Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Merissa (12911 KP) rated Keras (Guardians of Hades #7) in Books

Dec 8, 2020 (Updated Aug 8, 2023)  
Keras (Guardians of Hades #7)
Keras (Guardians of Hades #7)
Felicity Heaton | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
KERAS is the seventh book in the Guardians of Hades series and the final one of the brothers to get his story. This doesn't mean the series is at the end though, oh no. There is a missing sister, don't forget, and Thanatos is just the god to go look for her.

Keras has been the ultimate grouch in all the previous books, being especially hard on Marek whenever Enyo paid him a visit with information. He takes his title as Lord of Darkness very seriously. In his story though, you find out that he struggles on a daily basis with the very real darkness. He even takes (highly addictive) pills that he got from dear old dad to combat it.

Enyo has been a recurring character throughout the series and now we find out just what happened between Keras and her. I found her character to be slightly confusing as she is a goddess of war, but comes across as being almost wallflower-like in some regards and strong in others.

Between the two of them are a multitude of misunderstandings, some of which I didn't get myself. These get swept aside though once the action kicks in because, believe me, you don't have time to breathe once it does.

A full-on, climatic, steamy ending to the brothers. Now I can't wait for the sister! Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 8, 2020
  
Daylight Robbery (Aspen Falls #6)
Daylight Robbery (Aspen Falls #6)
Melissa Pearl, Anna Cruise | 2018 | Contemporary, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Daylight Robbery is the sixth and final book in the Aspen Falls series, and it is definitely the one that tops them all for me.

Chief Marks has been a stoic character throughout this series, and we finally get more information on just why and how he is the way he is. Not only that, but we get a sweet romance between him and Melina, the social worker who helps him love again.

Don't be fooled into thinking it is 'just' a sweet romance though. Oh no! We also get 'Jason Bourne' behaviour, which although it made me wince when I was writing it, made for an excellent addition to the story, really showcasing the 'skills' Leah has, and how prepared to do anything to get away from the police, and their brutality.

This is an amazing, heartfelt story, that I am happy to say does have a HEA, sadly unlike the majority of missing kids cases. Emotions run rife in this story, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The pacing is smooth and keeps you on your toes until you reach the ending. The characters are all believable, both the main characters and the supporting ones.

In my opinion, this is the best book of the series, and absolutely recommended by me!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 25, 2018
  
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Marvel's first horror (themed) movie?
So, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange?

He's now appeared in six MCU movies, including this one (which is only his second solo outing). In order, they are:

Doctor Strange (2016)
Thor: Ragnorak (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

As well as that, he's also appeared in perhaps the best episode of Marvels animated 'What If ...' series, titled 'What if ... Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands?@

The reason I mention the latter?

Because, roughly halfway through this, Dr Strange falls through the Multiverse (first shown on the big screen in No Way Home): one of which looks very much like the animation style used in said series.

The films also relies heavily on the aftermath from TVs WandaVision (although a brief reprise of that is given by Wanda herself, with Vision barely getting a mention), in that Wanda is now desperate to find her missing children and has the Darkhold in her possession.

She also goes on to show why she is one of - if not the - most powerful beings in the MCU, which is where a lot of the horror elements in this story come into play. It is a Sam Raimi film, so if you've seen The Evil Dead (or even the original Spider-man trilogy, in particular Spider-Man 2), you know the type of thing: crazy camera angles, unsettling imagery, zombies, the damned ....

Oh, and it also definitely - finally! - opens up the MCU for the inclusion of the X-Men or The Fantastic Four.
  
The Dog of the North
The Dog of the North
Elizabeth McKenzie | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can remember reading Elizabeth Mckenzie’s The Portable Veblen when it came out, and thinking “What on earth am I reading? This is marvellous!!”. I felt exactly the same way when I read The Dog of the North.
Penny’s life is a mess - she will be the first to admit it. Her marriage is over, she has walked out on her job and her house, and now has nowhere to live. However, she finds herself rushing to her grandmother’s rescue when it looks as though Adult Protective Services are going to get involved in her life unless her house is cleaned. Along the way, she meets her grandmother’s accountant whose living conditions also leave a lot to be desired, her biological father makes an appearance, her grandfather needs her help because of his frankly awful second wife, and we get to see Penny’s sister in Australia as Penny and her grandfather make a last ditch attempt to find her mother and stepfather. They had gone missing in the outback five years before, and Penny is finding it difficult to accept that they’re really dead.

This is a really funny book, but boy is it dark. Whilst I was laughing at the predicaments that Penny found herself in, I realised that she seemed to be helping everyone else, and none of these people seemed to be helping or caring for her. She is a quiet voice amidst the shouting and misadventures of her family (her grandmother is really VERY entertaining!), and she just needs someone to take her side and give her a hug (if she’ll let them!).

It’s an uplifting story all in all, and well worth reading.
  
40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Lone Wolf in Books

Mar 15, 2024 (Updated Mar 15, 2024)  
Lone Wolf
Lone Wolf
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Missing Dog Leads to…an Assassin?
Evan Smoak is trying to deal with some emotional baggage when he gets a phone call asking for his help. It’s a girl looking for a lost dog. Normally, this isn’t the kind of case he would take, but because of who she is, he agrees. When he does find the dog, he also finds himself in a situation much more up his usual alley. Can he figure out how to stop what he has found?

Because of the set up for this book, it starts a little slower than normal, but then the plot gets jump started with a bang and an extended action scene, and we are off and running. The plot touches on AI and social media, and I found it interesting to think about what Evan was seeing here, especially in light of what’s been going on in the world recently. We see a lot of Joey, Evan’s protégé, and I found her annoying at times. On the other hand, I loved the growth we got for her and Evan over the course of the novel. A couple of my favorite supporting players weren’t in this one, but I did like the new characters, and there is a great subplot involving Evan’s neighbors. As expected, there is more language and violence in a thriller than the cozies I normally read, although I did find the language to be excessive, even for the genre. Overall, the writing continues to be lyrical, and I get lost in it as I read. If you are looking for a smart, fun thriller, you’ll be glad you picked up their series.
  
40x40

ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Safekeep in Books

Jan 26, 2025  
The Safekeep
The Safekeep
Yael van der Wouden | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The house in The Safekeep is at the centre of this story. Isabel lives alone in the large family home in the countryside, whilst her brothers, Louis and Hendrik, live in the city. Isabel and Hendrik are invited to meet yet another of Louis’ girlfriends, and they don’t seem to take either one of them seriously. Shortly afterwards, Louis has to leave for France on business, and his girlfriend doesn’t want to stay in their city flat alone. So she asks to stay with Isabel.

Isabel lives a very rigid life. Not religious as such, but close to the Calvinist religion that their mother brought them up in. She’s paranoid about things going missing from inside the house, she constantly counts everything and tries to keep the house as her mother would have done. It becomes clear towards the end why she does this.

Isabel clearly doesn’t want Eva to stay. She wants to be alone in the house. Isabel also doesn’t want the attention of a rather over-enthusiastic male “friend”. She goes on dates with him, barely tolerating his company.

As Isabel and Eva’s relationship develops, we see another side of Isabel, and in the latter half of the book there are diary entries that explain a lot about her (I love a book with diary entries). This is a love story, but also a story about what happened to the property of returning Jews after WW2. It’s a psychological novel with a lot of secrets at its heart. It must have been a tough call for this book NOT to win the Booker in 2024.
  
The Snowman (2017)
The Snowman (2017)
2017 | Crime, Drama, Horror
Location Scouting (0 more)
Not enough suspense (2 more)
poor twist
Plot that just didn't fit or make sense
The Movie that Melted Away
The Snowman was not put together very well. Just like the snowmen that were built in the movie They were missing a lot. No carrot for the noise, no coal for the eyes and not enough suspense to keep me gripped to my seat. I walked in to this movie thinking this would be a thriller, with twists and turns. Right out of the box at the little boys house with the mom was so down played. They could have add a little bit more of a score to show how dramatic the situation was. This was kind of the theme the whole movie.

The acting was actually strong, but the story was not written very well, there were no twists and turns. The flipping from present to past and back was done very poorly and hard to follow sometimes. The characters were not built up to understand their whole story.


The deaths in the movie were not presented very well, I thought there was going to be more bodies stuck in snowmen, but it seemed that the snowmen were more to show that bad things are going to happen. The way the women were murder was so boring. I get what the killer was going for and his MO was very standard, but the presentation could have been so much better.


The one thing that I actually liked was the location that they shot the movie in. It looked very classic with the snow. The landscape and the way they used it in the story was very good.


I had such high hopes for this movie, but by the end of the movie my hope melted away like a snowman at the end of winter.
  
40x40

Serena (8 KP) rated just Jack in Books

Nov 22, 2017  
just Jack
just Jack
K.L. Shandwick | 2015 | Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jack and Lily were the best of friends from a young age and as they got older and realised that they were developing feelings for each other, they decided to have a little distance, that was the most miserable time of their lives. With Lily meeting Alfie, Jack know he will always be part of her life, but not as import and now it would be Just Jack, and he had to work out the missing half of him.
After breaking up with his ex, Rosie because he wasn’t in love with her, he meets a girl called Gini and feels a connection, but it doesn’t work out.
Deciding to take a break from everything Jack heads away for six months and when he returns after trying to reunite with Rosie with no success, Jack takes the opportunity to tour with Rick’s band.
Seeing a music technician that stirs feelings in him, Jack is surprised to find out that it’s Rick’s niece Mya, even more surprised when Rick tells her it’s up to her, he doesn’t tell her what she can and can’t do. With Mya and Jack slowly becoming closer friends and with a little push, one night after a accidently kiss, Jack feels like he never has before.
After they left the tour and returned home, Jack knew he had to work out things with Lily. Holidaying with Mya, he realises that life is too short for what if’s and on a day that they should be so happy Jack gets news that will change their lives.
I loved happily ever after ending and how Jack although he was still Jack, he ended up with more than he could have ever imagined and was more than Just Jack.
  
Caressed by Shadows (Rulers of Darkness #4)
Caressed by Shadows (Rulers of Darkness #4)
Amanda J. Greene | 2017 | Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Caressed by Shadows (Rulers of Darkness #4) by Amanda J. Greene
Caressed by Shadows is the fourth book in the series, and one I was looking forward to. Falcon and Sonya just had to get together! There was just a couple of issues - they were breaking the law if they did, which could result in Falcon's death; Sonya is suffering the throes of the Death Curse; Falcon has such a high sense of honour it threatens to strangle him at every turn. Still, with Silvie's help, there may just be hope for these two.

I would recommend that you read this series in order to get the full enjoyment out of the characters and the situations. With each story, you learn more about the world in which they live, and how they became the vampires they are. Sonya is a warrior queen throughout, and makes no pains to hide it. Accept her as she is, or not, she doesn't really care either way. She is a great character that constantly livens things up. Falcon is a good boy in public, and a bad boy in private, so you get the best of both worlds. Their story has been building up over the past couple of centuries, so no insta-love here.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the thing that lets it down is the editing. There are constant errors throughout which I'm afraid did jolt me out of the story. There was one scene with Gabriel and Gannon where, at best, half a sentence was completely missing. At worst, it could be more. I love this series, but the editing is a problem.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!