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A Different Kind
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Different Kind follows Payton Carlson, a high school who has a perfect life as a cheerleader and on top of the social pyramid at her school, at least until she starts getting strange dreams that are actually her being abducted by aliens.

A Different Kind definitely isn't my favorite book, contrary to the stellar rating. It reminded me a lot about Lux, which I actually have a like/hate relationship:

~ Aliens. Obviously. On the bright side, the name isn't complex, although Lux certainly isn't complex. But Latin is most certainly complex. Here, they're just called Greys. Simple. Easy.
~ DOD, aka Department of Defense, or maybe some sort of government interference. The DOD checks up on fellow Luxens in Lux. It's pretty much a similar case here, although it's simply someone. Chances are it's the DOD. That's up to Lauryn to confirm.
~ Telepathy. Need I say more? O_O I did find "We mean you no harm" funny though... it's probably made me think of the weird voice going "We come in peace."
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C7DVLiXJ_jg/U3FdCxE4PMI/AAAAAAAADQI/JNNizFBzwVw/s1600/we_come_in_peace.jpg"; height="240" width="320">
<b>What Made Me Enjoy A Different Kind?</b>
~ Logan's humble. At least, that's what it seems to me. He certainly doesn't need an ego check AT ALL. I don't think he even has an ego. I'm not saying all book boys with an ego need a check. Some I just don't like. Some I don't like in the first but I like them by the second, and if I don't like said boy by the second book, he's toasty. No pun intended.
~ Telekinesis over metal, which I find majorly cool. Blacksmiths would be uber happy if this were an actual power. Oh, and there would be less hospital bills. ;)
~ Despite the fact I disliked Payton in the first half of the book, I actually liked her by the end. She makes a major character change – from being a complete jerk to someone who realized that she didn't want to be popular after all and for her entire life, she's been acting like someone that everyone expected her to be. I did have a problem with her being drunk a lot though. But that was before her change. I suppose that means strong character development. :3

MORAL: Be Yourself
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-inMi1-dfOq4/U3FdRYX9AwI/AAAAAAAADQQ/6xhvm2InqUo/s1600/be-yourself-Favim.com-368618.gif"; height="179" width="320">
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Review copy provided by the author
Original Rating: 4.5
This review and more can be found over at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-a-different-kind-by-lauryn-april.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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24 of 230
Kindle
Magical Midlife Dating ( Leveling Up book 2)
By K.F. Breene

She must learn to fly, but can she withstand the allure of the handsome new teacher?

A Wall Street Journal bestseller and Top 3 book in the entire Amazon Kindle store!

The decision has been made. Jessie has taken the magic, and all the weird that goes with it. Including wings.

There's only one problem - she can't figure out how to access them.

Through a series of terrible decisions, Jessie realizes she must ask for help. Gargoyle help.

But she could've never predicted who answers her call - he's an excellent flier, incredibly patient, and a good trainer. He's also incredibly handsome. And interested.

Maybe flying isn't the only thing she needs help with. Maybe she needs help getting back on that saddle, too, emerging into the dating pool.

Except, the new gargoyle is also an alpha, just like Austin, and the town isn't big enough for two.

Turns out, flying is the least of her problems.

I love this series for so many reasons it’s just so funny. Niamh is just hilarious I love her! I love how they call human men and women Dicks and Janes there is just so much to grab onto and each chapter and character brings a smile. It’s so well written I highly recommend it especially if you need a break from those all to serious books.
  
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Awaken (The A’vean Chronicles 1)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
84 of 235
Kindle
Awaken (The A’vean Chronicles 1)
By G.R. Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOME PEOPLE AREN'T DESTINED TO BE ORDINARY.
Sophia Woodville holds a secret gift close to her heart.
A 20-year-old nursing grad, she thought she had her future mapped out. However, destiny is about to intervene.
A night out ends in bloodshed with Sophia now hunted by an unspeakable evil. She is whisked away by her family, a family she thought she knew, a family who holds secrets more powerful and darker than her own.
Her secret is not so secret. Her gift just a hint of something far beyond her wildest imagination. Sophia is pulled, kicking and screaming, into an unseen, ancient world of angels and demons. A beautiful and terrifying world that challenges all that she thought to be true of herself, her family and the origins of humanity.
Sophia cannot simply visit this world... she must save it.
Original sin, forbidden love and her life in constant danger...
Will Sophia survive this dark twist of fate?
Will the devil be her saviour?

This was one hell of a book I don’t think I’ve read anything like it the amazing amount of detail gone into it is just extraordinary. Take everything you think you know about how the world was mad, angels and demons then add some. It was just so involved the characters were all so well thought out and intricate. Just loved it.
  
Gregory and the Grimbockle
Gregory and the Grimbockle
Melanie Schubert | 2017 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Such a fun, imaginative read!
Gregory and the Grimbockle was one of the funniest and cute books that I’ve read with my child in a long time. It was so imaginative and fantastical. We loved the adorable illustrations, but were very glad that the Grimbockle was never illustrated going into or out of his temporary home. The sheer grossness of how that happened was so at odds with the cuteness of everything else, but it worked really well together strangely.

Melanie Schubert has enormous talent that Abigail Kraft complemented perfectly. This story of a boy who doesn’t quite fit in, who is teased and sometimes bullied, and is from a home that is neither loving nor abusive will resonate with a lot of younger readers, I believe. His situation isn’t one of extremes and as a result he’s more easy to relate to. The adventures that he goes on with the Grimbockle are pure fiction, but the truth he learns along the way about the large impact that small gestures can have means is not. As a parent, that truth – that our actions have much more an impact that we might think – is one that I enjoyed having a chance to talk about with my child through the lens of Gregory and the Grimbockle.

The only thing we didn’t like about Gregory and the Grimbockle was the way it ended. It just felt like it ended too abruptly. The transition from childhood to “okay, he’s growing up now” happened so quickly that we had to re-read to make sure we hadn’t accidentally missed a few pages. While I can see why the author did it the way she did, by the time closed the book, we were both already mourning the exiting of the Bockles from our world.

Gregory and the Grimbockle is a book that any parent should delight in picking up to read with their children. It’s an easy read, a short one, and it helps reinforce an important lesson. You’ll be missing out if you don’t give it a try.

This review appeared first at Sci-Fi & Scary.
  
Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16)
Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16)
Jim Butcher | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It was, what something like 5 years? 6? Between the release of the last book in the series (Skin Game) and this.

Long enough for me to go back and re-read the entire thing from scratch, anyway.

I'd also seen several reviews (on Amazon, mainly) bemoaning the fact that this is more like half a book: first impressions, upon receiving it, where that they were right: this was roughly half the size of that previous novel.

Having said that, there was also an argument to be made that those later novels (from around Changes onward) had themselves become too bloated, unlike the earlier entries in the series when Harry was (mainly) a detective.

Now that I've finished reading this, I can see where some of those reviews were coming from: more than any other I can think of in the series, this definitely sets up the next (Battle Ground, cutting off just as it 'tees up' the conflict to come and how the supernatural community is going to react to it.

After having conspicuously being absent in the previous, this also see's the return of Thomas Raith (and his sister Lara), both of whom play a large role in the proceeding within this, as does Harry's mentor Ebenezer McCoy, with the concept of family coming to the fore.

Did I enjoy it?

Yes.

Do I feel slightly cheated by the fact that it sets up but doesn't resolve the conflict to come, meaning I would have to buy the next book?

Also yes.

(I was going to anyway, having made it - and mainly enjoying them - this far)
  
Hellboy (2019)
Hellboy (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Oh...hell, no!
HELLBOY?!? HELL NO!

I would imagine that about 90% of my readership just got what they needed out of my review with that first line and have moved on. For the rest of you, I will now explain why this reboot of HELLBOY is now the "leader in the clubhouse" for worst picture of 2019.

I was pleasantly surprised by the 2004 Guillermo del Toro helmed and written HELLBOY and was even more surprised by how good the del Toro written and helmed HELLBOY II: THE GOLD ARMY (2008) was. I think that this was because there was a driving force - and vision - from a true auteur and was a perfect combination of material and artistic staff - including Ron Perlman in the title role.

This version of HELLBOY has none of that. No vision, no driving force and a "B" performance by David Harbour in the title role. It feels like what it is - a cash grab. I blame the studio who produced this film - Summit Entertainment - for "going on the cheap" on this one.

First off, they tapped a "B Movie" Director, Neil Marshall to Direct this thing. He is known for such artistic successes as DOOMSDAY and THE DESCENT - horror flicks that were heavy on gore, short on characters and plot - and that is what he brought to this film. Why worry about characters, plot or any kind of engaging features (including Special FX) when you can show, yet again, a body getting torn apart and blood spurting all over the screen.

The studio also skimped on the performers. Instead of Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt and Doug Jones you get David Harbour, Daniel Dae Kim, Mila Jovovich and a sleep-walking, just give me my paycheck, Ian McShane. It's like watching the "road company" of a Broadway show. While the actors are game (with the notable exception of McShane), they are "B picture" actors, much like the Director.

And...much like the special FX. I knew, going in, that the early word on this film was not good, but that never stops me. I like to make up my own mind, so I thought I'd "pony up" for the IMAX experience to, at least, see the CGI and FX on as large a screen with as good a sound system as possible. I shouldn't have bothered, for the CGI and FX were mediocre (at best) and all the big screen and sound did was emphasize how low quality the CGI was.

And...finally...the pacing of this film is problematic, at best. This is certainly a film that was written and edited within an inch of it's life for the "short attention span" audience of today. The prevailing theory was "why linger on a plot or a character or a moment when we can quick cut to another body getting pulled in two and watch a plume of blood spurt out in a giant arc)."

There are 2 scenes in the end credits to set up the next film(s) in this series. Films that I seriously doubt will be made. If they are, I hope they pump some more money into the budget and get a creative team with some artistic vision.

A swing and a miss.

Letter Grade: C (and I'm being generous)

4 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
Show all 3 comments.
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) Apr 15, 2019

They did everything "on the cheap" - too bad, they are squandering a good property

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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) Apr 16, 2019

Fantastic review, I'm going to see this tonight out of morbid curiosity.
My hope is that it's either surprisingly decent or it is absolute dogshit, I think if it's anywhere inbetween I'll come away disappointed.

A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
2018 | Fantasy
Dull and cringeworthy
I knew after the first couple of episodes that this series wasn’t for me, but I persevered in the hope it might get better as it went along. Sadly it doesn’t.

The main problem is that witches, vampires etc have all been done before. And most have been done better than this. The vampires are all moody and gloomy looking dressed in black, and all of the different creatures show no potential whatsoever. The witches exhibit some powers but nothing particularly impressive, the vampires don’t do much either and the demons do absolutely nothing and don’t show any powers or supernatural abilities whatsoever. For the most part, this is just a romance with a supernatural backdrop thrown in. And even the romance aspect isn’t very good - this stinks of a slightly more adult version of Twilight. It’s cheesy, cringey and moves so quickly it beggars belief.

There are some talented actors in this, but sadly the script and the plot really lets them down. Matthew Goode’s attempts at making his vampire snarling, bloodthirsty and terrifying are laughable. The only person who really pulls off any menace is Trevor Eve but he’s sidelined in favour of more irritating characters. Even Teresa Palmer doesn’t come across well, playing so much like Bella from Twilight it’s disturbing.

The show itself is very scenic and beautifully shot, unsurprising considering some of the locations like Oxford and Venice. It’s just a shame that i found it very dull and laughable (not in a good way). I also found the cliffhanger ending disappointing, as the likelihood of me ever bothering to watch another series is slim. I only just made it through these 8 episodes.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) Nov 12, 2018

Yay, so it wasn't just me ?

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
1985 | Horror
Part V of the Friday the 13th franchise is an absolute blast, and no one can tell me otherwise. Is it silly? Definitely. Does it go overboard with its goofy characters a little too often? Damn right it does (pretty sure someone gets called "a dildo" at one point) Are there better Friday films out there? Yes sir, but none of this stops the fact that Part V is a decent, entertaining, smack bang middle of the 80s slasher.

The killer this time around isn't Jason Voorhees, even if it is only by name, and this "mystery" surrounding the killers identity achieves two things - 1. It adds a whodunnit element to the series, otherwise only ever seen in the original and 2. It keeps the killer offscreen for most of the runtime, saving budget costs by not showing much in terms of kills (although that belt against the tree death is a doozy). This results in a less gory sequel, especially after the more brutal Part IV, but it's not a big issue. The whole thing almost feels like an R-Rated episode of Scooby-Doo. The reveal of the killer is definitely weak though. Not enough set up means and underwhelming payoff.

There are soooooooo many characters in this. I swear there are still new ones being introduced up until the last 20 minutes, and they're all just body count fodder for "Jason". Not necessarily a bad thing, pretty standard practice by now. I did like little Reckless Reggie. That dude is awesome. Way more awesome than Tommy Jarvis, who is just a whiny bitch for the whole runtime. Thankfully Thom Mathews is just around the corner.

It's not the best Friday movie, but far from being the worst. As far as 80s slashers go, it's damn good time.
  
IC
It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken
Greg Behrendt | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
All right let me first say that I am so not a self help book kind of person. I mean at all...ever! Then the most surreal experience of my life happened. My boyfriend of almost 10 years (yup, YEARS) went on a "business trip" for a week. I texted & called to no avail. While he was gone I cried, cleaned, & cried some more. Then I thought, "Wait! You can't even call me? Well f@$% you!"
A friend saw pictures of this "business trip" that apparently involved a beach front hotel & a blonde girl who just happened to let her tongue slip down his throat. I confronted him when he finally got home & needless to say he's history. But that didn't change the fact that I was scared, sad, hurt, & confused. I was pissed but handling it pretty well considering. But I also felt the need to commiserate with someone who got it. This book did just that.
It offered me a bit of a kick in the ass when I needed it but it also gave me some good laughs too. Not to mention really forced me to wrap my head around things I had been turning a blind eye to for years. It didn't tame itself too seriously but at the same time it was not all cheerleading either. I bought it on a whim on my Nook because I felt like I needed something to hold on to that wasn't his neck! It did the trick. By all means I don't feel over it but I sure as hell have some great ideas on how to get myself on that path. That was what I was looking for at the time.
  
As this is the third book in the series, there is not much that I can say about it that will not spoil either of the previous books but I will do my best to avoid most specifics. If you haven't read the series yet, I would recommend not reading this review.

My opinions about this book have not varied greatly since I began reading the Prisoner of Cell 25. The writing quality is still not impressive, but it feels more like a middle-grade novel or low-level young adult so it isn't entirely out of place. The author continues to overuse the word said as his descriptor for almost every person who is speaking, which becomes tedious. As I am listening to the audiobook, I have mentioned before that it could compound the issue for me hearing so many "saids" in a row but in my opinion, that's just poor word choice that could be rectified quite easily.

I enjoyed how this book continued to develop the characters and world because previously I felt those aspects to be a little lacking. We learn more about the Elgen and their secretive board, though I hope that is expanded in future books. They are a shadowy corporation and the "big bad" of the series in conjunction with Hatch, but we know very little about either party.

There was more character development and added depth to their personalities. We were given internal motivation and struggles that made them more realistic and relatable. Our core group feels more developed now, although the supporting characters are still a little flat. I hope that they are fleshed out more in subsequent books.

Overall, this is a fast, easy read that is perfect for middle grade or young adult/teen who just want a fun book with an aspect of fantasy.