Search
Search results
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Good Me, Bad Me in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Read my review here: http://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/
AVAILABLE NOW!
<b><i>I promised to be the best I could. I promised to try… Forgive me.</b></i>
Wow. This book was far, far better than I was expecting it to be. I had left it in my library for so long that I had forgotten what it was even about when I picked it up to read. <i>Be warned,</i> there are <b>triggers</b> to note in this book (sexual, physical and emotional abuse of a child, self harm and child murder) but Land is decent enough not to delve too deeply into any of these topics.
The plot for this was new to me, I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with a similar plot line, though I may be forgetting (I won’t be forgetting about this one)! Annie, whose name is changed to Milly for protection reasons, is the daughter of a serial killer. And while her mother's trial looms, Milly is trying to move on, forget her old life and fit in with her foster family but nightmarish nighttime visits and a constant inner voice from her mother don’t make any of this easy. Stuck in a battle of nature and nurture, Milly is terrified of what she might become. Fighting with herself daily to be the “good me” is tough, because afterall, she is her mother's daughter.
The writing style of this novel is incredible. It was snappy, fast paced yet added to the mystery of the plot. It kept me wanting to know more, which is exactly why I read the novel in under 24 hours. My only, <i>tiny</i>, gripe with the writing, was sometimes, <i>very occasionally</i>, sentences were structured in a way that made it sound like Milly was Yoda... but I only noticed it a couple of times throughout the entire thing.
<b>Twisted, shocking, unputdownable and unforgettable.</b> This is set to be one of the best debuts of 2017 and is by far one of the best debuts I’ve read this year (I finished this in late 2016, not early 2017!!). I’m excited to see what other books Land can produce.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
AVAILABLE NOW!
<b><i>I promised to be the best I could. I promised to try… Forgive me.</b></i>
Wow. This book was far, far better than I was expecting it to be. I had left it in my library for so long that I had forgotten what it was even about when I picked it up to read. <i>Be warned,</i> there are <b>triggers</b> to note in this book (sexual, physical and emotional abuse of a child, self harm and child murder) but Land is decent enough not to delve too deeply into any of these topics.
The plot for this was new to me, I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with a similar plot line, though I may be forgetting (I won’t be forgetting about this one)! Annie, whose name is changed to Milly for protection reasons, is the daughter of a serial killer. And while her mother's trial looms, Milly is trying to move on, forget her old life and fit in with her foster family but nightmarish nighttime visits and a constant inner voice from her mother don’t make any of this easy. Stuck in a battle of nature and nurture, Milly is terrified of what she might become. Fighting with herself daily to be the “good me” is tough, because afterall, she is her mother's daughter.
The writing style of this novel is incredible. It was snappy, fast paced yet added to the mystery of the plot. It kept me wanting to know more, which is exactly why I read the novel in under 24 hours. My only, <i>tiny</i>, gripe with the writing, was sometimes, <i>very occasionally</i>, sentences were structured in a way that made it sound like Milly was Yoda... but I only noticed it a couple of times throughout the entire thing.
<b>Twisted, shocking, unputdownable and unforgettable.</b> This is set to be one of the best debuts of 2017 and is by far one of the best debuts I’ve read this year (I finished this in late 2016, not early 2017!!). I’m excited to see what other books Land can produce.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Story: P2 starts as businesswoman Angela (Nichols) starts running late to her family’s Christmas party after her work party, gets trapped inside her work structure after her car fails to start, leaving her at the hands of security guard Thomas (Bentley).
As the night unfolds Thomas puts Angela through a string off tests, before she tries to figure out a way to escape this psychopath.
Thoughts on P2
Characters – Angela is a businesswoman that finds herself working late too often becoming more distant from her family, while not starting her own. When another late night finds her car breaking down and missing her taxi, she finds herself locked in the parking structure being chased down by the crazed security guard. Thomas is the security guard that has his own plan for Christmas, to keep Angela locked inside completing his twisted ideas.
Performances – A crazy Wes Bentley is always something we like to see, but even he doesn’t reach the levels we would like to see him get too. Rachel Nichols is fine in the leading role as the damsel in distress, trying to fight back.
Story – The story is very simple, crazed man prevents girl from escaping her parking lot only to want to get involved in a game to se how far he can push her. There isn’t much more to this story, we get glimpses into the idea that he is doing this to protect her against men that have done wrong, but otherwise, it is a cut and dry story with little in the way of twists along the way.
Crime/Horror – The crime comes from what Thomas does, which works for the film, the horror never reaches the levels he could do for where the film tries to go.
Settings – The film is set inside the parking lot which does make for a good setting with no escape once locked in.
Special Effects – The effects are used when needed, the film doesn’t rely on them, when it could easily do so.
Scene of the Movie – Merry Christmas Thomas.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – She would know how to drive a car.
Final Thoughts – This is a crime horror that grabs the basic ingredients and does nothing interesting with the story to make it a stand out.
Overall: Not worth the time it takes.
As the night unfolds Thomas puts Angela through a string off tests, before she tries to figure out a way to escape this psychopath.
Thoughts on P2
Characters – Angela is a businesswoman that finds herself working late too often becoming more distant from her family, while not starting her own. When another late night finds her car breaking down and missing her taxi, she finds herself locked in the parking structure being chased down by the crazed security guard. Thomas is the security guard that has his own plan for Christmas, to keep Angela locked inside completing his twisted ideas.
Performances – A crazy Wes Bentley is always something we like to see, but even he doesn’t reach the levels we would like to see him get too. Rachel Nichols is fine in the leading role as the damsel in distress, trying to fight back.
Story – The story is very simple, crazed man prevents girl from escaping her parking lot only to want to get involved in a game to se how far he can push her. There isn’t much more to this story, we get glimpses into the idea that he is doing this to protect her against men that have done wrong, but otherwise, it is a cut and dry story with little in the way of twists along the way.
Crime/Horror – The crime comes from what Thomas does, which works for the film, the horror never reaches the levels he could do for where the film tries to go.
Settings – The film is set inside the parking lot which does make for a good setting with no escape once locked in.
Special Effects – The effects are used when needed, the film doesn’t rely on them, when it could easily do so.
Scene of the Movie – Merry Christmas Thomas.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – She would know how to drive a car.
Final Thoughts – This is a crime horror that grabs the basic ingredients and does nothing interesting with the story to make it a stand out.
Overall: Not worth the time it takes.
Sherlock Holmes Collection Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Book and Entertainment
6.0
Rate It
App
Be sure to see ratings and reviews for ALL versions. 48 original Sherlock Holmes Stories by Sir...
The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice, and the Road to Reinvention
Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling author returns with this candid, humorous, and captivating memoir...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Lights Out (2016) in Movies
Oct 31, 2020
When The Lights Are Off
Lights Out- is a scary movie. Its terrorfying, horrorfying, suspenseful and twisted.
The plot: When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.
is based on Sandberg's 2013 short film of the same name and features Lotta Losten, who starred in the short.
Special effects of having the ghost appear and disappear were mostly done by using a split-screen technique as also used in the short. Sandberg said "Whenever she's in frame with another character, it's basically just a split screen. So you shoot it with her and without her. You turn the camera on with her, you turn it off and she walks off, and then you turn it on again. It's super simple, actually." Sandberg also made a list of what he called the "light gags", or different ways to create light sources from flashlights to cell phones and gunfire. In the scene when Diana appears in Rebecca's room, James Wan suggested replacing passing car headlights in an early treatment with the flashing neon sign that appears in the final film.
Sandberg originally based the character of Rebecca on a real girl that he knew who was suffering from depression, and who was engaging in self-harm, which is why Rebecca has scars on her arms, but the development of the film made it less about depression and more of a ghost story in which Diana would have been the real person who died and became a ghost. Wan came up with the idea of making Diana the ghost. Rebecca's boyfriend was also given a twist of being a rocker, but is actually committed and responsible, even driving a safe car like a Volvo. Another twist Sandberg liked was making the imaginary friend for the mother rather than the trope of having the friend be for the child
Its a excellent supernatural movie.
The plot: When Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) left home, she thought that her childhood fears were behind her. As a young girl growing up, she was never really sure of what was real when the lights went out at night. Now, her little brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that jeopardized her safety and sanity. Holding a mysterious attachment to their mother (Maria Bello), a supernatural entity has returned with a vengeance to torment the entire family.
is based on Sandberg's 2013 short film of the same name and features Lotta Losten, who starred in the short.
Special effects of having the ghost appear and disappear were mostly done by using a split-screen technique as also used in the short. Sandberg said "Whenever she's in frame with another character, it's basically just a split screen. So you shoot it with her and without her. You turn the camera on with her, you turn it off and she walks off, and then you turn it on again. It's super simple, actually." Sandberg also made a list of what he called the "light gags", or different ways to create light sources from flashlights to cell phones and gunfire. In the scene when Diana appears in Rebecca's room, James Wan suggested replacing passing car headlights in an early treatment with the flashing neon sign that appears in the final film.
Sandberg originally based the character of Rebecca on a real girl that he knew who was suffering from depression, and who was engaging in self-harm, which is why Rebecca has scars on her arms, but the development of the film made it less about depression and more of a ghost story in which Diana would have been the real person who died and became a ghost. Wan came up with the idea of making Diana the ghost. Rebecca's boyfriend was also given a twist of being a rocker, but is actually committed and responsible, even driving a safe car like a Volvo. Another twist Sandberg liked was making the imaginary friend for the mother rather than the trope of having the friend be for the child
Its a excellent supernatural movie.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Uprooted in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I've been meaning to read this for a long time now and finally managed to do so. I'm so peased I did! It was such a great book, and I really did enjoy reading it.
Agnieszka is a seemingly ordinary young girl. Her best friend is about to be taken by the Dragon, a powerful wizard who routinely takes girls into his tower for ten years before they leave the village for good. Everyone's prepared for Kasia to go - she's the pretty one, the talented one, the one who everyone is drawn to. Of course the Dragon is going to choose her.
Right?
Of course, nothing goes to plan. Agnieszka assumed she was safe from being chosen, due to her clumsiness and lack of appeal or talents. But of course, she is chosen. Little does she know that she was destined for this role all along.
The Dragon is feared by most, including Nieshka. But she soon learns that he is not as terrible as she thought. She also learns some valuable skills involving magic that she never knew she was capable of.
Nieshka discovers the importance of magic in protecting her village from the Wood. The Wood is full of corruption, often taking unknowing passers-by and either never releasing them or returning them to their families changed beyond repair. The Wood has been a huge threat for centuries. The Dragon holds it at bay, but nobody ever dreamed of defeating it.
Until Agnieszka came along.
It's quite a complex plot, and there are a lot of moments where Nieshka makes mistakes. She is driven by emotion, especially when her best friend's life is at risk. She is a passionate girl and doesn't always think rationally. I liked her for this - don't we all let our emotions get the better of us sometimes?
There was a small amount of romance in this book that I felt was rather unnecessary, but it didn't overtake the plot or anything. I loved how the plot and subplots twisted together, and how many turns they took. It was exciting and intriguing and very clever.
The ending seemed a little too simple to me, though. Had they never thought to look into the Wood Queen's origin before?
Overall it was a fantastic book. Timeless. I can see why it's so popular, and I'm sure it will be for some time. 4 stars.
Agnieszka is a seemingly ordinary young girl. Her best friend is about to be taken by the Dragon, a powerful wizard who routinely takes girls into his tower for ten years before they leave the village for good. Everyone's prepared for Kasia to go - she's the pretty one, the talented one, the one who everyone is drawn to. Of course the Dragon is going to choose her.
Right?
Of course, nothing goes to plan. Agnieszka assumed she was safe from being chosen, due to her clumsiness and lack of appeal or talents. But of course, she is chosen. Little does she know that she was destined for this role all along.
The Dragon is feared by most, including Nieshka. But she soon learns that he is not as terrible as she thought. She also learns some valuable skills involving magic that she never knew she was capable of.
Nieshka discovers the importance of magic in protecting her village from the Wood. The Wood is full of corruption, often taking unknowing passers-by and either never releasing them or returning them to their families changed beyond repair. The Wood has been a huge threat for centuries. The Dragon holds it at bay, but nobody ever dreamed of defeating it.
Until Agnieszka came along.
It's quite a complex plot, and there are a lot of moments where Nieshka makes mistakes. She is driven by emotion, especially when her best friend's life is at risk. She is a passionate girl and doesn't always think rationally. I liked her for this - don't we all let our emotions get the better of us sometimes?
There was a small amount of romance in this book that I felt was rather unnecessary, but it didn't overtake the plot or anything. I loved how the plot and subplots twisted together, and how many turns they took. It was exciting and intriguing and very clever.
The ending seemed a little too simple to me, though. Had they never thought to look into the Wood Queen's origin before?
Overall it was a fantastic book. Timeless. I can see why it's so popular, and I'm sure it will be for some time. 4 stars.
Unspeakable
9.0
Rate It
Book
Chris Hedges on the most taboo topics in America, with David Talbot. Chris Hedges has been...
politics
Broken Horses
8.0
Rate It
Book
The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and five-time Grammy winner opens up about a...
Deviant Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance #5)
7.0
Rate It
Book
Of all the Dark Warriors, Kyran Tarakesh is the most aberrant. Having witnessed the brutal murder...
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Of Glass And Ashes in Books
Aug 30, 2021
Of Glass and Ashes is the third in the Twisted Pages series and the first time we meet Aika, the sister of Zaina from Of Thorns and Beauty and Of Beasts and Vengeance.
Despite being a Cinderella retelling, Aika is a fiesty, unpredictable protagonist. Whereas Zaina kept her walls built high and analysed every move she made, her sister fights hard to compartmentalise her emotions and, every so often, her control slips: Aika is literally the fire to Zaina’s ice.
Thankfully we do not lose Zaina and Einar just yet as they still have a couple of POV chapters in order to continue their mission. I loved the little insights into their dynamic and how this has progressed since we left them in Of Beasts and Vengeance.
Aika is wholeheartedly the star of the show though. Fiery and morally grey, Aika is used to acting upon her Mother’s orders and adopting different identities. However, when grief causes her to act with her heart rather than her head, events are put into motion that put our gutsy heroine in the worst danger of her life.
As with all of Madame’s daughters, Aika is a tortured soul and the reader gains glimpses of her previous life and how she came to be with Madame. Maybe this is why we forgive Aika’s questionable actions: we can clearly see the effect that her upbringing has had on her priorities and the trauma that she feels when she can’t save someone is palpable.
The beauty of Elle and Robin is that they never fail to provide an amazing love interest for their main characters. Spiky, closed off Zaina had an enemies to lovers relationship with the muscly giant Einar and spirited Aika introduces the reader to her ex-lover Remy. Remy is a confident, sarcastic member of the Guard and he sure keeps Aika on her toes but is it only Aika keeping secrets or does Remy also have something to hide?
Suspenseful, secretive and with some seriously deadly glass slippers, Of Glass and Ashes is a page turner which I devoured in less than 24 hours. I can’t wait for March 2022 to see what lies in store for Aika and Zaina in the next installment, Of Thieves and Shadows.
Despite being a Cinderella retelling, Aika is a fiesty, unpredictable protagonist. Whereas Zaina kept her walls built high and analysed every move she made, her sister fights hard to compartmentalise her emotions and, every so often, her control slips: Aika is literally the fire to Zaina’s ice.
Thankfully we do not lose Zaina and Einar just yet as they still have a couple of POV chapters in order to continue their mission. I loved the little insights into their dynamic and how this has progressed since we left them in Of Beasts and Vengeance.
Aika is wholeheartedly the star of the show though. Fiery and morally grey, Aika is used to acting upon her Mother’s orders and adopting different identities. However, when grief causes her to act with her heart rather than her head, events are put into motion that put our gutsy heroine in the worst danger of her life.
As with all of Madame’s daughters, Aika is a tortured soul and the reader gains glimpses of her previous life and how she came to be with Madame. Maybe this is why we forgive Aika’s questionable actions: we can clearly see the effect that her upbringing has had on her priorities and the trauma that she feels when she can’t save someone is palpable.
The beauty of Elle and Robin is that they never fail to provide an amazing love interest for their main characters. Spiky, closed off Zaina had an enemies to lovers relationship with the muscly giant Einar and spirited Aika introduces the reader to her ex-lover Remy. Remy is a confident, sarcastic member of the Guard and he sure keeps Aika on her toes but is it only Aika keeping secrets or does Remy also have something to hide?
Suspenseful, secretive and with some seriously deadly glass slippers, Of Glass and Ashes is a page turner which I devoured in less than 24 hours. I can’t wait for March 2022 to see what lies in store for Aika and Zaina in the next installment, Of Thieves and Shadows.