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*I received a copy of this books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This is my first contemporary romance by the author where the characters weren't NA age.

I did enjoy this story. It took me a while to get into it at the start but by the end I think I loved pretty much all the Wellington family. It's a retelling of Cinderella in parts; evil sisters, glass slippers... but much more modern with manwhore brothers and some swearing

 liked the characters. The twins grew on me so much throughout this book. They seemed so annoying at the beginning but by the end... *sigh* If their stories are going to be the next books in this series, then sign me up please because I am so intrigued after the auction.

Brock was a bit of a mystery when he was at the house, I couldn't really figure him out until he'd sorted out his demons and then I really started to like him.

Jane, I felt sorry for at the start. She was trying to uphold her fathers wishes and being treated like dirt in the process. She grew a lot in the book.

The ending was great. Everyone but the twins ended up happy, though I'm sure the twins' issues will be resolved in their own stories.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jul 7, 2022  
Author Thomas H. McNeely visits my blog to discuss what it means to lose where we live in an emotional yet touching guest post. Read up on his coming of age/short stories fiction book PICTURES OF THE SHARK while you're there. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win an editorial critique of an excerpt from an unpublished short story or novel and/or an autographed copy of Pictures of the Shark.

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-pictures-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A sudden snowfall in Houston reveals family secrets. A trip to Universal Studios to snap a picture of the shark from Jaws becomes a battle of wills between father and son. A midnight séance and the ghost of Janis Joplin conjure the mysteries of sex. A young boy’s pilgrimage to see Elvis Presley becomes a moment of transformation. A young woman discovers the responsibilities of talent and freedom.

Pictures of the Shark, by Houston native and Dobie Paisano award-winning author Thomas H. McNeely, traces a young man's coming of age and falling apart. From the rough and tumble of Houston's early seventies East End to the post-punk Texas bohemia of late eighties Austin, this novel in stories examines what happens when childhood trauma haunts adult lives.
     
Alien Abduction (2014)
Alien Abduction (2014)
2014 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
5
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Alien Abduction starts by informing us this is based on actual footage found, *sigh*. This before going off to show us footage that looks like is being shot through a pair of fingers with screaming in the background. All this and the camera gets dropped out the spacecraft. The film then decides to inform us about The Brown Mountain Lights a location in North Carolina that has a high disappearance rate. Time for the experts and locals to give us their stories about what has been happening and a theory behind what is happening. More reading before we find out who the camera belonged too.

Oh great now the film starts with the Morris family and their camcorder holiday being filmed by autistic 11 year old boy Riley (Polanski). The family which includes Katie (Sigismund), Corey (Eid), Jillian (Clare) and Peter (Holden) are camping out around the The Brown Mountain. On the first night the children see UFOs in the sky and film it but don’t seem to rewind and watch it. The family continues their trip and gets lost while travelling to the next location and the family finds themselves stranded very low on gas. What the family finds next is a string of abandoned cars blocking the road and investigating the tunnel they find themselves under attack from aliens.

We now have to deal with an over panicked family running for their lives against an enemy they can’t imagine beating. The family makes out hiding with generic redneck Sean (Bowser) where they have to survive the night.

Alien Abduction started off by really annoying me for first 5 odd minutes because of the amount of reading on a found footage film is too much. One thing that always annoys me with found footage is bad decision and this is filled with them starting very early on. Let’s list them panicking too much, turning the light on in the dark so the aliens know where you are, not turning around after finding plenty of abandoned cars and finally after the first light sighting why didn’t you just pack up and go home. I know a lot of these found footage films criticise why they carry on filming but I think this one gets away with it by making the kid autistic and needs to film everything to keep him happy. In the end this does have good scares but not original ones and you never really end up feeling truly scared as everything unfolds because you know how it ends thanks to the beginning. (4/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Katherine Sigismund: Katie Morris is the mother of the family who is all out to protect her family from the aliens, she tries to stay strong after the early loss of the father. Katherine does a solid job by making us feel like she really is the mother of the house. (6/10)

 

Corey Eid: Corey Morris is the eldest son who has to become the man after his father sacrifices himself to save the rest of the family. Corey does solid job and like most of the cast we really do believe they are just a family. (6/10)

 

Riley Polanski: Riley Morris is our autistic cameraman and we see nearly the whole film from his point of view, this helps use try and get into the idea of the fear he would be going through watching his family being picked off one by one. It is hard to rate someone behind the camera. (5/10)

 

Jillian Clare: Jillian Morris is the only daughter of the family who has to try and help keep Riley safe once the aliens start turning up. Jillian gives a solid performance but never really shines. (6/10)

 

Jeff Bowser: Sean is the nice redneck who lives in and around the mountains that helps the family try and survive the horror that is out there waiting for them. Jeff does a solid job and his character constantly turning up makes us believe they could survive. (6/10)

 

Support Cast: Alien Abduction doesn’t really have much of a supporting cast with the only character we actual meet in the father of the family who doesn’t last too long.

 

Director Review: Matty Beckerman – Matty does a solid job with the scares, but gave away too much information about the location because there was no reason or chance for the characters to learn about the history. (5/10)

 

Horror: Alien Abduction enters the found footage horror genre nicely but will end up going down as a standard one. (7/10)

Sci-Fi: Alien Abduction uses the alien abduction well but never really makes us see more than we need to about the ship. (6/10)

Thriller: Alien Abduction never lets you care about the characters because you know what happens at the end, not all found footage films need everyone to die. (6/10)

Settings: Alien Abduction puts us in a location that could very well have unexplained experiences happening there but surely people would suggest not going there on a camping trip. (8/10)

Suggestion: Alien Abduction is one for the found footage fans out there to try it isn’t special but does have its good moments. (Found Footage Fans Try)

 

Best Part: Not holding back with the first alien encounter.

Worst Part: Too much given away early on with the reading.

Kill Of The Film: Katie

 

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: Yes there are two.

Similar Too: VHS 2 Alien Abduction part.

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Tagline: Fear The Lights

 

Overall: Found Footage falls from the sky here, literally.

https://moviesreview101.com/2016/01/22/movie-reviews-101-halloween-midnight-horror-alien-abduction-2014/
  
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Michelle (114 KP) rated Supernatural in TV

Mar 15, 2018  
Supernatural
Supernatural
2005 | Drama
Family,good stories (well some of later seasons a bit iffy), Team Free Will (0 more)
People you love die (0 more)
I was late to getting to know about this series, yet with saying that it is the first TV series which I was hooked on. In the first season we are introduced to Sam and Dean whose father is away on a hunting trip and has not returned and their mother was killed by a yellow eyed demon. Sam and Dean give up a normal life of going to collage and working in a garage and became hunters. They befriend various people along the way over the rest of the seasons , even becoming friends with an angel who will do anything to save the brothers from becoming human vessals for Lucifer and Michael. Longest running CW TV program out as the show is now in it's 13th season.
  
This was a fun read with a unique setting, and was a great start to a new series. When Maddie and her pal Adele find a body in the Paranormal Museum, I expected ghosts galore. There is a paranormal element to the story, but it has more to do with an historical crime rather than the modern one. One mystery keeps Maddie and her friends busy during the day, and the other helps her decide whether to stay in town and run the Paranormal Museum or keep looking for work elsewhere. I enjoyed both stories, and the cast of characters, from Maddie's friends and family, to the two police officers handling the murder case, and then the attractive neighbor next door. I'm looking forward to reading more about the museum, Maddie, and her friends.

Note: I received a free copy from the author and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.