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Gail (4 KP) rated Awaken in Books

Jun 4, 2018  
A
Awaken
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was definitely unique in it’s plot line and characters. It gave you a little bit of everything. From biblical stories to fairytale magic you wont be disappointed with this read.
Sophia thought she was a normal 20 year old. What she wasn’t expecting was to be attacked by weird creatures. To have her family and friends threatened and hurt. I loved her hair. If I could I would rock that style.
This book was pure magic with the plot. The way the author weaved her own world around things we learn in bible school. The growth of her characters was perfect. Sophia went from following everyone’s word to standing her ground and voicing her opinions.
The plot twist at the end had me like WTF!!! I dislike cliffhangers but I am excited that the story isn’t over. I just hope this is just two books and not four. I don’t think I can take the wait. One thing I dislike was the long winded paragraphs and scenes that could've been shortened or cut out.
  
Uncharted (2022)
Uncharted (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure
Tom Holland (2 more)
Mark walberg
Sophia Ali
Not enough Antonio banderas (0 more)
Watched today as I’ve played the games in the last two years especially during lockdowns and finishing them so I knew enough about Nathan drake and sully it’s not perfect movie version of the games but it’s almost not sure about mark walberg as victor Sullivan but if there’s sequel then I would be convinced. then there’s Tom Holland as drake there are times where if he was Nathan drake or Peter Parker but I was more convinced with Chloe frasier played by Sophia Ali who was more like her character. And there’s parts of the movie that remind me of the games namely the opening scene which comes out of uncharted 3 which is my favourite of the uncharted games plus there’s a cameo later in the movie which is a wink to the games. Could have done with more Antonio banderas who spends most of the movie as the villain and then he’s basically gone. Overall good movie definitely would again
  
A Dark Song (2016)
A Dark Song (2016)
2016 | Horror
Story: A Dark Song starts as Sophia Howard (Walker) rents a remote house in the countryside, she hires occultist Joseph Solomon (Oram) to perform a yearlong ritual so Sophia can communicate with her late son, one more time.

With the rules set, the ritual begins leaving the two to need to be prepared for anything good or evil that they would summon from the other side.

 

Thoughts on A Dark Song

 

Characters – Sophia is the lady that wants to communicate with dead child, she has turned to an occultist to help her, she will go through as many different rituals to achieve her desired outcome. Joseph Solomon is the occultist that reluctant agrees to help Sophia with her ritual, he has plenty of experience and even when he knows she is lying he will help her.

Performances – Steve Oram and Catherine Walker are the main two stars of this movie, their performances need to be strong for this movie to work. They both give us captivating performance where you are wondering where the characters will be going next.

Story – The story dives into the idea of how far would you go to communicate with a dead loved one, would you turn to the occult knowing it wouldn’t be the best idea because of what else you could summon, or would you let the police punish the people responsible, these are the main questions being asked in this movie. When we follow the ritual side of the film doesn’t give us a full scale of the time the two are performing them, but then again the story doesn’t focus on the rituals that much, rather focusing on what would be the correct decision made by the Sophia.

Horror – The horror involved in this movie is mostly about what could happen with rituals are performed, we only get a moment of actual horror late in the film.

Settings – The settings keep the two in one house for up to a year which gives the characters the much-needed isolation for the rituals to happen.

Special Effects – The effects used in the film are save the few moments that need them and seem to be great practical use of them too.


Scene of the Movie – Cross the line.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – While you are left waiting for something to happen, not much does happen.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that focuses more in the drama of what could happen and following to people that need to focus on letting the past lay over trying to scare us.

 

Overall: A horror that lacks the scares.

https://moviesreview101.com/2018/10/18/a-dark-song-2016/gnree/
  
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Midge (525 KP) rated Batter Off Dead in Books

Dec 11, 2018 (Updated Dec 20, 2018)  
Batter Off Dead
Batter Off Dead
Maymee Bell | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thoroughly enjoyable read (3 more)
I liked the author's descriptive style
Great for foodies - you can almost smell the cakes baking while you are reading!
Good portrayal of the lead character's relationship with her best friend
Not a lot of romance (0 more)
Absolutely Delightful!
Sophia Cummings, the owner of For Goodness Cakes, is catering for a charity fundraiser at Grape Valley Winery and must make it a successful event to win more catering jobs and pay the bills. Ray Peel, the Winery's landlord, has pledged to pay off a library loan in her hometown of Rumford, however, the event turns sour and Ray is murdered before the loan and Sophia can be paid. Can she figure out who the murderer is before the bakery collapses?

I have never read any of Maymee Bell's novels before, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I particularly liked the author's descriptive style, especially the many references to the cakes sold at the bakery which were described so well that you could almost smell them baking in the oven! The portrayal of Sophia's relationships, especially Madison, her best friend, and Bitsy, her mother were also very good, although I think that there could have been a little more spark between Sophia and Carter Kincaid, her sheriff boyfriend. You were introduced to many characters very quickly at the start of the book which was a little confusing at first, however, I like that I was kept guessing all the way through as to the identity of the murderer. The ending to the book was finished off very nicely and I will be reading more Maymee Bell novels in the future.


I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book, supplied by Netgalley.
  
What Magic Is This?
What Magic Is This?
Holly Bourne | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Three friends, Sophia, Mia and Alexis are trying to do some magic during a sleepover at Sophia’s house. They all have something they want to cast a spell on. Sophia wants her sweetheart Aidan, Mia needs to stop harming herself, and Alexis wants to wish her dog (that she hated) a farewell. All three of these girls are very different, but they fit in together very well. Holly chose such a believable and realistic characters for this book, and the school life looks like straight from the TV screen. The story is told from Sophia’s perspective, where she is sharing details about her and Aidan’s love story.

The narrative was really gripping, I wanted to find out, what happened between Sophia and Aidan. The plot keeps changing between the events happening in the room, and Sophia’s love story in the past. This book is funny, very easy to read, and I liked the lessons it had to offer. There are not many surprises in this book, and sometimes it was quite predictable.

The writing style was really pleasant and easy to read. This edition has dyslexia friendly font, and the book itself wasn’t very long, so it was a quick read for me. The setting of this book doesn’t change much, it is either Sophia’s bedroom or the school. The ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked the way it rounded up this story. The chapters are not very long, and this novel didn’t leave me bored.

So, to conclude, it was a great story about friendship, magic and finding what you really want. It has realistic characters and is an entertaining and educational read for young girls.
  
Crash Landing (Stop The Wedding, #3)
Crash Landing (Stop The Wedding, #3)
Lori Wilde | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
While I have quite a few Lori Wilde books sitting on my TBR shelf, this one was a freebie of the day for my kindle and I decided to give it a gander. I read it in about a day so it flowed pretty well. Here are my thoughts on Crash Landing by Lori Wilde.

We start the book with a girl staring at a hunky guy, I mean who doesn’t like to do that on occasion right?? Sophia Cruz likes very much what Gibb Martin has to offer in the looks department. He is an American, she is Costa Rican and American by birth. He is all business all the time, while she likes to take each day slow and steady. What could they possibly have in common??

Gibb needs a ride to Florida quickly because his best friend is getting married after only knowing his fiancée for a month. He is backing out of partnering with Gibb, because of his new love, on a new money making deal and that can’t happen. Sophia is a bush pilot and his only hope to get there in time to stop the wedding. Now if he can only stop lusting after her long enough to get focused on stopping this wedding.

Sophia wouldn’t mind a quick roll in the hay with this rich boy but no long lasting relationship, why would he possibly look at her twice? She really needs the money so she goes against her own better advice and agrees to fly him to Florida. A long close cabin ride will certainly not help squelch her desire.

Gibb and Sophia get to know each other on the flight then the unexpected crash landing on a deserted island gets them even closer. Will they find out they have more in common than they both realize?

I liked the flow of this story for the most part. I feel like it started off and a good pace then slowed a little in the middle. Without giving too many spoilers I feel like there was a weird middle part on the island that served no real purpose but I thoroughly enjoyed the part with the monkeys. I am giggling still as I write this review. I liked Lori Wilde’s way of capturing the culture and interactions so you could really picture it all in your minds eye. Crash Landing captured my attention pretty quickly and kept it all the way through. I would say this was a good way to get my feet wet in Lori Wilde’s title pool.
  
The Hitcher (2007)
The Hitcher (2007)
2007 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
8
6.1 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good remake
This is a brilliant if simple thriller/horror film! I was surprised I liked it so much, favours well compared to the original and much better than The Hitcher 2 which no doubt passed many by, just as well. This is very similar to the original with the general plot and "key" scenes still in it. Sophia Bush is great in this and Sean Bean does make a a good viillain. Very violent and bloody to go with it! If you thought this would be a poor comparison to the cult original then I suggest you check it out.
  
DT
Dare to Dream
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Dare to Dream</i> isn't so much as horrifying as to a novel aimed at a younger audience rather than the upper teens running amok from book to book behind Bookwyrming Thoughts (and of course, their own blogs). Simply put: Ella will butcher this, Lupe will make this sprout unicorns, Rundus will dissect this in a manner as seriously as possible, and Sophia might do a combination of blandly blunt dissection while trying to sprout at least one unicorn so no one (hopefully) will get a headache in the process.

But of course, the very last reviewer might be exaggerating a little. She may also be hitting the truth button at the exact same time she decided to press the "write a review in the third person" button.

In this ever so "blandly blunt dissection" of a mini-review, <i>Dare to Dream</i> is essentially divided into two parts: the first part is before the apocalypse, and the second part is the aftermath. It is really just a book that has a main character with a broken family, cries often (well, she is fourteen), and finding her place in the world – all while receiving dreams of the end of the world in the same way nightly and finding out it's in connection to the demise of Stonehenge. Oh, and it is also a day by day play of events that feels more proper in a sleeptastic documentary.

Basically, it's just tales of family drama from a fourteen-year-old British schoolgirl. The whole apocalypse thing? It might as well be a subplot until you get to the second part, where the primary purpose is surviving it day by day. But the point is, middle school Sophia might like this better than high school senior Sophia, who actually likes the whole Stonehenge aspect.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/chibi-views-dare-to-dream-by-carys-jones-and-red-queen-by-victoria-aveyard/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
AP
Another Piece of My Heart
Jane Green | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jane Green writes an emotionally packed book, that makes you laugh and cry and want to smack someone sometimes.

Emily is a teenager and her father is remarried. She 'hates' her step-mother, Andi. Her sister, Sophia, adores her. And, of course, her father, Ethan loves her. Her mother is a drunk and really pays no attention to her daughters, and all Emily does is act out.

Then something happens that turns everyone's life upside down and inside out.

This is a story that spans a journey of nearly 7 years. And in that time, we see how these characters grow and develop into individuals and as a family.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Everything is Lies in Books

Mar 9, 2019 (Updated Mar 9, 2019)  
Everything is Lies
Everything is Lies
Helen Callaghan | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unremarkable
This is one of those books that I can’t really say much about, other than it was fairly unremarkable. It’s a typical thriller, that throws a number of twists and turns in but most are predictable or just a little dull. Concentrating on a cult is a smart move as this part is fairly interesting, it’s just a shame the rest isn’t. It isn’t helped by the fact that the majority of the characters are either very unlikeable or just under developed. Even the main character Sophia switches between very irritating to very boring. It’s a fairly quick read at least, but sadly one that’s immediately forgettable.