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Lenard (726 KP) rated Tolkien (2019) in Movies

May 19, 2019  
Tolkien (2019)
Tolkien (2019)
2019 | Biography, Drama
4
5.7 (18 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Tolkien is a biopic of author/professor JRR Tolkien, the writer of The Hobbit and other fantasy novels. The only reason it was greenlit was to ensnare fans of the LOTR. The film opens with Ronald in the trenches of Belgium during WWI suffering from trench fever. He is overcome with a need to find his friend who he learns is nearby and in dire trouble. We then flashback to his country childhood home located in a village reminiscent of The Shire from his novels. His father has died and left the family with little hope of survival. The church has found a new home for the Tolkiens in Lake-town, I mean Birmingham. Soon, his mother is dead, Ronald and his brother become wards of the Catholic Church and are moved into the home of elderly woman who already cares for a young female pianist. Tolkien earns scholarship to a local private school where he accidentally becomes friends with other artistically inclined young men. One of whom, the poet, is secretly in love with Tolkien. Thus, with a kiss, I die in the trenches of Belgium fron poison gas. The whole film spends so much time finding connections to his famous novels, it never really gets to know the writer himself. Plus, Nicholas Hoult does not help much playing the writer like a Hugh Grant rom-com character. He even does the squinting quirk multiple times to romance his boarding house companion.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated The Most Wicked of Sins (Seven Deadly Sins, #2) in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
TM
The Most Wicked of Sins (Seven Deadly Sins, #2)
Kathryn Caskie | 2009
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
While there was nothing about this book that made it special and I found the "Seven Deadly Sins" theme cliche, it was a pleasure to read. This is the kind of romance novel that makes you sigh with happiness when you finish the last page, the type of novel that is truly a delight to fans of romance. The couple doesn't argue the entire time. In fact, the only arguing was the female protagonist's, Ivy's, arguing with herself and her emotions. This is quite refreshing among the endless stream of novels where the couples are always butting heads and arguing to the point that I want to rip my hair out.

The only problem I had was Ivy's behavior. I have read so many historical novels where the women act as free as the women today. It's irritating. If those women really acted that way, then they would be complete outcasts of society no matter what their status or money. I am also sure that the menfolk would simply not allow such behavior.

The male protagonist, Dominic Sheridan, stole my heart away. He was sweet and endearing to Ivy, that it grabbed my heart strings. At first, it was amusing to watch the two's playful banter, and then watch how their behavior changed so subtly when the two began to fall in love. It was cute.

I actually liked the light-hearted feel of this novel so much, I rented the other two currently published.
  
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Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated The Nymphos of Rocky Flats (Felix Gomez, #1) in Books

Mar 1, 2018  
TN
The Nymphos of Rocky Flats (Felix Gomez, #1)
Mario Acevedo | 2006
2
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read several rave reviews about Acevedo's work, so I gave this book a try. One thing in its favor is that it is NOT a romance! Yay!

On the other hand, Felix Gomez is just a little too annoyingly prickly for me to give a damn about him. And the plot? Let's just say that as soon as I learned what "EBE" stood for, any chance of liking the book was gone. Too many clichés! Certain plot points were never adequately explained, leaving holes big enough to drive a semi through without scraping the sides.

I'm taking the other books off my to-read shelf. Life is too short to read boring novels.
  
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Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, #1) in Books

Feb 23, 2018  
First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, #1)
First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, #1)
Jeaniene Frost | 2010
6
9.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Every review I've read has been bad. Honestly, this novel was no better or worse than any of Frost's other books, in my opinions. The main complaint I've seen is that the book isn't about Cat and Bones. Well, their story has pretty much been told in the four Night Huntress novels, and now Frost is moving on to other people in that world.

Given, I was never terribly attached to Cat or Bones, and apparently some fans were. I would advise them to write fan fiction or roleplay or do whatever it is that other obsessive fans do when their favorite authors stop writing about their favorite characters rather than writing negative reviews of Frost's newer fiction because they want it to be more like her older books. (<b>Please</b> note that I have absolutely no idea what Frost's position on such things is, and would strongly recommend querying her or her authorized representative on the matter before acting. Some authors are fine with fanfic/RPing, and some are rabidly against both. I can think of examples who go to extremes each way.)

While Denise never made a big impression on me while reading the NH books, it is nice to find out what happened to her after her husband was slaughtered and her life was screwed up so badly. While minor characters are often affected in Very Bad Ways during the course of paranormal romance novels, we seldom see them getting any kind of compensation. And who could possibly compensate anyone for the loss of a loved one, anyway?

That said, this is not a fantasy novel. Sometimes I waver on how a "paranormal romance" novel should be classified, but that isn't the case here. This is a romance with urban fantasy features tossed in. There's a damsel in distress saved by a hero. There's an obstacle to be overcome before they can be together, blah blah blah. The whole formula is there.

It doesn't suck terribly, but I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already like the setting to some extent. If you truly hate the romance formula, don't bother with this one.