I quite like this cover, though I really do like all the covers people created for me, to be honest. This one was actually provided with a full cover, too, including the spine for the book.
There’s a particular scene in the Prologue of book one that I think this cover fits really well with. I like the colours on here and I also really like the use of the keys.
(This review may contain spoilers).
When I saw this film advertised, I was immediately intrigued by the plot. Time travel fiction is always really interesting and this looked like it would take a dark turn.
I did think it took a little while for the consequences of the characters’ actions to be shown. The trailer indicated that the dark turn was taken early on and it was well over halfway through by the time the interesting part happened.
It was good to see the different characters interact together and I felt that the bonds of friendship were shown really well. I didn’t really recognise any of the actors, but I liked the characters they played… and I especially liked the scene where they won the Lottery.
I did find the technological aspects of this film a little difficult to follow at times. The limit of three weeks was interesting, but I would have liked a bit more explanation about the details of that limit.
I did also like Quinn and Adam as characters and I would have liked to see a bit more of them. Still, even though they were more minor characters, I felt that their personalities were quite well-developed.
There were some amusing moments in this film and also some quite intense scenes.
Having the video camera make the audience a part of the film isn’t an original idea, but I thought there was a good explanation for it this time. The movie was entertaining, but I’m not sure I’d watch it again.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having read book one in this trilogy, I was quite happy when the author kindly sent me a copy of book two to read.
It was good to see Harcourt again in this book. I liked that he came across as a much stronger, more confident character here. It was good to see him interacting with the other characters, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, due to the fact that he seemed even more alone than in book one.
It was intriguing to see more of the Cult members, though I would have liked to learn a bit more about their pasts and how they became members. It was also really good to see more of the wizard in this book… and more of different types of magic that were in Stonewood.
I really didn’t like Garth as a character. At all. The Lich King was really creepy, but I would have liked to know more about his past. Still, I’m not sure I personally would have wanted to even enter the fortress… so obviously, Harcourt and his friends are much braver than I am.
The red dagger was really creepy when wielded by the Cult members… but it was even worse when Harcourt had it in hand. I was glad when he was no longer wielding it.
It was good to see more of the world outside of Stonewood, too. I liked Harcourt and Krestina. It was also pretty cool to see that Krestina was having the visions… though I did think that the priest in the temple should have listened to her.
I felt the book was really entertaining to read and drew me back into the world really easily. I did notice a quite a few repetitions of, ‘beautiful priestess’ or ‘beautiful assassin’, which I felt were unnecessary. I did think it was good that I grew to know some of the characters who ended up being in danger.
There is a third book in this trilogy and I hope to be able to read it at some point in the future. This book did end on something like a cliffhanger and it would be good to see how the characters cope with the events of this book.
(This review may contain spoilers).
This film is one my siblings and I watched when we were really young. It’s a really entertaining feel-good film. There are a lot of comedy moments in this and a large amount of actors I recognised.
This film did a good job of having the plot contrast with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I really like it as a movie. Some of the songs are really good and there are a lot of really amusing moments in this.
The scenes in the forest were really quite beautifully done, I felt. I also felt that Berke didn’t really seem to have many different facial expressions. I’ve seen the actor who plays him in a different film, so I don’t think it’s that he’s a bad actor… but it was strange that, for the first ten minutes, he was only narrating and didn’t actually speak ‘in-character-in-present’ at all.
I liked a lot of the characters in this film… but I really didn’t like Striker and I found his accent to be quite annoying. It was cool to see actors I recognise from films made later.
There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in this and I found myself able to quote a lot of the lines from this film. It’s got some nice songs in it and a good storyline. Not a terribly original plot… but it’s definitely an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. And it’s one of my favourite romantic comedy films.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is a book I’m truly wavering between three and four stars for. In the end, I’ve given it three stars – for the simple reason that Emily (and Jack, to a certain extent) was the only character who was likable in this book. The other characters were well-written… but really unlikable. Stevie was one I would have liked to see a bit more of. It seemed to me that he got a bit of a raw deal throughout.
This book does pretty much delve into a scene of horror right away and doesn’t actually let up. The four girls in the book who Emily interacts with first are clearly quite despicable individuals. It’s good that they don’t fit neatly into any kind of stereotypes… but at the same time, I couldn’t see anything that was remotely redeeming about them.
I did find myself really quite intrigued by Jack and the mystery that was going on with him. The murder mystery… didn’t actually strike me as realistic. There were a lot of scenes I read and found myself thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure police can’t actually get away with doing that/giving this kind of information out’.
I think I would have liked the relationship between Emily and Jack a bit more if I’d felt it was going somewhere. I felt the author did take the time to develop it, but it didn’t really seem like real love – more of a crush. Which could also have been because of what Jack was going through in the book.
There were some scenes in this book that seemed almost a bit dreamlike, especially towards the end. There wasn’t really much that was unexpected and I was a bit lost about the explanation by the end of the book. I understood it to an extent… but I was confused about why.
I would have liked to see a bit more of Emily’s relationship with Lily, as well as with her mother and Stevie. I was a bit confused about why apparently none of them left the house. I did like the fact that Emily tried to stand up for Charlie at the beginning of the book.
I did notice quite a few errors in the writing, particularly a few instances where present tense was slipped into. The book was still readable, though, and I read it really fast. I probably would read other books by this author in the future.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Despite the title of this book (and the blurb) sounding really similar to the Hunger Games, I was really intrigued by the plot of this. The whole concept of a battle royale type setting is a really intriguing one, especially when the book deals with the fallout from people being forced to kill other people.
I wasn’t really clear as to how the boys from each nation were picked to take part in the harem games. Alex as a character was really intriguing – I found it quite interesting how he was a hermaphrodite, though it didn’t really make much of a change to the story. I would have liked to see a bit more explanation about how someone with male and female parts fits into the society created.
I did feel that there was something of info-dumping through this book, especially at the start. Rather than having a list of the male characters who were supposed to fight in the games, I would have liked the author to show their personalities more. As the book went on, I did get to know the characters more and more.
I liked Alex’s relationship with his brides, as opposed to most of the other contestants. I liked the contradictions in his character – the fierce protectiveness over the six brides and his willingness to fight and kill for them, but also his gentle, almost childlike nature at times in the book. The way he treated them after a battle was especially sweet.
To be honest, if it wasn’t for the style of writing this book had, I probably would have given it four stars. I didn’t like the use of the script format and the book changed first person POVs with little to no warning. I really felt that style detracted from what would have otherwise been quite an entertaining book to read.
I also liked the Christian aspects in the book, even if I didn’t exactly agree with some of it. And the use of technology worked really well here, as well as the different powers the girls had.
I would probably read the sequel to this book at some point in the future. It would be good to see where the characters go next.
Narfi is one of Loki’s sons and twin brother to Vali. In Norse mythology, Vali is turned into a wolf and forced to attack and kill his brother, after which Loki is bound under a serpent with his entrails. (I know. Pretty disturbing, right?)
In Ice Warriors, Narfi is trapped as a spirit in the ice palace, along with his chained father and his mother. Mainly skilled as a warrior, Narfi also has some magic ability due to his father being a powerful mage.
Personality-wise, Narfi is honourable and noble. He does have a mischievous streak, but there’s nothing cruel in it. He was originally meant to be a main character in book one, but his part has fallen back a bit… though he still has an important role to play.
You can probably tell, due to the different styles, but I was fortunate to get three separate artists who were able to show different portrayals of Narfi. Personally, I think they’re all especially cool and each one demonstrates a particular aspect to his character. In mythology and in the series, he’s probably quite a tragic character.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I remember watching this film originally quite a while ago, but my niece really wanted to watch it today, so we put it on and watched together.
As feel-good films go, this was a really good one. The plot of the film wasn’t an original one, but it was an entertaining movie to watch and there were some really good comedy elements in it.
I felt this film did a good job of showing different personalities of the eighteen children. Although I couldn’t name most of the younger ones, I still felt they were really well-developed and although there were some of the cliches (cheerleader and creative artsy girl, for instance), all of them were, for the most part, likable characters and I enjoyed seeing them interact together, especially when the rivalry turned into the inevitable having to work together.
I liked the clear differences in the two adults’ parenting styles and how they clashed due to their entirely different personalities, even though they were clearly attracted to each other. I recognised a couple of the actors in this film, but on the whole, I felt that the actors playing the characters worked really well.
I really did enjoy watching this film and since I have it on DVD, it is one I would probably watch again. It’s a good family film with some really sweet emotional scenes and also some really good amusing scenes. The children were different enough and the family loyalty came through really well. It is similar to Cheaper by the Dozen, but I feel it deals with different issues.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I’ve seen vampires used a lot in fiction to date and it’s always interesting to see the different kind of spins people put on the popular vampire myth… even though I do think vampires have been over-used to date.
I know the historical account of the Countess Bathory and I felt this book was not only an interesting twist on the vampire story, but also on the story of the Countess… despite the amount of poetic license that was taken throughout the book.
The start of the book was intriguing and enough to draw me into the plot. The character of Kati was quite an interesting one and I liked seeing her interacting with the other characters in the book. It was pretty creepy to see the Countess’ home and what went on there through Kati’s eyes. I was surprised that the whole book wasn’t written in first person – although the first chapter was intriguing, I felt it wasn’t entirely clear who the POV character was or how they knew all of this information.
The journals that Kati had to bind were quite intriguing to read, but I couldn’t quite see the evolution from the the character of Theodora to the way she was in Kati’s time.
The goals of the Countess, once revealed, made her more of an interesting character, I felt… if still clearly a villain. I would have liked to see some more of the servants in the castle and also have a few more details of the other girls attending the school.
For the most part, I felt the author did a good job of setting the scene historically… but I did feel there were a number of occasions where the language was a bit too modern. There were also a couple of times where the journal entries weren’t clearly indicated and I had some confusion before realising Kati was reading them again.
There were a lot of disturbing scenes in this book and I found myself cringing at times. The descriptions came across really well. I thought good use was made of the other historical figures, too.
I probably would read the sequel to this book at some point in the future. It would be interesting to see where the author goes with the storyline next.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I would, ideally, give this book 4.5 stars. I did find it a bit difficult to get into at the start, but as the book progressed, I found it easier to become absorbed into the storyline and began caring about the characters.
The idea of the Tournament of Hearts is a frightening one, but I felt it was quite realistic that a society would develop that kind of ritual in a belief to keep themselves protected. What I would have liked to see was how that all came about – one of the characters thinks about how he lived through a time the sacrifice wasn’t gone through with.
Although certainly not a conventional warrior, I felt Neven worked really well as a hero and central character in this book. Although he did have certain otherworldly abilities, I felt the author did a good job of showing how those developed… as well as letting him experience the consequences of certain actions; and having to rely on other people for help. I strongly dislike books where one character is ridiculously overpowered, to the point that other characters become obsolete… and I felt this book did a good job of going the other way.
All four of the characters who were meant to fight in the tournament were intriguing and it was interesting to see that Neven would potentially have to face his friend. Although the blurb of the book suggested that much of the main focus would be on the tournament, I liked that I got to see some of the ordinary, everyday lives of the people of Hamelin.
I have to be honest and say that my favourite character in this book was Smoke. Right from his first appearance, I was drawn to him and found him a really interesting being. There were certain scenes that made me really cringe where he was involved… but there were other scenes, particularly towards the end, that made me feel quite emotional.
As for other favourite characters… I think Neven and his two friends are tied for that. As the book progressed on, I enjoyed reading about the true camaraderie and brotherhood that existed between them. I also appreciated the fact that the author created ‘bad’ characters who had some potentially redeeming qualities.
I’m definitely interested in reading the next book in this series. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the characters will go now.
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Ink of Blood 