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Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
2017 | Action, Sci-Fi
Porgs not as annoying as expected (1 more)
Muppet Yoda is back (no CGI nonsense)
The casino scene was pod-racing all over again (waste of time) (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I enjoyed the film at the time, but something niggles afterwards that some of it was just sloppy.
Captain Phasma - a strong female villain - was barely present and did not add anywhere near as much to the story as hoped for.
There was the perfect opportunity to write Carrie Fisher out of the story in a particularly poignant moment, but that wasn't followed through (and now she will just have to be written out in the opening scenes of the following film "Oh isn't it a shame about General Morgana dying").
The most irritating part of the plot for me was how quickly Finn is supposed to have walked back, dragging Rose. It took them 10 minutes driving to their destination but he somehow manages to walk it in 2 minutes, dragging another person, past a fleet of AT-ATs! That took me right out of the moment.
Rey was not used anywhere near enough. As the strong female lead, having her spend the entire film trying to persuade Luke to help or train her was just a waste of time. They should have just used a montage.
Otherwise it was an acceptable film in the series, less of a remake of Empire than The Force Awakens was of A New Hope thankfully.
  
AG
A Girl's Guide to Landing a Greek God
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I usually don’t read novels like this, but as someone who loves mythology, particularly Greek, I was hungry for a good mythology read. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this as a modern interpretation. Honestly, if the mythology wasn’t involved, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I think I am just a mythology snob…

Overall, I thought the story was humorous and engaging. That being said, it was obvious that the author was a male instead of a female. I can’t explain it, but males just have a certain voice when it comes to trying to write chick lit/romance. While I liked his characters, sometimes I felt that his female lead was a bit of a caricature. I have to remember, however, that people like that actually do exist. With that in mind, she can be a strong yet quirky woman able to hold her own in the world even if she doesn’t always make the best decisions.

As a whole, the story is pretty entertaining. As a woman, I feel a bit put out that a man wrote a novel titled “A Girl’s Guide…” I don’t think I will read the rest of the series but that is more for the fact that it wasn’t my tastes, not because it isn’t an good book.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Last Girl in Books

Dec 11, 2017  
The Last Girl
The Last Girl
Joe Hart | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good first part
This is a very intriguing idea for a story, although bleak dystopian futures appear to be all the rage at the moment. Set in the near future where women have virtually stopped giving birth to girls, where a group of young women are being held in a centre called the ARC - it starts off well and centres around Zoey in her daily routine. This first part is interesting, as you learn about life in the ARC and it keeps you hooked as you try and figure out with Zoey what’s going on. For me this is the best part of the book, as it goes a little downhill from there.

The second half is believable, but potentially far fetched depending solely on survival instinct of someone who has been institutionalised her entire life. Not bad, but I had to allow for a little embellishment and didn’t quite believe 100%. Shame as it’s a very well written and enjoyable book.


The characters themselves are all fairly interesting, although I did wish to see more of certain characters who sadly haven’t made it to the next book. Zoey herself is a strong female lead, obviously taking its lead from the Hunger Games etc. The whole book reminds me a lot of the Wool trilogy, and of Joe Hill’s The Fireman too.


In all, a very good enjoyable first part, and am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
  
Phoenix Everlasting (The Cascade #2)
Phoenix Everlasting (The Cascade #2)
Rebecca Royce | 2018 | Paranormal, Romance
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
209
Kindle
Phoenix Everlasting (Cascade book 2)
By Rebecca Royce

Review will be written after read and link posted via Smashbomb in comments

Maybe it was better when she couldn't remember who she was supposed to be...

Single-mom, Kendall Madison has a lot on her plate. Her ex-husband wants back in the picture, her three children have all developed super-natural powers, and the love of her many lives wants to have another go at their forever.

She has a team to lead and homework to manage. The shadows are growing in strength and the battle she was brought back to life to fight has begun. How is a woman supposed to manage all of that and not fall apart? Kendall needs to figure out how to cope or the entire world will fall apart. Or maybe it already has and was always meant to. If she can find the missing phoenix there will be a chance... the only problem is no one has seen it twenty years...



I absolutely adore Rebecca Royce and this is one of my favourites of hers! I love how she uses a “normal” female lead, a wife and a mother who not only battles the supernatural but also day to day problems too. She's not perfect and doesn't always get it right. This series has a great storyline with strong characters I’m loving it!
  
Haven's Flame (Fires of Cricket Bend #1)
Haven's Flame (Fires of Cricket Bend #1)
Marie Piper | 2015 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As this book started, I will admit to being worried! It appeared that it was going the way of a love triangle which, although I don't hate, I do tend to dislike. However, I stayed with it and I'm glad that I did. This is an interesting and fast-paced tale, set when the West was Wild and women were buttoned up, unless you were a scarlet woman!

Haven is a strong female lead, although sometimes she does come across as a bit naive. She is only twenty years old though, so cut her some slack. Matthew, I loved. He is the strong, silent type that would probably drive me insane in real life. Because you could 'hear' his thoughts though, his reasons for behaving how he did made it understandable, even noble. Hank is someone that I didn't trust from the get-go, and I was glad when this book changed from a love triangle into something else!

Very well-written and with no grammatical or editing issues that I could see, this story flowed well and with plenty of details. Enough build-up to make the ending breathtaking. It was nice to see the main female being honest with the main male too!

I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to all fans of Historical Western Romance.

* 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!
Jan 9, 2016