The Crimson and the Black (Hidden Empire #2)
10.0
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Beware of dragons... Being a rich, beautiful vampire in Victorian England isn't all it's cracked...
Historical Paranormal Romance
Gathering Storm (Knights of Black Swan #5)
10.0
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The demon Deliverance accidentally lost Storm in another dimension, but doesn't know which one....
Paranormal Romance Series
Supermoon: Cade & Sal's Story (The Dark Cities Trilogy #1)
10.0
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In this story of fear and forgiveness, a crazed vampire murders the world's leader on live...
Paranormal Romance
Merissa (12906 KP) rated Midnight Conquest (Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles #1) in Books
May 30, 2023
This story tells the tale of Broderick and Davina, how they meet, what impact on each others' lives they have or will have, tells of the fears they fight, and the enemies who plot against them. There will be an overall story arc running through this series, as the epilogue tells us when Cordelia once again makes an appearance.
With an engaging storyline, excellent world and character building, plus a smoothly paced plot that builds to a thrilling climax, this story is a wonderful start that nonetheless will leave you wanting to know more. Definitely recommended.
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Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 21, 2016
Journey Man (Knights of Black Swan #9)
8.0
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For five years Glendennon Catch had knocked around the globe as a floater, filling in wherever a...
Adult Paranormal Romance
Touch in the Night (Blood and Bonds #1)
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With a criminal record, no steady job and a penchant for kink, Jesse Truelove has spent most of his...
BDSM Contemporary Paranormal Romance MM
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9) in Books
May 12, 2024
The final entry in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon, which - again - I experienced through a mixture of reading and listening to the Stephen Fry narrated Audible version, and which is also really once again a collection of short stories rather than a single over-arching narrative.
What is unique in this collection, though, is that some of the stories are presented as Holmes himself delivering the narrative, rather than Watson acting as the biographer.
I also noticed - perhaps reflecting the nature of the time in which they were written, and Doyle's own interests - that there are more of the, shall we say, supernatural elements in the case chosen ("The adventure of the Sussex Vampire" springs to mind, for example) although - in all cases - the supernatural elements are later debunked by Holmes himself.
As a whole? I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the company of Holmes and Watson.
Death or Volentus
Book
Volentus is a necromancer gifted with the ability to raise the dead and command them to do his...
Rift in the Soul (Soulwood #6)
Book
Nell Ingram and her team face a dire, supernatural evil in this newest thrilling paranormal...
Urban Fantasy Romance Ghosts Magic Angels
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Bakjwi (Thirst) (2009) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019
If anyone sits down with me and has a conversation with me about movies, it's only a matter of time before I reveal that Oldboy is quite possibly my favorite film of all time. So it should be no surprise that I'm willing to see anything the director, Chan-wook Park, or lead actors, Choi Min-sik and Ji-Tae Yu, are involved with. Mainly because of my love for Oldboy, but also because I'm rarely disappointed with anything they are a part of. So when I heard Chan-wook Park was tackling a vampire film, I was thrilled and even more thrilled that he managed to deliver another solid film to his already impressive filmography.
The cinematography is the film's shining feature. Park really knows his stuff when it comes to shooting memorable scenes from behind a camera. Every shot is filled with vibrant colors that leap off of the screen. Every frame of the film seems to tell a story all on its own. I hope there's a Blu-ray release of this film because it will look fantastic. It's rather intriguing to see which elements of the vampire mythology Park used for his vision. Sang-hyeon has to drink blood to survive and to stay looking flawless, has incredible strength, and is vulnerable to sunlight. He doesn't, however, have fangs and also has a reflection in the mirror.
Although I've never seen the film, I couldn't help but feel like this was Chan-wook Park's version of Twilight. The entire middle portion of the film is devoted to Sang-hyeon's and Tae-Joo's love for one another. It felt like the adult version of Twilight, really. There's a lot of blood, nudity, sex, and even a few obscenities thrown in for good measure. Maybe it's the Chan-Wook Park fanboy in me, but I honestly feel like I can guarantee that this is the better film of the two. The psychological aspect that I love about Park's previous films is in Thirst, as well. That's a major factor for me as any film that causes me to think or is unusual in any way winds up becoming a fan favorite. The soundtracks to Park's films always seem to fit its respective film like a glove. Thirst is no exception. While the soundtrack is a bit more subtle this time around, it fit the overall atmosphere of the film rather effortlessly.
The middle portion of the film did seem to drag on longer than everything else in the film. It's weird though as the scenes during that time are crucial to the storyline of the film and it's hard to imagine Thirst being the same film if any of those scenes were cut. Nevertheless, it is my one nitpick of the film.
Chan-wook Park bites into the vampire mythology with Thirst and puts his own dark, psychological twist on it. Park's films always seem to have a specific formula or include most of the following: great writing, beautiful cinematography, a solid cast, some sort of psychological twist that'll mess with your head, and a memorable ending.