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Daily Connect (Child Care)
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Daily Connect allows parents and child care centers to easily communicate. It is the replacement to...
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**100 HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS SMOOTHIE RECIPES FROM THE EDITORS OF MEN’S HEALTH AND WOMEN’S HEALTH...
Overcome Phobias by Glenn Harrold: Clinical Hypnotherapy for All Phobias
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Glenn Harrold has drawn upon his 20-year experience as a clinical hypnotherapist to produce the two...
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
2013 is the year of the fairy-tale and the year of the witch, or so it looks that way from what seems to be a never-ending bombardment of films related to the two age-old topics. This year sees the release of Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Slayer as well as Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great & the Powerful and whilst the latter has opened to mixed reviews, it is Bryan Singer’s effort which really looks like it’ll sparkle.
Sat between these two behemoths is the critical and somewhat commercial failure, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, but is it as bad as the reviews would have you believe? Let’s find out.
The fairy-tale of Hansel & Gretel is as well-known as Jack & the Beanstalk and to some extent the story in the Wizard of Oz, but films of this classic have been limited to low-budget television movies because finding the audience for such a difficult genre is not to be underestimated.
Here however, Tommy Wirkola directs his first English-language film with some degrees of success, though, a few niggling factors stop it from being the success it could’ve been. In a darker tale than perhaps we’re used to with a story such as this, Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star as Hansel & Gretel respectively and for the most part, fulfil their roles well as they battle numerous dark witches in a plot which never really gets to grips with the genre it is trying to be.
Herein lays the problem, do you direct the fairy-tale genre as a family comedy or as something a little darker? Clearly director Wirkola has had his work cut out to find the balance between the two and the result is confusing, he has ended up with a 15 certificate which mixes comedy with a bloodbath that wouldn’t look out of place in a Quentin Tarantino picture; it really is that over-the-top. The use of swear-words also feels out of place, like they’re there just to shock rather than add anything to the film’s narrative.
Hansel & Gretel have grown up deciding to kill witches after they were left abandoned in the woods by their father. To cut a long story short, they are captured by a witch and forced to work for her; whilst doing this, Hansel develops ‘sugar sickness’ (diabetes) from all the candy he is forced to consume and must inject himself often. After killing said witch, they flee and the story begins; with them being hired to kill witches who have stolen children from a small town to allow them to become immune to fire; their major weakness.
It’s an interesting take on the story and Famke Janssen plays the wicked grand witch brilliantly, she manages to be both endearing and rightly terrifying in the same scene, though this is helped with the prosthetics used to alter her face. The other actors, including the main two are a little uninspired, especially Arterton who looks positively bored with the work she’s been given. In saying that, Renner isn’t much better and the majority of the film suffers as a result. In fact, you’ll probably be rooting for Janssen’s Muriel to succeed in her evil plot.
Thankfully, the special effects are very good, although I was expecting a little more witch-on-witch action, a la Harry Potter. Atli Orvarsson’s score is excellent and a real highlight of the film. The music in the brilliant opening credits is fantastic.
Overall, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a solid but uninspiring adaptation of a fairy-tale which was never meant for the big screen. Director Tommy Wirkola has obviously tried very hard to create a film which caters for most palates and whilst the score, special effects and acting from Famke Janssen are all top notch, the confusing mish-mash of genres and hammy acting from Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton stop it being anything more than a forgettable action flick. After all, when your lead characters look like they can’t be bothered, you’ve got a serious problem.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2013/03/02/hansel-gretel-witch-hunters-review-2013/
Sat between these two behemoths is the critical and somewhat commercial failure, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, but is it as bad as the reviews would have you believe? Let’s find out.
The fairy-tale of Hansel & Gretel is as well-known as Jack & the Beanstalk and to some extent the story in the Wizard of Oz, but films of this classic have been limited to low-budget television movies because finding the audience for such a difficult genre is not to be underestimated.
Here however, Tommy Wirkola directs his first English-language film with some degrees of success, though, a few niggling factors stop it from being the success it could’ve been. In a darker tale than perhaps we’re used to with a story such as this, Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star as Hansel & Gretel respectively and for the most part, fulfil their roles well as they battle numerous dark witches in a plot which never really gets to grips with the genre it is trying to be.
Herein lays the problem, do you direct the fairy-tale genre as a family comedy or as something a little darker? Clearly director Wirkola has had his work cut out to find the balance between the two and the result is confusing, he has ended up with a 15 certificate which mixes comedy with a bloodbath that wouldn’t look out of place in a Quentin Tarantino picture; it really is that over-the-top. The use of swear-words also feels out of place, like they’re there just to shock rather than add anything to the film’s narrative.
Hansel & Gretel have grown up deciding to kill witches after they were left abandoned in the woods by their father. To cut a long story short, they are captured by a witch and forced to work for her; whilst doing this, Hansel develops ‘sugar sickness’ (diabetes) from all the candy he is forced to consume and must inject himself often. After killing said witch, they flee and the story begins; with them being hired to kill witches who have stolen children from a small town to allow them to become immune to fire; their major weakness.
It’s an interesting take on the story and Famke Janssen plays the wicked grand witch brilliantly, she manages to be both endearing and rightly terrifying in the same scene, though this is helped with the prosthetics used to alter her face. The other actors, including the main two are a little uninspired, especially Arterton who looks positively bored with the work she’s been given. In saying that, Renner isn’t much better and the majority of the film suffers as a result. In fact, you’ll probably be rooting for Janssen’s Muriel to succeed in her evil plot.
Thankfully, the special effects are very good, although I was expecting a little more witch-on-witch action, a la Harry Potter. Atli Orvarsson’s score is excellent and a real highlight of the film. The music in the brilliant opening credits is fantastic.
Overall, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a solid but uninspiring adaptation of a fairy-tale which was never meant for the big screen. Director Tommy Wirkola has obviously tried very hard to create a film which caters for most palates and whilst the score, special effects and acting from Famke Janssen are all top notch, the confusing mish-mash of genres and hammy acting from Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton stop it being anything more than a forgettable action flick. After all, when your lead characters look like they can’t be bothered, you’ve got a serious problem.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2013/03/02/hansel-gretel-witch-hunters-review-2013/
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: This follows up from the first one so we have to remember unlike the Avengers and Dark Knight we are dealing with a teenage superhero. He has different problems like whether he wants a girlfriend or whether to go to college, you know the serious stuff. We have him putting out all the cheesy lines against the person he fights not taking anything seriously. While Peter is trying to figure out what his life holds next, the people against him start their own stories. We have the generic loner scientist who ends up having an accident, gaining powers and using them for evil, been there seen that in every Spider-man film. We also have the Harry Osborn who wants Spider-Man’s blood to cure his sickness and when he can’t have it he goes on a rampage against Spider-Man. It would be fair this is a slow moving film and it really is building up for the next chapter. (7/10)
Actor Review
Andrew Garfield: Spider-Man/Peter Parker while trying to figure out what to do with his life he carries on fighting crime, he has to decide whether to keep with his girlfriend when her father’s dying wish was to leave her so she couldn’t get caught up in trouble. He does ends up having to face the biggest battle of his life after his battles with Electro and Green Goblin. Good performance in a character that develops as the film unfolds. (8/10)
spide
Emma Stone: Gwen Stacy ambitious girlfriend of Peter, who wants to excel in her studies and gets that chance to but with Peter in her life she will always be in danger. Good supporting performance, but I always find relationships for superheroes only get in the way and annoy. (7/10)
emma
Jamie Foxx: Electro lonely scientist who has helped the city design a better power source. He feels like everyone is against him but when Spider-Man saves him he gets a boost of confidence. Just when things look good for Max he ends up having an accident at work and turning into Electro, who starts off just wanting help but when he feels betrayed by Spider-Man he wants to take out the web-slinger and the city. Good performance playing a very difficult character that really looks the part. (8/10)
eletrco
Dane DeHaan: Green Goblin/Harry Osborn an old friend of Peter who wants him to find Spider-Man so he can use his blood to cure his terminal illness. After both Peter and Spider-Man refuse for safety reason he finds out his company secretly has some stored away and he uses it and becomes the Green Goblin out to stop Spider-Man. Good performance from the always solid Dane. (8/10)
harry
Director Review: Marc Webb – Great direction creating a story that really is building to something bigger, creating some very memorable fight scenes and a villain in Electro like nothing we have seen before. (8/10)
Action: When the action happens it is all very good, with some great camera spinning shots of Spider-Man in battle. (8/10)
Superhero: A solid entry in the superhero genre. (8/10)
Settings: New York makes a great setting because without all the building Spider-Man couldn’t swing as much. (9/10)
Special Effects: Great special effects used throughout the film. (10/10)
Suggestion: This must be watch by all the superhero fans out there, it is creating a big picture without having to use separate films to add to one of franchise. (Superhero Fans Watch)
Best Part: Spider-Man battles Electro round two.
Worst Part: It does start slow, nearly an hour before we meet Electro.
Action Scene Of The Film: The final battles
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one planned
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $708 Million
Budget: $200 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes
Tagline: His greatest battle begins
Overall: Solid Addition to Spider-Man Franchise
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/09/01/the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014/
Actor Review
Andrew Garfield: Spider-Man/Peter Parker while trying to figure out what to do with his life he carries on fighting crime, he has to decide whether to keep with his girlfriend when her father’s dying wish was to leave her so she couldn’t get caught up in trouble. He does ends up having to face the biggest battle of his life after his battles with Electro and Green Goblin. Good performance in a character that develops as the film unfolds. (8/10)
spide
Emma Stone: Gwen Stacy ambitious girlfriend of Peter, who wants to excel in her studies and gets that chance to but with Peter in her life she will always be in danger. Good supporting performance, but I always find relationships for superheroes only get in the way and annoy. (7/10)
emma
Jamie Foxx: Electro lonely scientist who has helped the city design a better power source. He feels like everyone is against him but when Spider-Man saves him he gets a boost of confidence. Just when things look good for Max he ends up having an accident at work and turning into Electro, who starts off just wanting help but when he feels betrayed by Spider-Man he wants to take out the web-slinger and the city. Good performance playing a very difficult character that really looks the part. (8/10)
eletrco
Dane DeHaan: Green Goblin/Harry Osborn an old friend of Peter who wants him to find Spider-Man so he can use his blood to cure his terminal illness. After both Peter and Spider-Man refuse for safety reason he finds out his company secretly has some stored away and he uses it and becomes the Green Goblin out to stop Spider-Man. Good performance from the always solid Dane. (8/10)
harry
Director Review: Marc Webb – Great direction creating a story that really is building to something bigger, creating some very memorable fight scenes and a villain in Electro like nothing we have seen before. (8/10)
Action: When the action happens it is all very good, with some great camera spinning shots of Spider-Man in battle. (8/10)
Superhero: A solid entry in the superhero genre. (8/10)
Settings: New York makes a great setting because without all the building Spider-Man couldn’t swing as much. (9/10)
Special Effects: Great special effects used throughout the film. (10/10)
Suggestion: This must be watch by all the superhero fans out there, it is creating a big picture without having to use separate films to add to one of franchise. (Superhero Fans Watch)
Best Part: Spider-Man battles Electro round two.
Worst Part: It does start slow, nearly an hour before we meet Electro.
Action Scene Of The Film: The final battles
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one planned
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $708 Million
Budget: $200 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes
Tagline: His greatest battle begins
Overall: Solid Addition to Spider-Man Franchise
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/09/01/the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014/
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Encouragement Letters in Books
Oct 3, 2018
The plot (2 more)
The characters
The educational lesson
An Uplifting Read
When I read the synopsis for The Encouragement Letters by Shanna Spence, I was intrigued. The cover also drew my attention. I lived in England for over 6 years which is another reason I wanted to read this book. I love all things England! When I got the opportunity to review it, I jumped at the chance!
I found the pacing to be perfect in The Encouragement Letters. This is a middle grade read, and Miss Spence sets the pacing perfectly for that age group. Never once did I feel like the book was too fast or too slow for young readers. I also feel the length of the book was perfect for the age group it targets.
I enjoyed the plot of The Encouragement Letters very much. It was interesting to read about Will's struggles and how he was overcoming them. I loved reading about how kind everyone was to each other. It was as if everyone was one big family. Everyone would help each other out, and that was very encouraging. It was interesting and uplifting to read about Will overcoming his challenges and not becoming a victim of circumstance even when that would have been the easiest thing to do. Reading about how Will was trying to lift everyone up in hard times with his encouragement letters truly was heartwarming. There are no plot twists in this book, but it doesn't need plot twists as it's not that kind of book. All of my questions were answered in the book. There are no cliff hangers whatsoever which was great.
The world building was done very well. Although written in third person, The Encouragement Letters is told through the eyes of 11 year old Will. I feel that Shanna Spence did a fantastic job making it seem as if a real 11 year old is telling the story. Miss Spence also does a great job making you feel as if you are involved with everything going on. Her use of language is profound. A few of the characters' accents were written exactly as they speak. I loved this! This made it that much more realistic. I also loved the Yorkshire dialect guide at the beginning of the book. Shanna Spence does a great job educating and making her readers feel like they are experiencing the Industrial Revolution in England first hand.
I loved every character in The Encouragement Letters. They all felt very real and fleshed out. Will was such a sweet boy as I mentioned earlier. I admired his work ethic and how empathetic he was even at such a young age. I loved all the shop workers and how caring they were towards Will always giving him extra food, scraps of leather, or whatever they had left over. Mary Beth was a character who also stood out to me. I enjoyed when she was mentioned. Maybe it's because I felt like I could relate to her. Like all of the characters in The Encouragement Letters, she had a strong work ethic and was so kind to Will. I thought it was cute how Will seemed to have a bit of a crush on her.
As this is a middle grade read, there aren't many trigger warnings. There is talk of death (Will's father had passed away a year prior when the novel starts) as well as sickness (Will's mother is sick throughout the book, and Will looks after her. There's one scene of violence (Will gets punched in the face), but it is not very graphic and is described in an age appropriate manner.
Overall, The Encouragement Letters is a very inspiring and uplifting novel. The characters are all so kind and have great work ethics, and the book is somewhat educational with describing how life was like during the Industrial Revolution in England. I would definitely recommend The Encouragement Letters by Shanna Spence to those 9+ who need some encouragement or who just love reading uplifting novels. Actually, I'd just recommend this to every and all people who are 9 years and older! This book gets a solid 5 out of 5 stars from me!
(Thank you to the author for providing me with a paperback of this title for a review on a blog tour I am doing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
I found the pacing to be perfect in The Encouragement Letters. This is a middle grade read, and Miss Spence sets the pacing perfectly for that age group. Never once did I feel like the book was too fast or too slow for young readers. I also feel the length of the book was perfect for the age group it targets.
I enjoyed the plot of The Encouragement Letters very much. It was interesting to read about Will's struggles and how he was overcoming them. I loved reading about how kind everyone was to each other. It was as if everyone was one big family. Everyone would help each other out, and that was very encouraging. It was interesting and uplifting to read about Will overcoming his challenges and not becoming a victim of circumstance even when that would have been the easiest thing to do. Reading about how Will was trying to lift everyone up in hard times with his encouragement letters truly was heartwarming. There are no plot twists in this book, but it doesn't need plot twists as it's not that kind of book. All of my questions were answered in the book. There are no cliff hangers whatsoever which was great.
The world building was done very well. Although written in third person, The Encouragement Letters is told through the eyes of 11 year old Will. I feel that Shanna Spence did a fantastic job making it seem as if a real 11 year old is telling the story. Miss Spence also does a great job making you feel as if you are involved with everything going on. Her use of language is profound. A few of the characters' accents were written exactly as they speak. I loved this! This made it that much more realistic. I also loved the Yorkshire dialect guide at the beginning of the book. Shanna Spence does a great job educating and making her readers feel like they are experiencing the Industrial Revolution in England first hand.
I loved every character in The Encouragement Letters. They all felt very real and fleshed out. Will was such a sweet boy as I mentioned earlier. I admired his work ethic and how empathetic he was even at such a young age. I loved all the shop workers and how caring they were towards Will always giving him extra food, scraps of leather, or whatever they had left over. Mary Beth was a character who also stood out to me. I enjoyed when she was mentioned. Maybe it's because I felt like I could relate to her. Like all of the characters in The Encouragement Letters, she had a strong work ethic and was so kind to Will. I thought it was cute how Will seemed to have a bit of a crush on her.
As this is a middle grade read, there aren't many trigger warnings. There is talk of death (Will's father had passed away a year prior when the novel starts) as well as sickness (Will's mother is sick throughout the book, and Will looks after her. There's one scene of violence (Will gets punched in the face), but it is not very graphic and is described in an age appropriate manner.
Overall, The Encouragement Letters is a very inspiring and uplifting novel. The characters are all so kind and have great work ethics, and the book is somewhat educational with describing how life was like during the Industrial Revolution in England. I would definitely recommend The Encouragement Letters by Shanna Spence to those 9+ who need some encouragement or who just love reading uplifting novels. Actually, I'd just recommend this to every and all people who are 9 years and older! This book gets a solid 5 out of 5 stars from me!
(Thank you to the author for providing me with a paperback of this title for a review on a blog tour I am doing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Never Forgotten (Never Forgotten, #1) in Books
Aug 23, 2018
''All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France''
How can one day go so very wrong? One minute Meara Quinn is making plans for how she will spend the Summer before her senior year and the next she's finding out that her mother's cancer has returned and they are moving away from the only home she's ever known.
Now she is in a new country, taking care of her mother, living with grandparents she never met, meeting new friends at school and a guy she really likes and having weird visions of a father who was absent her entire life. There is a secret of who Meara is, and everyone seems to know this except her.
Meara is determined to find out the secrets that will change her life forever.
Review:
The beginning of this book in unbelievably good! Amazing intro and perfect character development. I loved how you could feel with Meara all the time, and go through with her while she leans about her mum's sickness and the movement to another country. It is very realistically described, and we manage to see this all through the eyes of a troubled teenager. And the descriptions of the scenes? Ahhh, just see for yourselves:
''The room was a deep purple and accented with an eclectic blend of antiques and comfortable furnishings. It was the kind of room that made a person long to grab a book and cozy into the oversized couch for a several hours.''
Thought, sometimes, there would be things that didn't make sense to me:
''The guy who delivered the pizza forgot plates and napkins. So, we just opened the box and dug in.''
Which delivery place on Earth, for God's sake, delivers plates and napkins? Is this an American thing? If I order pizza, I expect to dig into it with all my fingers, get really messy, and then lick them in the end. Just saying…
There were many twists and turns, mostly little ones in this first book, but the middle of the book gets really slow paced. For a moment, I thought this might be an unpleasant read, but it turned out to just be a calm before the storm, where the biggest twist happens right before the end, and it leaves us wanting more - therefore, the second book. Nicely done, Kelly Risser, nicely done!
Meara is an amazing girl, and we follow her story. She finds out her mum's cancer is back again, and they have to move from USA to Canada. For a teenage girl, that is a huge change. I loved the way she coped with it, even though, at the beginning she made me quite agitated - her mum is dying, and her thought are - life is unfair, why do I have to move to another country, and change schools and lose my friends? It made me incredibly angry, but as much as I don't want to admit it, those are the exact thoughts a teen would have in such moments. We don’t really tend to think about how our parents feel until we get older and wiser, do we?
I liked Meara, apart her irritating personality at times. She is a typical teenage girl, and many girls, me included, can relate to her so well! She is a good person, and she cares about the people around her.
I loved Evan - he is just the sweetest person / boyfriend a girl can have. I honestly wish I had a boyfriend like him when I was 13-years-old. He made sandwiches, and they watched a movie in the car because it was raining, and he would come to Meara's house with flowers, and offer to help out with the chores? He is the cutest person ever.
''He was about six foot tall with wavy, black hair that curled over his ears. Tanned skin, lean muscles, and strong hands that ended in long, graceful fingers.''
But then, there is Kieran… I know he is the bad boy, but I might be able to ship him and Meara together - maybe? We'll see… It's an unpopular opinion, but I actually want to see them together. Even though Evan is just the sweetest thing, and it would be horrible if Meara broke his heart.
I really enjoyed this book - maybe I enjoyed it the most from all the other Young-Adult paranormal books I've read. It was a great first beginning to a series, and I can't wait to dig in the rest of the series.
As a finale - I had to also include this quote from the book:
''Humans are spiteful creatures. They destroy more than they create. That is why I do not associate with them.''
How can one day go so very wrong? One minute Meara Quinn is making plans for how she will spend the Summer before her senior year and the next she's finding out that her mother's cancer has returned and they are moving away from the only home she's ever known.
Now she is in a new country, taking care of her mother, living with grandparents she never met, meeting new friends at school and a guy she really likes and having weird visions of a father who was absent her entire life. There is a secret of who Meara is, and everyone seems to know this except her.
Meara is determined to find out the secrets that will change her life forever.
Review:
The beginning of this book in unbelievably good! Amazing intro and perfect character development. I loved how you could feel with Meara all the time, and go through with her while she leans about her mum's sickness and the movement to another country. It is very realistically described, and we manage to see this all through the eyes of a troubled teenager. And the descriptions of the scenes? Ahhh, just see for yourselves:
''The room was a deep purple and accented with an eclectic blend of antiques and comfortable furnishings. It was the kind of room that made a person long to grab a book and cozy into the oversized couch for a several hours.''
Thought, sometimes, there would be things that didn't make sense to me:
''The guy who delivered the pizza forgot plates and napkins. So, we just opened the box and dug in.''
Which delivery place on Earth, for God's sake, delivers plates and napkins? Is this an American thing? If I order pizza, I expect to dig into it with all my fingers, get really messy, and then lick them in the end. Just saying…
There were many twists and turns, mostly little ones in this first book, but the middle of the book gets really slow paced. For a moment, I thought this might be an unpleasant read, but it turned out to just be a calm before the storm, where the biggest twist happens right before the end, and it leaves us wanting more - therefore, the second book. Nicely done, Kelly Risser, nicely done!
Meara is an amazing girl, and we follow her story. She finds out her mum's cancer is back again, and they have to move from USA to Canada. For a teenage girl, that is a huge change. I loved the way she coped with it, even though, at the beginning she made me quite agitated - her mum is dying, and her thought are - life is unfair, why do I have to move to another country, and change schools and lose my friends? It made me incredibly angry, but as much as I don't want to admit it, those are the exact thoughts a teen would have in such moments. We don’t really tend to think about how our parents feel until we get older and wiser, do we?
I liked Meara, apart her irritating personality at times. She is a typical teenage girl, and many girls, me included, can relate to her so well! She is a good person, and she cares about the people around her.
I loved Evan - he is just the sweetest person / boyfriend a girl can have. I honestly wish I had a boyfriend like him when I was 13-years-old. He made sandwiches, and they watched a movie in the car because it was raining, and he would come to Meara's house with flowers, and offer to help out with the chores? He is the cutest person ever.
''He was about six foot tall with wavy, black hair that curled over his ears. Tanned skin, lean muscles, and strong hands that ended in long, graceful fingers.''
But then, there is Kieran… I know he is the bad boy, but I might be able to ship him and Meara together - maybe? We'll see… It's an unpopular opinion, but I actually want to see them together. Even though Evan is just the sweetest thing, and it would be horrible if Meara broke his heart.
I really enjoyed this book - maybe I enjoyed it the most from all the other Young-Adult paranormal books I've read. It was a great first beginning to a series, and I can't wait to dig in the rest of the series.
As a finale - I had to also include this quote from the book:
''Humans are spiteful creatures. They destroy more than they create. That is why I do not associate with them.''
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Lestranger than fiction.
I must be one of the last people to watch this in the cinema, thanks to an irritating bout of sickness and – well – frankly total bloody apathy! For me this is the franchise that nobody asked for and nobody wanted. (Well, “nobody” is probably overstating the case, since there is probably a bunch of Potterheads out there who are shouting at me right now). But judging from the opinion of my daughter-in-law, who could win “Mastermind” with her knowledge of the original Potter series as her specialist subject, I am certainly not alone in my lack of enthusiasm.
The Plot
I’d really love to tell you about the plot. I really would! But I would struggle to pull all the multitude of strands together from J.K. Rowling’s story and coherently explain them to anyone. If Rowling had put ten thousand monkeys (not a million – it’s no bloody Shakespeare) into a room with typewriters and locked the door I wouldn’t be surprised.
Let me try at a high level….. The arch-criminal wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being tortured in ‘Trump Tower’, but manages to escape and flees to Paris in pursuit of a mysterious circus performer called Credence (Ezra Miller) and his bewitched companion Nagini (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) played fetchingly by Claudia Kim. Someone needs to stop him, and all eyes are on Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But he is unable to do so, since he and Grindelwald are “closer than brothers” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). So a reluctant and UK-grounded Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is smuggled into the danger zone… which suits him just fine since his love Tina (Katherine Waterston) is working for the ministry there, and the couple are currently estranged due to a (topical) bout of ‘Fake News’.
Throw in a potential love triangle between Newt, his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) and old Hogwart’s schoolmate Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) and about a half dozen other sub-plots and you have… well… a complete bugger’s muggle – – sorry – – muddle.
A plot that’s all at sea
Above all, I really can’t explain the crux of the plot. A venerable diarrhoea of exposition in a crypt, during an inexplicably quiet fifteen minutes (given ‘im-who-can-be-named is next door with about a thousand other people!) left me completely bewildered. A bizarre event at sea (no spoilers) would seem to make absolutely NO SENSE when considered with another reveal at the end of the film. I thought I must have clearly missed something… or I’d just not been intelligent enough to process the information…. or…. it was actually completely bonkers! Actually, I think it’s the latter: in desperation I went on a fan site that tried to explain the plot. While it was explained there, the explanation aligned with what I thought had happened: but it made no mention of the ridiculousness of the random coincidence involved!
The turns
The film’s a mess. Which is a shame since everyone involved tries really hard. Depp oozes evil very effectively (he proves that nicely on arriving in Paris, and doubles-down about 5 minutes later: #veryverydark). Redmayne replays his Newt-act effectively but once again (and I see I made the same comments in my “Fantastic Beasts” review) his character mumbles again so much that many of his lines are unintelligible.
I also complained last time that the excellent actress Katherine Waterston was criminally underused as the tentative love interest Tina. this trend unfortunately continues unabated in this film…. you’ll struggle afterwards to write down what she actually did in this film.
Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol, looking for all the world in some scenes like Rachel Weisz) reprise their roles in a sub-plot that goes nowhere in particular.
Of the newcomers, Jude Law as Dumbledore is a class-act but has very little screen time: hopefully he will get more to do next time around. Zoë Kravitz impresses as Leta.
Wizards of the screen
As you would expect from a David Yates / David Heyman Potter collaboration, the product design, costume design and special effects are all excellent. Some scenes are truly impressive – an ‘explosion’ in a Parisian garret is particularly spectacular.
But special effects alone do not a great film make. Many reviews I’ve seen complain that this was a ‘filler’ film… a set-up film for the rest of the series. And I can understand that view. If you analyse the film overall, virtually NOTHING of importance actually happens: it’s like the “Order of the Phoenix” of the prequels.
Final Thoughts
I dragged myself along to see this one because “I thought I should”. The third in the series will really need to sparkle to make me want to see it. If J.K. Rowling were to take me advice (she won’t – she NEVER returns my calls!) then she would sculpt the story-arc but leave the screenwriting to someone better. The blame for this one, I’m afraid, lies at Rowling’s door alone.
The Plot
I’d really love to tell you about the plot. I really would! But I would struggle to pull all the multitude of strands together from J.K. Rowling’s story and coherently explain them to anyone. If Rowling had put ten thousand monkeys (not a million – it’s no bloody Shakespeare) into a room with typewriters and locked the door I wouldn’t be surprised.
Let me try at a high level….. The arch-criminal wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being tortured in ‘Trump Tower’, but manages to escape and flees to Paris in pursuit of a mysterious circus performer called Credence (Ezra Miller) and his bewitched companion Nagini (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) played fetchingly by Claudia Kim. Someone needs to stop him, and all eyes are on Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But he is unable to do so, since he and Grindelwald are “closer than brothers” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). So a reluctant and UK-grounded Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is smuggled into the danger zone… which suits him just fine since his love Tina (Katherine Waterston) is working for the ministry there, and the couple are currently estranged due to a (topical) bout of ‘Fake News’.
Throw in a potential love triangle between Newt, his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) and old Hogwart’s schoolmate Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) and about a half dozen other sub-plots and you have… well… a complete bugger’s muggle – – sorry – – muddle.
A plot that’s all at sea
Above all, I really can’t explain the crux of the plot. A venerable diarrhoea of exposition in a crypt, during an inexplicably quiet fifteen minutes (given ‘im-who-can-be-named is next door with about a thousand other people!) left me completely bewildered. A bizarre event at sea (no spoilers) would seem to make absolutely NO SENSE when considered with another reveal at the end of the film. I thought I must have clearly missed something… or I’d just not been intelligent enough to process the information…. or…. it was actually completely bonkers! Actually, I think it’s the latter: in desperation I went on a fan site that tried to explain the plot. While it was explained there, the explanation aligned with what I thought had happened: but it made no mention of the ridiculousness of the random coincidence involved!
The turns
The film’s a mess. Which is a shame since everyone involved tries really hard. Depp oozes evil very effectively (he proves that nicely on arriving in Paris, and doubles-down about 5 minutes later: #veryverydark). Redmayne replays his Newt-act effectively but once again (and I see I made the same comments in my “Fantastic Beasts” review) his character mumbles again so much that many of his lines are unintelligible.
I also complained last time that the excellent actress Katherine Waterston was criminally underused as the tentative love interest Tina. this trend unfortunately continues unabated in this film…. you’ll struggle afterwards to write down what she actually did in this film.
Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol, looking for all the world in some scenes like Rachel Weisz) reprise their roles in a sub-plot that goes nowhere in particular.
Of the newcomers, Jude Law as Dumbledore is a class-act but has very little screen time: hopefully he will get more to do next time around. Zoë Kravitz impresses as Leta.
Wizards of the screen
As you would expect from a David Yates / David Heyman Potter collaboration, the product design, costume design and special effects are all excellent. Some scenes are truly impressive – an ‘explosion’ in a Parisian garret is particularly spectacular.
But special effects alone do not a great film make. Many reviews I’ve seen complain that this was a ‘filler’ film… a set-up film for the rest of the series. And I can understand that view. If you analyse the film overall, virtually NOTHING of importance actually happens: it’s like the “Order of the Phoenix” of the prequels.
Final Thoughts
I dragged myself along to see this one because “I thought I should”. The third in the series will really need to sparkle to make me want to see it. If J.K. Rowling were to take me advice (she won’t – she NEVER returns my calls!) then she would sculpt the story-arc but leave the screenwriting to someone better. The blame for this one, I’m afraid, lies at Rowling’s door alone.
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books
Oct 6, 2017
This review may be a bit spoilery concerning the theme of this novel, this couldn't be helped but I've tried to be as vague as possible.
"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die."
These were the words that originally captivated me, pulling me in and compelling me to pick up The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.
This was quite a read, an unusual one, reminiscent of bygone authors, setting a stage of intrigue, mystery and dysfunctional family dynamics.
The secrets surrounding Roanoke are subtlely revealed early on leaving the reader highly aware of what flows beneath the seemingly normal surface.
This is a definite page-turner despite the exploration of (view spoiler)
This tale is told in two parts "Now and Then" and the storyline seamlessly hops between these two timelines.
We also get to jump briefly into the heads of each Roanoke girl that came before, which I found very enlightening, I really loved this touch and it greatly added to the storyline giving the reader an insight into what each girl was feeling deep inside her own skin.
Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Allegra, Lane there is also little Emmaline but she died of a crib death as a baby.
All Roanoke girls, all carrying the same secrets down through the years, messed up heads and lives affected tragically.
The echoes of this rebounding out through each new generation.
This story is told through Lane Roanoke's point of view after her mother commits suicide and Lane comes to live with her Rich grandparents and cousin Allegra on the family estate.
This is the "THEN" portrayed in the narrative.
The "NOW" is Eleven years later when Lane returns to the family home after a frantic call from her granddad informing her that her cousin Allegra is missing.
After vowing never to return, Lane reluctantly returns home confronting secrets shes buried deep down inside.
I loved Lane as a character, she was a bit of a messed up headcase, but who can blame her.
It's obvious Lane Loved Allegra so deeply and this was the only thing, I think, her disappearing, that could have dragged her back to the bowels of Roanoke.
It was also very thought-provoking to observe Lane's former teenage toxic relationship with cooper rekindled as adults and I really did like him he had his own past baggage but really seemed to have evolved from this, unlike Lane.
I was so rooting for these two and I thought they made a great match, neither party having had it easy in life, they both deserved a bit of stability in the now.
Now Lanes connection with her grandad this was a strange one, confusing even I think to lane herself she really seemed to feel equal measures hate and love towards him.
Struggling with her mixed up emotions, greatly wanting to loathe him but feeling a strange pull, maybe because Lane feels he was the first person to actually seem to want and love her after enduring a lifetime of apathy from her mother.
As for the gran, well, What a cold selfish bitch she was.
I felt she herself held a huge role in what had been allowed to transpire, isn't it a mothers job to protect her daughters.
In this Lillian Roanoke has failed epically actually blaming her daughters instead of shielding them, she was such a cold fish only seeming to feel any affection towards her twisted husband.
Turning a blind eye and looking the other way is her game.
Surprisingly she was my least favourite character even over Myles Roanoke himself.
I think it was the whole lack of maternal anything that contributed to my dislike of her immensely.
The Roanoke Girls has so many diverse flawed individuals that all do their part in making this an enthralling page-turner.
This is a portrayal of a family that is so not right and has not been for a very long time.
It is Love expressed so wrongly and out of context that it has become a sickness consuming from the inside out devouring till nothing remains standing.
A Dysfunctional family with dark concealed secrets at his core.
So I felt the author Amy Engel did an amazing job of dealing with such an explosive subject matter. she has handled it beautifully with finesse and a great understanding of such a delicate topic. Not everyone could have done this so sensitively and without sensationalising it so Really well done.
So that's it from me folk's, I could waffle on all day about this fascinating story, but I'm going to leave it here, but before I go a trigger warning The Roanoke Girls deals with themes of incest, but bar the one small kiss it is only referred to in words not actions and it is really not graphic in its content at all, but if this is a trigger for you please do avoid.
So all that's left is for me to say Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Amy Engel herself for providing me with an arc of The Roanoke Girls this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die."
These were the words that originally captivated me, pulling me in and compelling me to pick up The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.
This was quite a read, an unusual one, reminiscent of bygone authors, setting a stage of intrigue, mystery and dysfunctional family dynamics.
The secrets surrounding Roanoke are subtlely revealed early on leaving the reader highly aware of what flows beneath the seemingly normal surface.
This is a definite page-turner despite the exploration of (view spoiler)
This tale is told in two parts "Now and Then" and the storyline seamlessly hops between these two timelines.
We also get to jump briefly into the heads of each Roanoke girl that came before, which I found very enlightening, I really loved this touch and it greatly added to the storyline giving the reader an insight into what each girl was feeling deep inside her own skin.
Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Allegra, Lane there is also little Emmaline but she died of a crib death as a baby.
All Roanoke girls, all carrying the same secrets down through the years, messed up heads and lives affected tragically.
The echoes of this rebounding out through each new generation.
This story is told through Lane Roanoke's point of view after her mother commits suicide and Lane comes to live with her Rich grandparents and cousin Allegra on the family estate.
This is the "THEN" portrayed in the narrative.
The "NOW" is Eleven years later when Lane returns to the family home after a frantic call from her granddad informing her that her cousin Allegra is missing.
After vowing never to return, Lane reluctantly returns home confronting secrets shes buried deep down inside.
I loved Lane as a character, she was a bit of a messed up headcase, but who can blame her.
It's obvious Lane Loved Allegra so deeply and this was the only thing, I think, her disappearing, that could have dragged her back to the bowels of Roanoke.
It was also very thought-provoking to observe Lane's former teenage toxic relationship with cooper rekindled as adults and I really did like him he had his own past baggage but really seemed to have evolved from this, unlike Lane.
I was so rooting for these two and I thought they made a great match, neither party having had it easy in life, they both deserved a bit of stability in the now.
Now Lanes connection with her grandad this was a strange one, confusing even I think to lane herself she really seemed to feel equal measures hate and love towards him.
Struggling with her mixed up emotions, greatly wanting to loathe him but feeling a strange pull, maybe because Lane feels he was the first person to actually seem to want and love her after enduring a lifetime of apathy from her mother.
As for the gran, well, What a cold selfish bitch she was.
I felt she herself held a huge role in what had been allowed to transpire, isn't it a mothers job to protect her daughters.
In this Lillian Roanoke has failed epically actually blaming her daughters instead of shielding them, she was such a cold fish only seeming to feel any affection towards her twisted husband.
Turning a blind eye and looking the other way is her game.
Surprisingly she was my least favourite character even over Myles Roanoke himself.
I think it was the whole lack of maternal anything that contributed to my dislike of her immensely.
The Roanoke Girls has so many diverse flawed individuals that all do their part in making this an enthralling page-turner.
This is a portrayal of a family that is so not right and has not been for a very long time.
It is Love expressed so wrongly and out of context that it has become a sickness consuming from the inside out devouring till nothing remains standing.
A Dysfunctional family with dark concealed secrets at his core.
So I felt the author Amy Engel did an amazing job of dealing with such an explosive subject matter. she has handled it beautifully with finesse and a great understanding of such a delicate topic. Not everyone could have done this so sensitively and without sensationalising it so Really well done.
So that's it from me folk's, I could waffle on all day about this fascinating story, but I'm going to leave it here, but before I go a trigger warning The Roanoke Girls deals with themes of incest, but bar the one small kiss it is only referred to in words not actions and it is really not graphic in its content at all, but if this is a trigger for you please do avoid.
So all that's left is for me to say Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Amy Engel herself for providing me with an arc of The Roanoke Girls this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books
Feb 8, 2018
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png~original"; border="0" alt=" photo book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png"/></a>
This review may be a bit spoilery concerning the theme of this novel, this couldn't be helped but I've tried to be as vague as possible.
<p>"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die."</p>
These were the words that originally captivated me, pulling me in and compelling me to pick up The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.
This was quite a read, an unusual one, reminiscent of bygone authors, setting a stage of intrigue, mystery and dysfunctional family dynamics.
The secrets surrounding Roanoke are subtlely revealed early on leaving the reader highly aware of what flows beneath the seemingly normal surface.
This is a definite page-turner despite the exploration of <spoiler>incestuous family relations.</spoiler>
This tale is told in two parts "Now and Then" and the storyline seamlessly hops between these two timelines.
We also get to jump briefly into the heads of each Roanoke girl that came before, which I found very enlightening, I really loved this touch and it greatly added to the storyline giving the reader an insight into what each girl was feeling deep inside her own skin.
Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Allegra, Lane there is also little Emmaline but she died of a crib death as a baby.
All Roanoke girls, all carrying the same secrets down through the years, messed up heads and lives affected tragically.
The echoes of this rebounding out through each new generation.
This story is told through Lane Roanoke's point of view after her mother commits suicide and Lane comes to live with her Rich grandparents and cousin Allegra on the family estate.
This is the "THEN" portrayed in the narrative.
The "NOW" is Eleven years later when Lane returns to the family home after a frantic call from her granddad informing her that her cousin Allegra is missing.
After vowing never to return, Lane reluctantly returns home confronting secrets shes buried deep down inside.
I loved Lane as a character, she was a bit of a messed up headcase, but who can blame her.
It's obvious Lane Loved Allegra so deeply and this was the only thing, I think, her disappearing, that could have dragged her back to the bowels of Roanoke.
It was also very thought-provoking to observe Lane's former teenage toxic relationship with cooper rekindled as adults and I really did like him he had his own past baggage but really seemed to have evolved from this, unlike Lane.
I was so rooting for these two and I thought they made a great match, neither party having had it easy in life, they both deserved a bit of stability in the now.
Now Lanes connection with her grandad this was a strange one, confusing even I think to lane herself she really seemed to feel equal measures hate and love towards him.
Struggling with her mixed up emotions, greatly wanting to loathe him but feeling a strange pull, maybe because Lane feels he was the first person to actually seem to want and love her after enduring a lifetime of apathy from her mother.
As for the gran, well, What a cold selfish bitch she was.
I felt she herself held a huge role in what had been allowed to transpire, isn't it a mothers job to protect her daughters.
In this Lillian Roanoke has failed epically actually blaming her daughters instead of shielding them, she was such a cold fish only seeming to feel any affection towards her twisted husband.
Turning a blind eye and looking the other way is her game.
Surprisingly she was my least favourite character even over Myles Roanoke himself.
I think it was the whole lack of maternal anything that contributed to my dislike of her immensely.
The Roanoke Girls has so many diverse flawed individuals that all do their part in making this an enthralling page-turner.
This is a portrayal of a family that is so not right and has not been for a very long time.
It is Love expressed so wrongly and out of context that it has become a sickness consuming from the inside out devouring till nothing remains standing.
A Dysfunctional family with dark concealed secrets at his core.
So I felt the author Amy Engel did an amazing job of dealing with such an explosive subject matter. she has handled it beautifully with finesse and a great understanding of such a delicate topic. Not everyone could have done this so sensitively and without sensationalising it so Really well done.
So that's it from me folk's, I could waffle on all day about this fascinating story, but I'm going to leave it here, but before I go a trigger warning The Roanoke Girls deals with themes of incest, but bar the one small kiss it is only referred to in words not actions and it is really not graphic in its content at all, but if this is a trigger for you please do avoid.
So all that's left is for me to say Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Amy Engel herself for providing me with an arc of The Roanoke Girls this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg"/></a>
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png~original"; border="0" alt=" photo book_reviews_banner_zpsijtujdoj.png"/></a>
This review may be a bit spoilery concerning the theme of this novel, this couldn't be helped but I've tried to be as vague as possible.
<p>"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die."</p>
These were the words that originally captivated me, pulling me in and compelling me to pick up The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.
This was quite a read, an unusual one, reminiscent of bygone authors, setting a stage of intrigue, mystery and dysfunctional family dynamics.
The secrets surrounding Roanoke are subtlely revealed early on leaving the reader highly aware of what flows beneath the seemingly normal surface.
This is a definite page-turner despite the exploration of <spoiler>incestuous family relations.</spoiler>
This tale is told in two parts "Now and Then" and the storyline seamlessly hops between these two timelines.
We also get to jump briefly into the heads of each Roanoke girl that came before, which I found very enlightening, I really loved this touch and it greatly added to the storyline giving the reader an insight into what each girl was feeling deep inside her own skin.
Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Allegra, Lane there is also little Emmaline but she died of a crib death as a baby.
All Roanoke girls, all carrying the same secrets down through the years, messed up heads and lives affected tragically.
The echoes of this rebounding out through each new generation.
This story is told through Lane Roanoke's point of view after her mother commits suicide and Lane comes to live with her Rich grandparents and cousin Allegra on the family estate.
This is the "THEN" portrayed in the narrative.
The "NOW" is Eleven years later when Lane returns to the family home after a frantic call from her granddad informing her that her cousin Allegra is missing.
After vowing never to return, Lane reluctantly returns home confronting secrets shes buried deep down inside.
I loved Lane as a character, she was a bit of a messed up headcase, but who can blame her.
It's obvious Lane Loved Allegra so deeply and this was the only thing, I think, her disappearing, that could have dragged her back to the bowels of Roanoke.
It was also very thought-provoking to observe Lane's former teenage toxic relationship with cooper rekindled as adults and I really did like him he had his own past baggage but really seemed to have evolved from this, unlike Lane.
I was so rooting for these two and I thought they made a great match, neither party having had it easy in life, they both deserved a bit of stability in the now.
Now Lanes connection with her grandad this was a strange one, confusing even I think to lane herself she really seemed to feel equal measures hate and love towards him.
Struggling with her mixed up emotions, greatly wanting to loathe him but feeling a strange pull, maybe because Lane feels he was the first person to actually seem to want and love her after enduring a lifetime of apathy from her mother.
As for the gran, well, What a cold selfish bitch she was.
I felt she herself held a huge role in what had been allowed to transpire, isn't it a mothers job to protect her daughters.
In this Lillian Roanoke has failed epically actually blaming her daughters instead of shielding them, she was such a cold fish only seeming to feel any affection towards her twisted husband.
Turning a blind eye and looking the other way is her game.
Surprisingly she was my least favourite character even over Myles Roanoke himself.
I think it was the whole lack of maternal anything that contributed to my dislike of her immensely.
The Roanoke Girls has so many diverse flawed individuals that all do their part in making this an enthralling page-turner.
This is a portrayal of a family that is so not right and has not been for a very long time.
It is Love expressed so wrongly and out of context that it has become a sickness consuming from the inside out devouring till nothing remains standing.
A Dysfunctional family with dark concealed secrets at his core.
So I felt the author Amy Engel did an amazing job of dealing with such an explosive subject matter. she has handled it beautifully with finesse and a great understanding of such a delicate topic. Not everyone could have done this so sensitively and without sensationalising it so Really well done.
So that's it from me folk's, I could waffle on all day about this fascinating story, but I'm going to leave it here, but before I go a trigger warning The Roanoke Girls deals with themes of incest, but bar the one small kiss it is only referred to in words not actions and it is really not graphic in its content at all, but if this is a trigger for you please do avoid.
So all that's left is for me to say Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Amy Engel herself for providing me with an arc of The Roanoke Girls this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
<a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/rosella1974/media/af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah5/rosella1974/af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg~original"; border="0" alt=" photo af70fcc0a46c529f0d6a1b9301e40ac7--funny-reading-quotes-image_zpshi4ayvul.jpg"/></a>
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/