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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2398 KP) rated Murder on Cape Cod in Books
Dec 19, 2018
Macenzie "Mac" Almeida has returned to Westham, Massachusetts, after several years away, and she is settling back into the town where she grew up. She's enjoying time with her family, her bike shop is thriving, and she enjoys her weekly meetings with the Cozy Capers, a book club that reads exclusively cozy mysteries. Returning from their meeting one night, Mac stumbles over the dead body of Jake Lacey. Jake didn't have the best reputation in town, and Mac had her own disagreement with the man over a repair he had been hired to do for her. Worse yet, she recognizes the knife as one her brother owns. With the rest of the Cozy Capers jumping in to try to help solve the crime, will they succeed?
Ever since this series has been announced, I've been looking forward to it, and the debut didn't disappoint. I always love vacation destination settings, and this one is fun; now I want to visit Cape Cod. Plus, what cozy mystery fan isn't going to want to read about a club that loves the same sub-genre we do? We are introduced to a large selection of series regulars here, and it took some work to keep them all straight, but I'm sure that will get easier as the series goes along and the various supporting characters get enough page time. The suspects don't have the same issue, and it is easy to remember their motives. There are several secrets and potential motives for murder, but by the time Mac figures things out, everything is clear to us and her. While this isn't a traditional culinary cozy, Mac's boyfriend owns a bakery in town, and we get several recipes at the end of the book.
Ever since this series has been announced, I've been looking forward to it, and the debut didn't disappoint. I always love vacation destination settings, and this one is fun; now I want to visit Cape Cod. Plus, what cozy mystery fan isn't going to want to read about a club that loves the same sub-genre we do? We are introduced to a large selection of series regulars here, and it took some work to keep them all straight, but I'm sure that will get easier as the series goes along and the various supporting characters get enough page time. The suspects don't have the same issue, and it is easy to remember their motives. There are several secrets and potential motives for murder, but by the time Mac figures things out, everything is clear to us and her. While this isn't a traditional culinary cozy, Mac's boyfriend owns a bakery in town, and we get several recipes at the end of the book.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated X-Men Origins - Wolverine (2009) in Movies
Jul 10, 2019
A low point for the X-Men franchise
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an awful awful film, for many reasons.
Firstly - no one really seems to be too enthusiastic about what they're doing. Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, and Danny Huston do the best with the piss-poor script, but everyone else just seems to be going through the motions.
Secondly - the characters. This movie contains not one, but two fan favourite X-Men characters, making their big screen debut, just to be thrown under the bus. Gambit for starters, is a shadow of the character he is in the comic - Taylor Kitsch just being himself, whilst getting one very brief action scene that hardly shows off his powers.
The other character is of course Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds is entertaining enough throughout the opening scene - but when we're introduced to the proper Deadpool near the climax of the film... Words truly fail me, it's just embarrassing.
Thirdly - what the hell on Earth is going on with the CGI in this movie? This is the fourth X-Men film and the effects are worse than ever. Wolverines claws look like a child had just drawn over the film.
It's just terrible from start to finish. The fact that the following X-Men Origins: Magneto got cancelled almost immediately after this was released is a example of just how much of a misstep this film was.
There are a few positives though - the opening montage of Logan fighting in different wars throughout history was pretty cool, Liev Schreiber is a welcome addition as Sabretooth after Tyler Mane in the original X-Men movie, and the best thing about this film? The adaption of Deadpool was so abysmal that Ryan Reynolds took it upon himself to eventually get a proper Deadpool movie rolling.
Final thought - please don't let Will.I.Am near anymore movie sets, thanks.
Firstly - no one really seems to be too enthusiastic about what they're doing. Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, and Danny Huston do the best with the piss-poor script, but everyone else just seems to be going through the motions.
Secondly - the characters. This movie contains not one, but two fan favourite X-Men characters, making their big screen debut, just to be thrown under the bus. Gambit for starters, is a shadow of the character he is in the comic - Taylor Kitsch just being himself, whilst getting one very brief action scene that hardly shows off his powers.
The other character is of course Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds is entertaining enough throughout the opening scene - but when we're introduced to the proper Deadpool near the climax of the film... Words truly fail me, it's just embarrassing.
Thirdly - what the hell on Earth is going on with the CGI in this movie? This is the fourth X-Men film and the effects are worse than ever. Wolverines claws look like a child had just drawn over the film.
It's just terrible from start to finish. The fact that the following X-Men Origins: Magneto got cancelled almost immediately after this was released is a example of just how much of a misstep this film was.
There are a few positives though - the opening montage of Logan fighting in different wars throughout history was pretty cool, Liev Schreiber is a welcome addition as Sabretooth after Tyler Mane in the original X-Men movie, and the best thing about this film? The adaption of Deadpool was so abysmal that Ryan Reynolds took it upon himself to eventually get a proper Deadpool movie rolling.
Final thought - please don't let Will.I.Am near anymore movie sets, thanks.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2398 KP) rated The Silent Second in Books
Jan 16, 2020
Good, but Not the Tone I Was Expecting
Chuck Restic has spent twenty years in HR, and he’s good at his job – making sure employees get along so they don’t sue each other or, more importantly, the company. That’s how he first meets Ed, who has had a complaint filed against him. Ed seems like a nice guy, and their meeting goes well, but then Ed disappears a couple of days later. A plea from Ed’s family to figure out what happened to him intrigues Chuck. He’s recently separated from his wife, and he wants to do something to fill his time away from work, so he uses his boredom as an excuse to start poking around. The trail quickly leads to real estate around Los Angeles, but how could that have led to Ed’s disappearance?
I’d seen the author speak at a library event a while ago, and I thought this book sounded like fun. While I certainly enjoyed it, I found the book to be darker in tone than I was expecting. There were a few laughs when Chuck was in HR mode, but for the most part, this felt more like a hard-boiled book. But that’s my only complaint with the book. I really did like Chuck – in fact, I could identify with him a bit too much. (Maybe that was part of my problem.) The rest of the cast are just as strong and become well-rounded people as we learn most about them. The plot was great with plenty of twists and an ending I didn’t see coming. The book was light on foul language and didn’t get too graphic with the violence or sex, which I most definitely appreciated. This is a solid debut, but pick it up when you are in the mood for something on the darker side.
I’d seen the author speak at a library event a while ago, and I thought this book sounded like fun. While I certainly enjoyed it, I found the book to be darker in tone than I was expecting. There were a few laughs when Chuck was in HR mode, but for the most part, this felt more like a hard-boiled book. But that’s my only complaint with the book. I really did like Chuck – in fact, I could identify with him a bit too much. (Maybe that was part of my problem.) The rest of the cast are just as strong and become well-rounded people as we learn most about them. The plot was great with plenty of twists and an ending I didn’t see coming. The book was light on foul language and didn’t get too graphic with the violence or sex, which I most definitely appreciated. This is a solid debut, but pick it up when you are in the mood for something on the darker side.
Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated The Cactus in Books
Jan 17, 2020
I'm genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. At the start of this novel, I hated Susan. Like I firmly wanted to punch her square in the face. I thought she was annoying, self-righteous, stuck on her high horse, just rude. I can't say that that changed much over the course of the novel, but the light in which she was shaded in changed. As you move through the story and you learn about her life, who she is and where she came from, her relationship with her mother before her death and after, it becomes apparent that her coldness, her vehement desire to push people away, and her intensity for control are all coping mechanisms stemmed from her childhood. I related a lot to Susan, even though I found myself wanting to scream at her in some parts of the book.
As for the story itself, the plotline, the characters, I really thought it was well put together. The twist towards the end and even the ending itself wasn't one that I thought of when I initially started reading or even as I made it to the halfway point and beyond. It wasn't a novel that kept me on the edge of my seat, by any means, but it was one that just pulled you in and you were encompassed in Susan's world - in her thoughts, however rude they might be. I relate a lot to who she was and who she becomes and I was surprised to find myself rooting for her by the end, even as I, again, wanted to punch her. I also appreciated that not every conflict needed to be wrapped up in a bow and solved. That's not real life and this book felt like real life.
A debut novel, well done.
As for the story itself, the plotline, the characters, I really thought it was well put together. The twist towards the end and even the ending itself wasn't one that I thought of when I initially started reading or even as I made it to the halfway point and beyond. It wasn't a novel that kept me on the edge of my seat, by any means, but it was one that just pulled you in and you were encompassed in Susan's world - in her thoughts, however rude they might be. I relate a lot to who she was and who she becomes and I was surprised to find myself rooting for her by the end, even as I, again, wanted to punch her. I also appreciated that not every conflict needed to be wrapped up in a bow and solved. That's not real life and this book felt like real life.
A debut novel, well done.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2398 KP) rated Statue of Limitations in Books
Jan 29, 2020
Entertaining Debut
Athena Spencer has had to move back to live with her family in Michigan after her divorce. That means dealing with her large, crazy Greek family on a daily basis since she and her young son are living with them and she is working at the family’s garden center. It also means she is on hand when her grandparent’s Greek restaurant is threatened by the powerful Talbot family. They intend to raze an entire block of shops to put in condos. The fact that a murder takes place in their home, two weeks after another suspicious death, doesn’t seem to be slowing their plans down at all. The police are focusing their attention on a stranger in town, but Athena thinks they have the wrong suspect. Can she solve the murder and save her grandparent’s restaurant?
As I was starting this book, I was thinking I was going to have problems with it. Athena’s family likes to spend their time meddling in her life, something that I find annoying. Honestly, the family needs more development quickly because I still found them annoying at the end. I also questioned just why Athena was going to such extremes to help a stranger. But I kept reading, and as I kept reading, I got more and more hooked on the story. Yes, there is a lot here, and in lesser hands, it might have gone very wrong. Here, it worked. There was always something going on to keep me engaged. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it did wrap everything up nicely. This is a light book, but if that is what you are looking for, you’ll be delighted. Kate Collins’s many fans will be very happy.
As I was starting this book, I was thinking I was going to have problems with it. Athena’s family likes to spend their time meddling in her life, something that I find annoying. Honestly, the family needs more development quickly because I still found them annoying at the end. I also questioned just why Athena was going to such extremes to help a stranger. But I kept reading, and as I kept reading, I got more and more hooked on the story. Yes, there is a lot here, and in lesser hands, it might have gone very wrong. Here, it worked. There was always something going on to keep me engaged. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it did wrap everything up nicely. This is a light book, but if that is what you are looking for, you’ll be delighted. Kate Collins’s many fans will be very happy.
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