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A Likely Story
A Likely Story
Jenn McKinlay | 2015 | Mystery
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
No Man Dies on an Island Alone
One of the things that librarian Lindsey Norris does as part of her job is take requests to the residents who live in the islands off the coast of Briar Creek, Connecticut. And that’s what she is doing this cold February day with the help of her ex-boyfriend, Sully. Their first stop is Star Island, the home of brothers Stewart and Peter Rosen. The brothers are recluses, and Lindsey knows to never leave the dock – Stewart will meet her there. This particular afternoon, Stewart doesn’t come to meet her. After waiting a few minutes, Lindsey and Sully can’t help but feel that something is wrong, so they venture up to the house to investigate. Inside, they find one brother dead with no sign of the other. Did one brother kill the other? Or is something even more sinister involved?

Since this is book six in the series, we’ve gotten to know the series regulars pretty well, and it is fun to check in with them again here. A couple of the supporting characters even get their own sub-plots, and they added some great humor to the book. The love triangle is still going strong here, although it takes a backseat to some of the other storylines of the book. Yes, the mystery is the more prominent story of the book. Once again for this series, it doesn’t unfold in typical fashion, but I was no less hooked, and I had to know what Lindsey would uncover next as she worked to piece everything together. I did feel the ending was rushed, which left a couple of things dangling, but the big questions were all answered. We get the typical extras for this series – literature discussion questions, a craft project, recipes – as well as a bonus short story that is a lot of fun. Fans new and old will enjoy catching up with Lindsey here.
  
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1)
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1)
Neal Shusterman | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
9.0 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2656699288">Scythe</a>; - ★★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2998629500">Thunderhead</a>; - ★★★★★
#3 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3080800725">The Toll</a> - ★★★★★

<img src="https://i2.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Book-Review-Banner-22.png?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1"/>;

Scythe by Neal Shusterman is my favourite read for 2019 so far! I had this book on my TBR shelf since last Christmas, I don’t even know why I waited so long to read it!

<b><i>“2042 is the year we conquered death, and also the year we stopped counting. Sure, we still numbered years for a few more decades, but at the moment of immortality, passing time ceased to matter.”</i></b>

In a perfect world, where immortality exists, the only way to die is to be gleaned by a scythe. Citra and Rowan are both living different normal lives, when they both have separate encounters with Scythe Faraday that will change their lives. They are both chosen to be his apprentice, a role neither of them wants to have.

<b><i>“Every child is told from the day he or she is old enough to understand that the scythes provide a crucial service for society. Ours is the closest thing to a sacred mission the modern world knows.”</i></b>

They have no choice, but to learn the art of gleaning – a word that has replaced killing many centuries ago, as it sounds better. Citra and Rowan are on their way to find out about the world of scythes, and what it takes to be one, and take on the terrifying responsibility of choosing their victims.

In a perfect world though, corruption still exists, and Citra and Rowan will have to join forces to defeat it. But one day, they are told that one of them has to kill the other…

<img src="https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/49756919_2262745213737085_5615474919803453440_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&_nc_oc=AQkoqPoPl1eisjDoqn31z6Y15KstI6wZhbP5LJjjiyvG8OGBdP1ohu5FEv41nMNGD_CnITluEVGXyf5agIA-vyE5&_nc_ht=scontent-lht6-1.xx&oh=22d38a236c494f78f4c3ac26c8d31a2a&oe=5E2F74A8"/>;

Neal Shusterman is a maestro with his words and world building. He managed to create this dystopian world where good and evil exist, where we have beaten immortality and a big machine called the Thunderhead controls everything – apart from death. Because death is an act that must be performed by another human.

Every scythe must reach of quota of number of people to glean, and within that number there must be diversity and percentages met (a few fisherman, one Latino woman, one child, etc.) Each scythe has all the weapons available and all means in order to perform the gleaning, and it is up to them to choose the ways to do it. Some scythes are compassionate, and some scythes are brutal. And every day, all the scythes have to write an entry in their diary of their day, and this information is available to the public. And through Scythe Faraday, Scythe Curie and Scythe Goddard, we learn different personalities and see this responsibility, this gift (or is it a curse) from different points of view.

<b><i>“Was there ever a time when people weren’t plagued with boredom? A time when motivation wasn’t so hard to come by?”</i></b>

It is a great responsibility, deciding who lives and who dies, and performing the gleaning itself. That is why not everyone becomes a scythe. Not everyone can handle this responsibility.

I loved how through Citra and Rowan we learn a lot about the Scythe world, but also learn a lot about compassion and caring, about love and respect. And even though Citra and Rowan have different qualities, we can see them connect over at least one – compassion!

With an incredible plot, incredible world-building and unexpected plot twists – this is a book that has left me speechless many times. I don’t often highlight pages and quotes in books, but I did here. It left me wanting for more, and I couldn’t put it down until very late in the night. I was so engrossed by the whole Scythedom world, that I cannot wait to read the next one!

If you love Young-Adult Series, dystopian worlds, many amazing characters, love stories, quotes to remember for life and a little bit of spookiness – this is the book for you. This is what you have been waiting for all along. Go and grab it!

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My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2020)
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2020)
2020 | Animation
7
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
It was very exciting to finally get an anime screening at my local Cineworld. We don't seem to get considered for these different screenings very often so it made a nice change to see something a little unusual.

A class of superheroes-in-training are sent to an island where the resident hero has retired. Getting experience is the best way to learn and getting to know the people around them will help them learn what they're fighting for.

The day to day hero life is hum-drum but fulfilling and most of the trainees are settling in well. Things are about to change, a spate of superpower robberies take place and it seems the culprits are heading for the island.

I've read manga in the past and have seen snippets of anime from time to time but I don't think I've ever sat down to a whole film of it apart from Pokemon. Possibly I shouldn't have started with something fairly deep in an existing franchise but I wasn't aware of it beforehand, and actually, I would have said it could have been a standalone after watching it.

It was really nice to see so many people there for it, there were about 30 others which felt like quite a lot for our cinema, more than I was expecting... and by the look of it there were all young enough to be my kids, so that was a fun experience.

I'm not going to lie, I was very confused at the beginning. It opens on a chase sequence and with no idea who these characters were or what was happening, I was lost. It doesn't take too long to get the gist of everything after this but it really threw me for a while.

On the advice of Twitter peeps I went and saw the subtitled release rather than the dubbed, this would have been my personal choice too as I find dubbing a rather hit and miss format. I'm not sure what might be lost in translation but some of the dialogue didn't seem natural, it might be an interesting experience to see it again with a dubbed track over it for the comparison.

You know when you're driving and looking for a turning so you can see where you're going better? During that first chase scene in particular the music is quite loud and the voices were hardly audible... I know I didn't need to head the audio as I wouldn't have understood it anyway but reading the subtitles without hearing the pacing was quite tricky and felt like it was partly why the scene was confusing to me. (This brings up all sorts of questions about subtitles when people HAVE to use them that I'd never even considered before.) The sound issue did get a little better as it progressed, but there was still a discrepancy through the film.

One good guy has to be virtuous and self-sacrificing, one has to be overly aggressive with a hidden soft side, another has to be adorably cute. Is that how they all work or just this one? Oh, and for the most part, everyone has to have great hair. I found either end of the scale of characters to be frustrating, Mahoro and Bakugo (I hope I'm getting these character names right) were on the aggressive side and the outbursts of screaming didn't make a lot of sense. There are several of the heroes that have a rather saccharine demeanour that also grated at me. Within the ensemble though there were characters like Deku and Katsuma who felt much more balanced, and Katsuma was so adorable to boot.

The story for the film seemed simple enough, bad guys want something, good guys have to protect it and stop them. Classic. But the back story to it seemed very complicated with a whole section of the film verging on unnecessary. This could be something that makes more sense with it combined with the series, but it's not something I'm going to know for now.

That may or may not have contributed to me struggling through the first 40 minutes of the film. I'm sure a little advanced knowledge might have helped, for example, I don't know whether Nine's motivations were established in the series. As it was it took me a while to work out.

Once we hit the confrontation of the film everything really picks up and I was a lot more engaged. As it progresses there's quite a strong moral compass that becomes evident and a lot of teachable moments are thrown at us, by the end I was really moved by some of the characters and their actions. Emotions were surprisingly well handled and the sense of right and wrong with them come across well.

I did have fun watching the film but there were things that held me back. The fact that the villain is well matched by a group of unattended school kids with only a partial grasp on their powers being one. Essentially the heroes come back for round two with nothing more than determination, but I get the sense that that all just helps with the sense that anyone can triumph over evil. I could rant on about this until the cows come home.

The biggest thing that held this back is not really a negative to the film, it's more that I'm a newbie to it. Anime is made up of several different styles, realistic, cartoonish, fantastical, that's a lot to deal with when you're not familiar with something. In a bad comparison for you it's like watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit? without knowing half the characters, you don't know why they look the way they do and you don't know what their function is. The only way that's going to make more sense to me is by watching more of it.

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is probably a good place for me to pick up some anime knowledge, once the film got going it was an enjoyable ride. As a nice surprise this also attracted the best audience I've had in quite a while.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-hero-academia-heroes-rising-movie.html
  
Paper Dolls (Dark Carousel #2)
Paper Dolls (Dark Carousel #2)
Anya Allyn | 2017 | Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really loved Dollhouse, the first book in the Dark Carousel series by Anya Allyn. I couldn't wait to dive into the next book in the series, Paper Dolls. I wanted to love Paper Dolls as much as Dollhouse, but it just wasn't as great.

Paper Dolls takes place right after Dollhouse although Paper Dolls also goes back to 1920 to focus more on Jessamine's back story and to thicken the modern day plot. While I loved Jessamine's story, Cassie's narrative is a bit lackluster. The pacing for Cassie's plot feels very slow moving. While there were a few plot twists regarding Cassie's story, the main one was the most predictable from early on. Don't get me wrong, Allyn's writing is fantastic, but Cassie's plotline just didn't wow me as before. Jessamine's, on the other hand, was fantastic! I loved learning more about Jessamine and how she become like she was in Dollhouse. Jessamine's narrative moved at a great pace, and I would get so excited when her chapters would come up. I also loved how Jessamine's chapters involved more backstory for Henry and Audette and explains how they became ghosts. It also talks more about the mysterious Donovan Fiveash. Many of the other characters, even characters with small parts, from Dollhouse are mentioned again in Paper Dolls. We get a bit more of their back story as well which was nice. There is a big cliffhanger at the end of this book which will lead into the next book in the series, Marionette. Although this book is intended for young adults, I would say it's more aimed towards a mature young adult audience as it's a lot more dark compared to Dollhouse.

As with the first book in the series, Anya Allyn did a fantastic job keeping her characters realistic relatable. Even though I found Cassie's story a little boring, I still enjoyed Cassie's character. I did find her a bit naïve in this book, but she is a teenager, so I could understand why she'd trust the first boy that showed her attention. I felt like I was Cassie's babysitter and was mentally urging her not to trust anyone! Jessamine was my obviously my favorite character. I just wanted to hug her as she had such a sad life for the most part. After reading her story, I understood why she was the way she was in Dollhouse. I really wanted to protect Jessamine throughout the whole book especially when she was still alive although I already knew she'd end up as a ghost. Henry was a character I didn't think I'd end up liking since he seemed like a bad guy in the first book. However, the audience is shown a whole different side of Henry in Paper Dolls. I just wanted Audette to disappear though. Not because she was written poorly but just because how vile and horrible she was to Jessamine. Although they were nice, I had a hard time trusting the Batiste family. They just seemed a little too nice for my liking.

Trigger warnings for Paper Dolls include death, murder, attempted rape, violence, occult activity, and mentions of sex (though not graphic).

Despite being a bit of a slow read, I still enjoyed Paper Dolls. Learning more about many of the ghosts' backstory was extremely interesting, and I loved all the characters. I would recommend Paper Dolls by Anya Allyn to those aged 16+ who love supernatural horror. I have already started reading Marionette, the next book in the Dark Carousel series, since I'm loving this series!
  
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Interludes Box Set
Interludes Box Set
Aliyah Burke | 2019 | Contemporary, Erotica, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I LOVED THESE!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this box set of three books.

Because I read these books back to back, as a set, I’m writing one review for the whole bundle, rather than three separate reviews.

And let me tell ya, I loved these books!

Well, I LOVED books one and three, two didn’t quite hit that spot, but still!

These books landed right in my queue when I needed them the most. I read a lot, A LOT, a lot and a huge chunk of those books are male/male romance of some description or other. Now, I’m not picky, I like to think I’m an equal opportunities reader, I will read most pairings so long as the blurb grabs. But it’s been a while since I had such great male/female pairings that were so bloody sexy!

There is instant and powerful attraction between Roxi and Sam in book one. Tuck and Ariel pussy foot around each other for the better part of two years before they act on their feelings in book two. Maya and Brent, in book three, had a one night stand some time (but I was never really clear on how long ago that was!) in Hawaii and when Brent finds himself face to face with Maya again, he wants to pick up where they left off.

Each book is well written, with both male and female lead having a say. All the characters have very different voices, and tell their stories in the third person. Each book has a Marine or two as the lead, and there are a whole host of other Marines that pop up in each book.

There is a huge supporting cast, spread over the three books, with some very interesting people who I want to have a story of their own. Some massive hints? Clues? Teasers, I think is probably the best word, to their stories and I need to know will there be more in this series??

I read tow of these books in one day, and had I not had to up at stoopid o’clock the next morning, I would probably have read all three! First I’ve read of this author, and now I want to read more. Her back list is massive though, and it may take some time to choose!

Like I said, book two did not quite hit *that* spot, but I’m still giving the whole set. . .

5 full stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds by Belle &amp; Sebastian
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds by Belle & Sebastian
2005 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Lisa Helps the Blind were Belle and Sebastian before they were Belle and Sebastian, a very early incarnation of the band when it was mainly the two Stuarts - Murdoch and David. I used to put on bands at this place in Glasgow called The 13th Note, there’d be a Tuesday night where anybody could play and then a Thursday night for groups who maybe were a little bit more together. “Stuart Murdoch came down a couple of times and he’d sometimes play at acoustic nights there too. I think I put on one show when they were still Lisa Helps the Blind. What I remember more than anything else was how quietly Stuart would sing, to the point that you could barely hear him over the general level of chatter in the room. I think he was very frustrated at the time, because it wasn’t in his nature to make a scene and force people to listen; he wanted them to pay attention because they appreciated the songs, you know? He was clearly a great melodic songwriter, but that track especially... “I’ve got that demo tape somewhere, in a box and it’s been there for the last two or three times I’ve moved house. I wish I could find the bloody thing because I love that version of the song. It’s quite different from the Belle and Sebastian recording that came out later, on the 3...6...9 Seconds of Light EP. I don’t want to diss that version, but the Lisa Helps the Blind one was slower and felt a little bit more lovingly crafted. I just thought, ‘Whoa, there’s something special going on here with this guy and his writing.’ “The lyrics weren’t like anything I’d heard before - the imagery he was using was both extremely profound and extremely non-rock and roll, this song from the perspective of a guy who’s going to church and fantasising about this rather plain-looking girl who is resenting being in church herself. I fell in love with the quirkiness and contrariness of it, but there was also a quiet self-assurance to it that I’ve admired about Stuart ever since. “I was in one of Belle and Sebastian’s early press photos too, they didn’t appear in them themselves in those early days. That was a very specific time in 1996, after Tigermilk and before If You’re Feeling Sinister. Stuart just stopped me on Byres Road one day, when I was out on my bike. I look so chuffed, because I loved that bike more than anything else in the world. I took a train out to Helensburgh and bought it from this guy who’d bought it new in 1948 and cycled to work on it every day of his life until he retired. It was this really heavy, beautiful old Raleigh. “I was away on tour one time and the landlady of my flat on Bank Street in Glasgow cleared out the garage and she chucked it out. It was so heart-breaking! Anyway, the photo is from a period when the band were being bashful but also playing games with the press at the same time, which was funny. Stuart was a great photographer, you’d always see him around town with his camera.”"

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