Search

Search only in certain items:

Buried Deep (Jessie Cole, #4)
Buried Deep (Jessie Cole, #4)
T.R. Ragan | 2019
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two missing persons. One apparent suicide. Three cases pushing PI Jessie Cole and crime reporter Ben Morrison closer to the edge.
Lacey Geiger could be a very rich woman. If Jessie Cole can find her. The beneficiary of a sizable estate, Lacey vanished years ago after escaping an abusive childhood and is veiled now behind a new identity. Jessie has two weeks to find her. It’s enough time to discover that Lacey is hiding from so much more than anyone realized. But she isn’t the only one with secrets. And Jessie’s not the only one searching for the truth.
A concerned daughter has asked for help finding her mother—a woman said to have been murdered thirty years ago. And Jessie’s colleague Ben, an amnesiac still struggling with the bloody memories of a shattered life, is nearer to piecing together a very dark picture. Especially when someone he detests is found dead, hanging from a tree by a riverbank.
Now as the mysteries, puzzles, and lies of three investigations are unearthed, Jessie and Ben will risk everything to bring all that is hidden into the light.

Jessie Cole a private investigator, girlfriend to Colin, friend to Ben, mother to sister's daughter Olivia, and boss to Zee has another round of nail biting, page turning, what the heck is going on cases to solve.
This series just keeps getting g better and better. Jessie Cole is super busy now with several cases open when she gets two more cases added to the load and they just happen to be missing person cases.
The story was well written with characters I love. It was fast paced with lots of suspense.
We finally come to some conclusion and magnificent reveals for some.
Wow what an ending this one had!
Waiting and hoping there will be a book 5.; if not a spin off series???!
Highly recommend reading.

A Special Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC
  
Uncivil Wars (BBS #2)
Uncivil Wars (BBS #2)
Deborah Dorchak, Wendi Kelly | 2013 | Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As the synopsis states, this starts about six months after Loyalties finishes. Life has sort of settled down for the Pack but that is all about to change. The catalyst for this is Cole as he decides he doesn't want to be without his wife any longer. He sets a ball rolling that will take you on a wild and emotion-packed story. The Pack continues to grow, with new characters like Selene, Jake and Collette, who have their own story to tell. We learn more about Diego and Olivia, their individual and joint pasts, the decisions they have made, and the consequences that still need to be faced.

Although this book is long - in fact, they all are - you will still be left wanting more. You won't realise just how long you've been reading, every interruption will be met with gritted teeth, and every opportunity to read will be grasped.

The book leads up to a big climax that does, however, have a cliffhanger ending. Now before you think that this is a normal battle, just remember how the books are written. It is intense, real, gritty and dirty. It is exactly how you would imagine to be! It will make your heart pound faster, as your breath catches in your throat. Trust me, by the time it actually finishes, you will be glad for a rest, if only to get your pulse back to normal.

Absolutely fantastic, thrilling and emotional, I really can't recommend this highly enough.

* 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!
Sep 30, 2015
  
Tau's Pride: Sacrifice
Tau's Pride: Sacrifice
Deborah Dorchak, Wendi Kelly | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tau's Pride: Sacrifice by Wendi Kelly & Deborah Dorchak
Tau's Pride: Sacrifice continues in the world of Angels, shifters, demons, Talutha, and goodness know's what else. I'm sure we've only scraped the top of the barrel as far as Kelly and Dorchak's imagination goes! Although this is only the second book in this series, I would highly recommend you read the first series, just to get a handle on the different characters and the relationships they have.

You may remember that I fell out with Cole in the last book. Well, he is making efforts to redeem himself, but to be completely honest, it's not really working with me. Then again, I have always been biased towards Harry. The fallout/effect from the last book is shown in this one, with the affects being far-reaching to everyone connected to Regina. I love that woman, I really do, but she really needs to start focusing on the bigger picture. She has so much help on hand, people who love her, that I wish she could take a moment to simply breathe. Actually, I related to Olivia in this book A LOT! There is always drama, always some crisis going on, and as for who is with who - well, I've actually given up on that now. I just figure that they are all together, in one way, shape, or form, and that will have to do. With so many characters, new and old, all interlinked in so many different ways, I just can't keep track in my mind over who is with whom! Another thing that Olivia mentioned is the fact that it is now the Pride, not the Pack. In fact, the pack is now given a lower-case when it's mentioned. I get that they are doing something completely new, and with new comes chaos, but I do feel a sense of sorrow that the cats seem to be taking over.

Now, with that all being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in one sitting. You have bad guys, you have good guys, and then you have bad guys that you actually feel sorry for and want to help (Victoria and Simon anyone?). This book is extremely well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow. The scenes also smoothly flow from one to the next without any jarring. The world building is amazing, and I am in awe of these two authors for not only providing such a distinctive story, but in a world is intricate and intriguing, and it will keep you turning the pages. Definitely 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!
  
40x40

Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Five Feet Apart (2019) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Five Feet Apart (2019)
2019 | Drama, Romance
Firstly, I think it's nice to see a film partnering with a charity and bringing awareness to a wider audience. The advert for the charity before the film was a nice touch too.

Secondly, it appears that they shook the Disney tree hard for this one. Cole Sprouse and Moises Arias both had big roles on top Disney shows and Haley Lu Richardson appeared once in a show I've never heard of before.

Five Feet Apart opens really nicely with Stella and her friends. Everything is jolly old teen movie until they leave and Stella's demeanour changes. She isn't happy, her face is instantly one of resolve and sadness. The transformation of the room shows you everything that was hiding behind the camera, homely teen bedroom to sterile hospital room. It's a simple scene but it sets up Stella's character nicely.

This isn't a new tale, the idea is tried and tested over the years. A love story through the battle of illness is a guaranteed tearjerker, and this certainly delivered on that point.

Will's arrival at the hospital intrigues her almost instantly. He's the polar opposite of Stella, she has her reasons to battle through while Will is more for living for the moment, consequences be damned.

It's an enjoyable film, but the thing I think stands in the way for some people is the fact that we've never been in this sort of situation so everything seems farfetched. I can't imagine what it's like, but I can imagine emotions running high and recklessness coming from it. As an adult (ugh) I can't imagine putting my life in danger like the characters do, but I'm certain that teenage me would have done the same things... boy was she an idiot.

During the scene where Stella goes under general anaesthetic she's looking up at a drawing placed on the ceiling above her, as the drugs take hold the picture starts to come to life. It was a little whimsical for the film, but being that they use illustration in different areas it was a nice inclusion.

Stella's optimism and determination in the face of her CF is so strong and Haley Lu Richardson does a great job of dealing with the wide range of emotions that she cycles through. (Am I the only one who was getting Olivia Cooke vibes through this?)

The cheese to Stella's chalk is Will played by Cole Sprouse. Will is the fun-at-any-price sort of rebel so of course those two are perfect for each other. If I'm being brutally honest I always thought Cole Sprouse was the one that couldn't act. His performance in this has convinced me otherwise. As frustrating as I found Will's actions I thought he was an interesting character and that Sprouse brought him to life in a very believable way.

The pair make for a great lead couple, even if we are subjected to a rather condensed romance. I didn't really get much sense of how time flowed in this movie, it could be weeks, months, I couldn't tell. Due to the nature of their condition there's a necessary separation throughout the film and as you watch you wonder how they're going to deal with that when romances are traditionally full of closeness... I didn't think that something so simple could make me cry, but somehow there I was with tears rolling down my face. It was a bizarre idea but it worked really well visually even if it did get a little weird at one point.

At the end we ramp up fairly quickly and we see a swift change in our main characters. Emotions are so high that everything gets a little crazier. While the change in Stella didn't feel quite right to me, Will's change was a nice move and Sprouse's performance really showed the panic and reality behind the situation.

When we come to the conclusion of the film I could not have been more annoyed. If someone did that to me I think I'd punch their lights out, five feet rule or not.

Oh! And that five feet rule, you know, the one in the title of the film? We see it referred to early on and it's actually a six feet rule... that discrepancy annoyed me for longer than it probably should have done.

This might not be groundbreaking in its genre but it was an enjoyable watch. It gives you a different take on this popular medi-romance trend.

What you should do

If you like these devastating romances then this is definitely worth catching at some point.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

There's a lot of artistic talent flying around between the main characters and I'd love to pinch a little bit of that.
  
The LEGO Ninjango Movie  (2017)
The LEGO Ninjango Movie (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure, Animation
The newest Lego movie, ‘The Lego Ninjago Movie’ is being released by Warner Brothers and stars Jackie Chan as Master Wu; Dave Franco as Lloyd Garmadon; Michael Pena as Kai;Fred Armisen asCole; Abbi Jacobsen as Nya; Kumail Nanjiani as Jay; Zach Woods as Zane; Olivia Munn as Koko (Lloyds mother); and Justin Theroux as Garmadon.

The film is rated PG and is about 90 minutes.

 

The story follows the main character Lloyd and his troubled (almost nonexistent) relationship with his father, Garmadon. We begin the movie believing Lloyd has no friends, but quickly discover he DOES have a small handful of friends, and that he, as well as his friends Kai, Cole, Nya and Zane are all leading a secret life as Ninjas. The rest of the kids at school all dislike Lloyd because his father Garmadon is forever attacking the city and destroying everything.

 

As we see Garmadon repeatedly try to conquer Ninjago city, we see that the Ninjas, along with their “Mech”, and the help of Master Wu, keep beating him back.

 

Frustrated that his father won’t acknowledge his pain at being abandoned, Lloyd defies Master Wu and attacks Garmadon with ‘the ultimate weapon’.

The Ultimate Weapon ends up doing more harm than good and destroys a large portion of Ninjago city, leaving Garnadon in control of Ninjago city. Master Wu instructs Lloyd and his fellow Ninjas to find their inner strength and ‘the missing piece’ in order to defeat Garmadon.

 

The Ninjagos then start off on a journey to find what Master Wu has instructed. During one important scene, we discover that Gamadon is Master Wu’s brother!

Apparently, this movie is a spin off of a popular kids TV series, but I was unaware of that. My son does have some Lego Ninjago books and Lego sets, so I knew they existed, but not to what extent.

I was not a fan of the breaks in the middle of the movie to ‘non animated’ pieces, they seemed cheesy to me, and ‘comic-book-ish’. I found them annoying. I did like the tie in at the beginning and end however, of the live action sequences. I felt it tied the story together.

I thought the Ninjago Lego movie was pretty decent, I liked it somewhat better than the Lego Batman Movie. I did find the hot / cold attitude of the Garmadon character a bit hard to follow, but the existence of that same attitude did give that character some of the best lines of the movie.

 

The PG rating was fair and at no point did I feel uncomfortable having my 9 year old there to see it, and he loved the movie. He said his favorite part was “the action packed fight scene between the brothers in the woods.”

The 9 year old gives the movie 4 out of 5 stars, and