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Merissa (11961 KP) rated The Vampire Will See You Now (Psy-Vamp #4) in Books
Apr 11, 2023
FINALLY, we have Justin and Caitlin's story. Now, for those of you that haven't read any of the Psy-Vamp series, you don't really have to get the story but it does make more sense if you have. Personally, I would get all of them and settle down for a Psy-Vamp session if you haven't already but that's just me!
Justin and Caitlin are mentioned in all three previous books and I have been waiting for their story to come out. We finally get it with Caitlin and Justin suffering after an event that happened in the previous book (like I said, not necessary but it does help!). Justin decides that the best thing for Caitlin is for him to leave but Caitlin decides to take things into her own hands.
This book has had me in stitches as Caitlin's supposed "quiet time" for her ultimatum to Justin becomes one of the busiest the house has seen. We have characters old and new who pop up which was a great way to catch up on how they're all getting along. One thing I have to add is that I loved the differences between Justin and Caitlin's mothers - absolutely brilliant.
Like all previous books, in this series and the other books by Cassandra Lawson, the wit is in full flow. The women are strong and the men are Alpha. Another jewel in the crown of the Psy-Vamp series. Loved it!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 8, 2016
Justin and Caitlin are mentioned in all three previous books and I have been waiting for their story to come out. We finally get it with Caitlin and Justin suffering after an event that happened in the previous book (like I said, not necessary but it does help!). Justin decides that the best thing for Caitlin is for him to leave but Caitlin decides to take things into her own hands.
This book has had me in stitches as Caitlin's supposed "quiet time" for her ultimatum to Justin becomes one of the busiest the house has seen. We have characters old and new who pop up which was a great way to catch up on how they're all getting along. One thing I have to add is that I loved the differences between Justin and Caitlin's mothers - absolutely brilliant.
Like all previous books, in this series and the other books by Cassandra Lawson, the wit is in full flow. The women are strong and the men are Alpha. Another jewel in the crown of the Psy-Vamp series. Loved it!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 8, 2016
Not If I See You First
8.0
Rate It
Book
The Rules Don't deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public. Don't...
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Merissa (11961 KP) rated Crystal Shard (Paladins of Crystal. #1) in Books
Jul 26, 2022 (Updated Jul 26, 2023)
CRYSTAL SHARD is the first book in the Paladins of Crystal series, a new reverse harem series that promises to be a blast! In a nutshell, Crystal is living with her brother and s-i-l, in a dead-end job. One bad day later and she's hiding in a garden when her muse, whom she didn't know she had, decides to take matters into her own hands. Crystal is transported to a new world and ends up meeting five royal Paladins (Buff Lords). There you go.
Of course, there's more to it than that. I am hoping there will be a book for each of the Paladins but this one was Anton's. Crystal feels attracted to all of them but Anton is the one she spends the most time with. The sparks fly but Anton can't act on his wants and needs, not if he wants his mother to live.
The world-building here is exceptional, just what I've come to expect from this author. The characters are multi-dimensional and, in Crystal's case, snarky and headstrong. This leads to some fantastic situations that you can see clearly.
This book ended way too soon for me. I feel it's going to be a series to read one after the other! Absolutely fantastic. I loved every word and can't wait to read more. 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!
Jul 20, 2022
Of course, there's more to it than that. I am hoping there will be a book for each of the Paladins but this one was Anton's. Crystal feels attracted to all of them but Anton is the one she spends the most time with. The sparks fly but Anton can't act on his wants and needs, not if he wants his mother to live.
The world-building here is exceptional, just what I've come to expect from this author. The characters are multi-dimensional and, in Crystal's case, snarky and headstrong. This leads to some fantastic situations that you can see clearly.
This book ended way too soon for me. I feel it's going to be a series to read one after the other! Absolutely fantastic. I loved every word and can't wait to read more. 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!
Jul 20, 2022
Alanatomy: The Inside Story
7.0
Rate It
Book
If you loved Alan's first memoir - Look Who It Is! - then this follow-up, Alanatomy, will take you...
KerysJayne Draganova (21 KP) rated Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) in Books
Jan 13, 2018 (Updated Jan 13, 2018)
Storyline (3 more)
Characters
Alot of action
Dark take on Angels
It truly astounds me that the author had to self publish this book...considering some of the rubbish that actually gets picked up by publishing companies.
I love love loved Ee's take on Angels. I'm not really a fan of paranormal books with angels usually, as generally they involve squeaky clean, day-saving, nicey nice angels....*yawn*! Same old every time. So Ee's end of the world bringing, dark, gritty angels were a breath of fresh air.
Ee has created some incredible characters in this book, Penryn is an absolute bad ass. I love that she's trained in martial arts and not afraid to put up a fight. She's ready to protect her family at all costs, whether that means fighting humans gone mad, or crazy, sword wielding, angels with super strength.
The dynamic between Penryn and Raffe is perfect. I love how Penryn saves Raffes ass so many times throughout the book, and he returns the favour. There's no love at first sight between the two. Rather their partnership starts as one of survival, and a building of trust that brings about a whole load of tension between the two. Their story gets you right in the feels.
Also Penryn's crazy Mother is freaking Amazing!!!! I can't wait to see where Ee goes with this character.
The only thing I felt let this book down was the world building/ back story, I didn't really get a proper feel for what kind of state the the world was in, and there wasn't really an explanation as to how the angels brought on the apocalypse.
Also, I will say parts of the book can be very Dark/ graphic. This book is listed as a YA but may be better for older YAs and even NAs.
Overall, this is an awesome post-apocalyptic story, and I definitely recommend it.
I love love loved Ee's take on Angels. I'm not really a fan of paranormal books with angels usually, as generally they involve squeaky clean, day-saving, nicey nice angels....*yawn*! Same old every time. So Ee's end of the world bringing, dark, gritty angels were a breath of fresh air.
Ee has created some incredible characters in this book, Penryn is an absolute bad ass. I love that she's trained in martial arts and not afraid to put up a fight. She's ready to protect her family at all costs, whether that means fighting humans gone mad, or crazy, sword wielding, angels with super strength.
The dynamic between Penryn and Raffe is perfect. I love how Penryn saves Raffes ass so many times throughout the book, and he returns the favour. There's no love at first sight between the two. Rather their partnership starts as one of survival, and a building of trust that brings about a whole load of tension between the two. Their story gets you right in the feels.
Also Penryn's crazy Mother is freaking Amazing!!!! I can't wait to see where Ee goes with this character.
The only thing I felt let this book down was the world building/ back story, I didn't really get a proper feel for what kind of state the the world was in, and there wasn't really an explanation as to how the angels brought on the apocalypse.
Also, I will say parts of the book can be very Dark/ graphic. This book is listed as a YA but may be better for older YAs and even NAs.
Overall, this is an awesome post-apocalyptic story, and I definitely recommend it.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated See You Yesterday (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
A Fresh New Take On Classic Time Travel Film
See You Yesterday is a sci-fi movie directed by Stefon Bristol and written by Stefon Bristol and Fredrica Bailey. It was produced by Spike Lee and production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks and distributed by Netflix. The film stars Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow, Brian "Stro" Bradley, and Jonathan Nieves.
Two teenage prodigies, C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) and her best friend, Sebastian Thomas (Dante Crichlow) spend every spare minute working on their latest homemade invention: backpacks that enable time travel. When one of their older brothers is killed, they put their unfinished project to the test to save him and face the perilous consequences of time travel.
This movie was very emotional. It didn't always make sense but it had a good narrative that sustained the entire film. This movie was equal parts very realistic and fantastically unreal. At its core, it's a story about grief and second chances. Who wouldn't want to go back in time and prevent a tragic event if they could. I mean that's what one of my favorite movies The Time Machine is all about. It also had a lot of social commentary. I believe the writer/director did an awesome job in this their directorial debut. Eden Duncan-Smith's acting was also top notch and really made you feel for her through her struggles and really brought to life a very relatable character. What I didn't like was that as smart as the kids were in the movie, and as good as the time travel logic was in making sense, to me it still wasn't believable that they would have been able to create time travel devices. Also the special effects weren't always the best but seemed to work well. But if you can get past that hiccup it is an emotional roller coaster and a surprising fresh take on a classic sci-fi trope. I give it a 7/10.
Two teenage prodigies, C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) and her best friend, Sebastian Thomas (Dante Crichlow) spend every spare minute working on their latest homemade invention: backpacks that enable time travel. When one of their older brothers is killed, they put their unfinished project to the test to save him and face the perilous consequences of time travel.
This movie was very emotional. It didn't always make sense but it had a good narrative that sustained the entire film. This movie was equal parts very realistic and fantastically unreal. At its core, it's a story about grief and second chances. Who wouldn't want to go back in time and prevent a tragic event if they could. I mean that's what one of my favorite movies The Time Machine is all about. It also had a lot of social commentary. I believe the writer/director did an awesome job in this their directorial debut. Eden Duncan-Smith's acting was also top notch and really made you feel for her through her struggles and really brought to life a very relatable character. What I didn't like was that as smart as the kids were in the movie, and as good as the time travel logic was in making sense, to me it still wasn't believable that they would have been able to create time travel devices. Also the special effects weren't always the best but seemed to work well. But if you can get past that hiccup it is an emotional roller coaster and a surprising fresh take on a classic sci-fi trope. I give it a 7/10.
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Over countless decades the legend of King Arthur has been depicted across a range of mediums. The timeless tale of love, betrayals, action, and adventure has remained a popular and enduring tale ever since it was first introduced.
Director Guy Ritchie has crafted a very different take on the tale as he even contributed to the screenplay for the film. As such “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”, is brimming with many of his signature elements ranging from a caper story and characters who are filled with quirks and issues.
Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur who is orphaned at an early age when his family is betrayed by his Uncle Vortigern (Jude Law). Arthur is raised in a London brothel with no knowledge of his true lineage.
Arthur learns combat and life on the streets and quickly learns how to make money through various dealings, some of which are not exactly on the level. This is where Ritchie shows his trademark style as there is a caper element to the early part of the story and a scene of Arthur and his pals walking through the aftermath of an event is complete with his signature, start, stop, and rewind moments that made up his recent “Sherlock Holmes” films.
Naturally events put Arthur and Vortigern against each other when Arthur is able to pull the legendary Excalibur from a stone as part of a test imposed on all young men of a certain age.
With his true identity in place, Arthur is marked by his Uncle as he is the only threat to his power and this forces Arthur into the protection of the resistance where he must embrace his past and find his destiny.
The film does take some liberties with the Arthurian Legend and does go a bit heavy on the FX especially with the inclusion of giant creatures which made me think at times I was watching something from the “Lord of the Rings”. The film does drag in parts but does rebound with a finale that seemed very video game esque, but sets up future films well. The cast is strong and there is plenty to like about the film as long as you are willing to be patient with the pacing of the film.
http://sknr.net/2017/05/10/king-arthur-legend-sword/
Director Guy Ritchie has crafted a very different take on the tale as he even contributed to the screenplay for the film. As such “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”, is brimming with many of his signature elements ranging from a caper story and characters who are filled with quirks and issues.
Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur who is orphaned at an early age when his family is betrayed by his Uncle Vortigern (Jude Law). Arthur is raised in a London brothel with no knowledge of his true lineage.
Arthur learns combat and life on the streets and quickly learns how to make money through various dealings, some of which are not exactly on the level. This is where Ritchie shows his trademark style as there is a caper element to the early part of the story and a scene of Arthur and his pals walking through the aftermath of an event is complete with his signature, start, stop, and rewind moments that made up his recent “Sherlock Holmes” films.
Naturally events put Arthur and Vortigern against each other when Arthur is able to pull the legendary Excalibur from a stone as part of a test imposed on all young men of a certain age.
With his true identity in place, Arthur is marked by his Uncle as he is the only threat to his power and this forces Arthur into the protection of the resistance where he must embrace his past and find his destiny.
The film does take some liberties with the Arthurian Legend and does go a bit heavy on the FX especially with the inclusion of giant creatures which made me think at times I was watching something from the “Lord of the Rings”. The film does drag in parts but does rebound with a finale that seemed very video game esque, but sets up future films well. The cast is strong and there is plenty to like about the film as long as you are willing to be patient with the pacing of the film.
http://sknr.net/2017/05/10/king-arthur-legend-sword/
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Throne of Fools (The Omaran Saga #2) in Books
Nov 26, 2019
The second book of the Omaran Saga, Throne of Fools, changes the tone a little from the first. Where that was fairly standard in structure of an obvious evil to overcome, this is more concerned with the political machinations of the island state of Goldenisle. Ottemar Remoon intends to take the throne but the corruption of the court is deep. The mysterious Orhung, who claims to have been created and carries a rod of enormous power, reveals that the darkness at the heart of Goldenisle may be a power beyond any reckoning.
To some extent this book does suffer from being a bridge between the rather self-contained first book and the rest of the Saga and so rates with me as the weakest of the series. But its still better than the strongest books of other series, helped by Cole's take on worlds and creatures, neatly sidestepping creations that might be construed as 'Tolkienesque'. And indeed the whole saga has a very much darker and more brooding tone than anything set in Middle Earth.
As a bridge between the first and subsequent books this works well, setting up the nature of the threat that must be tackled as well as cementing the characters, Wargallow, Ottermar and Sisipher in particular. The actual narrative is perhaps less engaging but perhaps should be viewed as the framework which holds together the necessary threads being woven for the end of the saga
To some extent this book does suffer from being a bridge between the rather self-contained first book and the rest of the Saga and so rates with me as the weakest of the series. But its still better than the strongest books of other series, helped by Cole's take on worlds and creatures, neatly sidestepping creations that might be construed as 'Tolkienesque'. And indeed the whole saga has a very much darker and more brooding tone than anything set in Middle Earth.
As a bridge between the first and subsequent books this works well, setting up the nature of the threat that must be tackled as well as cementing the characters, Wargallow, Ottermar and Sisipher in particular. The actual narrative is perhaps less engaging but perhaps should be viewed as the framework which holds together the necessary threads being woven for the end of the saga
French Rhapsody
Antoine Laurain, Emily Boyce and Jane Aitken
Book
Praise for "The Red Notebook" "An endearing love story written in beautifully poetic prose. It is an...
The Boys is adrenaline fueled "shock" TV at its best. It is begging you to watch it, even if it sometimes makes it hard to watch. But what makes The Boys work so well is under all the drugs, sex and violence, it has a lot to say.
The show follows Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) as he recruits a team of people who have bern wronged by Superheroes. In The Boys universe, the superheroes tend to not care so much about callateral damage, and honestly, most of them are douchebags (think Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's evil singalong blog) .
As we learn more about their word the show not only becomes an obvious satire on superhero culture, but the our society as a hole. The religion episode, is one that really stands out as not being afraid to take shots.
The effects, mostly work pretty well, and nothing was bad enough to take me out of the escapeism. The acting is a bit all over the place, but Karl Urban really commands the screen.
It should be said that this is not for everyone. It is one of the mist graphic (non horror) things I have ever seen, and if you're not used to it you may find yourself checking out early. If you can handle the violence, it's worth it
The show follows Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) as he recruits a team of people who have bern wronged by Superheroes. In The Boys universe, the superheroes tend to not care so much about callateral damage, and honestly, most of them are douchebags (think Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible's evil singalong blog) .
As we learn more about their word the show not only becomes an obvious satire on superhero culture, but the our society as a hole. The religion episode, is one that really stands out as not being afraid to take shots.
The effects, mostly work pretty well, and nothing was bad enough to take me out of the escapeism. The acting is a bit all over the place, but Karl Urban really commands the screen.
It should be said that this is not for everyone. It is one of the mist graphic (non horror) things I have ever seen, and if you're not used to it you may find yourself checking out early. If you can handle the violence, it's worth it