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Chloe (778 KP) rated The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas in Books

Apr 21, 2021

Exciting (1 more)

Interesting

Character development (0 more)

Love the history

Contains spoilers, click to show

So I red this book in the "emotional" order (before Queen of Shadows) and I was not disappointed but not exactly for the reason I expected.

I really enjoyed the short stories, each different but with key links between them. I felt that many of the relationships were rushed and in the case of Sam and Caleana it was not believable. There was not enough of the silly cute relationship stuff that goes on, very business like rushed relationship.

However, I now have absolute hatred for Arobynn, I think the other books I'd red by this point hinted that it was him but now, I am definitely seething. I loved that Sarah J Maas was able to invoke that in me. Just a shame that the love relationship missed the mark.

I think reading it in this order does mean that you can see a change in writing style, if this is something that would bother you then I suggest reading it first. Also, there was consistent revisiting of facts through the shorts despite them all being compiled in one book. I see why this was done but it still irked me.

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ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Road Trip in Books

Aug 4, 2021

The Road Trip

Beth O'Leary | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I loved this book. The Road Trip has a different feel to it compared to Beth O’Leary’s previous two novels, and whatever direction she’ll take next, I’m going along for the ride (see what I did there!🤭)

I just love the way that O’Leary writes characters: in this book they’re funny, flawed and feel like genuine, real people. There are those with mental health problems, dysfunctional families and strong sibling relationships.

We see the contrast of the carefree student on holiday, and the way that real life has a habit of sticking its oar in - and not always in a good way.

The road trip element was hilarious though. Deliciously awkward, thanks to Addie, Dylan and Dylan’s friend Marcus, with the devil-may-care attitude of Addie’s sister, Debs. And than there’s Rodney (I’l leave him right here - I don’t want to spoil THIS character for you!).

This book is a little darker in places in comparison to her other books, but I absolutely loved every page. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Beth O’Leary. Oh, and you should definitely read this book!!

Many thanks to Quercus for my copy via NetGalley.

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Judd Apatow recommended Terms of Endearment (1983) in Movies (curated)

Terms of Endearment (1983)

1983 | Comedy, Drama, Romance

8.4

(5 Ratings)

Movie Favorite Watch

"Terms of Endearment is always a touchstone movie for me. That’s one of the best acted comedy-dramas that has ever been made. I can never get enough of Terms of Endearment. I find myself watching it over and over again. It does everything that I want a movie to do. I fall in love with the characters. I care about their journeys. It never does anything easy to make me like the characters. It doesn’t sell out the characters for likeability. They all do things that are awful to each other. The relationships are very complicated. Yet, you root for all of them when you watch the movie. A large portion of the movie is also about cancer. It’s treated realistically and it is also hilarious in some of those moments. It’s not a maudlin movie. There are moments in that movie that I think about all the time that haunt me. The moment when Shirley MacLaine is yelling at the nurse to give her daughter more medicine… As you get older, you find yourself in those situations. It may be my favorite film of all time."

Source

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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Adventure Time Vol. 5 in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Just a quick review of this, as it's pretty similar to all the previous volumes.

Familiar characters dominate the stories as usual, including Jake, Finn, BMO, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, Marceline and even Lemongrab. The relationships between the characters are nice in this, especially regarding PB and Marceline.

The stories are funny, weird and super enjoyable, full of humour and colour and adventure (duh). The fourth wall is, of course, practically nonexistent, as the commentary along the bottom of the pages addresses the audience directly. It really immerses you in the world of Finn and Jake, as well as adding another layer of humour. The commentary makes these comics unique from most others.

The art is awesome. I still love looking through the gallery of covers at the end. The colours are so vivid and the styles are all so wonderful. It's one of the nicest comics to just look at.

Of course, it is kinda childish. But it's an easy and relaxing read, and there are some very subtle jokes and comments that only older readers will understand.

4 stars. It's a really fun read, and I love all the characters so much!

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Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Chestnut Man in Books

Jun 26, 2019

The Chestnut Man

Søren Sveistrup | 2019 | Crime, Thriller

8.7

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

‘Chestnut Man, do come in’. Well, you won’t be inviting him into your home after reading this excellent but darkly disturbing book.

Given the pedigree of the author this book will receive plenty of attention so I’m not going to write a synopsis of the story. However, I will suggest that you don’t read the first chapter whilst eating your breakfast!

The various characters, big and small, are finely written with emotional depth. Soren Sveistrup clearly spent as much time thinking about the human relationships as the gory crime scenes. Although it is basically a (very high quality) police procedural it is also a deft examination of what family means in the modern world.

The mysterious identity of The Chestnut Man kept me guessing and Sveistrup provides the reader with lots of red herrings. This should be no surprise to anyone who watched Season 1 of The Killing, where you felt sure that you knew who ‘the Baddie’ was at the end of every episode only to be swiftly proven wrong. This story would make a great TV drama, I'm sure that it'll be hitting BBC4 soon.