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Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated The Cruel Prince in Books
Jul 24, 2018
The Cruel Prince
Jude is a mortal in a Fae world. She was brought into that world when a Faerie called Madoc killed her Mother and Father. He took her, her twin sister Taryn and older (half Fae sister) Vivi to his mansion and raised her as his own. She learnt how to sword fight, and how to strategise as if she was Fae. She wanted to be like the Fae. she grew to love their world and not want to go back to the human realm. But she never wanted to be them. She did want to be like them, but better.
"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever."
The Fae don't treat the humans well, they use them as slaves or take them as wives or husbands. Though that could be see as a nice thing, the latter is not. They drug them with Fae magic and most humans are unaware of where they are and whom their company is. Truth is Fae would die out if it wasn't for humans. Humans breed and most have more than one. Fae don't or wait a long time and some only have one child. Not all Fae are bad, sure Madoc killed her parents but he also raised her and her sister and treated them rather well. This gives her respect with the other Fae, as Madoc is the kings General and very powerful one at that. But Fae can be bad, they can be mean and nasty.
Cardan is the worst.
When Jude looks at him, she hates him. He hates her too. But when they look at each other they can't breathe.
This is the story of Jude and Cardan. Jude is wanting to be better than the Fae, she is tired of them being horrible to her and humans alike. She wants Cardan to stop being nasty, she wants to be a knight for the palace. She wants to do something. Cardan wants to get drunk and drink his life away. To carry on being the Cruel Prince.
That's all about to change for them both. But one will lose and the other will gain... for now.
This book is brilliant, the twist at the end is something to look forward too. It's got a slow start, but the writing is great so that helps. But once you get half way and you uncover the story, your be hooked. I promise... remember Fae can't lie.
I can't wait for 'The Wicked King' 2019
4.5 – I REALLY LIKED IT (because of the slow start - but doesn't mean it was bad... I just wanted to know the story earlier as I'm impatient)
Love, Christina
"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever."
The Fae don't treat the humans well, they use them as slaves or take them as wives or husbands. Though that could be see as a nice thing, the latter is not. They drug them with Fae magic and most humans are unaware of where they are and whom their company is. Truth is Fae would die out if it wasn't for humans. Humans breed and most have more than one. Fae don't or wait a long time and some only have one child. Not all Fae are bad, sure Madoc killed her parents but he also raised her and her sister and treated them rather well. This gives her respect with the other Fae, as Madoc is the kings General and very powerful one at that. But Fae can be bad, they can be mean and nasty.
Cardan is the worst.
When Jude looks at him, she hates him. He hates her too. But when they look at each other they can't breathe.
This is the story of Jude and Cardan. Jude is wanting to be better than the Fae, she is tired of them being horrible to her and humans alike. She wants Cardan to stop being nasty, she wants to be a knight for the palace. She wants to do something. Cardan wants to get drunk and drink his life away. To carry on being the Cruel Prince.
That's all about to change for them both. But one will lose and the other will gain... for now.
This book is brilliant, the twist at the end is something to look forward too. It's got a slow start, but the writing is great so that helps. But once you get half way and you uncover the story, your be hooked. I promise... remember Fae can't lie.
I can't wait for 'The Wicked King' 2019
4.5 – I REALLY LIKED IT (because of the slow start - but doesn't mean it was bad... I just wanted to know the story earlier as I'm impatient)
Love, Christina
Debbiereadsbook (1647 KP) rated Surreal Estate in Books
Nov 5, 2018
love love LOVED this one!
Sasha can't live at home, so he's on the streets. He finds an empty home that calls to his 6th sense and moves in. Then Nick buys the house. The house reacts badly to Nick wanting to sell it, and makes Nick's already tight budget and time frame almost impossible. Sasha doesn't want Nick to end up in the hospital, or worse, so he has to come up with something quick, while clearly out and healing his grandfather's house.
I won a copy of this book, and I am so bloody glad I did! Ms Ryan usually writes Young Adult and had this book came with that tag, I would not have entered, cos I'm not a YA fan. This is Ms Ryan's first foray into a much more adult setting, and into the male/male genre, and BOY does she smash it out the park!
Sasha can read houses, they call to him. His skill isn't made immediately clear, and we have to wait for the full picture. I think it really hit me, just what this meant for Sasha, when he was healing his grandfather's house.
I loved we got all of Nick's internal wrangling with himself over his growing feelings and attraction to Sasha. Loved that he was like, "okay then, must be bi" Loved the interaction between Nick and his brothers! His older brother needs a story now, needs to find his happy ever after, especially after what happened here. Well both brothers should have a story, I think!
It's not overly explicit, I thought, but it wans't lacking in any thing regards to the heat and steam level between these two! Not at all! It does carry a violence and drug use warning. These ARE needed and are an integral part of the story, but they are all off screen. We know Sasha's mum does drugs, but we don't see it. We know WHAT happened to Nick, cos we deal with the fall out, but not HOW. It also comes with a non-con warning. It's mostly touching, and doesn't develop into a full blown attack, but could very well have. It needs mentioning though.
It's told from both Sasha and Nick's point of view, in the first person. Each change occurs as a a chapter changes and is clearly headed. I didn't quite manage to read it in one sitting, but very nearly!
I can't wait to see what Ms Ryan comes up with next. I love finding new to me authors, especially ones who step outside their comfort zone! She impressed me here, greatly, and, apparently, I'm a tough critic! I'm not sure that's true, but I LOVED this book.
so,
5 full and shiny stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I won a copy of this book, and I am so bloody glad I did! Ms Ryan usually writes Young Adult and had this book came with that tag, I would not have entered, cos I'm not a YA fan. This is Ms Ryan's first foray into a much more adult setting, and into the male/male genre, and BOY does she smash it out the park!
Sasha can read houses, they call to him. His skill isn't made immediately clear, and we have to wait for the full picture. I think it really hit me, just what this meant for Sasha, when he was healing his grandfather's house.
I loved we got all of Nick's internal wrangling with himself over his growing feelings and attraction to Sasha. Loved that he was like, "okay then, must be bi" Loved the interaction between Nick and his brothers! His older brother needs a story now, needs to find his happy ever after, especially after what happened here. Well both brothers should have a story, I think!
It's not overly explicit, I thought, but it wans't lacking in any thing regards to the heat and steam level between these two! Not at all! It does carry a violence and drug use warning. These ARE needed and are an integral part of the story, but they are all off screen. We know Sasha's mum does drugs, but we don't see it. We know WHAT happened to Nick, cos we deal with the fall out, but not HOW. It also comes with a non-con warning. It's mostly touching, and doesn't develop into a full blown attack, but could very well have. It needs mentioning though.
It's told from both Sasha and Nick's point of view, in the first person. Each change occurs as a a chapter changes and is clearly headed. I didn't quite manage to read it in one sitting, but very nearly!
I can't wait to see what Ms Ryan comes up with next. I love finding new to me authors, especially ones who step outside their comfort zone! She impressed me here, greatly, and, apparently, I'm a tough critic! I'm not sure that's true, but I LOVED this book.
so,
5 full and shiny stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Swinging Safari (2019) in Movies
Oct 29, 2019
Whomp Whomp...
I was strongly hoping I had found a hidden gem in Swinging Safari. Not so much…Taking place in 70’s Australia, it follows the lives of three neighborhood families and how their lives swing out of control when they get a little too close.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 3
Characters: 5
There are some instances in movies where the characters alone are enough to carry the movie (see Everybody Wants Some!!). Not so much here. Outside of the two main characters, the rest of the cast was pretty unlovable. Their lack of redeeming qualities made it hard for me to root for anything good to happen to any of them. Typically when the characters suck, the rest of the movie isn’t far behind. Unless of course it’s an action movie…
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
I have no idea what 1970’s Australia looks like but I feel like I was right in the heart of it here. The way this movie captures certain scenes is pure magic and, in some case, extremely original. One scene in particular features all the adults inside playing games and drinking while the kids are outside doing daredevil stunts for a makeshift film. It’s hilarious watching the adults argue while the kids are trying to put out a fire…a fire they purposefully set upon one of the kids. Extremely well done.
Conflict: 5
It’s not that there wasn’t conflict here. It’s just that I didn’t really care enough about it for it to be substantial. Again, conflict against characters you don’t care about is tough for me to enjoy. I was looking for more, something more meaningful.
Entertainment Value: 5
The fun factor of this movie is few and far between. It has its moments, but overall, it feels very average. Dead Horse: Drab characters really put a damper on this movie as a whole.
Memorability: 6
I can honestly say that there are a couple of unique scenes that I’ve never seen before in any other movie. I don’t want to ruin things by diving too much into the dynamics, but there are some flashes of greatness here that I really appreciated. As a whole, the movie was more forgettable than anything.
Pace: 6
Plot: 1
Resolution: 10
I have to say, despite its flaws, this movie has one of my favorite endings of film. Without spoiling anything, we’ll just say it definitely goes out with a bang. It’s a glimpse of what the movie could have been as a whole.
Overall: 61
Swinging Safari sadly strikes out for me. Despite an endearing relationship between the two young characters and a few beautiful shots and setpieces, the movie has glaring holes that can’t be plugged up. I will have to look for my gem elsewhere.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 3
Characters: 5
There are some instances in movies where the characters alone are enough to carry the movie (see Everybody Wants Some!!). Not so much here. Outside of the two main characters, the rest of the cast was pretty unlovable. Their lack of redeeming qualities made it hard for me to root for anything good to happen to any of them. Typically when the characters suck, the rest of the movie isn’t far behind. Unless of course it’s an action movie…
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
I have no idea what 1970’s Australia looks like but I feel like I was right in the heart of it here. The way this movie captures certain scenes is pure magic and, in some case, extremely original. One scene in particular features all the adults inside playing games and drinking while the kids are outside doing daredevil stunts for a makeshift film. It’s hilarious watching the adults argue while the kids are trying to put out a fire…a fire they purposefully set upon one of the kids. Extremely well done.
Conflict: 5
It’s not that there wasn’t conflict here. It’s just that I didn’t really care enough about it for it to be substantial. Again, conflict against characters you don’t care about is tough for me to enjoy. I was looking for more, something more meaningful.
Entertainment Value: 5
The fun factor of this movie is few and far between. It has its moments, but overall, it feels very average. Dead Horse: Drab characters really put a damper on this movie as a whole.
Memorability: 6
I can honestly say that there are a couple of unique scenes that I’ve never seen before in any other movie. I don’t want to ruin things by diving too much into the dynamics, but there are some flashes of greatness here that I really appreciated. As a whole, the movie was more forgettable than anything.
Pace: 6
Plot: 1
Resolution: 10
I have to say, despite its flaws, this movie has one of my favorite endings of film. Without spoiling anything, we’ll just say it definitely goes out with a bang. It’s a glimpse of what the movie could have been as a whole.
Overall: 61
Swinging Safari sadly strikes out for me. Despite an endearing relationship between the two young characters and a few beautiful shots and setpieces, the movie has glaring holes that can’t be plugged up. I will have to look for my gem elsewhere.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Salt (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
Angelina Jolie, as Agent Evelyn Salt, plays the sexy spy role well, but the charm she displayed in Mr. and Mrs Smith isn’t present here at all. This is unfortunate because her emotional ties to the rest of the cast are integral to the plot. As seen in the trailers, Salt is a CIA agent who is accused by a defector of being a Russian spy. Salt is forced to run and uses her training and skills to evade capture while trying to prove her innocence.
Her years of experience as a covert operative are supposed to make viewers believe that this slight woman can take down ayone, but some of her fight scenes expected too much benefit of the doubt from the audience, and didn’t feel real. It wasn’t very convincing having such a thin woman carry on in a full fight scene with heavier built men. Despite harsh sound effects and fast camera edits, it honestly didn’t look like she was hitting the baddies hard enough to hurt, let alone knock them out.
Salt has some great twists and turns that kept me entertained and guessing, but that wasn’t enough to keep the whole movie afloat. Before long, these twists began to feel forced, and because I was snapped out of the movie several times after realizing how confused I was, it began to be aggravating to wait for the film to give the audience its bearings again. Phillip Noyce, who also directed the 1997 Val Kilmer spy film The Saint could have imbued the movie with subtle foreshadowing, or at least some foreshadowing as it was nonexistent.
Liev Schreiber, playing Salt’s trusted colleague, did a great job. His imposing yet friendly and sly demeanor fit his part very well. Chiwetel Ejiofor did a good job as well, but his role as another fellow agent was too small. It needed to be bigger for him to really shine. After watching him in Talk to Me, I believe him to be a headline star who needs more screen time to show what he’s capable of. In this smaller role, he does the job effectively, but left me wanting to see more of him.
The special effects were effective and not distracting except for one particular “walk away from the camera during an explosion” moment. It’s not that it was cliche, it’s that any explosion (at that distance, in that environment) would knock someone unconscious. There’s pushing the boundaries of realism for artistic effect, and then there’s that step that’s one step too far.
Overall, the film was enjoyable, but I had higher hopes for this movie. If you’re looking for action with twists, this movie has them in spades.
Her years of experience as a covert operative are supposed to make viewers believe that this slight woman can take down ayone, but some of her fight scenes expected too much benefit of the doubt from the audience, and didn’t feel real. It wasn’t very convincing having such a thin woman carry on in a full fight scene with heavier built men. Despite harsh sound effects and fast camera edits, it honestly didn’t look like she was hitting the baddies hard enough to hurt, let alone knock them out.
Salt has some great twists and turns that kept me entertained and guessing, but that wasn’t enough to keep the whole movie afloat. Before long, these twists began to feel forced, and because I was snapped out of the movie several times after realizing how confused I was, it began to be aggravating to wait for the film to give the audience its bearings again. Phillip Noyce, who also directed the 1997 Val Kilmer spy film The Saint could have imbued the movie with subtle foreshadowing, or at least some foreshadowing as it was nonexistent.
Liev Schreiber, playing Salt’s trusted colleague, did a great job. His imposing yet friendly and sly demeanor fit his part very well. Chiwetel Ejiofor did a good job as well, but his role as another fellow agent was too small. It needed to be bigger for him to really shine. After watching him in Talk to Me, I believe him to be a headline star who needs more screen time to show what he’s capable of. In this smaller role, he does the job effectively, but left me wanting to see more of him.
The special effects were effective and not distracting except for one particular “walk away from the camera during an explosion” moment. It’s not that it was cliche, it’s that any explosion (at that distance, in that environment) would knock someone unconscious. There’s pushing the boundaries of realism for artistic effect, and then there’s that step that’s one step too far.
Overall, the film was enjoyable, but I had higher hopes for this movie. If you’re looking for action with twists, this movie has them in spades.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) in Movies
Feb 8, 2020 (Updated Feb 12, 2020)
Birds of Prey is a mixed bag, but there's just about enough good there to make it an enjoyable time.
I absolutely hated Suicide Squad, so naturally, didn't have high hopes for this. The film is aesthetically in the same vein, and carries a similar tone, but this time around, it mostly works.
One of the only things I liked in SS was Margot Robbie, so making her front and centre here is a smart move. She is undeniably the star, and even a cynical bastard like me has to admit, that she is a solid embodiment of Harley Quinn
The surrounding cast are unfortunately, under developed and have little impact. It's great to see characters like Black Canary, Huntress and Zsasz finally bought to the big screen, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell so a good job with what they're given, but the plots focus on Harley, and the films relatively brief runtime, leave little room for development past a flashback here and there, which is a shame.
The only character that comes close to matching the leading lady is Ewan McGregor's Roman Sionis aka Black Mask. McGregor obviously relishes in making Sionis seedy, nasty, misogynistic, and flamboyant, and results in one of those villains that you can't wait to get stomped down. The two of them carry the film, no doubt.
The pacing and narrative structure is comparable to Deadpool, with a good chunk of the film being told through various flashbacks. It honestly feels messy for much of the first half, and the truth is, this structure is hiding a fairly thread bare plot.
When the movie catches up with itself, if you will, and moves forward with a more traditional story path, is where there movie started to shine a bit more. The mid section lost me a little bit, with the exception of the odd set piece (the scene in the police station looks incredible), but when Birds of Prey hits it's third act, it's a lot of dumb, beautifully shot fun. The whole final sequence is great, and instead of the overloaded CGI orgies that I've come to expect from the DCEU, we get given fantastically choreographed, practical fight scenes, full of colour, swearing, a surprisingly hard hitting violence.
I left the cinema talking about all the bits that I liked, a stark contrast to the vitriol I felt after seeing Suicide Squad. It's not perfect, it's messy, it's a little cheesy, and is maybe guilty of thinking it's better than it is, but all in all, I can't find too much to complain about.
Also, that car chase scene was ridiculous (in a good way 👍)
I absolutely hated Suicide Squad, so naturally, didn't have high hopes for this. The film is aesthetically in the same vein, and carries a similar tone, but this time around, it mostly works.
One of the only things I liked in SS was Margot Robbie, so making her front and centre here is a smart move. She is undeniably the star, and even a cynical bastard like me has to admit, that she is a solid embodiment of Harley Quinn
The surrounding cast are unfortunately, under developed and have little impact. It's great to see characters like Black Canary, Huntress and Zsasz finally bought to the big screen, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell so a good job with what they're given, but the plots focus on Harley, and the films relatively brief runtime, leave little room for development past a flashback here and there, which is a shame.
The only character that comes close to matching the leading lady is Ewan McGregor's Roman Sionis aka Black Mask. McGregor obviously relishes in making Sionis seedy, nasty, misogynistic, and flamboyant, and results in one of those villains that you can't wait to get stomped down. The two of them carry the film, no doubt.
The pacing and narrative structure is comparable to Deadpool, with a good chunk of the film being told through various flashbacks. It honestly feels messy for much of the first half, and the truth is, this structure is hiding a fairly thread bare plot.
When the movie catches up with itself, if you will, and moves forward with a more traditional story path, is where there movie started to shine a bit more. The mid section lost me a little bit, with the exception of the odd set piece (the scene in the police station looks incredible), but when Birds of Prey hits it's third act, it's a lot of dumb, beautifully shot fun. The whole final sequence is great, and instead of the overloaded CGI orgies that I've come to expect from the DCEU, we get given fantastically choreographed, practical fight scenes, full of colour, swearing, a surprisingly hard hitting violence.
I left the cinema talking about all the bits that I liked, a stark contrast to the vitriol I felt after seeing Suicide Squad. It's not perfect, it's messy, it's a little cheesy, and is maybe guilty of thinking it's better than it is, but all in all, I can't find too much to complain about.
Also, that car chase scene was ridiculous (in a good way 👍)
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After you've mastered the basics, these are the most important skills and techniques you need to...
In a world where everything can be bought and sold, even pregnancy has a value in The Farm by Joanne Ramos. Make no mistake: this isn’t dystopian fiction. In fact it’s probably closer to what is actually happening than we could imagine.
Jane (a Filipino immigrant to the USA) has been persuaded by her aunt, that the easiest way to provide for her infant daughter is to become a surrogate for someone else’s baby. Mae runs Golden Oaks (nicknamed The Farm by Lisa, another of the surrogates), a luxury resort set in woodland, far from prying residents of Golden Oaks are all young women. And they’re all pregnant with the babies of wealthy parents. It came as no surprise to me that the vast majority of these women were immigrants from The Philippines or Eastern Europe. Mae has just started to look at a more ‘luxury’ host: women who have very good educations. The future parents are willing to pay a premium rate for women like Reagan. Not that it could make any difference, because all of the surrogates are merely incubators (referred to by their numbers, not their names, when staff are talking about them out of earshot), and carry embryos made from their parents sperm and eggs. These are mainly people who don’t want to waste their time with pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. This part really didn’t sit well with me: pregnant women reduced to numbers, and parents who didn’t have time to be pregnant (how could they have time to be parents? Would their babies be like a new designer handbag?). The other thing, was that they largely speaking didn’t have time to even visit the women who were carrying their children. At one point in the book, an ultrasound technician doesn’t even acknowledge the pregnant woman that she’s seeing (or isn’t!), angles the screen away from her as she shows the picture of the baby to its parent who isn’t even in the room. The pregnant woman is a non-person - merely a walking incubator.
Make no mistake, this is a pretty damning insight in to class and race. I felt so sorry for Jane. She is cut off from her daughter. None of the women have regular contact with friends or family on the outside. And seeing foetuses and babies being used as commodities and benchmarks of profit really made me uncomfortable.
I did really enjoy this though. I liked the women who were the main characters - they all had valid reasons for their choices. And I liked that this wasn’t written as an alternative dystopian novel à la Handmaids Tale. It’s all so frighteningly plausible.
Jane (a Filipino immigrant to the USA) has been persuaded by her aunt, that the easiest way to provide for her infant daughter is to become a surrogate for someone else’s baby. Mae runs Golden Oaks (nicknamed The Farm by Lisa, another of the surrogates), a luxury resort set in woodland, far from prying residents of Golden Oaks are all young women. And they’re all pregnant with the babies of wealthy parents. It came as no surprise to me that the vast majority of these women were immigrants from The Philippines or Eastern Europe. Mae has just started to look at a more ‘luxury’ host: women who have very good educations. The future parents are willing to pay a premium rate for women like Reagan. Not that it could make any difference, because all of the surrogates are merely incubators (referred to by their numbers, not their names, when staff are talking about them out of earshot), and carry embryos made from their parents sperm and eggs. These are mainly people who don’t want to waste their time with pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. This part really didn’t sit well with me: pregnant women reduced to numbers, and parents who didn’t have time to be pregnant (how could they have time to be parents? Would their babies be like a new designer handbag?). The other thing, was that they largely speaking didn’t have time to even visit the women who were carrying their children. At one point in the book, an ultrasound technician doesn’t even acknowledge the pregnant woman that she’s seeing (or isn’t!), angles the screen away from her as she shows the picture of the baby to its parent who isn’t even in the room. The pregnant woman is a non-person - merely a walking incubator.
Make no mistake, this is a pretty damning insight in to class and race. I felt so sorry for Jane. She is cut off from her daughter. None of the women have regular contact with friends or family on the outside. And seeing foetuses and babies being used as commodities and benchmarks of profit really made me uncomfortable.
I did really enjoy this though. I liked the women who were the main characters - they all had valid reasons for their choices. And I liked that this wasn’t written as an alternative dystopian novel à la Handmaids Tale. It’s all so frighteningly plausible.
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Kalendarzyk Bella
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Do you want to know when your period starts? Or perhaps you need to know when your fertile days...