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Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Fallen Angel in Books
Sep 10, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Adult
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.27
My Rating: 2.5
“What do you see when you look into my eyes?” I asked breathlessly and not entirely sure where the question had come from.
“All there is to know,” was his reply. “What do you see when you look into my eyes, Brooke?” he whispered, there was a slight anger to his voice.
I trembled. “An abyss and danger,” was all I could say.
I found Fallen Angel when I was looking for angel/mortal romance novels. Even though Fallen Angel was listed as a mafia romance and not not the supernatural romance I was looking for, I picked it up anyway. And at first it was great.
It immediately started out with a strong love story. Brooke is in the midst of an existential crisis after breaking up with her long-time boyfriend. When she visits her best friend Sam in New York, she ends up meeting billionaire Robert Stone, a handsome CEO who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. To the point of being a jerk about it. But at least he’s self aware about that.
“I’m worried that I might hurt you. I have a knack of doing that when people get too close to me, a defense mechanism, I guess.”
No one pretends Robert is a great boyfriend, which I love. There are too many alpha billionaires out there that are disturbingly abusive while everyone pretends it’s a normal relationship. Not here. Robert’s actually one of the first to admit that he’s not a good boyfriend and he’s never had a real relationship. Which is great. I love flawed heroes. And when Robert does get better at communicating his feelings, it’s worth it.
“I love you, Brooke. You’ll never know just how much because there are no words.”
And Brooke is strong enough to handle him. She stands up to Robert when he disses Sam for being gay (which, by the way, I hated a lot. You can be a flawed badass without being a homophobe. Ugh. Major turn-off for me) and when he makes a big deal about her wearing a revealing dress.
“I wore it for you and not for anyone else. If people can see my body, so what? You’re the only one touching it,” I told him.
Brooke’s even a trained kick boxer. She’s incredibly strong and perfect to help Robert get over his past.
Then the story falls flat.
tired-and-bored-boy-sleep-014
After their second fight and make up, the story gets monotonous real fast. A lot of sex scenes– which, to be fair, were actually hot and well-written– and a lot of the mundane stuff. Brooke hanging out with Sam and Scott, Brooke working, Brooke attending one event or another with Robert. The story just dragged. And with the actual story dragging, the amount of comma splices and run-on sentences became more noticeable to me and book was practically unreadable. I had to make myself finish because I had already invested so much time into it.
It’s not like there wasn’t potential for more plot. There’s a jealous ex girlfriend out to steal Robert back and Brooke’s ex boyfriend can’t accept their break up. Brooke takes a troubled teen under her wing and isn’t this supposed to be a mafia romance?
And yet the majority of the middle of the book is sex, clothes, work days, and how great Brooke is for Robert. On top of that, Brooke loses a lot of the strength and independence I saw earlier in the book. In fact, she turned into a love sick teen.
Our souls, so entwined, were part of each other, true soul mates. Not even death would separate us.
marrypoppinsareyouill
To make matters worse, Robert’s criminal background isn’t revealed until three quarters of the way through the story! And since he got out of illegal activities years before he met Brooke, it’s really anticlimactic. Brooke makes a huge deal out of it and almost leaves him because of his past, which makes me dislike her even more. The criminal element actually seems more like an after thought to this so-called mafia romance. I’m really surprised it has such a high rating on Goodreads because I found it pretty disappointing. My rating is 2.5 stars because of the strong beginning, but I definitely won’t be reading any more of the Fallen Angel series.
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.27
My Rating: 2.5
“What do you see when you look into my eyes?” I asked breathlessly and not entirely sure where the question had come from.
“All there is to know,” was his reply. “What do you see when you look into my eyes, Brooke?” he whispered, there was a slight anger to his voice.
I trembled. “An abyss and danger,” was all I could say.
I found Fallen Angel when I was looking for angel/mortal romance novels. Even though Fallen Angel was listed as a mafia romance and not not the supernatural romance I was looking for, I picked it up anyway. And at first it was great.
It immediately started out with a strong love story. Brooke is in the midst of an existential crisis after breaking up with her long-time boyfriend. When she visits her best friend Sam in New York, she ends up meeting billionaire Robert Stone, a handsome CEO who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. To the point of being a jerk about it. But at least he’s self aware about that.
“I’m worried that I might hurt you. I have a knack of doing that when people get too close to me, a defense mechanism, I guess.”
No one pretends Robert is a great boyfriend, which I love. There are too many alpha billionaires out there that are disturbingly abusive while everyone pretends it’s a normal relationship. Not here. Robert’s actually one of the first to admit that he’s not a good boyfriend and he’s never had a real relationship. Which is great. I love flawed heroes. And when Robert does get better at communicating his feelings, it’s worth it.
“I love you, Brooke. You’ll never know just how much because there are no words.”
And Brooke is strong enough to handle him. She stands up to Robert when he disses Sam for being gay (which, by the way, I hated a lot. You can be a flawed badass without being a homophobe. Ugh. Major turn-off for me) and when he makes a big deal about her wearing a revealing dress.
“I wore it for you and not for anyone else. If people can see my body, so what? You’re the only one touching it,” I told him.
Brooke’s even a trained kick boxer. She’s incredibly strong and perfect to help Robert get over his past.
Then the story falls flat.
tired-and-bored-boy-sleep-014
After their second fight and make up, the story gets monotonous real fast. A lot of sex scenes– which, to be fair, were actually hot and well-written– and a lot of the mundane stuff. Brooke hanging out with Sam and Scott, Brooke working, Brooke attending one event or another with Robert. The story just dragged. And with the actual story dragging, the amount of comma splices and run-on sentences became more noticeable to me and book was practically unreadable. I had to make myself finish because I had already invested so much time into it.
It’s not like there wasn’t potential for more plot. There’s a jealous ex girlfriend out to steal Robert back and Brooke’s ex boyfriend can’t accept their break up. Brooke takes a troubled teen under her wing and isn’t this supposed to be a mafia romance?
And yet the majority of the middle of the book is sex, clothes, work days, and how great Brooke is for Robert. On top of that, Brooke loses a lot of the strength and independence I saw earlier in the book. In fact, she turned into a love sick teen.
Our souls, so entwined, were part of each other, true soul mates. Not even death would separate us.
marrypoppinsareyouill
To make matters worse, Robert’s criminal background isn’t revealed until three quarters of the way through the story! And since he got out of illegal activities years before he met Brooke, it’s really anticlimactic. Brooke makes a huge deal out of it and almost leaves him because of his past, which makes me dislike her even more. The criminal element actually seems more like an after thought to this so-called mafia romance. I’m really surprised it has such a high rating on Goodreads because I found it pretty disappointing. My rating is 2.5 stars because of the strong beginning, but I definitely won’t be reading any more of the Fallen Angel series.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Zoolander 2 (2016) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
A Fashion Faux pas
It pains me to say it, but Ben Stiller hasn’t really been relevant for quite some time. His last film, the final movie in the Night at the Museum franchise struggled with critics and audiences alike.
Once dubbed part of the so-called “Fratpack”, alongside Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn to name a few, their success has fallen by the wayside since introducing rising stars like Melissa McCarthy and Chris Pratt to the comedy genre.
Here, Stiller gives one of his most memorable characters, Derek Zoolander, a sequel that no-one was really asking for. But is it worthy of your time?
In Zoolander 2, titular male model Derek Zoolander has fallen out of favour with the public and has retreated into hiding away from the prying eyes of the media to focus on getting his life back together. By a stroke of luck, a chance encounter with old friend Hansel (Owen Wilson) sets them on a path to help stop high-profile celebrity deaths, finding out who is behind them in the process.
The story is a little nondescript with the intentions of both the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ not quite clear. There are elements of the first live-action Scooby Doo film in its design – and that’s not a good thing.
An all-star cast that includes the exceptionally beautiful Penelope Cruz, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig is bolstered by more celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at. Justin Bieber, Anna Wintour, Sting, Ariana Grande, MC Hammer and Kiefer Sutherland are just a few on a list that is nearly endless.
Unfortunately, these cameos are the highlights in a film full of recycled gags and very poor camerawork. As we follow our two leads on their journey across a dreary looking Rome, Zoolander 2 drags with only a couple of laughs in the first hour – something the first one managed to avoid.
In fact, things are so bad, they only pick up in the final 30 minutes when Will Ferrell’s villain Mugatu makes a much-needed appearance, steering this near-trainwreck of a comedy into fairly decent territory. Ferrel’s comic timing is as usual, on point, but it’s unfortunate he puts Stiller and Wilson to shame.
Penelope Cruz is her ever-watchable self but piles on the shtick to such an extent that it takes away from her character, making her almost cartoonish in personality and actions.
Elsewhere, the clever parodies relating to the fashion industry are taken away; instead Zoolander 2 is lumped with cheap laughs that constantly try too hard to raise even the smallest smirk from its audience.
Overall, Zoolander 2 is not a patch on its predecessor with Will Ferrell providing the film with its only genuine moments of hilarity and this comes within the final 30 minutes of a 102 minute feature. Stiller may have tried to resurrect one of his finest characters, but in doing so, has tarnished that reputation.
Much like its lead star, Zoolander 2 tries desperately to stay relevant, and unfortunately this type of comedy just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/02/21/a-fashion-faux-pas-zoolander-2-review/
Once dubbed part of the so-called “Fratpack”, alongside Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn to name a few, their success has fallen by the wayside since introducing rising stars like Melissa McCarthy and Chris Pratt to the comedy genre.
Here, Stiller gives one of his most memorable characters, Derek Zoolander, a sequel that no-one was really asking for. But is it worthy of your time?
In Zoolander 2, titular male model Derek Zoolander has fallen out of favour with the public and has retreated into hiding away from the prying eyes of the media to focus on getting his life back together. By a stroke of luck, a chance encounter with old friend Hansel (Owen Wilson) sets them on a path to help stop high-profile celebrity deaths, finding out who is behind them in the process.
The story is a little nondescript with the intentions of both the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ not quite clear. There are elements of the first live-action Scooby Doo film in its design – and that’s not a good thing.
An all-star cast that includes the exceptionally beautiful Penelope Cruz, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig is bolstered by more celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at. Justin Bieber, Anna Wintour, Sting, Ariana Grande, MC Hammer and Kiefer Sutherland are just a few on a list that is nearly endless.
Unfortunately, these cameos are the highlights in a film full of recycled gags and very poor camerawork. As we follow our two leads on their journey across a dreary looking Rome, Zoolander 2 drags with only a couple of laughs in the first hour – something the first one managed to avoid.
In fact, things are so bad, they only pick up in the final 30 minutes when Will Ferrell’s villain Mugatu makes a much-needed appearance, steering this near-trainwreck of a comedy into fairly decent territory. Ferrel’s comic timing is as usual, on point, but it’s unfortunate he puts Stiller and Wilson to shame.
Penelope Cruz is her ever-watchable self but piles on the shtick to such an extent that it takes away from her character, making her almost cartoonish in personality and actions.
Elsewhere, the clever parodies relating to the fashion industry are taken away; instead Zoolander 2 is lumped with cheap laughs that constantly try too hard to raise even the smallest smirk from its audience.
Overall, Zoolander 2 is not a patch on its predecessor with Will Ferrell providing the film with its only genuine moments of hilarity and this comes within the final 30 minutes of a 102 minute feature. Stiller may have tried to resurrect one of his finest characters, but in doing so, has tarnished that reputation.
Much like its lead star, Zoolander 2 tries desperately to stay relevant, and unfortunately this type of comedy just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/02/21/a-fashion-faux-pas-zoolander-2-review/
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated The Hidden Corpse in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Can Hope Find the Hidden Killer?
Hope’s neighbor Peggy Olson has come to Hope for help after catching some stuff on fire in her kitchen. Peggy had fallen asleep only to wake up to the smoke. What bothers her is she didn’t even remember starting to cook anything. When Peggy’s house burns down the next day with Peggy inside, Hope feels extremely guilty for not saying anything to protect Peggy from accidentally doing this again. That guilt changes when the police find evidence that it could have been arson. A second body in the house only further confuses things. Can Hope figure out what happened to her neighbor?
This book has a very strong mystery with plenty of questions that need to be answered. The suspects were strong as well, and they kept me guessing until the end. In fact, I was certain it was several of them at various points in the book, yet the final solution made perfect sense. Hope is a great main character as well. My biggest issue is the supporting cast. I feel like they are still fairly thin characters, and several of them are annoying. I hope they get more fleshed out as the series progresses, allowing us to like them more. Since I am a blogger (but not a food blogger), I found that aspect of Hope’s life very interesting, although her world is very different from mine. And, speaking of food, there are six delicious sounding recipes at the end of the book.
This book has a very strong mystery with plenty of questions that need to be answered. The suspects were strong as well, and they kept me guessing until the end. In fact, I was certain it was several of them at various points in the book, yet the final solution made perfect sense. Hope is a great main character as well. My biggest issue is the supporting cast. I feel like they are still fairly thin characters, and several of them are annoying. I hope they get more fleshed out as the series progresses, allowing us to like them more. Since I am a blogger (but not a food blogger), I found that aspect of Hope’s life very interesting, although her world is very different from mine. And, speaking of food, there are six delicious sounding recipes at the end of the book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated A Deadly Feast in Books
May 13, 2019
Thanksgiving Wedding Bells
Hayley Snow’s wedding is just a few days away, and her list of things to do is long, as you’d expect. She’s got family coming in from out of town, Thanksgiving the day before, and contractors to get working on the houseboat she wants to move into soon after she gets married. So the last thing she needs to do is find herself embroiled in a mystery. But when a woman on a seafood tour Hayley is covering for work drops dead, Hayley is asked by the friend who owns the company to find out what happened. Can Hayley squeeze that into her busy week?
As you can see, there is plenty happening here, and I found the pages turning quickly. Unfortunately, I felt the mystery suffered as a result. It was often buried in everything else going on, and the resolution was rushed as a result. But I do love these characters, and getting to spend time with them is wonderful as always. I enjoyed getting to see a different side of a couple and have others return. Thanks to these books, I’ve fallen in love with Key West, so it was fantastic to get to visit again. It was a much-needed mini vacation. There are nine new recipes for us to try; personally, I’m most intrigued by the pumpkin pie recipe. While newcomers to the series won’t be as charmed with this outing, longtime fans will be happy to visit Hayley again here.
As you can see, there is plenty happening here, and I found the pages turning quickly. Unfortunately, I felt the mystery suffered as a result. It was often buried in everything else going on, and the resolution was rushed as a result. But I do love these characters, and getting to spend time with them is wonderful as always. I enjoyed getting to see a different side of a couple and have others return. Thanks to these books, I’ve fallen in love with Key West, so it was fantastic to get to visit again. It was a much-needed mini vacation. There are nine new recipes for us to try; personally, I’m most intrigued by the pumpkin pie recipe. While newcomers to the series won’t be as charmed with this outing, longtime fans will be happy to visit Hayley again here.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Friends With Benefits (2011) in Movies
Mar 22, 2018
Sleeper Hit
Friends With Benefits succeeds largely because of the chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. This movie could have had the most honest of intentions, but would have easily fallen flat without a couple you can get behind. That's not to say that their relationship didn't annoy me at times. Realistically had they just come clean with each other sooner, you could cut the run time of the film by about thirty minutes. It's a movie, however, and alas this is what movies are known to do at times.
Mila's character Jamie continued to win me over as the film progressed. She's spunky, witty, and has a vulnerability that you can appreciate. I appreciate Mila's ability to switch emotion on a dime when she needed to (going from happy to hurt, etc.).
I was surprised by the number of funny moments throughout. The comedy carries from beginning to end successfully which makes it all the more easier to sit back and enjoy. The ongoing Captain Sully joke was a nice touch along with the clever way the film kicked off having the opening Screen Gems intro being a part of a computer screen.
Friends With Benefits is a sleeper hit. It's the story of two friends who start a just-sex relationship that blossoms into something else. Cameos from Andy Samberg and Emma Stone ("We missed 'Your Body is a Wonderland'!") in the first few minutes sets a hilarious tone that never lets up. Highly recommended from me, I give the film a 92.
Mila's character Jamie continued to win me over as the film progressed. She's spunky, witty, and has a vulnerability that you can appreciate. I appreciate Mila's ability to switch emotion on a dime when she needed to (going from happy to hurt, etc.).
I was surprised by the number of funny moments throughout. The comedy carries from beginning to end successfully which makes it all the more easier to sit back and enjoy. The ongoing Captain Sully joke was a nice touch along with the clever way the film kicked off having the opening Screen Gems intro being a part of a computer screen.
Friends With Benefits is a sleeper hit. It's the story of two friends who start a just-sex relationship that blossoms into something else. Cameos from Andy Samberg and Emma Stone ("We missed 'Your Body is a Wonderland'!") in the first few minutes sets a hilarious tone that never lets up. Highly recommended from me, I give the film a 92.
Merissa (12066 KP) rated An Opportunity Seized (Haven Security #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
I received this book from Sparkle Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review.
Toni is the daughter of an incredibly rich man in Australia and has therefore always felt like she has fallen short of the mark and will never live up to her parents' expectations. Her mum is slim and expects Toni to be the same, even though she has inherited her father's genes in the weight department. Jason is the military man who doesn't have oodles of money to his name but instead oozes sex appeal and Toni finds him irresistible.
I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I am loving the Romantic Suspense genre at the moment but something in this book just didn't work for me... and I'm at a loss to explain what it is. Perhaps it's the quickness of their relationship, perhaps it is how the relationship with her parents turns on its head within moments with no real explanation of why she was treated the way she thought she was in the past. The other thing could be that I never really felt that danger was present for Toni. The whole suspense issue, indeed most of the issues in the book, seemed to be resolved too quickly, too easily and all tied together with a neat bow.
The writing of this book is very well done and the plot flows at a steady pace. This is a light book to read when you don't want to have to think too deeply about anything.
Toni is the daughter of an incredibly rich man in Australia and has therefore always felt like she has fallen short of the mark and will never live up to her parents' expectations. Her mum is slim and expects Toni to be the same, even though she has inherited her father's genes in the weight department. Jason is the military man who doesn't have oodles of money to his name but instead oozes sex appeal and Toni finds him irresistible.
I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I am loving the Romantic Suspense genre at the moment but something in this book just didn't work for me... and I'm at a loss to explain what it is. Perhaps it's the quickness of their relationship, perhaps it is how the relationship with her parents turns on its head within moments with no real explanation of why she was treated the way she thought she was in the past. The other thing could be that I never really felt that danger was present for Toni. The whole suspense issue, indeed most of the issues in the book, seemed to be resolved too quickly, too easily and all tied together with a neat bow.
The writing of this book is very well done and the plot flows at a steady pace. This is a light book to read when you don't want to have to think too deeply about anything.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Wolverine: Old Man Logan in Books
Jan 30, 2019
(edit: the really-rather-good movie 'Logan' supposedly takes its inspiration from this one, and it's not hard to spot where, despite that movie also being it's own thing)
Well, that was unexpected.
I'd heard good things about this one, but had never got round to reading it until fairly recently.
And I have to say, that this one does live up to the hype.
It's also quite easy to spot some of the influences on this: set in the future (like The Dark Knight Returns), this sees Logan - who has given up violence and just wants to live a quiet life - travelling across America in the company of an ex-Avenger (Hawkeye), that has since fallen to the super-villains and been divided up amongst them, all to earn some cash so he can pay-off the gang-lords (descendants of Bruce Banner) of the sector in which he lives: a road-trip fairly reminiscent of Mad Max.
Reading it, I kinda want to learn more about what happened; about how did the world get into the state it is portrayed in (although there are brief snippets given throughout). Forswearing violence for the majority of the tale, it's only towards the end that he finally lets loose, in some rather graphic scenes and depictions - it's no wonder that this comes with a parental guidance! - before finally riding off into the sunset (Pale Rider? Unforgiven?) after he returns home to find tragedy has befallen his family while he was away.
Well, that was unexpected.
I'd heard good things about this one, but had never got round to reading it until fairly recently.
And I have to say, that this one does live up to the hype.
It's also quite easy to spot some of the influences on this: set in the future (like The Dark Knight Returns), this sees Logan - who has given up violence and just wants to live a quiet life - travelling across America in the company of an ex-Avenger (Hawkeye), that has since fallen to the super-villains and been divided up amongst them, all to earn some cash so he can pay-off the gang-lords (descendants of Bruce Banner) of the sector in which he lives: a road-trip fairly reminiscent of Mad Max.
Reading it, I kinda want to learn more about what happened; about how did the world get into the state it is portrayed in (although there are brief snippets given throughout). Forswearing violence for the majority of the tale, it's only towards the end that he finally lets loose, in some rather graphic scenes and depictions - it's no wonder that this comes with a parental guidance! - before finally riding off into the sunset (Pale Rider? Unforgiven?) after he returns home to find tragedy has befallen his family while he was away.
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