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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Summer Romances in Books
May 25, 2017
A mixed bag
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Stephanie Perkins, the best selling author of Anna and the French Kiss has compiled a second anthology of short stories. Twelve selected tales have been included from a variety of young adult authors including: Libba Bray, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare and Jennifer E. Smith. For those that have read Perkins’ previous anthology, My True Love Gave To Me, the concept is the same. Twelve love stories set in, as the title, Summer Days and Summer Nights, strongly suggests, the summer.
What can be expected from all the stories in this collection is that they fit snuggly into the Romance genre of young adult fiction. The way the authors decided to tackle this, however, was up to their own interpretations. Thus, the final outcome is a selection of works that fall into a variety of categories: fantasy, contemporary, LGBT, horror, sci-fi etc.
As a result there are a number of different character types and storylines, suggesting that there is bound to be something for everyone. There are lovey-dovey stories, heart-wrenching stories, exciting action stories, implying that there will be at least one you will favour, and hopefully make purchase worthwhile.
It is not merely love that can be found between these pages, so if you are, like me, not overly impressed with teenage love stories, there are other themes to focus on. Many of the main characters are nearing the end of their schooling and thinking about the future: college, perhaps. Readers discover, and possibly relate to, their hopes, doubts and fears of what is to come. Yet while these thoughts are buzzing in their heads they are also trying to enjoy their summers, some with summer jobs, others hanging out with friends. Alongside all of this are darker issues of depression, cancer and parents divorcing; events that many teenagers unfortunately have to deal with. So, throughout all the make-ups and break-ups, there is so much more going on under the surface.
It is always difficult to decide what age range “Young Adult” refers to. Some may assume it is anyone in their teens, however in the case of Summer Days and Summer Nights I would label it a book for older teenagers, those of similar ages to the characters depicted: sixteen to nineteen. This is due to the slightly adult themes of a few of the stories and the amount of swearing many of the authors resort to.
Unfortunately for me, I did not find a perfect story within this collection. There were some I enjoyed more than others; likewise there were some I was not keen on at all. It is for this reason I have only given a rating of three stars. I do not want to put prospective readers off however as this is merely a case of personal preferences and not a true reflection of the authors’ exceptional writing skills.
Stephanie Perkins, the best selling author of Anna and the French Kiss has compiled a second anthology of short stories. Twelve selected tales have been included from a variety of young adult authors including: Libba Bray, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare and Jennifer E. Smith. For those that have read Perkins’ previous anthology, My True Love Gave To Me, the concept is the same. Twelve love stories set in, as the title, Summer Days and Summer Nights, strongly suggests, the summer.
What can be expected from all the stories in this collection is that they fit snuggly into the Romance genre of young adult fiction. The way the authors decided to tackle this, however, was up to their own interpretations. Thus, the final outcome is a selection of works that fall into a variety of categories: fantasy, contemporary, LGBT, horror, sci-fi etc.
As a result there are a number of different character types and storylines, suggesting that there is bound to be something for everyone. There are lovey-dovey stories, heart-wrenching stories, exciting action stories, implying that there will be at least one you will favour, and hopefully make purchase worthwhile.
It is not merely love that can be found between these pages, so if you are, like me, not overly impressed with teenage love stories, there are other themes to focus on. Many of the main characters are nearing the end of their schooling and thinking about the future: college, perhaps. Readers discover, and possibly relate to, their hopes, doubts and fears of what is to come. Yet while these thoughts are buzzing in their heads they are also trying to enjoy their summers, some with summer jobs, others hanging out with friends. Alongside all of this are darker issues of depression, cancer and parents divorcing; events that many teenagers unfortunately have to deal with. So, throughout all the make-ups and break-ups, there is so much more going on under the surface.
It is always difficult to decide what age range “Young Adult” refers to. Some may assume it is anyone in their teens, however in the case of Summer Days and Summer Nights I would label it a book for older teenagers, those of similar ages to the characters depicted: sixteen to nineteen. This is due to the slightly adult themes of a few of the stories and the amount of swearing many of the authors resort to.
Unfortunately for me, I did not find a perfect story within this collection. There were some I enjoyed more than others; likewise there were some I was not keen on at all. It is for this reason I have only given a rating of three stars. I do not want to put prospective readers off however as this is merely a case of personal preferences and not a true reflection of the authors’ exceptional writing skills.
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Fred (860 KP) rated Stan & Ollie (2018) in Movies
Apr 2, 2019
Like two peas in a pod-duh
I'm a super-fan of The Boys. In fact, they're one of my favorite things in life. I've watched their films & shorts dozens of times, hundreds of times for some & I laugh just as hard now, as the first time I saw them. Let me say that Reilly & Coogan are unbelievable as Stan & Ollie. Every mannerism, their speech, their singing voices, everything, perfect! The movie begins in their Hal Roach days, while they are filming their classic "Way Out West". This is the end of the duo's time together at the studio. It then moves ahead 16 years, where their movies are done & they're on tour in Europe doing some shows. So, we get a look at some stuff we may not have known & what went on.
The movie features many of their recreations of their skits & songs from their films, as they are acted out in their shows. There were many times I laughed out loud. But, the movie has drama as well & I found myself getting worried for them, even though I knew what happened. Unlike most other bio-films like Bohemian Rhapsody or The Dirt, this film seems to be true to the real story. Since I'm such a fan, I may be biased towards liking the film. As for people who aren't fans, which would probably mean they've never seen a L&H film, I think they should watch it anyway. I'm sure you'll like it too.
The movie features many of their recreations of their skits & songs from their films, as they are acted out in their shows. There were many times I laughed out loud. But, the movie has drama as well & I found myself getting worried for them, even though I knew what happened. Unlike most other bio-films like Bohemian Rhapsody or The Dirt, this film seems to be true to the real story. Since I'm such a fan, I may be biased towards liking the film. As for people who aren't fans, which would probably mean they've never seen a L&H film, I think they should watch it anyway. I'm sure you'll like it too.
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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated BZRK (BZRK, #1) in Books
Jun 24, 2019
BZRK is a unique, action-packed story about the war taking place "down in the meat", the war that could determine the fate of the human race.
Sadie McLure, daughter of billionaire Grey McLure, is horrified when she witnesses the death of her father and brother. This was no mere accident, and Sadie is determined to discover the truth behind their deaths.
And Noah Cotton is desperate to find out the cause of his brother's madness. He was an army recruit, Alex. But then something happened, something that drove him so insane that he was sent to live out his days in an asylum, screaming about Bug Man and repeating the word "nano". It has to mean something, doesn't it?
These two teens are joined in extraordinary circumstances, and thrown into the deep end of a major battle. A battle that is too small to be seen by the human eye. A battle between biots and nanobots. A battle that leads to multiple deaths, and could alter humanity entirely.
I loved the concept of this book. I've never read anything like it, about tiny bug-like robotic creatures and people who are linked to that are linked to their biots in such a way that they risk their sanity with every mission. But personally, I found it all somewhat... overwhelming. I wanted to enjoy it but I just got lost and, frankly, kind of bored. It improved again further on but I'm only going to give BZRK 3 stars.
Sadie McLure, daughter of billionaire Grey McLure, is horrified when she witnesses the death of her father and brother. This was no mere accident, and Sadie is determined to discover the truth behind their deaths.
And Noah Cotton is desperate to find out the cause of his brother's madness. He was an army recruit, Alex. But then something happened, something that drove him so insane that he was sent to live out his days in an asylum, screaming about Bug Man and repeating the word "nano". It has to mean something, doesn't it?
These two teens are joined in extraordinary circumstances, and thrown into the deep end of a major battle. A battle that is too small to be seen by the human eye. A battle between biots and nanobots. A battle that leads to multiple deaths, and could alter humanity entirely.
I loved the concept of this book. I've never read anything like it, about tiny bug-like robotic creatures and people who are linked to that are linked to their biots in such a way that they risk their sanity with every mission. But personally, I found it all somewhat... overwhelming. I wanted to enjoy it but I just got lost and, frankly, kind of bored. It improved again further on but I'm only going to give BZRK 3 stars.
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Longest Holiday in Books
Jul 16, 2020
Paige Toon is an author I am diligently working my way through. I think I'm about 80% done with her catalogue now, though she has got a new release out which I haven't got my hands on yet.
So this one starts with Laura flying off to Miami for two weeks with her friend Marty and one of Marty's close friends, Bridget, as she tries to escape her life in London after finding out her new husband, Matthew, got another woman pregnant on his stag night. The girls head down to Key West to enjoy the sunshine and beaches and sign up for a SCUBA diving course where Laura meets Leo, an attractive man she caught sight of a few days earlier. There's an instant attraction between them but when Leo finds out she's married he keeps her at arms length and since Laura is pretty determined her marriage is over, she finally gets him to give in. What follows is a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions as Laura stays in Key West for longer than the two weeks in what becomes the Longest Holiday.
I was really into this until near the end when we started to see things from Leo's POV. The end bit got a little hard to read when Leo goes to London to see Laura and I didn't think that bit was drawn out enough, though I was crying like a baby at times. It hit me in the feels big time.
And then we got the epilogue and we see Laura happy for the first time in months.
I grew to like a lot of the characters in this: Laura, Leo, Bridget, Jorge and even Mike. Pretty much everyone else seemed to be pro-Matthew which annoyed (me and) Laura, which I totally understood.
I'll be reading more of this author's books soon I'm sure.
So this one starts with Laura flying off to Miami for two weeks with her friend Marty and one of Marty's close friends, Bridget, as she tries to escape her life in London after finding out her new husband, Matthew, got another woman pregnant on his stag night. The girls head down to Key West to enjoy the sunshine and beaches and sign up for a SCUBA diving course where Laura meets Leo, an attractive man she caught sight of a few days earlier. There's an instant attraction between them but when Leo finds out she's married he keeps her at arms length and since Laura is pretty determined her marriage is over, she finally gets him to give in. What follows is a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions as Laura stays in Key West for longer than the two weeks in what becomes the Longest Holiday.
I was really into this until near the end when we started to see things from Leo's POV. The end bit got a little hard to read when Leo goes to London to see Laura and I didn't think that bit was drawn out enough, though I was crying like a baby at times. It hit me in the feels big time.
And then we got the epilogue and we see Laura happy for the first time in months.
I grew to like a lot of the characters in this: Laura, Leo, Bridget, Jorge and even Mike. Pretty much everyone else seemed to be pro-Matthew which annoyed (me and) Laura, which I totally understood.
I'll be reading more of this author's books soon I'm sure.
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