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Hidden Gypsy Magic (A Witch’s Journey #3)
Hidden Gypsy Magic (A Witch’s Journey #3)
Tena Stetler | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
According to Goodreads, Hidden Gypsy Magic is the third book in the Witch's Journey series and is a connection between the author's Lobster Cove series and this one. This made for some confusion as characters and events were mentioned that I had no prior knowledge of.

Brock and Gwen both have Hidden Gypsy Magic (hence the title) but this story takes you along as they find out just how that affects Brock. Gwen already knows about hers and uses it most days at the Sanctuary. Brock is in for some surprises when he takes Gwen to his family cabin and also when he buys a home in Salem.

This was an interesting story with a good twist regarding the Salem Witch Trials. I loved how the painting featured and changed in the story. This is a fast-paced story with a lot going on - from poachers to heiresses who want our main male - so you need to pay attention to exactly what is going on and when.

Steamy in some places but not so it overtakes the story, this was a read that I enjoyed and can recommend.

* 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!
  
Swipe Right for Murder
Swipe Right for Murder
Polly Harris | 2021 | Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
who could believe you could find love and murder on one app!!



After Georgie feels like everybody else around her is growing up and settling down. She finally feels she is able to start dating herself after her last rough relationship so she downloads a couple of dating apps and gets a couple of matches. At the same time around her university campus there are murders happening and both of the men she has been matched and on dates with could possibly be the murderer!
Ash has a connection to every single one of the victims and Nate has an unhealthy obsession with the details of every attack going.


Well i did not expect that! I normally have a good radar on who the culprits are but this really blind sighted me! Excellent writing it really did have me gripped throughout just when you think you've got it all covered something comes out of nowhere and surprises you. It is a seriously thrilling book with twists and turns round every corner. When georgie goes away with ash i was almost screaming at her dont be so stupid a cabin in the middle of nowhere is deffinatly a recipie for desaster. i never expected the drama that followed though.

a well written novel with drama, love and murder what more could you ask for! 4/5
  
I knew when I first “met” Grant I wanted to know his story. After reading A Tall Dark Cowboy Christmas it not only met my expectations, it exceeded them ten-fold. Grant Dodge touched my soul through the wonderful words of Maisey Yates, and had me feeling like I was along for the ride from his first words.

Grant Dodge was used to the pity head tilts, the supportive hand touches, the tsking and awwing whenever he was spoken to. He was Grant Dodge, widower. No longer just Grant or even just Grant Dodge because he lost his wife. He is old, cranky, tired and just wants to get on with his life, however that needs to happen. As it happens currently it is with a bottle of whatever alcohol he has on hand. He doesn’t like to be sober at bedtime and tonight was no exception. However the light coming from the small abandoned cabin abutting his property is. He has no idea what he’ll find but he knows his snarkyness will send them running.

McKenna Tate just needs a place to rest for a bit. Finding this abandoned cabin in the woods was a cherry on the crap sundae that has become her life. Her truck is toast, she has little to no money, clothes or food but she has made it to Gold Valley, which was her objective to begin with. The hunky cowboy that just interrupted her sleep was not on her to do list however.

Grant and McKenna are broken but together they start to heal each other. Each is looking to fulfill some part of their lives and not knowing how to truly trust someone else to walk the walk with them. Grant still lives with the guilt of losing his wife and how to move on while McKenna never had a “real life” and struggles with knowing her place in the world.

Grant has to delve deep inside to mourn his wife but to also let her go so he can move on. He lives daily with the reminders of his previous life, stuck in a sort of limbo both self-inflicted and by his surroundings. McKenna has a mission in mind to find her family, she has never been wanted by anyone so she doubts they’ll want her either. But if she doesn’t find out the answer she will drive herself crazy.

Such a wonderful story, diving deep into feelings we all have experienced at one point or another. Surprising for me was the fact that Grant was a virgin. Very unexpected but also makes so much sense when put in the bigger picture of his life from high school to the present. Just another wonderful way Ms Yates takes all aspects of someone’s life and incorporates those tiny details to weave an amazing story. 5 amazing stars for this incredible journey to the depths of Grant’s soul.
  
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th
Action/Adventure
Why?????
Friday The 13th: The Video Game- is based off of the movie franchise. Most to all people know that this game is awful and hard as hell and well that is true. This game is both. So lets talk more about the game..

The plot:

"The game manual contains the following synopsis...

 It's a pretty typical summer at Crystal Lake. There's a group of happy children staying in the Camp. You and your six Camp Counselor friends are watching over the kids while enjoying the lake and the wilderness. The days are bright and sunny.

The nights are cool and clear. And Jason is on a rampage. It's up to you to stop him, but it's not going to be easy. You must first fight your way through forests filled with man-eating wolves, caves covered with blood sucking bats and hordes of mindless zombies everywhere you turn. You must also help any friend who is in danger, or else you can just kiss them goodbye. And hiding in a cabin or staying adrift in a canoe won't keep you safe – Jason will find you anywhere. The only way to survive this summer is to challenge Jason face to face, and destroy him.".

Gameplay:

Players control one of six camp counselors (each with varying levels of speed, rowing and jumping ability) in a side-scrolling perspective. The counselors start with an arcing rock attack. The goal is to find and defeat Jason Voorhees three times. Along the paths, players will find cabins, a lake, caves and wooded areas with all but the cabins having enemies such as zombies, crows, and wolves attacking the player.

timed alarm appears at certain intervals, requiring players to find Jason before he kills one or more children or another counselor. Using the map, players must navigate their way to Jason's location or switch to the counselor being attacked and defeat him. If they do not make it there in time, Jason will kill the counselors or some of the children.

Upon nearing Jason's location, Jason may appear on the path or in the lake and attack the player. When inside a cabin Jason will attack the player in a way reminiscent of the video game Punch-Out!!

The objective of the game is to survive for three days and three nights while attempting to find and kill Jason. Players may battle Jason's mother who is in a hidden locked room in the cave. She is represented as a Medusa-like floating head that swoops down to attack the player. Navigating in the woods or cave can be confusing as they are set up to purposely disorient the player. They hide several locked rooms/cabins. If all counselors or children die, the game is over.

Time and time again, i play this game and overall i would rather watch the movies than play this game. The movies are 10x better than this game. Go watch the movies instead, you will have a better time.
  
40x40

Dean (6921 KP) Feb 26, 2020

Sounds like you need to play the next gen console version of Friday the 13th @Friday the 13th : The Game

40x40

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Feb 26, 2020

I have and i will do a review of it soon. Its much better than this trash.

The Stillwater Girls
The Stillwater Girls
Minka Kent | 2019
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A twisting and turning pair of storylines that you won't see coming.
Wren and Sage have spent their entire lives hidden away from the Evils of the world in
a one room off grid cabin with their younger sister Evie and their Mother, who protects and
provides for them. Then Evie got sick and Mother made the decision to take her and seek medical help.
That was months ago, Wren and Sage still wait for their return and supplies are running low, as is hope.
One day three knocks on the door changes everything as a stranger has come looking for Mother and he won't take
no for an answer. The girls are left to take their fates into their own hands and discover that everything
they thought they knew is wrong.

From the outside looking in, Nicolette has the perfect life. She is married to the love of her life, a successful photographer,
and they frequently travel the world together for his work. They have all the nice cars, the big fancy house. But something is missing, the
one thing Nicolette can't have - a child. And lately Brent seems to be pulling away, almost as if he's hiding something. Then she finds a photograph - and
that he's been taking money from her trust in secret. Determined to get to the bottom of what seems to be a spiraling situation, Nicolette starts digging
and finds more than she could have ever expected to find.
  
IT IS AS IF by Jake Troth
IT IS AS IF by Jake Troth
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Jake Troth is an LA-based multi-platinum singer-songwriter and producer from Davidson, North Carolina. Not too long ago, he released a music video for his “Alive & Well” single.

“‘Alive & Well’ was written over the course of 5 years. It was initiated at the lowest point of my life and then completed years later during the best moments of my life. I wrote the verses based on the feeling the film “Harold and Maude” gave me; Melodrama and Macabre mixed with a little tongue-in-cheek bravery.” – Jake Troth

‘Alive & Well’ arrives on the heels of Jake Troth’s debut single, entitled, “Open Door”.

The honest tune finds Troth struggling with his inner self as he transitions from his lowest points to some of his best moments.

‘Alive and Well’ will be featured on Troth’s upcoming debut album, entitled, “IT IS AS IF”.

“‘IT IS AS IF’ reveals a sweet and succinct new approach towards songcraft, anchored by remarkably refined melodies and deft lyrical observations.”

The 10-track project was written over the course of two solitary weeks in a Woodstock, New York cabin.

Apart from being a musical artist, Jake Troth has a flair for art. He hand-painted all the single artworks and the LP cover himself.

So far, he has collaborated with artists such as Lizzo, Kehlani, Sia, Big Boi, and many more. Also, his “Sunday Smile” single has amassed over 10M streams online.
  
PG
Pretty Girl-13
Liz Coley | 2013
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a> in September).


Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley was a book that I was dying to read. It was at the top of my TBR pile, so I was thrilled when I discovered that my local library had it. This turned out to be a fascinating read.

I'm not really a fan of the title. Yes, the main character is called Pretty Girl by her captor and at least one of her alters, but that's it. I, personally, think Gone Girl or some other title would've been better.

I do like the cover. I love how it shows Angie walking out of a cabin in the woods which ties in with the story. That cabin, as well as being real, is also symbolic.

I thought the author did an excellent job with making Angie's world come alive. Liz Coley wrote each alter well enough that they actually came across as being a different person with their own personality. The setting was fantastic too.

The pacing was fantastic! I pretty much breezed through this book in one day. It was held my attention the whole time, and I found it super interesting!

\I thought the plot of this book would mostly focus on Angie's kidnapping, but it focuses mainly on her Dissociative Identity Disorder. While we do learn about Angie's kidnapping and everything that happened, we learn it through each of her alters. The plot focuses on how Angie deals which each alter more than anything.

The characters are written very richly. Angie is a broken girl, and I ended up feeling like I wanted to protect her. There were some times when I felt really annoyed with her like when she wouldn't tell people certain key elements of what had happened to her. On one hand, I realize that she was kind of scared, but in one scene, she doesn't tell her mom something simply because she's angry at her. Now, all of this could probably be explained since she's been abused since she was 13, but it still just annoyed me. Overall, Angie is a great character. As I've said before, even her alters have personalities of her own, and the author does a great job at conveying that these alters are supposed to be their own person so to speak. Even the minor characters are done well such as Abraim. Abraim seemed like such a sweet guy and very accepting.

The dialogue was easy to understand although at some points, I felt as if Angie was older then 16. There is some swearing in this book if that's not your thing.

Overall, Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley is an enjoyable book. I found it fascinating to read about Dissociative Identity Disorder as well as trying to solve Angie's kidnapping.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ (due to language and themes) who are interested in mental health as well as mysteries.

I'd give Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley a 4.5 out of 5.
  
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead (1981)
1981 | Horror
The Book of the Dead
The evil dead- is a dark, horrorfying, hack and slash. Comedic, phenomal, excellent, twisted horror film. This is sam ramini debut of directing films. He went on to direct "the spider-man triolgy and drag me to hell".

The evil dead as has bruce campbell as ash williams. He is the best part of this movie and this franchise as a whole. In this film, Ash is portrayed as being cowardly and incapable of dealing with the horrors presented to him. Over the course of the film, Ash gradually overcomes his fears and manages to fight off his possessed friends. Also, he is shown to take his predicament very seriously in the first film, rather than in a comedic manner, as in the subsequent films.

The plot: Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a cabin for a fun night away. There they find an old book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead when it's read aloud. The friends inadvertently release a flood of evil and must fight for their lives or become one of the evil dead. Ash watches his friends become possessed, and must make a difficult decision before daybreak to save his own life in this, the first of Sam Raimi's trilogy.

The evil dead- is one of the best horror movies of all time. I would highly reccordmend it if you havent seen it. And also watch the other ones as well.
  
Freaky (2021)
Freaky (2021)
2021 | Comedy, Horror
Freaky is an ode to 80's slashers by way of 'Freaky Friday', hence the title.


Blissfield has an urban ledged, the Blissfield Butcher, who strikes every few years at the school prom. Due to an antient Aztec knife, the Butcher swaps bodies with Millie, a high school girl who only has 24 hours to switch back.

Like I said, Freaky pay homage to the 80's, the obvious is the 'body swap' aspect and the title, both of which are references to 'Freaky Friday'.
The references don't stop there though, the film references most of the popular slashers, mostly through the weapons the killer uses, there's everything from an ice hook to a chain saw, there is even a quick nod to the Cenobites.

The film starts by following a lot of the slasher tropes, a small party and a killer. The film changes pace when Millie and the Butcher swap bodies and, until the end the kill count is relatively low. The slasher references run all through the film in a similar stile to 'Scream' and 'A Cabin in the Wood' even becoming slightly self aware with lines like 'Your Black! I'm Gay! We are so dead'. This doesn't/. take away from the film though.

Like i said, most of the kills are at the start and end of the film with most of the action being Millie trying to avoid being arrested whilst finding a way back to her own body but it is a good film and well worth a watch if you don't need your slashers to serious.
  
The Travelers
The Travelers
Chris Pavone | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
147 of 250
Book
The Travelers
By Chris Pavone

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

It’s 3:00am. Do you know where your husband is?
 
Meet Will Rhodes: travel writer, recently married, barely solvent, his idealism rapidly giving way to disillusionment and the worry that he’s living the wrong life. Then one night, on assignment for the award-winning Travelers magazine in the wine region of Argentina, a beautiful woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Soon Will’s bad choices—and dark secrets—take him across Europe, from a chateau in Bordeaux to a midnight raid on a Paris mansion, from a dive bar in Dublin to a mega-yacht in the Mediterranean and an isolated cabin perched on the rugged cliffs of Iceland. As he’s drawn further into a tangled web of international intrigue, it becomes clear that nothing about Will Rhodes was ever ordinary, that the network of deception ensnaring him is part of an immense and deadly conspiracy with terrifying global implications—and that the people closest to him may pose the greatest threat of all.
 
It’s 3:00am. Your husband has just become a spy.


I can appreciate where and what the author was trying to do but this just didn’t grab me at all! It was a hard slog through. Two stars may seem a bit mean and I would encourage people to at least give it a go especially if you enjoy spy novels.