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Merissa (11938 KP) rated The Bridled Tongue in Books
Feb 1, 2021 (Updated Aug 7, 2023)
THE BRIDLED TONGUE is set in the late 1500s when Alyce returns home from being in service. Her sister, Isabel, has always been in competition with Alyce but now feels as though she has won. After all, she is married - even if there are whispers of his infidelities. Things soon turn around after Alyce is betrothed, and marries, a man of higher standing than her husband. Will Isabel leave the competition behind, or will it turn deadly?
I think you know which way it will go - after all, there would be no story otherwise. What you need to do though is read this one for yourself. Instead of just reading my review which skims along the surface, take the time to delve into the depths of this amazing novel that will keep you turning the pages.
The timeline is historically accurate, with a few fictional additions. The scenes are brilliantly described and will make you feel as though you are there. Sibling rivalry can be harsh indeed, especially when it is encouraged. The circumstances between Alyce and Isabel are incredibly well thought out and explained. It was also easy to see how things could get so out of hand.
One thing I loved was seeing the relationship develop between Alyce and Thomas. From acceptance, to respect, to love. Simply delightful and wonderful to read.
This book is a 5-star review from me. It couldn't be anything else. A fantastic portrayal of the times and absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
Feb 1, 2021
I think you know which way it will go - after all, there would be no story otherwise. What you need to do though is read this one for yourself. Instead of just reading my review which skims along the surface, take the time to delve into the depths of this amazing novel that will keep you turning the pages.
The timeline is historically accurate, with a few fictional additions. The scenes are brilliantly described and will make you feel as though you are there. Sibling rivalry can be harsh indeed, especially when it is encouraged. The circumstances between Alyce and Isabel are incredibly well thought out and explained. It was also easy to see how things could get so out of hand.
One thing I loved was seeing the relationship develop between Alyce and Thomas. From acceptance, to respect, to love. Simply delightful and wonderful to read.
This book is a 5-star review from me. It couldn't be anything else. A fantastic portrayal of the times and absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
Feb 1, 2021
Lee (2222 KP) rated Unhinged (2020) in Movies
Sep 2, 2020
The opening credits for Unhinged paint a pretty bleak and horrific snapshot of human life, just to get us in the mood for what’s to come. Footage of actual road rage incidents, supermarket disagreements and brawls, cars crashing into each other, all while recordings of news readers talk about how stressed and angry we all are these days. I think that in the current climate, we can all appreciate just how angry the world seems to have become these last few months, and some of these scenes really hit home.
We’d already seen just how angry Russell Crowe’s character is (billed as ‘The Man’, although he later introduces himself as Tom Cooper), courtesy of a shocking little pre-credits scene. Sitting in his car at night, rain beating down on the car as he breathes heavily and pops some pills into his mouth. Slowly turning a wedding ring on his finger, he removes it, tossing it behind him onto the backseat. Taking a hammer, he gets out of the car and walks to the front door of the house he’d parked outside, before smashing it down and proceeding to use the hammer on the occupants. He’s clearly not the kind of person you want to get on the wrong side of.
The person that does manage to get on his wrong side is Rachel (Caren Pistorius), who’s also having a pretty bad day of her own. Waking up late on the sofa, we learn that she’s currently going through a divorce, with her ex-husband wanting her house. She’s also late in taking her son to school, so when they hit heavy traffic along the way, it’s the last thing she needs.
At some traffic lights, the large SUV she’s sitting behind doesn’t budge when the lights turn green, so Rachel lets out a series of long beeps on the horn, before eventually pulling around the SUV to continue on her way. Unfortunately for her though, when they hit more traffic further down the road, the SUV pulls up alongside her, and when the window rolls down, we see that it’s ‘The Man’ behind the wheel. He’s calm at first, if a little on edge, but after apologising for his mistake, demands the same from Rachel before they go their separate ways. Unfortunately though, Rachel isn’t prepared to offer an apology. “I need you to learn what a bad day is and I need you to learn how to say sorry” he growls, before Rachel pulls away, believing that to be the end of it.
What follows is an intense game of cat and mouse, as ‘The Man’ relentlessly stalks Rachel through the roads and highways. Just to make things worse, ‘The Man’ manages to get hold of Rachel’s phone and starts to threaten and target her close friends and family. We’ve already seen just how Unhinged he can be, and there’s more of that as the movie progresses and he gets a chance to carry out some of those threats. He’s not just out to kill Rachel, but to give her the worst possible day he can before that moment arrives.
Crowe is suitably menacing – overweight and sweaty, taking out anyone who gets in his way and methodical in his determination to catch Rachel. The movie does try to humanise him a little at times though, as we discover that he’s been through a relationship breakdown, and was laid off work just a few weeks short of retiring, as if trying to provide some justification for his behaviour.
Unhinged comes in at just over 90 minutes and proved to be a real intense, gut wrenching roller-coaster ride. I don’t know if I was just a bit giddy at being back in the cinema for the first time since March, but I found it to be a lot of fun.
We’d already seen just how angry Russell Crowe’s character is (billed as ‘The Man’, although he later introduces himself as Tom Cooper), courtesy of a shocking little pre-credits scene. Sitting in his car at night, rain beating down on the car as he breathes heavily and pops some pills into his mouth. Slowly turning a wedding ring on his finger, he removes it, tossing it behind him onto the backseat. Taking a hammer, he gets out of the car and walks to the front door of the house he’d parked outside, before smashing it down and proceeding to use the hammer on the occupants. He’s clearly not the kind of person you want to get on the wrong side of.
The person that does manage to get on his wrong side is Rachel (Caren Pistorius), who’s also having a pretty bad day of her own. Waking up late on the sofa, we learn that she’s currently going through a divorce, with her ex-husband wanting her house. She’s also late in taking her son to school, so when they hit heavy traffic along the way, it’s the last thing she needs.
At some traffic lights, the large SUV she’s sitting behind doesn’t budge when the lights turn green, so Rachel lets out a series of long beeps on the horn, before eventually pulling around the SUV to continue on her way. Unfortunately for her though, when they hit more traffic further down the road, the SUV pulls up alongside her, and when the window rolls down, we see that it’s ‘The Man’ behind the wheel. He’s calm at first, if a little on edge, but after apologising for his mistake, demands the same from Rachel before they go their separate ways. Unfortunately though, Rachel isn’t prepared to offer an apology. “I need you to learn what a bad day is and I need you to learn how to say sorry” he growls, before Rachel pulls away, believing that to be the end of it.
What follows is an intense game of cat and mouse, as ‘The Man’ relentlessly stalks Rachel through the roads and highways. Just to make things worse, ‘The Man’ manages to get hold of Rachel’s phone and starts to threaten and target her close friends and family. We’ve already seen just how Unhinged he can be, and there’s more of that as the movie progresses and he gets a chance to carry out some of those threats. He’s not just out to kill Rachel, but to give her the worst possible day he can before that moment arrives.
Crowe is suitably menacing – overweight and sweaty, taking out anyone who gets in his way and methodical in his determination to catch Rachel. The movie does try to humanise him a little at times though, as we discover that he’s been through a relationship breakdown, and was laid off work just a few weeks short of retiring, as if trying to provide some justification for his behaviour.
Unhinged comes in at just over 90 minutes and proved to be a real intense, gut wrenching roller-coaster ride. I don’t know if I was just a bit giddy at being back in the cinema for the first time since March, but I found it to be a lot of fun.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Hunters: The Beginning (Hunters, #1 and #2) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Honestly, I can't believe I read the whole thing. Here's the premise of the first story: Girl gets turned into vamp. Has sex. Has some more sex. A tiny bit of plot. Even kinkier sex. Sex, sex, sex. And more sex than plot throughout the remainder of the story. Honestly the redundancy got really boring. Now, I knew this was erotica (or Erotic Romance as it says on the spine) going into this, but I had read that there was a good plot in there too. I would think even erotica would have at least equal plot with the sex, if not slightly more. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, this is the only book in this genre I've read. And seeing as it does say it's also a romance, I would expect some feelings and emotions behind all the rutting sex in almost every possible sexual situation known to man (and wolf), but no, there's nothing there. The second story is slightly better in the love territory, but the plot is a complete disaster. While I didn't care for Tori in the first story, I hated her here. What a *bleep*! And if there's nothing I despise more, it's a Mary Sue; every guy wants her, she's this perfect creature, et cetera, et cetera, excuse me while I throw up. And it's carrying it too far that everyone hates Sarel and she has to suffer that much because she made a big mistake, but geez, deal with it! She knows she was stupid and wrong, and Eli forgave her. Bunch of hypocrites.
So it sounds like I totally hated the book, not so. The ideas are solid and in between sex scenes in the first story, it was well-written. So overall, not the worst thing I've read, but far, far from the best. I do have another in the series sitting here that I'll give a try, although I think it might be my last one by this author, unless she goes strictly romance.
So it sounds like I totally hated the book, not so. The ideas are solid and in between sex scenes in the first story, it was well-written. So overall, not the worst thing I've read, but far, far from the best. I do have another in the series sitting here that I'll give a try, although I think it might be my last one by this author, unless she goes strictly romance.
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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Swinging Safari (2019) in Movies
Oct 29, 2019
Whomp Whomp...
I was strongly hoping I had found a hidden gem in Swinging Safari. Not so much…Taking place in 70’s Australia, it follows the lives of three neighborhood families and how their lives swing out of control when they get a little too close.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 3
Characters: 5
There are some instances in movies where the characters alone are enough to carry the movie (see Everybody Wants Some!!). Not so much here. Outside of the two main characters, the rest of the cast was pretty unlovable. Their lack of redeeming qualities made it hard for me to root for anything good to happen to any of them. Typically when the characters suck, the rest of the movie isn’t far behind. Unless of course it’s an action movie…
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
I have no idea what 1970’s Australia looks like but I feel like I was right in the heart of it here. The way this movie captures certain scenes is pure magic and, in some case, extremely original. One scene in particular features all the adults inside playing games and drinking while the kids are outside doing daredevil stunts for a makeshift film. It’s hilarious watching the adults argue while the kids are trying to put out a fire…a fire they purposefully set upon one of the kids. Extremely well done.
Conflict: 5
It’s not that there wasn’t conflict here. It’s just that I didn’t really care enough about it for it to be substantial. Again, conflict against characters you don’t care about is tough for me to enjoy. I was looking for more, something more meaningful.
Entertainment Value: 5
The fun factor of this movie is few and far between. It has its moments, but overall, it feels very average. Dead Horse: Drab characters really put a damper on this movie as a whole.
Memorability: 6
I can honestly say that there are a couple of unique scenes that I’ve never seen before in any other movie. I don’t want to ruin things by diving too much into the dynamics, but there are some flashes of greatness here that I really appreciated. As a whole, the movie was more forgettable than anything.
Pace: 6
Plot: 1
Resolution: 10
I have to say, despite its flaws, this movie has one of my favorite endings of film. Without spoiling anything, we’ll just say it definitely goes out with a bang. It’s a glimpse of what the movie could have been as a whole.
Overall: 61
Swinging Safari sadly strikes out for me. Despite an endearing relationship between the two young characters and a few beautiful shots and setpieces, the movie has glaring holes that can’t be plugged up. I will have to look for my gem elsewhere.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 3
Characters: 5
There are some instances in movies where the characters alone are enough to carry the movie (see Everybody Wants Some!!). Not so much here. Outside of the two main characters, the rest of the cast was pretty unlovable. Their lack of redeeming qualities made it hard for me to root for anything good to happen to any of them. Typically when the characters suck, the rest of the movie isn’t far behind. Unless of course it’s an action movie…
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
I have no idea what 1970’s Australia looks like but I feel like I was right in the heart of it here. The way this movie captures certain scenes is pure magic and, in some case, extremely original. One scene in particular features all the adults inside playing games and drinking while the kids are outside doing daredevil stunts for a makeshift film. It’s hilarious watching the adults argue while the kids are trying to put out a fire…a fire they purposefully set upon one of the kids. Extremely well done.
Conflict: 5
It’s not that there wasn’t conflict here. It’s just that I didn’t really care enough about it for it to be substantial. Again, conflict against characters you don’t care about is tough for me to enjoy. I was looking for more, something more meaningful.
Entertainment Value: 5
The fun factor of this movie is few and far between. It has its moments, but overall, it feels very average. Dead Horse: Drab characters really put a damper on this movie as a whole.
Memorability: 6
I can honestly say that there are a couple of unique scenes that I’ve never seen before in any other movie. I don’t want to ruin things by diving too much into the dynamics, but there are some flashes of greatness here that I really appreciated. As a whole, the movie was more forgettable than anything.
Pace: 6
Plot: 1
Resolution: 10
I have to say, despite its flaws, this movie has one of my favorite endings of film. Without spoiling anything, we’ll just say it definitely goes out with a bang. It’s a glimpse of what the movie could have been as a whole.
Overall: 61
Swinging Safari sadly strikes out for me. Despite an endearing relationship between the two young characters and a few beautiful shots and setpieces, the movie has glaring holes that can’t be plugged up. I will have to look for my gem elsewhere.