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The Wicked Cometh
The Wicked Cometh
Laura Carlin | 2018 | Mystery, Romance
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely loved the cover of this book, it looks very sophisticated and truly beautiful. The main character in this novel is Hester White. A young lady who was forced to live in slums of London after her parent’s death. Because of a lucky accident, she ended up in a house, which belongs to a rich, Brock family. There she meets Rebekah, and after spending some time together, Hester starts having lesbian feelings towards her mistress. Together they start investigating why a lot of people mysteriously disappear in London. This is a second book where I meet a character named Hester who is smitten by her mistress and I have no idea why authors make Hesters lesbians…

I really liked the wide variety of characters in this novel, they all had different and very unique personalities, and I really liked how L. Carlin matched and balanced them all. The whole story was told from Hester’s perspective, and for me it was fully sufficient to enjoy it. I really liked Hester in this book, but sometimes her fantasies left me bored, because I really wanted to know what will happen next in the book, and all those fantasies felt like a drag.

I absolutely loved the setting of this novel. It was very interesting to read about these two opposite worlds of rich and poor. I was fascinated by the way author described London and it’s surroundings. I really liked the way L. Carlin combined romance and crime in this novel. In my opinion, it gave richness to the story. The investigation really absorbed me and I was struck by their findings. I liked all the twists and turns which author had to offer and they made me quite glued to the book.

The writing style of this novel was remarkable. I think, if the author can write a good book, he/she is gifted, but if the author can write a good book using old, classical writing style, they are bloody fantastic. 😀 For me, it seemed, that I am reading something, that was written in 1800ies and to understand that the person who wrote it is still alive, it simply blows my mind. Some of the words used in this book, I had to look up in a dictionary, because I haven’t heard them before. :0 I loved the way author ended this book, it has given a fair closure to this story and left me deeply satisfied with it. So, to conclude, I really enjoyed this dark and intriguing story, filled with diverse characters and very absorbing and constantly changing plot. It has great multiple stories to follow and I do recommend to give this book a try.
  
Love And Friendship (2016)
Love And Friendship (2016)
2016 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Beckinsale excels in a comic tale of Girl Power in the 1790’s.
Set in 1790, Kate Beckinsale plays Lady Susan Vernon, an 18th century cuckoo-like ‘MILF’ (actually, more ‘LILF’, but using the ‘Lady’ term loosely) who with her glamourous demeanor is lusted after by both younger beaus as well as married aristocracy: an example being Lord Manwaring (Lochlann O’Mearáin).

Playing many different ends against the middle, Lady Susan – with the collusion of her American friend Alicia (Chloë Sevigny) – attempts to both find a suitably rich suitor for her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) as well as finding a rich husband for herself to allow her to stay in the manor (sic) to which she has become accustomed. A tale of deception, pregnancy and a marriage of convenience follows: does Lady Susan have to choose between her sexual desires and the rich, stupid and dull Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett, “David Brent: Life on the Road”). Or can she have her cake and eat it?

Based on a Jane Austen short story, “Lady Susan”, this is a delight from beginning to end. However, it does require the attention of the viewer: characters get introduced to you in rapid fire succession, and keeping track of who’s who and how they interrelate is quite a challenge.

But this is a tour de force for Kate “Underworld” Beckinsale who delivers a depth of acting ability that I’ve not seen from her in the past. Her comic timing is just sublime, and while comedies are often overlooked in Awards season, this is a role for which she richly deserves both BAFTA and Oscar recognition.

Stephen Fry joins what is a superb ensemble cast. But outstanding among them is Tom Bennett who is simply hilarious as the nice but dim Sir James. The comic routine about his misunderstanding of “Churchill” (Church – Hill) – a running gag – is sublime and a challenger (with “Was that it t’were so simple”) for the comedy routine of the year.

Directed by Whit Stilman (“The Last Days of Disco”) from his own screenplay, this is one for the more sophisticated viewer: requiring of your full attention, but a treat for the eyes, ears and brain.
  
Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™
Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™
Games
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
App Rating
Fantastic story (7 more)
Decent graphics for the time
Comfortable 60 hours worth of game play
Challanging
A number of well know places from the Star Wars universe
The ability to choose the light or dark side
Intro to an entirely new Star Wars era
Decent supporting characters
Possibly the greatest Star Wars game ever made
Comfortably one of if not the best Star Wars games ever made.

The game has a rich and compelling storyline with interesting quests taking you to various locations recognisable from Star Wars lore. The supporting characters are decent and interesting in their own right and aid to progress the story of your own character whilst also developing themselves.


The combat mechanics works well and are challenging without being frustrating and the graphics, at the time, were great.


There is very little negative to say about this game as it's one of those that you start playing and don't want to put down. With the various progression options for your own character as you choose the light or dark side you are able to open other dialogue options and interact with others in different ways making the game worthy of at least another play through.


A game that stands the test of time and whilst looking a little dated graphically now it's still every bit as enjoyable to play especially if you've note had the pleasure to already!
  
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2003 | Role-Playing
Fantastic story (7 more)
Decent graphics for the time
Comfortable 60 hours worth of game play
Challenging
A number of well known places from the Star Wars universe
The ability to choose the light or dark side
Intro to an entirely new Star Wars era
Decent supporting characters
Possibly the greatest Star Wars game ever made
Comfortably one of if not the best Star Wars games ever made.

The game has a rich and compelling storyline with interesting quests taking you to various locations recognisable from Star Wars lore. The supporting characters are decent and interesting in their own right and aid to progress the story of your own character whilst also developing themselves.


The combat mechanics works well and are challenging without being frustrating and the graphics, at the time, were great.


There is very little negative to say about this game as it's one of those that you start playing and don't want to put down. With the various progression options for your own character as you choose the light or dark side you are able to open other dialogue options and interact with others in different ways making the game worthy of at least another play through.


A game that stands the test of time and whilst looking a little dated graphically now it's still every bit as enjoyable to play especially if you've note had the pleasure to already!
  
I took a chance on this book, based on the fact that Lucinda Riley is one of my friends' favourite authors. It's not something that I'd normally choose to read, but I'm glad I did. It's a really interesting story of how one of six adopted sisters, Maia, finds out about her birth family after the death of her adopted father. He leaves her some clues to help her, which to be fair, are pretty vague, and she enlists the help of a Brazilian author (whose books she translates from Portuguese to French) who also happens to be an historian.
Luckily, her adoptive father was very wealthy, and she has no financial need to find her birth family, but it must be nice when she discovers that they are an old Brazilian family, who were once very rich, and are now just plain old wealthy.
Maia also has a secret of her own in her past, one that has made her shut herself away from the world, and this trip to Brazil appears to be the start of her healing herself.
It's a lovely story, and I think I'll be keeping my eyes open for the other books in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and fairly review.
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated S-Town in Podcasts

May 22, 2019  
S-Town
S-Town
Society & Culture
8
8.5 (21 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Story-telling (1 more)
Characters
Not what was expected (may disappoint crime buffs) but worth sticking with (0 more)
An unexpected emotional ride.
As a fan of the Serial and This American Life podcasts I jumped on this podcast from the same makers. I love true crime and the initial hype around this sounded like it was going to be an investigative reporting adventure into a town where a rich boys murder had been covered up. However over the course of the podcast it changed into something quite unique.

Focusing on the person who initially contacted this American Life, John McLemore, it’s based in the small town of Woodstock and gives a stark look into the world of small town Alabama.. We get to know John well, he’s a horologist (clock maker / repairer - it was the new word of the week for me) who seems to be pretty well known in the industry for his restoration skills. John is an amazing character and as the podcast takes a dramatic change of direction we end up getting sucked into his story which is moving and full of lessons on living in a place you don’t feel you fit in.

It was an emotional ride and if you like This American Life, this is like an episode on steroids and then some.