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Expiation - The Whisper of Death
Expiation - The Whisper of Death
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this series and this book more than I thought I would in the beginning. I thought I had cried a lot in the previous books, but this is the book that I cried a ton in. Between the birth of their son, their promise and all the attacks and unbelievable allies during the pregnancy, there was constantly something going on to keep you interested in and in the thought of what might happen. I hadn't known what to expect when Gemma became a Witch but I can tell you, what happened was not on my list of what I thought would happen. I really liked how Amore even included herself at the end. I have to say this book definitely wrapped up the story in such a beautiful way that it is hard to believe it is finally finished.

I would first like to say seeing the Witch's align with their enemies to help protect Gemma was amazing. It left a lot of suspense in the air. I had waited for them to battle constantly but the fact they worked together to protect Gemma was truly amazing and in some moments quite amusing. As we saw in Brokenhearted, Devina had some strong feelings toward Evan and she kept making it clear as she helped protect Gemma. She did everything to cause Gemma and Evan to gain doubt in their relationship and everything else. The Witches even went to school and caused some trouble while protect Gemma. I have to say those antics around Gemma's mortal friends were my favorite. It was fun and quite amusing. The Witches over all were amusing to see do things outside of their home world, Hell.

But it wasn't just the unlikely alliance but the touching moments with everyone involved. To see the baby be born and to witness how happy they were to receive the child was truly touching. I was very upset that she had to become a witch and in the worst way possible. She was killed before Evan could put his plan into action and to see him suffer and become willing to allow Sophia's poison causing everything she knew and love to be lost to her forever. I hated seeing that. I was heart broken for Evan and their baby. Gemma took her place in Hell and proceeded to be a fairly ruthless Witch. She enjoyed the tempting and harvesting of Souls. I found myself holding my breath, hoping it wasn't true and that it was just an act. To find out that her past was erased from her kept me holding on to hope that Evan would free her.

I quite enjoyed learning more about how the Witches worked and learning about Sophia. Though previous books gave us some insight to how Sophia is and about her past, it isn't until this final extension that you learn how truly dark Sophia is and how completely selfish she is. I mean, you can expect that from the devil and with her being the devil, I don't know why I would have imagined her being sweet or even someone I could love. I was not disappointed in how truly evil she was. Though, some of her actions still surprised me. Especially where Gemma and Evan were concerned. However, her getting what she wants didn't surprise me much. But how she went along with obtaining what she wanted was truly mystifying. I loved how Amore detailed and described her and how Gemma and Evan felt towards her. It kept the story moving forwarded and full of suspense.

However, it was the ending seeing Gemma, Evan and their son reunited, even though is was in Heaven. I found myself crying for the last forty pages or so. I was just truly amazed with the story and even though it left you in awestruck and happy, you can't help but wish things had been different. To have the three of them find another way to be together. I have to say overall this was just a truly amazing experience. I would rate this book five stars out of five stars. I would rate the series the same way. I was able to experience all kinds of emotions. I found this book to be exhilarating and truly touching. I did think this book was the most depressing of them all, but watching Evan struggle through so much could have that affect on anyone.
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated The Crucible in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
The Crucible
The Crucible
7
7.6 (26 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely love Arthur Miller and anything regarding witches/ the Salem Trials. So, the crucible for me is a five-star novel. Can we just take a moment to admire the writers of the 50’s and older as they don’t seem to be getting much hype lately? Like, literary classics are deemed school reads and not your typical everyday read. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE.

Reading these in school and then giving them a reread five years after graduating, has shown a new light onto these novels. And has made me appreciate them more as a whole compared to when I read them in high school. If you haven’t read many literary classics, I recommend starting with something by Arthur Miller or George Orwell. Yes, they may be a bit hard to get into at first, but give it time. That’s the key when reading any book!

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Genre: Literary Classic, Historical Fiction, Plays, Drama

Synopsis: “I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history,” Arthur Miller wrote of his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller’s drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town’s most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.

Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “witch-hunts” in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, “Political opposition… is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.”

WIth an introduction by Christopher Bigsby.

Audience/ Reading Level: High School +

Interests: Plays, Drama, Witches, the Salem Trials, Arthur Miller, Literary Classics.

Point of View: Third Person Omniscient

Difficulty Reading: With every literary classic, you run into the problem of the first 30% of the novel being a bore or hard to get into. The Crucible was only a bore in parts but taking the novel as a whole, it was a pretty easy read.

Promise: “I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.”

Insights: The Crucible is based on true events and Arthur Miller has a way of explaining everything that was wrong with the way people lived. I.E. Woman did not have rights until the early 1920’s. This didn’t stop some countries/states to still not allow the woman to have rights. But taking The Crucible into perspective, the women that were charged with witchcraft were unable to explain themselves to the men. The men believed the accusers either because they were sleeping with them or because they were their family. Luckily, nowadays we don’t have this extreme of situations but it still does exist. The Crucible teaches all of its readers, young or old, many valuable lessons that are sometimes hard to witness. Plus, Miller correlates the events in the Crucible to the anti-communist McCarthyism of the 1950s.

Favorite Quotes: “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.”

“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

“You are pulling down heaven and raising up a whore”

What will you gain: A love for another literary classic and a love for Arthur Miller if you do not already love his writing. Plus, a great historical read.

Aesthetics: The witches, the trials, the way people take sides, I mean I can’t say much more without giving spoilers away. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?

“It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves”
  
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Alice (12 KP) rated The Ninth Rain in Books

Jul 3, 2018  
The Ninth Rain
The Ninth Rain
Jen Williams | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review</i>

The Ninth Rain is the first book of a new trilogy from my new go-to author Jen Williams. As in her previous books, Jen Williams creates a world like no other, a world where witches, vampires (of a sort) and giant bats coexist to an extent; a world where gods existed and massive war-beasts once lived and fought, where parasitic beetles are the enemy.

I invite you all to most heartily buy this book, read this book, pause and read it again and again.

Once again Jen Williams has created a trio of characters to love in similar veins to her Copper Cat trilogy, though different in their individual way:

-Noon – a fell-witch from the plains imprisoned in the Winnowry for her crime of being born with power.
-Lady Vincenza ‘Vintage’ de Grazon – A human scholar with a love of all things Jure’lia, a constant hunt for knowledge and cash to splash.
-Tormalin the Oathless – an Eboran mercenary trained in the ways of The House of the Long Night.

Three brilliant characters that each bring their own special flair to this book. Tor is witty and sarcastic, Vintage is much the same but show her eccentricities and has a heart of gold, Noon originally so frightened comes into her own on the journey she shares with Vintage and Tor. Another perfect trio of characters.

The plot for this book resolves around the Jure’lia- or worm-people- who came to Sarn and waged war; the Eighth Rain came from the Eboran God Ygseril, a silvery birth of war-beasts who fought off the Jure’lia and their Behemoths and then passed on themselves. Since the end of the Eighth Rain the war-beasts have been extinct and Ebora started to die.

The book follows Vintage and Tor on their journey through Mushenka and the rest of Sarn in pursuit of knowledge of the Jure’lia- eccentric explorer Vintage’s Poison of choice. They enter the Wild and come across Noon, an escaped fell-witch masquerading as an agent of the Winnowry and from then on their journey becomes a lot less regular and and lot more interesting!

Lots of fire! Lots of action and the sweetest romantic creation I’ve read in a long time – a minor bit of romance that does not detract from the overwhelming fantasy that is this book.

Jen’s world building skills are akin to no other, her cities are ancient but with a modern flair, her enemies disgustingly brilliant and savagely evil, her heroes full of charm and heart. The writing style sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until long after you’ve hit the end of the book and leaves you wanting more.

There are no words strong enough for me to describe how utterly brilliant The Ninth Rain was – not just the story the name comes from but the overall storyline. The characters, plot, balance between good versus evil and everything in between – outstanding.

A great read with heart and soul and epic beasties. I highly recommend this book.
  
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Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies

Jan 6, 2018  
REC (2007)
REC (2007)
2007 | Horror
9
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
Shaky found footage (0 more)
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.

However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
  
Knights of Stone: Mason (Highland Gargoyles #1)
Knights of Stone: Mason (Highland Gargoyles #1)
Lisa Carlisle | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Knights of Stone: Mason (Highland Gargoyles #1)
Knights of Stone: Mason is the first book in the Highland Gargoyles series. Mason is the middle brother (I think) and a guitarist in the rock band. Kayla is a tree witch and has crossed the boundaries to watch them play, even whilst knowing it is forbidden. These two connect on a sensual level, and they don't want to fight it, even though they know they should. However, things are happening amongst the three species that share the Isle of Stone, and it may break down borders, or it might just destroy them all.

Whilst Mason is hot/sexy/built... and whatever you want to say about him, there was an innocence between both him and Kayla that leapt off the page. Now, don't get me wrong, it was as hot anything, but still tinged with this innocence that was delightful. I absolutely loved that part. Kayla is strong and sassy, yet not disrespectful to her elders... at least, not until they disrespect her. Both characters are perfect for each other, and memorable in their own rights.

With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, this book flowed smoothly along, involving me in their story. This is the first book in the series, so do I want to read the others? You betcha! 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!
  
Wow, another great book by Ms. Harrison! I loved <i>The Good, the Bad, and the Undead</i> and had a hard time putting it down. The only reason I'm not giving it a ten is for editing; there were mistakes using tenses (or it just could be possible missing letters) and a major forgotten character (not a major character, just part of this particular plot) that may be missing/dead/or who knows what. Also, since it has been awhile since I read <i>Dead Witch Walking</i>, I don't remember who Francis is and there's no mini-recap for him. Oh well, now I need to get the first book so I can re-read it! :)

As for the rest of the story, I really like Rachel, although I don't know about the direction the author is taking (or had taken) with Ivy; it just seems too much like the Anita Blake thing with what's-his-name, at least a tad bit. The way Nick was written in this book detracted from the little bit readers got out of the first book, and frankly, he could be a major pain-in-the-@$$! I'm a bit disappointed in how he's portrayed, but the other two males in this series are way more exciting and intriguing than he is. I'm sorry to say that, but it's the truth, and maybe Kim Harrison plans on phasing him out of future books. Luckily I have the next two books handy!
4.5 stars
  
Magic Born (The Guardian #2)
Magic Born (The Guardian #2)
Rayanne Haines | 2018 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Magic Born (The Guardian #2) by Rayanne Haines
Magic Born is the second book in The Guardian series, and it does follow on from the first, so you do need to read this in order. We met both Neeren and Mar in the first book. Neeren is Alex's brother whilst Maria is her BFF, and a kick ass witch too.

In book one it became obvious that these two would end up together, although they would both fight it too. And they do, although it changes very quickly. Now, you may consider the circumstances extenuating and say that there was simply no place for games. For me though, it just felt a bit fast, all or nothing!

The pace is fast in this book, and it is excellently written. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep your attention, plus lots of steamy action. If I was being really picky I would say that I wish we had had more of the 'big bad' before we found out who it was. There wasn't really much of a shock involved, simply because a) we didn't really know the character, and b) it made sense!

This was a great continuation of this series, and I am really looking forward to Quinn's book. I really want to see if Lochan has forgiven her for how she left him in book one.

* 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!
  
Gretel &amp; Hansel (2020)
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
2020 | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Grim not Grimm
396. Gretel & Hansel. Do you remember the tale of Hansel and Gretel by the the Grimm Brothers? Well throw it away, because it's 2020 and Girls Rule so Gretel's name is first! Hell, Hansel didn't even make the movie poster! And maybe because its her fault for getting kicked out of their mother's house for not getting a damn job cause times are tough, so get out, and take your brother with you. Thanks mom! At this point, it seems instead of going towards civilization they go further into the woods, tripping on shrooms at one point. After walking for a bit, hunger kicks in, so they break into a house, nice, cause there's a table with a bunch of food to be seen. They get busted of course by the owner, Holda, who takes pity on them and invites them in and feeds em. Too fatten em up to eat them right? Like I said this is 2020, not 1812!! This time Gretel learns the ways of the witch, there's creepy figures in black roaming the woods at night Hansel learns to chop down trees, he's in a trance, whats going on?? In the end, I think it's an arthouse movie about a young girl coming of age, equipped with first period and all, shot like those old Christopher Lee horror movies of the 70's. Also suffers from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves curse, everyone has the same accent, except the freaking star of the movie Gretel! HaHa! Filmbufftim on FB