Search

Search only in certain items:

Soul of Ash: Revised Edition (Death's Embrace #2)
Soul of Ash: Revised Edition (Death's Embrace #2)
H. L. Moore | 2024 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Im invested in these people!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 2 in the Death's Embrace series and it CANNOT be read as a stand alone, you must read Heart of Dust First.

I said in my review for that book, that I couldn't give it 5 stars, because we only got to hear from Doran. And guess what?? Here, we get Nathaniel too!! Hence the 5 stars!

Because I loved this too! It is a tad more policitical, and it takes a bit more reading. I had to concentrate more, in places, to follow the story line and what was happening but that's not a bad thing for me!

I loved that we heard from Nathaniel. I loved we got a bit more about him and his upbringing and his history and most importantly, his feelings and emotions. We get more of what he did and what's going on with this bloody plant that everyone seems to what and what it will do to Nathaniel, eventually.

There was a conversation about Tsa Lein, and some of that went over my head, the references were subtle and I didn't get them all but it's only a comment I nned to make, rather than a complaint. And I'm not entirely sure what Samuel has to do with anything and it's driving me NUTS that I can't!

Things are moving fast making the mines safe, but not fast enough for some, hence the political issues that are in this book. And I do feel for Grace at points. She needs to be strong, but she really is still young, and a widow. And someone wants her gone.

Which leads us nicely into the next book! There is a bit at the end of this one, chapter one of Throne of Lies and it lays out what's coming, what you SEE coming here. I didn't read it though, I want to wait!

I am fully and totally invested in Doran, Nathaniel, Grace and Tsa Lein. I can't see where it's all going and I both love and hate that I can't!

5 full and very black dusted stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Frances McDormand (0 more)
Superbly acted, funny and emotional
Every so often I head into a movie knowing very little about it. I don't see the trailer, I don't read any detailed reviews. What I do see are a lot of positive headlines in my movie related news feeds and I decide to just go for it. Last year I did the exact same thing with 'Get Out', which turned out to be my favourite movie of 2017. This year, for my first cinema trip of 2018, it's the oddly titled 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'. Not quite as wonderful as Get Out, but a very enjoyable movie all the same.

The three billboards in question lie, unused since the 80s, on a barely used road leading to the home of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand). While driving past them one day, she stops to ponder for a while, before heading into town to the advertising company responsible for the boards and renting them out for a whole year. The message she spreads across the three boards is a simple one, set to shame the local police force who she feels have become a bit slack when it comes to investigating the brutal rape and murder of her daughter seven months earlier. Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) is named on one of the boards, a respected man of the town, who we later discover is suffering from cancer. Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell) on the other hand is a man with problems, totally inept at his job, living at home with his momma and recently in trouble for beating up a black suspect.

The billboards have the desired effect, bringing the murder case to everyones attention once again and causing uproar around town. But Mildred is a force to be reckoned with, foul mouthed and out for vengeance, and she's brilliant to watch. The movie effortlessly switches between laugh out loud sharp dialogue and gut wrenching emotional drama. Just when you think you've got the whole thing worked out, something major happens to shake things up again. It's a hugely enjoyable rollercoaster ride.

One of the few things I saw before seeing this movie said that if you like Fargo, then you'll enjoy this, and that's a pretty fair assumption. Interesting characters with interesting stories, beautifully told. I loved it.