This is a truly sad case of a truly pacifist man who allowed a woman to beat him to death rather than hurting her. It's so hard to understand though. This is a truly sad case of a truly pacifist man who allowed a woman to beat him to death rather than hurting her. It's so hard to understand though. He must've hard rock hard control of himself. It makes him even more admirable too, though. Such a sad story and the defense had to run his name through the mud with the self-defense.
I know, I try not to feel irked at defense. I'm not one of those people who'll raise my fist in anger at defense lawyers. They're just doing their jobs. But it was still rather sad with this case in that there was absolutely ZERO evidence that the victim did anything to stop her. They couldn't even find a single drop of her blood.
It was laughable that she tried to pass off her bruises and other injuries she'd received in a fight that had happened two weeks earlier as what he'd done to her. Considering he'd taken her to the police and hospital so there was extensive documentation on that. That's the sad irony of this case: he was the only one who took her in after her last friends finally got to the end of their rope and threw her out (for instigating that fight), and she murdered him two weeks later.
So sad. Some cases you can feel a bit ambivalent about the victim but in this case, you know the world truly lost someone precious, someone who was truly good, as a result of this crime.
Merged review:
This is a truly sad case of a truly pacifist man who allowed a woman to beat him to death rather than hurting her. It's so hard to understand though. He must've hard rock hard control of himself. It makes him even more admirable too, though. Such a sad story and the defense had to run his name through the mud with the self-defense.
I know, I try not to feel irked at defense. I'm not one of those people who'll raise my fist in anger at defense lawyers. They're just doing their jobs. But it was still rather sad with this case in that there was absolutely ZERO evidence that the victim did anything to stop her. They couldn't even find a single drop of her blood.
It was laughable that she tried to pass off her bruises and other injuries she'd received in a fight that had happened two weeks earlier as what he'd done to her. Considering he'd taken her to the police and hospital so there was extensive documentation on that. That's the sad irony of this case: he was the only one who took her in after her last friends finally got to the end of their rope and threw her out (for instigating that fight), and she murdered him two weeks later.
So sad. Some cases you can feel a bit ambivalent about the victim but in this case, you know the world truly lost someone precious, someone who was truly good, as a result of this crime....more
This one is really hard to rate for me. I liked it but I also really didn't like it. I think 90% of my enjoyment of this book came from the audiobook This one is really hard to rate for me. I liked it but I also really didn't like it. I think 90% of my enjoyment of this book came from the audiobook reading. The reader uses a very, very good child's voice for much of this and adult voices for the adults. I didn't have to deal with the short sentences and such that I've seen others complain about. It was very easy to slip into this because of the reader.
This book is told from a 6 (or so) yr old kid. She has an "invisible" friend called Other Mommy. She's become scared of her because Other Mommy wants in her heart -- it wants to trade places with her -- and it'll stop at nothing to get Bela to say yes. Oh, and it can look like anyone/sound like anyone too.
What hurt the book, imo, was the adults. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It was painful. I 100% would freak out in that situation but nothing they tried worked and we got to listen, through Bela, all their whining. Especially the last part of the book (though, was Louise (view spoiler)[Other Mommy playing a trick on them? (hide spoiler)].) It was freaking insanity. Like, WHY?
The monster was terrifying. This has that Cosmic Horror feel though, but I won't expand on that.
This was a decent book. Listen to the audio version, though....more
Very good horror book. Very good debut horror. This is about a family (semi-on the run for reasons) who takes a job to "prove" the haunting in a spiteVery good horror book. Very good debut horror. This is about a family (semi-on the run for reasons) who takes a job to "prove" the haunting in a spite house (houses built to spite other people in the area.)
The plot is kind of all over. There's several different things going on (Stacy, the curse, the haunting, etc.) but they wrapped up nicely together. I really enjoyed the ending. One of the better horror I've read in the past couple years....more
I truly enjoyed this book. I think this was probably the most Stephen King-y horror book I've read in a long time, and that didn't come from the horroI truly enjoyed this book. I think this was probably the most Stephen King-y horror book I've read in a long time, and that didn't come from the horror but the character. There are Lovecraftian elements to this story too. I basically went into this book knowing only that it's a "haunted house book without ghosts doing the haunting" and I was pleasantly surprised.
Um, to sum it up, basically Thiago is a recent widower. Before his wife died, they bought a condo and not all was as it seemed. We join him as he's going through his grief. It's both a telling of their relationship and his grief, as well as all the haunted shit that's been happening to him since they moved into their condo.
It's a shorter read and I truly enjoyed it. I'm saddened that the author hasn't written more....more
LOVED it. I truly hope there's a book 2. It's set up for a book 2 and I truly, truly hope that wish will come true. I loved the world building. Loved LOVED it. I truly hope there's a book 2. It's set up for a book 2 and I truly, truly hope that wish will come true. I loved the world building. Loved the characters. I just loved this book....more
Oh Lord! I read this simply for the magical school aspect, not the MC. Elena was like a lump of wet newspaper. She spent the entire book in a "eat theOh Lord! I read this simply for the magical school aspect, not the MC. Elena was like a lump of wet newspaper. She spent the entire book in a "eat the rich" mode. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for eating the rich, but even this was too much. Her entire internal dialogue was "I hate all these people for keeping me down!" but the thing was, she's a mage too so they weren't "keeping her down". It was just annoying....more
I loved it. What do you want from me? D: I want more from this world. I truly enjoyed it. Yes, if you're a hard Orion shipper, this might disappoint, I loved it. What do you want from me? D: I want more from this world. I truly enjoyed it. Yes, if you're a hard Orion shipper, this might disappoint, but I never honestly heavily favored him as a character. El has always been my spirit animal. I loved the explanation of the enclaves and all that. I loved how things tied out with Orion (honestly, I suspected as much -- thought he might be (view spoiler)[ an artifice or something similar, or maybe a child one of group of kids who killed all the other kids had before they were brought down so kinda a both type thing (hide spoiler)] .)
I did get a big sense that this is open for a spinoff and I'm onboard for that....more
I really enjoyed this for the most part. I thought Alice was annoying. I don't really blame Emmy. They do kind of make up, which was fine. I like the I really enjoyed this for the most part. I thought Alice was annoying. I don't really blame Emmy. They do kind of make up, which was fine. I like the lost villager approach and it was fairly creepy.
What I didn't like was the ending and explanation. This is one of those "I'll let you believe it's ghosts but there's a real world explanation" type things and it was far fetched, to say the least. It wasn't as obnoxious as Home Before Dark, so it really didn't make me hate this book with every fiber of my being, but it was still pretty farfetched.
I don't know why authors feel it necessary to destroy a fairly creepy book with something so stupid. It's like a scooby doo episode. It actually did feel like a scooby doo reveil almost. I was like REALLY? Right.Uh huh.
So it took the entertainment down half a flight of stairs for me. I had other issues like why Emmy didn't take the girl with her when she left, if she was going to leave. It was stupid to leave for two hrs just to make a phone call and them all insisting it was a hurt girl somehow gallivanting around the town unseen on her broken foot. LOL. Why didn't they just leave? It was stupid. It was contrived, actually. The phone call and the reason to stay. I was like COME ON! DO BETTER.
Overall, it was a decent book with a stupid explanation at the end. It could've been a lot more....more
This was okay. It was more like vignette after vignette rather than a plot. The author did try to put a bit of plot in there but you're basically justThis was okay. It was more like vignette after vignette rather than a plot. The author did try to put a bit of plot in there but you're basically just following a guy working at a gas station that's overrun by magical/mystical/alien beings and him totally not being surprised by anything.
That's the worst part. The POV Jack is just a "yeah uh huh" type guy. He's like that character from SNL Chad played by Pete, who just says "Yeah" and "Mhm" to everything. Actually, I couldn't help but put that character in place of Jack in the story. I mean, he sees the most strange/terrifying/bizarre things and he's just like "yeah" the whole time. Your coworker killed someone and showed you his body? Alright. Interdimensional space aliens trying to kill you? Sure. Yeah.
It's not like he disbelieves this shit. He believes it. He just doesn't care....more
Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. I dunno. I don't really enjoy the books, but I don't hate them. I'm sort of bored-reading them, if that makes sense....more
Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. I dunno. I don't really enjoy the books, but I don't hate them. I'm sort of bored-reading them, if that makes sense....more
Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. I dunno. I don't really enjoy the books, but I don't hate them. I'm sort of bored-reading them, if that makes sense.
This one was my favorite but I love Groundhog Day so /shrug. ...more
Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. Meh. I feel like this entire series could be summed up as: problems with furries. I don't know how the other sup species deal with these shinanigans. I dunno. I don't really enjoy the books, but I don't hate them. I'm sort of bored-reading them, if that makes sense.
In this one, we get Emma's back story but I was also meh about that. I don't really enjoy her sup status and her whole death thing is meh to me as well. Like, how would the lady have know there wasn't already a Phoenix already in existence? What a weird super power. I feel, while interesting, it's sort of the bad kind of interesting like it takes away from her sup power and makes the whole thing even more meh? I dunno. Luke's whole EMMA DON'T DIE AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN! thing is annoying too.
Honestly, the mysteries are okay. I just don't really like Emma. She's alright, to a point. And I don't really like the relationship. Luke is boring. Most of the sups are boring. It's like all meh. LOL....more
I don't know why I keep giving this author a chance. This is the third or fourth series by her I've read/tried. No, wait, I know why. She comes up witI don't know why I keep giving this author a chance. This is the third or fourth series by her I've read/tried. No, wait, I know why. She comes up with decent set-ups but she always fucks it up. Like this one, where the girl is the lowest of the low, bottom of pack, because her dad tried to kill the alpha. She's treated like shit and her true mate is the alpha's son, who rejects her. This is a GOOD set-up but that's not what this book is about. It's about a girl in this situation who is quickly saved by a God and we see all the God like shit. The good cloths, the handsome people, the lavish lifestyle, etc. etc.
That's like, all her books. There's an interesting set-up and then a literal God will pluck the heroine from there and put her in the lap of luxury and we find out that the heroine is always, ALWAYS a God too, she just doesn't know it. It's so fucking predictable. The audio of the book is 11hrs and I finished it in under 8 because I was skimming so much. It's just boring, the endless descriptions of the paradise, the God, how she's slowly becoming a God, etc. Bleh.
All her books are like this. It's just copy-paste with a new set-up....more
I didn't like this. This really isn't surprising as I didn't like the previous two books. And you might be saying, but why keep reading? This is a gooI didn't like this. This really isn't surprising as I didn't like the previous two books. And you might be saying, but why keep reading? This is a good question. I liked the first series and I was under the impression, after reading a "confirmed" rumor, that her next series in this world would revolve around the Mortal Spirits and Merlins. That's what I loved in the first series. I hated the dragons and loved the MS/Merlins.
Welp, this series revolved around the Dragons and the MS was barely present. Wasn't even present at the end. And there was NO mention of Merlins what-so-ever.
I was thinking: THIS IS THE BOOK WHERE THE MS/MERLIN SHIT GETS STARTED! And instead it's just a family drama with a dragon. The only decent thing in this book is that Opal is more mature. We don't actually see her getting more mature, she's just not written like a 10 year old having a tantrum, which is nice.
I did think the main plot issue that's revealed around 50 ~ 75% was interesting, that (view spoiler)[one MS is trying to take over another MS (hide spoiler)] but that's not dealt with in the series before that point -- and it's something that would've been easy to do.
And Opal's "solution" to deal with the crippling poverty and lack of a social safety net in the DFZ was so hilarious that I LOLed at my desk. She wants to open a free Museum, and that'll solve all the issues (issues so terrible that people were selling themselves to fight in a arena to the death for a little bit of money. COME ON AARON.)
It was frustrating to see how inflexible the language of the rules were, when that's not how it is in real life. Like, the DFZ couldn't do anything to the people who signed up because they signed up "freely", when in reality, they had a proverbial gun placed against their head. I love bendy language. I think that can make a story so much fun but nope. Can't have fun like that here.
I WANT MY MERLIN/MS ACTION AARON! D; It's never mentioned what happened to the DFZ's Merlin. It's like Aaron just threw away the most interesting concept of this world in favor of the boring dragons....more
This book was put into the wrong genre. Who would label this as horror? I came into this looking for horror and what I got was a family drama with sciThis book was put into the wrong genre. Who would label this as horror? I came into this looking for horror and what I got was a family drama with scifi elements. Bleh.
It was okay for what it was (a family drama.) If you're going into this for horror or even an urban scifi story, you will be disappointed. The thing with the voices was very plain to me from the beginning. The twist at the end was laughable. I saw it coming from the beginning. I just spent most of this book being frustrated at how terrible the mother was in this book.
That would've garnered this book 3 stars but the ending is really what killed it for me. I give this 1.5 stars. It's all wrapped up like "aight, these kids who have demonstrated their willing to kill now say the voices are gone so let's let them out" and I was like LOL yeah okay. Sure thang sugar drop. That would totally happen. And the company would leave Nina along because REASONS. Haha. Bascially, it's a pat, extremely fast wrap up that wouldn't actually happen in real life....more
This wasn't terrible. The idea was okay, but it was obviously his first book and the writing shows that. There's this awkward relationship crap that'sThis wasn't terrible. The idea was okay, but it was obviously his first book and the writing shows that. There's this awkward relationship crap that's just written so cringy and the ending is ... weird. It is creepy, however. He does a really good job at being creepy.
Just, as a warning, the writing isn't his best and the ending is weird. It might make people really hate this book. It kind of felt like he had no idea where to take it and just stopped halfway through....more
Alisi ☆ wants to read too many books ☆
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