The Ducal Detective
10.0
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Murder is a royal affair in this novella featuring Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier's first...
How To Save a Life
8.0
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Sometimes saving a life is only the start of the story . . . It’s nearly midnight on the eve of...
A Feast Most Foul
10.0
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Murder is the main event in the Duchess's next gripping adventure. For her first official trip as...
Thankfully, all three are stand-alone.
This one is set in the relatively near future and on the moon, where Artemis is the first - and, currently, only - city there, and where life can be rough.
Which is why the protagonist Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara turns to smuggling alongside her 'proper' job as a porter. And, inevitably, finds herself involved in a conspiracy for control of the city when things go sideways.
Personally, I found this to be a bit weaker than either The Martian or Project Hail Mary but, well, tastes may differ!
The Husbands
7.0
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The wives here are different. They are living proof that women can have it all: successful careers,...
David McK (3814 KP) rated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) in Movies
Jan 6, 2025
So much so, that he got his own spin-off in 2011 'Puss in Boots' which, from memory, I felt lacked the spark of his earlier entries.
So much so, that it was just over a decade later that he got his second solo movie, in this.
Which, artistically (and, I felt, to it's detriment) takes its cue from the 'Into the Spider-verse' movies and so, like those, comes across as an over-caffeinated sugar-rush of a headache, which (IMO) overshadows the whole message about found family and living your life to its fullest.
YMMV, of course.
David McK (3814 KP) rated Killer of killers (2025) in Movies
Aug 10, 2025 (Updated Aug 10, 2025)
1) A Viking Warrior
2) A Japanese Samurai
3) A WW2 American pilot
All have one thing in common: they all have faced down, and defeated, a member of the Predator species.
And all, in the 4th 'chapter' of the film, are brought to fight each other in an arena on the Predator homeland.
I found this to be an OK watch: it never really caught my attention all that much, which might be why I watched it over roughly the course of a month, 1 roughlt 25 minute or so, 'chapter' per week.
David McK (3814 KP) rated Interesting Times (Discworld, #17; Rincewind #5) in Books
Nov 7, 2021
For some reason, this is not one of the Discworld books I would return to all that often (never found the Rincewind stories to be amongst the most enjoyable), but still has plenty of laugh out loud moments, alongside some other shrewd observations about life in general.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Take Your Breath Away in Books
Feb 6, 2022
Brie disappeared off the face of the earth 6 years ago and whilst the husband, Andy, was prime suspect, no evidence could be found against him. Now, a woman who appears to be Brie reappears and this sets off a chain reaction that has devastating results.
Written at a fast pace, with many twists and turns, this is a book with an intriguing plot that had me guessing most of the way through and although I did figure it out before the big reveal, it didn't spoil my enjoyment.
Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated I Kill Giants (2017) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
But with the underlying story that her mother is ill and she takes herself off into a fantasy world to battle giants to escape the reality of true-life is so nicely done, I found myself very emotional towards the end of the film, but still lifted that Barbara has fought her way through against giants, bullies and the fears of losing her mother.