Release Day Blitz: Same/Difference

Posted by cat2002116 on January 31, 2016
Posted in: Promotion. Tagged: . Leave a comment

small frame Release Blitz12387771_1690980031117786_2061029315_n small frame-synopsis Metamorphosis. An exquisite transformation. A necessary mechanism of evolution whereby the change is not only in appearance, but also behavior. My transformation possessed no beauty. Only pain. But just as the caterpillar morphs to a butterfly my strength is refined in the struggle, my flaws cocooned in the dark. If I survive the alteration my reward is to drink nectar and float on the breeze. Where I was once vulnerable, I will rise above. The same, but different. My name is Paige. I’m spreading my wings. 12524094_1703292603219862_6130202809894643482_n small frame-buy links AMAZON PRE-ORDER – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019ZUAQF4 12301667_911090482319004_6544733853091720631_n small frame authorsmall frame-dd lorenzo 7176653 DD Lorenzo is a contemporary storyteller of love and suspense. She likes to think of her books as “Romance with a Twist”! DD resides in Maryland, The Land of Pleasant Living. She met the love of her life in high school and decided to look no further. Together, they have raised an eclectic and amazing family. When she isn’t writing stories, she is rooting for the Baltimore Ravens or the Baltimore Orioles. Her favorite pastimes include spending time with the great people in her life and riding to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in her husband’s classic Mustang. DD is currently working on books 5, “Beauty is a Bitch”. Just an FYI – Book 1 is a cliffie that concludes in Book 2. Books 3, 4, and 5 are stand alone novels. That will complete the “Depth of Emotion” series. small frame-follow

You can find DD on FaceBook, Twitter, Goodreads and at www.ddlorenzo.com

10014564_934749066619812_4770000820925635102_n small frame-buy links

12509325_926822824079103_4773954688817166728_n

POSITIVE/NEGATIVITY~http://amzn.to/1QNZ2Cs

SELECTIVE/MEMORY~http://amzn.to/1SrDjjS

HERE/NOW~http://amzn.to/1QNZiBt

SAME/DIFFERENCE~http://amzn.to/1SrDLhQ

small frame Giveaway

Same/Difference Launch Giveaway

small frame-hosted byScreen Shot 2015-11-06 at 3.06.07 PM

 

Blog Tour: Cogling

Posted by cat2002116 on January 27, 2016
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Jan Review Tour

Cogling

COGLING, by Jordan Elizabeth

Genre: Middle-Grade fantasy

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: January 25, 2016

Cover Artist: Mandie Manzano

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

When fifteen-year-old Edna Mather tears an expensive and unfamiliar pocket watch off her little brother’s neck, he crumbles into a pile of cogs right before her eyes. Horrified, Edna flees for help, but encounters Ike, a thief who attempts to steal the watch before he realizes what it is: a device to power Coglings—clockwork changelings left in place of stolen children who have been forced to work in factories.

Desperate to rescue her brother, Edna sets off across the kingdom to the hags’ swamp, with Ike in tow. There, they learn Coglings are also replacing nobility so the hags can stage a rebellion and rule over humanity. Edna and Ike must stop the revolt, but the populace believes hags are helpful godmothers and healers. No one wants to believe a lowly servant and a thief, especially when Ike has secrets that label them both as traitors.

Together, Edna and Ike must make the kingdom trust them or stop the hags themselves, even if Ike is forced to embrace his dark heritage and Edna must surrender her family.

 

My Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought this book was a really unique idea, even though steampunk is a genre I’ve seen quite a few times before.

It was good that I was given the opportunity to get to know Edna a bit before the action started. Because she clearly knew her brother so well, it was easy to see how Harrison was acting so strangely… though it was odd that Edna and Harrison’s mother didn’t seem to notice anything.

I didn’t really like Ike at first in the book, but as the storyline went on, he did grow on me. I enjoyed being able to see more of the world as the two of them tracked down the hags. There were quite a lot of supporting characters I really disliked, though.

I liked being able to learn more of Ike’s past as the storyline went on and I did feel a lot of sympathy for Edna. I felt bad that she felt that there was evil inside her.

I would have liked to see more of the different hags. The one at the beginning seemed to crop up a few times later on, but I found it difficult to understand the reasoning behind taking the children and forcing them to work, since it seemed that the majority of the hags were part of the potential uprising.

I really didn’t like Rachel for a lot of the book. While she did seem to have a bit more depth to her than was first apparent, I did think that she was shallow and didn’t seem to really care about anyone else even later on in the story.

I would have liked some more details about how the magic worked. I was a bit confused about how the objects were enchanted exactly, even though it was good to get glimpses into the factory. And the idea of the coglings was a pretty intriguing one.

I also liked being able to see the different kinds of other living things in this book. I thought the foxkin were cool and it was nice to see that at least Edna cared about them as living creatures. The soot demons made me cringe… but I really liked Silver the dragon.

I’d definitely be interested in reading other books by this author and also in seeing more of this world and the characters in the future. It would be good to learn more about them.

 

About The Author

Jordan Elizabeth

Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, writes down her nightmares in order to live her dreams. With an eclectic job history of working as a college professor; historic costumed interpreter at Fort Stanwix, Victorian Leisure Fair, and Mayfaire on the Green; office specialist; sales clerk; election inspector; and trainer, she is now diving into the world of author.It happens to be her favorite one.

When she’s not creating art or searching for lost history in the woods, she’s updating her blog, Kissed by Literature. Jordan is the president of the Utica Writers Club and maintains JordanElizabethMierek.com.

She roams Central New York, but she loves to travel. A great deal of time has been spent in a rural town very similar to Arnn, the setting of her novel ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW.

Find the author Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

About Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Ride Along 2

Posted by cat2002116 on January 27, 2016
Posted in: Movies, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Ride Along 2

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having seen the prequel to this movie, I was definitely interested in seeing this… so when I had the opportunity to watch it today, I decided I wanted to see it.

It was good to see a direct sequel to the first film. I didn’t remember all of the details, but I liked the fact that Ben had chosen to try and go into law enforcement. I felt a lot of sympathy for him, due to the fact that he was so eager to be a part of the police… but things couldn’t help but go wrong for him.

It was good to see the banter between Ben and James and the ‘brothers-in-law’ exchange did make me giggle. It was good to see that, although Ben did make mistakes, he was still capable at times… and there were a couple of scenes where I thought he demonstrated the training he had received. (For instance, I thought the part where he counted the bullets was quite cool).

I did enjoy being able to see the relationship between Ben and Angela. It was cool to see how Angela accepted Ben’s quirks… and I did find the ‘thongs’ exchange amusing.

Although there were quite a few elements of humour, it was good to see there were instances of seriousness as well. I liked the actor playing AJ and it was cool to see the part he played in the missions.

There were a couple of cringeworthy moments in this movie, like when Ben eats food from the bin… that made me wince in sympathy. But there were also some laugh-out-loud moments… and the main characters played well off each other, even though I did get a bit confused over who was who with some of the minor characters.

I did really dislike Cori, though, but it was good to realise I’d seen the actress in something before.

I did find this movie to be really entertaining with some good tense scenes and quite a bit of good humour. I might not plan to watch this film again any time soon… but if there’s a third movie in this franchise, I probably would watch it.

Blog Tour: The Mystery of Hollow Places

Posted by cat2002116 on January 26, 2016
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment
The Mystery of Hollow Places

by Rebecca Podos

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Release Date: January 26th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Rate: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It’s the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist, she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. A woman who left Imogene and her father when she was a baby, a woman who was always possessed by a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as troubled waters.
When Imogene is seventeen, her father, now a famous author of medical mysteries, strikes out in the middle of the night and doesn’t come back. Neither Imogene’s stepmother nor the police know where he could’ve gone, but Imogene is convinced he’s looking for her mother. She decides to put to use the skills she’s gleaned from a lifetime of her father’s books to track down a woman she’s never known, in order to find him and, perhaps, the answer to the question she’s carried with her for her entire life.
Rebecca Podos’ debut is a powerful, affecting story of the pieces of ourselves that remain mysteries even to us – the desperate search through empty spaces for something to hold on to. 

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought this book was a really intriguing read. Imogene was a character I was able to empathise really strongly with… and although I did get confused with some of the sudden flashbacks, for the most part, I was able to follow the storyline.

It was good that the plot started straight away and I was able to see how Imogene viewed her father and what her relationship with her stepmother was like straight away. Although a part of me did feel for how Lindy must have viewed things, I did find Imogene a much more sympathetic character. In some ways, I thought Lindy fluctuated a bit between trying too hard and treating Imogene like a child. (Though Imogene’s musings on Lindy’s comments about her first words was really amusing).

I liked the fact that Imogene used the books she’d read, including those written by her father, as parallels to what she was trying to do. In many ways, that helped me to connect emotionally to her as a character. Not only the fact she was reading darker books when she was really young… but how she imagined herself as the characters she’d read about.

It was good to see that there was an air of mystery through this book, but I also really liked seeing Imogene’s friendship with Jessa. While I couldn’t help thinking that Jessa seemed vastly different to Imogene, I did think that their friendship felt very real and natural… and it was good to see that Jessa did her best to support Imogene and be a good friend to her… despite the problems. However, I did have trouble seeing why Imogene had a crush on Chad. I didn’t feel that nearly enough detail was shown about him to find that really believable.

I thought it was good that there was a fairly small cast of characters. It gave the book a bit more of an ‘intimate’ feel and I felt that the writing wasn’t bogged down with me trying to keep track of who was who… only during a couple of scenes, where other characters were mentioned but I had trouble keeping them straight.

This book was quick and engaging to read. I thought Imogene was a likable, sympathetic character and I was drawn into her life really easily. In some ways, this book was a ‘growing up’ storyline… but I also liked the themes of family and friendship. In the future, I’d imagine I’d be happy to read more books by this author.

Read an excerpt of THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES on Epic Reads:

The Mystery Of Hollow Places | Books | Epic Reads

 

 

 

photo addtogoodreadssmall_zpsa2a6cf28.png photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg

 

 

Follow the The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

 

followthetour (1)

 

 

 

Rebecca Podos’ debut YA novel, THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES, is forthcoming from Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) on 1/26/16. A graduate of the Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College where she won the M.F.A. Award for Best Thesis, her fiction has been published in Glimmer Train, Glyph, CAJE, Paper Darts, Bellows American Review, and Smokelong Quarterly. Past Awards include the Helman Award for Short Fiction, the David Dornstein Memorial Creative Writing Prize for Young Adult Writers, and the Hillerman-McGarrity Scholarship for Creative Writing. She works as a YA and MG agent at the Rees Literary Agency in Boston.

 

 

US ONLY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
048cc-ffbc

Blog Tour: The Year We Fell Apart

Posted by cat2002116 on January 25, 2016
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment
The Year We Fell Apart

by Emily Martin

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: January 26th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Rate: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
In the tradition of Sarah Dessen, this powerful debut novel is a compelling portrait of a young girl coping with her mother’s cancer as she figures out how to learn from—and fix—her past.
Few things come as naturally to Harper as epic mistakes. In the past year she was kicked off the swim team, earned a reputation as Carson High’s easiest hook-up, and officially became the black sheep of her family. But her worst mistake was destroying her relationship with her best friend, Declan.
Now, after two semesters of silence, Declan is home from boarding school for the summer. Everything about him is different—he’s taller, stronger…more handsome. Harper has changed, too, especially in the wake of her mom’s cancer diagnosis.
While Declan wants nothing to do with Harper, he’s still Declan, her Declan, and the only person she wants to talk to about what’s really going on. But he’s also the one person she’s lost the right to seek comfort from.
As their mutual friends and shared histories draw them together again, Harper and Declan must decide which parts of their past are still salvageable, and which parts they’ll have to let go of once and for all.
In this honest and affecting tale of friendship and first love, Emily Martin brings to vivid life the trials and struggles of high school and the ability to learn from past mistakes over the course of one steamy North Carolina summer. 

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

While this book, again, isn’t one I would have necessarily chosen to purchase myself… I did still find it a really good read. While I wasn’t sure what to make of Harper at first, I found myself growing more sympathetic towards her as the book went on.

I would have liked some more details about how Harper, Cory and Declan had become friends in the first place, but I liked the fact that this book also dealt with family issues as well as the friendships and romantic entanglements.

It was interesting to see that Harper was forced into taking a summer class, but I found it interesting that she seemed to find something of a ‘niche’ with the photography. It was obvious right from the start that there was a lot of tension between her and Declan… but although I was confused about exactly how things had been left between them, it was good that the full story about that unfolded gradually throughout the course of the book.

I did like the fact that Harper’s character was clearly flawed. There were times I wanted to reach into the book and give her a good shake… but I did warm to her and I thought that her flaws made her a much more interesting character.

I liked Cory and I would have liked to see more of him in the book, as well as Mackenzie and Gwen. Although I was confused about certain aspects at first, it was nice to see that Harper did still have people who cared about and wanted to be there for her… to the point of telling her to call if she ever needed a ride.

I would have liked to see more of Harper’s relationship with Graham, but it was nice to see her and her mother… and also nice to see Harper forced to take some responsibility. There were a lot of really good emotional scenes in this book that drew me in and made me feel for the characters.

In the future, I would be interested in reading more books by this author. It would also be good to see more of the characters… maybe some of the minor ones as the focus, though, like Cory or Graham.

 
photo addtogoodreadssmall_zpsa2a6cf28.png photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg
Follow the The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
followthetour (1)
Emily Martin lives and writes in the Greater Boston area, though she will always call Michigan home. She has a penchant for impromptu dance parties, vintage clothing, and traveling to new places. When not writing, she can be found hiking New England’s peaks, searching for the perfect cup of hot chocolate, or baking something pumpkin-flavored.
Emily’s debut young adult novel, THE YEAR WE FELL APART, comes out January 26, 2016 from Simon Pulse.
Her work is represented by Lara Perkins of Andrea Brown Literary. 

giveaway (4)

The 5th Wave (Movie Review)

Posted by cat2002116 on January 25, 2016
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The 5th Wave Movie

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have read the book this movie is based on, though it was a little while… but I did have some idea of what to expect, even though I got it confused with another book I’d read.

I wasn’t sure the narrative style carried so well with this movie. I did like the actors and felt that they fit what I remembered of the characters’ personalities… but I was a bit disappointed to see more of an insta!love connection between Evan and Cassie than I remembered there being in the book.

Seeing the waves as flashbacks was a bit confusing, since I had some trouble figuring out where they were. At the same time, I did think that the way the scenes were shot was particularly effective. I found it really easy to understand the devastation faced by the survivors of the waves… and how hard it was for them to trust each other.

I did like being able to see the different sides of the story and it was good to see that there were some elements of foreshadowing… and that Cassie wasn’t helpless, even though Evan’s views seemed very outdated.

I did enjoy seeing some of the interactions between Ben and the other members of his squad, but it would have been good to see more of the personalities of the other members. I did think that there was quite a bit that was left out from the book… not least the way some of the characters were changed.

While there was some violence in this movie, I felt it did fit with the feel of the movie. It was good to see Cassie interacting with her parents and brothers and there were some areas of ‘normalcy’ that worked really well, such as Cassie’s comments about her phone and the pictures of her family. (Incidentally, although Evan was a bit of a jerk for what he did, some of his exchanges with Cassie were quite amusing).

I’m hoping the sequel to the book will be made into a film as well. While I haven’t read it yet, I am interested in seeing where the characters go next.

Blog Tour: Because of You

Posted by cat2002116 on January 24, 2016
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Jan Review Tour

Because of You

BECAUSE OF YOU, by ReShelle Workman

Genre: Contemporary-Romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: January 18, 2016

Cover Artist: The Cover Lure

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

There’s a first time for everything… and sometimes that means a first time at a second chance.

It’s been seven years since Maddie Martin’s parents died. Their killer wasn’t just a random stranger, but her best friends’ father. Kyle Hadley. The boy she’s been in love with since she was old enough to understand the emotion, the boy she promised all of her firsts to. Worst of all, Kyle’s father got away with it, and Maddie hasn’t seen Kyle since.

That changes on her first day of college. Seeing Kyle again brings back all of her childhood feelings of friendship and love for him, but it also brings back the anger, sorrow, and pain she’s been trying to bury because of his father.

Kyle Hadley has no idea why Maddie quit talking to him, especially when he needed her most. But he got over it, refusing to waste his life mourning the only girl he ever loved. There are too many women, too much of life to experience to bother thinking about Maddie. Except he does. And when he sees her again, he knows it.

But there are problems beyond Kyle and Maddie and their old feelings. The two of them are in danger and one or both might end up dead.

 

My Review

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Again… although this book had dual first person perspectives, for the most part, I did find this book readable… despite a few instances of confusion where I forgot which character was narrating.

As the book went on, I did find the blurb made a bit more sense. I felt a lot of sympathy for both Maddie and Kyle and it was hard to blame either of them for how things had ended up… even though I did think that Kyle was a bit of a jerk to pretend he didn’t know Maddie at first. And while Maddie’s feelings were understandable, I did disagree quite strongly with some of her opinions.

I enjoyed seeing Maddie’s friendship with Gina and I would have liked to see more of Gina. I felt that she came across as broken as Maddie and it was good to see the two of them try to navigate friendships and the problems they each had.

I thought that many of the scenes between Maddie and Kyle were sweet, though I did end up forgetting that there was supposed to be more happening. I didn’t feel that there was a lot of danger that the characters were involved in… and the romance did overshadow most of the rest of the plot.

I did like that things weren’t perfect between Maddie and Kyle and that there were issues on both sides. I had a strong dislike for Evan right at the beginning… and towards the end of the book, I felt the storyline became disjointed. There was too much glossing over of things and I was confused about characters suddenly appearing.

While there were a couple of surprises in this book, I didn’t feel that they were surprises that made sense. I would have liked to see a bit more foreshadowing with certain situations.

I liked the opportunity to see the meanings behind Maddie’s tattoos and I thought that she was a realistically flawed character. Kyle’s reputation didn’t make a lot of sense, but I still liked the relationship they had. It was also cool to see references to some popular culture.

I probably would read a sequel to this book at some point in the future… especially since I’d like to see and learn more of Gina and hope to see her as a main character.

 

About The Author

Rashelle Workman

RaShelle Workman is the author of the popular Blood and Snow series. She loves to reinvent fairy tales readers can sink their teeth into. Her stories include vampires, werewolves, witches, aliens, and creatures of her own creation. Her books: Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. RaShelle is also one of the co-founders of IndiePUBCon. Currently, she lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and their three dogs.

 

Visit http://www.rashelleworkman.com to join RaShelle’s EXCLUSIVE mailing list and be entered to win a signed paperback copy of Blood and Snow volumes 1-4 (Special Edition). And be sure to like her Facebook page for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/rashelleworkman.

Find the author Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

About Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

The Homeport Journals

Posted by cat2002116 on January 22, 2016
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The Homeport Journals

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was actually a bit confused about what genre this book fit into before I started reading it. Even having finished it, I’m not completely certain… there are so many different aspects to this book.

I liked Marc’s character a lot. I felt a lot of sympathy for him with the way he was dragged into helping Dorrie, but Dorrie’s character did grow more on me as the book went on. I enjoyed reading the hints of friendship between her and Lola… and it was nice to see there was an air of mystery through this book.

I have to be honest… I wasn’t so keen on Helena at first; mainly because of her first appearance, but I felt she was emotionally manipulative at times. She did grow on me during the course of the book, though… until, by the end, I was really happy to see how things worked out for her.

At times, I did feel that there was a lot going on in the book and it did seem like some parts of the storyline were glossed over and there were sudden passages of time that I found difficult. I did like being able to learn more about the characters gradually as the book went on, rather than having it all come at me at once. I also thought it was good to see that all of the characters had problems… not just Marc. And it was also fun to see him make false assumptions and the fact that he wasn’t perfect.

I thought Cole was one of the characters who had a real journey through the book. I would have liked to see more of him and Marc together, since their conversations were glossed over at times. Still, I liked reading how they bonded and came to know each other throughout the mystery.

I did enjoy reading about the supernatural elements and although I did get frustrated at times with the withholding of important information, I could understand why it was done. While a small part of me did feel some sympathy for Brandon and Prudence, both came across as fully unlikable characters and Cole did annoy me a little with playing devil’s advocate.

I did really enjoy this book and the ending was especially nice, though bittersweet. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.

Genesis

Posted by cat2002116 on January 20, 2016
Posted in: Books, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Genesis

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’m a bit torn about what to think of this book. While it was short and quick to read (even if not exactly easy), I wasn’t sure I really understood what was going on for most of the book.

It would have been good to know whether the man referred to in each of the stories was the same one or different. I couldn’t see much of a connection between the different chapters… except for maybe the first chapter and the penultimate one.

There was a lot of violence in this book and I didn’t have much trouble picturing what was going on in my mind. I would have liked to see more of the world that the main character/s inhabited. There were some details during the course of the book, but not enough to allow me to fully get to know the area.

There were some really intriguing aspects to this book, such as the implications of more supernatural creatures. I would have liked to see more details about those, at least.

I found some of the descriptions to read a little similar… though whether that was because of the character being the same, I couldn’t say.

I felt that the book could have been expanded a bit. While I did find it a fast read, I couldn’t properly understand the main character or the plot of the story. Not using names is a good style choice… but there was little in the way of personal detail to allow me to get to know the character, at least at first. And while I did see the evidence of grief in the way he saw the woman who had been hung, I found it difficult to guess at what kind of relationship he had with her.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I felt it could have been worked into a longer book, with more details about the plot and the characters. For me, the most important thing about a book (or movie/television series/etc.) is my ability to connect emotionally with the main character/s, whether good or bad. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that here.

I probably wouldn’t read a sequel to this book right now… maybe if it was made longer and the world was expanded on.

The Revenant

Posted by cat2002116 on January 20, 2016
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The Revenant

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was immediately struck by this film when I saw the trailer. Having seen it, even though I knew a lot of the storyline already, I felt it still managed to draw me into the events of the film.

I did think that Glass was a bit too harsh towards his son, but the relationship between him and Hawk came across really well. I did have some issue that I’d taken my friend who’s blind to see the film… and the very first lines were subtitled. Fortunately, while that did repeat throughout the film, the majority of it was in English, which allowed me to concentrate on describing the movie for my friend.

There was a lot of violence and gore in this movie and I do have to doubt the realistic nature of many of the things that happened. I didn’t like Fitzgerald at all in the movie, but I did feel a lot of empathy for Bridger. While I think he made some mistakes, I could understand the reasoning behind not being honest about the situation.

I thought it was good to have the opportunity to see the different groups/characters moving, though I was a bit confused about how Captain Andrew Henry got all of the men to the fort only seconds after a scene where they looked like they were trapped.

There were quite a few sad scenes in this film, though I thought it was good to get more details on Glass’ life. While I thought Captain Andrew Henry did make some errors in judgement, he did come across as a good man… and I thought he tried to do right by all of his men. I was a bit confused about what they were doing with all of the pelts, but apart from that, I did find this movie fairly easy to follow.

I did recognise quite a few of the actors in this movie and I thought most of them brought real emotion to the roles. I found the movie really intense to watch, despite the probably inaccuracies, and although I don’t think I’d like to see it again soon, I’d suggest watching it if you are on the fence. Just keep in mind that it does contain a lot of violence and gore… as well as one potentially triggering scene.