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Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
Susan Ee | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.6 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
I got really into this but I have to say that for me that last 10% was the best bit.

That Raffe finally showed some emotion about how he felt about Penryn after telling her quite a few pages before that he didn't even like her, which hurt both her and me. Iunderstand why he said it but it was just cruel.

I feel I have to mention Penryn's mum. She's CRAZY! Quite literally crazy, but she made me laugh with some of the things she did, like with the cattle prod at the Aerie.

As for Paige...well I'm torn about the poor kid now. I initially felt sorry for her, with her being taken and then when we, as readers, and Penryn finally find her again and we learn what they've been doing to the missing children, I felt even worse. But at the same time, she's no longer the little girl she was and in a way, she scares me.

I cant wait to read the next one now, to see how everything works out! Hopefully all will be well.
  
The Witches Prophecy (The Blue Flamed Witch #1)
The Witches Prophecy (The Blue Flamed Witch #1)
Janae | 2023 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
maybe not one for me!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

My review for this book will be short, because, to be honest, I'm really not sure what I just read!

I'll summarise as best as I can though.

I liked that multiple people have a say. So we get to hear from all the important people.

I LOVED the sarcasm from everyone! Trouble, especially.

I did not like, and I think this was my biggest issue, that multiple names were used for the same person. I got a bit confused right at the prologue and I think that set the screen for the rest of the book.

Lots of paranormal themes: prophecies, soul mates, demons, witches and gods, and a rare one: reincarnations. I liked that.

But, like I said, the multiple names thing kinda threw for the whole book, and I'm still a little confused by it all!

Maybe not one for me, but I did finish it, so

3 stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Natacha (374 KP) rated The Name of the Wind in Books

Jan 19, 2019 (Updated Jun 23, 2019)  
The Name of the Wind
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
4
9.2 (74 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unfortunately, it seems that I have a very unpopular opinion about this book.
Contains spoilers, click to show
This was the first book I decided to read when I got back into reading 1.5years ago, and it took me around 2 months to actually finish it and throughout it made me wonder if maybe reading wasn't my thing any more. But after reading other books that I really enjoyed I realized that it's not that I don't like reading, I just didn't enjoy that book.
Yes, it looks like I have an unpopular opinion on this one...

Things I like:
-The way the story is told: I like that the main character is retelling his adventure.
-”Old” Kvothe: He is mysterious, broken and flawed. I wish the whole book was about him and not about his younger self.
-Auri: She is also a very interesting character and through the book I wanted to learn more about her. She actually got her own novella and I’m planning on reading it.

Things I didn’t like:
-Young Kvothe: Unfortunately he was my main issue and what made me dislike this book. To me, he was a Gary-Sue. Flawless. He was the best musician, the best craftsman, the best at using magic and even when he didn’t know something he would learn it half the time than other (he would also mention it, saying things like: “I learn this skill in a month while it takes a year for other students to learn it”). All girl will fall in love with him of course. And his biggest flaw? Being naive… This is what gets him in trouble or his eagerness to learn. Which in my opinion this is not a flaw and even if we want to consider it a flaw it doesn’t balance all his perfectness in everything else.
- Nothing really happens: In the first part of the book we what happened to him and his family and also we get a glimpse of how his life is now… and the rest of the book is about how he always manages to find the money to pay his university fees and how he is the best at everything and how he learns all the needed skills in a week while it takes months for the other students to learn.
We had some action happened towards the end but right when you think that a big bad lizard is going to destroy everything it turns out it is just drunk/high…
-Convenience. Kvothe fees are exactly the amount of money that he has right now and he will have a little remaining to pay for a room. Kvothe need a huge amount of money to buy a horse he meets an old lady that fancies young underage boy and gives him all the money he needs. Kvothe need to be in 3 days somewhere but it normally takes a week to get there? He buys a horse that is capable of running days without stopping or die. And then he needs to get rid of the horse to get his money back? Oh here is a merchant lets sell the horse just as easily as that. Something terrible happened in a village everybody is dead but the love interest of Kvothe how by the way he didn't know was there but went looking for her just because he thought she might be there. grr!
-We see nothing that’s mention in the synopsis: the stole princesses, the burned town, the night with Felurian etc. Maybe it's for the next book but don't put it in the synopsis if it's not in this book! I was so anticipating to see at least some of those mentions but no. Nothing. Just the school days and finding the money.
  
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Guy Garvey recommended Amnesiac by Radiohead in Music (curated)

 
Amnesiac by Radiohead
Amnesiac by Radiohead
2001 | Rock
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love the orchestration, I love the sentiment, [Thom Yorke] is going through a peaceful patch on that record. He sounds like for the first time he is crooning to you a little bit, like he is a little more comfortable. He is still dealing with huge social issues in his lyrics and very deeply personal experiences as well. On 'Morning Bell' he sings: ""Where'd you park the car?"" That's the conversation your parents have when they are newly split up. They still have to share a vehicle, that is a conversation that they have to have. If you're a child of the '80s, nowadays everybody's got their own car, but that was the only communication my parents had after about six months. And when I heard it singing out in the middle of his lyrics, I just knew for sure that's what he was talking about. So, beautiful, overarching. Sometimes Thom's lyrics are like being berated. It's like being shouted at, and then at other times, he seems to pull a rainbow out of the sludge out of nowhere. That record, it could have been any of them, but that's the one I consider mine, in the same way I feel a sense of ownership of those Talk Talk records. That's the Radiohead album that's given me the most joy. It can take you back to a sad time in your life, and I think that's what good music does as well. You know it brings you forward to the present, but also reminds you of your emotional connection to something in the past. And I think if an album can do that, it's worked, basically."

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Tyondai Braxton recommended Quaristice by Autechre in Music (curated)

 
Quaristice by Autechre
Quaristice by Autechre
2008 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Great record from a great band. I read somewhere that Quaristice was based more on systems they used for their live set at the time and the results are more spontaneous and less edited. I don't know if that's correct or if that was someone else's assessment but each idea feels really fresh and exciting. Usually people like an artists earlier work but I really love their most recent records the most. This is a group where anything they do, I love, but they're one of the few groups where I really like their newer stuff as opposed to their earlier stuff. I think that they've set themselves up to really do anything they want. And you kind of feel that in the way that they work now, particularly with these last five. They got a lot of flak for the previous record, before elseq 1-5, the Exai record. Everyone was saying "Oh it's too long, it needs to be edited!" so the next record they do is five records, four and a half hours. It was such a fuck you. They're operating on such a different terrain, it's exciting. But I like this record in particular because it has a feeling to it which I haven't heard in their other stuff. It did feel more live – it didn't feel as polished, not that their stuff necessarily feels polished, but their version of it. It felt more spontaneous, and it's just a great, great record."

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When I Look In the Mirror
When I Look In the Mirror
Tanith Davenport | 2023 | Erotica, Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
liked well enough, but not sure this author is for me!
Independent reviewer for Achaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I liked this, well enough, but I'm not sure this author works for ME. I stress the ME here!

I said in the first book I read from Davenport, I'm With The Band, that I wanted to read another book by this author, but not that series. And this book fits that bill, since it's a stand alone.

But while I read it, finished in under an hour, and there were some things I did like, it just really isn't one for me.

I liked that it doesn't get as scary as I thought it would, once I started reading. Ouija boards are nothing to be messed with, as Tatum finds out here, and I won't ever touch one! Finding a demon in her mists was tricky to deal with but Zach really helps her.

I liked the connection between Zach and Tatum, and how that all plays out. I wasn't sure which way things would play out and it left me hanging for a hot minute!

I didn't like that only Tatum gets a say, I would have liked to hear from Zach.

Like I said, only short, some 70 pages. Not sure it was really for me, but passed a lazy Tuesday morning in bed.

3 good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Under the Skin (2014)
Under the Skin (2014)
2014 | Sci-Fi
Hoped For More
Under the Skin was doing just fine...until it took a strange direction that I really couldn't get behind. I can't explain it without ruining the movie so I won't. I'm not saying it's not worth watching at least once. However, even if you end up liking it, your appreciation for the film may not be immediate.

I say that because it took me awhile to digest some of the messages sprinkled throughout the film because I was too busy trying to focus on what was actually happening plot-wise. The film preaches that we are victims of our own desires, the things we should probably stay away from but can't. When we don't get the things that we want, we would rather destroy those things than treat them as a loss and move on. How many times have you heard, "I didn't want that job anyway" or "I hate that team. They win too much"? If we can't have the good thing, then no one should have it.

With strong messages like these, It's a wonder the film wasn't better. Overall, it just felt like a puzzle with missing pieces. You're guessing continuously, expecting things to fall into place at some point, but they never do. Again, not a bad film...it just could have been so much more. I expected more excitement and intrigue from a film about an alien female roaming Scotland streets luring men into her van.

For what it's worth, the film does a great job of grabbing your attention and curiosity immediately, setting a tone that demands your attention. Scarlett Johansson was great in her role as Laura the alien life form. You can't help but relate to her struggle of trying to blend in while trying to complete her mission at the same time. Perhaps that was another message: We shouldn't try and change who we are to fit in with social norms. A few tweaks could have made this film a lot better. Overall I give Under the Skin a 75.
  
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Andy K (10823 KP) Feb 9, 2018

Love this movie!

HO
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Jamie Ford | 2009
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
First off the title of this book is entirely fitting!! The end was a bittersweet pill to swallow... it was the perfect ending to the story and yet so frustrating to have it end so abruptly!!
The story itself took me awhile to really get in to, but it is a fascinating story. One that is not touched on much in any WWII fiction.... that of the Japanese internment camps in the US. It focuses on 2 elementary students who are supposedly on opposite sides of the war in the pacific despite being classmates & born in America.
It had all the components of hope and heartbreak, putting you in the story & making you feel like you were there. I just didn't like how slow moving the plot was but what redeemed it was the colorful characters & the fact that it was well written. Being realistic fiction it is hard to make it too fast paced & believable at the same time.
  
Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Temi Oh | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Do you Dream of Terra-Two wasn't what I expected. I enjoyed the read, though. It was like having a group of friends with very different personalities. Dealing with them during one big project. That being said, Terra-Two was an easy read. It won't frustrate you to the point of losing patience. It was easy to follow, and I loved not knowing which direction the author was going to go with the characters throughout the first half of the novel. She really did a good job with that, especially in the beginning. It's one of those stories that sucks you in, and you're maybe not even sure why after all is said and done. It felt natural. It didn't feel like I was spending time reading a book. Honestly, I'm not sure if I liked the ending, but at least it made sense. Perhaps I just wish more had been added.