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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter, #5) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Another absolutely wonderful addition to the Dark-Hunter series - I loved it! Tabitha was way better than I expected (I was worried she would be too much) and Valerius was as great as I had hoped. What can I say? I love tortured heroes, and he's one of the best. I felt so much for him and hated how horrid the others treated him for no good reason - other than being judgmental @$$es anyway, especially Kyrian. Now I don't remember much about <i>Night Pleasures</i> for some reason, probably because it is my least favorite in the series, but I thought Kyrian was such a you-know-what with how he treated Valerius. I mean, come on, he was just a five-year-old for crying out loud. Jerk. Same goes with Zarek, but I understand that a bit more. But really, couldn't these idiots have gotten over something that happened 2,000 years ago, instead of acting like children? Grow up already and face facts, he was just a kid who didn't do anything to Kyrian, tried to help Zarek, and was born a Roman. Poor guy. He never knew kindness until Tabitha.
Closer to the end there were some real shockers and since Nick was featured in <i>Night Pleasures</i>, I need to get my hands on that book to re-read it, so I can reacquaint myself to him and the story. Maybe then I'd like it better and be able to remember more from it. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who has not read it yet, but this is one well-paced and plotted book! :)
As much as I loved the book, I was rather disappointed with the ending. It was rushed and was a good thirty or more pages shorter than other Dark-Hunter books. I felt that there needed to be more. The truce was rather lame and anti-climatic and so was the soul thing (or whatever it should be called) with Tabitha and Valerius. However, I loved the epilogue, and overall it is one of my faves of the series, I just wish more justice could have been done to the end of Valerius's story.
Closer to the end there were some real shockers and since Nick was featured in <i>Night Pleasures</i>, I need to get my hands on that book to re-read it, so I can reacquaint myself to him and the story. Maybe then I'd like it better and be able to remember more from it. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who has not read it yet, but this is one well-paced and plotted book! :)
As much as I loved the book, I was rather disappointed with the ending. It was rushed and was a good thirty or more pages shorter than other Dark-Hunter books. I felt that there needed to be more. The truce was rather lame and anti-climatic and so was the soul thing (or whatever it should be called) with Tabitha and Valerius. However, I loved the epilogue, and overall it is one of my faves of the series, I just wish more justice could have been done to the end of Valerius's story.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Sisters of the Winter Wood in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I'm going to avoid discussing the plot too much so I don't spoil any potential readers (and I do recommend you read this!).
This book is set in Dubossary, narrated alternately by Liba and Laya. Liba is the older of the two, the only children in their family. They are Jews, and while this book was hugely about their faith and discrimination against them, it is not only about that. This book was like a new fairytale. It had magic in every page, and was genuinely exciting to read. There were tragic elements, tons of romance, and even a sense of suspense.
The girls are left in their home alone when their parents rush off to Kupel in a family emergency. But just as they plan to leave, the girls' Mami decides it's time to tell her daughters who they really are: a bear and a swan.
As I said, I will not delve into the story too much. But I really loved the story involving Laya and the Hovlin brothers, as well as Liba's own internal struggles. Laya's romance at the end of the book was, in my opinion, a little rushed and unexpected, but that's the only real downside I have.
The writing was lovely - it included Yiddish and Hebrew dialect, which was translated in the Author's Note at the end. (A quick side note; I actually read the entire Note, which is really quite rare for me.) And Laya's account, in particular, felt so poetic. She was definitely my favourite character, as much as I love Liba, too. And the relationship between the girls is so, so lovely. No matter how much they try to push each other away, they are always there for each other in the end.
As I enjoyed this book so much, I tried to talk about it with my boyfriend. However, I soon discovered that describing this story is really quite a feat. It was full of little details and twists that just made the story.
I really liked this book. As I only received an ARC and not a final edition, I didn't have the official layout, which I can imagine may add to it also. Even so, I'm easily giving this 4.5 to 5 stars.
This book is set in Dubossary, narrated alternately by Liba and Laya. Liba is the older of the two, the only children in their family. They are Jews, and while this book was hugely about their faith and discrimination against them, it is not only about that. This book was like a new fairytale. It had magic in every page, and was genuinely exciting to read. There were tragic elements, tons of romance, and even a sense of suspense.
The girls are left in their home alone when their parents rush off to Kupel in a family emergency. But just as they plan to leave, the girls' Mami decides it's time to tell her daughters who they really are: a bear and a swan.
As I said, I will not delve into the story too much. But I really loved the story involving Laya and the Hovlin brothers, as well as Liba's own internal struggles. Laya's romance at the end of the book was, in my opinion, a little rushed and unexpected, but that's the only real downside I have.
The writing was lovely - it included Yiddish and Hebrew dialect, which was translated in the Author's Note at the end. (A quick side note; I actually read the entire Note, which is really quite rare for me.) And Laya's account, in particular, felt so poetic. She was definitely my favourite character, as much as I love Liba, too. And the relationship between the girls is so, so lovely. No matter how much they try to push each other away, they are always there for each other in the end.
As I enjoyed this book so much, I tried to talk about it with my boyfriend. However, I soon discovered that describing this story is really quite a feat. It was full of little details and twists that just made the story.
I really liked this book. As I only received an ARC and not a final edition, I didn't have the official layout, which I can imagine may add to it also. Even so, I'm easily giving this 4.5 to 5 stars.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The V Girl: A Coming Of Age Story in Books
Jan 11, 2021
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
2.5 stars.
It was all rather dark and sexually violent--and not in the good way of dark romances.
I loved the romance aspect of it, the one between Lila/Lily and Aleksy. It was so sweet at times! The other bits just seemed too much for me after a while. The way she wanted to not be the V-Girl but how she was determined it was to be taken by someone she cared about--Rey--only he wasn't entirely receptive to the idea. And then having that same thought process again and again. I kinda wanted to hit her a little when she couldn't make her mind up between the two guys.
It was the rest of the storyline I didn't really gel with. There was always a lot going on, most of it dark and violent. Some of it was political, most of it sex-related. Lots of sex related things happening in this.
Anyway, the reason I requested this book was down to the cover and the description. That is one amazing cover! And the description was pretty promising but at the risk of repeating myself, it was a little too dark for my tastes in its topics.
2.5 stars.
It was all rather dark and sexually violent--and not in the good way of dark romances.
I loved the romance aspect of it, the one between Lila/Lily and Aleksy. It was so sweet at times! The other bits just seemed too much for me after a while. The way she wanted to not be the V-Girl but how she was determined it was to be taken by someone she cared about--Rey--only he wasn't entirely receptive to the idea. And then having that same thought process again and again. I kinda wanted to hit her a little when she couldn't make her mind up between the two guys.
It was the rest of the storyline I didn't really gel with. There was always a lot going on, most of it dark and violent. Some of it was political, most of it sex-related. Lots of sex related things happening in this.
Anyway, the reason I requested this book was down to the cover and the description. That is one amazing cover! And the description was pretty promising but at the risk of repeating myself, it was a little too dark for my tastes in its topics.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Blood Magic (The Blood Journals, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Books should capture you from the first page, right? They should cause you to want to read more and not be able to put it down. They should also have important interesting things happening in every scene.
This is the problem with Blood Magic. The very first chapter was interesting: beyond interesting. It felt like I'd opened up to the middle. It threw me into the story with no explanation, no development, and no mental preparation. Because I didn't know the character I was reading about, it felt out of place and I just didn't care. The excitement was gone: it could have been dramatic if it was in Chapter 7, but it wasn't, it was in Chapter 1. The pacing felt off.
Same with the romance between the two main characters: It was way too smooth, way to fast, and there was no chemistry. They kissed a lot, but there was no chemistry, because there wasn't enough time for the tension between them to build.
I felt like the story didn't really get started until halfway through the book. I kept wondering "what's the point of all this?" See, stuff was happening, but there was no real plot. A plot is the main point of the story, and events link together to form it. Blood Magic had lots of events, but they didn't start connecting until late, and by that time I was tired of lots of kissing and cutting and looking at each other with go-go eyes.
On the good side, I did like the female protagonist, Silla. Her personality and her character were fun, her responses and reactions were plausible. The blood magic she performs was intriguing, as all magic is to me, and I enjoyed reading about it (however gruesome cutting yourself to use your blood for magic potions is).
However I am terribly disappointed. I expected much more from a Randomhouse book. The concept of Blood Magic had so much potential… but I feel disappointed and annoyed after hitting the halfway point. And the thing about reading is, why read something disappointing when I could read something that will please me? So I'm moving on.
This is the problem with Blood Magic. The very first chapter was interesting: beyond interesting. It felt like I'd opened up to the middle. It threw me into the story with no explanation, no development, and no mental preparation. Because I didn't know the character I was reading about, it felt out of place and I just didn't care. The excitement was gone: it could have been dramatic if it was in Chapter 7, but it wasn't, it was in Chapter 1. The pacing felt off.
Same with the romance between the two main characters: It was way too smooth, way to fast, and there was no chemistry. They kissed a lot, but there was no chemistry, because there wasn't enough time for the tension between them to build.
I felt like the story didn't really get started until halfway through the book. I kept wondering "what's the point of all this?" See, stuff was happening, but there was no real plot. A plot is the main point of the story, and events link together to form it. Blood Magic had lots of events, but they didn't start connecting until late, and by that time I was tired of lots of kissing and cutting and looking at each other with go-go eyes.
On the good side, I did like the female protagonist, Silla. Her personality and her character were fun, her responses and reactions were plausible. The blood magic she performs was intriguing, as all magic is to me, and I enjoyed reading about it (however gruesome cutting yourself to use your blood for magic potions is).
However I am terribly disappointed. I expected much more from a Randomhouse book. The concept of Blood Magic had so much potential… but I feel disappointed and annoyed after hitting the halfway point. And the thing about reading is, why read something disappointing when I could read something that will please me? So I'm moving on.
Dana (24 KP) rated The Graveyard Book in Books
Mar 23, 2018
This was my second book to read by Neil Gaiman and I wish I would have started with this one! It was so well written and the world was so well thought out that I felt I was in there with Bod on his adventures!
I think what I loved most about this is the fact that while each chapter can connect to one another, they are written in a way that can have them separate in a way. It's almost like they are a series of the children's picture books all put together. And that is amazing. If I was a parent reading this to my child, I wouldn't feel bad reading only one chapter a night to them because I feel that is one of the ways it is intended to be read. Who know, I could be completely wrong on that train of thought.
Bod and Silas are so great. I love their family dynamic without it being too over the top.
Each time Bod gets himself into a spot of trouble, I expect him to get out of it, but there is that lingering feeling of fear for him, especially with what happened to his family when he was a baby. There's nothing like starting off a book with a recently orphaned child, now is there? (Ahem, Harry Potter)
The story did feel a bit slow at some points for me, but I do understand that books cannot be ON at all times.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to read another of Gaiman's books soon.
I think what I loved most about this is the fact that while each chapter can connect to one another, they are written in a way that can have them separate in a way. It's almost like they are a series of the children's picture books all put together. And that is amazing. If I was a parent reading this to my child, I wouldn't feel bad reading only one chapter a night to them because I feel that is one of the ways it is intended to be read. Who know, I could be completely wrong on that train of thought.
Bod and Silas are so great. I love their family dynamic without it being too over the top.
Each time Bod gets himself into a spot of trouble, I expect him to get out of it, but there is that lingering feeling of fear for him, especially with what happened to his family when he was a baby. There's nothing like starting off a book with a recently orphaned child, now is there? (Ahem, Harry Potter)
The story did feel a bit slow at some points for me, but I do understand that books cannot be ON at all times.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to read another of Gaiman's books soon.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies
Sep 4, 2019
The Dark Phoenix??
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have to begin by saying is I am glad Fox is done with the X men. This bad excuse for a Dark Phoenix story was by far the worst of the lot. I thought the Apocalypse movie was bad. They made one worse! I know there is only so much you can do in a movie but to call this The Dark Phoenix was not the right movie title. Maybe it should have been called X Men: The Alien Invasion. That's all this movie was...a story about Jean Grey getting the Phoenix powers and Aliens trying to get her and steal the powers to rebuild their race. That's the storyline. It seems there wasn't even an effort to tell the story half way right. But at the expense of going on a rant, Fox is done so maybe now Marvel can do the X men justice. My recommendation...don'r waste your time on this abomination.
Merissa (12066 KP) rated Magic Born (The Guardian #2) in Books
Jul 6, 2018
Magic Born (The Guardian #2) by Rayanne Haines
Magic Born is the second book in The Guardian series, and it does follow on from the first, so you do need to read this in order. We met both Neeren and Mar in the first book. Neeren is Alex's brother whilst Maria is her BFF, and a kick ass witch too.
In book one it became obvious that these two would end up together, although they would both fight it too. And they do, although it changes very quickly. Now, you may consider the circumstances extenuating and say that there was simply no place for games. For me though, it just felt a bit fast, all or nothing!
The pace is fast in this book, and it is excellently written. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep your attention, plus lots of steamy action. If I was being really picky I would say that I wish we had had more of the 'big bad' before we found out who it was. There wasn't really much of a shock involved, simply because a) we didn't really know the character, and b) it made sense!
This was a great continuation of this series, and I am really looking forward to Quinn's book. I really want to see if Lochan has forgiven her for how she left him in book one.
* 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!
In book one it became obvious that these two would end up together, although they would both fight it too. And they do, although it changes very quickly. Now, you may consider the circumstances extenuating and say that there was simply no place for games. For me though, it just felt a bit fast, all or nothing!
The pace is fast in this book, and it is excellently written. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep your attention, plus lots of steamy action. If I was being really picky I would say that I wish we had had more of the 'big bad' before we found out who it was. There wasn't really much of a shock involved, simply because a) we didn't really know the character, and b) it made sense!
This was a great continuation of this series, and I am really looking forward to Quinn's book. I really want to see if Lochan has forgiven her for how she left him in book one.
* 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!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Naked in Death (In Death, #1) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
4.5 stars.
This is my first ever J.D. Robb book and it definitely wont be my last. I've read Nora Roberts books before and liked them too, mainly her romantic suspense ones.
I was so caught up in this story, once I really started reading it, and never wanted to put it down for sleep or work or anything. The mix of romance and mystery and police investigation had me hooked from pretty early on.
I think it was the romance mainly. From that first meeting of gazes at the funeral I knew something was going to happen. Roarke was just enough mystery and hotness to compliment Eve and her cool aloofness.
The murders were also a source of great intrigue. There was a list of people who would want to kill these women but I could never figure out who it was, though looking back they were always a little shifty.
I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series and by the author.
This is my first ever J.D. Robb book and it definitely wont be my last. I've read Nora Roberts books before and liked them too, mainly her romantic suspense ones.
I was so caught up in this story, once I really started reading it, and never wanted to put it down for sleep or work or anything. The mix of romance and mystery and police investigation had me hooked from pretty early on.
I think it was the romance mainly. From that first meeting of gazes at the funeral I knew something was going to happen. Roarke was just enough mystery and hotness to compliment Eve and her cool aloofness.
The murders were also a source of great intrigue. There was a list of people who would want to kill these women but I could never figure out who it was, though looking back they were always a little shifty.
I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series and by the author.
Grumpy Goblin (123 KP) rated Mechs vs. Minions in Tabletop Games
Mar 27, 2018
Very easy to learn (2 more)
Quick to setup
Great in-game items
Only 10 scenarios (3 more)
Hard to obtain in the UK
No expansions (at present)
Very big, so quite hard to store
I had wanted to play this game for a long time, but just couldn't get hold of it in the UK.. luckily I came across it second hand.
The first thing that caught my attention when it arrived was how big the box was... it is massive! This didn't bother me too much, but those who may not have much storage or use Kallax to store their games might find this a bit of a pain..
On opening the box, I was a little deterred by the amount of items that were in there.. it was very daunting, but I persevered and started reading the rules and first scenario that come with it and soon realised there was nothing to worry about.
The rules are really well written (compared to this review) and the tutorial scenario teaches you (and party members) in a quick, fun and easy way. One thing I don't like about a lot of games is the learning curve and sometimes lack of explanation or badly written rules, there is none of that with MvM, they have really thought about teaching this to the player in the easiest way possible.
After finishing the tutorial scenario, I was excited to carry on and work my way through the rest of the game.. at this point i'd like to point out I was doing this solo and was playing for both player 1 and player 2 , the experience was still very enjoyable. I carried on through the game for the next couple of days and enjoyed every minute of it.. I am looking forward to breaking it out with my friends when they're next over.
Definitely a well worth game in my opinion, especially if you are just wanting to play something that isn't too intense and a bit of fun!
The first thing that caught my attention when it arrived was how big the box was... it is massive! This didn't bother me too much, but those who may not have much storage or use Kallax to store their games might find this a bit of a pain..
On opening the box, I was a little deterred by the amount of items that were in there.. it was very daunting, but I persevered and started reading the rules and first scenario that come with it and soon realised there was nothing to worry about.
The rules are really well written (compared to this review) and the tutorial scenario teaches you (and party members) in a quick, fun and easy way. One thing I don't like about a lot of games is the learning curve and sometimes lack of explanation or badly written rules, there is none of that with MvM, they have really thought about teaching this to the player in the easiest way possible.
After finishing the tutorial scenario, I was excited to carry on and work my way through the rest of the game.. at this point i'd like to point out I was doing this solo and was playing for both player 1 and player 2 , the experience was still very enjoyable. I carried on through the game for the next couple of days and enjoyed every minute of it.. I am looking forward to breaking it out with my friends when they're next over.
Definitely a well worth game in my opinion, especially if you are just wanting to play something that isn't too intense and a bit of fun!
