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His Lordship's Master (His Lordship’s Mysteries #2)
8.0
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Still reeling from the horrific events in London, Alfie thinks Balcarres House, the seat of his...
Historical MM Mystery Romance
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Silent Victim (DCI Matilda Darke #10) in Books
Oct 23, 2022
... aaaannnnd breathe!!!!
What can I say ... wow ... another absolute belter to add to this truly excellent series with the only complaint I have is that we have to wait until March for the next instalment ... March?!? ... I have to wait until March?!?!? Oh Mr Wood you are wicked 😀
I don't even know where to begin on just how good this book, and the rest of series, is but once again, we are treated to outstanding characters, a dark and gritty storyline all wrapped up in an tense plot with twists and turns that had me swiping my Kindle so fast I got friction burns!
Highly recommended book to read as a standalone but, to get the best out of it, I would suggest you read the whole series; you won't be disappointed and DCI Darke, her friends and colleagues will become like old friends you will laugh and cry with.
A huge thanks must go to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of the excellent Silent Victim.
What can I say ... wow ... another absolute belter to add to this truly excellent series with the only complaint I have is that we have to wait until March for the next instalment ... March?!? ... I have to wait until March?!?!? Oh Mr Wood you are wicked 😀
I don't even know where to begin on just how good this book, and the rest of series, is but once again, we are treated to outstanding characters, a dark and gritty storyline all wrapped up in an tense plot with twists and turns that had me swiping my Kindle so fast I got friction burns!
Highly recommended book to read as a standalone but, to get the best out of it, I would suggest you read the whole series; you won't be disappointed and DCI Darke, her friends and colleagues will become like old friends you will laugh and cry with.
A huge thanks must go to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of the excellent Silent Victim.
Some Kind of Truth
8.0
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Pittsburgh crime reporter, Steve James, returns home to find a mysterious package waiting outside...
Mystery Dark Thriller
Color You In (EMS Station 1 #2)
8.0
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Why are the hot guys always straight? EMT Gus Dawson is off men, thanks to his jerk of an ex....
Contemporary MM Romance Series
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated A Wicked Thing (A Wicked Thing, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
My all-time favorite Disney movie (in VCR) – along with Pocahontas and Mulan, to which there are literally zilch retellings to my knowledge – while growing up was <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>. I even reenacted it... for fun and on my own (expected of a four or five year old).
And perhaps it is also one of the most difficult tales to be retold. There's a princess who has a curse placed on her that she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before her sixteenth birthday and die – not entirely too much to take a spin on, is there?
No pun intended.
Much as I give props to Rhiannon Thomas for taking <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> on another path, <i>A Wicked Thing</i> is certainly not a book I would enjoy even for the pleasure of reading. In fact, truth be told in maybe a harsh way, <i>A Wicked Thing</i> was funny. And while funny typically means a good thing, I honestly had a field day reading the first three chapters in between chess matches and poking fun at the book (aka making sassy comments that will make no appearance whatsoever in this review aside from a big basket of mozzarella sticks).
<i>A Wicked Thing</i> is almost a sequel to the original <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>. Some time has passed, and then the prince kisses Aurora – all that jazz is pretty much the same aside from maybe happily ever after, to which I won't bother finding out. Perhaps there <i>is</i> a happily ever after by the end of the book – I'm still not going to go and find out because I'm too focused on making it to at least the top 10 in the class now that I'm extremely close to it.
But let's start with the prince kisses Aurora. She wakes up and screams. It probably makes sense to scream when you wake up to a random stranger hovering above your face and actually kissed you. Honestly, a pretty fantastic opening scene – and I'm serious – aside from the part where the "boy" (we don't know he's a prince YET) says, "I did it. I actually did it."
Then I get a sled and start laughing gleefully (read: found it absolutely amusing) while sliding down a hill (read: continuing the book just see how it all plays out because I haven't found reasons to throw this aside yet and then I do).
Prince Rodric, the "boy," is pathetic. The <i>royal family</i>, in my opinion, is a little pathetic and cheesy. Are they actually pathetic? Perhaps not when you really get to know them and perhaps they're marvelous rulers and the people love them oh-so-dearly, but from the little bit of the book that I read and met the royal family, I find myself disappointed. Particularly disappointed in Rodric the princeling because he will obviously make a huge appearance throughout the rest of the book and I've got to at least like the main characters to enjoy the book.
The dear prince blushes <i>at almost every single sentence he speaks to Aurora</i>. I'm pretty sure the amount of blushes will be the equal amount of election commercials soon (Vote for me! Vote for me!).
<blockquote>He stopped and blushed again.</blockquote>
Princeling probably stutters as well, and is most likely a descendant of Romeo.
<blockquote>“I mean, you always look beautiful. But you look especially beautiful tonight. Is what I mean.”</blockquote>
The king is overly cheery, and while there seems to be a probable reason (my son woke up a slumbering princess!), "overly cheery" really means "exuberantly happy-go-lucky."
<blockquote>“Please send out the heralds. A little extra pomp and circumstance, if you please. It is hardly a normal day.”</blockquote>
No... definitely not a normal day. That much I'll agreee with. But isn't celebrating as soon as Aurora wakes up a little overboard? The chick just woke up from a hundred plus years of slumber and everything literally comes crashing down over on her head upside down! I'm not sure Aurora appreciated that – she was quite confuzzled when she woke up (whoa... what's going on here?!) and even protested a little (not that anyone heard her).
Betsy the maid babbles in excitement and is worse than the king.
<blockquote>“I was so honored, Princess, when they asked me to assist you. I never expected it! But then, I never expected you’d be standing here, if you don’t mind me saying. Not that I didn’t think Rodric could be your true love, because of course he’s wonderful, but it always seemed too much like a dream to ever happen while I was here. Things will be amazing, now, you’ll see. Everyone loves you already. How could they not?”</blockquote>
Reasonable babbling of excitement, seeing as she's a humble servant.
But she and everyone else aside from Aurora is also a little naïve with the assumption that everything is going to be fantastic and happily ever after Aurora and Rodric marry, simply based a fairy tale.
Aurora, however, might have been a character that I would actually like had I continued the book. But by that point in the novel, when Rodric and Aurora are first dining together, I was quite cheesed (it was the constant blushing and cheeriness). While I normally feel guilty for throwing a book aside really early, I don't think I feel too guilty in <i>A Wicked Thing's</i> case.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-arc-review-wicked-thing-by-rhiannon-thomas/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
My all-time favorite Disney movie (in VCR) – along with Pocahontas and Mulan, to which there are literally zilch retellings to my knowledge – while growing up was <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>. I even reenacted it... for fun and on my own (expected of a four or five year old).
And perhaps it is also one of the most difficult tales to be retold. There's a princess who has a curse placed on her that she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before her sixteenth birthday and die – not entirely too much to take a spin on, is there?
No pun intended.
Much as I give props to Rhiannon Thomas for taking <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> on another path, <i>A Wicked Thing</i> is certainly not a book I would enjoy even for the pleasure of reading. In fact, truth be told in maybe a harsh way, <i>A Wicked Thing</i> was funny. And while funny typically means a good thing, I honestly had a field day reading the first three chapters in between chess matches and poking fun at the book (aka making sassy comments that will make no appearance whatsoever in this review aside from a big basket of mozzarella sticks).
<i>A Wicked Thing</i> is almost a sequel to the original <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>. Some time has passed, and then the prince kisses Aurora – all that jazz is pretty much the same aside from maybe happily ever after, to which I won't bother finding out. Perhaps there <i>is</i> a happily ever after by the end of the book – I'm still not going to go and find out because I'm too focused on making it to at least the top 10 in the class now that I'm extremely close to it.
But let's start with the prince kisses Aurora. She wakes up and screams. It probably makes sense to scream when you wake up to a random stranger hovering above your face and actually kissed you. Honestly, a pretty fantastic opening scene – and I'm serious – aside from the part where the "boy" (we don't know he's a prince YET) says, "I did it. I actually did it."
Then I get a sled and start laughing gleefully (read: found it absolutely amusing) while sliding down a hill (read: continuing the book just see how it all plays out because I haven't found reasons to throw this aside yet and then I do).
Prince Rodric, the "boy," is pathetic. The <i>royal family</i>, in my opinion, is a little pathetic and cheesy. Are they actually pathetic? Perhaps not when you really get to know them and perhaps they're marvelous rulers and the people love them oh-so-dearly, but from the little bit of the book that I read and met the royal family, I find myself disappointed. Particularly disappointed in Rodric the princeling because he will obviously make a huge appearance throughout the rest of the book and I've got to at least like the main characters to enjoy the book.
The dear prince blushes <i>at almost every single sentence he speaks to Aurora</i>. I'm pretty sure the amount of blushes will be the equal amount of election commercials soon (Vote for me! Vote for me!).
<blockquote>He stopped and blushed again.</blockquote>
Princeling probably stutters as well, and is most likely a descendant of Romeo.
<blockquote>“I mean, you always look beautiful. But you look especially beautiful tonight. Is what I mean.”</blockquote>
The king is overly cheery, and while there seems to be a probable reason (my son woke up a slumbering princess!), "overly cheery" really means "exuberantly happy-go-lucky."
<blockquote>“Please send out the heralds. A little extra pomp and circumstance, if you please. It is hardly a normal day.”</blockquote>
No... definitely not a normal day. That much I'll agreee with. But isn't celebrating as soon as Aurora wakes up a little overboard? The chick just woke up from a hundred plus years of slumber and everything literally comes crashing down over on her head upside down! I'm not sure Aurora appreciated that – she was quite confuzzled when she woke up (whoa... what's going on here?!) and even protested a little (not that anyone heard her).
Betsy the maid babbles in excitement and is worse than the king.
<blockquote>“I was so honored, Princess, when they asked me to assist you. I never expected it! But then, I never expected you’d be standing here, if you don’t mind me saying. Not that I didn’t think Rodric could be your true love, because of course he’s wonderful, but it always seemed too much like a dream to ever happen while I was here. Things will be amazing, now, you’ll see. Everyone loves you already. How could they not?”</blockquote>
Reasonable babbling of excitement, seeing as she's a humble servant.
But she and everyone else aside from Aurora is also a little naïve with the assumption that everything is going to be fantastic and happily ever after Aurora and Rodric marry, simply based a fairy tale.
Aurora, however, might have been a character that I would actually like had I continued the book. But by that point in the novel, when Rodric and Aurora are first dining together, I was quite cheesed (it was the constant blushing and cheeriness). While I normally feel guilty for throwing a book aside really early, I don't think I feel too guilty in <i>A Wicked Thing's</i> case.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-arc-review-wicked-thing-by-rhiannon-thomas/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Gretel & Hansel (2020) in Movies
Sep 10, 2020
Something Wicked
Gretel and hansel is everything I hoped it would be & more, a devilsh dive into witchcraft & an utterly nightmarish visual feast for both the eyes & senses. Gretel & Hansel is a new take on the well known Grimm fairytale & for a simple comparison it's much like one of my favourite horror films of all time 2015's The witch. Now I'm guessing that's put some people off already but those who are still with me are in for a delightful treat. Think Suspira if it were boiled in a pot with the witch, hagazussa & it comes at night & you have painted a picture of what to expect here. Extremely slow pacing, constantly lingering ominous dread & a soundtrack that's likely to cause the hairs on your neck to stand up every time it drones. To say this film is absolutely gorgeous is an insult, every single frame is awash with beautifully striking & highly interesting to explore imagery & colour. It's so visually striking & breathtaking I could happily of sat & watched it with no sound & still be as entranced by its wicked ways. However the way these visuals mash with the synth & droning soundtrack honestly kept me glued to the screen seemingly bewitched & fixated in a trance like state. As you can tell these types of films are my passion when it comes to horror, I much prefer the slow lingering constant sense of dread & creepy imagery that lead up to a shocking pay off while also intertwining the kind of depth & philosophy you have to unravel yourself instead of being spoon fed the plot by the characters themselves. This film is no different & as we delve deep into such themes as female empowerment, innocence, sacrifice, responsibility, naivety, addiction & greed as a viewer the web spun for you begins to unravel about what the film is truly trying to say at its core. Sophia Lillis who you may know from IT does wonders here as Gretel & it's her character, acting & attachment that really hooks you & makes every scene with her in feel calming amongst all the oddities going on. I honestly can not praise this film enough & say if your into art house cinema do not hesitate at grabbing this on glorious 4k. A stunning, breathless wonder of a movie to that will leave you feeling body unnerved & your mind shaken.
Debbiereadsbook (1416 KP) rated His Lordship's Master (His Lordship’s Mysteries #2) in Books
Mar 31, 2022
I could see that things were really not as they were portrayed to be.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 2 in the His Lordship's Mysteries series, and while this can be read as a stand alone, I really think you SHOULD read book one, His Lordship's Secret before this one. Lots happened in that book that is referenced here, but not fully explained. You could probably piece things together, but I think to get the full effect of Alfie and Dominick, you need to read that book first.
Still recovering from what happened in London, Alfie and Dominick retreat to his family house in Scotland. And find themselves in the middle of an age-old mystery. What with ghosts and missing people and now a dead butler, Alfie and Dominick jump headlong into another caper!
I really was enjoying this a bit more than book one, but something triggered with me, and I found myself thinking about another book. With another ago-old mystery, with another painting, in another castle. And I'm stumped as to which book it was, but after that point, I found I didn't enjoy it quite so much.
Oh don't get me wrong, please. It's really well written, from both Alfie and Dominick's point of view. There are more things revealed about both Alfie and Dom's lives in the time they were apart. There is much love here, even if they sometimes forget that.
I again quote my review for Secret:
I loved that the whodunnit was so NOT who I was expecting, nor was it WHY! I love being kept on my toes!
Because I really did not see that one coming at me. But the whole Wicked Master thing? I could see that coming at me, even before the point I mentioned before. I could see that things were really not as they were portrayed to be.
There are almost two stories going on here. The missing woman and the dead butler, then the Wicked Master thing. I liked that, along with the growing deepening connection between Alfie and Dom, which evokes some mighty powerful feelings here!
So, even though things were a little blurry, I did enjoy it and I'll still give it. . .
4 solid stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is book 2 in the His Lordship's Mysteries series, and while this can be read as a stand alone, I really think you SHOULD read book one, His Lordship's Secret before this one. Lots happened in that book that is referenced here, but not fully explained. You could probably piece things together, but I think to get the full effect of Alfie and Dominick, you need to read that book first.
Still recovering from what happened in London, Alfie and Dominick retreat to his family house in Scotland. And find themselves in the middle of an age-old mystery. What with ghosts and missing people and now a dead butler, Alfie and Dominick jump headlong into another caper!
I really was enjoying this a bit more than book one, but something triggered with me, and I found myself thinking about another book. With another ago-old mystery, with another painting, in another castle. And I'm stumped as to which book it was, but after that point, I found I didn't enjoy it quite so much.
Oh don't get me wrong, please. It's really well written, from both Alfie and Dominick's point of view. There are more things revealed about both Alfie and Dom's lives in the time they were apart. There is much love here, even if they sometimes forget that.
I again quote my review for Secret:
I loved that the whodunnit was so NOT who I was expecting, nor was it WHY! I love being kept on my toes!
Because I really did not see that one coming at me. But the whole Wicked Master thing? I could see that coming at me, even before the point I mentioned before. I could see that things were really not as they were portrayed to be.
There are almost two stories going on here. The missing woman and the dead butler, then the Wicked Master thing. I liked that, along with the growing deepening connection between Alfie and Dom, which evokes some mighty powerful feelings here!
So, even though things were a little blurry, I did enjoy it and I'll still give it. . .
4 solid stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
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