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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated California Storm ( Crown of Frost & Blood 4) in Books
Nov 29, 2023
179 of 235
Kindle
California Storm ( Crown of Frost &Blood 4)
By CY Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️
What do you when everything you hold dear is taken from you?
They came for me in the light of day, killed the man I love, and took me with them.
Then my kidnappers get robbed, and I’m taken again, thrown into a world my mom fled from. A world of sirens and mermaids where I find out I’m the Queen of them all.
I just graduated from high school, what do I know about being a Queen?
On the other side of the veil, everything is different.
The villain isn’t easy to pinpoint, and what I thought was the truth, turned out to be nothing but an elaborate lie.
Everything here is a game of power and strength and I’m just learning the rules. Do I fight for a world I was hidden from or swim away as fast as my tail can carry me?
Everything may be uncertain, but this I know. I’m California Azalea DelaCort and I will survive this storm.
I have loved this series and I really enjoyed this book about Cali who is Winters sister. The only thing was it seemed a little rushed and unpolished in places. Although by the end it did have me wanting the next book I need to know what happened to her!! It’s left on one hell of a cliffhanger.
Kindle
California Storm ( Crown of Frost &Blood 4)
By CY Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️
What do you when everything you hold dear is taken from you?
They came for me in the light of day, killed the man I love, and took me with them.
Then my kidnappers get robbed, and I’m taken again, thrown into a world my mom fled from. A world of sirens and mermaids where I find out I’m the Queen of them all.
I just graduated from high school, what do I know about being a Queen?
On the other side of the veil, everything is different.
The villain isn’t easy to pinpoint, and what I thought was the truth, turned out to be nothing but an elaborate lie.
Everything here is a game of power and strength and I’m just learning the rules. Do I fight for a world I was hidden from or swim away as fast as my tail can carry me?
Everything may be uncertain, but this I know. I’m California Azalea DelaCort and I will survive this storm.
I have loved this series and I really enjoyed this book about Cali who is Winters sister. The only thing was it seemed a little rushed and unpolished in places. Although by the end it did have me wanting the next book I need to know what happened to her!! It’s left on one hell of a cliffhanger.
The Not So Much, Said the Cat
Book
The master of short science-fiction follows up his acclaimed collection The Dog Said Bow-Wow with...
Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years, Vol. 1
Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin and Archie Goodwin
8.0
Rate It
Book
May the Force be with you, in the mighty Marvel manner! The classic original Star Wars comic-book...
Merissa (11825 KP) rated Think of Me Demon (War of the Myth #2) in Books
Mar 30, 2018
Think of Me Demon (War of the Myth #2) by Miranda Grant
Think of Me Demon is the second book in the War of the Myth series, and the focus of this one is very different. Instead of being in the 'normal' world, we spend most of it in a demon stronghold, where Galvanor is being held against his will. His lifemate is a drazic demon, but it doesn't look like a happy ever after as she needs to kill him if she wants to live.
I LOVED this story! So very different from book one and yet with similarities too, in a good way. The story is enthralling, Galvanor's history is heartbreaking, and Matakyli is the perfect foil for him. I was pleased to see the other team members show up at the end, and Elizabeth's cameo too. It ties it all in very nicely with book one, and definitely leaves you wanting book three.
With excellent descriptions and world-building, this story held my attention from beginning to end. If I did half stars (which I don't) it would be a 4.5 star read. A definite improvement upon book one - which was still an amazing read. Miranda Grant's skill in weaving a story is improving in leaps and bounds, and leaves me looking forward to Jack and Charlie's story in book three. 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!
I LOVED this story! So very different from book one and yet with similarities too, in a good way. The story is enthralling, Galvanor's history is heartbreaking, and Matakyli is the perfect foil for him. I was pleased to see the other team members show up at the end, and Elizabeth's cameo too. It ties it all in very nicely with book one, and definitely leaves you wanting book three.
With excellent descriptions and world-building, this story held my attention from beginning to end. If I did half stars (which I don't) it would be a 4.5 star read. A definite improvement upon book one - which was still an amazing read. Miranda Grant's skill in weaving a story is improving in leaps and bounds, and leaves me looking forward to Jack and Charlie's story in book three. 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!
From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot: The World War I History, Memories, and Photographs of Leonhard Rempe, 1914-1921
Book
Twentyoneyearold Leonhard Rempe volunteered to serve Germany in 1914. By the time World War One...
Noonday
Book
In Noonday, Pat Barker - the Man Booker-winning author of the definitive WWI trilogy, Regeneration -...
Debbiereadsbook (1119 KP) rated A Theory of Crystal: A Paladins of Crystal Novella in Books
Oct 29, 2023
far too short! I need more!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is set in the world of The Paladins of Crystal series, but can totally be read as a stand alone. It probably falls somewhere AFTER book 2, but given what happens at the end of that book, I couldn't be sure.
Still, a very enjoyable slide back into this world, thank you very much!
Yelena runs away, because she does not want to marry the Three Ys (loved that she called them that!) and push out babies by the dozen, thank you very much! So, she dresses as a man and finds herself working for three scholars trying to find the secret of the source of magic and power in this world. Oleks, Ivan and Dmytro are taken by the young 'lad' and his skill at sorting their garbled notes into order. But only when a midnight bath for Yelena turns into something else, do they realise, she is theirs. But the magic in the world conspires against them, and things become deadly for them all.
I loved this dip into this world, I really did. The cameo by The Grand Duchess Crystal was a surprise too!
I loved Yelena and her men. I loved how they grew into their relationship, getting to know each other for a time, even if the men thought Yelena was a boy. Once the ruse was discovered, however, they were ALL in and I loved that too.
It would be great, at some point, to catch up with this group, in the main books. I'd like to know how Yelena gets on with her studies now the guys won their prize!
My only niggle? Too flipping short! But any visit to this world, I find too short!
I can't wait to read the next main book, and hope I don't have to wait too long.
4 very good, but far too short, stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is set in the world of The Paladins of Crystal series, but can totally be read as a stand alone. It probably falls somewhere AFTER book 2, but given what happens at the end of that book, I couldn't be sure.
Still, a very enjoyable slide back into this world, thank you very much!
Yelena runs away, because she does not want to marry the Three Ys (loved that she called them that!) and push out babies by the dozen, thank you very much! So, she dresses as a man and finds herself working for three scholars trying to find the secret of the source of magic and power in this world. Oleks, Ivan and Dmytro are taken by the young 'lad' and his skill at sorting their garbled notes into order. But only when a midnight bath for Yelena turns into something else, do they realise, she is theirs. But the magic in the world conspires against them, and things become deadly for them all.
I loved this dip into this world, I really did. The cameo by The Grand Duchess Crystal was a surprise too!
I loved Yelena and her men. I loved how they grew into their relationship, getting to know each other for a time, even if the men thought Yelena was a boy. Once the ruse was discovered, however, they were ALL in and I loved that too.
It would be great, at some point, to catch up with this group, in the main books. I'd like to know how Yelena gets on with her studies now the guys won their prize!
My only niggle? Too flipping short! But any visit to this world, I find too short!
I can't wait to read the next main book, and hope I don't have to wait too long.
4 very good, but far too short, stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Ross (3282 KP) rated How It Ends (2018) in Movies
Apr 1, 2019
The end of the world is the only thing that would make me go on a road trip with my father-in-law!
This Netflix original film revolves around the story of a mysterious cataclysmic event on the East coast of America, and a husband trying to travel home to ensure his pregnant wife's safety. He travels with her father (who he does not get on with) as they try to drive across the country.
The film focuses on their relationship and how very different their backgrounds are, but they soon start to bond over their main shared love - his wife / his daughter.
There are some good action scenes which stick to the theme of the film - human civilisation going to pot and everyone out for himself; and strength versus apparent weakness.
The ending of the film seemed a little abrupt, and unsatisfying. Ironically, given the name of the film, my wife fell asleep so doesn't know "how it ends".
The film focuses on their relationship and how very different their backgrounds are, but they soon start to bond over their main shared love - his wife / his daughter.
There are some good action scenes which stick to the theme of the film - human civilisation going to pot and everyone out for himself; and strength versus apparent weakness.
The ending of the film seemed a little abrupt, and unsatisfying. Ironically, given the name of the film, my wife fell asleep so doesn't know "how it ends".
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Barbie (2023) in Movies
Jul 21, 2023
More Than Meets The Eye
The Margot Robbie/Ryan Gosling curiosity BARBIE is a subversive film. This Greta Gerwig directed move lures you in by presenting a farcical/satirical look at the pastel colored “Barbieland” and the myriad of outfits and “golly-gosh” goodness of the world of this iconic Mattel doll (and her boyfriend, Ken). Once you are comfortably settled into this world, you are transformed to the “real world” and the much deeper themes of a women’s place in a patriarchal world.
As another toy’s slogan puts it, “there’s more than meets the eye” to this film.
And one should have expected something more than just a “surfacey-fun” film from the Writer/Director of such fare as LADYBIRD and FRANCES HA. Gerwing uses the stereotypes of Barbie and Ken to take a look at our society and the inherent hierarchy of the sexes while peeling back the layers of the key players to make them more than the plastic dolls they portray.
And…it works surprisingly well for adults - not so much for kids.
Margot Robbie, of course, is perfectly cast as the titular Barbie. She has the looks and the vacuous devil-may-care attitude of “Stereotype Barbie” and is a comfortable, pleasing entity to share this adventure with. But, with Gerwig’s direction, Robbie’s performance reveals, subtly, layer after layer until - at the end - we end up with a full fledged character and not just a living doll.
Ryan Gosling is just as strong as Barbie’s counterpart, Ken. He morphs from a Barbie worshipping boyfriend to something else once he encounters the real, male-dominated world. The BankofMarquis wondered why Gosling would agree to do a film that, on it’s surface, appears to be a one-note joke-fest, but once the film really drives to it’s point, one can see why Gosling agreed to be in this.
Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Michael Cerra, Helen Mirren (as the narrator) and America Ferrara all spark - at times - during this film while it was good to see Rhea Perlman (Carla on CHEERS) have a role that she could sink her teeth into.
Only Will Ferrell - as the money hungry CEO of Mattel - falls short of interesting. His character - one of the only “real world” characters in this film - stays stereotypical throughout the movie. He is the only complete caricature in this film…and perhaps that is on purpose.
Credit for the surprising depth of this film goes to Gerwig who brings her sensibilities to this film to make a comment on our society. It’s a bold move by Gerwig and works well…unless you are a Mom that is bringing your 5 or 6 year old child to this film.
And, that is the caution to this movie. It’s not, necessarily, made for the youngsters that play with Barbies. The kids will love the early going of this film, but the more adult themes in the middle of the movie will probably make a good deal of them squirm in their seats, since these moments of depth will go over their heads.
A surprisingly fun…and deeper than it appears to be….film, this Barbie is a multi-level dreamhouse.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the BankofMarquis
As another toy’s slogan puts it, “there’s more than meets the eye” to this film.
And one should have expected something more than just a “surfacey-fun” film from the Writer/Director of such fare as LADYBIRD and FRANCES HA. Gerwing uses the stereotypes of Barbie and Ken to take a look at our society and the inherent hierarchy of the sexes while peeling back the layers of the key players to make them more than the plastic dolls they portray.
And…it works surprisingly well for adults - not so much for kids.
Margot Robbie, of course, is perfectly cast as the titular Barbie. She has the looks and the vacuous devil-may-care attitude of “Stereotype Barbie” and is a comfortable, pleasing entity to share this adventure with. But, with Gerwig’s direction, Robbie’s performance reveals, subtly, layer after layer until - at the end - we end up with a full fledged character and not just a living doll.
Ryan Gosling is just as strong as Barbie’s counterpart, Ken. He morphs from a Barbie worshipping boyfriend to something else once he encounters the real, male-dominated world. The BankofMarquis wondered why Gosling would agree to do a film that, on it’s surface, appears to be a one-note joke-fest, but once the film really drives to it’s point, one can see why Gosling agreed to be in this.
Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Michael Cerra, Helen Mirren (as the narrator) and America Ferrara all spark - at times - during this film while it was good to see Rhea Perlman (Carla on CHEERS) have a role that she could sink her teeth into.
Only Will Ferrell - as the money hungry CEO of Mattel - falls short of interesting. His character - one of the only “real world” characters in this film - stays stereotypical throughout the movie. He is the only complete caricature in this film…and perhaps that is on purpose.
Credit for the surprising depth of this film goes to Gerwig who brings her sensibilities to this film to make a comment on our society. It’s a bold move by Gerwig and works well…unless you are a Mom that is bringing your 5 or 6 year old child to this film.
And, that is the caution to this movie. It’s not, necessarily, made for the youngsters that play with Barbies. The kids will love the early going of this film, but the more adult themes in the middle of the movie will probably make a good deal of them squirm in their seats, since these moments of depth will go over their heads.
A surprisingly fun…and deeper than it appears to be….film, this Barbie is a multi-level dreamhouse.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the BankofMarquis
Ross (3282 KP) rated Black Mirror - Season 2 in TV
Jan 15, 2018
Series 2 includes 4 more episodes (three plus a Christmas special) of the cult Charlie Brooker series exploring the use of technology and extrapolating it to show where society could be headed.
We explore the use of our online personalities to recreate ourselves after we die (though this quickly became more about robots than the differences in our personalities between online and the real world so for me a trick missed to an extent).
We see a post-apocalyptic world where one woman wakes up to be haunted by people filming her on mobile phones while she runs from psychopaths trying to kill her. This is a look at how obsessed the world is with filming and documenting everything, even unpleasant events happening to other people, and voyeurism as a whole. There is a massive twist at the end which makes what was a jarring, inconsistent episode (as in doesn't fit in with the rest of the series) into an exceptional look at an aspect of the world (spoiler avoided).
I found the Waldo episode to be incredibly irritating. As if a rude, cartoonish character with tiny hands could ever really be taken seriously in the world of politics?! Waldo shows an echo of Ali G's rise to fame but takes it to the next level. While I don't think we are meant to actually find Waldo funny, I found him very annoying and a step too far. Weirdly he reminded me of the banter comedy in Nathan Barley (it turns out this story was originally written for Nathan Barley).
The Christmas special was possibly my favourite of the episodes, Rafe Spall and Jon Hamm (Don Draper) living in awkward circumstances in a cabin. We are led to believe they are working at a remote mining operation or some such and finally start to bond over Christmas dinner and open up. They share stories about their lives before they moved, all three showing the benefits and perils of the technology whereby people can stream their lives to others (and get real-time dating advice) but can also block others from their lives (whereby they are pixelated to you and vice versa). Parts of this story were truly harrowing, how a happy relationship could quickly turn sour and the technology mean years of upset that could be avoided.
We explore the use of our online personalities to recreate ourselves after we die (though this quickly became more about robots than the differences in our personalities between online and the real world so for me a trick missed to an extent).
We see a post-apocalyptic world where one woman wakes up to be haunted by people filming her on mobile phones while she runs from psychopaths trying to kill her. This is a look at how obsessed the world is with filming and documenting everything, even unpleasant events happening to other people, and voyeurism as a whole. There is a massive twist at the end which makes what was a jarring, inconsistent episode (as in doesn't fit in with the rest of the series) into an exceptional look at an aspect of the world (spoiler avoided).
I found the Waldo episode to be incredibly irritating. As if a rude, cartoonish character with tiny hands could ever really be taken seriously in the world of politics?! Waldo shows an echo of Ali G's rise to fame but takes it to the next level. While I don't think we are meant to actually find Waldo funny, I found him very annoying and a step too far. Weirdly he reminded me of the banter comedy in Nathan Barley (it turns out this story was originally written for Nathan Barley).
The Christmas special was possibly my favourite of the episodes, Rafe Spall and Jon Hamm (Don Draper) living in awkward circumstances in a cabin. We are led to believe they are working at a remote mining operation or some such and finally start to bond over Christmas dinner and open up. They share stories about their lives before they moved, all three showing the benefits and perils of the technology whereby people can stream their lives to others (and get real-time dating advice) but can also block others from their lives (whereby they are pixelated to you and vice versa). Parts of this story were truly harrowing, how a happy relationship could quickly turn sour and the technology mean years of upset that could be avoided.