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Merissa (12911 KP) rated Hunters' Watch Brigade: Initiation in Books
Jun 8, 2018
Hunters' Watch Brigade: Initiation by Paula Millhouse
Hunters' Watch Brigade: Initiation is the first book in the Hunters' Watch Brigade series, that deals with witches, vampires, demi-gods, shifters, and all other paranormal personnel.
Sam is a sassy, sometimes cheeky, female who is confident in herself and her abilities. Her father is Poseidon, and she has an easy relationship with him, even though she doesn't understand why he didn't stick around when she was a child. Max is her Maine Coon familiar (yes, she's also part witch). Max is more to her than that though, but he is resisting with every fibre of his being. He knows he can shift and become a guardian, but is worried about being taken away from Sam if he does so.
I loved these two, both separately and together. Things go full on between them once Max does shift, but then it wouldn't seem right any other way, considering all the time they have spent together.
There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing of this book, with smooth transitions from one scene to the next. It does end on a sort-of cliffhanger, so fair warning. Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sam is a sassy, sometimes cheeky, female who is confident in herself and her abilities. Her father is Poseidon, and she has an easy relationship with him, even though she doesn't understand why he didn't stick around when she was a child. Max is her Maine Coon familiar (yes, she's also part witch). Max is more to her than that though, but he is resisting with every fibre of his being. He knows he can shift and become a guardian, but is worried about being taken away from Sam if he does so.
I loved these two, both separately and together. Things go full on between them once Max does shift, but then it wouldn't seem right any other way, considering all the time they have spent together.
There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing of this book, with smooth transitions from one scene to the next. It does end on a sort-of cliffhanger, so fair warning. Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lee (2222 KP) rated The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) in Movies
Sep 16, 2018
After losing both parents in a car accident, Lewis travels to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) in his large, creepy house. Jonathan's neighbour, Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) seems to spend most of her time there too as they are old friends. The house is full of clocks and, as you've probably guessed from the title of the movie, an even more mysterious clock lies hidden somewhere within its walls. Lewis discovers that Johnathan is a warlock, Florence is a good witch and that the house once belonged to a powerful warlock, who intended to use the clock as part of a catastrophic evil plan.
Directed by Eli Roth, the movie oozes style and creepiness. It has scares that will terrify younger children, but entertain the parents and it has a good amount of humour throughout. For me though, it felt like all style and not much substance. Despite being based on the first in a series of 12 books, with this first story being published in 1973, the movie version just feels like an amalgamation of things we've seen many times before in recent years. Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, even the trailer made me think of the Goosebumps movie.
I'm probably being a little harsh, and the latter third of the movie did turn out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first two. I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more.
Directed by Eli Roth, the movie oozes style and creepiness. It has scares that will terrify younger children, but entertain the parents and it has a good amount of humour throughout. For me though, it felt like all style and not much substance. Despite being based on the first in a series of 12 books, with this first story being published in 1973, the movie version just feels like an amalgamation of things we've seen many times before in recent years. Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, even the trailer made me think of the Goosebumps movie.
I'm probably being a little harsh, and the latter third of the movie did turn out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first two. I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more.
Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Pyewacket (2017) in Movies
Sep 26, 2018
This film doesn't know WITCH film it wants to be...
Pyewacket is a witchy teen angst film, that feels a bit like it wanted to be Ginger Snaps for witches, following the life of a teen girl whose father has recently died, and whose mother is not dealing well with the new reality.
Against her protestations, her mother moves them to a house in the woods, and away from her school and friends and after a heated exchange, the daughter decides to perform a dark ritual in the woods.
The crux of the film is that she later regrets the decision and is haunted by ghostly presences in the house that she suspects are the result of her ritual.
The whole film feels out of time, as if it were a late 90's early 2000's teen horror, with the majority of time spent exploring teen angst and cringey cliched subculture banter, rather than really tyring to ramp up any tension or scare the viewer.
At no point is a bad film, but it is trying to walk the line between genuine horror and that sort of 'The Craft' style teen culture movie, and it just doesnt seem to really nail either.
Its not bad, its not great, its just ok.
Against her protestations, her mother moves them to a house in the woods, and away from her school and friends and after a heated exchange, the daughter decides to perform a dark ritual in the woods.
The crux of the film is that she later regrets the decision and is haunted by ghostly presences in the house that she suspects are the result of her ritual.
The whole film feels out of time, as if it were a late 90's early 2000's teen horror, with the majority of time spent exploring teen angst and cringey cliched subculture banter, rather than really tyring to ramp up any tension or scare the viewer.
At no point is a bad film, but it is trying to walk the line between genuine horror and that sort of 'The Craft' style teen culture movie, and it just doesnt seem to really nail either.
Its not bad, its not great, its just ok.
Merissa (12911 KP) rated Hexed (Paranormal Tales from Firefly Island) in Books
Nov 2, 2018
Hexed (Paranormal Tales from Firefly Island) by Alyssa Drake
Hexed is the first novella in the Paranormal Tales from Firefly Island series, and it tells the story of Remy - an undeveloped Witch who just wants to be normal. And by normal, she means being able to do spells like the rest of her family and friends. She doesn't have a very good time of it, and leaves home for pastures new when she is eighteen. However, that doesn't go quite according to plan either, so she ends up returning to Firefly Island to spend some time with her sister. One of the first people she bumps into is Sebastian, and things move quickly onward from there.
This is a fast-paced novella, with some steamy scenes in it. You will learn more about Remy's past, and the reason things were done in the way they were. Remy and Sebastian have their HFN ending, but it does leave it wide open for at least three more stories!
All in all, this was a very enjoyable, quick read, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading. A nice introduction to Firefly Island, and I look forward to getting better acquainted in future books. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is a fast-paced novella, with some steamy scenes in it. You will learn more about Remy's past, and the reason things were done in the way they were. Remy and Sebastian have their HFN ending, but it does leave it wide open for at least three more stories!
All in all, this was a very enjoyable, quick read, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading. A nice introduction to Firefly Island, and I look forward to getting better acquainted in future books. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Merissa (12911 KP) rated Mystic Maples (Deerbourne Inn Series) in Books
Jun 18, 2019
Mystic Maples (Deerbourne Inn Series) by Tena Stetler
Mystic Maples is the first book by Tena Stetler I have read, although it is part of a larger series, Deerbourne Inn, which involves other authors.
In this, Mercy takes a leave of absence from the shop she co-owns with her sister, after a dramatic few months. She ends up at Deerbourne Inn, but due to a mix-up, she is only there for two weeks, rather than the six months she had intended. Along comes Silvanus to save the day.
This was an easy read that didn't really delve too deeply into any of the 'paranormal' elements. We know Mercy is a Earth/Fire witch, but mainly she grows plants. We know Silvanus is a gypsy/fae, but his gypsy side is stronger. There is a magical, time-travelling vardo that takes them back to right a wrong, but once again, this is skimmed over and done with before you can blink.
For myself, this was a lunch-break book - definitely good enough to whisk me away for an hour, but nothing that stays with me after. If you are looking for a light read, I can definitely recommend this one.
* 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!
In this, Mercy takes a leave of absence from the shop she co-owns with her sister, after a dramatic few months. She ends up at Deerbourne Inn, but due to a mix-up, she is only there for two weeks, rather than the six months she had intended. Along comes Silvanus to save the day.
This was an easy read that didn't really delve too deeply into any of the 'paranormal' elements. We know Mercy is a Earth/Fire witch, but mainly she grows plants. We know Silvanus is a gypsy/fae, but his gypsy side is stronger. There is a magical, time-travelling vardo that takes them back to right a wrong, but once again, this is skimmed over and done with before you can blink.
For myself, this was a lunch-break book - definitely good enough to whisk me away for an hour, but nothing that stays with me after. If you are looking for a light read, I can definitely recommend this one.
* 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!
Merissa (12911 KP) rated The Beginning in Books
Dec 17, 2018
For a prequel novella, this book packs in a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time. Cecily is a 'royal' Witch but she is royally fed up with her life. She wants to live like a human but is being hassled to be the one who gives birth the one long awaited, the one who will save the witches. Unfortunately, this means that she has suffered through nine miscarriages. I don't mean one or nine relationships though. She is there as a brood mare, along with the other royal witches, until the Tenth is born.
She meets up with her friend, only to find out that the meeting was just a ruse to try and get her to continue. Hurt by the betrayal, she leaves and finds her way to a bar where the music tempts her inside.
Like I said, there is a lot of information in here that will delight and tempt you, and definitely leave you wanting to know more - about Cecily, about James, about the situation they find themselves in, about their world in general.
With no spelling or grammatical errors that I found, this was an enjoyable and quick read, perfectly leading on to the next book in the series - A Late Summer Bloom. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
She meets up with her friend, only to find out that the meeting was just a ruse to try and get her to continue. Hurt by the betrayal, she leaves and finds her way to a bar where the music tempts her inside.
Like I said, there is a lot of information in here that will delight and tempt you, and definitely leave you wanting to know more - about Cecily, about James, about the situation they find themselves in, about their world in general.
With no spelling or grammatical errors that I found, this was an enjoyable and quick read, perfectly leading on to the next book in the series - A Late Summer Bloom. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Merissa (12911 KP) rated Out of the Dark (The Grey Wolves, #4) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
The best thing for me is the fact that you get taken straight back where the old book finished when the new book starts. And when you're reading them back to back as I am, this is great! There's no wondering who's done what and when. You just dive straight back into the pack and carry on.
You learn more in this book about the gypsy healers but that in no way detracts from Jen and Decebel's story. When a wicked witch (stay with me here, it's worth it) tries to place a curse on Fane, Decebel is somehow able to sense it and manages to take the hit, literally, for Fane. This is a horrible curse though because it means that he loses his memories of his mate when he has only just found her and they haven't completed the Blood Rites yet. The struggle between the two of them is so painful and intense, I felt like a voyeur! So well written, you just can't remain separate from the story. Just when you think that things are slowing down and you're going to get your HEA, something else will happen that will throw everything on its head. There is just so much action and thrills in this book. Once again, we are treated to a Blood Rites which manages to match that of Jacque and Fane. But is that the end of the story? I'll leave you to read it and find out.
DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED
You learn more in this book about the gypsy healers but that in no way detracts from Jen and Decebel's story. When a wicked witch (stay with me here, it's worth it) tries to place a curse on Fane, Decebel is somehow able to sense it and manages to take the hit, literally, for Fane. This is a horrible curse though because it means that he loses his memories of his mate when he has only just found her and they haven't completed the Blood Rites yet. The struggle between the two of them is so painful and intense, I felt like a voyeur! So well written, you just can't remain separate from the story. Just when you think that things are slowing down and you're going to get your HEA, something else will happen that will throw everything on its head. There is just so much action and thrills in this book. Once again, we are treated to a Blood Rites which manages to match that of Jacque and Fane. But is that the end of the story? I'll leave you to read it and find out.
DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED
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