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Merissa (11825 KP) rated The Iron Butterfly (Iron Butterfly #1) in Books

Aug 9, 2017

The Iron Butterfly (Iron Butterfly #1) by Chanda Hahn

This book throws you straight in with the action as you are immediately in a cell with Thalia as she tries to recover from the latest round on a torture machine. She has no memories of anything before her life locked up.

Through the help of another prisoner she is able to escape and then with the help of another pair of characters, she manages to put some distance between herself and where she was being held.

This story will lead you on a twisted journey as you travel with Thalia as she tries to understand who or what she is, what's been done to her and how she tries to deal with and live with the consequences.

There are the two male leads in this, one is a golden boy and one is dark and brooding. Her relationship with both of these could have gone into a bit more detail but even on the information given, Joss is solid but Kael's the guy for me. Actually, out of all of them, I think I'd stick with Faraway!

If you like fantasy and want to try something a little bit different, then why not try this one.

* Verified Purchase ~ February 2013
Reviewed on Goodreads ~ November 2013 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Golem (Der Golem) (1920) in Movies

Nov 4, 2019 (Updated Nov 4, 2019)

The Golem (Der Golem) (1920)

1920 | Fantasy, Horror

6.5

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Usual disclaimers apply when discussing a movie this old (the pace, production values and performance style should not be judged by modern standards), but this is another one of those films proving that things have, perhaps, not changed as much as we think. This is technically Golem 3, a prequel to the first two showing the creation of the titular monster during the middle ages. The structure of the story is very familiar - it seems like a good idea to create an immensely powerful servant from clay using dark magic, to begin with anyway, but he proves an unruly worker in the end, to say the least.

Another expressionist German fantasy film about the dangers of flirting with the powers of darkness; if you're looking for historical irony the fact it's based on a Jewish legend should give you plenty to work with. Holds up pretty well; the similarities to Frankenstein are very obvious, and the director gives a striking performance as the monster. Many other performances are striking to the modern eye as well, although not in quite the same way. Some interesting cultural baggage to be unpicked here too (the Jewish characters are the heroes of the film, but the Rabbi does have black magic powers which no-one seems very surprised). Interesting historically and a watchable genre movie, too.

Kudos

Merissa (11825 KP) rated Conspiracy of Ravens (Raven Crawford #1) in Books

Nov 18, 2019

Conspiracy of Ravens (Raven Crawford #1)

J.C. McKenzie | 2019 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS is the first book in the Raven Crawford series, and we meet Raven who is half-Fae and half-shifter. She is living on a knife's edge financially due to her ex-boyfriend and is too proud to ask for help. Instead, she gives up on her dreams and works at a dead-end job.

Her life changes when her twin disappears and two dark Fae Lords enter her life. Her mother has always warned her away from the Underworld, although she doesn't really know why. This means she has a woeful lack of knowledge where this is concerned, which doesn't help when she figures out her brother's disappearance and the appearance of those two are linked.

This was a great fantasy book with plenty of detail given. I will admit to finding the first half of the book a bit slower than the second half. Some parts of it seem to be repeated, but so long as you don't mind that, it's all good. The attraction between Cole and Raven is intense and instantaneous, but Raven doesn't trust it. This book concludes nicely for this part, but also leaves it wide open for the next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more. Most definitely recommended by me.