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Mystik Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance #2)
Mystik Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance #2)
Brenda Trim, Tami Yulka | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
118 of 200
Kindle
Mystik Warrior ( Dark warrior alliance book 2)
By Brenda Trim and Tami Julka

 
After suffering a century of torture and humiliation, Jace still bears the scars that have left his heart closed to love and acceptance. He escapes the prison walls only to realize he's mystically bound to his tormentor. Believing he doesn't deserve a Fated Mate, he keeps his distance from females. Renowned for being a level-headed warrior, his control is pushed to the limit when he meets the Vampire Queen's sister. Not only is his patience tested by Cailyn, but his skills as a sorcerer are challenged when he fights to save her mortal soul. Cailyn is instantly spellbound by the damaged soul she views in the sparkling depths of Jace's amethyst eyes. The attraction is so strong that it forces Cailyn to question the direction of the life she has planned with another. Her mundane human life is shaken up by a violent car crash, a Fae spell, expeditions into the bayou, and battles with demons. Amidst the chaos, the developing bond between her and Jace strengthens, leaving their desire for one another undeniable. Of one thing Cailyn is certain, she must help Jace explore the depth of his scars to overcome the wounds of his tortured past and find a future... but will it be with her?



It was not a bad read it was very similar to another series I read! The thing I think I struggle with is the Scottish written it hurts my head to read it. It’s not badly written in just not sure it’s necessary. Overall I would recommend especially to those that enjoy this genre.
  
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Technically well-made (1 more)
Acting
Plot (0 more)
What a disappointment.
Contains spoilers, click to show
Spoilers below!!!

I'll say this: Sam Raimi used to be one of my favorite directors, but with this movie he has officially turned me off the Marvel universe. It is nonsense.

Example A: dreams are actually real events happening in alternate universes, so if you dream about showing up naked to work, a version of you really did that.

Example B: reading the book of evil allows a witch or sorcerer to "dream walk" and inhabit the body of an alternate version of themselves. It never explains how this works, but apparently you can "aim" your dream-self because Doctor Strange is able to intentionally dream walk into a dead body and use it. He can't move between universes, but somehow he can do this.

Example C: the city of Kamar-Taj is destroyed and everyone killed except for Wong and Strange. Yet in the last scene the city is full of warriors practicing. Where did they come from?

Example D: Cool cameos! Mr. Fantastic! Professor X! But they all die. Every single one.

Example E: Wanda's whole motivation is to go to a different universe to be with her kids. But why not go to a universe where Vision is still alive? Wouldn't that be her goal? NEVER EXPLAINED.

It doesn't stop there, but that's a good sampling of how nonsensical the plot is. Nothing is explained, nothing make sense, and rules are made up out of whole cloth. Doctor Strange as a zombie? Sure. How? We don't know.

I'll never watch this again and might not watch future Marvel movies, especially considering you have to watch WandaVision on Disney+ to fully understand this movie.
  
FO
Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia, #2)
Cindy Pon | 2011
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Original Review posted on <a title="'Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon'" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-fury-of-the-phoenix-by-cindy-pon.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste.

*Warning: May contain minor spoilers from the previous novel*

     Remember the evil sorcerer by the name of Zhong Ye from the previous novel, Silver Phoenix? In Fury of the Phoenix, the sequel to Silver Phoenix, it's been a few months after Zhong Ye's death and Ai Ling receives warning from a dream that Chen Yong is in danger. Knowing that, Ai Ling finds a way to try and find him.

     During Ai Ling's journey, we go through a few flashbacks throughout the book entering Zhong Ye's life when he's just a worker in the Emperor's Palace (I'm not talking about the buffet) trying to climb up in rank to how he came to be in Silver Phoenix. Ai Ling and Chen Yong have also changed a lot and matured a bit (maybe a lot?) since the previous novel.

      I'm not exactly sure what to make of the second (and I think final?) component to the Kingdom of Xia series. I personally picked up the series because it was based on Ancient China (just in general terms – there are fictional stuff as well) and thought it would be really interesting to read. But staying away from the series – actually, I never even knew a sequel existed until I joined Goodreads – and then coming back to it has made me realize that I'm missing out in the world that Cindy Pon creates in Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix. In fact, I even miss the dumplings and buns. And that's coming from someone who has those often... :p I also want to visit China one day, though I certainly don't want to meet some of the unpleasant creatures both Ai Ling, Chen Yong and Zhong Ye encounter in the book.
  
A Whole New World
A Whole New World
Liz Braswell | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book Review by Cari Mayhew. Rating 7/10.

This book is a much darker retelling of Disney’s Aladdin, and is the first in a series of darker Disney retellings! It starts off pretty much the same as the film – Princess Jasmine meets petty thief “Street Rat” Aladdin while sneaking out of the Palace, and later the conniving Jafar tricks Aladdin into obtaining the lamp - but things go a whole lot worse once Jafar gets hold of it!


Jafar wishes himself to be made the Sultan, and the most powerful sorcerer of the world. But that’s not enough – Jafar seeks to break the genie’s rules of magic, in order to bring the dead back to life to raise an army of the undead! Jafar kills the former Sultan and declares he wants to wed Princess Jasmine, who, meanwhile, meets up with the Street Rats to lead a full-on rebellion. They attempt to intercept the delivery of magic book sought by Jafar, but things don’t go according to plan!


Braswell imitates the original Disney tale for the first third of the book and really fleshes it out with scene description and attention to Aladdin’s and Jasmine’s thoughts. Some of these scenes are different, yet the first half remains very true to the original. After this point the action really heats up!


The genie took a less prominent role in the latter part of the book than he did in the film. The inclusion of more minor characters added a depth to the novel that was missing in the film, and allowed the underlying themes to develop. There was a strong theme on the grey area between right and wrong, and how doing a minor wrong can help the greater good.


Fortunately (IMO) the book didn’t include the lyrics to the musical numbers! Unfortunately, however, the book is only available in paperback. Some of the story was predictable, including how it ended, but there was the odd surprise in there - all in all, I feel this book has got the Twisted Tales series off to a great start!

You can follow all my book news and reviews on bookblogbycari.com
  
EO
Elora of Stone (Legend of Rhyme, #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Elora of Stone</i> is the first in an exciting fantasy series, <i>Legend of Rhyme</i>, for young readers. Set in a magical kingdom, an evil magician steals one child of every pair of twins born. In order to protect their children, Asher and Ariana’s parents move to live near Elora – a good witch turned to stone by the sorcerer. Despite the protection, four-year-old Asher goes missing. The night of her thirteenth birthday Ariana learns of Asher’s whereabouts but only has until midnight to save him.

Full of magical creatures such as witches, fairies, pixies and goblins, <i>Elora of Stone</i> is the start of a sensational story for eight to twelve year olds. Heart stopping moments will urge the young readers to see the book through to the end to discover whether the twins succeed in being reunited and learn the truth about who is good and who is evil.

Although Asher and Ariana are the main characters of the series, they are not born until exactly half way through the book. As <i>Elora of Stone</i> is only one hundred pages, there are a bit too many chapters focused on setting the scene, resulting in the main story line and climax becoming rather rushed and crammed together.

Now that the preliminary introductions to characters and settings have been made, the following books in the series will hopefully flow better. <i>Legend of Rhyme</i> promises to be a unique fairytale to enthrall pre-teens of all reading levels. The narrative is clear and easy to follow with a limit on tricky words. To break up the text there is the occasional beautiful illustration depicting the author’s visual impressions of a handful of characters.

Ending on a slight cliffhanger, <i>Elora of Stone</i> will leave readers wanting more, thus making the <i>Legend of Rhyme</i> series a great set of books to collect; a wonderful start to your own personal library.
  
Dragon By Midnight
Dragon By Midnight
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The concept of Dragon by Midnight immediately intrigued me: a Cinderella retelling where, at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella becomes a dragon and is hunted by Prince Charming? Yes please!

Karen Kincy had some bestseller-worthy ideas when it came to this book: I loved Sikandar's mysterious sorcerer vibe and dark past; the Jinni gave Arabian nights/Aladdin vibes and the plot twist of the curse was brilliant.
However, in my opinion, the major elements that made Dragon by Midnight great were just not developed enough and I was left with unanswered questions, in particular with Cinderella's story line.
Sikandar is bound to be everyone's favourite character and the description of him as a cinnamon roll hero is perfect. I would have liked him to keep his mystery for a bit longer and for the worthiness of his previous actions to be withheld instead of instantly revealed - it felt like he was a mysterious murderer one second and then an amazing hero the next . Although this was in keeping with the fast-paced nature of the story.
Similarly, the romance between Sikandar and Cinderella developed so quickly. She almost fell in love with him straight away! It was also very fluffy and cute: which is not a criticism! This is a YA book after all. However, sometimes Cinderella seemed too wrapped up in the cute boy and less concerned about ... well, being a dragon!
Prince Benedict Charming was brilliant in his arrogance and cringe worthiness. I did expect a bit more action and dragon-hunting from him though and his attitude towards Cinderella when she returned to the castle as a girl was very odd. I truly couldn't tell if he was so self-absorbed he didn't care what had happened, or if he was plotting something.
Overall I did enjoy Dragon by Midnight and read it within a day. It is a very cute, fast-paced fairytale with some genius ideas. The overly descriptive language and lack of character development would push it closer to the middle-grade side of YA for me but I enjoyed the story and will possibly pick up the sequel if I see it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
Seducing the Sorcerer
Seducing the Sorcerer
Lee Welch | 2021 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I kept missing bits that were just thrown in, and I really loved that.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Jumping straight in with this one, cos I really REALLY enjoyed this book bar one teeny weeny thing, but I'll come back to that! This is the second book by this author I read, and that book was a 3 star, it-was-ok kinda read and this one is so NOT that!

I loved that many times in the book I had to back up a bit, and reread what I just read cos I was like "say what, now?" MANY times. And a book that makes me slow down my reading is never a bad thing, I had to here, cos I kept missing bits that were just thrown in, and I really loved that.

I loved that Fenn had no idea about magic and the sorcerer and what was going on in the tower. Loved that Fenn was quite laid back about it all, really.

I loved the way things crept up on Fenn, much like his worple horse and what it can do, (not sure if thats the correct spelling though!) and that so much was not as it appeared to be. I loved what the horse does with the pink eiderdown 🙂

It's not especially explicit but is steamy enough. Violence level is low but fitting for this book. I was surprised at the level of emotions that Fenn threw at me though, and I've no idea why!

What let it down, for ME was only Fenn has a say, and I so wanted to hear from Morgrim, I really did! I wanted to know what he was thinking when Fenn first landed in the tower grounds; what he felt about Fenn and his horse.

But what I wanted MOST to know about, was how Morgrim felt about what had happened to him 2 years ago, and how he was dealing with all that. I'm greedy, I know, but had Morgrim been given a voice, I have no doubt at all that this would have been a five-star review, it really would!

I can see the author skill has grown a great deal since I read the other book (2017) and I WILL read more now!

4 really REALLY good stars

same worded review will appear elsewhere​
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated MediEvil in Video Games

Oct 29, 2019 (Updated Oct 29, 2019)  
MediEvil
MediEvil
Action/Adventure
Classic
I remember playing this game, on the ps1. It was on a demo disk that had a collection of games and this was one of them. I just remember it being so cool and intresting. I havent played it since childhood, i want to play it again. So lets talk about it..

The game is set in the medieval Kingdom of Gallowmere and centres around the charlatan protagonist, Sir Daniel Fortesque, as he makes an attempt to stop antagonist Zarok's invasion of the kingdom whilst simultaneously redeeming himself.

Development began in 1995 at Millenium Interactive in Cambridge under the working title of Dead Man Dan. The visuals are heavily influenced by Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Originally conceived as an arcade-style shooter for platforms such as Windows and the Sega Saturn, Sony's purchase of SCE Cambridge Studio evolved the game into a PlayStation title.

The game takes place across a variety of levels, many of which require certain objectives to be performed to progress. Sir Daniel Fortesque can use a variety of weapons, consisting of close range weapons such as swords and clubs to long range weapons such as crossbows. When not possessing any items, Dan is able to rip his arm off and use it for both melee and ranged attacks. Dan can equip a shield alongside weapons for defence, but shields have a limited amount of strength and are therefore best used sparingly. Throughout the game, Dan can visit gargoyle heads of two varieties: green ones offer Dan information while blue ones allow Dan to buy services or ammunition by using the treasures he finds.

Lets talk about the plot: In the year 1286, an evil sorcerer named Zarok plotted to take over the kingdom of Gallowmere with his undead army. It is told in legend that the champion, Sir Daniel Fortesque, led the King of Gallowmere's army to victory and managed to kill Zarok before he succumbed to his mortal wounds. In reality, however, Dan was struck down by the first arrow fired in the battle, with the king choosing to cover it up and declare Dan the "Hero of Gallowmere.

It is a classic ps1 underrated game, that people should play, if you havent. Their have recently released it on the ps4. And on that remake you can play the original 1998 game can be unlocked in the remake by completing special objectives. Which is cool.

Lastly shout of to @Kevin Phillipson for getting the hints/clues for this review right.

A must play game.
  
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Kevin Phillipson (9964 KP) Oct 29, 2019

Thanks for the shout out

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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Oct 29, 2019

No problem

DW
Darkness Watching (Darkworld, #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THIS IS AN ADVANCE REVIEW. Date to be posted on <a title="Darkness Watching by Emma L. Adams" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-darkness-watching-by-emma-l-adams.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>: October 10, 2014

Note: Formatting and pictures are lost due to copy and paste.

<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> Review copy provided by Curiosity Quills Press via Netgalley for review – Thanks!</i>

     Okay, wow. I'm so behind with writing reviews, I kind of slacked off a little... along with other factors (the not so controllable factors).

     On the bright side, I actually did catch up with my reading schedule during Thanksgiving Break. Like I said, best thing ever invented. The inventor deserves a hug.

     Back to talking about Darkness Watching. It's a very interesting and unique concept with demons and sorcerers/magic-users (it could be witches. Most common name used throughout the book are those two, so feel free to correct me) in a school setting – well, particularly a college setting. It's making me a bit curious about how the British school system works. Well, I'm a tad bit confused on that... the dictionary wasn't – and isn't – entirely friendly. I might understand the book better then.

     *brushes off and doesn't even count since it's a random, erudite-ish thought of mine...*

     Speaking of the book's setting, it seems that most of the time, the characters are in a club. And getting drunk. Not that the main character, Ashlyn (aka Ash), is.... but speaking of Ash, she seems to be the type that easily succumbs to peer pressure. She is still, however, a strong heroine.

     Random thought, but Leo apparently reminds me of Rick Riordan's Leo Valdez from The Heroes of Olympus series. Their humor and personality – and their namesake! (now I just need to find out if this particular Leo is Spanish...) – are almost the same, they could probably pass as twins.

     Imagine that. A demigod and a sorcerer.... O_o It's not a bad thing; I kind of enjoy Leo as a character (from both series now). :3

     In terms of grammar, it's virtually spotless, aside from a few tiny mistakes here and there. Nothing distracting though (I'm assuming it's not an ARC since it was on Netgalley after the publication date...). :)

     In the overall view though, I enjoyed reading Darkness Watching; it's a fresh take with the combinations of demons and sorcerers/magic-users!
<blockquote>Not everyone runs screaming out of their interview.</blockquote>
  
Doctor Strange (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
2016 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
On the surface, you could argue that Doctor Strange isn't all that different from Iron Man in terms of structure. Rich, white dude with a goatee lives out his life, arrogantly full of himself until a life altering incident forces him to fight to survive, setting him on a path of betterment and redemption. Whilst this is unarguably true, the fact is that this movie is so much more than retreading familiar ground. Gone are the times where superhero movies play it safe. Guardians of the Galaxy may have knocked down the doors, but Doctor Strange takes the cosmic concept, and runs full speed with it. Marvel Studios have got to the point where they can make a movie about the Dark Dimension, the Mirror Dimension, the Sorcerer Supreme, Dormammu, the multiverse, and audiences will still lap it up, and I'm here for it.

Sinister director Scott Derrickson proves to be a smart choice, as he provides us a story that's humourous, full of heart, brimming with new lore, and is visually mind bending. The aesthetic if this movie is what sets it apart from its kin. Sure it doesn't stray too far from the Marvel formula, but it does something different. Many have compared it to Inception, which isn't an unfair note, and it makes for some wonderful looking set pieces.

Benedict Cumberbatch is picture perfect as Stephen Strange himself and is joined by a stellar supporting cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams are all great in their respective roles. Mikkelsen gives us a compelling villain in Kaecilius, jaded by an order he's followed for years and turning tail to pursue what he thinks is right (not to dissimilar to Thanos in that respect). We're also introduced briefly to Dormammu, which is certainly exciting to any fans of the comics. With the Infinity Saga all wrapped up, this could prove to be seed planting for a future big bad.

Doctor Strange could have easily just been another run of the mill origin story (which some believe it is, and that's ok!) but for me, it's so much more. It manages to build on Marvel lore, whilst teasing future story lines by flirting with the Multiverse and the Dark Dimension, all while never losing focus on its very human story. It's a fantastic first outing for one of Marvel's more out there characters and one of my favourites of the whole franchise.