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From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money (1999)
From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money (1999)
1999 |
3
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Thoughts on From Dusk till Dawn 2 Blood Money

 

Characters – Buck is a thieve that has claimed to have gone clean after his recent stint in prison, the cops do still watch him, only now he gets a chance at a new job which will see him put his crew together, he has a way to work with his men, well that is about it, his character doesn’t have much more to him, Sheriff Otis Lawson has been waiting for Buck to make a mistake for years now, using the latest former member of his crew as hope that he could catch him in the act once again. Luther is the one that brings the job to Buck, only on his way back to the crew, he ends up at the Titty Twister grabbing the attention of the vampires, looking for spread the curse to a new selection of victims. C.W. is another member of the crew and just like the rest they don’t get much to make them stand out.

Performances – Robert Patrick does try to make the most of his character only he doesn’t get anything to work with here. This is the big problem for the rest of the cast, nobody gets a chance to make anything from their characters who all end up being painful bland.

Story – The story follows a group of criminals that are looking to head to Mexico for their latest job, only to attract the attention of the vampires using the Titty Twister becoming the latest target, can they survive the night? The story here is very weak, we get five criminals with little to no character development, not making us care about what is happening. We get thrown into another direction with the story which doesn’t help because we know what is happening, while certain members of the crew don’t, this does against what we learnt about the vampires in the first film. this story just feels like a forced sequel nobody really asked for.

Crime/Horror – The crime side of this horror comes from seeing just how the crew is operating, how they plan to get the job done, the horror comes from the vampire side of the film, it does have darker moments, only it still doesn’t feel like a scarier film.

Settings – The film is set between Mexico and Texas, no location involved does make us feel like we are in iconic location the first one did.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are not at the same standard either, with most of the attacks being from bats which seem to be extreme close ups that just feel too difficult to watch.


Scene of the Movie – A helping hand?

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of interest around the characters.

Final Thoughts – This is a disappoint sequel that pulls the quality level right down to just a basic sequel that just so happens to visit the same bar, having no connection to the previous film.

 

Overall: Bland sequel.
  
AA
An American Cage
Ted Galdi | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Danny Marsh is serving time in a maximum security prison in Texas. His cellmate, Phil Zorn, along with his good friend Monty Montgomery all decide to make an escape from prison and head to Mexico. But, as these things go, the plan did not go as it should and quickly decisions had to be made on the fly. Will the trio make it to Mexico, or will they be caught and forced to spend even more time behind bars?

Thank you to Ted Galdi and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the second book I have read by Ted Galdi. His first book, [bc:Elixir|22849611|Elixir|Ted Galdi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406903898s/22849611.jpg|41253131], was very good as well.

For most of his life Danny Marsh has run from his problems. But one night, he makes a mistake that he can't run from. Even though Danny is only charged with a minor crime, he is sent to a maximum security prison in East Texas. This is not a place Danny is doing well. When his cellmate, Phil come up with the plan for escape, Danny agrees so that he can get out of this place. But Danny learns a lot more about his "friend" once they are on the outside. Taking matters into his own hands, Danny finds a way to make it through the situation his been forced in to, alive.

This book is very hard to put down. I got through it quickly and I could feel myself right there along with Danny trying to find the place between right and wrong and good and evil.

Highly recommended.
  
Bitter Memory
Bitter Memory
Sian Nicholas | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed the twist towards the end of the book (0 more)
There was a fair amount of technical talk especially about the bees and their relationship to the plants. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Bitter Memory by Sion Nicholas is an interesting book focused on a distant planet where scientist are trying to save the Earth. This read is interesting as much as it is a warning to us about what could happen if we don’t take care of the Earth.

 Scarlett Robins meets her husband while in college studying ways to help end the hunger riots taking place all across the globe. Caleb, her husband, was a guest lecturer for Scarlett’s class and her professor introduced them thinking they would find each other's ideas interesting. During one of their first conversations, the couple talk about grouping crops for research on a distant planet where they wouldn’t affect the Earth’s ecosystem.

 Fast forward a few years later to find Scarlett and Caleb as part of a five-person team on Pygmalion 6, a distant planet, to work on solving the food shortage. Upon arrival Scarlett boots up the computer systems and initializes all security programs, not realizing that she just made a deadly mistake. It takes years before Scarlett and the rest of the team discover just what actions she set in place that fateful first day. Too bad it may already be too late to save anyone from the greedy company they all work for.

 I really enjoyed the twist towards the end of the book. The book was only mildly predictable compared to others of a similar genera, which was nice. Overall the plot was well thought out and well written. There was a fair amount of technical talk especially about the bees and their relationship to the plants. While I understand its importance to the background of the story I felt like it went into unnecessary detail.

 Young adults and adults alike will enjoy this book. There was very little to no inappropriate scenes in this book, plus it only hints at any kind of adult content. That being said high school and older should be alright to read this and most middle school students should be able to handle it with no problem. I rate this book a 3 out of 4. The over detailed technical stuff seemed to take something away from the overall story. Almost as if the book was supposed to be much more in-depth and bigger than what it was. It is because of this that I decided not to give the book a perfect score. Other than that one flaw the book was amazing.

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The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
Juliet Grames | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the family saga of the Fortuna’s, and follows their lives from poverty in Calabria to the USA. It follows Stella from the birth and death of her older sister (also called Mariastella), her siblings, parents and her life in Connecticut - covering 100 years. I still can’t quite believe that the author managed to fit so much into 460+ pages without it feeling rushed or shoe-horned in, it she did it!

As you can probably guess from the title, Stella’s 7 or 8 deaths feature quite prominently in this, as does her close relationships with her mother and sister. Her father as good as abandons them for the first part of her life, and then demands that his wife and children sell everything and join him in the US where he has been working. Stella hates her controlling, abusive father, but is very much restricted by tradition and religion. So, she lives under his despotic rule. There is quite a bit of abuse - both physical and mental - in this, but what is most admirable is Stella’s unbroken spirit. And she has spirit in spades.

I loved the style in which this was told: a family member researching and telling the story of her relatives, and trying to work out why Stella in her last 30 years refuses to have anything to do with the sister that she loved so much. I had to keep reminding myself that it was in fact fiction. There was a great balance of modern thinking (from the narrator) and the traditions of the older members of the family, complete with curses and spells to avoid the evil eye.

I’ll be honest, I thought I’d made a mistake by choosing this book. I really didn’t think I’d like it. I’m so relieved that I took a chance on this though, because I loved it, and I’d say that it’s well worth a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Flawed in Books

May 25, 2017  
Flawed
Flawed
Cecelia Ahern | 2016 | Children
8
8.5 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Author's new direction
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Cecelia Ahern is the well-known Irish author of contemporary women’s fiction, particularly P.S. I Love You. However, Ahern has decided to branch out and has penned her first dystopian, young adult novel, Flawed. It is dubious when an author, who is loved for her work, changes their style, but it appears she has pulled it off.

Seventeen-year-old Celestine is a logical girl who is soon to learn she lives in an illogical world. In an attempt to create a perfect society, citizens must avoid making moral or ethical mistakes; otherwise they will be branded as Flawed. And branded means literal branding with a hot iron, there is no hiding the fact that they have flaws. Celestine, like everyone else, has been brainwashed into believing that Flawed people should be avoided and do not deserve the same privileges as the “perfect” people. However, after seeing an elderly Flawed man choking on a bus, her logical brain kicks in and goes to help him. Big mistake.

After finding herself accused of being Flawed, Celestine reaslises how corrupt society is, yet there is nothing she can do about it without enduring further punishment. Despite her bleak outlook on her future, her hopes begin to rise when she discovers that there are people on her side – people that want rid of the government that disciplines people when they should not be punished in the first place.

As a reader of Ahern’s previous works and a fan of dystopian fiction, I honestly did not expect Flawed to be any good. Ahern has proved she has the talent to write women’s fiction, but this book was a complete contrast. The first few chapters of the novel were admittedly a bit shaky. It did not look promising. Yet eventually Ahern found her flow and produced a pretty good young adult novel.

When I saw the title, Flawed, I immediately assumed it would be a book about physical appearance and was hesitant about reading it. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when this was not the case at all. The concept is fresh and original and does not become apocalyptical like many other dystopian fictions.

How the majority will receive this book is difficult to say. Fans of Cecelia Ahern may be disappointed by her change in genre. Fans of dystopia may be put off by the author’s previous novels. I urge readers to approach this story with an open mind; you may be pleasantly surprised. Flawed will not look out of place amongst other books of similar themes, and for those who do enjoy it, there will be a sequel, Perfect, next year.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Flawed in Books

Dec 7, 2018  
Flawed
Flawed
Cecelia Ahern | 2016 | Children
8
8.5 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>

Cecelia Ahern is the well-known Irish author of contemporary women’s fiction, particularly <i>P.S. I Love You.</i> However, Ahern has decided to branch out and has penned her first dystopian, young adult novel, <i>Flawed</i>. It is dubious when an author, who is loved for her work, changes their style, but it appears she has pulled it off.

Seventeen-year-old Celestine is a logical girl who is soon to learn she lives in an illogical world. In an attempt to create a perfect society, citizens must avoid making moral or ethical mistakes; otherwise they will be branded as Flawed. And branded means literal branding with a hot iron, there is no hiding the fact that they have flaws. Celestine, like everyone else, has been brainwashed into believing that Flawed people should be avoided and do not deserve the same privileges as the “perfect” people. However, after seeing an elderly Flawed man choking on a bus, her logical brain kicks in and goes to help him. Big mistake.

After finding herself accused of being Flawed, Celestine reaslises how corrupt society is, yet there is nothing she can do about it without enduring further punishment. Despite her bleak outlook on her future, her hopes begin to rise when she discovers that there are people on her side – people that want rid of the government that disciplines people when they should not be punished in the first place.

As a reader of Ahern’s previous works and a fan of dystopian fiction, I honestly did not expect <i>Flawed</i> to be any good. Ahern has proved she has the talent to write women’s fiction, but this book was a complete contrast. The first few chapters of the novel were admittedly a bit shaky. It did not look promising. Yet eventually Ahern found her flow and produced a pretty good young adult novel.

When I saw the title, <i>Flawed</i>, I immediately assumed it would be a book about physical appearance and was hesitant about reading it. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when this was not the case at all. The concept is fresh and original and does not become apocalyptical like many other dystopian fictions.

How the majority will receive this book is difficult to say. Fans of Cecelia Ahern may be disappointed by her change in genre. Fans of dystopia may be put off by the author’s previous novels. I urge readers to approach this story with an open mind; you may be pleasantly surprised. <i>Flawed</i> will not look out of place amongst other books of similar themes, and for those who do enjoy it, there will be a sequel, <i>Perfect</i>, next year.
  
U(
Unbound (Colours of Love, #1)
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Grace Lawson is about to start the greatest internship. She gets to spend three months in London, interning at Huntington Ventures. Jonathan Huntington, the company's CEO is a gorgeous guy who is almost always wearing black. Catching the red-eye to London from Chicago, and having to rush off the plane to make it to her new job on time, Grace runs(literally)into Jonathan Huntington at the airport. Making the mistake of thinking he was there to pick her up, she gets a ride with him in his limo(along with some colleagues he was actually waiting for) to the office. Feeling embarrassed the whole time.

Once at Huntington Ventures, Jonathan extends her internship from working in the investment department to working side by side with him. Grace or no one else in the company was expecting this turn of events. Jonathan has never had an intern working with him before. Will Grace be able to work this closely with Jonathan without falling in love with him? Everyone has warned her about this man, including Jonathan himself. This is going to be an interesting and exciting three months.

Unbound is the first in the Colors of Love series by Kathryn Taylor. I'm not sure how many books total are in the series. Book two Uncovered, is set to be released in the United States on August 17, 2015.

This book starts off a lot like 50 Shades of Grey. The virgin meets this wealthy, handsome man and is enticed by his power and the fact that he is unattainable. Jonathan's sexual desires aren't sadistic the way Christian Grey's are, I would say he's just a bit kinky. Then there's a little "Eyes Wide Shut"(Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman sex club movie) thrown in. I enjoyed this book. The erotic scenes are believable. I think a few words may have been lost in translation, though, as I believe this book was first written in German. For instance, the word clit is never used, but "sensitive place" is used quite a bit and, in my opinion, in those instances, clit would have been an appropriate word to use.

I'm not a big fan of Jonathan Harrington, he seems to be abrasive to everyone. Grace seems a little naive for a woman embarking on her own to London for three months. Maybe these two are meant to be or maybe we have another erotic romance series on our hands that we will grow to love to hate like 50 Shades and the Crossfire series. Either way, come on August for Colors of Love #2 - Uncovered.
  
I usually try to stay away from books featuring short stories because usually they aren't that great. However, there was something about Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales by Liane Carter that jumped out at me. I felt compelled to read it, and I'm glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the short stories.

I didn't really know what to expect with Snuggle with the Strange except that the stories would be a bit out there. The first two stories gave me Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz vibes but for adults. These stories were more paranormal/supernatural in nature, and I really enjoyed them. The next six stories were more realistic in the fact that they could actually happen to anyone (which is a scary thought!). The last story returned to being supernatural again. I loved each and every story, and I thought the pacing and world building for each was done very well. Each story has an original feel and isn't like any of the other stories in the book. Even though this is a fairly short book, all the suspense makes it seem as if time has stood still. My favorite stories in Snuggle with the Strange were "Life in the Shed" and "He Looked Like My First Mistake." Although all the stories are written very well, I just loved those a little extra. Oh, and something else I loved was that the cover of the book links each of the nine stories. I thought that was very cool!

All of the characters are well fleshed out in each story. There's just enough information on each character so you can love them or love to hate them. At times, I felt like I was the main character in the story!

As this is an adult horror book, there are quite a few trigger warnings for Snuggle with the Strange which include demons, underage drug use (a few mentions of marijuana), implied rape, implied child rape, attempted rape, death, murder, violence, attempted murder, domestic abuse, child abuse, and profanity.

Overall, Snuggle with the Strange is a breath of fresh air for those who love the genre horror. With it's interesting cast of characters and original short stories, this is one book that every horror lover should read. I would definitely recommend Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales by Liane Carter for those aged 16+ who like their horror with a flair of originality instead of rehashed fiction. If that sounds like you, this is your kind of book!
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(A special thank you to Liane Carter and Lola's Blog Tours for providing me with a paperback of Snuggle with the Strange: 9 Twisted Tales in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)