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Denise Dove-Neill
(1 KP)
Last Active: Feb 1, 2018 -
DO
Dennis O'Neil
Author
Merissa (13820 KP) rated The Ultimate Goal (Brooklyn Blades #1) in Books
Jan 29, 2026
THE ULTIMATE GOAL is the first book in the Brooklyn Blades series, and we begin with the captain, Ripley (Rip) Tremaine, and a sports (for now) reporter, Adrian Hunt.
Rip never knew his dad, and his mom died when he was young, so he was brought up alongside his best friend, Neil. There is an 8-year age difference between Rip, Neil, and Neil's younger brother, Adrian - a fact which stopped Rip from noticing him when they were all younger. Adrian's now 28, and trying to make a go of a career that has landed him as an intern to the Sports Desk, even though he wants to do hard news.
This is a sports romance, so be prepared for plenty of ice time and locker time. And I loved it for that! The desire and need for the Blades to win the Stanley Cup comes across loud and clear, even for a non-US person.
There is plenty of action in this story, both on the ice and in the sheets, although they both 'fight' it for a little while, before faking it for Adrian's career, and then finally admitting it is real. I know Denis is the next one, and I'm being honest here, he did himself no favours in this story. I look forward to seeing how his story works out.
Overall, this was a great book that I enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 29, 2026
Rip never knew his dad, and his mom died when he was young, so he was brought up alongside his best friend, Neil. There is an 8-year age difference between Rip, Neil, and Neil's younger brother, Adrian - a fact which stopped Rip from noticing him when they were all younger. Adrian's now 28, and trying to make a go of a career that has landed him as an intern to the Sports Desk, even though he wants to do hard news.
This is a sports romance, so be prepared for plenty of ice time and locker time. And I loved it for that! The desire and need for the Blades to win the Stanley Cup comes across loud and clear, even for a non-US person.
There is plenty of action in this story, both on the ice and in the sheets, although they both 'fight' it for a little while, before faking it for Adrian's career, and then finally admitting it is real. I know Denis is the next one, and I'm being honest here, he did himself no favours in this story. I look forward to seeing how his story works out.
Overall, this was a great book that I enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 29, 2026
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 4 in TV
Nov 18, 2019 (Updated Nov 18, 2019)
Season 4 of AHS, subtitled 'Freak Show' gets a bad wrap in my opinion.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.