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Rachel King (13 KP) rated Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
The first thing that I found curious was that the author does not begin with when Sophie first discovers who she is, but instead begins with what incident propels her to switch to the paranormal-reject-filled boarding school, Hecate Hall - also affectionately known as "Hex Hall." The incident shows the softer side of Sophie, so it is easy to predict the choices she makes throughout the rest of the book.
Hecate Hall is similar to any other high school, just with a paranormal twist. The werewolves can still talk and walk upright, so they are not considered true shapeshifters. The fairies don't have to hide their wings, can turn into balls of light for travel, communicate through mirrors, as well as many other traditions of legend - but all seem to be pretentious snobs. The witches are divided into dark and light, and Sophie is unknowingly cast as a dark witch, though she can't guess how, which puts her in the line of fire from the other three dark witches on campus, who swing from classic "mean girls" to her best friends unpredictably. Plus, what school would be complete without the resident "hottie", whom Sophie can't help but fall for, especially since fate keeps putting the two of them together. And finally, two vampires also reside at school - though they are not considered equals - Sophie's roommate, Jenna, as well as a teacher condemned into hiding, none other than Lord Byron, the poet. While Lord Byron's role turned out to be a major disappointment, Jenna seemed to be the one with all of the secrets, even as she is repeatedly blamed for the new deaths cropping up.
Sophie is easy to like, with a fantastic sense of humor and strong moral sense. The flip-flopping emotions of the cast of characters matched the average teenager well, and made for many entertaining situations. The many surprises that saturated the plot made the book engaging, and I look forward to reading about what Sophie does with her new-found information about herself in the next book, Demonglass.
Hecate Hall is similar to any other high school, just with a paranormal twist. The werewolves can still talk and walk upright, so they are not considered true shapeshifters. The fairies don't have to hide their wings, can turn into balls of light for travel, communicate through mirrors, as well as many other traditions of legend - but all seem to be pretentious snobs. The witches are divided into dark and light, and Sophie is unknowingly cast as a dark witch, though she can't guess how, which puts her in the line of fire from the other three dark witches on campus, who swing from classic "mean girls" to her best friends unpredictably. Plus, what school would be complete without the resident "hottie", whom Sophie can't help but fall for, especially since fate keeps putting the two of them together. And finally, two vampires also reside at school - though they are not considered equals - Sophie's roommate, Jenna, as well as a teacher condemned into hiding, none other than Lord Byron, the poet. While Lord Byron's role turned out to be a major disappointment, Jenna seemed to be the one with all of the secrets, even as she is repeatedly blamed for the new deaths cropping up.
Sophie is easy to like, with a fantastic sense of humor and strong moral sense. The flip-flopping emotions of the cast of characters matched the average teenager well, and made for many entertaining situations. The many surprises that saturated the plot made the book engaging, and I look forward to reading about what Sophie does with her new-found information about herself in the next book, Demonglass.
RavenclawPrincess913 (253 KP) rated Eclipse (Twilight, #3) in Books
Feb 12, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Title: Eclipse
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Summary: In Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer Bella and Jacob make-up and fight again. Edward also wants her no where near the pack because he thinks it’s dangerous so he has Alice “kidnap” Bella for a sleepover while he is out of town so she doesn’t run off to La Push again, but Jacob comes to the rescue and gets her from school. They hang out for a bit until he says he rather she be dead than a vampire. Rosalie goes on to explain to Bella why she doesn’t want her to become a vampire and Jasper tells Bella later on about his first years as a vampire with Maria and the newborn army. Than Victoria’s and Riley’s newborn army comes to fight the Cullens and the Pack. After they are defeated the Voultri show up to clean up the mess.
Review: In the book when Edward had Alice ‘kidnap’ Bella so she wouldn’t run off to La Push to see Jacob was very controlling, just because he’s her boyfriend that doesn’t give him the right to tell her who she can and can’t be friends with. Than when Jacob told her he rather she be dead than a vampire was not right of him either and very messed up. I also understand why Rosalie feels the way she does about Bella becoming a vampire. I also feel for Jasper during what he went through in his newborn years with Maria. Than when Jacob was being pushy and kissed her it pissed me off so much I would have punched him too. Also I knew it was Victoria the whole time it was very obvious and she’s not really good at it. It was also mean of her to use Riley and the newborn vampires for her own selfish games. I was very glad when they defeated her. In my opinion the Voultri should have let Bree live since she surrendered that part was very sad. But I’m glad Bella agreed to marry Edward the old fashioned way like Alice and Him wanted instead of just being to Vegas even though Seth is better than both Edward and Jacob. Both of them are very controlling.
Would I recommend? Yes
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Summary: In Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer Bella and Jacob make-up and fight again. Edward also wants her no where near the pack because he thinks it’s dangerous so he has Alice “kidnap” Bella for a sleepover while he is out of town so she doesn’t run off to La Push again, but Jacob comes to the rescue and gets her from school. They hang out for a bit until he says he rather she be dead than a vampire. Rosalie goes on to explain to Bella why she doesn’t want her to become a vampire and Jasper tells Bella later on about his first years as a vampire with Maria and the newborn army. Than Victoria’s and Riley’s newborn army comes to fight the Cullens and the Pack. After they are defeated the Voultri show up to clean up the mess.
Review: In the book when Edward had Alice ‘kidnap’ Bella so she wouldn’t run off to La Push to see Jacob was very controlling, just because he’s her boyfriend that doesn’t give him the right to tell her who she can and can’t be friends with. Than when Jacob told her he rather she be dead than a vampire was not right of him either and very messed up. I also understand why Rosalie feels the way she does about Bella becoming a vampire. I also feel for Jasper during what he went through in his newborn years with Maria. Than when Jacob was being pushy and kissed her it pissed me off so much I would have punched him too. Also I knew it was Victoria the whole time it was very obvious and she’s not really good at it. It was also mean of her to use Riley and the newborn vampires for her own selfish games. I was very glad when they defeated her. In my opinion the Voultri should have let Bree live since she surrendered that part was very sad. But I’m glad Bella agreed to marry Edward the old fashioned way like Alice and Him wanted instead of just being to Vegas even though Seth is better than both Edward and Jacob. Both of them are very controlling.
Would I recommend? Yes
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, #10) in Books
Feb 23, 2018
The title could just as well have been Much Ado About Nothing (I'm sure that nobody will ever confuse Harris' work with that of the Bard).
As the GoodReads synopsis suggests, there are plenty of subplots that should keep a long-time reader busy, but I found most of them boring.
Jason has settled down with a decent-seeming woman - that's good. And he actually seems to be willing to stand by his sister when she needs him, which is even better--without being asked, without so much as a reminder! Will wonders ever cease? (That one example says so much about why I prefer the books to the televised version.)
Otherwise, though, Eric's maker has shown up with a "brother" for Eric - one who is utterly dysfunctional. If this maker were as powerful and decisive as we are told he is, why hasn't he already taken care of business and put the "brother" down? Why bring him to Eric, as if he needs Eric's help to do the deed? That's completely backwards for this (or any other) vampire mythos. If a younger vampire couldn't handle one of his offspring, he might bring that one to his sire for help or judgment. Now, knowing Eric, and how very proud he is - his sire <b>must</b> know him very deeply, and must know that asking Eric for help will lose Eric's respect completely. How could he possibly lower himself to do that?
I'm more willing to believe that Sookie is having problems with her experiences during the Faerie "war" - why doesn't anybody else ever have PTSD in paranormal romance or urban fantasy books? Her "cure" comes WAY too easily, but it is a fantasy.
Some of a faerie relative's "explanation" for his behavior simply doesn't jive with what we've been told in prior books. Maybe the person in charge of continuity lost his or her job. Maybe Harris is tired of the series. Who knows?
Some of the little details left me befuddled. Bill dated who and now reveals he's her what? Why do crosses hurt vampires, but Bibles don't?
Maybe this book should be left for the diehard Sookie fans. I don't think I count as one.
As the GoodReads synopsis suggests, there are plenty of subplots that should keep a long-time reader busy, but I found most of them boring.
Jason has settled down with a decent-seeming woman - that's good. And he actually seems to be willing to stand by his sister when she needs him, which is even better--without being asked, without so much as a reminder! Will wonders ever cease? (That one example says so much about why I prefer the books to the televised version.)
Otherwise, though, Eric's maker has shown up with a "brother" for Eric - one who is utterly dysfunctional. If this maker were as powerful and decisive as we are told he is, why hasn't he already taken care of business and put the "brother" down? Why bring him to Eric, as if he needs Eric's help to do the deed? That's completely backwards for this (or any other) vampire mythos. If a younger vampire couldn't handle one of his offspring, he might bring that one to his sire for help or judgment. Now, knowing Eric, and how very proud he is - his sire <b>must</b> know him very deeply, and must know that asking Eric for help will lose Eric's respect completely. How could he possibly lower himself to do that?
I'm more willing to believe that Sookie is having problems with her experiences during the Faerie "war" - why doesn't anybody else ever have PTSD in paranormal romance or urban fantasy books? Her "cure" comes WAY too easily, but it is a fantasy.
Some of a faerie relative's "explanation" for his behavior simply doesn't jive with what we've been told in prior books. Maybe the person in charge of continuity lost his or her job. Maybe Harris is tired of the series. Who knows?
Some of the little details left me befuddled. Bill dated who and now reveals he's her what? Why do crosses hurt vampires, but Bibles don't?
Maybe this book should be left for the diehard Sookie fans. I don't think I count as one.
OneStarReads (141 KP) rated Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1) in Books
Sep 2, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
Interview with a vampire is (shock) quite literally an interview with a vampire!
I give this book 4 stars but it’s kinda stuck between 3 and 4. I feel like this book would have been more mind blowing and interesting had I not been exposed to so many conflicted supernatural creature/broody vampire stories in the past years. Reading this book now is kinda lackluster because of it- everything seemed very predictable. I can appreciate it for what it did to vampire fiction, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy the story to its full extent.
I did enjoy the characters though. Again not as much as I could have (had this been my only time exposed to characters like these I’d have enjoyed them way more) but they were still clearly well thought out and their motivations and thoughts seemed very natural. Not necessarily sympathetic characters though- seriously Louis, grow some balls.
I enjoyed Claudia’s character, but the two characters I really liked were Lestat and Armand. I wasn’t expecting that Armand had killed Claudia and Madeline, but looking back I feel like it was obvious. Lestat was annoying and great, and since this next book is about him (I think?) I’ll probably continue with the series, because I’ve heard it gets better from here.
Just a few other nitpicks I have for the story: I like how beautiful Anne Rice’s writing style is, but even for me it got a bit dull at parts... The beginning of the book and a few points through the middle were difficult for me to get through, though I stuck with it. Also the whole jumping from the story back to the interviewer didn’t seem to work well, and the ending with the interviewer getting fed on by Louis was very ehhhhhhhh...
Anyways I’ll be checking out the second book at least. I really wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone. If you like vampires, just make sure you like lengthy prose as well, and you and this book will get along fine.
I give this book 4 stars but it’s kinda stuck between 3 and 4. I feel like this book would have been more mind blowing and interesting had I not been exposed to so many conflicted supernatural creature/broody vampire stories in the past years. Reading this book now is kinda lackluster because of it- everything seemed very predictable. I can appreciate it for what it did to vampire fiction, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy the story to its full extent.
I did enjoy the characters though. Again not as much as I could have (had this been my only time exposed to characters like these I’d have enjoyed them way more) but they were still clearly well thought out and their motivations and thoughts seemed very natural. Not necessarily sympathetic characters though- seriously Louis, grow some balls.
I enjoyed Claudia’s character, but the two characters I really liked were Lestat and Armand. I wasn’t expecting that Armand had killed Claudia and Madeline, but looking back I feel like it was obvious. Lestat was annoying and great, and since this next book is about him (I think?) I’ll probably continue with the series, because I’ve heard it gets better from here.
Just a few other nitpicks I have for the story: I like how beautiful Anne Rice’s writing style is, but even for me it got a bit dull at parts... The beginning of the book and a few points through the middle were difficult for me to get through, though I stuck with it. Also the whole jumping from the story back to the interviewer didn’t seem to work well, and the ending with the interviewer getting fed on by Louis was very ehhhhhhhh...
Anyways I’ll be checking out the second book at least. I really wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone. If you like vampires, just make sure you like lengthy prose as well, and you and this book will get along fine.
RavenclawPrincess913 (253 KP) created a post
Jan 31, 2019
Leigh J (71 KP) rated The Lost Boys (1987) in Movies
Nov 8, 2019
Best Movie Ever
Contains spoilers, click to show
Michael and Sam are Brothers who are moving, with their Mom Lucy, to Santa Carla following a Divorce. Santa Carla just happens to be the murder capital of the world. When they get to Santa Carla, they are met with an eccentric Grandpa and, shock horror!, no TV! Faced with the absolute atrocity that is no MTV, they decide to explore the nightlife of their new town and upon doing this, meet the beautiful and mysterious Star. Michael is instantly besotted and chases after her, leaving Sam at a local Comic Shop... and at the mercy of an intense duo called the Frog Brothers, who give Sam a comic called "Vampires Everywhere" and allude to the fact that he might want to read it to survive which Sam laughs off.
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Deadly Curiosities in Books
Jan 6, 2021
DNF at 60%.
The cover grabbed me and the synopsis made me think this could be quite a fun read.It turned out it took a lot of reading. That’s not to say it was bad or anything, for me it was just okay; nothing special. I just prefer shorter books. And ones with less description. (I’m probably the only one who feels like that!)
And for them to have at least a bit of romance in them. By the half way point I’d given up on anything romantic happening. There wasn’t the slightest whiff of it at all. I like a bit of action in stories but I love it when it ends in some sexual tension between characters and there was nil. I’m a romance reader and I, wrongly, assumed that this would be like every other UF book I’ve read where there would be some romance mixed in the storyline.
Getting past the lack of romance, I liked the abilities of Cassidy and Teag. It was a refreshing change to read about something different. Not that I don’t love my shifters and vampires but every so often it’s nice to get a different take on things and seeing the history of items when you touch them and being able to piece together information on the internet and through books as a Weaver were definitely new to me.
I must confess that the lack of romance in the book put me off and I struggled to become interested in the storyline. I’m not the biggest fan of ghost stories and I’m no history buff so having to read all the back story of the Charleston really put me off.
Being honest, I have to say that this wasn’t my sort of book at all but if you like urban fantasy books with lots of description/back story with the occasional flashbacks and no romance, then this is likely perfect for you.
The cover grabbed me and the synopsis made me think this could be quite a fun read.It turned out it took a lot of reading. That’s not to say it was bad or anything, for me it was just okay; nothing special. I just prefer shorter books. And ones with less description. (I’m probably the only one who feels like that!)
And for them to have at least a bit of romance in them. By the half way point I’d given up on anything romantic happening. There wasn’t the slightest whiff of it at all. I like a bit of action in stories but I love it when it ends in some sexual tension between characters and there was nil. I’m a romance reader and I, wrongly, assumed that this would be like every other UF book I’ve read where there would be some romance mixed in the storyline.
Getting past the lack of romance, I liked the abilities of Cassidy and Teag. It was a refreshing change to read about something different. Not that I don’t love my shifters and vampires but every so often it’s nice to get a different take on things and seeing the history of items when you touch them and being able to piece together information on the internet and through books as a Weaver were definitely new to me.
I must confess that the lack of romance in the book put me off and I struggled to become interested in the storyline. I’m not the biggest fan of ghost stories and I’m no history buff so having to read all the back story of the Charleston really put me off.
Being honest, I have to say that this wasn’t my sort of book at all but if you like urban fantasy books with lots of description/back story with the occasional flashbacks and no romance, then this is likely perfect for you.