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Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated Timeless in Books

Oct 18, 2018  
Timeless
Timeless
R A Salvatore | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I missed out on a lot!
Contains spoilers, click to show
***Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned***

It’s greatly recommended you read previous novels leading up to this one. Mind you, it would help immensely if you read the entire Drizzt timeline (which is a lot!) but since that is a lot of books to catch up on, the last few trilogies leading up to this one would likely help. My mistake was not doing so and I was left with lots of gaps and holes that I didn't quite understand. A lot of references were made about past adventures. Admittedly, I was lost for some parts of the book but, since I love Drizzt and his buddies I definitely will go back and reread this one and read the past novels to catch up on what I have missed.

The best part of about this book is Zaknafein and how he meets up with Jarlaxle - which is always an adventure in itself. The chapters are divided evenly into both past and present. I preferred the chapters featuring Zaknafein and Jalaxle. You had past characters appear again and that old nostalgic feeling comes back when you’re reading about them. Their adventures and intrigue were fun to read, the fighting scenes excellent, and there’s even a slight comedic section of Jalaxle and the subject of his hair.

The chapters set in the present are all right. Zaknafein is resurrected to reasons unknown and it’s encountered with suspicion. You’ll have all your characters coming back and naturally you’ll be happy to see them. I noticed some things have definitely changed with them. So it really felt like I was missing something (I probably did, hence why I have to go back and read the past novels for this) I like the exchanges between Zaknafein and Drizzt. Ah but the fighting scenes that included them both were enjoyable to read. They were in sync and it felt like watching a dance. It was beautifully descriptive.

The plot was good and it obviously leaves room for more to come. That being said, I can’t wait to hear further and read more about Zaknafein. He’s got a long way ahead of him and lots to catch up on. I look forward to it. In the meantime, I think it’s time to play catch up on Drizzt and company.

As mentioned earlier, really don’t recommend if you haven’t read Drizzt before. You’ll be lost and the read won’t be as enjoyable. I suspect if read in the particular order, it will be a great read and can’t be missed.
  
Love and Monsters (2021)
Love and Monsters (2021)
2021 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
10
7.8 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
This is the nearest I've gotten to having a surprise film without the cinema. Netflix, I applaud you.

The world has been ravaged by a plague of mutated animals and the remaining humans have been in hiding for the last seven years. But Joel's life has changed and now he wants to leave the colony to find the girl he loved when the world changed. The only problem? She's 85 miles away, and he's a little inept.

I really love a good disaster/apocalyptic film, and the "how it happens" portion is usually my favourite part. There's only a small amount of that, and I think they could have gone into that slightly more (because I always love an origin story). What we do get here though leads us in well and gives us a very quick and solid summation of what we need to know.

There's a slight Lost feeling to the whole film, and that's not a bad thing, it gave it a very comfortable vibe. What the story was showing the viewer, and where it leads were wonderfully crafted... and let's move on to the next bit before I start gushing.

Dylan O'Brien plays the lead role of Joel, as well as supplying his voiceover for the film as well, and both bits were just perfect. He's humorous, sweet, courageous and a bit scared from time to time, and you see that evolve throughout the film. There are times where you might want to give him a talking to about how the real world works, but ultimately he is exactly right for this story.

Along his journey, Joel meets Clyde (Michael Rooker) and Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt, who I felt like I knew but couldn't place. If you look her up you'll discover she is Young Gamora). These two are such an entertaining duo. Bonded through crisis, they're taken their own way and when they meet Joel they form a new connection and help him to become the person he needs to be. It was so well thought-out, and honestly, they nailed the casting. I'd happily watch a sequel of those two on their adventures.

Love and Monsters combines the film and the voiceover so well that it gives you a seamless story that isn't filled with forced scenes that are trying to get necessary points across. Every scene added value for me.

Looking at the effects and design you can tell someone had fun creating the creatures and landscape. They're vibrant and inventive, and the fact that they clearly thought through everything from the environments each colony live in, to what the creatures do, is just a delight on screen. I think the crab is by far my favourite example of this.

For a film I loved this much, I'm surprised at how little I've written. Are there things I could nitpick over? Possibly. But while there are things I'd have loved to see in the film, what we were given was exactly what it needed to be. There was a bit of everything and some moments of emotion that I really wasn't expecting. I'm just so glad I saw this film, and I had absolutely no hesitation in the score I gave this film.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/04/love-and-monsters-movie-review.html
  
Telling Jase
Telling Jase
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ

My rating: 4/5 stars

Jase grinned, “you were about to tell me why you always hated Marcus?”

Sean closed his eyes. Truth, he reminded himself. He took a few deep breaths. “I envied him, Jase.”

“What? Why?”

Truth, truth, truth. “Because he got to have you, and I didn’t. Because I wanted you. I wanted to be with you. Jase, I… I think I still want that.”

Sean “Tag” Taggert’s fiancee abandoning him and their son, Cody, is a blessing in disguise. Sean had never loved her and only committed to her for Cody’s sake. He was really in love with his best friend and former college roommate Jase, and now he might have the chance to tell him that.

But there was just one problem. Jase didn’t know Sean was bisexual. And Sean had no idea how Jase would react to the news that he had been in love him for three years.

Jase is incredibly hot and I can see why Sean’s attracted to him. He’s sexy and dominant, but also sweet, and caring, and great with kids. Jase is always there for Sean and a good friend. And Jase is also very attracted to Sean. There is no question at all about that.

And damn, they have good chemistry between them. Their relationship isn’t forced or fake at all.

Jase pulled off his t-shirt and tossed in on a chair. Tag stared at him with hungry eyes, and pulled his shirt over his head as well. Jase bit his lip and held back a groan. Tag had more tattoos. There were at least three new ones that he could see, tribal patterns on each pec, and a dragon, low on his left stomach, that halfway disappeared beneath his drawstring pants.

Jase ended up hopping quickly into the bed, when the thought of following the dragon’s tail into Tag’s pants caused in him a very noticeable reaction.

Sean killed the light and climbed in next to him. He scooted over till his shoulder was pressed against Jase’s chest. Jase reached across Tag’s body and grabbed his hand. His forehead touched the side of Tag’s head. He smells like home, he thought. He squeezed Tag’s hand and whispered. “Nite, Tag.”

“Nite Jase.”

They are so cute together. Telling Jase is the perfect story to put you in a good mood.

But it’s not completely perfect. The beginning is awkward. Sean comes home early to hear Jase and his then-boyfriend having sex in their room and within a matter of minutes he knows for sure he’s bi and in love with Jase. Just because he got turned on by sex sounds. That felt forced and insta-love, even if most of the story doesn’t.

I also couldn’t picture Lisa as a real person at all. Even though we never actually see her in the story, she plays a huge part. Despite all of the time Sean and Jase spend talking about her and all the time Sean spends thinking about her, she remains an undeveloped plot device instead of a real character.

Despite those flaws, this story is worth 4 stars. It’s a quick, fun read that I highly recommend.
  
AD
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first thing I said to my hubby after I started reading this book was, "It has been WAY too long since I have read a Kristi Ann Hunter book." I absolutely LOVE her style and voice. The humor infused with the stark realities of life. The faith combined with growth. And the adventures...OH, the adventures these characters have is of epic proportions.

The first thing that stood out to me in this story is the completely new-to-me setting and theme. Although set in Regency England, we spend most of our time outside of London in a forgotten manor. Our leading lady is one who has been scorned by society and lives to protect those who would also be outcasts. I love Kit's passion and heart. She learns so much along her journey and in the end, becomes even more beautiful because of the trust she puts in God. Lord Wharton is swoony on all accounts. His love for the children and for Kit produce such tingling sensations as to set my heart ablaze with admiration.

If you are a fan of Regency books and haven't read a Kristi Ann Hinter book...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? If you HAVE read her books...You NEED to get this one in your hands...like yesterday. A Defense of Honor is my favorite KAH story to date and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!

I received a complimentary copy of A Defense of Honor through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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Royals
Royals
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Delightful romance.
So I’ll admit. The only reason I picked this book up is because the second book in the series, Her Royal Highness, looks like an adorable lesbian romance and I thought I should start at the beginning of the series. I’m glad I did, because Royals is a delight. Daisy is a spirited, no-nonsense teenager who doesn’t get the appeal of all this “royal” stuff, and she’s not one to mince words for the sake of appearances. As you can imagine, that ruffles a LOT of royal feathers! Add in a posse of noble ne’er-do-wells trying to get in trouble, and you’re in for some fun.

Interestingly, I’m torn now on whether to read the second book! Rachel Hawkins is a fantastic writer, so I have no doubt she’ll write a great second book, but the love interest in the next book, Princess Flora, did not make a great impression on me in this book. I was glad she only made a short appearance. It doesn’t sound like the next book is told from her point of view, though, so maybe it will be okay. The series definitely has a lot of potential, as there’s still several members of the Prince’s posse to tell stories about!

I do enjoy a good royal romance, and these are interesting in that they’re contemporary, so the royals are concerned with their reputation, and treated like massive celebrities, but have lost a lot of their intimidation factor and power when it comes to normal people. Daisy sees it more as an inconvenience than anything else, it seems.

One content warning – there was a scene with an unasked-for kiss that could have been called sexual assault if Daisy had been less charitable about it. It wasn’t malicious. But it was questionable. So beware if that’s something you want to avoid.
  
First Man (2018)
First Man (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama, History
POV launch sequences (1 more)
Claire Foy
A bit slow (2 more)
A little long
Terrible sound mixing
I love a good space movie.
Everyone knows the story of the first moon landing - who, what, where, when, how - but this movie goes a bit deeper than the history books you've read. I'm not spoiling the ending by telling you they land on the moon; you already know this. What you may not know is what led up to that historical moment: the tests, the failures, the losses, the toll taken on the astronauts and their families during NASA's race to the moon. This movie does well in that respect. Claire Foy does an amazing job of making you feel with her and for her. The POV in the launch sequences is terrific. You almost feel like you're in the cockpit with Armstrong as he's launching into space. Really well done.

Now, the bad.
- It was slow, and probably too long.
- Ryan Gosling has exactly one facial expression throughout the entire movie. He goes through the proper emotions, but his face does not. Even when he's crying over the death of his daughter, the only thing that changes about his face is the added tears.
- The sound mixing was terrible. The effects were turned up far too high and the voices far too low, to the point where I sometimes couldn't hear what was being said, and as a result I definitely missed some partial conversations. This is one of my biggest movie pet peeves.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but it's not one I'd need to watch again down the road.
  
I Love You Just the Way You Are
I Love You Just the Way You Are
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Although there is never a bad time to read to a child I Love You Just The Way You Are by Ghabeba Hurkchand seems to lend itself well to a bedtime book. It may also be good after a child has done something wrong and has been punished or is just feeling bad as a good way to reassure them.

This book takes readers through a bear family’s day. The parent bear explains what the cub did and tells that cub that it is loved anyway. It starts out with being grumpy in the morning and tired in the afternoon. It even talks about when leaving home for the day becomes too much for some children. The book finally ends with the parent holding the two cubs and telling them “I love you forever”. It is hard to accurately describe this book, but I highly recommend it.

What I liked best is that all children can be difficult at times and the events in this book are extremely accurate. This book is very specific on things such as not understanding why a child did something, yet reassures them that they are loved. There really is not anything I did not like about this book.

Although children can read this book themselves the content feels more geared towards parents reading it to there children. While I recommend this to all parents some have children that are a little more moody than others and would probably benefit from this book the most. No matter what the age every child should hear how much they are loved daily. I give this book a 4 out of 4 rating. This book is just perfect for reading to children. It touches on very real subjects for children (young) to doubt themselves. The text is also very short and keeps children from getting bored which easily happens.

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