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Kiss of Darkness (Curse of the Guardians #1) by Taylor Aston White
Kiss of Darkness (Curse of the Guardians #1) by Taylor Aston White
Taylor Aston White | 2022 | Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am now fully invested is this group of Guardians, and them finding their mates!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Oh I liked this, a LOT! It sort of grabs you, and doesn't let go, runs you through a wringer and spits you out again! And then you gotta wait Lord know how long til the fun starts again!

Kyra is a witch, and is bound to serve in exchange for her life. But when that threatens the lives of ordinary people, she know she has to stop it, somehow. Xander is forced to protect her while things settle but Xander hates black witches, with good reason. Given as they are both keeping secrets, things are bound to boil over. And when they do, sparks fly.

Like I said, I liked this. It's dark and deadly, it's keeping things from you, it's smexy in places, and downright blood thirsty in others. There is much going on and you gotta concentrate while running through that wringer, let me tell ya! It's been a long time since I had a book that did that!

Both Kyra and Xander have a say, and I loved that. I loved all of Xander's Guardian team, and there was a pairing I saw here, with Kyra's friend, that might just be as explosive as Kyra and Xander are.

I can't wait, cos I am now fully invested is this group of Guardians, and them finding their mates!

I wrote 4 stars at the top of the page, but nah, upgrading to the full

5 stars!

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The Last Airbender (2010)
The Last Airbender (2010)
2010 | Action, Family, Sci-Fi
1
4.4 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The way the pronounce Aang! (5 more)
Acting
Script
The bending!
Casting
Zuko's "scar"
WTF???
No. No, this is not a good film in ANY way!
Just put a pin in the fact that this fill caused fans of the original series to die inside, this was a shit film!
The acting is so wooden, the script makes little sense, the pacing is so off and the one thing that should have been awesome, even if they went way off with the sorce materieal, was the bending. Which SUCKED! So hard! It was so underwhelming. Dude, did you even watch the series!?!?!
So, let's look at some of its other issues:
Aang. How do you pronounce it? We, here is a f***ing clue- WATCH THE SERIES! They say it hundreds of times!!!!
Zuko, one of the best written characters in an animated series with his signature scar that is so central to his journey as a character, reduced to a bit of sunburn!!!!!
How did you mess up Appa!?!?!?! He is a huge fluffy flying byson! He could have saved this film, but he was relegated to basically a background prop!
The bending. What the actual F**K was that!? Lots of dancing, then sometimes some elements move. If you have seen the series, there is no way this did not piss you off. If you have not, please go and watch at least 3 episodes, then tell me I am wrong about how crap this was.
You insulted Iroh, the best character ever that we all need as an uncle!
Just no. So much no. I hate you now.
  
Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms #2)
Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms #2)
Elle Beaumont, Christis Christie | 2023 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
TIDES OF TORMENT is the second book in the Immortal Realms series and it is Travion's time to tell his story.

He is the King of Midniva and nearly died at the end of Draven and Eden's book. In this one, he's fit and healthy, albeit still recovering. Recovering is good though as trouble is headed his way. Not only that, but his on-again-off-again lover, Sereia, is also on the horizon.

First things first. Sereia. I didn't like her and can't say I changed my mind much as the story progressed. Her attitude sucked, especially towards Travion. She did have some redeeming qualities but not many. Also, it seemed a little disjointed in parts, with monologues suddenly revealing things that had had no build-up or previous mention.

This book is full of action with pretty constant attacks by horrible beasts. All of this was very well written and perfectly described. Adrick and the rest of the crew kept me turning the pages. And my eyes may have leaked at certain points too.

Draven and Eden remain my favourites. I can't wait to see what happens in Wages of War which is Zryan's story. If I did half stars then this would get 3.5. Instead, I'll round it up to 4, simply because Draven and Eden make an appearance.

** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 12, 2023
  
Abandon Station (Dyson Bridge #1)
Abandon Station (Dyson Bridge #1)
V.G. Harrison | 2024 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
it finishes on a cliffhanger I did not see coming at me, and I was not prepared!!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

So, here's the thing, right?

I am mighty, MIGHTY annoyed at this book. Why? Because I thought it was a complete story, and it's not: it finishes on a cliffhanger I did not see coming at me, and I hate that! I wasn't prepared, I really wasn't, when it ended, and I am not happy.

It was a great read, though! I was fully engrossed in Merida and her people.

In the now Earth, it was a bit technical,but I kinda read those bits and glanced over the technical jargon used. In the NEW Earth, things were more understandable and I could even follow the politics! There's a lot going on that she isn't privy to, and her people are in danger of being stranded.

But peeps? That cliffhanger means I gotta wait to find out if Merida can get home, if she can find all her people from across the globe, and if her ex gets whatever he deserves!

A quick glance, and I cannot see when I might get my hands on book 2, either. So now, I'm doubly annoyed, with a review to write. Why do I put myself through this, you ask? Let me tell you.

To find books and authors like this: out of my comfort zone and new to me. I loved this book, bar that ending and I'm very pleased, as well as annoyed, that I got to read it.

4 most EXCELLENT stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
40x40

Lee (2222 KP) rated Triple 9 (2016) in Movies

Jul 26, 2017  
Triple 9 (2016)
Triple 9 (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama
1
5.3 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Incoherent plot (2 more)
Bad acting
Dodgy accents
The worst movie of 2016
It's early February 2016. I’m sitting in my local cinema waiting for a secret screening to start. A lot of people are expecting Deadpool. A member of staff comes out to welcome us and tells us that it’s not going to be Deadpool. The film starts. It’s Triple 9 – a film I hadn’t heard a lot about, but I’m there for free, so willing to give it a try.

Daryl from The Walking Dead and Jesse from Breaking Bad are both in it, which isn’t a good sign as their movie track records aren’t so good. There seems to be some sort of well planned heist going on, lots of action, not entirely clear what’s going on. Then it’s over. Wait a minute, some of them are cops?! What’s that all about? No time to explain, here’s Kate Winslet. She’s a good actress, maybe she’ll help. But why is she putting on a really bad accent? It’s not very convincing, and I’m now finding it very difficult to concentrate on anything else that’s going on. Ooh, there’s Gal Gadot. Lots of people seem to be in this, maybe it will get better. But before I know it, she’s gone, and lots more characters are being introduced.

Some people are starting to leave the cinema. A combination of being pissed at the lack of Deadpool, and disappointment at the shit storm that we’re being subjected to on screen.

Some more action!! Some of it is actually quite good, but without context or explanation, it’s completely pointless. Matthew McConaughey is there, then he’s at home, then straight away in the next scene he’s in a diner. Hmm, it would be nice if some of this movie wasn’t such an incoherent mess!

More people leave the cinema. I wonder if I should join them. I haven’t paid for this, so nothing would be lost other than my time if I walk. But no, I don’t walk out of cinemas. I want to give this a chance and I hope that it might redeem itself.

Sadly it doesn’t. Characters start dying, and double crossing each other. There’s a bit more action. There’s Gal Gadot again, I’d forgotten she was in this. And there’s Kate and her dodgy accent again too. God I hope this is over soon…

And then it is over. Afterwards, people ask me what the film was about. I tell them I have absolutely no idea. They ask me if it was any good. I tell them that it was the one of the worst films I have ever seen.
  
TM
Take My Hand (Take My Hand, #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is my first experience with a book by Nicola Haken. The synopsis sounded promising and I have been looking for a new series to read, so I thought I would give this one a go.

This story is of two people trying to start their lives over after terrible events that occurred in each of their lives. They get thrown together and together they learn how to love...again.

The story is primarily set in London, so that's amazing! I'm obsessed with London and all things British, so I was SOOOOO excited for this book. I wanted to fall in LOVE with this book, and these characters, but at best I only fell in LIKE with this book. Sigh.

Dexter and Emily are great characters. They have the tormented past, the rocky relationship, and undying love for one another. Okay so it sounds like this book has everything a book needs. But still... I just couldn't fall in love, and let me tell you why.

1) Dexter is from the U.S.A. so when he moves to London, he clearly doesn't understand all of the lingo and slang that the English use. Which is fine. Emily used a lot of these slang words, "ginger minger" being an example of one, and so the narrator would pause and explain what each one meant. This was very helpful throughout the story. However, this is the part that bothers me. Throughout the story when Dex would have a chapter and be talking sometimes I would get confused and he started to sound like Emily to me. I felt like the two were blending together.

2) There were several times throughout this book I wanted to literally reach into my kindle and slap Emily. I understand she's never really been in a relationship before, and I understand she's socially awkward, but my god! It's like this girl is from another planet and she doesn't understand human interactions, AT ALL! She blushes at everything - even when it's not sexual, she doesn't know how to talk to people, and she doesn't know how to be in a relationship. If the guy is a alcoholic and throws stuff at the wall, and runs out on you every time he's scared. You drop him and run. It just didn't seem realistic at all.

He drank and ran out on her when she was in a strange country with a strange woman she'd never met, and he was just like, peace out. Then she had the nerve to feel sorry. He kept secrets from her and she had the nerve to scold herself for feeling that way. It just didn't feel real to me. I felt like she gave in to him too easily. Now, before you all comment like crazy about how I don't understand alcoholics and how I don't know how they operate and how I don't understand addiction, let me just tell you this... You're wrong. I understand, and I understand better than some. I was a teenage alcoholic. It ruined my life and it took me YEARS to get it back together. SO I GET IT.

3) Now that all that's out of the way on to the next. I didn't like that Emily was so clearly afraid to say SEX or PENIS, or VAGINA. If you can't say it or talk about it, you shouldn't be doing it. She really needed to grow up. I understand that some people just don't feel comfortable talking about it, but at some point you need to draw a line. Emily was just a little too chaste for my preference and I think the description of the sex scenes from Emily's perspective were out of place for this very reason. The chapters where she was the narrator, she shouldn't have been comfortable describing what was going down. I feel like the scene should have been set up and then a fade to black would have been more appropriate.

4) Lastly, Rachel... UHHHH MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER EVER!! At first I thought she was badass! Here you have this girl who has lived her life in a wheelchair and has had to compensate for it by being independent, coloring her hair funky colors, and getting tattoos. Awesome! Right... WRONG. She then opened her mouth. OMG! She's not independent and trying to stand out, she's just down right offensive, and she didn't seem to fit at all in this story.

I know by now you're probably thinking "Why did you give this book three stars if you clearly hated it." Right? Well, I didn't hate it, at all. I liked it, it evoked emotion, it made me think and it made me feel. Those things are SOOO important when writing a book. This author has some definite promise, and I know there are a couple more books in this series. I will probably read them since this book ended on a cliffhanger (which was awesome, btw). I want to know what happens to these characters, and I'm hoping they both grow up a bit in the upcoming books.

My one last thing I'd like to point out is the editing. Now, I don't know if I got a pre-edited copy or if I got the final draft. So, I'm not considering the editing in my rating, because I can't be certain. I do feel that this book needs some serious proofreading, but again it may not be that way in a purchased copy so again don't hold that minor detail against the author, because no one is perfect.

I will definitely read other books by this author. She has a great writing style, her story flows very nicely, there aren't any dull moments, and her story is one that tears at the heartstrings. I in no way mean this review to sound as if I'm attacking her, when in fact its the complete opposite. I commend her for writing this book, and I think she did it well. Plus, the most important thing EVER, her writing made me think and feel which is what good writing should do. So, I implore you to give this book a chance don't let my feelings and observations deter you from reading a book with great potential that you may absolutely love!
  
Halt and Catch Fire  - Season 4
Halt and Catch Fire - Season 4
2017 | Drama
Writing (2 more)
Cast
Very nostalgic
Could have been on TV Longer (0 more)
The Future is Here, So Watch How it Arrived
Well this was the 4th and final season of Halt and Catch Fire and it went by way to fast. This was such a fantastic season and it was sad to see it go. For those of you that have never seen this show, shame on you and go watch it on Netflix. For those who haven't caught up I will not spoil anything for you.

This show is about a group of programmers that try to stay ahead of the technology curve and make the last tech better. This season was all about making a search engine. You know like Yahoo or Google. It was such a long road to get there and there was a lot of obstacle to get there first and be the best.


The 2 groups going after it were the father/daughter pair and mother/tech firm pair. I won't tell you who one but it was wild. Both companies took different directions to make the same product and it was very interesting to see the progression. The best part of this show is how they take the real life way they got there and used fake names like Comet and Rover, but also used the real competition like AOL and Netscape to show they are in the same universe.


The characters this season really had a lot of drama, some good and some bad, but for my still it was a little much. I know TV shows need it to keep people watching to feel like they are involved, but sometimes you have to let the big picture speak for itself. But I did not mind it at all, sometimes you have to look the other way to enjoy the show.


This whole show was leading us to the future of technology and it was so much fun watching everything grow just like I did when I was a kid. Watching them play Nintendo for the first time and this season added Playstation which was kind of cool. But this show could have lasted so much longer and even added to characters along the way to make it happen. I think they jump a head in time too fast to make show reach the finish line. I with they would have stretched it a little longer. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.


Like I said earlier, if you haven't watch the show, get to watching and let me know what you think. If you have watched, lets get talking about how much you loved or hated it. Till next time, enjoy the show.
  
HD
House Divided
Jami Deise | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Erin and her husband, Jack live their professional lives on opposite sides of the aisle. Erin's blood bleeds blue, while Jack reports on all things red. When they are home, all of that is put to the side. Jack really doesn't believe most of the garbage he reports on, which makes their relationship work. But when Jack gets a new job at the same time Erin loses hers, their relationship and family will be put to the test.

Thank you to Jami Deise for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is the first book I have read from this author and it was a great political/family novel.

What would you do, if you found out your family was about to hit it big time? That you're husband's name was about to be on everyone's lips. All of a sudden people are nicer to you and things just seem to come easier. Erin feels very skeptical about Jack's new job and doesn't like the man it is turning him in to. He used to be laid back and right now, he seems on edge about everything. Erin has just lost her job, but the whole operation shut down after the election. She is eager to find a new job, but Jack insists she stays home with the kids since he will be making so much money. But money isn't everything and it definitely isn't buying them happiness.

I will say this about Erin, she is a strong willed woman who I'm not sure if I could fill her shoes. Some women enjoy working, I am one of those as well, especially when it's a job that I enjoy. So if I had lost that job, through no fault of my own I would be devastated and I would expect my husband to be by my side. I don't think Erin had that opportunity to mourn her job the way she wanted. She comes home to tell her husband about it just to find out he's landed a new job himself making a million dollars a year. It's more money then they have ever seen, but Erin is still a little skeptical about it. When she sees changes in Jack that she is not used to, it further confirms her suspicions that maybe this isn't the right job for him. The fallout from the two of them is immediate. Jack telling her that she doesn't need to work, she can stay home with their kids, when that is the last thing she wants to do.

Overall this was a cute quirky book. It touched me since it was based where I live. I was able to read this book quickly and it was hard to put down.
  
[a:Cinda Williams Chima|125308|Cinda Williams Chima|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1291420167p2/125308.jpg] was my biggest takeaway from [b:The Way of the Wizard|8121665|The Way of the Wizard|John Joseph Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297656860s/8121665.jpg|12917149]. I absolutely adored the short story of how Linda and Hastings met, and knew that I had to read the actual series.

You can definitely tell that this was written a few years before the short story in The Way of the Wizard. The writing isn't quite on the same level - all of the key elements are still there, but in a rawer form.

That's not a bad thing. I'm not insulting the quality of the writing, at all. It was still a very enjoyable story, and the writing and the editing were solid. And I'm happy to watch the progression of the narrative, as it gets stronger over time.

...but. If I had read The Warrior Heir before I read "The Trader and the Slave", I probably would have enjoyed this book more than I did. Part of me kept waiting for the dark, grittiness that the short story had, and it never really showed up.

Were parts of The Warrior Heir heavy? Sure. There's a lot of double-crossing, morality, and self-sacrifice in there. But it wasn't quite the same.

Sorry for that slight detour there. I felt that, before I started talking about the book itself, I should explain the factors that went towards my final rating.

Because, in general, I loved this book. It was a lot of fun to read. I loved the "world" and the magic system, I loved the history and explanations of why magic works, and where it came from. The dedication to the magic system was very nice, and much appreciated in such an action-based fantasy book.

The main characters all managed to keep me interested in what was going on (even though there wasn't nearly enough Linda and Hastings in there for me), and the antagonists walked a delicate balance of being evil, and just doing what they thought would be best for themselves, or for those around them. Even some of the protagonists walked that line, which was <i>really</i> nice to see.

Morality - it's pretty important to the story.

There weren't really any surprises in the plot department. It was incredibly easy to guess the various "twists" the book had to offer. <spoiler>Especially anything having to do with Ellen.</spoiler> But personally, I was too distracted by the world-building to overly care about how predictable things were.

Because in Maki-land, well-established magic system > plot.