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Star Wars: Dark Disciple
8.0
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Based on unproduced scripts from the blockbuster TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars! The only way to...
Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1)
8.4
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The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found...
Insatiable Incubus (Lads and Monsters #1)
8.0
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A sadistic incubus; a young monster hunter. Sometimes love can be more complicated than murder. ...
MM Monster Romance Enemies to Lovers Fated Mates BDSM
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Beguiled ( Betwixt & Between book 3) in Books
Dec 31, 2022
226 of 230
Kindle
Beguiled ( Betwixt & Between book 3)
By Darynda Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Paranormal Women's Fiction with a bit of class, and a lot of sass, for anyone who feels like age is just a number!
Newly indoctrinated witch, Defiance Dayne, discovers there’s more to life after forty than she'd ever imagined possible. Especially if one is a charmling, one of only three in the world, with enough magics to make her a target for every power-hungry warlock out there. When one of them sends a hunter to town, she knows it’s time to take her talents seriously before the hunter takes her life.
She decides she has three things to do before she can die. Find out who killed her beloved grandmother, teach her BFF the finer points of spellcasting before she blows up the world, and figure out how serious her relationship with the Adonis living in her basement really is. If it’s heading in the direction she’s hoping for, she can die happy. Though, admittedly, she’d rather not. Die. Happy or otherwise.
None of that will matter, however, if she can’t figure out how to foil the supernatural assassin who’s been sent for her. Until then, it’s business—and hopefully romance—as usual. Now if she can only figure out how to tame a lacuna wolf.
This author never disappoints! I really am enjoying this series I think it’s quirky and love how it’s a middle aged normal woman as the lead. We see how finding her birth family and her magic changes her life and brings so many new people and adventures. Really worth a read as it’s easy to get into and a fun light read.
Kindle
Beguiled ( Betwixt & Between book 3)
By Darynda Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Paranormal Women's Fiction with a bit of class, and a lot of sass, for anyone who feels like age is just a number!
Newly indoctrinated witch, Defiance Dayne, discovers there’s more to life after forty than she'd ever imagined possible. Especially if one is a charmling, one of only three in the world, with enough magics to make her a target for every power-hungry warlock out there. When one of them sends a hunter to town, she knows it’s time to take her talents seriously before the hunter takes her life.
She decides she has three things to do before she can die. Find out who killed her beloved grandmother, teach her BFF the finer points of spellcasting before she blows up the world, and figure out how serious her relationship with the Adonis living in her basement really is. If it’s heading in the direction she’s hoping for, she can die happy. Though, admittedly, she’d rather not. Die. Happy or otherwise.
None of that will matter, however, if she can’t figure out how to foil the supernatural assassin who’s been sent for her. Until then, it’s business—and hopefully romance—as usual. Now if she can only figure out how to tame a lacuna wolf.
This author never disappoints! I really am enjoying this series I think it’s quirky and love how it’s a middle aged normal woman as the lead. We see how finding her birth family and her magic changes her life and brings so many new people and adventures. Really worth a read as it’s easy to get into and a fun light read.
Secret Agents Spy Mission 3D -Covert Escape Action
Games and Entertainment
App
A fierce police vs secret agent and mafia vs crime swat spy mission game where kill or to be killed...
Contract Killer: Sniper
Games and Entertainment
App
You are a master assassin, hired to infiltrate secure locations and eliminate high-profile targets....
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Citadels in Tabletop Games
Aug 13, 2021
It has been documented several times that I, Travis Lopez, would be a horrible city planner. So why do I keep playing these games that require me to build city buildings and components and why do I enjoy them so much? Well, truth be told, this is a game that I had traded for years ago, got rid of, missed terribly, and repurchased. However, this is the newer version that includes a lot more in the box. Does it mean that the game is better? More stuff means better game, right?
In Citadels players will be donning the mantle of potential Master Builders and will need to build the greatest buildings within the city and manipulate the powers of special people within its walls. The game ends when a player has built their seventh district building. The player with the most VP at this time will be crowned Master Builder and winner of Citadels!
To setup, decide which eight characters will be used in the game, gather their cards and tokens, and place their tokens in ascending order on the table. This is to remind all players which characters (and their rank) is in play. Assemble the district (building) cards per the rules and shuffle the deck. Deal each player four of these district cards along with two gold coins. The eldest player will begin the game as the current First Player (complete with crown mini) and will begin the first phase of the first round.
Citadels is played over several rounds, each with two phases played within. The first phase is the Selection Phase, where the current First Player takes the character cards, shuffles them, adds zero to two cards (dependent upon number of players) face-up on the table and one card face-down. They then choose from the cards remaining in hand which character’s powers they would like to enact for the turn. The cards are passed to the next player in line who will do the same, and so on around the table.
Once all players have chosen their character card, the Turn Phase can begin. The current First Player (the one with the crown) will announce the characters in rank order, with the lowest character going first. In a typical game using only original base characters, this is “1: Assassin.” Whomever chose the Assassin card will flip over their character card, perform its special power, and then continue with their turn. In this case, the Assassin’s special power is to announce the name of a CHARACTER to assassinate. NOTE: This does NOT mean the name of the PLAYER. So the Assassin could choose to assassinate the King character, not the Travis player. After the character has used their power, the player can continue with the rest of their turn, though some character powers may be used at any time during the player’s turn.
After the character power is used, the player will gather resources in the form of two gold coins from the bank or by drawing two district cards from the deck and choosing one to keep in hand. After this choice, the player may then build one district in their play area if they wish and if they can afford to do so. Once complete, the crowned First Player will call out the next character rank (2: Thief in our example) who will continue their turn in the same way. The game continues in this fashion until a player has built their seventh district. The round continues until all players have had an equal amount of turns. Players then count VP on district cards and bonuses per the rulebook. The player with the most VP at the end of the game is crowned the Master Builder and winner of Citadels!
Components. I have to say that I enjoyed the components in the older version of Citadels I used to have just fine. I had sleeved all my cards, and the gold coins were nice back in the day. This version, however, includes many more components and each one is higher quality than the previous version’s. The art on the cards has been updated and is much much nicer now as well. The addition of the crown mini, the character tokens, and other components not mentioned here merely increases my love for Citadels. Windrider has knocked it out of the park with this version. And that’s saying nothing about all the additional characters now included in the game! Oh boy, so much variability!
Along with that variability is the customization of the game. You can play with one of the six pre-constructed provided suggestions in the rulebook or create your own combination of different characters. With three versions of each rank, many possibilities are… possible.
I do love Citadels, and with the right group can be a show-stopper all on its own. Some players may get a little offended or sassy because there is a fair amount of Take That in Citadels with the character interactions, so if playing with people who don’t understand the difference between a game and real life, I would prep them appropriately. I love being able to outwit my opponents by drafting certain characters they didn’t think I would want. Keeping them all on their toes during the game is sneaky fun.
So for me, with the amount of replayability, high quality and excellent components, and cutthroat gameplay I simply adore Citadels. I can pull it out with different groups and have different play experiences and try to tailor the character offering to the strengths of my players, or simply use one listed in the back of the rulebook. Purple Phoenix Games gives Citadels an underhanded, yet scholarly 21 / 24. It’s a stunning, magical, wonderful game and one of Bruno Faidutti’s best ever! Surely this is already in your collection, right? If not, make it so.
In Citadels players will be donning the mantle of potential Master Builders and will need to build the greatest buildings within the city and manipulate the powers of special people within its walls. The game ends when a player has built their seventh district building. The player with the most VP at this time will be crowned Master Builder and winner of Citadels!
To setup, decide which eight characters will be used in the game, gather their cards and tokens, and place their tokens in ascending order on the table. This is to remind all players which characters (and their rank) is in play. Assemble the district (building) cards per the rules and shuffle the deck. Deal each player four of these district cards along with two gold coins. The eldest player will begin the game as the current First Player (complete with crown mini) and will begin the first phase of the first round.
Citadels is played over several rounds, each with two phases played within. The first phase is the Selection Phase, where the current First Player takes the character cards, shuffles them, adds zero to two cards (dependent upon number of players) face-up on the table and one card face-down. They then choose from the cards remaining in hand which character’s powers they would like to enact for the turn. The cards are passed to the next player in line who will do the same, and so on around the table.
Once all players have chosen their character card, the Turn Phase can begin. The current First Player (the one with the crown) will announce the characters in rank order, with the lowest character going first. In a typical game using only original base characters, this is “1: Assassin.” Whomever chose the Assassin card will flip over their character card, perform its special power, and then continue with their turn. In this case, the Assassin’s special power is to announce the name of a CHARACTER to assassinate. NOTE: This does NOT mean the name of the PLAYER. So the Assassin could choose to assassinate the King character, not the Travis player. After the character has used their power, the player can continue with the rest of their turn, though some character powers may be used at any time during the player’s turn.
After the character power is used, the player will gather resources in the form of two gold coins from the bank or by drawing two district cards from the deck and choosing one to keep in hand. After this choice, the player may then build one district in their play area if they wish and if they can afford to do so. Once complete, the crowned First Player will call out the next character rank (2: Thief in our example) who will continue their turn in the same way. The game continues in this fashion until a player has built their seventh district. The round continues until all players have had an equal amount of turns. Players then count VP on district cards and bonuses per the rulebook. The player with the most VP at the end of the game is crowned the Master Builder and winner of Citadels!
Components. I have to say that I enjoyed the components in the older version of Citadels I used to have just fine. I had sleeved all my cards, and the gold coins were nice back in the day. This version, however, includes many more components and each one is higher quality than the previous version’s. The art on the cards has been updated and is much much nicer now as well. The addition of the crown mini, the character tokens, and other components not mentioned here merely increases my love for Citadels. Windrider has knocked it out of the park with this version. And that’s saying nothing about all the additional characters now included in the game! Oh boy, so much variability!
Along with that variability is the customization of the game. You can play with one of the six pre-constructed provided suggestions in the rulebook or create your own combination of different characters. With three versions of each rank, many possibilities are… possible.
I do love Citadels, and with the right group can be a show-stopper all on its own. Some players may get a little offended or sassy because there is a fair amount of Take That in Citadels with the character interactions, so if playing with people who don’t understand the difference between a game and real life, I would prep them appropriately. I love being able to outwit my opponents by drafting certain characters they didn’t think I would want. Keeping them all on their toes during the game is sneaky fun.
So for me, with the amount of replayability, high quality and excellent components, and cutthroat gameplay I simply adore Citadels. I can pull it out with different groups and have different play experiences and try to tailor the character offering to the strengths of my players, or simply use one listed in the back of the rulebook. Purple Phoenix Games gives Citadels an underhanded, yet scholarly 21 / 24. It’s a stunning, magical, wonderful game and one of Bruno Faidutti’s best ever! Surely this is already in your collection, right? If not, make it so.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Empire's Ghost in Books
Sep 6, 2017
Good worldbuilding (1 more)
Well-rounded characters
An alright debut novel
So I’ve had pretty good luck with debut novels, overall. This one was good – not what I’d called spectacular, like those three, but good. If the sequel was out now, I’d read it. Knowing my reading habits, I probably won’t, because by the time the sequel does come out, I’ll have forgotten too much of this first book. (I strongly dislike only reading the first book in a series and then having to wait.)
What I really liked was how the author painted every character. Even the would-be Emperor, who is probably the closest to evil any character is in this book, was interesting and had clear motivations that made sense. I wouldn’t even call him evil, just ambitious. His assassin shows a different side in part of the book that also removes him from the “evil” category. I’m impressed that Steiger manager to set up several factions at odds with each other without making any of them evil. Wrong, perhaps, misguided perhaps, but not evil. Which is unusual in high fantasy.
What I disliked was there was a point in the middle where I had to set aside the book for real life – and I almost never picked it up again. Three days later, I finally did, but to me, that means I wasn’t invested in the characters or the story. I could have moved on to a different book, and I almost did. I liked most of the characters – but without liking any of them enough to truly care what happened. I also wish the pacing was a little faster, but that’s a victim of too many viewpoints, I think.
So I could go either way on this book. It was well-written but a little slow and didn’t just GRAB me the way some books do.
See all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
What I really liked was how the author painted every character. Even the would-be Emperor, who is probably the closest to evil any character is in this book, was interesting and had clear motivations that made sense. I wouldn’t even call him evil, just ambitious. His assassin shows a different side in part of the book that also removes him from the “evil” category. I’m impressed that Steiger manager to set up several factions at odds with each other without making any of them evil. Wrong, perhaps, misguided perhaps, but not evil. Which is unusual in high fantasy.
What I disliked was there was a point in the middle where I had to set aside the book for real life – and I almost never picked it up again. Three days later, I finally did, but to me, that means I wasn’t invested in the characters or the story. I could have moved on to a different book, and I almost did. I liked most of the characters – but without liking any of them enough to truly care what happened. I also wish the pacing was a little faster, but that’s a victim of too many viewpoints, I think.
So I could go either way on this book. It was well-written but a little slow and didn’t just GRAB me the way some books do.
See all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Nicely written (2 more)
Adorable lead character
Lots of wit and humour
A Delight To Read!
Wow, what a fantastic beginning to a new series! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from the very first page.
Shattered is the first novel of the "Drew Patrick Private Investigator" series, with PI Drew Patrick as the lead character.
Shattered begins with Cynthia and Jeffrey Holland, who are concerned for their daughter, Ashley, who is missing. Ashley, although prone to jetting off for long weekends and extended shopping trips, is very much a free spirit and has never been incommunicado for more than four days. When Ashley and another young woman, Hannah Parks, are found murdered, Drew realises he is facing two murder investigations. He is now on the trail of a contract killer and looking for the person who hired the assassin to carry out the murders.
When a third woman, Victoria Clark, vanishes from a luxury yacht and her body is washed up on shore, Drew needs to look deeper into the links between the victims. However, he finds himself in deep water with a renowned Boston crime boss.
I loved the portrayal of the relationship between Drew and his significant other, girlfriend Jessica Casey. They are "romantically involved" and have a relaxed, easy-going attitude towards one another. Drew is very thoughtful and caring of all of the important things and people in his life. He also has a good rapport with his working acquaintances. Jessica has beauty and brains, works for a Detective Agency and is very helpful to Drew as a PI.
Drew has some hilarious moments that make him adorable. I thought Shattered, though short, was very nicely written and I found it a delight to read. Though the ending was not a surprise, I loved the way the book was concluded.
Reading Shattered has inspired me to read other books by Jason Richards and I can't wait for the next one in this series!
Thank you to LibraryThing and the author for an ARC of this book.
Shattered is the first novel of the "Drew Patrick Private Investigator" series, with PI Drew Patrick as the lead character.
Shattered begins with Cynthia and Jeffrey Holland, who are concerned for their daughter, Ashley, who is missing. Ashley, although prone to jetting off for long weekends and extended shopping trips, is very much a free spirit and has never been incommunicado for more than four days. When Ashley and another young woman, Hannah Parks, are found murdered, Drew realises he is facing two murder investigations. He is now on the trail of a contract killer and looking for the person who hired the assassin to carry out the murders.
When a third woman, Victoria Clark, vanishes from a luxury yacht and her body is washed up on shore, Drew needs to look deeper into the links between the victims. However, he finds himself in deep water with a renowned Boston crime boss.
I loved the portrayal of the relationship between Drew and his significant other, girlfriend Jessica Casey. They are "romantically involved" and have a relaxed, easy-going attitude towards one another. Drew is very thoughtful and caring of all of the important things and people in his life. He also has a good rapport with his working acquaintances. Jessica has beauty and brains, works for a Detective Agency and is very helpful to Drew as a PI.
Drew has some hilarious moments that make him adorable. I thought Shattered, though short, was very nicely written and I found it a delight to read. Though the ending was not a surprise, I loved the way the book was concluded.
Reading Shattered has inspired me to read other books by Jason Richards and I can't wait for the next one in this series!
Thank you to LibraryThing and the author for an ARC of this book.
JT (287 KP) rated Anna (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before? A young woman is pulled from a life of drugs and abuse and given a fresh start as a deadly assassin. Once on the inside, she uses her skill set and good looks to complete various assignments while falling for her handler. She then decides that her new life is not for her after all and wants out.
Writer/director Luc Besson has pretty much rehashed the script for Nikita (aka La Femme Nikita). That film had a remake too, Point of No Return, which starred Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne. This latest offering doesn’t do anything new whatsoever. There are several well choreographed and extremely violent fight scenes as well as a car chase which seems to be a staple part of any Luc Besson film.
It’s not the most intelligently written action thriller. And there are plot holes all over the place.
The sexual exploitation is not as fierce as Red Sparrow. Anna uses an array of colourful wigs and lingerie to entrap her victims before ultimately putting a bullet in them. This only seeks to justify her sex appeal. The supporting cast is OK but nothing special. Helen Mirren is probably the stand out of the bunch, although her character has a striking resemblance to Edna from The Incredibles – or maybe that’s just me?
When Cillian Murphy‘s CIA agent gets involved it becomes hard to know who is double crossing who, and the extra plot strand threatens to confuse things. What results is a kind of Cold War love triangle which gravitates towards an interesting finale only ruined by predictability.
It’s not the most intelligently written action thriller. But it is fun and film fans should appreciate Besson’s high energy and European flair. I prefer him as a writer than director. Anna doesn’t shy away from bringing graphic violence in a Wick-esque style which is often lost with Hollywood blockbusters, so that gets a big tick. But it’s hard not to look past a regurgitated storyline.
Writer/director Luc Besson has pretty much rehashed the script for Nikita (aka La Femme Nikita). That film had a remake too, Point of No Return, which starred Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne. This latest offering doesn’t do anything new whatsoever. There are several well choreographed and extremely violent fight scenes as well as a car chase which seems to be a staple part of any Luc Besson film.
It’s not the most intelligently written action thriller. And there are plot holes all over the place.
The sexual exploitation is not as fierce as Red Sparrow. Anna uses an array of colourful wigs and lingerie to entrap her victims before ultimately putting a bullet in them. This only seeks to justify her sex appeal. The supporting cast is OK but nothing special. Helen Mirren is probably the stand out of the bunch, although her character has a striking resemblance to Edna from The Incredibles – or maybe that’s just me?
When Cillian Murphy‘s CIA agent gets involved it becomes hard to know who is double crossing who, and the extra plot strand threatens to confuse things. What results is a kind of Cold War love triangle which gravitates towards an interesting finale only ruined by predictability.
It’s not the most intelligently written action thriller. But it is fun and film fans should appreciate Besson’s high energy and European flair. I prefer him as a writer than director. Anna doesn’t shy away from bringing graphic violence in a Wick-esque style which is often lost with Hollywood blockbusters, so that gets a big tick. But it’s hard not to look past a regurgitated storyline.