hilln
Hamilton Public Library
hilln's Completed Shelf
Filter your results by...
hilln's rating:
Added Feb 13, 2024
hilln's rating:
Added Feb 05, 2024
Comment:
A crackerjack novel! The story is gut-wrenching, horrendous and cruel, with only one way out for the protagonist, Helena, the daughter of the title. Using the wilderness survival knowledge passed on to her by her heinous father, Helena finds the courage to fight for the right to live her own life free from her father's overbearing, mercurial, sometimes loving and often cruel influence over her and her mother. Much of the story is Helena's existential struggle as she staggers forward on a road towards living life on her own terms against the backwards pull of fear and loyalty to her father. This book and its portrayal of a family living off-grid is raw and gritty, cruel and grisly at times, but the plot has a momentum that keeps you reading. I was unable to put it down.A crackerjack novel! The story is gut-wrenching, horrendous and cruel, with only one way out for the protagonist, Helena, the daughter of the title. Using the wilderness survival knowledge passed on to her by her heinous father, Helena finds the…
Invasion of the Body SnatchersInvasion of the Body Snatchers, DVD
DVD - 2012DVD, 2012
hilln's rating:
Added Feb 03, 2024
Comment:
This is SUCH a good movie! From the get-go there’s a feeling of unease which gradually crescendos until the climax. It has you sitting on the edge of your seat. Don’t miss it! A horror genre classic for a good reason.
UnravelingUnraveling, BookWhat I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater
by Orenstein, PeggyBook - 2023Book, 2023
hilln's rating:
Added Jan 12, 2024
Comment:
A refreshing and honest read, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, at other times more contemplative and serious. "Unraveling" is a memoir by author Peggy Orenstein who decides to make a sweater from scratch, starting with raising and caring for a flock of sheep to donning her hand-sheared, hand-carded, hand-woven, hand-dyed, hand-knit, self-designed sweater, her way of coping with and staying sane during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Along the journey from sheep to sweater, we readers are treated to Peggy's gentle opining on multiple subjects affecting many of us "femmes d'une certaine âge". The book has a lovely rhythm and is a gentle evocation of both aging and staying young and vital and relevant as long as possible.A refreshing and honest read, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, at other times more contemplative and serious. "Unraveling" is a memoir by author Peggy Orenstein who decides to make a sweater from scratch, starting with raising and caring for a flock…
hilln's rating:
Added Nov 15, 2023
Comment:
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't sure about it at first, but then I got more deeply into it. The main character, Carlisle Martin, is the sole child of two ballet stars. Carlisle grows too tall (6 feet high) to enjoy her own successful career as a ballet dancer, so she turns to choreography. The novel is firmly set in the sweat-laden hard knocks world of ballet. Carlisle must find her own way forward to claim a life of self-reliance and professional fulfillment as a choreographer. Carlisle sorely craves to be loved (romantic, familial, professional, artistic), but first she needs to reconcile with and then move on from those closest to her whose love she craves but who have have left her behind as the 'also-ran' love-wise in their lives. The ending is bittersweet but fulfilling. The novel offers a glimpse into the gritty yet uncertain world of ballet, and one does not need to be a balletomane in order to grasp the important underlying and universal themes of love, loss and finally learning to love oneself.I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't sure about it at first, but then I got more deeply into it. The main character, Carlisle Martin, is the sole child of two ballet stars. Carlisle grows too tall (6 feet high) to enjoy her own…
hilln's rating:
Added Oct 27, 2023
Comment:
This book starts out as "eminently unputdownable", but then red flags start popping up for the reader regarding the veracity of the characters and their motives. In particular, I felt that the choices and motives of the father and daughter were badly drawn by the author. The father is having an affair (not a spoiler as this is apparent from the get-go), and when he returns home his nine-year-old daughter is there after leaving school early of her own accord (nine-year-olds do not get to do that in any school jurisdiction). Right there, major alarm bells should be ringing by the school and the police for an AWOL student, but not in whatever world this book is set in. There's also a moment of violence, that should require police intervention and the kid being put into care. But no. The rest of the novel is just people scrambling around trying to find the 9-year-old, with red herrings appearing in abundance. Shari Lapena is a popular thriller writer, but this one feels like it's been pumped out with little thought. The last third of the novel is like wading through mud. You get to the end, but it's not fun.This book starts out as "eminently unputdownable", but then red flags start popping up for the reader regarding the veracity of the characters and their motives. In particular, I felt that the choices and motives of the father and daughter were…
The Girl in the Eagle's TalonsThe Girl in the Eagle's Talons, BookA Novel
by Smirnoff, KarinBook - 2023Book, 2023
hilln's rating:
Added Oct 23, 2023
Comment:
A complicated plot with lots of different threads, characters, events, all of which come together by the skilful writing of the author, Karin Smirnoff. However, things take a while to get rolling as the author gets all her various ducks in a row. It seems like the wonderful ‘girl’ of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is going to be passing her baton onto her intrepid and similarly wily niece, Svala. I’m glad I hung in to the finale where all the threads are gathered together into an exciting ending. This is the first of a Next Generation trilogy. It is gritty and at times stomach-turning, but that’s a Swedish noir thriller for you.A complicated plot with lots of different threads, characters, events, all of which come together by the skilful writing of the author, Karin Smirnoff. However, things take a while to get rolling as the author gets all her various ducks in a row. It…
hilln's rating:
Added Oct 10, 2023
Comment:
I found this novel enthralling all the way through. The main character, Alex, is hard to like, but somehow I was rooting for her. Alex, is a grifter with a unique talent for finding people who are willing to help her out, give her the benefit of the doubt, and in the case of one person she aligns with briefly shows her some love. Alex, however is curiously detached from real life. She relies on the kindness of strangers whom she grifts with abandon. She’s like a ghost moving through her own life, curiously outside the bonds of humanity yet craving connection, at least as long as any such bond perpetuates her comfort and immediate needs. Alex is an optimist who cannot face her own impending damnation. Her luck is holding…for now. But time is ticking and Karma is casting a long shadow. Will she manage to slip through once more or will she finally be held to account?I found this novel enthralling all the way through. The main character, Alex, is hard to like, but somehow I was rooting for her. Alex, is a grifter with a unique talent for finding people who are willing to help her out, give her the benefit of…
hilln's rating:
Added Aug 08, 2023
Comment:
Lots of hype was bruited about this novel, so I was eager to get my hands on it. My Verdict: Meh. The premise was a real stretch IMO, and the plotting was clumsy. I had to suspend disbelief a number of times. Tension did rise towards the end, but I found the heroine, Dr Connie Woolwine, waffling and annoying. By the time the murderer’s identity was revealed, I can say it didn’t make any difference, it could have been any of the characters, for all I cared - I just wanted things to end. The whole story seemed forced and overwrought. If you’re squeamish or like ‘cozy’ mysteries, this is deffo not the book for you. If you like scary situations and gore, you may find this a solid read.Lots of hype was bruited about this novel, so I was eager to get my hands on it. My Verdict: Meh. The premise was a real stretch IMO, and the plotting was clumsy. I had to suspend disbelief a number of times. Tension did rise towards the end, but I…
hilln's rating:
Added Jul 28, 2023
Comment:
Wow. This is quite the novel. Through vivid prose, the reader is immersed in the daily lives of slaves and masters living in a whorehouse during the waning days of the Roman Empire when Christianity is on the rise. The narrator is a boy called Pusus - his origin is unknown, and he’s the child labourer/dogsbody/whipping boy for the brothel. When life gets too stressful and ugly, he flies aloft using his alter-ego Sparrow to mitigate the cruelties visited upon him (hence the book’s title). You need a strong stomach to read this book. There are graphic descriptions of violence and brutality, none of it gratuitous to the plot but nevertheless hard to read. If you want an unvarnished, raw, gritty book about those on the bottom end of the Roman Empire’s social strata, then ‘Sparrow’ is right up your alley.Wow. This is quite the novel. Through vivid prose, the reader is immersed in the daily lives of slaves and masters living in a whorehouse during the waning days of the Roman Empire when Christianity is on the rise. The narrator is a boy called Pusus…
hilln's rating:
Added Jul 05, 2023
Comment:
Really, really good thriller! The setting in a remote Swedish mountain range is chillingly (in more than once sense of the word!) appropriate. Come for the thrills, stay for twist ending, then ask yourself: what the heck REALLY happened up there on the mountainside?Really, really good thriller! The setting in a remote Swedish mountain range is chillingly (in more than once sense of the word!) appropriate. Come for the thrills, stay for twist ending, then ask yourself: what the heck REALLY happened up there…
The Big LebowskiThe Big Lebowski, DVD
DVD - 2005DVD, 2005
Added Jun 08, 2023
hilln's rating:
Added Apr 19, 2023
Comment:
When I picked up this novel I was expecting a romance. There are romantic elements, but it was quite different from what I expected because it is primarily about grief, how to deal with sadness and how to move on. There's a very surprising twist that I did not see coming that sent the story into a new direction. It's a thought-provoking tale about moving on after loss.When I picked up this novel I was expecting a romance. There are romantic elements, but it was quite different from what I expected because it is primarily about grief, how to deal with sadness and how to move on. There's a very surprising twist…
hilln's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
Comment:
There's an old adage that history is told by the victors, and those victors are almost always male. This is a historical fiction novel told by those whose stories are often swept under the carpet of history -- women. Set in the first half of the 1850s, just after the California Gold Rush, the main character, Eliza, has broken away from her oppressive family in Kalamazoo Michigan and travelled to Monterrey, California with her husband who died shortly after their arrival on the West Coast. Eliza ably supports herself as a prostitute at Mrs. Parks' well-run brothel. Eliza and her friend Jean start to realize that women are disappearing in Monterrey and turning up dead in remote areas outside the town. The local authorities do not investigate the murders, so Eliza and Jean, both inspired by the tales of Edgar Allen Poe's fictional detective Dupin, decide to solve the murders themselves. With keen observation, logic and clever reasoning, the two friends quietly and unobtrusively investigate the unsolved murders. This journey takes both young women onto paths in which they envisage a world where women's self-actualization and self-interest take precedence over the traditional roles prescribed for females by male-dominant societal expectations.There's an old adage that history is told by the victors, and those victors are almost always male. This is a historical fiction novel told by those whose stories are often swept under the carpet of history -- women. Set in the first half of the…
hilln's rating:
Added Mar 27, 2023
Comment:
A nice “cozy” read. You can predict the ending well beforehand. Still, as so many of us love Jane Austen and her books, this is a must-read. I learned things about Austen I did not know before. The characters are eminently ‘root-for-able’! The author lives just up the QEW in Oakville, and it’s nice to support a local author who did a lot of research for this novel and has passed on her fascinating findings to readers.A nice “cozy” read. You can predict the ending well beforehand. Still, as so many of us love Jane Austen and her books, this is a must-read. I learned things about Austen I did not know before. The characters are eminently ‘root-for-able’! The…
hilln's rating:
Added Jan 22, 2023
Comment:
A thoroughly engrossing and accomplished first novel for author Ana Reyes. This mystery/thriller seemed a bit clunky at first, but gradually the events of the plot drew me in. The premise of the crime was something I don't think I've ever read before in a murder mystery, and the reveal of this was slowly but expertly spooled out by the author via her time-jumping plot. No wonder this was selected for Reese's Book Club!A thoroughly engrossing and accomplished first novel for author Ana Reyes. This mystery/thriller seemed a bit clunky at first, but gradually the events of the plot drew me in. The premise of the crime was something I don't think I've ever read…
hilln's rating:
Added Oct 06, 2022
Comment:
Feeney is such a good thriller writer, but Daisy Darker is a total letdown. I didn’t care a fig for any of the stock characters, and the twist at the end feels like a rip-off. Obviously Feeney’s fans were clamouring for a new novel and this was what they got for their impatience. Meh…Feeney is such a good thriller writer, but Daisy Darker is a total letdown. I didn’t care a fig for any of the stock characters, and the twist at the end feels like a rip-off. Obviously Feeney’s fans were clamouring for a new novel and this was what…
hilln's rating:
Added Sep 14, 2022
Comment:
Daphne’s DuMaurier is a phenomenal writer! Through her words, and like no other writer, she can evoke a faraway time and place that instantly immerses the reader into her heroine’s world. Jamaica Inn is not set in Jamaica, the Caribbean island, but in the shifting and mysterious Bodmin Moor in the West Country of England. There’s an air of menace and discomfort from the outset of the novel that does not lift until the last page. After her life changes drastically, the clever heroine, Mary Yellan, must carve out a new place in the world for herself while dodging the nefarious goings-on at her aunt’s and uncle’s establishment, Jamaica Inn. Circumstances and Mary’s own choices put her in danger from which she must extricate herself to finally have a chance to grasp the happiness she deserves.Daphne’s DuMaurier is a phenomenal writer! Through her words, and like no other writer, she can evoke a faraway time and place that instantly immerses the reader into her heroine’s world. Jamaica Inn is not set in Jamaica, the Caribbean island, but…
hilln's rating:
Added Aug 19, 2022
Comment:
I was utterly gripped by this novel until the last 80 pages or so. This is a book in search of an ending. I finished it with a “Huh?” Lots of really good sound and fury up to the climax, but, sadly, signifying nothing.
hilln's rating:
Added May 09, 2022
Comment:
SUCH a good thriller! Stick with this book until the end. I found the opening chapters a tad cryptic, but soon got into the rhythm of the novel. There's a serial killer afoot, and as the author shifts POV from one chapter to the next then adds in flashbacks to the main characters' high school days, we readers start to grasp the hearts and minds of the main players in this story. I'm not giving away anything by telling readers to pay attention to every character. I had to finish reading this book in daylight because the rising tension towards the end was just too scary to read alone at night!SUCH a good thriller! Stick with this book until the end. I found the opening chapters a tad cryptic, but soon got into the rhythm of the novel. There's a serial killer afoot, and as the author shifts POV from one chapter to the next then adds in…
The Girl From the Channel IslandsThe Girl From the Channel Islands, BookA Novel
by Lecoat, JennyBook - 2021Book, 2021
hilln's rating:
Added Apr 21, 2022
Comment:
I enjoyed this book very much! It is based on real people who lived through the five-years-long German occupation of Jersey (Channel Islands) during World War II. There's nothing 'pretty' about this book. The protagonists had to use all their ingenuity and reliance upon one another to survive the occupation. The main characters are Kurt and Hedy, he a German officer in the occupying force, she an Austrian-Jewish refugee hiding in plain sight. Kurt and Hedy fall in love and are able to hide their illicit affair with the help of friends. The tension in the story ramps up the closer the Allies get to liberating the Islands from Nazi occupation. This novel is a reminder that none of us must ever get complacent and take our freedom for granted.I enjoyed this book very much! It is based on real people who lived through the five-years-long German occupation of Jersey (Channel Islands) during World War II. There's nothing 'pretty' about this book. The protagonists had to use all their…
hilln's rating:
Added Apr 14, 2022
Comment:
I have to admit I was surprised by this romance novel which was very well written. The author delves into the worlds of competitive surfing AND competitive snowboarding with a large dollop of documentary filmmaking as an added plus. I'm still not convinced that the two sports dovetail so perfectly with one another, as the author professes, but Hey! what's fiction without a certain amount of suspension of disbelief? There's lots of glamour, glitz and angst on offer here, including dream chalets, shopping sprees in Saint Moritz (even though the female protagonist is borderline about to lose her London flat due to financial constraints), an inscrutable romantic hero who stoically sucks up the slings and arrows of being unfairly judged by the public... In other words, lots of feels and angst. Still, the author has perfectly plotted the elements of the storyline so when the inevitable climax comes everything all falls into place just so.I have to admit I was surprised by this romance novel which was very well written. The author delves into the worlds of competitive surfing AND competitive snowboarding with a large dollop of documentary filmmaking as an added plus. I'm still not…
Enchantress of NumbersEnchantress of Numbers, Large PrintA Novel of Ada Lovelace
by Chiaverini, JenniferLarge Print - 2017Large Print, 2017
hilln's rating:
Added Apr 06, 2022
Comment:
Enchantress of Numbers is a novelized biography of Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate child of the marriage of renowned poet George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron and Anne Milbanke. This book is long but the story of the genius daughter of the Byron marriage, Ada Lovelace, is faithfully and thoroughly rendered by author Jennifer Chiaverini. From a very young age, Ada emerges as a mathematical and creative genius, despite the times in which she lived where young women were steered away from intellectual development and towards domestic pursuits. Ada's mother tried to drag her daughter along this traditional female path and block Ada from developing her natural boundless curious nature. This mother-daughter conflict is never resolved, but Ada's brilliant mind and creative mathematical aptitude nevertheless blossoms, albeit fitfully due to social constraints imposed upon her during the late Regency/early Victorian era. The storytelling seems plodding at the outset but gains momentum as it progresses. Many today would consider Ada's mother to be abusive towards her daughter, but Ada manages to persevere and circumvent her mother's strictures and unkindnesses as she matures. Thankfully, Ada meets a kindred spirit in Mrs. Mary Somerville, a scientist and mathematician, who recognizes Ada's genius and introduces her to Mr. Babbage, creator of the Analytical Engine, an early mechanical computer. Ada, Mrs. Somerville and Mr. Babbage support each other but Ada and Mr. Babbage in particular fail to receive during their lifetimes due recognition for their work, which eventually arrives posthumously. This novel is at times 'clunky' but nevertheless tells and important story and how, despite societal constraints, a female with a great creative mind and spirit found an outlet for her extraordinary intellectual gifts.Enchantress of Numbers is a novelized biography of Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate child of the marriage of renowned poet George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron and Anne Milbanke. This book is long but the story of the genius daughter of the Byron…
hilln's rating:
Added Mar 05, 2022
Comment:
You have to hang in with this book. It seems cryptic at the start: what exactly is going on with the main character, Maeve? She seems very closed in emotionally, then we start finding out the reasons why this is so. In the meantime, there's an avalanche and she and the other artists from various fields with whom she's stranded at an arts retreat must go into survival mode. As Maeve navigates through relationships with the others at the retreat, loyalties are questioned and tested. Then the bodies start to pile up... Maeve must overcome her own fears and insecurities, and as she grapples with her demons, new threats appear that make it clear the only person she can truly rely on is herself. This is a gripping thriller that sneaks up on the reader, and is well worth hanging tight until the exciting and cathartic climax.You have to hang in with this book. It seems cryptic at the start: what exactly is going on with the main character, Maeve? She seems very closed in emotionally, then we start finding out the reasons why this is so. In the meantime, there's an…
The Cookbook ClubThe Cookbook Club, BookA Novel of Food and Friendship
by Harbison, Elizabeth M.Book - 2020Book, 2020
hilln's rating:
Added Feb 20, 2022
Comment:
I enjoyed this book! I love Beth Harbison's writing style and her stories are positive and fun, but not without moments of characters' angst and/or cringe-worthiness. Three storylines, each one based on a female protagonist who's bottomed out and finding herself at a crossroads, intersect through a mutual love of cooking and eating. There's lots of humour and warmth as these characters figure out how to move on from a divorce, a rat-bag boyfriend and a professional crash-and-burn. Unfortunately, Beth's publisher must have been bugging her to get the book done so they could publish it fast and shunt it out to bookstores and libraries asap. The expert build-up for each character just disappears in the last third of the book, and the three storylines are all cut short and tied with a bow, The End. Bummer! I would have happily read another 100 pages to discover how all three characters wrestle down their demons and insecurities, but that was not to be. The bonus section at the end has some excellent recipes for readers to make at home, as well as a fun interview with Beth Harbison.I enjoyed this book! I love Beth Harbison's writing style and her stories are positive and fun, but not without moments of characters' angst and/or cringe-worthiness. Three storylines, each one based on a female protagonist who's bottomed out and…
Comment: