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The Night House
The Night House
J.C. McKenzie | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE NIGHT HOUSE is a standalone post-apocalyptic fantasy romance that seamlessly blends medieval knights and sword-play from a different planet with current day earth.

This was a fantastic read, ticking most of my boxes. Thane and Taya have sparks flying aplenty when they are meet and these continue throughout the book. I loved not only Thane though, but his whole team. They were all strong characters with a strong sense of duty and loyalty. Once Taya was part of their team, that was it. No stupidity or senseless behaviour, just helping the newbie out where possible.

If I could give out half stars, this would be a four and a half! The reason for that half star being knocked off would be the ending. It felt very quick to me, almost as if the author was running out of available words in her word count. Big build-up followed by events happening very quickly and not taking up much page space. Still, I loved this book anyway, so perhaps that's why it seemed to end too quickly!

If you like fantasy and contemporary genres merged together, then I would definitely recommend this book!
  
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.