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Not a Creature was Stirring
Not a Creature was Stirring
Christina Freeburn | 2019 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who was Enough of a Scrooge to Leave the Dead Body in Merry's Motorhome?
Merry is hoping to turn her Christmas crafting business into a full-time job, and as part of that plan, she's purchased a motorhome from her ex-step-daughter. The hope is she can use it as a mobile crafting studio and a place to show her stuff at some of the more popular craft shows. She's trying it out at the Christmas Holiday Bazaar, one of her favorite events of the year. However, when she's unloading her products, she finds the dead body of her ex-husband in one of the storage compartments. How did his dead body get into the RV?

With as much as I love Christmas, this book was a lot of fun. We got lots of talk about everything Christmas, even comparing characters to famous fictional Christmas characters. I did feel the book needed another polish to flesh a few things out, and I found Merry's concern for her ex-husband's family a little hard to believe considering how short her marriage had been. On the other hand, I loved the majority of the characters, and Merry's relationships with her own kids was fabulous. The plot was good with many twists and turns. I figured out a couple of things early, but I was left guessing about the rest of it until the end.
  
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Mothergamer (1511 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Spiritfarer in Video Games

Sep 13, 2020  
Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer
2020 | Role-Playing, Simulation
This is a beautiful and thoughtful game that is described as a cozy time management game about death. You play as Stella the new spiritfarer who is taking over for Charon. Stella has to fulfill the final wishes of the spirits she meets before they make their final journey to the Everdoor, the gateway to the afterlife. There is exploration in the game as well as crafting and farming. The way the game truly shines is how thoughtful and gentle it is talking about death while telling a lovely story with some wonderful characters. The game is available to play on all platforms. You can read the Mothergamer review here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2020/09/spiritfarer-beautiful-journey.html
  
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Games
Nostalgia (2 more)
Crafting
Friendship
Connection Errors (getting better) (0 more)
Definitely Addicted
Yeah, I'm very deep into this game, and I'm not stopping any time soon. Every time I get a little too tired of the repetition, Nintendo manages to throw something new into the mix to entertain me. So as long as it keeps me happy and interested, I'll play this game for a long time to come.

The graphics are adorable, you get to see old and new animal friends, and you get to customize a campsite and camper that travels with you (adorable). The nostalgia is so strong, it's making me want to go buy a GameCube so I can play the original.


A fun mobile game that keeps things fresh...so far.
  
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Kayla (19 KP) rated Pinterest in Apps

Mar 9, 2018  
Pinterest
Pinterest
Photo & Video, Social Networking
9
8.7 (242 Ratings)
App Rating
Easy to use (1 more)
Tons of content
Sometimes encounter broken links (0 more)
Very addicting!
Pinterest is my drug of choice! Somehow, you get sucked into it and hours disappear before you've realised what has happened.

Pinterest has a ton of content and you can search for something specific or be daring and go down the rabbit hole of suggestions. To me, the content is much more easily digested than a search engine, so if I'm looking for something specific Pinterest is my go to. Doesn't matter if it's parenting advice, crafting, home decor, or how tos- you can find everything!


With how easily accessible everything is on this site, it's easy to understand how time can just pass you by. I recommend it with no hesitation!
  
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Games
I don't really play a lot of games on my phone. I did play Pokemon Go for a while, but got a little burned out on it. The only other games I really play on my phone are Words With Friends, Crosswords With Friends, and Neko Atsume. That last one is a game with cats so of course it's on my phone since I am a cat lover.

When I heard Nintendo was working on Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp a game for mobile devices and that it would be free to play, I was excited. I love the Animal Crossing games because they are cheerful and fun with activities you could do such as fishing, redecorating your house in various themes, or interacting with the animal villagers in town.

With Pocket Camp there isn't a town. Instead, you have your own RV and your own campsite which you can decorate any way you wish. You can make friends with various animal characters and receive gifts and crafting materials for them when you trade them things they want such as certain types of seashells. They can also visit your campsite as well as your human friends via invitation or at random. There are different recreational areas you can visit on the world map such as a beach where you can fish or a little island where you can collect insects. There's even an area for mining, but you need the help of five people on your friends list or pay a certain amount of microtransaction currency known as leaf tickets. You can also visit a place called OK Motors where you can upgrade your RV, add an upstairs to it, or paint it in interesting patterns and colors.



Getting around on the map is easy. Click on a place and go.


Fishing is one of the recreational activities you can do.

Crafting is another big thing in Pocket Camp. You can gather materials such as cotton and wood for crafting furniture by fulfilling requests for your animal friends like gifting them with types of fruit or seashells they want. This not only levels up your friendship with them, they will gift you with crafting materials and sometimes outfits. They will also hang out at your campsite when you invite them. The maximum amount of animals you can host at your campsite is ten. You can also send animals home via the user menu so that you can invite new animals to your campsite.


Host animals at your campsite, do favors, receive gifts.

If you're in the mood to do a little shopping, there is a marketplace you can travel to on the map. You can buy outfits and accessories from the Able sisters or you can buy furniture from Timmy and Tommy Nook, Tom Nook's twin sons. You can also sell furniture and outfits from your inventory to the Nook twins.


Doing a little shopping at the marketplace.

Personally, I liked decorating my RV and adding a second floor. Crafting the furniture and items for my little traveling home was fun and I enjoyed decorating it the way I wanted. I liked decorating the campsite as well especially after I expanded it so I could add more items for visitors to enjoy.



Decorating your RV is fun!

There are daily goals and stretch goals you can do that offer crafting materials, leaf tickets, or bells (the name of the money used in the game) as rewards. You can also visit your friends campsites to see how they decorate theirs and give them kudos when you visit. I thought it was very cool seeing how much variety there is in each of the campsites I visited and showed the uniqueness and style of each of my friends.



Visit your friends campsites. It's fun!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is relaxing fun. There's no pressure or time limits. You can just enjoy yourself doing what you wish whether it's fishing or hanging out with your animal and human friends at your campsite. It's cute and colorful with a variety of things to craft and outfits to collect. Some may think it's a bit repetitive, but I don't mind that part of it. It's nice to log in and get my daily bonus, do a few things I like, and see what changes my friends have made to their campsites.

With it being the holiday season, Nintendo did a Christmas update for the game. You can now craft Christmas items, a Santa Claus outfit, and Christmas gifts. It has been fun decorating my campsite for Christmas and seeing all the Christmas cheer at my friends' campsites. I'm looking forward to the next seasonal event items they do. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the Christmas items and the entire game itself.
  
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Connie (244 KP) rated Minecraft in Apps

Jun 4, 2018  
Minecraft
Minecraft
Games
9
8.7 (20 Ratings)
App Rating
I own Minecraft for many platforms, and while I love it, I have to say that the console versions are easier to manage. That being said, there's nothing quite like being able to mine for diamonds, work on crafting, or attempt to dodge the (potentially) lethal creepers on the go! For a while I was frustrated because the mobile version was so far behind other platforms (including even the Amazon app, and that's saying something!), but that error seems to be resolving itself these days. I am happy to see it making progress!

I haven't tried buying any skins yet, but as it is available on other platforms I assume it is available through the mobile app.

All in all, a fun game that is a little hampered by screen size, but definitely worth playing.
  
Batman & Robin: Volume 4
Batman & Robin: Volume 4
Mick Gray, Patrick Gleason | 2014 | Children
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This six-issue arc is the aftermath of an event that occurs in another title. Yet it is impressive all on its own, without having read the other. Taken individually, each issue might not seem like much. But together they form a compelling analysis of Bruce Wayne's obsessiveness.

The first issue, "Undone", is a wonderful dialogue-free one. It gets the message across without anyone saying a single word. The next five are named after stages of grief, pairing each one to Batman's interactions with his extended family. Thus we have Red Robin/Denial, Red Hood/Rage, Batgirl/Barginning, Catwoman/Despair and, finally, Nightwing/Acceptance. Such a stylized crafting of story should not go unrewarded.


Each chapter of this series increases my respect for Tomasi. I'm only halfway through, yet I already think this is an equal of Snyder's New 52 run of Batman. Definitely a must-read for fans.
  
The Forest
The Forest
2014 | Action/Adventure, Horror, Simulation
Interesting Story (4 more)
Interactive, Open World
Peaceful Mode
Immersive
Great Survival Game
cannibals (2 more)
mutants
caves
Scarily Fun
This game has been my most recent obsession. I love playing it. It takes a lot of play to actually piece together what's going on, but you can just have fun without the story. I play more often on peaceful mode which allows me to just explore the island, and craft houses and other things. The game revolves around finding your son, who was kidnapped after your plane crashed on an island. There are a bunch of underground caves that you have to explore to find different items and clues that explain what's really going on around the island. However, you also have to fight off mutants and cannibals who roam the island trying to kill you while you're trying to survive and find your son. Overall, I really like the game; it has an interesting concept and story, and even just on peaceful mode, you can spend hours exploring, hunting, building, crafting, and just surviving in the forest.
  
My Time At Portia
My Time At Portia
2018 | Casual, Simulation
Relaxing And Fun Game
I love this game because of how much there is to do in it, but it gives you a relaxed feel like Stardew Valley. If you like Stardew Valley and Minecraft you will like this game. The game allows you the freedom to explore and take your time with it. There are fun festival days and you can get to know your neighbors as well as romance specific characters with your male or female character. There are a few build missions that are timed, but the game doesn't really punish you if you miss the deadline. There are fun mini games too as well as dungeon crawl areas where you can battle monsters and earn rewards. The game has a ton of things to do and it can feel a little overwhelming, but if you take your time with it you find a rhythm that works. I found I really liked just gathering materials for my workshop and crafting. It's a fun and relaxing game that offers a lot of different things for everyone.
  
ARK Survival Evolved
ARK Survival Evolved
2017 | Action/Adventure
The survival aspect and the lore created. (0 more)
The devolpers greed for money. (0 more)
Amazing Concept
Like many of the survival/crafting games of the genre it partially helped popularize, ARK dumps you on the beaches of a massive, foreboding island with just enough clothing to stay modest and your own two fists. From there, the challenge is to stay fed and hydrated while avoiding a huge variety of terrifyingly detailed dinosaurs and other beasts long enough to progress up the tech tree. Early in the life of a character, you might be taking out dilophosaurs with throwing spears and hoping a triceratops doesn’t come and knock your thatch hut over in the middle of the night.

From there, there’s a really nice flow of technological progression that makes advancement feel like more than just an increase in stats. Thirty hours later, you may preside from a sturdy stone castle from atop which you snipe pterasaurs out of the air with a rifle. By the endgame, it’s possible to have a massive steel fortress full of blast furnaces, complete with electric lighting and gas generators, churning out components for building rocket launchers and SCUBA gear.