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The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man (2020)
2020 | Horror, Sci-Fi
There are three things that are certain in life:

1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Leigh Whannell is the fucking *man*.

Just fantastic. Obviously very few films could ever hope to match the rampant badassery of Whannell's previous masterwork, 𝘜𝘱𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 - but this is about as stellar as a follow-up as one could hope for. A constant guessing game with your eyes, something could be hiding in just about every corner - never stop looking, you could miss it right in plain sight. Melds horror, thriller, drama, and action in a way that is simply euphoric - especially after the decade-worst slump of movies we experienced in 2019. Does Jordan Peele better than Jordan Peele in every aspect except image-making, which only falls behind by a tad. Moss is - naturally - amazing, probably her best film performance in a career chock full of first-rate ones. And the themes are loud and clear without ever having to spoon feed or turn into a rote, mawkish Hallmark movie with the material. Starts small, methodically grows, then ends with a bang. A riot.
  
The Marsh King's Daughter
The Marsh King's Daughter
Karen Dionne | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Riveting
Arc Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/

So Where to start with this review, The Marsh Kings Daughter by Karen Dionne is one of those books where not a lot happens in terms of plotline, this actually doesn't seem to matter as we spend most of the book looking backwards as this is where the main action lies. This story Immerses you in a past that though horrific, is so deeply ingrained in tradition and culture that it sucks you into the pages fully as we experience through a child's eyes life on the marsh.
So Basically, Helena is the daughter of the Marsh King Jacob and his abducted bride, who is hardly more than her child herself.
Unaware of her mother's captivity she is raised on the marsh as her father's shadow.
eagerly Learning all that he knows.
Despite her father's sometimes cruel ways Helena adores him.
At the age of twelve upon realising the secret of her birth and her mother's imprisonment at the hands of her sadistic father and yearning for change Helena manages to escape to civilisation.
But The outside world is a lot different to what she imagined and her grandparents can barely tolerate her presence.
So when she turns eighteen she sets off into the world to forge her own path, cutting herself off from her family and changing her name to escape the notoriety of being the marsh king's daughter.
This is really where we come in Helena is married with two little girls. The secret of her birth is still hidden, that is until her father escapes from Prison engaging Helena in a deadly game of cat and mouse with her family the prize at stake.
This was such an easy and interesting read, I loved the vivid descriptions and also the ongoing Fairytale of the stories namesake.
The Marsh Kings daughter kept my attention till the end.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced readers copy this is my own personal opinion of the marsh king's daughter by Karen Dionne.

ARC Reviewed by BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
  
Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever
Joshilyn Jackson | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
7
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
After a childhood where she never felt good enough, Amy Whey finally has her perfect life. A loving husband, a feisty fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, and a sweet baby boy. She even has a best friend, Charlotte, to hang out with in her suburban neighborhood. It's at Charlotte's book group when everything changes: with the appearance of Roux, a new neighbor. Roux is gorgeous and charming and soon all the book group ladies are happily drinking wine and spilling their secrets during Roux's Never Have I Ever game. But Amy can sense Roux's sinister side from the start. And sure enough, before she knows it, Roux comes to Amy. She knows Amy isn't so perfect after all. She knows a big, dark secret about Amy's past. And if Amy doesn't give Roux exactly what she wants, she's going to make Amy pay, tearing down the perfect life she's so carefully built.


"The game was Roux's idea. More than an idea. A plan. She made it up herself, this shotgun of a game. She packed it tight with salt and metal, counting on collateral damage, too, but she aimed it straight at me. She said it was like Never Have I Ever, but not any version I'd ever played."


Well, this was an interesting one, I must say. It's the epitome of domestic thriller, I suppose: a mix of character-driven fiction and thriller/mystery. The beginning was tough for me: it felt slow, as I waited for things to heat up. The language is rather flowery at times, making some scenes seem long. And some of the real action felt bogged down by Amy and Roux's interactions, as they chattered and bantered--either in person or in Amy's head--while they played their twisted little games. Enough, enough, just get to the point!


"Her hands were not empty after all. They were holding my history, invisible but so very heavy. I could almost see it in her hands."


That said, once things picked up, I enjoyed this much more. When the twists arrive, they are very twisty and fun, and often quite surprising. Roux is appropriately hateful, and Amy is a bit whiny, but it's okay when everything is collapsing and you're trying to figure out where this is all going. This one trailed dangerously close to my pet peeve of "main character with secret, where the book would have no point if they'd just man up and tell someone," but once some of the twists came out, I could at least understand Amy's point of view, if not exactly empathize with her. Jackson gives us a rather dark tale, which, you know, is appreciated. If these two women are going to battle each other, it might as well be grim, right?

Overall, this book starts slow, but once it gets going it's enjoyable twisty, dark, and macabre. It was a different sort of tale, but worth the read. 3.5 stars.