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Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
Jaw-dropping visuals, and heartfelt story. (0 more)
Some plot weirdness common to adaptations. (0 more)
Press Start to Join The Rebellion
A truly excellent movie for the whole family to enjoy. Ready Player One has all of the elements required for a movie to truly excel in the telling of its story. The action is epic, the heroes are cool, and oh boy the fun and laughs you'll have along the way. The voice acting cast was well handled, but is probably the main reason I did not give this one full points. The studio could have gotten higher level actors to sell the more emotional plot points. Olivia Cooke and Tye Sheridan still do a masterful job with their roles, but some lines were delivered with a Spy Kids level of corniness. In truth, you have to hunt for flaws in this movie as if they were easter eggs themselves. Parzival, and the rest of the hunters on the quest, weave a beautiful tapestry of tropes that blends modern gaming escapism with social revolution. Not all the characters are super deep, nor do they have to be. You will find yourself cheering for the good guys, and jeering the bad. That's the beauty of this movie. It is a perfect chance to enjoy a thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and world domination, without having to buckle in for an Oscar level drama. The best of this movie however, and the reason I would ultimately recommend it to just about anyone is the sheer beauty and power of the visual effects, and the warm nostalgia that permeates every aspect of the plot. Pop culture references that are sure to make you grin are peppered throughout as the story unfolds. Any gamer, movie buff, rebel at heart, or really just about anyone who has ever had any kind of electronic fun since the 60s will find a note in the proverbial song meant just for them. Get your game face on, this is a good one.
  
Twilight's Touch (Prairie Smoke Ranch #2)
Twilight's Touch (Prairie Smoke Ranch #2)
V.L. Locey | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Only Perry speaks and I wanted Will!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 2 in the Prairie Smoke Ranch series. I have not read book 1, Dawn's Desire. I didn't feel like I was missing anything, but for the discovery of the bones! I want to go back and read it, though. I'm intrigued, but it's not a necessity to have read, I don't think.

Perry works at Prairie Smoke Ranch, mostly with the horses who don't trust people. He reads to them. Ancient Greek history of all things. I loved this, even if I had no clue who he was reading about!

Will and Perry have a bit of a moment, a while back and its been playing on his mind but Perry, the wonderful human that he is, doesn;t want anyone to know. It could harm his mum and his grandfather and Perry won't do that.

Somewhere along the way, Will gets so far into Perry mind, he crosses into his heart and it really was delightful watching these two dance in the rain!

I loved that Will, bad boy that he is, doesn't want to corrupt Perry, he wants Perry to see it's ok to let go, to be yourself, to TRULY be you.

Or at least that is what I think he wants to do. Because Will doesn't get a say and thats the only reason I can't stretch to the full 5 stars. Perry speaks, and only Perry. And I really wanted Will. Especially after I found they had that moment before. When they were dancing in the rain, and really wanted to hear from Will when Perry finally, FINALLY lets him in.

All in all, a beautifully written book, a wonderful tale, and I want to go back and forward with this series!

4 wonderful stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Merissa (12066 KP) rated Courting Mr. Cutthroat (Campy Romances #3) in Books

Sep 21, 2021 (Updated Jul 14, 2023)  
Courting Mr. Cutthroat (Campy Romances #3)
Courting Mr. Cutthroat (Campy Romances #3)
Deborah Camp | 2021 | Contemporary, Romance
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
COURTING MR. CUTTHROAT is the third book in the Campy Romances series, although each book can be read as a standalone.

Cutter is the youngest of three brothers who all appear to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. However, although they had everything money could buy, they didn't have a mother or father that cared for them. Luckily, each of them had a nanny who stepped into the mother's role. The father though? Well, two were lucky, but Cutter wasn't. He got the reputation as the bad boy, the black sheep. Was it deserved? Possibly.

Luckily for him, Gemma was his stalwart friend, with him throughout everything. She even understands when he ups and leaves without saying goodbye. But things are different now. Cutter is a hotshot artist, back in town for a while. Gemma is a lawyer. Can they rekindle what they had? Or maybe the question is, should they?

This is an easy-to-read contemporary romance in a small town where memories are long and grudges are held onto. The heat is on between Cutter and Gemma, but it is not clear if Cutter will allow himself to fall. I loved reading more about their past relationship, and how Gemma is mature enough to call out his sh*t when he's acting stupidly.

I loved how this story unfolded, with all the snippets of what happens to various characters. The polar bear was sad though, simply because it's unfortunately too true. The relationship between the brothers grew and made me smile every time they were together.

A steamy, feel-good story that I have no hesitation in recommending.

** 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!
Sep 21, 2021
  
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.

This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.

Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.

There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.

Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.