For the millions of readers who journeyed through the bestselling novel and were left ravenous for more information about the true tales behind the mystery! Also features travel information for readers who want to follow the trail of the novel.
Founding director of the Writing & Research Center in an independent private high school for gifted students. Also collaborate on PreK-12 initiatives that provide curricular support and extended opportunities for students to deepen their experience in the humanities. Launched the Upper School's first peer-tutoring program, creating curriculum to train students in one-on-one coaching.
5 full moons - "London Falling" by Chanel Cleeton Chanel Cleeton did an amazing job on the sequel to I See London. I thought Chanel put me through the ringer in the first book…oh boy was I wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I was prepared for Maggie and Samir to have a difficult time because these two came from two different worlds, but Chanel made it more difficult with the details of what Samir and Maggie were going through individually. I was prepared for the ending to be different, but Chanel gave the perfect ending to such a beautiful couple. In London Falling, Chanel picks up where I See London left at, and how Maggie is confused with Samir. He hasn’t contacted her since there moment together at the end of last semester, so she has no idea how he feels about her. Chanel gives Maggie and Samir such a hard time on making up their minds what they are going to do, but she had their relationship grow through the book. They were tested constantly and they proved that they were lying to each other about what was going to truly to come. I love when an author can switch from different points of views and make the reader feel for both characters. Oh, I how I loved Maggie and Samir from the moment they met in I See London, but in London Falling they are tested completely. Samir is from a prestigious family in Lebanon that is preparing him to take his father’s legacy. His family wants him to marry a Lebanese woman and Samir is confused with what he wants. Maggie is from South Carolina and she’s dealing with her father not being around and her mother leaving her. She knows she doesn’t belong in Samir’s life, but for the little time she wants to enjoy being with Samir.Gosh darn it…throughout the whole book I was rooting for these two to be together because they belonged together. I loved every bit of London Falling just as much as I did I See London, and I”m really going to miss Maggie and Samir. They both have become a favorite couple of mine this year to read. Chanel did an amazing job on making me fall for such a stubborn, lovable, and steamy couple (together). I also adored learning more about Fleur in London Falling and hope we get more of her in the future. She needs her happily ever after too. The poor girl needs to find the perfect boy just like Maggie did. If you enjoy New Adult romances that have a couple that involve opposites attracting and includes tension, angst, steamy moments, and heartaches than this is the book for you. I give this book five full moons and highly recommend it to New Adult readers out there. I’m so glad I was introduced to Chanel Cleeton’s books from InkSlinger PR because I have found an author I look forward to reading more from in the future. =) I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Great Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.The reason that I rated Sara Benincasa's Great three stars isn't because I didn't like it - in fact, it's just the opposite. But I ran into the same problems in this one that I did in the original one. Sometimes, the drama of this one (and the original) was just too hard to keep up with. It's not that they're bad reads, not at all... but sometimes they're just a bit too complicated for my taste.I really loved the writing style of Great. It has the same elegant, descriptive narrative of the first one, but it was much easier to understand this time around. It was interesting to see the parallels of the story, but it was also interesting to see the differences. For instance, Nick was genderbent into Naomi, which honestly makes more sense. And then we have Jacinta, the female counterpart of Jay, who was just as over the top and weird as the original. And then, of course, we have Delilah... and I'm sure you can all guess exactly where that goes. It was really an interesting update, to say the least.Naomi did a good Nick, and I feel like we got to know her better than we got to know Nick in the original. Her voice was a lot less disconnected. She was very even keel, and she wasn't annoying or anything - which Jacinta could be. It was nice that she balanced out.As for Jacinta, I really don't know exactly what to say about her character. It was obvious that she was Jay, but her personality was a bit different, and truly a lot more twisty. Not to mention the fact that she's obviously a girl, but... her and Delilah end up being in a relationship, and it was a bit confusing.Great mostly follows the original plotline of The Great Gatsby, but there are a few new twists here and there. All in all, I'd say that it was an interesting enough read; and I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoy the original story.
Review: No Turning Back (Kathleen Turner #1) by Tiffany Snow No Turning Back was a recommendation from an author I follow on twitter. I didn't know it was a series! I might kill her!!What I liked: This could almost be considered a New Adult romantic suspense because the heroine is young not only in years but maturity. As I mentioned, I did not know this was a series when I started the book and at the end, I was pulling my hair out.Ms Snow certainly knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. While there is romance, this first in the series is more of a set up for the follow up books. Kathleen is very confused about who to trust and the way Ms Snow writes the story, I wasn't sure who she should trust either. The sign of good suspense. I also predict, (slight spoiler)....somewhere down the line there is going to be a mess of a love triangle. Blane is more likable than I thought he would be in the beginning and I'm still not sure of Kade's whole story. I feel the author is holding a lot back on Kade's background. We do get some information but I still think there's more coming.The writing and development of the book are good. The storyline is somewhat fluid as it's the first of the series and the world building is pretty believable. I have no qualms about recommending this book for those who like romantic suspense. What I didn't like: At times, Kathleen is almost too trusting and wishy-washy but I credit that to her maturity level and life experience. This did not detract from the story in any way but just something I noted.While this is a series, there is a resolution to some extent at the end of No Turning Back. It was good enough that I will pick up the next in the series. If you like romantic suspense then this book is for you!!
Really, this book should be titled 'Debunking the Da Vinci Code: The Rest of the Stuff". Part of the draw of The Da Vinci Code was the tying of secrets and codes to history, as such I've always been interested in what is real history, and what was fiction. I've looked at several "debunking" books and found that they invariably ONLY talk about Christ's divinity. The book didn't shake my faith, and I wasn't interested in that aspect, but finding one that addresses questions like these seemed impossible to find:
-Was the Priory of Sion real? Was x really a grand master? -Did the knights Templar really...? -Does the x piece of art really have...? -Are there really x in the y...? -Where is Dan Brown accurate and where was he taking artistic license?
FINALLY, a guide that answers many of these questions. You might be thinking, "Hey, Fodor's is a travel guide," and you'd be right, but they do a fantastic job of addressing all these questions and more. It was interesting, to learn about the people, places, events and artifacts mentioned in The Da Vinci Code. There is a section (30-4- pages) more 'travel-book-ish' at the end that was not as interesting, but I found it a great read for those of us who really wanted some answers.
This was the first travel guide I've ever read and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Except for the part at the very end that just listed locations to visit.
My Dad bought me this book back in 2006 when the Da Vinci Code phenomenon was at it's peak. It's a tribute to just how much of a flash in the pan concept this book is that the only listing I could track down on goodreads is the ebook version.
The book walks through the various locations in Da Vinci Code in the same order complete with brief notes on "this is what was happening in the book to get the characters to Rome from Paris" or whatnot. On top of actually being a guide with metro stop and phone number information for all the locations discussed, it gives a very thorough history on the Louvre, the art contained within, the Vatican city, and more. If part of what you enjoyed about the Da Vinci Code was the intriguing (and 75ish% true) history lessons, I would recommend tracking this book down as a fun and legitimately educational companion piece.
Disappointed I've finally decided to give up on this book after realising I haven't looked at it in months. I didn't really enjoy what I read but kept thinking it would improve. I enjoyed the One Hundred Year Old Man far more than this as I thought the story and characters were better.