Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Steel (Rent-A-Dragon #1) in Books
May 18, 2020
Kindle
Steel (Rent a dragon book 1)
By Terry Bolryder
A dragon as a handyman? Ridiculous.
At least Liam Steel thinks so. Sure, he and his crew of newly-awakened metal dragons are experts at building things, but after being sunk at the bottom of a frozen ocean, all they want is to find the mates they were sailing in search of in the first place, and Liam isn't sure how that can happen while he's playing in the dirt. Until he meets his first client, a sweet, curvy, no-nonsense business-woman busy taking care of everyone but herself. His heart screams 'mate', and he's ready to get his hands on more than her yard.
Kate Hinton doesn't know what to make of the beefcake Rent-A-Dragon sent over to help with her yard. Impossibly tall with soulful teal eyes, dark hair, and the features of a male model, she's pretty sure he should be walking a runway rather than digging trenches in her yard. And the way he looks at her? Like nothing else matters in the world. But the more she gets to know her kind, friendly, amazingly efficient handyman, the more she is realizing he's not from her world.
He lives in a remodeled castle. He doesn't know certain modern words. And he definitely doesn't understand the rules of modern courtship. But somehow, Kate is finding herself falling in love with this 'dragon' all the same, and finding out there is a whole other world outside her own. One full of secrets, and danger, and maybe even the love of a lifetime.
I’m unsure of where to rate this as on a whole there was nothing bad about the book except the story just very predictable. Saying that though it wasn’t to bad to read and it was a quick read too! I read at the beginning from the author that although it follows on from an earlier series that you wouldn’t have had to have read it, this is a little misleading as I really recommend reading that 1st series! Decent Dragon shifter books are hard to find and I would recommend this one!
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Crazy Rich Asians (2018) in Movies
Aug 23, 2018
Surprisingly, the answer is not just "yes", it's "heck, yes!"
Based on the bestselling book by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians (CRA from hereout) tells the story of Asian-American College Economics Professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) who heads to Singapore for a wedding with her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding) unknowingly heading into the "belly of the beast" of his ultra-rich family and the various relatives, friends and hangers-on who are not shy about letting Rachel know if they approve of her.
This film is being hailed as a landmark in Cinema, for a mainstream movie is filled with nothing by Asian actors and actresses, and it acquits itself nicely not just as a mainstream film filled with Asian actors and actresses, but as a GOOD film regardless of the nationalities of the people portrayed and the actors portraying them.
For the most part, Director Jon M. Chu has crafted a beautiful, funny film that sends a message and brings the viewer into a world that is, heretofore, not seen on the screen. And he brings this to the viewer with a loving eye and deep, soulful heart that shines throughout.
As the lead couple, Wu and Golding are charming, charismatic and VERY GOOD TO LOOK AT, they are an easy pair of people to spend some time with. Most of the other actors on the screen are very well cast and some standouts include Nico Santos as Oliver and good ol' Ken Jeong as Wye Mun Goh.
But it is the work of three very good, very different, but very PROFESSIONAL actresses that caught my eye. The first is Awkwafina (OCEAN'S 8) as an old College roommate of Rachel's who is the funniest thing in the film (think Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids) she brings a much needed level of irreverence to the stodginess of Nick's family. Gemma Chan (TV's HUMANS) carries a good deal of the dramatic and emotional weight of this film as Nick's Sister - a "cool on the outside, emotionally troubled on the inside" soul who steals any scene she is in. I think we have a real star in the making with her.
And then there is Michelle Yeoh (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) as Nick's "Tiger Mom" who disapproves of his girlfriend and her "American ways". She's a traditionalist who gave up quite a bit for her family and expects the same level of familiar commitment from her children. It would be easy to make this character one-dimensional, but in Yeoh's capable hands, it is anything but.
It's not a perfect film - I felt it dragged a bit in the middle - but the beginning and (especially) the last 1/2 hour of this film is funny, poignant and emotional (bring your hankies - you're gonna need them).
Oh...and stay through the first part of the credits, there is a scene about 2 minutes in that sets up the sequel (there are 3 books in this series).
This is a good film for EVERYONE - whether your are a CRA or not!
Letter Grade: A-
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)