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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Far From Perfect (The Valentines, #2) in Books

Oct 5, 2020  
Far From Perfect (The Valentines, #2)
Far From Perfect (The Valentines, #2)
Holly Smale | 2020
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://amzn.to/2Wi7amb">Wishlist</a>; | <a
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;

#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2685992062">Happy Girl Lucky</a> - ★★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3305103151">Far From Perfect</a> - ★★★★

<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Book-Review-Banner-74.png"/>;

I am extremely happy and excited to be part of the blog tour for Far From Perfect by Holly Smale. Thank you to the team at Harper Collins and Kaleidoscopic Tours - for letting me part of this tour and sending me a copy of the book.

Far From Perfect is the second book in the Valentines series. Read my review of the first book - Happy Girl Lucky.

<b><i>Synopsis:</i></b>

Being born in a family that is considered Hollywood royalty is not easy. When all her family is expecting perfection form her, Faith just wants to be normal. 

Instead, paparazzi follows her everywhere. She needs to rehearse everything she says and does. She needs to be herself - but, you know, someone else... at all times. 

<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>

Far From Perfect manages to portray an unwanted life in the spotlight of a girl that simply wants to be normal. I was very satisfied to see how the media was presented in this book. They push famous people's boundaries, twist stories and stir waters, causing dramas. And while I understand this is their job, I am grateful to see someone write about the negative impact they have on famous people.

I loved Faith as a character and I was so proud to see her stand up and fight. It was so easy to put myself in her shoes and experience her anger and frustration of not being listened to. I loved the friendship Faith has with Scarlett. It is real and funny and strong. But most of all, I loved the sister bond that Faith has with Mercy. It is so pure and emotional, and it made me think of my own little sister and how much she truly means to me. 

The story Faith tells us is a story that will touch every teenager. The struggles of love, family, friendships and finding purpose in the world. We have all been there, we have all fought the same battles and we understand. Even though some problems may seem trivial as a grown up, I remember how important those moments were to me when I was young, and how they shaped me today, and I was glad this was not underestimated in this book. 

And sometimes, life makes us forget. Time passes by, and we are lost for a bit. Until a book comes in our hands - to remind us what really matters. This is that book. A beautiful continuation of the series. I recommend it to the teenagers - to find your purpose; and also to everyone else - to remember what that purpose is!

<a href="https://amzn.to/2Wi7amb">Wishlist</a>; | <a
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Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Black Sails - Season 2 in TV

Jun 3, 2017  
Black Sails - Season 2
Black Sails - Season 2
2015 | Drama
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
TV Season Rating
The plot of the series is always brilliantly written (2 more)
Twists and turns around every corner
John Silver is charmingly brilliant
More plotting, more cunning, and more drama
So my season one review pretty much covered all I have to say about this show from what I have seen so far from my first viewing. The characters are brilliant and charming and the plot is brilliantly written with great twists and turns.

These points only become more evident in the second season. My favourite character has to be the man who has a larger role in the book (Treasure Island), and that man is John Silver. Luke Arnold is charming as John Silver, and the character himself is very cunning which makes for great entertainment as he constantly finds new ways for Flint's Crew, and other characters in Nassau, to NEED him alive so that he can survive any and all scenario's. Whether it's his way with words or his cunning ideas that he knows should work (and often do) that makes his character so impressive and brilliant.


The drama has always been gripping in this show, and the action is always leaving me on the edge of my seat because the twists and turns in this show more often than not, catch you off guard when written suddenly. Some of the twists are more obvious than others, they have a build up that make you sit there saying/thinking "They've done this..." or "This is going to happen..." Etc. But it doesn't make the show any less entertaining.


The conflict between Vane and Flint is always entertaining. Whilst Flint is the most feared among the pirates, Vane is certainly not far behind, and his stature towers above Flint's making him mean looking and not someone you'd want to mess with. Flint has the brains, Vane has the brawn and together they are a brilliant rivalry, even when they have to come together for a single purpose. They respect each other, and it shows, but they are both too proud to tell one another that they would be better working with one another rather than against.


The cast are all perfect to their roles, and the characters are all brilliantly written to for their purpose in the show.
  
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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Glow in Books

May 16, 2018  
G
Glow
Megan E. Bryant | 2018
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have a love hate relationship with Glow, an upcoming young adult novel from Megan E. Bryant. Earlier this year, I read The Radium Girls by Kate Moore - an absolutely horrifying account of injustices committed against young women under the guise of patriotism. Before Moore, I cannot recall ever hearing about the dial painters. This book provides a fictional account based heavily on true stories about the girls that met their untimely demise.

The main character of Glow is a young woman of eighteen by the name of Jubilee - but don't you dare call her that! She prefers Julie. After making the ultimate sacrifice for her mother, she spends the summer unraveling the mysteries behind paintings she finds at thrift stores while her best friend prepares for college.

Between each chapter, readers find an epistolary account from the mind of Lydia Grayson. Like her sisters, Lydia is one of the many girls that worked for the American Radium Company (I think I got that right). The Grayson sisters, for those that haven't read The Radium Girls in order to make the comparison, appears to be based loosely on the Maggia sisters, while the company is, obviously, a fictionalized version of the United States Radium Corporation. (Amelia "Mollie" Maggia was the first of the Radium Girls to die.)

Unlike most books that attempt this method, I do not find the switch between perspectives and styles to be detrimental or clunky - if anything, it is inconvenient. Rather than wrap up preceding chapters, Bryant uses these switches to leave Julie's story on a cliffhanger more than once throughout the book. This style can easily be avoided, considering the letters written from Lydia to her boyfriend are interesting enough on their own to propel the reader forward.

While Julie's story offers an plot that appeals to younger readers, I feel Glow would have worked just fine without it. For that purpose, I'm caught between a three and a four on this book. Ultimately, I lean toward the latter and must applaud Bryant on the amount of research she obviously put into writing this book. Julie's story is unbelievable and full of things that I simply have no interest in, but the haunting tale that the Grayson sisters weave is horrifying.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of unbiased review.
  
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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Love and Monsters (2021) in Movies

Apr 18, 2021  
Love and Monsters (2021)
Love and Monsters (2021)
2021 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
9
7.8 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Love and monsters is quite a slow paced film about a journey and a character. Joel starts the film as a bit of a looser, he feels out of place and unneeded so he sets out to find the one person he thinks will appreciate him and, as he movers through the world he begins to find himself, a purpose and the meaning of family.

In some ways, Love and Monsters reminded me of 'Zombie land', we have some one who is just trying to find his place and his way in world that changed, he has to rely on the help of others whilst finding the right rules to help him survive. Of course the biggest difference is that there are monsters instead of Zombies.

Talking of the monsters, the effects are pretty good, the monsters are not all horrific and are pretty realistic. They help set the tone and pace in the film, providing threat, humour and atmosphere and it's nice to see that some of them just want to get on with their own lives.

Another thing that was nice to see was that (most of) the humans were also just trying to live, there weren't any 'Neagan's' or camps of overly aggressive thugs as you get used to seeing in a lot of post apocalyptic movies, which came as a bit as a surprise, I was expecting there to be something odd about the meeting between Joel and Aimee but, even though it doesn't necessarily go according to plan it still works out in a nice way.

And that's the thing, Love and Monsters is quite a nice film. The characters want to survive and even in a world populated by monsters that eat people the survivors find love and purpose, yes there are people who are just out for themselves, who are willing to steal and feed others to the monsters but they are in the minority.

The only really odd thing in this film are the Mav1s', there is not really anything to explain them.

Love and Monsters is no 'Godzilla', there are no monster v monster fights. and it's no 'A Quite Place' the monsters aren't necessarily hunting the survivors for anything other than food and this isn't a horror movie, it's a film about growth, love and family and man eating bugs.
  
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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Returners in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
The Returners
The Returners
Gemma Malley | 2010
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have a vague recollection of reading this some time in the past which is kind of ironic considering the topic of the book itself. While I felt a repeated deja vu throughout this book, I can't seem to remember when I actually would have read it before. I also couldn't remember much of the main plot, which is pretty weird.

Anyway, the review.

It's a good book. honestly, the opening paragraph of this review sums the book up quite well - it's good, but not overly memorable. When you read it, you often think, "this is good" or "cool" or whatever, but a few months later you'll forget all about it. At least, that's how I felt.

Gemma Malley is an author I used to love when I was in my preteens, and I'm not sure if that's why her books feel very adolescent to me, or if it's because they actually are. Basically, I feel too old for them now. The protagonists are usually "cool" mid-teens, who the reader is supposed to look up to in some way. But I'm older than most characters and actually find their attitudes a bit pathetic and petty.

The story was good but I felt like there were a few loopholes, honestly. The idea of the "Returners" is interesting but not developed enough - who actually 'controls' them? Where did they come from? What is their real purpose? I felt like their purpose was a bit wishy-washy. Douglas's refusal to change his attitude because it "isn't their role" or whatever just sounded a bit... lame. Like a cop-out, I guess. I really would've liked to know more about the Returners and why they actually exist.

It's only short and this may contribute to it feeling quite young, but it is well written and really enjoyable to read. Will is almost an anti-hero, and as the reader I both loved and hated him. His thoughts and attitudes were quite sporadic and it was sometimes hard to keep up, but that may have been the intention. I did like how we learned things at the same time as Will - we followed him through his own story. It was also really interesting how Will decided to handle the life he'd been forced into.

4 stars.
  
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ClareR (5906 KP) rated Idaho in Books

Apr 29, 2018  
Idaho
Idaho
Emily Ruskovich | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is such a gentle, beautifully written book, about a harrowing, terrible subject. I had seen other reviews saying how much they'd enjoyed this, however based on the synopsis, I was hesitant at first: a mother kills her six year old daughter with a hatchet. What can be poetic or lyrical about that?
The story jumps back and forth in time as it follows the lives of the mother, father, the daughters and Ann, the 'new' wife. It isn't confusing though, surprisingly. The murder isn't one of those protracted descriptions, it's more of an aside. I don't even think that it comes across as something that was done on purpose.
This book is about the repercussions of this single act and how it affects all those involved, even those who weren't there.
I was captivated. I know that seems like a big thing to say about a book, but once I got going (real life and it's distractions, eh!) the end seemed to come around all too quickly.
I would highly recommend this - but make sure you have a box of Kleenex to hand. It's achingly sad in places.
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Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Teratologist in Books

May 15, 2018  
Teratologist
Teratologist
Edward Lee, Wrath James White | 2011 | Horror
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Like a Buddy Cop movie directed by Satan
THE TERATOLOGIST--a researcher of physical abnormalities--is both a disgusting and fun (short) horror novel. Something like a Buddy Cop movie, a writer and photographer go to the mansion of a young billionaire who collects people with birth defects for a single nefarious purpose: to see God.

If you've read Edward Lee's Infernal Series, you may notice the similarities in theme. It isn't just good vs evil, it's Good vs Evil. It has the same dash of irreverent humor and more than enough depravity to make it a fun read for readers with iron stomachs.

That said, this is absolutely not for the faint of heart. If you're easily offended, why are you looking at a book by Edward Lee and Wrath James White to begin with? Both are masters of the splatterpunk genre, which has given birth to the "extreme horror" subgenre. This book will gross you out. Even seasoned readers might cringe at some of the acts depicted in THE TERATOLOGIST. They disgust on a moral and visceral level, but isn't that the point?