Bill

Posted by cat2002116 on September 22, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Bill

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having seen a lot of the Horrible Histories episodes, I was quite excited to be able to see a film starring the main actors.

While this movie wasn’t as amusing as I was expecting, it was really entertaining to watch. Yes, there was a lot of modern-day language and the film was far from historically accurate, probably, but it was still worth seeing.

I liked the fact that the main cast each played a number of different roles. Some of the acting was a bit over-the-top, but it was nice to see them portraying different characters. There were a lot of good scenes where they played well off each other and it was nice to see wardrobe and makeup used to good effect.

I did like the fact there were a few more serious elements to this, even if the majority of the film was poking fun. It was good to see Bill and his wife and children… less accurate, of course, was the fact that they were going around dressed up as vegetables. Or meat.

I thought the most amusing character was probably the Early of Crawley Croydon. While the actor who plays him isn’t quite my favourite of the cast, I do find him a particularly amusing. And talented.

Matthew Baynton is probably my favourite of the cast, but it was a bit disappointing to see that the film wasn’t as good as the first five seasons of the television series. And there were a few cringeworthy moments where I felt the humour fell a bit flat, even though there were a few amusing scenes.

I am glad I decided to give this film a try, but although there were some good scenes and good acting, it wasn’t as amusing as I was hoping. This isn’t a film I plan to watch again, unfortunately, and I was a bit disappointed, despite being entertained.

Blog Tour: Deadly Delicious

Posted by cat2002116 on September 21, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Deadly Delicious

Deadly Delicious by K.L. Kincy

Genre: middle-grade, paranormal fantasy

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: August 10, 2015

Cover Artist: Ihor Reshetnikov

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

Twelve-year-old Josephine DeLune can’t take the heat this sweltering summer of 1955, and she was out of the kitchen long ago.

An awful cook, she ruins recipes left and right, and she certainly can’t compete with her family’s reputation for extraordinary food. Her daddy’s parents ran one of the best restaurants in all of Paris, but Josephine lives in Paris, Missouri. On her mama’s side, she’s up against a long tradition of sinfully delicious soul food. Rumor has it, her Creole ancestors cooked up some voodoo to make tasty even tastier. Josephine knows the secret ingredient: she comes from a long line of conjure witches with spellbinding culinary skills.

Disenchanted, Josephine works as a carhop at Carl and Earl’s Drive-In. Just plain old hamburgers, hot dogs, and curly fries, nothing magical about them. She’s got bigger fish to fry, though, when a grease fire erupts into a devilish creature who hisses her name with desire. Turns out he’s the Ravenous One, the granddaddy of all voodoo spirits, and he’s hungry for her soul. Josephine thinks he’s got the wrong girl-she’s no witch-but a gorgeous, dangerous night-skinned lady named Shaula sets her straight. Josephine is one of the most powerful witches alive, so overflowing with conjure that her out-of-control cooking simply catches fire.

Josephine would love to laugh this off, but Shaula warns her that she must learn to master her magic before the Ravenous One devours her soul. Spurred into action, Josephine breaks out her grandma’s old conjure cookbook and starts cooking. Nothing grand, just the usual recipes for undying friendship and revenge. But soon Josephine can’t escape the consequences of her conjure. When the people of Paris start turning into zombies with a strange fondness for cake, Josephine looks pretty responsible for their undead reawakening…

 

My Review

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought the plot of this book was a really intriguing one. I liked the fact that Josephine’s family clearly had a reputation for cooking with ‘conjuring’… though I was a bit confused about how much Josephine’s dad was actually aware of.

I liked the first part of the book. I felt it drew me in really easily and that I was able to follow the storyline fairly easily. It was interesting to see Shaula throughout the book. I was left unsure about her motivations and alignment for most of the book. I would have liked some more details about her and how she was connected with Josephine.

It was interesting to see how the legends varied and that there seemed to be a whole culture related to the witchcraft. It would have been good to see more of other witch families, since I can’t imagine Josephine’s is the only family who can do that kind of magic..

I thought the atmosphere of the book came across particularly well, even though the attitudes of some of the other characters towards Josephine were really awful. I did like Quentin, even though I had a lot of dislike for Authelia. Despite some of the things she comes out with, I didn’t really have a lot of sympathy for her.

I thought it was cool to see the different forms of ingredients that went into the recipes. I thought it was interesting to see that the zombies were desperate for cake and the reasons why made a lot of sense.

I liked seeing Josephine’s interactions with her family and it was also good to see the detrimental effect on them from the news articles. I also thought it was cool to see the effects the pie had on Quentin’s dog. It made me smile to read about that.

I thought this book was easy to read and very entertaining. In the future, I would be interested in reading more books by this author… and a sequel to this book, hopefully. It would be good to see more of Josephine… and hopefully learn more about her family history

 

About The Author

KL Kincy

K. L. Kincy (Duvall, Washington) loves zombies, though she hopes to meet only the cake-eating kind. Deadly Delicious is her first book for children. She has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

K. L. Kincy also writes for teens and adults as Karen Kincy.

Find Karen Kincy Online:

Facebook | 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

Blog Tour: Clockwork Menagerie

Posted by cat2002116 on September 21, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

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Clockwork Menagerie (Shadows of Asphodel, #2.5), by Karen Kincy

Genre: Historical-fantasy romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: September 1, 2015

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

A companion novella to the Shadows of Asphodel series, from Konstantin’s point of view.

Konstantin would love to hide in his laboratory and dissect the clockwork dragon captured from Russia, but the Archmages of Vienna have other plans. He finds himself shipped off to St. Petersburg as the scientific attaché to an ambassador. His orders? Look, but don’t touch. Of course, he considers this an impossible request with so much enemy technomancy to explore.

To make matters worse, Konstantin has to work with the dashing zeppelin commander Himmel, a man who should also be untouchable. They can’t act on the smoldering attraction between them without risking it all. Faced with an illegal relationship and a devious rival technomancer, Konstantin might not return from this mission in Russia without conquering the forbidden.

 

My Review

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read the previous two books in this series, I was really happy to have the opportunity to read this novella set in the same universe.

I liked being able to see Konstantin and Himmel in this story. Although I would have liked to see the events expanded a bit, it was nice to see the hints in the previous book come to fruition.

It was interesting to see Konstantin from his own perspective. Although he was a well-rounded character in the previous books (and there were times I felt sorry for him), it added a new dimension to be able to see him as a main, focal character.

I thought the author did a good job of showing Konstantin’s struggle with what he wanted and the laws that were in place. It was interesting that, for all the advances in society, the people didn’t have the freedom to love those they were attracted to. I found it really easy to follow Konstantin’s struggle… and see how he wanted to be with Himmel but was scared of losing everything.

It was good to see some of the clockwork technology, though I wasn’t sure how the soul elements really fit in. Because the book was shorter, the villain wasn’t as well-rounded as they could have been.

I liked seeing Konstantin with the dog and it was good to see him interacting with the other characters. I was a bit disappointed that the elements of conflict shown to begin with weren’t expanded upon… but I did believe in the main characters’ feelings for each other. And by the end, I was rooting for them to get together.

It was a bit disappointing not to have the opportunity to see more of the characters from the previous two books, since I would have liked to see how Konstantin viewed them. I did like the fact that he was still an active character and didn’t just rely constantly on his magic, or for someone else to save the day.

I’d definitely be interested in reading more books in this series in the future. This was quick and easy to read… but it did leave me wanting more.

 

About The Author

Karen Kincy

Karen Kincy (Kirkland, Washington) can be found lurking in her writing cave, though sunshine will lure her outside. When not writing, she stays busy gardening, tinkering with aquariums, or running just one more mile. Karen has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.

Find Karen Kincy 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

Chronicles of The Nocturnal Forest

Posted by cat2002116 on September 21, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest

(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 one when I read the blurb originally. While I did think that the stories did skip around a bit too much and created some elements of confusion, I really did like the concept of it.

I did think the book might have been better if there was equal time spent between the dreams and Melanie being awake. I also thought it was a bit disappointing how much of the stories were glossed over. While it was good to be able to see the events unfolding as Melanie did, I was very disappointed in the fact that there was very little in the way of character development.

I thought it was interesting to see that there was a clear mix of fantasy and science fiction. It was good to see the short story format used to detail the family tree from the start. I would have liked to know if Melanie was connected to the family, though, since it’s not very clear why she’s chosen out of all of them.

There was a lot of potential in this book that I felt wasn’t lived up to. The romances weren’t given a chance to develop and I didn’t have a chance to see many of the family relationships either.

I liked the opportunity to see the fairies in this book, though Shaylee was glossed over so that I didn’t get a chance to get to know her. I did like the fact that all of the characters had some connections to each other, but the story within a story idea did get a bit confusing after a while.

I did very much like the illustrations in this book. I felt that most of them fit in really well with the feel of the story and it was a good way to picture many of the characters inside my mind. I did enjoy being able to see the kingdom of Astebeth, though it was somewhat confusing about how they had all of this technology.

I think that Melanie’s world and relationship with her parents could have been expanded upon. I personally felt that the dreams felt more real than the outside world did.

Although this book was quick and easy to read, I’m not sure I’d read a sequel to it right now.

Monsters

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

Monsters

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

While I can’t say I enjoyed this book, even if I did feel sorry for the narrator at times, I did find it to be well-written and engaging… and much easier to read than I was expecting, given the subject content.

I personally felt that the title could actually refer to quite a number of the characters in the book and not just the two children. It was interesting that the narrator of the book didn’t appear to be named. While people generally don’t think of their names, I thought the fact that none of the adults addressed her by name made it quite clear what they thought of her.

Apart from the narrator, I didn’t really feel anything for any of the other characters. Miles’ mother struck me as incredibly creepy. The narrator’s aunt was clearly weak. Her uncle came across as belonging under the heading of ‘monster’…

Despite the fact that the main character clearly had a lot of darker aspects to her personality, I couldn’t help feeling a lot of sympathy for her. I think there’s a strong case to be made for nature versus nurture and I think there were hints that she could have turned out differently if she’d been treated better. I actually enjoyed reading her observations about the other characters. Despite everything, she cared for Miles, at least… and I think others might have enabled her to change if they’d taken the time to pay even a bit of attention to her.

I didn’t especially like Miles. Not because of his obsession with murder/the games he played. From an early age, I read thriller and horror books. I didn’t feel he was a good friend and I had a strong dislike for his mother.

The setting of this book came across really well and I found it really easy to follow and be a part of. While there were some disturbing scenes at times, it did allow me to experience the events along with the narrator.

In a way, I’d like to read a sequel to this book. It would be good to have the opportunity to see if the children continue down their dark path… or if there might be hope for change in the future.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Posted by cat2002116 on September 18, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I saw this film advertised originally, I knew it would be very emotional… but I still thought it might be good. I haven’t read the book the film is based on, but the semi-narration style was an interesting way of drawing me into the film.

For most of the beginning of the film, I didn’t particularly like Greg’s character. It was quite clear that he didn’t really care about anyone; even Madison just seemed to spike his interest because she was attractive.

I did find it interesting to see Greg’s views on the different cliques in high school, but it wasn’t until his mother forced him into going to see Rachel that I felt he started to grow and develop. What was refreshing was his honesty at the start of their interactions.

It was really interesting to see the different headings for various scenes, as if I was actually watching a movie created by Greg.

While I did like Greg and Earl interacting, I did think that, at first, Earl did seem a bit stereotypical. As the film progressed, though, I felt he was a nicer person than Greg… and there were some really good scenes between them. Earl was probably one of my favourite characters by the end of the movie.

There were a lot of good artistic moments in this movie. The films they made were kind of cringeworthy, but still interesting ideas. And it was cool to see Greg and Earl trying to make a more serious film.

I liked being able to see the different family relationships and it was also cool, if weird, to see how chaotic the cafeteria was. I could understand Greg and Earl choosing to eat in their teacher’s room.

I did think that it was good there were some running themes throughout this movie and I thought the characters came across as fairly typical teenaged boys. There were emotional parts to this movie, especially towards the end, and I did feel that Greg was given the opportunity to grow and evolve as a person.

I don’t think I’d watch this film again, but it was good, if sad, to watch one time.

Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes: Blade

Posted by cat2002116 on September 18, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel's Mightiest Heroes Blade

(This review may contain spoilers).

So… I’ve got to be honest. I’ve heard of the Blade movies, but it wasn’t until I got this book that I realised Blade was actually a Marvel character.

I was a bit unsure of how I felt about Blade’s character. Vampires are over-used in fiction nowadays, but I thought it was good to see that, in the Marvel universe, vampires are clearly monsters… I’m kind of tired of the tortured, dark, brooding vampires.

I liked being able to see Blade’s first appearance. I didn’t realise until I read the history of the character, but I did think it was interesting to see a superhero dressed as an ordinary, everyday person.

In the second set of comics, it was nice to be able to see glimpses of Blade’s history. I was a bit confused about how he had so many vampiric characteristics, though by the end of the second set of comics, I did have a better understanding.

The very first scene in the second set of comics did really shock me. While it wasn’t quite as bad as it first appeared, it did kind of set the tone for the rest of the comics.

I didn’t much like SHIELD in the second set, I have to say. Maybe it was because I don’t really understand why the Superheroes Registration Act had to be passed, but it just felt like a lot of the good guys were being penalised.

I did find it good to see the different settings of the past and the present. They had a different artistic style, which meant there was very little confusion.

I was confused about how vampires had been able to infiltrate SHIELD. Unlike HYDRA, I would have thought SHIELD would notice if many agents suddenly had an aversion to sunlight.

I was happy to see that Blade didn’t take the route I was expecting towards the end of the second set of comics. The artwork in both sets was good, with the styles obviously different… but I still felt they stayed true to the same character.

I imagine I’d be interested in seeing more of Blade in the future, especially in light of the interaction he had with Wolverine in the past. Since I had the opportunity to see Captain America face off against a vampire, it would be good to see how him and a vampire hunter might work together… or what conflicts might arise.

Blog Tour: This Monstrous Thing

Posted by cat2002116 on September 17, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Dream Cast, Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment
This Monstrous Thing
by Mackenzi Lee
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: September 22nd 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Steampunk, Retelling, Historical, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.
His brother, Oliver—dead.
His sweetheart, Mary—gone.
His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.
Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.
But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Frankenstein is one of those really iconic stories. I thought it was interesting to read a book that not only linked in with the story of Frankenstein… but also had it slightly different, due to the fact that it’s a steampunk novel.

I thought that Alasdair was a really interesting character and it was good to have the opportunity to see the world from his perspective. It was really good to see the prejudice of people against those who were different… though it seemed weird there were so many people who hated those with clockwork parts. I also wasn’t entirely sure if it was supposed to be illegal… or just that most people hated it so much, that those in authority just persecuted those in that line of work for the sake of it.

I found myself on edge for a lot of the book, since although it was obvious there was more to the story of Oliver’s death than had been revealed at first, it did become a bit repetitive that there was more to the story.

I would have liked to be able to see more interactions between Alasdair and Oliver. I thought there was a lot of potential there that wasn’t explored as well as they could have been.

I did think it was fairly obvious who was the culprit who wrote Frankenstein. I really didn’t like Mary’s character. Although I originally thought she was a goood person, I was seeing her through Alasdair’s eyes… and when I began seeing her outside of his memories, it was clear that she wasn’t a nice person.

I did really like Clemence’s character and I would have liked to see more of her in general. The setting of this book was really good… but some of the language used came across as too modern, especially with the use of modern swear words.

I think it would be good to read a sequel to this book. The parallels between Frankenstein and this book are interesting, despite Frankenstein being modified in order to fit in with the steampunk setting. I did find this book really quick and easy to read and it was very entertaining. There are some elements that I expect will stay with me for a while.

This Monstrous Thing Dream Cast
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Follow the This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
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Mackenzi Lee holds a BA in history and an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently lives in Boston, where she works as a bookseller and almost never reanimates corpses. Almost.

 

 

Blog Tour Prize Pack (US ONLY):
One winner will receive…
A hardcover copy of THIS MONSTROUS THING
A pair of Frankenstein socks
A copy of the Color Your Own Graphic Novel Frankenstein
THIS MONSTROUS THING postcards, bookmarks, and buttons
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Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes: Iron Fist

Posted by cat2002116 on September 17, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel's Mightiest Heroes Iron Fist

(This review may contain spoilers).

When this comic book volume first arrived, my immediate thought was that he was related in some way to Iron Man, which made me a bit reluctant to pick up this comic book. But when I started reading, I was immediately intrigued by his character.

It was interesting to see a hero skilled more in hand-to-hand combat. I found myself growing quite intrigued by Danny’s personality and his past. The first comic allowed me to get to know him through his past… and while he had a similar tragic past to many of the other Marvel heroes, I thought his origin was a particularly intriguing one. Even if I did find myself getting a bit confused at times.

Although it was different to read a comic that used the second person POV, I didn’t feel it worked very well. It was an interesting use… but I didn’t feel it drew me in. The second set of comics, without that, worked much better.

It was nice to see bits and pieces about the history of the Iron Fist, but I was left quite confused by exactly what the Iron Fist’s purpose was by the end. I also would have liked to see more of Danny interacting with many of the other characters. There were a few scenes with Danny and Luke, which were good, because I haven’t had the chance to see Luke yet. And I thought it was also good to be able to see the aftermath of the Superhero Registration. It was good to see that Danny was struggling to figure out who he could turn to for help and that he was clearly affected in a negative way by choosing not to register.

I did think that Danny was a bit too much like Tony in his ‘other’ identity. It was interesting to see the big part HYDRA was playing in trying to take over his company, though I was left with some confusion about who was on whose side by the end.

It was nice to see the two different styles of artwork and I found the second set of comics drew me in really easily. I’m not sure I’ll go out and buy Iron Fist’s whole arc… but I wouldn’t mind seeing him again in future comic books.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Posted by cat2002116 on September 16, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Maze Runner The Scorch Trials

(This review may contain spoilers).

I still haven’t read the books, but having seen the first movie, I did quickly decide I wanted to see the second when I saw it advertised.

I didn’t feel like this movied rehashed the plot of the first. I thought that the ‘new world’ Thomas and the others were in clearly came with its own dangers.

I liked being able to see the friendship and the support within the group, even when Thomas wasn’t believed. It was also good to see the times when they had to make the tough decisions and the fact that they’d all had to grow up so fast.

I didn’t really like Teresa in this movie. There were hints of a love triangle, which I didn’t really like, but I did like Brenda’s character. I thought she was a strong person and it was nice to see there were tie-ins with the previous movie.

I would have liked to have a bit more explanation about the virus and how it started. The fact that the final symptoms created zombie-like creatures was especially creepy and I felt they added a lot of tension.

I would have liked to see more of what the world was like generally, but there was a lot of good tension in the movie. And there were some scenes that had me on edge, wanting to know how things would turn out.

While there were some things that weren’t really realistic, I had little trouble suspending my disbelief. There were things I would have liked to see expanded upon, but I had very little trouble following the plot. There was a good amount of action and I found myself really caring about the characters.

I recognised a number of actors I’ve seen in other things and although I thought one of the actors was playing a character similar to a role I’ve seen him in before, it was still good to see the way the actors portrayed the characters.

Although it’s irritating that this film ends on a cliffhanger, I do want to watch the next film… and at some point in the future, I plan to read the books these films are based on.