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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated City Spies in Books
Jun 7, 2020
Meet the City Spies
Sara Martinez is in jail after hacking into New York’s juvenile justice system to turn in her foster parents. She gets the surprise of her life when her lawyer turns out to be a man called Mother, who reveals himself to be a British spy. He whisks Sara away to Scotland where she joins a secret team of MI6 made up of other kids like herself. Sara has joined them just weeks before their next mission – infiltrating an ecological conference to stop a group that is out to sabotage it. Will Sara be far enough along in her training to be an asset to her team? Will they succeed in their mission?
I saw this new series debut recommended by another author I love, and I’m so glad I did. This middle grade book is fast paced. We get plenty of set up, but everything is introduced as part of the story, so it never slows things down. Once the mission begins, the pace picks up even more, and I couldn’t put the book down. Some of the elements are a little over the top, but I just reminded myself this is a spy story and got right back into the book. We don’t get to know all the characters well yet, but we definitely saw some growth in Sara and a few others, and what we saw of them is great. There are some truly heartwarming moments as well as moments that made me laugh. This is a fantastic middle grade book for readers of all ages.
I saw this new series debut recommended by another author I love, and I’m so glad I did. This middle grade book is fast paced. We get plenty of set up, but everything is introduced as part of the story, so it never slows things down. Once the mission begins, the pace picks up even more, and I couldn’t put the book down. Some of the elements are a little over the top, but I just reminded myself this is a spy story and got right back into the book. We don’t get to know all the characters well yet, but we definitely saw some growth in Sara and a few others, and what we saw of them is great. There are some truly heartwarming moments as well as moments that made me laugh. This is a fantastic middle grade book for readers of all ages.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Travelers in Books
Sep 8, 2021
147 of 250
Book
The Travelers
By Chris Pavone
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
It’s 3:00am. Do you know where your husband is?
Meet Will Rhodes: travel writer, recently married, barely solvent, his idealism rapidly giving way to disillusionment and the worry that he’s living the wrong life. Then one night, on assignment for the award-winning Travelers magazine in the wine region of Argentina, a beautiful woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Soon Will’s bad choices—and dark secrets—take him across Europe, from a chateau in Bordeaux to a midnight raid on a Paris mansion, from a dive bar in Dublin to a mega-yacht in the Mediterranean and an isolated cabin perched on the rugged cliffs of Iceland. As he’s drawn further into a tangled web of international intrigue, it becomes clear that nothing about Will Rhodes was ever ordinary, that the network of deception ensnaring him is part of an immense and deadly conspiracy with terrifying global implications—and that the people closest to him may pose the greatest threat of all.
It’s 3:00am. Your husband has just become a spy.
I can appreciate where and what the author was trying to do but this just didn’t grab me at all! It was a hard slog through. Two stars may seem a bit mean and I would encourage people to at least give it a go especially if you enjoy spy novels.
Book
The Travelers
By Chris Pavone
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
It’s 3:00am. Do you know where your husband is?
Meet Will Rhodes: travel writer, recently married, barely solvent, his idealism rapidly giving way to disillusionment and the worry that he’s living the wrong life. Then one night, on assignment for the award-winning Travelers magazine in the wine region of Argentina, a beautiful woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Soon Will’s bad choices—and dark secrets—take him across Europe, from a chateau in Bordeaux to a midnight raid on a Paris mansion, from a dive bar in Dublin to a mega-yacht in the Mediterranean and an isolated cabin perched on the rugged cliffs of Iceland. As he’s drawn further into a tangled web of international intrigue, it becomes clear that nothing about Will Rhodes was ever ordinary, that the network of deception ensnaring him is part of an immense and deadly conspiracy with terrifying global implications—and that the people closest to him may pose the greatest threat of all.
It’s 3:00am. Your husband has just become a spy.
I can appreciate where and what the author was trying to do but this just didn’t grab me at all! It was a hard slog through. Two stars may seem a bit mean and I would encourage people to at least give it a go especially if you enjoy spy novels.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Atomic Blonde (2017) in Movies
Sep 5, 2017
Cast are great (2 more)
Soundtrack is awesome
Interesting tone
It's A Blast
This movie is directed by David Leitch, the guy who did the John Wick movies, so going in what I expected was essentially John Wick with a female lead. This movie turned out to be much more than that. There is an interesting narrative built around the fast paced action and the characters are all well rounded. Theron is brilliant in the lead role, MacAvoy is also fantastic as per usual. The rest of the cast including John Goodman, Sofia Boutella and Eddie Marsen are good too. The soundtrack and backdrop of this movie provide an interesting tone also and overall, it is a fantastic spy action thriller.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Transcription in Books
Jun 6, 2019
Good but not memorable
I really struggle with books like this. It's well written with a fairly engaging plot, but is just ultimately unforgettable. It probably doesn't help that it's a book about spies which has been done better by someone like John Le Carre. Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad spy novel, it just doesn't build any real intrigue or tension. Juliet is a likeable main character if not as fully developed as she should be, and overall I did enjoy reading this book. But for me it's a sign of how unremarkable it is that I wouldn't ever go out of my way to recommend it to someone, and will likely have forgotten all about it by next week.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Turn - Season 2 in TV
Aug 31, 2018
The small stories. (2 more)
interplay between people
time period
Historical Drama done right
What's great about watching history play out is feeling like you understand it better thru people and how they see and deal with it. This series does it right. Even if you don't like "Spy" movies, this is about the people and what choices they make or don't make, the things they do to further the history or follow the tide that pulls them. I also feel like it doesn't just focus on the big names we know like Washington, this focuses on the locals in a small section, but influences the greater part. I really enjoyed the first three seasons and I'm now working on the 4th.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Turn - Season 3 in TV
Aug 31, 2018
the plot twists (1 more)
Watching history play out
How the country was founded on a small personal scale
What's great about watching history play out is feeling like you understand it better thru people and how they see and deal with it. This series does it right. Even if you don't like "Spy" movies, this is about the people and what choices they make or don't make, the things they do to further the history or follow the tide that pulls them. I also feel like it doesn't just focus on the big names we know like Washington, this focuses on the locals in a small section, but influences the greater part. I really enjoyed the first three seasons and I'm now working on the 4th.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Anna (2019) in Movies
Jul 1, 2019
Luc Besson loves to make intricately plotted action movies. Anna is set near the end of the Cold War. The CIA and KGB use whatever methods they can to gain an advantage. In 1990, the KGB captured several CIA operatives and Agent Miller is seriously pissed off. At the same time, a Russian junkie is tracked down by the KGB to become a sleeper agent. But Anna, once she cleans up, is a striking beauty who wants to be free. Luc Besson keeps the viewer guessing on who is the puppet and who is the puppet master. Anna is Luc's calling card to write the new Black Widow movie about a KGB agent who turns into a spy for the US.
The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man
Book
Edward Snowden, a young computer genius working for America's National Security Agency, blew the...