kikkrareads's Reviews (743)

I am not quiet sure why it has taken me so long to read this book but I am so glad I finally did. 

The premise of the story is simple. A young woman is taken back to the land of the Faye after killing a wolf. But the story is so much more than that. Friends to enemies, centuries old wars and misunderstandings and then throw in some family drama and a mystery woman that is alluded to at times. 

In my opinion, the book is a great origin story. A great way to get introduced into the world of Faye and humans intermingling. There was a lot to take in but it had to really set the scene and did so in a brilliant way. While slow at times I felt it was forgivable and still had me hooked as I read. 

I feel it really set things up for book two. Which is always a difficult job to do, but it formed a great foundation story. This book was my January 2024 book club read and I cannot wait to dig into book 2. 

I went back to Virgin River for the first time in early January 2024 and it is always such a warm and happy place to be. 

In Angel's Peak we see another Reardon man discover that running from love and commitment isn't all it is cracked up to be, especially after bumping into his long time love who he hasn't seen in 4 years. She is hiding a secret from him as well. An adorable daughter that she never told him about. 

This book in the Virgin River series focused a lot on the newer character, which was nice. we visited some older ones but it allowed for a lot of character growth. Once again a lovely read. 

This is the sweet, fluffy read you need if you want to be left feeling warm and fuzzy. It's not the type of book where you need to strongly think about and critique the characters. This is feel good and sometimes that is the best kind of read. 

Here we have a famous surfer who is recovering from an injury and a hearing impaired marine biologists. They cross paths when our MMC finds and injured turtle on the beach and takes it to be cared for. Our FMC is no push over. She doesn't easily swoon but she does fall hard for our surfer. 

Your heart will melt! Especially with the MMC learning sign language for the FMC. *Swoon*

I have also loved Dawn French. I find her to be so blunt, honest and hilarious. I have been listening to her Podcast "Titting About" for the past 4 seasons, and the recently realised I have never actually read any of her books. I decided to start from the very beginning (It's a very good place to start :P)

Dear Fatty was written as a series of letters to those nearest and dearest to French. Here she shares her thoughts, memories, fears and triumphs with those she trusts the most in this world. She is open and raw as she shares memoires of her childhood and then grows into a young woman. Her letter to her father, as she discusses his passing, was one of the most heartbreaking letters to read. 

Dear Fatty was a brilliant read. It allowed me a great insight into the wonderful Dawn French and left me wanting to read so much more by her. My TBR is now filled with books by this wonder author. 

Lord provided a new perspective and a great amount of detail when retelling this infamous night. He allowed the memories and names of others to live on and showed the world that courage looks different in so many ways. 

 I decided to read this book after finding it in the members catalogue of Audible. It was one of those pop culture references I just needed to check out for myself. Only a short read. An hour max with some interesting little tidbits.

I will admit, it probably isn't my cup of tea and while there were some interesting ideas and concepts, it just wasn't for me. I did pocket an idea or two though with how to deal with particular people which was an interesting sociological aspect I didn't expect. 

 Jill Duggar gives the reader an inside look into her life as a Duggar. She shares what it was like growing up with cameras, living under a strict religious structure and healing after sexual assault. She talks about deciding to follow her heart and doing what was best for her and her families health and safety.

Jill wrote a memoir that was really fresh. It opened the world to her life and how being in the spotlight was not only something she wanted but became invasive and destructive. She wrote about how her family controlled her and she learnt to say no, putting her husband and children above all else.

This book was a real eye opener. I learnt a lot about the ultra conservative religious followings of her family. Rules that basically screamed "If a man does something wrong, its a woman's fault." I enjoyed how she respectfully went into detail about some aspect and others she left alone. She wasn't here to make money on throwing her family under the bus, she just wanted her story shared and I was impressed with how she did this.

Yes at times, the book went round in circles but it also reflected how her life had been micromanaged and she was now learning to stand on her own two feet. This was a very interesting read and one I am happy I stumbled across. 

I have seen the Dugger shows here and there. As their lives began to implode I backed out. I read an article here and there but was never one truly invested. 

I ended 2024 reading two novels by Dugger women and the two were very different from one another. Jinger shared small snippets of her life but a majority of this book was a journey of her faith. It was her discovery of a world outside her parents strict umbrella. Jinger shares what it was like to be controlled by fear under the disguise of religion and then shares how she has discovered that religion and a relationship with God isn't about fear and control. 

While I found some of this book to be interesting and inspiring, a lot of it was reputative. Jinger goes round in circles, repeating particular lines over and over. I also found that it read almost a little too preachy for me. I am a practicing Catholic, so faith and talking of faith doesn't bother me, but this was a little too much for me, personally. 

Only 2 stars for me. 

 I read this series out of order and after enjoying book two I decided to read book one. I will admit I was left with mixed feeling about this book.

I found the MMC to be really dominating and possessive. I really didn't enjoy his arrogance at all. It was very selfish and commanding and not in a fun playful way. It was just something about the way he was written that made me feel really irked. I can tell that Melle tried to show a softer side of him, which was really nice, but I struggled to connect with him after other ways he behaved.

The MFC was lovely, but kept flipping a little too much. She didn't seem to know what she wanted. It all seemed a bit forced for me. Not really what I look for in a main character I guess. She didn't want something that two pages later she was like but I want THIS. It was a little too airy fairy for me.

All in all, it was a nice sweet read but not really something that made me want to brag about it. 

I have no idea how I ended up with this book in my Audible library but I thought I should give it a go and I am so glad I did!

This fictional story followed three women as they join the Land Army during WWII. I will say, at the very beginning, I was not quite sure what I myself signed up for, but by the end of the book I was so in love with the characters. I was also learning about a part of Australia's history and the women's history. This was something I had no idea even existed, but by the end of the book I was avidly looking up The Land Girls and learning all about these bad ass women. I knew women had picked up men's jobs during WWII but I had no idea to what extent, and I loved it. 

The stories intertwined in such a natural way, I really did enjoy learning about each woman, getting to know them on a personal level. They were each strong and brave in their own way. They came from different backgrounds, different lives but they each grew so much and were forever changed by this time in their lives. 

I want to see what else Victoria Purman has out there and give it a go! great read.