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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Lost Beneath Manhattan in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Ricky Kidd’s class trip to New York City turns into a disaster when he has to take his six-year-old brother with him. Joel is always disappearing, even at home, so Ricky is worried that Joel will do that on the trip. When an encounter with a security guard at a museum frightens him, Joel takes off, and Ricky begins to search for him. Where will the search lead him?
Author Sigmund Brower does a good job of making the premise believable. Of course, it doesn’t take much in a middle grade series for readers to root for the main characters to solve the crime. The book takes a little while to take off, but once it does, it never lets go until we reach the climax. The characters are a lot of fun; they get a lot of personality for a short book. Ricky wondering how God can allow suffering adds some depth to an already solid story.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-review-lost-beneath-manhattan-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Author Sigmund Brower does a good job of making the premise believable. Of course, it doesn’t take much in a middle grade series for readers to root for the main characters to solve the crime. The book takes a little while to take off, but once it does, it never lets go until we reach the climax. The characters are a lot of fun; they get a lot of personality for a short book. Ricky wondering how God can allow suffering adds some depth to an already solid story.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-review-lost-beneath-manhattan-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of LEGO Jurassic World in Video Games
Jun 11, 2018
Loads of fun
Having played Lego HP and been slightly frustrated about it, I hadn’t been expecting much from this. Especially as I didn’t realise that it contained all 4 films - I just thought it was the one for Jurassic World.
All I can say is I’m glad it has all 4 films. Although each film/level set is fairly short and doesn’t quite feature everything from the films, they’re still an awful lot of fun. I love the fact that it uses real dialogue from the films (sometimes randomly during a level which makes it even funnier) and the Lego versions of well known scenes are hilarious. The gameplay is a lot more action based and more interesting than the HP games, which makes it even more entertaining. My only criticism and this is being picky, is that the film plays down some of the darker elements especially of the first film. Whilst the lighter Lego alternative is pretty funny, part of me would have loved to see severed arms etc instead.
All I can say is I’m glad it has all 4 films. Although each film/level set is fairly short and doesn’t quite feature everything from the films, they’re still an awful lot of fun. I love the fact that it uses real dialogue from the films (sometimes randomly during a level which makes it even funnier) and the Lego versions of well known scenes are hilarious. The gameplay is a lot more action based and more interesting than the HP games, which makes it even more entertaining. My only criticism and this is being picky, is that the film plays down some of the darker elements especially of the first film. Whilst the lighter Lego alternative is pretty funny, part of me would have loved to see severed arms etc instead.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek Generations (1994) in Movies
Jun 6, 2018
Seventh big-screen Trek has a kind of contractually-obligatory, cobbled-together feel to it: everyone was expecting them to do something where the old lot met the new lot, so they did, even if it seems like they couldn't come up with much of an actual story to go with it. Various attempts are made to give this story added significance - Data gets his emotion chip, the ship blows up, Worf gets a promotion, recurring characters are killed off - but it all boils down to putting Picard and Kirk together, which happens late on and only quite briefly (that said, the two of them don't exactly have chemistry, so maybe this is for the best). William Shatner is oddly subdued as James T and the writers don't have the best handle on the character, either.
Still, looks nice and Malcolm McDowell is always good fun as a scenery-gobbling bad guy. But it adds to the impression that, as far as Paramount are concerned, the Trek movies in particular are more about maintaining a profitable franchise than actually doing something creatively interesting.
Still, looks nice and Malcolm McDowell is always good fun as a scenery-gobbling bad guy. But it adds to the impression that, as far as Paramount are concerned, the Trek movies in particular are more about maintaining a profitable franchise than actually doing something creatively interesting.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in Books
Jul 11, 2018
This is a novel to take your time over. It wasn't written in a rush, and it really feels like it when you're reading it. I might even have to read it again. There are three or four separate stories which end up weaving their way together by the end of the novel.
We look at how Indians treat Anjum and her fellow Hijra, the political unrest in Kashmir and the atrocities that are committed by those who should know better. The latter is seen through the eyes of Tilo and the men who love her: Musa, Biplab and Naga.
A lot of this isn't comfortable reading at all. It is beautifully told, it's frustrating and it is teaching us a lot about what it is to be Indian, Kashmiri, Hijra, female and of a low caste. Some of it is unimaginably sad and seems hopeless; but we are left with a sliver of hope. And we have Anjum to thank for that, I think.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this beautiful book.
We look at how Indians treat Anjum and her fellow Hijra, the political unrest in Kashmir and the atrocities that are committed by those who should know better. The latter is seen through the eyes of Tilo and the men who love her: Musa, Biplab and Naga.
A lot of this isn't comfortable reading at all. It is beautifully told, it's frustrating and it is teaching us a lot about what it is to be Indian, Kashmiri, Hijra, female and of a low caste. Some of it is unimaginably sad and seems hopeless; but we are left with a sliver of hope. And we have Anjum to thank for that, I think.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this beautiful book.
ashezbookz (32 KP) rated The Girl in the Rain (Deep Waters, #1) in Books
Jul 5, 2018
I jumped between giving this book a 3 and 4 stars, it started off quite exciting, it stayed quite engaging throughout the book, and it ended quite exciting, for that I'd say it's a 4 star book, however, I had a bit trouble with the MC and her interaction with her brother.
The whole concept of this book was great - coming from someone who lived with a brother who both abused drugs and alcohol for quite a while, I can see where she was coming from, however, there was a lot of the "woe is me" syndrome that I HATED. I get the feelings of burden and guilt but - as someone who has been there done that, but I think this was taken way to the point of excess.
I know it was meant to build suspense, but it had me kind of hating the MC a lot, hating the whole mid part of the book, which was frustrating. The end highly made up for it though and now I do want to continue with the series because, cliffhangers amirite?
The whole concept of this book was great - coming from someone who lived with a brother who both abused drugs and alcohol for quite a while, I can see where she was coming from, however, there was a lot of the "woe is me" syndrome that I HATED. I get the feelings of burden and guilt but - as someone who has been there done that, but I think this was taken way to the point of excess.
I know it was meant to build suspense, but it had me kind of hating the MC a lot, hating the whole mid part of the book, which was frustrating. The end highly made up for it though and now I do want to continue with the series because, cliffhangers amirite?
Erika (17789 KP) rated Agatha Christie's Ordeal By Innocence- Season One in TV
Sep 3, 2018
I haven't read the novel this show was based upon, but according to a lot of other reviews I saw, apparently they changed a lot. So, if you loved the book, don't expect the show to be a carbon copy.
Since I didn't read the book, I absolutely loved this miniseries. I did sort of guess who the murderer of matriarch, Rachel Argyll, was, but it definitely left me guessing as to whether or not he/she actually murdered her.
This story involves a family of adopted children, and the parents. One of the sons, Jack, is accused of murdering his mother, and is sent to jail with supposed 'hard-evidence'. All the while, Jack, is claiming he got a ride from some guy, who never comes forward...until after Jack dies in jail. The arrival of the guy from the alibi, throws the family into an uproar, and the killer is revealed.
The first two episodes, you're wondering what actually happened that night, and the third episode is the pay off.
Since I didn't read the book, I absolutely loved this miniseries. I did sort of guess who the murderer of matriarch, Rachel Argyll, was, but it definitely left me guessing as to whether or not he/she actually murdered her.
This story involves a family of adopted children, and the parents. One of the sons, Jack, is accused of murdering his mother, and is sent to jail with supposed 'hard-evidence'. All the while, Jack, is claiming he got a ride from some guy, who never comes forward...until after Jack dies in jail. The arrival of the guy from the alibi, throws the family into an uproar, and the killer is revealed.
The first two episodes, you're wondering what actually happened that night, and the third episode is the pay off.
Cumberland (1142 KP) rated It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) in Books
Nov 1, 2018
An Excellent Second Book
This book does a great job of showing the characters emotions as they go through hard times. All of them are suffering from the loss of Susannah, and all of the characters express themselves in very different ways.
Belly made a lot of good and bad decisions in this book, but overall she has grown a lot as a character. The first book was mainly about her love life, and while that still plays an important role; In this book she is more concerned with helping the people she cares about.
A great addition to this book were the chapters in Jeremiah's point of view. Jeremiah sees Belly differently than she sees herself, and it's nice to get his perspective on things.
Ive finished the first two books, and I still can't decide if I like Conrad. I don't think he's a very honest character; however I did enjoy seeing Belly learn more about him and herself. This is a great series, and I can't wait to read the next book.
Belly made a lot of good and bad decisions in this book, but overall she has grown a lot as a character. The first book was mainly about her love life, and while that still plays an important role; In this book she is more concerned with helping the people she cares about.
A great addition to this book were the chapters in Jeremiah's point of view. Jeremiah sees Belly differently than she sees herself, and it's nice to get his perspective on things.
Ive finished the first two books, and I still can't decide if I like Conrad. I don't think he's a very honest character; however I did enjoy seeing Belly learn more about him and herself. This is a great series, and I can't wait to read the next book.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) in Movies
Jun 18, 2019
Better than expected
I'll happily admit to expecting to really hate this film, I wasnt expecting much and didnt particularly like the first film, but actually this wasnt that bad. I'd even go as far as saying I preferred it to the first.
The reason why I didnt like the first film much is because they tried too hard to have a cohesive storyline when really, I'd have preferred a random mash up of silly clips making fun of all the silly things pets do. And whilst this second film doesn't quite get there either, it gets a lot closer! It's basically just 3 random stories tied in together, a bit ridiculous but there are some funny humorous moments and I laughed a lot more than I did with the original.
But that said, it still isnt great. Some of the characters just dont fit with their voices and I found some of the new characters (Daisy) ridiculously annoying. This is just one of those films that's not bad but not good, and mainly just alright.
The reason why I didnt like the first film much is because they tried too hard to have a cohesive storyline when really, I'd have preferred a random mash up of silly clips making fun of all the silly things pets do. And whilst this second film doesn't quite get there either, it gets a lot closer! It's basically just 3 random stories tied in together, a bit ridiculous but there are some funny humorous moments and I laughed a lot more than I did with the original.
But that said, it still isnt great. Some of the characters just dont fit with their voices and I found some of the new characters (Daisy) ridiculously annoying. This is just one of those films that's not bad but not good, and mainly just alright.
Kittyz98 (13 KP) rated Apple iPad Pro in Tech
Dec 12, 2018
I own the iPad Pro 10.5inch and the Apple Pencil and use it a lot for watching videos, editing photos (I’m a photographer), note-taking (an online university student) and drawing as a hobby. The iPad Pro definitely feels a lot faster than previous iPads, and I do like the inclusion of a better camera which is perfect for scanning pieces of paper to make that easier for storage & annotating with university notes. It’s been perfect for photo editing thanks to lightroom (and I look forward to seeing full photoshop on it) which has meant I’ve been able to edit both my own photos & photos for university assignments on the go! Touch ID has made the iPad feel very secure, so I don’t feel as if someone will do something on it, especially if they’ve don’t know my code. Being able to multitask on it too has been so useful, so I’ve been able to watch/listen to videos while taking notes.
I highly recommend this, although I have no clue how it compares to the newest iPad Pro that uses USB-C
I highly recommend this, although I have no clue how it compares to the newest iPad Pro that uses USB-C
Auburn (57 KP) rated Shadow & Flame in Books
Jun 21, 2019
This book throws you right back into the action 6 months from the ending of the last book. The plot rockets from about 1- 100 in the span of a page. I started and finished this book in the same day. That is how engrossed I was and how much I needed to know how it ends.
The dual perspective gives us two very different sides of the story. Each side has enough angst and high drama that you won’t feel bored with one. This is great since lately a lot of dual POV bore me.
The romance is more subtle in this book and it focuses more on Kate and Corwin growing as individual characters. And there is a lot of growth that happens. From book one through the ending of this you feel that each character grows and changes. Some not in the best way.
Overall this was the perfect duology. If had action, magic, horses, heartbreak, and love. If you enjoyed the first book you will Love this one.
The dual perspective gives us two very different sides of the story. Each side has enough angst and high drama that you won’t feel bored with one. This is great since lately a lot of dual POV bore me.
The romance is more subtle in this book and it focuses more on Kate and Corwin growing as individual characters. And there is a lot of growth that happens. From book one through the ending of this you feel that each character grows and changes. Some not in the best way.
Overall this was the perfect duology. If had action, magic, horses, heartbreak, and love. If you enjoyed the first book you will Love this one.