Search
Search results
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Shadow Study (The Chronicles of Ixia #7) in Books
Jun 11, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
102 of 200
Book
Shadow Study (Chronicles of Ixia book 4)
By Maria Snyder
Once, only her own life hung in the balance…
When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.
Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.
As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked.And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive.
This is the first one in this series I’ve struggled with! Usually I devour her books in one or two days this took 4 days not like me at all!! I knew from that first chapter the whole reason she lost her magic and it drove me crazy. Not sure some of Valek’s chapters were needed but I loved janco and Ari’s I did miss those two!! Nice to catch up with Opal and clan and it was still a very good read think It’s more a personal opinion on how I wanted this book to go. I’m not surprised about the commander and I worry about Valek confronting him! I enjoyed the last 10 chapters a lot more than the first 23!
Book
Shadow Study (Chronicles of Ixia book 4)
By Maria Snyder
Once, only her own life hung in the balance…
When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.
Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.
As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked.And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive.
This is the first one in this series I’ve struggled with! Usually I devour her books in one or two days this took 4 days not like me at all!! I knew from that first chapter the whole reason she lost her magic and it drove me crazy. Not sure some of Valek’s chapters were needed but I loved janco and Ari’s I did miss those two!! Nice to catch up with Opal and clan and it was still a very good read think It’s more a personal opinion on how I wanted this book to go. I’m not surprised about the commander and I worry about Valek confronting him! I enjoyed the last 10 chapters a lot more than the first 23!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2492 KP) rated Lost Luggage in Books
Aug 28, 2018
Cyd’s Dream Vacation Turns Into a Nightmare
Despite working as a travel agent, Cyd Redondo has barely traveled herself. That’s why she is so excited to finally win a promotional trip that sends her to Africa. And if she can check in with some of her clients while she is there, so much the better. At least, that’s what she thinks until she lands and discovers that one couple has been arrest. And there seems to be a rash of lost luggage. What is really going on?
The book took a little bit of time with set up before the story really took off, but once it did, it was a fantastic trip. There were so many twists, I had a hard time putting it down. Cyd is a remarkable, resourceful main character, and it was easy to root for her to overcome the many obstacles in her path. There is plenty of humor to keep things going, as well. There is enough language, sex, and violence (especially against animals done by the bad guys in a couple of scenes) to keep this from being one of the cozies I normally read, but if you know that going in, you’ll be just fine.
The book took a little bit of time with set up before the story really took off, but once it did, it was a fantastic trip. There were so many twists, I had a hard time putting it down. Cyd is a remarkable, resourceful main character, and it was easy to root for her to overcome the many obstacles in her path. There is plenty of humor to keep things going, as well. There is enough language, sex, and violence (especially against animals done by the bad guys in a couple of scenes) to keep this from being one of the cozies I normally read, but if you know that going in, you’ll be just fine.
TP
The Painters' Panorama: Narrative, Art, and Faith in the Moving Panorama of Pilgrim's Progress
Jessica Skwire Routhier, Kevin J. Avery, Thomas Hardiman and Leslie L. Rounds
Book
The Moving Panorama of Pilgrim's Progress is an extraordinary 8-foot by 800-foot painting that was...
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Spider in the Web (2019) in Movies
Jun 15, 2020
Lacking of All Entertainment Value
An aging spy goes on one last mission of redemption. His mission: Make a horrible movie that you watch once and once only.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 1
Characters: 0
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 3
Entertainment Value: 4
Memorability: 1
Pace: 4
Plot: 6
The story is one of the best things about Spider in the Web. However, that’s not saying much. At its base, it still manages to get bogged down with confusion, not just with story but with character motivation as well. I spent just as much time successfully following along as I did scratching my head at some of its more confusing moments.
Resolution: 3
I think a huge part of why I hated the ending was because I was still lost by the time I got to it. What are the stakes? Why should I care? These are two simple questions that can make or break a movie if not answered correctly.
Overall: 40
Don’t let that 75% Rotten Tomatoes score fool you. In fact, you would be better served looking at the audience score. Spider In the Web is bad. Real bad. Not All About Steve bad, but enough for me to say it’s a total waste of almost two hours to sit through it.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 1
Characters: 0
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 3
Entertainment Value: 4
Memorability: 1
Pace: 4
Plot: 6
The story is one of the best things about Spider in the Web. However, that’s not saying much. At its base, it still manages to get bogged down with confusion, not just with story but with character motivation as well. I spent just as much time successfully following along as I did scratching my head at some of its more confusing moments.
Resolution: 3
I think a huge part of why I hated the ending was because I was still lost by the time I got to it. What are the stakes? Why should I care? These are two simple questions that can make or break a movie if not answered correctly.
Overall: 40
Don’t let that 75% Rotten Tomatoes score fool you. In fact, you would be better served looking at the audience score. Spider In the Web is bad. Real bad. Not All About Steve bad, but enough for me to say it’s a total waste of almost two hours to sit through it.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Lost Continent (1968) in Movies
May 9, 2021
Highly entertaining but impossible to categorise piece of nonsense from Hammer Films. Starts off looking like a bad melodrama as a freighter sets off from Sierra Leone with a combustible mix of lost souls in the ship's saloon, and an even more combustible cargo of white phosphorous in the hold. The various characters doggedly try to get on with telling each other their back-stories even as the crew is mutinying, the ship is sinking, sharks and giant octopuses are attacking, carnivorous sea-weed is snarling the propellors and fanatical descendants of the Spanish Inquisition are clambering over the side intent on dragging them off to be sacrificed.
One does have to wonder what anyone involved was thinking (the chief culprit, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long-serving Hammer executive Michael Carreras, who was a good producer but not so good at anything else), but the actors attack the ridiculous material with admirable gravitas and the set dressing is decent. It at least hits all the necessary exploitation movie beats (plenty of badly-realised monsters, low-octane action and scantily-clad women), and is very funny, albeit not intentionally. Possibly one of the worst films ever made, certainly the weirdest thing Hammer ever did; rated highly for entertainment value, not actual quality.
One does have to wonder what anyone involved was thinking (the chief culprit, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long-serving Hammer executive Michael Carreras, who was a good producer but not so good at anything else), but the actors attack the ridiculous material with admirable gravitas and the set dressing is decent. It at least hits all the necessary exploitation movie beats (plenty of badly-realised monsters, low-octane action and scantily-clad women), and is very funny, albeit not intentionally. Possibly one of the worst films ever made, certainly the weirdest thing Hammer ever did; rated highly for entertainment value, not actual quality.
The Witchwood Crown
7.0
Rate It
Book
New York Times-bestselling Tad Williams' ground-breaking epic fantasy saga of Osten Ard begins an...
Epic story
Charon Unguarded
7.0
Rate It
Book
‘My friend, if the story is written against you, what you need to do is—’ ‘Change the...
Mythology fantasy humour
Reclamations (BBS #3)
Deborah Dorchak and Wendi Kelly
10.0
Rate It
Book
The secrets of the past have been unearthed and with them, lives torn apart, exposed, and laid to...
Adult Paranormal Romance Action and Adventure Family Saga
ClareR (6091 KP) rated The Household in Books
Jun 25, 2024
Stacey Halls’ latest book The Household, is set in a house for “fallen” women. This house did actually really exist: Urania Cottage was set up by, amongst others, Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Charles Dickens doesn’t feature in this book, although he is mentioned. This wonderful novel is all about the women.
Angela has been stalked for many years, her life made a misery by a man that no one takes seriously. He has been released from prison for another crime (as stalking wasn’t a crime until recently), and Angela is dreading the moment when he turns up again. And you just know it’s going to happen.
There is also the matter of a missing girl: one of the inhabitants of Urania Cottage has lost contact with her young sister, and she’s missing from the big house she worked in.
This book was captivating - the attention to historical detail, the development of the characters (particularly Angela and Martha), the way that with a modern eye, it’s supremely frustrating that young women of any class were held in such low regard. But these women do fight to get the life they want, and that must have been a reasonably rare occurrence.
This is well worth a read - another fantastic read from Stacey Halls!
Charles Dickens doesn’t feature in this book, although he is mentioned. This wonderful novel is all about the women.
Angela has been stalked for many years, her life made a misery by a man that no one takes seriously. He has been released from prison for another crime (as stalking wasn’t a crime until recently), and Angela is dreading the moment when he turns up again. And you just know it’s going to happen.
There is also the matter of a missing girl: one of the inhabitants of Urania Cottage has lost contact with her young sister, and she’s missing from the big house she worked in.
This book was captivating - the attention to historical detail, the development of the characters (particularly Angela and Martha), the way that with a modern eye, it’s supremely frustrating that young women of any class were held in such low regard. But these women do fight to get the life they want, and that must have been a reasonably rare occurrence.
This is well worth a read - another fantastic read from Stacey Halls!
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Pan (Neverland, #1) in Books
May 21, 2019
Fresh take on a beloved faery tale
I bought this book as part of #IndieApril. Unfortunately, my Advanced Reader Copy schedule was too tight, so I wasn’t able to read any of the books I bought until May. As you all know, my the last IndieApril book didn’t impress me, so I figured I would read something by an author that I’ve been dying to read.
Not going to lie, I’ve always wanted to read Gina L. Maxwell simply because she is fantastic to follow on Twitter. She engages with readers and is just so much fun to follow (seriously, you need to follow her @Gina_L_Maxwell). Even though I love her tweets, I was nervous to read one of her books. It’s like that moment when you meet a celebrity, you never know if they’re going to be what you expect or be a disappointment. Well, I can now say that Gina’s writing is perfect. I’m judging myself for taking this long to read one of her books.
Pan is one of my favorite books this year. It’s fun, bright, and the banter was phenomenal. I couldn’t help but swoon after Peter, want to be best friends with Wendy, and at times smack Tinkerbell. It was just perfect. I loved that this was a fresh take on Peter Pan that features no magic. Seriously, the only magic in this book is what Peter can do in the bedroom. Peter is a mechanic, that is sure to make you look at your mechanic differently. Every character that you loved in the original fairytale is in this book. Gina really brought together the aspects of the classic novel and intertwined them into a new unique take. There are so many callbacks to the classic that many Peter Pan fans will squee in enjoyment.
As you all know by now, I’m a sucker for good characters, and this book doesn’t disappoint. Each character is well written. They are not flawless, which makes the story more believable. I loved the chemistry between all of the characters. You can see the love between the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, and Peter, which was really lovely to see.
The relationship between Wendy & Peter was beautiful to watch. I genuinely enjoyed watching them fall in love in both the past and the present. Seeing how each of them grew up was fascinating and incredibly well written. I also liked learning more about the relationship between Peter and Hook. They’re so similar yet different. I cannot wait to learn more about Hook in the next book! I hope that the comradery and differences are explored.
All in all, this was such a fun read. Gina L. Maxwell was able to put a fresh take on a beloved fairytale. It was steamy, and so much fun! I highly recommend this to any romance reader. Even if you’re not a fan of Peter Pan, this fresh take will make you fall in love.
Not going to lie, I’ve always wanted to read Gina L. Maxwell simply because she is fantastic to follow on Twitter. She engages with readers and is just so much fun to follow (seriously, you need to follow her @Gina_L_Maxwell). Even though I love her tweets, I was nervous to read one of her books. It’s like that moment when you meet a celebrity, you never know if they’re going to be what you expect or be a disappointment. Well, I can now say that Gina’s writing is perfect. I’m judging myself for taking this long to read one of her books.
Pan is one of my favorite books this year. It’s fun, bright, and the banter was phenomenal. I couldn’t help but swoon after Peter, want to be best friends with Wendy, and at times smack Tinkerbell. It was just perfect. I loved that this was a fresh take on Peter Pan that features no magic. Seriously, the only magic in this book is what Peter can do in the bedroom. Peter is a mechanic, that is sure to make you look at your mechanic differently. Every character that you loved in the original fairytale is in this book. Gina really brought together the aspects of the classic novel and intertwined them into a new unique take. There are so many callbacks to the classic that many Peter Pan fans will squee in enjoyment.
As you all know by now, I’m a sucker for good characters, and this book doesn’t disappoint. Each character is well written. They are not flawless, which makes the story more believable. I loved the chemistry between all of the characters. You can see the love between the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, and Peter, which was really lovely to see.
The relationship between Wendy & Peter was beautiful to watch. I genuinely enjoyed watching them fall in love in both the past and the present. Seeing how each of them grew up was fascinating and incredibly well written. I also liked learning more about the relationship between Peter and Hook. They’re so similar yet different. I cannot wait to learn more about Hook in the next book! I hope that the comradery and differences are explored.
All in all, this was such a fun read. Gina L. Maxwell was able to put a fresh take on a beloved fairytale. It was steamy, and so much fun! I highly recommend this to any romance reader. Even if you’re not a fan of Peter Pan, this fresh take will make you fall in love.