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Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
1998 | Action, Family, Sci-Fi
This is the Trek movie that I’ve probably seen least often. It’s one that is very “planet-bound” ones (another of those is still to come in the series), and as such it has never grabbed my interest in the same way as many of the others. Having watched it again, it’s actually better than I remember it. The rejuvenating capabilities of the planet on Geordi LeForge’s eyes leads to a genuinely moving sunset scene. And love is in the air too. Firstly, between Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the ‘older woman’ Anij (Donna Murphy): very tastefully and nicely done. And secondly, the relationship is also rekindled between Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Riker (Jonathan Frakes), though you have to wonder if Frakes pulled ‘director’s privilege’ in getting the naked bath scene with Sirtis – lucky dog!

That being said, and despite the heavyweight involvement of F. Murray Abraham and Anthony Zerbe. the “First Contact” magic is rather missing here. There’s a sense of desperation when a previously unknown ‘Captain’s Yacht’ hoves into view (as if!) and when the Enterprise’s “manual steering column” (a PS/2 joystick!) pops up!

So, will the TNG era end with a bang or a whimper?
  
Fatal First Edition
Fatal First Edition
Jenn McKinlay | 2024 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Aboard a Moving Train
This book starts out in Chicago, where Lindsey Norris and her husband, Sully, are attending the annual archivist convention. Lindsey is having a fantastic time, and that includes the train trip back home to Connecticut. Quite a few of the attendees are also on the train. However, when Lindsey wakes up the next morning, someone is dead in the compartment next to her and Sully. Does it have anything to do with the valuable first edition that Lindsey stumbled upon during the keynote address?

One thing I love about cozy mysteries are the familiar locations and characters, so I was happy to see this book found an excuse to spend a lot of time at home while continuing the plot. The series regulars gave us some great laughs. Meanwhile, the plot zigs in a different direction part way through, and I was hooked as a result. Unfortunately, it did make the climax a bit rushed, although it was still logical. Fans will be pleased with this entry in the series. If you haven’t started these books yet, you’ll be happy you changed that.
  
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Windfall (Weather Warden, #4)
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
112 of 220
Book
windfall ( Weather Wardens 4)
By Rachel Caine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Joanne is all-out exhausted. When not donning a rain slicker and camping it up for the camera as a TV weather girl, she has to contend with a vengeful cop on her tail, her newly divorced sister moving in—with a charming but mysterious British beau in tow—and getting caught in the middle of a supernatural civil war. Worst of all, her boyfriend in a bottle can't stop draining her powers and is fast morphing from the Djinn of her dreams to the Ifrit of her nightmares.

As the agreement between the Wardens and the Djinn starts to self-destruct, Joanne finds herself forced to choose between saving her lover, saving her Warden abilities...and saving humanity.

For anyone following this series I think this is so heartbreaking for Jo. She is back to being human and fighting to keep David while the wardens and Djinn are on the verge of war. She’s being pulled in all directions. It took me a while to go back to this series but I’m so glad I did. I miss Rachel Caine.
  
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ClareR (6225 KP) rated Soldier Sailor in Books

Jun 26, 2024  
Soldier Sailor
Soldier Sailor
Claire Kilroy | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This WILL be on my books of the year list. It’s raw, moving, and reminded me of the slog of parenting babies and small children. And I was/ am one of the weirdos that enjoyed it. My mantra during that “4th trimester” with 2 premature babies (2 1/2 years apart) was “This will pass, I’ll look back on this as a memory”, though. It was tough. And my eldest son is disabled, so we had that (the disability!) to work with, too.

I think that’s what this book grasped so well - the sheer overwhelm of new parenting. It is like sleep-deprived drowning. I was very lucky to have an extremely useful/ thoughtful co-parent, unlike Soldier, who was left largely on her own to negotiate parenting a baby and later, a toddler. And I have very low housework expectations (still. Should I admit that?!).

The last 40 or so pages contains some of the best writing I’ve read in a while. I had to shut myself away to read it, while I sobbed and tried to carry on reading through my tears.

Utterly beautiful, and I urge you to read it.
  
Hunger and Thirst
Hunger and Thirst
Claire Fuller | 2026 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Horror
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It’s no lie when I say that Claire Fuller is a writing chameleon - every book I’ve read has been a different genre. I’ve loved them all, as well.
Ursula has been in the care system, moving from one foster home and children’s home to another since she was 8 years old. We meet her as she starts her independent life in a halfway house, and a new job in an art school post room. She moves from the halfway house to a squat with a work colleague, and this is where it starts to get really uncomfortable. There’s a really menacing air to The Underwood, and that, along with Ursula’s traumatic childhood, really ramps up the tension.
In the present day, a documentary maker uncovers what she believes is the truth about that summer, and the adult Ursula, known as Uschi, realises that the past can never stay hidden.
I love a slow burn, and it really added to the menace and tension. There were some seriously scary elements, made worse by the fact that you never really see what you’re scared of (my favourite!). The contrast of Ursula’s friends home and The Underwood exacerbated the looming threat.