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Azia (0 KP) rated the Xbox 360 version of Assassin's Creed 2 in Video Games

Jan 23, 2018  
Assassin's Creed 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Action/Adventure
A Beautiful Game
A definite step up from the last game and a well thought out storyline made Assassins Creed 2 intriguing and eventful. The characters, I felt, were written beautifully and acted accordingly to their personalities.
I do have a few problems however and I understand that no game is perfect so I found ways around these glitches.
Ezio often failed to follow my demands as when I tried to freerun around the buildings, he seemed to favour jumping off them instead of safely landing on the next one. It took more than a few attempts to complete some missions because of this. It might have been me not using the controller properly or the controller being out of sync but no matter what I did to try and combat this, he still seemed to enjoy leaping to his death.
I do have a lot of praise for this game though as it made me laugh on several occasions and finally completing it felt amazing. Avoiding spoilers, the final scene made my heart race and made me maybe a little too excited for the next game.
The combat is designed well and fits with the style of the game. Although I found it difficult to get my head around, mastering fighting techniques took little effort and killing soldiers became easier the more I practiced. The health of Ezio and the soldiers was equally balanced and left you would a good and perhaps difficult at times fight but always one you could win with the right skills.
The graphics in this game are stunning and standing on a viewpoint to watch over it all reminds me how beautiful it is. The detail in the buildings and the general design are accurate.
The NPCs could get rather annoying at times with musicians running up to me in the squares and getting in my way tested my patience. The basket carriers were even worse. Soldiers would get angry with me if I knocked one over which would happen often as they liked to walk into my path.
Overall, a stunning game with a developed and intriguing storyline. While it took time to get around a few problems, this game is one of the only games I want to complete 100%. And if I can find all those feathers, I eventually will!
  
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
1957 | Drama
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I spent my moviegoing life avoiding Ingmar Bergman movies. A few glimpses of The Seventh Seal or Persona made me think they were not accessible. I also knew Woody Allen worshipped him, so surely they were over my head. It was while working on my Ikea-sponsored web series Easy to Assemble that I thought: Well, if I’m going to be satirizing Swedish culture, I should watch some Bergman. He became the director from whom I have learned the most. He gave me the courage not to shy away from pain, which is the core of all comedy. The results are apparent in “Finding North,” an episode in Easy to Assemble’s third season, and all my writing since. I chose Wild Strawberries because in it I found the key that changed my work forever. I always lived in a daydream, where sometimes things felt real and sometimes they felt imagined. So much of an actor’s life is imagination. Wild Strawberries is a road-trip movie about an old man who looks back at his life, his loves, his regrets, and has to face certain truths about himself. The story is not revealed by flashbacks, though. It’s revealed by going from reality to daydream. He reflects on his past with a nostalgia for childhood. This makes reality feel more present and his relationship with his grown son and daughter-in-law more uncomfortable. Have you ever been in the presence of someone having an argument and thought, I can’t believe they revealed that to me? That is every scene in a Bergman film! After his wife died, Bergman said, “I was in a room built of my own sorrow.” No other sentence expresses the pain of losing a loved one in such a poetic way. His words are so revealing, and coupled with the right emotions, the right images, they bring me as close to the human experience as anything I have experienced in a film. There is another reason Wild Strawberries has a special place in my heart. In 2013, because of my involvement in Easy to Assemble, I was cast in a Swedish-American show called Welcome to Sweden. I like to imagine that Bergman had a hand in that. I shot a scene with Lena Olin in which we picked wild strawberries. It was not imagined, though. That really happened!"

Source
  
An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal, #2)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
More reviews at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com

Wow, it felt like watching one of those court TV series, which sucks you in, and you want to binge watch all the seasons at once. 😀

The protagonist in this novel was Vaughn, most probably not a very likable person by the society, because he is a defense lawyer. I really liked him in this book though, he sounded like a hero to me 😀 There were a wide variety of characters to choose from, and all of them were quite diverse and very intriguing personalities. Even though there were so many characters, I didn’t get lost in who was who, the author described them all pretty well, I think. I really enjoyed, that author used multiple perspectives to tell the story, it allowed me, as a reader, to understand the characters way better.

I really like trains and somehow this story felt close to my heart. I loved the narrative of this book, and I really enjoyed all the twists and turns, which author had to offer. The villains were given away throughout the book, and there was no surprise effect there, but the whole finding out process and proving Eddy’s innocence was what kept me glued to this book. It was very amusing to read a book, where author’s confidence and experience just shines through. There is plenty of legal terms in this novel, but for me it was a plus, just showed that author knows what he was talking about.

I personally think that Mr. Myers is a very gifted writer, and I loved his writing style in this book, it seems difficult, but for me, it was pretty understandable and easy to read. I really enjoyed the structure of the chapters, it didn’t drag to me, wasn’t too long and was divided into smaller parts. I really liked the setting of this book as well, it has this American spirit about it, and I really loved that. The ending of this novel rounded the whole story very nicely and I loved the outcome. So to conclude, if you like to watch court dramas, do give this book a try, it has very amusing and interesting characters and quite twisty and unexpected narrative. I do hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. 😀
  
SF
Songs from the Phenomenal Nothing
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
IÕll be honest, I had never heard of this author or read the blurb when I signed up to this event, but I am so grateful that this particular opportunity came knocking on my door. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and have to thank the author, Steven Luna, for the chance to read and review his amazing writing. I have so much good to say about this book that IÕll waste no time in getting started, and I hope I donÕt repeat myself too much.

The first thing I absolutely adored about this book is how incredibly engaging and well written the plot was. In all honesty, TylerÕs struggles with his motherÕs death could have very easily become cliche and tiresome very quickly, but not once when reading this book did I feel bored or like I wasnÕt fully engaged with Tyler and his dilemma. Luna really pulls you right into his story quickly, leaving no time to Ôum and aahÕ over things, you just jump straight in and keep on going on what is a roller coaster of superbly written twists and turns. IÕve not read many books with this kind of subject matter, but I feel like I want to read more, and almost felt a little bereft when I finished the book as I so wanted there to be more to it! That is, perhaps, the only negative I have Ð I was gutted to find that the book had finished! It was just that good I didnÕt want it to ever end!

This is, in part, to how wonderful the characters are. Tyler, as the lead, is incredibly easy to invest emotionally in. HeÕs believable, much like the entire plot, and his emotions are so easy to understand, even if they do break your heart as you watch him, essentially, turn his rage and grief on himself and Tom. Xan and Chelsea, although minor characters, also leave a lasting impression, much like Trevor and Tom. This is a testament to Steven LunaÕs way of writing as it is very rare a minor character grabs my attention and thoughts much when I put the book down, but IÕve found myself not only thinking about Tyler, but also Tom and Xan quite a lot too.

Something else that really needs a mention is how emotionally charged this book is, but in all the right ways. I guess IÕd better explain exactly what I mean here, because I mean to give the highest praise to Steven Luna on this note. I love a book that not only engages my brain as IÕm reading, but also engages my heart, and ÔSongsÕ does this so completely that at times I truly wished I could reach into the kindle and make everything all right again for Tyler. Having recently experienced my own loss to cancer, this book really did touch a delicate part of my heart but in the best possible way. Steven Luna writes with such sincerity and honesty in this tale that I truly believed every word, my heart aching and my eyes moistening as I lived through TylerÕs sadness. ItÕs very hard for an author to make me cry, but within the first few pages that is exactly what was happening, and I wish to offer the highest praise for the style with which Luna manages this.

And so, IÕm going to wrap this up, partly because the superlatives are running out, and partly because I am literally dying to get onto reading some of his other writing. This book is, like the title suggests, truly phenomenal. It was difficult to put down, gripping from the first chapter and above all, a very believable and easy book to read. I cannot recommend this twisting tale highly enough, and I wish to take this opportunity to thank Steven Luna for opening my heart to a new range of emotions.

ARC received in return for an honest review as part of a blog tour on Lily Loves Indie - http://lilylovesindie.co.uk/?p=250
  
I am not really sure where to start with this review. There are so many great aspects to this book. I loved the characters, the plot, and even the heartbreak.

The story that crosses the pages of this book is one of heart break, loss, love, and inspiration. These characters are so realistic they fly off the page and into your heart. The story of Bright Side and all her friends is moving, raw, and emotional and literature at its finest. I don���t want to say too much and ruin the book for anyone who hasn���t read it. So with that all I will say is that this book is best served with a hot cup of tea and a box of Kleenex.

Kate, Gus, and Keller were PHENOMENAL main characters! I absolutely adored them all for their own reasons. Let���s start with the fellas shall we?

Keller is a great character with so many different levels. He���s sweet, sensitive, doting, and absolutely genuine. He meets Kate when they are both completely vulnerable. Kate drops a bomb on him and he doesn���t miss a beat. He just rolls with it. He is her rock, and everything she needs at this point in her life. He has his own life, but the way he molds his life around Kate is impressive. He changes completely from the moment you meet him until the end of the book. He grows in leaps and bounds.

Kate, well, she���s just amazing. ���She doesn���t just look on the Bright Side, she lives there.��� This is a perfect description of Kate and the way she lives her life. She changes the lives of every person she meets regardless of the battle she is fighting. She���s led a horrible life, but because of all of that she���s managed to become an absolutely resilient, astoundingly well rounded, and extremely brave individual. I cried a lot with Kate. Not so much for her but with her. She is by far my favorite book heroine ever.

Gus���Swoon! I absolutely loved Gus! If I had to choose between him and Keller, I would be team Gus all the way. I didn���t necessarily want him to be a love interest for Kate, but I just found myself cheering for him throughout the whole book. I felt like he was alone. Though he was surrounded by his band and the new friends he made through Kate, I felt like he was incredibly alone. I���ve been in that position and I think that���s why I gravitated so much toward his character.

These three characters together make for one magical story. This is a story that forced me to look at my life a little differently, and made me want to live on the Bright Side.

Kim is a dear friend, and a masterful storyteller who weaves the lines of this book together to create alluring, evocative, and inspiring characters that will change the way you look at life, and experience the written word. I hope that I can one day be half the writer she is, I could only be so lucky! Phenomenal job my friend!
  
You Won't Know Her Name
You Won't Know Her Name
Shanti Hershenson | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I first heard of You Won't Know Her Name by Santi Hershenson, there was just something about the synopsis that was calling to me to read it. The synopsis really sucked me in, and I found myself wanting to know more about The Girl. I ended up loving this book!

You Won't Know Her Name is certainly not for the faint of heart. With heavy themes such as bullying and sexual assault, I knew the plot would be a dark read. However, Hershenson writes like a pro, and the way she incorporates these themes into her story didn't put me off reading. The plot is solid and interesting if a little sad at what The Girl had to go through. I loved that there were no chapters, only poems and that each poem started with a title of what the short poem would be about. Each poem flows well into the next. It really made my heart hurt for all the injustices done to the girl (and her sister). What angered me the most was how the school failed this child. Unfortunately, many schools fail bullied children every day. (I speak from personal experience). I would say that there is a plot twist in this story, but there are no cliff hangers. It's just sad that there are so many people (children and adults alike) that have to go through such horrible bullying.

The characters in You Won't Know Her Name felt very realistic. We are told early on by the author that names aren't important so no names are ever mentioned in this story. We have "The Girl" who I felt so bad for. She didn't deserve any of the hate and the uncaringness she got. I just wanted to protect her so much throughout the story and tell "The Person" (The Girl's bully) to just back off. The Person acted in such a vile way toward The Girl and her sister. It made me wonder about The Person's background though. Was The Person being bullied at home to act out that way in school? I am, by no means, excusing The Person's behavior though.

Trigger warnings for You Won't Know Her Name include sexual assault (not graphic), profanity, talks of suicide, and violence. The author has included trigger warning notices at the start of each poem that could possibly trigger some readers though.

You Won't Know Her Name is a sad but a good read. There is some good to come out of it though. You Won't Know Her Name is a thought provoking read about a subject that, sadly, many children (and adults) have to deal with although they shouldn't.

Overall, You Won't Know Her Name is a well written piece of poetic literature that everyone should read. I would highly suggest that parents read it with their child and discuss it. If you are a librarian, buy this book for your library. It's not a long book either, so even the most hesitant reader could get a lot from it. I would definitely recommend You Won't Know Her Name by Shanti Hershenson to those aged 14+. Trust me, this is a book that needs to be read.
  
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Natalie (23 KP) rated We Were Liars in Books

Nov 13, 2017  
We Were Liars
We Were Liars
Emily Jenkins, Emily Lockhart | 2014 | Children, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
6
7.6 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Page-turning suspense (2 more)
Some original narrative techniques
A decent twist
The slowest pacing/build-up I've ever experienced (1 more)
Passive/incomplete characters
A family mystery with a twist
Cadence Sinclair (Cady) comes from a rich, well-to-do family. So well-to-do, in fact, that they have the luxury of vacationing on their own private island every summer. It is this island, Beechwood, that is the heart of Cady’s narrative; the summers she spent there with her childhood companions. The inseparable foursome; Cady, Johnny, Mirren and Gat – affectionately termed ‘the Liars’ – treasure their Beechwood idyll, but when Cady has a mysterious accident during ‘summer fifteen’, the four become divided as Cady searches for the truth.

Though I enjoyed Lockart's technique and style overall and really enjoyed the twist, there were a few hang-ups that I couldn't get over. The suspense is there, but accounts for about 80% of the book, before we get to the substance. I have no problem with a book that is slow-paced in general, but this felt like much of the first two thirds of the book was inconsequential, then we quickly dealt with the nitty-gritty. Furthermore, Cady is so passive that it's frustrating and makes it no wonder that the narrative crawls along - we might get somewhere faster if Cady had any spark about her and could face a confrontation or two. By making Cady herself a writer, Lockhart has opened up a few other interesting techniques to get to know our protagonist better, though they unfortunately fall just short.
  
The Light Between Oceans
The Light Between Oceans
M.L. Stedman | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.1 (18 Ratings)
Book Rating
Better Than The Film
Yes, yes, I know this has been made into a film. I'm always a little disappointed when a good book becomes a film. With the book, the characters look how you think they should and the locations look how you think they should and so on . . .

With the film, you have the directors vision not yours and I always seem to think the director has it wrong. I even felt this with the Harry Potters. In my head, everything was how I imagined it and the films were not.


Anyways, nothing exists to serve my point as much as this book. I read it a long time before the film came out and it made me feel things more than the subsequent film did.


If you didn't know, this is the story of a man who comes back from the First World War and seeks solitude manning a lighthouse on a lonely island.


He meets the love of his life and they marry and co-exist on the island very happily. They try to have a family but sadly it is not to be as his wife suffers miscarriages.


One day, a boat washes up with a dead man and a live baby inside. What follows is nothing short of heart rending. I won't go into too much detail as you need to read this yourself and please, I implore you to avoid the film until you have read the book.


It's an emotional read, but worth it.
  
The Heart Of A King: The Loves Of Solomon
The Heart Of A King: The Loves Of Solomon
Jill Eileen Smith | 2019 | Religion
10
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
When it comes to Biblical Fiction, I’ve said it before, I am a picky reader. Only a select few can truly take a Biblical story, keep it true to the Bible and add in in the fictional elements and make it come to life. Jill Eileen Smith is one of those authors. She has been a long time favorite author of mine and will forever be one. So, when I got the chance to read The Heart Of A King, I jumped on it. I was not disappointed!

Her characters, once again, are chiseled beautifully. Full of depth and emotion. Every emotion they felt became mine while I read this. I fell in love with Solomon and didn’t want his story to end. The love he had for our God, the love he had for his wives, was beautifully portrayed in the words of Smith’s writing.

With tenderness and hopefulness, this story will wrap you up and put you in the center of a time, that is only read about in the Bible, of a time many have forgotten to remember. The rich historic detail is vivid and captivating and Smith has once again managed to make me fall in love with yet another amazing book. This is beyond 5 star worthy and I hope you, too, will fall in love with the story of Solomon and his loves.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
  
Maid to Crave (Man Maid #2)
Maid to Crave (Man Maid #2)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Maid to Crave by Rebecca Avery
Man Maid book 2

Maid to Crave is book 2 in the Main Maid series. It is the first book I’ve read by Rebecca Avery, it was part of a 4 book collection I rented through my library and Overdrive. Sadly this was painful to get through. I literally had to force myself to finish this book. The story line had so much potential I just felt like this was a horribly novice writing style and it just didn’t work for me.

Tori Stewart is a single mom to a 6 year old boy. Her friend recommends using the Man Maid service that she had luck using (and finding love). She agrees just hoping to not get the one Maid that makes her heart flutter, Seth Lewis.

Seth Lewis is a former military man who comes to work for his friend at Man Maid services. He is working not only as a Maid but as a stripper to pay for his brothers medical bills. He remembers Tori from a wedding a little bit back but doesn’t see her other than his potential boss.

Tori and Seth realize they can become friends and maybe then morph it into something more. Like I said, this story had such great promise but the writing really killed it for me. I would like think I would give this author another chance at her writing style but I can’t say that for sure just yet.