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Hard to Get: A Haven#s Cove Novel #2
Hard to Get: A Haven#s Cove Novel #2
Jaclyn Quinn | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
stunning follow up to Hard to let Go.
I was gifted my copy of this book, direct from the author. That I write a review was not required.

We met Gabe and Nate in book one, Hard to Let Go. You don't NEED to have read that before you read this one, but it will give you a better picture of Haven's Cove and the people in it, and why Gabe is in town. But you SHOULD read it, not least because that is a stunning 5 star debut read, but also because I said you SHOULD!

And this is another STUNNING follow up to that novel!

Gabe is Brody's best friend; brother in all ways but blood. Nate is hired by Brody. When Nate and Gabe meet, Gabe is immediately pulled to Nate. But Nate pushes Gabe away, and keeps pushing but Gabe keeps trying. Until they each see a different side to the other, and think that they can be friends, at least.

While not quite as emotionally devastating to me personally as book one, I absolutely loved this follow up!

Both men have been hurt before, badly and they deal with that in their own way. I'm not saying who does what but know that neither way is right or wrong, but it's right for that person to deal with their past in that way.

When the full extent of Gabe's hurt becomes clear, I cried for him, I really did. I loved that Nate's family showed himhow it should be. Nate's hurt is no less painful, just different.

I loved that it took a single line from a 5 year old to make Gabe see what and WHO he really wants.

"Because that's what daddies do"

I take it back! This book WAS emotionally devastating! It was just in a very VERY different way to book one.

I loved that we got some Brody and Owen and Jonah too. His story is laid out here and I can't wait to read that one. I have a feeling Jonah isn't as happy as he makes out and Cameron?? Well that boy is in a world of hurt already.

I always worry, you know, after reading such a stunning debut novel, that the next book might not be up to par with that book. But I need not have worried here.

5 stunning follow up stars!

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Clash of the Titans (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
3
6.3 (17 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The creators of this remake of Clash of the Titans changed quite a few things from the original 1981 film. They perfected the special effects, lost all the campiness, but still failed to make an engaging film. Director Louis Leterrier, (Incredible Hulk, Danny the Dog) needs to find a way to redeem himself after this emotionless film.

The script is obviously the problem here, because most of the actors themselves have shown their mastery of the art in recent movies. Sam Worthington (Avatar), Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes are all actors we know and love and they have shown us their capabilities in commanding performances in other films. Unfortunately, Clash of the Titans is likely something they will want to leave off their resumes.

The movie tried to have us empathize with Perseus (Worthington) and the humans in their battle against the Gods, but try as they might, little was felt for either side’s petty grievances. The film began by attempting to explain away a conflict between men and the Gods, but without any degree of detail behind this central plot-line, there was no real tension between the two sides. The characters themselves were poorly established in the beginning of the film. There is no relating to them without understanding their motives in the first place.

The movie stumbled along from subplot to subplot, without giving adequate reasons to the audience why the characters were doing what they did. It is likely obvious from the trailer that Perseus ends up fighting the Kraken, but there wasn’t any reason for him to do so. The Kraken would destroy a city, yes, but he was a prisoner of that city. What reason would he have to fight for a city that was indirectly responsible for destroying everything he loved? Does anyone else see a problem with this?

The special effects were quite stunning in 3D, but some scenes were simply edited with too many abrupt cuts and had too many awkward camera angles, making it difficult to follow the action. Unless you’re taking 3D to “James Cameron” levels of immersion, you’re probably better off getting it right in 2D. Without a compelling story, 3D is just a gimmick.

On a more positive note, the movie clocked in under two hours.
  
Austin (Learning to Love #4) by Con Riley
Austin (Learning to Love #4) by Con Riley
Con Riley | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
emotional, but beautifully written!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 4 in the Learning To Love series but can be read as a stand-alone. I do, however, recommend all three books before this: Charles, Sol and Luke, but especially Luke. Austin pops up a lot in that book and I think you need to see that side of him, before you get to this side, you know?

And two very different sides to Austin they are, too! But once you get into his mind, and you see why he is like that, you can understand. Because Austin is in a lot of pain about something, and that something takes time to come out, the whole story isn't made clear til right near, so you are left putting a picture together of the clues, and the one I made was so very wrong.

But Dom, too, is in some pain, just a very different sort. And Austin helps him in ways he never knew he needed. Not just with Maisie, his daughter, but with his heart too.

I loved Dom, and Austin, both together and apart. Austin does some serious soul searching here and he makes amends with some people (not saying who though!) He has his "light bulb" moment right near the end, though, and really does his best to return home, or rather, home comes to him.

It's heavy on the emotions, this one, but light on the smexy times, and I loved that.

Again, only Austin has a say. I would have, ordinarily, said I needed to hear from Dom, but Dom has a lot to say, without words, and I heard him just fine. That's not to say I didn't WANT to hear from Dom, because I'm greedy, just that I felt I didn't NEED to hear from him, you know?

We caught up with Charles and Luke and Sol, and also with Sol's nephew Cameron. I think Cameron's part here was very much needed for both him and Austin, given their history. And the gift giving thing was awesome!

But, as much as I loved Austin and Dom, I have to say I think little Maisie stole the show here! She loved Austin Russell right from the start, it took her daddy time to catch her up!

Emotional, but wonderfully written and told.

5 stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
It might sound like we’re damning Terminator: Dark Fate with faint praise by declaring it the best Terminator sequel since T2, however that seems to be the way many Hollywood franchises are going nowadays.

After all, last year’s Halloween sequel was declared the best one yet simply because it retconned the events of its mostly dreadful predecessors and blasted them out of existence. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was declared (by us anyway) the very best sequel the franchise has ever gotten, but The Lost World and Jurassic Park III were hardly critical darlings.

The similarities between the Terminator and Jurassic franchises don’t end there though. You see, in an effort to reboot the flagging sci-fi series, Deadpool director Tim Miller has been brought in with the legend that is James Cameron returning to the franchise in a producing role, similar to how Steven Spielberg still produces the Jurassic movies to this day.

Yes, it appears that ignoring poor sequels allows film-makers to go back to the good old days, rather than trying to shoehorn poor sequel after poor sequel until audiences stop turning up at the cinema. That’s what has happened with the Terminator franchise. Following James Cameron’s incredible first two films, the sequels that followed ranged from dreadful to downright shambolic. But is Dark Fate actually good? Or just better than what came before it?

Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton returning to the role that defined her career) and a hybrid cyborg human, Grace (Mackenzie Davis) must protect a young girl (Natalia Reyes) from a newly modified liquid Terminator from the future.

Seeing Linda Hamilton return to such an iconic role after almost 30 years is a real highlight over the course of the film and she slots back into Sarah Connor’s shoes particularly well. She gets a few clunky one-liners but manages to stop them from sounding too ridiculous.

Elsewhere, Mackenzie Davis is absolutely cracking as Grace, a human-cyborg sent from the future. She’s full of heart and the script allows her to develop more of a personality than we’re used to from this franchise. Grace is a nicely fleshed out character with enough backstory to allow the audience to care for wellbeing.

Of course, Terminator fans are here to see Arnie and although his screen time is more limited than we’d like, it’s nice to see both him and Hamilton squaring up against each other again. We won’t spoil the plot devices used to bring about his return to the series, but they’re very well integrated and don’t feel as clunky as you might expect.

Set piece after set piece after set piece is thrown at the audience… but each one is so inventive that the probability of you getting bored is very slim indeed
Unfortunately, Natalia Reyes’ Dani is a little more wooden compared to her on-screen co-stars. There’s nothing particularly wrong with her character, but she’s merely there as a plot device and doesn’t really get to do much. It’s no easy feat to go up against Sarah Connor and the T-800 and while she tries her best, she falls a little short.

When it comes to action, Dark Fate pulls no punches. Set piece after set piece after set piece is thrown at the audience in an almost Fast & Furious-like way, but each one is so inventive that the probability of you getting bored is very slim indeed. The film starts with a very nicely choreographed chase on a freeway, culminating in a tense showdown at a power plant.

Dotted in between these rollercoaster moments however are some touching moments and well-timed comedy. While not on a level with Miller’s Deadpool, there are a couple of instances that raised a chuckle from the audience, though most of them involved Arnold Schwarzenegger and his deadpan line delivery.

Terminator: Dark Fate - Official Trailer (2019) - Paramount Pictures - YouTube
The CGI is mostly successful, though the lack of practical effects like those we saw in the film’s predecessors does lend an unnaturally glossy and artificial look to not only the Terminators themselves, but some of the landscapes. This is a bit of a shame as CGI body doubles are all too evident from time-to-time, but never does it pull you out of the film completely.

Overall, Terminator: Dark Fate is indeed the best sequel since T2. This is a film that successfully reboots a franchise that had been flagging for decades and is one of the year’s best action flicks. Not only does it bring back two of cinema’s most iconic characters, it places them in a film which is nicely shot, reasonably well-written and absolutely thrilling from start to finish. Now, if only the same winning formula could be applied to the Alien series, James Cameron may able to sleep soundly at night.
  
I picked this book up from the library. I read the back on the cover and one of the story caught my attention or interest. So I picked it up and checked it out to read. It one I read from start to finish. It was hard to put down. I love Christmas stories anytime of year but the season is one of my favorites. In this case, these four novellas tell the story of one December in Lancaster County. These four some way connect to each other but not in a series kind of way.

In A Miracle For Miriam, you learn about the deep hurt that causes Miriam to disappear into herself. Seth caused the hurt when they were both fourteen years old. Most of us remember our hurts and some of us have allowed those hurts to influence us as adults. It’s a beautiful love story in which other characters from the other three novellas are introduced.

A Choice to Forgive opens with Lydia answering a knock at her door and discovering her first love, Daniel Smucker, standing confidently on her doorstep. He promised to marry her when they were young and mysteriously disappeared on Christmas. Lydia marries his brother, Elam, who happens to comfort her during her difficult heart break. She becomes a widow when he dies of a heart attack. Those feelings of love for Daniel rise again and she struggles to forgive him for running away. He tries to explain the difficult and complicated situation that sent him away, and the secret that he and his brother kept from her causes an enormous emotional struggle.

One Child by Barbara Cameron addresses Sarah and David’s struggle over their miscarriage. Sarah prays to Derr Herr for a child. It’s the only gift she wants on Christmas. Mysterious visitors bring unexpected joy during a particularly bad blizzard. It’s a story of healing, love, and friendship.

Christmas Cradles tells the story of Anna Stolis and Asa Mast. Anna has never been married. She has become a midwife. Asa Mast also never married. A tragedy occurred during his rumschpringe years that brought him to this point. His father is very ill, refusing to go to the hospital on Christmas. Anna has three deliveries during the night. Normally, his father, Samuel, accompanies Anna’s Aunt Ruth (also a midwife), but with Aunt Ruth taking the evening off and Samuel sick, Asa joins Anna in her delivery runs. It is a love story of two insecure people who never thought they could fall in love.
  
Pitching Tents (2017)
Pitching Tents (2017)
2017 |
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you have ever taken the time to listen to our Podcast you will have figured out that I am a big fan of Kevin Smith, John Hughes, Cameron Crowe dialogue heavy story driven movies. Throw one of those coming of age end of summer type movies and ill eat them up like a bowl of Shreddies (Other cereals are available I just happen to be eating a bowl as I write this).

Pitching Tents is exactly this type of movie. Its 1984 its the end of the school year and Danny (Micheal Grant) has very little clue what he is going to do with his life past High School, before he has to really worry about any of that he is having one last weekend at Trout Camp with his buddies. However before his weekend can really begin he is cornered by over zealous guidance counselor Mr. Mulligan (Jim Norton) who has pretty much guaranteed Danny a place at a good college. Obviously though things are never that simple because Danny’s dad (Eric Allan Kramer) has gone to the liberty of securing him a job at the local factory.

 

Torn between his passion for Art and his desire to please his father, Danny has a tough life choice ahead of him. Of course that can wait because a weekend of smoking weed, contemplating life, trying to get laid lies ahead of Danny and his closest friends. You know standard Dazed and Confused territory.

You could argue that there is not really anything original here and you would right, we have seen these movies before and often done better. However I personally felt the Tug of War between Danny, his father and the Counselor is an interesting spin of the teen coming of age drama. Add to this the supporting cast of friends all hugely believable and relate-able with good turns from Disney alumni BooBoo Stewart (Descendants) as Todd and everyone’s favorite child star Jonathan Lipnicki (who is all growed up nowadays) as Scott. Then there is the final third of the movie in which Danny is to make his choice and the movie shows a level of maturity rarely seen in this type of Flick. Props to director Jacob Cooney on this count.

This is a recommend if these movies take your fancy, I know they are not for everyone but personally it ticked a lot of my boxes, and its always good to see what Lipnicki is doing these days. Oh then theres the soundtrack, typical 80s movie soundtrack, but hey who doesnt love that.