Search

Search only in certain items:

    Elders Weather App

    Elders Weather App

    Weather

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Elders, a leading Australian agribusiness, recognises how important it is to have accurate weather...

40x40

ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Way You Bite in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
TW
The Way You Bite
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
ARC received in exchange for a complimentary review.

I have really been winning with the classic paranormals lately. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading authors’ new creations and mythologies, but sometimes, the classics are just tops. A good ole fashion feud between vampires and werewolves? Yes please! Not only that but it was done well.

It was difficult not to love the hero. At first, you think he is going to be just another Alpha. Then you are treated to an open loving man who is willing to modify his actions and thoughts rather than remain unyielding. The heroine was a little more complicated. I agreed with her sense of independence and thoughts about violence. However, you can be independent and still have a partner. At times, Vee is stubborn and set in her ways to the point of being obnoxious. I am all for strong independent women, but I am tired of them associating it with being alone.

Overall, it was a great paranormal novel. An interesting world inhabited by good characters and an action-packed plot to keep you reading until the end. The chemistry didn’t seem forced, and I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfactory ending. I believe this is a standalone for the author, but you can bet I am going to check out some of her other work.

If you are looking for a good paranormal romance for a rainy day, this one’s for you!
  

“I was so touched by this book. I relate to Ronda in such an intense way, like I’ve almost never related to anybody my age – at least in the media. As a female producer who won’t work with co-producers, sometimes I feel like I don’t have any peers. When I first discovered Ronda, I was so moved that she was literally responsible for women entering the Ultimate Fighting Championship; that she walked into a man’s world and made it her own, even though everybody acted like she was crazy and didn’t think she could do it, or claimed that she only got there because of her looks. Everything, from being constantly exhausted because of eating issues, to the shame at being considered too masculine, to having no coach or mentor willing to train you, is something I have dealt with being a woman in a man’s industry. I also completely understand the commitment to being an entertainer whilst simultaneously perfecting your craft, and the kind of vitriol that this inspires from people on either end of the spectrum. Her dedication to being an autodidact, and the degree to which she has to train mentally to deal with the long hours and exhausting work, really struck me as both instructive and deeply relatable. This book changed my life, and made me feel so much less alone. I think all girls should read it.”

Source
  
Turtles All The Way Down
Turtles All The Way Down
John Green | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (60 Ratings)
Book Rating
SPOILER FREE!

This is the second book I ever read from John Green and I love everything about it. There is just something about John Green's writing that just keeps me going and going and not wanting to stop.

This story is exactly what I needed this weekend. Mix of mystery, romance, and a little bit of humor. The story was smoothly put together into place nicely where I have a full understanding of what's going on and enough action going on where it kept me reading.

We have a story where a 16-year-old Aza who is the main character and her best friend Daisy are investigating a fugitive who is a billionaire who is missing and there is a hundred thousand dollar reward leading to the fugitive named Russel Pickett. Aza used to hang out with the fugitive's son name Davis when they were kids. Aza and Davis reconnect with each other and build a relationship. Thru the whole book, we are in Aza's point of view on things and what she is dealing with.

Aza has severe Anxiety issue when it comes to health. John Green did a wonderful job writing about Aza and how she feels and what she is thinking. I truly enjoyed reading about her and how she deals with her life and everyone around her. Her relationship with her mother and her best friend and Davis is wonderful to read seeing the character growth thru out the book with them. 

I would like to share that I absolutely love Daisy, Aza'a best friend! If Daisy was in the real world her and I would have been good friends. I love that she is a Star Wars fanatic and who she is as a person makes me smile and laugh where you need a Daisy in your life. The character growth between her and Aza was amazing to me, they are two different people who are best friends which reminds me of my best friend that I grew up with.

I was so curious to what happened to the missing fugitive and also wondering what the relationship with the characters would end up towards the end of the book. I am very pleased with this book and highly recommend it!
  
Seventh Son (2015)
Seventh Son (2015)
2015 | Drama, Sci-Fi
4
5.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
After a two-year delay, Seventh Son has finally reached the big screen, and it will leave you conflicted.

Seventh Son is brought to us by director Sergey Bodrov. Originally set for a February 2013 release, the film had complicated distribution arrangements between Legendary and Warner Brothers, which kept causing delays.

Jeff Bridges plays one of the title characters: Master John Gregory. He is the last of an order of peacekeeper knights, which once used to be a thousand strong. All of these knights are seventh sons of seventh sons, and are self-tasked with keeping the evil creatures of the world at bay.

The movie starts off with a young Gregory completing a prison cell for an unknown woman. Years later, the prisoner, a draconic beast, breaks out and attacks a nearby town, specifically targeting the aged Knight and his apprentice (Kit Harington — Jon Snow from Game of Thrones). This recently released evil is Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), the queen of witches.

During the battle, Harington’s brief existence in this film is brought to an end, causing Gregory to seek out another apprentice. This search leads him to young Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes). After Ward goes through some sad goodbyes with his family, he and Gregory set out to take down the Witch Queen before the blood moon sets.

His training would normally take 10 years, but they only have a week.

Put simply, this movie was very fragmented. It isn’t a good movie, but it isn’t a bad one either. It has reasonable special effects and decent fight scenes.

There is plenty of star power: Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Kit Harington, Djimon Hounsou (one of my favorites), and Jason Scott Lee.

Jeff Bridges missed the mark on his character. It’s one thing to be disgruntled and war-torn with a curious sense of humor, but it’s something quite different to be outright silly.

There were no explanations. How did the order come about? Why seventh sons of seventh sons? How did Gregory KNOW there was a seventh son at that house? How did the war start? Why is Gregory the last? Why wasn’t there more about Gregory’s relationship with Malkin? Why did the skeleton in the armor attack Tom? Why do the swords hum? Where did the stone come from? Why was it powerful? Why anything, really? The story has no depth, failing to explain the “why” of any of its lore. There were only statements of fact, which confuses viewers and prevents them from becoming emotionally anchored to the story.

I simply didn’t care about the characters. The film was disorganized and rushed. Perhaps it would have been better served as two films, or a longer film, or even a mini series.

Seventh Son had the potential to be so much more. A combination of poor writing and bad direction made the movie lackluster to me and all three of my companions.

The actors delivered many campy one-liners, and the chuckles they drew from the crowd were quite unintentional.

If you are a fan of high fantasy, it’s probably worth seeing, but wait for it to arrive on Netflix and use it as background entertainment
  
40x40

Amanda (96 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books

Mar 18, 2019  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Why in the world did it take me this long to read this book? I could seriously kick myself! I haven't seen the movie yet, I'm not entirely sure I want to after reading this book. I don't think any movie could do it justice. Yes, I liked this book that much.

Imagine a world where the world has kind of gone to pieces and most of the time you want to escape the harsh reality. A man invented a virtual reality called OASIS and before his passing, he stated that there is a hidden Easter egg in the OASIS and whomever finds it, has COMPLETE control of the OASIS and his fortune. It's been several years and NOBODY has been able to find the egg, or even come close to it.

The entire story is told from Wade's point of view. In reality, he's known as Wade, in OASIS he is Parzivel. The creator of OASIS is known to be a huge fan of 80's style; music, movies, tv shows, you name it, he was a fan. Wade goes through all of these shows and movies to get some sort of clue to find out what and where the egg is located. One day, he figures out the first clue and winds up being the first name on the score board.

The idea of going to a virtual school sounded like a really cool idea. From the way it's described in the book, it sounds like a much more effective way to actually learn in a classroom. I think with the way technology keeps advancing, we may very well be on our way to going that route.

I loved all of the 80's references throughout the book. I'm not an 80's child, but I've been told I'm old soul. Like, I'm a reincarnated person who was born in the 30's because I'm not really into the new shows or the new music. Mentions of Monty Python and the other TV shows that I've actually binge watched myself really brought out my inner nerd and it was enjoyable.

The only thing that made me lose a little respect for Wade is when he starts falling for another user named Art3mis. He has NO CLUE who this person is in real life, just her avatar. And in OASIS, the avatar is a blonde woman and Wade falls for her and spends as much time with her as possible. When Art3miss decides to cool it down with him, he kind of acts like a puppy who had its treat taken away. I know he's a kid who just graduated high school so having your first crush on someone really clouds your best judgment, but I found his infatuation with Art3mis rather annoying and I almost wanted to yell at my book and hope he hears me.

Am I the only one who's felt that way?

In the end, I'm rooting for Wade to find all these keys and reach the gates before someone else does. There's another company who actually specifically hires people to find this egg. This company will start charging people to use OASIS and actually give people limited access, no, we don't want that.

The book as a whole was excellent. It caught my attention in the beginning, and even though I was a bit annoyed with Wade, I still WANTED to finish this story. I WANTED to go through the OASIS journey with him and help him, encourage him, to continue and find that egg and help everybody cope with reality, with or without OASIS. If you've seen the movie, read the book. I guarantee that the movie was not able to capture EVERYTHING with this story and you deserve to know EVERYTHING about WADE and his new friends in finding that egg.
  
40x40

Cori June (3033 KP) Mar 19, 2019

Your not the only one who feels that way. There have been numerous times I wanted to yell at a character for being stupid and making bad choices. I am excited to read this, it is on my reading list and I've been having mixed feelings aabout it.

In a Kingdom by the Sea
In a Kingdom by the Sea
Sara Macdonald | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine how it must feel to live in a country that is nearly always depicted negatively? How does it feel to have your country's natural beauty and landscape usurped by the violence of a small percentage of people? This is what Gabriella discovers the majority of the population of Pakistan face when she accompanies her husband Mike to Karachi where he works for Pakistan Atlantic Airways.

Gabriella and her sons have been used to Mike disappearing for months at a time on various jobs abroad, however, she is beginning to feel she and her husband are drifting apart. When Mike suggests she come and stay with him in Pakistan, she jumps at the chance, however, instead of strengthing the relationship, Gabriella feels further away than ever. Constantly left behind in a hotel while Mike attends numerous conferences, Gabriella is virtually housebound; it being too dangerous to venture outside. Not only that, she suspects Mike is having an affair and to top it all off, her half-sister Dominique reveals a devastating secret about their childhood in Cornwall.

In a Kingdom by the Sea by Sara MacDonald is essentially a contemporary love story, exploring the woes of a nearly fifty-year-old coming to the end of a long relationship. With underlying elements of mystery, for instance, what happened to Dominique in the early 1970s and what exactly is Mike up to, the novel also explores the hidden truths of a country stereotyped by violence and terrorism.

Gabriella meets dozens of kind and caring people in Pakistan who have her best interests at heart. These people are not dangerous or violent as the media often leads the western world to believe. Whilst some groups of people are content to cause death and destruction, leaving the cities a minefield to navigate, there are plenty more who wish to live peaceful lives. Gabriella is captivated by the beautiful, enchanting landscapes, unlike anything back home in England.

As the story progresses, Gabriella learns more about the lives of women in Pakistan. They are unable to live as they please, having to bow to the commands of their husbands, parents and brothers instead. The more Gabriella speaks to these women, the more she realises that cooped up in the hotel most of the day, she is in a similar situation, under the thumb of her own husband. So, she stops. Thinks. Is this the life she wants?

In a Kingdom by the Sea is a slightly long-winded but eye-opening story. Not everyone will be able to relate to the lives of Pakistani women, however, their plight will resonate with those who relish freedom. Whilst it is difficult to compare Gabriella's life with the women she meets in Karachi, readers will also be rooting for Gabriella's happy-ever-after.