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Merissa (13929 KP) rated In the Shadow of the Bull (An Ancient Crete Mystery #1) in Books
Jul 17, 2023
IN THE SHADOW OF THE BULL is the first book in the Ancient Crete Mystery series and we start with a wedding and a murder. Martis, the fifteen-year-old sister of the victim is charged by her dead sister's ghost to find out who killed her. If she fails, she will be haunted for nine generations!
Martis is split between her duty to her sister and her need to train for bull-dancing. She is also fifteen, so her attention span isn't that good yet, and she flits from person to person, convinced each one is the killer.
I preferred the historical aspect of this story more than the mystery. For me, it wasn't so much a mystery as a when will Martis figure it out? I did like the ending, with how it tied it up, but I wanted to know more about Bais and Nuia. And what about the barbarians? Would they receive an apology or just be given permission to leave? Maybe that will happen in future books. Although it was explained to a degree, it left me wanting more.
I have no hesitation in recommending an enjoyable book with great attention to detail.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 22, 2023
Martis is split between her duty to her sister and her need to train for bull-dancing. She is also fifteen, so her attention span isn't that good yet, and she flits from person to person, convinced each one is the killer.
I preferred the historical aspect of this story more than the mystery. For me, it wasn't so much a mystery as a when will Martis figure it out? I did like the ending, with how it tied it up, but I wanted to know more about Bais and Nuia. And what about the barbarians? Would they receive an apology or just be given permission to leave? Maybe that will happen in future books. Although it was explained to a degree, it left me wanting more.
I have no hesitation in recommending an enjoyable book with great attention to detail.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 22, 2023
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of The Evil Within 2 in Video Games
Mar 5, 2018 (Updated Mar 5, 2018)
Gameplay mechanics (2 more)
Horrifically beautiful graphics
A fantastic antagonist
Some odd voice acting (1 more)
Some duff lines of dialogue
A Gruesomely Good Time
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was a fan of the first Evil Within game, which I felt was criminally underrated. However, I must admit I slept on this game. This was due to all of the fantastic games that were released in 2017 that I was trying to catch up on at the time of this game's release.
4 months after the game's initial release, I finally got my hands on it and I loved the time I spent in this insane world.
The Evil Within 2 does what all great sequels should aim to do, which is to take the best concepts and systems from the first game and expand on them, while adding in some fresh concepts and discarding a lot of the excess fat that dragged the first game down.
This game is a much more streamlined action-horror adventure than the first entry and while it starts out with some creepy and uneasy moments, it focuses more on the action element than the horror side of things in comparison with the first game. I do however feel that the game finds a nice equal balance of horror and action, in a way that feels reminiscent of the modern classic, Resident Evil 4. Even though Shinji Mikami didn't direct this game as he did the first entry, this one actually feels more like a traditional Shinji Mikami game.
The villain that torments you for the first third of the game is brilliant, he is engaging, threatening and over the top in all of the best possible ways. The one issue I have with him is, (SPOILERS,) they kill him off far too early and replace him with a more bland, less entertaining villain.
There is also some ropey voice acting present, they changed the actor playing Kidman and the new VO artist isn't as engaging in her performance. The actor playing the protagonist's daughter Lily, is also, quite awkward and stilted sounding. There are also some strange lines of dialogue that don't feel very natural and come across a bit pantomime, but you must remember that this is a Japanese game, written in Japanese and then translated into English. I did experience some technical issues whilst playing through the final third of the game, mostly to do with the use of the radio transmitter and I experienced one slight hiccup with the in-game physics. Unfortunately, although these weren't game-breaking issues, they are still present 4 months after the game's initial release, meaning I am forced to knock a point off of my overall score.
Overall though, this is a damn good time for any horror fan out there. The fact that this game is a great deal easier than the first may bother some hardcore gamers out there, but for me it was fine as I was mostly playing for the story anyway rather than the challenge. The optional first person mode is also a nice addition and adds a cool incentive to play through the New Game Plus.
4 months after the game's initial release, I finally got my hands on it and I loved the time I spent in this insane world.
The Evil Within 2 does what all great sequels should aim to do, which is to take the best concepts and systems from the first game and expand on them, while adding in some fresh concepts and discarding a lot of the excess fat that dragged the first game down.
This game is a much more streamlined action-horror adventure than the first entry and while it starts out with some creepy and uneasy moments, it focuses more on the action element than the horror side of things in comparison with the first game. I do however feel that the game finds a nice equal balance of horror and action, in a way that feels reminiscent of the modern classic, Resident Evil 4. Even though Shinji Mikami didn't direct this game as he did the first entry, this one actually feels more like a traditional Shinji Mikami game.
The villain that torments you for the first third of the game is brilliant, he is engaging, threatening and over the top in all of the best possible ways. The one issue I have with him is, (SPOILERS,) they kill him off far too early and replace him with a more bland, less entertaining villain.
There is also some ropey voice acting present, they changed the actor playing Kidman and the new VO artist isn't as engaging in her performance. The actor playing the protagonist's daughter Lily, is also, quite awkward and stilted sounding. There are also some strange lines of dialogue that don't feel very natural and come across a bit pantomime, but you must remember that this is a Japanese game, written in Japanese and then translated into English. I did experience some technical issues whilst playing through the final third of the game, mostly to do with the use of the radio transmitter and I experienced one slight hiccup with the in-game physics. Unfortunately, although these weren't game-breaking issues, they are still present 4 months after the game's initial release, meaning I am forced to knock a point off of my overall score.
Overall though, this is a damn good time for any horror fan out there. The fact that this game is a great deal easier than the first may bother some hardcore gamers out there, but for me it was fine as I was mostly playing for the story anyway rather than the challenge. The optional first person mode is also a nice addition and adds a cool incentive to play through the New Game Plus.
Digital Giza: Visualizing the Pyramids
Book
The Pyramids on the Giza Plateau represent perhaps the most famous archaeological site in the world,...
Larchfield
Book
It's early summer when a young poet, Dora Fielding, moves to Helensburgh on the west coast of...
Fiction
David McK (3755 KP) rated The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) in Movies
Feb 20, 2022
Spider-man, Spider-man, does whatever a spider can ...
To do, there have been three actors starring as Spider-man on the big screen: Tobey Maguire (who had 3 movies), Andrew Garfield (2 movies) and Tom Holland (3 movies, not counting his various cameos or team-ups).
This is the first of the two Andrew Garfield (so pre Spider-man in the MCU) starring movies, again set during the early days of his crime-fighting career and telling how he got his powers: this time around, though, the first villain he faces is The Lizard rather than the Green Goblin. it also takes - at least in the very early parts of the movie - more of a thriller approach to his (Peter Parker's) story, laying the groundwork with an explanation of how he comes to live with his Aunt and Uncle (a groundwork which is seemingly forgotten about by the mid-way point of the movie), and with Garfields Parker coming across more as a 'cool kid' - skateboard and all! - than the nerdy Maguire version.
That's not the only differences: there's no MJ Watson (with her role replaced by Gwen Stacey), we're back to having his web-shooters being non-organic, and this Spider-man does seem quippier than Maguire's version whilst there's also several first-person POV segments throughout (the early 2010s, remember - 3d was still a thing).
Unfortunately, there's also no stand-out moments: nothing to rival the upside-down kiss (from Spider-Man), the train fight (Spider-Man 2) or even the Venom sequences from Spider-Man 3
This is the first of the two Andrew Garfield (so pre Spider-man in the MCU) starring movies, again set during the early days of his crime-fighting career and telling how he got his powers: this time around, though, the first villain he faces is The Lizard rather than the Green Goblin. it also takes - at least in the very early parts of the movie - more of a thriller approach to his (Peter Parker's) story, laying the groundwork with an explanation of how he comes to live with his Aunt and Uncle (a groundwork which is seemingly forgotten about by the mid-way point of the movie), and with Garfields Parker coming across more as a 'cool kid' - skateboard and all! - than the nerdy Maguire version.
That's not the only differences: there's no MJ Watson (with her role replaced by Gwen Stacey), we're back to having his web-shooters being non-organic, and this Spider-man does seem quippier than Maguire's version whilst there's also several first-person POV segments throughout (the early 2010s, remember - 3d was still a thing).
Unfortunately, there's also no stand-out moments: nothing to rival the upside-down kiss (from Spider-Man), the train fight (Spider-Man 2) or even the Venom sequences from Spider-Man 3
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2526 KP) rated The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning in Books
Jul 26, 2024
A Little Murder for Christmas
This year, Anty Boisjoly is planning to spend Christmas with his aunt Azalea, who is a bit of a recluse. He hasn’t visited her in years, in fact. When Anty arrives, Azalea informs him that she’s just discovered the body of her next-door neighbor, a man she’d begun to be friendly with. The victim is a local war hero, and everyone in the village is upset by the news. Unfortunately, the footprints in the snow make it look like Azalea is the only person who could have realistically killed the man. Oh, and there’s also the fact that he was seen by many people in the pub hours after Azalea claims she found the body. Can Anty figure out what really happened and prove his aunt innocent?
The book doesn’t hesitate, jumping into the murder in the first chapter. I found the pacing to be a little uneven, especially early on. The further I got into the book, the more impossibility we saw, and the more I was engaged. By the end, everything made sense. I also found the suspects a little shallow. I loved the first in the series, so maybe my expectations were too high here. The one thing that was definitely the same as the first book was the dry wit. I laughed so much reading this book. We get some nice Christmas cheer over the course of the book as well. Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for a humorous impossible crime mystery.
The book doesn’t hesitate, jumping into the murder in the first chapter. I found the pacing to be a little uneven, especially early on. The further I got into the book, the more impossibility we saw, and the more I was engaged. By the end, everything made sense. I also found the suspects a little shallow. I loved the first in the series, so maybe my expectations were too high here. The one thing that was definitely the same as the first book was the dry wit. I laughed so much reading this book. We get some nice Christmas cheer over the course of the book as well. Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for a humorous impossible crime mystery.
Skye (14 KP) rated The Girl on the Train in Books
Jul 30, 2017
Great suspense.
This is a good book and I would recommend it to mystery/suspense fans. However, I found the main character, Rachel annoying. She whines often and many times is just off the rail. But, I like the writing and believe this is done intentionally. Rachel hates herself, she is often angry with herself, she is hitting rock bottom, and why would the reader not feel the same way in light of a first person narrative. The writing makes you feel for Rachel, your embarrassed for her, confused, angry, upset, you pity her, in a way you come to understand her, and it adds to the narrative of the novel. You think you have it figured out (and you might the clues are there), but at times your not sure (Rachel is an unreliable narrator). This book is worth a read.
MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated I Know Who You Are in Books
Jun 15, 2019
I enjoyed Alice Feeney's first book, Sometimes I Lie, very much, so I was definitely looking forward to reading I Know Who You Are. I was not disappointed!
Meet Aimee Sinclair: the actress everyone thinks they know but can’t remember where from.
Except one person.
Someone knows Aimee very well.
They know who she is and they know what she did.
For fear of spoilers, I'm going to be purposefully vague. I don't want to ruin the ride for anyone!
I will say that this book was disturbing in so many ways, and completely twisted in more than one way. So.Many.Twists.
I enjoyed the back and forth between past and present. It kept me guessing in a way that meant I never truly figured it out, so the big reveal definitely got me.
A great sophomore effort and a great read! Looking forward to seeing more from this author!
Meet Aimee Sinclair: the actress everyone thinks they know but can’t remember where from.
Except one person.
Someone knows Aimee very well.
They know who she is and they know what she did.
For fear of spoilers, I'm going to be purposefully vague. I don't want to ruin the ride for anyone!
I will say that this book was disturbing in so many ways, and completely twisted in more than one way. So.Many.Twists.
I enjoyed the back and forth between past and present. It kept me guessing in a way that meant I never truly figured it out, so the big reveal definitely got me.
A great sophomore effort and a great read! Looking forward to seeing more from this author!
Going Out with a Bang
Criminal psychology has always been a very interesting subject for me. Criminal Minds (an amazing tv show for those of you who haven't heard of it) first introduced me to the subject of profiling which is when you can predict certain characteristics of a person based on the crime committed. It reminds me of Sherlock Holmes and the deductions he makes through his observations. Honestly, when they explain how they got to that conclusion, it always seems so simple, but I would have never been able to guess.
Profiling is now used by lots of detectives to narrow down the suspect pool and to try and give them a lead. But it had to start somewhere, and this case was the one that started it all.
Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2017/01/going-out-with-bang.html
Profiling is now used by lots of detectives to narrow down the suspect pool and to try and give them a lead. But it had to start somewhere, and this case was the one that started it all.
Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2017/01/going-out-with-bang.html
Lacie (4 KP) rated Fifty Shades Freed (2018) in Movies
Nov 10, 2018
Not Like The Book But Not Bad
Contains spoilers, click to show
First off I loved the actress and actor playing the roles both are incredibly and sexy to boot the sex scenes were better in my opinion the story line was a bit more on track with the book but so much was cut out I would love to see the movie made as in the book but take it a bit darker and more erotic only thing I had issue with was christian in the book based to the movie was a way darker person but it's a good movie I'd suggest it to all your friends it's a good date night movie to get you in the mood ?