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    Incredible Baby Rattle

    Incredible Baby Rattle

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    Help your little one grow and learn through visual and tactile stimulation in this fun new...

    I Dig It Expeditions

    I Dig It Expeditions

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    ON SALE FOR THE HOLIDAYS! "This game surpasses many titles on both DS and PSP" - Go! Go! Mob,...

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    Eriantys

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    Hidden by the soft cloudy whiteness is a world where floating islands are home to great schools for...

Nightmare Alley (2021)
Nightmare Alley (2021)
2021 | Action, Crime, Drama
7
7.4 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In short, Nightmare Alley is a sometimes plodding and bloated piece that gets by thanks to a hugely pleasing aesthetic, and a great cast.

Firstly, there is no reason for NA to be 150 minutes long. One could argue that it gives us more time with the many characters introduced, but it feels gratuitous. The first hour and a half has its moments for sure, but it sometimes feels a little direction-less before the last hour hits, and things kick off a bit. It's an issue that certainly impacts proceedings, and I feel it could have lost 30 minutes and been a tighter final product.
Thankfully, the assembled cast is stacked with royalty. Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette are two of my favourite working actors, so having them both involved is a treat. Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara are great as the main leads, and the rest of the ensemble is rounded out by some fantastic character actors - Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn - good stuff all round.
The overall visual style is wonderfully Del Toro, from the gloomy and misty carnival sights pierced by neon lights, to the snowy city scape of Buffalo, New York. A lot of the cinematography is gorgeous as well, hats off to Dan Laustsen, and is truly bought to life by a beautifully haunting music score from Nathan Johnson.

All in all, Nightmare Alley ultimately suffers from its pacing, and feels like a slog here and there. However, there are enough positives to carry it over the finish line. I look forward to checking out the black and white version in the near future.
  
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Merissa (13782 KP) rated Forsaken (Reflections, #7) in Books

Apr 4, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)  
Forsaken (Reflections, #7)
Forsaken (Reflections, #7)
Dean Murray | 2013 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
By Jove, he's only gone and done it. Dean Murray has managed to get me shouting out at the book... again! I was unable to put this down and actually had to go and see the synopsis for the review of the next book to ensure that Alec and Adri had some sort of future together. That's how worried he got me with the scenes with Tasha in them.

So, backtracking then, this book is still following Alec and Adri as they try to come to terms with the decisions and choices they have made. Alec's pack is still small and unhealthy but rapidly becoming more unhealthy due to some mysterious illness that is affecting both shapeshifter and human alike. Adri has moved to New York where her mum is making a name for herself which means that Adri is still pretty much left on her own.

We meet new and old characters in this and learn that strength isn't always physical. What some might see as a weakness can actually be the greatest strength you can possess. It's not what it is, it's how you deal with it.

This series continues to grip and deliver on the promise of a fantastic story. Once I start one of these books, I usually tend to stop eating, drinking and sleeping until I've finished it. I really can't recommend these books highly enough to every reader out there.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
August 26, 2016
  
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Merissa (13782 KP) rated A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1) in Books

Apr 10, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)  
A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1)
A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1)
Jaime Reese | 2014 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I first want to thank my partner in crime, Debbie, for recommending this book to me. She has read a lot more of the m/m genre than I, for no other reason than I've been catching up on fantasy and paranormal genres. This one though, she said I had to read. I did and I'm damned glad she was insistent!

There is simply nothing that I can criticise about this book and trust me, I was looking. I adore how the characters get to know each other over time - yes, there's instant attraction and we all know that exists but this pair actually had time to get to know each other before moving the relationship on any further. For this reason, although they argue and fall out, they are stronger together. J never reacts the way that Matt expects him to which makes for good reading because it means you're not sure about the reaction either. There is a lot going for this pair and a lot of obstacles in their way too but because of the strength of their foundation, they face it together.

This is an excellently written, well-paced and moving story that brought both disbelief and tears to my eyes. A fantastic start to the series and I will definitely be looking for more by this author as well as the continuation of the series. Highly Recommended.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
August 10, 2016