Smashbomb

3.5 Stars

Laura and Kit are boyfriend and girlfriend. Kit is an eclipse chaser and Laura goes along with him. In 1999 they attend an eclipse in Cornwall where the esclipse is clouded out, but that doesn't stop the excitement of the day. As they are walking back to their tents after the event, they find a girl who is being attacked, Beth. Spanning 16 years back and forth between Laura and Kit each telling their side of the story from their point of view from the time they met each other until the time much later when they are married with kids. How the incidents of this one day will shape their lives forever.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for sending me a copy of this book to review.

It was a slow start for me, having to adjust to who was speaking and what time they were speaking about. After I got all that sorted out, the book moved at a good pace. There were some unexpected twists, and times where I was on the edge of my seat.

Laura is a very caring and compassionate person, always willing to help those in need. Kit is a science person, always seeing the practical side of things. Together their relationship works for them. Laura with her bright blonde hair, and Kit with his eclipses. Beth is an interesting character too. One you're not sure if you are going to like at all. This book definitely sent me through a lot of different emotions. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an exciting thriller.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance in TV

May 21, 2018 (Updated May 21, 2018)

I Give It A Year

Mind-bogglingly weird, supposedly based-on-true-events TV movie cashing in on the recent paroxysm of monarchist schmaltz. You know the story: she's on TV, he used to be in the army, hushed intake of breath from the British establishment when it turns out the lad's seeing a lady of her particular type, and so on, and so.

Everything is very clearly presented as the tale of a modern, progressive, independent woman who ain't gonna take no nonsense from this troubled scion of a gaggle of hidebound inbreds; Meghan is the heroine who saves Harry from the crushing oppressiveness of royal tradition. You go, your grace!

Direction is bland, acting mostly indifferent, dialogue execrable. Worth watching for: the scene where Meghan ends up chasing Harry's private jet down the runway after precipitately chucking him. The subplot about Princess Diana being reincarnated as a lion. Some very surprising dialogue ('I love a dirty martini,' says the Duchess of Cornwall). Possibly the least accurate depiction of the Queen ever put on screen - she complains about how she's shown in The Crown, in a nicely meta moment.

Pervasive sense of double-think permeates the production: film is consistently down on the royals, which is odd when you consider that if Harry wasn't a royal it wouldn't actually exist. Media intrusion on the couple is also strongly frowned upon, but if making a whole movie fictionalising their lives isn't an intrusion of some sort, what is? Soon to pass into obscurity, I reckon, but an arresting, mutant production while it's with us.

Kudos

Merissa (12051 KP) rated Selina Penaluna in Books

Dec 17, 2018

I found myself to be quite disappointed with this book. It is a tale set in Cornwall during the Second World War where twins, Jack and Ellen, are evacuated. There is a local girl, Selina, that Jack is drawn to but Ellen doesn't like.

The whole story is written by one of these viewpoints but some of the time I wasn't entirely sure who's viewpoint I was reading until I'd read a couple of pages. Then I would go back to make sure that I hadn't missed anything relevant to that character.

I found it hard to connect with any of these characters. Jack came across as a spoilt boy, Selina was probably the best character as I wasn't sure whether or not to like her or not. Whether she was an innocent or a schemer. Ellen came across as someone desperate for approval and like so many in that position, will never get it. The parts that are written as Ellen as an old lady have a faintly bitter and self-pitying flavour to them which I didn't like. Perhaps it is a generational thing but if you are not happy with your life, then change it.

There is a bit in the middle that I didn't understand at all. Paul Blanchard. Did he actually ever meet Selina or not? I didn't find this clear at all although I did understand how him and Jack connected later on in the story.

I'm glad I stuck with this book and finished it as I hate leaving books halfway through but I'm afraid that's about as good as it gets for me.