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The Baggage Handler
The Baggage Handler
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
n a similar vein to The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews or Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory, The Baggage Handler is a contemporary story that explores one question: What baggage are you carrying?



Three people take a flight that will change their lives forever. Fresh off a run-in with his wife, harried businessman David disembarks the plane angry and impatient. Gillian thought she would be more excited about coming to her niece’s wedding, but she is just hoping to survive. Malcolm has gambled everything on this trip to start his fledgling artistic career. To him, failure means working in hardware in what his father calls “a real job.” After each picks up the wrong suitcase, they make their way to a mysterious baggage depot in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed. A simple baggage mix-up at the airport is more than an inconvenience when it forces three people to face the baggage they are unknowingly carrying around.



My Thoughts: This was an eye-opening story about how we carry our troubles or "baggage" with us every day. This becomes such a habit that we can be so unaware that we are in truth carrying so much with us that we don't have to. Why not feel free and give it all to the one who says He will carry all our troubles and burdens?


This is a wonderful reminder from the author that we need not burden ourselves, that we can live the life we want. I really enjoyed this novel, it brought to my attention that we all need to look inside and take inventory and just let go anything that is bringing us down. I could completely relate to Michael and Gillian with the baggage they were carrying. This is a book that catches the readers' attention from beginning to end and can totally relate to in many aspects. The reader can identify with any of the characters in this novel. This is a novel I truly enjoyed and highly recommend it to others.
  
Fifty Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Freed
E.L. James | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.3 (45 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay listen, this is my favorite book of all of them - including the Christian perspective novels and when I said on my other reviews that I would rage about this one not having a book written in his perspective, I didn't think I'd be this angry about it. There is so much juice in this novel - lots of thrill, the fighting (Ana FINALLY grows some cajones and stands up to Christian and that's the most satisfying character development), I NEED a Christian perspective!!! It would round out this series so nicely.

There is this whole section of the middle of the book involving Ray that just feels dumb and useless. It was like it was thrown in there because they needed more pages and I almost think that the production staff on the film agreed because that plotline doesn't happen in the film.

Again, I wish more than anything that there was a Christian perspective. After reading the other 2 books from his point of view and knowing what was happening in his head at certain points, I found myself really craving that with this novel. There's this one fight that happens and I so wanted to be inside his head to know what he was thinking!! Does anyone want to start a petition with me to get E.L. James to write it?

Anyways, I think that this is the best novel of all of them. I think that it's the climax of the story, anything more than these 3 novels and it would've just felt like too much. I don't have any desire to read any of the other books again but I could find myself wandering back to this one to read as a filler if I wasn't sure where I wanted to go next. Overall, there are definitely some holes in the story, some dead parts that could've just been cut entirely, and obviously I still have a major issue with the dialogue BUT it's still my favorite. It's a guilty pleasure. It's worth reading just to say you did.

I'm a little more sad to be done than I thought I would be but I suppose it's time to bid Christian Grey adieu. After watching the last movie, of course.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated Drive Angry (2011) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
Drive Angry (2011)
Drive Angry (2011)
2011 | Action, Mystery
4
5.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The only thing going for this piece of red necked, muscle car mayhem was that it was shot in 3D, and maybe the inclusion of Amber Heard. Aside from that is was pretty poor and that is being nice. After Ghost Rider I thought Nicolas Cage might steer clear of the ‘escaped-from-hell- out-for-revenge’ type role, but he’s ventured straight back.

Cage plays Milton a father who is out for justice after escaping from hell (why he’s in there we’re not sure, all we know he’s a former criminal) to avenge the death of his daughter and save his granddaughter.

Hot on his heels is The Accountant played by William Fichtner, who was actually one of the shining lights of the film. Smartly dressed in a suit with a coin very reminiscent of Harvey Two Face for quick decision making or possible misdirection he ads some comedic presence and has some of the films’ best lines.

In the end the finale is the only thing to get excited about as you realise that the film is finally going to be over

Amber Heard was there for pure sex appeal, and when she was sat in that muscle car every bloke would have been reaching for the bucket of cold water. But she doesn’t hold up the side-kick role at all well, instead she swears a bit, kicks some ex boyfriends’ ass and gets her nails painted by a random naked bloke in a hotel room.

The title Drive Angry should suggest just that, but fails. We get the odd car chase but its hardly anything to get excited about. How can you, when a muscle car as powerful as it is fails to keep up with a camper van full of sadistic Satan worshippers!

In the end the finale is the only thing to get excited about as you realise that the film is finally going to be over. Cage looks bored practically all the way through it, and had he actually bothered to be awake it might have been a better vehicle.

Instead this one got a flat the moment the opening credits rolled.
  
The Other Mrs.
The Other Mrs.
Mary Kubica | 2020 | Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sadie and her husband inherit a house in Maine after the death of Will's sister, Alice. So they move their two sons from Chicago to chilly Maine, hoping for a fresh start. Moving to Maine means living with Alice's broody sixteen-year-old daughter, Imogen. Will is convinced she's just grieving the loss of her mother, but Sadie isn't so sure. Then their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found murdered--a death that rocks their small community. Sadie no longer feels safe in her own home, so she starts looking into Morgan's death. But soon she realizes that suspicion is pointed at her own family and that the more she discovers about Morgan's death, the more she has to lose.

This was a great twisty thriller from Kubica. It started off a little confusing, but once it got going, it was completely mesmerizing. It's told from three points of view, and each has you riveted, wondering how they all fit together and what on earth is going on in this small Maine town. Who murdered Morgan Baines--and why?

The gloom of Maine and the creepiness of Sadie's new house comes across quite clear; the book can be downright spooky at times. You're never quite sure who to trust or what to believe, either. I found myself frantically flipping the pages, wanting to find out what was happening. There are a lot of pieces to fit together--angry Imogen, unreliable Sadie, supposedly perfect Will, angsty Otto (Sadie's eldest son), and the Baines and their marriage. I loved trying to piece everything together.

There are a ton of twists and turns and while some seem a little crazy, it made for a wild ride. I guessed a few and gasped at others, so that was fun. I must note, though, that there is a suicide trigger (not a spoiler, as it's Alice's death). There's a lot of detail about her death and as someone who lost someone in that same manner, I found it very hard to read about. So just keep that in mind. However, overall, this was a really captivating and dark thriller. 4 stars.
  
Joe (2014)
Joe (2014)
2014 | Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
So, officially … spring is here although it still feels like winter to your friendly
neighborhood freelance photographer but according to the calendar it’s spring.

Another indicator that it might be spring? Nicolas Cage has a new film out.
Seriously, he does .. and it’s actually a dark, heavy-duty drama.

‘Joe’ is based on the 1991 novel of the same name written by author Larry Brown.
Directed by David Gordon Green who’se credits include comedies like 2008’s
‘Pineapple Express’ and the HBO t.v. series ‘Eastbound & Down’ … ‘Joe’is certainly
no comedy.

Starring Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, and Ronnie Gene Belvins ‘Joe’ is a dark, gritty
film that tells the story of Joe Ransom. An angry ex-con who befriends Gary, a teenager
from an abusive, broken home who approaches Joe looking for work with his ‘tree poinsoning’
crew. Impressed by Gary’s stubborness and determination Joe gives him a job (and later
his truck) and attempts to set Gary on ‘the right path’ and becomes an unlikely rolemodel
for him. At home though, Gary’s family life is slowly spiraling at of control due to
his alcholic father and the situation points to a dark, violent confrontation.

I can honestly say that this is one of Nic Cage’s best and ‘sincere’ performances in a
while and due to the darkness of the film, it will most likely go unrecognized. The film
doesn’t hold back. It’s in-your-face, gritty, and violent. The minute you don’t think it
can get more disturbing, it does just that. As the viewer, the experience was like an
old-fashioned pinball machine only you, the viewer, ARE the pinball.

I don’t recommend this as a ‘date movie’ but if you like Nicolas Cage’s work and you’re
looking for a good drama, this is defintely one to see. If this movie is any indication,
I imagine it won’t be too long before Nic Cage has another great performance under his belt
so keep an eye out. ‘Joe’ is rated ‘R’ and you can catch it in theaters on April 11th.
I give the film 4 out of 5 stars.
  
    Nyan Cat: Lost In Space

    Nyan Cat: Lost In Space

    Games, Entertainment and Stickers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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    ** The most popular and most appreciated Nyan Cat game on iPhone/iPad! "Awesome!" - prguitarman,...

Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)
Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)
Jaymin Eve | 2020
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I grabbed this one from Kindle Unlimited after taking advantage of their 6 months at a reduced cost offer because, you know, have you seen that cover?!

So this starts with Mera and her best friend heading to school while discussing the fact that they can't wait to have their first shift into their wolves so they can leave their pack after the abuse Mera has received off them after her father tried to kill the alpha when she was younger. Mera runs from the pack before her shift, knowing that death is likely to be her outcome either way - either from the shift itself or from the pack - but she's tracked down before then and brought back. Before long she shifts and finds her mate amongst her pack, only to be rejected by him and the intense pain both she and her wolf are in has her calling out to the Shadow Beast - the god of shifters - and he comes and takes her away.

I don't quite know how I feel about this book. It's like one extreme to another for all the males in Mera's life. Torin; doesn't like her and taunts her continuously but doesn't want her harmed by his father. Jaxson; one of her old best friends - torments her/attacks her almost daily but also seems to have feelings for her. Shadow; can't seem to stand her but won't let anyone else have her or touch her. I was so confused and conflicted by it. I wasn't cheering for anyone in particular. I even briefly wondered if it was going to turn into some reverse harem kind of thing...but nope. Or at least not in this one.

I honestly have no idea if I'm going to continue the series. It was the cover that pulled me into reading this one as it is...so maybe if the cover is as good...? I honestly don't know. I was expecting some romance and it was filled with an angry female and stupid alpha males, though there was a hot scene or two.