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Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Forever Werewolf in Books

Mar 1, 2018

Full disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review. I'm glad I didn't buy it. I imagine I might have been harsher.

In <i>Forever Werewolf</i>, Tryst is just delivering a package to Wulfsiege on behalf of his father's security company when he gets trapped there by an avalanche. He doesn't mind, though, because the recipient of that package has a luscious daughter, Lexi.

Female werewolves are rare, and those few are protected like the precious treasures they are. Even though Tryst wasn't brought up in a pack, he knows that much. He also knows there's something very strange about the fact that Lexi isn't claimed by any of the males in the pack - in fact, they seem to give her a wide berth. She's obviously highly intelligent and competent, and she's beautiful. She's far more alluring to him than her spoiled, pampered princess sister could ever be.

Lexi is fascinated by Tryst, despite being warned away from the half-blooded wolf by her ailing father. He seems interested in her, as well, but she fears that's only because he doesn't know her crippling secret: she hasn't ever shifted. A werewolf who can't shift can't mate, so she's useless in the eyes of the pack.

Tryst is warned away from Lexi by her father, head of the pack, as well, but he can't seem to stay away from her. She's like no other woman, werewolf or mortal, he's ever encountered. What is it that draws them to each other? Is it worth risking their lives for?

It was obvious to me from the first pages of the book that Tryst and Lexi would get together, and that it would cost Tryst many bruises and much grief. The bad guy was all too obvious, as well - if the average reader can't identify him in the first mention, I'll be shocked. (Perhaps I should be more specific and say "experienced romance reader" instead.)

As for <i>Moon Kissed</i>, it was so forgettable that I'd have to look up the main male's name. The female was Bella, something I only recall due to bad memories of <i>Twilight</i>. Oh, wait, the male was Severo! Right then. Severo saves Bella from vampires who chase her, while frightening the hell out of her himself, groping her, and offering absolutely no explanations of the strange new realities her world is suddenly encompassing.

After that event, Bella learns that her best friend Seth's new girlfriend is a vampire, something Seth just hadn't quite gotten around to mentioning. Seth explains that Severo (whose name she doesn't yet know) is probably a werewolf, from her description of him and his actions. Severo has, in the meantime, started stalking Bella to protect her from the vampires he's sure will continue to hunt her (for reasons unknown to him when he starts on this plan of action). After seeing Seth with vampire Evie, with whom Severo has history, Severo realizes that Evie probably sicced the vampires on Bella due to jealousy.

One of the many, many things that bothered me about this book is that Bella is supposedly a web designer, but she never seems to work. She certainly doesn't have a laptop, which would be de rigeur, and she lives in a ridiculously upscale place (an apartment with its very own heated pool?) for someone in that profession. She can afford a lot of dance lessons, too - but her real source of income or capital is never explained. Apparently Hauf was just looking for a profession that could be "done anywhere" and someone suggested "web designer" so she grabbed that and ran with it.

Of course, Severo is also supposed to "do something with real estate" - how believable is that as a character detail? I guess we're supposed to just accept that he's rich, can spend his time as he pleases, and let everything else go without question. How is it that he has a Brownie for a housekeeper? What's the relationship between Faery and werewolves and vampires? Who knows?

The story does not get more believable as it goes on. Of course Bella falls in love with her stalker and trusts him completely. There are evil vampires. There's one good vampire, just to show that they aren't uniformly bad. But you can tell where Severo and Bella's relationship is going in the earliest scenes, and that's the most important part of the book, because it's a romance. There are complications but they'll be overcome, or it wouldn't be a romance.

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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts, #1) 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>
<i><b>Bring Me Their Hearts</b></i><b> has plenty of sass, snark and </b><b>humor laced throughout</b>, which is no surprise considering one of the biggest reasons why I loved Sara Wolf's debut novel is the sass and humor (I can now officially count on Wolf to make me laugh). This book literally starts with Zera comparing the king's worth to a <i>potato</i>.

<h2>Potatoes aside, let's talk about Sara Wolf's dive from contemporary into fantasy, aka <b>how did </b><b><i>Bring Me Their Hearts</i></b><b> do???</b></h2>
Because that is the most important question: is the book good? Is it as bloodeh as the title? Let me give you the 411.

<h3><b>If you're looking for a good dose of sass, snark and humor, count on it.</b></h3>
Zera has a comeback for <i>everything</i>. Of course, she says she can't help herself because it's how she deals with it since she became Heartless, which is essentially a witch's pet monster. If you can't deal with her comebacks, then suck it up an drop off a cliff is what she'll likely tell you. But the amount of sass is 👌👌👌 and #100percentapproved.

<h3><b>But let's be a little honest here: sometimes Isis Blake appears too much in Zera.</b></h3>
Isis Blake is <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/blog-tour-love-me-never-by-sara-wolf-arc-review-and-giveaway/">the main character of Wolf's <i>Lovely Vicious</i> series</a> and sometimes she appears way too much in Zera. Think two people stuck in one body = identity crisis much?

Maybe I am complaining too much here because regardless of how Isis seems to appear occasionally in Zera, <b>I still enjoyed Zera's voice.</b> And I still approve of snarkcisms used. So I'll just sit in a corner and hush up.

<h3><b>Let's take a moment to appreciate a side character (really, we should appreciate most side characters).</b></h3>
Meet Malachite, who is officially one of my favorite characters of <i>Bring Me Their Hearts</i> simply because he was wonderful and had no filter for being a royal bodyguard. 11/10 would adopt.

But we all know, Ms. Wolf, that you're going to kill Malachite later on, right? And kill my feels along with it?

<h3><b>There is this weird issue of the beginning being kind of out of place but used as a lovely hook.</b></h3>
<i>Bring Me Their Hearts</i> starts us in a court before backtracking a few weeks and then continuing. <i>Please note I am a very forgetful person</i> but we're in Zera's world of Heartless and witches and then Training101 for 30% of the book. I completely forgot everything by that point aside from a potato being involved.

But it's used as a lovely hook, so I'm not exactly complaining too much (someone fix my memory please and thank you).

<h3><b>Common Fantasy Plot #2927: Got 'em!</b></h3>
Eventually, you get to the point where you see the most common plotlines aka royalty is secretly venturing out in the world of plebians to be a badass and accidentally meets potential love interest aka the main character.

<h3><b>I was expecting this to be more bloody? I did not get more bloody.</b></h3>
I got a lot of court intrigue, sass, humor, but I was expecting more blood for some reason. I got more near the end though, because Heartless are monsters after all.

<h3><b>Hold up, this is the first novel?</b></h3>
I was expecting this to be a standalone but hahaha no nice try, Sophia. Come back in the future to satiate your curiosities in book two.

<i>Bring Me Their Hearts</i> wasn't horrible if you enjoy a snarky little monster who really just wants everything to be all good and dandy (but hahaha, life isn't going to be that nice) and a nice little note tacked on the end that says, "come back soon for more!"

While I wanted a little more blood because I'm smol and evil thoughts run through my brain sometimes, this was fun to read, and I have hopes for the second novel.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/blog-tour-bring-me-their-hearts-by-sara-wolf-arc-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

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5 Minute Movie Guy (379 KP) rated Focus (2015) in Movies

Jul 1, 2019

Focus (2015)

2015 | Comedy, Drama

6.2

(6 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The problem with Focus is that it treats its audience like we're all as dumb as nails. While the film itself is entertaining, its cons are unconvincing, and it's not nearly as smart as it thinks it is.

After watching Focus, I thought back to a great line from Will Smith’s con artist character Nicky Spurgeon, in which he proclaims, “There’s two kinds of people in this world. There’s hammers and nails. You decide which one you want to be.” It’s a powerful and chilling line of dialogue that emphasizes Nicky’s need to exert power and control over others in order to be successful in his indecent business. The problem with the film, however, is that it treats its audience like we’re all as dumb as nails.

Unfortunately, therein lies the film’s biggest problem. While I do think there is some merit in its depiction of the con game, Focus for the most part is unconvincing. Not only did I feel like I was being conned by the characters, but I felt like I was being conned by the legitimacy of the cons themselves. Most of them are quite a stretch, to say the least, but more troublesome is that their successful outcomes don’t ever feel truly earned. Everything just cleans up too neatly, due to some inane level of planning that relies on far too many improbable factors and additionally treats every mistake as if it was part of the plan all along. Therefore, trying to take Focus seriously is something of a brain-numbing exercise. While the film itself is fairly entertaining, it’s not nearly as smart as it thinks it is.

As a viewer, it feels like there’s not much of a pay-off in watching them pull off their successful schemes, and that’s largely because we’re left out of the loop. We the audience are being played the whole time. We’re not given any room for our own participation and guesswork because the movie gives us no clues to help us solve the puzzle. Yet it’s inviting us to look for answers by emphasizing the importance of being focused and aware, while withholding any and all necessary clues to help us make sense of what is happening along the way.

In Focus, Will Smith plays con-man Nicky, who meets a beautiful woman named Jess (Margot Robbie) while dining alone one night. After inviting Nicky to her hotel room, Jess attempts to con him with the help of a friend, but ultimately fails. After all, you can’t hustle a hustler. Being eager to learn more, Jess wants Nicky to take her under his wing and teach her the art of his craft. What ensues is a steamy relationship and a partnership in deception.

Jess proves to be a natural in the con game, quickly earning the respect and admiration of Nicky, who allows her to join his thirty-strong crew. This team of crooks racks up millions through swindling, hustling, and pickpocketing. It’s fun to watch the action unfold, but a little disconcerting that it glorifies these criminals while they’re plainly stealing from innocent strangers. Make no mistake about it, Focus portrays them as the good guys, and offers little to no consequence for their devious actions. Still, it’s hard to root against this cast of con-artists, and you’ll want to see how they manage to get away with it all.

Instead, Focus tries to make you believe there isn’t any con in play at all, only to later pull out the rug to reveal a highly ludicrous scenario. It feels dishonest and cheap, like it’s essentially cheating its way to the desired outcome without doing the work to get there. It’s selling its own capers short and taking the fun out of them. Thus even the climax of the film feels disjointed because we can’t believe what we’re seeing and just have to watch incredulously as we wait for the inevitable far-fetched explanation.

Despite the shortcomings of the cons, I would like to express that the film still does plenty of things right. First and foremost, Will Smith shines in his performance, adding enough perplexity to his character to keep you on your toes. He makes it hard to tell whether or not his character Nicky is bluffing, which helps add to the tension of scenes. Even when Nicky appears to break character and let his guard down, I still found myself guessing about his true intentions. While the movie is overall somewhat of a letdown, I can safely say that Will Smith absolutely nails it.

The only issue I had with Will Smith is his character’s obsession with Margot Robbie’s Jess. I’m sure many guys could attest to a Margot Robbie obsession, but I’m not one of those guys. While the chemistry between Smith and Robbie was fairly good, it did seem more than a tad blown out of proportion. The romance between them felt rushed and more lustful than loving. Still, Robbie gives a respectable performance of deception and allure.

I would like to particularly applaud the work of B.D. Wong, who plays a high-stakes roller that gambles with Nicky during the Super Bowl, in what is my personal favorite scene of the movie. The tension between Wong and Smith is absolutely electrifying, and they play off of each other extraordinarily well. I was on the edge of my seat throughout their whole encounter, only to have the moment spoiled by an absurd and unlikely final outcome.

The other performances are all adequate, though most of the characters are given little screen time, aside from Nicky’s perverted, overweight associate Farhad (Adrian Martinez) who musters up a few laughs. The dialogue can be pretty hit-or-miss, and the plot is rather thin, but the production values are outstanding. This is a film that is unmistakably beautiful to look at, with gorgeous sets and superb camera work. One particularly admirable scene has the camera placed in the passenger seat focused on a man who is gearing himself up before he deliberately crashes his car head-on into another. It’s a moment that feels like a strange detour, and yet it’s so bizarre and memorable that it just works.

Focus has the makings of an excellent film, but it regrettably drops the ball by fumbling the con game. If only the cons themselves weren’t so far-fetched and sloppy, the whole movie would have been a whole lot more effective. Despite the film’s insistence that you look closely, its most pivotal moments don’t hold up to any sort of analysis or scrutiny. In other words, this is a film that would be best enjoyed out of focus.

(This review was originally posted at 5mmg.com on 1.31.16.)

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Sugar Daddy Meet

Social Networking and Entertainment

1.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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SugarDaddyMeet is the best sugar daddy dating app for young women seeking mutual arrangements with...

Game4Cats a Bird Hunting Game for Cats

Games and Entertainment

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Best Game for Cats on the market! Your cat hunts animated birds on your iPad screen. Each bird plays...

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Sinister Entity in Books

Jun 7, 2018

(This review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).

I had been craving a good ghost story, so when Sarah from Fae Books recommended Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea, I bought it on Amazon right afterwards. I'm glad I did because it was a fantastic read!

(Now I've read that most readers of review blogs don't like when a blog basically says again what a book is about, so I'm just going to give you a little bit more about what the book is about since it's not just about a doppelganger.) Jessica and Eddie are ghost hunters both with unique abilities. When they get a call from the Leigh family saying that they are seeing their daughter's double, Eddie and Jessica jump at the chance to help. However, the doppelganger is the least of the Leigh's problem. A more sinister force has set its sight on their 16 year old daughter. She is in more danger than anyone could have imagined.

Anything that has the word "entity" in it, I'm loving. I'm a sucker for ghost stories so the title definitely got my attention.

The cover conveys that it's going to be a scary story, but I think the cover could've been a little bit better. I would've liked to see a picture of Selena (the Leigh's daughter) and her doppelganger in a scary setting or something similar.

The world building was done rather well. I've been a part of a ghost hunting team, so I was more critical one it came to that aspect. However, Shea didn't disappoint. Not once did it feel as if the whole scary entity thing was over the top. I can't fault the world building at all. The whole normal family in suburbia thing feels natural and not pushed upon the reader.

The pacing at the beginning was a little slow. I felt that, at the beginning, it was too much info dumping. The book starts off with Jessica investigating another house. I felt like we didn't really need to read about that. The fact that she was a ghost hunter which we are told in the beginning was good enough. Also, we are also introduced to Eddie's special abilities in a university research type setting. I felt like this was a bit overkill. Just let Eddie explain his special abilities throughout the story instead of dumping them on us in the beginning. Saying that, the pacing picked up after the info dump at the beginning. I couldn't put the book down after that. The story continues to flow smoothly throughout the rest of the book.

Even though the plot in this type of story has been done before, I still enjoyed it. I love the doppelganger spin on this type of classic ghost story. I also must mention the plot reminded me of the stories of the late great Richard Laymon. (If you don't know who he is, look him up, and then read some of his novels). I also enjoyed the fact that the plot didn't really have any romance in it which was refreshing.

I enjoyed each of the characters even the sinister entity and Selena's doppelganger. I felt that each character was written exceptionally well. I especially enjoyed how strong of a character Jessica was. I never felt like she was inferior to Eddie just because she is a female. Both characters were just as strong as each other. As for Selena, I could actually feel her fear. I love how the author actually made her come across as a teenage girl. The way Selena acted and spoke were exactly what I imagined someone of her age doing/saying. I felt sorry for Selena throughout most of the book due to what was happening to her. I enjoyed the scenes with her doppelganger immensely, and I never expected the twist to happen. I even enjoyed how evilly the sinister entity was written.

The dialogue was really fun to read as it left me feeling a little bit afraid for everyone in the book. Not once did the dialogue between the characters feel forced. Like the pacing, the dialogue was smooth. As for the language, there are a few bad words when it comes to female and male anatomy, so just be warned if you're not big on that.

Overall, Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea is a very good and spooky ghost story. It has a classic ghost story feel which I enjoyed thoroughly.

I'd recommend this book to all fans of horror aged 17+ due to language used and themes throughout.