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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2506 KP) rated Stitched in Crime in Books
Dec 10, 2021
Accidental Fall? Or Murder?
Life is beginning to settle down again for Lia Geiger, and the crowds are returning to the craft fair where she sells her knitting projects, thanks in part to Cori Littlefield and her wonderful crochet projects. Sadly, Cori is found dead one day near the bottom of a waterfall. While the police rule it a tragic accident, Lia thinks there might be a connection to a similar death from two decades ago – a death that Cori claimed to witness as a little girl. But can Lia find any evidence to back up her claim?
I enjoyed the first book in this series, and this was just as much fun. We get a puzzling mystery with several strong suspects. Every time I thought I knew who done it, another suspect would do something to put them at the top of my list. The ending answered all my questions, including one the characters never asked. I do feel like the characters could be a little stronger, but maybe that’s just me, and maybe it’s because of all the background characters. I had no trouble keeping all the characters straight, and a character that rubbed me a bit the wrong way in the first book has definitely softened here. If you are looking for a fun cozy, this is the book you need to pick up.
I enjoyed the first book in this series, and this was just as much fun. We get a puzzling mystery with several strong suspects. Every time I thought I knew who done it, another suspect would do something to put them at the top of my list. The ending answered all my questions, including one the characters never asked. I do feel like the characters could be a little stronger, but maybe that’s just me, and maybe it’s because of all the background characters. I had no trouble keeping all the characters straight, and a character that rubbed me a bit the wrong way in the first book has definitely softened here. If you are looking for a fun cozy, this is the book you need to pick up.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2506 KP) rated Killer Research in Books
Nov 3, 2021
Murder Complicates Elections
The election for mayor is six months away, but the politics is already heating up. Mayor Hensen is upset that Ms. Cole is running against him, and he’s making life difficult for Lindsey Norris and the rest of the library staff. Then, Ms. Cole finds a dead body in her trunk. When her connection to the victim comes to light, the mayor uses everything he can to drive Ms. Cole out of the library and out of the race. Can Lindsey figure out what is happening before Ms. Cole’s reputation is ruined?
I love it when background characters get time to shine, and I’ve enjoyed watching Ms. Cole go from a one note character to a fully developed character over the last few books. That continues here. The rest of the cast is just as fantastic, and I loved seeing them again. The plot is strong with plenty to keep me engaged as I read. The climax was a bit theatrical, but it was also fun, so I’m willing to let it go. Speaking of fun, I laughed multiple times over the course of the book. We’ve got the usual book discussion, craft, and recipe extras at the end. Fans will enjoy this book, and if you are new to the series, be sure to check it out.
I love it when background characters get time to shine, and I’ve enjoyed watching Ms. Cole go from a one note character to a fully developed character over the last few books. That continues here. The rest of the cast is just as fantastic, and I loved seeing them again. The plot is strong with plenty to keep me engaged as I read. The climax was a bit theatrical, but it was also fun, so I’m willing to let it go. Speaking of fun, I laughed multiple times over the course of the book. We’ve got the usual book discussion, craft, and recipe extras at the end. Fans will enjoy this book, and if you are new to the series, be sure to check it out.
Debbiereadsbook (1678 KP) rated The Shutout in Books
Mar 24, 2022
It's all very NICE, is all. Nicely written, nicely delivered and nice.
Independent reviewer for Book Sirens, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I liked this book, I did but it one of those NICE books, that, while a good read, I'm not really left feeling very much of anything about it, you know?
There was a lot of book, I think, that wasn't really necessary and while 2 epilogues is nice, one would have been suffice. The whole thing could have been a really great book, with 100 less pages, I thought. I found myself skimming over a lot. I didn't miss anything, either!
But!
It's a lovely tale of a gay guy falling in love with his straight best friend. There's a nasty co-worker, some amazing friends, parental units who don't deserve the father title, and family members who really do take the closeness a bit far. Some amusing moments with Max' sister and Jack!
And then the fall out from Jack being outed to the entire world, and the closing ranks around him that he never expected.
It's all very NICE, is all. Nicely written, nicely delivered and nice.
Having said that, this appears to be the author's first book, and I would like to read more as they hone their craft.
3 good, solid nice stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
I liked this book, I did but it one of those NICE books, that, while a good read, I'm not really left feeling very much of anything about it, you know?
There was a lot of book, I think, that wasn't really necessary and while 2 epilogues is nice, one would have been suffice. The whole thing could have been a really great book, with 100 less pages, I thought. I found myself skimming over a lot. I didn't miss anything, either!
But!
It's a lovely tale of a gay guy falling in love with his straight best friend. There's a nasty co-worker, some amazing friends, parental units who don't deserve the father title, and family members who really do take the closeness a bit far. Some amusing moments with Max' sister and Jack!
And then the fall out from Jack being outed to the entire world, and the closing ranks around him that he never expected.
It's all very NICE, is all. Nicely written, nicely delivered and nice.
Having said that, this appears to be the author's first book, and I would like to read more as they hone their craft.
3 good, solid nice stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Vendarla in Tabletop Games
Oct 6, 2020
The kobolds and dragons have taken over the mountain that once belonged to the noble dwarves in this land. The Queen has decided it’s time to take it back. She needs as many fine-crafted armory items as possible using the materials found in the mountain, but she will be pleased with the first craftsperson to finish three of them for her army. Are you prepared to brave the mountain’s dangers in order to secure the materials needed to craft her required items, or will the dragons and kobolds prove too difficult for you to overcome? This is Vendarla.
Vendarla is a press-your-luck, hand management, set collection card game where players are working against one another to collect the proper materials to craft three Queen’s Armory items while avoiding kobold warriors and thieves, as well as several dragons guarding the mountain.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to back the game through the upcoming Kickstarter campaign, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the rulebook advice for your number of players, but generally Vendarla will be setup on the table in different areas: the Market, the Mountain, the Queen’s Armory, and the gold stash. Each player will receive five gold, and their choice of either two or three (depending on play count) Queen’s Armory items to begin working on during the game. Determine first player by giving the dragon token, shown below, to the player who most recently watched a dragon movie and the game is ready to begin!
On their turn a player will choose whether to visit the Market or the Mountain. When a player visits the Market, they may choose to purchase any previously sold materials, sell their own materials, purchase items for use in mountain runs, or exchange Queen’s Armory item cards.
Should the player instead wish to visit the Mountain, they will flip over a mountain card from the giant stack of mountain cards and decide how to continue. If a material card was flipped, the player may choose to take that card or continue flipping cards. This action can be replicated until up to 10 cards have been flipped. The active player will then need to choose a card (or two if they have a Backpack equipped) to place face-up in their play area. Each other player at the table, in player order, will then be allowed to take a material or gold card from the flipped offering by paying the active player one gold.
Should the active player flip over a second kobold warrior for the turn, they must stop flipping unless they had previously purchased from the market a kobold repellent or Ironsides (dwarven warrior) to combat it. If the kobold warrior, or the kobold thief for that matter, is overcome by ANY player then the active player may continue flipping cards from the mountain. Should the player flip a dragon card over, they may use a previously purchased Dragon Charm to charm the dragon back to sleep or taking the dragon card into their play area and suffering a negative 10 points at game end.
Play continues in this fashion of active player visiting the Market to take actions for themselves only, or visiting the Mountain to excavate materials to be used to craft their Queen’s Armory items and opponents also being able to follow the action using their flipped materials. Once a player has the proper materials to craft their Queen’s Armory items on their turn, they may, and the player who crafts their third item will trigger the end of the game. Players will finish the turn, count up their points and a winner will be declared!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so what we were provided may or may not be the same as the final version of the game. That said, this game is a ton of cards, and some gold coins. The card are fine quality, but I would probably want to sleeve them, as they are handled a bit and are a little thin. The gold coins are thick cardboard and look great. Speaking of looking great, the art in Vendarla is really really good. I love the art style used and the colors are vibrant and lovely. Though I had no problems with the iconography, my wife did a few times. Luckily, handy reference cards are included and that solved any questions we had with iconography. All in all the components are good, and the game looks great.
The “flip cards until you have to stop, choose to stop, or flip over something bad” is a mechanic that is used in many games, and in Vendarla I truly enjoy it because for every “bad” card another card may be able to neutralize it. And the best part about that is the neutralizing card can come from ANY player. Why would someone want to lull the dragon back to sleep on someone else’s turn? Well perhaps a material was flipped that they need to complete an item craft and they want to make sure they have a chance to get it for one measly coin. I love that. I also love games that include ways for other players to be involved in each turn taken. This isn’t a “multiplayer solitaire” game. Yeah you could go to the restroom during other players’ turns, but you may miss out on that elusive gem you need for your items.
I found that playing this I had to find a good balance between keeping my Market items stocked and going to the Mountain to grab materials. There may be several turns in a row, especially in the beginning of the game, where your turns are just flipping over a kobold warrior for which you are unprepared to handle and forfeiting your turn, but as the game progresses you will be hopefully be outfitting yourself appropriately.
While this game seems very involved and you may think there are many tiny rules when reading the rulebook, it plays really quickly. In my two-player games with my wife the games were 30 minutes or less, INCLUDING the teach the first time.
So even though I have a prototype copy of the game, I will certainly be holding onto this one and pulling it out quite a bit. When you can get a great play experience out of 30 minutes and feel like you did something interesting, I feel that’s a sign of a great game. If you are looking for a game that fills a hole in your collection (or even want to replace Port Royal, as I did), please check out the Kickstarter campaign for Vendarla launching October 27, 2020. If you like fantasy themed card games with press your luck and set collection, this one is for you!
Vendarla is a press-your-luck, hand management, set collection card game where players are working against one another to collect the proper materials to craft three Queen’s Armory items while avoiding kobold warriors and thieves, as well as several dragons guarding the mountain.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to back the game through the upcoming Kickstarter campaign, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the rulebook advice for your number of players, but generally Vendarla will be setup on the table in different areas: the Market, the Mountain, the Queen’s Armory, and the gold stash. Each player will receive five gold, and their choice of either two or three (depending on play count) Queen’s Armory items to begin working on during the game. Determine first player by giving the dragon token, shown below, to the player who most recently watched a dragon movie and the game is ready to begin!
On their turn a player will choose whether to visit the Market or the Mountain. When a player visits the Market, they may choose to purchase any previously sold materials, sell their own materials, purchase items for use in mountain runs, or exchange Queen’s Armory item cards.
Should the player instead wish to visit the Mountain, they will flip over a mountain card from the giant stack of mountain cards and decide how to continue. If a material card was flipped, the player may choose to take that card or continue flipping cards. This action can be replicated until up to 10 cards have been flipped. The active player will then need to choose a card (or two if they have a Backpack equipped) to place face-up in their play area. Each other player at the table, in player order, will then be allowed to take a material or gold card from the flipped offering by paying the active player one gold.
Should the active player flip over a second kobold warrior for the turn, they must stop flipping unless they had previously purchased from the market a kobold repellent or Ironsides (dwarven warrior) to combat it. If the kobold warrior, or the kobold thief for that matter, is overcome by ANY player then the active player may continue flipping cards from the mountain. Should the player flip a dragon card over, they may use a previously purchased Dragon Charm to charm the dragon back to sleep or taking the dragon card into their play area and suffering a negative 10 points at game end.
Play continues in this fashion of active player visiting the Market to take actions for themselves only, or visiting the Mountain to excavate materials to be used to craft their Queen’s Armory items and opponents also being able to follow the action using their flipped materials. Once a player has the proper materials to craft their Queen’s Armory items on their turn, they may, and the player who crafts their third item will trigger the end of the game. Players will finish the turn, count up their points and a winner will be declared!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so what we were provided may or may not be the same as the final version of the game. That said, this game is a ton of cards, and some gold coins. The card are fine quality, but I would probably want to sleeve them, as they are handled a bit and are a little thin. The gold coins are thick cardboard and look great. Speaking of looking great, the art in Vendarla is really really good. I love the art style used and the colors are vibrant and lovely. Though I had no problems with the iconography, my wife did a few times. Luckily, handy reference cards are included and that solved any questions we had with iconography. All in all the components are good, and the game looks great.
The “flip cards until you have to stop, choose to stop, or flip over something bad” is a mechanic that is used in many games, and in Vendarla I truly enjoy it because for every “bad” card another card may be able to neutralize it. And the best part about that is the neutralizing card can come from ANY player. Why would someone want to lull the dragon back to sleep on someone else’s turn? Well perhaps a material was flipped that they need to complete an item craft and they want to make sure they have a chance to get it for one measly coin. I love that. I also love games that include ways for other players to be involved in each turn taken. This isn’t a “multiplayer solitaire” game. Yeah you could go to the restroom during other players’ turns, but you may miss out on that elusive gem you need for your items.
I found that playing this I had to find a good balance between keeping my Market items stocked and going to the Mountain to grab materials. There may be several turns in a row, especially in the beginning of the game, where your turns are just flipping over a kobold warrior for which you are unprepared to handle and forfeiting your turn, but as the game progresses you will be hopefully be outfitting yourself appropriately.
While this game seems very involved and you may think there are many tiny rules when reading the rulebook, it plays really quickly. In my two-player games with my wife the games were 30 minutes or less, INCLUDING the teach the first time.
So even though I have a prototype copy of the game, I will certainly be holding onto this one and pulling it out quite a bit. When you can get a great play experience out of 30 minutes and feel like you did something interesting, I feel that’s a sign of a great game. If you are looking for a game that fills a hole in your collection (or even want to replace Port Royal, as I did), please check out the Kickstarter campaign for Vendarla launching October 27, 2020. If you like fantasy themed card games with press your luck and set collection, this one is for you!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Early Man (2018) in Movies
Feb 8, 2018 (Updated Feb 8, 2018)
One Million Years F.C.
Another movie from the people who made Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, and if you're familiar with either of those you will know that expectations will be high: Aardman are the British answer to Pixar or Studio Ghibli. Keeping such sky-high standards must be difficult, so we must try to be understanding when they fall a little short - as they do here.
A tribe of comedy cavemen with English accents are driven from their lovely valley by a nasty Bronze Age civilisation who variously sound French, Italian, and German. Brightest of the cavemen hits upon a scheme to win the valley back by playing the invaders at their sacred game, i.e. football (or soccer). Cue lots of sports movie cliches/parodies.
Well, obviously, you can't fault the craft that goes into these films, but on this occasion you can't help noticing the slightness of the story and the fact that it's neither as funny nor, crucially, as clever as many of their previous productions. (The fact that the film has a weird Brexit-friendly political subtext may be an issue for some viewers as well.) I love silly accents, absurd jokes and bad puns as much as the next person (probably more, in truth), but the fact that this film doesn't have the same kind of heart or warmth as (for example) your typical Pixar film is very noticeable. Still, not *actually* that bad.
A tribe of comedy cavemen with English accents are driven from their lovely valley by a nasty Bronze Age civilisation who variously sound French, Italian, and German. Brightest of the cavemen hits upon a scheme to win the valley back by playing the invaders at their sacred game, i.e. football (or soccer). Cue lots of sports movie cliches/parodies.
Well, obviously, you can't fault the craft that goes into these films, but on this occasion you can't help noticing the slightness of the story and the fact that it's neither as funny nor, crucially, as clever as many of their previous productions. (The fact that the film has a weird Brexit-friendly political subtext may be an issue for some viewers as well.) I love silly accents, absurd jokes and bad puns as much as the next person (probably more, in truth), but the fact that this film doesn't have the same kind of heart or warmth as (for example) your typical Pixar film is very noticeable. Still, not *actually* that bad.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated The Covenant (2006) in Movies
Jul 3, 2018
I could watch this on infinite loop until I'm dead
I've watched this movie twice in as many days because it is the kind of bad that is wonderful. I don't know how I missed this one as a teenager, as everything involving witchcraft was interesting to me then. Think of The Covenant as a spiritual successor to The Craft, but with boys. And there are boys. This movie is one fuzzy sex scene away from being a David DeCoteau film. Notable features are an all male shower scene filled with foggy butts, Sebastian Stan (who's nineteen or twenty years old here) stumbling over a line regarding another kid's penis (after being called a homosexual slur) and, last but not least, the line, "I'm going to make you my weyotch." It's a gem.
The plot is blah, the music is alright, and it has the mid-noughts "blue and orange" filter--but that's not why you're watching this movie. You're watching it because the actors are hot, there's not-so subtle gay subtext (though if Sebastian Stan's character kisses another guy, is it really subtext?), and latent homoeroticism. The whole stinkin' thing could be an allegory for homosexuality, but really, I don't think anyone was thinking that far ahead.
Also, there's a character named Pogue Perry. Pogue. As in, rhymes with "vogue." My boyfriend couldn't stop laughing, and he was only half watching it to humor me.
The plot is blah, the music is alright, and it has the mid-noughts "blue and orange" filter--but that's not why you're watching this movie. You're watching it because the actors are hot, there's not-so subtle gay subtext (though if Sebastian Stan's character kisses another guy, is it really subtext?), and latent homoeroticism. The whole stinkin' thing could be an allegory for homosexuality, but really, I don't think anyone was thinking that far ahead.
Also, there's a character named Pogue Perry. Pogue. As in, rhymes with "vogue." My boyfriend couldn't stop laughing, and he was only half watching it to humor me.