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A Week to Be Wild
A Week to Be Wild
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Smart and intelligent books for smart and intelligent people. I would say women, by why should we have all the fun?

^^ A Week to be Wild by JC Harroway is the first in a daring new, sexy series — aptly named DARE — by Mills and Boon, and boy have they upped their sizzle with this range, if this book is anything to go by!

^^ This bold story features an intelligent American business woman, Libby Noble, and her adventure with British billionaire businessman Alex Lancaster. When I say adventure, I mean that on more levels than one. He wants to invest in services as a marketer for Able-Active, a new charity, which is very meaningful to him. With a week to be wild, he’d agreed to play a sensual game by her rules, and as part of that agreement, she’ll have to agree to try out his charity’s programme, forcing her to step outside her comfort zone with some daredevil pursuits of his own. All for a good cause, of course! If you’re going to work for any company, it’s certainly wise to get stuck right in and get down and dirty, as they say. Well, I hope they do!

^^ The only trouble is, will she be able to focus with Alex around? After all, he’s a movie star, bad-boy, gentleman rogue, geeky surfer dude, with brains and business acumen, (and quite a mouthful!) all rolled into one mouth-watering package. He’s also worth quite a bit, too. Always a bonus.

^^ I love the way both Libby and Alex are vying for alpha status, yet she comes out on top (pun intended) and manages to control an alpha male who is usually used to getting his own way. Alex thinks she’s a stubborn, independent women, and Libby is keen to show she’s no pushover, whilst forcing his natural alpha tendencies into submission. It’s a battle of wills, I can tell you!

^^ In addition to the actual storyline I must also comment on the style of this new range and branding. It. Is. Gorgeous! They’re hot, without being in your face pornographic. Very classy. The paperbacks are just the right size to carry around in a handbag for when you’re on the go.

^^ In fact, their whole site has had a stunning makeover, and they’ve launched a definitive guide to the Rules of Romance. Check it out!

Overall: I’m really pleased to be part of Mills and Boon’s Dare launch, and excited to read more stories from this range. If I could compare this style to other books I’ve read like this, I’d say it’s up there with the Black Lace titles. Happy to recommend JC Harroway’s book, A Week to be Wild, because it’s a well-written story, highly engaging and brimming with passion. As is, I suspect, the rest of this range is going to be… Stay seated, and switch on that electric fan. It doesn’t matter what the weather’s like out there, it’s going to get hot in here!
  
Creepshow (1982)
Creepshow (1982)
1982 | Horror
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
Creepshow- is a very great movie, with its five short stories that are really horrorfyed and terrorfyed. Each one of them are scary.

The Plot: A compendium of five short but terrifying tales contained within a single full-length feature, this film conjures scares from traditional bogeymen and portents of doom. In one story, a monster escapes from its holding cell. Another focuses on a husband (Leslie Nielsen) with a creative way of getting back at his cheating wife. Other stories concern a rural man (Stephen King) and a visitor from outer space, and a homeowner (E.G. Marshall) with huge bug problems and a boozing corpse.

The film consists of five short stories: "Father's Day", "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", "Something to Tide You Over", "The Crate" and "They're Creeping Up on You!" Two of these stories were adapted from King's short stories, with the film bookended by prologue and epilogue scenes featuring a young boy named Billy (played by King's son, Joe), who is punished by his father for reading horror comics.

The film was adapted into an actual comic book of the same name soon after the film's release, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, (of Heavy Metal and Warren magazines fame), an artist fittingly influenced by the 1950s E.C. Comics.

It is a very great movie and i would highly reccordmend it.
  
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Andy K (10827 KP) Sep 27, 2019

One of my favorite 80s cheesy horror flicks!

Morbius (2022)
Morbius (2022)
2022 | Action, Sci-Fi
The latest Marvel offering is Morbius. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) grew up in Greece under the care of Dr.Emil Nikols (Jared Harris). In this universe, Emil is Michael’s Mentor. This story takes
bits from the comic book but it clearly isn’t canon. It is an adequate anti-hero origin story for Phase 4 which gives us the backstory of Morbius’ creation.

Morbius has a rare blood disease. As a child, he made his best friend Milo/Lucien (Matt Smith), a promise to find the cure for their shared illness. Michael, in his quest for the cure, became the youngest scientist to win the Nobel Prize from his development of artificial blood.

He works with fellow scientist Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona) who becomes his love interest.

Morbius has been working on vampire bats and the abilities within their blood. Once the formula has stabilized, he begins human trials on himself. In doing so, the serum that he has developed transforms him into a vampire that needs human blood to sustain his existence.

The film seems to have dropped the trail to lead the audience to logical conclusions. There are questions that need to be answered which would help flesh out the actions of the characters.

Why the serum, if the reason is to create a cure, why did the bat and human combination mutate instead of the blood changing?

There are points throughout the film that feel like critical explanatory lines were edited out.

Some scenes had witty banter between Michael and Milo. It would have been good to see Morbius enjoy his transformation from his weak, ill state to the Vampire.
The film was good. It definitely could have been better with more information. I wanted to understand motivation by the actors indicating motive or have red herrings thrown through the film.

The best parts for me were the moments where he stumbled upon his new abilities. He observes them like the scientist he is and takes it as data, in order to understand the changes.

The CGI was muddy, in trying to show movement as quick. What it looked like was trying to
convey speed, but in doing so, ended up having what showed up as squiggly lines instead.

I liked it, but didn’t love it mainly for what it seemed to lack, continuity. I think for an origin film, the character needs to be brought out as clean as possible in order to develop solid character traits.

If you go see the movie, there are two end credit scenes. There are a couple situations that you go see the movie, there are two end credit scenes. There are a couple situations that lead into the Multiverse of Magic. I am definitely looking forward to that film.

 

3 stars out of 5
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated June: A Novel in Books

Feb 13, 2018  
JA
June: A Novel
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cassie is twenty-five and living in the dilapidated mansion, Two Oaks, she inherited from her grandmother, June. The house is literally falling down around her: also a pretty good metaphor for Cassie's life. She's fled her life as an artist in New York and come to St. Jude, Ohio, to grieve for her grandmother and lick her wounds. That basically amounts to hiding in the house, ignoring the phone, and letting the mail (and bills) pile up around her. But even she can't ignore the constant ringing of the doorbell. With it comes some pretty shocking news: Cassie has been named sole heir to the fortune of the legendary movie star, Jack Montgomery. Considering Cassie only barely knew of Jack's name, this comes as quite a surprise. Why did this famous actor leave her his fortune? Did Jack know Cassie's grandmother, June? Suddenly Jack's two daughters show up, wanting answers as well, and Cassie's life will never be the same.

There are really no words for this book. It's a beautiful and magical adventure. It takes what should be a fairly simple event - figuring out whether Cassie is related to Jack - and turns it into a lovely, suspenseful read. I simply couldn't put this book down. The characters are so real, so fully actualized that they jump off the page. Cassie, June, June's childhood friend Lindie, Jack, the people of St. Jude - they are all there, truly vivid in your mind's eye. The book really does simply set out to determine if and how Cassie and Jack are tied together, but it's this amazing and compelling read.

You're pulled into the spellbinding world of then versus now... the story twists between present day, told from Cassie's point of view and the 1950s, which is really accurately portrayed. I'm usually a contemporary fiction reader all the way, but this period portrayal is so well-done, and I loved it. The character of Lindie, especially, makes your heart ache. As the book flips between time and the story unfolds, you become completely enmeshed in the characters' world; Beverly Whittemore does such a good job of creating them that you feel with them and really become part of their lives.

I am trying to think of any flaws, but I can't. I guessed at a few of the plot twists, but only narrowly before they happened, and it certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story whatsoever. Cassie can be a frustrating character at times (read your mail, darn-it), but it's only because she's so well-created. Overall, this is really a beautiful, suspenseful book that brings you into its world. I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from Librarything (thank you!); it is available everywhere on 5/31.
  
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

"Never settle for a fairytale."

During my Psychology classes in college, we discussed how various characters have psychological issues: popular cartoon characters, the cast of "Winnie the Pooh," and the vast majority of the Disney Princesses. Belle is no exception, and this book explores that idea beautifully, no pun intended.

Jolee answers a Craigslist ad which sounds too good to be true, and she finds herself in the mountains of Aspen, tutoring a shut-in with some very serious issues of his own. As time goes by, she learns for and more about this man, and most of it is not good. However, she sticks by him, hoping to "fix" him with her love.

Sound like a recipe for disaster?

I used to teach a rehabilitation class for men convicted of domestic violence, and this book definitely delves into that dynamic head-first. It's a real eye-opener into the lives of those involved in those situations, from both sides of the coin as well as an outsider's perspective. Comparing it to the story of "Beauty and the Beast" really adds a whole new layer to it, as most of us either grew up with that story/movie or fell in love with it because of our kids/grandkids/etc. It's a crazy thought, but the more you think about it, the more you realize Belle suffered from Stockholm syndrome as well as battered-woman syndrome, and that HEA Disney ending is not the one generally associated with those situations.

Bravo to the author for writing this cross-examination of a beloved children's story and shedding some light on this serious issue while also maintaining a gripping novel.

5 stars
  
SW
Snow White & the Huntsman
Lily Blake | 2012
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You know what I love? Creatively re-told fairy-tales. You know what I hate? Terribly re-told fairy-tales made into crappy movies and then made into a book, written with poor prose. That pretty much summarizes how I feel about this (audio)book.

Let's start with the good:

1. The narrator was excellent. She also read for Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Why We Broke Up, the Iron King, and many other audiobooks. She made even the dullest most pointless sentences, pieces of dialogue, and descriptions sound interesting, and managed to hold my attention most of they way through the audiobook (until I stopped for dinner, and then realized I really didn't want to start listening again.)

2. It was fast-paced. The plot never slowed... but there were parts where the unneeded descriptions seemed to slow down and break the tension, or unnecessary interior monologue broke the mood.

3. The bad guys were very bad, and the good guys were very good. It made it a classic hero-vilan fairy-tale.

Now for the not-so-good:

1. Poor writing. It wasn't Stephenie-Meyer Terrible, but every sentence started with "he..." "she..." "He said," "She felt..." and it felt repetitive and boring. There was no sentence structure besides basic subject-verb-direct object. Also, the adjectives, adverbs, and overall descriptions and vocabulary was boring, expected, and unfeeling.

2. Who names a princess "Snow White?" Really? I can see naming her "Snow" or something, but if you're going to re-tell a fairy-tale, at least give your heroine a name that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. I realize that this is a complaint about the movie screenplay, not the book adaption... but still. It felt awkward to have all these names like William, Eric, Gus, Anna, Lilly, and... Snow White.

3. The bad guys were soul-less, and the good guys were perfect. Even bad characters have some redeeming value as to why you kind of wish they didn't have to die, but they're bad so you have to kill them. The bad guys in this story were just so bad, there was no way you could not hate them. The good guys were flawless: children obeyed their parents, men saved their women, women sacrificed for their families, and Snow White was a sweet innocent little angel. I'm sorry, but even good guys have a bad side. And if you're perfect, I couldn't care less what happens to you, because I can't relate to you.

So that is, essentially, why I stopped listening to the audiobook halfway through.