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The Raven King (All for the Game, #2)
The Raven King (All for the Game, #2)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So this one picks up a few days after the events of the first with everyone dealing with the death of one of their team. Neil has slowly been pulled into Kevin and Andrew's crew and is coming to terms with the fact that Riko has it in for him.

I do feel a little like this series should have been reviewed as one thing, really, as the story continues across all three but it would be one thick arse book if the author had done that.

Every single team member has grown on me a lot with this book. They are finally coming together thanks to Neil who has been straddling both halfs of the team, starting to settle into his life at Palmetto and making friends. I thought Nicky summed it up brilliantly with this quote:

"Oh, you just might be the best thing to happen to the Foxes."

This one has some dark scenes in it like the first but they affected my feelings in regards to a certain character more this time around. I'm just glad that Neil was being a super sleuth and managed to put it all together with all the little titbits that had been thrown out.

I've already started book 3 because I am slightly obsessed with this series right now, despite its lack of romance up to this point. Will review it when I'm done!
  
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Emily M. Danforth | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Camron has her first kiss and her parents get killed in an accident that night. She feels it is her fault and it creates some self loathing. She does know she can not change who she is. Unfortunately her conservative Aunt who takes custody of her thinks she can.This is a very different coming of age novel. It really gets to the idea of being sure and unsure at the same time when you realize you like people of the same sex as you. The character of Camron is very complex. Even though she is rough around the edges you are cheering for her. Her aunt and others you want to punch. Love her grandma though just wish she was stronger.The setting in this story is as important as the characters. It is almost a character of it's own. Especially Quake Lake, which runs throughout the story. Interesting thing is that Quake Lake is a real place and the earthquake describes really did happen. I read another book about that. I just wish the story of Cameron had continued.
  
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Gail (4 KP) rated Awaken in Books

Jun 4, 2018  
A
Awaken
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was definitely unique in it’s plot line and characters. It gave you a little bit of everything. From biblical stories to fairytale magic you wont be disappointed with this read.
Sophia thought she was a normal 20 year old. What she wasn’t expecting was to be attacked by weird creatures. To have her family and friends threatened and hurt. I loved her hair. If I could I would rock that style.
This book was pure magic with the plot. The way the author weaved her own world around things we learn in bible school. The growth of her characters was perfect. Sophia went from following everyone’s word to standing her ground and voicing her opinions.
The plot twist at the end had me like WTF!!! I dislike cliffhangers but I am excited that the story isn’t over. I just hope this is just two books and not four. I don’t think I can take the wait. One thing I dislike was the long winded paragraphs and scenes that could've been shortened or cut out.
  
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KatieLouCreate (162 KP) rated The Surface Breaks in Books

Jun 19, 2018 (Updated Jun 19, 2018)  
The Surface Breaks
The Surface Breaks
Louise O'Neill | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
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. :)
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated The Echo Room in Books

Oct 15, 2018  
The Echo Room
The Echo Room
Parker Peevyhouse | 2018 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting concept. (0 more)
A bit slow in the beginning. (0 more)
An interactive read that will leave you wanting a bit more.
I received The Echo Room by Parker Peevyhouse from Tor/Forge to read and review for my full honest opinion.

When I first began this novel, I couldn't get into it. So I restarted it hoping that it was just me being tired and not the actual book. It was just me being tired, thank goodness! As I read the first 25% of The Echo Room I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on and why things were doing the things they did. At first, I thought that maybe the author goofed and created the same chapters on accident. But as I got further into the novel, I finally realized what was happening.

Give this novel a chance because you will be blown away by not only a great read, but also a new look at Sci-Fi Thrillers. I need more of this story and more books like this.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Hunter Killer (2018) in Movies

Oct 23, 2018 (Updated Oct 23, 2018)  
Hunter Killer (2018)
Hunter Killer (2018)
2018 | Action, Thriller
Oh-lord-must-we submarine thriller with GERARD! BUTLER! toning it down for once as maverick navy commander Joe Glass, sent to investigate the loss of a US vessel off the Russian coast. Quite how detached from reality this film is is perhaps suggested by the fact that the female President of the USA ends up ordering Butler to save the Russian President (nothing like you-know-who, by the way) from an attempted coup. The film attempts to offset how absurdly silly the plot is by taking itself very seriously indeed; this just results in making it dull.

Special effects are competent, some rather good actors (Oldman, Stephens) phone in reasonable performances - there is very little that is flat-out bad about Hunter Killer, yet it never generates any real tension or excitement. Anything that would actually make it interesting or original seems to have been machine-tooled away. Butler's attempts to avoid going over-the-top are not necessarily for the best. Really just a very tedious, derivative, and formulaic movie.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Spectre (2015) in Movies

Jan 2, 2019  
Spectre (2015)
Spectre (2015)
2015 | Action
Sometimes when you make a cake using an unexpected or unusual ingredient and it turns out to be a really good cake, you jump to the wrong conclusion and assume the success is just down to that one thing. So with the next cake you pile the secret ingredient in recklessly and, probably, are very surprised when something rather less palatable is the result. So it is with Skyfall and SPECTRE; a little bit of psychological complexity and gravitas undeniably adds something to the Bond formula. Going overboard on these things just produces a film which feels joyless and slow. This is before we even get to the preposterous revelations about Bond's long-lost adoptive brother.

Some quite good action bits and of course it all looks nice, but all the elements that feel like classic Bond are handled in an oddly perfunctory way and the ending really doesn't work at all. One gets the feeling, not for the first time in recent years, that the makers of this film would rather be working on something other than an actual Bond movie.
  
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Amy Curtis (49 KP) rated A Christmas Prince (2017) in Movies

Dec 23, 2018 (Updated Dec 30, 2018)  
A Christmas Prince (2017)
A Christmas Prince (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Romance
Jolly (1 more)
Easy watch
Standard Christmas film
Contains spoilers, click to show
What with Christmas just around the corner, I decided to give this a go. It's a lovely film to watch with the build up to Christmas. At times I felt like there wasn't much going on. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas so that could add to why I didn't score it as highly. The plot itself was very good and unique for a Christmas film. It features a young aspiring journalist, Amber who is about to marry a prince in Aldovia. When she arrives in the country she has to be aware of what she can and cannot do as the Queen to be. Prince Richard is under a lot of stress following his royal duties. It is soon discovered that money was being taken out of the royal account. I just felt that it was a bit obvious who was behind changing the figures and it could have had more of a build up. Overall a good film but don't make the same mistake I did and watch the second one first without realising!
  
Finding Nemo (2003)
Finding Nemo (2003)
2003 | Animation, Comedy, Family
There's honestly nothing to not like about Finding Nemo - it's Pixar during its finest hour, and just shy of 20 years old, it's still looks great and is just as entertaining as it was back in 2003.

The ocean is the perfect setting for a kids film. It such a huge, largely unexplored place, full of mystery and wonder. Finding Nemo takes advantage of the vast display of aquatic colours and gives us a film that looks distinctive and vibrant.
The plot is definitely taken out of the Pixar guide book - not a bad thing of course. The opening minutes are suitably tragic, and serves as a reminder that Pixar can deliver a gut lunch when they want to, and this was still a few years before Up ripped out my heart.
The adventure that follows includes fun and action packed set pieces, plenty of comedy, and an array of memorable characters, backed up by a faultless voice cast.

Finding Nemo almost immediately earned its place amongst Disney-Pixar royalty, and it still clearly belongs there to this day.