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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Angel: Book 1 in Books
Jan 6, 2021
This review and more can be found at my blog <a href="https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com/">A Romance Reader's Reviews</a>
1.5 stars
I finally finished it!
This begins with Alex out on an angel kill, introducing us to what he does in life and the danger angels pose to the public. Then we meet Willow as she fixes a car in the school parking lot before a popular girl from school asks her to do a psychic reading on her and Willow reluctantly agrees. What she sees freaks her out and starts a train of events that cause her to be hunted down by every angel and member of the Church of Angels in America. Luckily she runs into Alex and together they go on a journey across the country to try and find out more about Willow's past and how to stop the angels forever.
I didn't buy this that long ago and got it cheap off a second hand site. I thought with it being a YA Paranormal book that I'd get sucked right into it but I didn't (I started it last November). It took over 100 pages for something exciting to happen and a little longer before it really got going and then I was sucked in enough to read about 50 pages at a time. It did turn into a quick read after that and I'd finished the book within three days but I wasn't really interested in the story, I just wanted to finish it.
I liked how the angels were bad in this, that is definitely new to me. They're normally the good guys come to save the world and the people who live on it, not the bad guys who are feeding off humans to survive.
I can't say I was fond of either main character and I felt their love for each other came out of nowhere. This book just didn't gel with me at all and I won't be continuing the series.
1.5 stars
I finally finished it!
This begins with Alex out on an angel kill, introducing us to what he does in life and the danger angels pose to the public. Then we meet Willow as she fixes a car in the school parking lot before a popular girl from school asks her to do a psychic reading on her and Willow reluctantly agrees. What she sees freaks her out and starts a train of events that cause her to be hunted down by every angel and member of the Church of Angels in America. Luckily she runs into Alex and together they go on a journey across the country to try and find out more about Willow's past and how to stop the angels forever.
I didn't buy this that long ago and got it cheap off a second hand site. I thought with it being a YA Paranormal book that I'd get sucked right into it but I didn't (I started it last November). It took over 100 pages for something exciting to happen and a little longer before it really got going and then I was sucked in enough to read about 50 pages at a time. It did turn into a quick read after that and I'd finished the book within three days but I wasn't really interested in the story, I just wanted to finish it.
I liked how the angels were bad in this, that is definitely new to me. They're normally the good guys come to save the world and the people who live on it, not the bad guys who are feeding off humans to survive.
I can't say I was fond of either main character and I felt their love for each other came out of nowhere. This book just didn't gel with me at all and I won't be continuing the series.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Priory of the Orange Tree in Books
May 3, 2019
AMAZING epic fantasy.
Holy COW, you guys. I keep saying “I haven’t read much epic fantasy lately” and “I don’t have time to read such long books/series” but I made an exception for Priory, and I’m SO glad I did. Just WOW.
So the basic premise of this world is that The Nameless One (some gigantic evil dragon) was locked away a thousand years ago, and all his minions with him. The exact details of how and who did it have been mostly lost to history. It’s said that as long as the House of Berethnet rules Inys, he’ll never rise again, and Berethnet queens always have one child, a daughter. The current queen, however, is unwed, and minions of The Nameless One have begun rising, and in fact have conquered a few neighboring nations. We have three main factions of countries; The East, who have dragon riders, but make a distinction between their dragons, who are aquatic and identify with the stars, and the evil minions of The Nameless One, who are full of fire. Then we have Virtudom, which is headed by Inys, and is a coalition of countries who have made a religion of the Knightly Virtues. This is the West, and they make no distinction between the draconic servants of The Nameless One and the water dragons of the East. This has forced a split between the West and the East, because Virtudom won’t have anything to do with countries that have anything to do with dragons, because most of what they see is the third faction – the Draconic countries. These are countries conquered by minions of the Nameless One, and they are full of chaos, fire, evil, and plague.
This is the world the book opens on. Most of our main characters – Queen Sabran, her handmaiden Ead, the dragonrider Tané – are women, but we also have Doctor Niclays Roos, an alchemist, and Lord Arteloth Beck, a friend of the Queen. In this world, women are just as capable as men, and are treated as such. There are female knights, and same-sex relationships are just as ordinary as opposite-sex ones. There is a bit too much moral emphasis placed on monogamy/sex within the bounds of marriage, but I guess that’s “Knightly Virtue” for you. Skin color is only mentioned a couple of times, but I seem to remember Lord Arteloth being described as very dark-skinned, and Ead as golden-brown. Rather nice to see a fantasy NOT all caught up in racial and gender differences. Not to say there isn’t a fair amount of bigotry, but in this book it’s based pretty much solely on nationality and religion. And when the biggest sticking point is “do you like evil dragons or not” that kind of makes sense!
I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book was its size. It’s unwieldy to read, at over 800 pages! I’m not sure why they didn’t break it into a duology. Regardless, if you have the choice, I’d read it on Kindle. It would be far easier to handle. I’m not complaining about the amount of text, mind you. Just the sheer physical size. I can’t imagine the story being told in less time. There’s So. Much. Here.
This book goes from Queen Sabran’s court to the dragonrider academy in the East, to the draconic kingdom of Yscalin, to the Abyss where the Nameless One sleeps. We see glittering courts, hidden islands, sweltering tunnels through volcanic mountains, and deep valleys with secret magic trees. We battle wyrms and cockatrices, swim through endless seas with dragonriders, sail through storms with pirate crews, and navigate the trickiest of diplomatic matters with courtiers. The Priory of the Orange Tree paints an elaborate, incredibly complex world and I am absolutely here for it.
Okay, so one tiny quibble – while I liked the romance, I feel like it started kind of oddly. I didn’t see any reason for the initial spark. From there, it progressed perfectly, but I just didn’t get the beginning.
This book has multiple queer couples! There’s at least one same-sex couple mentioned as attending a party; Doctor Roos spends a lot of time mourning his dead lover, and there’s the lesbian romance between a couple of main characters. And one character has at least strong affection for a man before falling in love with a woman; I think she was in love with both. No trans or ace rep, but plenty of gay, lesbian, and bi!
This is hands-down the best book I’ve read so far this year. It took me three days – it’s a big book – but it is absolutely fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
So the basic premise of this world is that The Nameless One (some gigantic evil dragon) was locked away a thousand years ago, and all his minions with him. The exact details of how and who did it have been mostly lost to history. It’s said that as long as the House of Berethnet rules Inys, he’ll never rise again, and Berethnet queens always have one child, a daughter. The current queen, however, is unwed, and minions of The Nameless One have begun rising, and in fact have conquered a few neighboring nations. We have three main factions of countries; The East, who have dragon riders, but make a distinction between their dragons, who are aquatic and identify with the stars, and the evil minions of The Nameless One, who are full of fire. Then we have Virtudom, which is headed by Inys, and is a coalition of countries who have made a religion of the Knightly Virtues. This is the West, and they make no distinction between the draconic servants of The Nameless One and the water dragons of the East. This has forced a split between the West and the East, because Virtudom won’t have anything to do with countries that have anything to do with dragons, because most of what they see is the third faction – the Draconic countries. These are countries conquered by minions of the Nameless One, and they are full of chaos, fire, evil, and plague.
This is the world the book opens on. Most of our main characters – Queen Sabran, her handmaiden Ead, the dragonrider Tané – are women, but we also have Doctor Niclays Roos, an alchemist, and Lord Arteloth Beck, a friend of the Queen. In this world, women are just as capable as men, and are treated as such. There are female knights, and same-sex relationships are just as ordinary as opposite-sex ones. There is a bit too much moral emphasis placed on monogamy/sex within the bounds of marriage, but I guess that’s “Knightly Virtue” for you. Skin color is only mentioned a couple of times, but I seem to remember Lord Arteloth being described as very dark-skinned, and Ead as golden-brown. Rather nice to see a fantasy NOT all caught up in racial and gender differences. Not to say there isn’t a fair amount of bigotry, but in this book it’s based pretty much solely on nationality and religion. And when the biggest sticking point is “do you like evil dragons or not” that kind of makes sense!
I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book was its size. It’s unwieldy to read, at over 800 pages! I’m not sure why they didn’t break it into a duology. Regardless, if you have the choice, I’d read it on Kindle. It would be far easier to handle. I’m not complaining about the amount of text, mind you. Just the sheer physical size. I can’t imagine the story being told in less time. There’s So. Much. Here.
This book goes from Queen Sabran’s court to the dragonrider academy in the East, to the draconic kingdom of Yscalin, to the Abyss where the Nameless One sleeps. We see glittering courts, hidden islands, sweltering tunnels through volcanic mountains, and deep valleys with secret magic trees. We battle wyrms and cockatrices, swim through endless seas with dragonriders, sail through storms with pirate crews, and navigate the trickiest of diplomatic matters with courtiers. The Priory of the Orange Tree paints an elaborate, incredibly complex world and I am absolutely here for it.
Okay, so one tiny quibble – while I liked the romance, I feel like it started kind of oddly. I didn’t see any reason for the initial spark. From there, it progressed perfectly, but I just didn’t get the beginning.
This book has multiple queer couples! There’s at least one same-sex couple mentioned as attending a party; Doctor Roos spends a lot of time mourning his dead lover, and there’s the lesbian romance between a couple of main characters. And one character has at least strong affection for a man before falling in love with a woman; I think she was in love with both. No trans or ace rep, but plenty of gay, lesbian, and bi!
This is hands-down the best book I’ve read so far this year. It took me three days – it’s a big book – but it is absolutely fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Lee (2222 KP) rated El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) in Movies
Oct 13, 2019
When we last saw Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), he was driving away in an El Camino car, having just been freed from six months or so of captivity and slavery. It was the final moments of what is arguably one of the greatest TV shows of all time - Walter White (Bryan Cranston) had come to the aid of his long time friend, and collaborator in the meth business, freeing him from the clutches of a gang of Nazis in what turned out to be a bloodbath. Jesse, clearly a broken man, drove away from it all, into the night, fighting back tears as he let out a scream of pain and relief.
As with all great stories, whether in a book, a movie or a TV show, you do naturally wonder what might have happened next to the characters who have taken you on a journey with them. If the finale is good enough, you can feel satisfied simply by drawing your own conclusions. In the case of Breaking Bad, did Jesse turn a corner, only to be met by a bunch of cops who then lock him up for the rest of his life? Or did he manage to find well deserved peace and solace, a chance to finally live out his days with some kind of normality? Series creator and writer Vince Gilligan clearly had some ideas of his own, and the result is this 2 hour Netflix movie, titled El Camino.
We’ve not been without our fix of the Breaking Bad world since the show ended in 2013 though. Better Call Saul, about to start its fifth season, has acted as a prequel, telling the story of the rise of Saul Goodman, the seedy lawyer who helped Walter and Jesse throughout much of Breaking Bad. It shares much of the same style and tone as Breaking Bad, magnificently scripted and proving to be compulsive viewing. It has also gradually begun weaving other familiar characters from Breaking Bad into the story too, helping us to understand what brought these characters to the point they were at in Breaking Bad, but never (so far) featuring lead characters Walter and Jesse.
El Camino picks up pretty much where Breaking Bad left off. Jesse is clearly a person of interest with the law - not only for his drug crime days, but also because they know that someone fled the scene where a machine gun massacre took place, resulting in nine dead bodies. It’s neither an immediate capture, or an escape to a happy ending though. Instead, we’re treated to something that’s a little in between, and El Camino closely follows Jesse to show us just how that all plays out for him.
There was some big news recently when it was revealed that a large number of Breaking Bad characters would be appearing in El Camino and speculation was rife as to who those characters would be. They appear either in flashback form, or in present day situations, and all justifiably serve to drive the story forward, whether it be as a moment of reflection and poignancy, an aid to understanding Jesse’s current actions, or just as a cool little Easter egg for fans of the show. I must admit though, I had to resort to Google to try and remember how some of the characters fitted into the Breaking Bad show, but that could just be down to my lousy memory!
El Camino is packed full of the steady, confident, detailed pacing that we know and love from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Action, drama, emotion, it’s all there as a determined Jesse tries to acquire enough money to be able to start over. There’s a constant feeling throughout though that this is a story we didn’t really need, but it is certainly a welcome one, and a real joy to be back in this world and in the company of these great characters once again, if only for a short while.
As with all great stories, whether in a book, a movie or a TV show, you do naturally wonder what might have happened next to the characters who have taken you on a journey with them. If the finale is good enough, you can feel satisfied simply by drawing your own conclusions. In the case of Breaking Bad, did Jesse turn a corner, only to be met by a bunch of cops who then lock him up for the rest of his life? Or did he manage to find well deserved peace and solace, a chance to finally live out his days with some kind of normality? Series creator and writer Vince Gilligan clearly had some ideas of his own, and the result is this 2 hour Netflix movie, titled El Camino.
We’ve not been without our fix of the Breaking Bad world since the show ended in 2013 though. Better Call Saul, about to start its fifth season, has acted as a prequel, telling the story of the rise of Saul Goodman, the seedy lawyer who helped Walter and Jesse throughout much of Breaking Bad. It shares much of the same style and tone as Breaking Bad, magnificently scripted and proving to be compulsive viewing. It has also gradually begun weaving other familiar characters from Breaking Bad into the story too, helping us to understand what brought these characters to the point they were at in Breaking Bad, but never (so far) featuring lead characters Walter and Jesse.
El Camino picks up pretty much where Breaking Bad left off. Jesse is clearly a person of interest with the law - not only for his drug crime days, but also because they know that someone fled the scene where a machine gun massacre took place, resulting in nine dead bodies. It’s neither an immediate capture, or an escape to a happy ending though. Instead, we’re treated to something that’s a little in between, and El Camino closely follows Jesse to show us just how that all plays out for him.
There was some big news recently when it was revealed that a large number of Breaking Bad characters would be appearing in El Camino and speculation was rife as to who those characters would be. They appear either in flashback form, or in present day situations, and all justifiably serve to drive the story forward, whether it be as a moment of reflection and poignancy, an aid to understanding Jesse’s current actions, or just as a cool little Easter egg for fans of the show. I must admit though, I had to resort to Google to try and remember how some of the characters fitted into the Breaking Bad show, but that could just be down to my lousy memory!
El Camino is packed full of the steady, confident, detailed pacing that we know and love from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Action, drama, emotion, it’s all there as a determined Jesse tries to acquire enough money to be able to start over. There’s a constant feeling throughout though that this is a story we didn’t really need, but it is certainly a welcome one, and a real joy to be back in this world and in the company of these great characters once again, if only for a short while.
Butch Vig recommended track My Generation by The Who in Who Sings My Generation by The Who in Music (curated)
7.0
Album
Favorite
Darren Fisher (2465 KP) rated Killer's Moon (1978) in Movies
Dec 11, 2020 (Updated Dec 11, 2020)
Classic low budget British horror
I love my bonkers films and this demented British horror from Alan Birkinshaw certainly is up there. Four lunatics escape from a cottage (yep, not even a mental institution) whilst dosed up on LSD provided by the psychiatrists (it's a experiment in which said nutters think they are only dreaming - so whatever they do whilst tripping holds no consequence). Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, a bus full of schoolgirls brakes down. With no other choice the bus driver goes lookin for help whilst the teachers and girls seek refuge in a desolate hotel. As the escaped lunatics make their murderous way across country they come across the hotel. Once inside they begin tormenting, raping and decimating the cast. It's grimy, sleazy and very non-politically correct. I certainly can't imagine it getting made in todays times. The infrequent gore scenes are more 'Carry On...' style than gruesome, the special effects are amateur, accompanied with goofy sound effects. What carries the film along is the dialogue. Co-written with the directors sister Fay Weldon, the script is jaw droppingly unbelievable, unintentionally hilarious and mind-bogglingly bizarre. The most infamous quote comes after one school girl has been raped by one of the lunatics and pretty much sets the tone of what you are watching...
"Look, you were only raped, as long as you don't tell anyone about it you'll be alright. You pretend it never happened, I pretend I never saw it and if we ever get out of this alive, well, maybe we'll both live to be wives and mothers"
Just one of many delicious quotes from the film I hasten to add. Guaranteed trash gold. Highly recommended.
"Look, you were only raped, as long as you don't tell anyone about it you'll be alright. You pretend it never happened, I pretend I never saw it and if we ever get out of this alive, well, maybe we'll both live to be wives and mothers"
Just one of many delicious quotes from the film I hasten to add. Guaranteed trash gold. Highly recommended.
Merissa (13197 KP) rated Never Again in Books
Jun 8, 2023
This book is simply amazing and it should be read by everybody. I can't put it any plainer than that!
We start of with Clara, an old lady in her garden, feeling all the aches and pains of being over 80-years-old. Then she starts to tell a story, which will quickly enfold you and have you completely entranced, hanging onto every word. She has a tale to tell and she won't finish until she has.
This book raises some important issues, gives you questions, also gives you answers that I personally would love to be true, and makes you ponder. All of this is a good thing as far as I am concerned. I loved how she wasn't comfortable with her 'old-fashioned' values, inside the body of a younger woman. I thought Zachary was a jerk, and refused to admit that I was the same generation as him! I adored Lenny and his eyebrows.
I will not give out anymore to do with the story, except to say that this book blindsided me. I honestly thought I'd just be getting a 'normal, run-of-the-mill' science fiction. What I got was a biographical account, a fascinating story that tore at my heartstrings and emotions. I loved every moment of reading this and certainly didn't want it to end, especially not once it became clear what would happen at the end.
A fascinating concept, executed with perfection, and definitely one to keep. Absolutely recommended. (ps, don't forget the Kleenex)
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 5, 2016
We start of with Clara, an old lady in her garden, feeling all the aches and pains of being over 80-years-old. Then she starts to tell a story, which will quickly enfold you and have you completely entranced, hanging onto every word. She has a tale to tell and she won't finish until she has.
This book raises some important issues, gives you questions, also gives you answers that I personally would love to be true, and makes you ponder. All of this is a good thing as far as I am concerned. I loved how she wasn't comfortable with her 'old-fashioned' values, inside the body of a younger woman. I thought Zachary was a jerk, and refused to admit that I was the same generation as him! I adored Lenny and his eyebrows.
I will not give out anymore to do with the story, except to say that this book blindsided me. I honestly thought I'd just be getting a 'normal, run-of-the-mill' science fiction. What I got was a biographical account, a fascinating story that tore at my heartstrings and emotions. I loved every moment of reading this and certainly didn't want it to end, especially not once it became clear what would happen at the end.
A fascinating concept, executed with perfection, and definitely one to keep. Absolutely recommended. (ps, don't forget the Kleenex)
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 5, 2016
Natalia (73 KP) rated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) in Movies
Dec 19, 2018
Character Development (5 more)
Story
Art Direction
Soundtrack + Effects
Comedy, Action and Emotions
True to the Source
I've just recently come home from the cinema, and I can gladly say this was an amazing film. I may be looking at it through rose-coloured glasses, with how excited I was when we got the first trailer, but I can say with all sincerity that this film made me laugh, cry and blew away my expectations.
The film crosses over some iconic and some more obscure Spider-Man universes and manages to do it in a unique and palatable way. Each iteration of Spider-Man has a specific animation/art style, along with a specific soundtrack and extremely talented voice actors (or at least actors whose voices were made for the role: this meaning John Mulaney). Seeing all of this creative work come together in one film truly is an experience that I don't want people to miss out on.
A key part I really want to go into more is the use of colour and focus. It visuals of the film are vivid and attune to the tone of what scene is playing out. You can see how saturation and the palettes themselves are used the highlight characters or actions and are especially useful with emotional scenes. These emotions though are presented more with the composition which is consistently used to call back previous scenes in a subtle way that I absolutely adore.
The characters are very much real, most specifically in Miles and his family relationships. We see a real family dynamic that works - if I could point out a scene from a few trailers as an example, when Miles' father takes him to school and asks for him to say 'I love you' back really shows this realistic family that you could picture actually existing in the real world. The lack of a really existing romantic subplot is also something I love - the focus is on coming to terms with the fact that Miles isn't alone, that no one is. Without this romance, the film is just as good as any other, possibly even better with the fact that our potential romantic interest actually doesn't turn out to be.
The next thing that is certainly huge for any die-hard Marvel fans is the fact that it's very much true to the comic books. In the way its told, the way it's presented, and the actual story, the characters are all recognizable both by appearance and by their personalities/behaviours.
The only negative I can find for the film isn't even part of the film itself: Though the cinema gave warning for epilepsy, the film itself does not. While I'm sure theatres are required to give warning, it may be a good idea to give an on-screen warning, especially when the opening logo itself could easily trigger epilepsy.
Overall, I wish I could go back and watch it over and over, so I think most people will enjoy this film, no matter what their knowledge of the MCU is. An engaging story told in a creative way and with an incredibly hilarious after credits scene - worth a watch from everyone.
The film crosses over some iconic and some more obscure Spider-Man universes and manages to do it in a unique and palatable way. Each iteration of Spider-Man has a specific animation/art style, along with a specific soundtrack and extremely talented voice actors (or at least actors whose voices were made for the role: this meaning John Mulaney). Seeing all of this creative work come together in one film truly is an experience that I don't want people to miss out on.
A key part I really want to go into more is the use of colour and focus. It visuals of the film are vivid and attune to the tone of what scene is playing out. You can see how saturation and the palettes themselves are used the highlight characters or actions and are especially useful with emotional scenes. These emotions though are presented more with the composition which is consistently used to call back previous scenes in a subtle way that I absolutely adore.
The characters are very much real, most specifically in Miles and his family relationships. We see a real family dynamic that works - if I could point out a scene from a few trailers as an example, when Miles' father takes him to school and asks for him to say 'I love you' back really shows this realistic family that you could picture actually existing in the real world. The lack of a really existing romantic subplot is also something I love - the focus is on coming to terms with the fact that Miles isn't alone, that no one is. Without this romance, the film is just as good as any other, possibly even better with the fact that our potential romantic interest actually doesn't turn out to be.
The next thing that is certainly huge for any die-hard Marvel fans is the fact that it's very much true to the comic books. In the way its told, the way it's presented, and the actual story, the characters are all recognizable both by appearance and by their personalities/behaviours.
The only negative I can find for the film isn't even part of the film itself: Though the cinema gave warning for epilepsy, the film itself does not. While I'm sure theatres are required to give warning, it may be a good idea to give an on-screen warning, especially when the opening logo itself could easily trigger epilepsy.
Overall, I wish I could go back and watch it over and over, so I think most people will enjoy this film, no matter what their knowledge of the MCU is. An engaging story told in a creative way and with an incredibly hilarious after credits scene - worth a watch from everyone.
This is the eighth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!
Teenage Erin's family moves after a difficult time. Erin surprisingly feels solace in her new room--where she soon realizes she isn't alone. It's occupied by the spirit of Joe, the teenage boy who lived in the room before her. At the local school, Joe's brother Olly is struggling with being left behind. Until he meets a girl--different from anyone he's ever dated before. Now, Erin finds herself torn between two brothers. One living, one caught between two worlds. How can she choose?
It's probably my fault for choosing a book with such a plot, but this one is pretty silly. To say it's cheesy and schmaltzy is putting it mildly. I kept thinking about if you could read a book like this without having to abandon all realism... I'm not sure. But, Erin accepts the fact that there is a ghost in her room without any issue at all. Which, um, okay? Even better, she falls in insta-love with this ghost.
There's very little character development here. We get light background on Erin and what seems like even less on Joe (in fact, it seems like his personality switches halfway through). So we're supposed to believe they are two flawed teens, and Olly is a happy go-lucky guy, without much evidence at all. There's insta-love everywhere you look. A preposterous plot. And no one is willing to use Google, apparently.
Still, it's a teen read, so I can see how they might enjoy some of this craziness. It's a fast read, and I won't lie, I was caught up in the story at times. And the ending really was pretty perfect. Still, as much as I hate to do it, as I've read some of Kessler's other books and loved them, I think this was a 2.5-star read for me.
Teenage Erin's family moves after a difficult time. Erin surprisingly feels solace in her new room--where she soon realizes she isn't alone. It's occupied by the spirit of Joe, the teenage boy who lived in the room before her. At the local school, Joe's brother Olly is struggling with being left behind. Until he meets a girl--different from anyone he's ever dated before. Now, Erin finds herself torn between two brothers. One living, one caught between two worlds. How can she choose?
It's probably my fault for choosing a book with such a plot, but this one is pretty silly. To say it's cheesy and schmaltzy is putting it mildly. I kept thinking about if you could read a book like this without having to abandon all realism... I'm not sure. But, Erin accepts the fact that there is a ghost in her room without any issue at all. Which, um, okay? Even better, she falls in insta-love with this ghost.
There's very little character development here. We get light background on Erin and what seems like even less on Joe (in fact, it seems like his personality switches halfway through). So we're supposed to believe they are two flawed teens, and Olly is a happy go-lucky guy, without much evidence at all. There's insta-love everywhere you look. A preposterous plot. And no one is willing to use Google, apparently.
Still, it's a teen read, so I can see how they might enjoy some of this craziness. It's a fast read, and I won't lie, I was caught up in the story at times. And the ending really was pretty perfect. Still, as much as I hate to do it, as I've read some of Kessler's other books and loved them, I think this was a 2.5-star read for me.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated A Brand New Ending in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
I really wanted to enjoy this book especially since I enjoy books that are set in an asylum. For the first half, I really enjoyed the book, but the second half read more like an erotica, and I just couldn't finish it once I got to about 71%.
After being abused by her step-father since 15, Phoenix attempts to kill herself after jumping off a bridge. She is placed in an asylum to make sure she gets better. There she meets Braeden and feels drawn to him. Braeden also feels drawn to Phoenix and doesn't know why.
I thought the title was an interesting one. It definitely caught my attention! I love it!
The cover is a bit bland, but it still caught my attention. The lost girl on the front is what I loved about it.
I think the world building would have been a lot better had there not been insta-love. Phoenix and Braeden instantly feel drawn to each other, and they're automatically in love. This really annoyed me! Also, if an aide in an asylum pursues a relationship with a patient, that aide could/would be fired for misconduct. However, Braeden never gets in trouble even though a lot of people know about him and Phoenix.
The pacing goes back and forth between being slow and decent. For the most part, it is decent, but there were a few bits where the pacing slows down a lot, especially as we keep getting told how much Braeden and Phoenix "love" each other. Their feelings for each other are mentioned a lot which I felt was quite redundant.
The plot of the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor has been done before, and I liked the fact it was set in an asylum. I'm always intrigued by mental disorders and what not. That was the plot for the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the plot just went to how much sex could Braeden and Phoenix have.
In the second half, all Braeden and Phoenix did was have sex...graphically!! I felt like I was reading a whole different book! I felt like this book went from a sweet contemporary romance to an erotica book! It seemed every other sentences was about them having sex or thinking sexual thoughts. This is what really put me off the book, so at 71%, during another erotic sex scene, I stopped reading. I don't do erotica books. I really wish I had known this book has very graphic sex scenes and a lot of them because then I wouldn't have even bothered wasting my time.
I couldn't really connect to the characters. I kind of liked Phoenix, but there was just something missing with her. I really couldn't feel anything emotionally when it came to her. I did at the beginning, but she just became sort of a dull character. Braeden just annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that his swearing was over the top or that he abused his position of authority. He tried to hard to come across as a bad boy a lot of the time, and it just wasn't working. I did like Rain though, and I would've loved to hear more about her.
The dialogue wasn't working. There was way too much swearing, and most of it didn't feel natural. Braeden was the one who swore the most, and it was like every other word was the f word. Braeden's friends swore, Phoenix swore, the doctor/Braeden's father swore...practically every character mentioned in this book swore. With all the swearing, the majority of the dialogue felt very forced and very fake.
Overall, A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls just didn't do it for me. The dialogue felt too forced, and I felt like I had picked up an erotica novel even though it's not labelled as such. However, this book has got a lot of great reviews, so perhaps I'm just too much of a prude.
I'd only recommend this book to those who are 18+ who enjoy reading erotica.
<b>I'd give A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls a 1.5 out of 5. </b>
(I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review).
I really wanted to enjoy this book especially since I enjoy books that are set in an asylum. For the first half, I really enjoyed the book, but the second half read more like an erotica, and I just couldn't finish it once I got to about 71%.
After being abused by her step-father since 15, Phoenix attempts to kill herself after jumping off a bridge. She is placed in an asylum to make sure she gets better. There she meets Braeden and feels drawn to him. Braeden also feels drawn to Phoenix and doesn't know why.
I thought the title was an interesting one. It definitely caught my attention! I love it!
The cover is a bit bland, but it still caught my attention. The lost girl on the front is what I loved about it.
I think the world building would have been a lot better had there not been insta-love. Phoenix and Braeden instantly feel drawn to each other, and they're automatically in love. This really annoyed me! Also, if an aide in an asylum pursues a relationship with a patient, that aide could/would be fired for misconduct. However, Braeden never gets in trouble even though a lot of people know about him and Phoenix.
The pacing goes back and forth between being slow and decent. For the most part, it is decent, but there were a few bits where the pacing slows down a lot, especially as we keep getting told how much Braeden and Phoenix "love" each other. Their feelings for each other are mentioned a lot which I felt was quite redundant.
The plot of the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor has been done before, and I liked the fact it was set in an asylum. I'm always intrigued by mental disorders and what not. That was the plot for the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the plot just went to how much sex could Braeden and Phoenix have.
In the second half, all Braeden and Phoenix did was have sex...graphically!! I felt like I was reading a whole different book! I felt like this book went from a sweet contemporary romance to an erotica book! It seemed every other sentences was about them having sex or thinking sexual thoughts. This is what really put me off the book, so at 71%, during another erotic sex scene, I stopped reading. I don't do erotica books. I really wish I had known this book has very graphic sex scenes and a lot of them because then I wouldn't have even bothered wasting my time.
I couldn't really connect to the characters. I kind of liked Phoenix, but there was just something missing with her. I really couldn't feel anything emotionally when it came to her. I did at the beginning, but she just became sort of a dull character. Braeden just annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that his swearing was over the top or that he abused his position of authority. He tried to hard to come across as a bad boy a lot of the time, and it just wasn't working. I did like Rain though, and I would've loved to hear more about her.
The dialogue wasn't working. There was way too much swearing, and most of it didn't feel natural. Braeden was the one who swore the most, and it was like every other word was the f word. Braeden's friends swore, Phoenix swore, the doctor/Braeden's father swore...practically every character mentioned in this book swore. With all the swearing, the majority of the dialogue felt very forced and very fake.
Overall, A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls just didn't do it for me. The dialogue felt too forced, and I felt like I had picked up an erotica novel even though it's not labelled as such. However, this book has got a lot of great reviews, so perhaps I'm just too much of a prude.
I'd only recommend this book to those who are 18+ who enjoy reading erotica.
<b>I'd give A Brand New Ending by S.A. Rolls a 1.5 out of 5. </b>
(I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review).
T.N. Nova (30 KP) rated What's In A Name? in Books
Jun 22, 2018
What’s in a name? by Pat Henshaw is a short novella about a Barista by the name of Jimmy Patterson who gets dumped at a bar on his birthday by his boyfriend Alex. The burly bartender who we first know as Alex 2 then later as “Guy”, comes in to save the day when Jimmy gets drunk off his backside and finds himself in the bathroom with his head over the toilet bowl. All Jimmy wants is to know the bartender’s first name. The story starts unfolding when “Guy” makes a deal with Jimmy. He has seven days to guess “Guy”’s first name; one guess each day.
While each day for the next week, Jimmy and Guy’s relationship becomes deeper to the point where they end up falling in love and do find their HEA, there is so much more to this story than just your typical boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, they live happily ever after type scenario. Jimmy and his co-owner of Penny’s coffee shop learn that not everything is going to be a bed of roses as thriving business owners when someone ends up trashing their mall branch shop. Jimmy and Guy have their own issues that they need to work out through the week that they’re together as well.
What I found interesting as well as refreshing about What’s in a Name? is that right from the very beginning the book had a fairytale feel to it. First there was the feel of a Rumpelstiltskin story in so far as having to guess Guy’s name and getting seven guess’s to figure out out. I’m not going to give away the ending of the book or the answer in this regards but the fairytale overlays continue throughout the book.
There were quite a few twists and turns to What’s in a Name along with unexpected surprises that pop up throughout the read such as Jimmy’s ex boyfriend Alex, who we meet at the beginning of the book, showing up later. There was some mystery to this story as well and the person we thought was the culprit wasn’t the one “Who done it” after all.
The one big downfall that I found while reading the story was that “Guy’s” first name became predictable by at least the middle of the story for me. Luckily that wasn’t the main plot otherwise there was a good chance I would have lost interest in the book. There were quite a few underlying and overlying aspects to What’s in a name that it kept me coming back to see what happened between the two men. What’s in a name is a quick read that I got through in a day and it took me that long only because it was during the weekend when I had other things going on. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.
While each day for the next week, Jimmy and Guy’s relationship becomes deeper to the point where they end up falling in love and do find their HEA, there is so much more to this story than just your typical boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, they live happily ever after type scenario. Jimmy and his co-owner of Penny’s coffee shop learn that not everything is going to be a bed of roses as thriving business owners when someone ends up trashing their mall branch shop. Jimmy and Guy have their own issues that they need to work out through the week that they’re together as well.
What I found interesting as well as refreshing about What’s in a Name? is that right from the very beginning the book had a fairytale feel to it. First there was the feel of a Rumpelstiltskin story in so far as having to guess Guy’s name and getting seven guess’s to figure out out. I’m not going to give away the ending of the book or the answer in this regards but the fairytale overlays continue throughout the book.
There were quite a few twists and turns to What’s in a Name along with unexpected surprises that pop up throughout the read such as Jimmy’s ex boyfriend Alex, who we meet at the beginning of the book, showing up later. There was some mystery to this story as well and the person we thought was the culprit wasn’t the one “Who done it” after all.
The one big downfall that I found while reading the story was that “Guy’s” first name became predictable by at least the middle of the story for me. Luckily that wasn’t the main plot otherwise there was a good chance I would have lost interest in the book. There were quite a few underlying and overlying aspects to What’s in a name that it kept me coming back to see what happened between the two men. What’s in a name is a quick read that I got through in a day and it took me that long only because it was during the weekend when I had other things going on. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.