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Happily Letter After
Happily Letter After
Vi Keeland , Penelope Douglas | 2020 | Contemporary, Romance
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This one starts with Sadie trying to figure out her next article when she receives a letter in the post from a young girl, Birdie, addressed to Santa, wanting him to send her some olives and some socks for her dad since she's beginning to think Santa isn't real. Falling under the little girls spell, Sadie sends the items to her in the post and receives a heart-wrenching reply that begins a cute back and forth between them. It's only weeks later that Sadie finds herself in Birdie's neighbourhood and unwittingly finds herself being cast as the new dog trainer Birdie's dad has hired when she's caught outside their house. What follows is a crazy but lovely story of two people falling for each other.

I did really like this one. It was a slow going romance between them until about half way through but it was great and pulled at my heart strings. After that, when they became a couple, it was just equal part sweet and kinda hot. They were just really good together. I don't know how to put my feelings about them into words. I loved them.

I somehow knew that something was going to end up coming out about Sadie and Birdie, they just had that connection that gave you warm and fuzzies but it did still take me a little by surprise when the actual thing came to light. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling it, just read it!

If you're a fan of these two author's then you should definitely read this.
  
Inside Out (2015)
Inside Out (2015)
2015 | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Standard Pixar affair - easy to look at, appealing to a younger audience whilst simultaneously bludgeoning adults with relatable emotional moments that make you want to curl up in a corner somewhere and weep.
Inside Out ticks all these boxes without a shadow of a doubt.

The animation is wonderful as usual and is arguably Pixar's most colourful film to date. The concept of emotions can be complex at the best of times. It's a concept that most people will struggle with for their whole lives and is something that will truly never be understood. Inside Out tackles this with aplomb, using colour coding to make it accessible to kids, and exploring just how complicated feelings can become especially as puberty begins to hit. It's very clever in its execution as well.

The majority of the story takes place in Riley's head, as her emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust all struggle to keep everything balanced as she starts to hit roadblocks in her life. One thing leads to another before Joy and Sadness are ejected out of the "control centre" and desperately try to find their way back, leaving the other emotions to handle the pains of growing up.
It's one part emotional family drama, and one part bonkers sci-fi adventure, and it works really well with the help of a great voice cast.

Inside Out doesn't quite hit the lofty heights of the best Pixar efforts for me, but it's still damn good and surely will appeal to everyone in some way, no matter what age your are.
  
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)
2006 | Comedy, Documentary, Musical
At its best a celebration of life, people, and all they have to offer - which also acts as one of countless reminders why Lauryn Hill is such a force to be reckoned with. At its worst - I confess - rather dull, and when it makes you begrudgingly want to admit that charity-stealing P.O.S. Wyclef Jean is actually one hell of a talented musical artist (that piano rendition of "If I Was President" is so great it's actually chilling). Not what I expected, seems to be content with just being chill rather than being the powerhouse of fun and emotion it could have been - and that's okay - still has some good musical numbers, funny moments, and a whole truckload of talent as well as some essential and incredibly timely words of wisdom that are just as potent (if not, maybe even moreso) today than they ever were in the 21st century. Has a certain calm energy about it that feels like a nice warm stroll along your hometown, but that's all it ever really feels like. Obviously the words, ideas, lives, enjoyment, talent, and music are important, relevant, and absolutely crucial 100%. But I can't mistake powerful presences/material for the memorable and amazing execution this wasn't really given. Make no mistake, I still definitely dig it and the feelings expressed throughout I will not soon forget - but as a film watch it sort of treads water. Though I can't dislike any film which features a live Kanye rendition of "Jesus Walks".
  
Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands, #3)
Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands, #3)
Sarah Fine | 2014
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This one carries on exactly where book 2 left off. Lela is now jumping off a cliff in the hopes of having an audience with The Judge so she can go and rescue her friends from the Mazikin realm. The Judge grants her request but only if they do something else while they're there: Kill the Queen and destroy the portal. Teaming up with old friend and fellow Guard, Ana, they journey into the domed city of the Mazikin to free Malachi and those they love.

Every book has had a different setting - Book 1: Shadowlands, Book 2: Rhode Island, Book 3: The Mazikin City. Being in the Mazikin city was different. I wasn't sure what to expect but it had its own industries. They could make their own glass and burn coal for power but still relied on human blacksmith's and tanners for clothing and weapons. It was an unusual environment.

This one seemed to have non stop action from the start. There was always something going on, no lulls or unneeded information. It was one hell of a journey from the Sanctum to the Mazikin City back to Rhode Island.

I felt this was a rather good ending to the series. Everything was wrapped up, everyone had their happy ending, though I was sad at times. It's really hard to express my feelings without giving too much of this story away but if you've started the series then I recommend you continue it and if you haven't started it yet, than I think you should give this a try.
  
The Boy Who Fell To Earth
The Boy Who Fell To Earth
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is another book I was lent by my teacher, so I previously had no idea it even existed. I've never even heard of the author, Kathy Lette, but I'm glad I know of her now!

Okay, it's nearly midnight and I need to be up early so I'm going to have to keep this one rather short.

Lette writes from the point of view of Lucy, who's son has been involved in a serious car accident. She recaps her time with him, telling us her story of love, loss and difficulty.

This novel is written in an honest voice, with sarcasm and humour on every page. It tells the tale of parenting, divorce, finding and losing love, and even coping with the world's way of dealing with special needs. Like I said, it's brutally honest and does not exclude any of the less favourable thoughts or feelings.

It is quite clear that this is aimed at an older generation of readers, but I must say that I did really enjoy it, far more than I anticipated. It isn't a fantasy or an action novel, and it does have a slightly cheesy happy ending, but I do think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised by how easy this is to read.

If I was a bit older I would probably adore this, but as it is I can't say it's quite a favourite of mine. But I'm definitely happy to have read it, so 4 stars.
  
Devil's Due
Devil's Due
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars.

So I finally finished it and it was a good conclusion to the duet.
 
I grew to like Lucia but I still feel we didn't learn as much about her as we did Jazz in the first book, she's still a bit of a mystery in regards to her previous work. She's done work for the government? Very vague, Lucia.
 
As for Ben, I really liked him too. He came across as being a really nice guy in the end, though some of his decisions seemed a little doubtful at times. And his feelings for Lucia were sweet.
 
It was great to see Jazz, Borden, Manny and Pansy in this one too; like seeing the Red Letter Days family back together again. There were a few other reappearances too and some new characters that we came to know and lost.
 
The storyline was a continuation of the first but at the same time there were different crimes to investigate and cases to work. Different ways for them to get shot and into trouble, and I think they found every single one lol.
 
Once again, I'll say this isn't the usual Rachel Caine book. It doesn't have a particularly paranormal feel. It's more P.I firm getting mixed up with some psychics about the fate of the world with some kick arse heroines as the P.I.'s.
 
I liked it anyway!
  
Clan of the Jersey Boys (Fangsters #1)
Clan of the Jersey Boys (Fangsters #1)
Ryan Field | 2013
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
DNF

I hate DNF’s. I always feel bad for not finishing them but sometimes I just cant get into a story. I stopped at 38%.

Right. Well, I expected this to be better–that sounds bad I know–but I was expecting them to be these tough vampires who kicked arse while running an illegal empire. In a way it was, but it didn’t seem bad-arse enough for me. Sure there were a few scenes with retribution/warnings handed out to people but I didn’t feel it.

Another thing that got me was all the mention of family and it’s many members. Yeah I know families are important in Italian/Sicilian cultures but more people kept getting mentioned and I found myself getting confused. What with Anton and someone else being turned by one person and his dad and uncle turned by someone else and this guy turned by the brother of that guy making them cousins…I got lost. It was a little too much for me to keep up with.

The relationship between Anton and Leo happened a little too fast for me to believe. Not the sex–he’s an attractive guy after all–but the “love you’s” and how strong their feelings were after the one night they spent together. Or maybe I just missed something?

It’s not a bad story, it was just a little different to what I normally read; the mobster/gangster bit anyway. If you like vampires, mobsters and m/m stories then you will probably like this.