Beckett & Cerise's Story
344184
Beckett is the prophesied "Booted Wolf!"  Khain wants him destroyed so his mate cannot do anything to save the queen.  I have enjoyed this series!  Can't wait to read the rest.
2246965
Being a Yorkshire lass, who is also half Irish, and having believed in fairies pretty much all my life, even before getting a tiny postage stamp sized letter from Fiona the tooth fairy when I was nine years old, I felt this book was made for me.

I imagine many readers will at least be aware of the old photographs of the Cottingley fairies. I remember seeing those photos from quite a young age, and have certainly seen a television programme or two about them. I loved how this story brought those photos to life.

This is not a quick thrill, fast paced kind of a book, but an atmospheric and magical character led story filled with deep emotions and the need to believe in something to give people hope. I will keep a part of this book with me in my heart.

P.S. I still believe in fairies!
2855932
we begin to see the meaning of friendship/real love developing
amidst castle's working with det. beckett. bonds are developing
and the writing is wonderful
834643
Deffinetly for fans of the Castle show.  Well written; keeps you guessing until the very end.  Adds a little more actions to the sexual tension on the show between Castle and Beckett!
1628530
I did like this book although it has some issues.  First, it needs editing or at least a good proofreader.  I got a little frustrated with it at times.  The beginning of the book was really good.  It drew me in immediately.  Kaitlin's "seduction" of Beckett was funny.  I thought they were going to make a great couple. Then Kaitlin's insecurities started driving me crazy.  I just wanted to shake her for the way she kept hurting Beckett.  I LOVED Beckett.  He was the bad boy who wasn't really bad.  I just wanted to hug him.  Especially when his best friend turned against him without giving him a chance to explain.  This book could have been 5 star with just a few tweeks.  I'm giving it 4 stars because of Beckett.

Language and sexual situations may offend some readers.
1544767
This was a delightful story. If you're a fan of plays you will just love this one. Nicola and Max have a past. An on and off again type a relationship. They broke each others' heart and have not seen one another in a long time. Now they must work together to bring the Midsummer Nights play to life. This book gives you a look at how a play comes together with rehearsals, costumes designs, and the unpleasant people you sometimes have to work with. Can Max and Nicola work together without their explosive chemistry get in the way? Will they make the same past mistakes?  I liked the flow of the book and the characters. They all had their quirks that brought life to this book. Plus all the events that make this play seem like a curse.
4526638
When Finley Sinclair leaves home to study abroad in Ireland, her goal is to follow in her brother Will's footsteps, using his journal as a guide. She wants to see the places Will saw, feel what he felt when he traveled through Ireland before he died. She's hoping for closure, and an ending to the song she is composing.

But she meets Hollywood heartthrob Beckett Rush on the airplane--the last thing she needs, another guy who's full of himself and drawn to trouble. But her lack of interest intrigues Beckett, and he makes her his assistant in exchange for his help as a tour guide in finding all the places in Will's journal. But the pressure is too much on Finley. Why won't God help her heal? Isn't Ireland the place where she should find him?

Ah... very well done. Jenny B. Jones is a wonderful authors. I say it every time I read one of her books, but it's true. This book hooked me in with its characters and its country (Ireland). It made me want to visit Ireland. It reminded me that everyone was young once, and we all have a past. I loved Finley and Beckett's characters. But as this was a Jenny B. Jones book, I wasn't surprised to find that I loved just about every character. This is a wonderful book. Highly recommended for all girl readers, no matter how old you are.
805860
Beckett, a Blue Angel pilot who is a widower with a baby daughter hires Paloma as live in nanny.  I like Paloma's determination to make a better life for herself and her sisters.  I like how Beckett took in Paloma's sisters after he saw their living conditions and her uncle busted a liquor upside Paloma's face.  I was happy that Paloma found her father and how he and his wife welcomed her and her sisters into their lives.  She & Beckett have their HEA.  Includes bonus book.
4744402
The Butterfly Project was one depressing and sad book. and i do not mean that in a bad way. It tells the story of two broken people, that are broken in many different ways but need each other to be come whole.

The story is told in dual POVs between Zelda and Beckett. Zelda, the main character is a young woman who 10 years ago saw her sister get kidnapped never seen alive again. She blames herself for not stopping it. She has major anxiety problems from this and has lived a sheltered life, keeping to herself.  Beckett is broken for different reasons. He is a criminal. He is a felon. He blames himself for a death that took place during the robbery even though he did not kill the man. He is haunted and does not believe he deserves to be happy or loved.

i love how the two meet. Right away you know Becketts personality from the get-go. A gentleman. He feels the need to help everyone, just not himself. He helps Zelda in her time of need but really they help each other.

The two become closer. I adore their relationship. They are friends but never cross the line. you wouldnt even know they had feelings for other another if you were not able to read what they were thinking during their POV. It is an extremely long build up before anything happens. a little over 80% of the book goes by but I LOVED the book all the way to this point.

as i read, i wanted them together. no i needed them together!! they were just two sad people i was cheering for them. unfortunately once the two got together i felt the story lost something. since most of the book was over, i felt their story was all build up and then it was over. i would have liked more drama towards the end leading up to them getting together. the story just seemed to end so fast. i needed a little more like i felt i was getting in the first 3/4 of the book. everything was concluded. i felt like i got a great ending. just way too fast. almost too perfect in a small package.

the first 80% was a 5 star read for me. for that. i definetly recommend The Butterfly Project to my book friends.

I give The Butterly Project, by Emma Scott 4 Stars.

Copy provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.
3691177
In The Plumber's Apprentice, Joe Weil continues his tradition of mixing the high lyricism of a poetic tradition that has its roots in Dante, Herbert, and Donne with the contemporary vernacular of the Jersey streets.  Weil experiences everything as an existential emergency, and that urgency explodes throughout the poems, from the tragicomedy of romantic relationships to the invocation of an always-too-absent or absurdist God. There is a lot of Beckett in Weil's world, but a lot of Faulkner, too--the beautiful and the ugly so intertwined that they become indistinguishable, ravishing, whole.  These are words to savor and to think about, and they will become part of your vocabulary, the rhythms of your daily life.
4948517
Fantastic series.  good character development.  I don't always figure it out ahead of the story.  Fun and yet frustrating interaction between Beckett and Castle
3914982
Card of Fate: Poems of a Gambling Addiction by Duke of Quails introduced me to the unsettling, tumultuous gambling world.  The opening chapter, An Innocent Game, sets the scene of gambling seduction, with the lure of the bright lights and sounds of the casino's slot machines as they welcome the innocent gambler.  I felt the gambler's first rush of adrenaline and guilty uncertainty as he (or she) begins the gambling roller coaster ride. The section, "Drowning Bet", gave me intimate access into the mind of the gambler; the driving desire to win big like the 'high-rollers', whether it is playing Roulette or cheering on a favorite filly at the races.  The final section, Thrown Away Success, took me deeper into the gambler's serious gambling addiction, which ultimately destroys families and friendships.  Should I Stay?  hints at the real life opportunity that many punters can take a hold of: they can make the choice to seek help and battle the gambling beast and win.  Although there are a few typo's, as well as punctuation errors, punctuation irregularities that may be due to the author's poetic style, the collection is still a great read for poetry lovers, and for those people who know someone who is struggling with gambling addiction.
2768948
Well, Xenocide is so similar to Speaker for the Dead that it is almost just the 2nd half of that story.  I love the development of Ender and Val.  Also, Card continues to force me to reexamine my beliefs.  He challenges me  to open my mind and want to understand more and experience more of other  ways of thought.
3833845
"The Reader", like a fine play, evolves over three acts.

In Act I, 15-year old student Michael Berg falls for an anonymous older woman who he later learns is Frau Hanna Schmitz.  She helps him as he falls ill on the way home from school and he is so touched by her gentle and quiet deameanor that he continues to visit her.  This love affair is more than physical and they connect deepest when Michael reads to the illiterate Hanna.  He reads classic novels, philosophical essays and poetry.  The prose Bernard Schlink uses to describe the blossoming love affair is tender and deeply affective.

In Act II, the startling revalation that Frau Schmitz was guilty of several war crimes as a member of the Nazi party - specifically causing the death of many women and children at various concentration camps.  A startled Michael sits through every day of the trial in disbelief - right up to her conviction of life imprisonment.

Act III finds a broken Michael - divorced after 5 years and leaving a young daughter behind. He has never gotten over Hanna and she haunts him still. He begins to record full novels on cassettes and mails them to her jail.  Upon learning she may be released early - after 18 years imprisonment - he meets with her again.  She is now a quiet old woman and he no longer a boy.  The ending is both tragic and just as the questions of life & death and morale beliefs are strained.

I can only hope Stephen Daldry's film with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes can carry even a little of the emotional energy brought forth in this moving novel.
1422162
Madeleine and Rogan Tierney are first cousins and descendants of the great stage actress Madeleine Armin Tierney. They live with their many relatives at Arden Terrace, a gated community with large, rambling houses in Yonkers, and as the youngest cousins they are the closest--so close that they share a connection no one else could ever comprehend, and ultimately fall in love. Encouraged by their glamorous Aunt Kate to pursue their legacy in theater, the two participate in their school's production of Twelfth Night, which causes all sorts of feelings and emotions to swell, and forces Madeleine and Rogan to face the uncertainty of their future together.

Illyria's setting is rich and lush, from the depictions of how Madeleine and Rogan spent their childhoods to the details in the sprawling, decaying homes that their families inhabit. Hand's writing is indeed intense, and the relationship she builds between the cousins is full of tension and passion, especially when they share private moments in the attic of Rogan's house, watching the tiny, magical toy theater they found. It is evident through their roles in Twelfth Night that both Madeleine and Rogan possess talent for the stage, but while one of them wastes it, the other embraces it, cleaving the two and showing them each very different futures. Though more practical-minded readers may have a hard time grasping the point of this short novel, Hand's writing is beautiful and her imagery vivid. Like any great tragedy, Illyria is haunting and gorgeous.
4288598
Told by Brady the Boxer, How Brady & Deucey Became Buster & Lucy to Get Princess Autumn Home written by J. A. Zaremski and illustrated by Lauren Scott is a tale that follows Brady and Deucey the black caton a perilous journey through Passage Mysterious to help Princess Autumn get back home. The story touches on themes of family blending, love, the loss of loved ones, and the idea that our loved ones always come back to us. I appreciate the messages that the book portrays. Written as a narrative poem, the story occasionally becomes a bit difficult to follow. However, I love the way in which the book deals with the death of a loved one.
2019327
Looks like it is the same folks who write the TV scripts that write the books. We get deeper insights into Beckett and Castle and what make them tick. Much juicier relationship material. You might recognize some story lines from the TV show but it is fun reading them. Not everything aligns between the book and TV but that is not a problem. I have read all of them and want more!