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KatieLouCreate (162 KP) rated The Surface Breaks in Books

Jun 19, 2018 (Updated Jun 19, 2018)

The Surface Breaks

Louise O'Neill | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)

7.6

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

Good story (1 more)

Feminism

Too much feminism at times (0 more)

Loved reading this book. A nice quick read for those who aren't committed to a long read.

It's a wonderful re-imagining of the Hans Christian Anderson's version of The Little Mermaid. What I like is that it still follows this version of the events to an extent- more accurate than Disney's the little mermaid, at least.

The book is a great read for young women; teaching them that it is ok to be a woman, to love another woman, and to still be strong and independent regardless of social constraints.

What I perhaps dislike is that the man-hating is just a little too much. Yes, some men can be horrible and misogynistic. But not all men. I think there was all but one minor minor character who wasn't a brute towards females- an inaccurate representation of men if you ask me. It just seemed a little too much in my opinion.

But the story line, character development, and writing style are wonderful. :)

Kudos

Sue (5 KP) rated The Pajama Frame in Books

Aug 13, 2018

The Pajama Frame is book #5 in the Madison Night Mystery series. While the books can be read as stand-alone, each preceding book builds on the characters and their relationships.

When her octogenarian friend dies and leaves interior decorator Madison Night a pajama factory, Madison is faced with a decades-old tragedy and a more recent murder. All Madison wants to do is hide from the drama, but when estranged family members and special interest groups want to get into the sealed factory, Madison realizes she is caught having to solve a mystery before she becomes the next victim.

As with previous Madison Night books, I found the character of Madison delightful and refreshing. She is no-nonsense, quirky, snarky, and a throwback to Doris Day. Who wouldn’t enjoy an independent woman that dresses and enjoys decorations from the era of the fifties and sixties? Add to the mix a love/hate relationship with the chief of police Tex and a few witty friends & neighbors; you have the perfect chemistry for a delightful cozy mystery series.

Kudos

ClareR (6081 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies

Dec 31, 2018

Bumblebee (2018)

2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

7.8

(80 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Worth it just for the soundtrack alone!

Transformers are back!!
The last couple of Transformers movies were a bit lacklustre, but this seems to put them back on track. I loved it! I think I saw at the end of the movie that it was written by a woman, and in that case, you can tell. The main female character is independent, struggling with the loss of her father, and doesn’t feel as though she needs to be impressing anyone else. Her love interest gets a peck on the cheek and told that’s all he’s going to get ‘for now’, and he accepts that. So thanks for that. This story is driven by Bumblebees story, not a love story element (and my 12 and 14 year old boys will be forever grateful!).
We all walked out of the movie saying how Bumblebee always has been and always will be our favourite Transformer. And I went home and found the soundtrack on Spotify, because THAT is what really made the film for me!

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Trollenberg Terror (1958) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Jun 22, 2019)

The Trollenberg Terror (1958)

1958 | Horror, Sci-Fi

5.8

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Independent sci-fi movie has the inevitable hokeyness of films of its period but shows flashes of intelligence, until the climax at least. Vaguely Lovecraftian alien creatures take up residence atop a Swiss mountain, rip the heads off passing mountaineers, turn other people into zombies to eliminate nosey psychics, and so on. Fearing the world supply of cuckoo clocks, cheese with holes in it, and multi-purpose knives may be in peril, a group of assorted boffins attempt to sort things out.

Well, at least it's original, if not always in the best of ways. Things proceed in a relatively effective way until the aliens decide to come down the mountain and attack in person, at which point they are revealed to be tentacled monocular blobs entirely beyond the budget of the film to convincingly realise. The same could be said of many alien invasion and monster movies of the 50s and 60s and this is neither the best nor the worst example of the genre from that period.

Kudos

themaxdog (14 KP) rated Lady Renegade in Books

Jul 17, 2019

Lady Renegade

Elizabeth Rose | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Characters (0 more)

The Ending! (0 more)

Lady Renegade is a story filled with action, adventure, and romance. I liked that this book fleshed out the world and the cast of characters more than the first, helping me to build a better understanding of the world that these characters inhabit and their relationships with one another. It was also refreshing that the plot focused on more than just love and lust!

I also liked the author's decision to include a blind main character - something that I have never encountered before in a romance novel. Wren is a strong, feisty, independent lady, and it was nice that her blossoming feelings for Storm were a bonus rather than becoming the sole reason for her existence.

This book would probably have been rated higher if it wasn't for a particular event that happened at the end. Without spoiling the book, something happened which made me question a lot of what had already happened and really didn't sit very well with me. I guess you'll have to read the book to see for yourself!