Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Truth. Show all posts

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Book Review - A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

 


A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly is about a woman, Evelyne Redfern, who finds a dead body at her new job. In England 1940, Evelyne is famously known as the “The Parisian Orphan” because of the nasty divorce between her mother and her adventurer father that unfolded very publicly.  Evelyne wishes to leave her parents’ shadow and move on with her life.

She decides to take a job working on the line at a munitions factory to help out with the war efforts.  During the night, she and her friends at the local boarding house go out for a fun night out. There she crosses paths with one of her father’s old friends, Mr. Fletcher. 

Mr. Fletcher asks if she is interested in taking a new job as he remembers how clever and resourceful she was as a child. Evelyne is intrigued and decides to take him up on his offer. She wasn’t sure what to expect of the new job but now she is working as a secretary for the Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.  She feels that this job would have more of an impact with the war efforts than working in the factories as it would have a “more” direct impact.

As Evelyne tries to find her way around the underground bunker, she comes across a person she thinks is sleeping at the desk. When she goes closer to the person, she realizes the person is dead and it was someone she knew and worked with. Evelyne is determined to find the killer. She loves reading detective novels, and she believes that she can find the culprit, but her plan puts her directly in the path of David Poole. 

Evelyne doesn’t know much about David other than he is sketchy and always seems to turn up wherever she is. She hopes that they will stay out of each other’s way until she finds out that David has been tasked to find the mole that has been selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. Evelyne feels that their missions are connected and begrudgingly agrees to team up with David. Will the pair be able to find out who is behind the murder? 

I thought the book was an interesting read but it wasn’t as enjoyable to me as I would have expected. It took me a bit of time to get into the author’s writing style. I found myself going back and rereading the same thing over again because I couldn’t grasp what the author was trying to communicate. There was also a large cast of people that it was difficult to keep everyone’s motive and story straight. It felt like tons of information was given about minor characters who didn’t really add anything to the story. Then at other times, I feel like we didn’t really get to know many of the characters other than their basic cursory backgrounds.

I felt at times the pacing was a bit off. The book was boring and plodded along slowly towards the middle and the ending came out of nowhere. It felt a bit unexpected on how the book ended but not unpredictable. I did find it odd that the only qualification that Evelyne had to solve the murder was that she was a fan of murder mystery novels. She had one job prior to being a secretary, and she had minimal office experience. I can understand her being considered clever but there weren't really any facts or reason to back that up. I didn’t like that the author made it seem that she knew more than other people because she was an amateur sleuth that liked murder mysteries. If you like cozy mystery reads, then this book might be enjoyable to you.  I would be open to read more books from the series but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find or read it.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Book Review - The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde

  


The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde is about a young woman, Ife Adebola, who is trying to adjust to her new school. Ife knows she should be excited about starting at the prestigious Nithercott School. However, she misses her old friends and school. She felt like she used to belong at her old school but at her new school she feels like an outsider.

As her parents couldn’t afford the tuition on their own, she is placed in the Urban Achievers scholarship program. She feels that this makes her an outsider and she is determined to focus on her schoolwork. However, when another student, Malika, starts acting strange, Ife wonders if there is more going on at the school. She wonders if Malika’s new behavior is related to the disappearance of the older brother of her classmate.

I love horror and mystery books, so I was so excited to read this book. The cover had a lot of spooky vibes.  However, I had a hard time getting into the book. The writing didn’t flow very smoothly for me. It also felt forced and disjointed. I had a hard time liking Ife. She was struggling to make friends but, when someone was interested in being her friend, Ife just used her when it was convenient. For example, she was only interested in talking to one girl, Bee, because Ife wanted to use Bee’s phone. I felt that there were also a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them all. It was a cumbersome process to remember how they all related to the plot. The book was so slow that nothing happened for more than half of the book. I stopped reading towards the midpoint as there wasn’t anything keeping me tethered to the novel.

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

Book Review - Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly + Giveaway

 

 

 

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a girl named Sophie went into the forest with the Queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of cherries, her skin is soft as fresh snow, and her hair is midnight dark. When they stopped to take a break, the huntsman took Sophie's heart.

She wasn't surprised by the turn of events. She knew what everyone at the palace thought of her. They believed that she was too kind and foolish to rule. She wasn't a good candidate to rule the kingdom. Sophie believes all the harsh and unkind things people said about her. The spoken poisonous words were used to keep Sophie from realizing her true potential.

Sophie laid abandoned on the forest floor when seven strangers come across her body. They help nourish and protect her. However, Sophie wants to regain her kingdom and punish her jealous stepmother. As she begins to find the courage for her mission, she realizes that someone else might be pulling strings and their magic might be too strong for Sophie. Will Sophie be able to recognize that her kindness is her true form of strength?

The story was a wonderful retelling of a classic fairy tale. It encourages girls and young women (or grown adult women in my case) in believing themselves. I liked that it showed the different sides of each character and that not everything is black and white. I can't wait to read more books by the author.

 **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

About the Book:

Title: POISONED

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Pub. Date: October 20, 2020

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, AudibleB&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

 

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that'll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of "happily ever after."


Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie's heart.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she'd heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can't extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength. 

 

 


About Jennifer:

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of A Northern Light, which was awarded a Printz Honor and a Carnegie Medal; Revolution (named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus ReviewsSchool Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library, and nominated for a Carnegie Medal); the Deep Blue series; and many other books for young readers, including Lost in a Book, which spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

Giveaway Details:

 

3 winners will receive a finished copy of POISONED, US Only.

 

Rafflecopter link:

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21161/?

 

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/1/2020

The Book Nut : A Book Lovers Guide

Review

10/2/2020

oddandbookish

Review

10/3/2020

popthebutterfly

Review

 

Week Two:

10/4/2020

A Backwards Story

Review

10/5/2020

Fictitiouswonderland

Review

10/6/2020

Kait Plus Books

Interview

10/7/2020

The Book Rookery

Review

10/8/2020

History from a Woman’s Perspective

Review

10/9/2020

Momfluenster

Review

10/10/2020

Thindbooks Blog

Review

 

Week Three:

10/11/2020

The Momma Spot

Review

10/12/2020

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review

10/13/2020

Bookhounds YA

Review

10/14/2020

Seeing Double In Neverland

Review

10/15/2020

Book-Keeping

Review

10/16/2020

Nays Pink Bookshelf

Review

10/17/2020

Lisa Loves Literature

Review

 

Week Four:

10/18/2020

Two Chicks on Books

Interview

10/19/2020

The Pages In-Between

Review

10/20/2020

Two Points of Interest

Review

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Book Review - A Name Unknown (Shadows Over England #1) by Roseanna M. White

Photo Credit - Amazon
Rosemary Gresham was an orphaned at a young age when her family became sick. She was taken in by a bar owner along with a band of other orphans. Together, they rob from wealthy to survive in the streets. However, a wealthy gentleman approaches Rosemary to spy on a British citizen to determine if his loyalties lie with Britain or Germany. The mysterious gentleman knows more about Rosemary and is offering her a great deal of money that her family desperately needs.  

Peter Holstein has dual citizenship with Germany and Britain which causes people to mistrust him. His neighbors think he sympathizes with Germany and terrorize him whenever he goes. Peter is quite elegantly with the written word and is an established writer but writes under a pen name because of his German name.  When Rosemary arrives at his door and willing to help him look through his files to prove his loyalty to England; Peter believes his prayers has been answered. Will Rosemary be able to prove where Peter's true loyalty lie? Will Peter be able to fight for his happiness?

The novel had an interesting premise but I felt the book was about 100 pages to long. I felt that it dragged on and it had a lot of unnecessary fluff pieces. The ending had a bit of a twist but it wasn't enough to warrant me to ever want to read this book again. I wasn't very fond of Rosemary either, that she thinks that because the wealthy has so much that she is entitled to steal from them. They wanted the wealthy to treat them with respect and they found several people from the gentle class who treated her with respect but yet they continue to act that everyone who is wealthy deserves to be stolen from. If they don't want to be disrespected they shouldn't treat other people that way.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster

Photo Credit - Ole Henriksen
The serum is boasts a high potency of vitamin C complex. It promises to prevent and corrects signs of aging while brightening and evening out skin tone. The fast absorbing serum went on easily and smoothly. It made my skin look smoother, softer and had a bit of a glow. My favorite part of this sweet scented serum is that a little bit goes along way and delivers. I got couple of compliments from using this product and because I am a bit vain, I will probably continue using this.