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Kristina (502 KP) rated Consequences (Consequences, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2020
My main thought when I finished Consequences: WTF?!?
At the beginning, I was a little weary of continuing to read it. I initially hoped Aleatha planned to introduce some knight-in-shining-armor to save Claire from the monster that is Anthony. When I got far enough to realize that wasn't happening, I actually debated whether or not I should keep reading or come to a stop. It was a bit depressing and I hated (still do) Anthony with a passion. I didn't understand what the storyline could do for me. Luckily, I'm stubborn and I refused to quit reading. I'm really glad I did, because Consequences was totally worth reading all the way through. Despite a kind of lengthy, boring middle, the rest kept me intrigued and, sometimes, disgusted. Throughout the whole book, I kept saying, "I should stop reading. I'm definitely not reading the rest of this series." Of course, I did keep reading, and I definitely WANT to read the rest of this series. The ending was a complete shocker and I'm more than ready to figure out what happens in the second book.
That all being said, I've rated Consequences a 3, because there's not a 1/2 star option and I feel like 4 stars might be too much. I mainly rated it a 3 1/2, instead of a 4, because the book had my feelings stretched out beyond my normal limit. Normally, this would be a good thing, but some of the content is what officially determined my final rating. Despite only giving it a 3 1/2, I am very interested in finishing this series!
At the beginning, I was a little weary of continuing to read it. I initially hoped Aleatha planned to introduce some knight-in-shining-armor to save Claire from the monster that is Anthony. When I got far enough to realize that wasn't happening, I actually debated whether or not I should keep reading or come to a stop. It was a bit depressing and I hated (still do) Anthony with a passion. I didn't understand what the storyline could do for me. Luckily, I'm stubborn and I refused to quit reading. I'm really glad I did, because Consequences was totally worth reading all the way through. Despite a kind of lengthy, boring middle, the rest kept me intrigued and, sometimes, disgusted. Throughout the whole book, I kept saying, "I should stop reading. I'm definitely not reading the rest of this series." Of course, I did keep reading, and I definitely WANT to read the rest of this series. The ending was a complete shocker and I'm more than ready to figure out what happens in the second book.
That all being said, I've rated Consequences a 3, because there's not a 1/2 star option and I feel like 4 stars might be too much. I mainly rated it a 3 1/2, instead of a 4, because the book had my feelings stretched out beyond my normal limit. Normally, this would be a good thing, but some of the content is what officially determined my final rating. Despite only giving it a 3 1/2, I am very interested in finishing this series!
Dana (24 KP) rated The Witch of Duva (Grisha Verse, #0.5) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
There will 100% be spoilers in this review, so read at your own caution.
Um. I did not see that ending coming. Not by a long shot.
Okay, Leigh Bardugo is a master wordsmith. This story was so creepy and foreboding, I just can't keep up with her. The writing style was kind of mystical and whimsical, but it a really dark way. I have no idea how she does it, but holy crap, she does it so freaking well!
I love how the ending was such a twist. I thought, in trying to "out-trick" Ms. Bardugo, that it was going to be Nadya who was the monster because that would be something weird, right? WRONG!! Wrong on every thought I had about that.
I did not see that her freaking father would be that weird!! Ugh. That was pretty gruesome to read, to be completely honest. There were only two points in this story that my stomach actually turned: when she got her freaking fingers chopped off and baked into a ginger-child and when her father ate the ginger-child and basically exploded all over the floor. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
Bardugo loves drawing the attention one way then ripping the carped out from under everyone. Kinda like something Kaz would do. She's a trickster like that.
Again, with this story, Leigh Bardugo is creating a more immersive world that not only draws me in to the story more, but also creates a deeper world for the characters to live in. I could see a little Nina or Alina sitting by the fireplace being told these stories as little girls to keep them from being reckless. I just freaking love this so much.
If you haven't read the rest of her folk-tales, stop reading this review (it's almost over anyway) and go read them right now!!!
Lastly, I just want to say a big thank you to Leigh for writing these folk-tales. I have always loved any kind of folk-tale but coming from a world that I already love and know a lot about, this made me really happy!!
Um. I did not see that ending coming. Not by a long shot.
Okay, Leigh Bardugo is a master wordsmith. This story was so creepy and foreboding, I just can't keep up with her. The writing style was kind of mystical and whimsical, but it a really dark way. I have no idea how she does it, but holy crap, she does it so freaking well!
I love how the ending was such a twist. I thought, in trying to "out-trick" Ms. Bardugo, that it was going to be Nadya who was the monster because that would be something weird, right? WRONG!! Wrong on every thought I had about that.
I did not see that her freaking father would be that weird!! Ugh. That was pretty gruesome to read, to be completely honest. There were only two points in this story that my stomach actually turned: when she got her freaking fingers chopped off and baked into a ginger-child and when her father ate the ginger-child and basically exploded all over the floor. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
Bardugo loves drawing the attention one way then ripping the carped out from under everyone. Kinda like something Kaz would do. She's a trickster like that.
Again, with this story, Leigh Bardugo is creating a more immersive world that not only draws me in to the story more, but also creates a deeper world for the characters to live in. I could see a little Nina or Alina sitting by the fireplace being told these stories as little girls to keep them from being reckless. I just freaking love this so much.
If you haven't read the rest of her folk-tales, stop reading this review (it's almost over anyway) and go read them right now!!!
Lastly, I just want to say a big thank you to Leigh for writing these folk-tales. I have always loved any kind of folk-tale but coming from a world that I already love and know a lot about, this made me really happy!!
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Five years after Godzilla saved us from the MUTO attack the world (or some of it at least) wants to see an end to the potential threat of the Titans. Monarch are studying them and hiding them away from the world, but there are calls to destroy the monsters before more devastation befalls the planet?
Dr Emma Russell has developed the Orca, a device that communicates with the Titans and can be used to calm them and stop any further destruction. Not everyone has the same idea about how to use the Orca though and it's taken, along with Dr Russell and her daughter Madison, after its successful test run. The race is on to recover the device and avert the impending crisis.
Godzilla is one of my favourite monsters. For years the 1998 film with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno in it was one of my favourite films. I also love the "proper" Godzilla movies where they destroy Tokyo at every given opportunity. To have new films felt like a wonderful thing... until I saw 2014 Godzilla. I rewatched it before going to see King Of The Monsters and I remembered how underwhelmed I was. The characters didn't grab me and I found the whole thing uninspiring. The prospect of a second wasn't great, but then I saw the trailers, they were spectacular.
I really enjoyed this and went to see it again in 3D, a much more peaceful screening than the first viewing. The girl who was sitting a couple of seats away was animatedly jumping at every opportunity, her reaction was far scarier than anything that happened on the screen.
This was much improved on the last instalment. I loved that it embraced the original films and the fact that it switched its focus more to the monsters than the humans. You go to a monster movie to see monsters, and Godzilla 2014 felt like it had forgotten that fact.
If I had to describe this film to someone I'd say it was a combination of Infinity War and Jurassic Park, just with slightly larger monsters... yep, I'm fairly happy with that comparison. I may have been imagining it but I felt like there were a few nods to JP jumbled in there... maybe that's just me.
There's a collection of recognisable faces in the cast and I don't think there's a single person who underperforms. I thought that Millie Bobby Brown gave a great performance as Madison, she managed to give us a child character that wasn't particularly annoying, which may actually be a first in creature features.
Charles Dance makes an excellent bad guy, there's something about his look, a cross between a vampire and the restaurant critic from Ratatouille that works for me. He also gets to have a great moment of silent humour with Brown when they're in a lift together, it was very unexpected for their potential on-screen relationship.
We get to see four of our Titans in this movie as main players. Godzilla, obvs, Mothra, Rodan and Monster Zero, or King Ghidorah to his friends. The sheer scale they've gone to is amazing, and I thought the way they were created with their individual traits was beautiful. The one drawback to the beautiful glowing monster bodies is that the scenes have to be fairly dark to appreciate that aspect. They manage to use those aspects of the creatures to give the extra lighting the scenes need meaning that you get something that's both dark and scary as well as light and hopeful. The colours were something that really stood out to me in the advertising, the lightness of the blue and green against the anger of the orange and yellow, it shows the good and evil relationship really well.
The size of the creatures is mad and sometimes a little impossible to gauge, we get a few moments where we're given some perspective with man-made structures but they do a good job of trying to get it across in basic visual techniques too. You see a lot of them from "human" angles, from the ground running, from buildings and vehicles. It feels like an exercise in shock and awe and takes you back to Dr Serizawa's point at the beginning of the film that we're Godzilla's pets, it's not the other way around.
The effects/animation looked solid, at no point did I see anything on-screen that drew my attention away from the action. One moment in particular stood out and that was a large explosion somewhere in the middle of the movie. It was given an old fashioned kind of a look and it gave me the impression that they'd really looked at things that had come before it for inspiration.
You have to obviously accept the facts that in these sorts of films, parents will willingly put their children in immense danger, bad guys will always have prepared a short video presentation to explain their motivations and just because there's destruction happening all around you does not mean you will die. It's got all the classic monster/disaster movie moments that you love to hate in it. "Movie Reality" is awesome.
If you couldn't already tell, I loved this. Much improvement from the last instalment and an entertaining action-packed addition to the monsterverse. Oscar winner? Probably not. Entertaining escapism? Most definitely. I am a little concerned about how the story will progress from here. They had plenty of scope for lots of movies after some of the things they showed in the film, but the events of KotM mean that there's little room to move with it all, we'll have to see what happens in Godzilla Vs Kong next year.
What you should do
This really deserves to be seen on the big screen. The sound and the effects combine to make some great viewing.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If they could adapt the Orca for human use I'd be interested.
Dr Emma Russell has developed the Orca, a device that communicates with the Titans and can be used to calm them and stop any further destruction. Not everyone has the same idea about how to use the Orca though and it's taken, along with Dr Russell and her daughter Madison, after its successful test run. The race is on to recover the device and avert the impending crisis.
Godzilla is one of my favourite monsters. For years the 1998 film with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno in it was one of my favourite films. I also love the "proper" Godzilla movies where they destroy Tokyo at every given opportunity. To have new films felt like a wonderful thing... until I saw 2014 Godzilla. I rewatched it before going to see King Of The Monsters and I remembered how underwhelmed I was. The characters didn't grab me and I found the whole thing uninspiring. The prospect of a second wasn't great, but then I saw the trailers, they were spectacular.
I really enjoyed this and went to see it again in 3D, a much more peaceful screening than the first viewing. The girl who was sitting a couple of seats away was animatedly jumping at every opportunity, her reaction was far scarier than anything that happened on the screen.
This was much improved on the last instalment. I loved that it embraced the original films and the fact that it switched its focus more to the monsters than the humans. You go to a monster movie to see monsters, and Godzilla 2014 felt like it had forgotten that fact.
If I had to describe this film to someone I'd say it was a combination of Infinity War and Jurassic Park, just with slightly larger monsters... yep, I'm fairly happy with that comparison. I may have been imagining it but I felt like there were a few nods to JP jumbled in there... maybe that's just me.
There's a collection of recognisable faces in the cast and I don't think there's a single person who underperforms. I thought that Millie Bobby Brown gave a great performance as Madison, she managed to give us a child character that wasn't particularly annoying, which may actually be a first in creature features.
Charles Dance makes an excellent bad guy, there's something about his look, a cross between a vampire and the restaurant critic from Ratatouille that works for me. He also gets to have a great moment of silent humour with Brown when they're in a lift together, it was very unexpected for their potential on-screen relationship.
We get to see four of our Titans in this movie as main players. Godzilla, obvs, Mothra, Rodan and Monster Zero, or King Ghidorah to his friends. The sheer scale they've gone to is amazing, and I thought the way they were created with their individual traits was beautiful. The one drawback to the beautiful glowing monster bodies is that the scenes have to be fairly dark to appreciate that aspect. They manage to use those aspects of the creatures to give the extra lighting the scenes need meaning that you get something that's both dark and scary as well as light and hopeful. The colours were something that really stood out to me in the advertising, the lightness of the blue and green against the anger of the orange and yellow, it shows the good and evil relationship really well.
The size of the creatures is mad and sometimes a little impossible to gauge, we get a few moments where we're given some perspective with man-made structures but they do a good job of trying to get it across in basic visual techniques too. You see a lot of them from "human" angles, from the ground running, from buildings and vehicles. It feels like an exercise in shock and awe and takes you back to Dr Serizawa's point at the beginning of the film that we're Godzilla's pets, it's not the other way around.
The effects/animation looked solid, at no point did I see anything on-screen that drew my attention away from the action. One moment in particular stood out and that was a large explosion somewhere in the middle of the movie. It was given an old fashioned kind of a look and it gave me the impression that they'd really looked at things that had come before it for inspiration.
You have to obviously accept the facts that in these sorts of films, parents will willingly put their children in immense danger, bad guys will always have prepared a short video presentation to explain their motivations and just because there's destruction happening all around you does not mean you will die. It's got all the classic monster/disaster movie moments that you love to hate in it. "Movie Reality" is awesome.
If you couldn't already tell, I loved this. Much improvement from the last instalment and an entertaining action-packed addition to the monsterverse. Oscar winner? Probably not. Entertaining escapism? Most definitely. I am a little concerned about how the story will progress from here. They had plenty of scope for lots of movies after some of the things they showed in the film, but the events of KotM mean that there's little room to move with it all, we'll have to see what happens in Godzilla Vs Kong next year.
What you should do
This really deserves to be seen on the big screen. The sound and the effects combine to make some great viewing.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If they could adapt the Orca for human use I'd be interested.
The Mammoth Book of Tasteless Jokes
Book
The ultimate collection of tasteless and sick jokes that just shouldn't be told. More than 3,000...
Marc Riley recommended The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis in Music (curated)
Merissa (13628 KP) rated A Siren Song for Christmas (An MM Monster Christmas #5) in Books
Nov 28, 2025
A SIREN SONG FOR CHRISTMAS is part of the MM Monster Christmas series, and honestly? It might be my favourite of the bunch so far!
Trent is the youngest of the family and thinks of himself as a weak witch. He hasn't really connected to the bakery, so helps as an 'assistant' instead. He also appreciates all the sacrifices his siblings made after their parents died, so helps out wherever and whenever he can. The one thing he absolutely doesn't mind, though, is getting the seeds for Jasper's tea each day. It is his highlight of the day, because he gets to see Mr Marin, the owner of the Emporium. Malachi is still grieving the death of his mate. He is also a siren, a culture where being blunt and direct is a good thing. He doesn't understand some of the subtleties of other species, humans included.
Oh, boy. This book had it all. It made me laugh out loud at the miscommunications and interactions. It made me cry with both happiness and sadness. It was profound, especially Malachi's comments about the passage of time. There was a protective family, heartbreak, sorrow, and more cuteness than I could nearly bear. And I loved it all! The steamy scenes are *chef's kiss!!!* I honestly thought Trent was going to bond with the Emporium, and I loved how he got Kelby.
Scratch what I said at the top, this IS my favourite of the series so far. I was completely enthralled from beginning to end. I can't wait to hear Jasper's story, but I really hope we see Trent and Malachi again!
** 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!
Nov 28, 2025
Trent is the youngest of the family and thinks of himself as a weak witch. He hasn't really connected to the bakery, so helps as an 'assistant' instead. He also appreciates all the sacrifices his siblings made after their parents died, so helps out wherever and whenever he can. The one thing he absolutely doesn't mind, though, is getting the seeds for Jasper's tea each day. It is his highlight of the day, because he gets to see Mr Marin, the owner of the Emporium. Malachi is still grieving the death of his mate. He is also a siren, a culture where being blunt and direct is a good thing. He doesn't understand some of the subtleties of other species, humans included.
Oh, boy. This book had it all. It made me laugh out loud at the miscommunications and interactions. It made me cry with both happiness and sadness. It was profound, especially Malachi's comments about the passage of time. There was a protective family, heartbreak, sorrow, and more cuteness than I could nearly bear. And I loved it all! The steamy scenes are *chef's kiss!!!* I honestly thought Trent was going to bond with the Emporium, and I loved how he got Kelby.
Scratch what I said at the top, this IS my favourite of the series so far. I was completely enthralled from beginning to end. I can't wait to hear Jasper's story, but I really hope we see Trent and Malachi again!
** 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!
Nov 28, 2025
Mating With Monsters (The Red Agency #2)
9.0
Rate It
Book
A monster matchmaking agency… Four dangerously hot monsters… And the human woman they will...
The Reckoning (The Taker Trilogy #2)
Book
A love triangle spanning 200 years…Alma Katsu takes readers on a breathtaking journey through the...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Great Wall (2016) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
Universal Studios and Legendary’s latest monster film is from the brilliant mind of Zhang Yimou. I must say that though this was a Yimou film I was not really intrigued with the trailer and almost skipped it however I’m glad that I didn’t!
William (Matt Damon) and Toval (Pedro Pascal) are mercenaries trying to make it rich. They are on a mission in China on the lookout for legendary exploding black powder. Instead they find a huge Great Wall and are mystified as to why it was built and what it is trying to keep out. The Tao Tei, are prehistoric looking monsters who are a danger to all of humanity and the only thing stopping them is the wall. William is a skilled archer and Toval a witty fighter. With their help they might be able to save humanity from the onslaught of the Tao Tei.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found it extremely entertaining. The action and unexpected humor is what sold it for me. The casting of Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal was brilliantly thought out and kept the audience laughing with the duos chemistry and how well they played off of each other.
Despite all of the controversy about having Matt Damon as the lead in a Chinese film is crazy and I think Zhang has made the right choice in doing so. To be successful in the American film industry sometimes you have to use a big star to bring in big results. Though the story and script are basic and easy to follow the action, scenery, costumes and humor are fantastic and what makes the film great. This film should definitely be viewed with the 3D option as it fully immerses the audience into and becomes a part of the story. A lot of CGI was used and though normally I am not a fan of a lot of CGI, it works with the film rather than against it. I would definitely recommend this film but the monsters might be too much for kids to handle in 3D.
William (Matt Damon) and Toval (Pedro Pascal) are mercenaries trying to make it rich. They are on a mission in China on the lookout for legendary exploding black powder. Instead they find a huge Great Wall and are mystified as to why it was built and what it is trying to keep out. The Tao Tei, are prehistoric looking monsters who are a danger to all of humanity and the only thing stopping them is the wall. William is a skilled archer and Toval a witty fighter. With their help they might be able to save humanity from the onslaught of the Tao Tei.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found it extremely entertaining. The action and unexpected humor is what sold it for me. The casting of Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal was brilliantly thought out and kept the audience laughing with the duos chemistry and how well they played off of each other.
Despite all of the controversy about having Matt Damon as the lead in a Chinese film is crazy and I think Zhang has made the right choice in doing so. To be successful in the American film industry sometimes you have to use a big star to bring in big results. Though the story and script are basic and easy to follow the action, scenery, costumes and humor are fantastic and what makes the film great. This film should definitely be viewed with the 3D option as it fully immerses the audience into and becomes a part of the story. A lot of CGI was used and though normally I am not a fan of a lot of CGI, it works with the film rather than against it. I would definitely recommend this film but the monsters might be too much for kids to handle in 3D.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Annabelle Comes Home (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Annabelle's Horror Doesn't Live Up To The Hype In Her Homecoming
Annabelle is a 2019 supernatural/horror movie written and directed by Gary Dauberman and from screenplay co-written by James Wan. The film was alos produced by James Wan and Peter Safran and by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions and The Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie stars Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, and Vera Farmiga.
Four years after Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmigia) brought the Annabelle doll into their home, they leave Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), a babysitter, in charge of their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace) while they investigate a case overnight. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela (Katie Sarife), sneaks into the artifact when she comes over uninvited and accidentally leaves Annabelle's glass case unlocked causing the terror that ensues.
This movie was pretty good. I liked it and thought that it was genuinely scary in certain parts for a PG-13 movie, but then afterwards I looked it up and saw that it was rated R. I don't feel that this movie lived up to its potential, it being rated R and also being in The Conjuring franchise. The plot felt very loose and not very put together and instead of being about the couple, it centered on their daughter. This I felt definitely made it feel a little scarier since she has none of the experience and knowledge of her parents when it comes to fighting these evil forces but I felt the audience was robbed of a better story the franchise could have told with the parents not really being involved at all. Also I felt that they tried to add too many ghosts/characters for one movie, which was kind of cool in certain ways but also seemed less because of it. All in all, if you like The Conjuring franchise you'll like this movie and I give it a 6/10.
Four years after Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmigia) brought the Annabelle doll into their home, they leave Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), a babysitter, in charge of their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace) while they investigate a case overnight. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela (Katie Sarife), sneaks into the artifact when she comes over uninvited and accidentally leaves Annabelle's glass case unlocked causing the terror that ensues.
This movie was pretty good. I liked it and thought that it was genuinely scary in certain parts for a PG-13 movie, but then afterwards I looked it up and saw that it was rated R. I don't feel that this movie lived up to its potential, it being rated R and also being in The Conjuring franchise. The plot felt very loose and not very put together and instead of being about the couple, it centered on their daughter. This I felt definitely made it feel a little scarier since she has none of the experience and knowledge of her parents when it comes to fighting these evil forces but I felt the audience was robbed of a better story the franchise could have told with the parents not really being involved at all. Also I felt that they tried to add too many ghosts/characters for one movie, which was kind of cool in certain ways but also seemed less because of it. All in all, if you like The Conjuring franchise you'll like this movie and I give it a 6/10.