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Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2)
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2)
Ally Carter | 2007 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This series is so addictive. I completely devoured this second book after finishing the first. It’s the sort of book that you can binge in one sitting which is partly why I loved it so much.

This was even better than the first book. There was somehow even more action and drama packed into this little book and it still didn’t feel like there was to much in such a short space. The action was completely gripping and still managed to keep me hooked to the point that I bought the third book while I was halfway through reading this one.

I loved Cammie even more in this one. Her wit gets me laughing in places and I felt every single emotion she was feeling in the book. For YA, the novel is so emotionally written and I loved that. You can completely tell with this series that Ally Carter had a true bond with Cammie, which really brings her story to life.
  
Christopher Robin (2018)
Christopher Robin (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Surprisingly Good
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. Disney's live action remakes have been pretty disappointing to me, in general. But this one was very well made. I think they did a great job incorporating the fantasy characters into the real life world of post war England.

Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.

Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
  
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!
2018 | Action, Action/Adventure, Fighting
Overworld Pokemon (0 more)
Only Kanto region and dex (0 more)
This was a great game, though I wish it had a full pokedex and other regions to explore since this is the fifth time we've seen Kanto (including going back to Kanto in g/s/c/hg/ss). The catching mechanic was a little weird at first, but I grew to enjoy it quite a bit. I love the pokemon being seen in the overworld, and I thought the art style was very cute. All this good being said, the game was short. I finished the story in about ten hours, and the pokedex in about 20 (but the longer times were because I was spending a lot more time catching things than I really needed to in the hopes of finding a shiny pokemon). After completing the pokedex I feel very little need to pick the game back up again, which is unfortunate. For what it was though, ot was a very good experience.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Lion (2016) in Movies

May 14, 2019  
Lion (2016)
Lion (2016)
2016 | Drama
8
8.7 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Based-on-a-true-story drama transcends the fact it looks rather like a big long advert for Google Earth and becomes something genuinely moving. A five year old child gets on the wrong train one night in India, and finds himself in a strange city hundreds of miles away, unable to speak the local language. After various hair-raising experiences he is adopted by a nice couple from Tasmania. Many years later, and apparently settled in his new life, he finds the urge to find his home still lingers...

Definitely a film of two halves, with the second one being a bit more internal and short on actual incident - nevertheless, strong performances from the cast keep this very involving and watchable. Covers a lot of the same ground as Slumdog Millionaire, but puts its own spin on it; the climax is honestly rather affecting. Probably won't rock your world but still a well-made movie.
  
TG
The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
By far one of my favorites by Ms Hahn. This is one of her classic ghost stories where someone, in this case Sophia, meets their tragic end and is unable to rest.

This novel read quickly, however, I feel there was a lot of build up to a short climax. It wasn’t necessarily bad, I had just hoped for more ghost interaction with Sophia. Once she is introduced, the novel seems to fly by. This could be because I was so enthralled with it. I would like to say the rather abrupt ending left me wanting more, but I felt content with the story as a whole. I only real issue I have with this novel is that I wasn’t sure it was over until I turned the page and there was no more text. Hahn is known for providing closure in her stories, but, for once, I wasn’t 100% sure it was over.
  
After breaking her arm in a circus accident, Ophelia Flax finds herself in a fancy hospital in Switzerland. Another patient there, Imogen Melchor, has been asleep for 8 days. Her parents claim it is related to the Sleeping Beauty legend, which is strong in the area. Meanwhile, Professor Gabriel Penrose is in the area, officially to track down local legends, but really in hopes of finding Ophelia again. Will he succeed? What happened to Imogen?

This is a novella written specifically to wrap up loose ends after the series was canceled. As a result, it will appeal most to series fans. With only 100 pages to work with, the story is fast paces with something always happening to move it forward. The new characters are a bit short changed, but Ophelia and Gabriel are strong, and the plot kept me guessing until the end.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-review-sleeping-beauty-borrowed.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
9
8.7 (107 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (2 more)
Plot
Descriptive
Beauty Beast Meets The Fairy World
As shallow as this is, I’ve put off starting this book because the cover and title were not attractive to me. However, I’ve received a ton of recommendations and we chose this book for book club so I finally took the plunge. Long story short.. I shouldn’t have put it off! From the moment I started the book I couldn’t put it down. The entire time the book reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. Maybe a small part reminded me of The Hunger Games too.

I really loved how descriptive the author was. I had no problems visualizing the fairy world and all of the people in it. I even found myself rereading the descriptions because of how lovely they are worded.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the fairy world and enjoyes escaping in a book to a magical place!
  
Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)
Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)
Laurell K. Hamilton | 1995 | Crime, Mystery, Paranormal
8
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting characters, good storyline (0 more)
grammatical errors, no romantic progression (0 more)
As I've said of the first two novels in this series, there are quite a few grammatical errors in these books. Not to mention, the repeated dialogue in all of them. That being said, the story is pretty solid and action packed. I like that the main character is so human for lack of a better word. She is regularly injured and carries scars from each injury instead of fully healing like in other novels. She is small but feisty and very easy to like. I do wish there were more romance or even just sex in the stories. It ramps up towards it but seems to fall short just before anything good happens. I've heard that this will change as you progress through the series but I find myself a little frustrated that I've made it through three books without much romantic progress in the storyline.
  
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Roxanne (13 KP) rated The Small Hand in Books

Nov 14, 2018  
TS
The Small Hand
Susan Hill | 2010
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
After browsing through the shelves at my local library I spotted this book and knew I recognised the author's name...the brilliant author who wrote The Woman in Black (which I read quite recently and very much enjoyed) so I thought I would pick this one up.
The Small Hand is a nice, enjoyable ghost story which unfortunately lacked a certain chill, I did not find it to be scary in any way and I found that perhaps I was somewhat spoilt by the rollercoaster of The Woman in Black. I got a bit bored part way through with the constant diversions and the lack of depth, I wanted more meat that was sadly missing from this short book, this made it feel rushed or if there were pages missing.
I would still say that if you enjoy ghost stories please do give this one a read, it's not bad but in my opinion it just wasn't that great either.
  
Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes
Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes
Jason Aaron, John Cassaday | 2015 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Flagship entry in Marvel's take-over of the Star Wars comics, this is set between the events of 'A New Hope' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' and, I have to say, is also a pretty enjoyable read!

It probably helps, of course, that the opening panels start with the iconic crawl, before moving to an expanse of space, with a spaceship then passing overhead - as close, in short, as you can get to the opening of the films in comic form! It also helps that all the main character - Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, C3PO and R2D2 all make a return, all looking pretty much as they did on the screen back then

OK, it's not perfect, with the reveal of Han's secret past (in particular) for me falling a bit flat, and with the story losing it's pace after the somewhat spectacular early pyrotechnics, but if this is anything to go on? We're in good hands.