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Viper's Daughter (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #7)
Viper's Daughter (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #7)
Michelle Paver | 2020 | Children, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonists in this book were Torak and Renn, and the book was mostly told from their perspectives. Renn leaves Torak unexpectedly, when Torak finds out where and why Renn left, he follows her to the Far North, where everything is completely different from the forest, where he grew up. I adored the characters in this book, they are very mysterious to me. Reading their thoughts about hunting, offerings and general respect to the mother nature is so refreshing and new to me. I am not a very big fan of stories based on folk stories and spirituality, but this book really captivated me.

I really enjoyed the narrative of this book, it is set in the antarctic kind of place, where ice covers everything. It has plenty of adventure, wild and dangerous animals, spirituality and inner thoughts. I really loved the human-nature balance and relationship portrayed in this novel, I think it is a very important thing for us to remember because we do take nature for granted. Even though this book is a part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.

The writing style of this book is exquisite! The author portrayed the nature in this book with such great detail, I felt like sitting on the boat with Torak and witnessing everything with my own eyes, the experience was incredible! For some reason I really like books set in north and cold climates, people’s survival skills really amaze me. The chapters have a very decent length, and constant change of the perspectives doesn’t leave the reader bored. I liked the ending of this book as well, I think it rounded the story nicely.
  
Queen and Country (2015)
Queen and Country (2015)
2015 | Comedy, Drama
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Thoughts on Queen & Country

 

Characters – Bill lives on an island in the middle of the Thames, he is drafted the army which gets him to see more of the world, meet a mysterious woman and learn to stand up for himself. Percy is the loud best friend of Bill, who has done everything, he is the one that wants to get ahead of Bradley. Ophelia is the mysterious woman that comes into Bill’s life, she draws him but is keeping her secrets safe.

Performances – Callum Turner is fine in this leading role but just doesn’t capture the levels to make us want to see his character too often. Caleb Landry Jones is the one we want to see the most, he is fun to watch but not the most interesting. The cast are fine but they just come off like posh Brits in roles.

Story – The story is a sequel to a movie, I have never heard off, which is guess doesn’t help too much. We get to see a young man that goes into the armed forces that challenges his superiors while dealing with his own personal problems when it comes to tracking down a mysterious woman that can’t be with him. Nothing that interesting happens in this movie in the way you care enough to see where things go.

Settings – The film takes us from the basic location which show the training camp, but it has our characters coming from the posh backgrounds.


Scene of the Movie – Hard to find one.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – That clock storyline.

Final Thoughts – This is a boring movie that the more I think about things, the more I get bored about what I am thinking about it.

 

Overall: Nothing interesting happening here.
  
The Christmas Escape
The Christmas Escape
Sarah Morgan | 2021 | Humor & Comedy, Romance
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Christy Sullivan and her best friend Alix have spent Christmas together since they were children. This year they are planning to go to Lapland, a snowy wonderland. The trip will include Christy's husband and their young daughter, Holly. But when Christy faces trouble with her marriage, she asks Alix to take Holly to Lapland without her. She'll be joined by their family friend, Zac--whom Alix has been avoiding ever since Christy's wedding. But as Alix, Zac, and Holly enjoy their time in Lapland, Alix realizes she may have made a mistake in avoiding him. Meanwhile, Christy starts to wonder if her friendship with Alix and marriage will survive the holidays.

I hate rating books low, but this just did not work for me. It was a sweet enough story and I liked the fun, snowy Arctic setting, but, oh, this book could have been so much shorter and enjoyable. The repetition is intense, to the point I found myself skimming sections. We are constantly bombarded by everyone's thoughts and issues. Did you know Alix has commitment issues? Oh you will. Christy struggles with perfection? The overwhelming focus on the characters' tropes and the rehashing and pontificating on thoughts and feelings was incredibly frustrating. It was very slow moving with far more telling than showing. I was not that invested in Alix and Zac's relationship.

There's a sweet storyline involving Christy's aunt, who lives at Lapland, which I enjoyed, and others have enjoyed the overall story more, so take my review with a grain of salt, but most of this book was just too repetitive and trite for me. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Harlequin and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
  
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Lizzie Damilola Blackburn | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I think this book is going to be the next Queenie, I absolutely loved it from the moment I sat down and had to will myself to put it down to go and make food!
We are introduced to Yinka and her family at her younger sister’s baby shower. Being from a Nigerian family, Yinka is feeling a lot of pressure from her family and especially her mother to find herself a husband and is constantly being asked why she is single as well as being prayed for at every opportunity.
Yinka is my age, and goes through the same thoughts that I do about being single which makes her extremely relatable to me and that could be what has made me love her character so much. Although I don’t have the pushy family, some of the thoughts that she has do resonate with me as a single woman. And I’m glad that towards the end of the book she started to embrace her singledom with both hands and decide to love herself.
I loved how this was written and how interspersed with the story there were whatsapp messages, voicemail messages, reminders, post it notes, status updates and googled questions littered throughout the pages, it felt like a real life and helped you to imagine Yinka as a real person with everything going on being presented to you in those forms. It also broke up the story slightly and helped to move things on when needed.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be this years must read book, and I will definitely be recommending it to anyone that asks. Thank you to NetGalley and Lizzie Damilola Blackburn for the privilege of reading this book in return for an honest review, and I hope that this is not the last that I see of Yinka.
  
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The novel is written in third person and follows Tsukuru as he does on a quest to find out why his friends alienated him years prior. The novel switches between present day, with Tsukuru trying to live a normal, happy live, and the past, which describes Tsukuru's depression and how he was able to overcome suicidal thoughts. Tsukuru has had many friends leave his life without explanation, and he has come to think of himself as "colorless", having nothing to offer anyone.
There are so many thought-provoking situations in this novel that I almost feel like I should go back and re-read it to fully understand everything that happened. I was left questioning several things from the novel, which is the reason for 4 stars. The reading, insight into the characters, etc was what kept me entertained.
  
Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)
Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)
Gayle Forman | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (20 Ratings)
Book Rating
Another amazing piece by Gayle Forman. Instead of following the life and thoughts of Mia, as the first book did, Where She Went follows Adam and his spiraling journey after the accident, gaining fame and his struggle with the lost connection with his dreams and the love of his life. As relatable as If I Stay in the realistic emotional and physical turmoil of mental health, waning friendships, exhaustion and so much more. Three years have passed since Adam saw Mia and their connection was seemingly destroyed. A chance of fate brings the two back together for one day to face the demons that brought their relationship a halt as their lives skyrocketed away from them both. Highly recommend a read, especially if Where She Went pulled at your heart strings and kept you turning page after page, as it did to me.
  
The Future (2011)
The Future (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I am not usually much given to violent thoughts but I would be willing to head-butt everyone involved in this profoundly irritating piece of pretentious whimsy. A couple adopt Paw-Paw the cat, but realise this basically heralds the loss of their youth and impending deaths (no, really) so they set about exploring life to the fullest before the cat actually turns up. All manner of nonsense takes place, narrated by Paw-Paw the cat himself (voiced by July in a little yowly voice).

It is all done with a level of basic technical competency, but the film's total lack of self awareness (July genuinely seems to think she's making something profound, not completely absurd) makes it a fantastically annoying and frustrating experience. The cinematic experience of nails down a blackboard for an hour and a half.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Bride Gift in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
TB
The Bride Gift
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel was a delightful surprise. I really wasn’t in the mood for historical romance, but after reading this, I am stuck in historical romance mode trying to recapture the feeling I received from this novel.

The plot isn’t anything new to historical romance: heroine is married to hero against her will in order to protect her from someone/something and she eventually falls for him. Definitely not anything new by a long shot, but the characters and writing are what made this story for me.

I love the hero and heroine. They felt unique compared to characters in other historical romance heroes/heroines. They were tangible with realistic thoughts and actions. The male wasn’t misogynistic and, while the female was hot headed, she wasn’t annoyingly stubborn. They worked well together and I adored them.