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Merissa (12911 KP) rated Swan Girl (Rifters #2) in Books
Jun 28, 2019
Swan Girl (Rifters #2) by Isa Briarwood
Swan Girl is the second book in the Rifters series, and although this book finishes perfectly, I'm holding out hope there is still more to come!
We reunite with Cate and Angus as they arrive in Ireland in 2083. This is a world completely unknown to Cate, and her struggles are real. Once Angus' parents are in the mix, things go a bit easier. This story is about choices - Cate's, Angus', and others.
It is incredibly well-written, with only a couple of moments when I had to go back and re-read something, just to be sure. The story wraps up nicely, bringing a tear to my eye! I loved how it all came together, but one of the best parts for me was when Cate when back to her time. What I want to know is what happens in the future with the knowledge she gave the doctor? See? I told you there should be more!
Full of action and adventure, this was a rip-roaring sequel that definitely fulfilled it's promise. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
We reunite with Cate and Angus as they arrive in Ireland in 2083. This is a world completely unknown to Cate, and her struggles are real. Once Angus' parents are in the mix, things go a bit easier. This story is about choices - Cate's, Angus', and others.
It is incredibly well-written, with only a couple of moments when I had to go back and re-read something, just to be sure. The story wraps up nicely, bringing a tear to my eye! I loved how it all came together, but one of the best parts for me was when Cate when back to her time. What I want to know is what happens in the future with the knowledge she gave the doctor? See? I told you there should be more!
Full of action and adventure, this was a rip-roaring sequel that definitely fulfilled it's promise. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
David McK (3562 KP) rated Thor (2011) in Movies
Sep 12, 2021
One of the earliest movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), - I think it's the 4th - way back in Phase 1, with what was seemingly an odd choice of director in our very own (I'm from Northern Ireland, as he is) Kenneth Branagh.
However, you can soon see why he was chosen, with this film - in particular - having a very Shakespearian feel to it, what with the whole plot of two brothers to the throne (as an aside, also the first film to leave Earth for large portions) and the whole familial drama going on ...
I also remember, prior to this, that my whole recollection of the character came from the old 70s/80s 'The Incredible Hulk' tv show and mini movies, where Thor was more-or-less somewhat similar to Jekyll and Hyde, in that he shared a body with the lead character ('who-so-ever be so worthy') of the crippled doctor Donald Blake - a name dropped in this movie as an Easter egg, as Jane Foster's ex boyfriend, and - temporarily - borrowed by this version of Thor.
Unlike many of the later MCU movies, this has a surprisingly small finale, and the scene with Thor breaking into the SHIELD camp in his attempt to recover Mjolnir is still the best bit of the whole thing.
However, you can soon see why he was chosen, with this film - in particular - having a very Shakespearian feel to it, what with the whole plot of two brothers to the throne (as an aside, also the first film to leave Earth for large portions) and the whole familial drama going on ...
I also remember, prior to this, that my whole recollection of the character came from the old 70s/80s 'The Incredible Hulk' tv show and mini movies, where Thor was more-or-less somewhat similar to Jekyll and Hyde, in that he shared a body with the lead character ('who-so-ever be so worthy') of the crippled doctor Donald Blake - a name dropped in this movie as an Easter egg, as Jane Foster's ex boyfriend, and - temporarily - borrowed by this version of Thor.
Unlike many of the later MCU movies, this has a surprisingly small finale, and the scene with Thor breaking into the SHIELD camp in his attempt to recover Mjolnir is still the best bit of the whole thing.
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Northman (2022) in Movies
May 18, 2022
M'eh.
So, The Northman.
Been quite a bit of hype for it over here in Northern Ireland (perhaps because some of it was filmed here), which might explain why the showing I went to was absolutely jam packed - the most people I've seen in a screen since even before Covid times.
Unfortunately, and for me, the film also fell rather 'flat': I actually spent more time scanning the background to see if I could spot any familiar faces (and locations) than concentrating on the (slow, plodding) action unfolding in the foreground.
It's no secret that the plot owes much to the Icelandic sagas that inspired 'Hamlet' (or, in more modern terms, 'The Lion King'), with Alexander Skarsgard Viking protagonist on a mission of revenge against his uncle, who killed his father and stole his mother.
Perhaps that is why I (and most of those I saw this with) weren't all that impressed: basically, we've all seen it before! Well, that, and the fact the the finale felt like something out of 'Revenge of the Sith' ...
(We were also all in agreement that it would have been better if the more supernatural elements of the story had been toned down).
All this is not to say that it's a bad film, per se: just not at all what we were expecting or had been sold on by the trailers.
Been quite a bit of hype for it over here in Northern Ireland (perhaps because some of it was filmed here), which might explain why the showing I went to was absolutely jam packed - the most people I've seen in a screen since even before Covid times.
Unfortunately, and for me, the film also fell rather 'flat': I actually spent more time scanning the background to see if I could spot any familiar faces (and locations) than concentrating on the (slow, plodding) action unfolding in the foreground.
It's no secret that the plot owes much to the Icelandic sagas that inspired 'Hamlet' (or, in more modern terms, 'The Lion King'), with Alexander Skarsgard Viking protagonist on a mission of revenge against his uncle, who killed his father and stole his mother.
Perhaps that is why I (and most of those I saw this with) weren't all that impressed: basically, we've all seen it before! Well, that, and the fact the the finale felt like something out of 'Revenge of the Sith' ...
(We were also all in agreement that it would have been better if the more supernatural elements of the story had been toned down).
All this is not to say that it's a bad film, per se: just not at all what we were expecting or had been sold on by the trailers.
Review can also be found on: diaryofdifference.com/2018/05/24/gunshots-goalposts-the-story-of-northern-irish-football-benjamin-roberts-book-review/
For the lovers of football and history - this book will be of your interest. If you happen to have any connecting with Northern Ireland as well - this book is made for you!
<img src="https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510KFWLQLML.jpg"/>;
I don’t think I fit in the description above. I love watching football - but I am not a football maniac, that knows who plays where, the club’s managers and who is on top of the Champion’s League this year. I love me some good sports matches, and I know a lot of players by name or face, but that’s about it.
Now - Gunshots & Goalposts: The Story of Northern Irish Football - the book that covers the stories of many football players in the past century in Northern Ireland.
While it covers so many stories, I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters, and I choose to blame this on the way the book was written.
Which - is not a bad thing at all. Why? Because, this book is not meant to make you fall in love with the characters. It is instead, meant to show you the real picture of their lives, the politics that were ongoing in that time, and give you a brief history lesson of what you happened to miss in high school. All related to football, of course.
For me, it was very useful to learn a bit about the politics and history. Before I started the book, I knew NOTHING about Northern Ireland’s history. I knew NOTHING about their football history. This was a great first book for me to dive into the waters of the history of Northern Ireland's football.
The author, Benjamin Roberts, has done a wonderful job in the description and research. It covers a lot of the history period from the First and Second World War, the protestants vs catholics, the unionists vs nationalists, the east vs the west.
This book reminds me a lot of a movie that has been made in the country where I was born - Macedonia. The movie was called ‘’The Third Half’’ and deals with Macedonian Football during World War II, and the deportation of Jews from Macedonia. It reminded me a bit of this, even though in this book we don’t connect with the characters, or dive into their stories too much.
This is a three-star book for me - for the sole reason that this is not a book that I would usually read, and I wouldn’t read books similar to this one either. I enjoyed it, at times, but wouldn’t re-read it. However, I would definitely recommend it to people that love both football and history. I just prefer books where I connect with the characters.
For the lovers of football and history - this book will be of your interest. If you happen to have any connecting with Northern Ireland as well - this book is made for you!
<img src="https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510KFWLQLML.jpg"/>;
I don’t think I fit in the description above. I love watching football - but I am not a football maniac, that knows who plays where, the club’s managers and who is on top of the Champion’s League this year. I love me some good sports matches, and I know a lot of players by name or face, but that’s about it.
Now - Gunshots & Goalposts: The Story of Northern Irish Football - the book that covers the stories of many football players in the past century in Northern Ireland.
While it covers so many stories, I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters, and I choose to blame this on the way the book was written.
Which - is not a bad thing at all. Why? Because, this book is not meant to make you fall in love with the characters. It is instead, meant to show you the real picture of their lives, the politics that were ongoing in that time, and give you a brief history lesson of what you happened to miss in high school. All related to football, of course.
For me, it was very useful to learn a bit about the politics and history. Before I started the book, I knew NOTHING about Northern Ireland’s history. I knew NOTHING about their football history. This was a great first book for me to dive into the waters of the history of Northern Ireland's football.
The author, Benjamin Roberts, has done a wonderful job in the description and research. It covers a lot of the history period from the First and Second World War, the protestants vs catholics, the unionists vs nationalists, the east vs the west.
This book reminds me a lot of a movie that has been made in the country where I was born - Macedonia. The movie was called ‘’The Third Half’’ and deals with Macedonian Football during World War II, and the deportation of Jews from Macedonia. It reminded me a bit of this, even though in this book we don’t connect with the characters, or dive into their stories too much.
This is a three-star book for me - for the sole reason that this is not a book that I would usually read, and I wouldn’t read books similar to this one either. I enjoyed it, at times, but wouldn’t re-read it. However, I would definitely recommend it to people that love both football and history. I just prefer books where I connect with the characters.
LucyB (47 KP) rated The Good People in Books
Jul 23, 2017
An engrossing exploration of rural Ireland and folklore.
The Good People gets off to a gripping start. A man is found dead and his wife (Nora) is left alone, with the burden of caring for her dead daughter's child, who happens to be heavily disabled.
From early on, the clash between ancient superstition and Catholic values is established. Nance, the local healing woman, is called upon for funeral 'keening' and resolving various medical problems. However, the village is divided - and people are starting to turn against her.
Nora hires a girl, Mary, to assist with looking after her grandson, who she can scarcely bear to be around. As time passes, Nora becomes convinced that the child is a 'changeling' and together with Nance, goes to drastic measures to expel the fairy from their lives.
I'd read Burial Rites a while back, so was familiar with Kent's style of writing, which is wonderfully authentic, well-paced and engrossing. However, The Good People felt quite different - almost like a theatrical script, with strong dialogue and excellent characterisation throughout.
It was also ambiguous, and throughout, I felt my sympathies flit from character to character. Although the book concluded with a murder, the nasty deed raised lots of questions - namely who exactly was to blame?
A very enjoyable read (I got through it in about three days, which shows how good it was) - I'd definitely recommend.
From early on, the clash between ancient superstition and Catholic values is established. Nance, the local healing woman, is called upon for funeral 'keening' and resolving various medical problems. However, the village is divided - and people are starting to turn against her.
Nora hires a girl, Mary, to assist with looking after her grandson, who she can scarcely bear to be around. As time passes, Nora becomes convinced that the child is a 'changeling' and together with Nance, goes to drastic measures to expel the fairy from their lives.
I'd read Burial Rites a while back, so was familiar with Kent's style of writing, which is wonderfully authentic, well-paced and engrossing. However, The Good People felt quite different - almost like a theatrical script, with strong dialogue and excellent characterisation throughout.
It was also ambiguous, and throughout, I felt my sympathies flit from character to character. Although the book concluded with a murder, the nasty deed raised lots of questions - namely who exactly was to blame?
A very enjoyable read (I got through it in about three days, which shows how good it was) - I'd definitely recommend.
Kristin (149 KP) rated Hy Brazil (The Elven Wars, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Edward Harry has improved his lot in life, and he finds himself a position as secretary to a famous poet. Because of this, he is included when his employer travels, as he is to write down any and every thought Edmund Spenser has surrounding the beauty and majesty of the surrounding world. They make their way to Ireland, where Edward makes a friend in Calvagh, and together they choose to explore their surroundings. This leads them onto a journey neither thought possible, and they land in the Elven world of Hy Brazil, smack in the middle of civil unrest. Will they make it back to their own world? Or will they be stuck there forever, never to go home again?
I must start by saying the cover is absolutely beautiful, and that beauty continues within the words of the novel. The description and imagery used, especially once the duo makes it to Hy Brazil, is so rich it makes you believer you're actually seeing it with your own eyes. This story is a very interesting one, set back in the late 1500s, and the language used deftly sets you in that time period. All around, this story is one which sucks you in, and I definitely couldn't put it down once the pair crossed into the Elven realm.
4 1/2 stars
Edward Harry has improved his lot in life, and he finds himself a position as secretary to a famous poet. Because of this, he is included when his employer travels, as he is to write down any and every thought Edmund Spenser has surrounding the beauty and majesty of the surrounding world. They make their way to Ireland, where Edward makes a friend in Calvagh, and together they choose to explore their surroundings. This leads them onto a journey neither thought possible, and they land in the Elven world of Hy Brazil, smack in the middle of civil unrest. Will they make it back to their own world? Or will they be stuck there forever, never to go home again?
I must start by saying the cover is absolutely beautiful, and that beauty continues within the words of the novel. The description and imagery used, especially once the duo makes it to Hy Brazil, is so rich it makes you believer you're actually seeing it with your own eyes. This story is a very interesting one, set back in the late 1500s, and the language used deftly sets you in that time period. All around, this story is one which sucks you in, and I definitely couldn't put it down once the pair crossed into the Elven realm.
4 1/2 stars
Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated Shattered Pack in Books
Jul 5, 2018
So Tessa has Dastien, Claudia has Lucas and Meredith has Dovavan... They have all had their own book except Meredith and Dovavan and now it's time for that...
Dovavan is one of the seven. He is also Alpha of the Irish pack. His true mate is Meredith and things are starting to go wrong in his pack.
Since he became one of the seven he stopped visiting his pack due to being busy with council business. His pack is in pieces and his second in command is killed. His third in command is a mad wolf but he needs evidence about her madness in order to call a Tribunal.
Meredith is going with him to Ireland to help sort out his pack. But the problem is the Irish pack is known to be ruthless, nasty and unwelcoming.
In this book we see Donovan and Meredith completely and utterly in love. We see how much Meredith means to Dovavan and how he needs to her in order to gain control over his pack, deal with the death of his second and everything else that is going on.
Meredith goes from being a cursed girl who can't access her wolf. To finding her true mate in one of the strongest Alpha's alive. She now has to face the Irish pack and survive.
This book I have to say is my favourite by a long shot.
Dovavan is one of the seven. He is also Alpha of the Irish pack. His true mate is Meredith and things are starting to go wrong in his pack.
Since he became one of the seven he stopped visiting his pack due to being busy with council business. His pack is in pieces and his second in command is killed. His third in command is a mad wolf but he needs evidence about her madness in order to call a Tribunal.
Meredith is going with him to Ireland to help sort out his pack. But the problem is the Irish pack is known to be ruthless, nasty and unwelcoming.
In this book we see Donovan and Meredith completely and utterly in love. We see how much Meredith means to Dovavan and how he needs to her in order to gain control over his pack, deal with the death of his second and everything else that is going on.
Meredith goes from being a cursed girl who can't access her wolf. To finding her true mate in one of the strongest Alpha's alive. She now has to face the Irish pack and survive.
This book I have to say is my favourite by a long shot.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Northlanders Book 1: The Anglo-Saxon Saga (Northlanders, Book 1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Boy, was that violent - if this was a movie, it would probably be given an '18' (or 'R'estricted, for those Americans out there) rating, not just for the blood, guts and gore, but also for the - occassional - nudity, and the not-so-occassional language.
Actually a collection of 5 different short stories, I can't say how true to history these are as I'm not a Norse scholar. I also found the vernacular a bit off-putting (were swear-words the same in the early Medieval Period as they are now? Really??), with the art-style (and plot) in some of the stories were better than in others. Talking of stories, this contains the following:
[b]Lindisfarne[/b]: depicting an early Viking raid on the monastery of the same name
[b]The Shield Maidens[/b]: in which three Viking women hold off hordes of the Saxons
[b]Sven the Returned[/b]: in which Sven returns to his homeland to claim his inheritance, having previously run away and joined the Byzantine Varangian Guard
[b]Thor's daughter[/b]: in which a clan leader is murdered and his land sold to a rival leader but his 14 year old daughter takes up his mantle and leads an army against the encroaching Vikings
[b]The Cross & The Hammer[/b]: Set in Ireland, this is more-or-less a murder mystery in which the central character is trying to track down the person(s) responsible for a spate of killings.
Actually a collection of 5 different short stories, I can't say how true to history these are as I'm not a Norse scholar. I also found the vernacular a bit off-putting (were swear-words the same in the early Medieval Period as they are now? Really??), with the art-style (and plot) in some of the stories were better than in others. Talking of stories, this contains the following:
[b]Lindisfarne[/b]: depicting an early Viking raid on the monastery of the same name
[b]The Shield Maidens[/b]: in which three Viking women hold off hordes of the Saxons
[b]Sven the Returned[/b]: in which Sven returns to his homeland to claim his inheritance, having previously run away and joined the Byzantine Varangian Guard
[b]Thor's daughter[/b]: in which a clan leader is murdered and his land sold to a rival leader but his 14 year old daughter takes up his mantle and leads an army against the encroaching Vikings
[b]The Cross & The Hammer[/b]: Set in Ireland, this is more-or-less a murder mystery in which the central character is trying to track down the person(s) responsible for a spate of killings.
Rob Halford recommended Revolver by The Beatles in Music (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Anointed in Books
Sep 6, 2019
The cover grabbed my attention straight away when I saw this in the Netgalley catalogue. You should know by now that I like a good cover.
Then comes the story... Well. I read books for the romance aspect and it took a little too long, in my opinion, for anything even slightly romantic to happen. Yeah, I get she's on a mission to save the world and everything but surely she's allowed a little fun? Nevertheless, when it did happen. Phew! It was scorching. The attraction between Alana and Gaelen was hot from the very first meeting...and his eyes! The only problem with their attraction is that they don't particularly like or trust each other so they fight it, which results in some hot scenes.
There was a lot of description, which I will honestly say bores me to death sometimes and I skip over large areas. In this I scanned it, looking for important stuff that I might need to know.
It had a fair share of location changes; going from London to Wales to Italy to Ireland, as Alana hunted for the items and the information she needed to stop the demons from coming through the rift.
Not really for me, but if you like Urban Fantasy, lots of description, or some steamy sex scenes and attraction then this is probably for you.
Then comes the story... Well. I read books for the romance aspect and it took a little too long, in my opinion, for anything even slightly romantic to happen. Yeah, I get she's on a mission to save the world and everything but surely she's allowed a little fun? Nevertheless, when it did happen. Phew! It was scorching. The attraction between Alana and Gaelen was hot from the very first meeting...and his eyes! The only problem with their attraction is that they don't particularly like or trust each other so they fight it, which results in some hot scenes.
There was a lot of description, which I will honestly say bores me to death sometimes and I skip over large areas. In this I scanned it, looking for important stuff that I might need to know.
It had a fair share of location changes; going from London to Wales to Italy to Ireland, as Alana hunted for the items and the information she needed to stop the demons from coming through the rift.
Not really for me, but if you like Urban Fantasy, lots of description, or some steamy sex scenes and attraction then this is probably for you.