Search

Search only in certain items:

S(
Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
8th - yes, 8th! - entry in [autho: Kevin Hearne]'s 'Iron Druid' series, this actually picks up a short while after the novella 'A Prelude to War' (in the compilation [b: Three Slices|28506035|Swallow (Three Slices)|Chuck Wendig|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|48659925], rather than straight after [b: Shattered|32438|Shattered|K.R. Dwyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412818666s/32438.jpg|3047286].

And yes, I didn't know that until I read the prelude/authors note, which resulted in me putting this one on hold until I read that particular entry.

When the series started, Atticus was on his own, hiding out in Arizona, until he makes the fateful decision to stand up to rather than run from the Celtic God who believes that Atticus has stolen a magical sword from him.

Since then, events have snowballed out of control, with Atticus now joined by his apprentice Granuaille as well as his own Arch-Druid, who was frozen on a time-island for millenia. This, of necessity, means that the story is no longer told from one point of view: rather, we now have three seperate plot threads (usually told chapter about) that combine into one at the very end of this, when Atticus and co. finally coming face-to-fang with the vampire Theophilus, who was responsible for inciting the Romans to virtually wipe out the Druids in the first place, and who now wants to finish the job.

As always, comiv relief is provided in the form of Atticus faithful hound Oberon, with Granuaille's wolf-hound Orlaith providing the same in her sections of the story while Owen struggles to get to grips with modern living in his.
  
Cold Skin (2017)
Cold Skin (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
9
7.0 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Movie Monster Fun
421. Cold Skin. A pretty kick ass creature feature. Strange and bizarre, I loved it. Welcome to a tiny island located in the Antarctic Circle, and today arrives the new Weather Observer, I guess it's exactly as it sounds. He's supposed to be replacing the old Weather Observer, but he's nowhere to be found, so he heads on over to the light house to meet the islands only other inhabitant, Gruner, the light house keeper, he's like 'he went out one night, never saw him again'. No help there, so Friend heads to his new place, oh yea that's how Gruner refers to the Weather Observer. His sets up his cottage to his liking, and then night comes, and with it comes a scratching at the door, a banging at the window, someones on the roof, and a webbed hand reaching under the door! Friend dives into a cellar protecting himself for the night. Once daylight hits, Friend heads over to Gruner's and he fills him in, yea that happens most nights, and he seems to be ok with it, after all he is played by The Punisher, Ray Stevenson! The two come to work together in a very uneasy alliance, after all it turns out Gruner has a roommate, one of the local inhabitants, only this one is female, and they're close... Friend comes to the conclusion of, maybe the creatures are coming for her, Gruner is like, there's the door. So each night, creatures from the deep come and attack the lighthouse for... reasons? Probably not a movie for everyone, however, if you like them on the oddball side check it out!! Filmbufftim on FB.
  
https://travelingwife4life.wordpress.com/2020/08/14/line-by-line-bethany-house

Line by Line was a sweet story with a compelling plotline. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read from and Jennifer Delamere certainly emphasized why! This is the first book in her new series Love along the Wires which if I am right, she does introduce some of the characters who will have their books coming out next.

I loved how Alice McNeil knew what she wanted in life. She is independent, competent, and a hard worker who is great at her job, that of a telegrapher; a job that sounds like so much fun. I thought Douglas Shaw was a great balance for her, and I loved the tensions between them. It was a very interesting story to watch unfold.

The setting of this story was around the turn of the century 1880s and it was right when women started trying to have more of a voice in things, and branch out into industries that they previously had not been able to be in. I thought Jennifer Delamere did a great job bringing to light different aspects of the time and telling them in a no-nonsense way, just making them flow seamlessly with the story. I enjoyed this story and I am excited to pass it to someone else who will enjoy it as much as I did.

I give this story 5 out of 5 stars for the great characters, the fun & informative plot, and the theme of being open to what God wants you to do.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own. </i>
  
Kings Falling (The Book of the Wars, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the second book in Ronie Kendig's The Book of the War's series, I read and reviewed Storm Rising! when it released last year, and boy was it captivating. I think that it is important to read the books in order as Ronie Kendig builds the characters in the first book and you get to know them and their situations. You may be slightly confused if you read them out of order.

The characters in Kings Falling build upon what was established in Storm Rising. I loved getting to know the characters better and how the different subplots are working together. That is one reason I love reading Ronie Kendig's books, they always have a great depth of character. Aside from the main characters, the secondary characters caught my interest in this book, and I am not sure how we will get their full stories before the series ends (Uhm, Hint for more books about them?). I loved all the character's playful banter, the dangerous situations, and the real-life problems that they faced together as a team.

The storyline is very intriguing and keeps me guessing, especially how this book ended. I am very much anticipating the release of Soul Raging coming out in November. The storyline reminds me of stories along the lines of Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia albeit with more fast-paced adrenaline run than either of those stories.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the second book being just as good (if not better than) the first, for the great characters, and for keeping me up till midnight reading to see the ending only to get the shock of a lifetime. I highly recommend this book!

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
1936 | Classics, Comedy, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is between Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Hmm, I’m going to go with Mr. Deeds. Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur. It’s just an amazing film. It’s very funny. Longfellow Deeds is the main character, Gary Cooper plays him and he’s so appealing. I think it’s the definition of appeal. So Longfellow Deeds is this guy who lives in this tiny town, he’s makes a living writing greeting cards. Just a sweet guy. There’s a distant relative who’s this gigantic millionaire. Has a huge fortune. So this industrialist dies in New York City and they trace [him] down, he’s the only heir to this huge fortune. So they bring him to New York and now he runs this company. [But] this really ace reporter for the local paper wants to get the dirt on him, and [she’s played by] Jean Arthur. So she waits for him to come out and she acts like she’s starving, like she’s a homeless woman during the Depression. So he picks her up and feeds her some food and they start doing things together. And he absolutely falls in love with her. But, so, there’s all this dirt that’s coming out in the newspapers and they don’t know how it’s happening. But the scene…it starts very funny, but, again, it’s that heart, it’s balancing humor and heart that Frank Capra did so well, the scene in which he finds out the woman he’s fallen in love with is actually the one who’s doing all the dirt is one of the most emotional scenes in the film. And it’s so underplayed. So beautifully underplayed. He gets behind this column but you know he’s crying. And he can’t bear anyone to see him. It’s so incredibly moving and touching."

Source
  
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
1984 | Comedy

"And then, my fourth one is a comedy, and I was torn between Some Like It Hot, which I love, but my vote went to Spinal Tap, which I thought was more contemporary. It made me feel such an old man, but… One of the things about Spinal Tap — I was doing a documentary [The Long Way Home] about Russian rock and roll in, I don’t know, the late ’80s or something like that, and it was about a Russian band coming — it was around Glasnost when they came across to America to make the record, and it was about Glasnost, and the co-production, as it were, saw the closing of the gap between East and West, as it were. That’s what it set out to be, but it turned out to be a disaster. Not the film, but the whole object of the enterprise, because it split the band up, and the Russian band never made another record. They were completely disoriented by being in the West and all that. So it was one of those documentaries where what you set out to do, you don’t do, and you do something else, which is usually better than what you were going to do. The point of the story is that I showed them Spinal Tap. They fell about, and they couldn’t speak a word of English, but they absolutely got it. It was just, again, the power of the humor and the power of the images, and all this kind of stuff. I mean, we were in common ground — they never understood a word of it, but they were just laughing as much I would laugh every time I saw it. That was a kind of interesting experience for me, to see how universal films can be."

Source
  
Bam Bam it&#039;s Murder by Chaka Demus
Bam Bam it's Murder by Chaka Demus
1992 | Reggae
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I grew up with a lot of my dad's reggae records. I used to always buy the compilations, the Reggae Hits volumes, Ragga Ragga Ragga! We always listened to music in the car and “Murder She Wrote” really captured everything that was great about ‘90s dancehall music. The melodies were right, the emceeing was just the right tone, and the beat itself was of an era of dancehall that I loved so much, from listening to sound systems like Kilimanjaro and Addis. “What I've really enjoyed, having been in this for a minute now, is to see how styles and trends and music are cyclical. I used to think all that was BS; “Oh yeah, don't worry, this is gonna come back round”, but when I start to think, I guess it was around 2015 that there was this new sound everyone was talking about called 'Afrobeats'. I was like “Let's check this out” and to me it's ‘90s dancehall with a twist. You know what I mean? And now we've got Diadora, Kappa, Fila, all these brands that kind of had a moment, and all of a sudden it's retro, it's vintage. It's like “Wow, this is happening in front of my face.” “So to have that wisdom of what those songs were about is exciting for me. I can go in the studio and I can draw samples from a ‘90s dancehall tune, that, if you didn't grow up during that time might be lost in the vaults, because you wouldn't even know about Jigsy King, Sanchez, Beres Hammond and old school dub reggae. “Now I can pull out my tracksuit and people are like 'Mate, where'd you get that?' and I'm like '1990', this is real vintage coming out my mum's cupboard."

Source
  
This starts with Kira trying to get to one of her enemies destroyed ships so she can salvage parts and other things from it, making her way through a field of broken ship parts to get there. She finally makes it on board and salvages several parts but not without incident, heading back to her ship to find out something is now broken and they need to head to a station to buy the part. While there she comes to the rescue of some children and draws the attention of the Tuann, a race of beings who claim she is one of them. She is coerced into going with them to one of their planets by the leader of the group, Graydon, and lots of things come to light - including an intense attraction.

I actually got quite into this, more than i expected to considering sci-fi is not really my type of thing. Loads of stuff kept happening and kept me entertained. Secrets came to light, a romance was blooming, people thought dead were coming back out of the woodwork...

It was really well thought out and written and we learnt things about Kira in dribs and drabs that kept us guessing about her and what happened in her past until we learnt even more. It was great. The ending had me intrigued enough to go and buy book 2 straight away.

I'll admit that the above is mostly down to the romance that was slowly brewing between Kira and Graydon and the little fact that he's not letting her leave - which I find quite funny, because Kira was ready for killing him about it, and because I am excited to see what happens there romantically.