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Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The thing that really attracted me to this little gem of a book was it’s title and wondering whether there was actually a character named Norman Foreman in it or not. Then when I read the blurb I knew that I just had to read it.
We follow a mother and son, Sadie and Norman Foreman, through a challenging time in their life - Norman’s best friend Jax dying from an asthma attack. Norman and Jax did everything together, and loved watching comedy sketches and comedians and had big dreams of becoming a comedy duo and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when they were 15.
However, that plan drastically changes when Jax dies aged 12 and leaves Norman not really knowing what to do and not particularly coping very well. Norman then comes up with the idea to get himself to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year as a tribute to Jax and also along the way decides he wants to finally find out who his dad is.
Sadie is also struggling with Jax’s death and struggling to help Norman grieve as she never truly grieved her own dad’s death. She has to come to relive her past where she spent a month after her dad’s death completely off the rails and now has four potential fathers for Norman. Along the way she confides in a work colleague, a little old man called Leonard, who decides that he wants in on this adventure and helps Sadie organise her thoughts and helps them both get to the Edinburgh Fringe and to find the four potential fathers.
Some of it may be a little far fetched at points, but that doesn’t stop it from being a really heartwarming story of a child trying to come to terms with the grief of losing his best friend and how you don’t have to be sad all the time in order to grieve.
I loved the whole book from start to finish, and I’m so glad that I got to read it courtesy of Pigeonhole and Julietta Henderson!
We follow a mother and son, Sadie and Norman Foreman, through a challenging time in their life - Norman’s best friend Jax dying from an asthma attack. Norman and Jax did everything together, and loved watching comedy sketches and comedians and had big dreams of becoming a comedy duo and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when they were 15.
However, that plan drastically changes when Jax dies aged 12 and leaves Norman not really knowing what to do and not particularly coping very well. Norman then comes up with the idea to get himself to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year as a tribute to Jax and also along the way decides he wants to finally find out who his dad is.
Sadie is also struggling with Jax’s death and struggling to help Norman grieve as she never truly grieved her own dad’s death. She has to come to relive her past where she spent a month after her dad’s death completely off the rails and now has four potential fathers for Norman. Along the way she confides in a work colleague, a little old man called Leonard, who decides that he wants in on this adventure and helps Sadie organise her thoughts and helps them both get to the Edinburgh Fringe and to find the four potential fathers.
Some of it may be a little far fetched at points, but that doesn’t stop it from being a really heartwarming story of a child trying to come to terms with the grief of losing his best friend and how you don’t have to be sad all the time in order to grieve.
I loved the whole book from start to finish, and I’m so glad that I got to read it courtesy of Pigeonhole and Julietta Henderson!
The Poe Shadow
Book
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.” Baltimore, 1849. The...
Tomb of Annihilation (Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition)
8.7
Rate It
Tabletop Game
Dare to defy death in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game The talk of the...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Till Death (2021) in Movies
Oct 6, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
Till Death is a pretty middle-of-the-road thriller that somehow manages to both benefit and suffer from its no-nonsense approach to, well everything really. On the one hand, it's premise is an enticing one - after finding out about her affair, Emma's (Megan Fox) husband leads her out to a remote cabin under the false pretense of an anniversary getaway, handcuffs the two of them together by the wrists, and proceeds to shoot himself, leaving her attached to his dead body and fighting for her life when two hitmen come by to finish the job. This setup leads to a decent amount of tension, it's snowy setting exacerbating her survival conditions.
There aren't really any twists or turns to be had, and everything plays out fairly predictably, and quite honestly, it wouldn't work as well without the cast attached to it. Megan Fox has proved with vehicles such as Jennifer's Body that she is more than capable to lead a horror flick with style, and Till Death cements that fact. Her character is pretty badass, and Fox gives us a protagonist that's worth rooting for. On the flip side, the two hitmen-brother actors are great as well. Callan Mulvey in particular cuts an imposing figure as the movies main villain.
The narrative flirts with deeper context here and there but sadly never pulls the trigger. Mulvey's character is a person from Emma's past, having mugged her some years ago. The plot clearly spells out that there was motive behind this, but never explores this aspect, leaving a frustrating and unexplained story thread. The relationship between the brothers is interesting also, and at one point threatens to present a dilemma in who to side with, but again, it never actually goes there, and as such, reeks of a wasted opportunity for a far more interesting story than the one presented.
For what it is though, Till Death is a competent and entertaining enough thriller/horror to add to a spooky season watchlist
There aren't really any twists or turns to be had, and everything plays out fairly predictably, and quite honestly, it wouldn't work as well without the cast attached to it. Megan Fox has proved with vehicles such as Jennifer's Body that she is more than capable to lead a horror flick with style, and Till Death cements that fact. Her character is pretty badass, and Fox gives us a protagonist that's worth rooting for. On the flip side, the two hitmen-brother actors are great as well. Callan Mulvey in particular cuts an imposing figure as the movies main villain.
The narrative flirts with deeper context here and there but sadly never pulls the trigger. Mulvey's character is a person from Emma's past, having mugged her some years ago. The plot clearly spells out that there was motive behind this, but never explores this aspect, leaving a frustrating and unexplained story thread. The relationship between the brothers is interesting also, and at one point threatens to present a dilemma in who to side with, but again, it never actually goes there, and as such, reeks of a wasted opportunity for a far more interesting story than the one presented.
For what it is though, Till Death is a competent and entertaining enough thriller/horror to add to a spooky season watchlist
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Viper: The Prophecy (Odins Wolves 2) in Books
Oct 19, 2023
155 of 235
Kindle
Viper :The Prophecy (Odins Wolves MC 2)
By Candi Fox
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gaia. the mother of all created a werewolf shifter class to serve as guardians. To avoid war, Gaia gifted those that answered the call to Odin, who infused the warriors with immortality creating a class of demigods who fight for justice.
20 years ago, the world found out that humans were not the only Earth dwellers. Now Dark Fae and Shifters live in the light.
Logan Haagan: Viper, Viking demigod, and retired Dallas police officer will join his brothers in White Horse, OK as part of the OWMC who will work to exact justice when the law can’t. Before leaving Dallas, Viper sees Lady Death fight in an underground ring. The fight has mafia ties and ruthlessly pits all manner of dark fae creatures often encouraging the death of the loser.
Billie, Lady Death has been fighting for the Tromlui capo, Cayum since she was a teenager. She becomes a champion of the ring and wants nothing more than to win her contract back and help her friend who is being threatened. Viper and Synne, a dark fae, work to get her released, but Cayum is not easily discouraged and will stop at nothing to keep Billie right where he wants her.
Viper and Billie are sent to New Orleans to uncover a curse, unearth an ancient vampire relic, and discover an age-old prophecy that will change everything...
Don’t miss this epic tale of myths, justice, and prophecy.
I did enjoy this one but think I was expecting to feel the same as I did about book 1 and I didn’t. The world building is really good with complex characters and storylines. Loved catching up with Odins wolves and finding other creatures especially loving Deaths identity . Also a gator shifter that’s a first for me too!
Kindle
Viper :The Prophecy (Odins Wolves MC 2)
By Candi Fox
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gaia. the mother of all created a werewolf shifter class to serve as guardians. To avoid war, Gaia gifted those that answered the call to Odin, who infused the warriors with immortality creating a class of demigods who fight for justice.
20 years ago, the world found out that humans were not the only Earth dwellers. Now Dark Fae and Shifters live in the light.
Logan Haagan: Viper, Viking demigod, and retired Dallas police officer will join his brothers in White Horse, OK as part of the OWMC who will work to exact justice when the law can’t. Before leaving Dallas, Viper sees Lady Death fight in an underground ring. The fight has mafia ties and ruthlessly pits all manner of dark fae creatures often encouraging the death of the loser.
Billie, Lady Death has been fighting for the Tromlui capo, Cayum since she was a teenager. She becomes a champion of the ring and wants nothing more than to win her contract back and help her friend who is being threatened. Viper and Synne, a dark fae, work to get her released, but Cayum is not easily discouraged and will stop at nothing to keep Billie right where he wants her.
Viper and Billie are sent to New Orleans to uncover a curse, unearth an ancient vampire relic, and discover an age-old prophecy that will change everything...
Don’t miss this epic tale of myths, justice, and prophecy.
I did enjoy this one but think I was expecting to feel the same as I did about book 1 and I didn’t. The world building is really good with complex characters and storylines. Loved catching up with Odins wolves and finding other creatures especially loving Deaths identity . Also a gator shifter that’s a first for me too!
Debbiereadsbook (1437 KP) rated Taming of a Wolf (Viking Wolves #2) in Books
Jun 19, 2025
Bites differently to book 1 but no less powerfully!
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 2 in the Viking Wolves series, and I do recommend you read book 1, Heart of a Wolf before this one. It will give you a better picture of what Anders does to warrant his exiling. You do get a recap here, but I think you need it from Kieran's point of view to get the full effect.And, cos I bloody said so!
I loved book 1, I really did. And I loved this one too. It doesn't bite the same way as book 1, but it's bite is different and just as powerful!
While book 1 is a slow burn, this is full on INSTA for Anders and Jamie and I loved the marked differences in the two tales. I'm gonna be doing a lot of comparisons but I will try to keep them to a minimum!
What I particularly loved, and this probably makes me a bit weird, was the pain these two carried. Anders, for what he did, what he thought he was doing for the better of the pack, but deep down?? He was hurting just as much as Wulfric was at the death of his parents. But he wasn't any better able to stop that than Wulfric was. And Jamie, at the death of HIS parents, that he believes was his fault. I cried when they both told the other their deepest pain.
I loved that Anders was able to get some sort of closure with his brothers. I expect there is more pain to come from the other brothers though, about their parents death.
Loved the introduction of Gunnar's mate, and the revelation that Lyall's is still alive. I hope I get a chance to read their books!
Loving this series, and I highly recommend them!
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is book 2 in the Viking Wolves series, and I do recommend you read book 1, Heart of a Wolf before this one. It will give you a better picture of what Anders does to warrant his exiling. You do get a recap here, but I think you need it from Kieran's point of view to get the full effect.And, cos I bloody said so!
I loved book 1, I really did. And I loved this one too. It doesn't bite the same way as book 1, but it's bite is different and just as powerful!
While book 1 is a slow burn, this is full on INSTA for Anders and Jamie and I loved the marked differences in the two tales. I'm gonna be doing a lot of comparisons but I will try to keep them to a minimum!
What I particularly loved, and this probably makes me a bit weird, was the pain these two carried. Anders, for what he did, what he thought he was doing for the better of the pack, but deep down?? He was hurting just as much as Wulfric was at the death of his parents. But he wasn't any better able to stop that than Wulfric was. And Jamie, at the death of HIS parents, that he believes was his fault. I cried when they both told the other their deepest pain.
I loved that Anders was able to get some sort of closure with his brothers. I expect there is more pain to come from the other brothers though, about their parents death.
Loved the introduction of Gunnar's mate, and the revelation that Lyall's is still alive. I hope I get a chance to read their books!
Loving this series, and I highly recommend them!
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Saint Death in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
What must life be like living in a poor neighbourhood? Every night your sleep is disturbed by gunshots, the people you know slowly disappear each time a gang raids the town, you live in fear for your own life. This is the concept international award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick explores in his latest Young Adult novel. Set in Anapra, one of the poorest communities in Mexico, Sedgwick delivers a story of poverty, gang crime and greed.
A young man – presumably still in his teens – named Arturo is living in a falling down shack, surviving on the small amount he earns at the local garage. Having kept to himself for the past year in order to remain safe, he experiences mixed emotions when his long lost friend turns up on his door stop – if you can call it that – and asks him to win $1000 by gambling at cards to appease a brutal gang leader.
What follows is an intense game against dangerous criminals with only prayers to Santa Muerte – Saint Death – to help Arturo get by. However, in the same way that the gang leaders are obsessed with wealth, Arturo begins to be overcome with greed, putting both himself and his friend in mortal danger.
<i>Saint Death</i> is not a book to be <i>liked</i>, after all, who would be fond of death, pain and violence? Instead it is a story that introduces an alternative culture to the readers – presuming that most will be from the more typical western world. Sedgwick throws us right into the slums of Mexico where religion, superstition, law and safety have an entirely different meaning. We learn that life in these areas is mostly a war between power and poverty, with the wealthy naturally championing over the rest.
Unfortunately <i>Saint Death</i> is a difficult book to read. For a start, it is a little bit boring. Whilst the events may be realistic there is no thrill or enjoyment garnered from reading about them. Understandably, Sedgwick is trying to bring a sense of culture into his work, however there is barely anything that a Young Adult reader can relate to. We are never told Arturo’s age and only assume he his in his teens, however he acts like a much older adult. It is difficult to imagine and comprehend the poverty, gangs and violence when we have not been witness to it ourselves. Whilst attempting to shock, Sedgwick lacks on description making it a challenge to picture the scene in our heads.
Prior to this book, I had only read Sedgwick’s <i>My Sword Hand is Singing</i> (2006), therefore I was unsure what to expect with his latest novel. It was my understanding that he tends to write horror or paranormal novels, whereas <i>Saint Death</i> was a complete change of genre. Of course authors experiment with their writing style all the time; some are successful, others less so. In this instance I personally think Sedgwick fell short of his goal, trying too hard to copy other writers that had influenced him to make this conversion. Whether Sedgwick decides to continue along this theme or revert back to what he has already been successful with remains to be seen, but I am hoping for the latter.
What must life be like living in a poor neighbourhood? Every night your sleep is disturbed by gunshots, the people you know slowly disappear each time a gang raids the town, you live in fear for your own life. This is the concept international award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick explores in his latest Young Adult novel. Set in Anapra, one of the poorest communities in Mexico, Sedgwick delivers a story of poverty, gang crime and greed.
A young man – presumably still in his teens – named Arturo is living in a falling down shack, surviving on the small amount he earns at the local garage. Having kept to himself for the past year in order to remain safe, he experiences mixed emotions when his long lost friend turns up on his door stop – if you can call it that – and asks him to win $1000 by gambling at cards to appease a brutal gang leader.
What follows is an intense game against dangerous criminals with only prayers to Santa Muerte – Saint Death – to help Arturo get by. However, in the same way that the gang leaders are obsessed with wealth, Arturo begins to be overcome with greed, putting both himself and his friend in mortal danger.
<i>Saint Death</i> is not a book to be <i>liked</i>, after all, who would be fond of death, pain and violence? Instead it is a story that introduces an alternative culture to the readers – presuming that most will be from the more typical western world. Sedgwick throws us right into the slums of Mexico where religion, superstition, law and safety have an entirely different meaning. We learn that life in these areas is mostly a war between power and poverty, with the wealthy naturally championing over the rest.
Unfortunately <i>Saint Death</i> is a difficult book to read. For a start, it is a little bit boring. Whilst the events may be realistic there is no thrill or enjoyment garnered from reading about them. Understandably, Sedgwick is trying to bring a sense of culture into his work, however there is barely anything that a Young Adult reader can relate to. We are never told Arturo’s age and only assume he his in his teens, however he acts like a much older adult. It is difficult to imagine and comprehend the poverty, gangs and violence when we have not been witness to it ourselves. Whilst attempting to shock, Sedgwick lacks on description making it a challenge to picture the scene in our heads.
Prior to this book, I had only read Sedgwick’s <i>My Sword Hand is Singing</i> (2006), therefore I was unsure what to expect with his latest novel. It was my understanding that he tends to write horror or paranormal novels, whereas <i>Saint Death</i> was a complete change of genre. Of course authors experiment with their writing style all the time; some are successful, others less so. In this instance I personally think Sedgwick fell short of his goal, trying too hard to copy other writers that had influenced him to make this conversion. Whether Sedgwick decides to continue along this theme or revert back to what he has already been successful with remains to be seen, but I am hoping for the latter.
Cyberline Racing
Games and Entertainment
App
Cyberline Racing is the triumph of the death racing genre! This game combines action packed shooting...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
Jun 3, 2020
BB-8 (2 more)
Old Cast
Better Than The Prequels
A New Hope Shortly Lived
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Force Awakens- is a excellent, phenomenal movie, no doubt about that. Its the return of old charcters coming back and a whole new cast of new charcters. My favorite is BB-8, he reminds me of R2-D2. The problem if you really think about it is.. Its a copy & paste of A New Hope. Lets look deeper into that.
Case 1- Introducing A Core Trio, you have Rey, Finn and Poe. In ANH, you have Luke, Leia and Han.
Case 2- Rey's beginning. Some one who is lonely, raised in the desert and finds a droid that has important infomation and that sets off the beginning of the adventure. Sounds like Luke to me, cause it is.
Case 3- The Droid Holds The Secret Clue To Everything Important. In this case, BB-8 is holding important infomation on the whereabouts on to find Luke.
Hmm R2-D2, secret message from Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke, the farmboy whose future as a Jedi would save the Rebellion and the galaxy, is led to his Jedi. Intresting right.
Case 4- Jakku And Tatooine. Jakku is basically Tattooine. Its where the main charcter is from, where the story begins, where the main charcter finds the droid and where the adventure begins.
Case 5- Starkiller Base And The Death Star. Basically Starkiller Base is the Death Star. The First Order's Starkiller Base is just a complete rip off of Darth Vader's Death Star. While the Starkiller Base can inflict much more damage than the Death Star, it's basically the same weapon. A has basically the same weak point.
So basically what Im saying is that The Force Awakens is a copy & paste of A New Hope.
The plot: Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Han Solo's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight in the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor to the Galactic Empire.
I remember seeing this film opening day at 9:15am on Friday. With a packed theater, every seat was full and that was a excellent experience. Seeing it with a crowd full of star wars fans was epic and would do it again.
Its fun, entertaining and overall a excellent, phenomenal movie. Bringing us a new star wars movie after the awful prequels. The Force Awakens brought us fans a new hope after the disappointed and awful prequels. A new hope that didnt last long, but i will get to those soon. But for now this review.
Case 1- Introducing A Core Trio, you have Rey, Finn and Poe. In ANH, you have Luke, Leia and Han.
Case 2- Rey's beginning. Some one who is lonely, raised in the desert and finds a droid that has important infomation and that sets off the beginning of the adventure. Sounds like Luke to me, cause it is.
Case 3- The Droid Holds The Secret Clue To Everything Important. In this case, BB-8 is holding important infomation on the whereabouts on to find Luke.
Hmm R2-D2, secret message from Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke, the farmboy whose future as a Jedi would save the Rebellion and the galaxy, is led to his Jedi. Intresting right.
Case 4- Jakku And Tatooine. Jakku is basically Tattooine. Its where the main charcter is from, where the story begins, where the main charcter finds the droid and where the adventure begins.
Case 5- Starkiller Base And The Death Star. Basically Starkiller Base is the Death Star. The First Order's Starkiller Base is just a complete rip off of Darth Vader's Death Star. While the Starkiller Base can inflict much more damage than the Death Star, it's basically the same weapon. A has basically the same weak point.
So basically what Im saying is that The Force Awakens is a copy & paste of A New Hope.
The plot: Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Han Solo's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight in the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor to the Galactic Empire.
I remember seeing this film opening day at 9:15am on Friday. With a packed theater, every seat was full and that was a excellent experience. Seeing it with a crowd full of star wars fans was epic and would do it again.
Its fun, entertaining and overall a excellent, phenomenal movie. Bringing us a new star wars movie after the awful prequels. The Force Awakens brought us fans a new hope after the disappointed and awful prequels. A new hope that didnt last long, but i will get to those soon. But for now this review.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Shot in the Dark in TV
Nov 25, 2017 (Updated Nov 26, 2017)
Great for the first few episodes
For fans of @Nightcrawler (2014), this is the real-life version following the journeys of three stringers, competing to out-shoot each other. From fires, crashes to shootings and industrial accidents, it's life and death on a daily basis, but at what cost?
Howard Raishbrook of RMG News attempts to ward off competition from his more successful counterparts Scott Lane of LoudLabs and Zak Holman of OnScene, in this cutthroat industry where morals seem sparse. While not as completely corrupt as Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Nightcrawler, Scott and Zak seem closer to his personality, with nothing off the table. In between are internal battles with Raishbrook's twin brother becoming a news story himself, the monopoly of the industry squeezing out smaller companies such as RMG, and how close each of them get to sudden death every night.
It's a great series, but after four episodes it begins to wear you down quite quickly and the images end up appearing no different to one another (I should know, we used to use stringers in the newsroom every day). As a result, it has a desensitising effect, and the series' initial lure begins to wear thin. The show could have been cut down by four episodes to remain interesting.
Howard Raishbrook of RMG News attempts to ward off competition from his more successful counterparts Scott Lane of LoudLabs and Zak Holman of OnScene, in this cutthroat industry where morals seem sparse. While not as completely corrupt as Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Nightcrawler, Scott and Zak seem closer to his personality, with nothing off the table. In between are internal battles with Raishbrook's twin brother becoming a news story himself, the monopoly of the industry squeezing out smaller companies such as RMG, and how close each of them get to sudden death every night.
It's a great series, but after four episodes it begins to wear you down quite quickly and the images end up appearing no different to one another (I should know, we used to use stringers in the newsroom every day). As a result, it has a desensitising effect, and the series' initial lure begins to wear thin. The show could have been cut down by four episodes to remain interesting.