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The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Melissa Keil | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
6
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
2.5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Someone recommended this book to me a few months ago but I was a little wary of reading it, since I wasn't a fan of graphic novels back then--though I have discovered a like of manga since--and then I saw it on Netgalley and decided to just go for it.

Unfortunately, I felt like I was chucked straight into the middle of the story. I didn't have a clue who was who or how they fit into the story at the start, which made it hard for me to get into. I persevered over several days and I got used to the amount of friends in Alba's little group but the whole end of the world thing threw me a little. I didn't quite get that part of the story.

But then we get the hint of a little romance for our main character and I cheered up a bit. I was only going to give it 2 stars up until the 90% mark and then Grady melted my heart a little so I pushed my rating a little higher.

Not really my kinda thing. I prefer my girl's to be receptive to the idea of romance and not as into comics as Alba was--especially when she was naming some I'd never heard of.

I may read other books by the author at some point.
  
The War of the Flowers
The War of the Flowers
Tad Williams | 2003 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Descriptions (3 more)
world building
index of people places and things
800+ pages
long winded (2 more)
whiney dense lead
800+pages
A stand alone book. As a fan of Tad Williams I have put this book off from reading (it had been on my TBR list for over a decade) because of a previous stand alone book, I was afraid I won't like this one. Luckily, because of a TBR reading challenge I finally picked it up, and was pleasantly surprised at the intricate worlds that have been built.
The book is set up in five parts and has a couple of POVs most being that of Theo (the main character) who goes from California to the world of Faerie. A very different Faerie then expected. A very unique take on it.
Theo is thrown into a world he doesn't understand and has an extremely difficult time with well... don't want to give any spoilers. Although I will say the author isn't afraid to put Theo through hell, from the get.
While I did figure out quite a lot of the book along the way I was more pleased then annoyed when I was right in my assumptions.
The descriptions are very realistic and graphic in places (the author's note at the beginning is warranted) making this book quite long as are most of his books. A good long read that may not be for everyone.
  
The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman | 2020 | Crime, Mystery
8
8.1 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well, that was a nice surprise! I usually stay clear of celebrity writers as, in my experience, they tend to be over rated and over hyped but I have to say that this book by Richard Osman was pretty good and had me engaged from start to finish.

The plot is multi-faceted with several murders both recent and historic but rather than this causing confusion, it all seems to flow smoothly and logically despite its complexity although you do have to keep your wits about you to keep up at times. The writing style is easy to read and flows well and although the main subject matter is murder, there are snippets of humour and more tender moments too.

The setting of a rather upscale retirement village is unique as are the main characters who are engaging, appealing and, at times, amusing. I really would like to get to know Elizabeth better - she is a very intriguing character and there are teasing morsels of her previous working life which are very interesting and I want to know more.

This book is what I would call a cosy-read that could be enjoyed by anyone and I would recommend it to those who enjoy a classic murder-mystery without the violence and graphic detail.

Thank you to Penguin General UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.
  
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVP 2) (2007)
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVP 2) (2007)
2007 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A shameless money grab
After the thoroughly underwhelming AVP, we are presented with Requiem, a film that's entices you with it's R rating (after the first films odd PG-13 rating), and it's clear to see why a lot of the advertising was centred around the R rating - because Requiem has little else to offer.

Both of these franchises are beloved, but unfortunately, the bad films have really started to outweigh the good - and Requiem is a film made purely to make money. There's no diving into the lore behind any of the past films, and instead the story is set in a small Colorado town, full of actors that I kind of recognise from various TV shows - which is fitting, because the film plays out like an episode of Dawson's Creek, just with lots of Aliens running around.

The staple violence of both series is present once again, however, it feels like the constant Gore is being thrown at you to distract you from the threadbare plot.

The (singular) Predator looks pretty good, however the Aliens are mostly shrouded in shadow, I don't recall seeing a full body shot of a Xenomorph at any point, and the Predator-Alien hybrid, again, is never really shown properly, and what we do see looks silly.

It's a pretty shoddy movie all in all, and this particular mash up is probably best left to books and graphic novels.
  
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Animation, Family
I'm getting really fed up of having to say "I didn't see this one advertised anywhere". I had got it on my films to watch from the August listing as it was a new release, but the first I saw of it was scrolling through weekend cinema times and spotted it down as a Movies For Juniors. I don't remember even seeing it as a general release with more than one showing a day. I did the horrendous thing of judging the film by it's posters, shrugged my shoulders and moved on.

Please don't make my mistake. You need to see this film.

It is so beautifully done and it's sensitive towards it's viewers too. I didn't notice until right near the end (and even then it was actually just mild confusion) that there's no blood. Plenty of war action that you'd expect and injuries all over, but no blood. That alone makes it easier viewing for children, and I can honestly see it being used in schools as a teaching aid.

The animation is much more like a graphic novel style than most animated films that get released. I don't think the poster does it justice at all, it presents a very different image of the film.

I found it a very emotional watch. There were tears of sadness and joy, but then it was fairly even money I'd be crying along to this one.
  
    Musyc

    Musyc

    Music and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Discover the new music application by Fingerlab, winner of the Apple Design Award 2012 for DM1 - The...

    Kool

    Kool

    Magazines & Newspapers

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    App

    KOOL is the first Greek fully interactive digital magazine on iPad. The dedicated iPad edition...

The Lost Ones (Detective Jackie Cooke #1)
The Lost Ones (Detective Jackie Cooke #1)
Marnie Riches | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Oh my goodness ... what a cracker of an opener to a new series!

There is so much to like about this book - the characters, the plot, the pace, the twists, the back-stories, the inventiveness of the murders, the writing style - pretty much all of it to be honest which made this a particularly hard book to put down. Luckily, I was on holiday so didn't have the usual work and life distractions so was able to devour the pages at my leisure.

Jackie is a strong, female character; she might be heavily pregnant, the mother of twin boys, with a musician for a husband, her mother living in her basement and a boss that clearly doesn't like her but she doesn't let these hold her back or prevent her and her team from investigating what is a horrific set of murders.

The book is packed full of tension, secrets, lies and the twists and turns and the scenes of peril just keep coming. A warning here though, the descriptions of the murders are quite graphic so if you don't like to read that sort of thing, you might want to skip over those bits.

My verdict - an excellent new series to get my teeth into and I can't wait to see what happens next with Jackie and her team and I must give my thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read The Lost Ones and to share my thoughts.