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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Trauma Centre (2019) in Movies
Jun 9, 2020
Many moons ago I said to myself that I shouldn't watch films with big stars in if I'd never heard of them before they become available to buy, Steven Seagal was the reason for this rule in the beginning... when and why did I ever forsake that idea?
After witnessing a crime Madison ends up in hospital recovering from injuries she sustained in the incident. What she doesn't realise is that she's hiding evidence that will lead straight to her attackers. Her only chance is a cop assigned to watch her and her own wits.
I picked this up on Prime as the rental for members was only £1.99, that seems like a bargain... I can't say I was convinced after I finished it.
Trauma Centre is a very basic crime thriller, it doesn't ever stray into anything out of the ordinary. If it wasn't for the fact this was a new release I'd have said I'd seen it before and just forgotten all about it.
Nicky Whelan is probably the best of the bunch when it comes to the acting, but I think that's mainly because she gets to act manic and terrorised for most of it and that gave her the ability to act her way out of poor scripting.
We've also got Steve Guttenberg playing the doctor and it was nice to see him in something new. I loved so many of his films when I was growing up so this felt almost nostalgic... but it's an odd character and thankfully he doesn't pop up in a lot of scenes.
And then there's Brucey. I've watched a lot of Bruce Willis films and while some of them aren't great they've never really been bad. Dubious, yes. Bad, no. Saying Willis' performance was lazy may be being generous. There's no energy in the role at all and every scene looks like he's just woken up from a nap and isn't really sure where he is. This should have been an easily doable role for "classic" Willis with minimal effort.
Everything in the film left me kind of blanks. As I mentioned at the beginning, this film could have been any of several you've already seen. With just a small amount of effort (mainly with the script and the acting) this could have been a watchable 3.5 starred action film, but as it is there's little enjoyment to be had.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/trauma-centre-movie-review.html
After witnessing a crime Madison ends up in hospital recovering from injuries she sustained in the incident. What she doesn't realise is that she's hiding evidence that will lead straight to her attackers. Her only chance is a cop assigned to watch her and her own wits.
I picked this up on Prime as the rental for members was only £1.99, that seems like a bargain... I can't say I was convinced after I finished it.
Trauma Centre is a very basic crime thriller, it doesn't ever stray into anything out of the ordinary. If it wasn't for the fact this was a new release I'd have said I'd seen it before and just forgotten all about it.
Nicky Whelan is probably the best of the bunch when it comes to the acting, but I think that's mainly because she gets to act manic and terrorised for most of it and that gave her the ability to act her way out of poor scripting.
We've also got Steve Guttenberg playing the doctor and it was nice to see him in something new. I loved so many of his films when I was growing up so this felt almost nostalgic... but it's an odd character and thankfully he doesn't pop up in a lot of scenes.
And then there's Brucey. I've watched a lot of Bruce Willis films and while some of them aren't great they've never really been bad. Dubious, yes. Bad, no. Saying Willis' performance was lazy may be being generous. There's no energy in the role at all and every scene looks like he's just woken up from a nap and isn't really sure where he is. This should have been an easily doable role for "classic" Willis with minimal effort.
Everything in the film left me kind of blanks. As I mentioned at the beginning, this film could have been any of several you've already seen. With just a small amount of effort (mainly with the script and the acting) this could have been a watchable 3.5 starred action film, but as it is there's little enjoyment to be had.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/trauma-centre-movie-review.html
Purple People
8.0
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There s a curiously coloured scheme afoot in Blighty. In an effort to tackle dispiriting, spiralling...
Civilization and It's Discontents
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Civilization and Its Discontents' is one of the last of Freud's books, written in the decade before...
Necole (36 KP) rated The Patient in Books
Nov 24, 2021
Asylum Fright
November 20, 2021
I just got done reading The Patient by Jasper Dewitt and was not expecting to get sucked into a one morning read-a-thon. I think I read it in maybe 2 ½ hours. With that being said, I gave this book a 3-star review, although it should be a 3 ½-star review. I will start with the good and end with the bad.
A young, overconfident psychiatrist gets a new job at a mental asylum and chronicles his attempts to treat a profoundly disturbed patient who has been in the hospital since early childhood through a series of online posts. Each chapter is a new day and a new post that Parker has shared with the readers. This manuscript writing style was a unique way to give us Parker’s perspective and account of what occurred with patient “Joe”. I also enjoyed the transcripts and the audio tapes added into the chapters. These few thing added more layers to the story, sucked you in deeper, and gave an unexpecting twist to the book. It was like you were really reading a true account from whom it occurred to.
After reading all the hype and the synopsis of the book, I was hooked and reeled in. A psychiatrist, a mental patient, an asylum set in my home state of Connecticut, strange occurrences to those who have treated patient “Joe”, misdiagnosis’, undiagnosis’, a 30 plus year mystery … The Patient seemed to have it all!!! Even dark, creepy, supernatural horror!!! A perfectly blended cocktail of psychological thriller and supernatural horror.
Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I kept anticipating more twists, turns, gore and scare. I wanted this book to haunt me well after I finished. The ending felt rushed and not well thought out, I felt like I was cheated out of being scared out of my mind. There was enough horror, suspense, thrills and mystery to keep me reading but after completing The Patient, I just felt let down. I feel like even as the story unfolds, Jasper could have gotten more in depth with the creepy and horror factor but instead it was almost basic. I tried to let my imagination scare with the images the author tries to put in your mind but again I was disappointed.
If you want a quick read that will scare you a little but will keep the suspense up, then pick this up because one person’s opinion is not another’s and who knows, you might scare more easily than me.
I just got done reading The Patient by Jasper Dewitt and was not expecting to get sucked into a one morning read-a-thon. I think I read it in maybe 2 ½ hours. With that being said, I gave this book a 3-star review, although it should be a 3 ½-star review. I will start with the good and end with the bad.
A young, overconfident psychiatrist gets a new job at a mental asylum and chronicles his attempts to treat a profoundly disturbed patient who has been in the hospital since early childhood through a series of online posts. Each chapter is a new day and a new post that Parker has shared with the readers. This manuscript writing style was a unique way to give us Parker’s perspective and account of what occurred with patient “Joe”. I also enjoyed the transcripts and the audio tapes added into the chapters. These few thing added more layers to the story, sucked you in deeper, and gave an unexpecting twist to the book. It was like you were really reading a true account from whom it occurred to.
After reading all the hype and the synopsis of the book, I was hooked and reeled in. A psychiatrist, a mental patient, an asylum set in my home state of Connecticut, strange occurrences to those who have treated patient “Joe”, misdiagnosis’, undiagnosis’, a 30 plus year mystery … The Patient seemed to have it all!!! Even dark, creepy, supernatural horror!!! A perfectly blended cocktail of psychological thriller and supernatural horror.
Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I kept anticipating more twists, turns, gore and scare. I wanted this book to haunt me well after I finished. The ending felt rushed and not well thought out, I felt like I was cheated out of being scared out of my mind. There was enough horror, suspense, thrills and mystery to keep me reading but after completing The Patient, I just felt let down. I feel like even as the story unfolds, Jasper could have gotten more in depth with the creepy and horror factor but instead it was almost basic. I tried to let my imagination scare with the images the author tries to put in your mind but again I was disappointed.
If you want a quick read that will scare you a little but will keep the suspense up, then pick this up because one person’s opinion is not another’s and who knows, you might scare more easily than me.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Wish You Were Here in Books
Jan 26, 2022
I didn’t quite realise how much this book would resonate with me until I started reading it. It reminded me sometimes about the awful things that we have lived through the past 2 years but also reminded me how strong people can be.
Diana and Finn are living in New York as the Covid-19 pandemic is beginning, they have planned to go on a once in a lifetime holiday to The Galápagos Islands just as the world seems to be shutting down. Finn, being a surgical resident, has been told that he can’t take time off, even pre planned holidays. While Diana, who is an art specialist working for Sotheby’s, knows that she needs to take time off as a deal she had brokered for a painting has fallen through. Finn tells Diana to go anyway as he doesn’t want to make her sick since he’s working in the hospital.
We then follow Diana exploring the beautiful, scenic Isabela island, and meeting a family who take her in and look after her when she becomes stranded there. She explores the island and although she doesn’t speak the language she manages to get by because she needs to. She has no phone service and very limited access to the internet so she has no way to contact the outside world, but it doesn’t seem to matter too much when you’re in paradise.
The second part of the book was a complete surprise, but a pleasant one. It reminded me of exactly how we were at the start of the pandemic, wiping down anything that came from outside, not opening mail for days and for some of us stripping as soon as we came in from work for fear we’d brought the virus home with us. I am a support worker and so had no choice but to go into work and look after people that had Covid-19 because as much as I was scared, I knew that they needed me more. One line that sticks in my head is also one that I thought myself: “Well if I catch it, I catch it” and that became my opinion for a lot of the pandemic.
It was a nice change that not everything was tied up with a neat little bow at the end of this book, as that’s how life is sometimes. I really enjoyed this book and I feel like it will be one of those that helps us to remember the pandemic in years to come.
Diana and Finn are living in New York as the Covid-19 pandemic is beginning, they have planned to go on a once in a lifetime holiday to The Galápagos Islands just as the world seems to be shutting down. Finn, being a surgical resident, has been told that he can’t take time off, even pre planned holidays. While Diana, who is an art specialist working for Sotheby’s, knows that she needs to take time off as a deal she had brokered for a painting has fallen through. Finn tells Diana to go anyway as he doesn’t want to make her sick since he’s working in the hospital.
We then follow Diana exploring the beautiful, scenic Isabela island, and meeting a family who take her in and look after her when she becomes stranded there. She explores the island and although she doesn’t speak the language she manages to get by because she needs to. She has no phone service and very limited access to the internet so she has no way to contact the outside world, but it doesn’t seem to matter too much when you’re in paradise.
The second part of the book was a complete surprise, but a pleasant one. It reminded me of exactly how we were at the start of the pandemic, wiping down anything that came from outside, not opening mail for days and for some of us stripping as soon as we came in from work for fear we’d brought the virus home with us. I am a support worker and so had no choice but to go into work and look after people that had Covid-19 because as much as I was scared, I knew that they needed me more. One line that sticks in my head is also one that I thought myself: “Well if I catch it, I catch it” and that became my opinion for a lot of the pandemic.
It was a nice change that not everything was tied up with a neat little bow at the end of this book, as that’s how life is sometimes. I really enjoyed this book and I feel like it will be one of those that helps us to remember the pandemic in years to come.
Debbiereadsbook (1487 KP) rated Secretary's Obsession (Obssessions #4) in Books
Feb 26, 2025
Loving these!!
I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 4 in the Obsessions series, and I STRONGLY recommend that you read the previous 3 books, or the very least, book 1, Demon's Obsession. Scott is Dakata's assistant in that book.
Scott is a demon, a small blue one at that. His family thought him lacking in all things. So Scott makes up for that by being the BEST assistant he can, by being in control of every little detail. George is a bear shifter of the highest lineage. But he choose to walk away from his nutty father and drives a taxi near the forest. When he gets sideswiped and ends up in hospital, George meets his blissful one, but the pair are mismatched in many ways. Then George goes missing and Scott's demon loses it.
What I especially loved about this one, was the complete opposites that Scott and George are, but George is so flipping patient with Scott and his OCD about everything, once he understands WHY Scott is this way. It takes time for them to actually talk about things, and I liked that they were both willing to make this work. Even if the talking thing takes some time!
I disliked both sets of parental units. Scott's especially was a nasty piece of work towards Scott and George. George's male unit was just a freaking power tripping nutter who wanted George's *insert correct word so it gets approved* to continue on the lineage that the nutter could not do himself, since ALL his other children were girls and George the only male. (did you get my meaning?? :-p) Loved that Scott, and indeed George, stood up to said male units and both male units gets their comeuppence!
There is some overlapping with Christa's Obsession, since Christa disappears for a time but no one is worried. We know where she was ;-p if you read that book.
While steamy and smexy, this one concentrates more on the emotions between these two, rather than the physical. And I loved that.
But what I'm loving the most about these books, is this: at the end of each one, we get a snippet of Asmodeous, the demon king and what's going on with him and his blissful one, even if, at this point, he's denying the connection. I just cannot wait for him to be pulled down a peg or two by said blissful one, and you know it's gonna be glorious!
5 wonderful stars and I can't wait for the next one!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is book 4 in the Obsessions series, and I STRONGLY recommend that you read the previous 3 books, or the very least, book 1, Demon's Obsession. Scott is Dakata's assistant in that book.
Scott is a demon, a small blue one at that. His family thought him lacking in all things. So Scott makes up for that by being the BEST assistant he can, by being in control of every little detail. George is a bear shifter of the highest lineage. But he choose to walk away from his nutty father and drives a taxi near the forest. When he gets sideswiped and ends up in hospital, George meets his blissful one, but the pair are mismatched in many ways. Then George goes missing and Scott's demon loses it.
What I especially loved about this one, was the complete opposites that Scott and George are, but George is so flipping patient with Scott and his OCD about everything, once he understands WHY Scott is this way. It takes time for them to actually talk about things, and I liked that they were both willing to make this work. Even if the talking thing takes some time!
I disliked both sets of parental units. Scott's especially was a nasty piece of work towards Scott and George. George's male unit was just a freaking power tripping nutter who wanted George's *insert correct word so it gets approved* to continue on the lineage that the nutter could not do himself, since ALL his other children were girls and George the only male. (did you get my meaning?? :-p) Loved that Scott, and indeed George, stood up to said male units and both male units gets their comeuppence!
There is some overlapping with Christa's Obsession, since Christa disappears for a time but no one is worried. We know where she was ;-p if you read that book.
While steamy and smexy, this one concentrates more on the emotions between these two, rather than the physical. And I loved that.
But what I'm loving the most about these books, is this: at the end of each one, we get a snippet of Asmodeous, the demon king and what's going on with him and his blissful one, even if, at this point, he's denying the connection. I just cannot wait for him to be pulled down a peg or two by said blissful one, and you know it's gonna be glorious!
5 wonderful stars and I can't wait for the next one!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Glass (2019) in Movies
Feb 1, 2019 (Updated Feb 1, 2019)
First 2 acts are interesting (1 more)
MacAvoy is great
A Textbook Example On How Not To End A Trilogy
Contains spoilers, click to show
Glass is the 3rd movie in M. Night Shyamalan's pseudo superhero trilogy following Unbreakable and Split. Unfortunately it is probably the worst movie out of the three and doesn't live up to the twenty years of build-up it has had going into it. Full spoilers will be present through this review as it's kind of hard to discuss the film without spoiling anything.
The movie opens with what is essentially a condensed version of both Unbreakable and Split. We see Bruce Willis' Dennis Dunn stalking criminals in his poncho and we see James MacAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crumb keeping four young girls captured in an abandoned warehouse. The old 'unstoppable force meets immovable object,' trope plays out and the two of them wind up getting caught by Sarah Paulson and her team, who apparently specialise in investigating those who have delusions about having superhuman powers.
She brings the two of them to a mental hospital where she is keeping Samuel L Jackson's Mr Glass. Sarah Paulson's character then spends the next chunk of the movie trying to convince the three that the powers that they believe they possess is actually in their heads and there is a real-world, logical explanation to everything that they can do. This part of the film is actually pretty interesting in the ideas that it poses and I liked where the film was going at this point.
Then the third act happens and we are reminded why Shyamalan so desperately needs an editor to keep his ideas in check. There is this huge build up that takes place teasing an epic fight between Dunn and The Beast at the top of some huge brand new building in the middle of the city. Unfortunately we never get there and instead we just get some mediocre action choreography in a medium sized car park between the two. The whole thing ends with the fairly contrived retcon twist that Kevin's dad was in the same train crash that Dunn survived and Mr Glass caused, thus making Mr Glass the 'creator,' of both superheroes. Then the three characters die in an extremely anticlimactic fashion. The Beast breaks a couple of Mr Glass' bones and he falls out of his wheelchair and dies, (even though this is something that we have seen happen to him in Unbreakable and he survived it.) Then a sniper randomly shoots Kevin even though the beast is tamed by the appearance of Anya Taylor-Joy's character, Casey from Split. He just gets shot once and dies with hardly any fanfare. Then David Dunn is drowned in a puddle as Sarah Paulson explains that she is part of a secret organisation that hunts people who believe that they are superheroes, determines whether or not they really are superheroes through a pretty drawn-out process and then proceeds to kill them if they do in fact possess superpowers. We also see that for some reason this group apparently only meets in crowded public restaurants in the middle of the city centre in broad daylight and have to wait until any non members of this super secret club, (that just killed 3 people in a public car park in broad daylight in front of cops and family members,) have left the restaurant before they can discuss business. Then it turns out that Mr Glass leaked the footage from the hospital security cameras online so that people would see that superheroes really do exist.
If you are someone that hasn't seen the movie and doesn't care about spoilers so you just read this review anyway; your brain is probably falling out of your ear after reading my description of the third act and that's because on paper this whole sequence of events is absolutely ludicrous and the fact that no one pointed this out during the movie's production is mind-boggling.
What a waste after two solid movies and a decent two first acts worth of build up...
There are some positives I took away though. It is as much of an absolute joy to watch James MacAvoy play so many totally different characters convincingly in one scene as it was in Split, maybe even more so here as we get to see even more personalities emerge and in even quicker succession. He is an utterly phenomenal actor. It is also cool to see Mr Glass and David Dunn after twenty years to see where they are at in their lives and how they have been spending their time since the events of Unbreakable. There are also some nice shots and camera angles in the film, (more so in the first two acts of the story,) and some nice colour scheme aesthetics going on in certain compositions that made some shots more interesting to look at.
Overall, this movie could have been so much more and in the end it throws away some really potentially interesting plot threads in favour for a few tacked on twists and gives us nothing more than a half arsed conclusion to an otherwise solid trilogy.
The movie opens with what is essentially a condensed version of both Unbreakable and Split. We see Bruce Willis' Dennis Dunn stalking criminals in his poncho and we see James MacAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crumb keeping four young girls captured in an abandoned warehouse. The old 'unstoppable force meets immovable object,' trope plays out and the two of them wind up getting caught by Sarah Paulson and her team, who apparently specialise in investigating those who have delusions about having superhuman powers.
She brings the two of them to a mental hospital where she is keeping Samuel L Jackson's Mr Glass. Sarah Paulson's character then spends the next chunk of the movie trying to convince the three that the powers that they believe they possess is actually in their heads and there is a real-world, logical explanation to everything that they can do. This part of the film is actually pretty interesting in the ideas that it poses and I liked where the film was going at this point.
Then the third act happens and we are reminded why Shyamalan so desperately needs an editor to keep his ideas in check. There is this huge build up that takes place teasing an epic fight between Dunn and The Beast at the top of some huge brand new building in the middle of the city. Unfortunately we never get there and instead we just get some mediocre action choreography in a medium sized car park between the two. The whole thing ends with the fairly contrived retcon twist that Kevin's dad was in the same train crash that Dunn survived and Mr Glass caused, thus making Mr Glass the 'creator,' of both superheroes. Then the three characters die in an extremely anticlimactic fashion. The Beast breaks a couple of Mr Glass' bones and he falls out of his wheelchair and dies, (even though this is something that we have seen happen to him in Unbreakable and he survived it.) Then a sniper randomly shoots Kevin even though the beast is tamed by the appearance of Anya Taylor-Joy's character, Casey from Split. He just gets shot once and dies with hardly any fanfare. Then David Dunn is drowned in a puddle as Sarah Paulson explains that she is part of a secret organisation that hunts people who believe that they are superheroes, determines whether or not they really are superheroes through a pretty drawn-out process and then proceeds to kill them if they do in fact possess superpowers. We also see that for some reason this group apparently only meets in crowded public restaurants in the middle of the city centre in broad daylight and have to wait until any non members of this super secret club, (that just killed 3 people in a public car park in broad daylight in front of cops and family members,) have left the restaurant before they can discuss business. Then it turns out that Mr Glass leaked the footage from the hospital security cameras online so that people would see that superheroes really do exist.
If you are someone that hasn't seen the movie and doesn't care about spoilers so you just read this review anyway; your brain is probably falling out of your ear after reading my description of the third act and that's because on paper this whole sequence of events is absolutely ludicrous and the fact that no one pointed this out during the movie's production is mind-boggling.
What a waste after two solid movies and a decent two first acts worth of build up...
There are some positives I took away though. It is as much of an absolute joy to watch James MacAvoy play so many totally different characters convincingly in one scene as it was in Split, maybe even more so here as we get to see even more personalities emerge and in even quicker succession. He is an utterly phenomenal actor. It is also cool to see Mr Glass and David Dunn after twenty years to see where they are at in their lives and how they have been spending their time since the events of Unbreakable. There are also some nice shots and camera angles in the film, (more so in the first two acts of the story,) and some nice colour scheme aesthetics going on in certain compositions that made some shots more interesting to look at.
Overall, this movie could have been so much more and in the end it throws away some really potentially interesting plot threads in favour for a few tacked on twists and gives us nothing more than a half arsed conclusion to an otherwise solid trilogy.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Mad Max (1979) in Movies
Jan 5, 2018
Decent
Guilty confession: Typically when I watch a "classic" or a film I've really been looking forward to, I go into it expecting to like it. In other words, the film is already ahead of the curve when it comes to my grading scale. It has to do a lot to let me down. I hate to say it, but Mad Max? It let me down. Not in the sense that it was bad, but rather in the sense that I was hoping for more.
Max is a police officer in a post-apocalyptic world where biker gangs rule the road. After his partner is brutally burned by one of the most dangerous gangs, Max decides to retire but a terrible turn of events sucks him right back in.
The film got off to a slow start for me. I was confused by what was happening and why it was happening. It's not a good sign when I have to jump on to Wikipedia to clarify things. Unfortunately things never quite bounced back for me after that. I spent a good majority of the film thinking, "What are the stakes for Max? Why should I care about his character?" You're not really given a ton of insight into who he is and why he's a hero you want to root for. Read to kids in the hospital. Pull a cat out of a tree. Do something! Give me a reason to care. I don't think that's too much to ask for.
Despite my issues with the film, Mad Max is carried by a solid performance from Gibson. Visceral rage just oozes from the man as he goes out for his revenge. He's got that look, one we've seen in many films before. A look that says, "I'm crazy and I want you to know it." His passion in the role is a shining spot.
The film also benefits from solid world-building. Though you're only given a small taste, it's all you need to see. The road is what's important, the heartbeat of the film. You witness it in the attention to detail behind the cars (Max's car in the end was dope) and the gangs' constant power struggle over maintaining territory. The road is a wasteland, yet extremely vital for those living in it.
I'm giving Mad Max a 73. Perhaps that's not a bad thing. For a movie to be missing some key components and still get a decent score says a lot. It's kind of like eating at an expensive restaurant: When you see your plate, you're slightly let down because you were hoping for more, but you quickly find that the portion you received was good enough.
Max is a police officer in a post-apocalyptic world where biker gangs rule the road. After his partner is brutally burned by one of the most dangerous gangs, Max decides to retire but a terrible turn of events sucks him right back in.
The film got off to a slow start for me. I was confused by what was happening and why it was happening. It's not a good sign when I have to jump on to Wikipedia to clarify things. Unfortunately things never quite bounced back for me after that. I spent a good majority of the film thinking, "What are the stakes for Max? Why should I care about his character?" You're not really given a ton of insight into who he is and why he's a hero you want to root for. Read to kids in the hospital. Pull a cat out of a tree. Do something! Give me a reason to care. I don't think that's too much to ask for.
Despite my issues with the film, Mad Max is carried by a solid performance from Gibson. Visceral rage just oozes from the man as he goes out for his revenge. He's got that look, one we've seen in many films before. A look that says, "I'm crazy and I want you to know it." His passion in the role is a shining spot.
The film also benefits from solid world-building. Though you're only given a small taste, it's all you need to see. The road is what's important, the heartbeat of the film. You witness it in the attention to detail behind the cars (Max's car in the end was dope) and the gangs' constant power struggle over maintaining territory. The road is a wasteland, yet extremely vital for those living in it.
I'm giving Mad Max a 73. Perhaps that's not a bad thing. For a movie to be missing some key components and still get a decent score says a lot. It's kind of like eating at an expensive restaurant: When you see your plate, you're slightly let down because you were hoping for more, but you quickly find that the portion you received was good enough.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books
May 15, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wow, this review has taken longer than I expected to get around to – mostly because of my hospital stay and subsequent recovery from acute pancreatitis. Needless to say, but I’m mostly back to normal and I hope to be resuming my reviews more regularly. Also, this will be my final review for Blogging for Books, as the site will be closing down next month. Now, onto the important stuff!
Will someone please tell me what the hell I read? The only thing original about The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel is its plot, which boldly goes where no book I’ve ever read has gone before.
The Roanoke Girls lacks original characters, which is the first of my many complaints regarding this book. Everyone is beautiful and perfect, and the one person that isn’t is described as a meth-head (which I find to be an insult to the average Janes and Joes out there). There’s not a single character, aside from the aforementioned meth-head, that isn’t a Mary Sue appearance wise. And the main character? There’s not a single thing likable about her. She’s a bitch to everyone around her, and yet somehow she still has guys fawning all over her. This is not realistic, folks.
Plot? Do you really want to get me started on that? First, let’s take a moment to discuss the fact that this book hops all over the place. One moment it is present, the next it is past, and after that, it’s some random character of little importance – just so we can learn how they died and why. Because, y’know, there’s something wrong with the fact they are all sleeping with their grandfather/brother/father/uncle/etc. Yes, I just gave a major spoiler away, but hey! I warned y’all. The only thing about this book that isn’t overly done is the fact that its main subject is INCEST. Yates Roanoke has a thing for every single woman in his family. And somehow, for some god awful reason, all these girls (save one) think it is absolutely okay/are heartbroken when things don’t quite work out.
Furthermore, all that jumping around? It’s done intentionally to drive the story forward because a straightforward account is sooo extremely drab and boring in this book that it has to jump. It has to give cliffhangers of some sort, and then make you wait another chapter or two, because otherwise it would simply drag on.
I would not recommend The Roanoke Girls to anyone. I did receive a review copy of this book free of charge and this has been my unbiased opinion. Thanks to Blogging for Books for the novel.
Will someone please tell me what the hell I read? The only thing original about The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel is its plot, which boldly goes where no book I’ve ever read has gone before.
The Roanoke Girls lacks original characters, which is the first of my many complaints regarding this book. Everyone is beautiful and perfect, and the one person that isn’t is described as a meth-head (which I find to be an insult to the average Janes and Joes out there). There’s not a single character, aside from the aforementioned meth-head, that isn’t a Mary Sue appearance wise. And the main character? There’s not a single thing likable about her. She’s a bitch to everyone around her, and yet somehow she still has guys fawning all over her. This is not realistic, folks.
Plot? Do you really want to get me started on that? First, let’s take a moment to discuss the fact that this book hops all over the place. One moment it is present, the next it is past, and after that, it’s some random character of little importance – just so we can learn how they died and why. Because, y’know, there’s something wrong with the fact they are all sleeping with their grandfather/brother/father/uncle/etc. Yes, I just gave a major spoiler away, but hey! I warned y’all. The only thing about this book that isn’t overly done is the fact that its main subject is INCEST. Yates Roanoke has a thing for every single woman in his family. And somehow, for some god awful reason, all these girls (save one) think it is absolutely okay/are heartbroken when things don’t quite work out.
Furthermore, all that jumping around? It’s done intentionally to drive the story forward because a straightforward account is sooo extremely drab and boring in this book that it has to jump. It has to give cliffhangers of some sort, and then make you wait another chapter or two, because otherwise it would simply drag on.
I would not recommend The Roanoke Girls to anyone. I did receive a review copy of this book free of charge and this has been my unbiased opinion. Thanks to Blogging for Books for the novel.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Beauty of the End in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Noah Calaway is a lawyer (though he's left his city practice) and semi-successful crime novelist who lives alone in a secluded cabin in Devon. A barely functioning alcoholic, Noah is stuck in the past, when he was in love with a beautiful girl, April Moon, "his goddess" and supposed the love of his life. April and Noah were schoolmates and Noah rescued April from a strange situation and her terrible home life. Over time, the two would run into each other and were even engaged for some time. But April left Noah shortly before the two's wedding, and he's never really recovered. However, years later, Noah receives a call from another of their friends, Will. April is in the hospital, nearly dead from an overdose, and even worse, she's suspected of murder. Noah makes the trip to her side, and begins sifting through the pieces of April's life, trying to figure out what happened. As he does, he uncovers a different April than the one he thought he knew--and much more.
This is a suspenseful and fascinating thriller. It alternates Noah's story with a tale of a young girl named Ella, whose tale is told in italics. Noah's story flashes back in forth in time as he recalls his various encounters with April, as well as describes the present day happenings. This is a little confusing at first--it takes some getting used to--but once you're in the groove, the book picks up speed and completely hooks you. This is a feat in itself because our main character, Noah, is not particularly likeable, a bit clueless, and really rather frustrating. The one we truly might empathize with, April, is in a coma, and we only learn about her life through various stories filtered by our potentially unreliable narrator.
But somehow, Howells makes it all work. She's really a master at unfurling the suspense. The story becomes crazily readable (hey, that's a term) quite quickly. The cast of characters is layered, complicated, and complex, but they add to the story and its intrigue in just the right way. The plot leaves you constantly guessing and trying to stay a step ahead. I found myself figuring some things out and kicking myself for missing others.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Parts of the plot and Noah's actions certainly frustrated me, but the storyline was exciting and fun to read.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 7/26.
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;
This is a suspenseful and fascinating thriller. It alternates Noah's story with a tale of a young girl named Ella, whose tale is told in italics. Noah's story flashes back in forth in time as he recalls his various encounters with April, as well as describes the present day happenings. This is a little confusing at first--it takes some getting used to--but once you're in the groove, the book picks up speed and completely hooks you. This is a feat in itself because our main character, Noah, is not particularly likeable, a bit clueless, and really rather frustrating. The one we truly might empathize with, April, is in a coma, and we only learn about her life through various stories filtered by our potentially unreliable narrator.
But somehow, Howells makes it all work. She's really a master at unfurling the suspense. The story becomes crazily readable (hey, that's a term) quite quickly. The cast of characters is layered, complicated, and complex, but they add to the story and its intrigue in just the right way. The plot leaves you constantly guessing and trying to stay a step ahead. I found myself figuring some things out and kicking myself for missing others.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Parts of the plot and Noah's actions certainly frustrated me, but the storyline was exciting and fun to read.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 7/26.
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;