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I finished reading NEW X-MEN: CHILDHOOD'S END Vol 2 this afternoon. Wow! No, seriously, WOW! I thought the first volume had some drama going on, but this volume turned that drama up to eleven!

It's a brutal story, as the New X-Men have to struggle with trying to work as team as well as dealing with their teammates getting killed by Reverend Stryker. Humor is nowhere to be found in this story. From the opening pages' funeral for the "M-Day"/"mutant powers no more" students who perished at the end of the first volume, you can tell you're gonna have a storyline big on the feels!

For me, what really stood out for me was the way Laura Kinney's (X-23) was written, as well as the students' reactions to all the ensuing chaos. We can see some of the students starting to think of Laura as one of them, instead of just the token "weird, new kid". I am pleased with Marvel's decision to let Yost and Kyle handle this. Man, I miss GOOD editorial decisions, versus the ham-fisted ones being made of late!

Okay, I am already over-anxious, wanting to go read Vol. 3, as this story arc is like a loose tooth you gotta wiggle. Yes, it's very moody and sombre, but it should be, as this TPB features a hell of lot of death and destruction. Initially, I did not necessarily approve of the basis for the revived X-FORCE, but seeing what these poor kids went through, yeah, the world definitely called for a team that allowed for killing of the Big Bads.

In short, read this, but definitely read Vol. 1 first!

<b>RATING:</b> 5 out of 5 SNIKTS
  
I&#039;ll Be Your Blue Sky
I'll Be Your Blue Sky
Marisa de los Santos | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Revisits former characters (3 more)
Features unexpected twists and turns
Beautiful characters that fit together well
Funny and touching
Lovely look at some favorite characters
The weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman, Edith Herron, at the venue. While they only have a few brief conversations, they provide Clare with the insight and courage she so badly needs. So much that she finds the strength to call off her wedding and return home alone. A few weeks later, Clare receives some sad and surprising news: Edith has passed away and left Clare a seaside home in Delaware. Desperately seeking a place to reevaluate her life, Clare decamps to the "Blue Sky House" and there begins to learn more about Edith and the remarkable life she led. This includes the discovery of two ledgers--one depicting a list of the guests who stayed at Edith's home when it was a beach guesthouse and another, "shadow" ledger, with mysterious notations. With the help of her former boyfriend, now best friend Dev Tremain, Clare starts to unravel Edith's brave and fascinating past. Along the way, she starts to get closer to working out more about herself as well.

I absolutely adore Marisa de los Santos and was really excited to see she had written another book picking up on the characters first introduced in Love Walked In: A Novel and Belong to Me. Both still hold a place of honor on the bookshelves of my home. Still, Goodreads told me it was nearly ten years since I'd read those gems. Considering I can forget a lot of what I've read a few months ago, it took a little remembering and time to get back into the characters. There's a lot to keep track of in the beginning. Still, once I got into the groove, it was like being back with old friends.

Getting to know more about Clare--all grown up now--is lovely. You find yourself drawn to her immediately. Her finance, Zach, made me nervous from the start, and in many ways, the novel can be a little stressful, between Clare navigating Zach, learning about what Edith was up to, and just some of the general topics of the novel. I always know a book is well-written when I find myself getting nervous on the characters' behalf.

The book generally alternates chapters between Clare and the story of Edith, the woman she meets at her wedding venue. Edith's story mainly takes place in the 1940s and 1950s, and I found myself always wishing for more and more of her tale, as she's a fascinating character in her own right. As Clare moves into Edith's old home and starts to investigate the woman's past, we learn a little more about her through Clare and Dev's sleuthing. It's a very effective format, and I found the book surprisingly suspenseful, with several unexpected twists and turns thrown in along the way.

Indeed, I was never really sure where this one was going. It meanders a bit and kept surprising me as it did. There are points where the sadness can be really hard and heartbreaking (in a wow, this novel is incredibly well-written and I feel as if these characters are real way). All the characters fit together so well and come to life before you--no surprise to anyone who has read a Marisa de los Santos novel before. It's so easy to get lost in the world she creates for us. At other times, I just found myself laughing, as Clare and Dev, for instance, could just be so funny and real.

In the end, I just wound up really loving this one. I was along for the ride wherever Clare and her gang were going to take me. I loved her, I loved Edith, and now I'd wait ten years for another book without any issue whatsoever. It's a lovely book about connections and about the family we have and the family we make. It's about love (very appropriate that I finished it on Valentine's Day). Thanks for revisiting these characters, Ms. de los Santos. I didn't know I needed them again, but I'm glad you did. 4+ stars.

I I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for a honest review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/
  
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Dead Island
Dead Island
2011 | Action/Adventure
Great Graphics (4 more)
Huge areas to explore
Free roam mostly
Different characters
20-30 hours game time 1st time round
Some tricky bits to get past (1 more)
Losing custom weapons
Zombie Island vacation
A brilliant game going back a few years now. You have huge areas to roam as you please most of the time with a few key points to complete to advance. If you want to jump in a jeep and run down zombies you can! The game is huge and with a lot of exploring will take over 20 hours to complete first time round. You have a few players with different skills you can build on to add to the replay value. The graphics were great for the time, bright colorful and detailed. You can create custom weapons with various abilities. The only real downside was if you died sometimes it could mean a good 5 minutes or more to get back to that area to try again. Some of the enemies got repetitive and were just a higher level later on. Overall though a game to lose yourself in for hours as you bash zombies in a tropical paradise. It has almost a cinematic quality at times. Wouldn't surprise me if it gets a film one day.
  
A Life of the Twentieth Century
A Life of the Twentieth Century
Irene Even | 2014 | Biography, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What a wonderful book this is. I have learned a bit more about Israel and it ever lasting world to survive. The book is about a girl named Aya who by all means was stuggling to fit into her family from the day she was born. Her family really did not know what was going on with her. She came out on top in the end, to me at least.

Aya was traveling with her young group for return to hope and freedom. Though once she reached the Jewish Brigade, she runs a solider that is supposed to be her hero. She does not know that she was to going to be control by this man when she was only 15 year's old. What happen next is a surprise as to anyone.

Late in life and raising two children. Things go from bad to worse. Aya try to protect her two children from their father. When she clasped and is ask to see phys doctor. She decides to go to school. Things get harder for her and she decides to do the one thing that get her to travel and get a career in something she loves. There are many different twist and surprises to be learn the read in this book
  
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The Silver Witch
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel is told in both the present and in ancient Celtic times, both storylines taking place in the same locale. In present day Wales, following the death of her husband, Tilda moves into the house that she and Matt had purchased to start their new life in together. After spending some time alone in her cottage, Tilda starts to experience strange things, and finds a new sort of power developing inside her. In ancient times, we hear the story of Seren, a shaman and seer to a Celtic Prince who lived on a man-made island in the middle of the lake near Tilda's cottage.

Each story on its is intriguing. We know early on that there is a connection between the two women, but it takes longer for Tilda to realize why she feels such an affinity for the lake and the area around her new home. By the time she does, her life and the life of her new love may be in more danger than she can handle.

This book has a little bit of everything. Historical fiction, fantasy, suspense, and a touch of romance. I highly recommend this one if you are a fan of any of those genres.
  
Midnight (Skulduggery Pleasant #11)
Midnight (Skulduggery Pleasant #11)
Derek Landy | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quikly captures the reader (3 more)
Paints the images clear
Cover work is enticing
Great next installment
Derek Landy is amazing
Contains spoilers, click to show
So fans of Skulduggery Pleasant had been waiting for this installment of the series for a year. Derek Landy had said this was the last in the series so it was highly anticipated and most of us had preordered copies and some lucky fans got to get theirs signed.
Starting the first page you are instantly teleported into the world of Valkyrie and Skulduggery.
How Derek focused on the after affect of Valkyrie becoming Darquesse, shows dedication to the main characters and that even though they may only be real within the words he types, that there is love there.
He portrays Valkyrie going through a difficult transition and coming to terms with what she had done but she knew once she had the individuals in the magic world would not forget.
The tale gets intense within a few chapters, as they work on a case as unoffical investigators. Meeting new and important people throughout, helping them once more save the day.
But the best thing of this book is the fact right at the end Derek Landy gives us a short snippet of the next book! Which like this one is now highly anticipated.
  
    Fairyland Story

    Fairyland Story

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    GMGC 2017 IPA contest second place. A game from the maker of LOST MAZE. We are lovely couple team...