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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated When Katie Met Cassidy in Books
Jun 20, 2018
This was one of my Book of the Month picks this month, so I got it a little early. It's a very quick read, and a sweet story. Basically, it's lesbian romance fluff. We need more fluff with non-heterosexual romances, so this is great stuff!
The book touches on gender issues - Cassidy is a woman, and seems happy to be so, but abhors feminine clothing and instead dresses solely in men's suits. (The scene with her fabulously gay tailor was an absolute delight!) She flashes back a little onto her childhood when she wasn't allowed to wear the clothing she felt best in. She also has a few conversations with Katie about gender roles. Katie is much more traditionally feminine, wearing dresses and heels and long hair.
I'm a little torn on whether I dislike the use of the trope "straight woman turned gay after breakup" or like the point that Katie isn't sure she likes women, but she knows she likes Cassidy. Cassidy's gender is secondary to her personality. And it's not like Katie decided to go hit on women after her fiance cheated on her; she got practically dragged to the lesbian bar by Cassidy, who saw how much she was hurting and decided to help her.
I enjoyed seeing that Cassidy has casual sex partners, many of them former sex partners, who are still good friends with her. Granted, she has lots of one-night stands who are upset with her since she's quite the player, but there are several women who she's been involved with before the book opens, who are close friends of hers and care about her future. I wish we saw more relationships like this in heterosexual romantic fiction instead of only in GLBT fiction! These kinds of relationships do exist in heterosexual groups, but it seems like romantic fiction is always divided between "heterosexual monogamy" and "everything else." I did read an exception in Next Year, For Sure, but I greatly disliked the ending.
I really loved this book. It was sweet, and light-hearted, and a pleasant breath of fresh air from a lot of what I've been reading recently!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
The book touches on gender issues - Cassidy is a woman, and seems happy to be so, but abhors feminine clothing and instead dresses solely in men's suits. (The scene with her fabulously gay tailor was an absolute delight!) She flashes back a little onto her childhood when she wasn't allowed to wear the clothing she felt best in. She also has a few conversations with Katie about gender roles. Katie is much more traditionally feminine, wearing dresses and heels and long hair.
I'm a little torn on whether I dislike the use of the trope "straight woman turned gay after breakup" or like the point that Katie isn't sure she likes women, but she knows she likes Cassidy. Cassidy's gender is secondary to her personality. And it's not like Katie decided to go hit on women after her fiance cheated on her; she got practically dragged to the lesbian bar by Cassidy, who saw how much she was hurting and decided to help her.
I enjoyed seeing that Cassidy has casual sex partners, many of them former sex partners, who are still good friends with her. Granted, she has lots of one-night stands who are upset with her since she's quite the player, but there are several women who she's been involved with before the book opens, who are close friends of hers and care about her future. I wish we saw more relationships like this in heterosexual romantic fiction instead of only in GLBT fiction! These kinds of relationships do exist in heterosexual groups, but it seems like romantic fiction is always divided between "heterosexual monogamy" and "everything else." I did read an exception in Next Year, For Sure, but I greatly disliked the ending.
I really loved this book. It was sweet, and light-hearted, and a pleasant breath of fresh air from a lot of what I've been reading recently!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Wrath of the Titans (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Sequels often struggle to live up to the expectations set by their predecessors. Wrath of the Titans delivers. Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles as Perseus, Zeus, and Hades in this continuation of the Clash of the Titans remake from 2010. They’re joined this time by Rosamund Pike, who portrays the strong, female love interest as the beautiful Queen Andromeda.
Perseus has settled down to become a fisherman with his son. His wife has been written out of the story — either by design or because the actress was not available. She seems to be dead for no particular reason. Perseus has chosen to live life as a mortal, despite his father, Zeus (Neeson), offering him a seat of power on Olympus. Early in the movie, Zeus comes to his son and asks for help, telling him something big is coming. Only Perseus, a demi-god, would have the strength to ensure humanity’s survival.
The rest of the story involves Perseus’s journey to save the world from the reawakening of Chronos. Mythology geeks and fantasy buffs will appreciate the severity of this situation.
While the makers of this film certainly didn’t reinvent the wheel, or even attempt to one-up their previous film, they surely succeeded in making an entertaining screenplay. In short: if you liked the first, you will like this one. It has all the action, sword-swinging, flying-horse-riding, and titan-killing you would expect from the series. The CGI is impressive, and the 3D effects were not too objectionable.
One scene in particular stuck out as ill-conceived. The kiss at the end of the film felt forced. There was very little romantic build-up throughout the movie, so it felt as if the filmmakers included the kiss because moviegoers expect to see romantic resolution. Perhaps this is one of the several endings they filmed, at which point they let focus groups make the call. Either way, it felt awkward.
As I said before, if you enjoyed the first, seeing the second is worth your time and money.
Perseus has settled down to become a fisherman with his son. His wife has been written out of the story — either by design or because the actress was not available. She seems to be dead for no particular reason. Perseus has chosen to live life as a mortal, despite his father, Zeus (Neeson), offering him a seat of power on Olympus. Early in the movie, Zeus comes to his son and asks for help, telling him something big is coming. Only Perseus, a demi-god, would have the strength to ensure humanity’s survival.
The rest of the story involves Perseus’s journey to save the world from the reawakening of Chronos. Mythology geeks and fantasy buffs will appreciate the severity of this situation.
While the makers of this film certainly didn’t reinvent the wheel, or even attempt to one-up their previous film, they surely succeeded in making an entertaining screenplay. In short: if you liked the first, you will like this one. It has all the action, sword-swinging, flying-horse-riding, and titan-killing you would expect from the series. The CGI is impressive, and the 3D effects were not too objectionable.
One scene in particular stuck out as ill-conceived. The kiss at the end of the film felt forced. There was very little romantic build-up throughout the movie, so it felt as if the filmmakers included the kiss because moviegoers expect to see romantic resolution. Perhaps this is one of the several endings they filmed, at which point they let focus groups make the call. Either way, it felt awkward.
As I said before, if you enjoyed the first, seeing the second is worth your time and money.
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Merissa (12887 KP) created a post
Feb 12, 2021
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Shelter in Place in Books
Jan 12, 2021
I bought two chucky paperbacks by Nora Roberts at the same time a few months ago, this and Come Sundown.
This one starts with Simone and her two friends going to the cinema to watch a film together. Simone goes to the toilet and minutes later hears screams and gunshots coming from the room she'd just left. She phones the police as three people go through the mall, killing as many people as they can. Simultaneously, Reed is working at one of the restaurants in the mall and as the shooters begin their killing spree he comes to the rescue of a little boy who's crying for his mum and keeps him safe until the cops arrive and take out the shooters.
Fast forward several years and survivors of the attack start to be killed off one by one and it seems Simone and Reed are on the killers list
I will start by saying that romantic suspense's are not my favourite genre. It has taken me about a month and a half to finish this. The romance definitely felt like an afterthought since it only kicked in about the half way point by which point I was just reading to see them take down the bad guy - whose POV we saw regularly throughout - and whose comeuppance felt like a bit of a disappointment. It all happened within about five pages from them making themselves known to Simone to them being incapacitated.
It's a 500+ page book! The first half was the two main survivors growing up and finding their calling in life - and I was rather bored, hence it taking me over a month to read! - the second half was a really played down romance while the killer made her way through the rest of the survivors on her meandering journey to them on Tranquillity Island.
I normally really enjoy reading Nora Roberts' books but I think I'll stick to her traditional romances and away from romantic suspense's in the future. Come Sundown and this one will be making there way to a charity shop for others to enjoy.
This one starts with Simone and her two friends going to the cinema to watch a film together. Simone goes to the toilet and minutes later hears screams and gunshots coming from the room she'd just left. She phones the police as three people go through the mall, killing as many people as they can. Simultaneously, Reed is working at one of the restaurants in the mall and as the shooters begin their killing spree he comes to the rescue of a little boy who's crying for his mum and keeps him safe until the cops arrive and take out the shooters.
Fast forward several years and survivors of the attack start to be killed off one by one and it seems Simone and Reed are on the killers list
I will start by saying that romantic suspense's are not my favourite genre. It has taken me about a month and a half to finish this. The romance definitely felt like an afterthought since it only kicked in about the half way point by which point I was just reading to see them take down the bad guy - whose POV we saw regularly throughout - and whose comeuppance felt like a bit of a disappointment. It all happened within about five pages from them making themselves known to Simone to them being incapacitated.
It's a 500+ page book! The first half was the two main survivors growing up and finding their calling in life - and I was rather bored, hence it taking me over a month to read! - the second half was a really played down romance while the killer made her way through the rest of the survivors on her meandering journey to them on Tranquillity Island.
I normally really enjoy reading Nora Roberts' books but I think I'll stick to her traditional romances and away from romantic suspense's in the future. Come Sundown and this one will be making there way to a charity shop for others to enjoy.
Merissa (12887 KP) rated The Kiss (The Cotiere Chronicles #1) in Books
Apr 14, 2023
I was a bit wary when starting this book as I knew from the synopsis that there were three people involved and my immediate fear was a love triangle, which I'm really fed up with reading about! However, my fears were groundless as this book took a turn that I never saw coming and by this point, I was totally engrossed in the story.
Liesl, Baden and Koen all change and grow in this book, no stagnation for any of these characters! However, Liesl is the one who grows the most. She has been lied to and manipulated for most of her life but once the truth is given to her, she makes her stand in her own quiet way, showing a strength of will and character where you might have thought of weakness. I loved her! Baden and Koen are both fantastic characters and I loved both of them. One thing I will point out in particular though, and it's about Koen. He has asthma and I LOVED that. He was not an Alpha Male absolutely perfect in every way. Instead, he has a debilitating illness (that I also suffer with so my chest tightened every time I read about his suffering!) and STILL manages to be an Alpha Male absolutely perfect in every way! He is romantic, funny, caring, protective, and loving - everything a romantic like me needs to read about.
The plot was fantastic and was very smoothly written. There is enough depth to this to make it a fantastic book and, speaking as an English transplant in Germany, I loved reading the German sentences because I understood them without the translation. Trust me, this means that it is simple enough for anyone but the translation is there just in case.
Overall, this book swept me away. Well written, edited and with no grammatical mistakes that I found, I was lost within this book and certainly didn't want it to end. Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 26, 2015
Liesl, Baden and Koen all change and grow in this book, no stagnation for any of these characters! However, Liesl is the one who grows the most. She has been lied to and manipulated for most of her life but once the truth is given to her, she makes her stand in her own quiet way, showing a strength of will and character where you might have thought of weakness. I loved her! Baden and Koen are both fantastic characters and I loved both of them. One thing I will point out in particular though, and it's about Koen. He has asthma and I LOVED that. He was not an Alpha Male absolutely perfect in every way. Instead, he has a debilitating illness (that I also suffer with so my chest tightened every time I read about his suffering!) and STILL manages to be an Alpha Male absolutely perfect in every way! He is romantic, funny, caring, protective, and loving - everything a romantic like me needs to read about.
The plot was fantastic and was very smoothly written. There is enough depth to this to make it a fantastic book and, speaking as an English transplant in Germany, I loved reading the German sentences because I understood them without the translation. Trust me, this means that it is simple enough for anyone but the translation is there just in case.
Overall, this book swept me away. Well written, edited and with no grammatical mistakes that I found, I was lost within this book and certainly didn't want it to end. Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 26, 2015
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Dec 9, 2022
Merissa (12887 KP) rated The Last Dragon Rider (The Wild Realms of Véneanár #1) in Books
Sep 21, 2017
The Last Dragon Rider (The Wild Realms of Véneanár #1) by Errin Krystal
The Last Dragon Rider starts off with a child being read a bedtime story. It quickly changes to become THE story, and you learn first-hand about the love between Flintathriël and Sairalindë. There is additional action, both of the battle and romantic kinds, between Flint's sister and the Captain of the special guard. Although this is only a short novel, you get a lot of background knowledge, but it isn't just 'info-dumped' on you. You find out more snippets as the story progresses, the characters develop, and situations turn tense.
This is very well written, with excellent descriptions throughout. There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The ending, whilst not expected, certainly left me wanting to know more. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is very well written, with excellent descriptions throughout. There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The ending, whilst not expected, certainly left me wanting to know more. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Kevin Phillipson (10072 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in Video Games
Jun 9, 2019
Kassandra (2 more)
Ancient Greece
100s hours of gameplay
What a game so far as I've only played about 6 hours of gameplay so far and Impressed by the game in my opinion so even better than red dead redemption 2 one of the best open world's I've seen ancient Greece looks amazing it looks so real. Currently playing the game as Kassandra one of my favourite female protagonists in any game I've played u also get the option to play as akexos but I will stick with Kassandra to the end of the game. I also like it when the game gives u the choice to change the outcome of a mission it can be tough but the right decision isn't allways the right one later in the game. also u can choose who to get romantic with either male or female characters u meet along the way. Currently started the sea faring missions with my crew where we will go next that's the exciting part of the game and I'm in for adventure.
Mothergamer (1568 KP) rated Crazy Rich Asians (2018) in Movies
Jun 13, 2019
I did enjoy the movie for the characters and the story. The jokes were funny and I did find myself entertained. I also giggled at the aspects of the nosy aunties because my Filipino family is very much like that, always knowing your business or wanting to know. While I did like Nick, I found at times that he was rather a terrible boyfriend. For example, it seemed bad form to not tell Jessica that his family party would absolutely be a black tie affair or expecting her to be able to somehow get a ride to his house without really knowing where his family house was in another country. I know it's typical romantic comedy fare, but honestly if someone I was dating did that to me I would be pretty irritated with them. That being said, I did appreciate the movie for the engaging cast and the moments that had me smiling or laughing. It's a good, entertaining popcorn movie and has a lovely and cheerful optimism to it.