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Sweet Virginia  (2017)
Sweet Virginia (2017)
2017 |
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
377. Sweet Virginia. Pretty great random choice by me, again. Twisted tale of a small town murder plot. Three friends are hanging out at a bar playing cards. I'm assuming they own the place, because when a guy wanders in off the street and asks for a bite to eat and a drink, one gets up and tells him they're closed and be on his way. Instead of leaving the stranger asks him, Are you Mitchell? The response is what you expect, who wants to know, blah, blah. Slightly bothered, the stranger leaves. Mitchell goes back to the card game, until the door opens once again and the stranger comes in guns blazing, and all three end up dead. It was here I thought, Mitchell should have locked that door! So that happened, the news quickly spreads through the small town, and we meet Sam, a former rodeo champ now motel owner operator, and he is having an affair with the wife of one of the dead men, yea. And oh yea, the killer, Elwood, is staying at guess who's motel? Also, guess who recognizes Sam from his rodeo days and start a pretty decent friendship. Elwood is actually a semi normal dude when he's not out killing people for money. So who hired him? Well, I can't tell you everything! It really was a well told tense tale. Well acted, Jon Bernthal as Sam, Christopher Abbott as Elwood, were pretty awesome, with Imogen Poots and Rosemarie DeWitt great as the supporting cast! Cool flick, I say, do.
  
Psychic Whispers (Woodward Hill #1)
Psychic Whispers (Woodward Hill #1)
Arial Burnz, AJ Nuest | 2020 | Mystery, Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Psychic Whispers is the first book in the Woodward Hill series and I LOVED IT! This was just the right book at the right time and I fell in love with the characters of this small, gossipy, quirky town.

Inara has the ability to talk to the animals, she even calls herself Dr DoLittle. Unfortunately, before she was old enough to fully understand or use her ability, she was attacked by a pitbull. This left scars, both seen and unseen, that she is determined to work past. Nik has been the 'son gone bad' for too long in the town. The son of a man accused (but cleared) of murder, his reputation has always hung over him like a shroud. He thinks Inara is too good for him. She thinks he is put off by her scars.

Aww, come on, people. You know these two will end up together but it's not a smooth road by any stretch of the imagination. With fears on both sides, a small-town mindset working against them, oh, and plus a murder to solve whilst staying alive, these two have their work cut out for them.

There are a whole host of supporting characters that I loved and, fair warning Ms Burnz and Ms Nuest, I'll be wanting stories for all of them! 😉

The world-building is excellent with just the right attention to detail that I needed. The pacing is smooth and the steamy scenes are hot! Nik is pure alpha but Inara is no pushover.

All in all, this was a brilliant read and a fantastic opening to a new series that I will be following closely and reading ALL of them! Highly recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
TB
The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker
Kat Spears | 2016
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Luke Grayson's life turns upside when he's sent to Ashland, Tennessee his senior year of high school to live with his father and stepmother. Luke's mother no longer wants to deal with his trouble-making ways and thinks his father, a Baptist preacher who has never played a role in Luke's life, can help straighten him out. But Luke's reputation comes with him to Ashland, where he stands out as the new kid from the big city. He's too progressive for this rural Tennessee town and rapidly becomes the target of the high school's golden boy, Grant Parker, who singles Luke out and makes his life miserable. But things change quickly after a confrontation between Luke and Grant goes awry and suddenly, overnight, life in Ashland changes dramatically for Luke.

I wanted to like this book, but I just never connected with it, or Luke. Having grown up and lived in small towns, I understand how truly small and exclusive they can be. But this novel just fell flat for me. I was immediately bothered by the fact that Luke's mother shipped him off for his senior year to his extremely rigid (and awful) father, despite the fact that the his greatest transgressions seemed to be a couple of silly (and harmless) pranks at his old school. I never felt any sort of connection to Luke as a character, and truly, at points, I found reading his story a little painful and thought "blah blah blah" at huge sections of text. He's a passive character, without a lot of depth to him. In fact, the only character with any true depth to her was Luke's friend, Delilah and her storyline is the only one that seems to have any heft. But she often gets lost in the shuffle.

Overall this one was just too much eye-rolling (on my part) and a little "too YA" for me. While it should be a nuanced commentary on the perils of high school and small town living, I just wanted it be over.
  
Under the Dome
Under the Dome
Stephen King | 2010 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.1 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (0 more)
It wins hands down against The Stand
The title says it all. Once I picked this up, I couldn't put it down. As always, Stephen King creates a world inside your head and 3 dimensional characters you feel like you could reach out and touch.
This book leads you by the hand through a small town cut off from the outside world, straight to a finale that is a satisfying end. King does not disappoint.
Kings telltale show don't tell writing is on display here, whilst critics condemn him, as a reader this is what brings the story to life.
If are on the fence about King, pick this up, stick with it, he will delight and surprise you.
  
Our Souls at Night (2017)
Our Souls at Night (2017)
2017 | Drama
Heartwarming... but kind of pointless
Of course always love seeing screen legends together again; however, they really didn't have much to do in this film.

When an aging woman decides to spice up her life by asking her neighborhood infamous fellow senior to come spend the night at her house, they become the talk of the small town. Both reveal intimate details of their lives to each other as their friendship grows. Soon, her grandson comes to live with her and the three of them enjoy each other's company.

I was never bored while watching this film, but afterwards I kind of felt it was missing a point. If you enjoy slice of life films you will love this one.