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Peter Shephard (2822 KP) created a post in Smashbomb Council
Jun 16, 2022
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars #1) in Books
Dec 25, 2018
Having read the prequel to this book already, I can see why a lot of people complained about the lack of worldbuilding. Even though the prequel is based in a neighboring country, there's a lot in this book that I understood based on events in Inkmistress. I definitely recommend reading that one first.
That said, I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Inkmistress is better, but that happens often with new authors. I think the sequel, Of Ice and Shadows, due out this summer, will probably be even better, and should bring the events of the previous two books together.
Like Inkmistress, bisexuality seems to be absolutely normal in Denna's country, with Denna not expressing a preference, Mare having had male and female lovers, and one of Denna's ladies having a female lover. (There is a brief mention of a gay couple as well.) I do wish nonbinary people would make an appearance, but it's something, at least.
There are a lot of twists and turns to the plot in this book, so while Inkmistress was fairly straightforward, this one took me by surprise multiple times. It also makes it much harder to talk about the plot without giving anything away!
I wish we'd discovered more about the King's council - several members of it seemed to have ulterior motives but we never got to see what those were. If we knew their motivations, some things might make a lot more sense and be a lot more satisfying.
Read Inkmistress. If you like the world, go ahead and read this book, because the events of this will be necessary to understand the third book, which takes us back to the country featured in Inkmistress. And I want to know more about that country!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
That said, I enjoyed this book a lot. I think Inkmistress is better, but that happens often with new authors. I think the sequel, Of Ice and Shadows, due out this summer, will probably be even better, and should bring the events of the previous two books together.
Like Inkmistress, bisexuality seems to be absolutely normal in Denna's country, with Denna not expressing a preference, Mare having had male and female lovers, and one of Denna's ladies having a female lover. (There is a brief mention of a gay couple as well.) I do wish nonbinary people would make an appearance, but it's something, at least.
There are a lot of twists and turns to the plot in this book, so while Inkmistress was fairly straightforward, this one took me by surprise multiple times. It also makes it much harder to talk about the plot without giving anything away!
I wish we'd discovered more about the King's council - several members of it seemed to have ulterior motives but we never got to see what those were. If we knew their motivations, some things might make a lot more sense and be a lot more satisfying.
Read Inkmistress. If you like the world, go ahead and read this book, because the events of this will be necessary to understand the third book, which takes us back to the country featured in Inkmistress. And I want to know more about that country!
You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
David Byrne recommended La Incompara Celia by Celia Cruz in Music (curated)
I really wanted this book to be useful, especially I've I have just yet another health kick. However, there seemed to be a lot of words and not a lot of substance.
I received this book on my #kindle It was poorly formatted for the kindle with a lot of sentences repeated with paragraph, different don't sizes and pages referenced that just didn't exist. As far as I'm aware I didn't get a sample copy but the pages referenced to were in triple figures whereas my copy must have had about 50 pages. There was also a lot of "do this survey on this website" which I didn't like. I'm also a bit dubious about the "facts" given in this book, for example how yoga can be as effective as the FODMAP diet for IBS. I was also hoping for some more recipes, because, as the title suggests, the book is a "digest guide" and how can one digest without a ton of food. But there were only a few and they were thrown in the back of the book. On the whole, somewhat disappointing
I received this book on my #kindle It was poorly formatted for the kindle with a lot of sentences repeated with paragraph, different don't sizes and pages referenced that just didn't exist. As far as I'm aware I didn't get a sample copy but the pages referenced to were in triple figures whereas my copy must have had about 50 pages. There was also a lot of "do this survey on this website" which I didn't like. I'm also a bit dubious about the "facts" given in this book, for example how yoga can be as effective as the FODMAP diet for IBS. I was also hoping for some more recipes, because, as the title suggests, the book is a "digest guide" and how can one digest without a ton of food. But there were only a few and they were thrown in the back of the book. On the whole, somewhat disappointing
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Murder on the Orient Express (2017) in Movies
Nov 14, 2017 (Updated Nov 14, 2017)
A Serviceable Retelling
I'm not going to tell you that this is one of the greatest detective movies ever made, but it is a lot better than a lot of reviews are making it out to be and I had fun with it. Branagh does a good job with directing the all star cast and they each get a moment to shine. He is also brilliant as Poirot, working as the staple that holds the whole movie together. The lighting and the cinematography in the film is stunning. It does have it's cheesy moments and certain actors could be mistaken for being in a pantomime, but that comes with the territory with a period murder mystery story. I'm not saying it's brilliant, but it is good fun and as remakes go, it could have been a lot worse.
CandyZane (19 KP) rated Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Books
Sep 1, 2017
Good book
I have not yet seen the movie, as I do not want to take away from my reading experience. This book has a lot of imagination, I would say it captivated me the way Tolkien's books captivated me. The descriptions of the characters are specific, and the atmosphere, and the villains. I wish the book was longer and it could certainly go much deeper. I think the author was not allowed to write as long of a story as would have liked, maybe for production value.
Miguel Covarrubias (143 KP) rated Maniac in TV
Apr 23, 2019
The Techno-Thriller-Comedy that Nobody knew we needed
We unexpectedly loved maniac. It had a lot to say about fantasy vs. reality. The beautiful modern take (extremely loosely) on Don Quixote had a lot to say to the current era that we find ourselves in. A near future almost hopeless setting shines a lot on how we currently attempt to cope with our reality by escaping into our virtual realities. It's especially difficult on millennials who are trying to overcome the arrested development that we've been placed in. We had too much of a good thing, technology, and haven't quite figured out how to balance virtual with analog reality. 9/10 well worth your time!
ashezbookz (32 KP) rated Bundle of Trouble (A Maternal Instincts Mystery, #1) in Books
Jul 5, 2018
Definitely not my favourite cozy mystery series - there was a lot of internal dialogue that I did not enjoy. I did like her lists, I thought those were cute and funny - I thought some parts were funny and entertaining but a lot of it was just .. blah, like why is this necessary, why are we repeating this again, why is this happening - but the end was good and fun
I called a lot of the book but it was still fun toward the end to read and the very end - I also called but it was still absolutely joyful to read.
Reading the struggle of a new mother was fun too - it was an interesting take on a mystery trying to be a PI or solving a mystery while literally taking care of a brand spankin new baby and separation anxiety ..
I called a lot of the book but it was still fun toward the end to read and the very end - I also called but it was still absolutely joyful to read.
Reading the struggle of a new mother was fun too - it was an interesting take on a mystery trying to be a PI or solving a mystery while literally taking care of a brand spankin new baby and separation anxiety ..
Bird (1700 KP) Jun 17, 2022
Pete Thompson (4339 KP) Dec 30, 2022