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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Favorite in Books
Dec 1, 2018
Interesting Characters (1 more)
Good Pacing
Underdeveloped Plot (1 more)
Unbelievable World Building
Just Okay
The synopsis to Favorite by Karen McQuestion sounded intriguing. I love thrillers, so this seemed like a good book to read. However, why it wasn't that bad, it wasn't that great either. It was just okay.
The plot to Favorite was interesting although it seemed a bit all over the place in some areas. Angie is attacked. The attacker's mother, Mrs. Bittner, calls and gets a hold of Angie to invite her over to apologize. Angie reluctantly goes, but she winds up stuck at the house. This is where the story goes from Angie being attacked to Angie trying to find out what happened to her mother to Angie trying to escape from Mrs. Bittner's house. The world building was believable for the most part until Angie finds medival weaponry such as battleaxes and what not. I thought that was a bit too convenient and a little weird that a house would just have this kind of weaponry lying around. I also found it strange that all of Angie's and her brother's friends would all be out and not wanting to help. They must have some selfish friends! I think the plot and world building were just a tad underdeveloped for my liking. There are a couple of plot twists, but they were fairly easy to figure out. The good thing is that all of my questions were answered, and there was no cliff hanger.
I did feel like most of the characters in Favorite were well written. I enjoyed the character of Angie, and I liked reading about what she was thinking at each moment. Her feelings felt genuine. I liked how protective Angie's brother Jason was. I even enjoyed Angie's and Jason's dad. I loved the rock star angle. Mrs. Bittner was definitely an intriguing character, and I always felt like their was something strange about her from the beginning. The character of Hank reminded me of Lurch from The Addams Family.
Even though the plot and world building were a little bit of a disappointment in Favorite, the pacing flowed very well. The book held my attention throughout.
Trigger warnings for Favorite include violence, mentions of suicide, drugging characters, and violence.
Overall, Favorite lacks a well developed world and plot. The idea is interesting, but it is sort of poorly executed. However, I would recommend Favorite by Karen McQuestion to those aged 13+ because the pacing is good, and the characters are interesting.
The plot to Favorite was interesting although it seemed a bit all over the place in some areas. Angie is attacked. The attacker's mother, Mrs. Bittner, calls and gets a hold of Angie to invite her over to apologize. Angie reluctantly goes, but she winds up stuck at the house. This is where the story goes from Angie being attacked to Angie trying to find out what happened to her mother to Angie trying to escape from Mrs. Bittner's house. The world building was believable for the most part until Angie finds medival weaponry such as battleaxes and what not. I thought that was a bit too convenient and a little weird that a house would just have this kind of weaponry lying around. I also found it strange that all of Angie's and her brother's friends would all be out and not wanting to help. They must have some selfish friends! I think the plot and world building were just a tad underdeveloped for my liking. There are a couple of plot twists, but they were fairly easy to figure out. The good thing is that all of my questions were answered, and there was no cliff hanger.
I did feel like most of the characters in Favorite were well written. I enjoyed the character of Angie, and I liked reading about what she was thinking at each moment. Her feelings felt genuine. I liked how protective Angie's brother Jason was. I even enjoyed Angie's and Jason's dad. I loved the rock star angle. Mrs. Bittner was definitely an intriguing character, and I always felt like their was something strange about her from the beginning. The character of Hank reminded me of Lurch from The Addams Family.
Even though the plot and world building were a little bit of a disappointment in Favorite, the pacing flowed very well. The book held my attention throughout.
Trigger warnings for Favorite include violence, mentions of suicide, drugging characters, and violence.
Overall, Favorite lacks a well developed world and plot. The idea is interesting, but it is sort of poorly executed. However, I would recommend Favorite by Karen McQuestion to those aged 13+ because the pacing is good, and the characters are interesting.
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated The Girl from the Other Side: Siuil, a Run: Vol. 1 in Books
Dec 29, 2017
Sometimes you just need a simple but intriguing story.
I'm not usually a fan of manga's, I have no idea why but I always have a really hard time getting into them compared to comic books and when I bought The Girl from the Other Side I didn't know it was a manga until it arrived but damn am I glad I still decided to read it.
The story isn't very complicated and for a book so short they covered some of the world building and backstory quickly but at the same time, it didn't feel like it was rush at all. The characters are so interesting that I can't wait to read the next Volume.
My favorite part though and honestly the main reason I even bought this book was the art, the cover just drew me in and I knew I had to have it, the style really goes with the story so well the lights and darks just represent Shiva and "Teacher" so well and the art style is gorgeous and that alone is enough to have me already ordering the next book.
The story isn't very complicated and for a book so short they covered some of the world building and backstory quickly but at the same time, it didn't feel like it was rush at all. The characters are so interesting that I can't wait to read the next Volume.
My favorite part though and honestly the main reason I even bought this book was the art, the cover just drew me in and I knew I had to have it, the style really goes with the story so well the lights and darks just represent Shiva and "Teacher" so well and the art style is gorgeous and that alone is enough to have me already ordering the next book.
jmercado (1 KP) rated The Accidental Slave: Aya's Story (The Slave Series #1) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
How do i rate this book.
This was frustrating and as much as i hate to do it this did not meet the par for me.
The main character just flopped for me throughout most of the book.
With most of my updates all i could write was how...frustrating this character was.
Which upset me cause i loved her character before the kidnapping.
To me Aya seemed strong and independent but then as the story progressed that just went away.
And Kato just seemed like a lost puppy to me the whole time, which to some extent was impressive because you typically read about the "Bad-Boy" turn good. but her was always good, too good for someone who was a warrior for a year.
Another down fall for me was the Insta-Love. Typically its not a big deal for me but seriously, 7 days?? and your running away together. Get real.
The begging execution of this story tugged me in but that middle was hard to get through. The ending though was much better and i was happy i stuck through it in the end. but i will not be continuing the series.
This was frustrating and as much as i hate to do it this did not meet the par for me.
The main character just flopped for me throughout most of the book.
With most of my updates all i could write was how...frustrating this character was.
Which upset me cause i loved her character before the kidnapping.
To me Aya seemed strong and independent but then as the story progressed that just went away.
And Kato just seemed like a lost puppy to me the whole time, which to some extent was impressive because you typically read about the "Bad-Boy" turn good. but her was always good, too good for someone who was a warrior for a year.
Another down fall for me was the Insta-Love. Typically its not a big deal for me but seriously, 7 days?? and your running away together. Get real.
The begging execution of this story tugged me in but that middle was hard to get through. The ending though was much better and i was happy i stuck through it in the end. but i will not be continuing the series.
365Flicks (235 KP) rated Stairs (2019) in Movies
Nov 2, 2019
Toby Osmond (3 more)
Story
Tom Paton
Alana Wallace
Don't Go Down
This movie is everything you would hope for in a Tom Paton flick and a hell of a lot more. A high concept psychological horror/thriller like you wouldnt believe that plays in the sci-fi genre realm. So yeah its a mind melding genre bending smorgasboard.
With Samantha Schnitzler and Bently Kalu (Ben Garrett) doing arguably a fair chunk of the heavy lifting, I am always happy to see these guys share the screen. Bently just seems to have this protective nature when his characters interact with Sam's, Schnitzler is always on point as a total Bad Ass and this time gets to play with her more emotional side.
This movie is more than an actioner, its more than a thriller... Stairs lives in many genres while silently making its own. I have said it before and I will say it one more time, the team behind this movie just took one hell of a step in their already solid game to that next level. Lets just hope it doesnt send them back to the start (see what I did there).
With Samantha Schnitzler and Bently Kalu (Ben Garrett) doing arguably a fair chunk of the heavy lifting, I am always happy to see these guys share the screen. Bently just seems to have this protective nature when his characters interact with Sam's, Schnitzler is always on point as a total Bad Ass and this time gets to play with her more emotional side.
This movie is more than an actioner, its more than a thriller... Stairs lives in many genres while silently making its own. I have said it before and I will say it one more time, the team behind this movie just took one hell of a step in their already solid game to that next level. Lets just hope it doesnt send them back to the start (see what I did there).
Duff McKagan recommended Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith in Music (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Notes on a Scandal (2006) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 29, 2020)
Jesus - and I cannot stress this enough - CHRIST. 92 minutes of perfectly-paced, rhythmic showcases for some of the hardest-to-watch scenes in cinematic history which don't spill a single drop of blood. The last time I winced this violently at scenes that don't feature any gore was, fuck, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯? Just explosive, thought I was going to pass out or have a heart attack before this (classily) fucked-up and abusive portrait of the different forms emotional manipulation can take was over. Dench, Blanchett, Nighy, and Simpson are stellar and the paranoid cinematography is genius; people are always walking over and into the frame, choking each shot with paranoia - you're always trying to look past something or someone just to get a glimpse of this dark, remorseless world. I'll also cop to just loving character studies about psychopaths, let alone ones with such savage views on class and the lies people are willing to tell themselves so that they can keep their moral privilege - so they aren't like their own definitions of 'the filth', even if they're demonstrably worse. Effortlessly one of the elite stalker/obsession movies.
Hearts Multiplayer HD
Games and Entertainment
App
Everyone loves playing the Hearts card game, but let’s be honest, when you’re playing against a...
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Lust is the Thorn in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second novel I have read from this author and I am not sure if I like her or not yet. Both stories feature tormented men with troubled past and the women who love them. I love a good romance about a man falling in love with his best friends sister, but there seemed to be a lot lacking from this novel. I felt that the only conflict was the characters own hang ups.
I did, however, enjoy the bad girl, good boy dynamic. I am so used to the man being the bad one that it was refreshing. Not to mention he was genuinely a good guy. I felt like they deserved each other and helped each other heal.
However, I didnt particularly care for the story line. There was nothing wrong with it or the authors writing. I just didnt care about the characters or their story.
This is the second novel I have read from this author and I am not sure if I like her or not yet. Both stories feature tormented men with troubled past and the women who love them. I love a good romance about a man falling in love with his best friends sister, but there seemed to be a lot lacking from this novel. I felt that the only conflict was the characters own hang ups.
I did, however, enjoy the bad girl, good boy dynamic. I am so used to the man being the bad one that it was refreshing. Not to mention he was genuinely a good guy. I felt like they deserved each other and helped each other heal.
However, I didnt particularly care for the story line. There was nothing wrong with it or the authors writing. I just didnt care about the characters or their story.
Stephanie Neve (104 KP) rated Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in Apps
Jun 23, 2019
Literally Pokemon Go for wizards
I would like to start by announcing that I am a die hard Harry Potter fan, so I am going to have patience for this app whilst it's going through its early stages.
It's literally pokemon go. If you're happy with pokemon go and you aren't obsessed with Harry Potter then you don't need this app. Particularly as it takes up so much phone space.
However so far I have been pleased. I like that there is a mixture of challenges available at fortresses to take part in. The portkeys are an interesting addition. I still can't work out what to do with my seeds.
In conclusion I think this app has great potential but I don't think it's worth it if you don't have a really good phone.
It's literally pokemon go. If you're happy with pokemon go and you aren't obsessed with Harry Potter then you don't need this app. Particularly as it takes up so much phone space.
However so far I have been pleased. I like that there is a mixture of challenges available at fortresses to take part in. The portkeys are an interesting addition. I still can't work out what to do with my seeds.
In conclusion I think this app has great potential but I don't think it's worth it if you don't have a really good phone.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Fandom of the Operator in Books
Nov 13, 2019
I like Rankin's work a lot. Some of his works are just amazingly inventive, incredibly humorous and reliably off-the-wall.
Unfortunately this really isn't quite up to his normal standards, although the plot has all his usual hallmarks - essentially someone discovers it is possible to phone the dead, which ends up with potentially terrible consequences for the living.
This sounds like quite a slight premise to hang a whole book of of, and I think that is the heart of the problem here. Some of the writing and twists are amongst the very best. We follow the main character through his life and although we know he's pretty unpleasant, the shock when he is asked how many people he has murdered, and is response, is pure Rankin cleverness.
Unfortunately such moments are too few and the plot too slow moving for this to be counted as a good Rankin novel. One for the completists but certainly not one that demonstrates his true ability.
Unfortunately this really isn't quite up to his normal standards, although the plot has all his usual hallmarks - essentially someone discovers it is possible to phone the dead, which ends up with potentially terrible consequences for the living.
This sounds like quite a slight premise to hang a whole book of of, and I think that is the heart of the problem here. Some of the writing and twists are amongst the very best. We follow the main character through his life and although we know he's pretty unpleasant, the shock when he is asked how many people he has murdered, and is response, is pure Rankin cleverness.
Unfortunately such moments are too few and the plot too slow moving for this to be counted as a good Rankin novel. One for the completists but certainly not one that demonstrates his true ability.