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TB
The Blue Zone
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
From the outside, the Rabb family looks like the perfect family. They live in an amazing house, drive nice cars, their oldest daughter is a research assistant at the local University, their son get great grades, and the youngest is a ranked squash player. Benjamin Rabb is a gold dealer, and for the past twenty years has been doing very well for his family. When Benjamin Rabb is investigated by the FBI for money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy with known drug dealers, his family is placed in the Witness Protection Program. All, except Kate, who is old enough to do her own thing. When Kate makes some interesting discoveries and strange things start to happen, she may find that her perfect family may not be just so.

This is the first solo authored book I have read by Andrew Gross. I am pleased to say that this book had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the very end. So many different surprises and twists in this book. The book centers around Kate rabb and her life after her father has testified in court against the Mercado Family and her family has been in Witness Protection for more than a year. The thing I really like about this book is that I never knew what was going to happen next or who I could trust. Everytime you turn around, another something falls in your face that makes you yell expletives at the book. Not knowing who to believe and where to turn for help, makes a person feel lost. Kate's determination to find the truth and get her family back together, has her in the fight of her life, in more ways than one.

I listened to the audio of this book and it was read by Ilyana Kadushin. She gave an excellent performance and made me feel as if I was a part of the action. I could see the action as it played out. I can't wait to read other solo authored books by Andrew Gross. Another great author to add to my every growing list of favorites.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Spark Of Light in Books

Feb 24, 2019  
A Spark Of Light
A Spark Of Light
Jodi Picoult | 2018 | Contemporary, Crime
10
8.0 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jodi Picoult tackles the age-old issue of abortion in her latest novel A Spark of Light. As a controversial topic, abortion is a challenging ethical problem to write about, however, with a mix of characters, Picoult manages to argue from all points of view. Full of secrets and shocking truths, the novel reveals the complexity of balancing the right to life with the right to choose.

The book begins with a horrifying shooting and hostage situation at a centre for women's reproductive health. George, the shooter, is angry with his daughter for having an abortion, but rather than blaming her, he takes it out on the doctors and nurses who perform the operations and the unfortunate women who happen to be in the waiting room. In fact, only one of the female hostages have had an abortion, the others are there for very different reasons.

A Spark of Light is written backwards, beginning with the hostage situation and gradually revealing the previous hours, describing how each character got themselves in this position. The chapters alternate between characters: the doctors and nurses who work at the Centre; the women who have come for treatment - not necessarily an abortion; and an anti-abortion campaigner. The most important storyline, however, is told through the eyes of three people: Wren, a fifteen-year-old trapped in the clinic; the gunman, and the negotiator, who happens to be Wren's father.

What begins as a two-sided debate about abortion - albeit in a deadly scenario - ends in a standoff between two fathers, both of whom only want to do what is best for their daughters. Although Nick, the negotiator, would not walk into a clinic and start shooting, he learns he has much more in common with the terrorist than he thought possible.

The prose is a little confusing to begin with, however, once the "backwards" writing style becomes clear, it is a very enjoyable story. The only problem with this style of writing is that readers are left with so many questions about what happened after the shooting. We become so invested in the lives of the characters, it feels almost mean not to know who they cope after the traumatising event.
  
The Things We Wish Were True
The Things We Wish Were True
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Things We Wish Were True takes place in a small town in North Carolina during the summer of 2014. It's a very close knit community and most residents have lived there most of their lives. From Zell, the neighborhood matriarch to Jancey the "prodigal" daughter returning after making a quick escape after high school. Each character has their own story and each story intertwines with each character. It includes twists and turns that will make you need to find out what is going to happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will admit that at the beginning of the book, there was a little confusion with all the different characters, but after getting into the story, everything soon became clear. Each character carries a secret. Some secrets are small and others could be catastrophic.

Zell - has been limping around all summer and has stopped running, why/
Cailey - is growing up faster than she wants to or should, but with a single working mother is there anything that can stop that.
Bryte - doesn't want to have a second child, the first time was so difficult, she doesn't want to go through that again.
Jencey - Returns home after being away for so long. Will she stay for good this time, or will she run again like she did in the past.
Lance - has recently become a single father, but how long will that be the case?
Everett - Married to Bryte and ex of Jencey has a few of his own secrets that could tarnish his relationships.

There is one story about a summer in North Carolina, told from each persons point of view. Each character has their own side to the story centered around the neighborhood pool. It dives into the past which helps to progress the present. At the end of this summer the whole neighborhood will be changed from the secrets that are revealed.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading more of her books.
  
Murder from Scratch
Murder from Scratch
Leslie Karst | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sally Must Look Closely to Find a Killer
Sally Solari gets the news from her father that her distant cousin Jackie has died of a drug overdose. While Sally is sad, she and Jackie weren’t close – in fact, they hadn’t spoken in years and she hadn’t met Evelyn, Jackie’s twenty-year-old daughter, who happens to be blind. Evelyn was still living with her mom, and she can’t face trying to live in the house alone right away, so she winds up moving into Sally’s spare room for a little while. The two women hit it off, and are soon plotting home cooked meals and plans for Evelyn’s twenty-first birthday.

A stop by Evelyn’s house to pick up a few things she needs bring some surprises to light. Things are out of place. Since Evelyn is blind, she and her mother kept everything in the same spot so that Evelyn could always find what she is looking for without needing help. Evelyn suspects this means someone else was in the house when her mom died. The police have ruled it a suicide by drug overdose, but is Evelyn right? If so, can Sally see the clues to find the killer?

There is a solid mystery here with several viable suspects. I did feel the pacing was a bit off, but I loved how Sally pieced things together and how the climax played out. Sally’s group of family and friends is wonderful, and a couple of sub plots allow us to see more of them. The book is set in the beginning of December; while it doesn’t have a lot of Christmas spirit, there is some, and it adds a fun touch to the book. The standout character here is Evelyn. Through her, we get a look at modern life for a person who is blind, and I found that fascinating. We get five recipes at the end, and they sound delicious if a bit ambitious for this lazy bachelor to attempt to make. (Not that I ever make any of the recipes in the culinary cozies I read.)
  
Anna and the French Kiss
Anna and the French Kiss
Stephanie Perkins | 2010 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.8 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
What happens when your nouveau-riche father decides that his daughter needs to be more cultures? Your entire world is flipped upside-down as you're sent to a boarding school in a country where you don't speak the language. That's exactly what happens to Anna when she's sent to the School of America, in Paris. She now must make new friends, try to stay in touch with her old ones and the most terrifying ordeal of all? Ordering her meals in French. She might want some nice fresh <i>pain</i> (bread) but ends up saying <i>paon</i> (peacock). Yum, <i>paon</i> and <i>fromage</i> for breakfast.

It may seem strange, but I enjoy the use of language in this book. I think accents, like St. Clair's are written very authentically. Bridge's love of words is a great way to introduce readers to new worlds. (And seriously inspires me to see if I can find a set of Oxford English Dictionaries for my personal library.) The use of foreign languages in books can be tricky to do well, but I think the author struck a balance brilliantly.

I find Anna very relatable - it doesn't hurt that she's a fellow lefty. But I also feel like she reads older than she is. Throughout the novel, I feel like she is at University (aged 19-20) rather than still in high school. Her desire to be a film ritic is how I feel about books and reviewing. She says, "I just like... expressing my opinion. That possiblity of turning someone on to something really great." Reading is my passion and I wan to share that with people. If I can introduce them to a book I've fallen in love with and it touches them in some way - I'm happy.

When I read the novel, I can feel myself walking along the Seine or admiring Notre Dame. Paris is a beautiful setting adn the author represents it wonderfully. It is one of those novels that gives you wanderlust and an undeniable urge to visit the places that Anna does.
  
Kick-Ass (2010)
Kick-Ass (2010)
2010 | Action, Comedy, Drama
Kick-Ass starts out as a clever action movie with good humor interspersed throughout the first half, but by the second half the jokes trail off as the movie takes a blacker turn toward a mindless and confusing tale of morality.

Viewing this movie as a mindless action flick, it is impressive and at times humorous, albeit that humor, in the immersive first half, is deadened by the much darker scenes toward the end of the film. But if you’re trying to find a deeper message hidden behind the motivations and actions of the characters on screen, you perhaps would be better served by reading the comic first. The violence was surprisingly graphic for what started out as a clever and somewhat endearing highschool drama about not fitting in and trying to change the world for the better.

As the director of Layer Cake and Stardust, Matthew Vaughn has shown before that he knows how to do action and fantasy, and in this movie, the action scenes are tight and gripping and slightly surreal. You may even recognize a few cameos if you’re familiar with Guy Ritchie films.

Aaron Johnson, as the title character, brings a smart vulnerability to his part. As an overly ambitious, but well meaning comic book fan, his stabs at super-heroics were quite believable.

This movie may be titled Kick-Ass, but the most interesting character is Hit-Girl, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. Quite a few child actors come across as precocious, and Moretz is a welcome change. She shares some great scenes with Nicolas Cage, a vengeful father who has turned his 11 year-old daughter into a killing machine. Cage’s deadpan humor as Big Daddy matches surprisingly well with the giddy, foul-mouthed, black humor of Hit-Girl.

In a way, I may be doing the movie a disservice if I were to dwell on the plot holes, morality, and thematic elements of this movie which are clearly not the focused intent of the director. Not every movie is intended to be a deep and meaningful reflection on life, so in that regard, this movie is simply a blood-drenched charmer.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated Drive Angry (2011) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
Drive Angry (2011)
Drive Angry (2011)
2011 | Action, Mystery
4
5.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The only thing going for this piece of red necked, muscle car mayhem was that it was shot in 3D, and maybe the inclusion of Amber Heard. Aside from that is was pretty poor and that is being nice. After Ghost Rider I thought Nicolas Cage might steer clear of the ‘escaped-from-hell- out-for-revenge’ type role, but he’s ventured straight back.

Cage plays Milton a father who is out for justice after escaping from hell (why he’s in there we’re not sure, all we know he’s a former criminal) to avenge the death of his daughter and save his granddaughter.

Hot on his heels is The Accountant played by William Fichtner, who was actually one of the shining lights of the film. Smartly dressed in a suit with a coin very reminiscent of Harvey Two Face for quick decision making or possible misdirection he ads some comedic presence and has some of the films’ best lines.

In the end the finale is the only thing to get excited about as you realise that the film is finally going to be over

Amber Heard was there for pure sex appeal, and when she was sat in that muscle car every bloke would have been reaching for the bucket of cold water. But she doesn’t hold up the side-kick role at all well, instead she swears a bit, kicks some ex boyfriends’ ass and gets her nails painted by a random naked bloke in a hotel room.

The title Drive Angry should suggest just that, but fails. We get the odd car chase but its hardly anything to get excited about. How can you, when a muscle car as powerful as it is fails to keep up with a camper van full of sadistic Satan worshippers!

In the end the finale is the only thing to get excited about as you realise that the film is finally going to be over. Cage looks bored practically all the way through it, and had he actually bothered to be awake it might have been a better vehicle.

Instead this one got a flat the moment the opening credits rolled.
  
Cinderella (2015)
Cinderella (2015)
2015 | Family, Romance, Sci-Fi
10
7.9 (37 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Throw together two beautiful faces from a couple of popular TV shows, award-winning veterans of the big screen, a director who loves to immerse viewers in story in the most spectacular of ways and what do you get? Sweet, magical enchantment.

Cinderella is Disney’s latest live-action translation of a classic animated film and under Kenneth Branagh’s deft direction it is simply wonderful. Retelling a beloved fairytale and making it feel fresh, delightful and satisfying is no small feat but Branagh does it with engaging actors, charming sets, captivating scenery and gorgeous costumes.

Lily James, recently of Downton Abbey, plays the heroine with sweet, innocent strength. Showered with love by her parents, played by Ben Chaplin and Hayley Atwell, Ella knows nothing about discontent or malice. Even after she loses her mother, and even after her father brings home an uncaring stepmother and disdainful stepsisters, Ella remains faithful to her mother’s dying wish for her daughter to “Have courage. Be Kind.”

Everyone knows how Ella became Cinderella and we all know just how badly she’s treated by her stepmother and stepsisters. Cate Blanchett is wickedly magnificent as the stepmother and Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger bring new meaning to gaudy and garish.

I have to admit I’m a sucker for any fairytale that involves grand, sweeping ballroom scenes like Beauty and the Beast, Enchanted and now Cinderella. Of course, the scene could not have been possible without the help of a Fairy Godmother. Helena Bonham Carter is simply delightful in her role as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. The special effects used to give Cinderella a stunning gown as well as a horse-drawn carriage and driver and footmen were flawless

We also know how the story ends, but that didn’t stop the audience from sighing, holding its collective breath, and cheering when the prince, played handsomely by Richard Madden, finds the maiden whose foot fits perfectly in the glass slipper.

Days after our screener, my husband and I were still discussing the movie, that’s how much we enjoyed it. And when you can get your husband to easily agree to watch it again when it’s released, you know it’s a great movie.
  
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
2011 | Drama, Mystery
8
7.3 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a criminal defense attorney who works out of his Lincoln Town Car in Los Angeles, hence the title of the movie and book “The Lincoln Lawyer” by Michael Connelly. Mickey defends all kinds of criminals and all he expects from his clients is that they pay him. While he may be a rather shifty lawyer, he is a loving father to his daughter Hayley (Mackenzie Aladjem) and he obviously still cares for her mother Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei).

Now although he has many clients, none are really big money clients. That changes one day when Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a rich Beverly Hills playboy, is arrested for assault & attempted rape and he wants Mick to defend him. At first Mick believes that he will be able to easily get his client acquitted, but as he and his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) dig deeper, they discovery disturbing information about the case and it’s possible link to another.

In his quest to win the all mighty “Not Guilty” verdict, Mick has many obstacles (both professional and personal) placed before him that he must successfully navigate around, and treachery hiding in the shadows that he must bring into the light or else he may lose more than just a case.

While the entire cast was incredible, Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe gave equally amazing performances (this is especially true for any scene that they were both in). The characters were well-developed, believable and for the most part likable, heck I even liked the biker Eddie (Trace Adkins). The storyline was intriguing with a twist or two that I did not see coming and it also had some very nice humor sprinkled in. I did find that in a few scenes the dialogue seemed to be a bit unnatural for what was going on but it didn’t really detract from the overall scenes in question. Personally I hope this film does well enough that they make a sequel (I believe the book’s sequel is The Reversal) because I would like to see more of these characters in action.
  
    Chabadabada

    Chabadabada

    Book and Entertainment

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    Who doesn’t know the story of Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault? “Chabadabada” is a modern and...