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The Magicians - Season 3
The Magicians - Season 3
2018 | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
10
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Character arcs are growing beyond the books, The actors are more comfortable together, the visuals have gotten much better, Story didn't stall, Quentin's depression wasn't a featured character (0 more)
Not enough episodes (0 more)
The Most Magical Season to Date
I've said multiple times that "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman are the grown up allegory for the current millennial existential drama we see played out around us every day. So many of us grew up with these fantastical stories that shaped our lives and we wanted so much to be "Magical". Season 3 finally grapples with these ideas that the previous 2 seasons only hinted at. We see the despair and coping with reality that the characters have put off for so long.

I felt that the books were good by themselves, but made better by the television show. The show was only ok on its own, but season 3 starts to make headway on being its own thing. Season 3 showed that they can survive without the books and even be great on their own.
  
Searching (2018)
Searching (2018)
2018 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Look deeper
#searching #searchingmovie is an extremely intense, clever & emotionally draining film that for a directorial debut is actually quite a remarkable achievement. I like #Johncho I feel he's one of those actors that really doesnt get enough time to truly shine, so with him being the star of searching its great to see him finally get to seriously act. He's just so extremely likable & within the first 10 minutes we are introduced to him & his #family so well that an instant #emotional connection to them is formed. Told entirely through a screen searching does a great job of creating suspense & tension by using the flaws/interface of things we have all become a custom to as neat little visual cues (eg just missing a call by a few seconds, waiting for a video to buffer, seeing someone go offline while talking to them or even typing what you want to say only to delete it & type something different). This works perfectly & is never boring keeping you on edge & invested throughout while also being eerily #beautiful at times. Themes of neglect, distrust, loss & #depression are present throughout & theres also a sad look at how although we are all so connected to one another nowadays the sad fact is we have never also been more alone & afraid to show who we really are or what we are really thinking. Different sides of #Socialmedia are also explored well here too & we are shown how it can not only be used to help but also to hinder & manipulate even in a serious case like this (as well as people using the case to gain thier own fame too). Story wise its good with all the plot twists constantly shocking & unexpected with great build up too. Characters all have great back story & are all played well by the cast. My only gripe was the pacing after the final twist as it not only felt rushed but a little exposition heavy too. If your looking for a #film thats going to give your #emotions a run you'll #love Searching, while its no #nocturnalanimals its still smart, well constructed, gripping & an extremely entertaining little #drama. #instagram #apple #catfish #weekend #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmreview #filmcritic #internet #trending #youtube #facebook #followers #like
  
Spirit Fall (The Guardians #1)
Spirit Fall (The Guardians #1)
Tessa McFionn | 2014 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Spirit Fall (The Guardians #1) by Tessa McFionn
Spirit Fall is the first book in The Guardians series, and we start off with Malakai and Voni. Malakai is an immortal warrior who fights for good. Voni is a dancer, tormented by the death of her fiance. She plans to take her life as she simply cannot take it any longer, but along comes Malakai and literally talks her off the ledge. It turns out that Voni has an ability to be desired, and her depression and nightmares are being done deliberately, to drive her to the Rogue Warriors.

This was a great start to the series, with plenty of information given without it being an info-dump. Kai and Voni are both three dimensional characters, with plenty going for them. There is also a great supporting character in Eamon, who has his own twist at the end, definitely leaving me wanting more. And how could I forget Roxi and Daphne! I would love to hear more about them!

With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, I was able to lose myself in this contemporary world with paranormal characters. The pacing was smooth, and I thoroughly enjoyed how the story moved along. Absolutely recommended by me, and I look forward to continuing with this series.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
I See London, I See France
I See London, I See France
Sarah Mlynowski | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Charming (2 more)
Enjoyable main character
Easy-to-read
Great story of friendship with some delightful romance tossed in
When Sydney's childhood best friend Leela breaks up with her boyfriend, Matt, Leela is in desperate need of consoling--she's also in dire need of a travel companion for the four-and-half week trip to Europe she had planned with Matt. Leela and Sydney have dreamed of this trip since they were kids, but Sydney has a lot going on at home, mainly her anxiety-ridden mom, whose agoraphobia prevents her from leaving the house without having major panic attacks. Sydney has been taking care of her--and her younger sister Addison--for as long as she can remember. She even lived at home for her first year of college. But this is her and Leela's dream trip; surely her Mom and Addison will be OK for a few weeks, right? But once Leela and Sydney are on the plane to London, they realize Matt is as well, sending Leela into a fit of anger and depression. This isn't what Sydney bargained for...

This was a charming and surprisingly enjoyable YA novel. I'm so glad I finally received a copy through Paperbackswap.com. I was worried this book would stress me out too much, as I myself am a totally anxious traveler, but I really warmed to Sydney and her various travels and wasn't even that concerned as her bank account dipped and she and Leela flitted throughout Europe without too much planning. (I'm such a Mom.)

Seriously, I really enjoyed Sydney, even though I wanted her to stand up for herself, as Leela wasn't the best friend for her at all times. Leela, although she might have been supportive about Sydney's family situation, was incredibly irritating! So much blathering about Matt, making Sydney plan the whole trip, and just being generally inconsiderate. Ugh! Still, you'll find yourself just loving Sydney--she's so fun, sweet, and just awesome. I love how she's a great, realistic character: she has real-world problems, but she's also entertaining. It was great to see her spread her wings on the trip.

Big portions of the book just made me smile--it was a great little break. The supporting cast is really amusing and enjoyable. The entire novel is just easy-to-read, and I was very into the characters. It wraps up a little easily/quickly, but I was still happy with the ending. Supposedly the next book (this is a series, Goodreads tells me) features complementary characters from this novel and isn't coming out until 2020--is that right? I hope not!

Anyway, if you're looking for a quick, easy, and pleasant YA read, definitely pick this one up. It's a great story of friendship, with some delightful romance mixed in. Really enjoyed it.
  
Decimation: Son of M
Decimation: Son of M
David Hine | 2006
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In the voice of a goth-wannabe, darkly-attired conductor's voice: <i>"All aboard, the Angst Express is now departing..!</i>

I was quite pleased with David Hine's "Rebirth" storyline on Top Cow's THE DARKNESS. During my extended read of most of what made of HOUSE OF M, and the subsequent M-DAY stuff, I learned that Hine helmed DECIMATION: SON OF M, a 2006 mini-series that dealt with Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) and how he comes to terms with being de-powered. I was anticipating a great read, one that would make sense, as well as leaving me satisfied as I said goodbye to HOUSE OF M and all that followed it. Sadly, that was not the case at all!

The story itself seemed to be written well enough. However, I felt Pietro's almost nihilistic mood was too much to bear! Yes, losing your super-quickness was something that would take time to fully settle into, it was not the end of the world! Nor was it worth kidnapping your daughter Luna from her mother, the Inhuman Crystal, or stealing terrigen crystals from Attilan!

While the mini-series title, SON OF M, made sense, the story should have been titled THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL! Seriously, this was probably one of the most depressing mini-series (next to Morrison's WE3, which I loved, but, sadly, will not re-read as my depression is staring to rear its unwelcome head in my life again!) I have ever read! it probably should have a warning or something, especially if you are someone who is trying to keep their depression in check!

I am giving this mini 2 Stars out of 5, simply because a I think Hine is talented, even I did not like this story, and b) Roy Allen Martinez turned in some super-tight art! Mind you, I was not really pleased with Medusa's visual reworking, nor the "porn star-esque" figures given to Medusa and Crystal! However, that aside, I quite liked Martinez's art!

In conclusion, all I can say is don't read this if you are having a bad day/week, SON OF M will only make the bad day worse! 'Nuff said!
  
Halloween (2018)
Halloween (2018)
2018 | Horror
I got chills
#halloween? while at times extremely #silly is a very enjoyable & fitting tribute to the #johncarpenter original. I must confess I hadn't seen the #original Halloween until a few weeks ago (its 4k release) & found it to be incredibly tense, dripping in dread, unnerving & extremely #creepy with an awesome soundtrack. #Halloween2018 manages to lovingly recreate everything people love about the first one but doesn't manage to do it quite as well. While I did enjoy this film a heck of a lot it does have a lot of problems - first of all the first half fails to create a chilling atmosphere & any tension for that matter, there's just far to many silly jokes/bad humour & the pacing is far to fast with scenes rushing by quicker than a #michaelbay movie. This leaves no time for dread, tension or the #chills the creepy lingering shots the first film brought us & I really hoped it would slow down at some point & thankfully it does. Approaching the second half things take a real turn & the movie really starts to have #fun feeling less like a tv movie & more like a #horror film, there are some great stationary camera shots, cool cinematography moments, great imagery, messy deaths & some really suspenseful stalking scenes with genuinely scary reveals/brutal attacks. Soundtrack wise it also switches it up a bit while still feeling #nostalgic too & there's an amazing garden scene where it really heightens the fear & dread. Themes of #depression & how it can make us feel cast out/alone & how our mental burdens can be passed down & effect our our children are handled well while metaphors for fighting our demons together as a family also feel refreshing & current. Overall its opening 10 minutes are brilliant then the film makes some really bad choices but recovers itself well enough to make it a film that's so worth seeing at the cinema. A big #nostalgia trip done right & with all its flaws looking at the film now as a whole I think it works well & is a great #love letter to #80s #slasher films & to #terminator2 haha. #odeon #odeonlimitless #jamieleecurtis #michaelmyers #killer #gore #horror #scary #retro #fridayfeeling #filmbuff #filmcritic #mask #frightnight
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Bell Jar in Books

Mar 18, 2020  
The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.4 (23 Ratings)
Book Rating
A worthy classic
The Bell Jar is one of those well known classic books that pretty much everyone has heard of, but yet for me I hadn't a clue what the story was actually about. The story centres around a young woman's mental breakdown and descent into depression, and her subsequent slow path to recovery. It's not in the slightest what I was expected, but this is actually a rather good and worthy classic novel.

I wouldnt say Esther is a particularly endearing protagonist, there's a lot about her tale that doesn't make sense or seems a little lacking but I'm guessing this is because it's meant to represent her rather unhinged state of mind. It can get a little frustrating when things aren't explained properly, but for the most part the plot and story is very interesting and I struggled to put this down. It's well written without being pretentious, and it seems to be a very realistic tale about mental illness. The metaphor of the bell jar itself is a rather wonderful term despite the subject matter and one of the best metaphors I've ever come across in literature, as it's so true.

Overall this is a great classic and whilst it may seem a little dated, it's a really good study on mental health.
  
The Year of No Rules
The Year of No Rules
Rose McClelland | 2020 | Contemporary, Humor & Comedy, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The blurb of this book, describes it quite accurately, however, there is way more to this book. It goes through all the parts of the relationship: love, separation, depression, acceptance and moving on.

The main characters of this book were Sasha and Kirk, later joined by Sam. The whole narrative was told only from Sasha’s perspective, so we have to believe of how Sasha portrayed them and don’t really have an insight into their personalities to judge them ourselves. Even though Sasha was the lead in this story, my favorite character in this book was Sam. I honestly liked him for his charisma, understanding nature, and all women should have a partner like him. Some of Sasha’s actions really annoyed me, it’s like watching a horror movie, where the actress is going to a dark cellar willingly when we know she is going to die. In these cases, I really want to shout to her “danger, don’t go!”/ “don’t be stupid, you are going to die!”, but the actress still does it and gets hurt in the end… Why Sasha? Why?

The whole book was divided into three parts: “The year with rules”; “After Kirk”; “The year of no rules”. In the first part, Sasha was sharing her life with Kirk. How their dates used to go, what Kirk did in the past, and how she loved to spoil him. In the second part, Sasha was telling how she was dealing (or not) with her life after Kirk walked off. She shared he sorrows, memories, and how Kirk was psychologically tormenting her even many months after their break up. (Sasha why did you allow it? WHY?) In the third part, Sasha started to gather her life again, by setting little goals to fight her major depression and finding a fantastic man.

The plot of this novel often jumped between past and present through Sasha’s memories about Kirk and their relationship. What I loved the most about this book, was the topics which McClelland discussed in this book: the danger of controlling partners; forgiving person even after grand betrayal; major depression and how people can fight it; how to deal with broken trust. I think this book can really help women who were/are in Sasha’s situation and need help, I think it could be a guide to taking those first steps to help yourself.

The writing style of this book was pleasant and really easy to read, with short chapters, which made it a great weekend read. It has a nice ending to the book, I would say realistic ending, not “happily ever after” one, which you can read in most fiction books. So, to conclude, even though there are many, many Sasha’s actions which made me question “Woman, why would you do this?”, I loved this book because it is funny, carries a strong message, and how relate-able it can be to some people. I do recommend it to all chick lit fans, and to all who are going through a nasty break up. Enjoy! :)

Was given this book by the author for honest review.
  
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Hadley (567 KP) rated Lie to Me in Books

Nov 18, 2019  
Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Kaitlin Ward | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
6
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bad writing (1 more)
Mostly romance
Drowning is one of the top fears in the world, and it's also one of the top ways to cover up a murder. In Lie to Me, Ward's fourth YA novel, she uses drowning as the basis of the story. Yet, this book fell very short in the thriller/mystery genre: Ward gives away too many hints at the beginning of the book, that most readers will have the murderer figured out by chapter 7; she also focuses too much on romance, something that should have caused this story to be filed under a different category other than mystery/thriller. But luckily she didn't bring in a wide circle of characters to cause confusion, using only one view point from the main character of Lie to Me: Amelia- - - a teen girl who believes she was pushed down a ravine to be left for dead in the raging water below.

Besides her 'accident,' Amelia leads a normal life with her mother, father and brother, Hunter - - - she also has a small group of friends. After her 'fall,' a body of a teen girl from the same town is found in a nearby river, but the town gossips, and makes it seem that this girl committed suicide, leaving Amelia worried that her family would think the same thing about her. Depression is something that Amelia's family has had to deal with before, but the talk of depression is candid and not very enlightening; her brother, Hunter, who is in therapy for such doesn't even talk about it, instead he's usually seen playing soccer or Fortnite, this seems to be a broad attempt to bring mental health into the story,but without going into that subject, it failed as a story line. Yet, one of the main causes of depression today is social media, which we find Amelia stalking one of her best friends/love interest on- - -if Ward was trying to reach the YA community about depression, she went the wrong way about it.

Another mistake that Ward made was when Amelia receives an anonymous text message from someone telling her to 'Just let it go,Amelia,' this occurs after she has started investigating whether her 'accident' was an accident. Amelia tells us that she is always suspicious of everyone, but when this text message comes around, it's as if she could care less. She even tries to take the anonymous message as advice: " 'Or it's advice.' I feel backed into a corner. It's one thing to believe someone hurt me and another thing to have proof of it. I don't want this to be proof. 'I mean, Sky's always telling me I should let my life get back to normal, and she doesn't even know I'm thinking any of this. Maybe someone else feels that way,too.' " In reality, if you believed that someone attempted to murder you, and suddenly you are receiving a cryptic message about letting it go, wouldn't the logic thing to do is go to the police?? Amelia doesn't!

Ward has written three other YA novels, 'Lie to Me' being her fourth. The writing in this story is bad in some places, for example, a scene with Amelia and her best friend, Sky, meeting up at the 'screen' (technically a giant drive-in movie theater screen); Amelia thinks about how this town is a haven for her, that everyone feels safe, but the very next paragraph, she's stating she doesn't feel safe anymore. This makes sense if you haven't read it, but the way it's written could have been in a much better and concise way. This and most scenes makes the story read like a sloppy diary entry. That, and the killer being predictable so early on in the story made me very disappointed with this book. 'Lie to Me' had great potential from the synopsis, but it lacked story, mystery, suspense and diverse characters.

I can't recommend this book to people who love horror stories, like I do. I think the only ones who would enjoy this story are the die-hard YA fans. It has everything that YA is known for: romance and teen drama, but it's lacking in everything else. Other than that, I don't think I'll read another book by Ward, but as far as Point horror books go, I will still give them a shot.
  
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Lindsay (1706 KP) rated Storm Proof in Books

Feb 5, 2019  
Storm Proof
Storm Proof
Carol McLeod | 2019 | Mind, Body & Spiritual, Religion
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Felt like reading the bible (0 more)
Storm Proof was something completely different then what I was expecting to read. I thinking it was going to be about a storm that you were going to proof. This is not a bad way to think that when I read the title it caught me to pick it up.

As I was reading the book that what I got the impression. This book was boring for me to read. I did finish it. The reason for that is because it was on a book tour with me. I just could not get into reading it. I really could have just left it on my kindle. Thats how boring it was for me to read.

Their was nothing wrong with it in any way. Author did good in writing it. It just was not a my taste of book. I felt like I was reading the bible or God Words, that is not me. If you are into reading the great book be my guess. No offense to the author.

I thinking I would be reading a bit more about the author experience with Depression or her Cancer battle and how she manage them though this book. Then I might have seen using the scriptures of the bible or god's words. This is my opinion on that.

Those that enjoy reading about God words or the bible, this book might be for you.