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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated After the End (After the End, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[After The End] by [Amy Plum] has a deceptive tile because it leads you to think it is an dystopian novel. Although I love those books this was a welcomed surprise. It turned into more of an action/adventure with a little coming of age thrown in for good measure.
[Plum] did an excellent job of developing a creative, fearless, intelligent character in Juneau. Although she is naive do to lack of exposure she know how to survive. Her loyalty to family even though they hurt her is endearing.
Miles, on the other hand, is a spoiled rotten brat who has had the easy life. He starts out for his own gain but what he really gains is a new insight about life and love.
This story has some supernatural aspects but over all is more of an exciting journey of discovery for two young people who have a lot to learn from each other.
[Plum] did an excellent job of developing a creative, fearless, intelligent character in Juneau. Although she is naive do to lack of exposure she know how to survive. Her loyalty to family even though they hurt her is endearing.
Miles, on the other hand, is a spoiled rotten brat who has had the easy life. He starts out for his own gain but what he really gains is a new insight about life and love.
This story has some supernatural aspects but over all is more of an exciting journey of discovery for two young people who have a lot to learn from each other.
Airport (1970)
7.0
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Take a nonstop flight with an all-star cast to a world of tension-filled human drama in this...
Merissa (13950 KP) rated Emergence (Voodoo Butterfly #2) in Books
Oct 17, 2018
Emergence (Voodoo Butterfly #2) by Camille Faye
Emergence is the second book in the Voodoo Butterfly series, and we start pretty much where we left off. Sophia and Taj are still together, although things aren't quite as smooth as they were. However, trouble isn't far away, and Poppy ends up being injured. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and things quickly go downhill for Sophie. Add to that, Taj disappears mysteriously, quickly followed by Avi.
I'll be honest here, for a while I was worried this was going to become the ubiquitous love triangle, but Camille Faye managed to avoid that in this book. Now, I'm not saying it may not happen in the future, but for now, in this book, we're safe.
There is plenty of action and adventure in this book, possibly more than Voodoo Butterfly, and it is great to see Sophie growing in confidence and power. We also meet more of the Mambos, and find out more about them, which made for incredible reading.
I am absolutely loving this series, as it is exceptionally written, with no editing or grammatical errors that spoil my reading. The story is intricate and intriguing, definitely leaving me wanting more. With a great cast of supporting characters to round things off, there is simply nothing about this series/book that I don't like.
Fair warning though - there is still a mystery to solve regarding Taj, and it does end on a cliffhanger. I know something is going on with him, but I'll always be Team Jacques!
Definitely recommended by me!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I'll be honest here, for a while I was worried this was going to become the ubiquitous love triangle, but Camille Faye managed to avoid that in this book. Now, I'm not saying it may not happen in the future, but for now, in this book, we're safe.
There is plenty of action and adventure in this book, possibly more than Voodoo Butterfly, and it is great to see Sophie growing in confidence and power. We also meet more of the Mambos, and find out more about them, which made for incredible reading.
I am absolutely loving this series, as it is exceptionally written, with no editing or grammatical errors that spoil my reading. The story is intricate and intriguing, definitely leaving me wanting more. With a great cast of supporting characters to round things off, there is simply nothing about this series/book that I don't like.
Fair warning though - there is still a mystery to solve regarding Taj, and it does end on a cliffhanger. I know something is going on with him, but I'll always be Team Jacques!
Definitely recommended by me!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Crowman & Wolfboy
Games
App
"The perfect union of a platformer and an endless runner" - IGN Italy (8.5/10) "I really can’t...
AirFighters Pro - Combat Flight Simulator
Games and Navigation
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THE MOST ADVANCED FIGHTER PLANE COMBAT AND FLIGHT SIMULATOR Realistic world maps and navigation,...
Honor Among Thieves (Empire and Rebellion, #2)
8.0
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Nebula and Hugo Award nominees Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck—writing as James S. A. Corey—make...
Merissa (13950 KP) rated Betrayed (The Emrys Chronicles #2) in Books
Jul 5, 2021 (Updated Jul 17, 2023)
BETRAYED is the second book in The Emrys Chronicles and Einion is now all grown-up. Catrin has changed from his aunt to someone who sees him as a man, and it leaves him very confused. A time apart sounds like a good thing, but then along comes Rhianu to confuse him even further.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as book one. There are reasons for this, so let me explain. First of all, the thing with Catrin and Einion. I don't know, but this just didn't work from the start for me. I found myself losing patience with both of them. Maybe because I knew they wouldn't be together? I don't know. The other was the angels. I understand what the author was going for, but that word just seemed out of place amongst all the dragons. And finally, Aerona. She flipped too quickly for me. For so long saying one thing, and then changing her mind on the flip of a coin.
Now I've said that, let me say this. I DID enjoy this book. It is full of action and adventure, light and darkness, and choices to be made. I thought Einion was a great character, all too real with his worries and concerns about doing a job to the best of his abilities. I liked Catrin in Ahnalyn’s book, so I'm hoping once I read hers, I'll be back on the same wavelength again. Meinwen is another fantastic character.
This was a good addition to the series that moved the overall story arc forwards. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 5, 2021
I didn't enjoy this one as much as book one. There are reasons for this, so let me explain. First of all, the thing with Catrin and Einion. I don't know, but this just didn't work from the start for me. I found myself losing patience with both of them. Maybe because I knew they wouldn't be together? I don't know. The other was the angels. I understand what the author was going for, but that word just seemed out of place amongst all the dragons. And finally, Aerona. She flipped too quickly for me. For so long saying one thing, and then changing her mind on the flip of a coin.
Now I've said that, let me say this. I DID enjoy this book. It is full of action and adventure, light and darkness, and choices to be made. I thought Einion was a great character, all too real with his worries and concerns about doing a job to the best of his abilities. I liked Catrin in Ahnalyn’s book, so I'm hoping once I read hers, I'll be back on the same wavelength again. Meinwen is another fantastic character.
This was a good addition to the series that moved the overall story arc forwards. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 5, 2021
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Lost Expedition in Tabletop Games
Jul 22, 2021
El Dorado – the lost city of gold. Many have searched for this fabled civilization, but none have prevailed… yet. Gather up your team of experts and pack your bags for the jungle – you’re headed on an adventure! Can you find the path to this lost city and get there alive? Or will the encounters of the wilderness prove to be too much to handle? Only one way to find out….
Disclaimer: The Lost Expedition can be played cooperatively, solo, or head-to-head. This review only covers the cooperative version of the game! -L
The Lost Expedition is a cooperative (in this case) game of strategy and hand management in which players are trying to traverse the jungle to reach El Dorado by carefully managing their Resources and utilizing their collective Expertise. To setup the game, choose 3 explorers to form your team, and collect 3 Ammunition and 4 Food from the supply tokens. Shuffle the adventure cards, dealing 4 to every player, placing the remainder in a face-down draw deck. Depending on the difficulty selected, place the corresponding number of Expedition cards in a row on the table (we played Normal mode, using 9 Expedition cards). Place 4 Health tokens on each explorer card, place the phase token with the Morning side up, select a starting expedition leader, and the game is ready to begin.
Each round consists of 2 phases: Morning and Evening. During the Morning phase, players will take turns playing adventure cards from their hand, one at a time, until each player has played 2 cards. This line of cards forms the path that the explorers are traveling in the morning. After all cards have been played, they will be rearranged in numerical order, from lowest to highest. Once the cards are organized, they will be resolved one at a time, from lowest to highest, until all cards have been addressed. Examples of card actions are: discarding the next card in play, swapping two cards on the path, adding a new card to the end of the path, or moving the team pawn one card closer to El Dorado. Adventure cards have different colored boxes that indicate action choices that the players must make. Some actions are mandatory and must be completed. Some cards offer 2 or more choices, one of which must be selected and performed to clear the card. And some cards have optional choices, that do not have to be completed for the card to be resolved. Certain actions will require the team to gain/spend Resources tokens or Expertise from your explorers (in the form of Health tokens). At the end of the Morning phase, the team loses 1 Food token, and play continues to the Evening phase.
During the Evening phase, the gameplay is like that of the Morning with a couple of changes. Players again will alternate playing cards, but will play until all remaining cards in their hand have been played. Cards in the Evening phase are resolved in the order that they are played, and are not organized numerically like in the Morning phase. Again, after all cards are played, they will be resolved one by one as normal, paying Resources/Expertise as required. Once the Evening phase is finished, the team loses 1 Food token, players draw a new hand of cards, select another expedition leader, and a new round begins with the Morning phase. Play continues in this fashion until either the players have reached El Dorado, all 3 of the team’s explorers have died (have no remaining Health tokens), or if the adventure card draw deck runs out 2 times during play.
Pretty straight-forward, right? Play cards, resolve cards, repeat. That is one thing I really like about The Lost Expedition – it is simple, yet so strategic. Ultimately this is a game of Resource/Expertise management. You need at least 1 explorer to make it to El Dorado alive. There is no reward without risk in this game. Couple that with the multiple action options on each card, and you’ve really got to have a strategy. Maybe you’re low on Ammunition, but in order to gain back some much-needed Health, you’ve got to spend Ammo. Or are you willing to deal damage to an explorer if it means the team can advance a card? There are so many things to consider, and so many ways in which you can strategize, and that keeps all players engaged.
That being said, players are not allowed to reveal the details of any cards in hand. So how can you best communicate with your team about what types of cards to play if you can’t tell them point-blank? That added aspect of working in a team creates some unique strategies in and of itself. Ultimately, the final decision comes down to the expedition leader for the round – but what if they choose the action you didn’t want? How can everyone help balance everyone else out? You really have to work together to be successful. The flip-side of that teamwork is that the game can be frustrating in some aspects. You never truly know what your teammates are going to play at any given time, and the card they choose could totally unravel your plan. Not being able to discuss the specifics of cards in your hand makes sense (because then why wouldn’t the team just have one collective hand of cards?), but it adds an element of randomness and luck to the game that seems counterintuitive to me. Playing the wrong card at the wrong time might just turn your team against you, and that undermines the spirit of the game.
Let’s touch briefly on components. The cards are nice, oversized, and sturdy. The artwork is colorful and thematically appropriate. All of the Resources tokens are thick cardboard, and the meeples are nice and chunky. All in all, good production quality overall.
So how do I really feel about The Lost Expedition? I think it’s ok. It is strategic and entertaining, with the added elements of teamwork and cooperation – you either win together or lose together. As a group, you’ve got to have an adaptable strategy and manage your resources as best you can. Is it a game that I love? No. But it’s one that will probably stay in my collection for a bit, before it moves on to someone who might see some hidden quality that I may have missed. If you want a nice and relatively simple team game to play, maybe check out The Lost Expedition. And if risk/reward or resource management isn’t your jam, then maybe keep looking beyond this one. Purple Phoenix Games give The Lost Expedition an eventful 6 / 12.
Disclaimer: The Lost Expedition can be played cooperatively, solo, or head-to-head. This review only covers the cooperative version of the game! -L
The Lost Expedition is a cooperative (in this case) game of strategy and hand management in which players are trying to traverse the jungle to reach El Dorado by carefully managing their Resources and utilizing their collective Expertise. To setup the game, choose 3 explorers to form your team, and collect 3 Ammunition and 4 Food from the supply tokens. Shuffle the adventure cards, dealing 4 to every player, placing the remainder in a face-down draw deck. Depending on the difficulty selected, place the corresponding number of Expedition cards in a row on the table (we played Normal mode, using 9 Expedition cards). Place 4 Health tokens on each explorer card, place the phase token with the Morning side up, select a starting expedition leader, and the game is ready to begin.
Each round consists of 2 phases: Morning and Evening. During the Morning phase, players will take turns playing adventure cards from their hand, one at a time, until each player has played 2 cards. This line of cards forms the path that the explorers are traveling in the morning. After all cards have been played, they will be rearranged in numerical order, from lowest to highest. Once the cards are organized, they will be resolved one at a time, from lowest to highest, until all cards have been addressed. Examples of card actions are: discarding the next card in play, swapping two cards on the path, adding a new card to the end of the path, or moving the team pawn one card closer to El Dorado. Adventure cards have different colored boxes that indicate action choices that the players must make. Some actions are mandatory and must be completed. Some cards offer 2 or more choices, one of which must be selected and performed to clear the card. And some cards have optional choices, that do not have to be completed for the card to be resolved. Certain actions will require the team to gain/spend Resources tokens or Expertise from your explorers (in the form of Health tokens). At the end of the Morning phase, the team loses 1 Food token, and play continues to the Evening phase.
During the Evening phase, the gameplay is like that of the Morning with a couple of changes. Players again will alternate playing cards, but will play until all remaining cards in their hand have been played. Cards in the Evening phase are resolved in the order that they are played, and are not organized numerically like in the Morning phase. Again, after all cards are played, they will be resolved one by one as normal, paying Resources/Expertise as required. Once the Evening phase is finished, the team loses 1 Food token, players draw a new hand of cards, select another expedition leader, and a new round begins with the Morning phase. Play continues in this fashion until either the players have reached El Dorado, all 3 of the team’s explorers have died (have no remaining Health tokens), or if the adventure card draw deck runs out 2 times during play.
Pretty straight-forward, right? Play cards, resolve cards, repeat. That is one thing I really like about The Lost Expedition – it is simple, yet so strategic. Ultimately this is a game of Resource/Expertise management. You need at least 1 explorer to make it to El Dorado alive. There is no reward without risk in this game. Couple that with the multiple action options on each card, and you’ve really got to have a strategy. Maybe you’re low on Ammunition, but in order to gain back some much-needed Health, you’ve got to spend Ammo. Or are you willing to deal damage to an explorer if it means the team can advance a card? There are so many things to consider, and so many ways in which you can strategize, and that keeps all players engaged.
That being said, players are not allowed to reveal the details of any cards in hand. So how can you best communicate with your team about what types of cards to play if you can’t tell them point-blank? That added aspect of working in a team creates some unique strategies in and of itself. Ultimately, the final decision comes down to the expedition leader for the round – but what if they choose the action you didn’t want? How can everyone help balance everyone else out? You really have to work together to be successful. The flip-side of that teamwork is that the game can be frustrating in some aspects. You never truly know what your teammates are going to play at any given time, and the card they choose could totally unravel your plan. Not being able to discuss the specifics of cards in your hand makes sense (because then why wouldn’t the team just have one collective hand of cards?), but it adds an element of randomness and luck to the game that seems counterintuitive to me. Playing the wrong card at the wrong time might just turn your team against you, and that undermines the spirit of the game.
Let’s touch briefly on components. The cards are nice, oversized, and sturdy. The artwork is colorful and thematically appropriate. All of the Resources tokens are thick cardboard, and the meeples are nice and chunky. All in all, good production quality overall.
So how do I really feel about The Lost Expedition? I think it’s ok. It is strategic and entertaining, with the added elements of teamwork and cooperation – you either win together or lose together. As a group, you’ve got to have an adaptable strategy and manage your resources as best you can. Is it a game that I love? No. But it’s one that will probably stay in my collection for a bit, before it moves on to someone who might see some hidden quality that I may have missed. If you want a nice and relatively simple team game to play, maybe check out The Lost Expedition. And if risk/reward or resource management isn’t your jam, then maybe keep looking beyond this one. Purple Phoenix Games give The Lost Expedition an eventful 6 / 12.
Flipped Out – The Powerpuff Girls Match 3 Puzzle / Fighting Action Game
Games and Entertainment
App
Destroy monsters with match 3 puzzles or punch their lights out in action-packed melee. Play both...