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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Bride Test in Books

May 7, 2019

The Bride Test

Helen Hoang | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry

9.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received The Bride Test on Saturday, a few days before today's (May 7th) release date, through Book of the Month. I've been really excited about this one, because it's another adult romance with an autistic main character, like the first book, The Kiss Quotient. (The author is also autistic.) There's actually a lot of #ownvoices representation here; Hoang has an author's note at the end talking about how much of Esme's personality and struggles are based on her own mother, who immigrated from Vietnam as a refugee at the end of the Vietnam war. I love that in writing the book, Hoang grew closer to her mother as she learned about her history. Definitely don't miss the author's note at the end of this book, if you read it!

I have mixed feelings about this one, but unfortunately the part I really have mixed feelings about is very spoilery, so I can't talk about it without ruining major plot points! Overall, I did really like the book, and Khai showed a lot of the same traits my husband does. The first book's autistic character is female, so it was nice to see a character so similar to my husband this time. The characters from The Kiss Quotient do make a token appearance in The Bride Test, and I'm hoping Hoang will finally write Quan's story next! There is an untitled third book in the series due out in 2020, so I'm crossing fingers for Quan!

I absolutely adored Esme in this book. She is hardworking and strong-willed, and knows what she's worth. I wish she'd been a little more honest with Khai, but I can understand being too afraid to be fully honest with someone who could have such control over your future. I did really enjoy this sequel, and I can't wait to hear what the plot will be for the third book.

You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Predator (1987) in Movies

Feb 13, 2018

Predator (1987)

1987 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

8.4

(62 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Testosterone-drizzled SF action movie. Elite team of mercenaries - 'veer wescuers, not assahseens!' declares Arnie at one point - are dropped into Latin American jungle on shady political mission, proceed to kill everyone in sight (maybe they need to reconsider how they think of themselves), discover formidable alien big game hunter has plans to turn them all into trophies.

The cast is charismatic, the action is exceedingly well-staged, and there's a very good monster (Jean Claude van Damme was originally supposed to play the Pred but was sacked for complaining about the suit and not being beefy enough). There's also a surprisingly understated subtext about the Vietnam War, for which fighting an invisible monster in the jungle is a not-unreasonable metaphor. Not far off the quality of the other big-name 80s SF movies; inability to produce an equally memorable follow-up suggests the Predator is a one-trick pony, however.