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Merissa (13961 KP) rated Calvin (Almstead Island: Newcomer's Club #2) in Books
Jan 30, 2025
CALVIN is the second book in the Almstead Island: Newcomer's Club and you don't need to have read book one (Will and Beckett) but I recommend you do, just because it's a wonderful story.
And this one is too! Don't get me wrong, Calvin comes into Micah's life on a wrecking ball, steamrollering over him in pretty much every way. Luckily for Calvin, that is exactly what Micah needs, although he does push back in small ways, which was great to see.
Will and Beckett are also in this book, with Will helping a clueless Calvin, and Beckett being a friend to Micah when he desperately needs one. One thing I will say, is I loved Beckett's response to Micah's problem!!! Muah *chef's kiss*
Calvin and Micah work in pretty much every way imaginable. Yes, they made mistakes and didn't communicate 100% but who does? They both had good reasons for behaving the way they did. Jamie is Calvin's best friend and I know he was looking out for him, but he was a bit of a d!ck too!!
Another fantastic story that had me gripped from the very (horrible - because of everything Micah has been through) beginning, right through to the HEA that completely satisfied. I know it is Emil and Anders next, but I'm hoping for Jamie and Noah to have a story too, whether together or separately, I don't care!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 29, 2025
And this one is too! Don't get me wrong, Calvin comes into Micah's life on a wrecking ball, steamrollering over him in pretty much every way. Luckily for Calvin, that is exactly what Micah needs, although he does push back in small ways, which was great to see.
Will and Beckett are also in this book, with Will helping a clueless Calvin, and Beckett being a friend to Micah when he desperately needs one. One thing I will say, is I loved Beckett's response to Micah's problem!!! Muah *chef's kiss*
Calvin and Micah work in pretty much every way imaginable. Yes, they made mistakes and didn't communicate 100% but who does? They both had good reasons for behaving the way they did. Jamie is Calvin's best friend and I know he was looking out for him, but he was a bit of a d!ck too!!
Another fantastic story that had me gripped from the very (horrible - because of everything Micah has been through) beginning, right through to the HEA that completely satisfied. I know it is Emil and Anders next, but I'm hoping for Jamie and Noah to have a story too, whether together or separately, I don't care!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 29, 2025
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The Incredibles 2 (2018) in Movies
Dec 11, 2018
On Par With the Best
If The Incredibles isn’t one of the top five superhero films of all time, it’s definitely top ten. For awhile, I had it billed as the greatest. It has everything you need which created a tough act to follow. But follow it they did fourteen years later with The Incredibles 2. The sequel continues the story of the superhero family and their dealings with being abnormal in a normal world.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Jack-Jack. Just…Jack-Jack. I could go into sophisticated detail about the depth of each of these characters and their internal struggles, but all you really need to know is Jack-Jack.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
The animation in this movie is, for lack of a better word, incredible. Pixar seems to age like a fine wine, constantly improving upon themselves. Facial features are crisp, colors are vivid leaving the screen bursting with life. It operates just like a big budget superhero film and, in some ways, even better. Animation has a leg up because it allows you to always capture the desired moment at the perfect time. Watching the family work in tandem and seeing all their powers come together on screen is reminiscent of the first Avengers film.
Conflict: 10
No good battles arise without a good villain and Incredibles 2 doesn’t disappoint here. The movie is action-packed beset with high stakes. There are a handful of slow points where the film hiccups, but the fight sequences more than make up for it. Any scene with Dash in it and you never know what’s going to happen! He’s growing in his powers but still has yet to realize his own strength which makes him fun to watch.
Genre: 8
Doesn’t quite rank in the upper echelon of top superhero movies of 2018 (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War), but it’s not too far behind. It makes you feel, it makes you laugh, it makes you wow. Three things that make it a top choice for the year.
Memorability: 10
Jack-Jack Vs. The Raccoon is a scene I could watch a million times. Never gets old. The attention to detail in that scene and the way it unfolds is flawless. I also liked the fact that this movie seemed even darker than the first appealing more to adults at times than children. The first one toed the line, but the sequel jumped right over.
Pace: 8
As I mentioned earlier, there were some points in the movie where things got slow and you were waiting for it to pick back up. It didn’t happen often but definitely enough to be noticeable. Nothing that derailed the movie too much however as the action and hilarity more than made up for the slow points.
Plot: 8
Resolution: 10
Solid ending that ties the film up perfectly. It leaves you wanting more but, at the same time, if the series concluded here, I’d be good with it. No spoilers, but I’ll just say you’ll be satisfied.
Overall: 94
Incredibles 2 gets off to a fast start and doesn’t let you go. There is a scene with Edna and Jack-Jack that just makes me happy as hell and sums up my feeling for the whole movie experience. See it and love it.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Jack-Jack. Just…Jack-Jack. I could go into sophisticated detail about the depth of each of these characters and their internal struggles, but all you really need to know is Jack-Jack.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
The animation in this movie is, for lack of a better word, incredible. Pixar seems to age like a fine wine, constantly improving upon themselves. Facial features are crisp, colors are vivid leaving the screen bursting with life. It operates just like a big budget superhero film and, in some ways, even better. Animation has a leg up because it allows you to always capture the desired moment at the perfect time. Watching the family work in tandem and seeing all their powers come together on screen is reminiscent of the first Avengers film.
Conflict: 10
No good battles arise without a good villain and Incredibles 2 doesn’t disappoint here. The movie is action-packed beset with high stakes. There are a handful of slow points where the film hiccups, but the fight sequences more than make up for it. Any scene with Dash in it and you never know what’s going to happen! He’s growing in his powers but still has yet to realize his own strength which makes him fun to watch.
Genre: 8
Doesn’t quite rank in the upper echelon of top superhero movies of 2018 (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War), but it’s not too far behind. It makes you feel, it makes you laugh, it makes you wow. Three things that make it a top choice for the year.
Memorability: 10
Jack-Jack Vs. The Raccoon is a scene I could watch a million times. Never gets old. The attention to detail in that scene and the way it unfolds is flawless. I also liked the fact that this movie seemed even darker than the first appealing more to adults at times than children. The first one toed the line, but the sequel jumped right over.
Pace: 8
As I mentioned earlier, there were some points in the movie where things got slow and you were waiting for it to pick back up. It didn’t happen often but definitely enough to be noticeable. Nothing that derailed the movie too much however as the action and hilarity more than made up for the slow points.
Plot: 8
Resolution: 10
Solid ending that ties the film up perfectly. It leaves you wanting more but, at the same time, if the series concluded here, I’d be good with it. No spoilers, but I’ll just say you’ll be satisfied.
Overall: 94
Incredibles 2 gets off to a fast start and doesn’t let you go. There is a scene with Edna and Jack-Jack that just makes me happy as hell and sums up my feeling for the whole movie experience. See it and love it.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Don't Breathe 2 (2021) in Movies
Aug 18, 2021
Nicely paced direction and non stop (bloody) action (1 more)
Madelyn Grace delivers a nice and professional performance
Not very original (1 more)
Should we be rooting for Norman at all?
That kid’ll need counselling for life!
I mean. If there was ever an opportunity to come up with a clever title for a sequel, this was it right? "Breathe Again"; "Hold it for a bit longer"; "Are You Turning Blue Yet?". But no... we just get a boring old "2" at the end!
Positives:
- Five years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel! I have to admit I needed to read through my original review for "Don't Breathe" and the synopsis on IMDB before I went to see this. But, given that it is a fairly standard schlock-horror home-invasion movie, this is a nicely pieced together movie. Debut director Sayagues, who co-wrote the first film with original director Fede Alverez, moves the action along at a non-stop pace leaving you quite exhausted by the end of the (pleasantly short) 98 minutes.
- Stephen Lang nicely retreads his monster from the first movie as a besotted but anxious parent. But particularly good I thought was Madelyn Grace who plays the 11 year old Phoenix. I never once thought "there's a child actress doing a performance". Great job!
Negatives:
- It doesn't get many brownie points for originality: the blindness dice was already rolled in the original. So here we get some re-tread scenes of "the blind man being king", with red insecticide spray replacing the darkness.
- It never feels quite right that you are supposed to be cheering on Nordstrom: someone with virtually no redeeming features (other than a love for dogs).
- The original film had a decidedly icky moment with the whole baster thing. Here we have an equally icky, if ridiculous, plot-twist, taking us into a very dark place indeed. But what is supposed to be a shock-horror moment actually had me in fits of laughter, since all I could think of was a particular scene in "Monty Python and the Meaning of Life"!
Summary Thoughts on "Don't Breathe 2": We've been here so many times before that it's almost a (bloody) paint by numbers. But I have to admit that I thought this one was well done, and a cut above the norm. The first movie made $158M on a budget of just $10M. This one has a (restrained) $15M budget, and has already made that back. Good for them. The gore factor makes it not one for the illustrious Mrs Movie Man (who wisely didn't come). But for horror fans out for a nice gory little romp, this has its attractions.
And by the way, there is a 'monkey' (post-credit scene in One Mann's Movies speak) in this one. Well, Alvarez and Sayagues aren't going to dead-end their options for a "Don't Breathe 3" are they?
(For the full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks.)
Positives:
- Five years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel! I have to admit I needed to read through my original review for "Don't Breathe" and the synopsis on IMDB before I went to see this. But, given that it is a fairly standard schlock-horror home-invasion movie, this is a nicely pieced together movie. Debut director Sayagues, who co-wrote the first film with original director Fede Alverez, moves the action along at a non-stop pace leaving you quite exhausted by the end of the (pleasantly short) 98 minutes.
- Stephen Lang nicely retreads his monster from the first movie as a besotted but anxious parent. But particularly good I thought was Madelyn Grace who plays the 11 year old Phoenix. I never once thought "there's a child actress doing a performance". Great job!
Negatives:
- It doesn't get many brownie points for originality: the blindness dice was already rolled in the original. So here we get some re-tread scenes of "the blind man being king", with red insecticide spray replacing the darkness.
- It never feels quite right that you are supposed to be cheering on Nordstrom: someone with virtually no redeeming features (other than a love for dogs).
- The original film had a decidedly icky moment with the whole baster thing. Here we have an equally icky, if ridiculous, plot-twist, taking us into a very dark place indeed. But what is supposed to be a shock-horror moment actually had me in fits of laughter, since all I could think of was a particular scene in "Monty Python and the Meaning of Life"!
Summary Thoughts on "Don't Breathe 2": We've been here so many times before that it's almost a (bloody) paint by numbers. But I have to admit that I thought this one was well done, and a cut above the norm. The first movie made $158M on a budget of just $10M. This one has a (restrained) $15M budget, and has already made that back. Good for them. The gore factor makes it not one for the illustrious Mrs Movie Man (who wisely didn't come). But for horror fans out for a nice gory little romp, this has its attractions.
And by the way, there is a 'monkey' (post-credit scene in One Mann's Movies speak) in this one. Well, Alvarez and Sayagues aren't going to dead-end their options for a "Don't Breathe 3" are they?
(For the full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks.)
Lindsay (1812 KP) rated Tides (Time of Myths: Shapeshifter Sagas Book 2) in Books
Sep 8, 2017
Leif is on a Viking ship and needs to do the job of getting men on his father's ship. They are to do their job and command and listen to Regina. Leif is having enough of being used by his father. His father really does not care or even think of his boy as his son.
Leif picks up two or at least one healers. He thinks it a boy named Aiden. Will he find out the secret that Aiden or so named? Eilish is now trying to keep a secret but will they find out or will it keep. Leif has to decide to help or betray the young man as he plays. Will Leif stand up to his father?
Leif now has to protect two of this very good friends. Leif needs to face the truth and be able to live his life. Will Regina beat Leif or will Leif save his love and friend? You need to read to find out and some of the many surprises. Leif has two secrets that are quite something that you will want to find out for yourself.
Leif picks up two or at least one healers. He thinks it a boy named Aiden. Will he find out the secret that Aiden or so named? Eilish is now trying to keep a secret but will they find out or will it keep. Leif has to decide to help or betray the young man as he plays. Will Leif stand up to his father?
Leif now has to protect two of this very good friends. Leif needs to face the truth and be able to live his life. Will Regina beat Leif or will Leif save his love and friend? You need to read to find out and some of the many surprises. Leif has two secrets that are quite something that you will want to find out for yourself.
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Bloodfire (Blood Destiny, #1) in Books
Apr 15, 2022
65 of 230
Kindle
Bloodfire ( Blood Destiny book 1)
By Helen Harper
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mackenzie Smith has always known that she was different. Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.
I don’t remember how this book crossed my path but I’m really glad it did. Not often I find British authors in this genre and this book was so good. Mack is a brilliant character her journey through this book was interesting I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops. Set in Cornwall and bringing all sorts of creatures to light. Definitely a series and author I’ll be following.
Kindle
Bloodfire ( Blood Destiny book 1)
By Helen Harper
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mackenzie Smith has always known that she was different. Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.
I don’t remember how this book crossed my path but I’m really glad it did. Not often I find British authors in this genre and this book was so good. Mack is a brilliant character her journey through this book was interesting I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops. Set in Cornwall and bringing all sorts of creatures to light. Definitely a series and author I’ll be following.
Bethr1986 (305 KP) rated Salt & Blood (Darker Desires #2) in Books
Sep 14, 2022
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Vivianna Sky and Adrian Graves have got a lot of demons to work through with themselves and others. When there is an unexplained phenomenon feeding off the life force of unborn children and expectant mothers, causing their lives and families to fall apart they must do everything they can to stop any more tragedies from happening.
This is book number 2 of the darker desires series, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far and I'm hoping that there is more to come from V and Adrian's story (please Tesla?)
The writing is so smooth it just flows and if I didn't have responsibilities I would of quite happily read this in a day I just wish I could have l the stories at once to read straight after one another.
The battle scenes are extremely well described and graphic and there are some sexual scenes but they are tastefully written and didn't make me feel uncomfortable at any point reading them
Another brilliant novel from Tesla Storm
A recommended read from me
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
Vivianna Sky and Adrian Graves have got a lot of demons to work through with themselves and others. When there is an unexplained phenomenon feeding off the life force of unborn children and expectant mothers, causing their lives and families to fall apart they must do everything they can to stop any more tragedies from happening.
This is book number 2 of the darker desires series, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far and I'm hoping that there is more to come from V and Adrian's story (please Tesla?)
The writing is so smooth it just flows and if I didn't have responsibilities I would of quite happily read this in a day I just wish I could have l the stories at once to read straight after one another.
The battle scenes are extremely well described and graphic and there are some sexual scenes but they are tastefully written and didn't make me feel uncomfortable at any point reading them
Another brilliant novel from Tesla Storm
A recommended read from me
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **