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Alanna (227 KP) rated Kingdom Hearts III in Video Games
Feb 19, 2019 (Updated Feb 19, 2019)
Story (1 more)
Worlds feel bigger
Kingdom Hearts 2 was better imo (3 more)
The theme park mechanic is not very interesting
Too many/Too long cutscenes
No Final Fantasy characters
As someone who has played 3 of the previous games I was isanely excited to play this game. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. The game does not hold a candle to the second game.
One aspect that made the previous game great is that each enemy had timed reaction attacks that made each and every battle special. For example waiting for one if the organisation's weapon to drop so that you could use it. In this version it felt like a lot more button mashing or using the triangle reactions (which were given out too often) made this an easy game to finish. I only ever found one boss that needed more strategy.
I get that it's a game for all ages, new fans and old but I became annoyed at the cutscenes repeating the information from the last games when there is a theatre in the main menu telling you about the previous games. I found myself becoming impatient during the cutscenes wishing that they would hurry up with the new plot.
I feel like the voicing acting or the pacing of the scenes was slow and unnatural. I really disliked it this time around.
This is more of a personal issue but I was quite upset that they got rid of the final fantasy characters as well. I wouldn't have minded that they were not in any of the cutscenes but at least let them walk around their respective worlds
Otherwise, it is a visually stunning game and I have to applaud Square Enix for their Pirates of the Caribbean world which is my favourite.
If it's your first KH game then I would definitely recommend playing but I believe that KH 2 is better.
One aspect that made the previous game great is that each enemy had timed reaction attacks that made each and every battle special. For example waiting for one if the organisation's weapon to drop so that you could use it. In this version it felt like a lot more button mashing or using the triangle reactions (which were given out too often) made this an easy game to finish. I only ever found one boss that needed more strategy.
I get that it's a game for all ages, new fans and old but I became annoyed at the cutscenes repeating the information from the last games when there is a theatre in the main menu telling you about the previous games. I found myself becoming impatient during the cutscenes wishing that they would hurry up with the new plot.
I feel like the voicing acting or the pacing of the scenes was slow and unnatural. I really disliked it this time around.
This is more of a personal issue but I was quite upset that they got rid of the final fantasy characters as well. I wouldn't have minded that they were not in any of the cutscenes but at least let them walk around their respective worlds
Otherwise, it is a visually stunning game and I have to applaud Square Enix for their Pirates of the Caribbean world which is my favourite.
If it's your first KH game then I would definitely recommend playing but I believe that KH 2 is better.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) in Books
Apr 1, 2019
I....may have an unpopular opinion on this book. First, I LOVED the first book of this trilogy, The City of Brass. Absolutely loved it. It was one of my favorite books of that year. I like this one significantly less. I think that probably wouldn't be the case if I had read this in quick succession, but I read City of Brass when it came out, and had to wait a year for this one, in which time I read around 200 more books.
I expected a certain amount of backstory explanation in Kingdom of Copper - and it wasn't there. I think the book assumes you remember everything that happened in City of Brass - and I most certainly did not. I don't remember why we have the division between the djinn and the daeva, or really which is which. I know the shafit are part human, part...djinn? Daeva? See that's the problem. These are very politicky books and forgetting key parts of the political drama makes this book VERY hard to follow. I don't know WHY there's conflict between certain people, and I don't recognize missteps when characters make them because I've forgotten who has which opinions.
All the worldbuilding explanations are in the first book, and they aren't revisited in this one. Had I KNOWN that, I might have re-read City of Brass before this came out, as much as I dislike re-reading anything.
All of that aside, and despite my confusion, I mostly enjoyed this continuation of Nahri's story. We delved a little more into murky bloodlines, the more recent past of Daevabad, and the more ancient past of Nahri's healer ancestors, the Nahids.
I still love Nahri, I like Ali a little more, and I like Dara a little less. I am curious to see where the third book leads, especially after the cliffhanger ending of this one. I just might have to re-read both City of Brass and this one before reading the trilogy's conclusion.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
I expected a certain amount of backstory explanation in Kingdom of Copper - and it wasn't there. I think the book assumes you remember everything that happened in City of Brass - and I most certainly did not. I don't remember why we have the division between the djinn and the daeva, or really which is which. I know the shafit are part human, part...djinn? Daeva? See that's the problem. These are very politicky books and forgetting key parts of the political drama makes this book VERY hard to follow. I don't know WHY there's conflict between certain people, and I don't recognize missteps when characters make them because I've forgotten who has which opinions.
All the worldbuilding explanations are in the first book, and they aren't revisited in this one. Had I KNOWN that, I might have re-read City of Brass before this came out, as much as I dislike re-reading anything.
All of that aside, and despite my confusion, I mostly enjoyed this continuation of Nahri's story. We delved a little more into murky bloodlines, the more recent past of Daevabad, and the more ancient past of Nahri's healer ancestors, the Nahids.
I still love Nahri, I like Ali a little more, and I like Dara a little less. I am curious to see where the third book leads, especially after the cliffhanger ending of this one. I just might have to re-read both City of Brass and this one before reading the trilogy's conclusion.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Kingdom of Exiles (The Beast Charmer, #1) in Books
Jun 6, 2019
If you read one fantasy romance this year, make it this one!
When I saw this book up for review on Bookish First, I knew then and there I needed to read it. Fantasy and romance are my favorite genres, so I knew I needed to pick up this book immediately. I was fortunate enough to have enough points to guarantee me a spot on the ARC review team, and I waited not so patiently to get this book.
When this book arrived, I nearly fell over in excitement simply because the cover is so incredibly beautiful. I couldn't wait to dive in & see if the story lived up to the cover. Fortunately for me, the story was gorgeous. Kingdom of Exiles is the first book in the Beast Charmer series, and it set up a beautiful world that I can't wait to explore in more books. The description of the world itself is enough to keep me coming back. Maxym M. Martineau knows how to make it feel like you're there exploring the cities and forests side by side with the characters.
Not only were the descriptions on point, but the characters had depth. Each character was well written and added fantastic elements to the story. They each had a reason to be there, and I loved seeing the chemistry between Leena & Noc. Leena's character arc was probably one of my favorite storylines that I have read this year. I felt so deeply for her. It was as if she was my best friend. I rooted for her, I cried for her, and I laughed with her. I also really loved Noc. He was a mystery that I wanted to solve. I enjoyed each character and loved the relationship between all of them.
All in all, this is one of my favorite books that I have read this year. The characters were well developed, and the plot was fun and unique. I loved everything about it. If you like fantasy & romance, this is the book for you.
When this book arrived, I nearly fell over in excitement simply because the cover is so incredibly beautiful. I couldn't wait to dive in & see if the story lived up to the cover. Fortunately for me, the story was gorgeous. Kingdom of Exiles is the first book in the Beast Charmer series, and it set up a beautiful world that I can't wait to explore in more books. The description of the world itself is enough to keep me coming back. Maxym M. Martineau knows how to make it feel like you're there exploring the cities and forests side by side with the characters.
Not only were the descriptions on point, but the characters had depth. Each character was well written and added fantastic elements to the story. They each had a reason to be there, and I loved seeing the chemistry between Leena & Noc. Leena's character arc was probably one of my favorite storylines that I have read this year. I felt so deeply for her. It was as if she was my best friend. I rooted for her, I cried for her, and I laughed with her. I also really loved Noc. He was a mystery that I wanted to solve. I enjoyed each character and loved the relationship between all of them.
All in all, this is one of my favorite books that I have read this year. The characters were well developed, and the plot was fun and unique. I loved everything about it. If you like fantasy & romance, this is the book for you.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Jun 9, 2018 (Updated Jun 11, 2018)
Very different to what we're used to
Since all hell broke out in the last movie, the island of Isla Nublar has remained a relatively peaceful place for the dinosaurs to roam free. But now, the islands volcano is set to erupt, threatening their extinction once more, and bringing with it all kinds of questions as to whether man should try to save them or follow gods will and let them die.
When the decision to save them is made, along with the offer of a lovely dinosaur sanctuary for them all to live peacefully, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas-Howard) are enlisted to return to the island and rescue the dinosaurs from their imminent destruction. Claire is needed for her hand-print, in order to activate the dormant dinosaur tracking software on the island, and Owen for his relationship with the velociraptor Blue, who they have so far been unable to locate and capture. Unfortunately though, there are some bad guys behind the scenes who are more concerned with making a few million dollars out of the dinosaurs than rescuing them from extinction, so things don't go according to plan.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a bit of a strange mix of two distinctly different halves. The first half was pretty much covered in off in the first trailer for the movie, with the second half key plot points unbelievably given away by the rather unnecessary final trailer. The resulting movie is unfortunately something which isn't anywhere near as good as it's predecessor(s). There are some pretty weird and crazy plotlines, and the bad guys are pretty rubbish, and the whole thing runs pretty close to being a complete disaster. Although the final third or so is wildly different to anything we've seen in a Jurassic Park/World movie, it does still manage to be pretty entertaining, and there are enough decent scares and thrills along the way to keep things moving along nicely. But this could have been so much better.
When the decision to save them is made, along with the offer of a lovely dinosaur sanctuary for them all to live peacefully, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas-Howard) are enlisted to return to the island and rescue the dinosaurs from their imminent destruction. Claire is needed for her hand-print, in order to activate the dormant dinosaur tracking software on the island, and Owen for his relationship with the velociraptor Blue, who they have so far been unable to locate and capture. Unfortunately though, there are some bad guys behind the scenes who are more concerned with making a few million dollars out of the dinosaurs than rescuing them from extinction, so things don't go according to plan.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a bit of a strange mix of two distinctly different halves. The first half was pretty much covered in off in the first trailer for the movie, with the second half key plot points unbelievably given away by the rather unnecessary final trailer. The resulting movie is unfortunately something which isn't anywhere near as good as it's predecessor(s). There are some pretty weird and crazy plotlines, and the bad guys are pretty rubbish, and the whole thing runs pretty close to being a complete disaster. Although the final third or so is wildly different to anything we've seen in a Jurassic Park/World movie, it does still manage to be pretty entertaining, and there are enough decent scares and thrills along the way to keep things moving along nicely. But this could have been so much better.
Dominique Marie (7 KP) rated Hinds' Feet On High Places in Books
Nov 28, 2018 (Updated Nov 28, 2018)
MMD Reading Challenge 2017- For Fun
Category: Book recommended by someone with great taste
Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017
Category: 20th Century Classic
I had such mixed feelings about this book. It is a Christian allegory, that has some great themes, and it does make you think, but I wasn't a fan of the writing style. Much-Afraid is called by the Shepherd to make a journey to His Kingdom of Love, where he will give her a new name. It was a really strange mix of biblical language and more modern language. She kept switching between Thee and Thou and You, etc. Also, it was really repetitive. The descriptions were wordy, but repetitive. I felt like I was having De'ja vu. I also felt like I was being spoon-fed a majority of the time. It actually has some very similar themes to Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, which I will be re-reading for my challenges this year, but Till We Have Faces is far superior in my opinion. There was one part in this book that drove me crazy. The Shepherd asks Much-Afraid if she would still love Him if he seemed to deceive her. She replied that she knows He cannot lie, so she would still love him. Then He asks if she would still love Him if he really did deceive her. She replied that, yes, it wouldn't matter if He really lied to her, she loves him and would still follow him. Now, I'm not a theologian or anything, but this makes absolutely no sense to me. The Shepherd is God. God cannot lie. So, if the Shepherd could lie it would mean he is not God, so she shouldn't follow him in that case. It was just a really weird scene. I do think that some people would really like this book, and I did relate in certain ways, so it's definitely a mixed bag for me.
Category: Book recommended by someone with great taste
Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017
Category: 20th Century Classic
I had such mixed feelings about this book. It is a Christian allegory, that has some great themes, and it does make you think, but I wasn't a fan of the writing style. Much-Afraid is called by the Shepherd to make a journey to His Kingdom of Love, where he will give her a new name. It was a really strange mix of biblical language and more modern language. She kept switching between Thee and Thou and You, etc. Also, it was really repetitive. The descriptions were wordy, but repetitive. I felt like I was having De'ja vu. I also felt like I was being spoon-fed a majority of the time. It actually has some very similar themes to Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, which I will be re-reading for my challenges this year, but Till We Have Faces is far superior in my opinion. There was one part in this book that drove me crazy. The Shepherd asks Much-Afraid if she would still love Him if he seemed to deceive her. She replied that she knows He cannot lie, so she would still love him. Then He asks if she would still love Him if he really did deceive her. She replied that, yes, it wouldn't matter if He really lied to her, she loves him and would still follow him. Now, I'm not a theologian or anything, but this makes absolutely no sense to me. The Shepherd is God. God cannot lie. So, if the Shepherd could lie it would mean he is not God, so she shouldn't follow him in that case. It was just a really weird scene. I do think that some people would really like this book, and I did relate in certain ways, so it's definitely a mixed bag for me.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Spinning Silver in Books
Dec 6, 2018
Heroes and villains
I am all smug contentment on finishing SPINNING SILVER, the ending was utter completeness. This is a complex fantasy novel, definitely modelled in the background by a dark fairytale that would be familiar to any reader.
The book starts off with a female protagonist Miryem, such a young woman of determination, focus, self-belief and strength. What happens is that slowly, as the tale unfolds, two other female characters Wanda and Irina join the tale to be key storytellers. I absolutely loved the slow revealing of these other lead characters. All three females had experienced difficult childhoods in different ways which I believe led to their tenacious characters.
What is pretty hilarious is that nearly every single male character is a total tool. They are almost too numerous to be named but I have to speak of Mirnatius and the hideousness of his character, even though there is more to it than that. The King of the Staryk needs particular mention because although I should have hated him, I didn’t. He captivated me and drew me in. Frustratingly, despite the physical description, I couldn’t quite paint a picture of him. I loved reading about the Staryk, the kingdom, the people. I just couldn’t hate this King.
SPINNING SILVER was complicated in many ways, sometimes confusing but ultimately enlightening if I just waited to put the pieces together. The description of people, sights, sounds and the environment were seamlessly brought to life. The tale itself was easy to slip into from the first few pages and although I experienced a plodding sensation at two thirds of the way, it picked up again.
Naomi Novik has followed up from UPROOTED and given us a tale to rival and match but with a very different feel and context. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading journey and I can’t wait to discuss this with my friends.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
The book starts off with a female protagonist Miryem, such a young woman of determination, focus, self-belief and strength. What happens is that slowly, as the tale unfolds, two other female characters Wanda and Irina join the tale to be key storytellers. I absolutely loved the slow revealing of these other lead characters. All three females had experienced difficult childhoods in different ways which I believe led to their tenacious characters.
What is pretty hilarious is that nearly every single male character is a total tool. They are almost too numerous to be named but I have to speak of Mirnatius and the hideousness of his character, even though there is more to it than that. The King of the Staryk needs particular mention because although I should have hated him, I didn’t. He captivated me and drew me in. Frustratingly, despite the physical description, I couldn’t quite paint a picture of him. I loved reading about the Staryk, the kingdom, the people. I just couldn’t hate this King.
SPINNING SILVER was complicated in many ways, sometimes confusing but ultimately enlightening if I just waited to put the pieces together. The description of people, sights, sounds and the environment were seamlessly brought to life. The tale itself was easy to slip into from the first few pages and although I experienced a plodding sensation at two thirds of the way, it picked up again.
Naomi Novik has followed up from UPROOTED and given us a tale to rival and match but with a very different feel and context. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading journey and I can’t wait to discuss this with my friends.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia, #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Original Review posted on <a title="'Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon'" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-fury-of-the-phoenix-by-cindy-pon.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste.
*Warning: May contain minor spoilers from the previous novel*
Remember the evil sorcerer by the name of Zhong Ye from the previous novel, Silver Phoenix? In Fury of the Phoenix, the sequel to Silver Phoenix, it's been a few months after Zhong Ye's death and Ai Ling receives warning from a dream that Chen Yong is in danger. Knowing that, Ai Ling finds a way to try and find him.
During Ai Ling's journey, we go through a few flashbacks throughout the book entering Zhong Ye's life when he's just a worker in the Emperor's Palace (I'm not talking about the buffet) trying to climb up in rank to how he came to be in Silver Phoenix. Ai Ling and Chen Yong have also changed a lot and matured a bit (maybe a lot?) since the previous novel.
I'm not exactly sure what to make of the second (and I think final?) component to the Kingdom of Xia series. I personally picked up the series because it was based on Ancient China (just in general terms there are fictional stuff as well) and thought it would be really interesting to read. But staying away from the series actually, I never even knew a sequel existed until I joined Goodreads and then coming back to it has made me realize that I'm missing out in the world that Cindy Pon creates in Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix. In fact, I even miss the dumplings and buns. And that's coming from someone who has those often... :p I also want to visit China one day, though I certainly don't want to meet some of the unpleasant creatures both Ai Ling, Chen Yong and Zhong Ye encounter in the book.
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste.
*Warning: May contain minor spoilers from the previous novel*
Remember the evil sorcerer by the name of Zhong Ye from the previous novel, Silver Phoenix? In Fury of the Phoenix, the sequel to Silver Phoenix, it's been a few months after Zhong Ye's death and Ai Ling receives warning from a dream that Chen Yong is in danger. Knowing that, Ai Ling finds a way to try and find him.
During Ai Ling's journey, we go through a few flashbacks throughout the book entering Zhong Ye's life when he's just a worker in the Emperor's Palace (I'm not talking about the buffet) trying to climb up in rank to how he came to be in Silver Phoenix. Ai Ling and Chen Yong have also changed a lot and matured a bit (maybe a lot?) since the previous novel.
I'm not exactly sure what to make of the second (and I think final?) component to the Kingdom of Xia series. I personally picked up the series because it was based on Ancient China (just in general terms there are fictional stuff as well) and thought it would be really interesting to read. But staying away from the series actually, I never even knew a sequel existed until I joined Goodreads and then coming back to it has made me realize that I'm missing out in the world that Cindy Pon creates in Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix. In fact, I even miss the dumplings and buns. And that's coming from someone who has those often... :p I also want to visit China one day, though I certainly don't want to meet some of the unpleasant creatures both Ai Ling, Chen Yong and Zhong Ye encounter in the book.
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