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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Trouble with Twelfth Grave in Books
Jan 6, 2021
4.5 stars.
I finished book 11, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, in September and decided that I had to have the last book before I started book 12 just so I could finish the series all at once. I now have it so here goes.
This starts with Charley at a client's house as she tells the whole ordeal of the past three days (since the events of the last book) to the little old lady beside her who thinks her house is haunted. Ever since Reyes went into the God glass in the last book and spent what could have been days in there before coming back out as Rey'azikeen, there have been deaths in the Albuquerque area - deaths that point to him as the culprit. Charley finally gets the gang together to tell them what happened and they try to come up with a plan to find out if it was Reyes and how to stop him or Michael and the angels will come to take him out.
As usual, this book is filled to the brim with Charley Davidson craziness. I absolutely love her but she is totally bonkers at times. She has an unusual way of thinking but it seems to always go her way anyway. It's ridiculous but so much of why I love this series. It is simply amazing. I can't recommend this series enough!
The books in this series are fairly short but the author manages to pack a lot into them. We had a murder investigation, a breaking and entering, some sexy times, a mob family, some creepy sounding wraiths and quite a lot more too. I can't go into too much detail as it will spoil it for everyone.
I do love the characters in this. Charley and Reyes have grown a lot over the last eleven books and I'm waiting with baited breath to start the last book to see where the series has been building up to after all this time. Off to start book 13!
I finished book 11, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, in September and decided that I had to have the last book before I started book 12 just so I could finish the series all at once. I now have it so here goes.
This starts with Charley at a client's house as she tells the whole ordeal of the past three days (since the events of the last book) to the little old lady beside her who thinks her house is haunted. Ever since Reyes went into the God glass in the last book and spent what could have been days in there before coming back out as Rey'azikeen, there have been deaths in the Albuquerque area - deaths that point to him as the culprit. Charley finally gets the gang together to tell them what happened and they try to come up with a plan to find out if it was Reyes and how to stop him or Michael and the angels will come to take him out.
As usual, this book is filled to the brim with Charley Davidson craziness. I absolutely love her but she is totally bonkers at times. She has an unusual way of thinking but it seems to always go her way anyway. It's ridiculous but so much of why I love this series. It is simply amazing. I can't recommend this series enough!
The books in this series are fairly short but the author manages to pack a lot into them. We had a murder investigation, a breaking and entering, some sexy times, a mob family, some creepy sounding wraiths and quite a lot more too. I can't go into too much detail as it will spoil it for everyone.
I do love the characters in this. Charley and Reyes have grown a lot over the last eleven books and I'm waiting with baited breath to start the last book to see where the series has been building up to after all this time. Off to start book 13!
James P. Sumner (65 KP) rated Angel Has Fallen (2019) in Movies
Aug 21, 2019
Is the third time a charm for Mr. Butler's action thriller series?
Gerard Butler returns as Secret Service agent Mike Banning in the third entry of the "Fallen" series, picking up where London Has Fallen left off.
We see an aging and sore Banning, struggling with the rigors of his profession, torn between his love for his duty to protect the President and the smart, semi-retirement position as Secret Service Director.
This takes a little while to get going compared to most films in the genre, but it isn't too long before everything goes sideways and Banning finds himself on the run from everyone, framed for something we all know he didn't do. The question is: who did it?
Drawing obvious inspiration from classic genre entries like Die Hard, as well as more modern offerings like John Wick, Gerard Butler takes on everyone from both sides of the law as he tries to get to the bottom of the conspiracy.
Aside from the slightly slow start, the pacing of this film is spot-on, mixing balls-to-the-wall action with gripping tension - accompanied by a very clever soundtrack that enhances the experience well.
The dialogue feels real and meaningful. There's nothing cheesy, no scene-filling conversations or anything, which is always a genuine concern with this type of film. Everything is done with a purpose.
I think perhaps too much effort was made to make this a 15-certificate (an R-rating for you lovely Americans). It was more for the language than anything. The violence and fighting was well-choreographed, taking the up-close, gritty approach akin to the Bourne movies, but there was nothing here that wouldn't have made the cut for a 12A. I think they gambled with the post-Deadpool debate of having a wider audience for a 12A vs. the "it's a 15, therefore it must be good because kids aren't allowed" appeal. I'm not saying it ruins the movie, I just think it was unnecessary. The aforementioned Deadpool, for example, absolutely wouldn't have worked if it was less than a 15, so I get why they made it the way the did. But with this, it would've been the exact same film either way, so why cut out a sizable portion of cinema-goers?
That being said, I did really, really enjoy this film. Is it predictable? Sadly, yes. That probably isn't THAT shocking of a revelation, as these types of films tend to follow a similar (and usually winning) formula, but I confess to being a little disappointed that I was able to figure out the main antagonist and the overall "big bad" within three minutes of the film starting. However, to this film's credit, this predictability doesn't take away from the experience at all. It's quite honest about what it is from the get-go, and it simply doesn't care. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it very well - better than a lot of similar movies in recent times. As with all films in this genre, people tend to watch them knowing what they're getting themselves in for, so you can just relax, switch off, and enjoy the ride for a couple of hours.
I can't sign off without mentioning Nick Nolte's turn as Butler's father. His performance, while not surprising, feels almost out-of-place, as it's so damn good he deserves an Oscar nod. He probably won't get one, as films like this tend not to get noticed by the Academy, but let me tell you, he steals every scene he's in, and you feel every word he says. There's an obvious comparison to the character he portrayed in Warrior, alongside Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. While he gets nowhere near as much screen time here, he makes the most of what he does get, and it truly is the stand-out performance of the year so far, by a long way.
This film is a solid 7/10, and I highly recommend it. I bumped it to an 8/10 because of Nick Nolte. If I could go back and just watch his scenes again, I would. Grab the popcorn, forget about the outside world... you could do a lot worse at the cinema right now than this.
We see an aging and sore Banning, struggling with the rigors of his profession, torn between his love for his duty to protect the President and the smart, semi-retirement position as Secret Service Director.
This takes a little while to get going compared to most films in the genre, but it isn't too long before everything goes sideways and Banning finds himself on the run from everyone, framed for something we all know he didn't do. The question is: who did it?
Drawing obvious inspiration from classic genre entries like Die Hard, as well as more modern offerings like John Wick, Gerard Butler takes on everyone from both sides of the law as he tries to get to the bottom of the conspiracy.
Aside from the slightly slow start, the pacing of this film is spot-on, mixing balls-to-the-wall action with gripping tension - accompanied by a very clever soundtrack that enhances the experience well.
The dialogue feels real and meaningful. There's nothing cheesy, no scene-filling conversations or anything, which is always a genuine concern with this type of film. Everything is done with a purpose.
I think perhaps too much effort was made to make this a 15-certificate (an R-rating for you lovely Americans). It was more for the language than anything. The violence and fighting was well-choreographed, taking the up-close, gritty approach akin to the Bourne movies, but there was nothing here that wouldn't have made the cut for a 12A. I think they gambled with the post-Deadpool debate of having a wider audience for a 12A vs. the "it's a 15, therefore it must be good because kids aren't allowed" appeal. I'm not saying it ruins the movie, I just think it was unnecessary. The aforementioned Deadpool, for example, absolutely wouldn't have worked if it was less than a 15, so I get why they made it the way the did. But with this, it would've been the exact same film either way, so why cut out a sizable portion of cinema-goers?
That being said, I did really, really enjoy this film. Is it predictable? Sadly, yes. That probably isn't THAT shocking of a revelation, as these types of films tend to follow a similar (and usually winning) formula, but I confess to being a little disappointed that I was able to figure out the main antagonist and the overall "big bad" within three minutes of the film starting. However, to this film's credit, this predictability doesn't take away from the experience at all. It's quite honest about what it is from the get-go, and it simply doesn't care. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it very well - better than a lot of similar movies in recent times. As with all films in this genre, people tend to watch them knowing what they're getting themselves in for, so you can just relax, switch off, and enjoy the ride for a couple of hours.
I can't sign off without mentioning Nick Nolte's turn as Butler's father. His performance, while not surprising, feels almost out-of-place, as it's so damn good he deserves an Oscar nod. He probably won't get one, as films like this tend not to get noticed by the Academy, but let me tell you, he steals every scene he's in, and you feel every word he says. There's an obvious comparison to the character he portrayed in Warrior, alongside Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. While he gets nowhere near as much screen time here, he makes the most of what he does get, and it truly is the stand-out performance of the year so far, by a long way.
This film is a solid 7/10, and I highly recommend it. I bumped it to an 8/10 because of Nick Nolte. If I could go back and just watch his scenes again, I would. Grab the popcorn, forget about the outside world... you could do a lot worse at the cinema right now than this.
Peggy and Me
9.3
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'Hilariously funny and often moving memoir ...we loved every word *****' Heat 'Open, honest ...her...
Debbiereadsbook (1444 KP) rated Heated Beat in Books
Nov 12, 2020
wonderful books/narration!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted the audio version of this book.
My Mate Jack (book 1)
Don't you just love a friends to lovers book? With lots of misunderstandings and mix-ups along the way? Nothing else, just these two friends, one with a crush on his straight best friend? Made even better by some awesome narration??
This book right here!
Will has been in love with Jack forever, but Jack likes girls and Will doesn't. When Jack asks Will about kissing, then about having sex with men, Will allows Jack to get close. Then Jack goes to Ibiza and Will goes to uni and things are said, done, implied and the fall out is massive.
I want to be a bit picky here, cos, you know, I can, its my review but the only thing that would have made this book any better was if Jack had much more of a say. Apart from the epilogue, Jack doesn't get a say and I wanted him to, I so DESPERATELY wanted him to. I needed to know what was going through HIS mind when he kisses Jack, when they do what they do before they go their ways, and I don't get it. Had he been given a bigger say, I would be raving about this book! Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVED this as it was but Jack? He would have been the icing on a pretty special cake.
Dan Calley narrates. Mr Calley is fast becoming a favourite. His voice carries a very British accent, and his reading voice is deep and even. His voices are amazing, and he hits the accents to a tee. He gets across all of Will's feelings about Jack. His reactions to what they do, to what comes after and to what he does when Jack fianlly, FINALLY, tells Will what he really wants. Or rather Who.
It's not a very long read/listen (108 pages/3 hours) but it packs a powerful punch. I didn't quite manage to listen to it in one go, cos that darn dayjob got in the way, but I very nearly did.
Apart from not getting enough of Jack, I cannot fault the book nor the narration so...
5 full and shiny stars for the book AND the narration.
~~same worded review will appear elsewhere~
Lucky Man (book 2)
This is book 2 in the Heated Beat series, and while it's not NECESSARY to read/listen to book one, My Mate Jack, I think you SHOULD, cos , you know, I said so! Jack and Will pop up a lot, since Jack lives with Finn, but it's not needed to have their story before this one. But you know, THAT book was a 5 star listen too!
Danny has drooled over Finn on stage for some time. Meeting him, going home with him, gave him the best night of his life. But Finn has a secret and Danny has a stressful job. Can they make it work?
This is a much darker, dirtier, deadly listen than book one, but I loved it just as much, maybe a tad more.
There is powerful and instant chemistry between Finn and Danny, and it carries right through the book. Its hot and steamy, but equally, deeply emotional, for both Finn and Danny. Finn's health issues, and what that meant in his previous relationships, are his primary concern. Danny is dealing with a murderer who has been on a spree across the country.
Danny reaction to Finn's health issues were not what Finn was expecting, but still, Danny struggled with Finn a couple of times, especially when he had an episode (is that the correct term? ) but Danny rode it out, and did his best to understand. Some serious research into Finn's condition has been done for this book, I'm not saying what that is, because spoilers, but the level of research into treatments and how people suffering this condition cope shows here.
I LOVED that this book is set in Nottingham. As a Nottingham gal, I got all the places that were mentioned, and loved that the shortened, locally used names for places like The Queens Medical Centre (big hospital!) are used. Loved the references to local towns, and how far they are away from Nottingham and the correct distances/times are used. Proper made my day!
I did get the murderer all wrong. I had a fairly close to Finn character pegged as the bad guy, but that all went belly up on me, so well played!
Both Finn and Danny have a say here, and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad they do! I think this one, especially, would have suffered had we not got them both, so thank you Garrett Leigh, for making my day twice in this book!
Dan Calley narrates again, and again, he knocks it out the park!
His voices for Will and Jack are spot on from book to book, but Danny and Finn's voices are perfect too. He gets over all of Danny's concern about the relationship, given that he isn't out at work. He gets over all of his concern about Finn when he has an episode, and how he deals with the aftermath. Calley gets over all of Finn's insecurities, and what's going on in his brain. I felt for Finn, listening to him have internal conversations with himself about Danny and his feelings for Danny, and where their relationship was going.
Mr Calley NAILS it, he really does.
5 full and shiny stars for the book AND narration
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
My Mate Jack (book 1)
Don't you just love a friends to lovers book? With lots of misunderstandings and mix-ups along the way? Nothing else, just these two friends, one with a crush on his straight best friend? Made even better by some awesome narration??
This book right here!
Will has been in love with Jack forever, but Jack likes girls and Will doesn't. When Jack asks Will about kissing, then about having sex with men, Will allows Jack to get close. Then Jack goes to Ibiza and Will goes to uni and things are said, done, implied and the fall out is massive.
I want to be a bit picky here, cos, you know, I can, its my review but the only thing that would have made this book any better was if Jack had much more of a say. Apart from the epilogue, Jack doesn't get a say and I wanted him to, I so DESPERATELY wanted him to. I needed to know what was going through HIS mind when he kisses Jack, when they do what they do before they go their ways, and I don't get it. Had he been given a bigger say, I would be raving about this book! Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVED this as it was but Jack? He would have been the icing on a pretty special cake.
Dan Calley narrates. Mr Calley is fast becoming a favourite. His voice carries a very British accent, and his reading voice is deep and even. His voices are amazing, and he hits the accents to a tee. He gets across all of Will's feelings about Jack. His reactions to what they do, to what comes after and to what he does when Jack fianlly, FINALLY, tells Will what he really wants. Or rather Who.
It's not a very long read/listen (108 pages/3 hours) but it packs a powerful punch. I didn't quite manage to listen to it in one go, cos that darn dayjob got in the way, but I very nearly did.
Apart from not getting enough of Jack, I cannot fault the book nor the narration so...
5 full and shiny stars for the book AND the narration.
~~same worded review will appear elsewhere~
Lucky Man (book 2)
This is book 2 in the Heated Beat series, and while it's not NECESSARY to read/listen to book one, My Mate Jack, I think you SHOULD, cos , you know, I said so! Jack and Will pop up a lot, since Jack lives with Finn, but it's not needed to have their story before this one. But you know, THAT book was a 5 star listen too!
Danny has drooled over Finn on stage for some time. Meeting him, going home with him, gave him the best night of his life. But Finn has a secret and Danny has a stressful job. Can they make it work?
This is a much darker, dirtier, deadly listen than book one, but I loved it just as much, maybe a tad more.
There is powerful and instant chemistry between Finn and Danny, and it carries right through the book. Its hot and steamy, but equally, deeply emotional, for both Finn and Danny. Finn's health issues, and what that meant in his previous relationships, are his primary concern. Danny is dealing with a murderer who has been on a spree across the country.
Danny reaction to Finn's health issues were not what Finn was expecting, but still, Danny struggled with Finn a couple of times, especially when he had an episode (is that the correct term? ) but Danny rode it out, and did his best to understand. Some serious research into Finn's condition has been done for this book, I'm not saying what that is, because spoilers, but the level of research into treatments and how people suffering this condition cope shows here.
I LOVED that this book is set in Nottingham. As a Nottingham gal, I got all the places that were mentioned, and loved that the shortened, locally used names for places like The Queens Medical Centre (big hospital!) are used. Loved the references to local towns, and how far they are away from Nottingham and the correct distances/times are used. Proper made my day!
I did get the murderer all wrong. I had a fairly close to Finn character pegged as the bad guy, but that all went belly up on me, so well played!
Both Finn and Danny have a say here, and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad they do! I think this one, especially, would have suffered had we not got them both, so thank you Garrett Leigh, for making my day twice in this book!
Dan Calley narrates again, and again, he knocks it out the park!
His voices for Will and Jack are spot on from book to book, but Danny and Finn's voices are perfect too. He gets over all of Danny's concern about the relationship, given that he isn't out at work. He gets over all of his concern about Finn when he has an episode, and how he deals with the aftermath. Calley gets over all of Finn's insecurities, and what's going on in his brain. I felt for Finn, listening to him have internal conversations with himself about Danny and his feelings for Danny, and where their relationship was going.
Mr Calley NAILS it, he really does.
5 full and shiny stars for the book AND narration
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated My Kind Of People in Books
May 21, 2020
This novel cemented Duffy as one of my absolute favorite writers. This is a lovely and touching read, bringing to life the group of islanders who come together to care for Sky. Duffy builds her worlds so perfectly: I was lost on Ichabod Island with these characters--all of whom are so uniquely them. This book will go straight to your heart.
I fell immediately for sweet Sky. We learn that Brian and Ann are Sky's adoptive parents, so she's basically been orphaned twice. She is troubled as her parents were fighting a lot right before they died--going against the town view of them as the "perfect couple." While this novel is mostly a deep dive into its characters, there is a touch of mystery here. Why were Sky's parents fighting, and did it have anything to do with the car crash that caused their death? Also, a mysterious woman arrives in town--what is her role to play in the story? Duffy weaves together all of these plot points so well; I was captivated by the book and even though I wanted to slow down and savor it, I also wanted to know what had happened, to find out what would happen to Sky and Leo.
"A fearless girl who doesn't just think she's safe alone in the dark on an island in the Atlantic. She knows it."
I love that Duffy included a gay couple in her novel--and treats them like regular people. Leo is a wonderful character: complex and struggling with new parenthood. In the end, you feel like you know the entire neighborhood block, from sweet Joe; to Maggie, who is coming into her own in her '50s; to longtime resident Agnes, who is set in her ways; to Sky's tough best friend Frankie; and Sky's newly found grandmother, Lillian. All of these characters play a real role in this story: not an easy feat when the focus is on Leo and Sky.
Overall, this is a wonderfully written novel that covers family, marriage, tragedy, love, and so much more. Duffy's characters are beautiful, and she has an amazing way of bringing you right into the world she has created. I will always read anything she writes. 4.5 stars.
I fell immediately for sweet Sky. We learn that Brian and Ann are Sky's adoptive parents, so she's basically been orphaned twice. She is troubled as her parents were fighting a lot right before they died--going against the town view of them as the "perfect couple." While this novel is mostly a deep dive into its characters, there is a touch of mystery here. Why were Sky's parents fighting, and did it have anything to do with the car crash that caused their death? Also, a mysterious woman arrives in town--what is her role to play in the story? Duffy weaves together all of these plot points so well; I was captivated by the book and even though I wanted to slow down and savor it, I also wanted to know what had happened, to find out what would happen to Sky and Leo.
"A fearless girl who doesn't just think she's safe alone in the dark on an island in the Atlantic. She knows it."
I love that Duffy included a gay couple in her novel--and treats them like regular people. Leo is a wonderful character: complex and struggling with new parenthood. In the end, you feel like you know the entire neighborhood block, from sweet Joe; to Maggie, who is coming into her own in her '50s; to longtime resident Agnes, who is set in her ways; to Sky's tough best friend Frankie; and Sky's newly found grandmother, Lillian. All of these characters play a real role in this story: not an easy feat when the focus is on Leo and Sky.
Overall, this is a wonderfully written novel that covers family, marriage, tragedy, love, and so much more. Duffy's characters are beautiful, and she has an amazing way of bringing you right into the world she has created. I will always read anything she writes. 4.5 stars.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Boba Boss in Tabletop Games
Nov 21, 2019 (Updated Nov 21, 2019)
If you are a fan of Purple Phoenix Games then you probably know of our love affair with Happy Salmon. It’s an excellent dexterity card game and it just works in so many different situations. So when I saw the promo video for Boba Boss (linked below) I thought that we might have a contender on our hands. Was I right?
Boba Boss is a quick-playing modular action/dexterity card game of filling your orders for demanding customers of your delicious boba tea. You appease them by filling their order cups with brew, but your opponents are also trying to fill their cups as quickly as possible. Are you able to complete your orders before your competitors?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know if the final components will be similar or different, or if the Kickstarter campaign will alter or add anything through stretch goals. -T
To setup, you will need to decide which modules of the game you wish to incorporate. The game comes ready to play out of the box for an easier first game. I suggest you play this way to get familiar with how the game plays before you start adding in different modules. Or don’t. I’m not your mother.
Once the game is setup your objective is this: fill all your cups. You do this by frantically flipping cards from your deck hoping to get Straw cards. One straw will fill one cup. Two straws will fill two cups. Play needs to be brisk because the other players are flipping over cards as well and some of them will instruct the player to unflip (re-flip? Probably the same thing…) your readied tea card. This means that you must hope to flip over more straw cards to fill your cups.
There are three ways to play Boba Boss and they all have to do with the spill cards. These are cards that will have text on them in different colors. The three modes of play are identified by using three aspects of the spill cards: splatter color, text color, text text. So a spill card could have a red background (splatter color). If the round is played using splatter color and you flip over one with a red splatter color, you may unflip a readied red cup. The next round you may choose to play these cards with the text color. Each card will also have bubble text in different colors. So maybe that same red splatter card will have green text, so you would unflip a readied green tea card. And the final mode is text text. This means that same card may have the text in green but the word actually spells out “purple,” in which case you will unflip a purple player’s readied tea card. Play continues in this fashion until someone yells, “BOBA!” indicating they have two or less cups to fill. Once a player has filled all their cups they must yell, “BOBA BOSS!” And then they are crowned the victor.
This is just the base base game. Like I said, this game is modular in that you can add different dimensions of difficulty to it to have just a ridiculously confusing and frenzied play experience. One such module will add “optional flavors” to your game to increase the chaos and replayability. One example is shown below – “Karatea” (karate). When you draw and play Karatea you are to kick (flick) another player’s tea cup card where they will need to reset it to continue play. This just increases the time needed for the kicked player to win and just causes mayhem in the process. These extra flavor cards were provided to us but we just could not get all of them into play. The “Royaltea” and “Tea Rex” cards are favorites of ours.
Components. Again, we were provided with a prototype version of this game, so components may end up being very different from what we played with. This game is a box of a ton of cards. Thankfully the cards provided were glossy because they are handled A LOT. The glossy protection will help with survival of the game while being obsessively played. We appreciate that. The art is great on the cards, and the colors are fabulous. No issues with components from us, even in this prototype version.
As if we didn’t already have enough stress in our lives, along comes Boba Boss and makes us sweat in the first 60 seconds. This game is such an adrenaline rush as you are trying to fill customer orders for boba tea. Playing with three different game modes and tons of different cards to be added in modular fashion makes for an excellent balance of chaos and brain adaptation that you just don’t get anywhere else. Honestly, as you can see from our preview, we had so much fun playing that we didn’t have time to take photos of much of the game, but we hope in adding our photo along with a graphic and video from the publisher that you will forgive us. We are very excited to watch this Kickstarter campaign and hopefully our readers will give it a chance. It fills a unique niche and earns a place next to our beloved Happy Salmon. High praise for a great game.
Boba Boss is a quick-playing modular action/dexterity card game of filling your orders for demanding customers of your delicious boba tea. You appease them by filling their order cups with brew, but your opponents are also trying to fill their cups as quickly as possible. Are you able to complete your orders before your competitors?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know if the final components will be similar or different, or if the Kickstarter campaign will alter or add anything through stretch goals. -T
To setup, you will need to decide which modules of the game you wish to incorporate. The game comes ready to play out of the box for an easier first game. I suggest you play this way to get familiar with how the game plays before you start adding in different modules. Or don’t. I’m not your mother.
Once the game is setup your objective is this: fill all your cups. You do this by frantically flipping cards from your deck hoping to get Straw cards. One straw will fill one cup. Two straws will fill two cups. Play needs to be brisk because the other players are flipping over cards as well and some of them will instruct the player to unflip (re-flip? Probably the same thing…) your readied tea card. This means that you must hope to flip over more straw cards to fill your cups.
There are three ways to play Boba Boss and they all have to do with the spill cards. These are cards that will have text on them in different colors. The three modes of play are identified by using three aspects of the spill cards: splatter color, text color, text text. So a spill card could have a red background (splatter color). If the round is played using splatter color and you flip over one with a red splatter color, you may unflip a readied red cup. The next round you may choose to play these cards with the text color. Each card will also have bubble text in different colors. So maybe that same red splatter card will have green text, so you would unflip a readied green tea card. And the final mode is text text. This means that same card may have the text in green but the word actually spells out “purple,” in which case you will unflip a purple player’s readied tea card. Play continues in this fashion until someone yells, “BOBA!” indicating they have two or less cups to fill. Once a player has filled all their cups they must yell, “BOBA BOSS!” And then they are crowned the victor.
This is just the base base game. Like I said, this game is modular in that you can add different dimensions of difficulty to it to have just a ridiculously confusing and frenzied play experience. One such module will add “optional flavors” to your game to increase the chaos and replayability. One example is shown below – “Karatea” (karate). When you draw and play Karatea you are to kick (flick) another player’s tea cup card where they will need to reset it to continue play. This just increases the time needed for the kicked player to win and just causes mayhem in the process. These extra flavor cards were provided to us but we just could not get all of them into play. The “Royaltea” and “Tea Rex” cards are favorites of ours.
Components. Again, we were provided with a prototype version of this game, so components may end up being very different from what we played with. This game is a box of a ton of cards. Thankfully the cards provided were glossy because they are handled A LOT. The glossy protection will help with survival of the game while being obsessively played. We appreciate that. The art is great on the cards, and the colors are fabulous. No issues with components from us, even in this prototype version.
As if we didn’t already have enough stress in our lives, along comes Boba Boss and makes us sweat in the first 60 seconds. This game is such an adrenaline rush as you are trying to fill customer orders for boba tea. Playing with three different game modes and tons of different cards to be added in modular fashion makes for an excellent balance of chaos and brain adaptation that you just don’t get anywhere else. Honestly, as you can see from our preview, we had so much fun playing that we didn’t have time to take photos of much of the game, but we hope in adding our photo along with a graphic and video from the publisher that you will forgive us. We are very excited to watch this Kickstarter campaign and hopefully our readers will give it a chance. It fills a unique niche and earns a place next to our beloved Happy Salmon. High praise for a great game.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Military Wives (2020) in Movies
Feb 17, 2020
Even having just seen the trailer I knew I would cry at this, it's classic tear-fodder.
On-base life can be difficult for the wives and partners of soldiers serving abroad. Lisa has inherited the job of organising the wives while everyone is deployed but it's not an activity she's keen on, she'd rather just make it through to the other side and have her husband back. Luckily [though it seems anything but] for her Kate wants to take on a role in those duties, she's a veteran wide and has a very proper way of looking at how they should conduct themselves. The two women take an instant dislike for the other's attitude making life stressful in the social circle.
This doesn't change once they pick an activity the group are all interested in and they struggle to find a rhythm together. Can the pair separate their differences for the wellbeing of the group and each other?
Military Wives is something that we seem to be able to churn out consistently over here. You want an emotionally uplifting (while devastating) drama? The Brits have got you covered. I cried over Wild Rose, Finding Your Feet, Fisherman's Friends and Juliet, Naked, all have that similar quality to them that makes them a surprisingly comforting watch.
At the centre we focus on Kate and Lisa, both women are looking to forget and just get through it all for different reasons. The two are chalk and cheese and Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan thrive in their roles against one another. You can feel the agony they both suffer with and yet it's quite difficult to sympathise with either when for most of the film they are quite dislikable.
Even when we see Lisa interact with the other wives she's still grumpy and brash, it fits with what the character is going through on the inside but challenging to like. The same goes for Kate, her position afforded to her by her husband's position and her take charge attitude reminds me of that one person who always wants it their way, and that feeling instantly overrides everything else that's happening.
That's not to say that you don't feel for them, you definitely do towards the end, but getting there is a struggle.
We have a lot of peripheral characters who come in for both drama and comedy, they're all handled nicely for the most part and the nature of the story means that they can come and go quite easily without many issues. The emotion from Amy James-Kelly as Sarah was great but there's a point where it really feels like a scene is cut n the middle as the tone changes, Laura Checkley as Maz was very funny and Gaby French as Jess comes in with humour and impact in her choir lead. There was just one notable oddity and that was the character of Dawn played by Roxy Faridany. The shy and quiet member of the choir gets brought up a couple of times and yet doesn't feature in any of the foreground scenes properly. This again felt like we were missing scenes where she featured more. Bringing in the soldier contingent we have Jason Flemyng (I love him, he needs to be in more things) who is the base commander (I'm not up on my ranks so I apologise if I got it wrong) and though it's not a large role it's a funny one. The look on his face in the scene under the bridge was a picture. He fits into the cast nicely and it was a good balance of screen time within the story.
Military Wives is a story of personal struggle and friendship at its core, and as expected I spent a significant amount of time with tears streaming down my face. It handles the grieving and coping struggles in a respectful way and the interactions between characters felt very real. The uncertainty, the hatred, the feat and horror, it was all there in the actors' performances. The film takes a long time to get to what you might say is the pay off, but the journey is well thought out and it comes together for a charming and emotional watch.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/02/military-wives-movie-review.html
On-base life can be difficult for the wives and partners of soldiers serving abroad. Lisa has inherited the job of organising the wives while everyone is deployed but it's not an activity she's keen on, she'd rather just make it through to the other side and have her husband back. Luckily [though it seems anything but] for her Kate wants to take on a role in those duties, she's a veteran wide and has a very proper way of looking at how they should conduct themselves. The two women take an instant dislike for the other's attitude making life stressful in the social circle.
This doesn't change once they pick an activity the group are all interested in and they struggle to find a rhythm together. Can the pair separate their differences for the wellbeing of the group and each other?
Military Wives is something that we seem to be able to churn out consistently over here. You want an emotionally uplifting (while devastating) drama? The Brits have got you covered. I cried over Wild Rose, Finding Your Feet, Fisherman's Friends and Juliet, Naked, all have that similar quality to them that makes them a surprisingly comforting watch.
At the centre we focus on Kate and Lisa, both women are looking to forget and just get through it all for different reasons. The two are chalk and cheese and Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan thrive in their roles against one another. You can feel the agony they both suffer with and yet it's quite difficult to sympathise with either when for most of the film they are quite dislikable.
Even when we see Lisa interact with the other wives she's still grumpy and brash, it fits with what the character is going through on the inside but challenging to like. The same goes for Kate, her position afforded to her by her husband's position and her take charge attitude reminds me of that one person who always wants it their way, and that feeling instantly overrides everything else that's happening.
That's not to say that you don't feel for them, you definitely do towards the end, but getting there is a struggle.
We have a lot of peripheral characters who come in for both drama and comedy, they're all handled nicely for the most part and the nature of the story means that they can come and go quite easily without many issues. The emotion from Amy James-Kelly as Sarah was great but there's a point where it really feels like a scene is cut n the middle as the tone changes, Laura Checkley as Maz was very funny and Gaby French as Jess comes in with humour and impact in her choir lead. There was just one notable oddity and that was the character of Dawn played by Roxy Faridany. The shy and quiet member of the choir gets brought up a couple of times and yet doesn't feature in any of the foreground scenes properly. This again felt like we were missing scenes where she featured more. Bringing in the soldier contingent we have Jason Flemyng (I love him, he needs to be in more things) who is the base commander (I'm not up on my ranks so I apologise if I got it wrong) and though it's not a large role it's a funny one. The look on his face in the scene under the bridge was a picture. He fits into the cast nicely and it was a good balance of screen time within the story.
Military Wives is a story of personal struggle and friendship at its core, and as expected I spent a significant amount of time with tears streaming down my face. It handles the grieving and coping struggles in a respectful way and the interactions between characters felt very real. The uncertainty, the hatred, the feat and horror, it was all there in the actors' performances. The film takes a long time to get to what you might say is the pay off, but the journey is well thought out and it comes together for a charming and emotional watch.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/02/military-wives-movie-review.html
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