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Ben Howkins (7 KP) rated How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) in Movies
Feb 14, 2019 (Updated Feb 17, 2019)
Visuals (1 more)
Story
A fitting farewell to Hiccup and Toothless
The basic plot of the movie is: 1 year after the events of the 2nd film, the new chief of Berk, Hiccup and his friends have taken to rescuing captured dragons and taking them back to Berk, which Hiccup has decided make a Viking/ Dragon utopia. This, unfortunately, gets the attention of a band of a group of Warlords, who wish to use the dragons themselves for their plans. The Warlords enlist a legendary dragon hunter called “Grimmel The Grisly” to kidnap Hiccup’s Night Fury dragon Toothless as he is the alpha and all the other dragons will obey him. To do this, Grimmel uses a female, white Night Fury (dubbed a Light Fury) as bait to play with Toothless emotions. As a way of helping Toothless with his matters of the heart and to get away from Gimmel, Hiccup decides to go looking for a legendary place which his dad used to talk of, where all dragons came from, called “The Hidden World”
Because this was an animated film I find it really hard to do any sort of proper performance reviews of the characters and associated performers. In all honesty, in my opinion, it is very hard to muck up read lines off of a sheet (though it can be done). This is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword, as though it is really hard to really stand out in voice performances (though some people always do aka Mr Hayter, Mr North and Mr Baker), the fact that I believed this to be a very good film shows the quality of the script, story and animation. The people of Berk still feel like a group of empty-headed, muscular idiots just like they were in the first film, whilst at the same time all growing as characters. All the relationships show on screen have their own distinct elements which add to the story, be it the romance between Hiccup and girlfriend Astrid, the awkward and silly crush Snotlout has for Hiccup’s mum Valka or of course the eternal friendship between Hiccup and Toothless. And finally, the visual art style and animation work amazingly well and capture the scenery perfectly at times, be it the giant waterfalls of “Old” and “New” Berk, the bright and vibrant colours of inside “The Hidden World” or even just the effects of making the Light Fury look so elegant and mysterious.
Overall I feel like this is a fitting end to what I feel is Dreamwork’s best made and least loved series. It is filled with laughs, cheers and unless you have a soul of stone, DEFINITELY some tears.
Because this was an animated film I find it really hard to do any sort of proper performance reviews of the characters and associated performers. In all honesty, in my opinion, it is very hard to muck up read lines off of a sheet (though it can be done). This is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword, as though it is really hard to really stand out in voice performances (though some people always do aka Mr Hayter, Mr North and Mr Baker), the fact that I believed this to be a very good film shows the quality of the script, story and animation. The people of Berk still feel like a group of empty-headed, muscular idiots just like they were in the first film, whilst at the same time all growing as characters. All the relationships show on screen have their own distinct elements which add to the story, be it the romance between Hiccup and girlfriend Astrid, the awkward and silly crush Snotlout has for Hiccup’s mum Valka or of course the eternal friendship between Hiccup and Toothless. And finally, the visual art style and animation work amazingly well and capture the scenery perfectly at times, be it the giant waterfalls of “Old” and “New” Berk, the bright and vibrant colours of inside “The Hidden World” or even just the effects of making the Light Fury look so elegant and mysterious.
Overall I feel like this is a fitting end to what I feel is Dreamwork’s best made and least loved series. It is filled with laughs, cheers and unless you have a soul of stone, DEFINITELY some tears.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018) in Movies
Apr 24, 2019
Seeing Donna's backstories with her lovers. (1 more)
Nice to see most of the cast together again.
Literally everything else (8 more)
The same dramatic hairstyles on two principal female characters for over twenty years, really? Talk about suspension of belief.
Lifeless.
No real heart to it.
Meryl Streep is in it for mere seconds.
Relationships between the characters. Disjointed and disconnected.
Not the best ABBA songs.
The Kissed the Teacher sequence. I mean, wth was that about?
Not much singing or a reason to sing.
Joyless
Contains spoilers, click to show
I loved the first one and have been known to watch the DVD or listen to the CD on a continuous loop for upwards of 12 hours. I'm not kidding. I adore Meryl Streep and everything she touches is gold. Except for this movie. Omg, it is so bad. It lost all the joy the first film had. Why?! Why did they have to destroy this movie so badly?
Spoiler alert: Donna, Meryl Streep's joyous character is dead at the start of this film. Her story is told through flashbacks with Lily James of Downton Abbey starring as recent college-grad, Donna, and her adventures in the Greek Isles as she meets each of the three men who may be her daughter, Sophie's father. Donna flits around as the bohemian she is but the character is too flighty to be believed and she certainly doesn't flesh out Meryl Streep's version of Donna. It seems pointless for her to even have tried.
The cast is very dated and stagnant, in reverse, as they are shown as their younger selves exactly as they are 20 or 30 years later, even down to the same clothing and hairstyles. It's ridiculous to think these fashionable women would never update their looks over the years or that their personalities and mannerisms had not changed either. Are they living in a vacuum? They're all just so one-note. Maybe the creators did it because they thought the movie would be easier to understand or figure out which character was whom, but it's just not realistic. I'll admit, dramas are my favorite genre and this is meant as much lighter fare but I wish they would have expected the audience to have half a brain and be able to figure out the younger cast and the elder versions of them. It felt dumbed down.
The modern plotline is morose, joyless, and lifeless, and missed all the heart, humor, and passion of the first.
And Cher's character, why bother? She didn't bring anything to the role other than her real-life celebrity.
I regret buying this DVD and even more so, wasting 2 hours of my life watching this dull, spoon-fed money grab.
Spoiler alert: Donna, Meryl Streep's joyous character is dead at the start of this film. Her story is told through flashbacks with Lily James of Downton Abbey starring as recent college-grad, Donna, and her adventures in the Greek Isles as she meets each of the three men who may be her daughter, Sophie's father. Donna flits around as the bohemian she is but the character is too flighty to be believed and she certainly doesn't flesh out Meryl Streep's version of Donna. It seems pointless for her to even have tried.
The cast is very dated and stagnant, in reverse, as they are shown as their younger selves exactly as they are 20 or 30 years later, even down to the same clothing and hairstyles. It's ridiculous to think these fashionable women would never update their looks over the years or that their personalities and mannerisms had not changed either. Are they living in a vacuum? They're all just so one-note. Maybe the creators did it because they thought the movie would be easier to understand or figure out which character was whom, but it's just not realistic. I'll admit, dramas are my favorite genre and this is meant as much lighter fare but I wish they would have expected the audience to have half a brain and be able to figure out the younger cast and the elder versions of them. It felt dumbed down.
The modern plotline is morose, joyless, and lifeless, and missed all the heart, humor, and passion of the first.
And Cher's character, why bother? She didn't bring anything to the role other than her real-life celebrity.
I regret buying this DVD and even more so, wasting 2 hours of my life watching this dull, spoon-fed money grab.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue in Books
Jan 31, 2018
As the second and final graphic novel (for now) chronicling Iko's adventures after the events of the Lunar Chronicles, Gone Rogue does a brilliant job catching us up on what all of our favourite characters have been up to in the last year. Despite the fact that Wires and Nerve continues the story in graphic novel form, rather than the original book - I never felt like I was missing anything.
As the story focuses on Iko, there was less time dedicated to the other pairs from the series. In the first graphic novel, I felt that Cress and Thorne were given a lot of story time and that they weren't as present in the second novel. On the other hand, Scarlet and Wolf were almost nonexistent in the first and had more of a presence in the second. Meyer did a brilliant job developing the relationships further and showing readers how they have evolved despite the limited amount of text she had to work with because it was a graphic novel.
Although Iko was a supporting character in the original series, she completely stole the show and lit up every scene that she was in. It was wonderful to see her take the lead in this series and adapt to a world in which she looked human, although there were still those that constantly reminded her that she was not. She struggles to deal with the reminders that she is an android and programmed to be the way that she is, despite the fact that her closest friends never see her as anything but normal.
The three main additions to the series are the villain, the guard Kinney and his sister Tressa. I felt that the two male characters were well developed and you could understand their motivations throughout the story. Tressa felt less real and I honestly forgot who she was from the first book to the second, until reminded in the course of the story. She is an exuberant character who loves a lot of the same things as Iko, but I don't feel that I know as much about her as I wish I did so that I could connect to her more.
Overall, the plot was brilliant and the story was so engaging that I didn't put the book down from the moment I began reading it until I was on the final page. While I am saddened that this is the final graphic novel in the Lunar Chronicles, I love the world and characters so much that I hope that the series continues in some manner. I felt satisfied with the ending and feel that if it is in fact the end of the story - I am happy. I loved this series so much and being able to watch Iko shine in her own adventures.
As the story focuses on Iko, there was less time dedicated to the other pairs from the series. In the first graphic novel, I felt that Cress and Thorne were given a lot of story time and that they weren't as present in the second novel. On the other hand, Scarlet and Wolf were almost nonexistent in the first and had more of a presence in the second. Meyer did a brilliant job developing the relationships further and showing readers how they have evolved despite the limited amount of text she had to work with because it was a graphic novel.
Although Iko was a supporting character in the original series, she completely stole the show and lit up every scene that she was in. It was wonderful to see her take the lead in this series and adapt to a world in which she looked human, although there were still those that constantly reminded her that she was not. She struggles to deal with the reminders that she is an android and programmed to be the way that she is, despite the fact that her closest friends never see her as anything but normal.
The three main additions to the series are the villain, the guard Kinney and his sister Tressa. I felt that the two male characters were well developed and you could understand their motivations throughout the story. Tressa felt less real and I honestly forgot who she was from the first book to the second, until reminded in the course of the story. She is an exuberant character who loves a lot of the same things as Iko, but I don't feel that I know as much about her as I wish I did so that I could connect to her more.
Overall, the plot was brilliant and the story was so engaging that I didn't put the book down from the moment I began reading it until I was on the final page. While I am saddened that this is the final graphic novel in the Lunar Chronicles, I love the world and characters so much that I hope that the series continues in some manner. I felt satisfied with the ending and feel that if it is in fact the end of the story - I am happy. I loved this series so much and being able to watch Iko shine in her own adventures.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Despite the fact that I didn't experience the 80's, I was surprised by the number of references that I understood. Although this book is likely most enjoyable for people who grew up in that decade or teen boys who love video game/sci-fi/fantasy-elements, I believe that this story is accessible to everyone. It will appeal most to gamers and sci-fi fans. I wouldn't want anyone to decide they don't want to give it a chance because it was a really enjoyable book.
Beyond the incredible amount of 80's references dropping over the course of this novel is <i>the plot</i>. The year is 2044 and the world spends most of its time inside OASIS, a virtual reality world that allows the masses to escape from the horrors of the real world. Upon the death of its creator, a contest is launched that could change someone's life and the entire world becomes obsessed. Players are tasked with testing their knowledge and skills of the creator's favourite era, the 80's - upon completion of all tasks they win the creator's entire fortune.
We are introduced to Wade Watts, a teen boy with a poor home life and lack of interest in school, but an overwhelming obsession with all things 80's. He is our introduction to the world of OASIS and the wonders that it can hold. His life isn't great and he's not happy, but I never felt that he drew the book down with him. He recognized the way the world was and adapted to combat it. I felt that he was very easy to relate to and didn't suffer from being the "Chosen One".
I really enjoyed getting to know his friends in OASIS and felt that they were well developed. Each had their own struggles, flaws, and strengths. The way their relationships developed over the course of the novel felt authentic because they struggled and questioned. They were all competitors and didn't know who to trust, yet at the end of the day, they put the well-being of everyone over their own success.
While sometimes I felt that the worlds being described were using the method of telling, rather than showing - overall I thought that the millions of worlds inside OASIS were detailed. I felt that I received enough information to see a detailed, yet rough structure of the world and then fill in most of the details myself. There were some scenes however that were very vividly described.
Overall, I was completely drawn into this book within a few chapters and didn't want to put it down. I kept picking it up every opportunity that I had and just needed to know what happened next.
Beyond the incredible amount of 80's references dropping over the course of this novel is <i>the plot</i>. The year is 2044 and the world spends most of its time inside OASIS, a virtual reality world that allows the masses to escape from the horrors of the real world. Upon the death of its creator, a contest is launched that could change someone's life and the entire world becomes obsessed. Players are tasked with testing their knowledge and skills of the creator's favourite era, the 80's - upon completion of all tasks they win the creator's entire fortune.
We are introduced to Wade Watts, a teen boy with a poor home life and lack of interest in school, but an overwhelming obsession with all things 80's. He is our introduction to the world of OASIS and the wonders that it can hold. His life isn't great and he's not happy, but I never felt that he drew the book down with him. He recognized the way the world was and adapted to combat it. I felt that he was very easy to relate to and didn't suffer from being the "Chosen One".
I really enjoyed getting to know his friends in OASIS and felt that they were well developed. Each had their own struggles, flaws, and strengths. The way their relationships developed over the course of the novel felt authentic because they struggled and questioned. They were all competitors and didn't know who to trust, yet at the end of the day, they put the well-being of everyone over their own success.
While sometimes I felt that the worlds being described were using the method of telling, rather than showing - overall I thought that the millions of worlds inside OASIS were detailed. I felt that I received enough information to see a detailed, yet rough structure of the world and then fill in most of the details myself. There were some scenes however that were very vividly described.
Overall, I was completely drawn into this book within a few chapters and didn't want to put it down. I kept picking it up every opportunity that I had and just needed to know what happened next.
Kyera (8 KP) rated City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. It continues the fantastic world building that Cassie started in City of Bones. You delve further into the Shadow World and the politics of the Clave, although it still takes place solely in New York City. Some people have difficulty immersing themselves in the City of Bones because the pacing isn’t fast enough for them, but there are some good action sequences that might make this second book more appealing. I personally have not experienced that lack of engagement, but I appreciate the world building and that may cause me to approach the story from a different perspective.
As much as I loved the first book, you can see a marked improvement in Cassie’s writing even by this second book. There is a particular scene in which the setting is described so vividly that you can easily imagine the location building around you in your mind. Immersive world building is always very important to me in books, especially fantasy series, so I cannot recommend this series enough. Although it is the earliest of her writing, you cannot miss out on all of the details she provides about the world. You go on the journey with Clary as you both learn about Downworlders, the Clave, and demons.
City of Ashes further develops the relationships and connections between the characters. You can feel how much they care for one another and it’s really authentic. Although I’ve read this series before it has been a while since I delved into the series that started it all. I am being reintroduced to favourite characters and realizing just how much they’ve grown over the course of the numerous novels that Cassie has written. As I re-read interactions and laugh at witty lines, I fall in love with the characters all over again. I remember what it is that made me care for them in the first place, not just their strengths but their vulnerabilities.
There’s not much else I can say without discussing plot points or spoiling things from this or the first book, so I would just end it with – please, if you’re hesitant, give this series a chance. I would highly recommend it and in my opinion, it definitely needs to be read prior to reading Cassie’s newest series, the Dark Artifices. As incredible as the world building is in that series, it’s adding to the lore that has been built and evolved over the course of ten novels. It won’t be as impactful if you don’t have the foundational knowledge before you read the Dark Artifices.
As much as I loved the first book, you can see a marked improvement in Cassie’s writing even by this second book. There is a particular scene in which the setting is described so vividly that you can easily imagine the location building around you in your mind. Immersive world building is always very important to me in books, especially fantasy series, so I cannot recommend this series enough. Although it is the earliest of her writing, you cannot miss out on all of the details she provides about the world. You go on the journey with Clary as you both learn about Downworlders, the Clave, and demons.
City of Ashes further develops the relationships and connections between the characters. You can feel how much they care for one another and it’s really authentic. Although I’ve read this series before it has been a while since I delved into the series that started it all. I am being reintroduced to favourite characters and realizing just how much they’ve grown over the course of the numerous novels that Cassie has written. As I re-read interactions and laugh at witty lines, I fall in love with the characters all over again. I remember what it is that made me care for them in the first place, not just their strengths but their vulnerabilities.
There’s not much else I can say without discussing plot points or spoiling things from this or the first book, so I would just end it with – please, if you’re hesitant, give this series a chance. I would highly recommend it and in my opinion, it definitely needs to be read prior to reading Cassie’s newest series, the Dark Artifices. As incredible as the world building is in that series, it’s adding to the lore that has been built and evolved over the course of ten novels. It won’t be as impactful if you don’t have the foundational knowledge before you read the Dark Artifices.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated You Were Here in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
On the five-year anniversary of Jaycee Strangelove’s brother’s death, she goes to visit one of his favourite haunts – an abandoned Victorian mansion that used to be an insane asylum. However, this year she is joined by four other people who, although they do not show it, feel as broken as Jaycee does.
<i>You Were Here</i> by Cori McCarthy is primarily about Jaycee’s dangerous attempts to feel closer to her daredevil brother. Using his old diary as a guide, she is determined to find evidence that her brother had been at the various decrepit places that he wrote about breaking in to. Her behaviour seriously worries others, which is why Jaycee ends up with four unlikely characters tagging along: Natalie, her ex-best friend; Zach, Natalie’s immature boyfriend; Bishop, a guy suffering after a break up; and the selectively mute Mikivikious, her brother’s childhood friend.
Each character is struggling with their own problems, yet they take the time to make Jaycee realize that her brother is gone and she needs to move on. However there is a lot of fighting and sabotage of relationships along the way.
Each character progressively tells the story by alternating chapters. Whilst this is fairly common in fiction – both young adult and adult – McCarthy’s method stands out amongst the others. Bishop likes to express his feelings through art and therefore does not have any written chapters to his name. Instead a few photographs of his artwork are included. Similarly, Mikivikious, a character who barely talks, shows his point of view through a short graphic novel sequence (drawn by the illustrator Sonia Liao). It is really interesting to read(?) parts of the story this way, and it also makes the reader connect to Mik’s struggle to express himself verbally.
It is difficult to like any of the characters to begin with – mostly because their flaws are revealed but their history is yet to be disclosed. Jaycee, the main character, is particularly hard to like. She is depressed and lonely with a serious self-destructive streak. This causes her to be rude, hurtful and sarcastic to everyone around her. It is actually surprising that anyone cares about her at all.
Due to not connecting with any of the characters, I was not all that impressed with this book. I understand the point of portraying certain people, especially Jaycee, in such a negative way, however it made me not really care about the outcome. Future readers need to be aware that the storyline can be very dark and morbid at times. There are also sexual references and foul language.
On the five-year anniversary of Jaycee Strangelove’s brother’s death, she goes to visit one of his favourite haunts – an abandoned Victorian mansion that used to be an insane asylum. However, this year she is joined by four other people who, although they do not show it, feel as broken as Jaycee does.
<i>You Were Here</i> by Cori McCarthy is primarily about Jaycee’s dangerous attempts to feel closer to her daredevil brother. Using his old diary as a guide, she is determined to find evidence that her brother had been at the various decrepit places that he wrote about breaking in to. Her behaviour seriously worries others, which is why Jaycee ends up with four unlikely characters tagging along: Natalie, her ex-best friend; Zach, Natalie’s immature boyfriend; Bishop, a guy suffering after a break up; and the selectively mute Mikivikious, her brother’s childhood friend.
Each character is struggling with their own problems, yet they take the time to make Jaycee realize that her brother is gone and she needs to move on. However there is a lot of fighting and sabotage of relationships along the way.
Each character progressively tells the story by alternating chapters. Whilst this is fairly common in fiction – both young adult and adult – McCarthy’s method stands out amongst the others. Bishop likes to express his feelings through art and therefore does not have any written chapters to his name. Instead a few photographs of his artwork are included. Similarly, Mikivikious, a character who barely talks, shows his point of view through a short graphic novel sequence (drawn by the illustrator Sonia Liao). It is really interesting to read(?) parts of the story this way, and it also makes the reader connect to Mik’s struggle to express himself verbally.
It is difficult to like any of the characters to begin with – mostly because their flaws are revealed but their history is yet to be disclosed. Jaycee, the main character, is particularly hard to like. She is depressed and lonely with a serious self-destructive streak. This causes her to be rude, hurtful and sarcastic to everyone around her. It is actually surprising that anyone cares about her at all.
Due to not connecting with any of the characters, I was not all that impressed with this book. I understand the point of portraying certain people, especially Jaycee, in such a negative way, however it made me not really care about the outcome. Future readers need to be aware that the storyline can be very dark and morbid at times. There are also sexual references and foul language.
Louise (64 KP) rated Our Chemical Hearts in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
So this is another book that was on my #Beatthebacklist TBR for 2017 and I don’t really know how I feel about this book!
Henry Page has always seen his friends fall in out of relationships so many times but that has never appealed to him before, he is more interested in his studies and becoming editor for the school newspaper. This all changes when Grace Town starts at Henry’s school and is offered co-editor. Grace is not like normal girls, she wears boys clothes, walks with a limp and her eyes constantly look pained. Whilst Henry gets to know Grace, he discovers the dark truths and how broken Grace Town really is.
My feelings on this book can be summed up in one word….MEH! I wasn’t blown away but I didn’t hate it either. I liked that this was told from a male perspective although written by a female author. I loved that there were references to fandom in the book.
At times this book was frustrating to read just because Henry knew that Grace was a broken soul and she had been telling him that and he just kept going back for more and get hurt over and over again. The problem is he see’s a picture of Grace on Facebook before all her troubles began and he wanted her to be like she was and he felt like he saw glimpses of that person break through when he was with her sometimes,however she was never going to be the same again and Henry just didn’t seem to realise this.
The characters were a bit hit and miss with this book, I really didn’t like his best friends. One was just portrayed as a stereotypical Australian with bad jokes and Lola just didn’t seem realistic. Henry was frustrating and a bit stalkerish. Grace was actually the only character that I thought felt genuine, she had flaws, she was grieving and very secretive about her past and she was a really fleshed out, three-dimensional character.
This is a short review as I don’t really know what to say. This book deals with grief, self harm and first loves. This has been compared as a hybrid between John Green and Rainbow Rowell. I can tell you now that the characters in this book are not as pretentious as the ones in TFIOS(sorry fans of John Green), but the book doesn’t have the same emotion and connection as Rainbow Rowell’s books.
I rated this book 2 out of 5 stars
So this is another book that was on my #Beatthebacklist TBR for 2017 and I don’t really know how I feel about this book!
Henry Page has always seen his friends fall in out of relationships so many times but that has never appealed to him before, he is more interested in his studies and becoming editor for the school newspaper. This all changes when Grace Town starts at Henry’s school and is offered co-editor. Grace is not like normal girls, she wears boys clothes, walks with a limp and her eyes constantly look pained. Whilst Henry gets to know Grace, he discovers the dark truths and how broken Grace Town really is.
My feelings on this book can be summed up in one word….MEH! I wasn’t blown away but I didn’t hate it either. I liked that this was told from a male perspective although written by a female author. I loved that there were references to fandom in the book.
At times this book was frustrating to read just because Henry knew that Grace was a broken soul and she had been telling him that and he just kept going back for more and get hurt over and over again. The problem is he see’s a picture of Grace on Facebook before all her troubles began and he wanted her to be like she was and he felt like he saw glimpses of that person break through when he was with her sometimes,however she was never going to be the same again and Henry just didn’t seem to realise this.
The characters were a bit hit and miss with this book, I really didn’t like his best friends. One was just portrayed as a stereotypical Australian with bad jokes and Lola just didn’t seem realistic. Henry was frustrating and a bit stalkerish. Grace was actually the only character that I thought felt genuine, she had flaws, she was grieving and very secretive about her past and she was a really fleshed out, three-dimensional character.
This is a short review as I don’t really know what to say. This book deals with grief, self harm and first loves. This has been compared as a hybrid between John Green and Rainbow Rowell. I can tell you now that the characters in this book are not as pretentious as the ones in TFIOS(sorry fans of John Green), but the book doesn’t have the same emotion and connection as Rainbow Rowell’s books.
I rated this book 2 out of 5 stars
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Law of Attraction in Books
Aug 14, 2018
Book Review by Cari Mayhew.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I feel this added to the feel of the story and improved my experience of the book. The narrator spoke in a stunning female American accent but would change voices for the male dialogue parts.
I was enticed by the book's description – a romantic drama between two high-flying Lawyers. I was expecting witty dialogue and real tension between the characters. This book is part of a two-book series and is intended for readers over the age of eighteen.
The central character is criminal defense lawyer Gabrielle, who has crushed on prosecutor Braden in their altercations in the Courtroom for several months. Braden, however, is quite the cad, and is known not have had any serious relationships in quite some time.
One evening the two of them meet in the local bar and a serious flirting session ensues. Despite how much characters lust after each other, Gabrielle has no intention of becoming a mere one night stand, and a succession of dates are negotiated.
Their first date is one to remember. Soon after they boyfriend-girlfriend are meeting each other’s family. But, there are some odd complications, and all does not run smoothly. Braden has a narcissistic ex-girlfriend Marla, who still can’t accept that they’ve broken up. More intriguingly, an old crush of Gabrielle’s, Cam, who took Gabrielle’s virginity, comes back into her life shadowing her law firm, and it turns out he’s Braden’s cousin, who is also the man that another ex of Braden’s once cheated with. Then Gabrielle receives threatening notes telling her to stay away from Braden.
Gabrielle and her friends start plotting to find out who is leaving the notes. They aim to get handwriting samples from the 3 people they suspect, and by some strange coincidence, all 3 are at the same secret underground fantasy party which gets raided, providing handwriting samples in the form of written statements.
Then the first book in the series comes to an end before the note writer is identified. Rather than it being one of the people Gabrielle suspects, I suspect the author aims to provide surprise by making it someone closer to home.
One saucy scene was on a par with Fifty Shades of Grey, but this book is not going to take off like Fifty Shades of Grey did. There was nothing unusual in these scenes other than perhaps the locations.
Whilst the book never bored me, I just didn’t care enough about the characters or plot to want to read the second book in the series.
For more of my reviews, check out www.bookblogbycari.com
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I feel this added to the feel of the story and improved my experience of the book. The narrator spoke in a stunning female American accent but would change voices for the male dialogue parts.
I was enticed by the book's description – a romantic drama between two high-flying Lawyers. I was expecting witty dialogue and real tension between the characters. This book is part of a two-book series and is intended for readers over the age of eighteen.
The central character is criminal defense lawyer Gabrielle, who has crushed on prosecutor Braden in their altercations in the Courtroom for several months. Braden, however, is quite the cad, and is known not have had any serious relationships in quite some time.
One evening the two of them meet in the local bar and a serious flirting session ensues. Despite how much characters lust after each other, Gabrielle has no intention of becoming a mere one night stand, and a succession of dates are negotiated.
Their first date is one to remember. Soon after they boyfriend-girlfriend are meeting each other’s family. But, there are some odd complications, and all does not run smoothly. Braden has a narcissistic ex-girlfriend Marla, who still can’t accept that they’ve broken up. More intriguingly, an old crush of Gabrielle’s, Cam, who took Gabrielle’s virginity, comes back into her life shadowing her law firm, and it turns out he’s Braden’s cousin, who is also the man that another ex of Braden’s once cheated with. Then Gabrielle receives threatening notes telling her to stay away from Braden.
Gabrielle and her friends start plotting to find out who is leaving the notes. They aim to get handwriting samples from the 3 people they suspect, and by some strange coincidence, all 3 are at the same secret underground fantasy party which gets raided, providing handwriting samples in the form of written statements.
Then the first book in the series comes to an end before the note writer is identified. Rather than it being one of the people Gabrielle suspects, I suspect the author aims to provide surprise by making it someone closer to home.
One saucy scene was on a par with Fifty Shades of Grey, but this book is not going to take off like Fifty Shades of Grey did. There was nothing unusual in these scenes other than perhaps the locations.
Whilst the book never bored me, I just didn’t care enough about the characters or plot to want to read the second book in the series.
For more of my reviews, check out www.bookblogbycari.com
ClareR (5854 KP) rated The Seventh Cross in Books
Aug 22, 2018
This remains a lesson for us all
I was keen to read this translation, as I had originally read it during my German degree, in German. In fact, this book was a central part of my dissertation and was one of three Anna Seghers novels. They were all set in the National Socialist period of 1933-1945 (or thereabouts). I remember the German version being a very dense, challenging book - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for me! I like a book that makes me think, and there’s plenty of food for thought here.
This story is jam packed with characters from all sides of the German story: National Socialists, Communists, the SS and the ordinary working German,
Georg Heisler (I’m using the German derivative of his name; I have no idea why his name was anglicised to ‘George’ whilst other characters kept their German names) escapes from a fictitious concentration camp (Westhofen) along with six other men. This is pre World War II, this is what the National Socialists did to their own countrymen and any dissent.
The story follows the recapture of the other six, Georg’s escape and all those who help him. Persecution on this scale is still happening today, and whether or not it is happening, we should still read about it and remember, in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve touched on the language and style. It’s not easy. It wasn’t easy to read and understand in German, and it can be hard going in English. It seems quite detached from emotion, and I think this is a deliberate device. If we look at the historical context, people clearly disengaged froma large part of what was happening around them. One of the SS soldiers refers to “Sarah’s”; the men in the concentration camp are there being starved and tortured due to their political ideology, and people live within hearing distance, hear the shouting, crying and the pain of the prisoners and do nothing: an embarrassed shrug, a closing of their ears.
This is the part that we should never forget: inaction, and the necessity to stop these things in their tracks at the beginning, rather than before it’s too late.
Georg has his helpers, those who risk their lives to save his (just as Seghers and her husband, both communist Jews had their helpers). The startling thing to me about this novel, is the normalcy: the countryside stays the same, the relationships, work. All seemed normal in the face of such evil. This is a novel to remember and learn from. It has as many lessons for us today as it did seventy years ago,
This story is jam packed with characters from all sides of the German story: National Socialists, Communists, the SS and the ordinary working German,
Georg Heisler (I’m using the German derivative of his name; I have no idea why his name was anglicised to ‘George’ whilst other characters kept their German names) escapes from a fictitious concentration camp (Westhofen) along with six other men. This is pre World War II, this is what the National Socialists did to their own countrymen and any dissent.
The story follows the recapture of the other six, Georg’s escape and all those who help him. Persecution on this scale is still happening today, and whether or not it is happening, we should still read about it and remember, in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve touched on the language and style. It’s not easy. It wasn’t easy to read and understand in German, and it can be hard going in English. It seems quite detached from emotion, and I think this is a deliberate device. If we look at the historical context, people clearly disengaged froma large part of what was happening around them. One of the SS soldiers refers to “Sarah’s”; the men in the concentration camp are there being starved and tortured due to their political ideology, and people live within hearing distance, hear the shouting, crying and the pain of the prisoners and do nothing: an embarrassed shrug, a closing of their ears.
This is the part that we should never forget: inaction, and the necessity to stop these things in their tracks at the beginning, rather than before it’s too late.
Georg has his helpers, those who risk their lives to save his (just as Seghers and her husband, both communist Jews had their helpers). The startling thing to me about this novel, is the normalcy: the countryside stays the same, the relationships, work. All seemed normal in the face of such evil. This is a novel to remember and learn from. It has as many lessons for us today as it did seventy years ago,
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated Skylark (Skylark, #1) in Books
Nov 5, 2018
Read the latest version of this review over on Ramble Media here http://www.ramblemedia.com/?p=20184
I have received this book through the Goodreads First Read Giveaway and I am very grateful for being given the opportunity to read and review.
This is a stunning book, following the plight of sixteen year old Lark who is trying to escape from the oppression and danger of 'the City'.
Firstly, I have to admit, that when I first opened this book and began to read I was worried about whether the pace and dynamic start would be sustained throughout. The book starts with a bang, and without spoiling it, the pace doesn't slow one bit as you continue through the story. The story develops naturally, with a good speed that leaves you enough 'time' to absorb the events, but doesn't dilly dally over the delivery of the plot. I honestly could not put this book down, it was gripping from start to finish.
A further great fact about this book is how believable it is. I read a lot of young adult fiction, purely because sometimes you just need an escape from your own world and I'm yet to find a genre that delivers that on tap as easily as this one. The dystopian society, hidden worlds behind a wall, 'shadow men' and all the other delicate additions make this world, whilst truly terrifying at times, entirely believable. In fact, I had nightmares one night about the shadow people!
The romance between Lark and Oren, and Lark and Kris and the way these relationships develop is fantastically written. Lark is a great character, very likeable (to me at least) as I can understand how she feels and relate to her. The fact she is so naive and unaware of the motives of Kris, and to an extent Oren, is a very endearing quality, and her development, helped by these two potential romances, is very well written and again, as with the rest of the book, very believable.
In conclusion, Spooner has creatively and imaginatively breathed new life into this much loved genre, creating a new heroine, dilemma and romances. I could spend hours talking about how wonderful I found this book, and how much I'm already looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but I would be wasting the time you could be spending hitting the 'to read' button and going and buying it from somewhere. Honestly, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's a true breath of fresh air in this genre, clearing the way for more new authors like Spooner to share their creative brilliance. And on that note, what are you still doing reading me? Go read the book and see for yourself!
I have received this book through the Goodreads First Read Giveaway and I am very grateful for being given the opportunity to read and review.
This is a stunning book, following the plight of sixteen year old Lark who is trying to escape from the oppression and danger of 'the City'.
Firstly, I have to admit, that when I first opened this book and began to read I was worried about whether the pace and dynamic start would be sustained throughout. The book starts with a bang, and without spoiling it, the pace doesn't slow one bit as you continue through the story. The story develops naturally, with a good speed that leaves you enough 'time' to absorb the events, but doesn't dilly dally over the delivery of the plot. I honestly could not put this book down, it was gripping from start to finish.
A further great fact about this book is how believable it is. I read a lot of young adult fiction, purely because sometimes you just need an escape from your own world and I'm yet to find a genre that delivers that on tap as easily as this one. The dystopian society, hidden worlds behind a wall, 'shadow men' and all the other delicate additions make this world, whilst truly terrifying at times, entirely believable. In fact, I had nightmares one night about the shadow people!
The romance between Lark and Oren, and Lark and Kris and the way these relationships develop is fantastically written. Lark is a great character, very likeable (to me at least) as I can understand how she feels and relate to her. The fact she is so naive and unaware of the motives of Kris, and to an extent Oren, is a very endearing quality, and her development, helped by these two potential romances, is very well written and again, as with the rest of the book, very believable.
In conclusion, Spooner has creatively and imaginatively breathed new life into this much loved genre, creating a new heroine, dilemma and romances. I could spend hours talking about how wonderful I found this book, and how much I'm already looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but I would be wasting the time you could be spending hitting the 'to read' button and going and buying it from somewhere. Honestly, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's a true breath of fresh air in this genre, clearing the way for more new authors like Spooner to share their creative brilliance. And on that note, what are you still doing reading me? Go read the book and see for yourself!