Search
Search results
Food Additives 2
Medical and Health & Fitness
App
► Avoid those additives that are potentially dangerous or unsafe to your health & see which ones...
Madhyamam Weekly
News and Magazines & Newspapers
App
Madhyamam is India's first international newspaper-with Gulf Madhyamam, the largest circulated...
Lonely Planet Central Asia
Lonely Planet, Mark Elliott, Bradley Mayhew and Tom Masters
Book
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Central Asia is your...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated What's Done in Darkness: A Novel in Books
Jun 24, 2021
An excellent dark and foreboding mystery
Sarabeth is seventeen when she's held captive for nearly a week and then dumped along the side of the road, bound and blindfolded. She doesn't know who took her, or where. The police doubt her story and her parents do not even report her missing from their rural Arkansas farm . Sarabeth had argued with her religious parents, who insisted she follow their strict rules and marry someone of their choosing. As she returns home and finds her family appalled by her kidnapping, she realizes something good may come from the abduction: she can escape life on the farm for good. Five years later, she's now known as Sara when investigator Nick Farrow asks her to help with the missing persons case of another girl--one incredibly similar to Sara's. Reluctantly, Sara returns home, where she must face her darkest fears (and her family) to assist in bringing this girl home.
"Sarabeth had come to think of her time on the farm as a sentence that she had to serve, one with an end date. Now it seemed like she'd have to plan an escape."
I adore Laura McHugh's writing at this point. She's an excellent writer, and this is a great mystery in her deft hands. The religious, almost cult-like aspect of Sarabeth's family seems extremely timely in this era. We see how they narrow her options, forcing her to choose between her family and her own life. Religion and darkness are major themes in this book, with darkness playing not just in the title but across the entire novel. McHugh weaves it in and out of her story--Sara being afraid of the dark, darkness and shadows lurking at every turn. And it's a dark book to read too, even if it has its light moments. Still there's hope here as well.
I loved how Sara was a complicated heroine, with a complex past and many scars. She reminded me of Joanna Schaffhausen's Ellery Hathaway in that sense--a troubled soul who must overcome her own darkness to try to save others. Her interactions with Nick were an excellent respite, and I certainly could see myself reading about these two again.
"A piece of me was still there in Arkansas, but I was gone. No one in my new life knew who I was, what had happened to me, and I wanted to keep it that way."
The book is atmospheric, sucking us into both the deep religious aspect of the Ozarks and the Arkansas countryside. The Arkansas hills seem to play their own role in the book--another character so to speak. This one kept me guessing and even as I worked out some pieces, there were plenty of twists and turns. It's a fairly quick read, but an excellent one. Certainly recommend to mystery fans and those who enjoy a character-driven read.
"Sarabeth had come to think of her time on the farm as a sentence that she had to serve, one with an end date. Now it seemed like she'd have to plan an escape."
I adore Laura McHugh's writing at this point. She's an excellent writer, and this is a great mystery in her deft hands. The religious, almost cult-like aspect of Sarabeth's family seems extremely timely in this era. We see how they narrow her options, forcing her to choose between her family and her own life. Religion and darkness are major themes in this book, with darkness playing not just in the title but across the entire novel. McHugh weaves it in and out of her story--Sara being afraid of the dark, darkness and shadows lurking at every turn. And it's a dark book to read too, even if it has its light moments. Still there's hope here as well.
I loved how Sara was a complicated heroine, with a complex past and many scars. She reminded me of Joanna Schaffhausen's Ellery Hathaway in that sense--a troubled soul who must overcome her own darkness to try to save others. Her interactions with Nick were an excellent respite, and I certainly could see myself reading about these two again.
"A piece of me was still there in Arkansas, but I was gone. No one in my new life knew who I was, what had happened to me, and I wanted to keep it that way."
The book is atmospheric, sucking us into both the deep religious aspect of the Ozarks and the Arkansas countryside. The Arkansas hills seem to play their own role in the book--another character so to speak. This one kept me guessing and even as I worked out some pieces, there were plenty of twists and turns. It's a fairly quick read, but an excellent one. Certainly recommend to mystery fans and those who enjoy a character-driven read.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated A Spark Of Light in Books
Sep 24, 2020
Wow, this book does have a good punch to throw, and I absolutely loved it. The main topic discussed in this book – abortions. This book tells multiple stories from multiple perspectives. One of few abortion clinics in Mississippi has a man entering the clinic, who starts shooting, remaining alive are being kept as hostages. Jodi tells the stories of everybody inside, plus few extra characters, who are very related to the story itself.
This book has a very wide and diverse variety of characters, and they all have an amazing story to tell. I really liked all the characters, I think they were very well developed and incredibly gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed their stories and all the emotions which they brought to this book. I really liked, that the characters kept travelling back to when they were little, that allowed me to connect with the characters even more, and I loved to see what were their values in life, or how life shaped them to be the people they were now.
The narrative was incredibly indulging, and I always wanted to find out, what is going to happen next. The book is written backwards, and even though it was a unique experience and it made perfect sense while reading, I am not sure I really liked this type of writing. I did find it confusing sometimes because there were quite a lot of characters, and their stories kind of mixed up for me sometimes. There were plenty of important topics discussed in this novel, such as single parenthood, father’s love for their daughters, abortions, religion, teenage pregnancies, rapes and many more. One thing for sure, the research was done for this book was impeccable. You can feel the real stories breathing through the experiences of the characters, and it really got me thinking. I wasn’t expecting any twists in this story to be honest, but I can promise you, this book brings some very unexpected turns and surprises. 🙂
Jodi’s writing style is absolutely incredible, she delivered such a sensitive topic while stating facts and points of view but not being judgmental. She states pro-choice point of view as well as pro-life and allows the reader to make a decision. The chapters were quite long, but they were divided into small parts, so it did not drag for me at all, and it was quite a page-turner. I really liked how the book ended, I think it rounded up the story very nicely. So, to conclude, this book is very powerful and deep, but at the same time and incredibly interesting read. It does require an open mind and ability to look at the things from different angles. I do think this book is a brilliant read, with amazingly crafted characters and very absorbing plot, and I do strongly recommend to read it.
This book has a very wide and diverse variety of characters, and they all have an amazing story to tell. I really liked all the characters, I think they were very well developed and incredibly gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed their stories and all the emotions which they brought to this book. I really liked, that the characters kept travelling back to when they were little, that allowed me to connect with the characters even more, and I loved to see what were their values in life, or how life shaped them to be the people they were now.
The narrative was incredibly indulging, and I always wanted to find out, what is going to happen next. The book is written backwards, and even though it was a unique experience and it made perfect sense while reading, I am not sure I really liked this type of writing. I did find it confusing sometimes because there were quite a lot of characters, and their stories kind of mixed up for me sometimes. There were plenty of important topics discussed in this novel, such as single parenthood, father’s love for their daughters, abortions, religion, teenage pregnancies, rapes and many more. One thing for sure, the research was done for this book was impeccable. You can feel the real stories breathing through the experiences of the characters, and it really got me thinking. I wasn’t expecting any twists in this story to be honest, but I can promise you, this book brings some very unexpected turns and surprises. 🙂
Jodi’s writing style is absolutely incredible, she delivered such a sensitive topic while stating facts and points of view but not being judgmental. She states pro-choice point of view as well as pro-life and allows the reader to make a decision. The chapters were quite long, but they were divided into small parts, so it did not drag for me at all, and it was quite a page-turner. I really liked how the book ended, I think it rounded up the story very nicely. So, to conclude, this book is very powerful and deep, but at the same time and incredibly interesting read. It does require an open mind and ability to look at the things from different angles. I do think this book is a brilliant read, with amazingly crafted characters and very absorbing plot, and I do strongly recommend to read it.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Turbulence (The Wanderer #1) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This book is really different from what I would normally read, and I think it’s one of those “either you love it or hate it” books and it definitely should not be judged by its cover. (I think it doesn’t really represent the book and it looks very cold) I read it in one day because to me it was awesome. This book is a collection of twelve trips between different destinations and every story talks about his encounters with women. The main character is an archaeologist and this journey starts when he was 22 years old. He doesn’t have a name or an obvious background story, but the reader can get a lot of snippets of his life through the stories. Everything, from appearance, careers even destinations suggests this book to be somehow directly related to the author himself. Was it real encounters or fictional? That’s what left me very intrigued.
I don’t normally like philosophical reads, but in this one, author disguised and blended in these parts very creatively. I do love to learn new things and facts, especially if it is related to history, and for me, all these parts were an absolute joy to read. I really loved different settings chosen for this novel as well, as I got a glimpse of different cultures and different countries. I really liked that author chose different story variations in this book, sometimes he used to get lucky with the women he met and sometimes he missed the chance or chose not to get involved. It was refreshing and very believable changes of course and I was very interested of what the next story will bring. My absolute favourite was the religious discussions. I think the author will make many Christians unhappy, but I loved all the supporting historical facts he mentioned in this book regarding religion. I don’t even have to mention any research for this book, the author has a PhD degree in history/archaeology so I trust all the information he provided. :)
The writing style of this novel is very poetic and absolutely beautiful. B. McLaren has an amazing way of portraying different topics and uniting them all in a wonderfully flowing story. I do have to throw in a disclaimer that there are some discussion and scenes regarding sex and alcohol, so this book is not suitable for young readers. The chapters were quite long for my liking, but they passed quite quickly because I used to get very absorbed in the story itself. I liked how the author decided to end this story and I think it rounded up this book well. So, to conclude, I had a great fun reading this funny, philosophical one man’s journey through life and his encounters with different women all over the world. I learned a lot, so if you like history, travelling and a little bit of philosophical discussion I think you will enjoy this book :)
I don’t normally like philosophical reads, but in this one, author disguised and blended in these parts very creatively. I do love to learn new things and facts, especially if it is related to history, and for me, all these parts were an absolute joy to read. I really loved different settings chosen for this novel as well, as I got a glimpse of different cultures and different countries. I really liked that author chose different story variations in this book, sometimes he used to get lucky with the women he met and sometimes he missed the chance or chose not to get involved. It was refreshing and very believable changes of course and I was very interested of what the next story will bring. My absolute favourite was the religious discussions. I think the author will make many Christians unhappy, but I loved all the supporting historical facts he mentioned in this book regarding religion. I don’t even have to mention any research for this book, the author has a PhD degree in history/archaeology so I trust all the information he provided. :)
The writing style of this novel is very poetic and absolutely beautiful. B. McLaren has an amazing way of portraying different topics and uniting them all in a wonderfully flowing story. I do have to throw in a disclaimer that there are some discussion and scenes regarding sex and alcohol, so this book is not suitable for young readers. The chapters were quite long for my liking, but they passed quite quickly because I used to get very absorbed in the story itself. I liked how the author decided to end this story and I think it rounded up this book well. So, to conclude, I had a great fun reading this funny, philosophical one man’s journey through life and his encounters with different women all over the world. I learned a lot, so if you like history, travelling and a little bit of philosophical discussion I think you will enjoy this book :)
Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated Level Up (Reigns Brothers #2) in Books
Jul 15, 2022
its sweet and delicious and all kinds of warm and fuzzies!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is the second book in the Reigns Brothers series and it can be read as a stand alone book. However, personally, to get the full force that is Chad's dad and the one that is Ducky's brother, I recommend you read Secret and then Breakaway before this one. It will give you context to some things that are referenced here.
Gotta be honest here, cos reviewing is all about being honest. I went into this with a bit of hesitation. I was . . .disappointed I think is the best word . . in a follow up book by another Alexander and I didn't want to be let down again. However, I need not have worried.
Because this?? Bloody LOVED this!!
It's delicious and sweet and all kinds of warm and fuzzies that just blew my socks off!
Chad has lusted over his best friend for years, but never MET Ducky face to face. When Ducky ghosts Chad, he takes matters into his own hands. What follows is a wonderful tale of seeing what's right in front of you, and taking it.
Both young men are struggling with their place in their respective worlds. Neither mentioned it to the other, or they might not have struggled so much. And it takes a trip to Hawaii for them to find themselves.
There are some issues along the way, but these are not of the guys making, more the bane of our modern life that is social media and the general angst level is low, which I needed right now.
I loved that I was made to wait a long ass time for the guys to finally, FINALLY see each other in the way they did, and while that scene is smoking hawt, the smexy level is lower than other books by Alexander. Again, I loved that!
I loved that Dallas and Greer (Breakaway) and Tristan and Dylan (Secret) play a huge part here. It was great to catch up with them. Tristan has taken to his step dad role brilliantly!
I mentioned in my review for Breakaway that mum to Dallas and Ducky does something amazing, but thinking about it, she isn't mentioned here. Neither is dad. Eldest brother Donny is, though, and he's spouting his vitriol now that he's found 'religion'.
But it makes me wonder. This is the Reigns brothers series, and there are 3 brothers. So, will Donny see the error of his ways, and get a book? That would be an interesting read, for sure, given how he's acted with Dallas and Ducky coming out.
An absolutely wonderful follow up to Breakaway, and I loved it, and as such, it can only get. . . .
5 full and shiny stars.
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is the second book in the Reigns Brothers series and it can be read as a stand alone book. However, personally, to get the full force that is Chad's dad and the one that is Ducky's brother, I recommend you read Secret and then Breakaway before this one. It will give you context to some things that are referenced here.
Gotta be honest here, cos reviewing is all about being honest. I went into this with a bit of hesitation. I was . . .disappointed I think is the best word . . in a follow up book by another Alexander and I didn't want to be let down again. However, I need not have worried.
Because this?? Bloody LOVED this!!
It's delicious and sweet and all kinds of warm and fuzzies that just blew my socks off!
Chad has lusted over his best friend for years, but never MET Ducky face to face. When Ducky ghosts Chad, he takes matters into his own hands. What follows is a wonderful tale of seeing what's right in front of you, and taking it.
Both young men are struggling with their place in their respective worlds. Neither mentioned it to the other, or they might not have struggled so much. And it takes a trip to Hawaii for them to find themselves.
There are some issues along the way, but these are not of the guys making, more the bane of our modern life that is social media and the general angst level is low, which I needed right now.
I loved that I was made to wait a long ass time for the guys to finally, FINALLY see each other in the way they did, and while that scene is smoking hawt, the smexy level is lower than other books by Alexander. Again, I loved that!
I loved that Dallas and Greer (Breakaway) and Tristan and Dylan (Secret) play a huge part here. It was great to catch up with them. Tristan has taken to his step dad role brilliantly!
I mentioned in my review for Breakaway that mum to Dallas and Ducky does something amazing, but thinking about it, she isn't mentioned here. Neither is dad. Eldest brother Donny is, though, and he's spouting his vitriol now that he's found 'religion'.
But it makes me wonder. This is the Reigns brothers series, and there are 3 brothers. So, will Donny see the error of his ways, and get a book? That would be an interesting read, for sure, given how he's acted with Dallas and Ducky coming out.
An absolutely wonderful follow up to Breakaway, and I loved it, and as such, it can only get. . . .
5 full and shiny stars.
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Sausage Party (2016) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Utterly Ridiculous
Just when Sharknado: the 4th Awakens made you think film-making couldn’t get any more ridiculous, a movie like Sausage Party comes along to remind you that Hollywood can always go that one step further to mind-boggling peculiarity.
Of course, that’s not always a bad thing, there have been countless weird and wacky films over the years that have gone on to become cult classics – look at Kick-Ass or even Pulp Fiction for examples of that. But for every Pulp Fiction there’s a Sharknado. So is Sausage Party good weird or as stale as a month-old bagel?
From the mind of Seth Rogen, Sausage Party is a strictly adults only animation that combines hugely offensive language and racial stereotypes with surprisingly meaningful religious undertones. And do you know what? It’s a breath of fresh air.
Life is good for all the food items that occupy the shelves at the local supermarket. Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) can’t wait to go home with a happy customer. Soon, their world comes crashing down as poor Frank learns the horrifying truth that he will eventually become a meal. After warning his pals about their similar fate, the panicked perishables devise a plan to escape from their human enemies.
Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan take Rogen’s intriguing premise and inject a warmly familiar animation style, distancing itself just enough to make any comparisons simply inconceivable. Sausage Party is like nothing you will have ever seen.
The voice-acting is great too. Rogen plays his usual film staple – in sausage form – with the spicy Salma Hayek outdoing everyone else as a lustful taco. Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill also lend their familiar voices to a hot-dog bun, a bottle of spirit and two other frankfurters respectively.
Elsewhere, the comedy, for the most part, hits the spot. As dreadful as it sounds, the racial stereotyping works incredibly well in food form. British tea, Mexican taco shells and German sauerkraut will have you rolling about the aisles with their outrageous vulgarity, but everyone needs to release their inner teenager once in a while.
Unfortunately, the films standout sequence has already been shown in the trailer – a side-splitting food-eye view of a normal kitchen, before every edible item is butchered; that poor Irish potato didn’t stand a chance. This is a real shame as the rest of the film doesn’t quite match up to the standard of that scene.
Nevertheless, there’ll be chuckles throughout as numerous celebrities are parodied in food form. One in particular, immortalised in chewing gum, is incredibly well thought out.
And that’s where Sausage Party succeeds the most. Underneath the polished animation and crude humour, this film is actually kind of clever. It tackles religion, war, race, sexuality and food waste very well indeed and that’s something the genre doesn’t ask for. It’s just unfortunate that it’s not quite as funny as the trailer would have you believe.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/09/03/utterly-ridiculous-sausage-party-review/
Of course, that’s not always a bad thing, there have been countless weird and wacky films over the years that have gone on to become cult classics – look at Kick-Ass or even Pulp Fiction for examples of that. But for every Pulp Fiction there’s a Sharknado. So is Sausage Party good weird or as stale as a month-old bagel?
From the mind of Seth Rogen, Sausage Party is a strictly adults only animation that combines hugely offensive language and racial stereotypes with surprisingly meaningful religious undertones. And do you know what? It’s a breath of fresh air.
Life is good for all the food items that occupy the shelves at the local supermarket. Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) can’t wait to go home with a happy customer. Soon, their world comes crashing down as poor Frank learns the horrifying truth that he will eventually become a meal. After warning his pals about their similar fate, the panicked perishables devise a plan to escape from their human enemies.
Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan take Rogen’s intriguing premise and inject a warmly familiar animation style, distancing itself just enough to make any comparisons simply inconceivable. Sausage Party is like nothing you will have ever seen.
The voice-acting is great too. Rogen plays his usual film staple – in sausage form – with the spicy Salma Hayek outdoing everyone else as a lustful taco. Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill also lend their familiar voices to a hot-dog bun, a bottle of spirit and two other frankfurters respectively.
Elsewhere, the comedy, for the most part, hits the spot. As dreadful as it sounds, the racial stereotyping works incredibly well in food form. British tea, Mexican taco shells and German sauerkraut will have you rolling about the aisles with their outrageous vulgarity, but everyone needs to release their inner teenager once in a while.
Unfortunately, the films standout sequence has already been shown in the trailer – a side-splitting food-eye view of a normal kitchen, before every edible item is butchered; that poor Irish potato didn’t stand a chance. This is a real shame as the rest of the film doesn’t quite match up to the standard of that scene.
Nevertheless, there’ll be chuckles throughout as numerous celebrities are parodied in food form. One in particular, immortalised in chewing gum, is incredibly well thought out.
And that’s where Sausage Party succeeds the most. Underneath the polished animation and crude humour, this film is actually kind of clever. It tackles religion, war, race, sexuality and food waste very well indeed and that’s something the genre doesn’t ask for. It’s just unfortunate that it’s not quite as funny as the trailer would have you believe.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/09/03/utterly-ridiculous-sausage-party-review/
Maddi Zoe (6 KP) rated MANIA by Fall Out Boy in Music
Feb 8, 2018
feet-tapping tunes (1 more)
light and dark
Fresh new sound, still Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy return with their seventh studio album titled 'Mania', which continues to explore their heavy alternative rock sound.
Mania is very similar in sound to Fall Out Boy's previous album from 2015 'American Beauty/American Psycho'. It's a far cry from where they first began with hits such as 'Sugar We're Goin' Down' and 'Dance, Dance'. Although it was classic rock hits such as 'I Don't Care' that brought them out into the spotlight in the first place. But you can clearly see the evolution of their music through each and every album.
They started to turn to heavier rock in their stand out album, 'Save Rock and Roll' in 2013, and continued to explore this style through to their 2015 album. Mania follows again follows this same successful recipe. But it's still fresh, with Pete Wentz describing it as a 'palette cleanse'.
You can tell that Fall Out Boy are passionate about their music. It's taken two years to get this album to a point where they felt happy with the finished product. Patrick Stump and the band started writing the new album during their 2016 tour, and it was originally scheduled for release in September last year. The release was delayed because they felt it was 'too rushed' and they didn't want to give fans something they felt was 'sub-par'.
The lyrics are, as usual, clever and intricate. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into writing all of these songs. Some songs do again hint towards religion, such as 'Church' and 'Heaven's Gate'. This is becoming a common theme for the band, yet they maintain their heavy ego pop musicality. Fans of the band may also know it is common for the lyrics to sometimes reference other artists or the music industry in general. Anyone with a keen ear will notice the Britney Spears references in 'Young and Menace'.
Stump's voice. It is outstanding. This new album is no different. It is something that makes Fall Out Boy stand out among other bands. It is so crucial, especially in recent years, and Fall Out Boy continue to distance themselves away from bog-standard guitar solos. More often than not they have a bridge that is different to the rest of the song. This gives them more time to show off Stump's incredible and unique voice.
While the album is heavier than the majority of their music, some tracks such as 'Hold Me Tight or Don't', which are a bit lighter, and hint back to their 'old style'. Yet they continue to remain completely fresh. Whilst tracks such as 'Young and Menace' and 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' almost have a dubstep/dance vibe to them.
All ten tracks on the new album are completely different from one another other. There is something for everyone. It is combines the 'old' Fall Out Boy which we first fell in love with and the 'newer, even fresher' Fall Out Boy. It is yet again, another outstanding album from the band.
Mania is very similar in sound to Fall Out Boy's previous album from 2015 'American Beauty/American Psycho'. It's a far cry from where they first began with hits such as 'Sugar We're Goin' Down' and 'Dance, Dance'. Although it was classic rock hits such as 'I Don't Care' that brought them out into the spotlight in the first place. But you can clearly see the evolution of their music through each and every album.
They started to turn to heavier rock in their stand out album, 'Save Rock and Roll' in 2013, and continued to explore this style through to their 2015 album. Mania follows again follows this same successful recipe. But it's still fresh, with Pete Wentz describing it as a 'palette cleanse'.
You can tell that Fall Out Boy are passionate about their music. It's taken two years to get this album to a point where they felt happy with the finished product. Patrick Stump and the band started writing the new album during their 2016 tour, and it was originally scheduled for release in September last year. The release was delayed because they felt it was 'too rushed' and they didn't want to give fans something they felt was 'sub-par'.
The lyrics are, as usual, clever and intricate. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into writing all of these songs. Some songs do again hint towards religion, such as 'Church' and 'Heaven's Gate'. This is becoming a common theme for the band, yet they maintain their heavy ego pop musicality. Fans of the band may also know it is common for the lyrics to sometimes reference other artists or the music industry in general. Anyone with a keen ear will notice the Britney Spears references in 'Young and Menace'.
Stump's voice. It is outstanding. This new album is no different. It is something that makes Fall Out Boy stand out among other bands. It is so crucial, especially in recent years, and Fall Out Boy continue to distance themselves away from bog-standard guitar solos. More often than not they have a bridge that is different to the rest of the song. This gives them more time to show off Stump's incredible and unique voice.
While the album is heavier than the majority of their music, some tracks such as 'Hold Me Tight or Don't', which are a bit lighter, and hint back to their 'old style'. Yet they continue to remain completely fresh. Whilst tracks such as 'Young and Menace' and 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' almost have a dubstep/dance vibe to them.
All ten tracks on the new album are completely different from one another other. There is something for everyone. It is combines the 'old' Fall Out Boy which we first fell in love with and the 'newer, even fresher' Fall Out Boy. It is yet again, another outstanding album from the band.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1 in Books
Feb 18, 2018
Fantastic debut novel
Have you ever reached the end of a book and yelled "NOOOOO!!!"? Because I just did. Children of Blood and Bone ends on a HUGE cliffhanger, and I'm even more upset about that than I would be normally - I got this book as an advanced reader's copy through Goodreads. So not only do I have to wait for the sequel to come out, THIS BOOK ISN'T EVEN OUT YET. *screams internally*
That massive frustration aside, I LOVED THIS BOOK. African-inspired fantasy novels are starting to crop up, along with other non-European based fantasy, and I'm loving it. (You can find Russian inspired fantasy that I've read previously here and here, and Jewish/Arab fantasy here.) Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American author, and this is her debut novel. It definitely shows some hallmarks of a debut novel - the dialogue is a bit stilted in places, and it's a little bit formulaic - but the world building is excellent.
Children of Blood and Bone is a story of oppression, and the sparks of a rebellion. I assume the rest of the trilogy will deal with the actual rebellion, but given the cliffhanger it ends on, I'm not actually sure of that. When Zélie, the main character, was very young, magic failed, and the king, who was afraid of maji, took the opportunity to kill every maji in his kingdom before they could find a way to regain their powers. Since then, every person who could have become a maji as they grew (they're marked by their white hair) has been treated as a second-class citizen. They're forced into slums, used as slave labor, kicked around by nobility and guards, made to pay higher taxes, and forbidden to breed with the other classes. They don't have magic - and they have no way to get it - but they're treated as trash by the king that hates them, and accordingly by the rest of his subjects.
At the beginning of the book, a magical artifact resurfaces that restores magic to any diviner (potential maji) that touches it. This, of course, is not okay with the king, and most of the book is about the race to use the magical artifact while being chased by the king's son and his guards who are trying to destroy it. The conflicted prince has secrets of his own, though, and as the book weaves through jungles, mountains, and seas, he wavers in his mission.
It's always difficult to review books without giving too much away about the plot, so I won't say much more about the events. I really enjoyed that they rode giant cats - leopanaires. Zélie and her allies ride a lion leopanaire, which is apparently somewhat unusual. Most of the guards ride leopards or cheetahs, while the royal family rides snow leopanaires. The magic is unique, the gods and religion are beautifully fleshed out, and overall I just really loved this world, and I'm very sad it will be so long before I can dive back into it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
That massive frustration aside, I LOVED THIS BOOK. African-inspired fantasy novels are starting to crop up, along with other non-European based fantasy, and I'm loving it. (You can find Russian inspired fantasy that I've read previously here and here, and Jewish/Arab fantasy here.) Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American author, and this is her debut novel. It definitely shows some hallmarks of a debut novel - the dialogue is a bit stilted in places, and it's a little bit formulaic - but the world building is excellent.
Children of Blood and Bone is a story of oppression, and the sparks of a rebellion. I assume the rest of the trilogy will deal with the actual rebellion, but given the cliffhanger it ends on, I'm not actually sure of that. When Zélie, the main character, was very young, magic failed, and the king, who was afraid of maji, took the opportunity to kill every maji in his kingdom before they could find a way to regain their powers. Since then, every person who could have become a maji as they grew (they're marked by their white hair) has been treated as a second-class citizen. They're forced into slums, used as slave labor, kicked around by nobility and guards, made to pay higher taxes, and forbidden to breed with the other classes. They don't have magic - and they have no way to get it - but they're treated as trash by the king that hates them, and accordingly by the rest of his subjects.
At the beginning of the book, a magical artifact resurfaces that restores magic to any diviner (potential maji) that touches it. This, of course, is not okay with the king, and most of the book is about the race to use the magical artifact while being chased by the king's son and his guards who are trying to destroy it. The conflicted prince has secrets of his own, though, and as the book weaves through jungles, mountains, and seas, he wavers in his mission.
It's always difficult to review books without giving too much away about the plot, so I won't say much more about the events. I really enjoyed that they rode giant cats - leopanaires. Zélie and her allies ride a lion leopanaire, which is apparently somewhat unusual. Most of the guards ride leopards or cheetahs, while the royal family rides snow leopanaires. The magic is unique, the gods and religion are beautifully fleshed out, and overall I just really loved this world, and I'm very sad it will be so long before I can dive back into it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com