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Merissa (12051 KP) rated Taken Together (Sanctuary Coven Series #2) in Books
Jun 7, 2023
In the second book of the series, we get a more cohesive storyline as we understand more about the Coven, the Doray's, and Heather and Lucas. The Templar Knights remain the storyline that jolts slightly when we transfer from the Coven to them. I am sure that it will all join together seamlessly in the future! With twists and turns aplenty, this novella packs a pretty punch as the layers are peeled back and the story unfolds.
Well written and with excellent pacing, this book contains no editing or grammatical errors that I found. Definitely recommended. Some M/M and F/F action.
* 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!
Apr 22, 2016
Well written and with excellent pacing, this book contains no editing or grammatical errors that I found. Definitely recommended. Some M/M and F/F action.
* 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!
Apr 22, 2016
David McK (3425 KP) rated Excalibur (The Arthurian Chronicles, #1) in Books
Oct 26, 2024 (Updated Oct 26, 2024)
King Arthur.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Avalon Rising (Metal & Lace, #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Compared to <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-camelot-burning-by-kathryn-rose/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Camelot Burning</a>,</i> the sequel definitely surpassed most, if not all, of my expectations.
I found <i>Avalon Rising</i> to be a lot more enjoyable than its predecessor. There aren't as many technical terms this time around, as Vivienne seems to be more focused on the mission the Lady of the Lake left for her near the end of the first book and helping Camelot's remaining refugees rebuild after the war with Morgan Le Fay. Soon, Vivienne finds out that some of the knights, including her brother and Marcus, have been missing for several weeks on their quest to find the Holy Grail and Avalon. She also finds out that Jerusalem, where the alchemist Azur resides, is attacked by the Black Knight and his men. Wanting to offer her help, Vivienne decides to leave earlier than what the Lady of the Lake originally planned, finding out that in doing so, she may have placed Marcus's life in danger.
The second <i>Metal & Lace</i> novel is a lot more adventurous than the first one - Vivienne teams up with the castle blacksmith to find the missing knights, which is eventually intercepted by Merlin (who tends to be more of an obstacle this time around rather than actually helping Vivienne). They are then sent to free the Fisher King in the Perilous Lands, which actually results in several fantastic tests/trials for Vivienne to try and prove her worth to free the Fisher King and reveal the coordinates to Avalon. The trials that Vivienne goes through in <i>Avalon Rising</i> to find the knights and to reveal Avalon's coordinates almost felt like a female version of Percy Jackson in a medieval-esque world.
Vivienne also underwent a few changes as a character. She seems more temperamental, but is definitely extremely determined to accomplish what she wants to accomplish. A fantastic quality in a heroine, since Vivienne probably would have spent her time running away from pursuers who also want the coordinates to Avalon rather than doing something extremely interesting (like trying to resist using magic despite the pull).
<i>Avalon Rising</i> was a fantastic companion to <i>Camelot Burning</i> - I definitely look forward to reading the next book with the major cliffhanger Kathryn Rose leaves us with. Might I ask to review-nap this until the next book come out?
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-avalon-rising-by-kathryn-rose/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Compared to <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-camelot-burning-by-kathryn-rose/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Camelot Burning</a>,</i> the sequel definitely surpassed most, if not all, of my expectations.
I found <i>Avalon Rising</i> to be a lot more enjoyable than its predecessor. There aren't as many technical terms this time around, as Vivienne seems to be more focused on the mission the Lady of the Lake left for her near the end of the first book and helping Camelot's remaining refugees rebuild after the war with Morgan Le Fay. Soon, Vivienne finds out that some of the knights, including her brother and Marcus, have been missing for several weeks on their quest to find the Holy Grail and Avalon. She also finds out that Jerusalem, where the alchemist Azur resides, is attacked by the Black Knight and his men. Wanting to offer her help, Vivienne decides to leave earlier than what the Lady of the Lake originally planned, finding out that in doing so, she may have placed Marcus's life in danger.
The second <i>Metal & Lace</i> novel is a lot more adventurous than the first one - Vivienne teams up with the castle blacksmith to find the missing knights, which is eventually intercepted by Merlin (who tends to be more of an obstacle this time around rather than actually helping Vivienne). They are then sent to free the Fisher King in the Perilous Lands, which actually results in several fantastic tests/trials for Vivienne to try and prove her worth to free the Fisher King and reveal the coordinates to Avalon. The trials that Vivienne goes through in <i>Avalon Rising</i> to find the knights and to reveal Avalon's coordinates almost felt like a female version of Percy Jackson in a medieval-esque world.
Vivienne also underwent a few changes as a character. She seems more temperamental, but is definitely extremely determined to accomplish what she wants to accomplish. A fantastic quality in a heroine, since Vivienne probably would have spent her time running away from pursuers who also want the coordinates to Avalon rather than doing something extremely interesting (like trying to resist using magic despite the pull).
<i>Avalon Rising</i> was a fantastic companion to <i>Camelot Burning</i> - I definitely look forward to reading the next book with the major cliffhanger Kathryn Rose leaves us with. Might I ask to review-nap this until the next book come out?
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-avalon-rising-by-kathryn-rose/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Green Knight (2020) in Movies
Aug 6, 2021
Interesting...Intriguing...and Weird
You have 2 choices when choosing to view the Arthurian tale THE GREEN KNIGHT.
1). Brush up on the 14th Century tale (writer unknown) about Sir Gawain (of Knights of the Round Table fame) and The Green Knight
2). Go in “blind” and let the film wash over you.
I did #2 and while I got the “gist” of what was going on, I missed some of the subtleties (or the attempted subtleties) that I now know since I went on-line and brushed up on the story/poem (no, I did not read the 14th century poem - a google search synopsis of plot of the poem was sufficient).
Starring Dev Patel (more on him later) THE GREEN KNIGHT tells the story of a would-be Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, who accepts a challenge of THE GREEN KNIGHT and now must stand up to the consequence of his deeds while heading off on a quest.
Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) has really grown into a fine actor and he is perfectly cast as the courage-challenged Gawain. He walks through this film with a slight look of fear in his eyes and I was finding myself yelling at him (in my head) to “stand up and do what’s right” (which is the point of the film/story) when he would make the wrong decision.
Alicia Vikander (who I have not seen on screen since 2018’s TOMB RAIDER) and Joel Edgerton (LOVING) are 2 of the people that Gawain meets along the way and they bring strength and star power to the middle part of this film - they came along at an opportune time, for this film was beginning to sag under it’s own weight at that point, but these 2 help propel Gawain (and the film) to the climax.
Director David Lowery (A GHOST STORY) has crafted a fantastical film that reminded me very much of the work of Terry Gilliam - and I mean that as a compliment. He heightens every scene with imagery that’s just “off” (again, I mean that as a compliment) that symbolizes the “quest” that Gawain is on.
He also does something that will either encourage or discourage a viewer (and that is the strength and weakness of this film) - he explains nothing.
For example…at the beginning, Gawain is sitting at a round table with a King and Queen and a bunch of other Knights (or would be Knights). One would assume that this is King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, but Lowery never calls them by name. “The King” pulls out his sword and hands it to Gawain for his contest with the Green Knight. The crowd reacts with gasps - one would assume that this is the fable sword Excaliber, but it is never stated.
So…knowing these things (and some of the other aspects of the Gawain) story, might further enrich this experience, but Lowery chooses to not spoon feed the audience and since I did not really know the Gawain story, I just sat back and enjoyed the quest, the imagery, the weirdness (and there is some VERY weird moments - I still don’t know what to make of the scene with the Giants) and was rewarded with a film experience that is rare nowadays, one that just unfurls without telescoping what is happening or what is to come.
This film is not for everyone - it does have a rather languid pace to it - but for those of you that can sit in the stillness, marvel at the imagery and revel in the weirdness/unknown, then THE GREEN KNIGHT is, ultimately, a rewarding film experience - one that (now that I know the story) am eager to revisit.
Letter Grade: B
7 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
1). Brush up on the 14th Century tale (writer unknown) about Sir Gawain (of Knights of the Round Table fame) and The Green Knight
2). Go in “blind” and let the film wash over you.
I did #2 and while I got the “gist” of what was going on, I missed some of the subtleties (or the attempted subtleties) that I now know since I went on-line and brushed up on the story/poem (no, I did not read the 14th century poem - a google search synopsis of plot of the poem was sufficient).
Starring Dev Patel (more on him later) THE GREEN KNIGHT tells the story of a would-be Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, who accepts a challenge of THE GREEN KNIGHT and now must stand up to the consequence of his deeds while heading off on a quest.
Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) has really grown into a fine actor and he is perfectly cast as the courage-challenged Gawain. He walks through this film with a slight look of fear in his eyes and I was finding myself yelling at him (in my head) to “stand up and do what’s right” (which is the point of the film/story) when he would make the wrong decision.
Alicia Vikander (who I have not seen on screen since 2018’s TOMB RAIDER) and Joel Edgerton (LOVING) are 2 of the people that Gawain meets along the way and they bring strength and star power to the middle part of this film - they came along at an opportune time, for this film was beginning to sag under it’s own weight at that point, but these 2 help propel Gawain (and the film) to the climax.
Director David Lowery (A GHOST STORY) has crafted a fantastical film that reminded me very much of the work of Terry Gilliam - and I mean that as a compliment. He heightens every scene with imagery that’s just “off” (again, I mean that as a compliment) that symbolizes the “quest” that Gawain is on.
He also does something that will either encourage or discourage a viewer (and that is the strength and weakness of this film) - he explains nothing.
For example…at the beginning, Gawain is sitting at a round table with a King and Queen and a bunch of other Knights (or would be Knights). One would assume that this is King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, but Lowery never calls them by name. “The King” pulls out his sword and hands it to Gawain for his contest with the Green Knight. The crowd reacts with gasps - one would assume that this is the fable sword Excaliber, but it is never stated.
So…knowing these things (and some of the other aspects of the Gawain) story, might further enrich this experience, but Lowery chooses to not spoon feed the audience and since I did not really know the Gawain story, I just sat back and enjoyed the quest, the imagery, the weirdness (and there is some VERY weird moments - I still don’t know what to make of the scene with the Giants) and was rewarded with a film experience that is rare nowadays, one that just unfurls without telescoping what is happening or what is to come.
This film is not for everyone - it does have a rather languid pace to it - but for those of you that can sit in the stillness, marvel at the imagery and revel in the weirdness/unknown, then THE GREEN KNIGHT is, ultimately, a rewarding film experience - one that (now that I know the story) am eager to revisit.
Letter Grade: B
7 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1)
9.8
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