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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Mar 1, 2023  
Sneak a peek at the romantic suspense mystery novel COPPER WATERS by Marlene M Bell, Author on my blog, and enter the amazing #giveaway for a chance to #win a signed ARC paperback of the book; a leather bucket bag; a 100% New Zealand gray wool throw; a Hagestad hammered water bottle; a Lucy Pittaway notebook; and a $50 VISA gift card!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2023/03/reviewapalooza-and-giveaway-copper.html

**ABOUT THE BOOK**
A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.

Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.

Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.

But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.

Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.

The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.

As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.
      
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies

Oct 18, 2017  
The Snowman (2017)
The Snowman (2017)
2017 | Crime, Drama, Horror
3
4.9 (32 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
How could this go so wrong?
I've finally come to the realisation that, apart from a few rare exceptions, filmmakers really have no clue what they're doing with book adaptations. I appreciate you cant include absolutely everything from a book, but it should still be fairly easy to adapt an already well received novel into a film. Well apparently with The Snowman it isn't.

They appear to have picked out some of the very basic plot points and loose character identities from the book, and decided to completely rewrite the rest of the story. This'd be fine if it works,but it really doesn't - the book is barely recognisable within this mess.


The characters are underdeveloped and completely changed. Harry, despite being an alcoholic and a bit of an ass, is meant to still be loveable. In this, you couldn't care less about him. Oleg is portrayed as a petulant teenager, Rakel is sidelined and the rest appear to be similar to their book counterparts in name only.


They've missed so many key plot lines out that I could barely understand what was going on, and due to this, there was no intrigue, no tension or suspense. Even a very good cast are given nothing to work with here.


It's unusual for me to be able to find nothing good to say about a film. And it's even rarer for me to want to walk out of a film less than an hour in. The trailer made this film look very good, but it failed miserably.
  
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Maddie (37 KP) Nov 16, 2017

I read the original novel and have yet to see the movie due to so many reviews such as these. However, to be fair to the filmmakers in this case, the people pulling the financial strings for this film gave the director and crew very little time to shoot. I think Tomas Alfredson, the director, said they were so short on time 20% of the script didn't get shot. This meant they had to try to fix everything in the editing room - a situation no filmmaker ever wants to be in.

I'm 100% sure this is a bad film, especially since the director himself said it wasn't what he wanted (and I had such high hopes for this after seeing what he did with Let The Right One In). However, I wouldn't go so far as to blame the situation on the cast and crew, but rather on the studio and the ones writing paychecks. Sounds like they shot this one into the ground, not the artists.
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Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated Throne of Glass in Books

Feb 2, 2019  
Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas | 2012 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.7 (91 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great Start to the series
It can be somewhat on parallel with Hunger Games except on a fantasy setting and sans the dystopia. Celaena is quite the character to like. She’s witty, smart, she’s got the talk and has the walk to prove it, she’s everything you like in a strong female character and more. I love her sass and overall personality.

The plot itself was good and engaging to read. There’s a mix of everything. Mystery, intrigue, action, and romance. I’d have to say it’s a little bit too much of a mix. I was really more into reading about the competition and Celaena’s skills. The mystery aspect did not really capture my attention and didn’t think it was very exciting. Sure, it did keep you guessing but it wasn’t filled with any twists and turns one might expect in a mystery. The romance was all right although I also didn’t think a love triangle was necessary in this one. (It was pretty hard to choose which one of the two were better. They both had their qualities that made them likable so I’m going to sit on the fence and be neutral on this)

I also enjoyed reading into Celaena’s and Nehemia’s friendship. I rather liked the bond they shared and Nehemia can hold her own as well so I liked how the two of them shared some common ground.

The ending was excellent and I’m going to be reading the rest of this. I hear it gets better! So I’m looking forward to getting the second.
  
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Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Second Wife in Books

Mar 6, 2019  
The Second Wife
The Second Wife
Sheryl Browne | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This cleverly, well-written novel is a fast read because you will not want to put it down.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

In the psychological suspense novel, The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne, Rebecca and Nicole swore to be best friends. They moved away from each other but stayed in touch as many of us do today - by text and email. They, however, unlike most of us, remain close.

Rebecca receives news from Nicole's devoted and loving husband, Richard, letting her know Nicole is dead. She killed herself by drowning. Rebecca is shocked and tries to understand why Nicole would do such a thing. She moves into Nicole's home and gradually takes over Nicole's life.

Sheryl Browne takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions with a story filled with love, marriage, family, secrets, betrayal, lies, deceit, intrigue, twists and turns, but, most importantly, friendship. Rebecca is determined to find out how her friend that was so full of life could commit suicide.

The story is told from multiple points of view and uses flashbacks to help the reader better understand the characters and their actions. This cleverly, well-written novel is a fast read because you will not want to put it down.

This is the fist book by Sheryl Browne I have read but it will not be the last.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 3/6/19.
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
Sabaa Tahir | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.4 (19 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have been lucky enough to read a lot of amazing books recently, this one included!

I honestly don't know why I waited so long to read it, but I'm glad I finally picked it up. It definitely lived up to its hype (something not every book can say)!!

I loved the charcter development. Even when the characters themselves couldn't see it, it was amazing to watch them grow. Getting to see Laia grow stronger with each chapter, both emotionally and physically, made me very excited and I found myself rooting for her in every action she did! Laia and Elias are amazing. Yes, there were two (2!!) love triangles going on at the same time, but we weren't focused primarily on that. Plus, we know the endgame (am I right? Laias forever!). And to make it even better, POC CHARACTERS!!!!!! I have been loving the trend of more POC characters recently!! Authors, definitely keep up the amazing work with that!!!

The world was fascinating, the characters were beautifully described, and I was completely drawn in from the first page. The mystery and intrigue was just coy enough to keep us guessing, but not annoyingly over-the-top to where it was keeping important information from us. I thought that was very tastefully done. I loved how it was able to get gritty and dark without being disgusting or too graphic.

Overall, I absolutely adored this novel. I can see why it got picked up for a movie deal so quickly! It deserved it!!