(This review may contain spoilers).
When I saw the trailer of this movie, I immediately wanted to see it, considering I’d watched the previous two in the new Star Trek.
I thought it was good to see the effects of the long time in space on the crew and it was good to see glimpses of the reunion when the crew returned. I was a bit surprised by Kirk’s decision, but given what he’d voiced at the beginning, the reasoning did make sense.
I especially liked seeing more of the crew members, like Bones and Chekov. It was good to see Scotty have a fairly big part… and I really did enjoy seeing them interact with Jaylah. I felt some sympathy for her, even though she was strong and capable.
I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t many one-to-one interactions between Kirk and Spock, but it was good to see them both on different paths that then merged. And it was also nice to be reminded of the biological differences in Vulcans.
I thought there were a lot of good moments of humour, in particular with Bones; who it was good to see that he was able to do more than just the obvious. It worked well to see Spock’s stubbornness, even if that did seem to cross into recklessness at times.
I liked that there was a lot of foreshadowing and even though I would have liked to see more in the way of new planets and civilisations, but I thought the formation of the ships was particularly efficient… even if I was confused by the end about just how many there were.
I liked being able to see that Kirk had matured and it was also good to see how much he cared about his crew, even though the majority of them weren’t named or really developed. That was more of a problem when those I didn’t care as much about were threatened.
It was good to see the references to Ambassador Spock, even though the situation was a very sad one. I did like that the romance between Spock and Uhura didn’t actually take over the film, but it was good to see the continuity held.
The action didn’t really let up and I was kept on the edge of my seat, especially towards the end. While there were a lot of questions answered through the film, though, I was still left with some confusion at the end.
I liked that this movie focused on the secondary characters as well as the main, allowing the movie to feel like it was spread over a wider scale. Bones was probably my favourite character, but Chekov was really a close second. I liked that, although young, he was still a valued member of the crew.
I hope there’ll be further movies in this franchise, as I would like to see more of the crew and the friendships between them. The ending was a hopeful one, even though there were some sadder references to Kirk’s father.
This was a movie I would definitely see again and plan to buy on DVD.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having had the opportunity to read the first books in this series, I was happy to be able to read the final book in this series, though I didn’t remember everything about the previous books.
It was good to see Sadie again and I did like seeing the effects of the situation with Kian, even though I felt she could have handled that a bit better. It seemed somewhat odd that she went from not talking to him at all to everything being fine after just a brief conversation.
I liked being able to see Sadie training both in combat and with her Talent, though I would have liked to see both of those a bit more. Like her time with the psychiatrist, all I saw were the after-effects.
I especially liked learning some more about the different Talents, in particular Marianne’s and Lily’s. I couldn’t help feeling a lot of sympathy for Lily, as it seemed she was quite alone.
It was also good to learn about Sadie’s Talent as the book went on and to see that she wasn’t immediately perfect at what she could do. I would have liked to see more of her interactions with the other characters, but it was interesting to see how she felt like an outsider at times. I would have liked to see her interacting a bit more with her aunt, as I didn’t have a clear picture of their relationship even by the end of the book.
I really disliked Sadie’s grandfather even more by the end of this book and although there were a lot of good elements of tension throughout, the traitor was someone I didn’t really get to see at all in the book… and since I didn’t remember them from the previous books, I couldn’t really care so much. The same with the people who were killed towards the end.
I thought it was really interesting to see the articles and news reports about the hostility between the Normals and the Caelians, though I would have liked to see more from the outside.
I did really like this book and I thought it ended really well. In the future, I would really like to read more books by this author.
(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I thought the concept of this comic was a really intriguing one. I liked seeing the conflict in the relationship between Kenton and his father, though I would have liked to see more of Kenton’s relationship with his siblings and also with various other members of his people. It was quite hard to care about what happened to them, as it was hard to differentiate between the different characters.
There was a bit of confusion when the Duchess and her entourage had appeared, as the Duchess in particular seemed to be wearing clothes that had a more Earth-feel to them.
I did find the ability of the Sand Masters to be really interesting to see, even though I would have liked to see a bit more of their background. For instance, were the Sand Masters only men? I couldn’t tell if there were any women in the ranks.
Although I was a bit disorientated with the other random plot that cropped up, it didn’t take long to realise how the characters involved related to the others in the main storyline. And I liked meeting Ais, as she seemed to come across as quite a strong person.
It was interesting to see something of the politics in the city and how the other leaders viewed the Sand Masters. While I did think there was a bit too much exposition, especially at the beginning, it was good to see Kenton having to argue for the survival of his people. However, apart from one other survivor, who was suspected of being a traitor, there were very few members of the Sand Masters I was able to get to know. And although there were hints of those with less power being looked down upon, that didn’t really crop up very much.
The artwork was really good and I liked the visual representation of the abilities. I was a bit confused by the history of the tensions between the two different peoples and I would have liked to see a bit of history: shown, instead of just talked about.
Even though there were some problems and I didn’t quite feel this comic lived up to my expectations, it was easy to read and I did enjoy learning about the world and the characters. I felt this was more of an introduction to the world and that there was a lot still to be explored.
In the future, if given the opportunity, I would probably read further issues of this series.
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Contemporary, Fiction
Rate: 3.5 stars out of 5
Synopsis:
Hasn’t he lived long enough? Why not? I could take him like a thief in the night.
This is how the Thief thinks. He serves death, the vacuum, the unknown. He’s always waiting. Always there.
Seventeen-year-old Nina Barrows knows all about the Thief. She’s intimately familiar with his hunting methods: how he stalks and kills at random, how he disposes of his victims’ bodies in an abandoned mine in the deepest, most desolate part of a desert.
Now, for the first time, Nina has the chance to do something about the serial killer that no one else knows exists. With the help of her former best friend, Warren, she tracks the Thief two thousand miles, to his home turf—the deserts of New Mexico.
But the man she meets there seems nothing like the brutal sociopath with whom she’s had a disturbing connection her whole life. To anyone else, Dylan Shadwell is exactly what he appears to be: a young veteran committed to his girlfriend and her young daughter. As Nina spends more time with him, she begins to doubt the truth she once held as certain: Dylan Shadwell is the Thief. She even starts to wonder . . . what if there is no Thief?
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I think I’d give this book more like 3.5 stars out of 5. I didn’t feel it was necessary for the narration to keep switching between two different first person POVs and it was actually quite distracting… not to mention, there were a lot of ill-timed flashbacks that threw me out of the story while I tried to figure out exactly whereabouts in time I was.
I actually really liked the concept of this book and I thought Nina was an interesting character. I liked the fact that the book went straight into the action… and I felt that there was a lot of tension generated by the fact that Nina didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t.
I actually wasn’t that keen on Warren as a character, separate from the switching to his perspective. Some of what he came out with, particularly towards the end, was especially creepy and I couldn’t really get behind the romance that developed between them, as although he was interested in Nina, there was nothing to indicate she was interested in him.
I was also a bit disappointed that some things didn’t pan out. I thought there was a lot of potential for twists that didn’t really go anywhere.
I really liked the fact that Nina was struggling with sleeping, but I would have liked to see some more of her struggling with something like addiction. It was implied in the narration that she wasn’t and I felt that she could have been easier to empathise with if she had been. It was also disappointing not to see more of her interactions with Kirby, as I felt she didn’t really spend much time with someone who was supposed to be her friend.
I think this book could have been expanded upon and while it was really good to be able to see Nina’s confusion and how what she’d seen had affected her for so long, a lot of the narration was a bit jarring in that there were random flashbacks/summaries of past events. This book had a lot of potential and I felt that there was only one way it could have ended… but I was left with very few answers and still a lot of confusion by the end.
Follow the The Killer In Me by Margot Harrison Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
I was raised in the wilds of New York by lovely, nonviolent parents who somehow never managed to prevent me from staying up late to read scary books. I now work at an alt-weekly newspaper in Vermont, where my favorite part of the job is, of course, reviewing scary books and movies. The Killer in Me is my first novel.
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having seen the original Ghostbusters movie, I was immediately interested in seeing the remake… especially considering the interesting gender reversals.
It was good to see how the four women came together and I thought it was good how, although there was a lot of humour, there were some quite serious moments in this movie too. I especially liked the core friendship between Erin and Abby… but Jillian and Patty were really good as well and I liked how each of them brought something to the group. Plus, it was good to see the friendships that formed between them.
While there were some parallels with the original Ghostbusters movie, I liked the fact that the storyline was a completely different one… and it was cool to see the cameos of the actors from the original, though I thought it would have been good to see them as the original Ghostbusters, especially since at least three of the women mirrored their male counterparts.
It was good to get to know bits and pieces of Abby’s and Erin’s pasts, though I would have liked to see a bit more of Jillian’s and Patty’s. It was, however, quite funny to see Patty make use of her uncle’s hearse.
I did really like Chris Hemsworth as the ditzy secretary. It was another nice gender change and I could kind of understand Erin’s slight obsession with him… even if she did kind of make me thing of a fangirl when she was around him.
I couldn’t really take the Mayor or his assistant that seriously and I thought they were just humouring the group for a while. I didn’t really like them, either.
There were some really good scenes of tension in this movie and I was able to be drawn into the storyline really easily. There were some good visuals, too, and it was nice to see more link-ins than just the characters with the original. While some of the science did go over my head a bit, it was still easy to watch and I enjoyed it a great deal… even if there were a few over-the-top moments.
Having received two negative responses to a couple of reviews I’ve written, I thought I’d start a new thing on my blog and discuss what some of my pet peeves in books are; although these can also be applied to other forms of media. These might be things that are style choices and other people are fine with… but for me, personally, can be real deal breakers in whether I like a book or not.
Feel free to share some of your own pet peeves!
- Switching POV. This isn’t actually so bad in third person books, but it’s particularly bothersome when a book switches between either two (or more) first person perspectives… or first and third person. I’ve thought about it a lot and I think the problem is not being able to get to know the characters when it changes so much. Plus, the characters are rarely established to the point where I can automatically tell whose head the narration is in. Unless it’s clearly marked (s0metimes not even then), I’m quite often saying, ‘Why is Bob referencing something only Pete’s supposed to know…? Oh, wait…’ (Disclaimer: Not necessarily names of real characters).
- Information dumping. I enjoy learning about worlds and characters… but as the character/s experience the world. If there are several paragraphs (or sometimes several pages) detailing the background of the world/characters… I tend to switch off. On a personal level, I find it really boring.
- Insta!love/love at first sight/soulmates. I have read exactly one book series where soulmates has been handled well. One. Bear in mind, I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember… and I’m now 30. The books on here and on Goodreads are actually a fraction of the amount I’ve read over the years. And not much is more irritating than when a character decides he/she/undisclosed loves another person after or during their first meeting. I mean… real love is about knowing someone’s faults and loving them in spite of those. After a first meeting, how are you going to know that someone is a morning or evening person? That they snore? That their guilty pleasure is Power Rangers? (Raises hand. Yes. I’m the latter).
- Love triangles/squares/etc. I have never liked these. Why? Most of the time, it’s a young, attractive woman trying to decide between two guys. And most of the time, said two guys are one extreme or the other – the nice guy and the dark, brooding bad boy. Add to that the fact that, most of the time, every other character takes an inordinate amount of interest in said character’s love life (even when the fate of the world hangs in the balance), I’ll be eye-rolling long before the end.
- Ridiculously over-powered characters/ones who the rules are broken for. In fan fiction, characters like this are known as Mary Sues (female) and Gary Stus (male). These are the characters who are able to defeat overwhelming odds without even breaking a nail… and with very little training to go along with that. Or, you know, none. The character who’s a vampire who can walk in the sun when every other vampire can’t. The character who’s the one every bad guy obsesses over. I’m not saying that characters shouldn’t have gifts… but as an aspiring writer who reads everything I can get my hands on, not much annoys me more than the perfect character who’s the centre of the world and everyone else is just there to look pretty.
I think there are probably more… but off the top of my head, these are the ones that have cropped up recently in what I’ve been reading. I’ll be interested in knowing what other people think.
Curiosity Quills is excited to reveal the cover for THE TIMESEER’S GAMBIT, by Kate McIntyre, and announce that it’s now available for pre-order, for direct delivery to your Kindle on release day.
Genre: historical-fantasy, paranormal, mystery
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date of Release: August 4, 2016
Cover Artist: Amalia Chitulescu
Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads
Description:
It’s been three months since mild-mannered Christopher Buckley began working with Olivia Faraday, the eccentric Deathsniffer. They’ve hunted killers, solved murders, and learned to work together. But their greatest challenges are yet to come…
As a brutal heat wave wracks an increasingly unstable Darrington City, someone is killing young priests. Worse, they are using bound elementals to do it. As Chris and Olivia contend with rogue spiritbinders and a church under siege, the clock ticks down toward the trial of Doctor Francis Livingstone, accused of orchestrating the fall of the Floating Castle and the death of thousands. Chris believes the doctor is innocent, but the tide of the conspiracy aligned against him is strong enough to wash away anyone who would stand for him.
How far is Chris willing to go to save the doctor? Can Darrington city survive the rival forces tearing it apart? And can Olivia find her first serial killer before another body drops?
About The Author
Kate McIntyre was born and raised in the frigid white north, having spent her entire life in Moncton, New Brunswick. She learned to appreciate the quintesstial Canadian things: endless winters, self-deprecating jokes, the untamed wilderness, and excessive politeness. Somehow it was the latter that she chose to write about.
She has been writing since she was five years old and nothing has ever stopped her for long. Her first novel was about a lady mouse detective saving her turtle janitor boyfriend from kidnappers, so it’s nice to know she always loved lady detectives. She is the proud author of sixteen embarrassing hidden novels and one publishable one.
Kate loves crochet, video games, board games, reading, and listening to bad pop music very loudly. She spends several months of the year in Illinois, and the rest of the time lives in a big country home with two cats who refuse to stay
Find Kate Online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE;
AN ANTHOLOGY IN AID OF THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
Genre: Romance (contemporary and paranormal)
Date of Release: July 18, 2018
Cover Artist: The Graphics Shed
Description: Love In The First Degree is a collection of short stories written by seven authors who have come together to help raise money for The Innocence Project. This anthology includes stories by Laura Morgan, Allana Walker, Clare Dugmore, Kyra Lennon and Kirsty-Anne Still.
Each story speaks of crime, passion, determination, and most importantly, intense romance that will leave you thinking about the characters long after you have finished turning the pages.
Being wrongfully accused of a crime could happen to anyone, anywhere, and The Innocence Project works hard to overturn wrongful convictions and help innocent people get back to their real lives where they rightfully belong. All proceeds from sales of Love In The First Degree will be donated to The Innocence Project.
****
Author: Laura Morgan
Title: Ensnared
A hand outstretches amidst the chaos of a brutal attack, offering safety and protection—but only in the arms of a villainous gangster who certainly isn’t going to be good news. Take it and accept the consequences? Or refuse and risk losing it all in the aftermath?
That’s exactly what happens to Bree Locke the night she meets mobster Alexis Ramon.
What seems like a good idea at the time ends up being the turning point in her life, but how will things pan out, and will she be able to survive the consequences of her decision?
Because when you fall from the frying pan into the fire, you’re going to get burned…
****
Author: Allana Walker
Title: Believe
What happens when the one guy you thought would protect you, doesn’t? What happens when your own family and friends turn against you in your time of need? What happens when all you want is someone to believe you? What happens when the one person you least expect does? Find out how one girl’s life turns upside down only to turn back with a few simple words… “I believe you.”
****
Author: Clare Dugmore
Title: Seeking The Truth
Erin Reynolds has been on the West Midlands Police force for seven years. She’s seen some strange things in the line of duty, but nothing quite like this.
On her first day working as a detective Erin witnesses something that makes the whole department question her sanity, and leads to her being sent on a leave of absence.
Desperate to prove what she saw was real, Erin tracks down the only other witness, Arcane Specialist Morgan Jackson. The occult expert is as infuriating as he is charming. When the killer leaves a disturbing message on her answer phone, Erin is forced to work with Morgan in order to catch the culprit and get her job reinstated.
The hunt takes them around the West Midlands, visiting a flirty priestess, a druid on the wrong side of the law and a sorcerer from Morgan’s past. As Erin learns more about the supernatural world, she also realizes there’s more to Morgan than just his sarcastic wit and arcane knowledge.
She’s drawn to him almost as deeply as she is to the truth of what she saw. Her feelings for him are bought into sharp when Morgan gets on the wrong side of the murderer and it’s up to Erin to rescue him, and stop the occult forces plaguing the area before the darkness takes over.
****
Author: Kyra Lennon
Title: Reasonable Doubts
Darcy Ryan is a woman on a mission.
A mission to take down the corrupt cops who ensured her best friend, Matteo Torres, went to jail for a crime he didn’t commit – the murder of his wife, Rebecca.
Darcy is willing to do just about anything to prove his innocence, including getting up close and personal with the case’s lead detective, Finn Drake.
She knows she’s playing a dangerous game, but it gets more dangerous then she could have ever imagined when she discovers everything she thought she knew about Rebecca Torres was wrong, and Finn Drake isn’t the man she thought he was either.
****
Author: Kirsty-Anne Still
Title: Love Me Not
Synopsis: I love him. He loves me. Our love story was that easy. I stuck by that, making sure he knew I was his person, his rock when he was arrested for murder. A murder that I knew he didn’t commit. But here I am, breaking his heart, unravelling our love story. All to save him. I’d break his heart – and mine – a thousand times over if it clears his name. *** I wasn’t raised to be a good man. I was loved to be one. She was the one constant when my world started falling apart. Until she wasn’t. I was no longer the man I had become. I was a murderer, a criminal, a broken man. She started to see me as the murderer I was branded, but mark my words, this doesn’t end here. When I’m a free man I’ll tear this world apart to get her back.
—-
About Laura Morgan
Laura Morgan writes dark and powerful romance novels. She’s a hopeless romantic with a dark side. Be warned, she may give her characters their Happily Ever After, but makes them work hard for it!
You can join her for more information regarding her books at www.lauramorgan.co
****
About Allana Walker
Allana Walker is from Scotland. She began writing in secret then took the big leap into self-publishing in 2015. She doesn’t have a specific genre, but she’s all about romance and HEA’s.
She loves mafia, MC and dark reads.
Always in love with the bad guy of books when she should hate them.
Her other passions, besides reading and writing, are baking, spending time with her family, watching wrestling and going to concerts.
http://www.facebook.com/authorallanawalker
****
About Clare Dugmore
Clare Dugmore is the author of contemporary romance ALL IT TAKES.
She is a thirty-something, married, mother of two from the West Midlands, of England.
In her spare time, Clare enjoys binge watching shows with her hubby,
spending time with her two sons, and playing video games.
About Kyra Lennon
Kyra Lennon was born on the South coast of England, and to this day, still lives by the sea. Fiction writing has always been her passion, but she also has numerous articles on a variety of topics published on prolific websites.
****
About Kirsty-Anne Still
Kirsty-Anne is a British author who stumbled across her love for writing just as she started university. Over the last couple of years she’s found the style of writing that best defines her and her work. Her favourite genres to write are romantic suspense with dark themes, but loves to push her boundaries.
Find Kirsty on social media Twitter @KirstyAnneStill
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Espionage
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
After seven years living as Alexandra Gastone, Milena Rokva is now free to be her true self, if only she knew who that was or had time to find out. Milena is in a race against time to bring down Perun, the very organization that trained her as a spy. Perun is no longer content to use their network of sleeper agents to protect her homeland and is maneuvered to take control of the world’s energy markets, sending the globe into chaos.
Working with her surrogate grandfather, Albert Gastone, his CIA friend Brad and her old handler, Varos, Milena finds herself embroiled in an epic spy game teamed with friends whose endgames do not necessarily align with her own. The only person Milena can truly trust is herself.
Can Milena take down Perun, protect her fellow cadets and make a life for herself with her boyfriend, Grant, as well as the friends and family she’s come to love as Alexandra Gastone? Buckle in for a wild ride as the Alexandra Gastone duology comes to a close.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having read and enjoyed the previous book, I was quite happy to have the chance to read the sequel.
I was able to empathise with Milena really easily. I especially ached for her after everything that happened with her grandmother. I really didn’t think much of the latter by the end of the book.
I liked that there was a lot of tension in this book, both with what Milena and Albert were doing in trying to get immunity, but also in Milena’s interactions with Grant. While I could understand why Grant reacted the way he did, I felt it was very over-the-top… but it was nice to see how the two of them tried to talk and Grant tried to get to know the real Milena.
I really liked seeing Milena’s relationship with Albert. It was quite sweet to see how close they were, in spite of the deception that was prevalent through most of their relationship. I also liked seeing Milena interacting with the other characters… though I really didn’t like the tensions between her and Valos; even though it was kind of amusing to see how self-aware she was about the love triangle.
I would have liked to see more interactions between Milena and Brad, especially given what happened towards the end. I actually did feel that this book ended a bit abruptly, given everything that was happening earlier on in the book.
I liked seeing Martine in this book and it was good to see that Milena kept her wits about her. There were a few surprises in the book and I liked being able to learn a bit more about her past. I really didn’t like her father, although it was interesting to see their interactions. However, he just seemed to be a one-dimensional villain and I couldn’t really see what his motivations were, or what drove him.
I did like seeing Milena worry about the situation with the real Alexander and I liked that it added more dimension to Milena’s character. In the future, I would like to read more books by this author.
Book Style
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T.A. Maclagan is a Kansas girl by birth but now lives in the bush-clad hills of Wellington, New Zealand with her Kiwi husband, son and four pampered cats. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in anthropology, she’s studied poison dart frogs in the rainforests of Costa Rica, howler monkeys in Panama and the very exotic and always elusive American farmer. It was as she was writing her ‘just the facts’ dissertation that T.A. felt the call to pursue something more imaginative and discovered a passion for creative writing. They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is her first novel.
Ink of Blood 