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Evil Thing: A Villains Novel (Villains #7)
Evil Thing: A Villains Novel (Villains #7)
Serena Valentino | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I absolutely adore the Villains series. They are such good, quick reads and give an insight into how circumstances in someone’s life can make them into a villain. Evil Thing is no different.
Evil Thing is Cruella De Vil’s story, but not the story that we all think we know. It is styled as a memoir starting with Cruella’s childhood, or the childhood she remembers with rose tinted glasses from the age of eleven onwards. We see how she knew Anita Darling (before she married Roger) and how they were childhood friends who even went to finishing school together for a while. We see how Anita came to have Perdita. And we see exactly how Cruella ended up descending into madness in Hell Hall.
I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have anymore of the Odd Sisters story in this book, but I suppose it was left on a little bit of a cliffhanger, so I can only hope that Serena Valentino will revisit them in the future. But I also realise that it wouldn’t make sense to have them in this book, with Cruella’s life being in London and not in the realm of fairies and witches. It is however referenced as Cruella and Anita’s favourite fairytale book, where they follow Circe and Princess Tulip, which did make me smile.
While this isn’t my favourite of the Villains series (Mistress of All Evil takes that title!) I do like how it is just that little bit different from the others. I wonder if Cold Hearted will be written in the same style or another different style? It will be interesting to find out.
  
Morbius (2022)
Morbius (2022)
2022 | Action, Sci-Fi
For better or for worse, Morbius is finally out and, well, it ain't anything to write home about, but it's not quite as piss poor as I'd been hearing.
I've always liked the Morbius character, a solid C-list villain of Blade and Spider-Man, but did he ever really need his own movie? Well evidently not. It's essentially a run-of-the-mill comic book adaption that feels like it belongs in the mid 2000s with Elektra and Daredevil. It's kind of like a less fun Venom. Jared Leto isn't too shabby in the title roll when he's onscreen by himself, but there's just no chemistry between anyone otherwise, rendering a lot of the runtime quite boring. The action scenes are the kind of predictable grey CGI orgies that we've come to expect by now, and it's difficult to make out what's even happening on some occasions. The CG itself is hit and miss. Morbius actually looks pretty decent for the most part, but Matt Smith's character looks like a reject from I Am Legend. The movie suffers from a lack of an R rating, with a lot of weird looking bloodless scenes where gore was clearly meant to be present. To top things off, it boasts a mid credits scene that at best, doesn't even try to make sense, and at worst, manages to cheapen the events of Marvel movies that have come before.
Honestly though, I didn't outright hate Morbius. There are certainly worse comic book adaptions out there, but I won't be in any rush to watch again. Sony insisted on pushing ahead with it, and ultimately could have done so much more.
  
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Becs (244 KP) rated The Raven Boys in Books

Sep 22, 2019  
The Raven Boys
The Raven Boys
Maggie Stiefvater | 2012 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
9
7.7 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, and Noah Czerny made this novel (1 more)
The rollercoaster of emotions you feel
The villain didn't offer as much as I'd like but it was too big of a letdown (1 more)
The MC wasn't my favorite but she had good complexities that made her unique
Deserves all the hype!
You can also find this review on my blog: bookingwayreads.wordpress.com

TRIGGER WARNINGS: suicidal ideation, (past) suicide attempt, violence, guns, death

REVIEW: Y’all, I think I found a new favorite series. This series… the characters… the world-building… the character development… UGH I absolutely adore everything about it. Ronan Lynch has my heart and Noah Czerny is such a babie and I want to protect him forever and ever. The Raven Boys gave me so much more than what I was expecting.

The Raven Boys follows Blue Sargent. But unlike her family of physics, seers, and clairvoyants, Blue has no magical abilities. She has been warned all her life that the first person she kisses, will die. One night, she sees a boy on the Corpse Road and this is a sign. The only way that a non seer sees a ghost is if that ghost is either a true love or the non-seer killed them. This is where the Raven Boys come into play.

The Raven Boys is basically the name of four boys that attend Aglionby – Gansey Richard III, Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch, and Noah Czerny. Gansey is the so-called leader of the group and he’s on a mission to find the final resting place of Glendower, a Welsh King who passed away in Henrietta. There is a legend that says if he’s awoken, he grants the person who woke him a “favor”. Gansey wants to be the person to wake Glendower but he isn’t the only one looking for him.

I didn’t know too much about this series other than the writing style wasn’t the greatest. I didn’t really see a problem with this as I listened to them on audiobook. The narrator was not my favorite and some of the voices he used I didn’t feel worked with the characters. But all in all, I was really invested in the plot and paranormal aspect of Blue and the Raven Boys.

Speaking of Blue and the Raven Boys, they were so well-written! Each character within this novel was complex and had their own unique peculiarities that made them extremely interesting to read about. They were also really relatable. Even the situations that they each experienced, felt real and not at all cliche’d. Plus, all the sarcastic remarks had me howling with laughter, especially Ronan and Gansey’s friendship. It was *chefs kiss*

“We have to be back in three hours,” Ronan said. “I just fed Chainsaw but she’ll need it again.”
“This,” Gansey replied “is precisely why I didn’t want to have a baby with you.”

The characters that I found the most interesting, were honestly Ronan, Noah, and Adam. Blue was a great protagonist and had her complexities, but I didn’t feel anything special for her. Gansey was also an interesting character but I felt that the book revolved a bit too much about him and his mission. I wanted more scenes with Noah, Adam, and Ronan.

Ronan gave me all the bad boy vibes and has my heart while Noah is such a babie that I must protect. But if we’re talking great backstories and the main character in my book, I would say Adam takes that role. Adam’s story is honestly the best of them all. It was tragic, and made my heart hurt in more places than I expected that he had to go through what he did. I was taken on the biggest roller coaster ride I’ve ever been on and man, this book hit home – hard.

I was unable to put this down and I just wanted to keep listening to it. I was emotional because of the relationship with the OT5, driven due to the quest of finding Glendower and wanting to discover the truth. This is also the first book that I felt nothing for the “villain”. I mean if you know me, I’m always falling for the villain and here, I’m just like meh about him. He didn’t offer a ton to the story but he did offer just enough that without him, this story wouldn’t have made sense one bit.

Also, can we talk about all the foreshadowing within this novel? Cause holy guacamole! There was a ton. For example:

“Ronan said, “I’m always straight.”
Adam replied “Oh, man, that’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told.”

Like.. WHAT!? DO I SMELL A BUDDING ROMANCE? FRIENDS TO LOVERS MAYBE? Please let these two be a couple in the end, cause I need me a Ronan and Adam couple scene. DON’T LET ME DOWN MAGGIE!

The writing was beautiful, and I felt it flowed wonderfully. I got swept into the world of Cabeswater and I loved how you could actually feel like you were there alongside Blue and the Raven Boys.

Okay, before I make this any longer and bore y’all to death with my love for Ronan Lynch and Noah Czerny – just please… I beg of you to pick this up and give The Raven Boys a chance.

“The way Gansey saw it was this: if you had a special knack for finding things, it meant you owed the world to look.”
  
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Pow right in the kisser
#shazam is DC's answer to #deadpool its witty, dark & stylish but also feels a tad 'weve seen all this before'. Shazam always looked to me like a film nobody asked for or a straight to #netflix film so when it started I was actually very surprised with what I was watching. Its an extremely well shot film with seemingly high production values, stylish cinematography & a pretty neat soundtrack too. I was also pleasantly surprised at the dark tone/atmosphere the film decided to go for & considering the trailers suggest this was to be a comedy for a younger audience there are some quite horrific deaths, adult #humour, nasty enemies & also some very dark subject matter. All this darkness however is balanced out quite nicely with goofy humour & some genuinely #funny gags & some brilliant references to films like #tomhanks #Big & the #terminator. Theres a running theme throughout about #family/sticking together & another about there being #heroes inside all of us be it from security guards that keep our schools safe, #mums raising #kids, people who adopt & even people who dress up as #santa can help #inspire our kids to do good. Shazam does alot right & at times its a spellbinding film full of #charm but sadly I found it to fall apart in the final act where it loses its #freakazoid mixed with #hancock & #batman the #animated series vibe in favour for a more generic & forgettable conclusion with a main #villain who came across more pedestrian than menacing which is a shame. Shazam is generally a really great #popcorn flick & crowed pleaser, its got #heart & #laughs but I can see it being forgotten about in a few years but for now its well worth your time. #odeon #odronlimitles #dc #dcuniverse #superhero #geek #comic
  
Next Victim (DCI Rachel King, #1)
Next Victim (DCI Rachel King, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Exhausted, overworked and trying to deal with two teenagers with little help from her ex; what Rachel King doesn’t need is an early morning call to a murder scene. Added to her complicated life is a series of text messages from an ex-boyfriend/lover who wants to reconnect with her. She loves him but a major problem is that he is a well-known villain, active in an around Manchester.
Leaving the chaos of her home behind her, she arrives at a grizzly scene. A young man has been tortured, cut up and burned then tossed into the canal. There are few clues, a homeless man who heard the cries of the young man while being tortured can give them no help.
And then another body appears on the scene. The only apparent link is that they are gay, beautiful young men.
While all this is happening, Rachel’s younger daughter is kidnapped but there is nothing to suggest where the murderer might have taken her. Meantime, Rachel is trying to keep her relationship with the crime boss a secret from her team but relies on him to help find her daughter.

This is the first book in a new police procedural series, featuring DCI Rachel King and her sidekick DS Elwyn Price, set in and around Manchester. The novel is a police procedural with lots of action.
You will find plenty of twists and turns in this thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The characters and plot are well developed and I couldn't read this fast enough as I was so gripped with the story.
I think this is gonna be another great series from this fabulous author.
Many thanks to Joffe Books via Netgalley for my digital copy.