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Being Alpha
Being Alpha
Aileen Erin | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Being Alpha
Tessa and Dastien are now finally married and are on their well overdue honeymoon. Dastien wants to relax and enjoy himself with Tessa but like always she's on edge and a good thing too, because something is lurking around the corner and like always it's after her...

This book features the aftermath of what Luciana was trying to do, the whole summoning of demons. This time the demon she was trying to bring to our world is only a few moments away. The gang are back together in order to bring this demon down, except Meredith and Donovan as they are having their own problems. We get introduced to a new character along the way. This character has a pretty cool ability.

Like each book before this one we experience upset, drama and danger. All of which come together to create a good story.

I feel that this book didn't really need to happen if I'm honest, because that's what I want my reviews to be... honest. The reason I felt this is because we already defeated Luciana, we didn't then need to defeat what she did again. I like that this book was in this series and I do have mixed feelings about this and I don't know if it's because for the last seven weeks I've been reading the same series and I'm getting bored of it. Or because there is something after seven books that I don't really like about Tessa but I loved more with the other characters. This book was good, but it didn't need to happen. The buildup for the next book could of happened in the sixth and this one could of been the eighth book if that makes sense. I find that really this book should of been half of what it was, so maybe it could of just happened as a shorter story or tied in with the last book and made it long?

 Anyway I am looking forward to the next book where we get to see more of Chris and his soul mate!!!
☕☕☕ - NOT A BAD BOOK

Love,

Christina xx
  
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Natasha Khan recommended Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki in Music (curated)

 
Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki
Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"There are certain records that I know a lot about and others that I don't, and I think this one, for me, purely on a symphonic, musical level, it just is one of my favourite classical pieces. I think it's especially about the first movement, where the double-basses come in barely audibly, and it builds and they're just repeating their pattern. There's something about pattern in classical music, and that's why I've chosen Steve Reich as well: phrases and themes that get repeated and then get others on top that repeat, it's a cyclical thing that starts to happen with this harmony and rhythm, and it fascinates me. I also love double basses being bowed, there's just something about that that really pleases me. It builds into this huge thing and there's this moment where there's just one piano note, like a summoning, and the woman's voice comes in. I just think it's really soulful. I could've chosen Ravel's Bolero, which is also a really popular piece of music, but it's another one of my absolute favourites because again it's repetitive, it's almost like dance music, it's a repetitive theme that builds and builds. When I was going to see Underworld, off my face, in a tent - I think there's something similar, when instrumental music just builds and builds and builds. [Górecki] is really interesting technically as well as emotionally, which is the theme of this whole discussion almost: my greatest love is of people that have managed to walk that line between technical, competent songwriting or structure or understanding the art form and understanding the craftsmanship and at the same time imbuing that with reality and grit and fucking true connection to soulfulness and the universe. You can make a person cry because of what you're doing. That combination is just dynamite, isn't it? There's nothing better. You can sit in a room making a lot of avant-garde white noise and wanking over yourself, that's fine, or you can make amazing, soulful pop songs. Surely the artist's job is to be a consummate craftsman but within that be a complete child, innocent of expression and tapped in."

Source
  
3.5 stars.

I've avoided paranormal romances for quite a while as I don't always want the romance to be the main part of my paranormal reads. This one, however, focused more on the romance between our witch, Merle, and our demon, Rhun. Note: I didn't realise this was a paranormal romance when I downloaded it.

It starts with Merle summoning Rhun from the Shadows - a land full of shadows, obviously - where he has been kept prisoner for the last twenty years. He comes back starving for the three things his demon needs - pleasure, pain and blood. He's very good at the charm and persuades Merle to give him two of three before finding out why she'd summoned him. Her sister, Maeve, has been taken by another demon of his kind and she is frantic to find her as she is the only remaining relative of hers.

I liked that the sexual tension between our characters happened from pretty much the first chapter. It was instant physical attraction but done well, in my opinion. He was just using her, initially, to get his powers back and she wasn't willing to let him go after anyone else when she'd been the one to summon him and feelings began to emerge the more they got to know each other/spent time together.

I did feel like the book was a tad overly long. They spent more time in bed together than they did searching for her sister - which made me get a little fed up at times, and also why it's taken me about a week to read this. Don't get me wrong, though. I did enjoy the interactions between our two characters. They had a lovely camaraderie once they got to know each other and I grew to really like them both.

Considering how I wasn't entirely invested in the story, I found myself getting a little emotional towards the end of this. I actually shed a tear when Rhun was forced back into the Shadows. It was so unfair. Of course, it would be a crappy ending to the book if they didn't get their HEA and of course they do (thank God!).
  
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156Reviews (7 KP) rated Extra Ordinary (2019) in Movies

May 1, 2020 (Updated May 1, 2020)  
Extra Ordinary (2019)
Extra Ordinary (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Ghosts, hell demons, possessed animals, sex, a car chase, people exploding, ware-wolves (Kind of), Extra Ordinary has it all. Is it some kind of Hollywood blockbuster staring Benedict Cumberbatch? No, it's a small independent Irish comedy staring little known actors, and Will Forte of course.

The film begins by introducing us to Rose Dooley (Maeve Higgins), a very single driving instructor in a small town who has a “Talent”. She can talk to Ghosts. After the death of her father when she was a child, Rose no longer uses these talents though. She spends her days teaching the locals how to drive, and her evenings with no trousers on, eating microwavable meals for one and ignoring messages on her phone from people asking for supernatural help. That is until she gets a call from Martin Martin, who is being haunted by his dead ex-wife, and her journey back to the exorcism business begins.

What this film does best is keep the ordinary and the supernatural events very grounded. Instead of screaming angry spirits howling in the night they see messages like “You must pay ..... The car tax” or “Dog has worms”. The dead don't stick around to terrorise, they are here to make sure we're doing the recycling properly, or donating enough money to charity. Even Christian Winter (Will Forte) the satanist pop-star dubbed “One hit Winter” seems like an every-day man, doing the ironing and making cups of tea between sacrifices and demon summoning.

As the films big-bad, Will Forte does a decent job of keeping the film flowing, even if it is almost identical to his Last man on Earth performance. It's Rose and Martins relationship that really pulls the film forward. After Martins Daughter starts floating in mid-air, he reaches out to Rose for help. Directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman succeed in making Rose and Martins journey through the mysterious, humorous yet believable, a will they-won't they without the cheesiness.

Overall this is a very funny, well made film, not afraid to take the time from driving the plot to include some great, if possibly unnecessary scenes, Christian Winter's driving lesson is a particular highlight. Everybody involved has done an excellent job making a great film. It's absurd, it's funny, it's weird, it's well worth a watch.
  
Cruel Peter (2019)
Cruel Peter (2019)
2019 | Horror, International
1
3.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The movie starts in 1908, a young boy named Peter is accused of cutting a girl with a razor, he insists the girl is lying and his mother defends him even though she knows the girl is actually telling the truth. We learn how evil Peter is soon after when he sets fire to a rat and it is implyed that he killed someone's dog. Peter soon gets a visitor from someone wearing a potato sack on their head, who hits him on the head with a shovel and buries him alive, never to be seen again.
We jump ahead to the present day to a dad studying and then randomly going in his daughters room and finding a boof of spirits in his deaf daughters room. We then jump to another scene of him being offered a job in Italy with some bloke on a boat, who I can only assume is a friend or his boss, its never made clear. Then in the next scene, him and his daughter are pulling up in Italy!?! Literally no lead upto it, just job offer and boom, they're there! The dad is even shown talking to some woman who I thought was a tour guide or his new boss, until she asked him if he'd like to meet her aunt! Anyway, we briefly see his daughter Liz walking down the corridor at her new school and then he finds Peters body whilst on a dig, leading to him searching the Internet and Liz summoning a ghost which we later find out is Peter.
To be honest, I knew from the get go that this movie wasn't going to be great, but I always see a movie to the end so I persevered. The scenes were very poorly put together, they seemed randomly placed and very rushed, random characters would appear, have no introductions (apart from one) and yet seem to have known the dad for a while! Speaking of which, I don't recall ever finding out his name as it was never mentioned. The acting was absolutely atrocious and the sound effects even worse, for example when Liz was supposed to be possessed, she sounded more like a dinosaur from jurassic Park rather than a demon. I was glad to see the end of this truly awful movie.
  
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
Cassandra Clare | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.2 (27 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can't believe I've nearly finished this series!

First of all, I would like to complain about the cover. If I hadn't heard so many great things about this series then I probably would have avoided it, simply because it looks like a typical teen paranormal romance atrocity. The story is actually way more action-based with a sort of hint of romance, but I just don't think the cover portrays that very accurately.

Moving on to the actual book, it follows on from the last novel where Sebastian is sort of reintroduced. He is a massive character in this, after disappearing - along with Jace. It turns out there's some sort of bond between them thanks to Lilith, and the only things that can separate them are the weapons of either angels or demons. Which, unsurprisingly, results in some rather reckless acts on the part of Jace's friends and family, including the summoning of an angel and a demon. Nice.

Alec and Magnus have some pretty serious difficulties in this book, which actually really upset me because they're currently my favourite couple. There's also romantic plots following Maia and Jordan and even Izzy and Simon, but nothing major.

In the end, the Institute receives a disturbing gift, Clary stabs Jace, and Magnus kicks Alec out of his apartment. Maureen is seen again, claiming to have killed the woman Alec was out to murder, and Luke's sister is taken and turned dark by Sebastian. I think that's everything?

As for the writing, I love it! The books are all quite long, but they don't feel it when you read them. I don't understand how the feel so timeless and exciting all the way through!

Of course, this is a YA paranormal novel with typical romance lines and so on, but it is as unique as a book in this category can be. It has a nice mix of surprise, suspense and plain old action, and the diversity of the characters is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the next novel in the series, yet I don't want it to be over!

Simply because it is a somewhat generic book (there are just so many angel/demon YA novels these days) I can't put my rating any higher than 4 stars. But the writing is fab and the plot always interesting, so there really isn't any true fault.
  
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