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Merissa (12061 KP) created a post
Oct 16, 2024
Doug Liman recommended North by Northwest (1959) in Movies (curated)
Merissa (12061 KP) rated Hear Me in Books
Apr 14, 2023
This is a story about two people separated by a physical barrier which is either magic or a miracle, depending on your viewpoint. The 'townies' fear the 'forest folk' and when dark magic started leaking into their town, they decided to put a barrier up to keep out the darkness. At least, that's the story that Ivy believes.
The tale unravels a list of deceptions and prejudices whilst dealing with dark magic and sacrifice. It also deals with love and how deep a love can go, even when circumstances aren't exactly light and fluffy.
It was well-written with no plot holes that I found. The only thing that I found jarred me slightly was the mention of modern technology but that just helped to emphasise the differences between the townies and the forest folk.
A wonderful story that enthralled me, definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 25, 2015
The tale unravels a list of deceptions and prejudices whilst dealing with dark magic and sacrifice. It also deals with love and how deep a love can go, even when circumstances aren't exactly light and fluffy.
It was well-written with no plot holes that I found. The only thing that I found jarred me slightly was the mention of modern technology but that just helped to emphasise the differences between the townies and the forest folk.
A wonderful story that enthralled me, definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 25, 2015
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (A Medieval Fairy Tale, #1) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Danger and romance lie deep in the heart of Thornbeck Forest. Where a poacher's only desire is to feed the poor. The forester determined to catch the poacher. And a margrave who holds the future of all in his hands.
"Because love was the best reason of all!"
Odette Menkels has a burning desire to help the orphans of Thornbeck. And the forest at her doorstep has an abundance of wild game. The only problem is that the game belongs to the king. Nevertheless, Odette braves the wrath of the margrave who is responsible for the Thornbeck forest. Every night she disguises herself, hunts the deer and feeds the poor. Her life is changed in an instant when she meets Jorgen Hartman, the forester, at the Midsummer festival. Jorgen has found evidence of a poacher and would like nothing better than to bring this poacher to justice. What will he do if he finds out that Odette is the poacher? Will Odette have everything stripped from her? There will be many confessions and consequences, but not all are bad...and some may even surprise you!
This is the first book I have read by Melanie Dickerson, but it won't be the last! I already have The Golden Braid on my list to read by the end of the year. I believe that writing medieval fairy tales for adults was a stroke of genius! The thrill of the chase. The excitement of the hunt. Balls and finery, sorrow and hunger, the desire to do good and the consequences of the laws of the land. The tragic circumstances of the day were portrayed very well. Life in 1363 was rough! But we are reminded that the bonds of love and family are not to be trifled with. Enter the forest of Thornbeck and be whisked through an incredible journey.
"Because love was the best reason of all!"
Odette Menkels has a burning desire to help the orphans of Thornbeck. And the forest at her doorstep has an abundance of wild game. The only problem is that the game belongs to the king. Nevertheless, Odette braves the wrath of the margrave who is responsible for the Thornbeck forest. Every night she disguises herself, hunts the deer and feeds the poor. Her life is changed in an instant when she meets Jorgen Hartman, the forester, at the Midsummer festival. Jorgen has found evidence of a poacher and would like nothing better than to bring this poacher to justice. What will he do if he finds out that Odette is the poacher? Will Odette have everything stripped from her? There will be many confessions and consequences, but not all are bad...and some may even surprise you!
This is the first book I have read by Melanie Dickerson, but it won't be the last! I already have The Golden Braid on my list to read by the end of the year. I believe that writing medieval fairy tales for adults was a stroke of genius! The thrill of the chase. The excitement of the hunt. Balls and finery, sorrow and hunger, the desire to do good and the consequences of the laws of the land. The tragic circumstances of the day were portrayed very well. Life in 1363 was rough! But we are reminded that the bonds of love and family are not to be trifled with. Enter the forest of Thornbeck and be whisked through an incredible journey.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Our Endless Numbered Days in Books
Sep 26, 2018
I don't like unreliable narrators. I didn't realize, at first, that Peggy was one. Even though she mentions at the start of the book that a doctor said she had Korsakoff's syndrome - meaning malnutrition has messed with her memories - I assumed that it was just because her experiences were so unbelievable that the doctor thought she'd made things up. I also don't like unreliable narrators because the author obviously knows what truly happened. Leaving the reader in the dark about it seems rude.
Peggy's narration does seem childlike, often. While at the beginning of the book, that can be excused because she is eight years old, by the end she is seventeen, yet still talking about things with a child's understanding. I thought that was the effect of Korsakoff's syndrome, not that she was entirely making some things up.
In our endless numbered days, Peggy is effectively kidnapped by her father when she is eight, and taken to some place deep in the German forest. She spends the next nine years alone in the forest with him, trapping squirrels, gathering roots and berries, and growing simple crops in a small vegetable patch. He tells her, repeatedly, making her repeat it back to him, that the rest of the world was destroyed in a massive storm. They are the last two people alive in their small, sheltered valley. She doesn't question it until she sees a man in their forest, and that eventually leads her to find civilization again. The book is told in two timelines, flashing back and forth from her memories of her time in the forest, and the present where she's attempting to re-acclimate to London.
I'm not really sure what to believe; Peggy's memory or what her mother thinks happened. There are just enough oddities to make either story plausible. I think I prefer Peggy's version. But that's the trouble with unreliable narrators; there's no way to actually know. I don't like ending a book frustrated. Books should make you feel things, yes, but frustration is an odd emotion to aim for.
This book is odd.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Peggy's narration does seem childlike, often. While at the beginning of the book, that can be excused because she is eight years old, by the end she is seventeen, yet still talking about things with a child's understanding. I thought that was the effect of Korsakoff's syndrome, not that she was entirely making some things up.
In our endless numbered days, Peggy is effectively kidnapped by her father when she is eight, and taken to some place deep in the German forest. She spends the next nine years alone in the forest with him, trapping squirrels, gathering roots and berries, and growing simple crops in a small vegetable patch. He tells her, repeatedly, making her repeat it back to him, that the rest of the world was destroyed in a massive storm. They are the last two people alive in their small, sheltered valley. She doesn't question it until she sees a man in their forest, and that eventually leads her to find civilization again. The book is told in two timelines, flashing back and forth from her memories of her time in the forest, and the present where she's attempting to re-acclimate to London.
I'm not really sure what to believe; Peggy's memory or what her mother thinks happened. There are just enough oddities to make either story plausible. I think I prefer Peggy's version. But that's the trouble with unreliable narrators; there's no way to actually know. I don't like ending a book frustrated. Books should make you feel things, yes, but frustration is an odd emotion to aim for.
This book is odd.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Hollow Kind in Books
Apr 18, 2024
72 of 220
Book
The Hollow Kind
By Andy Davidson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
When Nellie Gardner learns that she has inherited a turpentine estate from her long-lost grandfather, she throws everything she can think of in her pickup and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow.
August Redfern’s “estate” is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie sees it as the perfect refuge—a safe place to hide from her violent husband and the chance for a fresh start. But Max sees what his mother can’t: Redfern Hill is no haven. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. And Nellie’s return is about to wake it up.
This was decent read. We follow 2 timelines of a 2 families and it’s dark deep seated roots, and I mean literally. This was darkness from the roots of a turpentine estate which brings nothing but death for both. It’s an interesting premise and dark in a few places. If I had on issue it was sometimes I found it a slog to read. But overall it was good.
Book
The Hollow Kind
By Andy Davidson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
When Nellie Gardner learns that she has inherited a turpentine estate from her long-lost grandfather, she throws everything she can think of in her pickup and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow.
August Redfern’s “estate” is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie sees it as the perfect refuge—a safe place to hide from her violent husband and the chance for a fresh start. But Max sees what his mother can’t: Redfern Hill is no haven. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. And Nellie’s return is about to wake it up.
This was decent read. We follow 2 timelines of a 2 families and it’s dark deep seated roots, and I mean literally. This was darkness from the roots of a turpentine estate which brings nothing but death for both. It’s an interesting premise and dark in a few places. If I had on issue it was sometimes I found it a slog to read. But overall it was good.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Burden (2018) in Movies
Aug 4, 2020
I'm not sure why this movie is listed as being released it 2018. It was released VOD early this summer due to theaters closing down. IMDb has it listed as 2018, as well. Perhaps that was the intended release?
Anyway, Burden is a true story about Mike Burden, an active KKK member in the deep south. Having lived a life of hate and anger, he falls in love with a woman who shows him that there are other ways. He denounces his position in the Klan and removes himself from it entirely with the help of a local reverend who happens to be black.
The film makers did a wonderful job of showing the mental and emotional anguish that Burden went through by walking away from the only "family" he ever knew, even though they were heinous, it was still not an easy task.
Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker are both absolutely phenomenal in their respective roles. From what I understand, the film stays pretty true to the actual story that played out in real life.
Though the film is based on events that took place in the 90's from what I can tell, the story told is a relevant today (perhaps moreso) than ever.
Anyway, Burden is a true story about Mike Burden, an active KKK member in the deep south. Having lived a life of hate and anger, he falls in love with a woman who shows him that there are other ways. He denounces his position in the Klan and removes himself from it entirely with the help of a local reverend who happens to be black.
The film makers did a wonderful job of showing the mental and emotional anguish that Burden went through by walking away from the only "family" he ever knew, even though they were heinous, it was still not an easy task.
Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker are both absolutely phenomenal in their respective roles. From what I understand, the film stays pretty true to the actual story that played out in real life.
Though the film is based on events that took place in the 90's from what I can tell, the story told is a relevant today (perhaps moreso) than ever.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Child of Fear & Fire in Books
Mar 30, 2022
57 of 230
Book
Child of Fear & Fire
By G.R. Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fear feeds Wickedness.
It hungers for the tremor of a voice, the drop of a tear. Wickedness dines on the echo of a racing heart, delights in the falsetto of a scream.
Eliza lives darkness’s dream. A maid in a great house, owned by indifferent aristocrats, run by their three cruel daughters.
Daily beatings, tricks and cruelties by the Norlane sisters have left Eliza a mute shell, a vacant vessel besieged by fear. Yet, alone as she feels, as small and insignificant as her life seems, something is watching her.
Darkness lives in the forbidden forest beyond the neat and orderly civility of Norlane Hall. Wickedness hears Eliza’s silent tears, rises to the vibrations of her body that quivers in terror.
Wickedness awakens from its slumber and calls to her.
This was such an interesting tale. It’s was deep and so dark. We follow the life of a young housemaid that’s bullied, beaten and abused by the entitled. Three sister and a father who take liberties with this young girl until you could say the darkness of nature gives her a helping hand at getting her revenge. Totally mesmerising you didn’t know how this would end. I genuinely broke my heart for how Eliza was treated by them. What an ending though! Loved it!
Book
Child of Fear & Fire
By G.R. Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fear feeds Wickedness.
It hungers for the tremor of a voice, the drop of a tear. Wickedness dines on the echo of a racing heart, delights in the falsetto of a scream.
Eliza lives darkness’s dream. A maid in a great house, owned by indifferent aristocrats, run by their three cruel daughters.
Daily beatings, tricks and cruelties by the Norlane sisters have left Eliza a mute shell, a vacant vessel besieged by fear. Yet, alone as she feels, as small and insignificant as her life seems, something is watching her.
Darkness lives in the forbidden forest beyond the neat and orderly civility of Norlane Hall. Wickedness hears Eliza’s silent tears, rises to the vibrations of her body that quivers in terror.
Wickedness awakens from its slumber and calls to her.
This was such an interesting tale. It’s was deep and so dark. We follow the life of a young housemaid that’s bullied, beaten and abused by the entitled. Three sister and a father who take liberties with this young girl until you could say the darkness of nature gives her a helping hand at getting her revenge. Totally mesmerising you didn’t know how this would end. I genuinely broke my heart for how Eliza was treated by them. What an ending though! Loved it!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Doll Funeral in Books
May 25, 2022
90 of 230
Book
The Doll Funeral
By Kate Hamer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They're not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I'm supposed to say that the bruises on my arms and the black eye came from falling down the stairs.
But there are things I won't say. I won't tell them I'm going to hunt for my real parents. I don't say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw on the way to bed.
I did tell Mick that I saw the woman in the buttercup dress, hanging upside down from her seat belt deep in the forest at the back of our house. I told him I saw death crawl out of her. He said he'd give me a medal for lying.
I wasn't lying. I'm a hunter for lost souls and I'm going to be with my real family. And I'm not going to let Mick stop me.
I just couldn’t put this down! It was so heartbreaking from start to finish. This poor child not only has to deal with being beaten by her “father” but the neglect and not forgetting that she sees spirits is just so much to have to deal with. We follow her journey to find someone to love her and that in itself is just so sad. This was beautifully written I loved it.
Book
The Doll Funeral
By Kate Hamer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They're not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I'm supposed to say that the bruises on my arms and the black eye came from falling down the stairs.
But there are things I won't say. I won't tell them I'm going to hunt for my real parents. I don't say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw on the way to bed.
I did tell Mick that I saw the woman in the buttercup dress, hanging upside down from her seat belt deep in the forest at the back of our house. I told him I saw death crawl out of her. He said he'd give me a medal for lying.
I wasn't lying. I'm a hunter for lost souls and I'm going to be with my real family. And I'm not going to let Mick stop me.
I just couldn’t put this down! It was so heartbreaking from start to finish. This poor child not only has to deal with being beaten by her “father” but the neglect and not forgetting that she sees spirits is just so much to have to deal with. We follow her journey to find someone to love her and that in itself is just so sad. This was beautifully written I loved it.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Rust Creek (2018) in Movies
Aug 3, 2020 (Updated Aug 3, 2020)
it calls its self a psychological horror film when its not. (1 more)
The GPS
Survival Of The Fitnest
Contains spoilers, click to show
Rust Creek- call its self a psychological horror film when its not. It is psychological but not horror. I would call it drama, suspense, thrilling and survival but not horror. I mean it is scary to see the main charcter get abused by the other charcters but not pops out and scaries you. Other than that it is a good survival movie.
The plot: Sawyer is an ambitious, overachieving college student who has a seemingly bright future. While on her way to a job interview, a wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the frozen forest. Suddenly, the young woman who has everything to live for finds herself facing her own mortality as she's punished by the elements and pursued by a band of ruthless outlaws. With nowhere left to run, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with an enigmatic loner who has shadowy intention.
My only problem with this movie is the GPS. So in the movie the GPS reroute's her to the middle of no where and thats how this whole movie happens. Is because her GPS reroute's her. I thought that GPS story would go somewhere, like the charcters that abused her or policeman hacked her GPS to go to the middle of nowhere and that why he GPS rerouted her. Nope, it just reroutes her and thats it. It borthers me, cause if the GPS didnt reroute her, than the whole would of never happen, but since the GPS did reroute the movie happened.
Other than that its a really good survival movie.
The plot: Sawyer is an ambitious, overachieving college student who has a seemingly bright future. While on her way to a job interview, a wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the frozen forest. Suddenly, the young woman who has everything to live for finds herself facing her own mortality as she's punished by the elements and pursued by a band of ruthless outlaws. With nowhere left to run, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with an enigmatic loner who has shadowy intention.
My only problem with this movie is the GPS. So in the movie the GPS reroute's her to the middle of no where and thats how this whole movie happens. Is because her GPS reroute's her. I thought that GPS story would go somewhere, like the charcters that abused her or policeman hacked her GPS to go to the middle of nowhere and that why he GPS rerouted her. Nope, it just reroutes her and thats it. It borthers me, cause if the GPS didnt reroute her, than the whole would of never happen, but since the GPS did reroute the movie happened.
Other than that its a really good survival movie.