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Kitty Takes a Holiday ( Kitty Norville book 3)
By Carrie Vaughn

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

After getting caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs. But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind, and instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O'Farrell, Kitty's lawyer, slung over his shoulder, and a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing around the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of these woods alive...


Another brilliant and interesting instalment from Kitty Norville I love this series. We see Kittt taking a break dealing with with some person issues, taking care of a friend helps her do this. These books are just so easy to read and never disappoint.
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Monsters good. Humans bad.
I just read a lot of reviews on Smashbomb for this and would have to agree with most that I enjoyed the monsters in all their various shapes and sizes, especially if you have been a fan seeing the familiar ones you have known and loved.

I don't feel the need to post a plot summary for a film which already has so many Smashbomb reviews.

I seemed to recall a similar feeling in watching the original Independence Day in 1996. The idea was amazing, but the dialogue and corny characters were a distraction. In the case of Godzilla King of the Monsters, the dysfunctional family dynamic was annoying and poorly written pretty much from the start and did not get any better as the film progressed. The teenage character was used way too often and the plot relied way too much on her involvement almost to the point of hilarity. Like this teenager is going to be the cause of the death of all life on Earth or its salvation. Give me a break.

When Godzilla was punishing one of its titanic foes with a menacing smack down or fiery blast of epic proportions was when the film worked best. Having said that, it would've been cooler to see more monster wars in better lighting instead of always at night, in the clouds or while it was raining. I liked the explanations of the origins of the creatures and how one of them was different than the rest which helped explain the far fetched plot.

The run time also did seem a bit long as the story dragged in the middle somewhat while everyone was waiting for the next titan brawl to occur. I was not bored while watching, but it seemed roundabout at times getting to the inevitable conclusion. I'm sure everyone knows by now the eventual goal was to set up the final confrontation between Godzilla and Kong which should be awesome as long as they don't let too many stupid humans with bad dialogue get in the way!

  
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories
B.J. Novak | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Funny (at parts) (1 more)
Some stories provoked good thought.
Most stories were out of place, long, and really hard to get through. (0 more)
It took me almost four months to read and it wasn’t even 300 pages.
“I have been reading this damn book off and on since October of 2018. I honestly really struggled with it. I honestly only bought it and started reading it because it was written by @picturesoftext and I was REALLY curious to read some of his work. Some of the stories were actually really cute, or funny, or thought-inducing. However, a lot of it was filled with weird stories that I didn’t quite understand (though I’m sure that’s the point). I would have enjoyed it more if some parts of the separate stories intersected or crossed over. Anyways, this is definitely the kind of book that I could have seen BJ’s character on The Office writing while at his temp desk! .
.
I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads, and be sure to look out for my review of it tomorrow on Smashbomb!”

-From my bookstagram account, @rorythereader
  
A Star Is Born Soundtrack by Lady Gaga
A Star Is Born Soundtrack by Lady Gaga
2018 | Soundtrack
I was recently lucky enough to win this CD in a Smashbomb giveaway, so here's my review!

If you'd read my review of the movie back in October, you'll know that I found it to be one of this years big disappointments (sorry!). For me, the first half was an 8/10, the second half a 4/10, so I ended up giving it a 6 overall. That being said, the best thing about the movie, and the thing that remains consistent throughout, is the music. By now you'll have probably heard Shallow thousands of times by now as it gathers frequent radio plays, and the Oscars are sure to follow. But there are so many other great songs, and it's great to be able to have all of them collected together as Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga both have incredible voices. With accompanying dialogue in-between tracks, it's like having all of the best bits from the movie, without all the boring stuff that starts dragging it down.
  
Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, #1)
Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, #1)
Jack Campbell | 2006 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not my cup of tea
I got this book through a Smashbomb Christmas, and it's a lot different from what I would normally read. The story follows caption John Geary as he attempts to get his fleet of space ships back home.
I did enjoy most of the characters in the book, and Geary was a great MC. He spends the majority of the story just trying to make the most out of a situation he was thrown into.
My least favorite part of this book was the extremely long chapters. I prefer short chapters and segments so I have plenty of opportunities to stop while reading. This book has 293 pages, but only 11 chapters. At times I had to stop reading mid chapter, and for me personally that really takes away from the experience.
I enjoyed having the opportunity to read something a little out of my comfort zone, but I will not be picking up the rest of the series. I would however suggest this to anyone who is interested in space adventures.
  
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Bird (1700 KP) created a post in Smashbomb Council

Nov 19, 2019  
LISTS: PERSONAL VS PUBLIC

FEEDBACK REQUIRED: how interesting/valuable is the current lists page? Should it be the domain of 'pure' public-interest lists only?

DETAILS:
We are assessing the lists that currently appear on the public LISTS page. We have taken the view that the lists there may have to be assessed with all lists that aren't necessarily of public interest moved back to a non-shared status (so they don't appear on the public LISTS page).

For example, do other people really want to see another users 'books I've read this year' list? Would appreciate your feedback on this!

The workflow for this would be:

1. Advise all users to adjust the status of their lists from 'shared to the public lists page' to 'probably not, but let others see it' if they perceive them to be personal lists.

2. Then, we will assess the shared lists and force the status of any that we receive not to be of public value.

Would appreciate feedback from the Smashbomb Council prior to action being taken... 🙂
  
Show all 5 comments.
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Andy K (10821 KP) Nov 19, 2019

I would create fun lists more often if they didn't get buried within all the read and watched lists. I don't think those are relevant to everyone.

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Merissa (12051 KP) Nov 20, 2019

To be honest, I tend not to even notice the lists. And I've only made one myself, which I forget about more often than not. Sorry!

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Lee (2222 KP) created a post

Nov 20, 2019 (Updated Nov 20, 2019)  
There have been a few posts on here about favourite/greatest Christmas movies and it's one of those topics that is always hotly debated. So... I decided to create 'The Smashbomb Greatest Movie of 2019' competition! 50 movies (apologies if your favourite didn't make the cut), split into 2 groups. In the coming weeks leading up to Christmas I will run a poll for each block of 5 so that you can vote for your favourite, with the top 2 from each block moving onto the next round. At that point, each group will have 10 movies in the next round and there will then be a poll to cover each block of 5. The top 3 from each group will then move onto the final deciding poll! The attached image will (hopefully) explain the process a bit better and if this isn't easily readable then I will put a hi-res version online, updated regularly as the competition progresses. The first poll will be up on here shortly - I look forward to seeing what the definitive best Christmas movie is!
     
Show all 16 comments.
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Nov 27, 2019

Hee @Lee i was going to send you a message about the horror bracket next year, but it wont let me click on your name.

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Lee (2222 KP) Nov 27, 2019

Hi, have just messaged you

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
2018 | Family
Acting (1 more)
Animation
Story (1 more)
Music
Unfortunately, I appear to have outgrown poor Mary...
Unfortunately, after wearing out my video of the original Mary Poppins, recorded off of the TV in 1996, I have outgrown Mary Poppins, and unfortunately did not enjoy Mary Poppins or Mary Poppins Returns.

But that is not to say they aren't excellent movies for kids! For kids, both movies are practically perfect in every way, practically because the endless music will likely drive parents to despair as it did with me.

But it did have its redeeming features, I was dubious about a sequel to Mary Poppins after so many years with a new younger actress. But Emily Blunt fills the role perfectly, and gives a pleasant surprise!

Another plus is good old fashioned animation, similar to the original, a mix of animation and real life reminiscent of the original, and other classics such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Pete's Dragon.

So overall, come for the nostalgia, leave when the music starts.

P.S. Thank you Smashbomb for the DVD, I apologise for the delay in the review! :)
  
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BookwormLea (3034 KP) rated My Lovely Wife in Books

Jun 18, 2020 (Updated Jun 18, 2020)  
My Lovely Wife
My Lovely Wife
Samantha Downing | 2019 | Thriller
7
8.2 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
I wouldn't say I loved this book but it is definitely a fantastic thriller. It's full of twists and is a rollercoaster of emotions the whole way through. The reason I say I didn't love it is simply because I had an idea of the big twist soon into the book but that may be because I read a lot of thriller books and enjoy puzzles.
There is also no real explanation into their decision to become homicidal weirdos disguised as a regular married couple.
However, I did enjoy reading it. I still found myself hanging onto every word, holding my breath trying to guess what was happening next. There is many twists throughout the book that I didn't see coming aswell. I couldn't put it down!!! Despite knowing I should give myself a break to collect my thoughts and calm my nerves.
It was very well written and I will be buying her new book which I believe was released last week! Thank you Smashbomb for the giveaway and allowing me to find this hidden gem!
  
The Square (2017)
The Square (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Drama, International
Another of those occasions where the Smashbomb rating scale falls a little short: 'shoddy' isn't how I'd describe this film as much as fundamentally somewhat misconceived. Anyway: award-winning satire of liberal pretensions and angst set in and around a Stockholm art gallery. Curator Christian gets mugged, leading him to make some very poor decisions; various installations and performances go horribly wrong; the gulf between the high-minded aspirations of the museum's patrons and their actual behaviour is repeatedly exposed.

The odd quite funny and on-point scene, but it doesn't half labour its points and at nearly two and half hours it feels much too long (I watched it in installments, which I never normally do). Bang is pretty good in the central role and the thesis of the film is certainly relevent to the modern world, but it could have been funnier, sharper, and less irritatingly weird in places. As it is, this is a film satirising pretentiousness which actually feels rather pretentious itself - so not a great look. Hard work, if you ask me,