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Bethr1986 (305 KP) rated Wildfire (Hellfire #1) in Books
Mar 3, 2023
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Erisi is the most feared demon in the whole of hell. Her reputation precedes her, that is until they see her and then think how could she possibly be the most feared demon when she won't even turn into demon form. That is their mistake and she will make them pay. She will do whatever it takes to become head of Lucifer's guards to prove her worth. Well, almost anything.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to read the next one. I found myself asking questions about why the characters are the way they are and what's happened as you are given snippets until they are ready to tell you so the question does get answered and it's horrific what both characters have been through. I enjoyed the growing relationship between all of the characters and how they become a family. The amount of detail in the battle scenes had me feeling a bit icky at times as you can almost see what is happening through the descriptions given.
I recommend you read this.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Erisi is the most feared demon in the whole of hell. Her reputation precedes her, that is until they see her and then think how could she possibly be the most feared demon when she won't even turn into demon form. That is their mistake and she will make them pay. She will do whatever it takes to become head of Lucifer's guards to prove her worth. Well, almost anything.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to read the next one. I found myself asking questions about why the characters are the way they are and what's happened as you are given snippets until they are ready to tell you so the question does get answered and it's horrific what both characters have been through. I enjoyed the growing relationship between all of the characters and how they become a family. The amount of detail in the battle scenes had me feeling a bit icky at times as you can almost see what is happening through the descriptions given.
I recommend you read this.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Mothergamer (1568 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Hearts III in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
It took so long to get here, but once Kingdom Hearts III was here I was ready to play and explore all the worlds. It felt incredible to be traveling with Sora, Goofy, and Donald again. The opening song was incredible and the introduction to the game starts off well, hooking you in immediately. There are a couple of familiar worlds such as Olympus and Twilight Town which act as tutorials for the battle controls and exploration aspects of the game.
Sora hangs out with Hercules.
The battle system for Kingdom Hearts III is great. Combat is fluid, easy to follow, and fun. You can easily swap between keyblades, use your magic abilities, and use your items. Level grinding is not a chore because the battles are so much fun and the worlds that you explore make them even more so. My personal favorite was Toy Story because Sora fit so well in that world and there some pretty fun battles there.
Having fun with battles in Toy Story.
Another fun aspect to battles that was added in the game are the attraction flow attacks. These are not just stylish and fun, they are also pretty powerful special attacks. You can take out many enemies with these attacks so there is no downside to using them at all. My personal favorite was the pirate ship because it was a blast spinning around taking out tons of Heartless.
Use attraction flow attacks to take out your enemies.
The user menu is easy to navigate and is quite user friendly. You can easily equip keyblades, items, and accessories as well as organize everything easily. The moogle shop is back too and you can synthesize and craft items that you need as well as upgrade your keyblades.
The inventory menu is nice and neat.
Another new addition to the game is the gummiphone. This is a cute little nod to social media things like Instagram. You can take photos with the gummiphone and there are even some photo quests where you need to take pictures of specific things in order to get various rewards such as items and munny. In between loading screens you get to see Instagram style posts from the gummiphone that reference the characters, story, and events. It's a nice touch to the game.
Instagram style posts from the gummiphone.
There are also mini games that you can play on your gummiphone. You have to find the code for them which are hidden in various worlds. When you do, you can play a variety of mini games that look like old school Nintendo gameboy games. They all feature Mickey and Sora with games like catching eggs or flying a plane to grab mail. They're silly fun and add that extra bit of whimsy to Kingdom Hearts III.
You can play all these mini games on your gummiphone.
If you're not in the mood for gummiphone games, there is also a cooking mini game that you can play. In order to play, you need to have ingredients for all the recipes. These are easily found in all the worlds you visit during your adventure. Once you have some ingredients you can bring them to Remy (the rat from the movie Rattatouille) and try your skills at the cooking mini game. The cooking mini game is fun, but there is definitely a learning curve to it. If you go too fast or too slow, you fail and you can lose all the ingredients you found. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it you can make a ton of great dishes and Sora and friends can use them to up their stats.
Practice makes perfect with the cooking mini game.
The world map is pretty easy to see and you can swap between the maps fairly easily. Once you discover a location you can fast travel there which makes things easier. I do wish there had been a few more worlds, but I was pretty happy with the worlds the game had. Everything looked amazing and it was clear that they really wanted things to be done right.
The world map in Kingdom Hearts III.
There is one thing that I absolutely detested in the game however and that thing is the gummi ship. I have never liked the gummi ship in any of the Kingdom Hearts games. The controls for them in my opinion have always been terrible and I always dreaded gummi ship battles. That has not changed for me with Kingdom Hearts III. While the controls have improved quite a bit, I still found myself struggling with them. Having to fight the controls to fly the gummi ship is not a good time. I also didn't like the fact that I would be forced into gummi ship battles before I could land on worlds. I truly feel that the gummi ship should have been optional. This is the only thing I did not like about the game.
I am not a fan of the gummi ship.
I blazed through Kingdom Hearts III because the game itself was an amazing adventure and I couldn't wait to save the world with friendship. The story was great, the worlds were so much fun to explore, and there were so many heartbreaking and heartwarming emotions throughout this adventure. Kingdom Hearts III did a fantastic job of making me care about all of these characters and I was a little sad to say goodbye at the end. Having one thing I didn't like about the game and loving the rest of it speaks volumes about how fantastic I think the game is. It was definitely worth the wait. See you at the next adventure!
Sora hangs out with Hercules.
The battle system for Kingdom Hearts III is great. Combat is fluid, easy to follow, and fun. You can easily swap between keyblades, use your magic abilities, and use your items. Level grinding is not a chore because the battles are so much fun and the worlds that you explore make them even more so. My personal favorite was Toy Story because Sora fit so well in that world and there some pretty fun battles there.
Having fun with battles in Toy Story.
Another fun aspect to battles that was added in the game are the attraction flow attacks. These are not just stylish and fun, they are also pretty powerful special attacks. You can take out many enemies with these attacks so there is no downside to using them at all. My personal favorite was the pirate ship because it was a blast spinning around taking out tons of Heartless.
Use attraction flow attacks to take out your enemies.
The user menu is easy to navigate and is quite user friendly. You can easily equip keyblades, items, and accessories as well as organize everything easily. The moogle shop is back too and you can synthesize and craft items that you need as well as upgrade your keyblades.
The inventory menu is nice and neat.
Another new addition to the game is the gummiphone. This is a cute little nod to social media things like Instagram. You can take photos with the gummiphone and there are even some photo quests where you need to take pictures of specific things in order to get various rewards such as items and munny. In between loading screens you get to see Instagram style posts from the gummiphone that reference the characters, story, and events. It's a nice touch to the game.
Instagram style posts from the gummiphone.
There are also mini games that you can play on your gummiphone. You have to find the code for them which are hidden in various worlds. When you do, you can play a variety of mini games that look like old school Nintendo gameboy games. They all feature Mickey and Sora with games like catching eggs or flying a plane to grab mail. They're silly fun and add that extra bit of whimsy to Kingdom Hearts III.
You can play all these mini games on your gummiphone.
If you're not in the mood for gummiphone games, there is also a cooking mini game that you can play. In order to play, you need to have ingredients for all the recipes. These are easily found in all the worlds you visit during your adventure. Once you have some ingredients you can bring them to Remy (the rat from the movie Rattatouille) and try your skills at the cooking mini game. The cooking mini game is fun, but there is definitely a learning curve to it. If you go too fast or too slow, you fail and you can lose all the ingredients you found. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it you can make a ton of great dishes and Sora and friends can use them to up their stats.
Practice makes perfect with the cooking mini game.
The world map is pretty easy to see and you can swap between the maps fairly easily. Once you discover a location you can fast travel there which makes things easier. I do wish there had been a few more worlds, but I was pretty happy with the worlds the game had. Everything looked amazing and it was clear that they really wanted things to be done right.
The world map in Kingdom Hearts III.
There is one thing that I absolutely detested in the game however and that thing is the gummi ship. I have never liked the gummi ship in any of the Kingdom Hearts games. The controls for them in my opinion have always been terrible and I always dreaded gummi ship battles. That has not changed for me with Kingdom Hearts III. While the controls have improved quite a bit, I still found myself struggling with them. Having to fight the controls to fly the gummi ship is not a good time. I also didn't like the fact that I would be forced into gummi ship battles before I could land on worlds. I truly feel that the gummi ship should have been optional. This is the only thing I did not like about the game.
I am not a fan of the gummi ship.
I blazed through Kingdom Hearts III because the game itself was an amazing adventure and I couldn't wait to save the world with friendship. The story was great, the worlds were so much fun to explore, and there were so many heartbreaking and heartwarming emotions throughout this adventure. Kingdom Hearts III did a fantastic job of making me care about all of these characters and I was a little sad to say goodbye at the end. Having one thing I didn't like about the game and loving the rest of it speaks volumes about how fantastic I think the game is. It was definitely worth the wait. See you at the next adventure!
Andy K (10823 KP) rated The Lobster (2015) in Movies
Apr 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 15, 2018)
Rather like a trip to the dentist!
The title may suggest I didn't like the film, but that's not correct. I guess I just meant watching a film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos makes you uneasy, awkward and you are not sure what is about to happen. In the case of this film, though, I found it very interesting, surreal, deadpan and funny all at the same time.
The unusual premise involves people checking into a hotel where they 45 days to find love or must become an animal. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz navigate their way through this extremely unusual film not for most tastes I would imagine. After recently watching The Killing of a Sacred Deer, i was curious to check this one out and I wasn't disappointed.
The actors must have had a hard time showing little emotion and not cracking up when they sputter the awkward, contrite but witty dialogue and some of the very bizarre situations they find themselves in.
Still, with myriads of films under my belt at this stage in my life, I'll gladly take something original over Fast & Furious 27.
The unusual premise involves people checking into a hotel where they 45 days to find love or must become an animal. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz navigate their way through this extremely unusual film not for most tastes I would imagine. After recently watching The Killing of a Sacred Deer, i was curious to check this one out and I wasn't disappointed.
The actors must have had a hard time showing little emotion and not cracking up when they sputter the awkward, contrite but witty dialogue and some of the very bizarre situations they find themselves in.
Still, with myriads of films under my belt at this stage in my life, I'll gladly take something original over Fast & Furious 27.
Personally I think this should have also counted towards my classic read for the month aswell, but hey, I don’t make the rules . . oh, wait . .
For those of you not in the know The Iliad is Homers epic poem about the Trojan war, this version was translated by EV Rieu.
What can I say about this, without sounding like a complete philistine? It is essentially a Soap Opera based around testosterone fuelled macho men and a bunch of Gods having a hissy fit! I loved it!
Crivens, there’s a lot of people in it though!! It did take me a little while to get into it, and being a little rusty on my Greek mythology I kept forgetting who was on whose side, but I eventually found my stride, and if you can wade through all the different ways that different people were killed (Homer does really like describing how each person died, potentially the Tarantino of his day!) It is a really detailed account of a mythological war that inspired a whole wealth of literature, and I can see why it is a classic.
For those of you not in the know The Iliad is Homers epic poem about the Trojan war, this version was translated by EV Rieu.
What can I say about this, without sounding like a complete philistine? It is essentially a Soap Opera based around testosterone fuelled macho men and a bunch of Gods having a hissy fit! I loved it!
Crivens, there’s a lot of people in it though!! It did take me a little while to get into it, and being a little rusty on my Greek mythology I kept forgetting who was on whose side, but I eventually found my stride, and if you can wade through all the different ways that different people were killed (Homer does really like describing how each person died, potentially the Tarantino of his day!) It is a really detailed account of a mythological war that inspired a whole wealth of literature, and I can see why it is a classic.
Michael Apted recommended Kes (1969) in Movies (curated)
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Santa Claus Worldwide in Books
Apr 15, 2023
Are you into learning about Santa Claus or how he came about? I have found a book that is called “Santa Claus Worldwide” by Tom A. Jerman; it a decent and excellent book. I learned quite a bit about Christmas and some of the many holidays. The history is not bad.
This book is primarily nonfiction and stands set on the history of Santa Claus. How it the name Santa Claus come about? The many different characters that Santa Claus exists and become. You will be surprised at how many other names are associated, and these lovely children call him.
You will learn a bit about the origin of Christmas and Santa Claus. I learned much about how the Christmas tradition came about and how it changed over the years. What we know about our Christmas traditions today differs from when they first came about and how our practices have evolved.
This book is okay for me. It was not rated low because of how it was written. It was slow and tedious for my taste. Suppose you are a fan of nonfiction books and would enjoy learning about the history of St. Nicholas and Other Holiday Gift Bringers. In that case, This book may be just for you. I enjoy learning about St. Nicholas and the many other holiday gift-bringers. I just thought it was not for me. But not where I did not understand what it was about. This book was okay, and I enjoyed learning new history.
This book is primarily nonfiction and stands set on the history of Santa Claus. How it the name Santa Claus come about? The many different characters that Santa Claus exists and become. You will be surprised at how many other names are associated, and these lovely children call him.
You will learn a bit about the origin of Christmas and Santa Claus. I learned much about how the Christmas tradition came about and how it changed over the years. What we know about our Christmas traditions today differs from when they first came about and how our practices have evolved.
This book is okay for me. It was not rated low because of how it was written. It was slow and tedious for my taste. Suppose you are a fan of nonfiction books and would enjoy learning about the history of St. Nicholas and Other Holiday Gift Bringers. In that case, This book may be just for you. I enjoy learning about St. Nicholas and the many other holiday gift-bringers. I just thought it was not for me. But not where I did not understand what it was about. This book was okay, and I enjoyed learning new history.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Amazon Fire TV Stick in Tech
Aug 16, 2018
Perfect if you have an amazing prime subscription (3 more)
Can sideload many apps not in store
Good price, there are often discounts if you look around
Easy to use remote and the device itself is easy
OS can feel clunky and slow at times (1 more)
Lack of ports
Great for the price
I have had this device for a while now and it's a decent little piece of tech. I say little because it is.
It's portable and is just a dongle that plugs into your HDMI port. It has 1 port for the plug and that's it and that's where I found myself a little disappointed almost immediately. There are no usb ports whatsoever. If you want usb your going to have to find an accessory somewhere to add them. This means no external hard drive, no mouse or keyboard and I was disappointed in that considering the stick has very small storage space.
The stick uses Amazon's fire OS and if you don't have Amazon prime the home screen will be just pointless as it advertises all the movies and TV you can watch through it. I don't have a subscription so it all just felt in the way. I'd have loved the Android TV OS more which is a lot more snappier but can't blame Amazon for using their own. It's just a shame their OS feels clunk and slow and times when trying to navigate.
This has all the apps you need for your streaming wether it be Netflix or prime. However I didn't see a good YouTube app on the Amazon store which was weird. But if you download the downloader app you can sideload different apps not in the store like Kodi.
The remote feels good. It's Bluetooth so doesn't need to be pointed at the device. It is easy to use, it's simple and I have the 2nd gen which includes voice control but without prime I find no use for this.
I do complain about the clunkiness of the OS and I've had a few apps restart but streaming feels smooth. For the money which I paid about £25 for in a sale, i can't really argue. This isn't the best device you can get. In no way does it compete with a device like Nvidia Shield but it is worth getting if you just want a couple of simple apps to stream. I basically mainly use 1 which makes the whole thing worthwhile.
If you want a capable device for good price then I can recommend this. Don't expect the greatest thing ever. There are loads of better devices out there but if you get this cheap in a sale then pick it up especially if your not too bothered about 4k.
It's portable and is just a dongle that plugs into your HDMI port. It has 1 port for the plug and that's it and that's where I found myself a little disappointed almost immediately. There are no usb ports whatsoever. If you want usb your going to have to find an accessory somewhere to add them. This means no external hard drive, no mouse or keyboard and I was disappointed in that considering the stick has very small storage space.
The stick uses Amazon's fire OS and if you don't have Amazon prime the home screen will be just pointless as it advertises all the movies and TV you can watch through it. I don't have a subscription so it all just felt in the way. I'd have loved the Android TV OS more which is a lot more snappier but can't blame Amazon for using their own. It's just a shame their OS feels clunk and slow and times when trying to navigate.
This has all the apps you need for your streaming wether it be Netflix or prime. However I didn't see a good YouTube app on the Amazon store which was weird. But if you download the downloader app you can sideload different apps not in the store like Kodi.
The remote feels good. It's Bluetooth so doesn't need to be pointed at the device. It is easy to use, it's simple and I have the 2nd gen which includes voice control but without prime I find no use for this.
I do complain about the clunkiness of the OS and I've had a few apps restart but streaming feels smooth. For the money which I paid about £25 for in a sale, i can't really argue. This isn't the best device you can get. In no way does it compete with a device like Nvidia Shield but it is worth getting if you just want a couple of simple apps to stream. I basically mainly use 1 which makes the whole thing worthwhile.
If you want a capable device for good price then I can recommend this. Don't expect the greatest thing ever. There are loads of better devices out there but if you get this cheap in a sale then pick it up especially if your not too bothered about 4k.
Having read and enjoyed Lesley's previous two books, The Rumour and Who Did You Tell?, I jumped at the chance to read this, her latest outing and, once again, I wasn't disappointed.
The Dare is an enthralling read where you can literally feel the tension building as the story unfolds. I was absolutely immersed from start to finish in the story of Lizzie and her best friend, Alice from both the "then" and "now" perspectives - this may sound confusing but, believe me, it's not.
After the accident that killed her best friend 12 years ago, Lizzie is trying to rebuild her life; she is engaged to be married to a GP, her epilepsy is under control and she is thinking of going to university however, things start to happen that quickly threaten that happiness.
The Dare is a slow-burner, that builds in tension, intrigue and suspense. I found it riveting and hard to stop reading and I would certainly recommend to people who enjoy an excellent psychological thriller with an enthralling plot and great twists.
Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
The Dare is an enthralling read where you can literally feel the tension building as the story unfolds. I was absolutely immersed from start to finish in the story of Lizzie and her best friend, Alice from both the "then" and "now" perspectives - this may sound confusing but, believe me, it's not.
After the accident that killed her best friend 12 years ago, Lizzie is trying to rebuild her life; she is engaged to be married to a GP, her epilepsy is under control and she is thinking of going to university however, things start to happen that quickly threaten that happiness.
The Dare is a slow-burner, that builds in tension, intrigue and suspense. I found it riveting and hard to stop reading and I would certainly recommend to people who enjoy an excellent psychological thriller with an enthralling plot and great twists.
Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Merissa (12897 KP) rated The Secrets We Keep in Books
Sep 26, 2019
The Secrets We Keep is a story that deals with the aftermath of suicide, with the addition of a May-to-December couple of main characters. This is NOT a light read. It is somber and full of reflection.
That side of the story is really well written. The emotions that pour off each page with make you stop and think. However, for me, I found it overshadowed the romance side of things. I didn't really feel a connection between our main two. There was no build up to them individually, rather just a carry on from the feelings they were dealing with regarding Lacy. There is an epilogue with them, so you do get something, it just didn't exactly work for me.
The writing, though, is wonderful, and there were no mistakes that disrupted my reading. The story is a great one, and the pacing is smooth. The characters themselves will interest and intrigue you. I have no hesitation in recommending this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
That side of the story is really well written. The emotions that pour off each page with make you stop and think. However, for me, I found it overshadowed the romance side of things. I didn't really feel a connection between our main two. There was no build up to them individually, rather just a carry on from the feelings they were dealing with regarding Lacy. There is an epilogue with them, so you do get something, it just didn't exactly work for me.
The writing, though, is wonderful, and there were no mistakes that disrupted my reading. The story is a great one, and the pacing is smooth. The characters themselves will interest and intrigue you. I have no hesitation in recommending this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
easy recipes using normal, every-day ingredients you would have in your house
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Since I am hypoglycemic, I am always looking for new low-carb recipes. The New 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Updated Recipes for Doing Low-Carb Better and More Deliciously by Dana Carpender was just the book I was looking for. There were several recipes that I wanted to try immediately. Some of them include: Skillet Chicken Florentine, Lo-Carl Clam Chowder, Polynesian Pork, Country Sausage Skillet Supper, Teriyaki Steak, Green Bean Spaghetti, Skillet Stroganoff, Ellen's Noodleless Lasagne, Parmesan Shrimp, Cheese Grits, and Shrimp Alfredo. I tried to narrow it down to my favorite 5 recipes but I struggled narrowing down to just 10.
My favorite is "Joe". It is a one-dish skillet supper with ground chuck, frozen spinach, onions, garlic, and eggs.
I do not enjoy cooking but I do it. I prefer someone else to cook for me or to go out to eat. However, these recipes were easy enough for me to make and do not use a lot of ingredients. They also often use normal, every-day ingredients you would have in your house. I found that to be extremely helpful because I really do not like when I have to buy an ingredient that I would probably not use again.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 2/23/19.
Since I am hypoglycemic, I am always looking for new low-carb recipes. The New 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Updated Recipes for Doing Low-Carb Better and More Deliciously by Dana Carpender was just the book I was looking for. There were several recipes that I wanted to try immediately. Some of them include: Skillet Chicken Florentine, Lo-Carl Clam Chowder, Polynesian Pork, Country Sausage Skillet Supper, Teriyaki Steak, Green Bean Spaghetti, Skillet Stroganoff, Ellen's Noodleless Lasagne, Parmesan Shrimp, Cheese Grits, and Shrimp Alfredo. I tried to narrow it down to my favorite 5 recipes but I struggled narrowing down to just 10.
My favorite is "Joe". It is a one-dish skillet supper with ground chuck, frozen spinach, onions, garlic, and eggs.
I do not enjoy cooking but I do it. I prefer someone else to cook for me or to go out to eat. However, these recipes were easy enough for me to make and do not use a lot of ingredients. They also often use normal, every-day ingredients you would have in your house. I found that to be extremely helpful because I really do not like when I have to buy an ingredient that I would probably not use again.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 2/23/19.