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BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Not by Sight in Books

Jan 2, 2019

Espionage is at its height during WWI. The slightest piece of evidence, whether legitimate or not, can mean the difference between life and death.

Grace Mabry is full of patriotic ideals. She believes there is no excuse for fit and able young men to stay home and drink champagne and attend fancy parties. Grace sneaks into a masquerade ball to hand out white feathers of cowardice in her efforts to aide the war. She slips a feather into the hands of Jack Benningham, heir to the Earl of Stonebrook. Unbeknownst to her the events that are set into motion by that one act. Both Jack and Grace are soon forced to learn the true meaning of walking by faith, not by sight.

"She taught me to never back down and to always stand up for what I believed in."

Not by Sight has to be one of the most spellbinding books that I have read. On multiple occasions I had to remind myself to breathe. I couldn't even put the book down to walk from point A to point B. And my eyes kept sliding to the end of each page, and therefore causing me to reread the whole page again. The depth of feeling and emotion between the characters is very real. I found the personalities very developed and would love it if Grace were to ring me up and we could discuss her whole adventure. The story line changes perspectives between more characters than I had expected, but it gave valuable insight into the circumstances that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. I was constantly reminded of the BBC show Land Girls (Netflix) which is set during WWII. There is another show called Bomb Girls (Netflix), also WWII, that is similar but set in a munitions factory rather than on a farm. Both are excellent, and I highly recommend them. Pick up a copy of Not by Sight and be transported to the middle of WWI. Say goodbye to housework and sleep, because this intriguing story will completely pull you in. I am on my way to re-watch both shows now!

I received a free copy of Not by Sight from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated Ready or Not (2019) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020

Ready or Not (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery

7.6

(46 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Original story (1 more)

Solid tension

The ending might not be appreciated (0 more)

White wedding goes full bloodshed

Grace (Samara Weaving) is about to marry the man of her dreams, Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien). But her new in-laws, as it turns out, are going to be a real nightmare.

After a long sweeping shot through a gothic house 30-years earlier which sets up the back story to what is going to unfold, Grace is tasked with drawing a card from a mysterious mechanical box.

The premise is simple, whatever game is on the card she has to play in order to be accepted into the family – a tradition which must be accepted.

Innocently believing that it is just a harmless game of Hide-and-Seek Grace sets off to hide. The family, however, arming themselves with a variety of antique weaponry, must kill poor Grace before sunrise or they will all perish.

The family is an eclectic mix of batshit crazed parents, eccentric grandparents, troublesome daughters and drunken sons. When merged they come across as a psychopath’s answer to the Keystone Cops, all flair but no clue whatsoever.

Ready or Not manages to balance horror and comedy nicely. It is gory when it needs to be with several grotesque and humorous scenes that will leave viewers squirming in their seats.

The remainder of the film is a tense game of cat and mouse with Grace now realising what the real motives of the family are. She must hold her nerve to see out the night and make it to morning.

The setting is perfect for this type of caper and the gothic mansion provides plenty of twists and turns; from secret doors and passages to outhouses filled with decaying corpses.

Grace turns from the bride in white to the bride in blood as she battles the family – the tension rarely lets up for a second. Ready or Not gets just about everything spot on and it never suffers from horror cliches or boredom.

Weaving gives a good account of herself as a modern-day scream queen turned badass, running around in a torn wedding dress and trainers dispelling the myth ‘till death do us part‘.