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Annie Chanse (15 KP) rated Shadows & Dreams in Books
Dec 19, 2017
Review** spoiler alert ** *Warning: contains spoilers, bad words, and quite a long rant*
To be honest, I was very disappointed in this book. It had a great premise, which meant it had the potential to be a really good story, but the writing style of the author just completely ruined this book for me.
The basic idea behind the story is that Kate Kane, a paranormal PI, sets off on a case to find the brother of a woman she slept with once, and during this investigation, she runs into ALL MANNER OF TROUBLE. There are vampires and werewolves and ex-girlfriends around every corner, just lurking and waiting to pounce on Miss Kane. It's a very busy and involved story, and if it had been better written, I would have easily given it four stars at least, but there was just TOO much about this book -- style-wise -- that drove me insane.
For instance:
1. The plot, itself, is actually fairly well thought out and developed and is nowhere NEAR as cheesy as it sounds when you hear, "Vampires fighting werewolves," -- which, let's be honest, these days is so trite and overdone that it is scoffed at on a regular basis. However, there IS a good story in this novel. But the way Hall writes the not-cheesy story is so cheesy that it makes you THINK the story is cheesy. A lot of cheese, huh? A little confusing? Well then, let me give you an example.
Page 7-8: "Truth be told it was a little bit awkward, but my social weirdness threshold has gone way up since my girlfriend tried to murder my ex-girlfriend because her ex-girlfriend tried to murder her."
Okay... a bit ridiculous, especially seven/eight pages in, but I can roll with it. However, at the bottom of page eight:
Kane asks, "Who saw him last?"
Her assistant -- who is actually a statue brought to life and gifted to Kate by a group of rats who are apparently all seeing and all knowing God-types -- says, "I don't know. [...] Probably somebody at the hospital."
Kane asks, "Which one?"
And the assistant replies with this fantastic line: "The Whittington. He broke his leg changing a light bulb. Because he was standing on a swivel chair because he's an idiot."
Okay, I concede that maybe this line is supposed to sound ridiculous and funny, so I can even let that one slide. But then, three pages later, Hall completely turns me off to the book with this:
"Well, fuck. I was about to be hired by a woman I'd very nearly slept with to find her missing brother who was working for the woman who'd left me for a tech startup at the tech startup she left me for."
Wh-wh-what?! Are you kidding me? Could that sentence BE anymore convoluted or that plot-point any more ridiculously stereotypical?
And what is truly awful is that the story itself REALLY WASN'T THAT BAD. I mean, the writing was awful, which, overall, meant that the novel was -- in my opinion, of course -- bad, but the way the story progressed WAS interesting. It was nowhere near as bad as these 'recaps' by the main character make it sound, but the problem is that Hall throws in these inner-monologues for Kane ALL throughout the book, and they are terrible! Which, in turn, decreases the value of the entire story.
Another example falls right on the heels of the page 11 jewel.
Page 14: "I really really hoped this wasn't going to be another zombie plague. There'd been an outbreak when I'd taken Eve up to Lake Windermere for our third anniversary, and we'd spent the whole weekend under siege in the hotel, making molotovs from the minibar and clubbing re-animated tourists to death with souvenir walking sticks."
Really? Zombies now? On top of the vampires, witches, and werewolves? Can we POSSIBLY fit anymore para into this normal?
Enough with that.
Now on to point number 2. The girl on girl sex scenes in this book between sexy, snarky PI and her vampire girlfriend, the Prince (yes, Prince) of Cups, should be hot, right? No. They are forced, fake, and ridiculous. Halfway through the first one, I thought, "Jesus. This isn't lesbian sex. This is lesbian sex if it was written by a man who WISHES he could see some lesbian sex." That was the point at which I decided to look up more info on Alexis Hall, and I found out that he is, in fact, a man, which at least explains the sex scenes.
#3. Speaking of sex scenes, Hall also has this really irritating -- and distracting -- habit of throwing in random, explicitly sexual thoughts at TOTALLY inappropriate times. Right in the middle of the most stressful situations -- being locked up, about to be killed, thrown in prison/on trial -- Kate Kane begins inner-monologuing with herself about how much she'd like to fuck whatever female happens to be standing in front of her. RIDICULOUS! And annoying. Hated it.
4. One of the MOST annoying things about this book, however, was that it was in DESPERATE need of a SERIOUS case of editing. All throughout the book there were glaring errors that any first year college student should have caught while reading. I'm willing to discount SOME of these "errors" as simply being lost in translation, as the book is written with a British tone, and I am very much American. However, SOME of these errors simply CANNOT be due to anything other than careless editing.
For instance, page 113: "It's main distinguishing feature, right, was that was it was blue."
WAS that WAS it WAS blue? What does that even mean? Oh, yes, it means that no one bothered editing this beast before printing.
Page 141: "Piercing the heart will paralyse, but it won't kill, and anything will do, it doesn't have to wood."
Okay, so maybe the "paralyse" is simply British, but surely the "doesn't have to wood" bit needs a "be" in there somewhere, right?
Page 157: "Have we have achieved case closed, Miss Kane?"
Yes, yes have we have.
There are several -- SEVERAL -- more examples of these type errors, but I'm not about to point them all out. If you read the book, I'm sure you'll easily catch them on your own.
5. Another thing that drove me NUTS was the repetition. The awful thing is I'm fairly certain that Hall used these repetitious lines PURPOSELY to create some kind of effect -- humor, maybe? Whatever the desired result, it failed to do anything other than annoy me.
For instance, page 163: "'Hi. So. Look.' I tried to find a way to express the fact I had some good news and some bad news that wasn't I've got some good news and some bad news. 'I've got some good news and some bad news.'"
...blink... ...falls over...
Page 177: "All the more reason to tell them. [...] If they know that we know that she has returned, then they will not be tempted to conspire against us out of the false belief that we do not know. Of course, they may already know, but at present, we have no way to know what they know. If we tell them, we will know what they know, and all we will not know is how long they have known it."
Oh. Jumping. Jesus. On. A. Pogo. Stick. Please tell me you aren't serious.
And there was this one thing that repeated over and over again throughout the book. The first time, it was actually pretty clever. The second time, even, was okay. But by the time I'd read it nine times -- yes, NINE TIMES, no exaggeration whatsoever -- I was ready to never EVER read anything like it ever again.
This particular phrase was something Kate Kane internalized or muttered aloud to herself each time she decided to do something stupid OR she felt her life was in danger. The basic format went something like this:
"Here lies Kate Kane, died peacefully in her sleep aged 94. Beloved daughter."
The "Here lies Kate Kane" part remained constant, as did the "Beloved daughter." It was only the middle part that changed, for instance, "Here lies Kate Kate. Should have minded her own business. Beloved daughter." Or perhaps, "Here lies Kate Kane. She made a difference to dozens. Beloved daughter."
This continued NINE TIMES. It is not cute, funny, or clever after about the second time, definitely after the third. BUT NINE TIMES?! Come on!
And finally, my last complaint.
6. Several of the items, scenes, quotes, etc. in this book seemed waaaaaaaaaay too close to things from other books for my taste. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence and the author did not intentionally siphon plot points and details from other authors -- except, of course, when he obviously did in his quotations, such as his use of "Not all those who wander are lost" and "As old as my tongue, a little bit older than my teeth" which are DIRECTLY taken from other books, but I'm hoping those were intentional and not attempted-to-get-away-with-it plagiarism.
But there are several things in this novel that could have been taken from Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files", Lewis' "Narnia" chronicles, and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. I'm hoping, however, that they weren't, but they were very, very similar.
All in all, I'm disappointed to say that I was not a fan of this book at all, and I will most likely not be reading anymore Kate Kane books.
To be honest, I was very disappointed in this book. It had a great premise, which meant it had the potential to be a really good story, but the writing style of the author just completely ruined this book for me.
The basic idea behind the story is that Kate Kane, a paranormal PI, sets off on a case to find the brother of a woman she slept with once, and during this investigation, she runs into ALL MANNER OF TROUBLE. There are vampires and werewolves and ex-girlfriends around every corner, just lurking and waiting to pounce on Miss Kane. It's a very busy and involved story, and if it had been better written, I would have easily given it four stars at least, but there was just TOO much about this book -- style-wise -- that drove me insane.
For instance:
1. The plot, itself, is actually fairly well thought out and developed and is nowhere NEAR as cheesy as it sounds when you hear, "Vampires fighting werewolves," -- which, let's be honest, these days is so trite and overdone that it is scoffed at on a regular basis. However, there IS a good story in this novel. But the way Hall writes the not-cheesy story is so cheesy that it makes you THINK the story is cheesy. A lot of cheese, huh? A little confusing? Well then, let me give you an example.
Page 7-8: "Truth be told it was a little bit awkward, but my social weirdness threshold has gone way up since my girlfriend tried to murder my ex-girlfriend because her ex-girlfriend tried to murder her."
Okay... a bit ridiculous, especially seven/eight pages in, but I can roll with it. However, at the bottom of page eight:
Kane asks, "Who saw him last?"
Her assistant -- who is actually a statue brought to life and gifted to Kate by a group of rats who are apparently all seeing and all knowing God-types -- says, "I don't know. [...] Probably somebody at the hospital."
Kane asks, "Which one?"
And the assistant replies with this fantastic line: "The Whittington. He broke his leg changing a light bulb. Because he was standing on a swivel chair because he's an idiot."
Okay, I concede that maybe this line is supposed to sound ridiculous and funny, so I can even let that one slide. But then, three pages later, Hall completely turns me off to the book with this:
"Well, fuck. I was about to be hired by a woman I'd very nearly slept with to find her missing brother who was working for the woman who'd left me for a tech startup at the tech startup she left me for."
Wh-wh-what?! Are you kidding me? Could that sentence BE anymore convoluted or that plot-point any more ridiculously stereotypical?
And what is truly awful is that the story itself REALLY WASN'T THAT BAD. I mean, the writing was awful, which, overall, meant that the novel was -- in my opinion, of course -- bad, but the way the story progressed WAS interesting. It was nowhere near as bad as these 'recaps' by the main character make it sound, but the problem is that Hall throws in these inner-monologues for Kane ALL throughout the book, and they are terrible! Which, in turn, decreases the value of the entire story.
Another example falls right on the heels of the page 11 jewel.
Page 14: "I really really hoped this wasn't going to be another zombie plague. There'd been an outbreak when I'd taken Eve up to Lake Windermere for our third anniversary, and we'd spent the whole weekend under siege in the hotel, making molotovs from the minibar and clubbing re-animated tourists to death with souvenir walking sticks."
Really? Zombies now? On top of the vampires, witches, and werewolves? Can we POSSIBLY fit anymore para into this normal?
Enough with that.
Now on to point number 2. The girl on girl sex scenes in this book between sexy, snarky PI and her vampire girlfriend, the Prince (yes, Prince) of Cups, should be hot, right? No. They are forced, fake, and ridiculous. Halfway through the first one, I thought, "Jesus. This isn't lesbian sex. This is lesbian sex if it was written by a man who WISHES he could see some lesbian sex." That was the point at which I decided to look up more info on Alexis Hall, and I found out that he is, in fact, a man, which at least explains the sex scenes.
#3. Speaking of sex scenes, Hall also has this really irritating -- and distracting -- habit of throwing in random, explicitly sexual thoughts at TOTALLY inappropriate times. Right in the middle of the most stressful situations -- being locked up, about to be killed, thrown in prison/on trial -- Kate Kane begins inner-monologuing with herself about how much she'd like to fuck whatever female happens to be standing in front of her. RIDICULOUS! And annoying. Hated it.
4. One of the MOST annoying things about this book, however, was that it was in DESPERATE need of a SERIOUS case of editing. All throughout the book there were glaring errors that any first year college student should have caught while reading. I'm willing to discount SOME of these "errors" as simply being lost in translation, as the book is written with a British tone, and I am very much American. However, SOME of these errors simply CANNOT be due to anything other than careless editing.
For instance, page 113: "It's main distinguishing feature, right, was that was it was blue."
WAS that WAS it WAS blue? What does that even mean? Oh, yes, it means that no one bothered editing this beast before printing.
Page 141: "Piercing the heart will paralyse, but it won't kill, and anything will do, it doesn't have to wood."
Okay, so maybe the "paralyse" is simply British, but surely the "doesn't have to wood" bit needs a "be" in there somewhere, right?
Page 157: "Have we have achieved case closed, Miss Kane?"
Yes, yes have we have.
There are several -- SEVERAL -- more examples of these type errors, but I'm not about to point them all out. If you read the book, I'm sure you'll easily catch them on your own.
5. Another thing that drove me NUTS was the repetition. The awful thing is I'm fairly certain that Hall used these repetitious lines PURPOSELY to create some kind of effect -- humor, maybe? Whatever the desired result, it failed to do anything other than annoy me.
For instance, page 163: "'Hi. So. Look.' I tried to find a way to express the fact I had some good news and some bad news that wasn't I've got some good news and some bad news. 'I've got some good news and some bad news.'"
...blink... ...falls over...
Page 177: "All the more reason to tell them. [...] If they know that we know that she has returned, then they will not be tempted to conspire against us out of the false belief that we do not know. Of course, they may already know, but at present, we have no way to know what they know. If we tell them, we will know what they know, and all we will not know is how long they have known it."
Oh. Jumping. Jesus. On. A. Pogo. Stick. Please tell me you aren't serious.
And there was this one thing that repeated over and over again throughout the book. The first time, it was actually pretty clever. The second time, even, was okay. But by the time I'd read it nine times -- yes, NINE TIMES, no exaggeration whatsoever -- I was ready to never EVER read anything like it ever again.
This particular phrase was something Kate Kane internalized or muttered aloud to herself each time she decided to do something stupid OR she felt her life was in danger. The basic format went something like this:
"Here lies Kate Kane, died peacefully in her sleep aged 94. Beloved daughter."
The "Here lies Kate Kane" part remained constant, as did the "Beloved daughter." It was only the middle part that changed, for instance, "Here lies Kate Kate. Should have minded her own business. Beloved daughter." Or perhaps, "Here lies Kate Kane. She made a difference to dozens. Beloved daughter."
This continued NINE TIMES. It is not cute, funny, or clever after about the second time, definitely after the third. BUT NINE TIMES?! Come on!
And finally, my last complaint.
6. Several of the items, scenes, quotes, etc. in this book seemed waaaaaaaaaay too close to things from other books for my taste. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence and the author did not intentionally siphon plot points and details from other authors -- except, of course, when he obviously did in his quotations, such as his use of "Not all those who wander are lost" and "As old as my tongue, a little bit older than my teeth" which are DIRECTLY taken from other books, but I'm hoping those were intentional and not attempted-to-get-away-with-it plagiarism.
But there are several things in this novel that could have been taken from Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files", Lewis' "Narnia" chronicles, and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. I'm hoping, however, that they weren't, but they were very, very similar.
All in all, I'm disappointed to say that I was not a fan of this book at all, and I will most likely not be reading anymore Kate Kane books.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Hate u Give in Books
Jan 10, 2018
Starr Carter lives a divided life. At sixteen, she spends part of her life in her impoverished inner city neighborhood and another portion in the suburbs, attending an elite prep school, where she is one of a handful of African American students. Starr feels like she is two Starrs, and she keeps these two people very separate, with a different set of friends and personas for each world. But her careful facade is threatened when her childhood best friend, Khalil, is killed by a police officer. Starr is with Khalil when he is shot--unarmed--and her life will never be the same. In the aftermath, the media begins to call Khalil a drug dealer and a gang member. But speaking up about what she saw isn't so simple, especially when not everyone wants to hear the truth.
You've probably heard about Thomas' debut novel by now--it's been getting a lot of coverage and truly, deservedly so. This is definitely a powerful, eye-opening, and timely story. Thomas has created an excellent main character in Starr, whose voice shines clear and strong in the book. Her struggle to fit into two worlds is one many can relate to: Starr's just happens to have life and death consequences. Starr has wonderful, supportive parents and two humorous brothers who fill out the book with a realism and warmth that's hard to describe. Thomas is superb in capturing her characters' voices, and I found myself easily able to picture Starr and her family. I especially loved such snippets that made them jump off the pages--for instance, the family settling down to watch NBA basketball, complete with all their little superstitions (I've definitely been there) was perfect.
Starr's story isn't always easy to read (nor should it be), but it offered strong insight into the systemic problems facing African American communities--much of it framed by Starr's pragmatic parents. I thought some things tied up too easily, but I was still very profoundly affected by the story. I loved Starr and her tough yet vulnerable self. I loved her parents, their love, and their history. Her brothers cracked me up. At its core, this is a story about family, as well as identity and race. It's important, serious, heartbreaking, and yet sometimes really funny. It's also beautiful, powerful, and definitely worth a read.
You've probably heard about Thomas' debut novel by now--it's been getting a lot of coverage and truly, deservedly so. This is definitely a powerful, eye-opening, and timely story. Thomas has created an excellent main character in Starr, whose voice shines clear and strong in the book. Her struggle to fit into two worlds is one many can relate to: Starr's just happens to have life and death consequences. Starr has wonderful, supportive parents and two humorous brothers who fill out the book with a realism and warmth that's hard to describe. Thomas is superb in capturing her characters' voices, and I found myself easily able to picture Starr and her family. I especially loved such snippets that made them jump off the pages--for instance, the family settling down to watch NBA basketball, complete with all their little superstitions (I've definitely been there) was perfect.
Starr's story isn't always easy to read (nor should it be), but it offered strong insight into the systemic problems facing African American communities--much of it framed by Starr's pragmatic parents. I thought some things tied up too easily, but I was still very profoundly affected by the story. I loved Starr and her tough yet vulnerable self. I loved her parents, their love, and their history. Her brothers cracked me up. At its core, this is a story about family, as well as identity and race. It's important, serious, heartbreaking, and yet sometimes really funny. It's also beautiful, powerful, and definitely worth a read.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Lone Star Legend in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 2.5, DNF
Sandy S. has a second identity online—she blogs at a personal blog as Miss TragiComic Texas, and works for a website called Nacho Papi. Sandy is good at living her dual-identities and keeping them separate. But when people start connecting the the personal blog and the new website, and then recognizing her on the streets from the videos…
(From back of the book:) No matter how many passwords and aliases we use, there really is no such thing as privacy when you live your life online. Celebrities expect this, but what about the average person? Gwendolyn Zepeda’s novel plays with this idea of public vs. private and what happens when those lines get crossed.
I found Lone Star Legend to be very slow. It was hard to get into, and even halfway through the book I wasn’t sure what the actual plot line was.
There is a lot of drama. She breaks up with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s students find her personal blog and her rants about him and it embarrasses him. People recognize her in the coffee shop from TV. The man she interviews on a whim becomes the new biggest internet phenomenon, but he doesn’t want his photo on the t-shirts that she has already started to sell. These are just a few things that happen in the story, and none of it really leads anywhere.
And if a story doesn’t lead anywhere, and I have no desire to finish it, I’m not going to. Because I could be reading other things.
With that in mind, my positive comments include these: Zepeda is a pretty good writer. The writing and the dialogue is witty and fresh and alive and pretty funny at times. There were some great lines, great scenarios, and great laugh-out-loud sections… there just weren’t enough to keep me reading. The characters are well developed and defined and likeable, and it’s a pretty enjoyable read… little bits at a time.
But Lone Star Legend just wasn’t my thing, I guess. It kind of stinks, too, because I love the idea. As a blogger, people I know personally always tell me about stuff they read on my blog… but however much I wanted to enjoy it, I just couldn’t get into it.
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 2.5, DNF
Sandy S. has a second identity online—she blogs at a personal blog as Miss TragiComic Texas, and works for a website called Nacho Papi. Sandy is good at living her dual-identities and keeping them separate. But when people start connecting the the personal blog and the new website, and then recognizing her on the streets from the videos…
(From back of the book:) No matter how many passwords and aliases we use, there really is no such thing as privacy when you live your life online. Celebrities expect this, but what about the average person? Gwendolyn Zepeda’s novel plays with this idea of public vs. private and what happens when those lines get crossed.
I found Lone Star Legend to be very slow. It was hard to get into, and even halfway through the book I wasn’t sure what the actual plot line was.
There is a lot of drama. She breaks up with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s students find her personal blog and her rants about him and it embarrasses him. People recognize her in the coffee shop from TV. The man she interviews on a whim becomes the new biggest internet phenomenon, but he doesn’t want his photo on the t-shirts that she has already started to sell. These are just a few things that happen in the story, and none of it really leads anywhere.
And if a story doesn’t lead anywhere, and I have no desire to finish it, I’m not going to. Because I could be reading other things.
With that in mind, my positive comments include these: Zepeda is a pretty good writer. The writing and the dialogue is witty and fresh and alive and pretty funny at times. There were some great lines, great scenarios, and great laugh-out-loud sections… there just weren’t enough to keep me reading. The characters are well developed and defined and likeable, and it’s a pretty enjoyable read… little bits at a time.
But Lone Star Legend just wasn’t my thing, I guess. It kind of stinks, too, because I love the idea. As a blogger, people I know personally always tell me about stuff they read on my blog… but however much I wanted to enjoy it, I just couldn’t get into it.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Craftsman in Books
Mar 12, 2019
Complex, compelling, and complicated tale
The year is 1999 and Assistant Commissioner Florence Lovelady returns to Lancashire for the funeral of Larry Glassbrook, a murderer she arrested 30 years ago. Larry killed three children, burying them alive in caskets he made himself. He also kidnapped and tortured Florence while she was investigating his case. Thirty years ago, Florence made a name for herself with the Glassbrook case, which changed her life forever. Clay effigies were found with each of the children's bodies, suggesting an element of witchcraft. Now, when Florence returns for the funeral, she finds a fourth: of herself. Does this means Florence is in danger? And what does the message Larry sent her from prison mean? Is there still a killer out there?
"I wonder what words his headstone might carry: Loving husband, devoted father, merciless killer."
I'm a huge Sharon Bolton fan, so I was excited to read this one. I hadn't really read the description in a while, so I didn't realize so much of the narrative took place in the late 1960s. I'm usually more of a modern fiction fan, but I found the 1960s portion--narrated by Florence--to be surprisingly engaging and enjoyable. It offered a really detailed look at how women were treated, especially on the police force, and was a true testament to Florence's strength. She was a fascinating, nuanced character who drew me in from the beginning. The book really revolves around her, but she makes it worth it.
The novel is certainly creepy--definitely a good spooky read for the month of October. It can be dark and gruesome. There's a witchcraft portion that sometimes seems a little unbelievable, but I thought it worked well within the confines of the story. There's even some funny moments--made even better by what a great heroine Florence is.
There's an excellent mystery here, which will keep you guessing from the start. The story skips between 1969 and 1999, and the two portions work together seamlessly. I found the tale to be complex, complicated, and just really compelling. There's something about this book that simply keeps you reading. Florence is an awesome character, the story is fascinating and different, and it's just a really enjoyable (if somewhat dark) read. Definitely recommend.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
"I wonder what words his headstone might carry: Loving husband, devoted father, merciless killer."
I'm a huge Sharon Bolton fan, so I was excited to read this one. I hadn't really read the description in a while, so I didn't realize so much of the narrative took place in the late 1960s. I'm usually more of a modern fiction fan, but I found the 1960s portion--narrated by Florence--to be surprisingly engaging and enjoyable. It offered a really detailed look at how women were treated, especially on the police force, and was a true testament to Florence's strength. She was a fascinating, nuanced character who drew me in from the beginning. The book really revolves around her, but she makes it worth it.
The novel is certainly creepy--definitely a good spooky read for the month of October. It can be dark and gruesome. There's a witchcraft portion that sometimes seems a little unbelievable, but I thought it worked well within the confines of the story. There's even some funny moments--made even better by what a great heroine Florence is.
There's an excellent mystery here, which will keep you guessing from the start. The story skips between 1969 and 1999, and the two portions work together seamlessly. I found the tale to be complex, complicated, and just really compelling. There's something about this book that simply keeps you reading. Florence is an awesome character, the story is fascinating and different, and it's just a really enjoyable (if somewhat dark) read. Definitely recommend.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Evil Dead II (1987) in Movies
Oct 30, 2019
A Blood Fest
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Evil Dead II- is a great and fantasic sequel to the oringal movie. It is horrorfying, terrorfying, creepy, spooky, funny, chilling, thrilling and so much more. You got to thank Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Those two togther are unstoppable.
Lets talk about the plot: The second of three films in the Evil Dead series is part horror, part comedy, with Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) once again battling horrifying demons at a secluded cabin in the woods. After discovering an audiotape left by a college professor that contains voices reading from the Book of the Dead, Ash's girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) becomes possessed by evil spirits that are awakened by the voices on the tape. Ash soon discovers there is no escaping the woods.
The movie opens with a brief (and altered/reimagined/truncated) recap of the first movie. Ash Williams and his girlfriend, Linda, take a romantic vacation to a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods. While in the cabin, Ash plays a tape of archaeologist Raymond Knowby, the cabin's previous inhabitant, reciting passages from the Book of the Dead, Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which he has discovered during an archaeological dig. The recorded incantation unleashes an evil force (also known as the Kandarian Demon) that kills and later possesses Linda, turning her into a "deadite". Ash is then forced to decapitate his girlfriend with a shovel and bury her near the cabin.
The gore in this movie is overtop, so much blood and gore in this movie. This movie is were ash gets his chainsaw hand. Also Groovy.
I love this movie and the other movies as well.
Also Ash and his Oldsmobile land in the year 1300 AD. He is then confronted by a group of knights who initially mistake him for a deadite, but they are quickly distracted when a real one shows up. Ash blasts the harpy-like deadite with his shotgun and is hailed as a hero who has come to save the realm, at which point he breaks down and screams in anguish. Which sets up to Army of Darkness.
I would highly reccordmend watching this film and the others.
Lastly shout to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review correct.
Lets talk about the plot: The second of three films in the Evil Dead series is part horror, part comedy, with Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) once again battling horrifying demons at a secluded cabin in the woods. After discovering an audiotape left by a college professor that contains voices reading from the Book of the Dead, Ash's girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) becomes possessed by evil spirits that are awakened by the voices on the tape. Ash soon discovers there is no escaping the woods.
The movie opens with a brief (and altered/reimagined/truncated) recap of the first movie. Ash Williams and his girlfriend, Linda, take a romantic vacation to a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods. While in the cabin, Ash plays a tape of archaeologist Raymond Knowby, the cabin's previous inhabitant, reciting passages from the Book of the Dead, Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which he has discovered during an archaeological dig. The recorded incantation unleashes an evil force (also known as the Kandarian Demon) that kills and later possesses Linda, turning her into a "deadite". Ash is then forced to decapitate his girlfriend with a shovel and bury her near the cabin.
The gore in this movie is overtop, so much blood and gore in this movie. This movie is were ash gets his chainsaw hand. Also Groovy.
I love this movie and the other movies as well.
Also Ash and his Oldsmobile land in the year 1300 AD. He is then confronted by a group of knights who initially mistake him for a deadite, but they are quickly distracted when a real one shows up. Ash blasts the harpy-like deadite with his shotgun and is hailed as a hero who has come to save the realm, at which point he breaks down and screams in anguish. Which sets up to Army of Darkness.
I would highly reccordmend watching this film and the others.
Lastly shout to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review correct.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Nerve in Books
Jan 23, 2020
The beauty of commuting to school: I CAN LISTEN TO ALL DA AUDIOBOOKS. (Even if it’s 15-20 minutes depending on morning traffic - not round trip.)
<h3><b>Storyline</b></h3>
<i>Nerve </i>is a book about dares. It is, essentially, <i>The Hunger Games: Dare Edition in the Modern World</i>.
Modern World meaning reality TV, where the world can watch players do said dares. Oh, and said reality TV show on the interwebs is called Nerve. The book follows Vee, who decides to give Nerve a try with a basic little dare that will land her spot in the semifinals.
Nerve has a cool concept - and I’ll admit that I decided to listen to the audiobook because there’s a psychological aspect to it I’d rather not talk of. (It’ll make me sound like I’m analyzing this for a research paper. Ew. No.)
My only problem is Nerve (the game) itself. Each dare as Vee and the other players get closer to the live finals is more daring than the one before. Each prize is bigger than the one before, with the grand prize varying from player to player. Each one more ridiculous in my opinion, because my brain facepalmed (I know brains can’t facepalm) so many times it wasn’t even funny.
Although I suppose if I got a full ride to a university, I would probably be very keen on taking the offer despite the risks of the dare. Psychology is an interesting thing.
But how does Nerve even get all that money, all those funds? I’m curious, but as I said, psychology is an interesting thing, and Jeanne Ryan does an interesting job exploring the psychological aspects involved.
Ugh. If I have to do a research paper for any psychology classes, <i>Nerve </i>is first on the blasted list to be picked apart page by page.
<h3><b>Narration</b></h3>
In my young experience of listening to audiobooks (assuming I’m blogging for the next few years, I’ll be getting those earful experiences), this is the first time I’ve heard Caitlin Davies perform.
Honestly? I can’t complain. Caitlin Davies is one of the few narrators I’ve heard about before I even started listening to audiobooks, and I’m just nodding along to everyone’s praise for her performances.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/nerve-by-jeanne-ryan-audiobook-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<h3><b>Storyline</b></h3>
<i>Nerve </i>is a book about dares. It is, essentially, <i>The Hunger Games: Dare Edition in the Modern World</i>.
Modern World meaning reality TV, where the world can watch players do said dares. Oh, and said reality TV show on the interwebs is called Nerve. The book follows Vee, who decides to give Nerve a try with a basic little dare that will land her spot in the semifinals.
Nerve has a cool concept - and I’ll admit that I decided to listen to the audiobook because there’s a psychological aspect to it I’d rather not talk of. (It’ll make me sound like I’m analyzing this for a research paper. Ew. No.)
My only problem is Nerve (the game) itself. Each dare as Vee and the other players get closer to the live finals is more daring than the one before. Each prize is bigger than the one before, with the grand prize varying from player to player. Each one more ridiculous in my opinion, because my brain facepalmed (I know brains can’t facepalm) so many times it wasn’t even funny.
Although I suppose if I got a full ride to a university, I would probably be very keen on taking the offer despite the risks of the dare. Psychology is an interesting thing.
But how does Nerve even get all that money, all those funds? I’m curious, but as I said, psychology is an interesting thing, and Jeanne Ryan does an interesting job exploring the psychological aspects involved.
Ugh. If I have to do a research paper for any psychology classes, <i>Nerve </i>is first on the blasted list to be picked apart page by page.
<h3><b>Narration</b></h3>
In my young experience of listening to audiobooks (assuming I’m blogging for the next few years, I’ll be getting those earful experiences), this is the first time I’ve heard Caitlin Davies perform.
Honestly? I can’t complain. Caitlin Davies is one of the few narrators I’ve heard about before I even started listening to audiobooks, and I’m just nodding along to everyone’s praise for her performances.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/nerve-by-jeanne-ryan-audiobook-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Paddington (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The timeless storybook written by Michael Bond about a loveable, well-mannered immigrant Bear who tries to adapt to the human world.
The movie opens up with an English Explorer, Montgomery Clyde (Tim Downie), who ventures to the darkest Peru and encounters Paddington’s Aunt Lucy(voiced by Imelda Stauton) and Uncle Pastuzo(voiced by Michael Gambon). Instead of shooting them to take back to the Geographers’ Guild to be stuffed, he teaches them to speak English and introduces them to marmalade. He ends his adventure by telling the two bears he would always give them a home in London. Fast forward 40 years, Lucy and Pastuzo are now raising their very energetic nephew (voiced by Ben Wishaw) and teach him everything they know about London and how to make marmalade. Sadly, tragedy strikes after a devastating earthquake destroys their home. This forces Aunt Lucy to allow the young bear to stowaway on a ship bound for London to find Montgomery Clyde, the explorer, while she takes residence at a facility for retired bears.
The little bear is discovered by the Brown family while wandering Paddington Station. After reading the tag that says, “Please look after this bear,” the Browns take him home and give him the name Paddington. They also agreed to help him find the explorer that once befriended his aunt and uncle. Confused by his new unfamiliar surroundings, Paddington becomes an accident prone guest who inadvertently creates chaos and devastation where ever he goes.
Writer/Director Paul King has made an ingeniously witty, funny film that will appeal to moviegoers of all ages. A sweet and playful take on the beloved 1950s children’s book. For the most part, it does follow the storyline of the book. With the exception of the character Millicent, played by Nicole Kidman, who is a museum taxidermist. She wants nothing more than to make Paddington the newest member of the museum’s collection of stuffed exotic animals.
You can’t help but fall in love with Paddington, and it’s just as easy to love the Brown family. This is a delightfully charming film with the perfect amount of quirkiness. A story of a lost child trying to find friends and a place to belong. A wonderful movie that will melt your heart!
The movie opens up with an English Explorer, Montgomery Clyde (Tim Downie), who ventures to the darkest Peru and encounters Paddington’s Aunt Lucy(voiced by Imelda Stauton) and Uncle Pastuzo(voiced by Michael Gambon). Instead of shooting them to take back to the Geographers’ Guild to be stuffed, he teaches them to speak English and introduces them to marmalade. He ends his adventure by telling the two bears he would always give them a home in London. Fast forward 40 years, Lucy and Pastuzo are now raising their very energetic nephew (voiced by Ben Wishaw) and teach him everything they know about London and how to make marmalade. Sadly, tragedy strikes after a devastating earthquake destroys their home. This forces Aunt Lucy to allow the young bear to stowaway on a ship bound for London to find Montgomery Clyde, the explorer, while she takes residence at a facility for retired bears.
The little bear is discovered by the Brown family while wandering Paddington Station. After reading the tag that says, “Please look after this bear,” the Browns take him home and give him the name Paddington. They also agreed to help him find the explorer that once befriended his aunt and uncle. Confused by his new unfamiliar surroundings, Paddington becomes an accident prone guest who inadvertently creates chaos and devastation where ever he goes.
Writer/Director Paul King has made an ingeniously witty, funny film that will appeal to moviegoers of all ages. A sweet and playful take on the beloved 1950s children’s book. For the most part, it does follow the storyline of the book. With the exception of the character Millicent, played by Nicole Kidman, who is a museum taxidermist. She wants nothing more than to make Paddington the newest member of the museum’s collection of stuffed exotic animals.
You can’t help but fall in love with Paddington, and it’s just as easy to love the Brown family. This is a delightfully charming film with the perfect amount of quirkiness. A story of a lost child trying to find friends and a place to belong. A wonderful movie that will melt your heart!
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre in Books
Jun 10, 2021
A sweet and diverse YA theater romance
Melody McIntyre loves theater with all her heart. She puts everything she has into her role as stage manager for her high school's productions. But when Mel's love life affects her latest show, she realizes that maybe her romances and the success of the shows go hand in hand. After all, it's pretty well known that their theater is cursed. So Mel swears off love for their current spring production of Les Miserables. Then she meets Odile Rose, a rising actor, who has a role in their spring show. Odile seems as invested in the show in Mel, and she's also kind and funny. Mel can't fall in love, but what if she has no choice?
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Love Fortunes and Other Disasters (Grimbaud, #1) in Books
Sep 10, 2019
In Grimbaud, love is on everyone’s mind. From the annual ritual of getting a completely true love fortune from Zita’s charm shop to the statue of Love in the square, that is just about the only thing that matters in the town. This is great for those who have found their matches and live happily ever after. For those who are fated to be single forever, not so much. They quickly become the social outcasts in the town and join the Spinster and Bachelor villas.
For Fallon Dupree, a spinster fortune is just another reason that she’s an outcast in Grimbaud High School. With her parents and brother all strict inspectors in the clothing and restaurant department, Fallon leads a high quality life that quickly gets her branded as a snob. Not ready to give up on love quite yet, Fallon joins a rebellion to overthrow Zita’s charm shop and take back their own fortunes. Much to her surprise, so does her next door neighbor, Sebastion, who is also the high school’s heartbreaker.
Okay, if you’re following me on Twitter, then you already know I like this book. It’s adorable and sweet. I am a bit of a sucker for modern fairy tale towns like Grimbaud is. Fallon is a really good character, even though I don’t really like her parents. I mean really, controlling much? Her brother is pretty cool, though.
I actually like Sebastion’s character. Player love interests can either be complete jerks or be really hot, and Sebastion is definitely hot. Unlike the love interest in The Boy Next Door, the teen romance I’m reading now, Sebastion isn’t a complete douche to girls, even though he does date around. He is really funny and I like the chemistry between him and Fallon a lot.
What I didn’t like about this book was how a lot of them just gave up. I mean, if I was in the Spinster Villa, I would be over at the Bachelor Villa all the time. Even if it wasn’t true love, it would be nice to have a fling, right? They are all lonely. I can’t see the villas staying segregated because of a piece of ticker tape they got a few decades ago, even if the fortunes always come true. Worst case scenario there’s always friendship, right? And some of those love fortunes definitely didn’t have a life sentence. You will get a terrible rejection in the near future? That could have been my fortune in the sixth grade. Now I’m dating an incredibly sweet guy who loves me and is adorable and sexy. Too much of this town gave up way too quickly. At least Ms. Ward tried.
I still give this book four out of five stars. Romantics out there will definitely enjoy it, and every teenaged girl feeling unlucky in love should read it.
For Fallon Dupree, a spinster fortune is just another reason that she’s an outcast in Grimbaud High School. With her parents and brother all strict inspectors in the clothing and restaurant department, Fallon leads a high quality life that quickly gets her branded as a snob. Not ready to give up on love quite yet, Fallon joins a rebellion to overthrow Zita’s charm shop and take back their own fortunes. Much to her surprise, so does her next door neighbor, Sebastion, who is also the high school’s heartbreaker.
Okay, if you’re following me on Twitter, then you already know I like this book. It’s adorable and sweet. I am a bit of a sucker for modern fairy tale towns like Grimbaud is. Fallon is a really good character, even though I don’t really like her parents. I mean really, controlling much? Her brother is pretty cool, though.
I actually like Sebastion’s character. Player love interests can either be complete jerks or be really hot, and Sebastion is definitely hot. Unlike the love interest in The Boy Next Door, the teen romance I’m reading now, Sebastion isn’t a complete douche to girls, even though he does date around. He is really funny and I like the chemistry between him and Fallon a lot.
What I didn’t like about this book was how a lot of them just gave up. I mean, if I was in the Spinster Villa, I would be over at the Bachelor Villa all the time. Even if it wasn’t true love, it would be nice to have a fling, right? They are all lonely. I can’t see the villas staying segregated because of a piece of ticker tape they got a few decades ago, even if the fortunes always come true. Worst case scenario there’s always friendship, right? And some of those love fortunes definitely didn’t have a life sentence. You will get a terrible rejection in the near future? That could have been my fortune in the sixth grade. Now I’m dating an incredibly sweet guy who loves me and is adorable and sexy. Too much of this town gave up way too quickly. At least Ms. Ward tried.
I still give this book four out of five stars. Romantics out there will definitely enjoy it, and every teenaged girl feeling unlucky in love should read it.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Sons of Thunder (Brothers in Arms Collection) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I loved the concept of Sons of Thunder. It had great potential and I’ve seen tons of five-star reviews for it. Sadly it didn’t meet my expectations.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.