Silver Strife

Posted by cat2002116 on October 20, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Silver Strife

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I had some trouble deciding how many stars to give it. The plot sounded really intriguing and I really liked the concept behind it… in particular how Qui kept reincarnating. The very first scene of the book instantly piqued my interest and made me want to see what would happen next.

I would say that the weakest part of this book was the romance. There was a lot of potential, but the ‘love at first sight’ trope is over-used… and for someone like Qui, who has lived for so long, I expected there would be more conflict. Especially since she’d vowed never to grow close to anyone after her previous life.

I did find it really interesting to see bits and pieces of Qui’s past lives and the fact that the people she’d had relationships with in those past lives seemed to mean just as much to her. I also thought it was interesting to see that she reincarnated into different genders, rather than being only female. That’s not something I see very often and it was a more unique twist.

I would have liked more details about the society. It seemed to take quite a while for it to be explained exactly why the Breed and the Purists were so bad. It was interesting to have the opportunity to see Qui’s interactions with others of her kind and I felt she was clearly a strong character and even though the romance did move far too quickly, it was good to see that she didn’t allow herself to be forced into becoming lesser than what she actually was. I also liked the fact that she wasn’t trusted immediately by the Resistance and had to prove herself.

I did think that a lot of the start of the book was glossed over. I was left very confused about how it all worked, at least until Qui explained things to David. The idea of the sharing was a particularly interesting one and I thought the after-effects on them came across really well.

Qui did go down in my estimation quite a bit after she did something I really didn’t agree with, but by that point, I was too emotionally invested in the book to stop reading it… even if I didn’t like Qui very much at that point.

I did think that the book was a bit slow-moving, with the action only really starting towards the end. I didn’t especially like the ending of the book, but I would be interested in reading more books set in this ‘verse and seeing more of Qui’s adventures and relationships with members of other species.

Fledgling

Posted by cat2002116 on October 20, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Fledgling

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was a bit unsure about how many stars to give this book. Although I thought the concept was a really intriguing one and that Fledgling’s character was a really interesting one, I did find her a bit irritating at times. While I could understand she was questioning everything, I thought it was unfair that she was dragging her friends down with her… to the point of them getting into trouble along with her.

I thought it was an interesting concept for all of the fledglings to be different colours and for those colours to be what enabled the other members of their group to refer to them. However, I was disappointed that the main character seemed to stand out so much, to the point that she was different even when it came to her colouring.

I did find the idea of insterting a conscience into the people about to do bad things a really interesting one. While I didn’t understand what that would do for a while at first, it did make more sense as the book went on.

I did like seeing Fledgling’s friendship with Blue and Yellow. It was interesting to see that the three of them all had different ways of dealing with things and carrying out their missions. I also thought it was interesting how the fledglings were created. The first scene in the book did a really good job of establishing Fledgling’s motivations and the fact that she cared about the Innocents. I would have liked a bit more detail about how certain people were chosen to be saved while others weren’t, however.

The interpretations of the arch angels were interesting. I thought that Gabriel was the most unique, while Michael seemed to be similar to how I’ve seen him portrayed in fiction most of the time. At the same time, it was good to see that he really believed in and cared about the fledglings under his care.

While most of the book was well-written, it was kind of jarring that the tense kept being changed to past. I was intrigued by the different abilities that the three of them were developing, or about to develop, and it was good to see that Fledgling wasn’t the only one gaining extra abilities.

I would be interested in reading the sequel to this book at some point in the future. It would be good to see what will happen next with Fledgling and her friends… and I’d especially like to see more of Gabriel and Michael.

Hamlet 2015

Posted by cat2002116 on October 16, 2015
Posted in: Plays, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Hamlet

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did find this to be a really engaging interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed Hamlet really well and I felt he was very passionate in the role. I felt myself put a bit through the emotional wringer. While I do find the Shakespearean language really hard to understand, I was still able to follow what was going on through the actors and the facial expressions and actions, as well as the delivery of their lines.

The atmosphere in this film was really strong. There was good use made of lighting and although there were some flashing lights, most of it was easy to make out. There were some really good comedic moments in this, especially when Hamlet slipped into madness. It was, however, hard to understand how he felt about Ophelia. He only seemed to demonstrate that towards the end of the play… and seemed more concerned with how it had affected Laertes.

I did feel a lot of sympathy for Ophelia. I thought the actress who portrayed her did a really good job of showing Ophelia’s almost childlike nature and how confused she was by Hamlet’s actions. I thought her ending was awful… although it wasn’t actually shown; just talked about.

While I did think there were some confusing moments in the play, there were a lot of quite moving scenes and the one right at the end was particularly effective, even though I found it confusing and I only understood it all after having read the synopsis of the play. I also really liked the friendship between Hamlet and Horatio. While the play was morbid, there was some brevity in some of the lines.

The Ghost was a bit confusing, but also very well portrayed, in my opinion. I was a bit confused about why there were modern aspects to the play, but those didn’t really affect my enjoyment of it.

I thought this play was a lot better than I was expecting and I found it entertaining, but obviously deeply sad. While I have seen Benedict Cumberbatch in many different things in the past, I thought he was particularly good in this and that it showed how versatile he is as an actor. And I thought all of the actors did well and seemed to put a lot of effort into their roles.

Blog Tour: Fates Divided

Posted by cat2002116 on October 15, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Dream Cast, Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Fates Divided (Halven Rising #1)
by Jules Barnard
Release Date: August 31st 2015
Genre: New Adult, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Elena Rosales has busted her ass to get into a good college. She’s the only one in her family ever to attend, and expectations are high. No pressure. But Elena’s got this one in the bag, because she’s as dependable as the molecules she studies, as reliable as the chemical reactions that comfort her in their predictability. Until they don’t.
Elena has always wondered why her mother abandoned her on her first birthday. It’s not until she turns eighteen and her chemistry experiments go berserk that she learns the truth: Her mother wasn’t human, and the Fae are willing to harm those Elena loves if she doesn’t use her power over the elements to cure them of a deadly disease.
Derek, Elena’s brooding neighbor, isn’t the friendliest guy, but he has access to an off-hours lab and is willing to help Elena create the antivirus. He has his own secrets to keep, and this business Elena is mixed up in could blow his cover. But when Elena and Derek get together, more than chemicals spark fire—and they soon discover just how complicated attraction can get when they find themselves on the other side of the portal, fighting for survival. Lives collide, and allegiance and love are tested, in Fates Divided.
—–
In the Halven Rising Series, love and ancient allegiances are threatened when the worlds of Fae and Halven collide. Each Halven Rising novel features a different couple and may be read as a standalone, but an overreaching story arc connects the books, so it’s fun to read them in order. 

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I have had some bad luck with books aimed at young adults, I actually found this book to be really entertaining and easy to read. Eden was a character who I found to be immediately likable and she was easy to empathise with. While I did think that the training was glossed over more than it should have been, I thought it was good that Elena wasn’t absolutely perfect and that it took her a while to be able to use some of her abilities, even though she did pick up some of them very quickly.

I did like the relationship between Elena and Derek. It was interesting to see the different abilities that they had and I thought the romance between them was real and believable.

I also really liked Reese’s character. While I’m not sure I’d ship her and Keen together (I have very mixed feelings about Keen), it was interesting to see the two of them interacting with each other.

I thought the author did a good job of showing the prejudice the full blood Fay held towards the Halven. I didn’t really like the three main Fay. Even Leo came across as quite a bit of a jerk. I did like Deirdre, though, and it was nice to learn a bit more about what her abilities were.

I did think it would have been good to see a bit more of Portia and Beatrice. I didn’t really get that surprised by any of the twists, considering that the people revealed to be villains were not only obvious, but also… not very nice people.

I liked being able to see the different types of abilities the different Fae had and it was interesting to see the contrast in Tirnan when Elena and Derek went there. I also thought the Blending thing was a pretty intriguing idea… even if I did think there was too much of an excuse for making out.

I would like to read the next book in this trilogy, especially since not everything was solved. And I really liked the fact that Elena didn’t just forget about her friends and family as soon as Derek came along.

Fates Divided
FatesDivided7

His heart pounded beneath the hand she had pressed to his chest. “When I’m not near you, I’m thinking about you and wondering how long until I see you again. When I’m with you, I’m thinking of ways to get close and touch you, even if it’s only to hold you. And when you smile… I wonder if there is anything more beautiful in the world. Make that worlds.” He grinned.

photo addtogoodreadssmall_zpsa2a6cf28.png photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg
Follow the Fates Divided by Jules Barnard Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
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Before turning to storytelling, Jules earned a master’s degree in public health and spent many an hour running statistical analysis–until she realized her favorite part of the job was writing reports. She decided to cut out the math and add in some hot guys, and so began her career as a novelist.
Jules is a Northern California native living on the coast with her husband and two children. She has no impulse control around cupcakes and credits herself with the ability to read while running on the treadmill or burning dinner. 

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Sicario

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Sicario

(This review may contain spoilers).

While I wouldn’t necessarily make a point of seeing this kind of movie, I was intrigued by the advert and since I had free time today, I decided to watch it.

While the movie did do a good job of establishing the action from the beginning, I did think that it was hard to connect emotionally to most of the characters. I’m also not really sure how the title fit in with what  was going on in the movie, since neither of the definitions had very much to do with the actual plot.

It was interesting to see characters who were operating outside of the law, though I would have liked to know exactly why Kate was recruited by the task force. She didn’t seem to do all that well under that kind of pressure, even though I did think Emily Blunt portrayed the character really well.

I found Alejandro a character who was really hard to get behind. While there were some hints of him being a character with deeper motivations, I didn’t feel that his past was shown enough. The same with Matt. He didn’t come across as a very nice character and there weren’t enough details about him to give him many obvious redeeming qualities.

I really liked the friendship between Kate and Reggie and I would have liked to see more of them interacting with each other. I did also think that the scenes of the father and his son worked particularly well, especially since the character there did have a part to play later on… even if there were some quite sad scenes.

There was quite a lot of violence and the first scene did a good job of establishing the feel of the whole movie. There were some particularly effective scenes, especially when it came to looking at the environment through the night vision goggles the characters were wearing.

This film was entertaining, but I think it would have been good to get more background of the characters early on. There wasn’t really enough about them to allow me to emotionally connect… and I was disappointed in the ending.

I don’t think I’d watch this film again, but it did draw me in and there were some nice atmospheric scenes, as well as some good actors.

Fast and Furious 5

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Fast and Furious 5

(This review may contain spoilers).

So… two more films left in this franchise to watch.

It was good to see this movie showed a scene right after the end of the fourth movie, even though it did then jump ahead in time. I liked seeing Brian and Mia together. They were quite a sweet couple and I also liked the fact there were several strong female characters in this. Gisele and Han were pretty adorable together.

It was good to see Vince and the fact that the tension between Vince and Brian wasn’t as strong in this movie. There was a lot of action and the characters had clear goals. And it was really cool to see them teaming up with different people with different skill sets.

I thought Dwayne Johnson played his character really well and it was interesting to see two groups on opposing sides that the viewer would root for. Although there was clearly some corruption in the police force, it was nice to see that some of the police officers were good guys as well.

I enjoyed the themes of family that ran through this movie and it was good to see there was banter between Dom and Brian, as well as events in the previous movies being alluded to. I recognised quite a few of the actors in this movie and I thought many of the characters were interesting, even though not all of them had backgrounds that were explored as fully as they could have been.

This movie was entertaining and filled with enough action to keep my attention focused. While a lot of suspension of disbelief was required, it was really easy to be drawn into the plot of this movie. I’ve been watching the franchise out of order, but I’ve still enjoyed being able to see the movies. Although there wasn’t quite as much humour in this, there were some very nice family moments and a good bit of banter. In the near future, I hope to watch the second and third movies in this series.

Scream Season One

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Reviews, Television. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Scream Season One

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve seen… all of the Scream movies to date, I believe, and I find the slasher movie genre a particularly interesting one, the only problem being, of course, that there’s very little time to get to know many of the characters.

Extending the slasher genre into a television series was an interesting idea, especially since it gave me the chance to know and care about many of the characters. While I did recognise a lot of the sterotypes from the movies, I thought there were several moments where the tropes were turned on their heads.

Although there were some very gory scenes in this series, I thought that at least as much time was spent developing the storyline and the characters. I didn’t particularly like Emma at first, but she had grown on me by the end of the series… and I thought that she had a lot pushed on her shoulders.

I especially liked the friendship between Audrey and Noah. I thought that Noah was quite sweet and it was good to see there were times the other characters turned to him for help.

There did seem to be a lot of secrets being revealed as the series went on. I wasn’t especially keen on Will’s character… and I only really liked Jake towards the end of the series. Kieran did seem to be the typical ‘bad boy’ character, but I liked seeing his father interacting with Emma’s mother.

It was interesting to see how the events of the past played into the present. While some of the more minor characters were a bit harder to get my head round, the main characters were well-developed and I did care about them. I’d say Brooke was probably my favourite character, since although she came across as a mean girl, I felt there was a lot more depth to her than was first revealed.

I didn’t really like the love triangle, but there was a lot of tension in other parts of the series that kept me watching. I couldn’t say that everything was tied up neatly by the end of the series, though. I still had several questions that I would have liked to have answered.

I did think that the series did a good job of showing the contrast between rumours and truth and that every person had secrets and things that could hurt them. Although graphic in places, I was drawn into the series and it was entertaining and the characters were interesting and believable. I’d definitely be interested in watching season two when it comes out.

Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes: The Punisher

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel's Mightiest Heroes The Punisher

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have some mixed feelings after finishing this comic book. The idea of the Punisher is an interesting one… especially since many of the other characters in the Marvel verse have completely different morals and ethics to him. On the other hand, his decision to play judge, jury and executioner doesn’t really make him a character that sits right with me.

The first comic was intriguing, with the Punisher believing going after Spider-Man was the right thing to do. I also find the Punisher interesting due to the fact he’s one of the few Marvel characters who doesn’t actually have any special abilities. And I do have some sympathy for his character, due to the fact that his past sounded like a truly awful one.

I did find it interesting to see a bit about Spider-Man’s past. There was clearly tension between him and Harry… but I really didn’t like Mary Jane in her brief appearance. She seemed very shallow and not at all sympathetic to what Peter had gone through with Gwen.

I did empathise a bit with what the Punisher went through with being manipulated into going after the gangs. Although I didn’t like his methods, it was good to see that he refused to hurt innocent people… and that how the gang war affected innocent people was what made him want to put a stop to the gang war.

There was clearly a vicious cycle of vengeance and it was good to see that the Punisher did understand that. I felt sorry for the other man who was manipulated into trying to kill him and I was satisfied with the way that bit was ended.

The gang of Punishers was quite creepy and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for them… even though the majority of them were probably criminals. The artwork showing Jigsaw’s face was especially creepy and there were a lot of dark moments in these comics. It was good to see that the Punisher was intelligent enough to protect himself, even if he was getting old.

I’m not sure I’d want to read any comics focusing only on the Punisher, due to not really liking the way he does things. But I’d be interested in seeing him interacting with other characters in the Marvel universe.

Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes: Valkyrie

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel's Mightiest Heroes Valkyrie

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was very intrigued when I realised there was a superhero known as Valkyrie in the Marvel universe. Even though I didn’t get to see Brunhilde’s first appearance, I did like the comics that were chosen for this collection.

It was nice to see Misty again in this volume. I really liked Annabelle’s character, too. Even though she wasn’t technically a superhero, I thought she was still a strong character. I would have liked to see more interactions between Brunhilde and Annabelle. I thought Annabelle’s crush on the Valkyrie was really sweet.

I thought it was really interesting to learn more about Brunhilde’s past… though I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the other Doom Maidens, since Brunhilde was saved while they were apparently abandoned.

There were some nice elements of humour in this set of comics, but there were also some scenes that were really sad. Although I did enjoy the comics as a whole, the ending was kind of depressing and I think there should have been more to it.

I thought it was interesting to see many of the other female superheroes in the Marvel universe. I never realised just how many there were until they all showed up… but it was pretty cool to see all of them joining forces to battle. And I thought it was pretty cool to see the Amazon Queen and how she and Brunhilde seemed to have a lot of conflict between them.

I would have liked a bit more detail about Hela’s relationship to Dani and I was a bit confused by the AllMother. I did quite like the artwork in this comic book and I was drawn into the storyline really easily. There was enough tension and mystery to keep me reading through, wanting to know how the miniseries would end.

There was some really good artwork, but I would have liked to see more of the Doom Maidens individually, rather than as a whole. I would have liked a bit more background as to what the bad guys actually wanted.

I would be interested in seeing more of Brunhilde in the future. I found her an interesting character and her history in the Marvel verse sounds really intriguing as well.

Regression

Posted by cat2002116 on October 14, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Regression

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this movie to be a really intriguing one. Although there were some elements of violence and scenes of blood and gore, a lot of it was psychological, which I thought was particularly effective.

I found Angela to be a fairly sympathetic character. She was easy to empathise with and I felt Emma Watson did a really good job portraying her… even though I don’t think she looks like she’s seventeen.

It was interesting to see that Angela’s father had no memory of what Angela had said had happened. I didn’t really like him as a character, even at the end of the movie… though I did feel some sympathy for him and his mother.

The flashbacks/regressions were pretty creepy to watch and there were a lot of scenes that drew me in, even if I did think the horror aspect wasn’t utilised as well as it could have been. While Bruce was listening to the recordings, I thought the images then were especially effective.

While I did empathise with Bruce’s character, I didn’t think he was very responsible, even though it was good that he was protective of Angela. I did recognise quite a few of the actors in this movie and it was interesting to see the conflicts that came from outside, as well as the conflict within the different characters.

I thought the atmosphere in the movie came across really well and although I did get confused with some of the minor characters (and some of the policemen (where were the women?) didn’t really seem that competent), the major characters were well-defined and the movie did a good job of keeping my attention throughout.

I did think that the movie started off strong, but began to flag as things got a bit over-the-top. The acting wasn’t horrible, but some things weren’t terribly realistic. It was entertaining to watch and although I wouldn’t watch it again, it was an intriguing thriller with an interesting ending. Worth seeing for the recognisable actors in it.