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Say you Swear
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
24 of 235
Kindle
Say you Swear
By Meagan Brandy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

If she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers.
It's torture, but it's true...

My brothers best friend broke my heart, but what happens when his new teammate wants to put it back together?

For years, I've dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant.
It didn't matter how wild I allowed my imagination to run, it always led me to the same place in the end.

It led me to him.
My future was clear, and he was it.

Until suddenly, he wasn't.

Now there's a new man in my life, one who isn't afraid to go after what he wants, and what he wants ... is me.

They say first loves last forever.
What about the second?

I don’t normally really enjoy the college romance books unless there is some sort of supernatural element. But this is definitely a book I think I needed to read it was just such a well written enjoyable read it’s definitely one I don’t regret picking up. The characters were likeable the story was decent. I’m an emotional reader to so this made me feel good while reading.
  
TU
The Unraveling of Luna Forester
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
87 of 220
Kindle
The Unraveling of Luna Forester
By Marisa Noelle
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When his best friend Luna is found catatonic after a devastating house fire, Matthew begins to fall apart.

“Take care of them, Matthew.”

“Always.”

“Protect my secret.”

“Of course.”

That’s the promise he made to her only three nights ago. A solemn vow to protect their large found family of humans and supernatural creatures alike.

Fated to love her for the rest of his life, and unwilling to break his solemn vow, Matthew knows the only person who can help Luna is her grandmother. Through the woods they must go, just like a fairytale. But the forest is filled with deadly peril: poisonous black moss, chimeras, and worst of all, members of their family who don't want them to continue.

As they are picked off one by one, Matthew races to get Luna to safety, all the time doubting everything he thought was true.

Can Matthew untangle the twisted threads of Luna’s secret before he himself unravels?

Well this was a little bit of a special read. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it before. So well written it was a truly haunting journey through a young girls mind helped along by some special friends.
  
31 of 220
Book
The Pig in the Derby Hat ( Trussel and Gout: Paranormal investigations 1)
By M.A. knights
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Young Clementine Trussel didn’t go looking for the supernatural. It found her.

When a small pig wearing a derby hat falls out of her Granny’s window, Clementine is inclined to believe she’s seeing things. Only someone else saw it too, the mysterious Theophilius Gout, and he claims to be an expert in the paranormal.

There is definitely something odd about the fat, tweed-clad man, and when her Granny falls deathly ill, Clementine is uneasy entrusting her recovery to a stranger. Even one as enigmatic as Mr Gout. Besides, he seems more interested in the cakes from her parents’ bakery than anything…otherworldly.

But with her grandmother's life, and Clementine's own future, hanging in the balance, she is forced to follow him into a world of magic and monsters hidden in the shadows of her quiet hometown.

Will they be in time to save her Granny? Is Mr Gout what he claims to be? And just what exactly is the pig in the derby hat?

This was a brilliant short read I loved it. A cosy paranormal story with fun characters, and so well written. Looking forward to reading more.
  
47 Ronin (2013)
47 Ronin (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Story: 47 Ronin starts as we learn how Kai (Reeves) a half-breed is discovered in ancient Japan, he is bought into village by Lord Asano (Tanaka). Attracted to his daughter Mika (Shibasaki) and looked down on by her brother Oishi (Sanada) and the rest of the samurai Kai lives on the outskirts. Even after saving Oishi from a beast he is looked down by the samurai.

When Lord Kira (Asano) visits not everything is as it seems as Kai believes one of the members is in fact a witch. When Lord Asano becomes bewitched into harming Lord Kira he must accept the ancient act of Seppuku the rest of the samurais and Kai go out for revenge once they discover that Lore Kira has been planning this all along.

47 Ronin gives us a very simple samurai storyline that we can easily follow and offers us very little fresh. We get the revenge story that is driven by honour as is apparently based on real events I am guessing it doesn’t include the mental supernatural side to everything. I do feel we could have had more in this story because I found Kai was kind of a confusing character one minute he is the main character the next he is the support. I would have also liked to have seen more of the supernatural side to the story. This is an easy watch but never challenging.

 

Actor Review

 

Keanu Reeves: Kai is a half-breed in the middle of Japan, he is loyal to the man that saved him even if the rest of the men disapprove of him being part of their village. When he is the one to first notice the witchcraft he is questioned but after the master is killed he must work with the samurai that final see him as one of their own to get revenge. Keanu is solid but does sometimes look out of place at times.kai

Hiroyuki Sanada: Oishi is the son of the Lord Asano, he is in charge of the samurai and doesn’t like Kai around because of honour. When his father is framed he most turn to Kai and his men to lead a revenge mission against Kira. Hiroyuki does well in this role getting to show off his skills.oishi

Ko Shibasaki: Mika is the daughter of Lord Asano that is involved in a forbidden love is Kai, when her father is killed she is forced into marrying Lord Kira so he can take over the village. Ko is solid in this role where she does become the damsel in distress.

Tadanobu Asano: Lord Kira is the evil man using witchcraft to take over the ancient kingdoms, he takes Mika to be his wife while taking out anybody who gets in his way. Tadanobu is solid in this role but I feel we needed to see more from his character.

Support Cast: 47 Ronin has a supporting cast that are all involved in the fights without being overly memorable.

Director Review: Carl Rinsch – Carl gives us an easy to watch film without really testing the audience.

 

Action: 47 Ronin has plenty of action when it comes to the fight scenes.

Adventure: 47 Ronin puts our characters on the adventure to get their revenge.

Fantasy: 47 Ronin shows us a world where witches and demons are in fact real.

Settings: 47 Ronin doesn’t create any truly memorable location which doesn’t help when it comes to the story.
Special Effects: 47 Ronin has solid effects when entering the supernatural side of everything but if it is based on a real story where did they come from?

Suggestion: 47 Ronin is one to try, it isn’t the most memorable but could be enjoyed without having to think much. (Try It)

 

Best Part: Final fight.

Worst Part: Slightly too long.

 

Believability: It is based on a legend.

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $175 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

Tagline: This Christmas, seize eternity.

 

Overall: Samurai film done in very easy style.

https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/02/keanu-reeves-weekend-47-ronin-2013/
  
Book of Blood (2008)
Book of Blood (2008)
2008 | Horror
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
"The dead have highways. Highways that lead to intersections and intersections that spill into our world. And if you find yourself at one of those intersections, you should stop and you should listen because the dead have stories to tell."

Mary Florescu, writer, teacher, and overall expert of the paranormal, is still looking for the distinct evidence of supernatural occurences. A house catches her eye that has been on the market since the daughter of the couple living there before had been murdered. It's said the original homeowner was thrown against the wall by an invisible force so hard that shards of his broken bones pierced his lungs and he choked to death on his own blood. During each incident, the message, "Don't mock us," was found written in blood on the closet doors. Mary decides to move into the house to find proof of the supernatural, bringing an audio/video technician, Reg Fuller, to help document anything they find. A new student, Simon McNeal, transfers into Mary's class. He seems to have a special gift related to the paranormal and is brought into the house to help work with Mary and Reg on the project. Strange occurences seem to begin immediately and only get more violent as they occur. But as things progress, the relationship between Mary and Simon turns physical and suspicious evidence is found in Simon's bag that point to him being a fake. Is the house actually "haunted," or is Simon playing everyone for a fool?

I'm a fairly big fan of Clive Barker's work. I've loved the books and stories (Books of Blood Vol. 1-3, Mister B. Gone, The Hellbound Heart) of his that I've read and several of his films (Hellraiser, Midnight Meat Train) are some of the best the horror genre has to offer. Midnight Meat Train was probably the best horror film to come out of last year, so my expectations were high when I heard about this film and saw the trailer. This was one of my most anticipated horror films of the year even though it seemed to get the short end of the stick with its release much like what happened with Midnight Meat Train. I can tell you that Book of Blood is a good watch, but it may not be what you're expecting.

Book of Blood has its bloody moments, but it's not an all out gorefest. It's actually more of a supernatural thriller. The director, John Harrison, described the film as being more along the lines of films like The Others and The Orphanage. It relies more on mood and atmosphere rather than blood and guts splattering all over your face, which isn't a bad thing at all if done correctly. Book of Blood almost pulls that aspect of the film flawlessly. I say, "almost," because certain lines of dialogue ("I promise we will listen and I will tell your stories to the world.") and a few of the things that happened in the final act of the film (steel briefcase...it'll make sense when you see it) seem a bit cheesy, but may sit better with me on repeat viewings.

The film actually reminded me of Hellraiser quite a bit throughout the film. Other than Doug Bradley's brief cameo (if you blink, you'll probably miss him), the opening scene of when Reg and Mary go into the room where everything happened just reminds me of Frank staying in the attic in Hellraiser. Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror films, so the brief nod to the film (whether intentional or not) was very welcome to me.

My main concern with Book of Blood was how they were going to turn a short story that was originally just an introduction to the actual Books of Blood by Clive Barker into a full length film. The concern wound up being for nothing as Book of Blood met nearly all of my expectations and was extremely faithful to the original material while bringing in elements from another one of his stories called, "On Jerusalem Street." The story fleshes out nicely and the acting is good, for the most part. I think the perfectionist in me kept me from rating this any higher, but I'd definitely recommend it as it's a worthy addition to any avid horror movie enthusiast's collection.
  
40x40

Hadley (567 KP) rated Soul Drinker in Books

Jul 25, 2020  
Soul Drinker
Soul Drinker
Matthew Yard | 2020 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The writing (2 more)
No character development
No ending
One of the classic horror tropes is Heaven versus Hell, angels versus demons, good versus evil (like a boogeyman versus an innocent child, or a killer versus a group of teenagers, or even an evil spirit versus an exorcist) and we always know how it's going to end: good triumphs evil, every time. Some of the most well known films with this trope are Constantine (2005), the Exorcist (1973) and more recently, Stephen King's IT : Chapter 2 (2019).

That, along with a little romance, mystery, and historical elements make up this novel that features three main characters who are stuck in a struggle between good and evil while having to face mistakes from the past.

Welcome to the hellish world of Soul Drinker by newcomer, Matthew Yard.

Deep description is what makes up Yard's storytelling, so much so that the book is extremely hard to read. Only 132 pages long, Yard spends most paragraphs describing one single thing in many different ways, such as a young woman's hair, which only needs one sentence to tell such a detail, but instead, took an entire paragraph.

During an ancient civilization, a deity appeared named Destroyer, it found a way to break through the boundaries that separates realms and universes - - - finding our realm, Destroyer leaves his son Luther to build powerful followings through cults run by Pagans.

The novel's villain, Luther, isn't present enough to feel like a real threat for the reader. And the three main characters, other than their physical descriptions, are lifeless because of the extreme lack of character development.

Our main character, Devin, is a college student who constantly has nightmares of his best friend's murder. He also lives at house in the woods which he has no idea how he attained it and this is never explained. After Devin and a classmate named Vic have an encounter with a supernatural cloud, they end up at this house, where readers find out that Devin isn't the only one who has been having nightmares.

Vic is a beautiful, young woman, who Devin seems to be enamoured with, but she is still busy getting over her first love. A few chapters in, readers get flashbacks of Vic's father and mother before she was born. Vic's father was also haunted by this supernatural cloud, which seems to have had a tighter grip on him than Vic - - - her father's flashbacks are the most interesting part of this story.

Vic's father, Jacob, is fast asleep next to his wife when a giant face wakes him up, telling him that there is work to do. Jacob follows the face out into the hallway, when it begins to sway, as if through the eyes of a drunk. Jacob fights the urge to continue to the stairs, wanting to turn back and protect his sleeping wife.

A little while later, we find out that Jacob is psychic: he can see the dead and/or the past. But for anymore development on that interesting piece of information, readers get one glimpse of what Jacob sees - - - and that's it. Jacob's wife, Nina, is an even flatter character, which we only get to see in bed either asleep or waking up. Even Jacob's mental and spiritual fight with the 'face' is disappointingly short with no real tension, no climax, or feelings of betrayal when something finally happens in the end of that scene.

Love, the supernatural, and Pagan cults are what make up the plot of this book. The story jumps between Devin, Vic and Jacob, but the story gets caught up in moments that shouldn't be more than a paragraph, which caused me to become bored with the story. And Yard's writing made this book read like a fan fiction: a lot of inconsistencies throughout, tons of misspellings, and a major overuse of the same words, sometimes even in the same sentence.

Unfortunately, this book was almost unreadable, and the heavy descriptions were extremely off-putting, as was the end of the story- - - the book ended suddenly, and with no sequel in sight. I can't recommend this book to anyone.