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Deborah (162 KP) rated Queen of Silks in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Overall I found this to be a well written novel with evidently a good deal of research into the silk industry. However, the depiction of real historical events became closely woven (no pun intended!) into the plot, but this for me was a weakness.
In some places the chronology just wasn't right. In other places the internal logic was weak. For example, over the instance of the execution of Hastings, in novels which cover this event the author needs to come up with their own explanation of this as the truth is covered over by time and Tudor propoganda. Bennett makes little or no explanation for the event and has 'Dickon' acting remarkably out of character in this one scene - and I mean that following her depiction in the book and not from my personal opinion. Additionally, for someone who has had a liaison with Dickon over a period of years, Isabel, the protagonist, shows remarkably little understanding of his character and I found her at times irritating and unsympathetic.
I also felt that in the wrapping up of the story, Elizabeth of York is shown to act in a ruthless way which doesn't match at all with what we know of her in her time as the first Tudor queen. Again, failures of internal and external logic for me.
To conclude, a well-written book, and I am not adverse by reading more from this author, but for me the historical event aspect didn't hang together well enough and was at times frustrating. I think it would have been a better novel if it left the larger political landscape well alone.
In some places the chronology just wasn't right. In other places the internal logic was weak. For example, over the instance of the execution of Hastings, in novels which cover this event the author needs to come up with their own explanation of this as the truth is covered over by time and Tudor propoganda. Bennett makes little or no explanation for the event and has 'Dickon' acting remarkably out of character in this one scene - and I mean that following her depiction in the book and not from my personal opinion. Additionally, for someone who has had a liaison with Dickon over a period of years, Isabel, the protagonist, shows remarkably little understanding of his character and I found her at times irritating and unsympathetic.
I also felt that in the wrapping up of the story, Elizabeth of York is shown to act in a ruthless way which doesn't match at all with what we know of her in her time as the first Tudor queen. Again, failures of internal and external logic for me.
To conclude, a well-written book, and I am not adverse by reading more from this author, but for me the historical event aspect didn't hang together well enough and was at times frustrating. I think it would have been a better novel if it left the larger political landscape well alone.
Merissa (12902 KP) rated Fallen Autumn in Books
Dec 17, 2018
First of all, I'm not exactly sure what genre to put this book in as it could be so many - young adult, fiction, fantasy, mythology, action, adventure, nature/environment - either way, it was absolutely brilliant. A slow burner, yes, but absolutely brilliant.
There are parts of the story taken from Greek mythology, fairy tales, Noah's ark and somehow they all seem to fit together perfectly.
The book asks you the question of when will we stop treating the earth as something which owes us and when we will start trying to preserve what we have and to bring back what we have lost but it does it in such a way that you don't feel bashed over the head with it.
The journey for Petra as she learns who she is and what she needs to do is amazing. She has the support of her lifelong friend Ty and recent frenemy, Isabel, as well as that of her grandmother, Demi. You learn how Petra's fate and that of the Polar Bear Queen, Nanuk, are intermingled and you will hold your breath as Petra tries to get to help in time. There was one part of the story that I had to re-read, this time with a tissue wiping away my tears before they could block the words out. And it only got worse when I read the epilogue of the book and saw that this part was based on fact - which I can remember watching on the news.
This is a story to be told and I'm really hoping that there will be another installment! Wonderful.
There are parts of the story taken from Greek mythology, fairy tales, Noah's ark and somehow they all seem to fit together perfectly.
The book asks you the question of when will we stop treating the earth as something which owes us and when we will start trying to preserve what we have and to bring back what we have lost but it does it in such a way that you don't feel bashed over the head with it.
The journey for Petra as she learns who she is and what she needs to do is amazing. She has the support of her lifelong friend Ty and recent frenemy, Isabel, as well as that of her grandmother, Demi. You learn how Petra's fate and that of the Polar Bear Queen, Nanuk, are intermingled and you will hold your breath as Petra tries to get to help in time. There was one part of the story that I had to re-read, this time with a tissue wiping away my tears before they could block the words out. And it only got worse when I read the epilogue of the book and saw that this part was based on fact - which I can remember watching on the news.
This is a story to be told and I'm really hoping that there will be another installment! Wonderful.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
Drunk Johnny Part 4
This one is good, just not as good as the trilogy, it does return Jack Sparrow and his adventures to get more drunk, im kidding. But actually its true. So is Will Turner in it, nope, is Elizabeth Swan in it, nope, is Davy Jones in it, nope. So who's in this Barbossa of course he is. I like Barbossa he's a good anti-hero. So who's the villian this time, Blackbread played by the excellent Ian McShane, so how is he in this film, well he's good. Just I miss Bill Nighy as Davy Jones he was excellent in the role and as the charcter he had a arc that was in two films. Blackbread is okay as a villian just not the same.
The Plot: The checkered past of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) catches up to him when he encounters Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful pirate that Jack once loved then left. Angelica forces him to accompany her to the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the notorious Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Accompanied by a zombie crew, the trio sets sail to find the legendary Fountain of Youth. However, Jack's rival, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), also seeks the fountain, as does a ship from Spain.
Ahh so this time its Jack Sparrow's adventure to the fountian of youth. A plus is that Keith Richards is back playing Jack Sparrow's father, wait did we need that? Probley not, but we got it anyways.
So you watch this film, yes if you like the other ones, you'll like this one. Just dont watch the 5th one.
The Plot: The checkered past of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) catches up to him when he encounters Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful pirate that Jack once loved then left. Angelica forces him to accompany her to the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the notorious Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Accompanied by a zombie crew, the trio sets sail to find the legendary Fountain of Youth. However, Jack's rival, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), also seeks the fountain, as does a ship from Spain.
Ahh so this time its Jack Sparrow's adventure to the fountian of youth. A plus is that Keith Richards is back playing Jack Sparrow's father, wait did we need that? Probley not, but we got it anyways.
So you watch this film, yes if you like the other ones, you'll like this one. Just dont watch the 5th one.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Body of Ash (Victoria Cage Necromancer #3) in Books
Jan 26, 2020
Fab series
Contains spoilers, click to show
Fire, fire, burning higher, fairy better fight.
Victoria’s a necromancer, fairy, Blood Queen… hot freaking mess. Her identity is so twisted up in supernatural nonsense, that all she wants to do is go back to embalming bodies and coffin brochures. Being in love should make things easier, but when your beau’s a bear and you’ve got a fairy suitor waiting in the wings, romance is just another complication.
While preparing the victims of a tragic fire for their funerals, Victoria discovers that their deaths were not accidents, as the police have ruled. Soon, she’s hot on the trail of a Firestarter who’s been scorching their way through the surrounding counties. It’s about more than murder and flame, though.
Bodies with their hearts missing. A dark coven. And a gate to hell.
It’s not long before Victoria goes from the hunter, to the hunted. But she’ll do whatever it takes to bring the arsonist to justice—even if that means getting a few burns along the way.
I love this series!!
Body of ash we rejoin Tori as she battles to stop killer arsonists and a hellmouth being opened. Tori is struggling to keep out of fey politics as well staying of the radar as a necromancer. Her personal relationships with Kyle and Liam are getting harder to seperate when she relies on Liam and the fey to save Kyle's life. Also things with Terrance the detective becomes a little bit strained when he realises the damage magic has done this time. I almost cried as we watched Tori home and family business burn.
Really good series!
Recommended
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Victoria’s a necromancer, fairy, Blood Queen… hot freaking mess. Her identity is so twisted up in supernatural nonsense, that all she wants to do is go back to embalming bodies and coffin brochures. Being in love should make things easier, but when your beau’s a bear and you’ve got a fairy suitor waiting in the wings, romance is just another complication.
While preparing the victims of a tragic fire for their funerals, Victoria discovers that their deaths were not accidents, as the police have ruled. Soon, she’s hot on the trail of a Firestarter who’s been scorching their way through the surrounding counties. It’s about more than murder and flame, though.
Bodies with their hearts missing. A dark coven. And a gate to hell.
It’s not long before Victoria goes from the hunter, to the hunted. But she’ll do whatever it takes to bring the arsonist to justice—even if that means getting a few burns along the way.
I love this series!!
Body of ash we rejoin Tori as she battles to stop killer arsonists and a hellmouth being opened. Tori is struggling to keep out of fey politics as well staying of the radar as a necromancer. Her personal relationships with Kyle and Liam are getting harder to seperate when she relies on Liam and the fey to save Kyle's life. Also things with Terrance the detective becomes a little bit strained when he realises the damage magic has done this time. I almost cried as we watched Tori home and family business burn.
Really good series!
Recommended
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gritty, engrossing and thoroughly entertaining
Kimberley Chambers isn't known as the "Queen of Gangland Crime Fiction" for nothing and here we have yet another masterpiece of story-telling ... the saga that is "Queenie".
This book tells the story of Queenie from her life as a young girl during World War II right up to the early 60's and what a life she leads! She is one heck of a character; one minute you absolutely adore her, the next she disappoints you, then she'll surprise you and then shock ... I felt like I was on a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish and I still don't know how I feel about her even now!
Queenie is not the only character however, this book is absolutely brimmed to the rim with fantastic personalities from the bit players to the main stars; some you'll love and some ... not so much. The setting in the east end of London felt perfect but it could equally have worked in any inner-city borough. For those of us who weren't around during the time span of this book, I felt it captured them well and it felt authentic and believable to me.
"Queenie" is a gritty, engrossing and thoroughly entertaining read and one I would definitely recommend even if you haven't read any of the other books in the "Butler" series; this can easily be read as a standalone as it is the prequel to the first book in the series "The Trap."
Thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
This book tells the story of Queenie from her life as a young girl during World War II right up to the early 60's and what a life she leads! She is one heck of a character; one minute you absolutely adore her, the next she disappoints you, then she'll surprise you and then shock ... I felt like I was on a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish and I still don't know how I feel about her even now!
Queenie is not the only character however, this book is absolutely brimmed to the rim with fantastic personalities from the bit players to the main stars; some you'll love and some ... not so much. The setting in the east end of London felt perfect but it could equally have worked in any inner-city borough. For those of us who weren't around during the time span of this book, I felt it captured them well and it felt authentic and believable to me.
"Queenie" is a gritty, engrossing and thoroughly entertaining read and one I would definitely recommend even if you haven't read any of the other books in the "Butler" series; this can easily be read as a standalone as it is the prequel to the first book in the series "The Trap."
Thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Aliens (1986) in Movies
Feb 13, 2020
An absolute screamer of a sequel
Aliens may very well be the best sequel of all time, if not it's certainly up there!
The original Alien is about as perfect as sci-fi horror can get, so it was a smart move on James Cameron's part to not recycle that again, and take Alien in a different direction.
The slow burning, claustrophobic high tension of the original is replaced here with all out war.
The simple idea of multiple Xenomorphs is effective and terrifying, and packs the runtime of Aliens with top tier action.
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, and whilst she was a tough yet vulnerable survivor first time around, here we get to see her vulnerability crumble away. By the time the final act kicks in and Ripley is decked out in a mech...she just a badass from here on out.
She's is joined by a group of gun toting, 80s as fuck mercenaries, including the likes of Michael Biehn (fresh from the recently released, first Terminator movie), Bill Paxton, Al Matthews, Jenette Goldstein, and of course Lance Henriksen as Android, Bishop. It's a fantastic cast, who all end up mattering one way or another, even the ones who don't last very long.
The Xenomorphs themselves look as horrifying as ever, still practically achieved, and have an urgent sense of visceral danger whenever they're on screen.
Aliens is also the debut if the Alien Queen, a classic staple of the series since.
No matter how much time goes by, Aliens never fails to be entertaining, and still looks great. It's James Cameron at the top of his game.
The original Alien is about as perfect as sci-fi horror can get, so it was a smart move on James Cameron's part to not recycle that again, and take Alien in a different direction.
The slow burning, claustrophobic high tension of the original is replaced here with all out war.
The simple idea of multiple Xenomorphs is effective and terrifying, and packs the runtime of Aliens with top tier action.
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, and whilst she was a tough yet vulnerable survivor first time around, here we get to see her vulnerability crumble away. By the time the final act kicks in and Ripley is decked out in a mech...she just a badass from here on out.
She's is joined by a group of gun toting, 80s as fuck mercenaries, including the likes of Michael Biehn (fresh from the recently released, first Terminator movie), Bill Paxton, Al Matthews, Jenette Goldstein, and of course Lance Henriksen as Android, Bishop. It's a fantastic cast, who all end up mattering one way or another, even the ones who don't last very long.
The Xenomorphs themselves look as horrifying as ever, still practically achieved, and have an urgent sense of visceral danger whenever they're on screen.
Aliens is also the debut if the Alien Queen, a classic staple of the series since.
No matter how much time goes by, Aliens never fails to be entertaining, and still looks great. It's James Cameron at the top of his game.
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