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The Kingdom of Back
The Kingdom of Back
Marie Lu | 2020 | Music & Dance, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mozart's sister reimagined
Marie Lu, known for her fantasy and science fiction has created a well-written and imaginative story about the childhood of the Mozart siblings. Wolfgang Mozart had an older sister nicknamed Nannerl, and together they imagined a fantasy land called the Kingdom of Back.
Nannerl, like her brother, is a enormous talent in terms of playing and composing music, but it is 18th century Europe and women are not allowed to openly compose or have musical careers. Her greatest wish is to be remembered forever. Enter Hyacinthe, a faerie prince from the Kingdom of Back, who offers to make Nannerl's wish a reality, if she will complete a series of tasks for him. At first Nannerl is enthusiastic as she follows his wishes, but soon realizes that there is a sinister price that comes with Hyacinthe's demands. She realizes she must rethink her priorities.
A big theme is this novel is the constraints that were placed on women in this time and it made me wonder how many talented women throughout history were unable to pursue their dreams. Four and a half stars.
  
Adventure Time Vol. 4
Adventure Time Vol. 4
Ryan North | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Number four in this colourful series! Another fun, exciting adventure with our favourite characters. It includes issues 15 to 19 of the comic.

The first adventure Finn and Jake embark on is the retrieval of their voices after a princess tea party is crashed by the mischievous Magic Man. The princesses all get together, including Bubblegum and LSP (of course), to assist Finn and Jake.

After that, the boys find themselves in the Ice King's hidden (and forgotten) dungeon. They want the treasure at the other end, but that requires defeating several monstrous bosses first...

The adventures are, as always, great fun. The graphics are awesome and the dialogue is hilarious. This volume teaches us a lot about the Ice King's past, too, and is actually quite emotionally deep at times.

I really enjoyed this! A light-hearted, funny read (although it had it's more emotional moments). I found myself actually sympathising with the Ice King, and really wanting to know more about his past. And I loved the cover gallery, as always! There are some amazing pieces in here!
 
Easily 4 stars for this volume, at least.
  
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
1994 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
It's easy to forget what an unstoppable cultural juggernaut Four Weddings was for most of the summer of 1994: cinemas sold out for weeks on end (it was still playing in a few screens when it came out on VHS), careers were launched by it, sales of Auden soared, and the theme tune was number one for about three months. And watching it again it can be difficult to see just why it was such a smash: bits of it feel very dated, it sort of offers a tourist's eye view of England as inhabited largely by rich posh people, and Andie McDowell is a bit teaky in a crucial role.

However, this is to overlook how dire most British comedy films of the early 90s were and how fresh and funny this felt. The jokes here are frequent and good, but the characters are not cartoons and when the film skirts darker moments it does so with sincerity. It is neatly written and very well performed; the people who became stars off the back of this movie generally deserved it. Very watchable and entertaining even a quarter-century on.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated No Exit in Books

Jan 7, 2021  
No Exit
No Exit
Taylor Adams | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
8
9.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the fourteenth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

Driving home to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets stuck in a terrible snowstorm. It forces her to stop at a rest area in Colorado. There she finds four other strangers stranded as well. When going back out to her car to try to get a cell signal, Darby makes a horrible discovery: in the van next to her vehicle, there's a little girl locked in a crate. Darby has no cell signal, there's no phone at the rest stop, and no way of knowing which of the four strangers has abducted this child. She's trapped and must find a way to rescue the kid. But how?

When I first picked up this book, I found it a little slow. Honestly, I think it's just because it stressed me out completely. One young college student trapped in the snow, trying to save a kid. It's a lot. I will say that Darby Thorne is a total badass (much like my hero, Darby Shaw, of The Pelican Brief).

This book is basically just a horror show, filled with violence, terror, and suspense. You don't know who Darby can trust, or what on earth will happen next. Adams packs a lot of tension into a book set in a rest area, and into a story that spans over less than half a day. It's pretty impressive.

Overall, while I can't say I completely enjoyed this book, because I was constantly worried, it's very well-done and suspenseful. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 here.