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Undead (2003)
Undead (2003)
2003 | Horror
7
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I watched a Top 30 zombie movies video on YouTube and this film was on it. I have never heard of it before then and given that it was a micro budget film from Australia that was big on the festival circuit in 2003, probably not surprising it had passed me by.
First up, if you want a serious zombie film like 28 Days or Romero's Dead films look elsewhere, you won't enjoy this. If however you don't mind some slapstick gore and tounge firmly in rotted cheek humour and like early Peter Jackson splatter horror Braindead this is for you.
In a quaint Aussie fishing village meteorites fall from the sky and before you can say this looks familiar the townsfolk are turned to the ravenous undead.
Yes the acting is hammy, the dialogue at times is weird but this film is at its heart, fun. Blood, gore and brains soak the screen as things break down. Also, what is in the rain?
Characters are a bit stereotypically but I feel the ending is the most satisfying ending to a zombie film ever. Yes it looks on paper like an idea that shouldn't work but somehow it does.
Good debut from the Spierig brothers made for $2 million Aussie dollars and effects done on a laptop. It's better then some big studio zombie flicks.
Lot of negative reviews of this on IMDb, I don't understand why it's by no means perfect but it's a lot of fun with a great early Peter Jackson vibe.
  
Mind Sweeper (Mind Sweeper #1)
Mind Sweeper (Mind Sweeper #1)
A.E. Jones | 2014
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won this book via Goodreads' First Reads program (and I'm so happy I did! Thank you for the goodies, too, A.E. :D)

<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3257.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3257.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3257.jpg"/></a>

4.5 stars.

This book has everything that I like in a paranormal read; action, romance, investigations... I really, really, really liked it!

<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3258.jpg.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3258.jpg"; border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3258.jpg"/></a>

"Happy Reading"? It definitely was for me!

I literally read every word of this, which I don't always do as it is generally just filler/too much information for my liking, but I felt like I would miss something if I missed any one word of this. And still managed to finish it within three days

The case took up all the book and I have to admit that I had no idea who was behind it all but I loved how the author had linked everything together.

The romance was slow growing; it wasn't insta-love and I really felt it happening which was great. I love Kyle and Joe as a couple. I'd love to read more of them (nudge, nudge ;-))

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books by the author if there is more along this line coming. Great book for a debut!
  
    ANA for iPad

    ANA for iPad

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    ANA iPad application has been renewed! Enjoy traveling more than ever before. Everything about...

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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Aug 1, 2020  
Check out this awesome interview with Shanessa Gluhm, Author of the historical mystery ENEMIES OF DOVES on my blog. There's also a GIVEAWAY to win a copy of the book and/or a $20 Amazon gift card!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/08/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-enemies-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Told in alternating timelines from World War II to 1992, debut author Shanessa Gluhm's Enemies of Doves is a tale of family secrets, jealousy, and deception perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Katherine Webb.

On a summer night in 1932, twelve-year-old Joel Fitchett wanders into an East Texas diner badly beaten and carrying his unconscious brother, Clancy. Though both boys claim they have no memory of what happened, the horrific details are etched into their minds as deep as the scar left across Joel's face.

Thirteen years later, both men still struggle with the aftershocks of that long-ago night and the pact they made to hide the truth. When they find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, they make a decision that will change everything. A second lie, a second pact, and, for a time, a second chance. In 1991 college student Garrison Stark travels to Texas chasing a rumor that Clancy Fitchett is his biological grandfather. Clancy has been missing since 1946, and Garrison hopes to find him and, in doing so, find a family. What he doesn't expect to discover is a tangle of secrets spanning sixty years involving Clancy, Joel, and the woman they both loved, Lorraine.
     
Bound in Flame (The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society #1)
Bound in Flame (The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society #1)
Katherine Kayne | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bound in Flame is the debut book by this author and is also the first in The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society series. Set in the early 1900's we find out about the Suffragette movement as seen by a young (eighteen-year-old) Letty. She wants to go to school and become a vet although she is not sure that it's possible. Instead of being a woman with her feet set firmly in logic, Letty finds out that she is one of the magical Gates and her powers, her flames as she calls them, are not just there to get her into trouble. Letty knows who she is and also knows what she is up against, more so than Timothy, our main male, in some cases.

This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.

I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. 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 the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Killer Chardonnay
Killer Chardonnay
Kate Lansing | 2020 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Poisoned Opening
Parker Valentine’s dream is coming true today with the opening of Vino Valentine in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. However, her joy turns to worry when renowned local food and wine blogger Gaskel Brown shows up. He is notoriously hard to please, and his blog can make or break local restaurants. After sampling her chardonnay, Gaskel dies, and the police are quick to label it poison. Everyone is blaming Parker for the crime, and no one is coming to her store for fear they will be next. In order to save her dream, she has to find the killer. Can she do it?

Since I don’t drink wine, I almost passed on this debut, but I’m glad I picked it up. The book starts quickly, introducing us to characters while also setting the murder in motion. The pace continues to be strong with plenty of secrets and motives before we reach the climax, where everything fell into place. All the characters were also fantastic, with some good growth thanks to the subplots. The book is written in first person present tense, which is a bit unusual, but I quickly got used to it as I read. There are a handful of four-letter words, but they are worth noting mostly in passing. If the food descriptions make your mouth water, you’ll welcome the three recipes and wine pairings at the end. This book was aged to perfection, and I’m already looking forward to Parker’s next case.
  
The Shadows
The Shadows
Alex North | 2020 | Thriller
9
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

While I have "read" audiobooks for years now, this is the first one I was given to review. Let me catch my breath before starting. Wow! OK. Wow! That needed to be said.

Alex North's "debut" novel, The Whisper Man, was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller. When I finished reading it, I immediately added his second book, The Shadows, to my must-read list.

The narrators of The Shadows are Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan. The combination of North's writing and Arterton and Heffernan's narration provides a story that feels as if the narrators are the characters themselves, sitting by a fire, retelling North's story, and not merely reading the story. It is their narration that helps North bring the listener down the rabbit hole and ending up questioning everything they thought was true. I needed to reread sections to see how I could have gotten everything so wrong.

North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name. According to Goodreads, this is Arterton's first narration. While Heffernan has narrated a few novels, he writes mostly for film and TV but also wrote Driver For The Dead, his first comic book series.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/14/20 and updated on 8/24/20.