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Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Frozen 2: Dangerous Secrets: The Story of Iduna and Agnarr in Books
Dec 29, 2020
Dangerous Secrets is the greatly anticipated prequel to Frozen II which, for the first time in forever, shines the spotlight onto King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle.
The 2019 film undoubtedly revealed some of these secrets, such as Iduna being Northuldra and saving Agnarr as a child as well as the two of them venturing to Ahtohallan to find the answers behind Elsa’s powers. Unfortunately, thanks to the film, we also know that they never completed their journey.
Cue Mari Mancusi who expertly bring the monarchs back to life through her writing and forms these little-known characters into best friends, young lovers and torn parents, always just trying to do the next right thing.
The back stories of Agnarr and Iduna are nothing short of brilliant: the reader meets both characters in the Enchanted Forest on the fateful day of the dam celebration and we experience the wonder of both worlds colliding, along with the following danger and confusion from a first-person perspective.
I thoroughly appreciated how Mari Mancusi didn’t have to explain what had happened between the Arendellian forces and the Northuldra: Mancusi knows that the reader already knows the true turn of events from the movie. All throughout Dangerous Secrets this “inside knowledge” is used beautifully: allowing us to experience events as our protagonists do, but without diluting the tension and excitement with explanations.
The reader grows up alongside the future King and Queen, seeing their friendship blossom and experiencing their respective heartbreaks and secrets. The Northuldra are widely believed to be enemies of Arendelle due to the King’s death and the rumours surrounding it. Iduna’s hardship of hiding her true identity is matched only by her grief of losing the only family she has ever known. Similarly, Agnarr has lost a father, his best friend General Matthias and now has to learn how to be a King. Even when they find solace in their friendship and the later romance that this grows into, Iduna is not royalty: their love is doomed from the start…isn’t it?
Regular readers of my reviews will know I loved Jen Calonita’s “Let it Go” but felt that towards the end the writing emulated the movie verbatim in places. I found Kamilla Benko’s “Forest of Shadows” interesting and unique but ultimately it tried too hard to insert different elements into the Frozen universe that we know and love.
In my opinion, Dangerous Secrets contains none of these criticisms.
Elements of the movie are included, of course they are! Agnarr and Iduna’s reading tree is taken straight out of Elsa’s/Ahtohallan’s ice memories; Oaken’s trading post and sauna is briefly mentioned as a rest stop during one of the couple’s adventures and the wonder of chocolate is something Elsa and Anna definitely inherited from their parents!
The difference with this novel is that any references to the movie are easter eggs: elements that we love to spot; they are not brash and in-your-face; they are subtle and add to the story rather than creating it entirely. For example, I loved the inclusion of Grand-Pabbie and the trolls. I also suspect we may have met Kristoff’s mother – perhaps opening the door to another book from Mari Mancusi?
Of course, Dangerous Secrets can only end with the fateful voyage made by the royal couple and, true to form, this made me cry my little heart out. I know from the author’s note that Mari Mancusi is a mother herself but I feel that I would have known this anyway through the sheer heartbreak she portrays through Iduna, and later Agnarr. From their first discovery of Elsa’s powers; to Anna’s accident; to acknowledging that they were endangering Elsa by asking her to “conceal, don’t feel” right up until the couple’s realisation that they will never see their daughters again: the writing is powerful, hard-hitting and, with Ahtohallan’s last gift, stunningly beautiful.
This is a five-star glimpse into the King and Queen of Arendelle and a must-read for any fan of Frozen.
Will Mancusi reveal the secret of the ice-gatherer woman’s identity next?
Only Ahtohallan knows.
The 2019 film undoubtedly revealed some of these secrets, such as Iduna being Northuldra and saving Agnarr as a child as well as the two of them venturing to Ahtohallan to find the answers behind Elsa’s powers. Unfortunately, thanks to the film, we also know that they never completed their journey.
Cue Mari Mancusi who expertly bring the monarchs back to life through her writing and forms these little-known characters into best friends, young lovers and torn parents, always just trying to do the next right thing.
The back stories of Agnarr and Iduna are nothing short of brilliant: the reader meets both characters in the Enchanted Forest on the fateful day of the dam celebration and we experience the wonder of both worlds colliding, along with the following danger and confusion from a first-person perspective.
I thoroughly appreciated how Mari Mancusi didn’t have to explain what had happened between the Arendellian forces and the Northuldra: Mancusi knows that the reader already knows the true turn of events from the movie. All throughout Dangerous Secrets this “inside knowledge” is used beautifully: allowing us to experience events as our protagonists do, but without diluting the tension and excitement with explanations.
The reader grows up alongside the future King and Queen, seeing their friendship blossom and experiencing their respective heartbreaks and secrets. The Northuldra are widely believed to be enemies of Arendelle due to the King’s death and the rumours surrounding it. Iduna’s hardship of hiding her true identity is matched only by her grief of losing the only family she has ever known. Similarly, Agnarr has lost a father, his best friend General Matthias and now has to learn how to be a King. Even when they find solace in their friendship and the later romance that this grows into, Iduna is not royalty: their love is doomed from the start…isn’t it?
Regular readers of my reviews will know I loved Jen Calonita’s “Let it Go” but felt that towards the end the writing emulated the movie verbatim in places. I found Kamilla Benko’s “Forest of Shadows” interesting and unique but ultimately it tried too hard to insert different elements into the Frozen universe that we know and love.
In my opinion, Dangerous Secrets contains none of these criticisms.
Elements of the movie are included, of course they are! Agnarr and Iduna’s reading tree is taken straight out of Elsa’s/Ahtohallan’s ice memories; Oaken’s trading post and sauna is briefly mentioned as a rest stop during one of the couple’s adventures and the wonder of chocolate is something Elsa and Anna definitely inherited from their parents!
The difference with this novel is that any references to the movie are easter eggs: elements that we love to spot; they are not brash and in-your-face; they are subtle and add to the story rather than creating it entirely. For example, I loved the inclusion of Grand-Pabbie and the trolls. I also suspect we may have met Kristoff’s mother – perhaps opening the door to another book from Mari Mancusi?
Of course, Dangerous Secrets can only end with the fateful voyage made by the royal couple and, true to form, this made me cry my little heart out. I know from the author’s note that Mari Mancusi is a mother herself but I feel that I would have known this anyway through the sheer heartbreak she portrays through Iduna, and later Agnarr. From their first discovery of Elsa’s powers; to Anna’s accident; to acknowledging that they were endangering Elsa by asking her to “conceal, don’t feel” right up until the couple’s realisation that they will never see their daughters again: the writing is powerful, hard-hitting and, with Ahtohallan’s last gift, stunningly beautiful.
This is a five-star glimpse into the King and Queen of Arendelle and a must-read for any fan of Frozen.
Will Mancusi reveal the secret of the ice-gatherer woman’s identity next?
Only Ahtohallan knows.
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated Unearthly in Books
Sep 27, 2017
Ethereal and Intelligent
Contains spoilers, click to show
Clara Gardener has a vision, and a purpose. Her realizing that purpose is the main focus of the tale Unearthly. Clara has been blessed: she is genetically one quarter angel. And being part angel is more common than one might think. Clara has a brother, also an angel-blood. She also has a life in California before fate and the story take us to Wyoming.
The focus of Clara’s vision is a young lad named Christian Prescott, who is the McDreamy of Jackson Hole High School. In the vision, they meet and she flies him away from a raging forest fire. Part of the book is devoted to the mystery surrounding this seemingly simple supernatural event. The other parts have Clara honing her holier skills, such as flying.
Clara definitely has feelings for Christian. These feelings are complex because of his place in her alleged destiny. Yet there’s another boy threatening to capture her attention, potentially putting her purpose in jeopardy.
I found this book to be very insightful. Elements of the plot hearken back to a time when I was young and thought love could change everything. Hand easily incorporates elements of teenage angst and high school life without ever being cliché. The book touches on the aspect of religion without going overboard and drowning the reader in dogma. The idea of God is discussed, but not dissected. I applaud the author’s decision not to be so heavy-handed in this regard.
Hand evokes beautiful imagery, especially in her descriptions of the angels’ wings. The descriptions of the Wyoming scenery are also beautiful. The narrative informs us of the basics of angelology without getting too terribly geeky. The plot thickens with every chapter, and Hand’s descriptive writing style helps keep the reader engaged. There is a bit of a plot twist at the end. That, and the artfully crafted love triangle, will leave you anxiously awaiting the next book in the trilogy.
This book is a must-read for anyone who’s ever considered liking Twilight. The plot is in a bit of the same vein, as this book falls into the paranormal romance genre. But the descriptions of Clara’s experiences are far more intense and thought-provoking. The vision of Clara’s purpose mystifies and overwhelms her at times, and also makes her infinitely more interesting a heroine than Bella Swan.
In the end, it seems even those with vision do not have all of the answers. I am elated to see the author’s success and look forward to passing these books down to my daughter.
The focus of Clara’s vision is a young lad named Christian Prescott, who is the McDreamy of Jackson Hole High School. In the vision, they meet and she flies him away from a raging forest fire. Part of the book is devoted to the mystery surrounding this seemingly simple supernatural event. The other parts have Clara honing her holier skills, such as flying.
Clara definitely has feelings for Christian. These feelings are complex because of his place in her alleged destiny. Yet there’s another boy threatening to capture her attention, potentially putting her purpose in jeopardy.
I found this book to be very insightful. Elements of the plot hearken back to a time when I was young and thought love could change everything. Hand easily incorporates elements of teenage angst and high school life without ever being cliché. The book touches on the aspect of religion without going overboard and drowning the reader in dogma. The idea of God is discussed, but not dissected. I applaud the author’s decision not to be so heavy-handed in this regard.
Hand evokes beautiful imagery, especially in her descriptions of the angels’ wings. The descriptions of the Wyoming scenery are also beautiful. The narrative informs us of the basics of angelology without getting too terribly geeky. The plot thickens with every chapter, and Hand’s descriptive writing style helps keep the reader engaged. There is a bit of a plot twist at the end. That, and the artfully crafted love triangle, will leave you anxiously awaiting the next book in the trilogy.
This book is a must-read for anyone who’s ever considered liking Twilight. The plot is in a bit of the same vein, as this book falls into the paranormal romance genre. But the descriptions of Clara’s experiences are far more intense and thought-provoking. The vision of Clara’s purpose mystifies and overwhelms her at times, and also makes her infinitely more interesting a heroine than Bella Swan.
In the end, it seems even those with vision do not have all of the answers. I am elated to see the author’s success and look forward to passing these books down to my daughter.
Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated Becky and the Birds by Becky and the Birds in Music
Jun 7, 2019
Becky and the Birds (Thea Gustafsson) is a talented R&B/Soul singer-producer out of Örebro, Sweden. Not too long ago, she released her wonderful self-titled debut EP.
But creating the 7-track project had obstacles. The 21-year-old vocalist experienced dark emotions and even battled depression.
Ultimately, she overcame her frustrations and obstacles and stitched together her EP. She perfumed it with her unique genre-spanning blend of lush sounds.
Becky’s desire to have everything in an arrangement can be attributed to her time spent at the prestigious Musikmakarna Songwriters Academy of Sweden, the place that kickstarted the careers of LÉON and Skott.
Even though the Becky didn’t fit into the school’s pop agenda, she learned a lot there. Later, she interned at an EDM/House label but didn’t fit in there either.
Not knowing where to turn, she went through a dark period. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and she walked towards it. Once in the sunlight, she created her self-titled album.
BECKY
The EP begins with a voice recording of a person named Becky, a 26-year-old Capricorn. The individual has a muffled, male-sounding voice, lives alone in an apartment, and has two friends, one a bird.
MALAYSIA
Becky, the singer, sings a beautiful song over a dreamy electronic composition perfumed with soul and passion.
The singer yearns to go to Malaysia. To see the birds in the sky and feed the ones on the ground. Also, she visions herself sitting, watching them fly.
The song highlights the meaning behind Gustafsson’s stage name. Apparently, she has a deep connection with birds.
DIE WHILE YOU LOVE ME INTRO
The intro begins with a poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson, entitled, “I Want to Die While You Love Me”, recited by Maya Angelou.
DIE WHILE YOU LOVE ME
Becky, inspired by the legendary poem, takes the tempo up a couple of notches. Also, she packages the song with dreamy vocals and crisp production.
CONCEPT STORE
The song incorporates jazzy pianos with bass and elements of hip-hop. Also, Becky’s lush vocals soar through the track alongside samples she plucked straight out of nature.
HOLDING ON
The song is one of Becky’s acclaimed singles. It features lush electronics, a splash of trip-hop, and elements of ‘90s R&B music.
MY MAN
Becky ends the 7-track EP on a smooth note. She wants us to know that her man is holding her strong, mentality and physically.
CONCLUSION
Becky and the Birds’ self-titled EP is short and sweet. Also, it leaves a lasting impression, prompting listeners to want to hear more.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/becky-and-the-birds-ep/
But creating the 7-track project had obstacles. The 21-year-old vocalist experienced dark emotions and even battled depression.
Ultimately, she overcame her frustrations and obstacles and stitched together her EP. She perfumed it with her unique genre-spanning blend of lush sounds.
Becky’s desire to have everything in an arrangement can be attributed to her time spent at the prestigious Musikmakarna Songwriters Academy of Sweden, the place that kickstarted the careers of LÉON and Skott.
Even though the Becky didn’t fit into the school’s pop agenda, she learned a lot there. Later, she interned at an EDM/House label but didn’t fit in there either.
Not knowing where to turn, she went through a dark period. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and she walked towards it. Once in the sunlight, she created her self-titled album.
BECKY
The EP begins with a voice recording of a person named Becky, a 26-year-old Capricorn. The individual has a muffled, male-sounding voice, lives alone in an apartment, and has two friends, one a bird.
MALAYSIA
Becky, the singer, sings a beautiful song over a dreamy electronic composition perfumed with soul and passion.
The singer yearns to go to Malaysia. To see the birds in the sky and feed the ones on the ground. Also, she visions herself sitting, watching them fly.
The song highlights the meaning behind Gustafsson’s stage name. Apparently, she has a deep connection with birds.
DIE WHILE YOU LOVE ME INTRO
The intro begins with a poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson, entitled, “I Want to Die While You Love Me”, recited by Maya Angelou.
DIE WHILE YOU LOVE ME
Becky, inspired by the legendary poem, takes the tempo up a couple of notches. Also, she packages the song with dreamy vocals and crisp production.
CONCEPT STORE
The song incorporates jazzy pianos with bass and elements of hip-hop. Also, Becky’s lush vocals soar through the track alongside samples she plucked straight out of nature.
HOLDING ON
The song is one of Becky’s acclaimed singles. It features lush electronics, a splash of trip-hop, and elements of ‘90s R&B music.
MY MAN
Becky ends the 7-track EP on a smooth note. She wants us to know that her man is holding her strong, mentality and physically.
CONCLUSION
Becky and the Birds’ self-titled EP is short and sweet. Also, it leaves a lasting impression, prompting listeners to want to hear more.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/becky-and-the-birds-ep/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Pumpkinhead (1988) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
Characters – Ed Harley is a hardworking shop keeper and single father, he gets on well with the community and enjoys the quiet life. His life is turned upside down when his son is killed in an accident, which pushes him to turn to the dark arts to avenge his son’s death, only he didn’t plan for what would be expected from him. Chris is one of the teenagers that wants to do the right thing after the accident, much like the rest of the teenagers they all blend into one, except for the one that caused the accident, who only wants to look after himself.
Performances – Lance Henriksen is the star of the film, he is easily the best performer as his character goes through the biggest trauma and shows the desperation for revenge and regret for his decision. When it comes to the rest of the cast, they are performed to the level most slasher films reached.
Story – The story here follows a man that will do anything to get vengeance for his son’s death, which sees him summon the evil Pumpkinhead to kill the people that took his son, he soon learns the errors of his choice and must figure out how to stop the killing machine. For a monster creature feature slasher this is a simple story, we don’t get twists, we don’t need much character development as we are more interested in seeing the effects being used. It is nice have a story that remains simple in the horror genre at times too.
Fantasy/Horror – The fantasy elements of this film comes from the figure of Pumpkinhead that gets summoned to do revenge for people that believe they have been wronged, which plays hand in hand with the horror side of the film which is slasher elements which show just how deadly this figure will be.
Settings – The film is set in a small town where we don’t have many people with the ones living their knowing each other and anyone coming from the outside being frowned upon.
Special Effects – The effects are the highlight of the film, Stan Winston was known for his ability to create some of the most memorable creatures in film history and with him directing he brings us another terrifying creation.
Scene of the Movie – The first imagine of Pumpkinhead.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The teenagers are stupid for how they acted for the accident to happen in the first place.
Final Thoughts – This is a slasher that can be enjoyed by the horror community, it offers everything needed to just let us enjoy ourselves without challenging us like other horrors.
Overall: Simple, effective and fun horror.
Performances – Lance Henriksen is the star of the film, he is easily the best performer as his character goes through the biggest trauma and shows the desperation for revenge and regret for his decision. When it comes to the rest of the cast, they are performed to the level most slasher films reached.
Story – The story here follows a man that will do anything to get vengeance for his son’s death, which sees him summon the evil Pumpkinhead to kill the people that took his son, he soon learns the errors of his choice and must figure out how to stop the killing machine. For a monster creature feature slasher this is a simple story, we don’t get twists, we don’t need much character development as we are more interested in seeing the effects being used. It is nice have a story that remains simple in the horror genre at times too.
Fantasy/Horror – The fantasy elements of this film comes from the figure of Pumpkinhead that gets summoned to do revenge for people that believe they have been wronged, which plays hand in hand with the horror side of the film which is slasher elements which show just how deadly this figure will be.
Settings – The film is set in a small town where we don’t have many people with the ones living their knowing each other and anyone coming from the outside being frowned upon.
Special Effects – The effects are the highlight of the film, Stan Winston was known for his ability to create some of the most memorable creatures in film history and with him directing he brings us another terrifying creation.
Scene of the Movie – The first imagine of Pumpkinhead.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The teenagers are stupid for how they acted for the accident to happen in the first place.
Final Thoughts – This is a slasher that can be enjoyed by the horror community, it offers everything needed to just let us enjoy ourselves without challenging us like other horrors.
Overall: Simple, effective and fun horror.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020) in Movies
Apr 14, 2020
The hugely popular Mortal Kombat franchise has a new cinematic entry with the release of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. The film is based on the very popular game series which began in the arcades and grew to dominate home gaming systems.
The franchise has also included theatrical films, toys, and scores of merchandise and the recent Mortal Kombat XI game was a massive success as well.
With news of a new live-action film in the works; Warner Bros has given fans something that truly fits the franchise well in the form of an R-Rated animated film.
While the prior films had a PG-13 rating, this one relishes the gore and violence and gives fans plenty of what they have come to expect.
The plot follows elements of the game and early film in that the evil Shao Khan has called forth the champions from the various realms to fight in a generational tournament where the realm who wins 10 strait events will have control over all the realms.
With 9 consecutive wins in place for Shao Khan and his champion Goro (Kevin Michael Richardson), the God Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell), has assembled a team of champions to save Earth.
There is Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter), and the ego maniac Johnny Cage (Joel McHale).
The team must battle all manner of enemies which includes a very impressive list from the game series and it was great to see so many of them appear even if their roles were small.
The main story focuses on Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) and his attempt to regain what was taken from him and it is his backstory which sets the tone and frames much of the events.
Action wise the film delivers as there are the moves, graphic internal close ups, and gore that fans will expect. There are also a few surprises along the way that I do not want to spoil. I did wonder why every creature in the film had red blood as I do remember there being a bit of variety amongst the non-human creatures but this is a minor fact in what is otherwise an enjoyable film that fans should like.
While the plot does not hold much in the way of surprises; it does give fans the action and characters they love and does bring some interesting new elements to the franchise as well as the basis for some character growth in future films.
The animation and voice work is first-rate and really captures the look and tone of the series while having a visual style of its own.
The ending clearly seems to be setting up a sequel and I for one cannot wait to see what they have in store next.
4 stars out of 5
The franchise has also included theatrical films, toys, and scores of merchandise and the recent Mortal Kombat XI game was a massive success as well.
With news of a new live-action film in the works; Warner Bros has given fans something that truly fits the franchise well in the form of an R-Rated animated film.
While the prior films had a PG-13 rating, this one relishes the gore and violence and gives fans plenty of what they have come to expect.
The plot follows elements of the game and early film in that the evil Shao Khan has called forth the champions from the various realms to fight in a generational tournament where the realm who wins 10 strait events will have control over all the realms.
With 9 consecutive wins in place for Shao Khan and his champion Goro (Kevin Michael Richardson), the God Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell), has assembled a team of champions to save Earth.
There is Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter), and the ego maniac Johnny Cage (Joel McHale).
The team must battle all manner of enemies which includes a very impressive list from the game series and it was great to see so many of them appear even if their roles were small.
The main story focuses on Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) and his attempt to regain what was taken from him and it is his backstory which sets the tone and frames much of the events.
Action wise the film delivers as there are the moves, graphic internal close ups, and gore that fans will expect. There are also a few surprises along the way that I do not want to spoil. I did wonder why every creature in the film had red blood as I do remember there being a bit of variety amongst the non-human creatures but this is a minor fact in what is otherwise an enjoyable film that fans should like.
While the plot does not hold much in the way of surprises; it does give fans the action and characters they love and does bring some interesting new elements to the franchise as well as the basis for some character growth in future films.
The animation and voice work is first-rate and really captures the look and tone of the series while having a visual style of its own.
The ending clearly seems to be setting up a sequel and I for one cannot wait to see what they have in store next.
4 stars out of 5
Summer Pop – Match Puzzle Game
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Play the hottest puzzle game Summer Pop this summer for free! Limited time offer: Enjoy unlimited...
Clair (5 KP) rated The Essex Serpent in Books
Sep 29, 2017
Purely a cover book buy, I had high hopes for this as it has won lots of awards. I’ve given it 3 stars – it took me over 100 pages before I really started to like it – I struggled to engage with the story and found my mind wandering, meaning I had to go back and reread several paragraphs again.
Set in 1893, Cora Seaborne finds herself a widow after her controlling husband dies. She and her son Francis and companion Martha leave for Colchester in Essex as she is a keen amateur naturalist and hopes to explore the area looking for fossils.
On arrival she hears rumours of the mythical Essex Serpent that has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter and she sets off to explore. She is introduced to William Ransome, a vicar who doesn’t believe in the Serpent but on meeting the pair find they have a connection.
There are many characters in the book, and this is for me what kept it interesting. Its meanders quite a bit but once I got used to the style, I ended up quite enjoying the story, and the historical and mystery elements were interesting.
I read it for my book club (my recommendation) and I have a feeling they may have enjoyed it more than me. I much prefer contemporary novels, but I’m glad I read this.
Set in 1893, Cora Seaborne finds herself a widow after her controlling husband dies. She and her son Francis and companion Martha leave for Colchester in Essex as she is a keen amateur naturalist and hopes to explore the area looking for fossils.
On arrival she hears rumours of the mythical Essex Serpent that has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter and she sets off to explore. She is introduced to William Ransome, a vicar who doesn’t believe in the Serpent but on meeting the pair find they have a connection.
There are many characters in the book, and this is for me what kept it interesting. Its meanders quite a bit but once I got used to the style, I ended up quite enjoying the story, and the historical and mystery elements were interesting.
I read it for my book club (my recommendation) and I have a feeling they may have enjoyed it more than me. I much prefer contemporary novels, but I’m glad I read this.