Search
Search results
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Pudge & Prejudice in Books
Feb 24, 2021
Do you like Pride and Prejudice? Well, I have a love/hate relationship with the story as I love Darcy but want to clobber him at the same time! However, this retelling of the story… is extraordinary. From the first chapter, I was fascinated by Elyse and the way Allison Pittman immersed me in her story. Elyse and Billy Fitz (how cool are their names?!) played off each other so well, I loved their conversations, the letter passing in class, and how both cared so much about the people around them. Allison Pittman also did a great job telling interweaving themes that are so prevalent and realistic into the characters’ thoughts and actions, such as body positivity and being careful who your friends are. Elyse’s older sister Jayne, and Billy’s best friend Charlie, plus the other beloved characters’ help make this story truly unique and engaging.
I loved the setting (Northenfield, TX), the 1980s drama, and the emphasis on music. Plus, all the 1980s references throughout the story helped to shape thing into a funny, realistic, and heart touching retelling of the original. Yet, it stands out as one of the most memorable renditions of Jane Austen’s works, that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was also interesting to see how Allison Pittman took the 1800s classic and evolved it into a new classic.
Overall, I think any age group would enjoy this book especially if you enjoyed the original. I know it will be going down as one of my favorite stories this year. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
IF Y’ALL LOVE ’80S MUSIC BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PLAY LIST THAT JENN FROM<a href="https://thatswhatshesreading.com/2021/02/05/pudge-and-prejudice-book-review/">THAT’S WHAT SHE’S READING</a> PUT TOGETHER!
I loved the setting (Northenfield, TX), the 1980s drama, and the emphasis on music. Plus, all the 1980s references throughout the story helped to shape thing into a funny, realistic, and heart touching retelling of the original. Yet, it stands out as one of the most memorable renditions of Jane Austen’s works, that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was also interesting to see how Allison Pittman took the 1800s classic and evolved it into a new classic.
Overall, I think any age group would enjoy this book especially if you enjoyed the original. I know it will be going down as one of my favorite stories this year. 5 out of 5 stars.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
IF Y’ALL LOVE ’80S MUSIC BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PLAY LIST THAT JENN FROM<a href="https://thatswhatshesreading.com/2021/02/05/pudge-and-prejudice-book-review/">THAT’S WHAT SHE’S READING</a> PUT TOGETHER!
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Love, Hate, and Other Filters in Books
Apr 15, 2021
A lovely teen read that delves into deep topics
This is the twelfth 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!
Maya Aziz feels like she lives two lives. In one, she's the dutiful daughter to her Indian Muslim parents: attending college near home, marrying a suitable Muslim boy, and becoming a lawyer. In the other, she goes to school in New York City to become a filmmaker and falls in love with whomever she wants--maybe even Phil, the boy she's loved forever. And in Maya's real world, horrible things happen, often hate crime motivated, that can turn her world upside down.
This is such a beautiful book, and I completely fell in love with Maya and her voice. As the child of the only Indian Muslim family in her small suburban Chicago town, she's always felt different. She dreams of making films, not conforming the way her parents desire. But she also wants to please them. And she's scared, as she deals with all the terrible bigotry and Islamophobia that her family faces.
Ahmed writes so lyrically, weaving her story about Maya finding her way in the world, while still painting a stark and timely picture of racism. It's a bit of a love story, yes, but also one of discovering yourself and finding strength in yourself and the people around you. Maya and Phil's relationship is sweet, and it's so easy to root for her on all levels.
I found this to be a profound read. In many ways, it's simply about a teenager trying to stand up for herself, but it also speaks deeply about Islamophobia. It's often sad, but it's quite hopeful too. I found myself tearing up a bit while reading. Definitely worth a read. 4.5 stars.
Maya Aziz feels like she lives two lives. In one, she's the dutiful daughter to her Indian Muslim parents: attending college near home, marrying a suitable Muslim boy, and becoming a lawyer. In the other, she goes to school in New York City to become a filmmaker and falls in love with whomever she wants--maybe even Phil, the boy she's loved forever. And in Maya's real world, horrible things happen, often hate crime motivated, that can turn her world upside down.
This is such a beautiful book, and I completely fell in love with Maya and her voice. As the child of the only Indian Muslim family in her small suburban Chicago town, she's always felt different. She dreams of making films, not conforming the way her parents desire. But she also wants to please them. And she's scared, as she deals with all the terrible bigotry and Islamophobia that her family faces.
Ahmed writes so lyrically, weaving her story about Maya finding her way in the world, while still painting a stark and timely picture of racism. It's a bit of a love story, yes, but also one of discovering yourself and finding strength in yourself and the people around you. Maya and Phil's relationship is sweet, and it's so easy to root for her on all levels.
I found this to be a profound read. In many ways, it's simply about a teenager trying to stand up for herself, but it also speaks deeply about Islamophobia. It's often sad, but it's quite hopeful too. I found myself tearing up a bit while reading. Definitely worth a read. 4.5 stars.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Realistically? This is only *ever* so slightly worse than 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘴, by a unit of less than a hair. I'd consider this to be about 45% funny, 55% unfunny in almost note-precise measure. Granted some of the humor does come from how jarringly wacky and final the scene-to-scene structure is - which unlike the majority I don't have a problem with because it shows how committed this is to truly trying to make you laugh, which I can respect. Though even its funniest moments are a far cry from the likes of the debilitatingly hilarious 𝘛𝘦𝘥 movies (the Gwendolyn joke is always a winner, though). Cut out the boring Theron + Neeson stuff and you could be left with a nicely lean, unique little comedy. I admire that this tries to be more than your average throwaway comedy by introducing like ten different plotlines but none of them ever come together smoothly at all and as a result it falls into *heavy* tedium quite regularly. My other main gripe is that MacFarlane (who does hold his weight here) plays the ultimate fucking incel - that dude who never lets people have fun on social media and swears women should just start lining up to fuck him just because he's superficially a self-proclaimed 'nice guy'. I'd hate that less if he didn't leave the ultra-talented pair of Charlize Theron and Amanda Seyfried to both be shoved unceremoniously to the corner as second and third fiddles who are relegated to kissing his despicable ass the entire time rather than flexing their comedic chops. Also quick side gripe, 85% of the jokes in the gag reel are funnier than the ones in the movie? Wtf?? But a mustachioed Neil Patrick Harris diarrheas into not one... but TWO different bowler hats. So its goofy streak satiated me for what that's worth. And I'll also support at least giving Wes Studi a more meatier role than all of 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated JFK (1991) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
"𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
Jesus Christ. Back when conspiracy theories were good, now all it takes is a shitty, debunked, and obviously phony Facebook meme to get people to believe 5G causes coronavirus or whatever stupid shit Trump retweets from hate groups this week. On the other hand you have this seemingly never-ending and soul-stirring barrage of lies, cover-ups, threats, deaths/suicides/murders, extensively planned attacks, and general anguish which still plays more truthful and earnest than most things that come out of the CIA, White House, and/or FBI. Not a single word wasted, crams more exhilaration into a group of people talking at a dinner table than the vast majority of MCU 'action' scenes - and the meticulous, airtight extent of the writing is nothing less than utterly flooring. As a result of the beyond exceptional jam-packed conspiracy narrative I can't say any of these characters are that compelling in their own regard (even though the cast is an unforgettable all-timer of screen legends), but given the end result it's a fair tradeoff for the type of movie that bangs around in your head like a rubber bullet after watching it. Feverish, hot-blooded, commanding provocation - even made *my* ass paranoid. The final thirty minutes of - essentially - one long courtroom speech shouldn't work in theory; but not only is it thrilling as can be (and *that* moment just pierces your mortal soul), but it offers some of Costner's finest work throughout his entire career as an actor. Imagine this coming out and still getting shit like 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺, and 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 - would have loved to have been there for the ensuing shitstorm this caused back in its day, must have been legendary. So great that it *actually* caused a big deal change in government legislation immediately upon release.
Jesus Christ. Back when conspiracy theories were good, now all it takes is a shitty, debunked, and obviously phony Facebook meme to get people to believe 5G causes coronavirus or whatever stupid shit Trump retweets from hate groups this week. On the other hand you have this seemingly never-ending and soul-stirring barrage of lies, cover-ups, threats, deaths/suicides/murders, extensively planned attacks, and general anguish which still plays more truthful and earnest than most things that come out of the CIA, White House, and/or FBI. Not a single word wasted, crams more exhilaration into a group of people talking at a dinner table than the vast majority of MCU 'action' scenes - and the meticulous, airtight extent of the writing is nothing less than utterly flooring. As a result of the beyond exceptional jam-packed conspiracy narrative I can't say any of these characters are that compelling in their own regard (even though the cast is an unforgettable all-timer of screen legends), but given the end result it's a fair tradeoff for the type of movie that bangs around in your head like a rubber bullet after watching it. Feverish, hot-blooded, commanding provocation - even made *my* ass paranoid. The final thirty minutes of - essentially - one long courtroom speech shouldn't work in theory; but not only is it thrilling as can be (and *that* moment just pierces your mortal soul), but it offers some of Costner's finest work throughout his entire career as an actor. Imagine this coming out and still getting shit like 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺, and 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 - would have loved to have been there for the ensuing shitstorm this caused back in its day, must have been legendary. So great that it *actually* caused a big deal change in government legislation immediately upon release.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Pan's Labyrinth (2006) in Movies
Oct 12, 2020
I honestly can't think of a single thing I don't like about Pan's Labyrinth. From start to finish, it's arguably one of the most captivating pieces of cinema ever put to screen.
Guillermo del Toro once again proves his visionary status, with some superbly well realised creature designs. The dark fantasy element of Pan's Labyrinth is vividly otherworldly, and visually unique. Doug Jones portrays both Fauno and The Pale Man, two creatures that immediately earned a place in iconic movie monsters standing. The Pale Man in particular is utterly terrifying.
Ofelia is the young girl who embarks on this fantasy adventure, and actor Ivana Baquero is a delightful presence throughout the movie.
Of course, a bigger chunk of the runtime is taken up by what's happening in the real world. Set in Spain, in the early years of the Francoist period, it's a gritty narrative that touches upon war and dictatorship.
The dictator in this case is Captain Vidal, Ofelia's new stepfather and soon to be biological father of her unborn brother. His contempt towards Ofelia is unpleasant, and he has little regard for anyone's life but his own and his unborn son (nothing like a case of family lineage and mantle carrying to get the misogynistic juices flowing eh?).
He's played with despicabe glee by Sergi López, an actor who I believe was more known in Spain for his comedic work prior to this, so hats off to him. Vidal is one of the most easy-to-hate characters I've ever seen!
The collision of these two opposing world's and cinema styles is fantastic, and is paced perfectly, the fantasy sequences being a brilliant burst of magic, within a compelling and tense war story, all complimented by a beautiful music score.
Pan's Labyrinth is full of wonder and emotion, both fantastical and harrowing. It's a straight up masterpiece that easily makes my top 20 films of all time, maybe even top 10!
Guillermo del Toro once again proves his visionary status, with some superbly well realised creature designs. The dark fantasy element of Pan's Labyrinth is vividly otherworldly, and visually unique. Doug Jones portrays both Fauno and The Pale Man, two creatures that immediately earned a place in iconic movie monsters standing. The Pale Man in particular is utterly terrifying.
Ofelia is the young girl who embarks on this fantasy adventure, and actor Ivana Baquero is a delightful presence throughout the movie.
Of course, a bigger chunk of the runtime is taken up by what's happening in the real world. Set in Spain, in the early years of the Francoist period, it's a gritty narrative that touches upon war and dictatorship.
The dictator in this case is Captain Vidal, Ofelia's new stepfather and soon to be biological father of her unborn brother. His contempt towards Ofelia is unpleasant, and he has little regard for anyone's life but his own and his unborn son (nothing like a case of family lineage and mantle carrying to get the misogynistic juices flowing eh?).
He's played with despicabe glee by Sergi López, an actor who I believe was more known in Spain for his comedic work prior to this, so hats off to him. Vidal is one of the most easy-to-hate characters I've ever seen!
The collision of these two opposing world's and cinema styles is fantastic, and is paced perfectly, the fantasy sequences being a brilliant burst of magic, within a compelling and tense war story, all complimented by a beautiful music score.
Pan's Labyrinth is full of wonder and emotion, both fantastical and harrowing. It's a straight up masterpiece that easily makes my top 20 films of all time, maybe even top 10!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies #1) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
This review and more can be found at my blog
https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com
A Romance Reader's Reviews
This one starts with Bailey working at the coffee shop where she makes drinks for its regular but unusual breed of customers from humans to pixies to werewolves, adding a pinch of dust to each drink to give them a high. Her nemesis, Chief Quinn, comes in and she makes him a drink before he heads out, taking her boss with him, leaving Bailey to work an 18 hour shift alone. Jealously flares within Bailey as she's had a thing for Quinn since he asked her to find proof of his wife's cheating. When Bailey is asked by Quinn's former brother-in-law to help her find someone, she's reluctant but agrees, and is handed a phone. Only the phone isn't all that it seems setting in motion a series of events that throws her into Quinn's life more than either bargained for.
I enjoyed the first 40% of this more than the latter 60%. The beginning was fun and quirky. I loved the sort of love/hate thing she had going on with Quinn. I enjoyed the banter between her and some of the other cops and it was just up my street. It just seemed their will they/won't they get together thing was concluded too early in the book and I was wondering what the rest of the book would be about. It lost some of its appeal for me after the weird Gorgon vomit scene. And then I just struggled to connect with it again. I soldiered on, determined to finish it.
I also found Quinn's family very complicated. He has almost every type of creature in his family tree from angels to incubus to gorgon but he is very much human and I couldn't keep track of who was who half of the time.
I liked it enough that I'd buy more of this series.
https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com
A Romance Reader's Reviews
This one starts with Bailey working at the coffee shop where she makes drinks for its regular but unusual breed of customers from humans to pixies to werewolves, adding a pinch of dust to each drink to give them a high. Her nemesis, Chief Quinn, comes in and she makes him a drink before he heads out, taking her boss with him, leaving Bailey to work an 18 hour shift alone. Jealously flares within Bailey as she's had a thing for Quinn since he asked her to find proof of his wife's cheating. When Bailey is asked by Quinn's former brother-in-law to help her find someone, she's reluctant but agrees, and is handed a phone. Only the phone isn't all that it seems setting in motion a series of events that throws her into Quinn's life more than either bargained for.
I enjoyed the first 40% of this more than the latter 60%. The beginning was fun and quirky. I loved the sort of love/hate thing she had going on with Quinn. I enjoyed the banter between her and some of the other cops and it was just up my street. It just seemed their will they/won't they get together thing was concluded too early in the book and I was wondering what the rest of the book would be about. It lost some of its appeal for me after the weird Gorgon vomit scene. And then I just struggled to connect with it again. I soldiered on, determined to finish it.
I also found Quinn's family very complicated. He has almost every type of creature in his family tree from angels to incubus to gorgon but he is very much human and I couldn't keep track of who was who half of the time.
I liked it enough that I'd buy more of this series.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles, #3) in Books
Jan 12, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
So this one kicks off where the last finished once more with Kira leaving the Roake planet in her space ship thanks to a certain visitor - another secret come to light! Kira hadn't wanted to leave the planet but now that she has, she has other priorities like the stowaway on her ship who she decides to take home. Only the planet she lives on is holding an alien race forum and only registered inhabitants can land during that time causing for creative measures to get there.
Secrets and lies once more! I've been blindsided again with this one. Even more secrets come out of the woodwork including things about Elise. I have no idea how the author managed to find more things to surprise us with but they did.
I do love the relationship progressions in this series and not just between Kira and Graydon. Things between Kira and Raider have changed a lot over the last three books - they started off as hate and distrust on Raider's side, really, and are now more like the close friends they used to be (I loved the slap fight they had at one point!). Her relationship with Finn has evolved a lot, too. He's now a trusted friend and a kick-arse one at that. Most of Graydon's oshota have become embedded in Kira's hard shell. And then there's Graydon; thing's progressed more with him in this one. He's made it known that he wants her and will do anything to protect her.
I'm hoping the next book is going to be the last because thing's have been brewing for a while now with the Tsavitee and I'm not sure I can take much more of them causing fights on planets and then running off like cowards before doing it again. I want them to suffer and die out fir all the pain and suffering they've caused Kira and the Curs and everyone else.
I will be waiting impatiently for the next book to come out next year.
Secrets and lies once more! I've been blindsided again with this one. Even more secrets come out of the woodwork including things about Elise. I have no idea how the author managed to find more things to surprise us with but they did.
I do love the relationship progressions in this series and not just between Kira and Graydon. Things between Kira and Raider have changed a lot over the last three books - they started off as hate and distrust on Raider's side, really, and are now more like the close friends they used to be (I loved the slap fight they had at one point!). Her relationship with Finn has evolved a lot, too. He's now a trusted friend and a kick-arse one at that. Most of Graydon's oshota have become embedded in Kira's hard shell. And then there's Graydon; thing's progressed more with him in this one. He's made it known that he wants her and will do anything to protect her.
I'm hoping the next book is going to be the last because thing's have been brewing for a while now with the Tsavitee and I'm not sure I can take much more of them causing fights on planets and then running off like cowards before doing it again. I want them to suffer and die out fir all the pain and suffering they've caused Kira and the Curs and everyone else.
I will be waiting impatiently for the next book to come out next year.
This is the eighth 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!
Teenage Erin's family moves after a difficult time. Erin surprisingly feels solace in her new room--where she soon realizes she isn't alone. It's occupied by the spirit of Joe, the teenage boy who lived in the room before her. At the local school, Joe's brother Olly is struggling with being left behind. Until he meets a girl--different from anyone he's ever dated before. Now, Erin finds herself torn between two brothers. One living, one caught between two worlds. How can she choose?
It's probably my fault for choosing a book with such a plot, but this one is pretty silly. To say it's cheesy and schmaltzy is putting it mildly. I kept thinking about if you could read a book like this without having to abandon all realism... I'm not sure. But, Erin accepts the fact that there is a ghost in her room without any issue at all. Which, um, okay? Even better, she falls in insta-love with this ghost.
There's very little character development here. We get light background on Erin and what seems like even less on Joe (in fact, it seems like his personality switches halfway through). So we're supposed to believe they are two flawed teens, and Olly is a happy go-lucky guy, without much evidence at all. There's insta-love everywhere you look. A preposterous plot. And no one is willing to use Google, apparently.
Still, it's a teen read, so I can see how they might enjoy some of this craziness. It's a fast read, and I won't lie, I was caught up in the story at times. And the ending really was pretty perfect. Still, as much as I hate to do it, as I've read some of Kessler's other books and loved them, I think this was a 2.5-star read for me.
Teenage Erin's family moves after a difficult time. Erin surprisingly feels solace in her new room--where she soon realizes she isn't alone. It's occupied by the spirit of Joe, the teenage boy who lived in the room before her. At the local school, Joe's brother Olly is struggling with being left behind. Until he meets a girl--different from anyone he's ever dated before. Now, Erin finds herself torn between two brothers. One living, one caught between two worlds. How can she choose?
It's probably my fault for choosing a book with such a plot, but this one is pretty silly. To say it's cheesy and schmaltzy is putting it mildly. I kept thinking about if you could read a book like this without having to abandon all realism... I'm not sure. But, Erin accepts the fact that there is a ghost in her room without any issue at all. Which, um, okay? Even better, she falls in insta-love with this ghost.
There's very little character development here. We get light background on Erin and what seems like even less on Joe (in fact, it seems like his personality switches halfway through). So we're supposed to believe they are two flawed teens, and Olly is a happy go-lucky guy, without much evidence at all. There's insta-love everywhere you look. A preposterous plot. And no one is willing to use Google, apparently.
Still, it's a teen read, so I can see how they might enjoy some of this craziness. It's a fast read, and I won't lie, I was caught up in the story at times. And the ending really was pretty perfect. Still, as much as I hate to do it, as I've read some of Kessler's other books and loved them, I think this was a 2.5-star read for me.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Billy and Me in Books
Jun 24, 2019
This is a very, very different genre than I usually read. It was romantic and contemporary and kind of cliche and gross. But I will admit that it was written well.
Despite the gooey topics, this book was easy to sit and read through. The writing was good, though some of the speech didn't feel particularly authentic. My main problem was how cliche this was. A young woman who loves classic literature andworks in a tea shop meets a movie star without realising who he is and falls in love... Yeah, it's kind of a stereotypical romance. I hate this sort of thing. It's tacky and just ugh. But there was more to it than just the romance, which was very good. Sophie had her own issues to deal with, stemming from childhood grief and caring for her mother. It even had a really tragic moment toward the end, that didn't involve the actor - Billy - much at all.
As I mentioned above, the language wasn't always particularly fluid. It sometimes felt like Fletcher was trying too hard to make it more romantic and emotional. Billy was pretty much 'perfect' and extremely romantic, probably extremely unrealistically so. He was likeable, still, just not very realistic.
Sophie herself was a bit... not annoying, but she's not my favourite protagonist ever. She was trying too hard to be unique and strong and independent and it just irritated me. I get what Fletcher was going for (I think) but I just didn't love Sophie that much at all.
Like most other contemporary novels (not that I've actually read many of them), Sophie's life comes together perfectly at the end. Well, not quite perfectly, but the ending was sickly sweet. But I'm a bit of a cynic. You might like this more than me.
Despite the genre and gross cutesy lovey stuff, I think this deserves 3.5 stars. The writing was good and I did actually enjoy reading it.
Despite the gooey topics, this book was easy to sit and read through. The writing was good, though some of the speech didn't feel particularly authentic. My main problem was how cliche this was. A young woman who loves classic literature andworks in a tea shop meets a movie star without realising who he is and falls in love... Yeah, it's kind of a stereotypical romance. I hate this sort of thing. It's tacky and just ugh. But there was more to it than just the romance, which was very good. Sophie had her own issues to deal with, stemming from childhood grief and caring for her mother. It even had a really tragic moment toward the end, that didn't involve the actor - Billy - much at all.
As I mentioned above, the language wasn't always particularly fluid. It sometimes felt like Fletcher was trying too hard to make it more romantic and emotional. Billy was pretty much 'perfect' and extremely romantic, probably extremely unrealistically so. He was likeable, still, just not very realistic.
Sophie herself was a bit... not annoying, but she's not my favourite protagonist ever. She was trying too hard to be unique and strong and independent and it just irritated me. I get what Fletcher was going for (I think) but I just didn't love Sophie that much at all.
Like most other contemporary novels (not that I've actually read many of them), Sophie's life comes together perfectly at the end. Well, not quite perfectly, but the ending was sickly sweet. But I'm a bit of a cynic. You might like this more than me.
Despite the genre and gross cutesy lovey stuff, I think this deserves 3.5 stars. The writing was good and I did actually enjoy reading it.
Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated The House of Doors in Books
Jun 28, 2019
Worlds of Horror
Wow, what a fantastic book. I am still surprised this story has not been optioned for a movie adaptation. House of Doors is a unique tale with a simple concept, the age old question of man meets aliens and how that first contact would go down. What if we were tested? Brutally? Would we measure up? This book answers those questions and more in terrifying fashion. Brian Lumley spins a rich tale of daring and adventure, with a new even more terrifying world behind each door the characters open. The illustrative text will illuminate wondrous monsters in your mind and fill your head to the brim with images of strange worlds twisted by alien machinery, born of the desires and fears within us all. The alien species in this story is unlike anything you've seen before. The characters are witty and engaging. Even the ones you hate are written so well you can't help but question your instinct to despise them. My personal favorite aspects of this book are the world designs. No spoilers, you'll just have to find out what I mean, but it is seriously awesome. Also bringing a lot to this fast paced thrill ride is the main character, Spencer Gill. A wry, clever man with more to him than meets the eye, Spencer Gill reminds me of the Indiana Jones/Jack Ryan, kind of heroes I grew up admiring. All of the characters involved have their moments to shine, whether it be a bright light or a darker moment. Even the sinister alien Thone get a role in the narrative in an unlikely writing style that pays off the investment, with interest. This is the kind of book that gets you into reading books, and if you like it, there is a pretty good sequel as well. Sci-fi and horror clash spectacularly as humanity finds out if they measure up, and the terrible consequences that will occur if they don't.