Margaret M - (having a challenging time and on GR as much as I can)’s books on Goodreads (1,267 books) (original) (raw)
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| title 2025 on Goodreads | author Various | isbn | isbn13 | asin B0DVF91PSF | num pages unknown | avg rating 4.70 | num ratings 379 | date pub 2025 | date pub edition 2025 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review None | notes Notes are private! | comments 5 | votes 8 | # times read 1 | date started Jan 08, 2025 | date read not set | date added Jan 08, 2025 | owned | format Unknown Binding | actions view | | | |
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| title Better Hate than Never(The Wilmot Sisters, #2) | author Liese, Chloe * | isbn 0593441524 | isbn13 9780593441527 | asin 0593441524 | num pages 366pp | avg rating 3.65 | num ratings 17,168 | date pub Oct 10, 2023 | date pub edition Oct 10, 2023 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review None | notes Notes are private! | comments 0 | votes 4 | # times read 0 | date started not set | date read not set | date added Dec 31, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view | | | |
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| title The Wedding People | author Espach, Alison | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages 384pp | avg rating 4.12 | num ratings 621,544 | date pub Jul 30, 2024 | date pub edition Jul 30, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating really liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review A great read. A very effective way of addressing some serious themes and it turns out many of the main characters either directly or indirectly help r A great read. A very effective way of addressing some serious themes and it turns out many of the main characters either directly or indirectly help resolve each other’s problems. That can’t be a bad thing.From planned suicide to marrying the right but wrong guy, a life of second chances and pursuing your dreams even the ones you didn’t know you had. How lovely, satisfying and in some ways thoughtful.I can see why so many thoroughly enjoyed this one.Full RTC. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 39 | votes 163 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 23, 2024 | date read Dec 23, 2024 | date added Dec 23, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title All the Colors of the Dark | author Whitaker, Chris * | isbn 0593798872 | isbn13 9780593798874 | asin 0593798872 | num pages 608pp | avg rating 4.27 | num ratings 338,240 | date pub Jun 25, 2024 | date pub edition Jun 25, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review A thoroughly haunting and suspenseful yet beautiful book that has love and friendship at the core of a thrilling and disturbing story. Yep, its all th A thoroughly haunting and suspenseful yet beautiful book that has love and friendship at the core of a thrilling and disturbing story. Yep, its all this and more…In the earlier chapters, I tried to work out the storyline and plot with little success and then just ran with the superb storytelling. I enjoyed letting the author take me on this exhilarating ride that spanned decades, uncovered cold cases that had left families searching for the truths and justice, and intertwined some wonderful messages, themes, and relationships into the story. A brief summaryThe town of Monta Clare is traumatised by the abduction of a young boy known to us as ‘Patch’ / Joseph Macauley. A disappearance that starts years of searching by Saint who is determined to find her friend. Meanwhile, as Patch lies in a pitch-black room he vows to find his invisible friend Grace, who teaches him while they are both imprisoned and teaches him how to love life and seek the truth.As both give into their obsession and hunting for answers, they come to value all the relationships and people they have hurt along the way. Perhaps too late….Review and CommentsNot all books live up to the hype, but despite its length, I am delighted to say this one did. Perhaps a little long in the middle but this did not detract from the 5 stars I would award this book.Through the characters, Whitaker examines the concepts of self, love, friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, and isolation in a poignant and thoroughly thought provoking and intense novel.The landscape played out perfectly in the cinematic storytelling. The wildness of the terrain worked so well with the disappearance of some characters and the feeling of isolation felt by Saint, Misty and Patch as they conquered their own fears in search for the truth, answers and love.A fabulous book. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 41 | votes 81 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 20, 2024 | date read Dec 20, 2024 | date added Dec 20, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Answer Is No | author Backman, Fredrik * | isbn 1662526520 | isbn13 9781662526527 | asin B0D5JLH3RJ | num pages 68pp | avg rating 3.93 | num ratings 92,718 | date pub Dec 01, 2024 | date pub edition Dec 01, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review President of the ‘pile committee’ and a forbidden angel are just two roles for Lucas.Some lovely messages but overall not what I expected. Tongue in c President of the ‘pile committee’ and a forbidden angel are just two roles for Lucas.Some lovely messages but overall not what I expected. Tongue in cheek but not hilarious!!! ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 26 | votes 96 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 18, 2024 | date read Dec 18, 2024 | date added Dec 18, 2024 | owned | format Kindle Edition | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Mirror & the Light(Thomas Cromwell, #3) | author Mantel, Hilary | isbn 1250182492 | isbn13 9781250182494 | asin 1250182492 | num pages 759pp | avg rating 4.40 | num ratings 44,646 | date pub Mar 05, 2020 | date pub edition May 04, 2021 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review To say I’ve enjoyed this book series is an understatement. It was fantastic and a worthy addition for the world tour.One of the best retellings during To say I’ve enjoyed this book series is an understatement. It was fantastic and a worthy addition for the world tour.One of the best retellings during the reign of one of the most colourful kings in British history- Henry VIII. Although this time the lens is on the infamous Thomas Cromwell. A person I’ve always disliked but when you have the immensely talented Hilary Mantel writing it then you are challenged not to feel some sympathy for a ‘low born’ man who rose to greatness in the British court. However he didn’t achieve that without have blood on his hands and by amassing many enemies on route to the top, all of whom were to encircle the lonely Cromwell as he faced his final test trying to face off accusations he knew he could not prove himself innocent of regardless of how much truth was in them.The last moments of Thomas Cromwell during his interrogation was absolutely superb. I felt transported there, I wanted a different outcome and was totally bought into the quick wit and defence he put up to save his life and reputation. However, he knew all was in vain because the once ‘torturers’ methods were to be turned back on the creator of them in such a way that he knew he was doomed from the moment the court laid hands on him to imprison Cromwell at the Tower of London.Winning Henry’s favour was one thing but trying to remain there required a different set of skills, patience and experience in a game that Cromwell was to lose eventually. And Henry? Well he was selfish, arrogant and without morals - a king I love to hate because he is fascinating as a character but as a person? One without morals or compassion. If you were to create a fictional character like Henry VIII, you might be accused of stretching imagination- yet he was real, brutal and corrupt. But I do love reading about him.As for Cromwell? Well he does deserve the title of evil conspirator and genius but this book presents the human side of one of the most controversial figures in British history who changed the face of Britain forever. Deployed as one of Henry’s most lethal weapons, he was instrumental in England breaking away from Rome and destroying the country’s religious landscape and dedication to Catholicism. He destroyed his enemies with such ruthlessness that one could envisage a lengthy queue of people plotting their revenge and Cromwells downfall.Stop 30 on the world tour is back to England during the reign of Henry VIII and the story of Thomas Cromwell. And what a cracking book and series. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 52 | votes 88 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 19, 2024 | date read Dec 19, 2024 | date added Dec 17, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title Bring Up the Bodies(Thomas Cromwell, #2) | author Mantel, Hilary | isbn | isbn13 | asin B0DSZYGH6X | num pages 412pp | avg rating 4.30 | num ratings 102,158 | date pub May 10, 2012 | date pub edition May 08, 2012 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review Fantastic series of books spanning the rise and fall of one of the most iconic figures in British history. Everything feels authentic from the court p Fantastic series of books spanning the rise and fall of one of the most iconic figures in British history. Everything feels authentic from the court politics to the setting and even the conversations between the characters as they manoeuvred, played the deadly game of cat and mouse to win the king’s favour. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 5 | votes 33 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 17, 2024 | date read Dec 17, 2024 | date added Dec 17, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Fox Wife | author Choo, Yangsze * | isbn 1250266017 | isbn13 9781250266019 | asin 1250266017 | num pages 390pp | avg rating 3.99 | num ratings 23,101 | date pub Feb 13, 2024 | date pub edition Feb 13, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review RTC - I wanted more from this. Good but not great | notes Notes are private! | comments 4 | votes 46 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 10, 2024 | date read Dec 10, 2024 | date added Dec 10, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Mistletoe Mystery(Molly the Maid, #2.5) | author Prose, Nita * | isbn 0008713324 | isbn13 9780008713324 | asin 0008713324 | num pages 128pp | avg rating 3.44 | num ratings 40,101 | date pub Oct 01, 2024 | date pub edition Oct 10, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating really liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review RTC | notes Notes are private! | comments 5 | votes 36 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 08, 2024 | date read Dec 08, 2024 | date added Dec 08, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Candy Witch: Sweet Dreams | author McGillvray, Ronald * | isbn 1777746272 | isbn13 9781777746278 | asin B0DCNC5V7J | num pages 356pp | avg rating 4.65 | num ratings 23 | date pub unknown | date pub edition Sep 12, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating really liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review RTC | notes Notes are private! | comments 0 | votes 19 | # times read 1 | date started Dec 2024 | date read Dec 2024 | date added Dec 01, 2024 | owned | format Kindle Edition | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Garden of Evening Mists | author Tan Twan Eng | isbn 1782110186 | isbn13 9781782110187 | asin 1782110186 | num pages 351pp | avg rating 4.15 | num ratings 28,828 | date pub Nov 01, 2011 | date pub edition May 2013 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating really liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review RTC | notes Notes are private! | comments 0 | votes 13 | # times read 2 | date started Dec 2024 not set | date read Dec 2024 not set | date added Dec 01, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Sword And The Scimitar | author Ball, David | isbn 0099457954 | isbn13 9780099457954 | asin 0099457954 | num pages 688pp | avg rating 4.30 | num ratings 1,693 | date pub 2004 | date pub edition Jan 01, 2004 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review Suleimens "...forces were gathering from every corner of the empire – forces beyond measure, all to be directed at the Knights of St. John and their h _Suleimens "...forces were gathering from every corner of the empire – forces beyond measure, all to be directed at the Knights of St. John and their home of Malta."_Although primarily a work of fiction, the Sword and the Scimitar, is one of those outstanding and epic Historical Fiction novels that embraces the history, culture, politics, and religions of the mid-16th Century to reveal the horrors, defeats and courageous acts of so many during the ‘Great Siege of Malta’. Some accounts of this period in history may vary in specific details, however, the outcome was undeniable and what was at stake was terrifying to both the Ottoman empire and Rome.Whilst rich in historical detail, the Sword and Scimitar is a great fictional story that plays out through a number of interesting characters separated by religion as they face the destructions of war and are driven by events to become enemies of each other. As the author points our… “Never in those years was the hatred between Jew and Muslim the equal of the hatred between Christian and Jew, or Christian and Muslim. But who can know the way to best measure hatred? Who can know its bounds.”Siege of MaltaThe Knights of Malta had been driven out of Rhodes with the promise of a truce if they were to remain in Malta and not wage any further wars against the Ottoman empire. A truce that was not to last and after the first failed attempt to take Malta in 1551, Suleiman the Magnificent was to make a second but deadly attempt to conquer the island.In 1565 and in a battle that lasted 4 months ‘The Knights of Malta’, who numbered around 500 together with approximately 6,000 footsoldiers, withstood the siege and repelled a 40,000 strong Ottoman army. For both sides it was the lowest moment in the battle between nations and religions when any minor incident could have turned the battle either way. Both sides were aware that the relief force might arrive at any moment, and aware that it might not arrive at all. Both sides were desperate, stretched beyond human endurance. Yet both sides found the strength to carry on until The Knights had all but run out of ammunition and depleted army of five hundred men still able to bear arms.Still viewed as one of the most courageous and significant victories over the centuries was largely down to the numbers of knights and supporters who took on the largest empire on earth. At the time the Ottoman empire spanned half of the civilised world and stretched over three continents and led by a ruler who was both fierce and successful. Not since Rome had a civilization so dominated mankind.A brief summary of the storyBrother and Sister, Nico and Maria are separated at a very young age when Nico is abducted and taken into slavery, and in his captivity finds himself in the court of Suliman and converts to Islam. Meanwhile his sister, remains a devout Christian and determined to secure her brothers freedom. However, it is more than years that separates them when they reunite.In this theatre of cruelty, Giulio Salvago, Christien Luc deVries and Luca personify the religious fervour that drove nations and people to war, but we also see the human story and impacts of these events on people and societies. There are so many poignant moments in the lives of these characters that depict the mental and emotional anguish that most will have felt.Review and CommentsThis book is one of the most enjoyable, informative and epic retellings of the Siege of Malta. A book that vividly portrays the political and religious conflict of the times, and for that I have to give this five stars. The Sword and the Scimitar is a fantastic book, brilliantly researched and the fictional part was so well done the interchange between fact and fiction felt seamless. The characters brought to life the agony, fear, and difficult choices the characters had to make. A very worthy stop in Malta for the world tour of books. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 81 | votes 90 | # times read 1 | date started Nov 20, 2024 | date read Nov 20, 2024 | date added Nov 20, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956(The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956, #1-7) | author Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr | isbn 1843430851 | isbn13 9781843430858 | asin 1843430851 | num pages 472pp | avg rating 4.33 | num ratings 33,247 | date pub 1973 | date pub edition Jan 30, 2003 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review _“Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty"_Stop 28 on the world tour, takes me back to Lenin’s / Stalin’s Russia for ‘The _“Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty"_Stop 28 on the world tour, takes me back to Lenin’s / Stalin’s Russia for ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ which for me is the most notable and extraordinary indictment of any ruling system and political regime I’ve ever read.Disturbing, insufferable, harrowing, despicable and extremely sickening – why?This was the story about the forced labour camps in Russia, and the inhumane treatment of its citizens who were selected in an attempt to censor and control the population, eliminate political opponents or anyone who was deemed socially dangerous, disruptive, or vocal, and those who were not seen to contribute to the dictatorship agenda. It’s good to see that things have changed though!!!In Navalny’s words - ‘Don’t give up’ things might change. Sadly not for him though as he died unexpectedly in a penal colony showing signs of torture.However, the criteria for selecting inmates didn’t stop there because there was a direct correlation between the economic needs of the country and the supply train taking prisoners to Gulag.And the author? A witness to this soviet horror as a prisoner himself for having criticised Joseph Stalin and his regime in a private letter, and after serving eight years in the Gulag was then exiled.Gulag Archipelago – the book _“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”_How true is this even in the world today? and how true is the author's reference to the old proverb_“No, the old proverb does not lie: Look for the brave in prison, and the stupid among the political leaders!”_The real statistics of politically induced deaths in these labour camps under the Soviet regime is hard to determine and remains a subject of much debate. It is true though that many were peasants from rural parts of the country whose voices were already silent. Ironically too, was that the people who were guilty of nothing were the ones seemingly unprepared to put up any resistance or defence, while their proofs of guilt were approximate and at the discretion of the interrogators.Thankfully the author Solzhenitsyn has left us this unabridged account of life under Lenin’s and Stalin’s rule and in one of their forced labour camps. We know of these camps during WWII where the level of brutality was experienced by the country’s enemy, not their own people. As a prisoner remarked, for not wanting to die by a German bullet the prisoner would be substituting it for a Soviet one for having been taken a prisoner of war. “Some get theirs from the enemy, we get bullets from our own”.**The Books Publication is interesting!!!**The KGB confiscated Solzhenitsyn's materials in Moscow, during 1965–1967, and was forced to develop his preparatory drafts of The Gulag Archipelago in various sections. He accomplished some of this while in hiding at his friends' homes in the Moscow region and elsewhere.In 1973, the KGB seized one of only three existing copies of the text still on Soviet soil. This was achieved by interrogating Elizaveta Voronyanskaya, one of Solzhenitsyn's trusted typists who knew where the typed copy was hidden. Within days of her release by the KGB she was found hanged in the stairwell of her apartment on the 3rd of August 1973. She had apparently either hanged herself or been murdered.Although Solzhenitsyn had wanted the manuscript to be first published in Russia, he knew this was impossible under the current political landscape, and so after Solzhenitsyn learned of Voronyanskaya's death he decided to allow its publication in Paris causing a huge stir internationally. Quickly the text was translated into multiple languages and so the camps and the atrocities committed there were revealed to the world.Review and CommentsThere is nothing that will awaken the senses quite like the story of people trying to survive one of Russia's labour camps. There is nothing more soul stirring and emotionally moving than reading about the inhumane treatment of people, who were petty criminals at most. Inmates who were treated like animals and through their incarceration we witness the ‘reduction’ of a human being, the narrowing of the intellectual mind and zest for life dwindling away with every beating, poor diet and every day suffering at the hands of this brutal regime. To read this book was to observe these prisoners die slowly in every way possible. Its heartbreaking.I learnt a lot more from this story, for example, I thought it was Stalin who established this legal and government framework for a series of such camps, but in fact it was Lenin, and you can feel the utter contempt the author felt towards this barbaric individual, which is completely understandable. Stalin was then to continue with this political and social framework (ie concentration camps) which was considered a way of resourcing economic plans. It didn’t matter that the labour force were unwilling participants. "Had not the camps arisen out of the crisis of unemployment of the 20s?" the author asks!!!It seemed, it was not the number of genuine criminals which determined the intensity of the courts activities, but the requisitions of the economic establishment that these camps would continue to function with an abundance of manual resource. I was sickened reading this book and although it is harrowing from start to finish, I couldn’t put it down. The stories and accounts of prisoner treatment, their general living conditions, the slave labour gangs and the technical prison camp system, camp rebellions and strikes, the continued internal exile following the completion of the original prison sentence, and the ultimate but not guaranteed release of the prisoner, if one survived is there is abundance from the voice of one that did survive. I am glad though that the author did survive to write this, otherwise we would have had to listen to more years of Soviet contradictions, denial and delusional claims that it works in the interests of its own people.I repeat Look for the brave in prison, and the stupid among the political leaders!” _“What is striking is that the twentieth century has proven, in quantitative terms, the most murderous in human history - “Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions. This cannot be denied, nor passed over, nor suppressed”._A tyrannical, blood curdling, demoralising, graphic and soul stirring book about the forced labour camps in the Soviet Union.For all those suffering injustice ‘Don’t Give Up’. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 107 | votes 160 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 18, 2024 | date read Oct 18, 2024 | date added Oct 18, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title A Song to Drown Rivers | author Liang, Ann * | isbn 1250289467 | isbn13 9781250289469 | asin 1250289467 | num pages 325pp | avg rating 3.87 | num ratings 25,105 | date pub Oct 01, 2024 | date pub edition Oct 01, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review None | notes Notes are private! | comments 1 | votes 8 | # times read 1 | date started not set | date read not set | date added Oct 15, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view | | | |
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| title Cold Comfort Farm | author Gibbons, Stella | isbn 014018869X | isbn13 9780140188691 | asin 014018869X | num pages 240pp | avg rating 3.88 | num ratings 53,677 | date pub Sep 08, 1932 | date pub edition Feb 01, 1996 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review Following the death of her parents, Flora Poste, reaches out to her remaining living relatives to obtain an open ended invitation that will enable her Following the death of her parents, Flora Poste, reaches out to her remaining living relatives to obtain an open ended invitation that will enable her to become better acquainted with her eccentric family. It is Flora’s invitation to Cold Comfort Farm that is to become the setting of the book. However, although an idyllic location the farm itself is in need of renovation and hauled into the 20th Century and who better than the tenacious Miss Poste. Challenging the farm practices, household standards and lack of ambition among the inhabitants and farm hands, Flora sets about confronting the emotional challenges beset by each of the main characters and in doing so modernises a crumbling neglected rural heap into an enviable and vibrant farm but Reinventing the cast was a different matter!!!. “_I try to bring people around to the higher common sense.”_Flora remarks.And with herself an aspirant writer, the characters and their lives provide an abundance of material for her own book, but the story takes on a different purpose and with some humorous scenes life in the countryside and the that of the cast is rewritten._”Jane Austen and I have so much in common - neither of us can endure mess.”_A lovely cosy read. A very British novel that pokes fun at the attitudes of the stubborn and misguided. An adorable Mary Poppins type character who wishes to do good even if her own lavish lifestyle sets her culturally apart at times. Humorous and engaging. In all, good but nothing special. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 57 | votes 99 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 15, 2024 | date read Oct 15, 2024 | date added Oct 14, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title Just for the Summer(Part of Your World, #3) | author Jimenez, Abby * | isbn 1538704439 | isbn13 9781538704431 | asin 1538704439 | num pages 432pp | avg rating 4.37 | num ratings 870,614 | date pub Apr 02, 2024 | date pub edition Apr 02, 2024 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review “Just for the Summer” was just what I needed to slip into another world that wasn’t perfect but had just enough substance, poignant themes, a great wr “Just for the Summer” was just what I needed to slip into another world that wasn’t perfect but had just enough substance, poignant themes, a great writing style, a wonderful array of characters and a beautiful message not just for the summer.Justin and Emma share the same thing in common and share the same curse. Every woman (in his case) and every man (in hers) meet their life long soul mate only after they break up with Justin and Emma. Sharing this rare bond their banter over the life curse draws them closer together – of course it does because this is a RomCom after all. Do they ever have an unpredictable sad ending? well no, but who cares. And it should come as no surprise that the relationship that was to last 'just for the summer' may have lasted much longer.Some of this story, the dog, the advertisement etc.. raised an unwanted eyebrow but in all this had the right amount of banter, and a wonderful uplifting read whilst not avoiding some real heavy and important life issues. I just loved this little love in.Highly recommended!!! ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 75 | votes 150 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 12, 2024 | date read Oct 12, 2024 | date added Oct 12, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race | author Shetterly, Margot Lee * | isbn | isbn13 | asin B0DT2DQYJ6 | num pages 384pp | avg rating 3.96 | num ratings 111,698 | date pub Sep 06, 2016 | date pub edition Feb 09, 2017 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was amazing | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review _“Women, on the other hand, had to wield their intellects like a scythe, hacking away against the stubborn underbrush of low expectations.”_Stop 27 on t _“Women, on the other hand, had to wield their intellects like a scythe, hacking away against the stubborn underbrush of low expectations.”_Stop 27 on the world tour takes me back to the US for one of the most evocative, powerful and courageous stories I have ever read. This is the story of many African-American women who suffered discrimination not just because of their colour but also because they were women deemed less intellectual than men – according to the men of course. It is absolutely horrendous and sickening, but it happened. The good news!!! It paved the way for many women and mixed race employees to receive equal rights if you believe that has ever happened, but at least we experienced many firsts.Meet Katherine Johnson (Goble), Mary Jackson, and Gloria Champine the female human computers that worked at NASA._“Their dark skin, their gender, their economic status--none of those were acceptable excuses for not giving the fullest rein to their imaginations and ambitions.”_These women were to change history. Women who massaged the numbers, swam in the numbers, scrutinised the numbers until their eyes blurred, and the world thanks them for it for their achievements are astounding.Katherine Johnson was a physicist and a mathematician who worked with NASA at the time the US found themselves behind Russia to put a man in space and orbit the earth. America’s continued failure was to hand the USSR a propaganda boost. Along comes Katherine, who is finally introduced to the white male academy where she spent her time calculating trajectories, launch windows and the return paths for many famous space flights, such as Project Mercury (the first man to fly into space), 1969's Apollo 11 (first flight to the Moon) and the Space Shuttle program (the Mars mission).“Even as a professional in an integrated world, I had been the only black woman in enough drawing rooms and boardrooms to have an inkling of the chutzpah it took for an African American woman in a segregated southern workplace to tell her bosses she was sure her calculations would put a man on the Moon.Mary Jackson was also a mathematician and NASA's first black female engineer in 1958, who struggled to obtain her place in white universities to achieve the necessary qualifications for engineering, until she fought for equal rights through the justice system. Mary was later able to influence the hiring and promotion of women in science, engineering and mathematics at NASA. A mathematician, Dorothy Vaughan was the first African-American woman to be promoted as a head of personnel at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, later known as NASA. She was the head of the West Area Computers, leading a group of African-American mathematicians through crucial space projects, and was considered by the others to be the most intelligent. Dorothy managed to learn and then install the first IBM mainframe in NASA after so many failed attempts by the ‘suits’. Foreseeing the impact on the demand for human computing, Dorothy devised an education programme to upskill her team of women on computer programming, which not only secured their employment but elevated their contribution to NASA's continued space programme so that no-one could afford to 'hide' them any longer. “What I changed I could. What I couldn’t I endured”. Review and CommentsI read many reviews on Hidden Figures and to be honest was a little sceptical because, like many of my GR friends I am also in favour of historical fiction books over the factual accounts of history, for leisurely reading that is. However, this worked differently for me, I absolutely loved it and was gripped from the first to the last page. The stories of these women were not just relevant then, they are now, and it will resonate with many for years to come about what can be achieved when intolerance, discrimination and racism are countered or eradicated. It shines a light on what can be achieved when you hold up a mirror to inequality, which makes these women beacons of light.I didn’t find the book dry in story telling like others, because although it was written without lots of sentiment and emotion, the stories and injustices and achievements of these 3 women did that for me. I was so blown away by this true story (which I read a week ago) so much so I watched the film last night and scanned the book again.I have a recommendation. Buy the film and the book, then read half the book and watch the film. My reasoning is, the book covers more of the women’s earlier story, and the film brings to life the women in a way the book doesn’t. Combining the two would perhaps make the reading experience feel less of a non-fictional book. A lot of the quotes you read were real and these women did voice them but when you hear it on screen, I felt they were more impactful. It may come across that these women single handedly changed the course of history, which of course they didn’t on their own, e.g. Martin Luther King was prominent at this time. However, their role was so crucial, their discoveries so innovative, their solutions so radical for the times, and their endurance so monumental that they do deserve the recognition this book awards them.The author could have focused on the darkness surrounding racism and discrimination of all kinds, but my main take from the story was one of courage, endurance, hope, and achievement. Some of Americas harshest realities, legalised segregation, and racial discrimination was evident but there is also evidence of the “triumph or meritocracy that our rise and achievements should be a reward for talent and hard work” and that I loved.A story that is as shameful as it is hopeful. A story about ordinary women with an extraordinary legacy which was moving, enlightening, powerful, victorious, and courageous. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 92 | votes 130 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 07, 2024 | date read Oct 07, 2024 | date added Oct 07, 2024 | owned | format Paperback | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title Fangs | author Andersen, Sarah * | isbn 1524860670 | isbn13 9781524860677 | asin 1524860670 | num pages 100pp | avg rating 4.22 | num ratings 50,837 | date pub Sep 01, 2020 | date pub edition Sep 01, 2020 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating really liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review A cutesy love story between the not so unlikely werewolf and the vampire who have a monstrous appetite for fun. Not what I was expecting, the story is A cutesy love story between the not so unlikely werewolf and the vampire who have a monstrous appetite for fun. Not what I was expecting, the story is displayed as a series of cartoon drawings but with some ‘bloody’ brilliant illustrations and lovely captions that are light hearted, humorous, and creepy. Something that you can get your teeth into for spooky month, but if not for Halloween, then for Valentines. For her blood red roses and for him doggy biscuits!!! ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 33 | votes 65 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 05, 2024 | date read Oct 05, 2024 | date added Oct 05, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title Sugar Money | author Harris, Jane | isbn 0571336922 | isbn13 9780571336920 | asin 0571336922 | num pages 400pp | avg rating 3.72 | num ratings 1,120 | date pub Oct 05, 2017 | date pub edition Jan 01, 2017 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating it was ok | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review A book based on true events with all the horrific acts of barbarity you would expect from slavery as we observe the inhumane treatment of people in th A book based on true events with all the horrific acts of barbarity you would expect from slavery as we observe the inhumane treatment of people in the colonial plantations of Martinique and Grenada. Stop 26 is to the West Indies in 1765. Think money, colonialism and sugar without a ‘sweet’ ending to a very disturbing story. A French plantation owner devises an audacious plan to recapture slaves from their neighbouring British colonists who have taken ownership of a hospital where 42 slaves had worked for their French captors. The people charged with such a mission are two young brothers Emile and Lucien, who are to risk their lives, their youth and their innocence to achieve the impossible. Hardly a mission for two so young which is to cost them dearly.The real events used to write this story offered so much potential for a compelling historical novel, but then the whole book fell short which I struggled to comprehend given the glowing Amazon reviews. The author says the writing style was deliberately adopted to capture the culture. language and dialect but it was so off putting at times. Here are a few examples of just how badly the story was written in places, even if it was deliberate….”He pass by the clump of slim bamboo stems inside which Augustin had conceal himself and then disappeared into the night”. _“On a sudden, I distinguish another sound”_Aside for the writing style I just didn’t / couldn’t connect with this book, but I should have. It’s my kind of story and just what I’m looking for on the world tour. Nevertheless, I must applaud the author for penning the horrendous stories of slavery, the lamentations of torture and weeping sounds of slavery as many watch their kin die for the most minor of transgressions. These stories are always harrowing because many were denied the most basic of human needs but ultimately their freedom in the name of conquest and colonisation. Except there was also greed at play because despite work in the sugar plantations being labor-intensive, sugar was a lucrative product to trade. The more bodies, the larger the harvest and the more profit!!!A hard fact. Few people survived more than 3 years in these plantations, due to hard labour, heat and poor diet which meant the labour force needed replenishment from wherever the British and French could find it - other islands most likely but also those convicted of petty crimes at home. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 55 | votes 88 | # times read 1 | date started Oct 05, 2024 | date read Oct 05, 2024 | date added Oct 04, 2024 | owned | format Hardcover | actions view (with text) | | | |
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| title The Baby Shower | author Lynes, S.E. * | isbn 1803141417 | isbn13 9781803141411 | asin B09MSDS19B | num pages 339pp | avg rating 4.09 | num ratings 5,003 | date pub Mar 01, 2022 | date pub edition Mar 01, 2022 | Margaret M - (having a challenging time's rating liked it | my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves | review Fast paced, suspenseful and packed with all the ingredients that should make a good crime / thriller - revenge and toxic relationships within a story Fast paced, suspenseful and packed with all the ingredients that should make a good crime / thriller - revenge and toxic relationships within a story that is dark and sinister. However, it didn't grip me possibly because the plot was so predictable and I had worked out the who, why and outcome too early on which in the case spoiled the enjoyment of the book.I will try to come back later with a brief summary of the plot, but please read other reviews especially from GR friends who enjoyed this much more than me.Merged review:Fast paced, suspenseful and packed with all the ingredients that should make a good crime / thriller - revenge and toxic relationships within a story that is dark and sinister. However, it didn't grip me possibly because the plot was so predictable and I had worked out the who, why and outcome too early on which in the case spoiled the enjoyment of the book.I will try to come back later with a brief summary of the plot, but please read other reviews especially from GR friends who enjoyed this much more than me. ...more | notes Notes are private! | comments 30 | votes 82 | # times read 2 | date started Dec 02, 2023 not set | date read Dec 02, 2023 not set | date added Sep 28, 2024 | owned | format Kindle Edition | actions view (with text) | | | |
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