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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) in Books
Jun 23, 2022
112 of 230
Book
House of Earth and Blood ( Crescent City book 1)
By Sarah J Maas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.
I absolutely loved it from start to finish! It was one emotional journey and yes I had a tear escape! For me the book flowed well it kept me interested and I loved the characters. I’m totally in love with Ruhn. I was expecting the slaughter so soon in the book it was definitely a deep breath moment! I do love Sarah J Maas.
Book
House of Earth and Blood ( Crescent City book 1)
By Sarah J Maas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.
I absolutely loved it from start to finish! It was one emotional journey and yes I had a tear escape! For me the book flowed well it kept me interested and I loved the characters. I’m totally in love with Ruhn. I was expecting the slaughter so soon in the book it was definitely a deep breath moment! I do love Sarah J Maas.
Watchers of the Beloveds: Journey of Forgiveness
Book
In the modern world, where the celestial and mortal realms converge, a tale of forbidden love and...
Merissa (12897 KP) rated Thunder Hunter (Viking Soul #1) in Books
Nov 6, 2017
Thunder Hunter (Viking Soul #1) by Rachel Medhurst
Thunder Hunter starts off many years ago, with Loki and Thor fighting. Freya is there too, plus many others, all of whom will die unless something changes. What changes is Loki kills Thor, but Freya puts Thor's power inside his grandson. Trygger must find all of the Fallen Ones before he can die, no matter how long it takes. Once that has happened, Thor will live, and Trygger will die at last, and live among the gods. Fast forward a few years, and Trygger only has five more to find. He as lived through many assassination attempts by Loki's descendants, and has killed more than his fair share too. And then Freya decides she will help him, by sending one of her descendants, Chloe.
I have to be honest, there were parts that I really enjoyed in this book, but there were also parts that I didn't like. Trygger has been by himself for a long time, and has focused only on completing his task so that he can die. Along the way, he has lost most of society's "niceties", but that doesn't stop EVERY. SINGLE. WOMAN. from throwing herself at him. Even if her job is to kill him! Sorry, but I don't get that bit. Also, he said that he never had women stay over at his place, but he has on hand a little black dress from someone he has killed just lying around!
This was an enjoyable book if you don't look to deeply at it. I'm not entirely sure where the story is going, which is a good thing, but I don't think I'll be reading any further along. If you enjoy tales of Norse mythology though, I would definitely recommend it to you.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I have to be honest, there were parts that I really enjoyed in this book, but there were also parts that I didn't like. Trygger has been by himself for a long time, and has focused only on completing his task so that he can die. Along the way, he has lost most of society's "niceties", but that doesn't stop EVERY. SINGLE. WOMAN. from throwing herself at him. Even if her job is to kill him! Sorry, but I don't get that bit. Also, he said that he never had women stay over at his place, but he has on hand a little black dress from someone he has killed just lying around!
This was an enjoyable book if you don't look to deeply at it. I'm not entirely sure where the story is going, which is a good thing, but I don't think I'll be reading any further along. If you enjoy tales of Norse mythology though, I would definitely recommend it to you.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The third instalment in the Faithful and the Fallen series continues the story laid out in Malice and Valour. Again, the story is split between numerous PoV characters, which at times is a little annoying (especially as some of them really are bit-part characters barely mentioned in the rest of the story and are only there to witness events). Whereas before the story followed perhaps three different adventures with little overlap, there is now a much wider scope to the overall plot with a number of different battles, sieges, journeys, confrontations all happening at the same time and the story generally chops and changes between these.
At times in all three books now I have felt that the same thing is being told numerous times, everyone loses their father and looks for revenge, numerous people are betrayed by their brother, two interchangeable young heirs to different thrones are on the run from those seeking to end their claim to that throne etc. And the number of times groups just happen to cross paths in what is supposed to be a massive, dense, unnavigable forest, often just at the right time, is frankly preposterous.
While some of the characters and some plot devices aren't great, the story telling and world building is brilliant. Once you remember who the character is and what they were doing last chapter (sometimes 100 pages ago!) it really is very gripping reading. Now that we (and they) know who the good guys and bad guys are, the balance in strength is constantly shifting as people change sides, massive warbands are wiped out in battle or castles taken/re-taken and groups flee through the forest. There is a lot of ground to cover in the last book of the series, but with all the main groups now zeroing in on the same area I expect this to be done to a satisfactory conclusion with the same pace as shown here.
At times in all three books now I have felt that the same thing is being told numerous times, everyone loses their father and looks for revenge, numerous people are betrayed by their brother, two interchangeable young heirs to different thrones are on the run from those seeking to end their claim to that throne etc. And the number of times groups just happen to cross paths in what is supposed to be a massive, dense, unnavigable forest, often just at the right time, is frankly preposterous.
While some of the characters and some plot devices aren't great, the story telling and world building is brilliant. Once you remember who the character is and what they were doing last chapter (sometimes 100 pages ago!) it really is very gripping reading. Now that we (and they) know who the good guys and bad guys are, the balance in strength is constantly shifting as people change sides, massive warbands are wiped out in battle or castles taken/re-taken and groups flee through the forest. There is a lot of ground to cover in the last book of the series, but with all the main groups now zeroing in on the same area I expect this to be done to a satisfactory conclusion with the same pace as shown here.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated The Happening (2008) in Movies
Mar 7, 2019
Back in 2009, when I first saw this, I wrote a review on Flixter which read "Simple question: What the hell was Happening???? More to the point
What was the point???? This movie was so diabolically pointless, self-serving and self-indulgent that words could never do it justice. Such a fall from grace from the man who brought us The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable
"
In many ways, that sums this film up perfectly. On a second viewing, an almost three years later, I feel that I have just a little more to say, but none of which is particularly good, except for the fact that I have increased my original one star/candle review to three out the maximum of ten! Shyamalan was a rising talent and now he has fallen far from grace, especially after the flop that was The Last Airbender. In this film he managed, whether by some misguided design or just by poor direction, to get some of the most amateurish performances out his cast imaginable.
I mean, I know that I'm hardly Mark Wahlberg's greatest advocate but he's still miles better than this, as is his counterpart, Zooey Deschanel, who both put in embarrassingly poor performances, but not just bad, but something that I would expect to see in a church hall! This was amateur all the way, with the only saving grace being the otherwise precise Shyamalan direction. But that's not to say that it wasn't boring or that he was directing a pointless narrative. The concept was slightly interesting but handled in such a ridiculously cack-handed and misjudged manner that I doubt anyone would dare suggest this idea again, let alone finance of film it.
I won't give away the "Twist", if you would call it that, but it is original, I grant you that, but interesting enough to support a movie? No way. Nor was anything else about this film.
In many ways, that sums this film up perfectly. On a second viewing, an almost three years later, I feel that I have just a little more to say, but none of which is particularly good, except for the fact that I have increased my original one star/candle review to three out the maximum of ten! Shyamalan was a rising talent and now he has fallen far from grace, especially after the flop that was The Last Airbender. In this film he managed, whether by some misguided design or just by poor direction, to get some of the most amateurish performances out his cast imaginable.
I mean, I know that I'm hardly Mark Wahlberg's greatest advocate but he's still miles better than this, as is his counterpart, Zooey Deschanel, who both put in embarrassingly poor performances, but not just bad, but something that I would expect to see in a church hall! This was amateur all the way, with the only saving grace being the otherwise precise Shyamalan direction. But that's not to say that it wasn't boring or that he was directing a pointless narrative. The concept was slightly interesting but handled in such a ridiculously cack-handed and misjudged manner that I doubt anyone would dare suggest this idea again, let alone finance of film it.
I won't give away the "Twist", if you would call it that, but it is original, I grant you that, but interesting enough to support a movie? No way. Nor was anything else about this film.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated After Anna in Books
Apr 3, 2019
Maggie and Noah have been married for a few years. Noah has a son from a previous marriage and Maggie has a daughter, but Maggie hasn't seen her daughter, Anna, since she was 6 months old. When Anna, decides she wants to be a part of Maggie's life, Maggie is over the moon. This is something she has wanted for the past 16 years. But as soon as Anna enters their lives, everything gets turned upside down. Noah is accused of molesting and killing Anna and Maggie isn't sure who to believe, her husband of a few years or the daughter who she has desperately has wanted in her life.
In the past couple of years, I have discovered Lisa Scottoline books and I have fallen in love. The stories are unbelievable and they always leave you on the edge of your seat.
This story is told from the perspective of Noah and Maggie. Noah's story starts, as he is on trial for Anna's death. His story goes back in time from day 10 of the trial to day one, then back to the verdict and life after. Maggie's story starts from the day she gets a phone call from Anna asking to reconnect and continues through the end of Noah's trial and the aftermath. We learn about why Maggie hasn't been in Anna's life and what has happened in Anna's life.
Anna is far from a normal teenage girl and that is obvious from the time she and Maggie meet. Trying to encourage her to try and lead a normal life now that she is in their lives, proves to be very difficult for Noah and Maggie. Noah is a pediatric allergist and his life is totally unraveled when Anna enters it. This story will have you guessing until the very end and it will show you a mother's resilience.
Highly recommended!
In the past couple of years, I have discovered Lisa Scottoline books and I have fallen in love. The stories are unbelievable and they always leave you on the edge of your seat.
This story is told from the perspective of Noah and Maggie. Noah's story starts, as he is on trial for Anna's death. His story goes back in time from day 10 of the trial to day one, then back to the verdict and life after. Maggie's story starts from the day she gets a phone call from Anna asking to reconnect and continues through the end of Noah's trial and the aftermath. We learn about why Maggie hasn't been in Anna's life and what has happened in Anna's life.
Anna is far from a normal teenage girl and that is obvious from the time she and Maggie meet. Trying to encourage her to try and lead a normal life now that she is in their lives, proves to be very difficult for Noah and Maggie. Noah is a pediatric allergist and his life is totally unraveled when Anna enters it. This story will have you guessing until the very end and it will show you a mother's resilience.
Highly recommended!
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated After Life in TV
Apr 3, 2019 (Updated Apr 3, 2019)
Brilliantly written (1 more)
Fantastically performed by the entire cast
Beautiful
Ricky Gervais seems to be like Marmite to most people. I have always really liked the guy. I love The Office and Extras and his first 3 stand up shows are amongst some of the funniest that I have ever seen. In the years since however, I have seem to fallen away from his projects. Not for any particular reason, but this lull meant that shows like Derek, Life's Too Short and An Idiot Abroad all passed me by. I'm not sure what it was about After Life that got me back on-board, maybe it was the fact alone that it was on Netflix.
Regardless, this show is fantastic. It is hilarious, it is truly touching, it is brilliantly written, acted and surprisingly well shot for what it is. The characters are all fantastic and their relationships with each other and the way that they analyse and question each other is brilliant too.
I think that the most impressive thing about the show overall though, is how much Gervais is able to say with such a simple premise and a small cast. There are only about 15 characters that we see in the small village where the show is set and yet Gervais has managed to tackle some really serious issues like grief, depression and suicide in a realistically convincing way and on top of that, he still manage to make you laugh. It really a masterful script and the entire cast do a brilliant job in their respective roles.
Overall, this is one of the best things that I have seen this year and I would strongly encourage everyone to give it a go, even if you are not a fan of Gervais or his previous projects. This show can take you from splitting your sides laughing to tearing up in an instant and any piece of art that can make me feel that way is extremely valuable in my eyes. Also the dog is amazing.
Regardless, this show is fantastic. It is hilarious, it is truly touching, it is brilliantly written, acted and surprisingly well shot for what it is. The characters are all fantastic and their relationships with each other and the way that they analyse and question each other is brilliant too.
I think that the most impressive thing about the show overall though, is how much Gervais is able to say with such a simple premise and a small cast. There are only about 15 characters that we see in the small village where the show is set and yet Gervais has managed to tackle some really serious issues like grief, depression and suicide in a realistically convincing way and on top of that, he still manage to make you laugh. It really a masterful script and the entire cast do a brilliant job in their respective roles.
Overall, this is one of the best things that I have seen this year and I would strongly encourage everyone to give it a go, even if you are not a fan of Gervais or his previous projects. This show can take you from splitting your sides laughing to tearing up in an instant and any piece of art that can make me feel that way is extremely valuable in my eyes. Also the dog is amazing.
Damian Sutton (4 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
May 3, 2019
A decent adaptation of a great book
Contains spoilers, click to show
From the get go, I think I'd best say I came to this with a pre-concieved notion that I was going to enjoy it, having read the book several times and having a long term love affair with Steven Spielberg (child of the 80s, so most of my formative years were spent sitting worshipping at the alter of Spielberg and Lucas) so I was aware that I was going to enjoy this film regardless, that said, there are moments in the film that fell flat for me, but on the whole....its a very enjoyable little action/adventure romp....with plenty in it for film lovers (the whole shining sequence had me grinning from ear to ear) and gamers too ( the whole film is deeply rooted in gamer culture and there are more gaming Easter eggs than you can shake a stick at) there's plenty of heart to this film too, and by the time the credits rolled I left the theatre thoroughly entertained, had this film come out a few years back, it would have been lauded as a sci-fi/adventure classic, however we now live in a post marvel world where every film they release seem to raise the bar very high, and films like this get lost in the shuffle a little, does this make it a worse movie....not at all, but it probably didn't get the acclaim it deserved because of being released in a sea of blockbusters.
So in closing, if you're looking for that perfect Sunday afternoon adventure film....you could do a lot worse than giving this a watch....see how many movie/gaming references you can spot
So in closing, if you're looking for that perfect Sunday afternoon adventure film....you could do a lot worse than giving this a watch....see how many movie/gaming references you can spot
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Furiously Happy in Books
Jan 24, 2018
Made me almost fall off the bed giggling (2 more)
Hilarious descriptions about bizarre situations
Revealing what's going on in her head lets other people know they're not alone
Hysterically funny
How do you even begin to explain a Jenny Lawson book? Known as The Bloggess on the internet, Lawson is one of the most laugh-out-loud, hysterically funny, off-the-wall-crazy-pants writers I've ever come across. From her antics with taxidermied animals to the bizarre arguments she has with her husband to the weird tangents her brain goes on, Lawson is one of the most entertaining people on the internet. In Furiously Happy, she explores her lifelong fight with mental illness, from depression to anxiety to a number of manias, and she does so in a lovely, non-judgmental way. She does get serious - she talks about her "folder of 24" - 24 letters from suicidal people telling her that she, and the community she's built, are the reason they're still here. Lawson tackles the topic of depression head on, and by writing down the bizarre things that go through her head, lets people know THEY'RE NOT ALONE, and that's incredibly important.
As the subtitle of the book says, it might be a book about a serious topic, but oh. my. is it funny. Between sneaking a taxidermied ecstatically happy raccoon into view of her husband's video conferences, and trying to snuggle koalas in Australia while dressed in a full-body koala costume, Lawson also talks about waking up in the middle of the night thinking her arms have fallen off, and being stalked by carnivorous swans. Lawson's blog is hilarious, and this book is one of the most insanely funny things I've ever read, and now I have to track down her other two books. (Let's Pretend This Never Happened and You Are Here)
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
As the subtitle of the book says, it might be a book about a serious topic, but oh. my. is it funny. Between sneaking a taxidermied ecstatically happy raccoon into view of her husband's video conferences, and trying to snuggle koalas in Australia while dressed in a full-body koala costume, Lawson also talks about waking up in the middle of the night thinking her arms have fallen off, and being stalked by carnivorous swans. Lawson's blog is hilarious, and this book is one of the most insanely funny things I've ever read, and now I have to track down her other two books. (Let's Pretend This Never Happened and You Are Here)
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Lee (2222 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Jun 9, 2018 (Updated Jun 11, 2018)
Very different to what we're used to
Since all hell broke out in the last movie, the island of Isla Nublar has remained a relatively peaceful place for the dinosaurs to roam free. But now, the islands volcano is set to erupt, threatening their extinction once more, and bringing with it all kinds of questions as to whether man should try to save them or follow gods will and let them die.
When the decision to save them is made, along with the offer of a lovely dinosaur sanctuary for them all to live peacefully, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas-Howard) are enlisted to return to the island and rescue the dinosaurs from their imminent destruction. Claire is needed for her hand-print, in order to activate the dormant dinosaur tracking software on the island, and Owen for his relationship with the velociraptor Blue, who they have so far been unable to locate and capture. Unfortunately though, there are some bad guys behind the scenes who are more concerned with making a few million dollars out of the dinosaurs than rescuing them from extinction, so things don't go according to plan.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a bit of a strange mix of two distinctly different halves. The first half was pretty much covered in off in the first trailer for the movie, with the second half key plot points unbelievably given away by the rather unnecessary final trailer. The resulting movie is unfortunately something which isn't anywhere near as good as it's predecessor(s). There are some pretty weird and crazy plotlines, and the bad guys are pretty rubbish, and the whole thing runs pretty close to being a complete disaster. Although the final third or so is wildly different to anything we've seen in a Jurassic Park/World movie, it does still manage to be pretty entertaining, and there are enough decent scares and thrills along the way to keep things moving along nicely. But this could have been so much better.
When the decision to save them is made, along with the offer of a lovely dinosaur sanctuary for them all to live peacefully, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas-Howard) are enlisted to return to the island and rescue the dinosaurs from their imminent destruction. Claire is needed for her hand-print, in order to activate the dormant dinosaur tracking software on the island, and Owen for his relationship with the velociraptor Blue, who they have so far been unable to locate and capture. Unfortunately though, there are some bad guys behind the scenes who are more concerned with making a few million dollars out of the dinosaurs than rescuing them from extinction, so things don't go according to plan.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a bit of a strange mix of two distinctly different halves. The first half was pretty much covered in off in the first trailer for the movie, with the second half key plot points unbelievably given away by the rather unnecessary final trailer. The resulting movie is unfortunately something which isn't anywhere near as good as it's predecessor(s). There are some pretty weird and crazy plotlines, and the bad guys are pretty rubbish, and the whole thing runs pretty close to being a complete disaster. Although the final third or so is wildly different to anything we've seen in a Jurassic Park/World movie, it does still manage to be pretty entertaining, and there are enough decent scares and thrills along the way to keep things moving along nicely. But this could have been so much better.