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Gideon the Ninth
Gideon the Ninth
Tamsyn Muir | 2019 | Horror, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Descriptions (2 more)
characters
Kept me guessing
a bit predictable at places and gruesome (0 more)
Necromancers in Space
Before reading Gideon the Ninth all I knew about it was: Necromancers in space and lesbians. Everyone who recommended it to me said it was "Amazing" and I "had to read it." Why the lesbian thing was a thing, I'm not sure? representation? Yeah, I'll go with that.
Anyway,
They were right. It is amazing, interesting read. I admit I had some difficulty getting into the first couple of chapters, however I think that was a me problem not from the narrative. Which is gothic and dark, everything that you'd expect from wizards who raise the dead and fight with skeletons would be, and so much more.
It is an interesting concept, although it read more of a mystery to me than a horror, (horror isn't really my genre, I don't have much to base it on. but most of the critics agree that it is in that genre.) and you're in space for maybe 15 pages of the book, if that much. I think there will be more space in the sequel.

The characters interacted with each other well, the tension between them all are great and I had a clear picture of each. Tamsyn kept me guessing on who was or wasn't trustworthy, and the palace that they explore was beautifully described.
Highly recommend if you want something different. This adventure isn't something you'd forget.
  
I borrowed this from the Kindle Unlimited library.

This had a very slow start as we see Basilia - Basi - try to be a normal person instead of a rich snob as she runs away from her boring rich life and tries to fend for herself for the first time in her life. That starts with a job, so she and Tommy scour the newspapers looking for anything. She hands her resume into Kyros Tower, a real estate agents, and is surprised to be interviewed there and then. Things aren't all they seem, though, and soon Basi finds herself drawn into a strange game of monopoly with vampires.

The first 20% or so of this was rather slow and I was considering putting this down but I am so glad I carried on. It was good! It had me up until half eleven on my first night reading it just to see what was going to happen between Kyros and Basi. There was some serious sexual tension going on and I was hooked.

This definitely has a new take on vampires, and I don't want to go into detail as that would totally ruin it but it's different. I loved how Basi sort of slowly sank into their world and just went with it. Yeah, she freaked out at times but she did her best to make friends and get to know them, especially Laurel.

I've already borrowed book 2, off to start it now!
  
The Silent Victims (Hanlon Series #4)
The Silent Victims (Hanlon Series #4)
Alex Coombs | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Once again, I am not disappointed with this, the final book in the series featuring the unconventional DCI Hanlon.

I have now read all 4 books in this series and have enjoyed each and every one of them. I rarely say this about a series but I really do think you need to have read at least the first one (The Stolen Child) if you want to understand the main characters in the book; if you don't, I really think you will be flailing a little with the relationships they have and their motivations and this will, I think, detract from the overall story.

Hanlon is a very strong female character and one tough cookie. I admit that she is quite difficult to like but she has definitely grown on me over the series. In this, we see the odd glimpse of the softer side to Hanlon which makes her more "human" but don't let these snippets fool you - she will stop at nothing and nothing will stand in her way.

With a cast of excellent characters wrapped up in an intriguing plot, lots of action, tension and violent scenes, this is a great story well written which is gripping and exciting and makes it difficult to stop reading.

Highly recommended series and my thanks go to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
A Scone of Contention
A Scone of Contention
Lucy Burdette | 2021 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Food Critic in Scotland
Hayley and Nathan are finally going on their honeymoon – if you can call the trip that. They are heading to Scotland so that Hayley can meet Nathan’s sister, Vera, and their neighbor, Miss Gloria, and Nathan’s mother are tagging along. When they arrive, they quickly discover that Vera is in the final stages of a book about Scotland, but the tension among Vera and her coauthors is strong. An attempted poisoning and a suspicious accident make Hayley think that something strange is going on. Can she figure it out?

As a fan of this series, I wondering how I would feel about a book away from Key West since the location is a strong character in the books. Fortunately, we get some scenes before and after on the island and the characters left behind get cameos. The book balances travelogue with mystery well, and anyone who has wanted to visit Scotland will only want to visit more about reading this book. I did feel that both the main plot and subplot’s climaxes were anti-climactic. They did answer all of our questions, but they were a bit abrupt. I did enjoy getting to meet the new characters, and anyone as hungry by the talk of food as I am will be pleased by the recipes at the end of the book. Fans of the series will be glad we got to crash Nathan and Hayley’s honeymoon.
  
40x40

Bo Burnham recommended Fat Girls (2006) in Movies (curated)

 
Fat Girls (2006)
Fat Girls (2006)
2006 | Comedy
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I would probably say À ma soeur!, the Catherine Breillat film. If you could put that title instead of Fat Girl. I’m just kidding. I don’t really like saying my movie is related to that. I do think Catherine Breillat is brilliant and her movies have so much psychological weight to them. Those two sisters, they’re just, like, titanic, in terms of the conflict between them. The sexual scene with the boy is one of the most charged, terrifying, strange, impossible-to-describe scenes ever, that long take. The sort of depth of… Anaïs? The main girl? Just the depth of her look, how significant her neutral look and gaze is. Her stare is one of the best stares ever. And I stole the swimsuit from that movie and put it in my movie. I just completely stole the lime green one-piece and put it in my movie. I just love Catherine Breillat. I just think she’s incredibly smart. It’s very exciting, and it’s a sign of a really incredible director to show how much tension and tone can be wrought out of a scene of a younger sister staring out of her covers at her older sister from the bed across the room. It’s kind of incredible how powerful and charged that movie feels before it becomes insane at the end. To me, the brutality and shock of the ending, I was feeling throughout the entire movie. It’s just crazy when it shows up literally."

Source
  
Assassin's Apprentice
Assassin's Apprentice
Robin Hobb | 1995 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.9 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is about 20 years in the reading. I first started reading Assassin's Apprentice in 2001 when on holiday with my parents. But for whatever reason I only got a few chapters in. Since then this book, asking with its various sequels has become one of the corner stones of Fantasy. It's just one of those books that any self respecting Fantasy fan has to have read or at least had on their TBR for forever and a day. Obviously it's been on my TBR (to at least try again) for 20 years, and I've finally got around to it!

Am I disappointed? Did the wait diminish my enjoyment? Does it live up to the hype? To the first two of these questions, the answer is an easy, Heck No! To the last one, the answer is a assured Heck Yes!

This book feels like it spans the gap between traditional fantasy and some of the modern fantasy we see published today, while at in your faux-medieval civilization, it brings different things to the table then what you might expect. It doesn't say away from putting your protagonist through hell, and I think its only a shame that the tension is slightly lessened because you know he might survive, as there are at least two future books featuring the character. Whether he keeps all his senses by book three however is highly debatable!