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    Welcome to Last Hills. Last Hills is a surreal psychological horror game. In which you can feel...

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Merissa (12969 KP) created a post

Jul 8, 2025  
"In a world ruled by men, three extraordinary women rise from the shadows of history to shape a family's legacy, and a nation's destiny."

Read about the women of The Lydiard Chronicles by Elizabeth St.John in her guest post.

#TheCoffeePotBookClub, #BlogTour, #EnglishCivilWar, #FamilyHistory, #HistoricalFiction, available in #KindleUnlimited,

https://archaeolibrarian.wixsite.com/website/post/the-lydiard-chronicles-by-elizabeth-st-john
     
Ruin of Stars
Ruin of Stars
Linsey Miller | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
6
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<h2><strong>I wish I could say I enjoyed <em>Ruin of Stars</em> as much as I enjoyed <a href="https://thatbookgal.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/guest-book-review-mask-of-shadows/"><em>Mask of Shadows</em></a>.</strong></h2>
Unfortunately, I didn't. In Miller's debut novel, we are introduced to Sal, a genderfluid thief who auditions to become a part of the Queen's Left Hand, a group of assassins who work for her, particularly for Opal. Sal hopes that with their success, they can get closer to the people who have destroyed their home.

<em>Ruin of Stars</em> continues with Sal successfully becoming a part of the Queen's Left Hand, which gives them the opportunity to find out and hunt down the people who killed their family.

<h3><em><strong>Ruin of</strong><strong> Shadows </strong></em><strong>isn't as exciting or adventurous.</strong></h3>
Reading the first novel, there was <em>never</em> a dull moment except for maybe the very beginning. But <em>Mask of Shadows</em> quickly picked up in pace and didn't let down. I expected the second book to be similar, but that didn't turn out to be the case. While the sequel provides plenty of action, it is <em>definitely</em> not as action-packed as the first novel.

<h3><strong>The characters from <em>Mask of Shadows</em> return and are still lovable.</strong></h3>
You'd think that being one of the highest parts of the court would change Sal's life <em>completely</em> around, which would mean new characters to meet. This isn't the case at all with <em>Ruin of Shadows</em>. While Sal meets new people who will either help or hinder their goal of revenge, Miller brings back the characters who played an important role in Sal's life as a pickpocket and thief. People like Maud (so much sass, that one), Rath (omg their friendship) and Elise (I really don't know how I feel about you), among others.

I especially loved the friendship between Maud and Sal, though.

<h3><strong>There wasn't enough urgency in some parts.</strong></h3>
<em>Mask of Shadows</em> constantly had a sense of urgency in every page and there wasn't a moment in time where I wasn't worried about Sal's end coming from another competitor. Somehow, though, that sense of urgency disappeared. Where there <em>should</em> have been urgency, there was talking and discussing of plans. In fact, it wasn't just about plans, but it was a lot of catching up as well.

<h2><b>Overall, while <em>Ruin of Stars</em> provided a satisfying conclusion, I had high expectations that didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would.</b></h2>

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/ruin-of-stars-by-linsey-miller/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
2014 | Comedy, Horror
What We Do in the Shadows is just great.

Pretty much every line of dialogue is hilarious, and very subtle most of the time.
There's a lot of funny dry humour here, excentuated wholeheartedly by the New Zealand accent.
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement are fantastic both behind and in front of camera, and the rest of the cast, in particular Cori Gonzalez-Macuer and Jonny Brugh are brilliant as well. Special kudos to Stu Rutherford for giving us a character that even vampires don't want to die.

The horror element is pretty good also. It plays on many vampire tropes well still managing to be suitably bloody when it needs to be.

What We Do in the Shadows is just an all round wonderful movie, something I find myself thinking for most things that Taika Waititi touches.