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Merissa (11805 KP) rated The Eternal Series - Box Set Books 1 to 4 in Books
Jul 9, 2021 (Updated Jul 17, 2023)
THE ETERNAL SERIES: Books 1-4 not only gives you the four main stories, but two added extra shorts. The first one tells the origin story of Sammael/Alaric and the second is Kaitlyn and Raif's story.
The premise of this series is a really good one, but I'm afraid the constant time- and head-hopping made the writing style difficult for me to get into. There were also numerous spelling mistakes that jolted me out of the story. There were also a multitude of euphemisms used, eg. middle leg, and flag pole. I'll leave it to you to figure out what was being spoken about. And if I had a euro for every time "Rock, meet hard place," was mentioned, I'd be rich.
I enjoyed most of the characters and their individual stories. I also enjoyed seeing how their relationships continued in the following stories. The only one I really didn't like was Alex. He annoyed me from the beginning and nothing he did changed my mind.
I'm sure there are plenty of stories left in this series and I certainly wouldn't mind continuing with the story. Each book is long enough to sink your teeth into with plenty of intense steamy scenes too.
Great stories and overall story arc, 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, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 9, 2021
The premise of this series is a really good one, but I'm afraid the constant time- and head-hopping made the writing style difficult for me to get into. There were also numerous spelling mistakes that jolted me out of the story. There were also a multitude of euphemisms used, eg. middle leg, and flag pole. I'll leave it to you to figure out what was being spoken about. And if I had a euro for every time "Rock, meet hard place," was mentioned, I'd be rich.
I enjoyed most of the characters and their individual stories. I also enjoyed seeing how their relationships continued in the following stories. The only one I really didn't like was Alex. He annoyed me from the beginning and nothing he did changed my mind.
I'm sure there are plenty of stories left in this series and I certainly wouldn't mind continuing with the story. Each book is long enough to sink your teeth into with plenty of intense steamy scenes too.
Great stories and overall story arc, 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, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 9, 2021
Kaz (232 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
Jun 8, 2019
I'm a fan of the Marvel films (I've never read any of the comics), but I have felt that of late, they have been a bit formulaic. Although 'Captain Marvel' does deliver on some of those things that you expect from a Marvel film, it gives the viewer something different.
Captain Marvel portrayed a strong, but also likable woman and I really liked the empowering message this film sends across.
I really enjoyed the twists and unexpected turns this film has. Captain Marvel's origin story wasn't told in a linear way and I think that this made a refreshing change from how Marvel uses an entire film to explore this. We were drip fed some of the details within the action itself, which left you trying to work everything out for yourself.
There are some great action sequences in this and generally, this was very exciting. I loved the interactions between Captain Marvel, Nick Fury and particularly, the cat!
I also enjoyed the 90's references, it reminded me of my teenage years ( but it also made me feel a bit old too!).
My only negative observations would be that, although I liked that Captain Marvel's origin story was told in a different way, I found it to be a little confusing at times. I also thought that the first half an hour was a little bit slow.
However, this picked up and ended up being a really enjoyable film. I look forward to seeing 'Captain Marvel' in future Marvel films.
Captain Marvel portrayed a strong, but also likable woman and I really liked the empowering message this film sends across.
I really enjoyed the twists and unexpected turns this film has. Captain Marvel's origin story wasn't told in a linear way and I think that this made a refreshing change from how Marvel uses an entire film to explore this. We were drip fed some of the details within the action itself, which left you trying to work everything out for yourself.
There are some great action sequences in this and generally, this was very exciting. I loved the interactions between Captain Marvel, Nick Fury and particularly, the cat!
I also enjoyed the 90's references, it reminded me of my teenage years ( but it also made me feel a bit old too!).
My only negative observations would be that, although I liked that Captain Marvel's origin story was told in a different way, I found it to be a little confusing at times. I also thought that the first half an hour was a little bit slow.
However, this picked up and ended up being a really enjoyable film. I look forward to seeing 'Captain Marvel' in future Marvel films.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Fantastic Four (2015) in Movies
Mar 20, 2019
Worst Hero Movie Ever
As a person that loves superhero movies, all I can say about this one is: What were they thinking??!! I had heard it was a disaster to begin with because the actors and actresses couldn't get along. But as for the movie, the only thing that was done right was the origin story. It was based on the Ultimate FF4 universe. Besides that Doctor DOOM was terrible, The Thing was terrible. Jordan's character was like Johnny Storm, but a black Human Torch. Let's at least try and stick with the way the characters look for once. I can't say enough bad things about this movie so I will end it here. One word of advice..DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. Its a big waste of time
Dean (6925 KP) rated Black Widow (2021) in Movies
Jul 9, 2021
Good actors (1 more)
Plenty of action
Great to have a Marvel film back
Great to have Marvel back on the big screen. While not quite an origin story, we do get to see the Black Widows early years as a child at the start. Most of the film is set around the Civil war film in the time line. While on the run her past catches up with her.
The cast is very good and David Harbour is good as the Red Guardian. Russia's answer to Captain America. He generally has most of the funny moments in the film as well.
The action scenes are great and Sfx look great. Nice to have a blockbuster film to enjoy in the cinema again.
The credits are about 6 minutes long and there is a scene after them.
The cast is very good and David Harbour is good as the Red Guardian. Russia's answer to Captain America. He generally has most of the funny moments in the film as well.
The action scenes are great and Sfx look great. Nice to have a blockbuster film to enjoy in the cinema again.
The credits are about 6 minutes long and there is a scene after them.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Between Two Kingdoms in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book was such a unique read for me that I can't recall reading anything of this nature, with the one exception of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, which is also allegorical in nature. The story in Between Two Kingdoms is told as a story that I think young children could appreciate just as well as adults because of the simplistic nature of the text. What intrigued me about this book was trying to figure out what each element of the story represented in reference to the Bible. Some things were obvious, such as the King being God, the Good Prince being Jesus Christ, and the River being the Holy Spirit. The interpretation of many elements though are biased according to how the author, Joe Boyd, interprets Bibical scripture, such as making the River female in nature, which would indicate Boyd's interpretation that the Holy Spirit is also female, which I do not agree with. Another interpretation that I found questionable was the Dark Prince and his true name, Adam. I could be wrong, but that tells me that the author interprets the origin of the Devil as the first man, Adam. I was completely baffled by the language that the Phantom Messengers spoke and what it was supposed to represent.
Many elements of the story were quite imaginative and fascinating, such as the behavior of the River, which was as playful and joyous as it could be peaceful and comforting. I love how the children could use such a simple thing as mirrors to destroy the Phantom Messengers by showing them their true selves. The Long Night was rife with metaphor, and I love good metaphors.
On the whole, I think this story is a great conversation piece for anyone interested in puzzling out the meanings behind the allegory.
Many elements of the story were quite imaginative and fascinating, such as the behavior of the River, which was as playful and joyous as it could be peaceful and comforting. I love how the children could use such a simple thing as mirrors to destroy the Phantom Messengers by showing them their true selves. The Long Night was rife with metaphor, and I love good metaphors.
On the whole, I think this story is a great conversation piece for anyone interested in puzzling out the meanings behind the allegory.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Black Cake in Books
Feb 4, 2022
Siblings Byron and Benny are estranged, but after their mother's death, they discover she’s left them a black cake, a beloved food from their childhood and history, and a voice recording that reveals many surprises about her past. Their mother Eleanor's story is heartbreaking and shocking, but will it bring Byron and Benny together to share the cake "when the time is right," as their mother desired?
This is a really interesting and different book. It’s a sweeping tale that spans from the 1960s to the present and touches on racism, homophobia, immigration, assault, the meaning of family, and so much more. If that sounds like a lot, it is, and sometimes it feels like too much. The story meanders at times--it's a lot to go from the 1960s to the near present, and the story is told through many narrators and short chapters. It's sometimes confusing to keep track of. At times, the musings and whining of present-day Byron and Benny are frustrating because you just want to get back to Eleanor and the past.
And that is where BLACK CAKE shines. Because while this is a debut novel and it shows at times, the story really is engrossing, especially when Eleanor gets into her origin story and we learn about the Caribbean and how she became who she is. There's almost a mystery in there, and it's fascinating. We are taken back to the islands, meeting a young determined swimmer and her best friend. I love how Wilkerson weaves everything together into a touching and poignant tale that delves deep into this family's past. I was mesmerized and needed to know everything that happened. There are a lot of characters and a few false starts, but this story winds around to make sense, and it was a really beautiful and fascinating.
I received a copy of this book from Random House / Ballantine and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
This is a really interesting and different book. It’s a sweeping tale that spans from the 1960s to the present and touches on racism, homophobia, immigration, assault, the meaning of family, and so much more. If that sounds like a lot, it is, and sometimes it feels like too much. The story meanders at times--it's a lot to go from the 1960s to the near present, and the story is told through many narrators and short chapters. It's sometimes confusing to keep track of. At times, the musings and whining of present-day Byron and Benny are frustrating because you just want to get back to Eleanor and the past.
And that is where BLACK CAKE shines. Because while this is a debut novel and it shows at times, the story really is engrossing, especially when Eleanor gets into her origin story and we learn about the Caribbean and how she became who she is. There's almost a mystery in there, and it's fascinating. We are taken back to the islands, meeting a young determined swimmer and her best friend. I love how Wilkerson weaves everything together into a touching and poignant tale that delves deep into this family's past. I was mesmerized and needed to know everything that happened. There are a lot of characters and a few false starts, but this story winds around to make sense, and it was a really beautiful and fascinating.
I received a copy of this book from Random House / Ballantine and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Mothergamer (1521 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Trials of Mana in Video Games
Jul 13, 2020
I remember playing the original Trials Of Mana and enjoying it for the story and gameplay. This Trials Of Mana is a remake and instead of a 2D topdown, it is now fully 3D with updated graphics and modernized gameplay. The story while simple is good and the game itself is charming because of the characters, music, and combat system. Battles are fun and grinding doesn't feel like a chore at all because of the more modern feel. You have 6 different characters to choose from for your main character and can choose 2 characters to be your companions to round out your party. This gives you different story chapters showing you different origin stories for each character as well as different villains. The world in the game is fairly linear with just the main quest and no real side quests, but that doesn't detract from the game too much because there is a lot of replay value with new game plus and the chance to play the game with new characters. The game is about 30 hours and for me personally it was fun and had a nice fairytale feel to it and it appealed to my nostalgia of the original and introduced my daughters to a new JRPG that they really liked. Full Mothergamer review is here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2020/07/mothergamer-plays-trials-of-mana.html
Morgan Sheppard (926 KP) created a post
Jan 19, 2022
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Man in the High Castle in Books
Sep 15, 2017
Classic dystopian novel about the US and if the Germans had won the war
Philip K. Dick is the godfather of Science Fiction, especially creating alternative realities and dystopian futures. In this case, he puts the point what would the world look like if Hitler had won the Second World War?
In this version, citizens of Jewish origin begin to be hunted down alongside those with ethnic minorities, except for the Japanese, given their support during the war. Amid this turmoil, is a mysterious and controversial book floating around, that explains what America would look like if they had won.
This is a bit of mind trip as a result, and it does end rather abruptly. However, the writing is gripping and you're desperate to find out how the man in the high castle connects to the story.
In this version, citizens of Jewish origin begin to be hunted down alongside those with ethnic minorities, except for the Japanese, given their support during the war. Amid this turmoil, is a mysterious and controversial book floating around, that explains what America would look like if they had won.
This is a bit of mind trip as a result, and it does end rather abruptly. However, the writing is gripping and you're desperate to find out how the man in the high castle connects to the story.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Batman: Nightwalker - DC Icons Book 2 in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Batman: Nightwalker gives us an origin story for the Caped Crusader that we didn't know we needed - even if it doesn't feel like the dark, gritty Batman we know from the Dark Knight or the comics. Bruce is an eighteen-year-old boy who is still trying to figure out who he is in a world where his parents were murdered when he was a child and he has just come into their vast fortune. He struggles to figure out how to live up to his parents' legacy and finds himself in a dangerous situation.
If you go into this book expecting Batman, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. This is a teenaged boy who is realizing that he wants to do more for his city and is coming to the conclusion that Bruce Wayne might not be enough. This book is his real origin story and Marie Lu brings his transformation back to its roots. We meet the boy who will one day become Batman, not the man we are familiar with as the Dark Knight.
I really enjoyed getting to know young Bruce in this story, although Alfred certainly stole the show. You could feel the bond that they had with one another, which translated so much more authentically than some of the other relationships in the story. I felt that Diane and Harvey were a little underdeveloped in the story, so I never really formed a connection with them. I really enjoyed the little cameos from characters we're familiar with and the characterization of people that we know are much more important in the Batman mythology in later years.
Superhero books are definitely difficult to write because they're so action heavy and as a result, visual, but I feel that Lu managed to capture the kinesthetic nature of the book well. She definitely delved more into Batman's detective nature, which was really nice because we don't see that as often as his fighting bad guys schtick. If you're interested in seeing the detective Batman dig into mysteries and try to foil a criminal organization than you should enjoy this book - just don't expect giant action-packed fight scenes.
I have really enjoyed the DC Icons series thus far because it brings the characters we've grown familiar with back to their roots. They're teenagers who are still figuring out who they are in the world, regardless of their future superhero journey. They are fragile and unsure, yet with a thirst for justice that one day will allow them to grow into the superheroes we know and love.
If you go into this book expecting Batman, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. This is a teenaged boy who is realizing that he wants to do more for his city and is coming to the conclusion that Bruce Wayne might not be enough. This book is his real origin story and Marie Lu brings his transformation back to its roots. We meet the boy who will one day become Batman, not the man we are familiar with as the Dark Knight.
I really enjoyed getting to know young Bruce in this story, although Alfred certainly stole the show. You could feel the bond that they had with one another, which translated so much more authentically than some of the other relationships in the story. I felt that Diane and Harvey were a little underdeveloped in the story, so I never really formed a connection with them. I really enjoyed the little cameos from characters we're familiar with and the characterization of people that we know are much more important in the Batman mythology in later years.
Superhero books are definitely difficult to write because they're so action heavy and as a result, visual, but I feel that Lu managed to capture the kinesthetic nature of the book well. She definitely delved more into Batman's detective nature, which was really nice because we don't see that as often as his fighting bad guys schtick. If you're interested in seeing the detective Batman dig into mysteries and try to foil a criminal organization than you should enjoy this book - just don't expect giant action-packed fight scenes.
I have really enjoyed the DC Icons series thus far because it brings the characters we've grown familiar with back to their roots. They're teenagers who are still figuring out who they are in the world, regardless of their future superhero journey. They are fragile and unsure, yet with a thirst for justice that one day will allow them to grow into the superheroes we know and love.