Search

Search only in certain items:

Recipe for Disaster (Violetta Massoni #2)
Recipe for Disaster (Violetta Massoni #2)
Theda Vallee | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
137 of 250
Kindle
Recipe for Disaster (Violetta Massoni book2)
By Theda Vallee

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Mix two parts mystery, a dash of danger, and a sparkling heap of fabulous….

Etta Massoni used to work in her families bakery, now she chases supernatural baddies, trying her best to keep Stella-her attitude ridden magic -and her family in check.

When the cities nightclubs fall prey to an ancient curse, the bodies start piling up. The supernatural world is under threat of exposure, her team is in shambles, and a group of drag queens needs saving.

When the Massoni family decides to fight, they go all in, even if it means Nonna has to learn to twerk in the name of justice.


Ok this has to be one of those books that just hits you in the face! It’s so bloody funny and I mean hilariously so. Nonna and aunt Sophia have to be 2 of the best characters I’ve ever encountered and that’s before we meet the the Queens! I didn’t think Theda Valle could beat Stir until Petrified (Violetta Massoni book 1) but this just killed it and I loved that first book so much! This lady has some serious talent and I really can’t wait to see what else she produces. Aswell as the funny side the serious side comes through just as powerful it really is a treasure you find when you give these Indie authors support. It’s not that often I get excited like this over a book or author that’s got some serious talent although not sure my husband would agree when I’m laughing that hard I wake him at 2am 😂😂😂.
  
40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 2, 2021  
Check out my book review for CREATRIX RISING: UNLOCKING THE POWER OF MIDLIFE WOMEN, a self-help memoir, by Stephanie Raffelock. (I loved this book so much!) Enter the giveaway to win your own signed copy of the book and a $25 Starbucks gift card - four winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-creatrix.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
From the author of the award-winning book A Delightful Little Book on Aging comes a new self-help memoir Creatrix Rising: Unlocking the Power of Midlife Women (She Writes Press). In her new book, Stephanie Raffelock liberates mold-defying midlife women, tired of the oft-inaccurate characterization of the “old crone,” to amplify the resounding strength within.

Ever since Eve was banned from the garden, women have endured the oftentimes painful and inaccurate definitions foisted upon them by the patriarchy. Maiden, mother, and crone, representing the three stages assigned to a woman’s life cycle, have been the limiting categories of both ancient and modern (neo-pagan) mythology. And one label in particular rankles: crone. The word conjures a wizened hag—useless for the most part, marginalized by appearance and ability.

None of us has ever truly fit the old-crone image, and for today’s midlife women, a new archetype is being birthed: the Creatrix.

In Creatrix Rising, Raffelock lays out—through personal stories and essays—the highlights of the past fifty years, in which women have gone from a quiet strength to a resounding voice. She invites us along on her own transformational journey by providing probing questions for reflection so that we can flesh out and bring to life this new archetype within ourselves. If what the Dalai Lama has predicted—that women will save the world—proves true, then the Creatrix will for certain be out front, leading the pack.
     
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Fun Filled Family Event
Shazam! is a 2019 superhero movie based on the DC Comics character. Produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the first live-action film version of the character since 1941. The film is also directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and story by Henry Hayden and Darren Lemke. Starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Djimon Hounsou.


In 1974 Upstate New York, the ancient wizard Shazam magically transports Thaddeus Sivana (Ethan Pugiotto) to the Rock of Eternity, a hidden magical temple. Shazam, the last of the Council of Seven Wizards, explains that he has been searching for centuries for a champion who is "pure of heart". Released upon the ancient world, and now trapped in statues within the Rock, the Seven Deadly Sins tempt Thaddeus with promises of power. Banished back to Earth as unworthy of being a champion for succumbing to the sins, Thaddeus causes an accident while traveling with his family which leaves his father severely injured. Searching for his birth mother in present day Philadelphia, foster kid Billy Batson (Angel Asher) runs a foul of the law and is placed in a group home with 5 other foster kids run by Victor (Cooper Andrews) and Rosa Vasquez (Marta Milans). Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Frazer) is one of the five foster kids, an amateur superhero expert, and his new roommate. Now an adult Thaddeus (Mark Strong) discovers how to return to the Rock and acquire the power he was denied as a child.


This movie was a ton of fun. I don't think I've laughed out loud in a comic book movie this much since Ant-Man. This movie was really good. It had its silliness in certain parts but still did well in building tension and having its serious parts. Also it was well done on how the story played on your emotions for a lot of the different characters. I love the way the foster family and siblings came into play throughout the film. The special effects were really good, especially the monsters and even though you know Zachary Levi is in a muscle suit (which i initially disliked) it didn't even matter. The plot was good although some of it seemed recycled which bothered me slightly. The dialogue was good, some of it silly, which seemed appropriate for the character being younger than he looks when he is Shazam. But I didn't have much to complain about. I never saw one of the major twists coming at the end, so that really surprised me. If you're looking for a fun movie to watch, with family or friends or a superhero movie that will also make you laugh, Shazam is the one to choose. I give this movie a 8/10.
  
47 Ronin (2013)
47 Ronin (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Story: 47 Ronin starts as we learn how Kai (Reeves) a half-breed is discovered in ancient Japan, he is bought into village by Lord Asano (Tanaka). Attracted to his daughter Mika (Shibasaki) and looked down on by her brother Oishi (Sanada) and the rest of the samurai Kai lives on the outskirts. Even after saving Oishi from a beast he is looked down by the samurai.

When Lord Kira (Asano) visits not everything is as it seems as Kai believes one of the members is in fact a witch. When Lord Asano becomes bewitched into harming Lord Kira he must accept the ancient act of Seppuku the rest of the samurais and Kai go out for revenge once they discover that Lore Kira has been planning this all along.

47 Ronin gives us a very simple samurai storyline that we can easily follow and offers us very little fresh. We get the revenge story that is driven by honour as is apparently based on real events I am guessing it doesn’t include the mental supernatural side to everything. I do feel we could have had more in this story because I found Kai was kind of a confusing character one minute he is the main character the next he is the support. I would have also liked to have seen more of the supernatural side to the story. This is an easy watch but never challenging.

 

Actor Review

 

Keanu Reeves: Kai is a half-breed in the middle of Japan, he is loyal to the man that saved him even if the rest of the men disapprove of him being part of their village. When he is the one to first notice the witchcraft he is questioned but after the master is killed he must work with the samurai that final see him as one of their own to get revenge. Keanu is solid but does sometimes look out of place at times.kai

Hiroyuki Sanada: Oishi is the son of the Lord Asano, he is in charge of the samurai and doesn’t like Kai around because of honour. When his father is framed he most turn to Kai and his men to lead a revenge mission against Kira. Hiroyuki does well in this role getting to show off his skills.oishi

Ko Shibasaki: Mika is the daughter of Lord Asano that is involved in a forbidden love is Kai, when her father is killed she is forced into marrying Lord Kira so he can take over the village. Ko is solid in this role where she does become the damsel in distress.

Tadanobu Asano: Lord Kira is the evil man using witchcraft to take over the ancient kingdoms, he takes Mika to be his wife while taking out anybody who gets in his way. Tadanobu is solid in this role but I feel we needed to see more from his character.

Support Cast: 47 Ronin has a supporting cast that are all involved in the fights without being overly memorable.

Director Review: Carl Rinsch – Carl gives us an easy to watch film without really testing the audience.

 

Action: 47 Ronin has plenty of action when it comes to the fight scenes.

Adventure: 47 Ronin puts our characters on the adventure to get their revenge.

Fantasy: 47 Ronin shows us a world where witches and demons are in fact real.

Settings: 47 Ronin doesn’t create any truly memorable location which doesn’t help when it comes to the story.
Special Effects: 47 Ronin has solid effects when entering the supernatural side of everything but if it is based on a real story where did they come from?

Suggestion: 47 Ronin is one to try, it isn’t the most memorable but could be enjoyed without having to think much. (Try It)

 

Best Part: Final fight.

Worst Part: Slightly too long.

 

Believability: It is based on a legend.

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $175 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

Tagline: This Christmas, seize eternity.

 

Overall: Samurai film done in very easy style.

https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/02/keanu-reeves-weekend-47-ronin-2013/
  
    Art Authority for iPad

    Art Authority for iPad

    Art & Design, Education and Reference

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    "Best iPad Reference App" -- App Store editorial team. Art Authority for iPad transports you to an...

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
Variety of authors | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Toil & Trouble was a much-hyped anthology of YA stories, and I think it lived up to that hype. I really enjoyed almost every story in this book - only one or two of them were less than awesome. And they still weren't bad! Anthologies like this keep introducing me to yet more authors that I want to read, and just keep growing my TBR list! Some of the authors in this book I was familiar with; while I hadn't read her work yet, I met Zoraida Córdova at the Baltimore Book Festival, and she was amazing. I'm familiar with Brandy Colbert's work, and have not yet read Anna-Marie McLemore but desperately want to, and her story in this work (Love Spell) only increases that need.

I read this book just before Halloween, and it was a perfect choice. I'm not a fan of actual horror novels, which seem to be what everyone else is reading this time of year. Give me my strong witchy women! The stories in this book are all young women - teens to early adulthood - learning to rely on themselves. They embrace what family traditions mean to them, or break free of them entirely if they're the wrong path. They break social taboos and fall in love where they will. They FIGHT for what they want.

I think my favorite story in this book involved a woman whose powers had been bound by her coven until she was old enough to use them wisely, but had to watch her father die in an accident when she could have healed him if she'd had access to her magic. She went to an ancient place of power in the mountains and broke the binding, horrifying her coven. The story is actually about her defying them further in refusing her destined soul mate for the girl she's been in love with since she was a child, and Fate's punishment for that. The two girls fighting for each other and for their own magic was amazing. (The Heart in Her Hands, Tess Sharpe.) Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's part of a larger story, I was hoping for more in that world!

As far as I can tell, only one of the stories is part of something larger - I'm pretty sure Zoraida Córdova's story is part of her Brooklyn Brujas world. Other than that, they all appear to be standalones, which is a little sad as I'd like to see more of many of these worlds!

Toil & Trouble is an outstanding anthology of magical women, and I loved it.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com