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Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1) in Books
Dec 6, 2018
Sweet but forgettable
This book was cuteness-incarnate with a slice of grit, a retake on Cinderella with a geeky fandom context that worked in a way that was fun and easy to connect. I found myself sucked into this story of Elle and Darien. Darien is something of a beta-male character and I’m always here for that.
As you might imagine, Elle lives with her stepmother and step sisters, things are pretty grim and abusive at home and that made for difficult reading at certain moments. Darien is playing the lead role in a film depicting a fandom Elle has been immersed in since childhood thanks to her late dad’s love of it.
The serendipitous connection through text between these two was a lovely, sweet slow build but the masking of their identities was bound to lead to complications. The events in the storyline were occasionally fresh outside of the fairytale but mostly predictable too, especially when it came to the meeting of these two. There were some very clever aspects like the pumpkin, the cosplaying elements were enjoyable and the side characters were superb. Sage was a highlight from a side character perspective. The character diversity was oozing from the pages in an unforced and natural way. I appreciated how this was conceptualised. .
This was enjoyable, easy YA reading with a delightful geek-fandom. I think this book would appeal to many.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
As you might imagine, Elle lives with her stepmother and step sisters, things are pretty grim and abusive at home and that made for difficult reading at certain moments. Darien is playing the lead role in a film depicting a fandom Elle has been immersed in since childhood thanks to her late dad’s love of it.
The serendipitous connection through text between these two was a lovely, sweet slow build but the masking of their identities was bound to lead to complications. The events in the storyline were occasionally fresh outside of the fairytale but mostly predictable too, especially when it came to the meeting of these two. There were some very clever aspects like the pumpkin, the cosplaying elements were enjoyable and the side characters were superb. Sage was a highlight from a side character perspective. The character diversity was oozing from the pages in an unforced and natural way. I appreciated how this was conceptualised. .
This was enjoyable, easy YA reading with a delightful geek-fandom. I think this book would appeal to many.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
David McK (3752 KP) rated The Maze Runner in Books
Jan 28, 2019
I decided to read this after watching the film of the same name based on it, in both cases more out of a sense of curiosity than out of any real desire to watch/read it.
In both cases, if I was asked for one word to sum it up, that word would probably be 'M'eh'.
Bleak in nature, this (IMO) is definitely one of - if not the - weakest of the Young Adult genre books I have read recently, that seem to have experienced a surge in popularity of late. In a break from what seems to be the norm, however, the main protagonists in this are predominantly male.
For anyone who doesn't know: the central character (Thomas) wakes up in a lift, with no memory of his previous life, to find himself deposited in what seems to be a glade surrounded by a massive maze which reconfigures itself every night, and in which monsters roam. He finds himself driven to become a Runner - i.e. a maze explorer - just as events start to unfold that will mark the end of their way of life (or the experiment in which the kids are all unwilling participants).
Reading that back, it's almost as if this is experiments done on mice told from the mice's point of view!
I've read it, but currently have no real desire to read any of the others in the series.
In both cases, if I was asked for one word to sum it up, that word would probably be 'M'eh'.
Bleak in nature, this (IMO) is definitely one of - if not the - weakest of the Young Adult genre books I have read recently, that seem to have experienced a surge in popularity of late. In a break from what seems to be the norm, however, the main protagonists in this are predominantly male.
For anyone who doesn't know: the central character (Thomas) wakes up in a lift, with no memory of his previous life, to find himself deposited in what seems to be a glade surrounded by a massive maze which reconfigures itself every night, and in which monsters roam. He finds himself driven to become a Runner - i.e. a maze explorer - just as events start to unfold that will mark the end of their way of life (or the experiment in which the kids are all unwilling participants).
Reading that back, it's almost as if this is experiments done on mice told from the mice's point of view!
I've read it, but currently have no real desire to read any of the others in the series.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Passengers (2016) in Movies
Jan 21, 2019
Who needs moral culpability when you have J-Law in her pants?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Good-looking SF movie that goes to prove that all you need is two good-looking charismatic stars and a very misleading ad campaign and people will flock to see your film, no matter how creepy and rapey the story actually is. Male passenger (Pratt) on a long-haul space flight wakes up early due to an accident, finds himself facing the prospect of living out his life alone on the ship (trip will take nearly a century, everyone else is still in hypersleep). He goes a bit mad from isolation, becomes obsessed with a female corpsicle (Lawrence), and decides to wake her up so he will have company even though he is condemning her to the same fate as him. Naturally he neglects to mention his own culpability in all this, even after they get it on.
And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
Merissa (13901 KP) rated Hidden Design, the Prophecy in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Hidden Design, the Prophecy is about an interior designer who finds out exactly what her customers want in a 'slightly' unorthodox manner. She gets called by her friend, Paul, who works at the FBI, to see if she can help with a missing child. This unlocks the door to more than she can possibly realise, and she tumbles headfirst into the rabbit hole.
This story is well written, with a smooth and flowing pace that builds up nicely to the climatic ending. With a series of shocks and twists to go through, there is something here for everyone. Funnily enough, the main male (who also has hints as the 'romance' lead) is the one person that she DOESN'T sleep with immediately. That would be the one thing for me - Mikki starts off by having sex with a couple or so 'special' clients. Then she is basically sleeping with anyone and everyone, with no willpower or inclination to say no; and still being surprised by her actions the following morning. Surely once she's found herself in this situation once or twice, she can realise and stop it from happening again?
Apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The ending wraps everything up for this story, whilst keeping things open for the next. Certainly an interesting read, and definitely recommended by me.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This story is well written, with a smooth and flowing pace that builds up nicely to the climatic ending. With a series of shocks and twists to go through, there is something here for everyone. Funnily enough, the main male (who also has hints as the 'romance' lead) is the one person that she DOESN'T sleep with immediately. That would be the one thing for me - Mikki starts off by having sex with a couple or so 'special' clients. Then she is basically sleeping with anyone and everyone, with no willpower or inclination to say no; and still being surprised by her actions the following morning. Surely once she's found herself in this situation once or twice, she can realise and stop it from happening again?
Apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The ending wraps everything up for this story, whilst keeping things open for the next. Certainly an interesting read, and definitely recommended by me.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated High Strung (2016) in Movies
Jan 27, 2020
Great dancing and violin playing (1 more)
Decent storyline - I particularly liked Ruby's character arc
Everything seems rushed into the last 30-40 minutes (2 more)
Most of the movie is dancing - it kind of overshadowed the storyline?
Some things don't feel wrapped up or were vague - intentional?
High Strung has a really good concept, but it kind of fell short in the execution.
Ruby's story seemed to be the only one I felt had a full arc - or maybe this is because I enjoyed her story more. Either way, it was 1am when I was watching and the others didn't seem to have a lot of background other than vague details. Ruby just stuck out to me. They weren't wrapped up either, and I'm not sure if it was intentional (especially Johnnie, the male lead - we know he's from England and he plays the violin but I don't recall the why in some details that I feel are important).
Everything also seems rushed into the last 30-40 minutes; much of the beginning features a lot of dancing. While yes, the movie IS focused on dancing and playing the violin as there is a String and Dance competition, it feels... a little too much? Personally I enjoyed it (I can't dance for the life of me and my violin skills sure aren't competition worthy, so it was fascinating), but it kind of overshadowed the story.
Ruby's story seemed to be the only one I felt had a full arc - or maybe this is because I enjoyed her story more. Either way, it was 1am when I was watching and the others didn't seem to have a lot of background other than vague details. Ruby just stuck out to me. They weren't wrapped up either, and I'm not sure if it was intentional (especially Johnnie, the male lead - we know he's from England and he plays the violin but I don't recall the why in some details that I feel are important).
Everything also seems rushed into the last 30-40 minutes; much of the beginning features a lot of dancing. While yes, the movie IS focused on dancing and playing the violin as there is a String and Dance competition, it feels... a little too much? Personally I enjoyed it (I can't dance for the life of me and my violin skills sure aren't competition worthy, so it was fascinating), but it kind of overshadowed the story.
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