She is the author of The Shadow World Series and The Spiritual Discord Series.
Blitz Giveaway (INT):
She is the author of The Shadow World Series and The Spiritual Discord Series.
Blitz Giveaway (INT):
Love, Lucasby Chantele Sedgwick
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: May 5th 2015
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Although this book isn’t the sort of genre I normally tend to read, I was quite drawn into the plot, particularly since I’m sure everyone has suffered some sort of personal loss.
Even though Oakley’s name was quite an unusual one, I found her to be a really interesting character. It was good to see her having to deal with the normal things that a teenager needed to deal with, as well as losing her brother.
The idea of having a notebook where Lucas wrote letters to his sister while he was in hospital was a pretty unique one. Even though Lucas himself didn’t appear in the book, I felt like I’d got to know him through the letters he wrote to Oakley. Some of the things he wrote made me smile, while others generated an eyeroll… but it was all coloured with a bittersweet tone, knowing that all Oakley had left of him were the letters.
I did especially like Oakley’s budding relationship with Carson. I could really believe in them together and it was interesting to see how hard Oakley found it. I actually noticed a lot of myself in her character. I also especially liked gradually learning about what she enjoyed doing, through her conversations with Carson.
It was a bit disappointing not to see more of some of the supporting characters. I wasn’t keen on Dillon apparently being more attracted to Oakley than caring about his friend… and I definitely didn’t like Oakley hinting that she found Dillon very attractive, either. Some of those descriptions made me feel like she didn’t really like Carson as much as she seemed to.
Jo was another character I would have liked to learn a bit more about. It was pretty cool to see her job and I enjoyed watching their work along with Oakley… and I was also very saddened by what happened to the sea lion.
I did like that there were other things going on around Oakley as well. I liked seeing things from her perspective, but it was good that there were some other things going on as well.
This was a book that I found quite emotionally moving to read. It was well-written and although sad in parts, there were also parts that made me smile. I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.
Character Profile for Lucas
Name: Lucas Nelson
Age: 18
Height: Six feet
Weight: 170
Race: White
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Dark
Glasses or contact lenses? 20/20
Hobbies: Loved sports, especially basketball, video games, singing and hanging with friends and family.
Favorite Sayings: “Man Up”
Best Quality: Very positive and uplifting person.
Worst Quality: Kept up appearances to fit in. Had a girlfriend he didn’t really care about when he loved someone else.
Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert. Lucas loved being the center of attention.
Best friend: His sister, Oakley. He would do anything to make her happy again.
Top things that inspire me:
Family
Amazing teens that go through hard things
Pictures I find on Pinterest. 😉
Imagine Dragons and Hans Zimmer
A few of my own experiences as a teen
A visit to Aunt Jo’s beach house:
Oh, how I’d love to visit Aunt Jo’s beach house. The house is huge, lots of windows, clean and beautiful. Her decor is simple, yet pretty. Lot’s of seashells mixed with light blues and yellows. A happy, calm place that would be perfect to relax and wind down. It would totally be a dream vacation for me. Do you know how much writing I could get done with the beach that close? Nothing more relaxing and beautiful than the sound of waves rolling in and the smell of the salty sea air. Actually, I don’t know if I’d get any writing done after all, since I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf… 🙂
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is another movie I know I’ve seen quite a while ago. I remember watching it with my Dad (or part of it) while we were on holiday… but I think the first time might have been when it came out at the cinema.
A world without violent crime might not be a perfect world, but it would at least be a better world. It was interesting to see police officers whose entire job was to ‘read’ the images from visions and figure out where a murder would take place, so they could stop it from ever happening.
I’m not sure how far into the future this movie was set, but it was interesting to see the different types of technology that were used, such as hovercars and sick-sticks… quite a disturbing image.
I found the Pre-Cogs quite intriguing. I liked seeing and learning more of Agatha, but I had a lot of questions raised about the other two and if they were related to Agatha, or just happened to share gifts. I could see how easy it was for most of the other characters to stop viewing them as human, even though that was wrong.
I felt there were some very creepy moments in this movie. What I liked best was that John came across as a realistic hero. He had flaws, but he was still one of the good guys and I could really get behind him. I also felt the tragedy in his past worked well to make him a more well-rounded character.
There was enough mystery in this movie to keep me guessing throughout and I recognised and liked a lot of the actors in this. There were disturbing scenes, but also ones that were a bit more amusing and allowed me to learn more about the characters.
I feel that a sequel to this film would be good, to explore the aftermath of the events. But it was entertaining to watch and although there were some contradictions, I still very much enjoyed it and found it easy to relate to the characters.
Chantress Fury (Chantress Trilogy #3)by Amy Butler Greenfield
288 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: May 19th, 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rate: 5 out of 5 stars
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This was another book that I found myself drawn into really easily, despite not having read the previous books in the trilogy. I felt that the plot had quite a unique take. Although fairies are used quite a lot in fiction, I liked the fact that Lucy wasn’t one directly… and didn’t come across as ridiculously over-powered. It was nice to see that she did have limitations in her power.
It was interesting to see glimpses of the politics going on in the court and how Sybil had to deal with becoming Queen, but being a commoner to begin with. I would have quite liked to see more of her relationship with Henry, but it was good to see her friendship with Lucy and how it still managed to hold, despite her increase in power.
Although I didn’t know much about Chantresses when I started reading the book, I didn’t find myself getting confused and I quickly understood their abilities and what they could do. As the book progressed, I found myself drawn into the world… enough that I was reading faster, so I could find out what was going to happen to the characters I did find myself caring about.
It was also interesting to see Lucy’s relationship with Nat. Although it was fairly important to the story, it was good to see that the romance didn’t take over. And that Lucy didn’t suddenly lose all sense about what to do when their relationship hit the inevitable snag in the road.
I did also like a lot of the supporting characters and getting the opportunity to learn more about them. Although there were a couple of love triangles, they weren’t irritating to read and didn’t contain many of the cliches I now associate with love triangles.
I felt that the author did a good job of showing how quickly people’s opinions can turn on someone else. There were a number of scenes in this book where I found myself really able to empathise with Lucy and how she was feeling. And I was glad to see that she’d grown by the end of the book.
I did like how this book ended. At some point in the future, it would be good to read the previous two books in the trilogy and get to know the characters a bit more… but I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this book and I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I was expecting to.
The other men in the circle were now coming over to us—and one of them was Nat. For more than a year, I’d pretended that he meant nothing to me. Now, in the half-dark of this moonlit night, I stopped acting a part. I was simply myself, hungry for the sight of him.
The King’s right-hand man, Sybil had called him, and he looked it. He’d always had a quiet strength about him, but now that strength was in the open. Tall and sure and capable, he came toward me, and what I saw in his face made my heart hammer like a drum…
But then I caught sight of what had been at the center of the men’s circle, and my heart nearly stopped altogether. It was an enormous barrel, stood on its end. Just visible inside it was a woman, and she was gagged.
Seeing her, I felt sick. Gags and muzzles and scold’s bridles—until the King had come to the throne, these had all been common ways of stopping a woman’s tongue. Especially a Chantress’s tongue. My own godmother had been gagged before she’d been killed, and the memory filled me with horror.
“What’s going on here?” My voice was shaking with anger. “You’re gagging women and putting them in barrels?”
I could’ve asked the question of any of them. But it was Nat I was looking at.
Even in the dim light I saw his face change. When he answered, his voice was guarded, almost steely. “She isn’t a woman, Chantress. She’s a mermaid. And she’s gagged because she tried to kill us.”
Amy Butler Greenfield was a grad student in history when she gave into temptation and became a writer. Since then, she has become an award-winning author.Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and later studied history at Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Oxford. She now lives with her family in England, where she writes, bakes double-dark-chocolate cake, and plots mischief.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having read the first two books in this trilogy, I was happy to be contacted by the author with the opportunity to read the third book in the Stonewood trilogy.
It was good to see more of the characters that I recognised from the previous books. In particular, I liked seeing Harcourt again. He’s probably one of my favourite characters in this trilogy and I felt that he’d really grown as a character by the events of the third book.
I felt that the danger the characters were in came across really well. I especially liked how, when Krestina used her spells, they actually showed a toll on her. I thought it was interesting to see that come across.
I did still notice the over-use of the word ‘beautiful’ and I felt it was unnecessary to be used so many times and particularly with the same characters. I especially liked seeing Evonne and Vrawg again. It was pretty cool to learn a bit more about their past… though I would have liked to see more of Vrawg. I know he wasn’t very talkative… but I still would have liked to see a bit more of him.
It was good to see the fighting scenes in this book as well. I liked that, although Harcourt was the main character and was good at fighting, he wasn’t perfect and did need help. It was good to see that, although all of the characters were skilled, none of them were particularly over-powered.
It was also interesting to see Feylane again. The way she evolved through the books was pretty intriguing and I could understand why she seemed so taken with Harcourt.
It was also good to see Orval and Syrena. I found myself liking Syrena more than I’d expected to in this book and I was able to empathise with her really easily. I was disappointed not to see more of her and Orval in this book.
I did especially like the ending of this book and it was good to see all of the characters in the epilogue. I’d be interested in reading more books exploring the aftermath of the battle and the characters being able to meet up again. But I enjoyed this conclusion to the trilogy and definitely found it worth reading.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is a book that I’d ideally like to give 4.5 stars to. Despite a few eye-roll moments with Jade (I really don’t like characters who wax poetic about how attractive they are), I did find her easy to relate to.
This was a fairly interesting take on the ‘normal’ fairytale. Although I felt there were more elements of the tale of the Snow Queen, I could see how this book linked in with the fairy story of Sleeping Beauty.
It was good to see that the author took the time to develop the relationship between Jade and Asher. It didn’t come across as a love at first sight romance, even though they were both intrigued by each other from the beginning.
This book did quite a good job of exploring different genres, I felt. It was an interesting mix of dystopian, fantasy, romance… Although Jade was clearly a cold character at the start of the book, I found the reason behind it to be really interesting.
I did feel that the book really picked up when Jade was taken by Asher. Although the blurb wasn’t entirely accurate about them, I did enjoy seeing the way the rebels tried to live. There were certain parts of the book that made me quite sad and I was able to empathise with a lot of the other characters. I especially liked Maddy and the way she tried to learn more about Jade… and that Jade seemed to be developing a friendship with her. I also quite liked the attitude of the rebels.
It was interesting to learn the origin of Deirdre’s powers and I couldn’t help feeling a little bit sorry for her… even though I didn’t like her as a character. The reasoning behind the society she built was interesting, though.
I did very much enjoy reading this book and found myself drawn into Jade’s world really easily. I didn’t find her ridiculously over-powered or irritating and I believed in the relationship she formed with Asher. I wasn’t that keen on the cliffhanger-type ending… but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to read the next book in this series.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I have to say… historical drama is not the sort of genre that normally interests me. But I liked Aidan Turner in Being Human and the Hobbit movies… and when I glimpsed him as Poldark in a TV magazine, I was instantly intrigued. So I decided to watch the first episode and see what it was like… and then I was instantly hooked.
I found Ross Poldark to be a really intriguing character. His relationships and friendships with the other characters came across really well. I felt he seemed to really care about the people who worked and lived on his land.
I also particularly liked Demelza as a character. Her relationship with Ross came across really well and I did think it was really good that people did talk and react to the fact that Ross had married someone who, in those days, wouldn’t have been seen as marriageable material for someone of his class.
At first in the series, I did like Francis as a character. As the episodes went on, though, I liked him even less. He came across as a fairly weak character and I didn’t like the way he treated Elizabeth, who I did end up liking, despite being somewhat more hesitant of her at first.
I would have liked to see a bit more of the family before things started going badly. There were some hints of a close relationship between Ross and Francis and I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more exchanges between them before things went sour.
I did feel sorry for Verity in this series. I liked her as a character and even though I felt Demelza was being naive when it came to Verity’s situation, I found it really easy to empathise with her.
I did feel that this series seemed to be mostly historical accurate. I can’t speak for how close it was to the original series or the books, but I still found myself drawn into this television series. I wasn’t too impressed that it was only eight episodes, I have to say. I would have liked the series to be expanded a bit.
This first series did end on a cliffhanger, which has piqued my interest in watching series two. I am also interested in reading the books this series (and the previous television series) is based on.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I did personally feel that this film was more amusing than the sequel. Although Ace Ventura was still a character impossible to take seriously, it was good that, in this movie, his morals and care for animals came through really well… even if certain things did require a large amount of suspension of disbelief.
Ace had his monkey sidekick and I found it amusing to see him with the monkey. It was also interesting to see how there was one animal he didn’t like… and that was the animal he was recruited to find.
I found it interesting to see the two different tribes, though one of the members from the first one, I couldn’t tell if he was causing trouble deliberately, or he just misunderstood.
Ace Ventura was quite funny, especially with his catchphrase of ‘Alrighty then’ and the deep breath he takes before explaining his reasonings behind his theories.
I thought there was quite a good variety of animals in this and Ace is a character I can relate well to with his love for animals… at least for most of them.
There were some slight hints of mystery in this movie, enough to make it interesting to watch. Although a lot of the characters were one-dimensional for comedy purposes, there was some depth to one or two of them.
This film really didn’t require a lot of thought, even though it was really entertaining to watch. There were quite a few scenes where I found myself laughing out loud, especially when Ace’s actions got him into trouble on more than one occasion.
This film did have a slightly different feel than the first one. I’d probably watch this one again in the future. It was entertaining and amusing and I didn’t have to concentrate too hard on it.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I don’t recall the first time I watched this movie. It was one my sister and I used to constantly watch when we were children.
I always liked the plot of this movie. I think the puppets used to create the creatures in this movie were particularly good. There weren’t many actual actors in this, but the special effects (for the time the movie was made in) worked really well and it was cool to see the actors who played the main characters. I’ve heard David Bowie’s music before… and Jennifer Connelly is an a actress I’ve seen in later movies.
The atmosphere of this film was a particularly good one. Although I did feel that Sarah was a bit over-the-top at the beginning of the film, it came across more as the attitude of a teenager rather than the acting itself being a problem.
I did think that, although Jareth was particularly attractive (and I don’t normally find David Bowie attractive, so it was only in that role), it was quite creepy how fixated he was on Sarah.
There were some moments in this film that were really amusing, particularly when it came to Sir Didymus. I liked the friendship that grew between Sarah, Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus.
I did like the music in this, as well. My favourite song in this movie was probably Magic Dance. I liked how all of the goblin puppets were different and unique in appearance. It was interesting to see how the fairies weren’t gentle creatures, though I would have liked to see more of them. And I especially liked the worm that Sarah interacts with.
I felt sorry for Ludo in his first appearance, but I did like him. I felt that there was a lot of work that went into making this movie and it still remains one of my favourites and, in my opinion, a really entertaining fantasy.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I’d give this book 3.5 stars, ideally. For a lot of the book, I wasn’t sure how the different characters and storylines fit together. I did find the different plots intriguing and as I got to know the characters, I did find them interesting and I found myself caring about the characters and the plot.
This book was definitely much more of a thriller than a science fiction book. I found myself drawn into the plot and it was good to see more normal people get caught up in what was going on. I thought that Jesse and Amanda were interesting characters, though I found myself getting a bit confused by their history at times. It was good to see them working together, even though there were times I didn’t like Amanda that much… at least at first.
Almost from the beginning, I found Francis to be a really intriguing character, though I did feel that I didn’t learn as much of his history as I could have done. I didn’t feel that the blurb was entirely accurate when it came to him… but I did like him as a character.
There was quite a lot of intrigue in this book and for a long time, I was completely confused about what was going on and why exactly people were so interested in the contents of the disk. I guess that was the same position as many of the other characters were in, though even by the end, I felt that I didn’t really understand everything.
I liked Mitch and Mike as characters, though there were a few times when I got confused between the two of them. I would have liked to see more of their history and how they knew each other.
There was quite a lot of action in this book that did hold my attention and kept me reading throughout. There were some very gory scenes in this book. There were also some characters I found a bit harder to follow… but it was nice to see when the ‘good guys’ had to outsmart the plans of the people trying to kill them.
I think I would read the next book in this series, since it would be good to get some answers to what was going on.