Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4412)

Content

ClareR (5726 KP) rated Shield of the Rising Sun (Path of Nemesis #3) in Books

Sep 8, 2020

Shield of the Rising Sun (Path of Nemesis #3)

Adam Lofthouse | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is the third book in a series of historical fiction novels set in the Roman era. Even though I haven’t read the first two books, I had no problem at all in understanding what was going on in the Shield of the Rising Sun. Although that now doesn’t stop me from wanting to read the first two books!

The story is told by three characters: Albinus, his son Faustus, and Faustus’ uncle, Calvus. The battle scenes, mainly from Albinus’ point of view, were gory (I like this - I know, probably a bit odd!) and the politics with all the infighting and back-stabbing was fascinating. How did anyone ever feel safe at this time? I’ll answer that: if they were clever, they NEVER felt safe!

This story shows the true reach of the Roman Empire - there are scenes in Britain, Germany and Egypt, as well as in Rome. It frankly amazed me how quickly Roman soldiers seemed to be able to travel - and mostly (if not solely) on foot!

The main characters were all three very likeable men, who had me rooting for them throughout - even though it was pretty obvious what would happen to one of them from the start )I’m giving nothing away here!).

I enjoy reading a lot of historical fiction, and it’s not often that I read books set in the Roman period. I don’t know why, there’s no reason I can think of, and this makes me realise that I really should read more! If, like me, you’re a fan of historical fiction, then you’ll enjoy the rich descriptions and history packed story within the pages of this book.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Adam Lofthouse for joining in and commenting in the margins!

Kudos

Wrigglezeus (511 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter in Video Games

Sep 15, 2020

First four detective cases (2 more)

Can skip mini games at risk of losing trophies / achievements

Graphics are great for what they had and voice work is great

Trail and error mini games and puzzles (3 more)

Poor level design

Loading times

A lot of backtracking

The great sleuth is just messing up and trying again

I love Sherlock, from the novels to the TV series and even those Robert Downey Jr Movies. I have even enjoyed previous games in this franchise. This however, was a joke.

Sometimes the mini games are unnecessary, with most out of place and just infuriatingly fiddly. Furthermore as a great sleuth a lot of the mini games seem entirely down to trail and error, results in Holmes’ death and many restarts of the puzzles. Including one during a case with moving tiles. In a world where everything is cleverly thought out, it seems these were not the case.

The storyline was somewhat decent with build up towards the end, with the four cases before hand being somewhat irrelevant towards the grand ending. As I pushed my way through this game it dawned on me that I was starting to get rare achievements, by the end of this game barely 10% of those who played it actually finished it. With around 20% only finishing the first case.

Further work needs to be put in place for this to be a true Sherlock experience, without the need to move the thumb sticks into a circle so I can eavesdrop or balance on a beam. Sometimes the quick time encounters worked amazingly well, including during an exorcism. Whilst otherwise. Awfully and out of place.

I would not recommend this game for even the truest of fans and to read up the plot online instead.

Kudos

Becs (244 KP) rated Auctioned to Please: The Complete Series in Books

Oct 2, 2019

Audience/ Reading Level: 18+

Interests: Erotica, Romance, BDSM, Virginity, High School, Internet Dating, Money for Sex.

Point of View: Third Person

Insights: Okay, I’m going to be a little salty about this series. But, there were grammatical errors littered throughout the entirety of the novels. THIS MAKES IT SO HARD TO READ. The characters were developed very poorly and the ending just came abruptly. Like it was legit the stupidest and most horrific ending you could ever think of. As a reader, it almost seemed like the author (no offense Jacey) just got too busy to really put any care into the ending. It. Literally. Ended. Like. This. Not the greatest and nothing really special that’s different from other writers.

Will I reread? I think not satan. Honestly, the story seems either like it shouldn’t have been written or that it should have had an entirely different plotline. Do I recommend? This is a hard one because I want too. To help an author out. But I just can’t.

Favorite Quotes: “She was the hundred thousand dollar girl, and she was untouchable.”

“Because I don’t want to be one of those sorts of girls.”

○ interested in its physical book
○ a continuous read / page-turner
○ diverse in any way
● something’s lacking
○ took me a long time to finish
○ an LMAO read
○ I laughed more than a few times
● it’s j u s t awkward
○ gave me goosebumps
○ one of the best books I’ve read
○ painful & sad
○ tear-jerker
○ a roller-coaster of emotions
○ thrilling
● confusing
○ sooo relatable
● it is kind of annoying
○ it has a lot of flashbacks
○ it moved me
○ would recommend!
○ great even for a reread
○ definitely a YAY
● I’m sorry it’s a NAY
○ it’s between YAY and NAY