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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Another Life in Books

Dec 11, 2022  
Another Life
Another Life
Jodie Chapman | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well, I think this book pretty much broke my heart, and I was quite happy for it to do just that. Beautifully written, it tells the story of Anna and Nick. They meet at their summer job at the local cinema and fall fast and hard for one another. But Anna is a Jehovahs Witness and her life is mapped out: marriage, babies and wait for the judgement.

But Anna can’t seem to give Nick up, and they have a summer of poetry, music and love, before Anna realises that she will have to give up this life in order to live the life expected of her. She can’t imagine losing her family.

Nick never forgets her, and everything feels like second best. Then something awful happens and Anna and Nick meet again years later.

 I loved this book and would most definitely recommend it. It’s just wonderful!
  
Half a War (Shattered Sea, Book 3)
Half a War (Shattered Sea, Book 3)
Joe Abercrombie | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
My poor little heart! I think this is my favourite book in the trilogy. It's going to be hard to do a spoiler-free review so just in case: Might contain LIGHT SPOILERS

Things I liked:

-In book two on of my complaints was that the base of the story plot resembled a lot the story plot of the first one. Well, this one was completely different. This one is about different kingdoms coming together to defeat the enemy.

-I loved how the characters evolve in this book, more than the previous two. I love seeing Skara turned into a powerful Queen, I love seeing other character falling from hight. And Yarvi. Although it's not one of our main POV we see a lot of him and how much he has changed since book one.

-What I like in Abercrombie writing is that he right the relationship between characters in a way that they feel true to life. If two characters are not meant to be together for X or Y reason he will not come up with a plot or excuse to pair those characters just because this is what our heart wants. And I always appreciate that no matter how much it hurts.

-Raith! I loved this character so much. I have a sweet spot for bad boys that deep down are good. Especially when we get to see this side of them come out naturally.

-I rarely cry when reading books or watching movies, and I still didn't while reading this book but it did manage to make my heart feel sad. Well done!

-Raith and Skara. Oh, my little heart. I loved those two together.

-We got to see even more magic than book two!

-They where a couple of big twists that I didn't see coming. Especially the one with the traitor. Kept me guessing throughout the book and when we learn how it was I wasn't expecting it.

Things I didn't like

It was very hard to find things that I didn't like but here some nitpicking

-So you know how I said that I loved the plot twist with the traitor. I did I'm not taking it back but... If you look closely I feel like maybe there are some tiny plothole that I can't really discuss without spoiling everything.

-The elves. Although we see way more elf-magic we still don't really get a lot of information about them. At the end of this trilogy, a still feel that I wanted to know more about them.
  
An Earl to Enchant by Amelia Grey
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: 1

After the first two chapters of this book, I was ready to give up. I gave it a little bit more just to see if it was worth it, and I sort of regret it. I could have been reading something else.

I felt like I knew everything after the first chapter, and that there was no reason to keep going. The character spilled her guts, the sexual tension was immediate and way too strong for a first meeting, and it felt typical. I knew what would happen: They’d meet, they’d sleep together, they’d get married, they’d fall in love. In that order. There was no mystery, there was nothing keeping me reading.

The characters seemed dense and melodramatic. For instance, Arianna fainted in the first chapter, and woke being “carried in strong arms” (the Earl). She “felt safe there for some reason.” But I was thinking the whole time, She doesn’t even know the guy. It felt wrong that she was so attracted to him and “felt safe” and “felt at home” when she—and I as a reader—didn’t even know the character very well. Also, after one argument she’s convinced herself that he’s ill tempered—when he’s not—and that keeps her from being open to him.

The writing wasn’t that great, either. The prose felt forced and hard to read, and the dialogue was awkward. It was as if the characters said more than they needed to, and said everything they thought, and described things unnecessarily. For example,

It’s just that I’m so happy to be outside for the first time in such a long time. I seldom left my room on the ship, and this is the first time I’ve been out of your house. Everything looks fresh and new.”

(Page 108, ARC)

I would have said “It’s just that I’m so happy to be outside for the first time in such a long time.” She had seldom left her room on the ship, and it was her first time outside of his house. Everything looked fresh and new. It’s less awkward... or maybe just less wordy.

There was just too much against this book to keep me reading. I will say that from what I read, Grey is good at developing the sexual tension. But that was another thing that was just too much for me.

All in all, I was expecting a lot more from the plot and characters than I got from An Earl to Enchant.

An Earl to Enchant was published April 6th. It got 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Please consider other reviews before making purchase decisions.
  
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)
2002 | Sci-Fi
3
5.1 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A little too out there
The first Cube film for me was always an underrated low budget cult classic, and definitely a precursor for the likes of Saw etc. The original was a great idea with just enough maths and science to make it believable and not completely ridiculous. Sadly the same can’t be said about this sequel.

They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.

This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.
  
The Meg (2018)
The Meg (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Not "So Awful It's Good", just Awful
One of the surprise hits of the summer of 2018 was the "so bad it's good" mega-shark movie THE MEG, starring the impediment of modern-day machismo, Jason Statham. So, when I saw that it was streaming on DirecTV, I thought I'd melt into the couch with a blanket and a beverage of my choice and relish in the over-the-top awfulness that is THE MEG.

Well...I am here to report that THE MEG is awful, just not over-the-top "so bad it's good" awful. It's just awful - and that is an awful disappointment.

I can see the pitch now - THE MEG is "Jaws, but bigger, it's Mega-Jaws! What were the best parts of Jaws? Well, we're gonna do that again, just more!" But what these filmmakers failed to realize is that the best part of Jaws isn't the shark attacking, it's the interaction of the 3 men who go off in search of the shark.

And...the folks that are "fish-fodder" for this big shark just aren't interesting enough. The filmmakers give Jason Statham a PTSD backstory that is forgotten about 2 minutes into the film. His nemesis/former crewmate (a forgettable Robert Taylor) hates Statham's character for about 5 minutes...the stalwart captain is...well stalwart and he is played by "I always melt into the background" Cliff Curtis. Rubie Rose is on-board as the "young genius" who's good looks and youth makes everyone underestimate her - even after she proves over and over again that she is young and a GENIUS. And then, there's good ol' Rain Wilson (Dwight from THE OFFICE) who's the megalomaniacal mega-billionaire who wants to capture (not kill) The Meg for profit.

The problem with all these characters (and others like Masi Oka's homesick scientist) is that they are one-note but not SO one note that they are over-the-top caricatures. They're just boring and forgettable.

As for the shark killings (the real reason that The Meg is intriguing), they are just as boring and forgettable as the characters. Most of them are homages to kills ni the Jaws series of films, so there is some fun in that, but none of them are truly unique and original or over-the-top enough.

The blame, I think, probably goes to "the suits" at Warner Brothers or perhaps Gravity Pictures. There are 3 writers on this, so clearly the script kept getting sent back to the drawing board - and 19(!) producers attached. I heard that Eli Roth was attached at one point and he wanted to make it EXTREMELY graphic and bloody - but "the suits" wanted something they could market to a broader audience, so let him go and hired the always mediocre Jon Turtletaub (LAST VEGAS, THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE) to Direct and mediocrity reigns all over.

If you want a "so bad it's good" mega-shark film and check out DEEP BLUE SEA (the Samuel L. Jackson speech in this film is worth the price of admission). And when you see THE MEG on whatever streaming platform you prefer and are prepared to watch it "for a laugh", save yourself the bother (and the boredom) and stream something else.

Letter Grade: C (it is competently made)

4 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
Show all 4 comments.
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) Dec 4, 2018

Rebecca - I really, really WANTED to like it, but...no

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Cori June (3033 KP) Dec 6, 2018

I loved Deep Blue Sea. I did like the Meg (autocorrect tried to make it the Meh) but, I have increadibly low expectations for disaster movies. I won't go out of my way to buy it. The ending seemed to drag on.

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Jonathan Higgs recommended Born To Do It by Craig David in Music (curated)

 
Born To Do It by Craig David
Born To Do It by Craig David
2000 | Pop
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This was a bit later in my life, around 2000. This signals the end of me having hang-ups really. I remember when 'Re-Rewind' by Artful Dodger came out, and I thought, ""This is fucking cool!"" So much about it confused me. It didn't have chords or a bassline really, it was made of odd sounds like breaking glass that didn't really fit. And then it had this guy on top of it singing this really pleasing, really hooky, catchy little melody. It was the furthest thing away from me at the time. I was into crashing drums and cymbals, but I knew there was something in there that really turned me on musically. When I admitted that I liked that to myself, it really opened up a lot of doors to me, into R&B and Destiny's Child and R. Kelly, lots of stuff that would have been previously out of my usual sphere of influence. I embraced it, and there were things I really liked. With people like R. Kelly, I spend 50 per cent of the time laughing at him and the rest thinking, this is actually good. A huge influence on my music is the singing quickly, and the singing something absurd, and then something serious, hooky, melodic, quick and light. Craig David did that brilliantly. The singles on that album are fucking amazing! He kind of lost his way after that, but I wanted to show that that whole world is very much embraced by me, and to show that we shouldn't be snobby, that it doesn't matter whether the influence is The Cheeky Girls or Pink Floyd, it just doesn't matter where it comes from. If it's good, I embrace it, and I think Craig David is a perfect example of someone who is laughably bad but secretly a pretty good artist."

Source
  
Cold Iron (Masters & Mages #1)
Cold Iron (Masters & Mages #1)
Miles Cameron | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Elaborate prose and an unsettling amount of "wait and see" damaged my enjoyment
This book feels like your standard coming-of-age fantasy - young man from a simple village finds himself in the big city destined for greatness and surrounds himself with strong watchers while he grows into his potential. It is that and it is so much more.
The story that is told is how Aranthur, this young man (selected from his village to attend the big city university) finds himself in the midst of conflict and significant events in the empire's changing status. The idea of fate dictating that this one man would be at the centre of things (see Wheel of Time) is not one that is explored here. While it is hinted at (he is frequently told off for ending up in unusual circumstances), it isn't overly laboured. Nobody tells him he was chosen or anything like that. Instead he gradually learns that he has found himself at the centre of political intrigue, plotting, counter-plotting, conspiracies and war.
This book is not about Aranthur. He is just the focal point of the book, the story is so much bigger than him. This meant it did at times become a little hard to take that he always just happened to meet the right person, go to the right place at the right time in order to witness or participate in a number of significant plot events. In hindsight, this is largely all explained as some hidden agenda and him being put in those places to make those decisions but at the time it was a little jarring.
The narrative is more akin to Robert Jordan than many contemporary writers - so much overly elaborate description of people, places, clothes, horses, weapons etc. At times this adds to the reading experience but I found it over-used and made the book feel like a much longer read (I was shocked when I found out it was just under 450 pages - it reads like around 700). Also, so much of the narrative is in either italics (to show it is a magic/majick/magik delete as appropriate) or is in some odd variation of French ("gonne" for gun, "quaveh" for coffee etc) to become irritating. At times the book is more like a decent fantasy tale or conspiracy and intrigue which has been edited by a historical re-enactment nut. Given this is fictional and the world is the author's to do with as he wishes, forcing some historical accuracy at the expense of reader enjoyment seemed an odd decision to make.
The magical system seems fairly standard fantasy fayre, albeit it is not described or explored in any detail, people just suddenly do things which haven't previously been mentioned. A large aspect of the book is Aranthur's being chosen to translate an ancient text to decode the magical secrets hidden there. I think in all he decodes three of these, and uses them, but there is no mention of them until he has to use them in a fight. It could just be that I have been reading a lot of LitRPG recently, where every spell is described in intimate detail and its uses are discussed way in advance of being needed in combat, but I felt like it was something of an afterthought or rescue from a plot dead-end ("oh sod it, say he done a magic").
While I did enjoy this book on the whole, the narrative style and the focus being on clothes rather than describing the interesting aspects of the world were to its detriment. Also, the book is written as two "books" (chapters), the first "book" covers around 80% and all in one long chapter without breaks. To my mind, ending there would have sufficed. The final 20% in "book 2" felt like part epilogue, part sequel and should maybe have been split as such.
My advice to anyone reading this, is to suspend disbelief that little bit further and trust that things do largely get explained satisfactorily before the end.
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated Matched (Matched #1) in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
Matched (Matched #1)
Matched (Matched #1)
Ally Condie | 2010 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this at the beginning. I rarely read dystopia. I can’t say exactly why I’ve always disliked it – I can only put it down to how in the past, I used to always avoid the popular books. This means I was never a Hunger Games reader when there was the hype for that. And I think that the fact I don’t read dystopia comes from my old tendency to avoid popular books.

I really got along with the majority of the characters in this book. I loved Cassia and her determination to get what she wants, even if it is frowned upon by society. She plays by her own rules even though she is terrified of the repercussions because of her being practically perfect.

The only character I wasn’t completely onboard with was Xander. I didn’t really like him from the start as much as I feel as I was supposed to because I just felt like he was a bit full of himself, and I definitely believe there is more to the story behind him matching with Cassia.

I loved the Banquet and how the whole story stems from that one night. It’s a different take on a prom which made it quite relatable and not too dystopian.

I will definitely be reading more of this series – the next book is waiting on my Wishlist! I’m going to stop saying that I don’t usually like dystopia now because as the past few dystopian novels I have read have proved – I actually do love it!
  
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Merissa (12882 KP) rated The Scent of a Storm in Books

Dec 8, 2021 (Updated Jul 9, 2023)  
The Scent of a Storm
The Scent of a Storm
Annette Oppenlander | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE SCENT OF A STORM is the second book by this author I have read and gave me the same authentic feel I got from the first. This is based upon real events that made it into the history books.

One thing that seems easy to forget is not everyone in Germany thought Hitler was doing the right thing; not everyone belonged to the SS. This book paints the picture of what it was like for those who tried to live as best they could before they were unwillingly drawn into the middle of events that would change their lives forever.

The hardships told in this book sound like fiction; terrible, horrible fiction, which makes it even harder to understand when you realise circumstances like those mentioned were 'normal'.

Whilst the whole book is brilliantly written, I preferred it when Annie and Werner were young, even though the conditions were heartbreaking. When it changed to the more recent time, I felt like I'd lost something. That is the way of war, I guess. I just wanted more than I received.

For anyone with an interest in the history of WWII, especially if you are interested in the German perspective, then this is definitely one for your bookshelves. Highly 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!
Dec 8, 2021
  
Christmas Inheritance (2017)
Christmas Inheritance (2017)
2017 | Romance
7
7.5 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
the story line is cute! (3 more)
heartwarming!
family dynamics!
overall a sweet time!
the tiring plot line between engaged person / single person (0 more)
your standard, run-on-the-mill christmas rom com
Contains spoilers, click to show
is anyone else just TIRED of the "i'm engaged to the Worst Person Alive and won't do anything about it until i meet this down to earth single person who makes me feel like i've never felt before but i'm gonna lead them on until i'm finally fed up with how my fiance treats me and everyone else" plot? what is it with movies that feature engaged people that just stops them from being in a relationship with decent people, and the movie doesn't end with the engaged person dumping their fiance for the one they met like a week ago?

regardless, this movie is kind of cute. it features a great dynamic between the main character, Ellie, and her father as well as a friendship to strive toward (her father and uncle Zeke). it's a very sweet story, and despite my little rant up top, i did enjoy it. it's heart warming, entertaining, and the ending had me tearing up a little bit?