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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Sleeping with the Fishes (Fred the Mermaid, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
While I'm not a big fan of MaryJanice Davidson's work, I've still semi-enjoyed a few of her other books, although there was the case of an exceptionally horrendous short story, but this book was pretty bad - nay, terrible. The book was disjointed and had very underdeveloped characters. Supposedly it's a romance, but the only romance it has is between Dr. Barb and Jonas, who were actually the best characters in the book, which is saying a lot. Although really, Jonas seemed gay; is there any straight man that acts like that? Even metrosexuals? There was just much. I doubt the average gay guy acts this way. It's just insulting...to everyone! Fred was a horrible character and had no redeeming features what-so-ever. I mean it's nice to have a different heroine who isn't the typical cookie-cutter image but this is ridiculous. I could not even fathom (heehee, get it? Fathom? The ocean? Water? Oh, forget it. ;P) what Thomas or Artur could see in her, or why they would like her, especially since they didn't know her except for her surly nature. Honestly, this is a horrible start to this series. I thought it would be a fun and interesting take on mermaids, but I could have written something better, which is sad. The more I think about it the more upset I am. I mean, yes I had a chuckle here and there, yes there were some interesting aspects, but there really wasn't a story and I can't imagine anyone actually caring for these characters. How dare Ms. Davidson maim poor mermaids, undersea folk, or whatever; I've always had a fondness for these mythical(?) creatures. I'm sorry this was such a travesty when there aren't very many books that feature merpeople. Luckily, it's a very quick read and I didn't pay eight bucks for this...this--well you get the drift. Thank you BookMooch! ;D
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The High Tide Club in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Josephine Bettendorf Warrick is 99 years old. She has terminal cancer and any day could be her last. She asks for the help of Brooke Trappnell an attorney in town to help settle her affairs. Brooke is aware that Ms. Warrick has attorneys and lives on an island off the coast of Georgia. Why she needs Brooke's help is unclear. Brooke's grandmother was an old friend of Josephine's and they lost touch over the years. Josephine would like to make amends to her friends and leave them a part of the island so that the state will not get a hold of it, for that she needs Brooke's help. Josephine, Ruth, Millie, and Varina were The High Tide Club. Before she dies she wants to see in person her friends or their relatives. Will Josephine be able to accomplish everything she needs to before her death?
Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
It has been a while since I have read one of Ms. Andrew's books. This book was good. It held my attention and kept me intrigued throughout.
Can you imagine living on an island in a palatial estate? Cut off from most of the world by the ocean. Sounds like a dream come true to me.
The story switches time from present day to 1941 when The High Tide Club was formed. There are many secrets that these friends shared and kept from one another. The four friends lost touch after the war except for Josephine and Varina, although their relationship has strained over the past few years.
Brooke herself is the granddaughter of Millie which is why Josephine chose her for the job in the first place. Brooke finds out things about her family she didn't know about and is successful at bringing together the ancestors of her friends. But the state wants the land and Josephine's distant relatives want to give it up to them. Discoveries are made and secrets are uncovered in this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
It has been a while since I have read one of Ms. Andrew's books. This book was good. It held my attention and kept me intrigued throughout.
Can you imagine living on an island in a palatial estate? Cut off from most of the world by the ocean. Sounds like a dream come true to me.
The story switches time from present day to 1941 when The High Tide Club was formed. There are many secrets that these friends shared and kept from one another. The four friends lost touch after the war except for Josephine and Varina, although their relationship has strained over the past few years.
Brooke herself is the granddaughter of Millie which is why Josephine chose her for the job in the first place. Brooke finds out things about her family she didn't know about and is successful at bringing together the ancestors of her friends. But the state wants the land and Josephine's distant relatives want to give it up to them. Discoveries are made and secrets are uncovered in this book.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Meg (2018) in Movies
May 14, 2019
Jason
#themeg all be it a highly forgettable film manages to be an extreamly enjoyable #shark romp that ends just before it begins to out stay its welcome. Sitting somewhere between #Theshallows & #deepbluesea #meg is an an American-Chinese co-production & it shows. There's an incredible amount of #chinese cast members here witch is very refreshing to see in a big #American #blockbuster & they all do a fantastic job at acting too. China locations are also #beautiful to look at & there's a fantastic sense of depth to the #ocean visuals making for some gorgeously tense silent under #water scenes. Cgi is alright for the most part & does a good job with its highly detailed shark models. Surprisingly #jasonstatham is the star of the show here & when he wasnt on screen I was longing for more time with him rather than the shark itself. Not only is he extremely #charming & charismatic he's absolutely hilarious, clearly realising what type of movie he signed up for & just having a ton of fun. Its a very silly film which plays to its advantage but the problems come when it tries to get to serious, it just kills the flow & makes the film #grind to a halt at times. Over all the message was alright too with its themes of how the human ego leads us to being so #cocky & sure of ourselves that we believe we are superior & invulnerable only to be shot down or knocked off guard by something more primitive. Major influences from old #japanese #monster #movies are a nice touch & characters are all very likable but they seem to have no cares for each other at all which all though odd actually does work in the films favour. A bit repetitive after a while with an abrupt anticlimactic ending Meg is well worth a watch & a ton of #silly forgettable #fun. Way less violent than I expected too. #odeon #odeonlimitless #friyay #gore #horror #scary #themegmovie #review #filmbuff #sharknado
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Pisces in Books
Aug 3, 2018
I've been wanting to read this one for a while; you know how much I like my mermaids! This one is male, and not as predatory as other books I've read, but still good. This is one of the books from my summer TBR list, and the second book I've read from that list so far.
I feel like this book is better classified as Contemporary Fiction than fantasy; the existence of the merman is the only magical thing about it. Everything else is an exploration on love, obsession, and the lengths people will go to to meet their needs. Broder manages to wax philosophical but with a frankness that keeps everything relatable; from missing ex-boyfriends to worrying about Tinder dates, to thinking about the empty abyss of the ocean at night, Lucy's inner dialogue speaks to the anxiety within all of us.
I went back and forth as to whether I actually liked Lucy or not. I did like her for most of the book, but then she had to go and be stupid and I'm not sure I can forgive her for that. It does illustrate how far some people will go when they're obsessed with something, so it's realistic, I suppose. But I'd rather the cost had fallen on Lucy instead of the innocent bystander.
The ending of the book wasn't entirely satisfactory. It wrapped up the story, sure, but the next to the last paragraph introduced a question that hadn't otherwise been considered, and leaves it unanswered. Which is a pet peeve of mine. It's not philosophy, it's a question of is she or isn't she, and that's not something the reader can really theorize about.
Overall, I really liked the book. There were a couple of events that annoyed me, but for the most part, this was a good summer read. It largely takes place on the beach, it's at turns funny, sexy, sad, and weird. I think it's mostly deserving of the hype it received.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
I feel like this book is better classified as Contemporary Fiction than fantasy; the existence of the merman is the only magical thing about it. Everything else is an exploration on love, obsession, and the lengths people will go to to meet their needs. Broder manages to wax philosophical but with a frankness that keeps everything relatable; from missing ex-boyfriends to worrying about Tinder dates, to thinking about the empty abyss of the ocean at night, Lucy's inner dialogue speaks to the anxiety within all of us.
I went back and forth as to whether I actually liked Lucy or not. I did like her for most of the book, but then she had to go and be stupid and I'm not sure I can forgive her for that. It does illustrate how far some people will go when they're obsessed with something, so it's realistic, I suppose. But I'd rather the cost had fallen on Lucy instead of the innocent bystander.
The ending of the book wasn't entirely satisfactory. It wrapped up the story, sure, but the next to the last paragraph introduced a question that hadn't otherwise been considered, and leaves it unanswered. Which is a pet peeve of mine. It's not philosophy, it's a question of is she or isn't she, and that's not something the reader can really theorize about.
Overall, I really liked the book. There were a couple of events that annoyed me, but for the most part, this was a good summer read. It largely takes place on the beach, it's at turns funny, sexy, sad, and weird. I think it's mostly deserving of the hype it received.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated White Squall (1996) in Movies
Jul 3, 2019
Skipper Kills All The Waves
The fantastic telling of the true story of the ill-fated Albatross. Sometimes you watch a movie at a young age, and the power of it sticks with you well into adulthood. White Squall is such a movie for me, and I imagine, many others. A sailor once, and a sailor someday to be, my father and I first watched this movie together when I was a youngster. Those silvered memories can be tarnished if a movie doesn't age well. Not the case with White Squall. Jeff Bridges is a powerhouse as the indomitable Skipper. You will instantly become caught up in the story of these young men learning what it means to indeed be called a man, especially on the sea. Some of the tropes are clunky, but merely a product of the time. You still buy in to the plot with little to no eye rolling. The archetypes of the characters run from Oscar level to 2D flat, but with a main cast of over a dozen, that is to be expected. Again, Jeff Bridges is amazing and more than carries the slack, performance wise. Parents be warned, this is based on a tragedy at sea. Do the math on that one, and adjust accordingly for the kids. The plot is fairly tame for the first half of the movie. The reason this movie gets high marks from me is the incredible direction from Ridley Scott, and the powerhouse sea visuals. The effects department really went to town on this one. You can feel the fury of the ocean, for she is a fickle mistress. They even used a full-scale mock-up of the ship in a horizon tank. Google that. It's awesome. With an amazing story, cast, score, all the above, this movie will always be the perfect with side of popcorn and a comfy recliner.
Blaine Harrison recommended track Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed in Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed in Music (curated)
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Allan Arkush recommended 8 1/2 (1963) in Movies (curated)
Allan Arkush recommended A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1960) in Movies (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated A Distant Grave in Books
Jun 23, 2021 (Updated Jun 23, 2021)
Maggie Faces a Case that Crosses the Ocean
Maggie D’arcy’ latest case as a homicide detective on Long Island involves a man on one of the beaches. He’s been shot and robbed, making identifying him the first priority. It is looking like a random homicide, which are always difficult to solve, when Maggie gets an ID. The man is an Irish national. Maggie begins to wonder why the victim was on Long Island in the middle of February. With a trip to Ireland already planned to visit her boyfriend, Conor, Maggie decides to do a little digging. Will she uncover a motive for murder across the Atlantic?
After the first book, I’d wondered how Maggie would once again find herself in a case involving Long Island and Ireland, and the set up for this book was perfect. The plot unravels wonderfully, with Maggie following a logical trail of clues until she reaches the satisfying climax. The book does spoil the events of the first in the series, so be aware of that before you pick this one up. We need that information since some of the character growth in this book flows out of what happened in before. It was wonderful to catch up with Maggie and the other returning characters, and the new characters were just as strong. This book is definitely darker than the cozies I typically read, but it wasn’t overly dark for me, and I didn’t find the violence or language excessive. The writing is wonderful, bringing Maggie’s world to full atmospheric life without slowing down the story. The book is mostly written from Maggie’s first-person present tense point of view, but we do get occasional third-person past tense passages. It’s always easy to see them apart. I got so engrossed in the story that I finished the book faster than I expected to, and I loved every page of it. This is a strong second book, and I’m looking forward to visiting Maggie again soon.
After the first book, I’d wondered how Maggie would once again find herself in a case involving Long Island and Ireland, and the set up for this book was perfect. The plot unravels wonderfully, with Maggie following a logical trail of clues until she reaches the satisfying climax. The book does spoil the events of the first in the series, so be aware of that before you pick this one up. We need that information since some of the character growth in this book flows out of what happened in before. It was wonderful to catch up with Maggie and the other returning characters, and the new characters were just as strong. This book is definitely darker than the cozies I typically read, but it wasn’t overly dark for me, and I didn’t find the violence or language excessive. The writing is wonderful, bringing Maggie’s world to full atmospheric life without slowing down the story. The book is mostly written from Maggie’s first-person present tense point of view, but we do get occasional third-person past tense passages. It’s always easy to see them apart. I got so engrossed in the story that I finished the book faster than I expected to, and I loved every page of it. This is a strong second book, and I’m looking forward to visiting Maggie again soon.