions of Young Nero; Author: Visit Amazon's Margaret George Page; Review: While most tales of Nero describe him as a depraved and evil ruler, this book takes a more gentle view. In the Confessions of Young Nero, Margaret George writes mainly from Nero's point of view and explains how Nero became the man he was and why he did the things that he did. Nero's early life was full of drama. His uncle Caligula tried to drown him and then sent him to live with an aunt because his mother, Caligula's sister Agrippina had been banished from Rome. When Caligula was killed and Claudius declared emperor, Agrippina was allowed to return from exile and she removed Nero from his aunt's home and took him to Rome, where they lived with his new step-father Crispus. Crispus and Nero became close and Crispus let Nero participate in sports and encouraged him in his personal interests. But Agrippina had bigger plans in the works and uses her personal poisoner to achieve her goals. Eventually, Agrippina marries her uncle, the emperor Claudius and it isn't long before she is once again calling for the poisoner. With Claudius out of the way, Nero is declared emperor. At only 17, Nero is the youngest emperor to date and perhaps it is that reason that his mother, Agrippina, feels that it is she who should be calling all the shot. Perhaps she thought that she could rule through Nero, since she, as a woman, could never have been emperor. But Nero, though young, knows his mother and what she is capable of and he's not having it. He keeps her out of the senate. She is stripped of any power and it is then that she turns her plans of poisoning to her own son. If she can't control him, she will put his step-brother Britanicus on the throne and rule through him. Much of this book is the plotting of one person against another. Another large portion is taken up with Nero's love of poetry, playing music, chariots, and sports. The other most common theme is Nero's love life. I found the plotting and scheming parts to be the most enthralling, followed by those focusing on Nero's love life. I found the bits about poetry, music and sports to be a little less interesting, though I understand that the author was trying to give the reader a more well-rounded, less evil Nero than most other accounts portray. All in all, the book was interesting and well-written and if there is a sequel, as the book ends 4 years before Nero's death, I will definitely read it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Single Spy; Author: Visit Amazon's William Christie Page; Review: A Single Spy is a well-crafted, intense spy novel that you won't be able to put to down. Alexsi is just a young orphan boy when he is first forced to live by his wits. In 1936, at just 16 years of age, Alexsi is caught by the Soviets and taken to the headquarters of the secret police. There he is forced to go head to head with criminals larger, older, and more ruthless but none of them have his instincts and his skill. The secret police give him an option that isn't really an option and he has no choice but to agree to train to be their spy. After his grueling training is over, he is sent to Nazi Germany to pose as the long-lost nephew of a Nazi official. His new Uncle welcomes him with open arms and helps Alexsi, now known as Friedrich, attend university and when war is about to break out, Hans secures Friedrich a position as an officer. After a short journey to annex Czechoslovakia, Friedrich is back in Germany and looking for an opportunity to stay there. He finds it in the Abwehr. There it is his job to translate but soon, when his superiors see where his talents lie, he finds himself being offered the position of spy again. Anyone with less intelligence and fewer scruples would never have been able to do it. It is the character of Alexsi, his instincts, his bravery, that makes this novel so enjoyable. He is constantly in danger and, though he isn't your typical hero, you find yourself rooting for him all along the way. I'm not generally a huge fan of spy novels but this one I thoroughly enjoyed and can't recommend enough.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Often I Am Happy: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jens Christian Grndahl Page; Review: Ellinor is a seventy year-old widow whose husband Georg has just passed away. Ellinor finds herself speaking to her long-dead former best friend, Anna, who was also Georg's first wife. When they were young Georg and Anna and Ellinor and her husband were best friends. On a trip the two couples take together two things happen that will change the future for all of them. This is some of what Ellinor talks to Anna about. Ellinor was never able to have her own children but she stepped in to mother Anna's boys when their mother was no longer there. Now that their father is gone, too, Ellinor feels that she has lost her connection to the now adult children, even though it was she who cared for the boys when they were young. This is a very short novel that looks back on life and on how we are shaped by the events of our lives.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Things I Should Have Known; Author: Visit Amazon's Claire LaZebnik Page; Review: Chloe believes that her autistic sister Ivy is lonely. She's 22 and has never been on a date. Next year, Chloe will be leaving for college and Ivy is about to be graduating from her special-needs high school and Chloe is worried about leaving her behind with just her mother and the girls' stepfather. So Chloe decides that there must be a boy in Ivy's class that she would be interested in and it seems to Chloe that Ethan is the perfect choice. A date is made, and Ivy asks her sister to come with her. Ethan asks his brother David to be his wing man. The problem is that Chloe hates David, a classmate who is always making snide remarks about Chloe and her boyfriend. But if it will help Ivy get to know Ethan, Chloe will put up with it. This book gives insight into autism and dating, autism and sexuality, and what it's like to be the sibling of someone on the autism spectrum, especially in a dysfunctional household. It's both sweet and a little bit sad and it allows outsiders a closer look at autism.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Woman No. 17: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Edan Lepucki Page; Review: Lady is looking for a nanny for her toddler son Devin after asking her husband Karl for a trial separation. Lady lives in their home, near the Hollywood hills, with her son from a previous relationship, Seth, who doesn't speak, Devin, and the new nanny, S. S, formerly known as Ether, recent grad of UC Berkley, an artist, is not just a nanny to Devin. She is living in her own performance art, something that requires her to get extremely drunk, to wear unflattering clothes, no makeup, and a terrible haircut. Lady is in the midst of a bit of a crisis. Her son Seth has been pulling away from her, something she is not handling well. She is trying to write a book about raising a speechless son but has no faith in her abilities and spends her time stalking Seth on Twitter and being upset. Lady and S aren't particularly likable characters, they aren't really the kinds of women that you root for when reading a book, even though both were quite funny. Lady hasn't spoken to her mother in almost 20 years, is terrified that her son will do the same thing to her, and doesn't see that her actions, keeping secrets from him about his father, are bound to drive him away. The book is interesting, full of conflicted characters.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Wide Circumference of Love: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Marita Golden Page; Review: Gregory is a successful architect, who built his firm up with his partner from the ground up. His wife, Diane, is a judge. They have been together through all kinds of adversity but when Gregory begins to lose his memory, things become more difficult than they could have imagined. Their children, Lauren and Sean, each cope in their own way when Diane is forced to move Gregory into an alzheimers facility. This book takes a look at what it's like to live with alzheimers and what it's like to live with a loved one with alzheimers. While much of it is heartbreaking, it is a novel of hope.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Persons Unknown (A Manon Bradshaw Thriller); Author: Visit Amazon's Susie Steiner Page; Review: Detective Manon Bradshaw has moved to Cambridgeshire with her newly adopted 12 year-old son Fly and her burgeoning pregnant belly. She lives with her sister Ellie and Ellie's son Solly and she has been put on the cold cases. Soon, she becomes involved in a current case when her nephew's father is murdered in a park and Fly is somehow a suspect. This book keeps things moving and you won't want to put the book down until you find out what happened. While Manon has a lot to deal with, she somehow handles all of it and manages to attract a man while heavily pregnant. Some women really can do it all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Defy the Stars; Author: Visit Amazon's Claudia Gray Page; Review: Noemi is a 17 year-old soldier who has sworn to protect her planet Genesis from the invaders from Earth. She is on a mission when her best friend's space ship is damaged and she is injured. Her only option is to board what seems to be an abandoned ship from Earth that may contain mechs...robotic armies sent to fight Earth's wars. She enters the ship cautiously and finds Abel. Abel is a mech unlike any other. He was made in his maker's image and is the most sophisticated and advanced mech ever made and he has been left alone on this ship for 30 years. If his maker is in the sick bay of the ship, then he must kill Noemi in order to protect him. If he is not, then Noemi will become his new commander and Noemi will use him to combat Earth and save Genesis. At first, Noemi sees Abel as just a robot. He can't possibly have feelings, emotions, or have any real human attributes. But after spending time with Abel, Noemi realizes that Abel is very different and she no longer feels good about sacrificing him for her cause. She's not even sure she believes in her cause anymore. Whatever happens, she has to stop Genesis from executing what will undoubtedly be a suicide mission for thousands from her planet. This is a smart, unique book that people of all ages can appreciate. Though is is technically young adult fiction, I am far from young and I loved it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Little French Bistro: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Nina George Page; Review: There were parts of this book that I really liked and others that made no sense to me and I found annoying. First, the title is a little misleading. This book is not about a little French bistro as much as it is about a woman who ends up working in a little French bistro. Marianne is a German woman visiting Paris with her husband, a thoroughly unpleasant man who treats Marianne like garbage. Marianne, after a series of events that I will leave you to read about, end up in Brittany, at a bistro called Ar Mor and is given a job in the kitchen. She becomes a bit of a helper to everyone in town, making friends with everyone it seems. She meets Yann, a handsome painter and the two feel an immediate connection. She helps a woman with dementia and her young coworker who is in love with the restaurant's waitress. Then her husband starts looking for her and she has to make a decision. She twice makes a decision that makes no sense to me. While there are many enjoyable aspects to this novel, there is also a lot of unnecessary or illogical fluff, as well as too many characters that add nothing to the story.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Heirs: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Rieger Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book, even though it is more of a character study of the Falkes family than anything plot driven. Eleanor was born to wealth and prestige. Her recently departed husband Rupert was left on church steps as a baby during the depression. Their fives sons aren't sure what to think when a woman comes forward after their father's death, claiming to be the mother of Rupert's two illegitimate sons. The 5 boys have always been loyal to their parents and now they aren't sure what to think. Some think the woman is just after their father's money. Other's are less cynical. Meanwhile, their mother is taking it all very calmly and wants to make sure that the boys receive their due if they are, in fact, the sons of her late husband. This book gives the reader a glimpse of what it would be like to be raised in a family of wealth and prestige, with a pedigree that is well known among the upper crust of New York City. Most books of this kind tend to make me rather envious of these privileged people but somehow this book didn't have that effect. I was able to read it and enjoy it without thinking how nice it would be to be a Falkes.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Green Island; Author: ; Review: It's 1947 and an uprising has started in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Tsai delivers his youngest daughter at home, at the same time a man is brought to his house with a gunshot wound. Soon, marshal law is declared and people begin disappearing. Dr. Tsai is pulled from his home, away from his wife and children and years go by before his family knows if he is alive or dead. After ten years, the doctor returns to his family but people are suspicious. How did he survive? Is he a spy? Even his family members and closest friends aren't sure what to think of his return. This book was intense and harrowing and it shined a light on a part of history I had been completely unaware of. For decades, the people of Taiwan were forced to live in terror of their government, and the fear that their neighbors would turn them in for some real or imagined offense. Even when the youngest daughter, the narrator of the book, moves to the United States, she isn't free from her homeland and it's far and controlling reach.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Free; Author: Visit Amazon's Lauren McLaughlin Page; Review: Isaac West and his little sister Janelle have a terrible mother. Isaac has done his best to care for his sister, the only person he really cares about, and has done whatever it takes to provide for her. Recently, he has begun stealing cars for his crooked high school auto shop teacher and unfortunately, Isaac has been caught. What's worse, he has to take the blame for what happened during the robbery, when his partner in crime attacked the man whose car they were stealing, leaving him in a coma. Because Issac is a kid without a record, he's going to go to juvie, while his 18 year old cohort would be going to prison. But Isaac has to figure out how to protect and provide for his sister while he is in juvie and he's going to need some help. In juvie he makes some friends and some enemies but after a while learns how to get by without getting hurt. He has a therapy group and it is there that Isaac has a breakthrough that brings back a memory from his past that hurts him more than anything else could. The Free is an interesting look at the inside of a juvenile detention center and about the kinds of crimes even the very young can commit and how a parent's failure can lead to the most terrible consequences.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Curse of La Fontaine (A Provenal Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's M. L. Longworth Page; Review: I've been reading lots of books that take place in France ahead of a trip to Paris this summer. Most of them have been great. This one I found a little boring. The book is supposed to be a mystery but it's difficult to really care about who murdered the victim or why. It's not suspenseful, there's nothing exciting about it. I kept reading and when the mystery was finally solved, I felt very unsatisfied with the whole thing.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Half Wives; Author: Visit Amazon's Stacia Pelletier Page; Review: The Half Wives is a book about Henry, his wife Marylin, their son Jack, and Henry's mistress Lucy and their daughter Blue. Living in the wild Outside Lands of San Francisco, Henry was a preacher until the unthinkable happened, leaving Henry broken and faithless. Only meeting Lucy allowed him to carry on. Every year, on a tragic anniversary, Henry, Marylin, and Lucy all have a part to play but this year, things have gone awry. This is the day that Henry has been working to prevent. I don't want to give too much detail. This book is well written and is an interesting look at a young San Francisco.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Line Made by Walking; Author: Visit Amazon's Sara Baume Page; Review: It is quite a feat to write a book of this length without much plot and still have it be a successful novel. Sara Baume has succeeded wonderfully. Frankie leaves college in Dublin and moves into her late grandmother's house. She hasn't got much of a purpose and has been struggling with some depression. Things remind her of famous (or at least known to her) but unusual works of art, which are detailed in the book. She is finding a lot of dead animals and begins to photograph them. A Line Made by Walking is a look at a woman who is lost, who's dreams have been dashed and who is giving up on living. She doesn't want to leave the comfort and solitude of her grandmother's home. Her mother tries to get her to get some help but sh doesn't want it. By the end of the book Frankie has regained her purpose through unconventional means and we begin to hope that she's going to be okay.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: But Then I Came Back; Author: Visit Amazon's Estelle Laure Page; Review: Most of the other reviewers of this book really liked it but for some reason I just couldn't get excited about it and, by the end, was just glad I was done. Part of this may have something to do with the fact that I didn't read the first book by the same author, This Raging Light. But Then I Came Back isn't a sequel but more of a companion novel, with some of the same characters. However, because this isn't a sequel, I don't think that was the problem. Eden wakes from a month-long coma and feels that she has a connection to another girl in a coma, that she knew her in the "In Between".She feels that she can still communicate with the other girl in a coma. It may be this combination of magical realism (that isn't very well developed) and a burgeoning teen romance that made me less than thrilled with this book. What do I know? I'm not the target audience, so...if you are a YA reader and other YA readers like it, then give it a shot.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Castle of Water: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Dane Huckelbridge Page; Review: Castle of Water is a beautiful story of an American man and a French woman stranded on a deserted island in the middle of the southern Pacific ocean when their small plane goes down and they are the only survivors. Barry is a banker from New York whose dream was to become a painter. He has rather suddenly quit his job in order to live his dream and his first order of business is to visit Gauguin's grave. Sophie is a French architect on her honeymoon. Together the two have to somehow survive and find a way off the island but the book is so much more than just two strangers trying to survive. I don't want to spoil the book for you by giving too much away. The book has a bittersweet end and you will cry unless you are made of stone.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Council of Twelve (A Hangman's Daughter Tale); Author: Visit Amazon's Oliver Ptzsch Page; Review: Like all of the Hangman's Daughter books, this one is a wonderful work of historical fiction. In this one, Jakob Kuisl, the Schongau hangman and his family travel to the outskirts of Munich to the town of Au, where Jakob has been invited to sit on the council of Bavarian hangmen. There are 11 other on the council (hence the title) and their conference is disrupted by the appearance, over several days, of various dead young women. Jakob and his family step in to solve the murders, of course, and, as usual, do a great job of it. His family is always involved in one way or another and in this installment, Jakob is looking for a husband for his daughter Barbara among the various hangmen and Barbara is not having it. Jakob's son-in-law Simon is trying to become published and seeks the help of a noted Munich physician, becomes involved with local aristocracy, and helps his brilliant son find new opportunities. Oliver Poetzsch is a great writer and his books are unfailingly entertaining and the answer to the mystery is never obvious.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Hotel Filigree; City: Mussoorie Dehradun District Uttarakhand; Review: My check-in time was at 10:30am and I checked out at 01:30pm (i.e. 3 hours) Reasons: Upon arrival, we were suggested to take only the delux room as it's better and more spacious. The cupboard to keep cloths was stinking. The blankets were not so clean. The entire room is carpeted so you can imagine the kind of cleanliness you can get. (Also, the issue we had is that my wife has little asthma problem) The washroom door was broken from the hinges so it won't slide so easily. Ofcourse, the washroom is smaller than our expectations. Heater is INR 400/- per day (extra) (which will only be told to you if you ask for it). We didn't try the food so no idea how was it. Mr. Faisal Ali (I guess the owner/manager) is a very nice, polite and kind person. We told him our concerns about the room and mentioned that we have looked for another place. He understood our issue, and said okay you can check out and charged INR 1,000/- for using the room. I may try this place again in May 2013 (if I can make it to Mussoorie again) and give them another opportunity.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Ramada Neemrana Jaipur Hwy; City: Neemrana Alwar District Rajasthan; Review: A quick 'not so well plan' trip can be fun with Friends. The Best is to have a nice hotel, clean rooms and well service to add that cherry on the cake. Thank You so much to Ramada team for making this trip worthwhile for us. We had an awesome stay and enjoyed a lot. Our next trip will be once you have the swimming pool and spa ready :-))))); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Maurya International; City: Chennai Madras Chennai District Tamil Nadu; Review: Awesome Experience!! The rooms are simple and comfortable Food is okay-okay. Didn't find anything special. The Bar is on the 7th Floor and the entry is from the other-side of the hotel. However, the Bar is dark and nothing special. You may prefer to order through room service. Room Service is prompt and helpful. Please make sure that your TV has proper & clear broadcast.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Aloft Chennai OMR IT Expressway; City: Chennai Madras Chennai District Tamil Nadu; Review: My trip was for 2 days to Chennai and this time was Aloft. The hotel is trendy with some nice games at the lobby. These are just the board games and snooker table. The swimming pool, bar and SPA are equally good. Rooms are very nicely done and maintained well enough. The food is just average. Please expect a delay in room service, so please ask for how much time they will take to deliver. Rest all is good. I will come again soon and for a longer period to experience more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ramada Neemrana Jaipur Hwy; City: Neemrana Alwar District Rajasthan; Review: My stay was for a weekend getaway with friends. The facility has ample space for car parking. I went for a deluxe room. The room is alright and clean. Washroom is clean. Good lightening system. AC is good and really effective. The Breakfast Buffet was awesome; the items included: from america breakfast from omelet, boiled-eggs, backon, sandwich, frozen meat to south indian dosa, idli, etc. Of course, cornflakes, tea, coffee and juice were there too :-))) The staff is polite; my experience interacting with Vishwa Deepak Shukla was good. They are starting a Japanese Restaurant from 13 July (which I have missed but will come back for sure). In-room inclusions were - 1. A mini-fridge with 2 water bottles 2. Tea/Coffee and kettle 3. All sorts of simple toiletries 4. The cupboard has an electronic safe Be careful with the following - 1. Beds (please check for the mattress): I had an extra soft mattress compared to what I am use to. So, it may be a difficult night for individuals who have spondylosis and/or chronic sciatica. 2. The bath-tub is a little small for people who are 6ft and above 3. TV Channels: They have a limited set of channels, specifically International - No Star Movies, HBO, BBC, etc. But TV5 Monde was there. 3. Buffet Dinner: It is only available if there are more than 30 customers. So you may want to check with the in-room services by 7pm and confirm. Else use the à la carte menu. 4. Alcohol Beverages are a little over priced. Overall Ramada has kept their brand and services good. Thank You Ramada Team for making such a pleasant stay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Holiday Hill; City: McLeod Ganj Dharamsala Kangra District Himachal Pradesh; Review: My stay with the HolidayHill was for a weekend. All rooms are good, clean and quiet. They make the food fresh and offer clean dishes/cutlery. They offer wi-fi internet and the connection speed is good. TV is also available with international channels. They have parking space for at least 5 to 6 cars. I would request to contact Showket and check for the parking place before you arrive.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fortune Resort Grace; City: Mussoorie Dehradun District Uttarakhand; Review: The location of the property is strategically very nice. It's just at one end of the Mall Road (side of camel back road) and next to the Library. Getting public transport from here is very easy. Close to the property are chemists and departmental shops. The property is big enough and clean with enough parking space. However, please do makre sure you inform the hotel about your parking at the time of booking. All rooms are good, clean and quiet. TV is also available with international channels but not HD channels. Minibar with Tea/Coffee supplies is also available. The staff is smiling, courteous and helpful. My experience interacting with Neeraj, Ashish, Sachin, Shivani, Bisht and others were awesome. The food menu has a good variety to offer and the preparation was awesome. I had the Breakfast and Dinner buffet which was super awesome in terms of quality and quantity. The food was fresh and offered clean dishes/cutlery. Recreation/Games Area, Gym, Spa and the Orchid Terrace were the best. Few points to take care - 1. The prices for Bottled Water, Tea, Coffee and some other food items is on the higher side (may be because it's a ITC Fortune Brand) 2. The internet is chargeable. 3. Recreation games - Pool table and TV/Video game are also chargeable on half-hour basis. 4. Not all rooms are smoking so please choose accordingly. 5. IMPORTANT: please make sure that your room window / terrace doors are closed....monkey menace did happen with me :-))) Don't pick the rooms in Level 3 (101 series). Too many stairs to climb up-and-down every time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: New Varuni House; City: McLeod Ganj Dharamsala Kangra District Himachal Pradesh; Review: The hotel is located about 200 meters downhill from the His Holiness Dalai Lama Temple. The Rooms are clean. Food is decently priced and is prepared fresh. The staff is very polite and nice. Mr. Sanjay Tickoo is very helpful and really nice to talk to. Thank You so much for making my Diwali week a peaceful and happy stay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Regal Plaza Hotel; City: Dubai Emirate of Dubai; Review: The Hotel is location just next to Al Fahidi Metro Station. The location is good enough for using Metro and walking around Bur Dubai. The Rooms are clean (I took 510 and 512 on 05th Floor). The swimming pool is very small. They have nice food, well prepared; however, the Breakfast buffet was just okay. I liked the evenings in Good Fellas (Sports Bar). The Staff is good and helpful. In all, I give you guys a thumbs-up and thank you so much. NOTE: Kindly make sure that you mention the total number of PAX with your number of rooms. There are additional charges of AED 135 (with Breakfast) or AED 105 (without Breakfast) for every PAX that you have not mentioned while your booking.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Garmin StreetPilot c320 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator; Brand: Garmin; Review: This is a great device, it features a very simple and user friendly menu that is all touch screen. It will display the address and phone number of the business or location you are looking up, very helpful for calling ahead to restaurants. If you want to put all the maps on from the USA, just buy a a gb sd card and you can put every map on it, making it just as functional as the c330, for a lot cheaper! (thats what i did!) You can select from 3 different map views, and they improved the windshield mounts from the first series of garmin models like the i2. The screen is also a healthy 3.5 in so there is plenty of map to see. Including me, three people in my immediate family own one, certainly a great buy!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kodak Easyshare V610 6 MP Digital Camera with 10x Dual-Lens Optical Zoom; Brand: Kodak; Review: The camera is great because it is small enough to slip into your pocket and take wherever. I have been the main picture taker on our family vacations and get-togethers. We had a 10X optical, 5 MP kodak camera that worked well, it was just big and bulky, never to fit in a pocket. The 10X optical zoom on the V610 also works well, the lenses never protrude from the camera when I use the optical zoom. The viewing screen is large and very clear. The menus are very easy to navigate and the on camera editing tools are great. It would also make a fine camera for a beginner. The panorama function works very well also. I have used it multiple times with ease and it created great pictures. The camera turns on quickly and the time between pressing the button and the photo capture is quick. I have had the camera for about a month now and the best thing is the small size without having to compromise in zoom, picture quality, or functionality. The LCD screen does take up some more battery than other cameras just because it is larger, but don't let that stop you from getting the camera. You will be able to take at least 70 or so pictures on a battery and a lot more if you are conservative. My only small frustration was when going skiing, I attempted to video my brother coming down the slope using the 10X optical zoom and the image stabilizer. It was at night and only the lights were on, the camera wouldn't focus on him until he was close, but that may be just because of the low light conditions and glare from the snow. Otherwise the video has worked flawlessly. There is even a terrific function that allows you to pause the video at any time during playback and create a picture from that video frame. (Very useful) My brother bought the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1K,(a very good camera also) before i got the V610 and now he wishes he got the V610.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Zune Home A/V Pack; Brand: Zune; Review: This is a great product, works 100% of the time, and the constant power to the zune to keep the battery charged has not diminished my batter life at all, so don't worry about it. I use it in my dorm room all the time, and it is great to have so other people can interact with it via the remote - which is magnetic, so you can stick it to anything metal, which is super convenient and awesome. My only complaint is that the remote doesn't seem to have the range that a typical tv remote has, and you have to point it directly at the dock from In Front of it for it to work, so that is kind of annoying at times. Even with that considered, this is still a great product and def. worth getting, also because then you have a wall charger for your zune then! (you can plug the usb cable right into the zune from the wall adapter to charge it) You can also plug the RCA cable into the headphone jack to view on the tv with the dock, so it is like a 3 for 1 deal.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Samsung SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder w/34x Optical Zoom (Black); Brand: Samsung; Review: Overall this is a good camera for only around $200. The most important thing that you should know when you are considering buying this camera is that when you record in wide screen mode on your camera (16:9), the file is not initially set to be read as a wide screen file, so it appears in 4:3 ratio in programs. This is relatively easy to fix however, just by importing the video into the software program that comes with it, (Cyberlink Media Show), and then simply re-saving the file, as either mp4, wmv, or mpg. The file is then set to read as a wide screen file, and you can import it into windows movie maker, any other program for editing, or just burn a DVD of the files. You can also just record in 4:3 ratio and bypass all that hassle if you aren't very computer savvy. On a side note, of my own clumsiness, I have dropped my camera twice on cement and it still works fine. If you are looking for an inexpensive camera, which has good battery life, and good zoom, then this is a good buy.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: ZAGG ZAGGfolio for iPad 2/3RD Generation Carbon with Silver Keyboard (FOLCARSLV101); Brand: ZAGG; Review: The keyboard is removable. Great, but the plastic in the case that holds the keyboard into the case can break very easily. The front 1/8th part of the lip that holds the keyboard in on mine broke on both sides - the first time I removed and replaced the keyboard. Both the ipad 3 and the keyboard fit very snugly in the case and are not real easy to slide in or out. I was going to return it, but now the keyboard slides in and out easier, and it didn't harm its functionality or appearance, but I am concerned about the rest of the plastic and its brittle nature in the rest of the case. This case costs too much for that to happen.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: X-Mini II XAM4-B Portable Capsule Speaker, Mono, Black; Brand: X-mini; Review: I use it for about 1 hr a day, at 95% volume, and it has lasted for at least 2 wks. I can't believe the longevity of the battery. The bass production is where this really stands out in regards to other portable mini speakers. (and rechargeable battery! and volume!) I toss it in my bag to take places and no problems yet! I've had it 1.5 months. I recommend it to my friends.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: i.Trek DCGO Tripod Mount Adapter for GoPro HERO Cameras (Black); Brand: i.Trek; Review: This mount is legit. Does exactly what you think it should do. Sturdy, same plastic that the other gopro mounts that are made out of (more-less). Mounts to any standard tripod.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GoPro HD HERO2: Motorsports Edition; Brand: GoPro; Review: 5 stars because GoPro is a great at what they do, and generally it seems to be the negative people that comment. I've had no problem with mine at all. I typically shoot in 720P 60 fps, that way I can slow down action and its still smooth and clear. I recommend the 3+ white instead of this one because they finally got the battery life back to where it should be and the added remote control/app function will be SO helpful. Makes learning how to use the camera/angle it so much easier. Disclaimer: I have yet to buy the 3+ white version, but that will be my next purchase, and I wouldn't hesitate at all to by another GoPro. Overall, this is still a rock solid camera with great battery life and lots of versatility.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: HL163ABB 16-Inch LED LED backlight Monitor; Brand: Hannspree; Review: You are getting what you pay for. Yes, it is inexpensive, but it is also still an HD monitor. IDK about all the technical color balances and refresh rates and all that jazz. I use it for dual window work, information on one screen, write my paper on the other. I would say the average 90% of People can't tell the difference between this screen and a much more expensive one. Stop thinking about it and just buy it. It works. FYI, its widescreen aspect ration (16:9); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: EEEKit for GoPro Hero 1/2/3 Accessory Bundle, Extendable Handheld Monopod for Compact Camera w/ iPhone + GoPro Tripod Mount; Brand: EEEKit; Review: The monopod lacks any ridges to prevent the pole from rotating, so you don't have any stability with your camera, even light ones (i use a gopro) Just save yourself the hassel and get the Xshot. Though, to admit, the GOpro mound is solid and the same one that you can buy individually on Amazon.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 8GB USB 2.0 DTSE9H/8GBZ; Brand: Kingston; Review: Keep it on my car keychain. Still works after over 6 months... or more? of keeping it on the keychain. It is very small, and always handy for those times when I need to transfer some files or photos from a wedding, ect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Honey-Can-Do CRT-01513 Large Folding Shopping Cart Rolling 4-Wheel Utility Wagon, White; Brand: Honey-Can-Do; Review: I ordered this cart with high hopes. I tend to trust Amazon. The first cart arrived with the axel holding the smaller wheels bent. Also Amazon shipped me a cart that had been removed from its shrink wrap. It was no surprise then, that some of the hardware needed to assemble the cart was missing. I returned the cart. That process was very easy. Amazon shipped me a new cart promptly. This time the cart was in its original shrink wrap and all of the hardware was present. BUT THE AXEL ON THE SECOND CART WAS BENT AS WELL. I have requested a UPS pickup of the damaged item, which I assume will occur today. (Pickup was the next day the first time I returned this item.) After finding the second cart's axel bent I bought a super sturdy cart from the Container Store and I am very happy with it.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Pendaflex Extra Capacity Reinforced Hanging Folders, 2", Legal Size, Assorted Colors, 1/5 Cut, 25/BX (4153x2 ASST); Brand: Pendaflex; Review: I replaced my 15 year old dusky olive hanging folders (several had failed) with these bright yellow, cheery folders. They make me happy every time I open my file drawers.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Coupon Organizer (RED); Brand: Regal; Review: I got this to store the 8 grits of sandpaper that I use to refine my polymer clay creations. The dividers are paper, so I had to create new ones, but the Organizer itself is indestructible. And the Velcro is genius.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Smead File Folder, 1/3-Cut Tab, Letter Size, Assorted Neon Colors, 12 per Pack (11925); Brand: Smead; Review: Nowhere in the product listing does it mention that the price is for only TWELVE FOLDERS! TWELVE FOLDERS!!!! I had just ordered ONE HUNDRED bright colored folders for $15. Silly me, I assumed that for $14+ I'd be getting more than 12 folders. I find this a huge, misleading, weasel words rip-off!!! I will never buy this product again.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: AT&T 210 Basic Trimline Corded Phone, No AC Power Required, Wall-Mountable, White; Brand: AT&T; Review: A compact, fit-in-my-desk-drawer, size. Mutable, which is important in my line of work. Sturdy. I expect it to last ten years.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Smead File Folder, 1/3-Cut Tab, Letter Size, Assorted Colors, 100 per Box, (11943); Brand: Smead; Review: Perfect. Great price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Avery 3" Durable View 3 Ring Binder, Slant Ring, Holds 8.5" x 11" Paper, 1 Black Binder (17041); Brand: Avery; Review: Perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AT&T ML17929 2-Line Corded Telephone, Black; Brand: AT&T; Review: Love my new phone. So many built in features like caller ID.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Laptop Table, Adjustable Laptop Bed; Brand: C-color; Review: These sticky notes with adhesive fully covering the back of each sheet are wonderful. My favorite use of them is on my computer, below the keys. I can keep notes there for constant reference. Love them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DecoBros Mesh Desk Organizer with Double Tray and 5 Upright Sections; Brand: Deco Brothers; Review: This organizer changed the way I store the day's charts for the better. I love it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Post-it Super Sticky Notes, 2x Sticking Power, 3 in x 3 in, Marrakesh Collection, 5 Pads/Pack (654-5SSAN); Brand: Post-it; Review: These are advertised as super sticky notes. I expected them to have full adhesive backs, like the other items on this site with that designation. They did not. They simply have a "regular" strip of adhesive. Very disappointing.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Post-it Super Sticky Notes, 2x Sticking Power, 3" x 3", Miami Collection, 12 Pads per; Brand: Post-it; Review: These are advertised as super sticky notes. I expected them to have full adhesive backs, like the other items on this site with that designation. They did not. They simply have a "regular" strip of adhesive. Very disappointing.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: AT-A-GLANCE Weekly Appointment Book / Planner 2017, 8-1/4" x 10-7/8", Black (70-950-05); Brand: AT-A-GLANCE; Review: I buy these every year. They are perfect for my business. I appreciate the mid September reminder page about re-ordering. Just the right timing for me, as I book three months out.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MasterChinese Red Watercolor Chinese Calligraphy Painting Sumi Drawing Kanji Brush Set Jian Hao (Goat-Wolf hair) - Medium -; Brand: MasterChinese; Review: I have loved using these brushes. I deeply appreciate having three sizes so I can select the one I need. Before I had just one size. I have used them with sumi-e ink; watercolor; interference watercolor, metallic watercolor and goache.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sharpie Retractable Fine Point Permanent Markers, 8 Colored Markers (32730PP); Brand: Sharpie; Review: I love these. The retractable feature makes them so much easier to use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sharpie 32707 Retractable Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Assorted Colors, 12 Count; Brand: Sharpie; Review: I love these. The retractable feature makes them so much easier to use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: HP M9L75A#B1H OfficeJet Pro 8720 All-in-One Wireless Printer with Mobile Printing, Instant Ink ready - White (M9L75A); Brand: HP; Review: I have now had this printer for 11 months. It has been a huge disappointment. It replaced another HP printer that lasted only 9 months. It often "stutters" when printing emails or the first time I use it after the weekend, creating unreadable copies. It often has "faults" and requires restarting. Now it won't feed paper, so I cannot fax more than one page (on the glass only) or copy more than on page (on the glass). In view of the fact that TWO HP printers have failed, one (8610) in 9 months and this one (8620) in 11 months, I am switching to Canon again. I used to love HP printers but something has changed.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Office+Style Colored Rubber Bands with Close-Lid Storage Container, 120 Pieces; Brand: Office Style; Review: These rubber bands are bright and vibrant and bring cheer to any dreary day. A few years back elastic and rubber bands began to fail quickly, I am sure by intent. These rubber bands replace my degraded ones, still in their huge bag. Hopefully they will last until they are gone.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Canon PIXMA MX922 Wireless Inkjet Office All-In-One Printer with Corel PaintShop Pro X9 Bundle; Brand: Canon; Review: Wow. If you are going to buy this, buy the installation. I set it up today but couldn't get the document feeder to work. When I went to the Canon chat room for help, I was redirected to a technician who informed me that my entire computer was corrupted, that the driver for the printer, installed today, was corrupted and that for only $199 they could fix it. My computer guy was unavailable so I fell for it. $249 later, the technician who bought a $29 package called CClean while I watched, and cleaned my computer, showed me the correct page in the Canon manual. I was loading the document wrong! So, instead of Canon helping me with that, they turfed me to a company who charged me $249 AND THEN SHOWED ME THE PAGE IN THE MANUAL. Not happy with Canon's customer service.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Office_Products |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Apollo 13 (1995); Genres: Adventure, Drama, IMAX; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pulp Fiction (1994); Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: True Lies (1994); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dances with Wolves (1990); Genres: Adventure, Drama, Western; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Batman (1989); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Batman Forever (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fugitive, The (1993); Genres: Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Aladdin (1992); Genres: Adventure, Animation, Children, Comedy, Musical; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dumb & Dumber (Dumb and Dumber) (1994); Genres: Adventure, Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Stargate (1994); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Clear and Present Danger (1994); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beauty and the Beast (1991); Genres: Animation, Children, Fantasy, Musical, Romance, IMAX; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Outbreak (1995); Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shawshank Redemption, The (1994); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek: Generations (1994); Genres: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cliffhanger (1993); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Jurassic Park (1993); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GoldenEye (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Crimson Tide (1995); Genres: Drama, Thriller, War; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Net, The (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Waterworld (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: While You Were Sleeping (1995); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Braveheart (1995); Genres: Action, Drama, War; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994); Genres: Drama, Horror; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Natural Born Killers (1994); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Firm, The (1993); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); Genres: Action, Sci-Fi; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Seven (a.k.a. Se7en) (1995); Genres: Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mask, The (1994); Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Genres: Comedy, Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lion King, The (1994); Genres: Adventure, Animation, Children, Drama, Musical, IMAX; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Speed (1994); Genres: Action, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Babe (1995); Genres: Children, Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Quiz Show (1994); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Addams Family Values (1993); Genres: Children, Comedy, Fantasy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ghost (1990); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Pretty Woman (1990); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Get Shorty (1995); Genres: Comedy, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Usual Suspects, The (1995); Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Disclosure (1994); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sleepless in Seattle (1993); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Twelve Monkeys (a.k.a. 12 Monkeys) (1995); Genres: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Clueless (1995); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Beverly Hills Cop III (1994); Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Schindler's List (1993); Genres: Drama, War; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Toy Story (1995); Genres: Adventure, Animation, Children, Comedy, Fantasy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dead Man Walking (1995); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fargo (1996); Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dave (1993); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Independence Day (a.k.a. ID4) (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mission: Impossible (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Nutty Professor, The (1996); Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Ransom (1996); Genres: Crime, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rock, The (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cable Guy, The (1996); Genres: Comedy, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Daylight (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mars Attacks! (1996); Genres: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shine (1996); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Restoration (1995); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Twister (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek: First Contact (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mr. Holland's Opus (1995); Genres: Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rumble in the Bronx (Hont faan kui) (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Arrival, The (1996); Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Sleepers (1996); Genres: Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Heat (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995); Genres: Crime, Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: City Hall (1996); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Long Kiss Goodnight, The (1996); Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Frighteners, The (1996); Genres: Comedy, Horror, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: White Squall (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Executive Decision (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Eraser (1996); Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Michael Collins (1996); Genres: Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ghost and the Darkness, The (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Unforgettable (1996); Genres: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: River Wild, The (1994); Genres: Action, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Georgia (1995); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beautiful Girls (1996); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Leaving Las Vegas (1995); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Diabolique (1996); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mulholland Falls (1996); Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Broken Arrow (1996); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Birdcage, The (1996); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Multiplicity (1996); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Heaven's Prisoners (1996); Genres: Crime, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | movielens |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Five facts that blow up the latest White House defense of Trump; Abstract: Trump has declared war on the impeachment inquiry. It's based on demonstrable nonsense.; Category: news
Title: Kamala Harris to Trump Jr: 'You wouldn't know a joke if one raised you'; Abstract: The 2020 democratic hopeful was responding to the President's son calling her "The most disingenuous person in politics, after Hillary" for laughing at her own jokes; Category: news
Title: The News In Cartoons; Abstract: News as seen through the eyes of the nation's editorial cartoonists.; Category: news
Title: 'Be water': Police swoop as Hong Kong protests shift tactics; Abstract: HONG KONG (AP) Tearing a page out of ancient Chinese military philosophy, black-clad protesters in Hong Kong changed tactics and wreaked havoc by popping up in small groups in multiple locations across the city Sunday, pursued by but also often eluding police who made scores of muscular arrests.; Category: news
Title: A Kansas 13-year-old was charged with a felony for pointing a finger gun at her classmates; Abstract: The girl is facing a felony for threatening her classmates after another teen asked her who in the class she would kill if given the chance.; Category: news
Title: Patrick Day in coma after suffering brutal knockout; Abstract: The junior middleweight underwent emergency brain surgery after being knocked out by Charles Conwell.; Category: sports
Title: The News In Cartoons; Abstract: News as seen through the eyes of the nation's editorial cartoonists.; Category: news
Title: UK says fatal crash suspect doesn't have diplomatic immunity; Abstract: British media are reporting that the wife of an American official who left the U.K. after being involved in a fatal road accident no longer has diplomatic immunity. BBC and Sky News said Sunday that U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had told the family of Harry Dunn that "immunity is no longer pertinent" because the suspect has left the U.K.; Category: news
Title: Five facts that blow up the latest White House defense of Trump; Abstract: Trump has declared war on the impeachment inquiry. It's based on demonstrable nonsense.; Category: news
Title: Whistleblowers and the Real Deep State; Abstract: Civil servants too often forget they work for the people and seek to impose their own policy agendas.; Category: news
Title: Trump sends $50 million in emergency funds to Syria; Abstract: The funds are meant to "protect persecuted ethnic and religious minorities and advance human rights"; Category: news
Title: New Hampshire shooting: Man barged into a church and wounded bride and bishop; Abstract: A gunman barged into a church in New Hampshire and opened fire, wounding a bride and the bishop before wedding guests tackled him, authorities said. Investigators want to know if the attack is related to another fatal shooting this month.; Category: news
Title: Trump labels Tlaib a 'despicable human being'; Abstract: President Trump attacked Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Twitter Sunday after she said in an interview that House Democrats have discussed jailing allies of the president who refused to comply with congressional subpoenas."A despicable human being!" Trump tweeted in a post that also retweeted commentary on the matter by White House social media director Dan Scavino, who accused Democrats of planning a "coup."A despicable human being!...; Category: news
Title: Mortgage Closing Scams: What You Need To Know; Abstract: You've saved up for a down payment for a couple of years. You've looked at a dozen or more houses.; Category: finance
Title: 'People Search Sites' Make Money Selling Access To Public Documents; Abstract: Some worry it could be picking at personal privacy.; Category: video
Title: Kate Upton was so fired up after the Astros' big defensive play; Abstract: The Houston Astros made a great defensive play to keep Game 2 of the ALCS tied in the sixth inning, and perhaps nobody was more excited about it than Kate Upton.; Category: sports
Title: Is There Such A Thing As A Harmless Crush When You're Married?; Abstract: "Do you need help with those bags?"I am walking past the Studio City Starbucks to my car, carrying two medium-sized shopping bags from Papyrus. Without looking up, I smile politely in hisdirection and shake my head "no." Next, I hear his footsteps and briefly feelthe warmth of his hand next to mine as he gently takes the larger of the twobags out of one of my hands ― he smells like a freshly laundered T-shirt.It's a move that I would typically...; Category: lifestyle
Title: Amazing Video Shows Massive Cruise Ship Squeezing Through Narrow Canal; Abstract: Watch a massive cruise ship squeeze through a narrow canal.; Category: video
Title: DC sniper asks Supreme Court to invalidate juvenile life sentences for murders; Abstract: Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the two "D.C. snipers" whose murderous seven-week rampage terrorized the nation's capital region in 2002, wants a chance at getting his life back.; Category: news
Title: High school soccer: Chloe DeLyser sets record for most goals scored; Abstract: Chloe DeLyser, an Ohio State commit, scored her 317th goal Tuesday night, setting a new national record for a high school girls soccer player.; Category: sports
Title: The Difference Between Green and Orange Antifreeze; Abstract: What's the difference between different colors of antifreeze? Should different colors of coolant be mixed? Find out here.; Category: autos
Title: Six people are dead after a mass shooting in Puerto Rico; Abstract: ; Category: news
Title: Trump left Kurdish fighters 'to the wolves' -- Ambassador Susan Rice; Abstract: President Donald Trump shattered U.S. credibility, handed Russia a victory on the world stage and threw Kurdish fighters "to the wolves" by withdrawing 1,000 U.S. military out of northern Syrian, former United Nations ambassador and national security adviser Susan Rice said in Seattle on Monday night. "How's that for a week's work?" she asked. Discussing what she called "a catastrophe," Rice delivered a scathing critique of Trump's decision,...; Category: news
Title: Outer Banks storms unearth old shipwreck from 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'; Abstract: A recent storm on the Outer Banks unearthed an old shipwreck buried on the beach in Hatteras Island. A local bar shared photos of the old wooden ship in its final resting place in the area known as "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." "A Wreck across the street from The Wreck! A lot of sand has washed out with this Nor'Easter & look what's been exposed!" The Wreck Tiki Bar in Hatteras, North ...; Category: news
Title: Orange vs. White Cheddar Cheese: What's The Difference, Anyway?; Abstract: Americans love cheese, and we're eating more of it than ever: about 37 pounds per year per capita, in fact, more than double what we ate four decades ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Food Network star Carl Ruiz died of clogged arteries; Abstract: Food Network's Carl Ruiz's cause of death was "atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," The Maryland Department of Health confirmed.; Category: tv
Title: China Is Leasing an Entire Pacific Island. Its Residents Are Shocked.; Abstract: SYDNEY, Australia The island of Tulagi served as a South Pacific headquarters for Britain then Japan, and during World War II, its natural deepwater harbor made it a military gem. Now, China is moving in with plans to effectively take control. Under a secretive deal signed last month with a provincial government in the Solomon Islands, a Beijing-based company with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party has secured exclusive development...; Category: news
Title: Ohio voters express angst over impeachment; Abstract: Support for impeachment may be on the rise, but the view from central Ohio is strikingly complicated and nuanced.; Category: news
Title: Coast Guard offloads $92 million worth of smuggled cocaine in San Diego; Abstract: The Coast Guard offloaded more than 6,800 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $92 million in San Diego on Wednesday, contraband that the military branch seized in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean.; Category: news
Title: Sallie Mae execs tan at Maui retreat while student debt crisis tops $1.6 trillion; Abstract: As borrowers struggle to keep up with their payments, Sallie Mae flew more than 100 employees on its sales team to Hawaii to celebrate $5 billion in sales.; Category: finance
Title: 'This is corruption, plain and simple': Democrats and media respond to G-7 being held at Trump resort; Abstract: Democrats and members of the media slammed President Trump after his acting chief of staff announced the G-7 summit would be held at Trump National Doral.; Category: news
Title: Hours before passing, Elijah Cummings signed subpoenas directed to two US immigration agencies; Abstract: In one of his last official acts before his death, the late House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings signed two subpoenas for documents related to a temporary end to a policy change that allowed some immigrants with severe health issues to remain in the US.; Category: news
Title: 'The Office' star Jenna Fischer responds to Chrissy Teigen's theory that Jim and Pam are divorced; Abstract: Jenna, who played Pam opposite John Krasinski's Jim on the hit NBC sitcom, thinks Chrissy got it wrong.; Category: tv
Title: $42 million price cut on tech billionaire's Silicon Valley monster mansion; Abstract: Silicon Valley big shot Scott McNealy drastically slashed the price on his mega Portola Valley, Calif., mansion on over 13 serene acres. McNealy originally listed the estate, which includes a 28,000-square-foot house, for $96.8 million in June 2018. The new listing price is $54.8 million, an impressive $42 million price cut.; Category: finance
Title: Scotch whisky distributors face US tariffs after today; Abstract: Whisky makes up 12.4% of all exports to the US from the UK.; Category: finance
Title: Letter To The Editor: Plight Of The Orcas; Abstract: Five major reasons the Southern Resident orcas are in trouble...and what we can do to help them.; Category: weather
Title: What's the Best Way to Store Coffee Beans?; Abstract: The best way to store your coffee beans and keep them fresh depends on how soon you plan to use them.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Trump's Syria letter reportedly made Erdogan so angry, he threw it in the trash; Abstract: Trump's letter attempting to convince Erdogan not to attack U.S.-allied Kurds in Syria drew both condemnation and ridicule from critics in Washington.; Category: news
Title: Traders pocket 'stunning' profits after Trump's comments on trade talks goose the stock market; Abstract: One longtime CME trader's says this kind of stock-market manipulation hasn't been seen since al Qaeda cashed in before initiating the Sept. 11 attacks.; Category: news
Title: Hong Kong riot police teargas, chase protesters, residents jeer officers; Abstract: Hong Kong riot police teargas, chase protesters, residents jeer officers; Category: news
Title: Exciting astronomy events coming up over the Pacific Northwest; Abstract: There's a lot happening in the night sky in the upcoming days and weeks.; Category: weather
Title: How Often Should You Change Synthetic Oil?; Abstract: There's more than one answer, so let us simplify it for you, starting with outlining the advantages of synthetic oil.; Category: autos
Title: New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel collapse: two cranes demolished at construction site in New Orleans; Abstract: Now that two cranes at the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans are toppled, crews can begin searching for two bodies that remain in the debris, city officials said Sunday.; Category: news
Title: Quick Jack: The Safer and Faster Alternative to a Floor Jack; Abstract: We show you how to set up Quick Jack, the faster and safer alternative to using a traditional floor jack and jack stands.; Category: autos
Title: 2nd serious crash in a week along Fall City Road in Preston raises concerns; Abstract: Three people were seriously hurt Sunday morning in what was the second major crash along Fall City Road in Preston. The Snoqualmie Fire Department responded to Preston-Fall City Road and 328 Way SE around 11 a.m. Sunday. A truck and vehicle sustained extensive damage in the collision. "I've lost count of the number of times those accidents have happened out here. It's just that common," said Matthew Paulsholmer, who's lived in the River View...; Category: autos
Title: Trump Has More Than 2,500 Conflicts of Interest and Counting, Live Tracker by Watchdog Finds; Abstract: Though Trump canceled the G7 summit at his Doral property, it "absolutely" still counts as a conflict of interest because he promoted his resort in the process, the watchdog told Newsweek.; Category: news
Title: Major flooding expected on Snoqualmie River after heavy rain; Abstract: Major flooding is forecast for the Snoqualmie River on Tuesday following heavy rainfall overnight. The Snoqualmie River is expected to crest at 11 p.m. Tuesday at 56.3 feet. The flood stage is at 54 feet. At 41,000 cubic feet per second, the Snoqualmie River is expected to cause major flooding from the town of Snoqualmie downstream through Fall City. Most farmland in the flood plain is expected to be inundated. The floodwaters are expected to be...; Category: weather
Title: Oil continues two-day decline with concerns over global economy; Abstract: Oil fell for a second session amid concern that a fragile economic outlook will weigh on fuel demand.; Category: finance
Title: The Loudest Bird in the World Has a Song Like a Pile Driver; Abstract: The pressures of sexual selection have made peacocks gorgeous, wood thrushes sonorous and birds of paradise great dancers. At first glance, the white bellbird doesn't appear to have benefited similarly. Barrel-chested and big-mouthed, with a long wattle dangling from the top of its beak, this rainforest bird looks more like a Muppet than an avian Casanova. But everyone's got their thing. According to a paper published Monday in Current Biology,...; Category: news
Title: Trump's Rallies Aren't Just Part of His Campaign. They Are the Campaign.; Abstract: The president is banking on base-pleasing campaign events more meticulously produced this time to outweigh any need for a fresh message to skeptical voters and to counter a probe that threatens his political future.; Category: news
Title: Hong Kong government withdraws bill that sparked protests; Abstract: Secretary for Security John Lee told the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's legislature that the government suspended the bill because it had resulted in "conflicts in society."; Category: news
Title: James R. Ellis: The Northwest's greatest civic leader passes at 98; Abstract: Some people like to talk about change: James R. Ellis made it happen, shaping Seattle and King County more than any person from the 1950s past the dawn of the 21st century. Ellis, the "father of Metro", architect of the Lake Washington cleanup, mastermind of Freeway Park and the Seattle Convention Center, is dead at the age of 98. "He never served in elective office but mightily shaped this region and so much of what we treasure about this...; Category: news
Title: Trump suggests Kurds relocate as US considers deploying armored vehicles to protect oil fields; Abstract: President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that the US military would continue securing oil fields in Syria while also suggesting that America's onetime allies in the fight against ISIS, the Syrian Kurds, consider moving to the region that houses those oil fields, a move that would see them relocate from their traditional homelands to a desert area hundreds of miles away.; Category: news
Title: Mitch McConnell snubbed by Elijah Cummings' pallbearer in handshake line at U.S. Capitol ceremony; Abstract: A pallbearer appeared to refuse to shake Mitch McConnell's hand as Rep. Elijah Cummings was lying in state at the Capitol.; Category: news
Title: Does Tire Rotation Include Tightening Lug Nuts? Michigan Court Thinks About It For Awhile, Concludes 'No'; Abstract: In what will surely go down in history as one of the most Galaxy Brain court rulings of all time, a Michigan appeals court determined that a tire rotation does not, in fact, include tightening the lug nuts.; Category: autos
Title: Fake Facebook Ad Claiming Lindsey Graham Backs the Green New Deal is Actually a Test for Zuckerberg; Abstract: "It just shows you that only is Facebook not enforcing any kind of truth in advertising, there's no tools for people to get it to the fact-checkers that I can see and people believe it," the man behind the fake 90-second ad told Newsweek.; Category: news
Title: Fisherman In Middle Of Lake Makes An Adorably Unexpected Catch; Abstract: Brett Hereford was out fishing on a lake in Montana with his family earlier this month when he made the catch of a lifetime.; Category: news
Title: G.M. Workers Approve Contract and End U.A.W. Strike; Abstract: The longest nationwide strike against General Motors in half a century ended on Friday after a solid majority of the company's union members delivered their support for the four-year contract hammered out by their leaders. The United Auto Workers union emerged with substantial wage increases and succeeded in ending a two-tier wage structure that had been a particular irritant in its ranks. It also won commitments to new G.M. investments in...; Category: finance
Title: Anonymous Trump official writing 'unprecedented' inside take; Abstract: NEW YORK (AP) The Trump administration official who wrote an anonymous essay about resistance from the inside has a book deal. The book, titled "A Warning", will come out Nov. 19, The Hachette Book Group imprint Twelve announced Tuesday. It will likely set off the biggest Washington guessing game since "Primary Colors," the fictionalized take on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign that turned out to be written by journalist Joe Klein....; Category: news
Title: Meghan King Edmonds, Jim Edmonds' Nanny Denies Cheating Allegations; Abstract: Meghan King Edmonds, Jim Edmonds' Nanny Denies Cheating Allegations; Category: entertainment
Title: New Mexico's 'Little Texas' Booms, Igniting Battles Over Oil Windfall; Abstract: A frenetic oil boom is suddenly lifting one of the poorest states in the country into the top ranks of global oil producers. Normally that might be a cause for celebration. But the windfall is laying bare a deep political divide.; Category: news
Title: People drive crazy in center turn lanes. How far can you legally travel in one?; Abstract: Q: How far are you legally allowed to drive in the center turn lane? -- Randy N. A: Randy has a nit to pick with some of his fellow motorists in the Spanaway area. "I guess I didn't get the memo that it's now legal to drive in the center turn lane for a half or three-quarters of a mile before the left-turn light on Spanaway Loop Road South and Military Road South," he wrote to us at ...; Category: news
Title: Divers Find Giant Mysterious 'Egg' Floating In Ocean; Abstract: A team of divers set off to explore a sunken World War II ship off the Norwegian coast, but what they found was something far more mysterious. While making their way back to shore, Ronald Raasch, Nils Baadness and Brynjar Aarnseth came face-to-face with a giant floating orb. The bubble hovered 17 meters (56 feet) below the surface and appeared to be see-through. The divers turned their flashlights on it and realized that the sphere was filled...; Category: lifestyle
Title: NASA posts photo of the sun looking like a giant flaming jack-o'-lantern; Abstract: If you thought the super blood wolf moon was scary, you haven't seen what the sun is capable of.; Category: news
Title: We Can't Actually Keep Syria's Oil, but Lindsey Graham Wants Trump to Think We Can; Abstract: Want to change Trump's mind? Appeal to his greed.; Category: news
Title: President Donald Trump greeted with boos at Game 5 of World Series, fans chant 'lock him up'; Abstract: President Donald Trump was greeted with a thunderous chorus of boos from the sold-out crowd of baseball fans at Nationals Park.; Category: news
Title: Fox News contributor: 'Most likely' outcome is Trump doesn't run in 2020; Abstract: Fox News contributor Christopher Hahn predicted that President Trump will not run for reelection in 2020.; Category: news
Title: Arnold Schwarzenegger among stars forced to evacuate homes as California wildfires rage; Abstract: Thousands of Los Angeles residents -- including stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger -- were forced to evacuate their homes Monday morning after a wildfire broke out on the west side of the city, dubbed the Getty Fire.; Category: entertainment
Title: Freelancers fear California's new gig worker law will wipe them out; Abstract: Although every employer located in California is subject to the law, freelancers fear that AB 5 will discourage more employers from out of state from hiring Californians to avoid the paperwork and legal liabilities implicit in the law.; Category: finance
Title: 7 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Watch Scary Movies; Abstract: Discover what the "boo!" factor can do to your body and your mind.; Category: health
Title: The toxic bubble of technical debt threatening America; Abstract: Climate change will soon expose a crippling problem embedded in the nation's infrastructure. In fire-ravaged California, it already has.; Category: finance
Title: Nicki Minaj's wedding ring is 17 carats, worth $1.1M: Pic; Abstract: Nicki Minaj showed off her new wedding ring on Instagram.; Category: music
Title: Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation; Abstract: Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation; Category: news
Title: Green Beret awarded Medal of Honor for saving lives; Abstract: Master Sergeant Matthew Williams and his team of green berets choppered into a remote Afghan valley in the spring of 2008. Their mission, part of which was recorded, was to capture or kill a senior terrorist leader. But nothing went right. To begin with, it was too rocky to land.; Category: news
Title: Toyota Dealer in Alabama Selling Slightly Used Supra for $167,000; Abstract: The Launch Edition model has 182 miles on the odometer and a price three times the cost of the car as new.; Category: autos
Title: 40 conservative groups sign ethics complaint against Pelosi; Abstract: A coalition of conservative groups have filed an ethics complaint against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), arguing among other charges that she has usurped authority from the executive branch by "weaponiz[ing]" the impeachment process.In a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics, 40 conservative groups led by Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots Action wrote to board chairman David Skaggs arguing that a vote scheduled for this week...; Category: news
Title: Surfing executive sentenced to prison in college admissions scam; Abstract: Federal prosecutors in Boston said Wednesday that surfing executive Jeffrey Bizzack has been sentenced to two months in prison for participating in the massive college admissions scheme.; Category: news
Title: More than 18,000 TSA employees flock to private Facebook group to vent; Abstract: Some of the posts called passengers, "pretty (expletive) stupid," while others wished their planes would "blow up."; Category: travel
Title: White House Pressed Car Makers to Join Its Fight Over California Emissions Rules; Abstract: WASHINGTON Monday's surprise move by General Motors, Toyota and other auto giants to back President Trump in his fight with California over pollution rules came after days of White House pressure to support one of the administration's biggest efforts to weaken climate regulations. Previously, many automakers had indicated to California that they would not take a stand, according to Mary D. Nichols, chairwoman of California's clean air...; Category: news
Title: Pompeo says Trump-Zelensky call was 'consistent' with administration policy; Abstract: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that President Trump's infamous July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "consistent" with the administration's policies.; Category: news
Title: Boeing says up to 50 planes grounded globally over cracks; Abstract: Crisis-hit Boeing faced fresh safety concerns Thursday, as the firm admitted cracks were found in up to 50 of its popular 737NG planes following worldwide inspections.; Category: finance
Title: John Krasinski Shares the Secret to His 9-Year Marriage to Emily Blunt; Abstract: John Krasinski talked to E! News exclusively about how he and Emily Blunt, who share two daughters, maintain a healthy work-life balance.; Category: movies
Title: Former NBA first-round pick Jim Farmer arrested in sex sting operation; Abstract: Farmer, 55, was booked for trafficking a person for a commercial sex act.; Category: sports
Title: Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation; Abstract: Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation; Category: news
Title: The ice used to protect them. Now their island is crumbling into the sea.; Abstract: Shrinking ice, rising sea levels and fierce storms are damaging the Magdalen Islands. Residents are trying to fend off the water in some places, and retreat from it in others.; Category: weather
Title: Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween Costume Transformation Is Mind-Blowing But, Like, What Is It?; Abstract: You might say she's scary good at playing dress-up, because Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween costume is even more impressive than we could have imagined and that's saying a lot, considering transformative Halloween costumes are kind of her thing. But this year Klum took it up one more notch as she shared her metamorphosis into,; Category: lifestyle
Title: A security empire deployed guards with violent pasts across the US. Some went on to rape, assault or kill; Abstract: G4S, the largest private security company in the world, sells armed guards as a high-quality, low-cost alternative to police. This is the price.; Category: finance
Title: Ex-VA Secretary Shulkin discovered ouster plans in memo left on copier; Abstract: "Once you're faced with a piece of paper that a staff member brings you, you can't really ignore it any further," he said.; Category: news
Title: Where Are the High Crimes and Misdemeanors?; Abstract: No, the Constitution doesn't allow impeachment just because you despise the president.; Category: news
Title: Shippers seek alternatives for oil as crews work toward plugging Keystone leak; Abstract: Shippers seek alternatives for oil as crews work toward plugging Keystone leak; Category: news
Title: A day in the life of the top real-estate broker in Miami, who commutes by ferry to the richest ZIP code in the US and sold more than $189 million of luxury homes in 2018; Abstract: Dora Puig sells multimillion-dollar condos on Fisher Island, the richest ZIP code in the US, where the average income is $2.2 million.; Category: news
Title: 14 Year-End Tax Moves to Make Right Now; Abstract: Here are some ways you could save money and make your financial life easier when tax time rolls around.; Category: finance
Title: The Ultimate Guide to Mushrooms; Abstract: There are far more types of mushrooms than what you usually find in your grocery store. Consider this a visual mushroom guide to our favorites, from abalone to shiitake.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Krispy Kreme orders Minnesota student who bought, resold doughnuts to 'shut down operations'; Abstract: The people of Minnesota appear to once again be without Krispy Kreme doughnuts.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: These Bubble-gum Pink Lakes in Australia Are One of Nature's Most Unusual Wonders; Abstract: Add it to the bucket list.; Category: travel
Title: Wildfires, power outages, now flooding? California has a dam problem and desert communities might be in danger; Abstract: A new report by the Army Corps of Engineers says Californians may have to add risk of flooding in desert communities to their list of hardships.; Category: weather
Title: Here Are the Biggest Deals We're Anticipating for Black Friday; Abstract: The Black Friday deals for 2019 have already begun leaking out. Get a sneak peek at what to expect from popular retailers like Costco, Walmart, and Best Buy. Browse our guide and use it to plan your attack for the biggest shopping event of the year.; Category: lifestyle
Title: From cat names to fruit, here are 11 bizarre things celebrities have tried to trademark; Abstract: From Taylor Swift to Kylie Jenner, a lot of stars have tried to trademark things like commonly used terms, song lyrics, and signature catchphrases.; Category: entertainment
Title: BART worker rescues man from oncoming train; Abstract: A California rapid transit employee is being hailed as a hero for rescuing a man who fell onto the tracks as a train was approaching the platform.; Category: news
Title: US Rep. Ilhan Omar divorces husband in Minnesota; Abstract: Rep. Ilhan Omar has officially divorced from her husband in Minnesota, just a month after she filed a petition saying there was an "irretrievable breakdown" in their marriage. Omar and Ahmed Hirsi had been married since January 2018 but were longtime partners. Omar says Hirsi is the father of her three children. The marriage was dissolved Tuesday after paperwork was signed by court personnel. The divorce comes months after a...; Category: news
Title: Under shroud of secrecy US weapons arrive in Yemen despite Congressional outrage; Abstract: The awkward camera angle is meant to hide the fact that the owner of the phone is filming, but there is no mistaking the outlines of the heavy cargo being deposited on the dock in the Yemeni port of Aden last week.; Category: news
Title: Why Emma Watson Is Calling Herself 'Self-Partnered' Ahead of Turning 30; Abstract: Watson opens up about the stress of turning 30 in the cover story for the December issue of 'British Vogue.'; Category: entertainment
Title: See dolphins punt fish out of water to stun and eat them; Abstract: New video shows wild bottlenose dolphins kicking fish into the air before eating them, just one trick in their arsenal of feeding tactics.; Category: travel
Title: LA firefighter banked $360,010 in overtime pay in one year, city audit finds; Abstract: Eighteen employees of the Los Angeles Fire Department earned more than $200,000 in overtime pay last fiscal year, with one firefighter making $360,010 in overtime alone, according to an audit released Wednesday by City Controller Ron Galperin.; Category: news
Title: At height of crisis, Walgreens handled nearly one in five of the most addictive opioids; Abstract: Federal lawsuit alleges that Walgreens failed to stop opioid diversion as the epidemic spread.; Category: finance
Title: Trump to spend $300 million on border wall "quality assurance"; Abstract: The announcement comes just days after reports that the president's signature wall is not particularly secure.; Category: news
Title: Great Barrier Reef: scientists find high levels of pesticides and blast chemical regulator; Abstract: Pesticides found in reef catchment include Atrazine, a herbicide banned in 60 countries; Category: news
Title: Gregg Jarrett: Whistleblower not entitled to anonymity He's an informant acting as a Democratic operative; Abstract: The notion that the Ukraine "whistleblower" is somehow entitled to anonymity was probably first peddled by The Flat Earth Society. It is a myth and demonstrably so.; Category: news
Title: China Touts Fentanyl Convictions, Tackling Key Trade Talks Issue; Abstract: China sentenced three nationals to maximum punishments for smuggling fentanyl to the U.S., in one of its highest-profile moves yet against the illicit flow of opioids that President Donald Trump has made a bone of contention in broader trade talks between Washington and Beijing.; Category: news
Title: Ukraine's Zelensky Bowed to Trump's Demands, Until Luck Spared Him; Abstract: It was early September, and Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, faced an agonizing choice: whether to capitulate to President Trump's demands to publicly announce investigations against his political enemies or to refuse, and lose desperately needed military aid.; Category: news
Title: 12 Fall Landscaping Mistakes to Know and Avoid; Abstract: Whether you have a green thumb when it comes to your home garden, or you can hardly tell the difference between a rose and a weed, you should know that there are certain landscaping tasks that need to be done right to keep your home exterior looking its best. But to do that, you must avoid the most common fall landscaping blunders.; Category: lifestyle
Title: Snow crab sells for record price in Japan; Abstract: A "five shining star" snow crab was auctioned off in Tottori, Japan for a record-breaking 5 million yen ($46,000). wide.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Republicans are throwing Giuliani under the bus. But there's a problem.; Abstract: Giuliani, Mulvaney and Sondland as the fall guys? Good luck with that argument.; Category: news
Title: 36 Old Words We Use Today but with New Meanings; Abstract: Words sometimes have two meanings, as Led Zeppelin sang in "Stairway to Heaven.; Category: lifestyle
Title: After Mormon Family's Terror in Mexico, a Message Emerges: No One Is Safe; Abstract: After Mormon Family's Terror in Mexico, a Message Emerges: No One Is Safe By Azam Ahmed LA MORA, Mexico Andre Miller saw the column of black smoke rising from at least a mile away.; Category: news
Title: OJ Simpson suing Vegas hotel for defamation over 2017 TMZ story claiming 'belligerence'; Abstract: ; Category: sports
Title: Facing lawsuit, DeVos erases student loans for 1,500; Abstract: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday said she will forgive loans for more than 1,500 borrowers who attended a pair of for-profit colleges that shut down last year.; Category: news | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Nordic Ware 42210 Toaster Oven 2-Piece Broiler, Metalic Gold; Brand: Nordic Ware; Review: It fits in my EuroPro TO32 like it was made just for it. The finish seem durable and wipes clean with a dry towel with ease.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prepworks by Progressive Vegetable Cutter, Features ” and ½” Interchangeable Cutting Blades, French Fries, Carrots, Small Potatoes, Veggie Sticks; Brand: Progressive; Review: This is my third version of this French Fry Cutter. The first one was lost in a move somehow, the second was "remodeled" by a curious child. Great product, worth replacing each time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Seychelle 1-40101-W Family Water Pitcher, Regular; Brand: Seychelle; Review: Much better than standard filter pitchers. Not perfect, but a giant step above those you normally find at the grocery store.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 9" Round Silicone Cake Mold Pan (9" round x 2 1/4" deep - colors may vary); Brand: U.S. Cake Supply; Review: What I expected and it is a lovely shade of red. It was purchased to replace similar item stolen from my home.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lodge L27C3 Cast Iron Cornstick Pan, 7-stick; Brand: Lodge; Review: It is the exact same cornstick mold that was stolen from our home. A perfect replacement!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gen 2 Reservoir & Filters for Seychelle Gen 1 Family Water Pitcher 1-40101-W; Brand: Seychelle; Review: Nice product upgrade.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: The Stunning Escape of El Chapo's Son: It's Like 'a Bad Netflix Show'; Abstract: MEXICO CITY Escape, it seems, is a trait shared in the Guzmán family. So is embarrassing the government of Mexico. Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo, eluded the grasp of the government numerous times in tunnels, behind closets, beneath bathtubs and through steep ravines in the remote mountains of Sinaloa. He even managed to escape prison, twice. The latest family member to escape apprehension El Chapo's son, Ovidio...; Category: news
Title: California governor pardons 3 convicted immigrants to help block deportations; Abstract: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Friday announced he's pardoning three immigrants who committed crimes as part of an effort to protect them from being deported back to their home countries.; Category: news
Title: Quiet Riot Drummer Reveals Stage-Four Cancer Diagnosis; Abstract: Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali has revealed that he has been battling stage-four pancreatic cancer since this past April. Since the 2007 death of singer Kevin DuBrow, Banali has been the only member of the band's classic lineup to continue to play with the band. He's also been the group's most consistent band member since 1982. "The original prognosis was very scary," he said in a statement posted to podcast host Mitch Lafon's Facebook page....; Category: music
Title: After Soldiers Surrender El Chapo's Son, a Shocked Mexican City Sighs With Relief; Abstract: In the days following the siege of the city of Culiacán by the Sinaloa cartel, residents were overcome with relief: Relief that the terror is over.; Category: news
Title: Gabbard says she's open to 'face-to-face' meeting with Clinton, amid 'Russian asset' accusation; Abstract: Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard suggested that a "face-to-face" with Hillary Clinton might be an appropriate next step.; Category: news
Title: "The Rock" Just Shared His Gym Bag Essentials And Whipped Out a Bag of Hot Dogs; Abstract: He starts his day at the gym at 4 a.m. So let's take a peek into Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's bag of tricks . . .; Category: health
Title: Detroit Metro Airport to Allow Limited Visitors Past Security; Abstract: DTW joins airports in Pittsburgh and Tampa as the only in the country to allow non-ticketed guests past security.; Category: travel
Title: Helen Hunt Posts First Pic Following Car Accident: 'Back at Work'; Abstract: The actress is back on the set of the 'Mad About You' reboot.; Category: movies
Title: Kelsey Berreth Murder: Jury Selection In Patrick Frazee Trial Begins Monday; Abstract: Patrick Frazee, now 33, is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of solicitation of murder in the death of Kelsey Berreth.; Category: news
Title: Kamala Harris skipping forum to protest award given to Trump; Abstract: White House hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris will skip a forum at Benedict College after the school honored President Trump.; Category: news
Title: Judge: Brad Pitt, others can be sued over New Orleans homes; Abstract: The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate reports Pitt and other foundation directors asked the court to remove them from the lawsuit, saying they weren't personally responsible for the construction.; Category: movies
Title: R. Kelly Set To Face Off With Alleged Sexual Assault Victim in Court; Abstract: The singer remains locked up.; Category: music
Title: Woman, 78, gets 22 years for attempted murder of lawyer; Abstract: A 78-year-old Louisiana woman has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for trying to kill her attorney. Patricia Currie of Mandeville was 75 when she raised a loaded shotgun toward Keith Couture in 2016.; Category: news
Title: Space satellite crashes in front yard of Michigan home; Abstract: The debris fell to the ground on a farm in Merrill, Michigan, Saturday.; Category: news
Title: 14 of the world's most terrifying airport runways; Abstract: From an island where the runway ends on a popular beach to a runway made of ice in Antarctica, these airports are why airplanes have sick bags.; Category: travel
Title: Ben Affleck Breaks Silence After "Slip" In Sobriety; Abstract: "I'm not going to let it detrail me," the Oscar winner told cameras while heading into ex Jennifer Garner's home.; Category: movies
Title: Officials cringe as Trump spills sensitive details of al-Baghdadi raid; Abstract: Some details the president has revealed are inaccurate, others are classified. Officials say they worry what to put in briefings for a man with no filter.; Category: news
Title: Infected toe stops R. Kelly from attending court hearing; Abstract: CHICAGO (AP) R. Kelly's lawyer has told a federal judge that an infected toe prevented the R&B star from attending a hearing in his child pornography case in Chicago. Kelly is detained at a jail two blocks from the courthouse and had been expected to appear at Wednesday's status hearing. But defense lawyer Steve Greenberg said one of Kelly's toenails had to be removed as treatment and Kelly worried someone might trample on his toe as he was...; Category: music
Title: Most adults over 50 would rather die than do this; Abstract: Older adults would rather die than reside in a nursing care facility, Nationwide Retirement Institute found. Even worse, they find long-term care expenses terrifying. The annual cost of a private room in a nursing home is now $102,200, according to Genworth Financial.; Category: finance
Title: Most adults over 50 would rather die than do this; Abstract: Older adults would rather die than reside in a nursing care facility, Nationwide Retirement Institute found. Even worse, they find long-term care expenses terrifying. The annual cost of a private room in a nursing home is now $102,200, according to Genworth Financial.; Category: finance
Title: Passenger Booted From Diverted Flight After Threatening Rant; Abstract: The woman was escorted off the plane and taken for a mental health evaluation.; Category: travel
Title: Cuba Gooding Jr. pleads not guilty to new sexual misconduct charges; Abstract: Cuba Gooding Jr. was back in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday for his groping case. The actor pleaded not guilty to new misdemeanor charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse, according to Reuters. A smirking Cuba Gooding was smirking as he was lead into court in handcuffs for his arraignment in new sex assault charges. Page Six also reported that a detective refused to shake the star's hand as they passed each other outside the Manhattan...; Category: movies
Title: Miller Lite offers free beer for unfollowing them, Natural Light joins in; Abstract: This might be the easiest way to score a few free beers.; Category: foodanddrink
Title: Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween Costume Transformation Is Mind-Blowing But, Like, What Is It?; Abstract: You might say she's scary good at playing dress-up, because Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween costume is even more impressive than we could have imagined and that's saying a lot, considering transformative Halloween costumes are kind of her thing. But this year Klum took it up one more notch as she shared her metamorphosis into,; Category: lifestyle
Title: First Look! SEMA 2019 Move-In Gallery Inside the Las Vegas Convention Center; Abstract: This is your first look at SEMA 2019 inside the Las Vegas Convention Center before the show begins.; Category: autos
Title: Report: NFL considers allowing a Chargers move to London; Abstract: ; Category: sports
Title: Johnson, in phone call, urges Trump to lift tariffs on scotch whisky; Abstract: Johnson, in phone call, urges Trump to lift tariffs on scotch whisky; Category: news
Title: Chargers owner Dean Spanos shoots down report of possible London move with expletive-laden denial; Abstract: Dean Spanos responded with sharp language to a report from The Athletic indicating the Chargers had been discussed for a potential move to London.; Category: sports
Title: Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Production Postponed Until February 2020; Abstract: The car was supposed to be hitting dealers by the end of 2019. That's no longer happening.; Category: autos
Title: Star witness expected in trial of man accused of killing fiancée; Abstract: Kesley Berreth vanished on Nov. 22, 2018. Her body was never found. Her fiancee, Patrick Frazee, is in court.; Category: news
Title: Injured Cowboys DL Daniel Ross arrested on drug, gun charges; Abstract: Cowboys defensive lineman Daniel Ross won't play this season after being placed on injured reserve in August because of a shoulder injury and any future availability may be impacted by a suspension. Ross was arrested on Wednesday morning in Frisco, Texas. The Frisco police department said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that [more]; Category: sports
Title: Dangerous fugitive in case of slain couple caught, authorities say; Abstract: The bodies of James and Michelle Butler were found on Padre Island last week.; Category: news
Title: It's Easy to Overdose on Acetaminophen and It Can Kill You, New Study Says; Abstract: Acetaminophen, an analgesic (a compound that relieves pain), is the most common drug ingredient in America.; Category: health
Title: Inside the world's largest plane, which has a wingspan longer than a football field and a mysterious new owner; Abstract: The Stratolaunch is 238 feet long, 50 feet tall, and has a 385-foot wingspan. It made its first flight in April.; Category: news
Title: One of FBI's Most Wanted fugitives offers surrender; Abstract: One of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives says he wants to surrender but claims his offers are being ignored by the United States government.; Category: news
Title: Iowan convicted of murder claims his life-sentence was served once he died, was revived in medical emergency. The court disagrees.; Abstract: An Iowa convicted of murder was rushed from prison to the hospital where his heart was restarted five times. Now he claims he should be freed; Category: news
Title: Judge agrees Alabama Islamic State recruit is not US citizen; Abstract: A judge agreed Thursday with President Donald Trump's administration that an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group was not a US citizen, leaving the 25-year-old and her son in limbo in Syria. Reggie Walton, a federal judge in Washington, agreed with the government's position that Hoda Muthana's father was still a diplomat when she was born, making her ineligible for US citizenship, a lawyer for Muthana said. The lawyer, Christina...; Category: news | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Atlantik Apart Hotel; City: Altinkum Didim Turkish Aegean Coast; Review: Staff were very lazy. They were either on facebook, asleep or having a fag whilst playing around with music on the laptop near the pool. Boris on the other hand was v.funny, does anything you ask, speaks gd english but is very forgetful. Room was a great size compared to other apartments. Newly decorated but not to everyones taste. Showerhead was not handsfree. A welcoming blood stain on the showcurtain was also great!! Large but narrow balcony, patio set took up room inside the apartment as wouldnt fit out on balcony. Aircon £7 a day so lived without. Safety deposit boxes were down stairs by reception guarded by the sleeping facebook receptionist. The lift was breaking down constantly, but excercise did me good! Location close to dolphin square - 400yrds away from beach. Man in shop next door with scar across his face will smile at you everytime you walk past BUT BE WARNED HE WILL RIP U OFF IF YOU USE THE PHONE TO CALL THE UK! Pool was good but had to clean out myself as all the bugs in Turkey decided to go for a swim one day. Julie (staff) did offer to help half way through, after she finished her fag and chat of course! Yes it is a cheap get away and u truely do get what you pay for! But I have stayed in worse and everyone got along, but you do have to find a way to make it work for you, hence why we spent most days on the beach. Overall I had a great time with my girlfriend and friends but a few tweeks here and there would give the apartments the 3 stars it was meant to be.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Royal Hotel Scarborough; City: Scarborough Scarborough District North Yorkshire England; Review: Bought Dinner Bed and Breakfast package via Hotels.com for £104.00. The Royal Hotel did not inform Hotels.com that the leisure facilities were at a cost. When I raised this with the duty manager he rolled his eyes and said i need to call hotels.com. Aside from the poor service at the front desk, the floor boards are very noisy and the room (210) was filthy. There were broken up crisps on the carpet and broken furniture that needed to be replaced. Parking is also off site and can be quite a walk if your not lucky enough to get a space 200 yards away across the road (which is again chargeable). NEVER AGAIN!!!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Grange Hotel; City: Thurston Bury St Edmunds Suffolk East Anglia England; Review: Negatives - no wifi in log cabins (clearly states on hotels.com wifi is available in all rooms) - food service is slow - sunlight comes straight through the thin curtains. - manager isn't helpful - not many food choices - location out in the sticks Pros - food is good - the room tries to be contemporary but fails in many areas - bathroom done to high standard - lots of parking and charming building - receptionist seemed willing to help with the wifi issue etc - very quiet Overall my stay was disappointing due to false statements. Won't be staying here again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Yeoman s Acre Bed Breakfast; City: Colyford Devon England; Review: I can honestly say this is the best hotel I've stayed in all year. I stay in various hotels up and down the country with my work and nothing comes close in regards to hospitality and a good nights sleep. Pros - Great location - Very quiet - Pleasant owners - Superb breakfast - Clean and recently refurbished rooms. - Comfy bed Cons - Nothing Thanks for a great stay and hopefully see you soon.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: All Saints Hotel; City: Bury St Edmunds Suffolk East Anglia England; Review: This hotel has everything... Pool, gym, free parking, golf course, modern quiet rooms, fast WiFi, friendly staff, great food from breakfast to evening meal and all for a reasonable price. I stay at the All Saints with work on a frequent basis and have always had a good experience. Special mention to Becky, who always makes a concerted effort every time at check in/out.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Zenna Home E35603BN01, NeverRust Aluminum Curved Shower Curtain Rod, 44 to 72 Inches, Satin Nickel; Brand: Zenna Home; Review: This product is awesome! It looks nice, It works nicely, and so far no rust, This is the shower rod to buy if you need one; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SHOYEIDO Mountain Mist Leaf Holder, 1 Each; Brand: SHOYEIDO; Review: I thought it would be bigger and hold the incense better but it isn't big and it doesn't hold the incense very well at all. I'm very disappointed in this product; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Accessories - Round Burners Wooden Carved Vines Incense Burner, Cones or Sticks, 4" L; Brand: Accessories - Round Burners; Review: This incense burner is a lot better than any other I've bought. The droppings don't spill over like others I've bought; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ridgid 31723 Tool, Vt1702 1-7/8" Crevice; Brand: Ridgid; Review: perfect fit.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brown Classic Design Table Cover Rectangular Cotton 8 Seater Linen Tablecloth Dining Table; Brand: SKAVIJ; Review: Nice and bright, Love it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: IRIS Letter and Legal Size WEATHERTIGHT File Box, Clear; Brand: IRIS USA, Inc.; Review: great file box, very strong; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 10); Author: Visit Amazon's Laurell K. Hamilton Page; Review: The glory of Ms. Hamilton's Anita Blake books is, in my, view the toughness of the central character. She is the terminator, she doesn't give in, she doesn't stop and she never backs down. Added to this are the imaginative plots combining gothic fantasy and detective-noir. Ms. Hamilton's books have always had a strong element of the erotic. In her earlier books this element was pretty much under control and, indeed, usefully established the "otherness" of the world co-existing with our own. Unfortunately in this book, like her last, this element has been allowed to dominate, resulting in a sado-masochistic farce. Not only is this excess boring in itself but much of it is predictable - there are striking similarities between scenes in the last few books. A plea from a fan - drop the touchy feely stuff and please return to the hunter-killer mode and the imaginative plot lines.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy; Author: Visit Amazon's Christopher Phillips Page; Review: This book works on at least three levels. The first level is an episodic description of the author's progress in evolving his life goals; primarily the goal concerning the establishment and growth of "Socrates Cafes". These are groups of people meeting on a regular basis to discuss philosophical topics. The second level is a discussion of philosophy (admittedly just Western philosophy but that's a good start). The third level is perhaps best described as a Socratic dialog concerning the methods required to facilitate discussion groups such as those that he facilitates. In many ways, for this book the sum of its whole is less than certain of its parts. This is not meant to be disparaging but, to explain, the first level, which carries the book's narrative, is interesting but not totally absorbing. I would have enjoyed the book just for this level alone; particularly those sections where the author uses his experiences to illustrate a point. I particularly enjoyed the discussion concerning the nature of community which was sparked by the author's experiences at a church with no central religious belief - "When is a church a church?". The third level is also interesting in that one can imagine attending a Socrates Cafe and it was interesting to see how such a discussion is facilitated. Both of these levels are interesting and would have been sufficient to produce a good book. However, and what I mean by the parts exceeding the book, is that on a number of occasions I was prompted to put the book down and think carefully before I continued. This did not happen on every page but sufficiently often for me to take some time to read what is a fairly slim volume. My particular favorite was the discussion concerning the theme "Why is what?". Another favorite was the discussion concerning the North American constitution and Declaration of Independence. These episodes turned an enjoyable book into something of great interest. My only criticism is that the book is short (and that fact that the closest Socrates Cafe is too far for me to visit).; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Abanes Page; Review: Beyond having read the Book of Mormon some time ago I have had very little exposure to the Mormon religion and I was interested in this book both to learn more about the history of Mormonism and about Mormon beliefs. I approached this book as someone with an interest in history and comparative religion. The book answers both interests. It provides a description of Mormon history as well as (as far as I can tell) a clear understanding of the foundations of Mormon belief. Indeed, the book goes further than this in that it also provides a fascinating snapshot of American life during the 1800's. I had never before heard of the practice of treasure diving ("occult" location of treasure) and I was particularly interested in the reactions of various counties to the Mormon settlements. Clearly the rule of law was rather thin in 19th Century America. When considering the early history of the Mormon Church one is stuck by the parallels in behavior both to other newly founded religions and also to political movements such as Socialism in revolutionary France. Whilst I greatly enjoyed the book, two issues concerned me. First, the author clearly has a point of view concerning the Mormon religion. This point of view is evident in the author's choice of language throughout the book. In my view the author's "bias" is overt but not exaggerated. This does not invalidate the book but it does raise the suspicion that the book may not be balanced. Since we are told little about the author it is difficult to judge and I would have been happier had the author discussed this issue at the start. The problem with all religion, and many other forms of human belief, is that they are based on the human ability to believe in the irrational. However, some of the author's comments suggest that Smith should be dismissed solely on the basis of changing his mind. It is ironic that Mormonism suffers from being too well documented, perhaps even the Christian religion suffered similar changes in direction during its early years. Any bias is unnecessary since a dispassionate observer can identify far better reasons for dismissing Smith's claims. Secondly, this book seems unsure as to the nature of its audience. For example, if this book is intended as a serious history, it is surely unnecessary to identify that misspellings in quotes are deliberate (beyond the standard usage of the term SIC). A small thing but it is irritating none the less. The style veers between that of a history and that of a journalistic expos. Indeed, at times during the later part of the book, the author lapses into what can best be described as commentary. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in American history, comparative religion or psychology. It is easy to read and has a wealth of details in the footnotes. I greatly enjoyed it. I would, however, suggest that readers visit the Author's web-site prior to reading the book in order to better understand the author's point; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bellwether; Author: Visit Amazon's Connie Willis Page; Review: Somewhat lighter than her usual style and very funny. Her Dilbertian portrayal of the workplace, and in particular the relationship between those obsessed with their jobs and those obsessed with themselves, is instantly recognizable. One wonders where she worked. I particularly liked the concept of people acting as chaos vortices, again an instantly recognizable concept. My only problem with this book was that at times it is so cruelly accurate that I felt guilty at laughing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions; Author: Visit Amazon's Ben Mezrich Page; Review: I know nothing about cards and have never gambled or visited Las Vegas. I fail to see the pleasure in the experience. This, no doubt, has colored my view of this book. I found it tedious. There are too many inconsistencies for it to be even close to being true. The style is flat and has little interest beyond the straight story. By the end of the book one knows little more about the characters involved than at the beginning (beyond their callowness). The experience of gambling is described so poorly that it is difficult to gain a sense of its excitement and what it means to the people involved. One is left with the feeling that their only motivation was money. Also, if this book is meant to be factual, I would have expected to find something from the casinos (beyond a couple of rather trivial cameo appearances from "interesting" characters). It would have been interesting to hear from the other side of the fence. Even if it this books is true its only excitement is that someone made lots of money whilst associating with celebrities and strippers. I believe that there are other professions which have similar characteristics and would at least make more interesting reading. If you have an interest in gambling I suggest that you save your money and experience the reality. If you have no interest in gambling then just save your money.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Carol McCarthy Page; Review: This is an excellent novel which I greatly enjoyed. It describes, from the viewpoint of a young girl, the experiences of a family in the fight against racism in Florida in the 1950s. The most striking aspect of this is the description of living in a society whose basic assumptions are different to one's own. Most of us have experienced people making off-color/racist/sexist comments in our presence (although nowhere near as overt nor as excessive as those expressed by some of the characters in the book). It is interesting to see how this family copes and compare their reaction with one's own and imagine how one would cope in the same situation. The book is well written and is easy to read. The characters are well defined and the story beautifully paced. I would recommend this book to teenage as well as adult readers.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Oddfits; Author: Visit Amazon's Tiffany Tsao Page; Review: Great, very funny book. I look forward to the next in the series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Dickies Mens 13 Inch Loose Fit Cargo Short; Brand: ; Review: These shorts fit fine and the fabric holds up well, but I can't help but feel like a mailman on his day off wearing these, not that there's anything wrong with mailmen or that I feel like they don't deserve a day off its just its not really for me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Levi's Men's 501 Original Fit Jean; Brand: ; Review: These shorts were much too short for me, I feel like 1980's John Stockton wearing these bad boys around. Only get these if you like to show a little thigh.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: French Connection Men's Fcuk Sneezy Polo Shirt; Brand: ; Review: These shirts fit tighter than most other polos so definitely order a size bigger than you normally would, but they do look great and the fabric is nice.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 4 Panel Large Bill Flap Hat W15S48B (One Size Fits Most/Khaki); Brand: TOP HEADWEAR; Review: I was hoping to use this to avoid burning my neck when out in the hot sun, but the brim is twisted out of shape making it look even more ridiculous than one of these hats should make you look.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Savane Men's Eco-Start Cargo Short; Brand: Savane; Review: I love these shorts, they fit perfectly and look great.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kanu Surf Men's Short Sleeve UPF 50+ Swim Shirt (Regular & Extended Sizes); Brand: ; Review: This is the most comfortable rash guard for swimming laps; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Carhartt Men's 'K87' Workwear Pocket Short-Sleeve T-Shirt; Brand: ; Review: This shirt doesn't really look all that great on, but it doesn't look horrible either. It's a little bit too big and bulky, but I use it for working out in so it works well for what I need it to do.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: OluKai Men's Ohana; Brand: OLUKAI; Review: These are my favourite sandals, the arch support is just right, not too much and not completely flat. I'd recommend these sandals for people with an average arch.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Simple Men's 2534 Clog; Brand: Simple; Review: I love these shoes, they're so easy to slip on and look fairly good. The only problem with this style of shoe is they can really tire your feet out if you're walking for a long time in them. They're best used to slip on for short periods.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Cooking Comically: Recipes So Easy You'll Actually Make Them; Author: Visit Amazon's Tyler Capps Page; Review: Love the book great meals that hubby is willing to cook. :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Noisy Farm (My First Touch and Feel Sound Book); Author: Tiger Tales; Review: Super cute, I love the sounds and its unique by having buttons on every page. However its really hard for my 14 month old to find the button and button itself takes some effort to push. She gets frustrated. but she loves the book otherwise.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Big Hero 6 (Disney Big Hero 6) (Little Golden Book); Author: Visit Amazon's RH Disney Page; Review: great art Adorable; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Toddlers Are A**holes: It's Not Your Fault; Author: Visit Amazon's Bunmi Laditan Page; Review: hilarious; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost); Author: ; Review: An entertaining, journey of success though determination, and overcoming anxiety by sheer will. Easy to read like a conversation with your best friend. I mean really... Felicia, please be my best friend...; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael G. Munz Page; Review: Such a fun little romp! This book is Hilarious and totally breaks the 4th wall I had a blast reading it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: It Hurts When I Poop!: A Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty; Author: Visit Amazon's Howard J. Bennett Page; Review: I'm totally impressed with this book. I bought this book after about 2 months of fighting my newly potty trained 2 1/2 year old to poop on the potty rather than in her undies. Don't get me wrong, she'd try but she was too scared to actually go- every poop was rare, and a fight that would end in tears and pooped undies. I got this book in a little bit of desperation, we read it twice to my poor constipated preschooler, and now she "reads" it to herself at least once a day. Since reading this book I've gotten her to go potty at her grandma's house, and all I have to do is say "will you please try and go poop for me?" AND SHE GOES!!!! I'm still in awe. She's so proud of herself, and of course since shes less constipated its much less scary and the cycle continues for good. I'm a happy mom with no poopy undies for almost two weeks now. She's a happy kiddo with a less grumpy belly. High Praise all around.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Arena Mode (The Arena Mode Saga) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Blake Northcott Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book, When I assumed it would be another hunger-games/maze runner type. But this took an interesting twist and I am really looking forward to reading volume 2.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Upstairs, Downstairs: Season 2; Brand: Keeley Hawes; Review: This is a great show. It's too bad Ty only filmed two seasons. I would have loved to watch more.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Station Agent; Brand: Peter Dinklage; Review: Funny. Starts slow but makes up for it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: True Blood: Season 5; Brand: Anna Paquin; Review: Love Sookie!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: True Blood: Season 5; Brand: Various; Review: Love Sookie!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wuthering Heights; Brand: Tom Hardy; Review: Not my favorite masterpiece. Sometimes the story was hard to follow.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Tangled (Mandarin Chinese Edition); Brand: ; Review: Entertaining. Cute movie with funny moments. Great to watch with the family.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Orient Men's CEM65002D 'Blue Mako' Stainless Steel Dive Watch; Brand: ; Review: I had recently gotten a small amount of gift money and had been collecting relatively inexpensive watches (under $200) for a long time. I quite literally looked at THOUSANDS online and spent countless hours on watch forums, esp. PMWF.org. I had never heard of Orient before, and frankly the name Orient sounded sort of cheap and antiquated (who uses that term anymore?) I didn't know a thing about Automatic (non-quartz) watches. I read a LOT. Orient came up time and time again (too many puns there I know). The Orient Mako was considered a phenomenally built and crafted watch by even the watch 'snob' crowd who buy watches costing many thousands of dollars (and more). I am stunned by how beatiful this watch is - and watching a seond-hand that moves smoothly around instead of in increments is kind of fascinating and soothing. You do have to be into keeping up with the fact that it's not going to keep the time if you let it sit. That's how they work. Movement winds them. They are VERY accurate once wound. But if you let it sit for a day or two you will need to reset it. I guess that's part of the appeal of auatomatic watches and I learned that most 'expensive' watches - at least it's my understanding - are automatic/manual watches and not quartz. I didn't know that. I guess it's because a 'real' watch has all of the parts that make a watch what it was orignally in terms of all of the internal parts. Not some computer chip. There is something very gratifying about hearing it wind as you move your wrist around. I plan to buy more of the Orient brand in the future. I learned that Seiko owns the brand, but that Orient functions independently. The build quality is superb. Better than the Tag Heuer I spent $700 on in 1989. Seriously.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rubberbanditz Single Pull Up Assit Bands | Heavy Duty Resistance Exercise Bands for Powerlifting, Mobility, and Stretching; Brand: Rubberbanditz; Review: What more can I say. The product is extemely well made and does exactly what it's supposed to do. What more could you ask for.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rubberbanditz Single Pull Up Assit Bands | Heavy Duty Resistance Exercise Bands for Powerlifting, Mobility, and Stretching; Brand: Rubberbanditz; Review: What more can I say. The product is extemely well made and does exactly what it's supposed to do. What more could you ask for.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wenger 16812 Swiss Army EvoGrip S54 Pocket Knife, Red and Black; Brand: Wenger; Review: I think the quality is fantastic and it's got tons of great tooks. If I had a 'complaint' thogh, it's that it's almost TOO big - and the images don't depict it as such. But it's a GREAT knife. Pockect sized? I'm not so sure. Needs a case. But great all around.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Injinji Men's Run Lightweight Mini Crew Toesocks; Brand: Injinji; Review: I like these a lot and they are exactly as described. They keep toes separated and you learn how to put them on with time. I think that they are quite expensive for what they are though. Unless you need them because you are using shoes like the Vibram Five Fingers i'm not certain that they are worth it. But all premium running socks are just about the same price. I'd say buy one or two to start and see how you like them. If your toes are at all abnormally shaped (which is pretty normal :-) I'd say you might find these a bit odd at first. That is why I gave up on the shoes - they pulled my sort of abnormal toes in directions that are not good for me. I think it's a bit less significant with the socks - but it is still a factor to consider.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: UGG Men's Ascot Slipper; Brand: ; Review: Quality, quality, and quality. I wish I could have kept them but the wool burned my feet! I was so sad to have to return them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: UGG Men's Ascot Slipper; Brand: ; Review: Quality, quality, and quality. I wish I could have kept them but the wool burned my feet! I was so sad to have to return them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: UGG Men's Ascot Slipper; Brand: ; Review: Quality, quality, and quality. I wish I could have kept them but the wool burned my feet! I was so sad to have to return them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: UGG Men's Ascot Slipper; Brand: ; Review: Quality, quality, and quality. I wish I could have kept them but the wool burned my feet! I was so sad to have to return them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: UGG Men's Ascot Slipper; Brand: ; Review: Quality, quality, and quality. I wish I could have kept them but the wool burned my feet! I was so sad to have to return them!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Chains First Eden Hotel; City: Hanoi; Review: Hotel is a great place to stay. Our standard room on the second floor was well appointed with a decent size double bed, tea and coffee, mini bar (charged) and storage space.Easy walking distance to the coffee shops and restaurants .Staff make the difference with their 5 star service and positive attitude. I will gladly return again; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Residence Politecnico Bovisa; City: Milan Lombardy; Review: really good and quite location, closed to the train station, just 2 stops to reach the Rho Fair Expo, 2 stops to reach Porto Garibaldi where you can find many train and underground connections. There is no bar or shop nearby but if you take the train to Porto Garibaldi where there are plenty of restaurants, bars, pubs ....; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Francesca; City: Agios Prokopios Naxos Cyclades South Aegean; Review: The rooms are very clean and new, hotel is very near to the beach just 50m. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, bars nearby. The swimming pool is small but clean and nice, my kids did enjoyed a lot. The only thing is not correct that no kitchenlette is available in the apartment with 2 bedrooms as booking confirmatin from booking.com "Tutti i monolocali e gli appartamenti dell'Hotel Francesca vantano l'aria condizionata, un balcone con viste sul giardino, un angolo cottura dove potrete preparare pasti veloci, una TV, un asciugacapelli e un bagno privato completo di doccia." The owner explained to me that booking gave the wrong information, so pls revise if the information is wrong wifi works badly, everytime with the message "impossible to connect ...."; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Villas El Encanto; City: Cozumel Yucatan Peninsula; Review: We have stayed in the apartment for 8 nights in August, it is not big but very confortable and clean, the maid came everyday to clean the apartment and change the beach Towers. The owner Mrs. Ana is very gentle and helpful to provide us any information we may require, it is closed to the supermarket and the bicycles are offered for free of charge and in just 5 min. you arrive in the centre. There is possiblity to use the oven and barbecue in the garden. I recomend this place; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Villas Akalan; City: Tulum Yucatan Peninsula; Review: There is no reception at the villas, in the morning you might find a house keeper, if you need something in the afternoon or in the evening there is no one there. The apartment is quite big, the kitchen equipments are poor there are plenty of plates and glasses but only 2 frying pans and a small pan. Detergent for washing dishes, dish cloth, kitchen napkins/kitchen paper roll and hair drier are not provided. The day after we asked the manager Carmen and she provided us one more bigger pan and a hair dryer (this is upon request). Remember that they don’t come and clean the apartment every day, if you need this service you will be charged 25 USD/day, it seems absurb and you are on holidays you have to clean your apartment? The air conditioner is only available in the bedroom, there are 2 ceiling ventilators in the living room but useless with the humid and hot weather in August. We rented other apartments in Playa del Carmen and Cozumel they come to clean the apartment every day and change the towels at your request, swimming pool and beach towels were provided as well free of charge, essential accessories for the kitchen are always provided. Here they change towels every 4 days and bed linens every 7 days.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Recoton Fiber Optic Toslink to 3.5mm Mini Adapter; Brand: Recoton; Review: Mine was DOA. I turned out to not need it anyway in the end, so I didn't bother to try and return it because it was cheap.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Dynex 1.8 M 6 feet Digital Coax Audio Cable; Brand: Dynex; Review: Had to rig-up my new TV to work with my old surround sound system. This is part of it; works just fine!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Extension Cable - A-Male to A-Female - 9.8 Feet (3 Meters); Brand: AmazonBasics; Review: I needed a keyboard I could use from bed when I had my laptop hooked to the TV via HDMI. It turned out that I could buy a basic keyboard and a USB extension cable for cheaper than I could buy a decent wireless keyboard, and I was not concerned about the wires. This item works well, and it's very long, so I can lie in bed with the keyboard. It hasn't exhibited any problems. Also occasionally use it to extend my phone charger, and it works fine for that too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 2GF6914 - Microsoft 200 Keyboard; Brand: Microsoft; Review: This is an excellent budget keyboard. I bought it because I needed a keyboard to use with my laptop when it's hooked up to my TV with HDMI. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Intel 520 Series Solid-State Drive 480 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch - SSDSC2CW480A3K5 (Reseller Kit); Brand: Intel; Review: I bought this as an upgrade for my Alienware M17xr2. Unfortunately that particular model only supports SATA-II, but I decided to go with this in case I buy a new machine soon. It gives excellent speeds and has made a huge difference in performance. I had trouble choosing due to the deluge of similar-sounding SSD's, but I chose this one because it's an Intel that carried excellent reviews and benchmarks, plus, I liked the sound of the 5-year warranty. I also like the Intel SSD Toolbox software that you can download from Intel for managing your drive. I am not disappointed!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mediabridge USB 2.0 - Micro-USB to USB Coiled Cable (1'-3') - High-Speed A Male to Micro B - Black; Brand: Mediabridge; Review: I've had this item for several days now, and so far, I'm quite impressed. It was shipped very promptly and arrived quickly. For the price, I was very surprised at just how sturdy this thing feels. It's very thick and the plugs on both ends feel like they are very durable. I use it to charge my Galaxy Note II, and it charges as expected.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 19V Replacement AC Adapter/Battery Charger/Power Supply For Acer Aspire One D250-1026, D250-1042, D250-1070 Series Netbook; Brand: GEP; Review: My mother needed a new AC adapter and power cord for her Acer netbook, and this one does the job for cheap. Several months later and it still works. No complaints.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: KOMPUTERBAY 2GB ( 2 X 1GB ) DDR DIMM (184 PIN) 266Mhz DDR266 PC2100 DESKTOP MEMORY KIT; Brand: KOMPUTERBAY; Review: Bought the 2x1GB and got them quickly but neither one worked. Tried both then one at a time installed per manufacturer instructions for motherboard. Sending them back for refund and exploring other options.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Toshiba Portege Z835-P330 13.3" Laptop (Intel Core i3-2367M Processor, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB SATA Solid State; Brand: Toshiba; Review: I bought one of these new from Best Buy almost two years ago when it was a new model after deciding that I couldn't get the level of productivity [for university] that I wanted from an Android tablet. I went to Best Buy because I was looking for a particular feel and experience from a laptop so I wanted to be able to put my hands on it before I bought it. I decided on this one over the ASUS and Samsung Ultrabooks that they had mainly due to the spacing and travel feel of the keyboard, as most of the other specs were very similar. I have gotten thousands of hours of use from it and it has never given me any trouble whatsoever. The solid state drive makes manipulating documents extremely fast, and even gives enough speed to play some games that aren't too demanding (Diablo 3 runs at low settings, but it's not an optimal experience)--don't expect this to be a gaming machine with the Intel onboard graphics, but it's no pushover, either. The only complaint I have is that the case is plastic and very flimsy-feeling; of course, this helps with the fact that the thing weighs less than 3 pounds! I take care of my electronics and it has held up fine, but if you're rough on your stuff, this might not work out for you. All in all, at the time I purchased it, I could not have asked for more, and I have been very pleased!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Monster RadioPlay 300 Universal Full Spectrum FM Transmitter MBL-FM XMTR300 (Discontinued by Manufacturer); Brand: Monster; Review: Does its job well, but after about 5 months of use, the plastic cover over the display popped loose. It still works, but I imagine it won't last as long since it's exposed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Nikon D3300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with Auto Focus-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II Zoom Lens (Black); Brand: Nikon; Review: I've had this camera for over a year now, and it's been great. I'm only just now learning some of the more advanced techniques and settings. For the average Joe, the auto presets and settings for point-and-shoot will take great photos in most cases, and once you're ready, you can dive deeper into the world of DSLR photography at a great price.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nikon WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter 27081 for Nikon Df, Nikon 1 S2, COOLPIX P530, D3300, COOLPIX P7800, COOLPIX; Brand: Nikon; Review: This thing is garbage. The camera doesn't recognize it half the time and then when it does, the app has trouble connecting to it and only works about 30% of the time. Not worth the price. Every once in awhile I'll use it to trigger the camera for long exposures (if it decides to work), but that's about the most I've gotten out of it. Run the other way.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Samsung Galaxy Tab / Note to Micro USB High Speed Charger Converter / Connector / Adapter (Single Pack); Brand: PortaPow; Review: My girlfriend thought her Samsung tablet was dead and wouldn't charge. Rather than buy new cables (being the owner of about 20 USB cables), I just bought a set of these. It turns out her old charger cable was bad, not the tablet. These did the trick and they feel pretty sturdy as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Soundpeats Universal Q7 Wireless Music A2dp Stereo Bluetooth Headset for Cellphones Such As Iphone, Nokia, Htc, Samsung, Lg, Moto,; Brand: SoundPEATS; Review: Never worked to begin with. I think I threw them in the trash right after I got them.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: SoundPEATS QY5 Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Sports Headphones Running Gym Exercise Sweatproof Headsets In-ear Stereo Earbuds Earphones with Microphone(Black); Brand: SoundPEATS; Review: Never worked to begin with. I think I threw them in the trash right after I got them.; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: PattyBoutik Women's Zip Front Stand Collar Military Light Jacket; Brand: ; Review: This is the most darling lightweight jacket!!! Love it! Got a ton of compliments, it's my favorite and good good quality.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: PattyBoutik Women's V Neck Short Sleeve Knit Jumper Tunic Top; Brand: ; Review: I love this sweater/top. Quality fabric, the only problem for me was that it was very tight fitting, most of their items I wear a Medium but in the I need a large.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Vince Camuto Women's Phillie Riding Boot; Brand: ; Review: I am returning the boots. WAY too narrow. Loved the quality but WAY to narrow.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Haola Women Fashion Grey Causul Print T Shirts Summer Funny Tops; Brand: Haola; Review: I love his shirt!!!!!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Falari Classic Baseball Cap Dad Hat 100% Cotton Soft Adjustable Size; Brand: Falari; Review: Love this cap!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Purgatory VHS; Brand: Sam Shepard; Review: just get this movie already and add it to your collection! It was a made-for TV movie (I think for TBS?) The cast is excellent and the storyline has more meat than a lot of movies coming out on the big screen. I really think this should have been filmed and marketed for the big screen--it's just that good.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Essential Classics: Musicals (My Fair Lady / Singin' in the Rain / Gigi); Brand: Gene Kelly; Review: These classics take me to another world every time I watch them! My kids started liking these movies even though they would never want to admit it in public! This is a great set for the money, but I might've enjoyed more bonus features if they were available.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa; Brand: Whoopi Goldberg; Review: I am a devoted Muppet fan. My kids did not enjoy this movie at all. They thought it was dumb. It has great entertainment value and sometimes light-hearted movies like this are just what a person needs.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Annie Get Your Gun; Brand: Betty Hutton; Review: Until I saw this musical, I thought I loved anything Howard Keel has done, but even his immense talent could not hold up this humongous flop. I enjoy some crude and rude humor, but even I was offended and literally cringed when I watched the scene/musical number where Annie gets inducted into the (sioux)"sye-oxx" tribe. Maybe this movie should be a lesson for political correctness--native americans must have been outraged by this movie...as I am now--and I'm not native american! You would be better off to buy 7 Brides for & Brothers and Calamity Jane.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Black Robe; Brand: Lothaire Bluteau; Review: Accuracy and balanced POV's is what I require of historical/period movies and this one delivers both. Characters and acting are believable. A good argument that natives and whites alike were not as noble creatures as they would like to portray themselves in history.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Park Hotel Villa Belvedere; City: Cannobio Lake Maggiore Piedmont; Review: Really lovely peaceful hotel. My Husband and I stayed here for 4 nights in August as part of our holiday trip through Switzerland and Italy. We were welcomed on arrival by the owner and she personally escorted us to our room. Extremely clean everywhere, marble floors and bright decoration. Our room was air conditioned and also had a balcony overlooking the beautiful gardens. The hotel is located at the back of the medieval village of Cannobio, only a 10 minute walk from a wide choice of restaurants and lake. It has a nice small swimming pool and offers ample shade to sit in the gardens. We didn't eat at the hotel except for breakfast which was a good selection of fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals, breads, in fact everything you could want, all served by very nice staff. Cannobio was an interesting place to stay with its small colourful streets leading down to the lakeside. Some of the restaurants were really geared up to tourists and were not particularly cheap although this might be something to do with the poor UK/Euro exchange rate. However, there are plenty to choose from and we even found an excellent bar overlooking the lake for a glass of prosecco before dinner (just the far side of the church with the lake and ferry stop on the righthand side). It's a good idea to ask at the hotel for recommendations for restaurants. We had both wanted a relaxing break and, overall, this was a great four day stay. We would thoroughly recommend the hotel and would actually rate it as a higher quality than it's 3* category.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Allure Lodge Paihia; City: Paihia Bay of Islands Northland Region North Island; Review: Our first stop on this trip to New Zealand. We had both been really busy leading up to our holiday and after the long flight were really looking forward to some relaxation. We spent 6 very enjoyable nights in the cottage in October 2011. It was very cosy and had lovely views looking over Paihia and the sea. It was a very nice rental property with a lovely patio (which unfortunately the weather did not permit us to use during our stay). However waking up each morning to that beauiful view was delightful. There is a steep back path which gives quicker access to Paihia but wouldn't use it in the dark. Paihia is quite nice but there is not a big selection of good dining, however we had 2 enjoyable meals at the Swiss Cafe. There's also a boat restaurant at the far end of town which does great fish and chips (still in it's paper!). Definitely worth a visit in the area is the town of Russell and also a drive up to KeriKeri. Really enjoyed our stay here and would recommend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: La Grotta Hotel; City: Verona Province of Verona Veneto; Review: Located about 15mins outside Verona, we we not sure what to expect from this hotel. It turned out to be just great. You will either love the decor our hate it but we loved it. It was very modern, clean and the rooms (although small) were nicely laid out with modern bathrooms. There is free parking at the hotel. We parked the car and took the bus into Verona (a few hundred yards along the road for the bus stop). It is a busy road so be careful walking along to the bus stop. You can pay for the ticket on the bus but its a machine so you need to make sure you have the right money (€1.50 each). Important, make sure you press the red button before putting the money in otherwise it doesnt register. Getting back after 8.40pm is a bit of a problem so you need to grab a taxi in Verona (€11 back to the hotel). Breakfast was served in a little restauran area in the lobby, a continental selection. Good value for money.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Parkhotel Seefeld; City: Seefeld in Tirol Tirol Austrian Alps; Review: We were pleasantly surprised at the very friendly welcome we received at this hotel. We were personally escorted to our room and all amenities explained. The hotel is located near the centre of town (do not let its location next to the railway line put you off as it does not present any problem), just a few minutes walk to everything. The hotel is well presented, our double room very comfortable, free wifi, nice small bar. The restaurant did look nice but we had arranged to go out for dinner so I cannot comment on how good it is. However, breakfast was very nice with plenty of selection. Unfortunately, we were only there one night so didn't get the opportunity to try the spa facilities but again, did look nice. Would book again, if we are down that way.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Masseria Grande; City: Montecilfone Province of Campobasso Molise; Review: At number of previous reviews say they had difficulty finding this B&B but we did not. We did have satnav but there was plenty of signage on the way up from Termoli. This is a quality lovely small hotel located in the countryside up in the molise hills. We were delighted on arrival with the welcome from the owners, the quality and the facilities on offer. We spent a couple of hours at the pool to relax after a long drive. Dinner that evening was served in the garden. We decided on the al a carte menu (although there is a set menu with 4/5 courses) and had an excellent meal with some of the owners new wine that he was just about to bottle in 2 weeks time. Having had the good fortune to stay at top quality hotels through my business over the years, I could see that the owner is clearly trying to create a very high standard establishment. The attention to detail in the restaurant was exceptional particularly at breakfast. Our evening there will be one of the highlights of this holiday.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Sonnenhof; City: Perl Saarland; Review: Our 2nd stay at this small excellent hotel. It is situated easily for an enroute nightstop from/to the UK just over the border into Germany from Luxemborg . It offers great value in a modern, spotless, nicely decorated hotel with its own restaurant which seems, on both our visits, to also be frequented by local people eating out. It is in the countryside so you would have to drive to any nearby towns or villages. The restaurant served excellent food and wine and breakfast the next morning had a good continental selection. Great value for money. Would highly recommend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Royal Horseguards; City: London England; Review: Booked for one night a saver double deluxe room last minute for less than half price so our expectations were not high on the size of room we would be allocated. We arrived early (mid-day) and were welcomed by a very nice receptionist. We managed to get a free upgrade (the choice was a larger room with an internal view or a smaller room river view). We choose the larger room and whilst the window was frosted and faced a wall, the size and quality of the room made up for the lack a view. Very quiet, Huge bed, nicely decorated and lovely amenities including elemis toiletries, coffee and tea facilities, 2 small bottles of water. If you want the hair dryer, i'm told it's hidden in the desk, lift the top! Nice staff and great quality. Really enjoyed our stay. Enjoyed our stay; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Clos de Bellefontaine; City: Bayeux Calvados Basse Normandie Normandy; Review: We stayed at Clos De Bellefontaine during a short tour of Normandy. Finding this elegant house down one of Bayeux’s small streets was made easier by Madame Carole sending us detailed directions. Once there, we rang the bell at the gate and were given access to the grounds and secure parking immediately. We stayed in the twin attic room and, whilst it does have limited headroom in some places, the beds have been positioned so that this is unlikely to give any problem (my husband is over 6ft tall). This room is reached via a winding staircase (similar to but larger than a spiral). At the top is your own personal landing with a door to the bedroom and another door to your private bathroom all beautifully decorated and comfortable. Note: Due to sloping ceilings, there is no standing shower but there is a handheld shower spray in the bath. Everything about this house is beautiful and tasteful. From the lovely welcome by the owner, the enthusiasm to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible and I haven't mentioned the breakfast yet. The breakfast is probably one of the best we have had in any B&B we have stayed in France. All beautifully home made jams and apple cake, fruit, cereals, yogurt, ham, cheese, fresh orange juice, coffee etc - did I mention the apple cake? So, if you want a quality place to stay with secure parking in the centre of the lovely Bayeux within an easy walk to bars and restaurants then this is a place not to be missed. We would highly recommend and hope to return again for longer stay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel l Ecrin; City: Honfleur Calvados Basse Normandie Normandy; Review: After an extensive search for a hotel with secure Parking in Honfleur we came across Hotel L’Ecrin. What a great find. We stayed here for one night. It is located in the town centre, only a short walk to all the restaurants and bars. We had room 13 located in the annexe in the courtyard and were able to park right outside our room. The room was lovely, large with a massive bathroom. The shower was somewhat erratic and it was difficult to stop the wet room floor from flooding but everything was modern and clean - we just had to turn the power down! It’s a very eclectic hotel with beautiful antiques, a lovely conservatory where you have an excellent breakfast (at extra cost) and an outdoor pool (unfortunately too cold to use during our stay). Friendly staff who were very helpful and recommended restaurants locally. For us poor French speakers, English was not problem. We liked it so much, we plan on going back later this month!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ibis Styles Ouistreham; City: Ouistreham Calvados Basse Normandie Normandy; Review: We stayed here the night before catching the early morning ferry. Very convenient and has the choice of two car parks. One free just outside the door or the other behind locked gates for 5 Euros. If you choose the secure option there are some restrictions to access your car (I think the gates as locked at 8pm). However, they are manageable and we had no problem. Literally 5mins to drive to the ferry ticket desk. The bed was Ok, free Wifi handy, dinner in the restaurant again OK (it was our choice not to go out). Friendly staff and certainly a good place to stop if you just want to hop on the ferry. There was a free breakfast in the morning, perfectly adequate, croissant, coffee etc. It did everything we wanted, the most important thing being the secure parking.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Haus Appelberg; City: Dinkelsbuhl Middle Franconia Franconia Bavaria; Review: Lovely welcome on a rainy day by a lady who spoke English. Shown straight to our room and to the private garage we had booked just across the road. Traditional building, in a beautiful town, very comfortable and a very good price. Breakfast was limited but still good value. Plenty of restaurants within walking distance.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Sonnenhof; City: Perl Saarland; Review: Fantastic for a night stop. We’ve stayed there on 3 occasions now. Modern, bright, clean and comfortable. Parking at the door. Lovely owner who speaks English and a nice restaurant with a garden terrace.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Landhaus Lauble; City: Hornberg Baden Wurttemberg; Review: We stayed at this hotel as part of a long driving trip to Italy. It was important for us to have somewhere safe to park the car and this hotel has a large parking area. It became obvious after our arrival that some driving holidays also use it on a regular basis. It is very nice, modern reception and sitting area plus a lovely glass enclosed terrace (restaurant). Much needed for the evening we stayed which was a mixture of sun and rain! Our room was small but very nice and it was lovely to have all the amenities in the bathroom provided. Dinner and breakfast were both good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Fantom GreenDrive II 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GDII1000EU; Brand: Micronet; Review: This drive was working fine for just over a year now. Then this morning it started emitting beeping tones and lost its connection with the computer. So I opened a ticket with their technical "support" department. They asked me to make sure I was using the correct AC adapter - I was. They then immediately jumped to the conclusion that the drive has probably failed and that I would need to send it into a data recovery service at my own expense. So I suggested that maybe the internal drive itself was okay, but that maybe the enclosure circuitry was at fault or the AC adapter itself was defective. They still haven't replied to my request to have either the enclosure or adapter replaced even though it is still under the 2-year warranty period. It turns out I was right about the AC adapter. Luckily, I had an electrically equivalent AC adapter from another external hard drive enclosure. It powered up with no more beeping and the computer recognized it right away. I don't recommend this drive to anyone due to the terrible technical support provided, as well as the fact that it is unreliable. In fact, I will definitely move all my data off of it immediately before something else goes wrong with it. Keeping my data on this thing does not make me feel secure. Keep away!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I CCTV POE 3MP Bullet IP HD Security Network Camera, 4mm; Brand: Hikvision; Review: I already own and installed two genuine Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I outdoor cameras. So when I received this one, I expected the real deal. Don't let the pictures fool you - the camera was actually packaged in a plain white oem box and there is no "Hikvision" logo on the camera itself as is displayed in the advertised product photo. In addition, the configuration screen as displayed in the advertised photo is also incorrect - instead of the expected logo, it actually displays "PX-IPIR203". I didn't mind this too much as long as it was the same camera and firmware and worked properly. A major problem I noticed was that the configuration screen won't let you change the default port numbers. It looks like it takes the change, but the camera will not actually listen on the specified port number for RTSP or SDK port. I figured this out when doing a port scan on it. I wasted a whole day just troubleshooting why I can't connect to it over the Internet using port forwarding. Being an IT security guy for the past 25+ years, I've installed and configured numerous IP cameras and never ran into this issue. Worst of all, when calling Hikvision for technical support on the matter - they will refuse to offer any assistance since they said that it is a RE-BRANDED Hikvision camera, sold by an unauthorized dealer - CCTVONE. This is actually a Winitech "PX-IPIR203" camera and will not be supported by Hikvision. If you want the real deal, get it from an authorized USA Hikvision dealer. Needless to say, I returned this one and ordered a genuine one from another dealer. I highly recommend a GENUINE Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I camera - but not from this dealer. Buyer beware!!!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Gigabyte LGA 1150 Intel H87 Dual LAN DVI HDMI UEFI DualBIOS Mini ITX DDR3 1600 Motherboard (GA-H87N); Brand: Gigabyte; Review: I used this motherboard to build a home server which runs 24x7x365 and turned out to be perfect for this use. Make sure you provide adequate air flow inside the case, since it can get hot, especially if you're going to install an i7 processor and max RAM. I had to knock off a star only because this motherboard does not support bonding both Ethernet adapters. One runs on an Intel chipset, while the other runs on an Atheros chipset so you can probably use them to connect to two separate subnets, but you won't be able to bond them together double your bandwidth. Other than that, I am very happy with it and may order more in the near future.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Toysdone Wireless Headphones Stereo Earbuds Wireless Sport Earphones for Running with Mic (6 Hours Play Time, IPX4; Brand: Toysdone; Review: These were very easy to pair and the sound is great! Excellent price and quality!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Xbrn Dual Ports Adapter Splitter, 2 in 1 Headphone Jack Aux Audio & Charger Adapter Cable Connector Compactible for; Brand: XBRN; Review: These were very easy to pair and the sound is great! Excellent price and quality!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: BLUBOON USB Powered Mini Desk Fan Personal Office Work Home Quiet Portable Fan Strong Air Blow; Brand: BLUBOON; Review: Good quality fan with informative display. It will display time in 24-hour format and date as YYYY-MM-DD. Temperature is in Celsius. Wish I can figure out how to change those settings; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pergear TH3 Pro DSLR Camera Tripod Ball Head, 8KG/17.6lbs Loading Capacity, 360 Degree Swivel, Metal Build Quality, Fine Tuning; Brand: PERGEAR; Review: I was surprised by the high quality of this tripod head. It is all metal, works very well and is highly durable. A great deal especially at this price. Don't think - just buy it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: The Grange Courtyard; City: Shepshed Leicestershire England; Review: My first trip to the UK was while doing some work with British Gas in Loughborough. They set my team up at the Grange Courtyard, sight unseen. We were all very impressed. The buildings are remodeled with great workmanship and high quality appliances and appointments. It is an excellent balance of historic structures and modern construction. There is a shared, stocked, kitchen as a common area for each building, and your own private room and bathroom. The owner and staff are very helpful, attentive, and friendly. We stayed several nights, not all consecutive, and always felt like returning to the Grange was returning "home". I have been told that after our good experience, the company began sending vistors there regularly.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Days Inn Villa Fontana; City: Ensenada Ensenada Municipality Baja California; Review: I went down for a dirt bike trip. The friend who planned the trip uses this hotel, but it was my first time. It is important to take off your USA hat, and put on your sombrero when evaluating a hotel in Esenada, especially in this price range. Evaluate your priorities. The hotel was clean. I stayed in two different rooms (double and a triple) in two nights, and I can confirm that the appointments are not luxurious, but that is not my priority. The important things work, like the heat/ac, lights, and hot water in the shower. The cleaning staff was nice. The night desk clerks were easy going and helpful, too. The streets in the this tourist area are also safe with regular police car patrols. The parking is as secure as you will find with a front desk controlled gate to a lit courtyard parking lot. Aside from our dirt bikes, we also saw they had street bike tourists parked in a niche that was hidden from street view. They will let you pay to leave your trucks there if you go riding overnight, depending on space availability.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Parc Suites Hotel; City: Montreal Quebec; Review: Bon jour! I had a favorite hotel in Montreal for years, but it closed down. Its a tough business, and the little hotels run small margins. This is the first time in 15 years that I visited the city and had to pick a new place to stay. So I have to thank my fellow contributors, for steering me in the right direction. I was going for a conference at Palais de Congres, so I started my search on price in the area. Parc Suites popped up as a bargain with great reviews. It seemed too good to be true, but I say it is all true! Simply put, I have a new favorite hotel in Montreal. This is a small hotel with great rooms. The management/staff know each guest and are always helpful. The rooms are converted (and renovated) apartments, so you start off with a great layout of bedroom and living room. A small kitchen with full size fridge is there, and of course a bathroom. Great comfort! The kitchen allowed to me make my own breakfast each day. This meant healthy and inexpensive mornings for me. There is a Provigo grocery 1/2 block down, and a dep 2 doors up, so you can get anything you need for your visit. Be sure to contact the hotel directly for booking as some deals are not offered thru the travel websites. Some technical notes: * strong AC unit that chills the room and keeps the humidity down (heat is there, too, of course, but this was summer) * great wifi with a router on each floor for great signal * US and Canada calling is included, so I could stay in touch each night without a massive cell phone bill; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Arca di Pienza; City: Pienza Tuscany; Review: As part of our tour of Italy, we often picked rooms from the internet the same day. For Tuscany (Toscano) we planned several days in Pienza, so it was more important to find a nice place. We were not disappointed with our choice. The staff was great. Always helpful and polite. I assumed they were the owners from the effort they put into everything. The room we had was equipped with a great shaded patio. Great place to sit and read while enjoying a cool drink. I recommend one of these rooms if they are not sold out. The rooms were up to date and comfortable. Our room had a small mural on the wall, which was a nice detail. Location may throw you, if you do not have a sense of scale when looking at the map. It is all convenient. You can walk everywhere in Pienza in minutes. It is only 5 minutes to walk to the old town gate. There is a small grocery (a COOP) a few doors down, which is handy if you don't want to get your basics and snack items from a tourist store. There was a small fridge in the room to keep these items.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Capo Reamol; City: Limone sul Garda Province of Brescia Lombardy; Review: This was my second time in the area. It is a great place to visit. Different parts of the lake appeal to different people. We like the seclusion of the area with the convenience of Limone sul Garda still close by. Some highlights so you don't need to keep reading details you don't care about: *Great view...romantic location *Massive breakfast buffet with quality food *Restaurant is good...you don't need to go to town if you don;t want to *Private lake access (and kite board or wind surf pro shop) *Good Wi-Fi The hotel is in a prime place at the northern end of town. It is built into the hillside so that you enter on the top floor. As a result, each room gets a spectacular view with each level getting closer to the water. Quality of your balcony varies with room level, but everyone gets the same view. We took the basic room. Well appointed like most hotels. The condition of the room and cleanliness was first rate. Our basic room was small, like most hotels of the area, so this was not surprising. Desk staff was nice in a formal-way and spoke English and German. Foreign language support is not required, never assured, and always appreciated.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: B B Alle Rondini; City: Mestre Veneto; Review: Dear reader. I am like you. Reading lots of reviews on the same places. Trying to juggle location versus cost? Are the rooms likely to be as advertised? Let me help you here. This is a sincere, little, family-run B&B. If you don't like this kind of place, there are many hotels in the area. But I suggest that you experience a city a little more when you stay in a place like this. They value your visit and are both friendly and courteous. There are two rooms in a recently updated and restored (and repurposed!) farm building from 100 years ago. Each room is large and comfy and clean. Each room has a large dedicated bathroom that you do NOT share, but it is across a hallway. The walls are thick, and we never heard our neighbors, but enjoyed that we saw them at breakfast each morning and got to be friendly with some new people from a different country than ourselves. The breakfast included great Italian coffee to start, good and strong. There were choices of cereals, pastries, bread, fruit...a variety of things. Did I mention coffee, too? Basics are there, too. Wifi is strong. Easy parking. Convenient to Autostrada exits. Quiet environment. Smoke-free rooms. Things you might assume, but good to hear anyway. Tell the family why you are visiting. They will help you with directions, advice, etc. For going to Venice, they drove to the bus station in their own car with us following, to ensure we did not get lost. Very appreciated, and beyond expectations and it made a difference. The bus ride is variable. 20 minutes one time, 40 another. If you are willing to pay for parking, consider driving to a lot that is closer to Venice. This trades cost and convenience, which I think makes sense. Lastly, since you book directly with the owners ([email protected]) you are getting a good value compared to the larger places in Venezia Mestre. And a fraction of the cost of staying on the island itself. Ciao!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
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