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Sarah (7800 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of LEGO Jurassic World in Video Games

Jun 11, 2018  
LEGO Jurassic World
LEGO Jurassic World
2015 | Action/Adventure
Loads of fun
Having played Lego HP and been slightly frustrated about it, I hadn’t been expecting much from this. Especially as I didn’t realise that it contained all 4 films - I just thought it was the one for Jurassic World.

All I can say is I’m glad it has all 4 films. Although each film/level set is fairly short and doesn’t quite feature everything from the films, they’re still an awful lot of fun. I love the fact that it uses real dialogue from the films (sometimes randomly during a level which makes it even funnier) and the Lego versions of well known scenes are hilarious. The gameplay is a lot more action based and more interesting than the HP games, which makes it even more entertaining. My only criticism and this is being picky, is that the film plays down some of the darker elements especially of the first film. Whilst the lighter Lego alternative is pretty funny, part of me would have loved to see severed arms etc instead.
  
Rosie the Tarantula: A True Adventure in Chicago’s Field Museum by Peggy Macnamara is a cute picture book. It is a story about a pink footed tarantula, Rosie, who lives at the Chicago field museum. One day in 2011 she escaped from her room. She didn’t appear until 2012. This book imagines the adventure she might have had. It is also used to describe what can be found at the field museum. Plus there are lots of notes at the end about the real rosie, and other animals mentioned in the book. I will say the rhymes are hard and do not flow well, but for this book I don't think it is needed. I applaud the author for getting the words to rhyme in the first place. And while this book is about a Chicago based institution, lots of kids will love its story and colorful illustrations.

I received an ARC from Northwestern University Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

I give the book 4/5 stars.
  
The Girl in The Tower: The Winternight Trilogy
The Girl in The Tower: The Winternight Trilogy
Katherine Arden | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
I fell in love with The Bear and the Nightingale the second that I started reading it so I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of the second installment in this story.

The story picks up with Vasya driven from her village, orphaned and branded as a witch. She could not face the option of marriage or life in a convent so she decides to become a traveler and explore the world on her own.

Brave and reckless as ever Vasya disguises herself as a boy she travels through Moscow and ends up fighting at the Grand Prince's side as they try to discover the identity of the bandits who have been terrorizing the area.

I enjoyed dynamic between Morozko, Vasya and Solovey. We are also introduced to some new characters and reunited with some old ones as the story progresses.

I found the second installment of The Bear and the Nightingale just as captivating as the first one and am anxiously awaiting the third and final part of the story!
  
DT
Destined to Kill (Destined Novels, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anala is a Hunter, the child of the Leaders of their society, and she's one of the best. Too bad her parents never let her go out and actually hunt any Cursed Ones. One night, she and her friend Thomas are out, and his sister scares them. When Thomas leaves Anala behind to take his sister home, she lets her guard down for one minute; however, that's all it takes. She's bitten, and her life will change forever.

This story pulled me in from the very first sentence. Everybody loves a good vampire story, but this was more than that. It was a coming-of-age story, of sorts, mixed with a little romance, some intrigue, and some good old-fashioned butt kicking. I'm fond of all the characters, even Jenna (the proverbial sour grape), and I would definitely love to read more about this group. I really hope there's a sequel already in the works!!

5 stars =)
  
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Crystal (9 KP) rated Some Fine Day in Books

Jul 4, 2018  
SF
Some Fine Day
Kat Ross | 2014
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
At first I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In the beginning it seemed a basic story of underground girl going on vacation above ground. After she emerges from her underground world though things are not as they seem. The main character is developed well, and grows, but the other characters are supporting but don't really grow on their own. The main love interest is said to have changed, but I don't feel we know him well enough in the beginning to see such change. I would like to have been able to see more in the beginning, to see who the main character was before she discovered the world for what it was. Also, she has a relationship in the beginning that we know very little about, and I felt that could have been developed more as well. The ending is good for the most part, but is frustrating because as it ties up the main storyline, there are many loose ends and it leaves it as a cliffhanger, leaving me wondering about the fate of the main characters.
  
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
Stuart Turton | 2018 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
7.9 (24 Ratings)
Book Rating
A mindbending mystery thriller
I'll be honest this books is completely bonkers, but bonkers in a good way. The central murder mystery time travelling plot is a tad convoluted, but it's still ridiculously enjoyable and I really struggled to put this down. It is a little difficult to keep up with at some parts and you do have to pause to collect your thoughts, however the writing style does help as it's fairly straight forward and doesn't try and overcomplicate things with over the top prose.

All of the 8 hosts are well rounded and well developed, and you care about the main character inhabiting them. The ending was truly a surprise, I hadn't been able to figure out the main murderer (plus all of the other sub plots too), and was pleasantly surprised with the explanation behind why the main character was in Blackheath in the first place.

This is a great entertaining read and one I'd love to see made into a 8-10 part tv series.
  
Coercion: The Complete Collection (The Montana Dragons 1)
Coercion: The Complete Collection (The Montana Dragons 1)
Chole Cole | 2015 | Paranormal, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Character Development (0 more)
Fast Paced Dragon Shifter
This is the first book I have read by Chloe Cole. It's been sitting on my kindle for quite some time so when I was looking for a good paranormal shifter book, I figured this one would do. I wasn't expecting much but I have to say I was impressed.

Chloe Cole was able to create a world that kept me entertained. I enjoyed the characters and the plot line was fun. I was a little nervous with the title Coercion but I was happy to see that this didn't turn into a darker story. The plot moved steadily and the characters experienced an instant love type story. At times, I found myself annoyed but all in all I did enjoy the plot. I do wish that we saw more growth in the characters though.

Ultimately, it kept me entertained and it was a nice, quick read. I would give it 3 1/2 stars so I'm giving it 4 because I always round up.
  
Like Vanessa
Like Vanessa
Tami Charles | 2018 | Children, Contemporary, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
EVERYTHING! (0 more)
Not enough Tanisha! (0 more)
From Goodreads: 13-year-old girl from the '80s sees the first black woman win Miss America, which inspires her middle school to throw a pageant to boost moral. What could possibly go wrong?

Normally, I would say everything.

This book, nothing went wrong. In fact, Tami Charles did everything right.

You get an interesting main character. You have her going through real problems. You have this story take a look at a real problem with young black girls when it comes to what level of black skin is beautiful. You have major plot twists at every turn (And I don't take that sentence lightly.) And I actually don't hate the parental character this time (Because seriously, a lot of them try to make these characters awful for no reason at all). And you have the main character drop their walls to tell their vulnerable story to the audience.

In short, I love this book. One of the best middle grade and young adult novels I have ever read.
  
Wizard and Glass - Dark Tower IV
Wizard and Glass - Dark Tower IV
Stephen King | 1997 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
8
8.7 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well written (0 more)
Slow in the middle (0 more)
A good step on the road to the dark tower
I just finished reading this, took a few days, more than I expected. The first 3 dark tower books I couldn't put down and flew through; this one started well, gripping, but in the middle it slowed down and dragged a bit.
We start where we left off in Dark Tower III, it's fairly fast paced until we get a bit of Roland's back story. Whilst I love hearing about what happened to Roland before he met Jake and made a new ka-tet, this story in a story was slow paced and dragged, you were just waiting to get to the good bits.
Once Roland had told his story, there wasn't much left to read. King only moves their journey to the dark tower a little bit. Overall, you do get to know Roland a lot better, which is a good thing. I am still looking forward to reading the next book.
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated I Know You Know in Books

Jan 4, 2019  
I Know You Know
I Know You Know
Gilly MacMillan | 2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Alright book
I received the audiobook version through a giveaway that Book Riot hosted.

So, anybody that knows me knows that I am not a fan of audio books. Well, I won this one from a giveaway and thought why the heck not. It's a thriller, so I should love it. I'll admit, there were good parts, there were bad parts, and there were parts that made me want to rip my face off.

The speakers were good, they helped with the different voices instead of having one person doing all of the voices. But man, the first half of the "book" was an utter bore that seemed to drag me through the dirt and into the burning pits of hell to rot away. I'm not kidding. I can't say anything on the writing style as it was told to me and not read by me. But from what I could tell, the author seemed like a good writer but just didn't deliver the punch that was needed.

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