Monday, 27 October 2014

Reading with Chuckles #10


Welcome to Reading with Chuckles! This is where I fill you in on what I'm reading each week-what it is, where I got it or heard about it, what I think of it, if I'm continuing with it or abandoning it and any special offers I'm aware of where you can try the book yourself. Comments are welcome but no spoilers please! It's not fair to other readers!

This was a great reading week! I'm a fast reader when I get a good book (no I don't skim, yes I do read every word!) so I decided to do a series catch up on Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. I had been surprised to like the first book as I generally don't read the genre, but it was full of twists, plots and scandals and I liked it. So here are the books in the series that I finished last week.


 


So I got through these books pretty quick and loved the big reveals. We get the conclusion of the who is 'A' and what happened the night Alison died. I liked it and this is where the series should have finished. Instead we have a new secret, the girls are all horrible now and I don't like what is being done. I've abandoned the series now, which is a shame when I enjoyed the first eight.

I moved on to catch up with a series that has been on my shelf since Moses was a boy. I read the first three which I mostly liked but the antics of Quinn spoiled the whole series for me and I stopped today, abandoning book four.



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Book Review: Flawless by Sara Shepard



In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars--Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna--have been very bad girls. . . .
Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.

And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that. At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?

One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.

My Review:
This was an excellent follow up to Pretty Little Liars. I was strangely swept up in the secrets and drama that surround these girls-past and present. I was still wondering who 'A' was and drawing up a list of possible suspects! That is what makes the book fun! IMHO, 'A' is female. I decided that based on the tone of the messages-it was girly and bitchy! I was thinking about Melissa, Maya, Jenna, Mona and Alison's dumped best friends as my top suspects at the moment. At the moment I don't really think it's Jenna, despite her having a clear motive.

 I really liked finding out what happened on the night of the Jenna Thing. It's interesting that when Alison does something nasty, all the girls seem to be held responsible for her actions. Nice. Should this not have just been Alison's secret? We know what caused Jenna to lose her sight but are we getting the whole story, even with the conclusion here? With this author and the way the plot twists, you can't really tell! I like Jenna and it would be nice to see more of her character in later books. Toby was a good addition to the book. He steps in to help defend Emily from her nasty ex Ben, when he is threatening to expose her secret kiss with Maya, then we see his big dark secret.

 So what develops in this book? Maya is still trying to persuade Emily to come out and Emily is resisting, afraid of what everyone will think of her. Aria's brother discovers his dad's affair, Hanna is unsure whether to give her absent dad another chance, Aria is getting cosy with Sean who Hanna wants to get back with, Emily likes Toby and Melissa proves that she has a ruthless side over Spencer's fling with Wren. Things are certainly hotting up! My school life was so boring by comparison...of course, I was never friends with a bitch like Alison either!

 Best bits of the book? I loved this new side of Melissa, getting her own back on her cheating ex and her sister. I didn't expect it and although Spencer is my favourite character, I did feel she got a bit of what she deserved. Mind you, her parents really need a damn good slap for the way they always favour Melissa. 'A' is brilliant in this book, doing some really basty things to the girls. I loved her bitchy plans. 'She' tells Hanna that Sean has another girl, causing a massive fight between Hanna and Aria, 'She' tells Aria's mother about her husband's affair which rips Aria's family apart and tells Melissa that Spencer is still seeing Wren. Melissa's wrath was a joy to behold! I also love the bitch that is Mona! She really is funny and nasty about Hanna spending time with her old friends. And of course, I really liked the Jenna story coming out. 

Actually, there wasn't much not to like about the book. The plot gets juicier as we go along, 'A' gets nastier and we are still wondering who killed Alison. Pretty much anyone who met her could be a suspect, including her own mother!

Looking forward to seeing what happens next.
star rating photo: 35 star rating 3-5-stars.jpg
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Sunday, 26 October 2014

Author needs your help! #1 Isabella Modra

This is the lovely Isabella Modra, the exciting young author of two self published novels called Rouge and Embers & Ice, the first two books in the Rouge series, which I have featured previously on my blog. Now Isabella wants to publish the conclusion to this YA paranormal fantasy series. She is crowdfunding this last book, not only to complete the trilogy but to be able to professionally publish the entire series. 

 And she needs help! Can you donate to her fund and help her reach her goal? There are prizes up for offer if you do. And in the sad event that the project does not reach its target, your money will be refunded. You can read all about the campaign here. Why not take a look at the link?

https://www.inkshares.com/projects/consuming-fire


                   View the video for a personal message from Isabella!

If you can't donate, please consider supporting Isabella by trying her books. Links provided.

Hunter Harrison desperately hopes her guardian Joshua is joking when he confesses – very solemnly – that she is pyrokinetic. Hunter would normally laugh in his face, if it didn’t explain all the spontaneous fires that happen only when she’s nearby. Still, the logic is a little hard for a smart, socially isolated eighteen-year-old to comprehend. That is, until Joshua explains the truth behind her parent’s death.

Spun into a new life filled with cold truth, terrifying wonder and a mountain of responsibility, Hunter faces the flames dwelling inside her. But the fire is more deadly than Hunter can comprehend. It explodes when she’s angry. It erupts when she’s afraid. And, worst of all, it threatens the life of her boyfriend Eli, who is innocently unaware of her abilities.

So how does an extraordinary teenager juggle dealing with superpowers between work, graduating and keeping her hormones in check? Simple. By fighting fire with fire.

Where can I buy Rouge?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rouge-Isabella-Modra-ebook/dp/B00EMEYUBA/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414337348&sr=1-3&keywords=Isabella+Modra 

 http://www.amazon.com/Rouge-Isabella-Modra-ebook/dp/B00EMEYUBA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414337470&sr=1-1&keywords=Isabella+Modra

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rouge-isabella-modra/1116913051?ean=9780992277604 

 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/348553

Vulnerable and weak after her battle with her guardian Joshua, Hunter is snatched up by the Agents who work for a ruthless and cold institution called ICE. There, Hunter is imprisoned with other mutants of different ages and abilities, forced into a nightmare of constant experiments and brutality.

Joshua is a mess. Frantically trying to fix the mistakes he made, Joshua embarks on a quest across the country to find Hunter and rescue her. But the company he keeps is continuously distracting him, and Joshua can’t control the strange feelings of love and comfort that begin to boil inside his cold, icy heart.

Will Hunter escape and find her fire again, or will Joshua and his mistakes find her first?

Where can I buy Embers & Ice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-Ice-Rouge-Isabella-Modra/dp/0992277620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414337392&sr=1-1&keywords=Isabella+Modra 

 http://www.amazon.com/Embers-Ice-Rouge-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00K9O83Y2/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414337505&sr=1-3&keywords=Isabella+Modra

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embers-ice-isabella-modra/1119604183?ean=9780992277628 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474069

More about Isabella?

http://www.isabellamodra.com/ 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7153840.Isabella_Modra
https://twitter.com/IsabellaModra
https://www.facebook.com/RougeNovel?ref=hl
https://plus.google.com/104175858402699493200/posts



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What's on Chuckle TV #8


Welcome to Chuckle TV! 
Every week I will be talking about what I have been watching in the world of TV, be it sport, documentaries, TV series, films, soaps or interesting news items. I'll be talking about favourites from the past and all the great sounding stuff that I haven't watched yet. Believe me, there are a lot of popular series that I haven't had the chance to see! Let the Count and I be your guide in the world of entertainment! Comments are welcome on what I'm currently watching but no spoilers please or your comments will not be published!

It's been a while since I've been here but these are the latest things that I've been doing in the world of TV and film!

LOVE this show! I've been watching re-runs on a few channels including History and ITV4 and the four guys are like a comedy act. Chumlee is brilliant! The Old Man's putdowns are hilarious. I like them all. And it is also interesting to see the value of different items. A good, fun, educational show.
This show may not have the humour of Pawn Stars but boy does it make up for it with psycho customers! The Pawn shop is in Detroit and every episode features irate and barmy customers being forced out the door by security! They shout, they swear, they dance, they try to climb over the counter...great entertainment! There is also the fun of sibling rivalry and three strong personalities with their own ideas clashing over how best to run the shop.
Last week, I watched Pacific Rim and I was surprised that it was better than I expected. Good plot, lots of action scenes, good monster concept, great special effects and surprisingly good acting from Charlie Hunnam. I last saw him as a whiny teenager in the UK's Queer as Folk but he makes a pretty good action hero here. Pretty good film.

Considering that this was an offering from JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg, I was hugely disappointed by this film. I felt it was The Goonies without the humour and great characters and ET without the charm of the creature who is wanting to go home. The attempts at humour fell flat and it was more about a teenage boy's crush on a girl and the loss of his mother affecting how he communicates with his dad. Disappointing to say the least.
This film had its good bits-the plot of getting children to take over military planning, a host of great actors like Ben Kingsley and Harrison Ford, good performance from Asa Butterfield. But it was too samey throughout. Boy bullied at academy but wins. Boy bullied at training camp but wins etc. I guessed the twist at the end but then the film just fizzled out into a nothing ending. Could have done so much more with it.

Weird, confusing, timeline jumping about all over the place, obnoxious characters, endless dialogue about nothing of interest, foul mouthed guy who can't say a sentence without ten f's and c's.

Crap waste of my time.
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Saturday, 25 October 2014

Stacking the Shelves #55


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Click on the link under the book to find its page on Goodreads or Smashwords.
                  
Please note that I always leave a message on your STS/SP if you visit me, but if you use DISQUS I will not be able to leave a comment on your page. And sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress. 

This week I cleared out my wishlist of things I'm no longer interested in reading. It amazed me to see what I've put on there in the last two years! Some of it I didn't remember and others I was thinking 'why did I add THAT?' So that's another job done. It took all week to do it but I cleared off 200 books. I also finally got in some good quality reading and this week I read 8 books! Yes, 8 finished books! I was tackling the Pretty Little Liars series which has been on a shelf upstairs for ages. I liked the first 8 but from 9 onwards I just lost interest. I didn't like the changes to the characters or the new secret the girls were protecting so I stopped at 9 or 10 and abandoned the series. Plus I abandoned about 10 other books as well so this was a great week for tackling tbrs taking up space. Hopefully I can get most of them traded or donated to charity shops or passed to someone else on bookcrossing.  

This week on the STS front, I was hunting down gory and scary books for Halloween! I found a pile of horror books which I'm happy with. These are not for readers with queasy stomachs, that's for sure! I'm so glad that most of my books this week will be on the computer and not on my physical bookshelves! 

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