Search

Search only in certain items:

This Evening and The Morning
This Evening and The Morning
Ken Follett | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loved it!
46 of 250
Book
The Evening and the Morning ( 0.5 kingsbridge prequel )
By Ken Follet

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.

In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when the only home he's ever known is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and as she begins to realize that everyone around her is engaged in a constant, brutal battle for power, it becomes clear that a single misstep could be catastrophic. . . . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.



I absolutely loved it! After reading the other Kingsbridge books I knew I would enjoy this but not as much as I actually did! From the start I was sucked in I soon got wrapped up in the characters the places and stories! Ken Follet certainly knows how to keep you entertained I was annoyed every time real life dragged me away! Very good prequel!
  
Nosferatu (Eine Symphonie Des Grauens) (1922)
Nosferatu (Eine Symphonie Des Grauens) (1922)
1922 | Horror, International

"I’ll just start with the Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu. That’s one of my top fives, primarily because I love the Dracula story, of course. And I’m a huge fan of the 1922 [F.W.] Murnau film and I love that Herzog took the time to go to the actual locations where the original was shot. It’s just so simple and it is such a slow, deliberate mood throughout the film that borders on taking too much time — to the point where it’s almost a meditative state as a viewer that you get into. And that’s not even counting Klaus Kinski‘s portrayal of the vampire which, to me, rivals the [Max] Schreck 1922 portrayal. But I’m such a Kinski fan, and knowing — having insight as to how out of his mind he was in real life — portraying the vampire really lends a lot of layers to viewing it. It’s one of those few cases in which knowing the actor that portrays the role actually creates more depth in the role itself. Where normally you would want to avoid that kind of influence, in this case it really works. Because Klaus Kinski’s so unpredictable as a human being. I would imagine, based on what I’ve heard, much like Max Schreck was in 1922, it’s really a lot of interesting parallel there. For a color adaptation, it’s almost camp, in a way, but… it hasn’t crossed that line — but it almost is. I think the portrayal of Jonathan, and frankly, the girl in it [Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker] is probably one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life. If you haven’t seen it in a while, revisit it… she’s just insane."

Source
  
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1980 | Fantasy, Sci-Fi

"Absolutely blown away by the world of Star Wars, Empire and Jedis. [But] my favorite moment of the three is actually in The Return of the Jedi. And I argue this with people who are real Star Wars freaks. “Ewoks ruin the movie.” If you’re going to trifle over Ewoks, and you’re not going to talk about how great the speeder bike scenes through the redwood forests are, then f–k off. Those are some of the greatest action sequences… Okay, yeah, there’s some cute critters to sell merchandise. [But there’s] some [scenes] that I couldn’t even dream up with these unbelievable hovercrafts and modern-looking Stormtrooopers. And Jedi has the best moment. [It’s] at the very end when the Emperor is trying to pull Luke over and, of course, Luke is getting the s–t kicked out of him and getting electricity blown at him. And Luke finally takes his lightsaber and throws it aside and says, “No. I’ll never join you. I’m a Jedi like my father before me.” And the Emperor says, “So be it…Jedi.” And it was the fact that the f–king devil himself gave Luke props and called him by [who] he was. It empowered him. That always gets by people, but that’s my stand-out moment. But Empire, when that movie ended in a cliffhanger, my life was a cliffhanger. Until the next one came out, you couldn’t talk to me, you couldn’t talk to me, dude. I was hanging out with my Ungnaught action figures. Everything in my life went back to, “What do you think is going to happen next to Han Solo?” I promise you, you talk to my family and they will go, “Dane was bananas.”"

Source
  
Murder Goes to Market
Murder Goes to Market
Daisy Bateman | 2020 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
To Market, to Market, to Find…A Corpse?
Claudia Simcoe has started her life again in the California coastal town of San Elmo Bay by opening a market where locals can sell their locally produced wares. Most of the offerings are food related, but she has learned that the bags and other items Lori Roth sells are just things she has bought over the internet. The morning after Claudia confronts Lori about this, she finds Lori’s dead body in the middle of the market. The police think Claudia is a great suspect, and they are keeping the market closed until they solve the case. With a double motive to learn the truth, Claudia begins her investigation. Can she figure out what really happened?

It took a bit of work to get into the book. The early chapters, while advancing the story, still fall a bit too much into exposition for me, and the third person narration kept me a little at bay. However, by the time I hit page 50, I was fully hooked. The mystery is complex with lots of puzzling things for Claudia to figure out, yet it all makes sense at the end. Claudia is a strong main character, and I enjoyed getting to know her. The rest of the cast still has some room to grow, but I did like what I saw here. Claudia can be sarcastic, and I loved that. Additionally, some lines in the narration made me laugh. I grew up in Sonoma County, the location of the fictional San Elmo Bay, and I really enjoyed spending time in a location I know in real life. This debut grew into a book I really enjoyed, and I can’t wait to visit the characters and location again.
  
40x40

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Omens (Cainsville, #1) in Books

Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2021)  
Omens (Cainsville, #1)
Omens (Cainsville, #1)
9
9.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loved it
Contains spoilers, click to show
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

This is a reread for me I first read this a couple of years ago. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and I've read pretty much everything she has written! So I decided to start Cainsville from the beginning.
I remember how I was rooting for Gabrielle from his first appearance. Although Ricky is so hot Gabe has always held my heart. The beginning of their relationship was so rocky but I just loved reliving how great they are working together.




⭐⭐⭐⭐