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Merissa (13389 KP) rated Daughter of Chaos (Red Magic #1) in Books
Jun 8, 2023
In Darlena's world, magic is divided into three different categories. To put it simply - white is good, black is bad, and green is balance. Normally a witch will choose a path on her 16th birthday. Darlena has passed this milestone without declaring which path she will follow. One evening Hecate shows up and puts Darlena on the spot - which path will she choose? Darlena follows her heart and her instincts and chooses a colour that she has never heard of before - Red. It must be a real path because the next day she is expelled from school with no explanation. Anyone who hears what colour she has chosen, reacts in a very different way to how Darlena was expecting.
I loved how Jen McConnel set this all up and how it was all executed. The writing and links are flawless, with plenty of surprises along the way. I thought having Aphrodite as a patron of Red magic was brilliant, and anyone who thinks that love isn't chaotic is seriously mistaken!
With lessons to be learnt, Darlena has some serious choices to make. Some of which she makes on the rebound, some of which she has time to think about. With friends and allies helping her along the way, as well as enemies trying to hinder her, her life is moving along at breakneck speed. Will she find the time to figure out what to do?
With a cast of amazing characters, from the noble yet slightly self-righteous Justin to the flawed and grasping Rochelle, you have a fast-paced story that will keep you engrossed from beginning to end. I can't wait to read more about Darlena's story to see what happens next. Definitely recommended.
* Verified Purchase on Amazon *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 19, 2016
I loved how Jen McConnel set this all up and how it was all executed. The writing and links are flawless, with plenty of surprises along the way. I thought having Aphrodite as a patron of Red magic was brilliant, and anyone who thinks that love isn't chaotic is seriously mistaken!
With lessons to be learnt, Darlena has some serious choices to make. Some of which she makes on the rebound, some of which she has time to think about. With friends and allies helping her along the way, as well as enemies trying to hinder her, her life is moving along at breakneck speed. Will she find the time to figure out what to do?
With a cast of amazing characters, from the noble yet slightly self-righteous Justin to the flawed and grasping Rochelle, you have a fast-paced story that will keep you engrossed from beginning to end. I can't wait to read more about Darlena's story to see what happens next. Definitely recommended.
* Verified Purchase on Amazon *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 19, 2016
Juggernaut Wars – Idle RPG
Games
App
Enter the world of Juggernaut Wars – the world of swords, sorcery and courage pitted against the...
Otway93 (580 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed Valhalla in Video Games
Feb 13, 2021
Gameplay (4 more)
Ideas
Easter Eggs
Mysteries
Characters
Mini-Arcs (3 more)
Repetitive
Dull ending
Bugs
Repetitive, and a disappointing end to the trilogy.
After getting my hopes up, and initially thoroughly enjoying it, what an absolute stinker this game has turned out to be.
It could have been a great game, but the story, inside and out of the animus, has really let it down.
Firstly, the gameplay is fun, archery, swinging away with axes, beheading everyone in sight, and the mysteries, the new side missions, are an excellent addition, very fun with a great variety, and contain some great little pop cultures references and Easter eggs. The characters are also great, and probably some of the most memorable.
But now the negatives. The first, and for most a deal-breaker, the story. The story is made up of mini-arcs, which all involve gaining allies for your settlement. These tend to be very repetitive in most cases. But of course there are the two main arcs, Eivor's arc, and Layla's arc, the star of the previous two games.
Eivor's arc while very typical, has some really interesting ideas that will blow you away. But don't get too excited, we have no DLC yet, but so far all these awesome ideas and revelations seem to have been forgotten about by the end of the game. The end of his main arc is incredibly dull and predictable.
Layla's arc, unfortunately, while having a good twist, still remains dull, predictable, and comes to a dull, unsatisfactory ending that could have been (and probably was) written in a lunch break.
Finally, the bugs. From day one, this game has had quite a few bugs, ranging from fatal bugs resulting in lost game progress, and preventing the story from progressing, and minor things like being stuck in walls and on viewpoints, horses running out of control (while riding), and being permanently, totally drunk.
Overall, a huge disappointment.
It could have been a great game, but the story, inside and out of the animus, has really let it down.
Firstly, the gameplay is fun, archery, swinging away with axes, beheading everyone in sight, and the mysteries, the new side missions, are an excellent addition, very fun with a great variety, and contain some great little pop cultures references and Easter eggs. The characters are also great, and probably some of the most memorable.
But now the negatives. The first, and for most a deal-breaker, the story. The story is made up of mini-arcs, which all involve gaining allies for your settlement. These tend to be very repetitive in most cases. But of course there are the two main arcs, Eivor's arc, and Layla's arc, the star of the previous two games.
Eivor's arc while very typical, has some really interesting ideas that will blow you away. But don't get too excited, we have no DLC yet, but so far all these awesome ideas and revelations seem to have been forgotten about by the end of the game. The end of his main arc is incredibly dull and predictable.
Layla's arc, unfortunately, while having a good twist, still remains dull, predictable, and comes to a dull, unsatisfactory ending that could have been (and probably was) written in a lunch break.
Finally, the bugs. From day one, this game has had quite a few bugs, ranging from fatal bugs resulting in lost game progress, and preventing the story from progressing, and minor things like being stuck in walls and on viewpoints, horses running out of control (while riding), and being permanently, totally drunk.
Overall, a huge disappointment.
Every Day Above Ground
9.0
Rate It
Book
A favor for a dying ex-con turns into a violent battle against a mysterious enemy for Van Shaw in...
Super Phantom Cat 2
Games and Entertainment
App
Meet Ari. He's on a journey to rescue his sister, Ina, who has been kidnapped in the mysterious...
Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion #1)
Book
A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Forever Marked ( The Marked book 4) in Books
Nov 8, 2022
204 of 230
Kindle
Forever marked ( The Marked book 4)
By Rinna Ford
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶
harmony and peace can be found when three destinies are one.
Emelia thought claiming her caster mate, Ronan, would bring her one step closer to the peaceful life she craves. She couldn't have been more wrong. Her mates are at each other's throats, and she hasn't been able to communicate with her father for weeks, not to mention that they are once again in hiding after the latest Council attack. No, her life is far from peaceful.
The prophecy states that Emelia will be the one to free them all; to bring harmony to the chaotic and divided supernatural community, but she knows she can't do it alone. She will need to trust her allies, old and new, as well as herself and her mates. But when the dust settles, will it be enough? Can she defeat the ruling Council and save the ones she loves?
The end of the prophecy is here, but is Emelia strong enough to be the savior she's meant to be?
This was a decent ending to what’s been a brilliant series. Xan for most of this book and others has drove me crazy so to see him finally get his act together was a sigh of relief. The only thing that kind of bugged me was the ending, it’s been so built up and long coming and it just seemed a little rushed. I think it deserved a bit more time than what it had. The Epilogue was just so cute though.
Kindle
Forever marked ( The Marked book 4)
By Rinna Ford
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶
harmony and peace can be found when three destinies are one.
Emelia thought claiming her caster mate, Ronan, would bring her one step closer to the peaceful life she craves. She couldn't have been more wrong. Her mates are at each other's throats, and she hasn't been able to communicate with her father for weeks, not to mention that they are once again in hiding after the latest Council attack. No, her life is far from peaceful.
The prophecy states that Emelia will be the one to free them all; to bring harmony to the chaotic and divided supernatural community, but she knows she can't do it alone. She will need to trust her allies, old and new, as well as herself and her mates. But when the dust settles, will it be enough? Can she defeat the ruling Council and save the ones she loves?
The end of the prophecy is here, but is Emelia strong enough to be the savior she's meant to be?
This was a decent ending to what’s been a brilliant series. Xan for most of this book and others has drove me crazy so to see him finally get his act together was a sigh of relief. The only thing that kind of bugged me was the ending, it’s been so built up and long coming and it just seemed a little rushed. I think it deserved a bit more time than what it had. The Epilogue was just so cute though.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Abyss in Tabletop Games
Aug 5, 2021
I am not a great swimmer. For several years of my life I would avoid water at all costs. I have since grown to love it, but would still freak out a bit if a crab came towards me. I’m kind of a baby like that. I do so love underwater scenes and the wildlife, so I was bound to enjoy Abyss. Throw in some of the most amazing artwork in all of gaming and you have a hit, right?
Abyss is a push your luck, set collection, hand management, fantasy card drafting game for two to four players. In it players are attempting to gain the most Influence Points to rule the underwater kingdom by recruiting allies and Lords, and controlling locations. The game ends once a player recruits their seventh Lord or if the Lords cards run out before the Court can be refilled.
To setup, lay out the board, shuffle the Exploration cards (starfish backs) and place in the upper left corner. Shuffle the Lord cards (trident backs) and place the deck in the lower left corner. Reveal Lords to each of the spaces drawn to the right of the deck. This is the Court. Shuffle the Monster tokens and place in a messy pile near the board. Next to these place all the Key tokens. Display the Threat Tracker board with the Threat token on the first space. Shuffle the Location tiles into a stack and reveal the first one. Give each player a pearl in a shell cup and the game is ready to begin!
On a player’s turn they will follow the basic structure of Plotting at Court (by spending pearls to reveal more Lords), Taking One Action (by Exploring the Depths, Requesting Support from the Council, or Recruiting a Lord), and Controlling a Location.
Plotting at Court is simply paying pearls to reveal more Lords at Court.
The action choices begin with Exploring the Depths. This is the push your luck portion of the game where players will reveal cards from the top of the Exploration deck one by one, offer the card to their opponents for purchase (payable to the active player in pearls), and then deciding to continue or take into hand. These cards include members of five allied races of underwater species numbered in strength from one to five and monsters. Fighting monsters is an auto-win and the spoils are what is reflected on the Threat Tracker. If players decide to pass, they will move the Threat token down by one level and improve the treasure won when destroying a monster. Any allies that are undrafted will be sorted by family and placed on the appropriate space on the board.
To Request Support from the Council players will take the entire stack from one family on the board. Again, these are made up of the cards that were undrafted from previous Exploring the Depths actions.
Finally, Recruiting a Lord players will be spending their Exploration cards to combine strength values and family types to appease the Lords they wish to recruit. Players will analyze the strength needed on the bottom left of the Lord card along with the number and color of bubbles above the strength number to determine from which families cards will need to be paid. Lords will have special powers that can be used throughout the game until you use them to Control Locations.
Lords and monster tokens afford players keys, and once players accumulate three keys they MUST Control a Location. To Control a Location players will draft a face-up Location tile or draw one to four tiles and draft one of them. Also, players will sacrifice their Lords (and their special powers) to, well, lord over Locations as super powerful property managers. This is done by covering up the special Lord powers with the Location tiles.
Play continues in this fashion of quick turns until a player recruits their seventh Lord or if the Lords cards run out before the Court can be refilled during a Plot at Court action.
Components. As I mentioned in my open, Abyss boasts some of the most magnificent art ever to grace a board game. The aesthetic coupled with the theme makes for a gorgeous game on the table. The cardboard is all good quality and thick, the cards are good quality as well. The black plastic shells and pearls they hold are so nice to play with and I find myself rolling those pearls as fast as I can within the shells and inevitably spilling them everywhere.
The game play is also quite solid. I like drafting games quite a bit and this delivers a lot of drafting in different locations. You draft Exploration cards and Location tiles to beef up your mini empire. Using the Lords as special power cards but having to cover them up to help control a Location is a clever mechanic and helps with any sort of runaway leader issue. I did not touch on a couple rules because they can be a little confusing to new players (ie the affiliation of allies), but even new gamers can appreciate what Abyss does and how beautifully it accomplishes its task.
I cannot overstate how gorgeous this game is and how much I enjoy being able to pull it off the shelf and set it up to people who have never seen it. I mean, even just the box cover, which is a giant face and no text, is very impressive and helps set the tone for the dark but interesting experiences held within. Purple Phoenix Games gives Abyss a boding 14 / 18. Pick it up, post a picture of which box cover you received, and tag us in the post so we can compare.
Abyss is a push your luck, set collection, hand management, fantasy card drafting game for two to four players. In it players are attempting to gain the most Influence Points to rule the underwater kingdom by recruiting allies and Lords, and controlling locations. The game ends once a player recruits their seventh Lord or if the Lords cards run out before the Court can be refilled.
To setup, lay out the board, shuffle the Exploration cards (starfish backs) and place in the upper left corner. Shuffle the Lord cards (trident backs) and place the deck in the lower left corner. Reveal Lords to each of the spaces drawn to the right of the deck. This is the Court. Shuffle the Monster tokens and place in a messy pile near the board. Next to these place all the Key tokens. Display the Threat Tracker board with the Threat token on the first space. Shuffle the Location tiles into a stack and reveal the first one. Give each player a pearl in a shell cup and the game is ready to begin!
On a player’s turn they will follow the basic structure of Plotting at Court (by spending pearls to reveal more Lords), Taking One Action (by Exploring the Depths, Requesting Support from the Council, or Recruiting a Lord), and Controlling a Location.
Plotting at Court is simply paying pearls to reveal more Lords at Court.
The action choices begin with Exploring the Depths. This is the push your luck portion of the game where players will reveal cards from the top of the Exploration deck one by one, offer the card to their opponents for purchase (payable to the active player in pearls), and then deciding to continue or take into hand. These cards include members of five allied races of underwater species numbered in strength from one to five and monsters. Fighting monsters is an auto-win and the spoils are what is reflected on the Threat Tracker. If players decide to pass, they will move the Threat token down by one level and improve the treasure won when destroying a monster. Any allies that are undrafted will be sorted by family and placed on the appropriate space on the board.
To Request Support from the Council players will take the entire stack from one family on the board. Again, these are made up of the cards that were undrafted from previous Exploring the Depths actions.
Finally, Recruiting a Lord players will be spending their Exploration cards to combine strength values and family types to appease the Lords they wish to recruit. Players will analyze the strength needed on the bottom left of the Lord card along with the number and color of bubbles above the strength number to determine from which families cards will need to be paid. Lords will have special powers that can be used throughout the game until you use them to Control Locations.
Lords and monster tokens afford players keys, and once players accumulate three keys they MUST Control a Location. To Control a Location players will draft a face-up Location tile or draw one to four tiles and draft one of them. Also, players will sacrifice their Lords (and their special powers) to, well, lord over Locations as super powerful property managers. This is done by covering up the special Lord powers with the Location tiles.
Play continues in this fashion of quick turns until a player recruits their seventh Lord or if the Lords cards run out before the Court can be refilled during a Plot at Court action.
Components. As I mentioned in my open, Abyss boasts some of the most magnificent art ever to grace a board game. The aesthetic coupled with the theme makes for a gorgeous game on the table. The cardboard is all good quality and thick, the cards are good quality as well. The black plastic shells and pearls they hold are so nice to play with and I find myself rolling those pearls as fast as I can within the shells and inevitably spilling them everywhere.
The game play is also quite solid. I like drafting games quite a bit and this delivers a lot of drafting in different locations. You draft Exploration cards and Location tiles to beef up your mini empire. Using the Lords as special power cards but having to cover them up to help control a Location is a clever mechanic and helps with any sort of runaway leader issue. I did not touch on a couple rules because they can be a little confusing to new players (ie the affiliation of allies), but even new gamers can appreciate what Abyss does and how beautifully it accomplishes its task.
I cannot overstate how gorgeous this game is and how much I enjoy being able to pull it off the shelf and set it up to people who have never seen it. I mean, even just the box cover, which is a giant face and no text, is very impressive and helps set the tone for the dark but interesting experiences held within. Purple Phoenix Games gives Abyss a boding 14 / 18. Pick it up, post a picture of which box cover you received, and tag us in the post so we can compare.
The Collide
8.0
Rate It
Book
The much-anticipated final book in New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight’s Outliers...
series fiction ya social themes