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The Iron Ship (The Gates of the World #1)
Book
The Twin flees across the sky, bringing in its wake the Great Tide. The Earth trembles under the...
Merissa (11961 KP) rated Hear Me in Books
Apr 14, 2023
This is a story about two people separated by a physical barrier which is either magic or a miracle, depending on your viewpoint. The 'townies' fear the 'forest folk' and when dark magic started leaking into their town, they decided to put a barrier up to keep out the darkness. At least, that's the story that Ivy believes.
The tale unravels a list of deceptions and prejudices whilst dealing with dark magic and sacrifice. It also deals with love and how deep a love can go, even when circumstances aren't exactly light and fluffy.
It was well-written with no plot holes that I found. The only thing that I found jarred me slightly was the mention of modern technology but that just helped to emphasise the differences between the townies and the forest folk.
A wonderful story that enthralled me, 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 25, 2015
The tale unravels a list of deceptions and prejudices whilst dealing with dark magic and sacrifice. It also deals with love and how deep a love can go, even when circumstances aren't exactly light and fluffy.
It was well-written with no plot holes that I found. The only thing that I found jarred me slightly was the mention of modern technology but that just helped to emphasise the differences between the townies and the forest folk.
A wonderful story that enthralled me, 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 25, 2015
Happily Ever After
7.0
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Book
The third and final book in a new trilogy of twisted fairy tales from New York Times bestselling...
Jamie (131 KP) rated Shimmer and Burn in Books
Jul 30, 2017
Unique magic concept (2 more)
Fast paced and engaging story
Dreamy male lead
Bland main character (1 more)
Details about the world and magic is mildly confusing
Threading blood magic in a dying world
Shimmer and Burn was much much darker than I expected and I LOVED it. A locked away kingdom ruled by a ruthless king, forbidden blood magic that is both beautiful and deadly, a power hungry princess, a dying world infested with diseased cannibals–this book had it all. That is, except for the main character, Faris.
This book was almost perfect for me, but I just wish that Faris wasn’t so bland. The book is carried by an extremely strong plot and well developed side characters but.. well the story just sort of happens to Faris. She is constantly made out to be a fighter but she ends up running or needing to be saved almost every time. She has one central motivation, her sister, and some heartbreak over Thaelan, but that’s really all her character really has going for her.
Thankfully the other characters help drive the plot forward. I’ve never been one to fawn over book boyfriends but that changed with North. I really like North and Faris together, even though their romance sort of shows up out of thin air in a mild case of instalove. I would expect characters to talk and have more interaction before they go falling “in love.” It’s not the worst thing in the world, I still liked the characters and their romance so I was willing to look past that.
My favorite part of the book is the absolutely incredible magic system which is unlike any other I’ve ever read. Magic is described as being beautiful like threads that can just as easily fray and destroy the magic wielder if not handled with care. It is treated as something alien, even for the humans with a natural born ability to wield it. I can’t overstate enough how much I love this concept. The intricate political relationships in this novel is also extremely well done and I’m so excited to read the next book.
A fair warning though, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart. While the romance may be clean, the violence definitely isn’t. This book isn’t the goriest I’ve ever read but it does not shy away from the gruesome details. If you can stomach the gritty content then I highly recommend this book, it’s one of the best YA books I’ve read in a while.
This book was almost perfect for me, but I just wish that Faris wasn’t so bland. The book is carried by an extremely strong plot and well developed side characters but.. well the story just sort of happens to Faris. She is constantly made out to be a fighter but she ends up running or needing to be saved almost every time. She has one central motivation, her sister, and some heartbreak over Thaelan, but that’s really all her character really has going for her.
Thankfully the other characters help drive the plot forward. I’ve never been one to fawn over book boyfriends but that changed with North. I really like North and Faris together, even though their romance sort of shows up out of thin air in a mild case of instalove. I would expect characters to talk and have more interaction before they go falling “in love.” It’s not the worst thing in the world, I still liked the characters and their romance so I was willing to look past that.
My favorite part of the book is the absolutely incredible magic system which is unlike any other I’ve ever read. Magic is described as being beautiful like threads that can just as easily fray and destroy the magic wielder if not handled with care. It is treated as something alien, even for the humans with a natural born ability to wield it. I can’t overstate enough how much I love this concept. The intricate political relationships in this novel is also extremely well done and I’m so excited to read the next book.
A fair warning though, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart. While the romance may be clean, the violence definitely isn’t. This book isn’t the goriest I’ve ever read but it does not shy away from the gruesome details. If you can stomach the gritty content then I highly recommend this book, it’s one of the best YA books I’ve read in a while.
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Attempting to continue the phenomenal literary and cinematic successes of the Harry Potter series of books and films is a daunting task for anyone to undertake. Even when series creator J.K. Rowling Rowling is involved, many would shy away from such a monumental taak.
However when you consider the books, movies, and merchandise have become a billion dollar industry and that rabid fans cannot get enough of the word that Rowlings created, it is not surprising that Rowlings and Warner Brothers have created a new cinematic series inspired by a story contained within the original book series.
In “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, audiences are introduced to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who is just embarking on his adventures which will later be turned into books that Harry and his friends will read some seventy years onward.
Set in 1926 New York amongst the secret community of wizards and witches; the film follows the arrival of Newt in America as he has come with a suitcase filled with magical creatures. When a non-magic user named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), accidentally mistakes the suitcase for his own and unleashes some of the creatures, chaos follows.
The timing of this mishap could not be worse for the magic community as magic users have lived in secret and the arrival of Nate and his creatures threatens to expose them and make a bad situational even worse. Further complicating matters are a series of events that have caused destruction in the city which has given rise to a group who are convinced that witches are amongst them and must be destroyed at all cost.
Being an unregistered magic user; Newt, is soon taken in by an agent in New York named Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), who herself has fallen out of favor within her community of magic users. In time; Newt is taken into custody by Percival Graves (Collin Farrell), who not only seems to have a disdain for Newt, but is working with a member of the anti-witch group for his own ambitions.
Newt and his friends soon find themselves on the run as they attempt to gather the missing creatures and get to the bottom of a much bigger and more dangerous menace that threatens their community as well as the people of New York. What follows is a journey filled with magic, comedy, and danger that will delight fans.
The film is a pure delight and the Potter magic has continued in this highly-entertaining new series. The cast and characters are very enjoyable and the visual magic is wonderful to behold.
The story is filled with charm and humor but has a few nods to the previous films as well as a few surprises along the way.
I was easily swept up by the madcap adventure and cast that all gave solid performances. Never once did the characters let the dazzling array of visual effects overshadow the fact that this is a character driven story.
Redmayne and Fogler work very well with one another and the innocent fish out of water story that they both embark on makes them easily endearing to the audience.
It will be very interesting to see where the future films will go, but if this one is any indication of what is in store, there is plenty of magic left in this world and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
http://sknr.net/2016/11/15/fantastic-beasts-find/
However when you consider the books, movies, and merchandise have become a billion dollar industry and that rabid fans cannot get enough of the word that Rowlings created, it is not surprising that Rowlings and Warner Brothers have created a new cinematic series inspired by a story contained within the original book series.
In “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, audiences are introduced to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who is just embarking on his adventures which will later be turned into books that Harry and his friends will read some seventy years onward.
Set in 1926 New York amongst the secret community of wizards and witches; the film follows the arrival of Newt in America as he has come with a suitcase filled with magical creatures. When a non-magic user named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), accidentally mistakes the suitcase for his own and unleashes some of the creatures, chaos follows.
The timing of this mishap could not be worse for the magic community as magic users have lived in secret and the arrival of Nate and his creatures threatens to expose them and make a bad situational even worse. Further complicating matters are a series of events that have caused destruction in the city which has given rise to a group who are convinced that witches are amongst them and must be destroyed at all cost.
Being an unregistered magic user; Newt, is soon taken in by an agent in New York named Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), who herself has fallen out of favor within her community of magic users. In time; Newt is taken into custody by Percival Graves (Collin Farrell), who not only seems to have a disdain for Newt, but is working with a member of the anti-witch group for his own ambitions.
Newt and his friends soon find themselves on the run as they attempt to gather the missing creatures and get to the bottom of a much bigger and more dangerous menace that threatens their community as well as the people of New York. What follows is a journey filled with magic, comedy, and danger that will delight fans.
The film is a pure delight and the Potter magic has continued in this highly-entertaining new series. The cast and characters are very enjoyable and the visual magic is wonderful to behold.
The story is filled with charm and humor but has a few nods to the previous films as well as a few surprises along the way.
I was easily swept up by the madcap adventure and cast that all gave solid performances. Never once did the characters let the dazzling array of visual effects overshadow the fact that this is a character driven story.
Redmayne and Fogler work very well with one another and the innocent fish out of water story that they both embark on makes them easily endearing to the audience.
It will be very interesting to see where the future films will go, but if this one is any indication of what is in store, there is plenty of magic left in this world and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
http://sknr.net/2016/11/15/fantastic-beasts-find/
Merissa (11961 KP) rated On the Edge (The Edge, #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
This is a book that I would place in my Fantasy section rather than romance, although that does play its part.
The world in this book is divided into 3 - The Weird, The Edge and The Broken and yep, the world we live in (as we know it) is The Broken. The Edge is where there is some magic but not usually that much and The Weird is where there is loads of magic all the time. To be able to enter The Weird you need to have magic, to be able to enter The Broken you need to be able to survive without any, Edgers can usually go to The Broken but not many can go to The Weird - ok, now that's sorted.
The story mainly focuses on Rose, her Grandma and her two brothers who all live in The Edge, barely making ends meet. Along come a pure-blood from The Weird who succeeds in turning their lives upside down. Throw in some horrible 'beasts' that no one really knows about, a madman, magic and a big fight and there we go.
I enjoyed this book and have read it a few times as it's one that I can read without having to concentrate too much about it. It is the only Ilona Andrews book that I have at the moment but I would like to get some more of hers in the future.
The world in this book is divided into 3 - The Weird, The Edge and The Broken and yep, the world we live in (as we know it) is The Broken. The Edge is where there is some magic but not usually that much and The Weird is where there is loads of magic all the time. To be able to enter The Weird you need to have magic, to be able to enter The Broken you need to be able to survive without any, Edgers can usually go to The Broken but not many can go to The Weird - ok, now that's sorted.
The story mainly focuses on Rose, her Grandma and her two brothers who all live in The Edge, barely making ends meet. Along come a pure-blood from The Weird who succeeds in turning their lives upside down. Throw in some horrible 'beasts' that no one really knows about, a madman, magic and a big fight and there we go.
I enjoyed this book and have read it a few times as it's one that I can read without having to concentrate too much about it. It is the only Ilona Andrews book that I have at the moment but I would like to get some more of hers in the future.
Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes, #2)
7.5
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It's been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring's king, Angra,...
Marrow Charm
10.0
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Book
'In his pursuit of the occult, the Third Reich opened the Gate to a realm of magic and brought the...
Chasing Midnight (Once Upon A Curse #3)
8.0
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Book
This faerie godmother has an agenda of her own... Don't miss CHASING MIDNIGHT, a fantasy romance...
The Amphitheater of Souls
8.0
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Book
When a plague ravages his village, the shaman Cian sails to the land of the dwarves for a cure....
MM Dark Fantasy Romance Found Family Soul Mates