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Hank Brodt Holocaust Memoirs: A Candle and a Promise
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How will the 14-year-old boy survive the brutalities on his own and keep his humanity? This...
The Adulterants
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From the wickedly funny author of Submarine comes a hilarious new tragicomedy - a screwball tale of...
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
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‘Genius’ Alice Walker ‘Rigorous, convincing, dazzling’ Zadie Smith on Their Eyes Were...
A Night in the Emperor's Garden: A True Story
Qais Akbar Omar and Stephen Landrigan
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In 2005, a group of Afghan actors endeavored to create an unusual dramatic performance--one that...
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Chivalrous (Valiant Hearts, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
In 1217 the daughter of a baron has but one obligation in life: To marry the man her father chooses and continue the family line. But what if said daughter wished for something different, what if her heart's desire was to become a knight?
"Gwen felt no fear, only the surge of battle coursing through her. Steeling her. Strengthening her."
Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be be a chivalrous knight like her brothers. But her ruthless father has plans to marry her to a man who is able to break her free spirit. She is expected to become a meek and submissive wife to whomever her father chooses. Even in the Arthurian-inspired land of North Britannia Gwen is expected to concede to her parents decisions. But when Sir Allen comes to Edendale, Gwen finds herself longing for a family of her own, if Sir Allen were the one she was wed to. When tragedy befalls the land they must make their choices. Ones which could separate them forever. Will the love Gwen has found be lost forever? Will she be forced to marry a brute of a man? Will Sir Allen, the hope of the land, be able to save them all from destruction?
"She would cling tight to her shield of faith. God would be her defense."
Chivalrous is a riveting story of faith, hope and love. As I was reading I was constantly reminded of the Disney movie Brave (which is one of my favorites). Dina Sleiman's Valiant Hearts series is incredible! I love imagining what it would have been like to live in medieval England. However, it is hard for me to fathom being born into a culture that does not allow a person to choose their own future. To be bound by rules and regulations that dictate your every waking moment. It makes me grateful to be born in the time I was. There is a lot of emotions experienced in this book. But through it all the message is clear. Never give up! Keep fighting for what is right and true. And God will be with us every step of the way, guiding us into our destiny.
I received a free digital copy of Chivalrous from Bethany House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Gwen felt no fear, only the surge of battle coursing through her. Steeling her. Strengthening her."
Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be be a chivalrous knight like her brothers. But her ruthless father has plans to marry her to a man who is able to break her free spirit. She is expected to become a meek and submissive wife to whomever her father chooses. Even in the Arthurian-inspired land of North Britannia Gwen is expected to concede to her parents decisions. But when Sir Allen comes to Edendale, Gwen finds herself longing for a family of her own, if Sir Allen were the one she was wed to. When tragedy befalls the land they must make their choices. Ones which could separate them forever. Will the love Gwen has found be lost forever? Will she be forced to marry a brute of a man? Will Sir Allen, the hope of the land, be able to save them all from destruction?
"She would cling tight to her shield of faith. God would be her defense."
Chivalrous is a riveting story of faith, hope and love. As I was reading I was constantly reminded of the Disney movie Brave (which is one of my favorites). Dina Sleiman's Valiant Hearts series is incredible! I love imagining what it would have been like to live in medieval England. However, it is hard for me to fathom being born into a culture that does not allow a person to choose their own future. To be bound by rules and regulations that dictate your every waking moment. It makes me grateful to be born in the time I was. There is a lot of emotions experienced in this book. But through it all the message is clear. Never give up! Keep fighting for what is right and true. And God will be with us every step of the way, guiding us into our destiny.
I received a free digital copy of Chivalrous from Bethany House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Merissa (13086 KP) rated Warrior Hearts Academy: Dragon Lost in Books
May 16, 2025
WARRIOR HEARTS ACADEMY: DRAGON LOST is the first book in the Dragons trilogy, but book 7 in the whole Warrior Hearts Academy series. You'll need to hold onto your hat as this book is BUSY.
This one starts after the Centaur trilogy, which I haven't read, so there were some parts that I didn't fully get. What I do know is that Bree was a centaur who was changed into something else by Isobel and told she was going to save the Realms. Hint - not true! Bree has grown up with her childhood friends and doesn't want to believe anything bad about them. This is to her detriment as they prove, on more than one occasion, that they are quite happy embracing their dark side. Bree has multiple beings inside her. A Gryphon, Caliel, is the most vocal, but there is also an equine and something big and cold. (You don't know for sure yet what it is.) So, that's Bree.
Then you have Razir, the black and purple Dragon, who has his own storyline going on, as well as Tez, who grew up as a human but is also something else. Tez's story also follows his own path, without really connecting with Bree or Razir. It is told from multiple perspectives, with their own stories being told. This meant I had to slow down my reading to make sure I didn't miss anything. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm just saying.
I felt this book was more about setting the groundwork for their story. There is all the backstory for Bree that we absolutely need, as well as Tez, and figuring out how they all fit together with Razir. It is extremely fast-paced with lots of differing stories to keep track of. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all joins together (hopefully) in the next book.
It does end on one helluva cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned.
A great start to the Dragon trilogy and definitely recommended by me.
** 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!
May 16, 2025
This one starts after the Centaur trilogy, which I haven't read, so there were some parts that I didn't fully get. What I do know is that Bree was a centaur who was changed into something else by Isobel and told she was going to save the Realms. Hint - not true! Bree has grown up with her childhood friends and doesn't want to believe anything bad about them. This is to her detriment as they prove, on more than one occasion, that they are quite happy embracing their dark side. Bree has multiple beings inside her. A Gryphon, Caliel, is the most vocal, but there is also an equine and something big and cold. (You don't know for sure yet what it is.) So, that's Bree.
Then you have Razir, the black and purple Dragon, who has his own storyline going on, as well as Tez, who grew up as a human but is also something else. Tez's story also follows his own path, without really connecting with Bree or Razir. It is told from multiple perspectives, with their own stories being told. This meant I had to slow down my reading to make sure I didn't miss anything. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm just saying.
I felt this book was more about setting the groundwork for their story. There is all the backstory for Bree that we absolutely need, as well as Tez, and figuring out how they all fit together with Razir. It is extremely fast-paced with lots of differing stories to keep track of. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all joins together (hopefully) in the next book.
It does end on one helluva cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned.
A great start to the Dragon trilogy and definitely recommended by me.
** 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!
May 16, 2025
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Downhill (2020) in Movies
Mar 8, 2020
I'm not going to lie, the trailer did not look good. I went in expecting something that would hopefully be mildly amusing to pass the time before seeing The Invisible Man, thank goodness I saw this one first, ending my double bill with this would have been heart-breaking.
Pete and Billie are taking their two boys away for a skiing trip, things have been tough recently and they all need a chance to unwind. When a controlled explosion on the slopes gets a little too close for comfort the family are shaken. When the snow settles Billie, who instinctively went to protect her sons looks around and Pete is nowhere to be seen. Tensions run high between the could and they both start to wonder what the situation means for their family.
Let me first state that this is a confused mess of genre, I think that was clear even in the trailer, but it became more evident as I sat through the film. It isn't funny enough to be comedy and it's trying so hard to be comedy that it misses drama.
This could turn into a bitch fest if I let it but there are some good points I would like to mention (while I'm not angry at this film).
Both Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell get to have moments that are actually quite moving. In the trailer we see Billie relaying their story to their friends, that complete scene you can tell that Louis-Dreyfus is digging deep for that emotion and it comes through incredibly well. Ferrell, when he finally gets to open up about the event felt very sincere, though he does manage to get upstaged by Billie seconds later.
The setting is obviously very picturesque and they do a great job of showing the contrast between the two different resorts, there are quite a lot of clips of skiing that feel like stock footage and somehow feel out of place with whatever genre this film was. The snow footage that really excited me was that initial avalanche early on, for the briefest moment I thought I'd misjudged the film (it was a fleeting feeling). The rush of the snow, the sound and the reaction of the people on the deck really made for a tense moment.
I'm at a loss for anything apart from that thought. I think I vaguely remember laughing at one point, or more accurately, exhaling slightly more vigorously than normal, but I couldn't tell you which bit that was. The guy across the aisle from me (who arrived nearly 20 minutes late) was roaring with laughter... I just couldn't see any of it. None of the jokes landed and the one character who seemed to only be there for comedic effect was so over the top that it just became annoying.
Will Ferrell's movie career is an interesting thing to scroll through, it has a lot of films you've heard of, most of which I just kind of go "meh" at and will never see again. I honestly don't think I've enjoyed one of his films since Old School. Downhill is sadly no different. I had hoped that this might have been interestingly different with its drama aspect but there was nothing to dig it out of that avalanche.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wasn't bad, I think mainly because her character wasn't overly burdened with any of the comic stuff to do. A lot of her role was serious and that really helped. But with the film feeling so mediocre/bad around her most of the good acting was lost.
If you can find the good in this film then I'm really pleased for you, but I was left confused and somewhat down about what I'd seen.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/03/downhill-movie-review.html
Pete and Billie are taking their two boys away for a skiing trip, things have been tough recently and they all need a chance to unwind. When a controlled explosion on the slopes gets a little too close for comfort the family are shaken. When the snow settles Billie, who instinctively went to protect her sons looks around and Pete is nowhere to be seen. Tensions run high between the could and they both start to wonder what the situation means for their family.
Let me first state that this is a confused mess of genre, I think that was clear even in the trailer, but it became more evident as I sat through the film. It isn't funny enough to be comedy and it's trying so hard to be comedy that it misses drama.
This could turn into a bitch fest if I let it but there are some good points I would like to mention (while I'm not angry at this film).
Both Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell get to have moments that are actually quite moving. In the trailer we see Billie relaying their story to their friends, that complete scene you can tell that Louis-Dreyfus is digging deep for that emotion and it comes through incredibly well. Ferrell, when he finally gets to open up about the event felt very sincere, though he does manage to get upstaged by Billie seconds later.
The setting is obviously very picturesque and they do a great job of showing the contrast between the two different resorts, there are quite a lot of clips of skiing that feel like stock footage and somehow feel out of place with whatever genre this film was. The snow footage that really excited me was that initial avalanche early on, for the briefest moment I thought I'd misjudged the film (it was a fleeting feeling). The rush of the snow, the sound and the reaction of the people on the deck really made for a tense moment.
I'm at a loss for anything apart from that thought. I think I vaguely remember laughing at one point, or more accurately, exhaling slightly more vigorously than normal, but I couldn't tell you which bit that was. The guy across the aisle from me (who arrived nearly 20 minutes late) was roaring with laughter... I just couldn't see any of it. None of the jokes landed and the one character who seemed to only be there for comedic effect was so over the top that it just became annoying.
Will Ferrell's movie career is an interesting thing to scroll through, it has a lot of films you've heard of, most of which I just kind of go "meh" at and will never see again. I honestly don't think I've enjoyed one of his films since Old School. Downhill is sadly no different. I had hoped that this might have been interestingly different with its drama aspect but there was nothing to dig it out of that avalanche.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wasn't bad, I think mainly because her character wasn't overly burdened with any of the comic stuff to do. A lot of her role was serious and that really helped. But with the film feeling so mediocre/bad around her most of the good acting was lost.
If you can find the good in this film then I'm really pleased for you, but I was left confused and somewhat down about what I'd seen.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/03/downhill-movie-review.html
In Search of a Lost Avant-Garde: An Anthropologist Investigates the Contemporary Art Museum
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In 2008, anthropologist Matti Bunzl was given rare access to observe the curatorial department of...
Shadow Thief (Flirting with Monsters, #1)
4.0
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One sassy pyromaniac thief, three sexy-as-sin monsters, and a paranormal conspiracy of epic...
paranormal urban fantasy reverse harem romance
By Degrees
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Con’s a firefighter; he knows a burning flame when he sees one. But as things heat up between him...