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Beautifully Burned (The Dreamcaster Series #2)
Beautifully Burned (The Dreamcaster Series #2)
C.J. Burright | 2017 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautifully Burned (The Dreamcaster Series #2) by C.J. Burright
Beautifully Burned is the second book in The Dreamcaster series, and we reunite with Dax. He still has his bond with Kalila, but is fed up of Black's attempts to kill him, and get rid of the bond. Mel has a vision which sends him to Ella's side, but he is confused as he doesn't think she is a Dreamcaster at all. Of course, he doesn't know about the adder stones gifted to her by her grandmother.

There is a slight twist to this one, as Izzy is one of her regular customers. He shows his 'normal' side when Kalila shows up, reminding the reader of just how dangerous he can be.

Dax and Ella have a hard path to tread, and it doesn't look good for them to begin with. With more nightmares and situations to deal with, this book will have you gripped to the pages. It is a fresh and exciting take on the paranormal genre, and I am loving everything. I can't wait to read more about Zaire, but then I also really want Izzy and Mel to get together!

This is a fantastic series so far, and this book is also of the highest quality - with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow. The pacing was smooth, and the action was enough to make you catch your breath. 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!
  
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Tara (6 KP) rated Ink Iron and Glass in Books

Jul 3, 2018  
II
Ink Iron and Glass
Gwendolyn Clare | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Has some twists you don't see coming! Keeps you guessing. Keeps building to the end. Makes you wish you had the next book ready so you can find out what happens next. (1 more)
Wasn't a complete cliffhanger, but it did leave you with questions. General curiosity to how the story will continue.
Starts off slow. A lot of characters appear at once. A few times I got a character mixed up with another. (0 more)
Keep with it!
Book Sleeve Description -
Can she write a world gone wrong?
A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation, where her mother - a noted scriptologist - constantly alters and expands their reality.
But when her home is attacked and her mother kidnapped, Elsa is forced to cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative Victorian Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of young scientists with a gift for mechanics, alchemy, or scriptology - and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.
In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created - and only she can stop it.

Wish I had the second book so I can find out what happens!
New type of YA story.
Refreshing.
Can start off slow...trust me...stick with it!
  
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BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Mine in Books

Aug 14, 2018  
Mine
Mine
Susi Fox | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book Review by Cari Mayhew.

This story has a promising premise – the central character, a young woman wakes up from a Caesarean section not believing that baby labeled as hers, a premature babe struggling in a special humidcrib, really is hers.

Once she makes her concerns known, she is soon admitted to a mental health ward. She is a qualified paediatrician and pathologist and from experience knows how easily dangerous, and even fatal mistakes, can be made. She wants to take steps to confirm whether baby Toby is hers, when she starts to feel that another baby, Gabriel, is hers. Neither hospital staff, nor her own husband believe her.

The book concentrates on the first few days after the birth. But these chapters are interspersed with chapters reflecting on Sasha’s deteriorating relationship with her husband, their long-term struggle with fertility, Sasha’s one but significant mistake as a paediatrician, and Sasha’s irreparable relationship with her own mother. To many readers this may well add more depth to the story, but I felt that it slowed down what ought to have been a more fast-paced novel. It would have been a more intense read had the character actually had post-natal psychosis.

What I will say for the author though, is that she knows how to keep the readers guessing. Throughout the book, I had no idea which was her real baby, or even if her baby had really survived.
I also couldn’t tell who betrayed her to the psych ward.

What makes the story is its sadly believable but well-meaning non-perfect ending (no spoilers).

For more of my reviews, check out bookblogbycari.com
  
Life of the Party (2018)
Life of the Party (2018)
2018 | Comedy
Mother/daughter relationship (1 more)
No fat-bashing
Frat hazing ritual (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I went into this movie with few expectations and was pleasantly surprised that Melissa McCartney's character wasn't completely ridiculous and over-the-top. It was easy to feel empathy for this sympathetic character who returns to school to finish her archaeology degree as an adult-student following a big change in her life. Her daughter also attends the university and instead of the typical teenage response of angst and embarrassment, she obviously loves her mom and they have a great relationship. This movie is sweet and has heart. There are some silly situations, but most are benign. For the most part, I enjoyed this movie.

 I would have given this a higher rating but took away a star for promoting dangerous practice.

I have a bit of a problem when it comes to the frat initiation scene because people are ignorant, i.e. the Bird Box challenges, and will attempt stupid feats they see in movies. The scene in question involves someone being spanked with a wooden paddle. Some may think it is a harmless prank, however, if attempted in real life by amateurs, it can cause real physical damage to a person, from kidney injuries, broken skin, and broken bones, and it should not be attempted at home. Especially not drunken revelers. Just the idea of pledging to a frat, sorority or team tends to make young people think of humiliating or painful acts to inflict upon others so anything that may encourage undeveloped minds to engage in hazing practices gets a thumbs down from me.

Otherwise, a fun movie.
  
Five Feet Apart
Five Feet Apart
Rachael Lippincott | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
6.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
So we meet Stella in this, a cystic fibrosis sufferer who is entering hospital to fight a throat infection and high temperature. The hospital is like her second home after going in and out of it over the years to fight whatever illnesses are troubling her. She knows where everything is and has free movement of the hospital. In the process of having to come to the hospital for an extended stay, she is missing out on a school trip to Cabo with her friends which she helped organise.

Already at the hospital is her long time friend and fellow CF sufferer, Poe. And then there's new to the hospital Will, who's on a drug trial to stop his B. cepacia - which is a dangerous bacteria that can eventually kill CFers.

There's an instant attraction between Stella and Will but initially Stella's a little antagonistic towards Will as he seems too ready to give up on his treatment so he can travel before he dies. While Will thinks she's a teachers pet and a goody two shoes with how close she is to the nurses who've treated her since she was 6.

They eventually come to realise that they can help each other and the attraction grows - making them shrink the required 6 feet to 5 - and they fall in love.

I cried about three times during my reading of this because I had grown to like the characters and for being so young they'd all been through a lot.

I thought it was a cute story, falling in love while being poorly but did they really get their HEA?
  
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi
Design (0 more)
Pacing issues (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Covanant colony mission is interrupted and discover a distress signal coming from a nearby planet. Liking the look of it more than going back into a dangerous hyper sleep, they go down to check it out. Down there they discover an alien species completely destroyed by causes unknown. The traditional saga formula insues: someone gets infected, the aliens reek havoc and the humans appear to have won.
Here we seem to have another reboot, posing as a sequel/ prequel, in that the format is very much like the first Alien film, back in 79'. Following a distress signal, lending on a planet, issues with a storm, evil company synthetic, alien inhabits host and ends up back on the ship, takes them.out one by one, juat wjen you think it is over, its not, Alien is blown out into space, heroine survives.
All making sence as it is Mr Scott back at the helm.

That is not this one does not have it's own flare, this film takes place after Prometheus, but before it's 79'older brother, so we see more of the creation and evolution of the Xenomorph (big happies for lovers of that horror puppy) and it keeps you fence throughout, like the originals.
There are some odd pacing issues with some parts, though it feels more like a bit of condensed editing to cut the film down (though what is with the flute scene?!?!?!)
Aliens (the Cameron 86' sequel) is one of my all time favourite films, and as a fan of the series, I did enjoy watching this film, but do hope for something truly compelling in the next instalment.
  
A Throne of Swans
A Throne of Swans
Katharine Corr, Elizabeth Corr | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Throne of Swans is set in a kingdom where the nobility have the ability to change in to giant birds. Aderyn prematurely takes over the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion within this kingdom, after her fathers death. Her ancestral bird is a swan, but she finds that she’s no longer able to transform into one, after she and her mother are attacked by hawks - and her mother is murdered. This is a very dangerous position to be in. As one of the flightless, she could have Atratys taken from her, and she could be exiled or, worse still, executed.

Aderyn is dumped into a hotbed of distrust, lies and barely concealed violence, when she is expected to go capital city by order of the King, her uncle. She is wanted by her cousin, the princess, to be one of her bridal party at her upcoming nuptials. All is not as it seems though, and Aderyn finds that both she and her dominion of Atratys are very much at risk of harm.

I love a book with courtly intrigue, and this has loads! Aderyn has to watch every word she says and who she says it to - she can trust no one. She has gone from being a protected, shut away child, to being the one who must protect all of those in her care - she does seem to have the courage for it though. She’s a fighter, that’s evident throughout.

I’m very much looking forward to the second book in this duology - there are some serious loose ends to tie up!

Thanks to Readers First for my copy of this great book to read and review.