Search
Debbiereadsbook (1653 KP) rated Five Minutes Longer (Enhanced #1) in Books
Sep 18, 2018
different but brilliant
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.
Some 30 years ago, children began waking up with a mark on their faces and enhanced abilities: speed, strength, mental abilities. Talon, now given the job of setting up a human/enhanced task force within the FBI, was one of the first. He doesn't want to work with normals on his team, but this task force is his, and the other enhanced team members, last chance at becoming a useful member of society, not just a mark on his face. Finn wanted to join the FBI forever, and worked hard to get to apply, but he is not accepted. Instead he gets a cryptic phone and flies to Florida, and finds himself face to face with several huge enhanced, one of whom makes Finn want that boyfriend he never had. They have four weeks to make this team work, do or, quite possibly, die.
Oooooo-eeeee! Loved this! Different, very different and different is always good in my book!
The guys on the team really don't want Finn around, but know they gotta put up with him, at least for a little bit, but he grows on them, Talon especially but Talon fights that attraction all the bloody way, and when he finally gives up the fight?? Oh yes ma'am, that boy falls hard and he falls FAST! And when Finn gets caught in the cross fire at a bank robbery?? Talon goes all MAJOR Alpha-Male- Protect-What's-Mine!
I loved that not everything is fully revealed about the guys abilities, I think there is quite a bit more to come!
Nick J Russo narrates and he does a sterling job! He's a firm favourite of mine, and each and every time I listen to his work, it becomes my NEW favourite!
Russo's voices are clear and distinctive, even in multi person conversations. He reading voice is deep and even and I had no trouble, not at all, keeping up.
He gets cross all of Finn's emotions and his reactions to the guys, to Talon. His intense dislike of his brother and how his mum was with his dad. Russo gets across all of Talon's fighting, and that boy fights hard, his feelings for Finn, and you get just how much Finn means to him, when he thinks Finn is lost.
This is book one, there appears to be an underlying story arc running through these books, and I look forward to watching that unfold, and to watching these guys fall, like dominoes, one by one.
Off to listen to book 2, which is a continuation of Finn and Talon's story.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Some 30 years ago, children began waking up with a mark on their faces and enhanced abilities: speed, strength, mental abilities. Talon, now given the job of setting up a human/enhanced task force within the FBI, was one of the first. He doesn't want to work with normals on his team, but this task force is his, and the other enhanced team members, last chance at becoming a useful member of society, not just a mark on his face. Finn wanted to join the FBI forever, and worked hard to get to apply, but he is not accepted. Instead he gets a cryptic phone and flies to Florida, and finds himself face to face with several huge enhanced, one of whom makes Finn want that boyfriend he never had. They have four weeks to make this team work, do or, quite possibly, die.
Oooooo-eeeee! Loved this! Different, very different and different is always good in my book!
The guys on the team really don't want Finn around, but know they gotta put up with him, at least for a little bit, but he grows on them, Talon especially but Talon fights that attraction all the bloody way, and when he finally gives up the fight?? Oh yes ma'am, that boy falls hard and he falls FAST! And when Finn gets caught in the cross fire at a bank robbery?? Talon goes all MAJOR Alpha-Male- Protect-What's-Mine!
I loved that not everything is fully revealed about the guys abilities, I think there is quite a bit more to come!
Nick J Russo narrates and he does a sterling job! He's a firm favourite of mine, and each and every time I listen to his work, it becomes my NEW favourite!
Russo's voices are clear and distinctive, even in multi person conversations. He reading voice is deep and even and I had no trouble, not at all, keeping up.
He gets cross all of Finn's emotions and his reactions to the guys, to Talon. His intense dislike of his brother and how his mum was with his dad. Russo gets across all of Talon's fighting, and that boy fights hard, his feelings for Finn, and you get just how much Finn means to him, when he thinks Finn is lost.
This is book one, there appears to be an underlying story arc running through these books, and I look forward to watching that unfold, and to watching these guys fall, like dominoes, one by one.
Off to listen to book 2, which is a continuation of Finn and Talon's story.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 4 in TV
Nov 18, 2019 (Updated Nov 18, 2019)
Season 4 of AHS, subtitled 'Freak Show' gets a bad wrap in my opinion.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
Lonely Planet Best of USA
Lonely Planet, Amy C. Balfour, Sandra Bao and Karla Zimmerman
Book
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet's Best of USA is your...
Lonely Planet Eastern USA
Lonely Planet, Amy C. Balfour, Adam Karlin and Karla Zimmerman
Book
#1 best-selling guide to Eastern USA Lonely Planet Eastern USA is your passport to all the most...
Lonely Planet New England Fall Foliage Road Trips
Lonely Planet, Amy C. Balfour, Gregor Clark and Ned Friary
Book
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Whether exploring your own backyard or...
Into the Black: The Electrifying True Story of How the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Nearly Ended in Disaster
Book
On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight....
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Crawl (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Killer Alligators and Buckets Of Blood
Crawl is a 2019 disaster/horror movie directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen. It was produced by Sam Raimi and Craig J. Flores and also Ghost House Pictures and Raimi Productions with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.
Beth advises her sister, Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario), an aspiring University of Florida swimmer to get out of the state, because a Category 5 hurricane is nearing. Concerned for the safety of her father, Dave (Barry Pepper), she goes against police instructions to evacuate, and goes to check on him. Hayley finds Dave's truck at their old Coral Lake home, where she goes into the crawlspace underneath the home to find her father. Now they both find themselves in a struggle for survival as large, ravenous alligators block their escape and they race against time as flood waters rise.
This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. It was also pretty brutal with the blood and gore in the kill scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especially in the beginning, which I thought would have bothered me more; but the plight the characters were in was done in such a way, that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the alligators behavior in this film too but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't over analyze it, you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.
This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed, blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especiallywhich I thought would have bothered me more but the plight the characters were done in such a that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the way the alligators behavior in this film but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't analyze it too harshly you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.
Beth advises her sister, Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario), an aspiring University of Florida swimmer to get out of the state, because a Category 5 hurricane is nearing. Concerned for the safety of her father, Dave (Barry Pepper), she goes against police instructions to evacuate, and goes to check on him. Hayley finds Dave's truck at their old Coral Lake home, where she goes into the crawlspace underneath the home to find her father. Now they both find themselves in a struggle for survival as large, ravenous alligators block their escape and they race against time as flood waters rise.
This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. It was also pretty brutal with the blood and gore in the kill scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especially in the beginning, which I thought would have bothered me more; but the plight the characters were in was done in such a way, that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the alligators behavior in this film too but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't over analyze it, you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.
This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed, blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especiallywhich I thought would have bothered me more but the plight the characters were done in such a that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the way the alligators behavior in this film but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't analyze it too harshly you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Newcomer in Books
May 6, 2021
A fairly cute but rather unbelievable romance/mystery
When Letty Carnahan finds her sister Tanya dead, she knows she has to flee. Tanya warned her about this--if anything happened to her, Letty was to take Tanya's four-year-old daughter, Maya, and run. Letty has no idea where to go, but Tanya's left behind one clue: a magazine article with a motel circled. She and Maya arrive at the Murmuring Surf, a little motel in Florida, exhausted. Letty is convinced that Tanya's ex--Maya's father--a rich businessman is after them. But at "the Surf," the owner, Ava DeCurtis, takes a liking to Maya (and Letty). Despite the No Vacancy sign, she lets Letty and Maya stay in a tiny efficiency. But the rest of the hotel regulars regard Letty and Maya--the newcomers--with suspicion, as does Ava's son, local cop Joe DeCurtis. Joe is pretty convinced Letty is a fugitive and maybe even a murderer. As Letty tries to settle in and heal with Maya, she attempts to unravel exactly what happened to Tanya: and the more she finds out, the more it leads back to the Surf.
"Nobody could be trusted. Not after everything that had happened."
This is a cute, serviceable mystery-romance combo, albeit a slightly preposterous and unbelievable one. Letty flees Tanya's murder scene successfully, a wanted criminal, recognized by no one except Joe, an upstanding, rule-abiding cop who doesn't turn her in. And when the FBI enters the tale, their actions seem highly unreasonable, but... I guess we are supposed to believe anything in the name of love?
As for this love, it's complete insta-love and honestly, at times, a little cringe-worthy. Joe falls for Letty basically on sight and is rather pushy in trying to convince her to be in a relationship. (Hey this is crazy, we just met, I'm not turning you in, let's move in together... umm ok?) It was all a bit much.
Now, the old folks staying at the motel were a total trip. I could completely buy their crazy. And I loved Ava, who was a sweet, overly-trusting, but tough and brave mom, who just wanted to take care of everyone. (I didn't believe that Maya, who had endured great trauma, just sweetly sat and colored for hours each day while Letty worked--I'd like to meet that four-year-old!) The motel setting was spot on, and I desperately wanted to be at the beach while reading the entire book.
Overall, this one held my attention and I couldn't help but root for Letty (and Maya), but it probably won't stick with me. Joe often rubbed me the wrong way and some of the plot points had me rolling my eyes. Still, a cute summery read. 3 stars.
"Nobody could be trusted. Not after everything that had happened."
This is a cute, serviceable mystery-romance combo, albeit a slightly preposterous and unbelievable one. Letty flees Tanya's murder scene successfully, a wanted criminal, recognized by no one except Joe, an upstanding, rule-abiding cop who doesn't turn her in. And when the FBI enters the tale, their actions seem highly unreasonable, but... I guess we are supposed to believe anything in the name of love?
As for this love, it's complete insta-love and honestly, at times, a little cringe-worthy. Joe falls for Letty basically on sight and is rather pushy in trying to convince her to be in a relationship. (Hey this is crazy, we just met, I'm not turning you in, let's move in together... umm ok?) It was all a bit much.
Now, the old folks staying at the motel were a total trip. I could completely buy their crazy. And I loved Ava, who was a sweet, overly-trusting, but tough and brave mom, who just wanted to take care of everyone. (I didn't believe that Maya, who had endured great trauma, just sweetly sat and colored for hours each day while Letty worked--I'd like to meet that four-year-old!) The motel setting was spot on, and I desperately wanted to be at the beach while reading the entire book.
Overall, this one held my attention and I couldn't help but root for Letty (and Maya), but it probably won't stick with me. Joe often rubbed me the wrong way and some of the plot points had me rolling my eyes. Still, a cute summery read. 3 stars.
Roadside America
Travel and Navigation
App
The team at RoadsideAmerica.com has spent decades exploring the weird wonders of America’s...
GPS navigation BE-ON-ROAD
Navigation and Travel
App
FREE GPS Offline Map & Navigation. FREE updates for both app and maps. FREE license for...