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King of Scars
King of Scars
Leigh Bardugo | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great book and story. I love the characters and getting to know more about thier backgrounds. This book does reference the other five books in the universe, including some spoiliers, it gives enough to let you know you need read them, but you won't be lost if you haven't yet. If you have read them, you are in for a treat and like me probably will long for the next book. Told through multiple pov king of scars will take you on a journey, of loss,love responsibility, keeping a crumbling kingdom together as it comes apart at the seams,and hope through the darkest times. How bad can it get when you're a boy king fighting a deamon? plenty... It's Ravka
  
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
2007 | Action, Drama, Family
We lose a good character but the plot rockets forward.
Order of the Phoenix is almost the Empire Strikes Back of the Harry Potter series. You don't end with a whole lot of good feels at the end of this movie. The lot does really take off and you stay on the edge of your seat for the better part of the film.

This might have the best pacing of the entire series. The ups and downs the good vibes and the bad fall at just the right time. To me this is the movie that had to be made because it is the "book" but there is not a whole lot of upside in this one - except for some tremendous acting all the way around.
  
    Body Temperature

    Body Temperature

    Medical and Health & Fitness

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    Body Temperature is a fantastic app for iPhone, by which you can track and analyze your body...

Black as night (2021)
Black as night (2021)
2021 | Drama, Horror, Thriller
6
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good cinematography (1 more)
Endearing characters
Narration is a bit odd (0 more)
Fun, but not amazing
Black as night is an Amazon movie, about vampires causing havoc in the predominantly poor black community in New Orleans.

It follows a young girl, who after suffering a family tragedy for to vampiric influence, decides to get her Buffy on and take vengeance.

It's a fun Blumhouse film, but it's made almost for quite a young audience (like, too young to actually watch it). Some of the characters are good, but the narration from the protagonist throws the feeling of the film off for me, and I don't know why.

All in all, it's not bad, and worth a watch, but it's by no means a good vampire film.
  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
The slow paced deterioration of mental health (2 more)
Some terrific portrayals
Cgi sparse
Will it hold up on repeat viewings? (0 more)
Not your usual type of clowning around
After waiting longer than I should have I finally watched Joker and the delay left me with lots of other opinions and views of the impact it has generated.

It is no secret that this film takes a different approach to the comic book genre with no superpowers being gained and focuses more on loss and the power that grows from becoming mentally unstable and damaged by an unforgiving society. It also focused on the ability to become involved in the fame game not for being talented but as a source of ridicule and fun for others, thso is reflected in wider society and is a stark warning about encouraging those that are not near the level of the talented. Take note the Xfactor and other programmes that have advertising funded freak shows and gather round televisions to judge and mock. There are many factors that contribute to the descent into chaos and they are the socioeconomic factors of heriditary mental health, illegitimacy, funding cuts, street violence and the fear of the future.

The climax scenes are hard hitting but not unexpected, the impact at the time was shocking and left a lasting sense of my own unease at the future. My only thoughts on the negative side where the ability for this ending to have the lasting impact on repeat viewings and it's place in film history will be won or lost on how its seen in the upcoming years. Phoenix inhabited the role as Joker and his overall attention to detail allowed the character to form on deeper and emotion levels.

If there are others out there still waiting to see this do it before Xmas as it might be too much to take during the January blues
  
Allegiant
Allegiant
Veronica Roth | 2016 | Children
8
8.0 (41 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><u>Before Reading:</u></b>
      I've been spoiled of the ending. Yep. SPOILED. Then I confirmed it at Barnes & Noble by finding out what chapter it happens on... which I won't say at all.

      That should have stopped me from even picking up the last copy from the school library, or even asking, because I simply don't want to get smacked in the face by what happens in the end and how it truly leads there.

      But I decided that I should simply take a chance on the series, because after all, I liked the other books in the series. It would be a different case if I didn't like Divergent and Insurgent.

      And maybe I'll have different thoughts despite the ending when I do finish reading.
 
<b><u>After Reading:</b></u>
      Let me just mention this first and foremost: this will not be a very rave review, despite the rating. So Divergent fans, if you cannot handle not-so-very-rave reviews, please turn around and walk out. If you can, or if you're remotely curious, feel free to continue on.

      But don't say I didn't warn you. Because I certainly did, and I won't be warning again. Oh, and there may be a few spoilers. They're in red....

      I’m just going to "Cut to the Chase" right this minute, and possibly earn a few tomatoes thrown at me as a result in the end. I’m pretty sure I’m entitled to my honest opinion, so if I lied, I wouldn’t be honest after all.

      I do not mean the music video by Trish Thuy Trang featuring Cardin.
 
     My nose might grow longer as well. ;)
 
     Allegiant was dangling on a fish hook right above the surface of DNF Lake many times while reading it. Near the end though, after a HUGE – and by "HUGE," I mean at least 80% of the way through – chunk have been read, I kind of spared it and brought it back to shore. Some people may have noticed me complaining a bit – and giving a few brief review spoilers! – on Twitter or Personal Facebook. And yes, I have a Facebook. Please don't stalk me. :p

      One of the review spoilers? I don't particularly like Tris as a character anymore. POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! Possibly making it worse – and basically only L knows about this – I don't feel really sorry about what happened to her. Well, I'm upset, but I'm not exactly going to start crying and being depressed over what happened.
      I have my reasons.
 
     I didn't really notice it back in Insurgent, but Tris seems too impulsive in her actions. She and Tobias also argue too much. :/ Then again, I'm not an expert in the relationship department. It was just aggravating and annoying.

      Allegiant certainly wasn't boring, which was another review spoiler. It was Veronica Roth's writing. It seems more... I don't know. There's just something about the writing that bothers me in Allegiant. And it's not because of Tobias' POV being added in, though it was interesting to break into his mind and take a peek behind the "stoniness".

      By stoniness, I meant that he doesn't seem to give out a lot of what he's really thinking. I guess it's a nice change, being able to see/read what Tobias is thinking. SPOILER ALERT! Oh, and he likes to hurt people?! Disappointing in that part...

      Okay, you now have the right to bash me and throw tomatoes at me. Just give me ten seconds to run away. :p
<blockquote>Yeah, sometimes life really sucks. But you know what I'm holding on for?
 The moments that don't suck. The trick is to notice them when they come around.</blockquote>
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Formatting may be lost due to copy and paste. Pictures have been removed from this review.
This review and more on <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-allegiant-by-veronica-roth.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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Charisma Check (Dungeons and Dating #6)
Charisma Check (Dungeons and Dating #6)
Katherine McIntyre | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
CHARISMA CHECK is the sixth and final book in the Dungeons and Dating series, and you should really read these amazing books in order to get the full benefit. This is a 5-star series, simple as that.

Everything we have come to hold dear is threatened in this book and it about killed me! Add to that, Matt and Jasper, two characters who have made themselves known in previous books - even if it's only superficially. Oh, boy. These two. I loved them both so much. Jasper about broke me though and I'm not ashamed to say it. His backstory was a killer and his actions throughout the series take on a whole new light. Matt has had an easier time of it in the past to a degree but has had to deal with numerous failed relationships and, in the present, he has to deal with his best friend leaving him. Together, they are guaranteed to give you the warm fuzzies.

Everyone shows up in this book, much to my delight. Happy tears were shed and I finished the book with a HUGE smile on my face. I can't wait to return at Christmas to the D&D group at Tabletop Tavern, as well as begin with the guys from Whipped in Leather & Lattes.

Absolutely brilliant all the way through. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* 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!
May 23, 2023
  
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Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated FAME in Books

Oct 24, 2018  
FAME
FAME
Justine Bateman | 2018 | Biography, Essays
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well thought out, A Refreshing Perspective on Fame (0 more)
A bit frantic, some might want more juicy gossip (0 more)
An Interesting Exploration of Fame
Raise your hand if you LOVED Family Ties as a kid! And had a crush on Alex P. Keaton? And wanted TO BE Mallory!?! Justine Bateman was an idol of mine in the 80's. If I could be like her, or look like her, I pressed my parents to give me a sister just like her! But I got stuck with a brother. Boo!

It's funny, because when I first heard about this book, I said first thing, "Whatever happened to her?" in that snarky, snide voice - like oh, she was has-been, she didn't do anything after Family Ties, she's a one-hit wonder.... And THAT is exactly the type of attitude Justine addresses in this book. (I'm totally sorry for what I said btw Justine and I still love you!)

If you're looking for the behind the scenes secrets and juicy scandal of the beloved sitcom - this is not the book. If you want the scoop on MJ Fox and hanging with child stars of the 80's - nope, not that book either. In fact, one of the first chapters in the book fully explains this - the book is NOT a memoir. It's an exploration of fame. Justine dissects everything from childhood fame in the 80's, to reality star "fame" of today, as well as both the construction AND destruction of fame that social media can make happen. I was fascinated by her take on all things fame. I felt for her - being an actress on a hit TV show, and only being seen for THAT. That her education, and directing, and successes in business mean nothing - cause the "whatever happened to her" mentality translates to - well, if we haven't seen her on TV anymore - she must be a failure in life.

I loved reading this - she's frantic, and passionate, and, OK I'll say it- a bit crazy, yes - but do you blame her? Imagine people saying about you "Boy, she sure has let herself go" on a public forum, on google searches, on Twitter. Just cause the last time they saw her she was 21 - and now she's 50. Well, clearly she's aged - duh. Obviously she doesn't LOOK the same!

I gobbled up every chapter and loved her take on how crazy it is to be famous, but how much crazier it is today. Sure, there's some namedropping, some mentions of Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker, and more - and there's even a bunch of color photos in the book that she talks about and references throughout the book, which I loved. I didn't need the juicy gossip, as I felt like it made me understand celebrities more and totally got me out of that mentality of "Oh, they wanted to be in the spotlight, so they are just automatically targets." No. I feel terrible now for ever ragging on a celeb in the spotlight - especially the young ones out there.

But I'm still not laying off the reality "stars" ;) haha.
  
Mr Mercedes
Mr Mercedes
Stephen King | 2015 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.5 (28 Ratings)
Book Rating
Stephen King at its best (3 more)
great characters
Insane Villian
Great Twists
Story got weird with the dead sisters family (0 more)
A New Look into a Killers Eyes
I have been a Stephen King fan for a very very long time. But it has been a while since a book like this has come out and kept me wanting to keep reading it till it was done. I am not the biggest reader of book and it can take me awhile to finish them. I tend to spend more time watching tv and movies over reading. This book though kept me on the edge of my seat.

This book really went to a place most crime novels don't go to and that is a story about a retired detective on the verge of suicide. I feel like most retire cops go into something else and not just sit around all day. But he is pulled out by a case that got away, which is a good motivator. The one and done type of killer is very rare as well. Usually these types of psychos always go out for more. I don't know if it was lack of drive which most killers don't have or patience which he seemed to have a lot of. It was definitely different.


I can't wait to read the next 2 books in the series and watch the TV show to see how it compares. Until next time, enjoy the read.