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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Someone Knows in Books
Jun 26, 2019
I was on the fence about reading Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline. I kept wanting to read it, but then I'd change my mind. However, when I noticed it was available at my library, I decided to check it out. While it wasn't a great read, it was still alright.
Allie is a 15 year old overweight teenage girl. When popular and beautiful Sasha talks to her and invites her to hang out, she can't say no. When another teenager moves to the area and hangs out with them one night, things go lethally wrong. None of the teens confess to what actually happen, and no one gets in trouble. However, Allie continues to feel guilty over the next twenty years. This big secret has affected every aspect of Allie's life. When Allie finally wants to confess, things turn deadly.
The plot to Someone Knows sounded very similar to a book I had read previously. However, once I started reading it, I noticed how Lisa Scottoline gave her book a bunch of little twits and turns to keep it fresh. The plot seemed very realistic. I enjoyed how each chapter was told from each character's point of view. It was interesting to see the thought process behind each person. It was easy to lose myself in the story because of how realistic everything felt. Although I've never been as privileged financially as all the teens in the book, I felt like I was part of the group. There were no cliffhangers in this book either which was nice. While I did predict one plot twist, there was one that I didn't see coming! That was a nice curve ball!
I liked Allie very much. She reminded me a lot of myself at 15 years old. I definitely could see myself as Allie. In fact, my thought process was a lot like Allie's. I've never lost a sibling like Allie, but I was saddened by the death of her sister Jill, and I sympathized with Allie's mother when it came to depression. I do wish Allie would have clued her husband about what was going on because I felt bad for him since Allie was distant throughout a lot of the marriage. I get why she kept her secret to herself, but I still felt bad for Allie's and Larry's marriage. Sasha was an interesting character. I've definitely known a few Sashas in my life! Sasha was able to make any guy putty in her hands. I loved reading Sasha's point of view. Even though she could sometimes be a mean girl, I enjoyed her very much. It was interesting to read about David and learn of his struggle especially when it came to how his father was. David came across as a nice guy. Julian was a character who I would say was a mix of Sasha and David. He could be really nice and charming when he wanted to be, but he would say mean things about Allie to Sasha which wouldn't be very nice. However, I did admire how business oriented he was. I loved Kyle so much, and I hated how he was shunned because of something his father did. Kyle seemed like such a sweet boy who was dealt a tough hand through no fault of his own.
The pacing in Someone Knows seemed to be fairly slow throughout about 80 percent of the book especially during the first half or so. I know it was probably to set up the world building and backstory, but it was just so tedious. I would have liked a bit more action or had the backstory given to me during and after the main event. The pacing is what really let this book down in my opinion.
Trigger warnings include underage drinking, adult drinking, prescription pill abuse, death, talks of suicide, violence, and sexual situations (both underage and adult which aren't overly graphic).
Although the pacing for Someone Knows lets this book down, it's still an alright read. It does have some interesting characters with realistic problems that readers can identify with. I would recommend Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline to those aged 17+ who are looking for an alright thriller to read.
Allie is a 15 year old overweight teenage girl. When popular and beautiful Sasha talks to her and invites her to hang out, she can't say no. When another teenager moves to the area and hangs out with them one night, things go lethally wrong. None of the teens confess to what actually happen, and no one gets in trouble. However, Allie continues to feel guilty over the next twenty years. This big secret has affected every aspect of Allie's life. When Allie finally wants to confess, things turn deadly.
The plot to Someone Knows sounded very similar to a book I had read previously. However, once I started reading it, I noticed how Lisa Scottoline gave her book a bunch of little twits and turns to keep it fresh. The plot seemed very realistic. I enjoyed how each chapter was told from each character's point of view. It was interesting to see the thought process behind each person. It was easy to lose myself in the story because of how realistic everything felt. Although I've never been as privileged financially as all the teens in the book, I felt like I was part of the group. There were no cliffhangers in this book either which was nice. While I did predict one plot twist, there was one that I didn't see coming! That was a nice curve ball!
I liked Allie very much. She reminded me a lot of myself at 15 years old. I definitely could see myself as Allie. In fact, my thought process was a lot like Allie's. I've never lost a sibling like Allie, but I was saddened by the death of her sister Jill, and I sympathized with Allie's mother when it came to depression. I do wish Allie would have clued her husband about what was going on because I felt bad for him since Allie was distant throughout a lot of the marriage. I get why she kept her secret to herself, but I still felt bad for Allie's and Larry's marriage. Sasha was an interesting character. I've definitely known a few Sashas in my life! Sasha was able to make any guy putty in her hands. I loved reading Sasha's point of view. Even though she could sometimes be a mean girl, I enjoyed her very much. It was interesting to read about David and learn of his struggle especially when it came to how his father was. David came across as a nice guy. Julian was a character who I would say was a mix of Sasha and David. He could be really nice and charming when he wanted to be, but he would say mean things about Allie to Sasha which wouldn't be very nice. However, I did admire how business oriented he was. I loved Kyle so much, and I hated how he was shunned because of something his father did. Kyle seemed like such a sweet boy who was dealt a tough hand through no fault of his own.
The pacing in Someone Knows seemed to be fairly slow throughout about 80 percent of the book especially during the first half or so. I know it was probably to set up the world building and backstory, but it was just so tedious. I would have liked a bit more action or had the backstory given to me during and after the main event. The pacing is what really let this book down in my opinion.
Trigger warnings include underage drinking, adult drinking, prescription pill abuse, death, talks of suicide, violence, and sexual situations (both underage and adult which aren't overly graphic).
Although the pacing for Someone Knows lets this book down, it's still an alright read. It does have some interesting characters with realistic problems that readers can identify with. I would recommend Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline to those aged 17+ who are looking for an alright thriller to read.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Don't Stop Believin' in Books
May 28, 2019
I was obsessed with Olivia Newton-John as a little girl. As a little girl, I knew all of her songs by heart, and I had watched all of her movies over and over. I do admit that as I grew up, my obsession faded. However, when I saw Olivia's autobiography, Don't Stop Believin', on the shelf at my local library, I decided to give it a read. While it was enjoyable, it just came across as kind of preachy.
Olivia Newton-John rose to fame in the United States as the character of Sandy in the movie Grease. She also had a bunch of hit songs and records afterwards. Olivia's autobiography does mention her rise to fame although I felt as if there wasn't enough time spent on her rise to fame. She does write about her time with Grease and other films as well as recording her songs throughout the book. I felt the movies and songs were written about well.
We get a taste of her life as a child in England and Australia, although I felt she didn't discuss her pre-fame life too much. I would have liked to read more about her childhood instead of just being rushed into when she started performing. I know Olivia Newton-John likes to keep her private life out of the limelight, but when writing an autobiography, it's important to give the reader a little more details than what Don't Stop Believin' gave us.
There was so much name dropping throughout this book! While I understand that famous people know other famous people, sometimes I felt as if Olivia was dropping names just for show instead of because it fit the story. You have a lot of famous friends. We get it!
Another thing that annoyed me about the book was how some parts seemed like an advertisement for her Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre as well as for her husband, John Easterling's, herb company. I know she's done so much for her cancer center, (which I give her mad props for), but she goes on and on about how great and lovely of a place it was especially after she was an inpatient there. Of course the staff would treat her better when her name is on the building! There's more than one chapter devoted to how great the place is. I'm sure it is lovely, but I felt like I didn't need to a chapter (and more) about how great it is. As for her husband's herb company, she went on and on towards the end of the book how his herbs really helped her out which is great, but again, does the reader really need the specifics and being told over and over again how helpful it was?
The major thing that annoyed me was how preachy Don't Stop Believin' was in a lot of chapters. In fact, it made me feel guilty sometimes that I rely on modern medicine. Olivia writes how she'd rather take the natural approach to fighting off viruses and diseases, and I get that because I don't like to take medicine needlessly either, but sometimes, it's the best thing. However, I just felt that Olivia was berating those who choose to go the medicinal route. I felt like she was implying that natural remedies work better than modern medicine. This can be dangerous especially if someone gets off their medicines they need to survive to try the natural approach. People should always discuss any changes of medication with their doctors.
To me, Don't Stop Believin' writes like someone who's always been privileged and sheltered throughout their life. A lot of it feels like Olivia Newton-John is out of touch with reality and like she's living in La-La Land. I just found it hard to relate to her throughout the book. Yes, she has gone through some hardships such as deaths in the family, her cancer diagnoses, and her ex-boyfriend disappearing, but for the most part, her autobiography is just too sunshine and rainbows for me to truly relate.
Don't Stop Believin' flows beautifully though, and the writing is done very well, so it has that going for it. I did find myself enjoying the book most of the time when Olivia wasn't been preachy or advertising something. There were some interesting tidbits about her life throughout the book.
Trigger warnings include some profanity use, death, cancer, drinking, and smoking.
Overall, Don't Stop Believin' isn't a bad book, quite the contrary. It's just a bit too hippie dippy for me to have truly enjoyed it to its fullest. I did find the book interesting though despite some flaws. I would recommend Don't Stop Believin' by Olivia Newton-John especially to those who have been diagnosed with cancer as this book does come with a bunch of positivity when it comes to dealing with cancer.
Olivia Newton-John rose to fame in the United States as the character of Sandy in the movie Grease. She also had a bunch of hit songs and records afterwards. Olivia's autobiography does mention her rise to fame although I felt as if there wasn't enough time spent on her rise to fame. She does write about her time with Grease and other films as well as recording her songs throughout the book. I felt the movies and songs were written about well.
We get a taste of her life as a child in England and Australia, although I felt she didn't discuss her pre-fame life too much. I would have liked to read more about her childhood instead of just being rushed into when she started performing. I know Olivia Newton-John likes to keep her private life out of the limelight, but when writing an autobiography, it's important to give the reader a little more details than what Don't Stop Believin' gave us.
There was so much name dropping throughout this book! While I understand that famous people know other famous people, sometimes I felt as if Olivia was dropping names just for show instead of because it fit the story. You have a lot of famous friends. We get it!
Another thing that annoyed me about the book was how some parts seemed like an advertisement for her Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre as well as for her husband, John Easterling's, herb company. I know she's done so much for her cancer center, (which I give her mad props for), but she goes on and on about how great and lovely of a place it was especially after she was an inpatient there. Of course the staff would treat her better when her name is on the building! There's more than one chapter devoted to how great the place is. I'm sure it is lovely, but I felt like I didn't need to a chapter (and more) about how great it is. As for her husband's herb company, she went on and on towards the end of the book how his herbs really helped her out which is great, but again, does the reader really need the specifics and being told over and over again how helpful it was?
The major thing that annoyed me was how preachy Don't Stop Believin' was in a lot of chapters. In fact, it made me feel guilty sometimes that I rely on modern medicine. Olivia writes how she'd rather take the natural approach to fighting off viruses and diseases, and I get that because I don't like to take medicine needlessly either, but sometimes, it's the best thing. However, I just felt that Olivia was berating those who choose to go the medicinal route. I felt like she was implying that natural remedies work better than modern medicine. This can be dangerous especially if someone gets off their medicines they need to survive to try the natural approach. People should always discuss any changes of medication with their doctors.
To me, Don't Stop Believin' writes like someone who's always been privileged and sheltered throughout their life. A lot of it feels like Olivia Newton-John is out of touch with reality and like she's living in La-La Land. I just found it hard to relate to her throughout the book. Yes, she has gone through some hardships such as deaths in the family, her cancer diagnoses, and her ex-boyfriend disappearing, but for the most part, her autobiography is just too sunshine and rainbows for me to truly relate.
Don't Stop Believin' flows beautifully though, and the writing is done very well, so it has that going for it. I did find myself enjoying the book most of the time when Olivia wasn't been preachy or advertising something. There were some interesting tidbits about her life throughout the book.
Trigger warnings include some profanity use, death, cancer, drinking, and smoking.
Overall, Don't Stop Believin' isn't a bad book, quite the contrary. It's just a bit too hippie dippy for me to have truly enjoyed it to its fullest. I did find the book interesting though despite some flaws. I would recommend Don't Stop Believin' by Olivia Newton-John especially to those who have been diagnosed with cancer as this book does come with a bunch of positivity when it comes to dealing with cancer.
Corey Richard Bennett (10 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies
Jul 18, 2019 (Updated Jul 18, 2019)
Great follow-up to Avengers Endgame (2 more)
Extremely relatable teen angst and romance
Accurate potrayal of the Spider Man character
Contains spoilers, click to show
The last film in the 4th phase of Marvel's Cinematic Universe is a fitting bookend for the Universe so far, and where the Cinematic Universe is heading. After losing his mentor, Tony Stark, Spider-Man Peter Parker tries to resume a life of normality. With high hopes of romance with classmate MJ abroad in Europe, Peter is drawn into a ploy that is ultimately being triggered by fake interloper Mysterio AKA Quentin Beck. With use of virtual reality tech, and military grade drones, Beck tricks Nick Fury, and Peter into thinking beings known as Elementals are attacking Earth. Seemingly with all other Avengers busy or not home, Fury calls upon Tony Stark's chosen successor to help Mysterio in slaying the new beasts.
This is peak portrayal of the web-slinger as Tom Holland makes you really feel for his teenage character who is balancing a life of normality and a life with huge responsibility. Peter constantly thinks of his friends well-being and hiding his secret identity throughout Europe. Then there is the aspect of Peter's budding romance for MJ, played beautifully by Zendaya. This incarnation of MJ is quirky and awkward, which is not like any other portrayals I have seen before, but it matches with Holland's Parker, as he too is awkward as most teenagers trying to find themselves in life.
Now the bad guy. Mysterio is a long well known enemy in the Spider-Man lore, so the twist that he is Master of Illusion should not be a shock, but the trailers did a good job painting the possibility that we were seeing a new incarnation of the dome-headed man of mystery. The trailers also got fans excited, with the possibility of a multiverse being created by the snap of Thanos, now referred to as the Blip by the people of Earth. The multiverse could have been the way to shoe-horn the X-Men into the MCU, but alas it was all a ploy to get the ever powerful Stark Tech glasses (known as EDITH Even Dead I'm The Hero) away from Peter, as Tony had left them to him in his will. Tricking everyone including usually tactful Nick Fury, Mysterio gains Peter's trust, and then his glasses, as Peter thinks Beck is a more fitting replacement to Iron-Man than Peter himself, who wants to live a normal life for the time being. Mysterio almost gets away with his plan, but with one simple slip-up Peter realizes his gaff and pursues Beck to Berlin, which brings me to the best scene (In my humble Opinion).
Knowing Peter is on his way, Beck springs his own web of illusions around Peter which tricks Peter immensely, and dazzles the fan. Tricking Peter to the point that he learns who knows of his plan, dispatches Peter via a train, which Peter barely survives. Beck moves his plans to London where he tries to enact his greatest illusion but a rejuvenated Peter (with help from Happy Hogan) thwarts Beck's plan which ultimately leads to Beck's untimely demise. But with his plan burning around him, he uses his last minutes to frame Peter in his death, and reveal his identity to the world.
In the course of the movie, Peter and MJ finally reveal their feelings for one another, and become a couple before landing back in the USA, but with Peter's secret to the world (which MJ had figured out a while back) their relationship and Peter's safety hangs in the balance. Now the only question alot of people like myself are left wondering, what's next? What's next for the MCU? and Whats next for Spider-Man? Well for the MCU, Black-Widow's solo movie seems to be next in line with Guardians 3 in the Horizon. As for Spider-Man, Marvel and Sony's deal has one more movie left, so hopefully they make a longer agreement, as Tom Holland should being playing this role for a long time. The next film should be a fantastic spot to bring in Kraven the Hunter into the MCU, as Peter Parker is now enemy number 1 in New York and Kraven would be the best villian to set loose to hunt for Peter. Using MJ as bait or even Ned, the story rights itself, even possibly using the comic book story which Kraven buries Spider-Man. But I guess we need a few more years to find out what will happen to Peter, but this film is a great one in a line of great MCU entries.
P.S. Yeah that end-credit scene. Yup, we are getting Secret Wars storyline as the next big Avengers event.
This is peak portrayal of the web-slinger as Tom Holland makes you really feel for his teenage character who is balancing a life of normality and a life with huge responsibility. Peter constantly thinks of his friends well-being and hiding his secret identity throughout Europe. Then there is the aspect of Peter's budding romance for MJ, played beautifully by Zendaya. This incarnation of MJ is quirky and awkward, which is not like any other portrayals I have seen before, but it matches with Holland's Parker, as he too is awkward as most teenagers trying to find themselves in life.
Now the bad guy. Mysterio is a long well known enemy in the Spider-Man lore, so the twist that he is Master of Illusion should not be a shock, but the trailers did a good job painting the possibility that we were seeing a new incarnation of the dome-headed man of mystery. The trailers also got fans excited, with the possibility of a multiverse being created by the snap of Thanos, now referred to as the Blip by the people of Earth. The multiverse could have been the way to shoe-horn the X-Men into the MCU, but alas it was all a ploy to get the ever powerful Stark Tech glasses (known as EDITH Even Dead I'm The Hero) away from Peter, as Tony had left them to him in his will. Tricking everyone including usually tactful Nick Fury, Mysterio gains Peter's trust, and then his glasses, as Peter thinks Beck is a more fitting replacement to Iron-Man than Peter himself, who wants to live a normal life for the time being. Mysterio almost gets away with his plan, but with one simple slip-up Peter realizes his gaff and pursues Beck to Berlin, which brings me to the best scene (In my humble Opinion).
Knowing Peter is on his way, Beck springs his own web of illusions around Peter which tricks Peter immensely, and dazzles the fan. Tricking Peter to the point that he learns who knows of his plan, dispatches Peter via a train, which Peter barely survives. Beck moves his plans to London where he tries to enact his greatest illusion but a rejuvenated Peter (with help from Happy Hogan) thwarts Beck's plan which ultimately leads to Beck's untimely demise. But with his plan burning around him, he uses his last minutes to frame Peter in his death, and reveal his identity to the world.
In the course of the movie, Peter and MJ finally reveal their feelings for one another, and become a couple before landing back in the USA, but with Peter's secret to the world (which MJ had figured out a while back) their relationship and Peter's safety hangs in the balance. Now the only question alot of people like myself are left wondering, what's next? What's next for the MCU? and Whats next for Spider-Man? Well for the MCU, Black-Widow's solo movie seems to be next in line with Guardians 3 in the Horizon. As for Spider-Man, Marvel and Sony's deal has one more movie left, so hopefully they make a longer agreement, as Tom Holland should being playing this role for a long time. The next film should be a fantastic spot to bring in Kraven the Hunter into the MCU, as Peter Parker is now enemy number 1 in New York and Kraven would be the best villian to set loose to hunt for Peter. Using MJ as bait or even Ned, the story rights itself, even possibly using the comic book story which Kraven buries Spider-Man. But I guess we need a few more years to find out what will happen to Peter, but this film is a great one in a line of great MCU entries.
P.S. Yeah that end-credit scene. Yup, we are getting Secret Wars storyline as the next big Avengers event.
Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated Wonder Woman: Warbringer in Books
Feb 10, 2018
WONDER WOMAN - WARBRINGER by LEIGH BARDUGO
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wonder Woman also known as Diana Prince is an Amazon warrior destined to save to world and to later become a member of the Justice League.
But before that, like every story, she had a beginning and Leigh Bardugo gives her a just that.
The beginning of the book and the start of Diana’s story lies her home, Themyscira. Located in the Aegean Sea - Greece. Legend has it that the Amazons were given the island by the Gods after they freed themselves and fought Ares after being enslaved. But that’s just one version. Alike with most stories, there is more than one tale, as most myths and legends are like stories. Like the game we all played at school, Chinese whispers where we whispered something to the person next to us and they did the same till the last person said something like “I eat orange peel and make shoes out of it” when you actually said “I’m hungry and I want a cup of tea”
But back to the book, Princess Diana doesn’t feel she is an Amazon truly. Yes, she was born on the island (although she was actually made out of clay and blessed by the Gods to come to life) and is immortal like the other Amazons. She did not fight and die heroically in a battle like every other Amazon warrior did including her mother Queen Hippolyta.
Because of this Diana is teased daily by Amazon warrior Tek who is basically one of the strongest Amazon warriors and also the bravest. Diana believes that if she wins the race at the Nemeseian games that the Amazons compete in she will be able to show them she is both brave and strong. This would also impress her mother and obviously Tek and then she might just stop being so mean to Diana.
However whilst she is running in the race she sees a boat sinking and hears a stream, from a girl. Although the Amazons are used to seeing this sort of thing happen, along with plane crashes etc. Something stops Diana enough to turn around, run and jump into the sea below her and save the girl. Alia.
Themyscira, as we all know, is a secret island, a place where only the Gods and Amazons know about. Again we know about it from stories and legends, we don’t know exactly where it is. Say it’s like living in a snow globe, except you can’t see inside it. Basically when the ship started to sink the crew and passengers onboard had no idea what so ever that they were next to this mysterious paradise island.
Diana saves Alia and brings her to shore leaving her in a cave till she can come back and help take her back to land. Diana needs to head back to the race in case someone sees she is missing, and being the Princess she needs to be there by the Queen's side to congratulate the winner seeing as Diana clearly hasn’t won.
Back with her mother, they congratulate the winner and then enjoy the feast laid out in front of them. Not long after her best friend Mauve gets ill - which I might add, no-one ever does! The island also starts to move like there is an earthquake happening - which again does happen, ever!
The Amazons start to evacuate the island and head of to see the Oracle. Diana runs as fast as she can to get to see the Oracle before her mother and Tek get there first and find out that she has saved Alia.
Because the island is a mystery and they have no contact with the outside world, they aren’t allowed to save anyone and interfere with the mortal world. That means they can’t bring anyone to the island or the Amazon could be banished from Themyscira.
Once Diana reaches the Oracle and after she has got through the normal routine of giving something to the Oracle and listening to the riddle instead of answers, she soon learns that Aila is a Warbringer, a descendant of Helen of Troy. Being a Warbringer entails having war in your blood. All wars have been caused by a Warbringer and Alia is the next one.
“When a Warbringer is born, destruction is inevitable. One has been the catalyst for every great conflict in the World of Man. With the coming of the new moon, Alia’s powers will reach their apex, and war will come. Unless she dies before then.” - Oracle to Diana pg 43.
Diana then asks the Oracle three questions;
1. How do I save Themyscira?
2. How do I save Alia’s life?
3. How do I save everyone
To which the Oracle's answers;
1. Do nothing
2. You must not
3. “The Warbringer must reach the spring at Therapne before the sun sets on the first day of Hekatombaion. Where Helen rests, the Warbringer may be purified, purged of the taint of death that has stained her line from its beginning. There may her power be leashed and never passed to another.”
So from then Diana and Alia go in search for the spring, it takes a lot of convincing Alia but once convinced they begin their journey. Although it’s not that straightforward. They do encounter some enemies, friends and new places after all. This is where the wild journey that Leigh Bardugo creates.
You much like our hero Wonder Woman experience Diana Prince in a new world, still staying the same person only so much cooler than before. She soon learns that she has always had what it takes to be an Amazon and that man is not quite what her mother and the other Amazons taught her, not all are bad and wish for war. Some are exactly like Diana and soon become great friends and allies to her.
The first book in a series of four called DC Icons by Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Sarah J Maas, and Matt de la Pena. This series is definitely going to be amazing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marie Lu: Batman - Nightwalker (Jan 18)
Sarah J Maas: Catwoman - Soulstealer (2018)
Matt de la Pena: Superman - ? (2019)
Love, Christina ?
But before that, like every story, she had a beginning and Leigh Bardugo gives her a just that.
The beginning of the book and the start of Diana’s story lies her home, Themyscira. Located in the Aegean Sea - Greece. Legend has it that the Amazons were given the island by the Gods after they freed themselves and fought Ares after being enslaved. But that’s just one version. Alike with most stories, there is more than one tale, as most myths and legends are like stories. Like the game we all played at school, Chinese whispers where we whispered something to the person next to us and they did the same till the last person said something like “I eat orange peel and make shoes out of it” when you actually said “I’m hungry and I want a cup of tea”
But back to the book, Princess Diana doesn’t feel she is an Amazon truly. Yes, she was born on the island (although she was actually made out of clay and blessed by the Gods to come to life) and is immortal like the other Amazons. She did not fight and die heroically in a battle like every other Amazon warrior did including her mother Queen Hippolyta.
Because of this Diana is teased daily by Amazon warrior Tek who is basically one of the strongest Amazon warriors and also the bravest. Diana believes that if she wins the race at the Nemeseian games that the Amazons compete in she will be able to show them she is both brave and strong. This would also impress her mother and obviously Tek and then she might just stop being so mean to Diana.
However whilst she is running in the race she sees a boat sinking and hears a stream, from a girl. Although the Amazons are used to seeing this sort of thing happen, along with plane crashes etc. Something stops Diana enough to turn around, run and jump into the sea below her and save the girl. Alia.
Themyscira, as we all know, is a secret island, a place where only the Gods and Amazons know about. Again we know about it from stories and legends, we don’t know exactly where it is. Say it’s like living in a snow globe, except you can’t see inside it. Basically when the ship started to sink the crew and passengers onboard had no idea what so ever that they were next to this mysterious paradise island.
Diana saves Alia and brings her to shore leaving her in a cave till she can come back and help take her back to land. Diana needs to head back to the race in case someone sees she is missing, and being the Princess she needs to be there by the Queen's side to congratulate the winner seeing as Diana clearly hasn’t won.
Back with her mother, they congratulate the winner and then enjoy the feast laid out in front of them. Not long after her best friend Mauve gets ill - which I might add, no-one ever does! The island also starts to move like there is an earthquake happening - which again does happen, ever!
The Amazons start to evacuate the island and head of to see the Oracle. Diana runs as fast as she can to get to see the Oracle before her mother and Tek get there first and find out that she has saved Alia.
Because the island is a mystery and they have no contact with the outside world, they aren’t allowed to save anyone and interfere with the mortal world. That means they can’t bring anyone to the island or the Amazon could be banished from Themyscira.
Once Diana reaches the Oracle and after she has got through the normal routine of giving something to the Oracle and listening to the riddle instead of answers, she soon learns that Aila is a Warbringer, a descendant of Helen of Troy. Being a Warbringer entails having war in your blood. All wars have been caused by a Warbringer and Alia is the next one.
“When a Warbringer is born, destruction is inevitable. One has been the catalyst for every great conflict in the World of Man. With the coming of the new moon, Alia’s powers will reach their apex, and war will come. Unless she dies before then.” - Oracle to Diana pg 43.
Diana then asks the Oracle three questions;
1. How do I save Themyscira?
2. How do I save Alia’s life?
3. How do I save everyone
To which the Oracle's answers;
1. Do nothing
2. You must not
3. “The Warbringer must reach the spring at Therapne before the sun sets on the first day of Hekatombaion. Where Helen rests, the Warbringer may be purified, purged of the taint of death that has stained her line from its beginning. There may her power be leashed and never passed to another.”
So from then Diana and Alia go in search for the spring, it takes a lot of convincing Alia but once convinced they begin their journey. Although it’s not that straightforward. They do encounter some enemies, friends and new places after all. This is where the wild journey that Leigh Bardugo creates.
You much like our hero Wonder Woman experience Diana Prince in a new world, still staying the same person only so much cooler than before. She soon learns that she has always had what it takes to be an Amazon and that man is not quite what her mother and the other Amazons taught her, not all are bad and wish for war. Some are exactly like Diana and soon become great friends and allies to her.
The first book in a series of four called DC Icons by Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Sarah J Maas, and Matt de la Pena. This series is definitely going to be amazing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marie Lu: Batman - Nightwalker (Jan 18)
Sarah J Maas: Catwoman - Soulstealer (2018)
Matt de la Pena: Superman - ? (2019)
Love, Christina ?
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The People at Number 9 in Books
Mar 15, 2018
From this synopsis of this book, you imagine this is going to be a bit dark and a bit twisty, but its not. Its simply a domestic thriller about people with a lot of money and connections in high up places flirting, changing life paths and having resentments. I understand that this was a novel about middle-class suburban life, which can be dull, but why did nothing happen? <i>But those changes will come at a price."</i> Im sorry, but I must have missed something
What changes? What price?
I didnt like the way this was set out, and maybe thats because it was an ARC copy, but this was really choppy and changey, with no indication that a longish time period (a few hours to a whole afternoon) had passed. The writing was fine, I have no faults with that, but it wasnt anything special.
There are four main characters in this book. Sara and Neil and Lou and Gavin. While each of the characters were well developed and in depth, it didnt stop them from being lacklustre and 2D. I couldnt connect with any of them on a personal level. Even though I would get annoyed at certain things Lou said or did, I wasnt getting annoyed on Saras behalf, because I thought Sara was whiny and she got on my nerves too.
One of my issues with this book, other than it being boring as heck, was the pretentious conversations going on, all the time. I know this book was a satire piece on the middle class, I get it, but dont bore us to death with long conversations that are eye rollingly posh and uninteresting. You can create a satire piece without making your readers fall asleep. There is very little description in this book, youll find that 80% of all the writing is speech, so it really did my head in after a while.
Now, this point is completely down to personal preference, but another reason I couldnt get on with this book was because of all the out-of-marriage flirting. It makes me really uncomfortable and squirmy reading that kind of stuff, so, since it was heavily featured in this, I disliked the book even more.
This is going to be a controversial book in terms of opinions, most definitely, and it would probably be a great book to read for a discussion, because youd have lots of differing opinions on the characters, but, heres my two-cents:
Ultimately, this novel is a story about over indulged middle class suburban families doing things a little bit risky like sex in a tent or smoking weed, and worrying about things only unrealistic well-off people could worry about, like home-schooling and arts and crafts. Not worth the time it takes to read.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
I didnt like the way this was set out, and maybe thats because it was an ARC copy, but this was really choppy and changey, with no indication that a longish time period (a few hours to a whole afternoon) had passed. The writing was fine, I have no faults with that, but it wasnt anything special.
There are four main characters in this book. Sara and Neil and Lou and Gavin. While each of the characters were well developed and in depth, it didnt stop them from being lacklustre and 2D. I couldnt connect with any of them on a personal level. Even though I would get annoyed at certain things Lou said or did, I wasnt getting annoyed on Saras behalf, because I thought Sara was whiny and she got on my nerves too.
One of my issues with this book, other than it being boring as heck, was the pretentious conversations going on, all the time. I know this book was a satire piece on the middle class, I get it, but dont bore us to death with long conversations that are eye rollingly posh and uninteresting. You can create a satire piece without making your readers fall asleep. There is very little description in this book, youll find that 80% of all the writing is speech, so it really did my head in after a while.
Now, this point is completely down to personal preference, but another reason I couldnt get on with this book was because of all the out-of-marriage flirting. It makes me really uncomfortable and squirmy reading that kind of stuff, so, since it was heavily featured in this, I disliked the book even more.
This is going to be a controversial book in terms of opinions, most definitely, and it would probably be a great book to read for a discussion, because youd have lots of differing opinions on the characters, but, heres my two-cents:
Ultimately, this novel is a story about over indulged middle class suburban families doing things a little bit risky like sex in a tent or smoking weed, and worrying about things only unrealistic well-off people could worry about, like home-schooling and arts and crafts. Not worth the time it takes to read.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Court of Broken Knives in Books
Aug 7, 2018
Finally, well executed, gritty literary fantasy
I had skimmed some reviews of this book after seeing glowing recommendations of it in different facebook groups. I was warned the tone of the narrative was off-putting and very different to the genre. I have read a few authors who try and put a more literary, almost poetic slant on the narrative in fantasy books and I always found it a bit flowery and took me out of the story.
Not so here. I'll admit the tone took me a couple of chapters to get to grips with, but I am so glad I stuck with it. The lyrical poetry contained within the narrative is so good that it adds to the story being told, it puts some emotion into the storytelling, something that is so sorely lacking from many books in third-person narrative.
Descriptions of people, places, feelings, events take on a whole new level of tangibility so rarely felt in fantasy fiction (without going down the Stephen King route of describing everything, and avoiding the Robert Jordan horse/riding dress description pratfalls).
The only place this becomes an issue is at times in the action scenes. On occasion I had to re-read a passage to work out what had actually happened - while I enjoyed the words I had struggled to pick up on what had occurred.
The story itself is not overly elaborate and unfolds before you with little warning. It felt like a natural, flowing journey than a series of events loosely tied together. We have the gritty mercenary company en route to unleash hell on the Empire, the great priestess of the God of living and dying (who has to sacrifice someone every few days to ensure life and death continue to operate properly) and we have the political manoeuvrings of the high lords within the Empirical council. This is all weaved together in the first third of the book to an excellent, surprising conclusion (in what many authors would have filled a whole book with ad nauseum), with the remainder of the book being a journey through wild country while everyone double-crosses everyone else.
This is of the grim-dark sub-genre, which basically means everyone is a bit of a shit, and bad things happen to nice people. There are no heroes here. There are characters you come to rout for (or despise) but you know it is wrong to do so as they are all so nasty and flawed in so many ways, like humanity itself.
Don't be expecting a happy ending!
Not so here. I'll admit the tone took me a couple of chapters to get to grips with, but I am so glad I stuck with it. The lyrical poetry contained within the narrative is so good that it adds to the story being told, it puts some emotion into the storytelling, something that is so sorely lacking from many books in third-person narrative.
Descriptions of people, places, feelings, events take on a whole new level of tangibility so rarely felt in fantasy fiction (without going down the Stephen King route of describing everything, and avoiding the Robert Jordan horse/riding dress description pratfalls).
The only place this becomes an issue is at times in the action scenes. On occasion I had to re-read a passage to work out what had actually happened - while I enjoyed the words I had struggled to pick up on what had occurred.
The story itself is not overly elaborate and unfolds before you with little warning. It felt like a natural, flowing journey than a series of events loosely tied together. We have the gritty mercenary company en route to unleash hell on the Empire, the great priestess of the God of living and dying (who has to sacrifice someone every few days to ensure life and death continue to operate properly) and we have the political manoeuvrings of the high lords within the Empirical council. This is all weaved together in the first third of the book to an excellent, surprising conclusion (in what many authors would have filled a whole book with ad nauseum), with the remainder of the book being a journey through wild country while everyone double-crosses everyone else.
This is of the grim-dark sub-genre, which basically means everyone is a bit of a shit, and bad things happen to nice people. There are no heroes here. There are characters you come to rout for (or despise) but you know it is wrong to do so as they are all so nasty and flawed in so many ways, like humanity itself.
Don't be expecting a happy ending!
Darren (1599 KP) rated Crank (2006) in Movies
Oct 31, 2019
Characters – Chev Chelios somehow survives his mile high fall from the first film, he is given a new artificial heart which he must keep charged or he will die, he goes in search of his own heart which will see him go against another gang in LA, Eve now knows about Chev’s career, she has become a stripper and will supporting him trying to get his heart back. Doc Miles will do everything he can to help Chev giving him advice on how to keep his heart going. Venus is the brother of Kaylo who goes on to help Chev to get revenge for his own brother’s death. We have more gangs that are working against Chev this time, some return others are new.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Flight 7500 (TBD) in Movies
Oct 31, 2019
Characters – Chev Chelios somehow survives his mile high fall from the first film, he is given a new artificial heart which he must keep charged or he will die, he goes in search of his own heart which will see him go against another gang in LA, Eve now knows about Chev’s career, she has become a stripper and will supporting him trying to get his heart back. Doc Miles will do everything he can to help Chev giving him advice on how to keep his heart going. Venus is the brother of Kaylo who goes on to help Chev to get revenge for his own brother’s death. We have more gangs that are working against Chev this time, some return others are new.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Midnight Man (2016) in Movies
Oct 31, 2019
Characters – Chev Chelios somehow survives his mile high fall from the first film, he is given a new artificial heart which he must keep charged or he will die, he goes in search of his own heart which will see him go against another gang in LA, Eve now knows about Chev’s career, she has become a stripper and will supporting him trying to get his heart back. Doc Miles will do everything he can to help Chev giving him advice on how to keep his heart going. Venus is the brother of Kaylo who goes on to help Chev to get revenge for his own brother’s death. We have more gangs that are working against Chev this time, some return others are new.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.
Performances – Jason Statham does what he can with the leading role, he handles the action with ease, only he just doesn’t reach the same levels as before, this does affect the rest of the cast who do struggle to make an impact in this film.
Story – The story does follow the next chapter of Chev’s life, the one after he should have died, only for him to get a new chance which sees him needing to race against time to get his own heart back. This side is simple enough at does work for what the film is doing, Chev take on endless amounts of enemies, the problem here with the story is that we dive too much into the side characters of what is going on and end up getting too many completely random scenes which just seem offensive on too many levels. This story does end up becoming messy and just has one of the worst scripts out there.
Action/Crime – The action does try to become bigger, only for it to be shot in a style which doesn’t make it easy to connect. The criminal world does feel bigger, but now everything does seem more personal rather gang controlled.
Settings – The film remains set in LA which does continue to show the crazy gangs that are meant to operate in this city.
Special Effects – The effects do feel like they are being more ambitious, only for some to be so farfetched they only seem to make things look confusing, including an insulting looking Godzilla like fight.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Godzilla like fight.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top sequel which only ends up becoming too much to handle for the crazy nature of everything going on.
Overall: Too wild.