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Five Minutes Longer (Enhanced #1)
Five Minutes Longer (Enhanced #1)
Victoria Sue | 2017 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
different but brilliant
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.

Some 30 years ago, children began waking up with a mark on their faces and enhanced abilities: speed, strength, mental abilities. Talon, now given the job of setting up a human/enhanced task force within the FBI, was one of the first. He doesn't want to work with normals on his team, but this task force is his, and the other enhanced team members, last chance at becoming a useful member of society, not just a mark on his face. Finn wanted to join the FBI forever, and worked hard to get to apply, but he is not accepted. Instead he gets a cryptic phone and flies to Florida, and finds himself face to face with several huge enhanced, one of whom makes Finn want that boyfriend he never had. They have four weeks to make this team work, do or, quite possibly, die.

Oooooo-eeeee! Loved this! Different, very different and different is always good in my book!

The guys on the team really don't want Finn around, but know they gotta put up with him, at least for a little bit, but he grows on them, Talon especially but Talon fights that attraction all the bloody way, and when he finally gives up the fight?? Oh yes ma'am, that boy falls hard and he falls FAST! And when Finn gets caught in the cross fire at a bank robbery?? Talon goes all MAJOR Alpha-Male- Protect-What's-Mine!

I loved that not everything is fully revealed about the guys abilities, I think there is quite a bit more to come!

Nick J Russo narrates and he does a sterling job! He's a firm favourite of mine, and each and every time I listen to his work, it becomes my NEW favourite!

Russo's voices are clear and distinctive, even in multi person conversations. He reading voice is deep and even and I had no trouble, not at all, keeping up.

He gets cross all of Finn's emotions and his reactions to the guys, to Talon. His intense dislike of his brother and how his mum was with his dad. Russo gets across all of Talon's fighting, and that boy fights hard, his feelings for Finn, and you get just how much Finn means to him, when he thinks Finn is lost.

This is book one, there appears to be an underlying story arc running through these books, and I look forward to watching that unfold, and to watching these guys fall, like dominoes, one by one.

Off to listen to book 2, which is a continuation of Finn and Talon's story.

5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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JT (287 KP) rated Contraband (2012) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
Contraband (2012)
Contraband (2012)
2012 | Action, Mystery
6
6.7 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
This is an action film of epic underrated proportion, director Baltasar Kormákur, who was a producer on the original film Reykjavik-Rotterdam, gives us a good old fashioned heist where you root for the bad guys, or in this case the good guys.

When Chris Faraday (Whalberg) has to help out his brother-in-law Andy, after his attempts at smuggling in drugs for Giovanni Ribisi’s excellent villain go pear shaped, Faraday must go back to his criminal roots in order to save him and his family.

Do you feel lucky?
It certainly isn’t as slick as Ocean’s Eleven but it has a similar impact, in that you are desperate for these guys to succeed and pull off the job, and what a job it is! The heist or smuggle as you want to call it is as elaborate as anything that Danny Ocean himself could have put together, its all just a little rushed and certainly not all that conventional.

Whalberg’s crew, a band of misfits, all work on board a container ship heading to Panama where they will pick up a van and fill it with counterfeit bank notes, a plan which would seem simple enough. They’ve even gone to great lengths to make sure the ship stays in port long enough for them to get the job done.

Of course it doesn’t all go to plan, and in the mean time Briggs (Ribisi) is terrorizing Faraday’s wife Kate (Beckinsale) and his family. Andy still manages to try and pull off (and f*** up) his own job mid way through, and Faraday’s best friend Sebastian (Foster) has a little more about him that meets the eye.

The plot has a distinct Gone in 60 Seconds feel to it, with a relative coming to the aid of another family member which results in them racing against time to pay off the bad guys. The action is OK, an elaborate car chase and shootout is probably the most notable sequence, while the rest of the time we watch and wait as Faraday plans the heist.

I enjoyed this quite a lot, its a format that I find if done right works well which in this case it was. Ribisi was a standout for me, not just in his mannerisms as a psycho drug lord but his voice and look about him made me think he put some real effort into this role. Wahlberg is an action hero at the end of the day and here, he is out doing what he does best, Beckinsale is left out in the cold a bit but as a supporting role she does alright.
  
Storm Siren (Storm Siren #1)
Storm Siren (Storm Siren #1)
Mary Weber | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Be prepared for a tale full of twists and turns that will knock you off your feet and steal the very breath from your lungs. Infused with the powers of the Elementals Storm Siren has everything a YA Fantasy novel should posses.

Epic battles, devastating loss, search for purpose, simmering romance, bad guys that are the most vicious sort of people and good guys that will sacrifice everything for the good of the people. Nym has totally swept me into her world and I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series (which I was SMART this time around and placed all three books on hold at the same time at my library).

While the elements of faith are not blatantly in your face. I do recognize the threads weaving through the story. The constant battle between good and evil, the enemy being a deceiver, the good sacrificing everything. But maybe most importantly is seeing what is inside ourselves...and recognizing it for the GIFT it is rather than a curse.

If you enjoy Young Adult Fantasy with clean content and decent morals, you should definitely check this series out! Stay tuned for my thoughts on the remainder of the series.

I borrowed a copy of Storm Siren from my local library. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Guardians in Books

Mar 19, 2020  
The Guardians
The Guardians
Josh Grisham | 2020 | Law, Thriller
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of the best John Grisham books I’ve read in quite some time! It’s a strong, captivating story featuring the “good guys” versus “bad guys” dynamic that Grisham does so well.

Cullen Post works for Guardian Ministries, traveling the country fighting wrongful convictions. Guardian takes on clients forgotten by the system. Post, a lawyer and Episcopal minister, finds himself drawn to their latest client, Quincy Miller, who is serving life in prison. Quincy supposedly killed Keith Russo, a lawyer in Seabrook, Florida. He’s been in prison for over twenty years. And now Post is realizing that Quincy’s case is going to ensnare him and Guardian in a dangerous world—powerful people killed Keith Russo, and they do not want Quincy Miller exonerated.


"I have saddled myself with the burdens of innocent people rotting away in prison while rapists and murderers roam free."


This book has the legal and dramatic hallmarks of a strong Grisham novel. I was drawn to Post immediately and quickly caught up in Quincy’s case and Post and Guardian’s world. There are lots of twists and turns and surprises as Post works to free Quincy. I love the details Grisham throws in, plus the peeks into the courtroom, tidbits about examining evidence, and more. It’s a powerful read that gives you plenty to think about. Definitely worth a read! 4 stars.
  
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Aldis Hodge recommended The Raid (2011) in Movies (curated)

 
The Raid (2011)
The Raid (2011)
2011 | Action

"The Raid. Come on, man, THE RAID! It’s insane. I’m a fighter, and I love and grew up on fighting movies. I mean, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, those are my guys; Jean Claude Van-Damme, those are my guys. But this new cat, Iko Uwais, I mean, he’s fantastic. He is a great actor, but at the same time a great martial artist. They had so many great martial artists, so many great athletes, in this film, and what I loved about it was the raw nature in which they shot it. The fight scenes were done so well we believed all of it. You know, there’s not too many high-flying wire tricks. As a fighter I can appreciate when somebody does a scene so perfectly that it looks like a tangible fight, because I know what it’s like to be in the ring with somebody. First of all, fights don’t last that long, and when people fight there’s a lot more getting beat up and weary than we see often times in film. But this one made it so cool. I said, “Wow, here’s something that teaches me how to do this in a new way, something that teaches me how to perfect the idea of action.” I think it’s one of the best action films. Hands down."

Source
  
The Scorpion King (2002)
The Scorpion King (2002)
2002 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
8
6.2 (19 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Rock (2 more)
Kelly Hu
Michael Clarke Duncan
Lots of white guys for Africa (1 more)
Not a single female who is not stuck in a bikini of some sort (Not that I'm complaining, but....)
Good sword and sorcery fun
Spinning out of The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King is a decent sword-and-sorcery epic in the vein of Conan the Barbarian that would work better on its own than it does connected to the Mummy franchise. It's not that it's bad, but we know how things end up in The Mummy Returns, and that undercuts some of the characterization in this film. The performances are good to great across the board, though there's a lot of white guys given the African setting. I realize that it's the cradle of civilization, but still. Then there's the trope of all the women wearing bikinis, which doesn't play as well in this day and age as it did in the pulp era....I mean, it has the desired effect, don't get me wrong, but I think we've moved on. The action is excellent, the graphics hold up even seventeen years later (which is more than can be said for the character's introduction in TMR), and on the whole, I enjoyed the film. After watching the special features, though, I think they should have kept the prophecy element in the film. Just my opinion.
  
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