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imPerfect Magic (The imPerfect Cathar #1)
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After hundreds of years of dying, you'd think I would've perfected it by now... One moment I'm a...
Supernatural Dark Humor Mystery Suspense
Merissa (13382 KP) rated Baby's Got Bite (Take It Like a Vamp #2) in Books
Apr 14, 2023
This is the second book in the Take It Like a Vamp series but can be read as a standalone without having read the first book (like I did).
It tells the story of a one-night stand that went either really wrong or absolutely perfectly, depending on which way you look at it. To begin with, Bennett looks at it as "How the hell did this happen?" but quickly gets a handle on it and deals with it. Her first stop is to let Linc know, whose reaction is pretty much the same but not for the reasons that Bennett thinks. Things move rapidly between the two of them and a lot is mentioned about how they will be in danger if people find out, due to who Linc is and his connections with Nick.
This is a well-written book with a fast-paced plot. It is full of humour and witty banter between Linc and Bennett which makes the whole thing a delight to read. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 28, 2015
It tells the story of a one-night stand that went either really wrong or absolutely perfectly, depending on which way you look at it. To begin with, Bennett looks at it as "How the hell did this happen?" but quickly gets a handle on it and deals with it. Her first stop is to let Linc know, whose reaction is pretty much the same but not for the reasons that Bennett thinks. Things move rapidly between the two of them and a lot is mentioned about how they will be in danger if people find out, due to who Linc is and his connections with Nick.
This is a well-written book with a fast-paced plot. It is full of humour and witty banter between Linc and Bennett which makes the whole thing a delight to read. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 28, 2015
Merissa (13382 KP) rated Claimed by Her Viking Wolf (Vikings Through Time #1) in Books
May 8, 2023
Kim is on a camping trip with her little sister and her sister's current 'pretty boy'. They quickly decide that more fun is to be had at Kim's cottage, and it is with great pleasure, that Kim shoo's them off. This gives her the opportunity to investigate a growling sound that she heard that, although she knows should scare her, doesn't. She doesn't find an animal, what she finds is a big, strapping Viking, complete with broadsword. She is able to get him back to her cottage where, luckily, her sister and pretty boy have already left. The fun then starts for Kim, culminating with a choice that she has to make.
This was a fun but hot read, with main characters that were 'human'. There was no silliness in Kim's behaviour, and Asger was alpha enough to be dreamy, without being a misogynistic fool.
There is love, action, romance and humour to be found within these pages. This is book one of the series and I can't wait to read more. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 21, 2015
This was a fun but hot read, with main characters that were 'human'. There was no silliness in Kim's behaviour, and Asger was alpha enough to be dreamy, without being a misogynistic fool.
There is love, action, romance and humour to be found within these pages. This is book one of the series and I can't wait to read more. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 21, 2015
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated If We’re Not Married By Thirty in Books
May 2, 2022
A book that’s not hard to guess the ending, but did have some parts where I doubted that what I thought would happen would.
This is the second book that I have read by Anna Bell and her humour is poured into her books and her characters are just so loveable!
This book is definitely based around something that I think most people my age have done, which is make a pact with a friend about if you’re not both married or in a relationship by a certain age, then you will both get together. I think everyone makes the same pact thinking that it’s years and years away so it will never happen, and soon life creeps up on you and before you know it you’ve reached that age!
I loved the characters in this book and rooted for Lydia every step of the way. Although the book was predictable, it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed it. Although the best characters were definitely the two mothers.
After enjoying two of Anna Bell’s books, I will definitely be looking at buying more that she has written. They are just good old rom-com chick lits, perfect for when you just need a bit of a giggle.
This is the second book that I have read by Anna Bell and her humour is poured into her books and her characters are just so loveable!
This book is definitely based around something that I think most people my age have done, which is make a pact with a friend about if you’re not both married or in a relationship by a certain age, then you will both get together. I think everyone makes the same pact thinking that it’s years and years away so it will never happen, and soon life creeps up on you and before you know it you’ve reached that age!
I loved the characters in this book and rooted for Lydia every step of the way. Although the book was predictable, it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed it. Although the best characters were definitely the two mothers.
After enjoying two of Anna Bell’s books, I will definitely be looking at buying more that she has written. They are just good old rom-com chick lits, perfect for when you just need a bit of a giggle.
Merissa (13382 KP) rated Vampire Hunter (Knights of Black Swan #8) in Books
May 17, 2023
This story is mainly told from Ram's point of view, so I hope you can read 'Irish' because that is how the majority is written. You do get extra povs from Liam, Lan, Storm and Kay which was an additional bonus to the story. In my opinion, you do need to have read My Familiar Stranger for you to make the most of this story. I am glad to see that my favourite scene is still in there - toothpick, anyone?
Well-written, and packed full of emotions, events, humour and sadness, this is a fantastic addition to the Black Swan series. This story gives you an extra insight into Ram, who he is and why he acts and says the things he does. I go against the grain in that Ram isn't my favourite Knight - I know, so shoot me! - but this story does make him more likeable to me. I am really glad that I read this book, as I have thoroughly loved the whole series so far, and this just nicely rounds out the book that started it all for me. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 18, 2016
Well-written, and packed full of emotions, events, humour and sadness, this is a fantastic addition to the Black Swan series. This story gives you an extra insight into Ram, who he is and why he acts and says the things he does. I go against the grain in that Ram isn't my favourite Knight - I know, so shoot me! - but this story does make him more likeable to me. I am really glad that I read this book, as I have thoroughly loved the whole series so far, and this just nicely rounds out the book that started it all for me. Definitely recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 18, 2016
David McK (3623 KP) rated Unruly: A History of England's Kings and Queens in Books
Sep 29, 2024 (Updated Sep 29, 2024)
David Mitchell, the comedian.
NOT David Mitchell, the author of "Cloud Atlas" (never read it).
I know the comedian best from his involvement in various TV panel gameshows, most noticeably BBCs "Would I Lie To You?", as well as as from the sitcom "Upstart Crow", where he plays William Shakespeare.
In all cases, his persona is of an uptight, repressed, middle aged man.
So I had a good idea what to expect of this, especially as I knew the audiobook was narrated by none other then he himself - indeed, the only reason I picked up the ebook version over the audiobook version is simply because the ebook was on sale (plus I find I can read faster than I listen).
Billed as 'Horrible Histories for Grownups' (as an aside, anyone remember the Horrible Histories with the links by Stephen Fry?), this is actually both quite entertaining and educational, with Mitchell taking it chapter about to tell the story of England's various Kings and Queens, from their earliest days and right up until the reign of Elizabeth I.
OK, the humour may be a bit, ummm, ribald (and sweary) in certain places, but if you go in knowing what to expect (as I did) ...
NOT David Mitchell, the author of "Cloud Atlas" (never read it).
I know the comedian best from his involvement in various TV panel gameshows, most noticeably BBCs "Would I Lie To You?", as well as as from the sitcom "Upstart Crow", where he plays William Shakespeare.
In all cases, his persona is of an uptight, repressed, middle aged man.
So I had a good idea what to expect of this, especially as I knew the audiobook was narrated by none other then he himself - indeed, the only reason I picked up the ebook version over the audiobook version is simply because the ebook was on sale (plus I find I can read faster than I listen).
Billed as 'Horrible Histories for Grownups' (as an aside, anyone remember the Horrible Histories with the links by Stephen Fry?), this is actually both quite entertaining and educational, with Mitchell taking it chapter about to tell the story of England's various Kings and Queens, from their earliest days and right up until the reign of Elizabeth I.
OK, the humour may be a bit, ummm, ribald (and sweary) in certain places, but if you go in knowing what to expect (as I did) ...
Lee (2222 KP) rated The House (2017) in Movies
Jul 14, 2017
Worst movie I've seen in a very, very long time
Usually when I review comedies I start off by complaining about how disappointing they tend to be these days. Sometimes they manage to prove me wrong (Bad Moms), sometimes they’re not quite as bad as I was expecting (Baywatch). The last time I was seriously annoyed about how bad a comedy was it was Office Christmas Party, but even then that managed to raise a laugh or two. The House though, well that goes way beyond that, taking it to a whole other level by having absolutely no laughs in it at all!
Will Ferrell is Scott, Amy Poehler is his wife Kate. When their daughter Alex gets into the university she wanted, they’re over the moon. Especially as the town runs some kind of scholarship program, paying for one lucky students education each year. This years lucky recipient is due to be Alex but when sleazy city councilman Bob decides to cancel the program in favour of building a huge pool for the town, Scott and Kate need to come up with another way of raising the money. Recently divorced neighbour Frank has a big empty house and between them they hit upon the idea of building a casino in his home, somewhere for the locals to come and spend all their money. Things go well for a while, then things get way out of hand. Cue the opportunity for some riotous, hilarious humour…
Only there’s none of that. It’s riotous, but this is just such a lazily written movie that the humour is non-existent. Featuring a date rape ‘gag’ within the first five minutes(?!) it just gets progressively worse from there. Pointless, nonsensical playground style bickering, name calling and random violence feature heavily throughout in a scatter-gun attempt at trying to raise a laugh. All of this ends up coming across as either poorly written, badly improvised, or both. Even the editing is a total disaster – in one scene Amy Poehler has a guy standing right behind her, cut to another camera and he’s gone, cut back and he’s there again, cut back and he’s gone!
The biggest disappointment about this is the complete waste of talent. Admittedly, Will Ferrell is on a downward spiral anyway since his Anchorman days and the brilliant Step Brothers, but you’d still expect more from him than this. One of my favourite TV shows, Parks and Recreation, stars Amy Poehler as the hilarious Leslie Knope, so I’d expect way more from her too. Even her movie roles haven’t been too bad so far. I guess it just proves that if you’ve got a seriously dud script on your hands, there isn’t really much that anyone can do to fix it. This isn’t just a bad comedy, it’s a bad, bad movie.
Will Ferrell is Scott, Amy Poehler is his wife Kate. When their daughter Alex gets into the university she wanted, they’re over the moon. Especially as the town runs some kind of scholarship program, paying for one lucky students education each year. This years lucky recipient is due to be Alex but when sleazy city councilman Bob decides to cancel the program in favour of building a huge pool for the town, Scott and Kate need to come up with another way of raising the money. Recently divorced neighbour Frank has a big empty house and between them they hit upon the idea of building a casino in his home, somewhere for the locals to come and spend all their money. Things go well for a while, then things get way out of hand. Cue the opportunity for some riotous, hilarious humour…
Only there’s none of that. It’s riotous, but this is just such a lazily written movie that the humour is non-existent. Featuring a date rape ‘gag’ within the first five minutes(?!) it just gets progressively worse from there. Pointless, nonsensical playground style bickering, name calling and random violence feature heavily throughout in a scatter-gun attempt at trying to raise a laugh. All of this ends up coming across as either poorly written, badly improvised, or both. Even the editing is a total disaster – in one scene Amy Poehler has a guy standing right behind her, cut to another camera and he’s gone, cut back and he’s there again, cut back and he’s gone!
The biggest disappointment about this is the complete waste of talent. Admittedly, Will Ferrell is on a downward spiral anyway since his Anchorman days and the brilliant Step Brothers, but you’d still expect more from him than this. One of my favourite TV shows, Parks and Recreation, stars Amy Poehler as the hilarious Leslie Knope, so I’d expect way more from her too. Even her movie roles haven’t been too bad so far. I guess it just proves that if you’ve got a seriously dud script on your hands, there isn’t really much that anyone can do to fix it. This isn’t just a bad comedy, it’s a bad, bad movie.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated The Goonies (1985) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
Classic
Contains spoilers, click to show
I first watched this seminal 80's classic in 1988, when it first appeared on TV and I was blown away by it. I was 10, roughly the same age as the lads and here was a film with a raucous sense of humour, strong child characters and large-scale plot which has made this film a multi-generational classic, with our parents, us as parents and our children all investing in the spirit of adventure of The Goonies.
Named after the Goon Docks of which they inhabit, a group of kids, after finding a treasure map, decide that this is their last chance to save the town, which is to knocked down in favour of a Country Club. This leads them on an adventure through the booby-trapped underground catacombs of the town, as they follow the map to One Eyed Willie's treasure.
They get mixed up with the Fratelli's, a matriarchal crime family who get wind of the treasure and follows them into the caves.
The first ting that struck me about this, is after all these years what that it was still fun, enjoyable and even though I might not bother watching by myself, I would defiantly enjoy seeing again with the right audience. The raucous nature of a group of children together in a room is captured so expertly here, with a young Sean Austin, now famous for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, holding the pack together; but the chaos is portrayed perfectly.
The language is good here too, with casual swearing amongst the kids, meaning that this must be one of the rare family films to truly capture the interplay between tweenage and teenage kids. Overall, this is a classic for all the right reasons, with the story by Steven Spielberg with only goes to further reinforce his status as one of Hollywood's greatest visionaries and a sharp, tight screenplay by Chris Columbus, who penned Gremlins the previous year and went on to direct the first two, but the weakest two Harry Potter movies.
There is also the questionable issue of the way that the Fratelli's treat Chunk. When you think about it he is threatened with torture after being kidnapped and spending time with the murdered corpse of two 'Feds' who have been shot in the head, murdered in cold blood.
I love this, treating the horror in a mature way, allowing it to used as humour but in a way to playfully scare kids, which it does. It is fun, but I do wonder where the PC brigade would let some of these plot points go in to a child friendly romp in 2011? I hope so, as it is the combination of elements that made this film what it is today.
Named after the Goon Docks of which they inhabit, a group of kids, after finding a treasure map, decide that this is their last chance to save the town, which is to knocked down in favour of a Country Club. This leads them on an adventure through the booby-trapped underground catacombs of the town, as they follow the map to One Eyed Willie's treasure.
They get mixed up with the Fratelli's, a matriarchal crime family who get wind of the treasure and follows them into the caves.
The first ting that struck me about this, is after all these years what that it was still fun, enjoyable and even though I might not bother watching by myself, I would defiantly enjoy seeing again with the right audience. The raucous nature of a group of children together in a room is captured so expertly here, with a young Sean Austin, now famous for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, holding the pack together; but the chaos is portrayed perfectly.
The language is good here too, with casual swearing amongst the kids, meaning that this must be one of the rare family films to truly capture the interplay between tweenage and teenage kids. Overall, this is a classic for all the right reasons, with the story by Steven Spielberg with only goes to further reinforce his status as one of Hollywood's greatest visionaries and a sharp, tight screenplay by Chris Columbus, who penned Gremlins the previous year and went on to direct the first two, but the weakest two Harry Potter movies.
There is also the questionable issue of the way that the Fratelli's treat Chunk. When you think about it he is threatened with torture after being kidnapped and spending time with the murdered corpse of two 'Feds' who have been shot in the head, murdered in cold blood.
I love this, treating the horror in a mature way, allowing it to used as humour but in a way to playfully scare kids, which it does. It is fun, but I do wonder where the PC brigade would let some of these plot points go in to a child friendly romp in 2011? I hope so, as it is the combination of elements that made this film what it is today.
Midge (525 KP) rated The Winter Mystery in Books
Mar 18, 2019
Great & Humorous Cozy Mystery
Over recent months I've become a great fan of cozy mysteries so, when I saw this second book in the series featuring Jenny Starling being launched, I knew I had to read "The Winter Mystery." Also, it has a culinary theme which I love and a little light humour. The first book ‘The Birthday Mystery’ was so good, I knew it was likely that Faith Martin had written a winner with this book, too, and I was right!
Best-seller author Faith Martin has also written the ‘Detective Hillary Greene’ mysteries.
First, we are introduced to Jenny Starling who is spending Christmas in a snowed-in country house cooking all the traditional food she loves, however, the family she’s working for are not full of the seasonal spirit. On Christmas Eve, someone is found dead on the kitchen table and the head of the family is blaming Jenny! But with an incompetent detective called in, and seemingly no motive for the murder, Jenny will have to turn amateur sleuth again. She will stop at nothing to clear her name and find the perpetrator.
Faith Martin’s writing skills set the scene beautifully for this novel. The house is a large, charming, Cotswold-stone, Georgian farmhouse in rural Oxford, complete with stables, outhouses, a cobbled courtyard and a resident sheepdog.
Faith Martin’s character development is wonderful, particularly that of Jenny who is an impressive woman and in her late twenties. Curvaceous and sexy, she’s a modern single woman, living and loving life as a travelling cook. She is happy travelling the country catering for different events and cooking great food. She doesn’t like having to divert her attention from baking delicious cakes or creating a new sauce recipe by having to solve murders. She is great at reading people and unmasking killers, always with a good dose of humour.
There are many suspects in this mystery, with clues and lots of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. It was a thoroughly satisfying read and I often found myself asking the same questions as Jenny and I was kept in suspense to the end. The pacing in "The Winter Mystery" was very good and I never lost interest, as it wasn't long before something intriguing would happen. Things came together for a fulfilling finish and wrapped everything up very neatly.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next novel featuring Jenny Starling and other books by the author, Faith Martin. "The Winter Mystery" whets your appetite for more to come.
My thanks to #NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author for providing me with a free advanced copy of #TheWinterMystery.
Best-seller author Faith Martin has also written the ‘Detective Hillary Greene’ mysteries.
First, we are introduced to Jenny Starling who is spending Christmas in a snowed-in country house cooking all the traditional food she loves, however, the family she’s working for are not full of the seasonal spirit. On Christmas Eve, someone is found dead on the kitchen table and the head of the family is blaming Jenny! But with an incompetent detective called in, and seemingly no motive for the murder, Jenny will have to turn amateur sleuth again. She will stop at nothing to clear her name and find the perpetrator.
Faith Martin’s writing skills set the scene beautifully for this novel. The house is a large, charming, Cotswold-stone, Georgian farmhouse in rural Oxford, complete with stables, outhouses, a cobbled courtyard and a resident sheepdog.
Faith Martin’s character development is wonderful, particularly that of Jenny who is an impressive woman and in her late twenties. Curvaceous and sexy, she’s a modern single woman, living and loving life as a travelling cook. She is happy travelling the country catering for different events and cooking great food. She doesn’t like having to divert her attention from baking delicious cakes or creating a new sauce recipe by having to solve murders. She is great at reading people and unmasking killers, always with a good dose of humour.
There are many suspects in this mystery, with clues and lots of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. It was a thoroughly satisfying read and I often found myself asking the same questions as Jenny and I was kept in suspense to the end. The pacing in "The Winter Mystery" was very good and I never lost interest, as it wasn't long before something intriguing would happen. Things came together for a fulfilling finish and wrapped everything up very neatly.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next novel featuring Jenny Starling and other books by the author, Faith Martin. "The Winter Mystery" whets your appetite for more to come.
My thanks to #NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author for providing me with a free advanced copy of #TheWinterMystery.