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Merissa (12681 KP) rated Under the Boardwalk (The Landmarks Series #1) in Books
Aug 16, 2017
Under the Boardwalk (Landmarks #1) by Felice Stevens
Under the Boardwalk is the latest book by Felice Stevens, an author that I have long admired. It's starts with last summer, as our two main characters first lay eyes on each other and want more. The timing isn't right though, so a year goes by. Now we are at this summer.
Alexi is an American, with Russian ancestry. He works for his father at the local custard stand, and dreams of travelling the world. Cam is the busker that Alexi dreams about. He has travelled the world, and found that there was no place like home (sorry, couldn't resist!). These two finally connect, and BOOM!!! We're off.
I love Felice Stevens' way of writing. She wraps you up, and immerses you in the story. This is one of her 'sweeter' books, I would say, although there is some low-level angst in here. One thing I will always be grateful for, is the explanation given to Cam about what the difference is between ice-cream and custard. As someone who grew up in England, custard is a hot, sweet, liquid that goes on top of treacle tart, or jam roly-poly. Not in a cone! I was thankful when the explanation was given as I then understood what everyone was eating! ?
I don't think there were any editing or grammatical errors, but if there were, I missed them as I was so engrossed with the story. I love the epilogue, and love these two together. I am seriously hoping for more in this series, and also hope that we get to see a cameo from these two, just so I can find out if they're still okay.
Absolutely recommended by me, just be warned that you may lose time when you start reading this book!
* 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!
Alexi is an American, with Russian ancestry. He works for his father at the local custard stand, and dreams of travelling the world. Cam is the busker that Alexi dreams about. He has travelled the world, and found that there was no place like home (sorry, couldn't resist!). These two finally connect, and BOOM!!! We're off.
I love Felice Stevens' way of writing. She wraps you up, and immerses you in the story. This is one of her 'sweeter' books, I would say, although there is some low-level angst in here. One thing I will always be grateful for, is the explanation given to Cam about what the difference is between ice-cream and custard. As someone who grew up in England, custard is a hot, sweet, liquid that goes on top of treacle tart, or jam roly-poly. Not in a cone! I was thankful when the explanation was given as I then understood what everyone was eating! ?
I don't think there were any editing or grammatical errors, but if there were, I missed them as I was so engrossed with the story. I love the epilogue, and love these two together. I am seriously hoping for more in this series, and also hope that we get to see a cameo from these two, just so I can find out if they're still okay.
Absolutely recommended by me, just be warned that you may lose time when you start reading this book!
* 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!
Midge (525 KP) rated Pink Ice Creams in Books
May 21, 2019
An Outstanding Début!
I was so thrilled to be one of the first to read Pink Ice Creams, the début novel by Jo Woolaston. What a fabulous and exciting read it was!
One of the reasons it was so appealing was its setting. I loved the author’s descriptions of the shabby sea-side town and the fun-fair as I grew up in a place with a very similar environment.
Pink Ice Creams had an enthralling plot and Jo Woolaston displayed some amazing writing skill with her perfect pacing of the story and my goodness, there was never a dull moment! I didn’t want to stop reading this novel. The characters that the author created were so masterfully drawn and I often felt that I was in the ramshackle, jaded town eating chips, marshmallow toffee or an ice cream cornet with them, or drinking a pint of cider!
I didn’t really have a favourite character, but I grew rather fond of Kay as the story progressed. With the heavy burden she was carrying all of the time, it was difficult not to have a great deal of empathy for her, although some of the choices she made really frustrated me. I think this added to the story.
Pink Ice Creams was an intense, highly absorbing story full of angst, alcohol-induced catastrophes and unfortunate situations, but it was also rich in friendship and the importance of looking out for one another. I really enjoyed reading every page of the wonderful début, from the very first pages right through to its fulfilling ending.
I absolutely adored this book and I strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Pink Ice Creams right away!
I will be looking out for more by Jo Woolaston in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
One of the reasons it was so appealing was its setting. I loved the author’s descriptions of the shabby sea-side town and the fun-fair as I grew up in a place with a very similar environment.
Pink Ice Creams had an enthralling plot and Jo Woolaston displayed some amazing writing skill with her perfect pacing of the story and my goodness, there was never a dull moment! I didn’t want to stop reading this novel. The characters that the author created were so masterfully drawn and I often felt that I was in the ramshackle, jaded town eating chips, marshmallow toffee or an ice cream cornet with them, or drinking a pint of cider!
I didn’t really have a favourite character, but I grew rather fond of Kay as the story progressed. With the heavy burden she was carrying all of the time, it was difficult not to have a great deal of empathy for her, although some of the choices she made really frustrated me. I think this added to the story.
Pink Ice Creams was an intense, highly absorbing story full of angst, alcohol-induced catastrophes and unfortunate situations, but it was also rich in friendship and the importance of looking out for one another. I really enjoyed reading every page of the wonderful début, from the very first pages right through to its fulfilling ending.
I absolutely adored this book and I strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Pink Ice Creams right away!
I will be looking out for more by Jo Woolaston in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
ClareR (5854 KP) rated The Temple House Vanishing in Books
Feb 27, 2020
The Temple House Vanishing is set in an elite Convent School (Roman Catholic, all girls, lots of masses, praying and rampant oestrogen). The nuns run a tight ship - or so they think. Mr Lavelle is a young, bohemian-type character, and a fair few of the girls are in love with him. Particularly Victoria.
Louisa joins the school late as a scholarship student, and is generally looked down on by the fee-paying girls, but she and Victoria become good friends. Everything seems to be improving for Louisa. Until, that is, she disappears along with Mr Lavelle. Everyone assumes that they have run away together, and the staff and students are of no help. They close ranks. No-one wants to be involved.
Until, that is, a journalist becomes involved with retelling the story on its 25th anniversary. She manages to speak to the Head Girl at the time, and after many persistent emails, with Victoria. And this time, Victoria talks about what happened.
I liked this very much. I liked the atmosphere of the school - even though it wasn't particularly nice it was described well, especially the way the girls ganged up together to pick on whoever they assumed was the weakest link. I especially liked the journalists chapters, particularly when it became clear that she had something of a vested interest in finding out what happened to Louisa - Louisa had been her babysitter when she was a child.
This isn't a 'hold on to your hat' story. There's no-one to save - whatever happened, happened 25 years ago. It's all about WHAT happened and WHO was involved. And in the end, it's all rather sad.
I really enjoyed this, particularly the way the story unfolded. I think the teenagers emotions were described as well as the adults, and it was easy to empathise with them when necessary, and despair at their teenaged reactions and angst.
This book is well worth a read.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book!
Louisa joins the school late as a scholarship student, and is generally looked down on by the fee-paying girls, but she and Victoria become good friends. Everything seems to be improving for Louisa. Until, that is, she disappears along with Mr Lavelle. Everyone assumes that they have run away together, and the staff and students are of no help. They close ranks. No-one wants to be involved.
Until, that is, a journalist becomes involved with retelling the story on its 25th anniversary. She manages to speak to the Head Girl at the time, and after many persistent emails, with Victoria. And this time, Victoria talks about what happened.
I liked this very much. I liked the atmosphere of the school - even though it wasn't particularly nice it was described well, especially the way the girls ganged up together to pick on whoever they assumed was the weakest link. I especially liked the journalists chapters, particularly when it became clear that she had something of a vested interest in finding out what happened to Louisa - Louisa had been her babysitter when she was a child.
This isn't a 'hold on to your hat' story. There's no-one to save - whatever happened, happened 25 years ago. It's all about WHAT happened and WHO was involved. And in the end, it's all rather sad.
I really enjoyed this, particularly the way the story unfolded. I think the teenagers emotions were described as well as the adults, and it was easy to empathise with them when necessary, and despair at their teenaged reactions and angst.
This book is well worth a read.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Silent Night in Books
Nov 8, 2020
This is the second book featuring the British Sign Language interpreter, Paige Northwood, and the second I have read and although you don't particularly have to have read the first (The Silent House), it does help.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Good Company in Books
Apr 15, 2021
Well-written albeit slow going look at marriage and motherhood
Flora Mancini has been happily married for twenty years. But that foundation crumbles when she finds her husband's wedding ring--the one he claimed he lost when their daughter was five--in the back of a drawer. Now she wonders what exactly Julian has kept hidden from her all these years. Is their whole marriage, their whole life, based on a lie?
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated A Curse So Dark and Lonely in Books
Mar 26, 2021
Have you ever finished a book and just felt bereft afterwards? Unable to figure out what on earth you are supposed to do now? That is how I felt earlier today when I finished A Curse So Dark And Lonely.
Brigid Kemmerer's retelling of Beauty and the Beast is the first in the Curse breaker series but it is nothing short of brilliant. It possibly took me 5 whole minutes to buy book 2: A Heart So Fierce and Broken once I had finished.
Now you may have gathered that I have read my fair share of retellings but this one has teeth! Split between Washington DC and the kingdom of Emberfall this is simply 480 ish pages of tension, angst and gritty violence.
Elements of ACSDAL mirror the traditional fairytale : enchantress, tick; cursed Prince, tick; true love is the only way to break the curse, (sickening) tick. However, this enchantress sticks around for a bit of torture, the cursed Prince is more of a beast than you expect and if the girl does not fall in love with the Prince? Then he has to start all over again!
If that hasn't got you heading for your local bookshop then Brigid Kemmerer also throws in a female protagonist with cerebral palsy, an enemies to lovers relationship and torn loyalties wherever you turn.
Kemmerer's characters are incredibly well developed and really seem to stay with the reader. Harper manages to be simultaneously vulnerable and kick ass; Grey is stoic and loyal, barely ever showing glimpses of his true heart or personality; and Rhen is the epitomy of a cursed Prince. You don't want to like Rhen sometimes but slowly you find yourself rooting for him and, maybe even falling a little bit in love with him.
This is a non-stop story with a fast-paced plot that leaves you guessing until the very end... Only to have you reeling at the epilogue. This is no fairytale and love doesn't always save the day!
Now everyone leave me alone... I'm reading book 2!
Brigid Kemmerer's retelling of Beauty and the Beast is the first in the Curse breaker series but it is nothing short of brilliant. It possibly took me 5 whole minutes to buy book 2: A Heart So Fierce and Broken once I had finished.
Now you may have gathered that I have read my fair share of retellings but this one has teeth! Split between Washington DC and the kingdom of Emberfall this is simply 480 ish pages of tension, angst and gritty violence.
Elements of ACSDAL mirror the traditional fairytale : enchantress, tick; cursed Prince, tick; true love is the only way to break the curse, (sickening) tick. However, this enchantress sticks around for a bit of torture, the cursed Prince is more of a beast than you expect and if the girl does not fall in love with the Prince? Then he has to start all over again!
If that hasn't got you heading for your local bookshop then Brigid Kemmerer also throws in a female protagonist with cerebral palsy, an enemies to lovers relationship and torn loyalties wherever you turn.
Kemmerer's characters are incredibly well developed and really seem to stay with the reader. Harper manages to be simultaneously vulnerable and kick ass; Grey is stoic and loyal, barely ever showing glimpses of his true heart or personality; and Rhen is the epitomy of a cursed Prince. You don't want to like Rhen sometimes but slowly you find yourself rooting for him and, maybe even falling a little bit in love with him.
This is a non-stop story with a fast-paced plot that leaves you guessing until the very end... Only to have you reeling at the epilogue. This is no fairytale and love doesn't always save the day!
Now everyone leave me alone... I'm reading book 2!
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated New Mutants by Zeb Wells: The Complete Collection in Books
Nov 30, 2020
So, thanks to recent good deals on Comixology, as well as mandated COVID-19 stay-@-home in NC (it's the same elsewhere in the U.S., but I just felt like throwing out where I am in the mess), I have taken it upon myself to catch up with some classic Marvel mutant madness that I had missed first time around. For this week's excursion, I took on Zeb Wells' NEW MUTANTS run.
First, let me say that I had never read anything Wells had written before this. That being said, I would agree with what I saw a number of people saying in their reviews: that Zeb Wells does a bang-up job of writing for X-youngins! The dialogue and characterization never felt off or just plain badly written. It felt like he had a genuine fondness for the characters, and it was reflected in the way he treated them in the stories.
The only thing that prevented me from giving it four Stars was the art. I felt the stories detailed were interesting and several towards the end were very tense and exciting to me. However, that art? Not so much.
It started out great in the beginning w/the art by Dio Neves during "Return of the Legion". However, it just became a sea of inconsistency, as just too many artists of varied styles made for a mess that kept it from being a four Star book!
Final conclusion.. The art, while severely conflicting with the differences in styles, was not a high point of the book. Zeb Wells' writing? So, so good! Made me remember that not all the X-books at that point in time were angst-y and full of internalized self-conflicts!
Next on my list? I have the two volumes of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's run of NEW MUTANTS, which picks up after Wells' run. To coin a phrase from comedian John Mulaney's act, "This oughta be good!". See y'all when I am finished with that one.
First, let me say that I had never read anything Wells had written before this. That being said, I would agree with what I saw a number of people saying in their reviews: that Zeb Wells does a bang-up job of writing for X-youngins! The dialogue and characterization never felt off or just plain badly written. It felt like he had a genuine fondness for the characters, and it was reflected in the way he treated them in the stories.
The only thing that prevented me from giving it four Stars was the art. I felt the stories detailed were interesting and several towards the end were very tense and exciting to me. However, that art? Not so much.
It started out great in the beginning w/the art by Dio Neves during "Return of the Legion". However, it just became a sea of inconsistency, as just too many artists of varied styles made for a mess that kept it from being a four Star book!
Final conclusion.. The art, while severely conflicting with the differences in styles, was not a high point of the book. Zeb Wells' writing? So, so good! Made me remember that not all the X-books at that point in time were angst-y and full of internalized self-conflicts!
Next on my list? I have the two volumes of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's run of NEW MUTANTS, which picks up after Wells' run. To coin a phrase from comedian John Mulaney's act, "This oughta be good!". See y'all when I am finished with that one.
The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Murder in the City of Liberty (A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery #2) in Books
Oct 6, 2020
Maybe I should have read the first book in this series before asking for this via NetGalley. Unfortunately, I don't think I can finish reading this.
For example, I was terribly confused by the scene which has DeLuca saving Van Buren from almost drowning. The whole episode just wasn't described so that I could visualize what was going on, who was where, how she got into the water, and how he was able to find her to save her. I'm hoping that this is fixed in the final version.
By the way, I don't think that this author knows Chicago that well. She describes a warehouse there near the lake, but by her description, it sounds like it is only yards from the lakefront. However, as far as I know there were never any shipping warehouses on the lakefront, only on the river. That means the characters in that scene couldn't have been looking out on Lake Michigan, but only onto the Chicago River.
Another thing that confused me was why the author gave DeLuca - who is so Italian that he translates from that language into English - a very Scottish first name like Hamish. If that's explained in the first novel, I really wish the author had added a line about it in this one.
Finally, the "romance" bit here - or should I call it angst - was too overpowering for me. DeLuca goes on and on about every aspect of this woman and why he adores her and how he feels when he's around her. When she started in on her feelings towards him, well... that's when I gave up on this book. (I only read about 15%.)
This is really a shame because I've been trying to find a good cozy mystery series where I can fall in love with the protagonist/s and enjoy some harmless sleuthing on a historical backdrop. I'm afraid this one didn't deliver for me.
Now I have to figure out what I'm going to tell NetGalley when I tell them I'll not be reviewing this book.
For example, I was terribly confused by the scene which has DeLuca saving Van Buren from almost drowning. The whole episode just wasn't described so that I could visualize what was going on, who was where, how she got into the water, and how he was able to find her to save her. I'm hoping that this is fixed in the final version.
By the way, I don't think that this author knows Chicago that well. She describes a warehouse there near the lake, but by her description, it sounds like it is only yards from the lakefront. However, as far as I know there were never any shipping warehouses on the lakefront, only on the river. That means the characters in that scene couldn't have been looking out on Lake Michigan, but only onto the Chicago River.
Another thing that confused me was why the author gave DeLuca - who is so Italian that he translates from that language into English - a very Scottish first name like Hamish. If that's explained in the first novel, I really wish the author had added a line about it in this one.
Finally, the "romance" bit here - or should I call it angst - was too overpowering for me. DeLuca goes on and on about every aspect of this woman and why he adores her and how he feels when he's around her. When she started in on her feelings towards him, well... that's when I gave up on this book. (I only read about 15%.)
This is really a shame because I've been trying to find a good cozy mystery series where I can fall in love with the protagonist/s and enjoy some harmless sleuthing on a historical backdrop. I'm afraid this one didn't deliver for me.
Now I have to figure out what I'm going to tell NetGalley when I tell them I'll not be reviewing this book.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated A Love Song for Liars (Rivals, #1) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
3.5 stars.
I picked this up free a few months ago after reading another of the authors works and enjoying it.
This one follows Annie who is playing lead in her schools musical of The Little Mermaid. She wants to prove to her rock star father that she can cut it in the music industry while he doesn't want her anywhere near it, unlike his protégé Tyler. He was her best friend for a long time, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who she fell for, before her dad offered to send him to the same prestigious private school as her and show him how to make his music better. Then he went from her best friend to they boys she hated in the span of a few weeks. It's hard to stay hating him when he lives in your pool house and keeps coming to your rescue, though.
I found this a quick easy read. I got drawn into the angst that was Annie and Tyler's relationship really quickly. There's an element of love/hate but you quickly see the hate is hiding a hurt from several months ago when Tyler said something she was never meant to hear. They have a rather interesting back story that we learn as the story progresses and I was willing them to just go for it, despite all the things that could go wrong or spoil it for them. They just had a deep connection that I felt deserved to explored.
Unfortunately, it seems their story is spread over three books with a fourth addition as a bonus and I will be reading them at some point in the future but my reading list is almost 100 books long right now - though I have been steamrolling through them lately - so it's on my wish list on Amazon.
It also appears I should have read the Wicked series by this author first as that is Annie's dad Jax's romance but, oh well. I'll read it at a later date, too.
I picked this up free a few months ago after reading another of the authors works and enjoying it.
This one follows Annie who is playing lead in her schools musical of The Little Mermaid. She wants to prove to her rock star father that she can cut it in the music industry while he doesn't want her anywhere near it, unlike his protégé Tyler. He was her best friend for a long time, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who she fell for, before her dad offered to send him to the same prestigious private school as her and show him how to make his music better. Then he went from her best friend to they boys she hated in the span of a few weeks. It's hard to stay hating him when he lives in your pool house and keeps coming to your rescue, though.
I found this a quick easy read. I got drawn into the angst that was Annie and Tyler's relationship really quickly. There's an element of love/hate but you quickly see the hate is hiding a hurt from several months ago when Tyler said something she was never meant to hear. They have a rather interesting back story that we learn as the story progresses and I was willing them to just go for it, despite all the things that could go wrong or spoil it for them. They just had a deep connection that I felt deserved to explored.
Unfortunately, it seems their story is spread over three books with a fourth addition as a bonus and I will be reading them at some point in the future but my reading list is almost 100 books long right now - though I have been steamrolling through them lately - so it's on my wish list on Amazon.
It also appears I should have read the Wicked series by this author first as that is Annie's dad Jax's romance but, oh well. I'll read it at a later date, too.
James P. Sumner (65 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies
Jul 10, 2019
The MCU delivers again!
Tom Holland reprises his role as the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman in this enjoyable final entry in the MCU's third phase.
Picking up where Avengers: Endgame left off, the world is slowly getting back on its feet after Thanos' handiwork was reversed. Peter Parker is on a school trip across Europe when huge Elemental enemies attack. He's unprepared, but the day is saved by Mysterio - a superhero from an alternate universe.
So far, so Marvel.
Twists and turns follow, with plenty of action throughout. The storyline reminded me of Iron Man 3 in some ways, in terms of it's structure and style. The visuals were impressive as always. The acting was spot-on, with Happy returning in a comic relief/mentor role that worked really well alongside the hero.
The great thing about all the Marvel movies is how they distinguish themselves from each other. Aside from being just comic book movies, each individual series has its own themes and genre. Guardians of the Galaxy is sci-fi/action/comedy, Captain America is more political/action, Thor is fantasy, etc... Spiderman fills the gap for a teen drama, appealing to the younger audience by giving them the angst and romance they crave and relate to. The relationship between Peter and MJ is explored in greater detail here, and their on-screen awkward is fun to watch, but also believable - largely, I suspect, due to the pair's off-screen friendship. Their chemistry is brilliant and really adds to the movie.
As with all Marvel movies, it ain't over 'til it's over. The mid-credits scene does a truly fantastic job of setting up the third movie in the series, while the post-credits scene teases at the future of the wider MCU.
Marvel has had numerous hits with only a small handful of near-misses. Spiderman: Far From Home is a resounding hit and not to be missed!
Picking up where Avengers: Endgame left off, the world is slowly getting back on its feet after Thanos' handiwork was reversed. Peter Parker is on a school trip across Europe when huge Elemental enemies attack. He's unprepared, but the day is saved by Mysterio - a superhero from an alternate universe.
So far, so Marvel.
Twists and turns follow, with plenty of action throughout. The storyline reminded me of Iron Man 3 in some ways, in terms of it's structure and style. The visuals were impressive as always. The acting was spot-on, with Happy returning in a comic relief/mentor role that worked really well alongside the hero.
The great thing about all the Marvel movies is how they distinguish themselves from each other. Aside from being just comic book movies, each individual series has its own themes and genre. Guardians of the Galaxy is sci-fi/action/comedy, Captain America is more political/action, Thor is fantasy, etc... Spiderman fills the gap for a teen drama, appealing to the younger audience by giving them the angst and romance they crave and relate to. The relationship between Peter and MJ is explored in greater detail here, and their on-screen awkward is fun to watch, but also believable - largely, I suspect, due to the pair's off-screen friendship. Their chemistry is brilliant and really adds to the movie.
As with all Marvel movies, it ain't over 'til it's over. The mid-credits scene does a truly fantastic job of setting up the third movie in the series, while the post-credits scene teases at the future of the wider MCU.
Marvel has had numerous hits with only a small handful of near-misses. Spiderman: Far From Home is a resounding hit and not to be missed!