X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Posted by cat2002116 on July 3, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

X-Men Origins Wolverine

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched (or, rather, re-watched) the X-Men movies, I chose to re-watch this movie, too.

Again, I know that this really isn’t true to the comics. I personally found it quite entertaining. It was good to see Logan’s past… and even get a glimpse of what he was like before he discovered he was a mutant.

It was interesting to see Logan’s relationship with Victor. There were some contradictions to the first X-Men movie, but actually not that many. It was also pretty cool to have the opportunity to see Scott as a teenager.

I felt the film creators did a good job of making Logan seem younger for most of the movie. It was nice to see his relationship with Kayla and it was also good to see his claws before his skeleton was coated in metal.

I found it interesting to see that most of Logan’s and Victor’s early lives were filled with violence and how the two of them ended up taking two vastly different paths. I also enjoyed seeing Gambit in this movie… and I found Wade to be an amusing character at the start.

It was interesting to see Stryker in this movie and have the reference made to his son. I did find him a really difficult character to relate to. He wasn’t one of the interesting villains.

There were some pretty cool mutations in this movie, particularly when it came to Wraith’s. It was good to see how Logan worked with the others… even with Victor again later on.

There was quite a bit of action in this movie. Some of the other characters’ motivations were easy to understand. I was confused about Victor apparently having the same healing ability as Logan, though.

There were some other contradictions in this movie, I felt. It would have been better for it to tie in more seamlessly with the previous movies. But on the whole, I did really enjoy watching it. The ending was quite sad… but I hope to see more of Logan in future films; and potentially have some of those loose ends tied up.

Blog Tour: Silent Clarion

Posted by cat2002116 on July 2, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Silent Clarion

SILENT CLARION, by Matthew Graybosch

Genre: science-fiction-thriller

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release­­: June 1, 2015

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

My curiosity might get me killed. I thought I needed a vacation from my duties as an Adversary in service to the Phoenix Society. After learning about unexplained disappearances in a little town called Clarion, I couldn’t stop myself from checking it out.

Now I must protect a witness to two murders without any protection but my sword. I must identify a murderer who strikes from the shadows. I must expose secrets the Phoenix Society’s executive council is hellbent on keeping buried.

I have no support but an ally I dare not trust. If I cannot break the silence hiding what happened in Clarion’s past, I have no future. I must discover the truth about Project Harker. Failure is not an option.

Silent Clarion is a new-adult science-fiction thriller by Matthew Graybosch, set before the events of the Starbreaker novels. Meet Naomi Bradleigh as an Adversary, seventeen years before Without Bloodshed.​

My Review

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was another book I felt was more of a novella. It was quick and easy to read and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and having a glimpse into the world, even though I haven’t read the first book in this series.

I did like the main character in this book. Naomi was a character I found really easy to relate to. I would have liked a bit more detail about why she had a slightly different appearance… but she liked cats, which was a point in her favour.

It was good to see Naomi’s relationships with the other characters, particularly Jackie. However, I would have liked a bit more detail about how Naomi’s biological parents still kept their rights to her, since I don’t think that’s possible in present times. I did enjoy seeing Naomi with her parents and brothers, though. It was nice to see that Naomi had a good relationship with her family.

I thought that the job Naomi performed was a really interesting one. Even though I would have liked to know a bit more detail about the organisation’s history (and why they trained to fight with swords), I thought the idea was a unique one and something I could see actually forming in the future.

It was interesting to see how the society had discovered and named some of the genetic traits, such as the ability to only father male children. I was a bit unclear about what all of the coding referenced, though and why it mattered.

I felt this book worked really well to introduce me to the world and the characters. I would have liked to see more of the technology and also get a bit more background about the disappearances Naomi heard about. What I did read piqued my interest in learning more, though.

UPDATE: Upon contact with Curiosity Quills Press, I’ve found out this book is part of a serial. The next book in the series is due for publication in August.

About The Author

Matthew Graybosch

According to official records maintained by the state of New York, Matthew Graybosch was born on Long Island in 1978. Urban legends from New York suggest he might be Rosemary’s Baby, the result of top-secret DOD attempts to continue Nazi experiments combining human technology and black magic, or that he sprang fully grown from his father’s forehead with a sledgehammer in one hand and a copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology in the other — and has given the poor man headaches ever since.

The truth is more prosaic. Matthew Graybosch is a novelist from New York who lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and cats. He is also an avid reader, a long-haired metalhead, and an unrepentant nerd. Without Bloodshed is his first published novel. He’s currently hard at work on the second Starbreaker novel, The Blackened Phoenix, while also working as a software developer.

Find Matthew Graybosch 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

X-Men: The Last Stand

Posted by cat2002116 on July 2, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

X-Men The Last Stand

(This review may contain spoilers).

I haven’t read many of the comics, but I am aware of the fact that the Dark Phoenix storyline was changed from the original incarnation. However, the films have already changed a lot… enough that I would personally consider them to be an entirely different canon to the comics. I did find the Dark Phoenix arc to be fairly interesting in this movie… but I’m sure it would be just as entertaining in the comics.

Since I’ve had the opportunity to read quite a few of the comics, I recognised some of the alternate versions of the characters… such as Warren (and I think there were some really cool effects where he was concerned).

I had a lot of sympathy for both Scott and Logan in this movie, after what had happened to Jean. It was really cool to see the danger room and them training to work together as a team. It was nice to see some of the characters I recognised from the previous two films… though the character of Kitty seems to have changed actresses in each movie so far.

I thought it was good to see the scene prior to the start of the films, where Charles and Eric meet Jean as a child. I felt it did a good job of setting up for the events of the movie later, since it certainly left me with questions.

The idea of a ‘cure’ is one that I think would be a really tough choice to make. I didn’t like the fact that people were trying to force said cure… but I could understand why someone like Rogue would be desperate for the chance to be able to touch someone without causing them pain. I thought there was a really sweet scene between her and Logan later on.

There were quite a few intense scenes in this film and I couldn’t help feeling some sympathy for Mystique, even if she was kind of psychotic. There were some very cool fight scenes and it was good to see even the characters whose powers weren’t necessarily offensive know how to utilise them during battle.

I was disappointed not to see Kurt again in this movie, but I thought Beast was a cool character. I also felt that Professor Xavier came across as more well-rounded in this movie, too.

This isn’t true to the comics, by any means… but if you can view it as an alternate storyline/parallel universe, I think it’s a fairly good movie with characters I did care about.

Just The Way You Are

Posted by cat2002116 on July 2, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Just The Way You Are

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having discovered there was a short story set in the True Destiny series, I was really happy to discover it was available for free… and it was really quick to read. (It took me the space of three advert breaks, about fifteen minutes, to finish).

It was really good to see the family having the opportunity to celebrate the holidays together. I was a little bit confused by who the characters in the flashback were… but as I carried on reading, I eventually figured out how I knew them.

This was a fairly sweet little interlude. It did make me sad that Loki felt he had to deny a big part of himself to make Baldur happy and I was glad to see that Baldur refused to let him do that. Although I like Jordan involved in their relationship, it was good to have the opportunity to see Baldur and Loki while on the run and trying to make a life together.

It was a bit disappointing that I didn’t get to meet any of their other past selves, but I did like learning a bit of their history. And despite their powers, they were having to live as humans… which added an interesting dimension to the lives they were living.

I really liked how protective Loki and Baldur were of each other, too. They still are (particularly in Loki’s case), but it was good to see it then, too. I also liked seeing the origins in their name changes… though it was especially sad to see Loki’s inward musings about the name change.

The only slight issue was that I didn’t remember who all the characters were. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this short story. There were a few moments that made me smile and it was good to see them be able to spend time together as a family. Though… overshare much?

I’m hoping there’ll be more of this series, but the latest book was published quite a while later… so I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to see the characters again sometime soon. None of them are book-boyfriends… but I enjoy their relationships with each other. And there were some bittersweet and amusing moments between them.

Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes: Havok

Posted by cat2002116 on July 2, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel's Mightiest Heroes Havok

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve met one incarnation of Alex Summers, in X-Men: First Class and, briefly, Days of Future Past. But it was really good to see him in his original incarnation.

Again, it was pretty cool to see two different styles of comics that Havok had been in. The first one was fairly simple, though it started off with a really interesting scene. I liked the glimpses of Alex’s relationship with Scott… and it was also really cool to have the chance to see more of some of the other X-Men; like Jean Grey and Bobby. There was a good opportunity to see Jean’s interactions with the rest of the team.

When I learned of Vulcan’s history, I did feel some sympathy for him… but I was very confused about what was going on with him, since Havok’s history indicated Vulcan (Gabriel) had been good for a while.

It was interesting to see Vulcan’s relationship with the rest of his people that he was emperor of. It was also interesting to see him and Havok working together… however briefly. I’m a fan of the redemption-style arcs and it was a bit of a disappointment that there didn’t seem to be one in this case.

I though that Marvel Girl and Polaris were interesting characters and I would have liked to see more of both of them. Rachel’s relationship with one of the others was fairly interesting to see, but I didn’t get to see as much of it as I would have liked to.

I liked seeing Havok’s costume in this and how much it differed to his brother’s. It was also good to get something of an idea of his leadership skills. There were also other characters I was intrigued by and who I would have liked to learn more of the history of.

The artwork in both of the sets of comics were vastly different, but still really good. Havok’s one of the Marvel characters I’d like to see more of in the future. I’d be interested in seeing more of his relationship with Scott and with Rachel. And having researched Rachel’s history, I’d like to see more of her. At some point in the future, I will definitely read more of the ‘verse Havok is involved in.

Not Broken

Posted by cat2002116 on July 2, 2015
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Not Broken

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read the previous books in this series, I was really excited when I realised this one was coming out. I haven’t read it till now… but I pre-ordered it straight away.

It was cool to see Slade interacting with Magnus and Sylvia. I liked that Slade, despite having been put through hell by Odin (who I HATE with a passion) was still able to enjoy being around his mates. I really liked him and was glad to see he had the chance for happiness.

I liked seeing the very first scene in this book, where it’s shown how early on Magnus and Logan cared about the people they’re now with. I had a lot of sympathy for Sydney in this book, too. I especially liked her as a character and it was good to see that she found something she enjoyed doing and was good at, giving her more confidence. I found myself amused by her tiptoeing around Val… but also very much with an air of, ‘Get on with it, girl!’

I was glad to see there was less familiar/cliched phrasing in this book. Fredrica really triggered my suspicions, though. I had felt sorry fot her… much less so now, considering she’s trying to break up Kir, Logan and Jordan.

It was nice to see some of the other couples in this book and in particular Fenris and Jeff… who are probably my favourite couple. I have to say, though, the modern names make it really confusing to tell who’s who. I think it would be helpful to have a glossary of character names… otherwise I keep finding myself trying to figure out which twin is which.

I did like the hints about the future relationships in this book. I’m especially looking forward to how things will go with Jormungand… and it was pretty awesome to see Hel and Hodr, too. I would have liked to see more of Slade’s interactions with his father and brother, though.

I was disappointed that this book ended on a cliffhanger. It didn’t feel entirely finished and although I was happy to see that Sylvia had some issues due to being attracted to a man who was technically her stepson, I felt they were over with especially quickly. I am hoping that the next book will be published sooner than this one was.

Knock Knock

Posted by cat2002116 on July 1, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Knock Knock

(This review may contain spoilers).

So… when I told my brother and sister I was going to see this movie, both of them responded with, ‘He deserves it.’ To a certain extent, I would agree. Cheating on your other half is wrong. No excuse.

At the same time… Bell and Genesis were really creepy. The movie started out as fairly idyllic, but of course, from the advert, it’s clear things go very quickly sour.

Considering the high rating of this movie, the violence is actually fairly tame. The more disturbing scenes come from the references to sex… and especially to childhood abuse.

There was a lot of potential to have the main ‘villains’ be more well-rounded. Unfortunately, I personally felt that the character background wasn’t explored as well as it could have been. I wanted to better understand the motives of the two girls, though it was interesting to see them change so drastically from how they originally interacted with Evan.

I did like being able to see Evan with his wife and children and have more than a brief glimpse into their life together.

It was interesting to see that Bell was the same nationality as Karen. I was half-expecting the film to do something with that… maybe add in a twist. But I felt that there were a lot of things that were left without a true explanation. Although I know it is difficult to cram so much detail into a fairly short film… it’s the little things that are more likely to make me care about the characters.

I did like Lewis, from what little I saw of him. There was one scene that had the potential to be a bit amusing, but was less so given what happened after that.

I did feel that this movie was missing something. Part of me felt like a lot of the plot was more for shock value than something for the thriller genre. There were a few tense scenes, but not as many as I think a film like this should have had. The cast was good and I especially felt the actresses playing the two girls were good at playing different versions of their characters. But I don’t think this film is one I will watch again.

Blog Tour: Brutal Youth

Posted by cat2002116 on June 30, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Brutal Youth

by Anthony Breznican

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: June 2nd 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Drama, Literary Fiction, Coming of Age, Psychology, Mystery

Rate: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
Three freshmen must join forces to survive at a troubled, working-class Catholic high school with a student body full of bullies and zealots, and a faculty that’s even worse in Anthony Breznican’s Brutal Youth.
With a plunging reputation and enrollment rate, Saint Michael’s has become a crumbling dumping ground for expelled delinquents and a haven for the stridently religious when incoming freshman Peter Davidek signs up. On his first day, tensions are clearly on the rise as a picked-upon upperclassmen finally snaps, unleashing a violent attack on both the students who tormented him for so long, and the corrupt, petty faculty that let it happen. But within this desperate place, Peter befriends fellow freshmen Noah Stein, a volatile classmate whose face bears the scars of a hard-fighting past, and the beautiful but lonely Lorelei Paskal —so eager to become popular, she makes only enemies.

To even stand a chance at surviving their freshmen year, the trio must join forces as they navigate a bullying culture dominated by administrators like the once popular Ms. Bromine, their embittered guidance counselor, and Father Mercedes, the parish priest who plans to scapegoat the students as he makes off with church finances. A coming-of-age tale reversed, Brutal Youth follows these students as they discover that instead of growing older and wiser, going bad may be the only way to survive.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I thought the blurb of this book sounded really intriguing, I was actually quite hesitant about reading this book, considering the themes of bullying that were running throughout. But it did pique my interest and I was fairly happy to be a part of this blog tour.

I found this book to be quite a difficult read. The book is very clearly not a happy or even really an uplifting one. I did like Stein and Davidek when they were introduced for the first time. It was good to see there were some of the characters who were trying to do the right thing, even though it meant they might be put in danger. And the way Stein distracted the guidance counsellor seemed to really fit in with his character.

I didn’t like most of the teachers in the school, I have to say. Even by the end, I had very mixed feelings about Sister Maria. I didn’t see much care personally for the students on her behalf… and I did think she came across as very weak for a lot of the book. I couldn’t tell exactly what her motivations were, since she didn’t seem to care about any of students… only the school’s reputation.

I did like Mr. Zimmer. I felt that he was one of the teachers who really cared about the students… even if it was implied at times he was following Sister Maria’s directions. Even his actions at the end were understandable… but still unnecessarily cruel, in my opinion.

I had a lot of sympathy for many of the characters in this, particularly those with home lives that were awful. There were many of the characters that I could relate to… and even the ones I didn’t like, I could empathise with a lot of them.

I felt the author did a good job of portraying the cycle of violence and how it escalated as each new set of students reached senior level. There were some very awful things that were done… and I felt the author showed all kinds of different bullying and abuse. (Just because you can’t see a visible mark doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong).

I can’t say I’d read this book again. It was well-written and I thought it demonstrated the problems pretty well. And the title definitely fits the theme of the book. But at the same time, it was hard to read emotionally. Which means it did its job. And in the future, I would be interested in looking at further books by this author.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzBWrpAvOvtmbl9HVGd6ZjR5aFU/preview
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Follow the Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
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Anthony Breznican was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pittsurgh in 1998. He has worked as a reporter for The Arizona Republic, Associated Press, and USA Today. He is currently a senior staff writer for Entertainment Weekly.

Brutal Youth is his debut novel.

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Blog Tour: Undercover Empath: Kindred Demon

Posted by cat2002116 on June 30, 2015
Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Undercover Empath

UNDERCOVER EMPATH by RaShelle Workman

 

Genre: paranormal-romance

 

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

 

Date of Release­­: June 1, 2015

 

Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky

 

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

 

Description:

Nineteen-year-old detective Rose Hansen has a secret. She can read a person’s intentions by touching their hands. It’s a curse! A power she never uses if she can help it.

Only one person knows. Her partner Jack.

At least that’s what she believes until a handsome, shirtless stranger appears on her doorstep in small town Blush Valley, California.

He leaves her an envelope, but not before articulating his disappointment in her for ignoring her powers.

The contents send Rose on a path toward the supernatural, solving her parents’ murders, and possibly even saving the world.

Aside from that, Rose and her partner have two important cases they’re working. The first involves a missing child. The other is the death of a stripper. Ruled a murder, a very hot FBI agent from L.A. shows up and is given lead. To make matters worse, he asks her to go undercover.

Her life is a disaster. Rose can’t strip. She doesn’t even own a dress.

 

My Review

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was surprised at how quickly I was able to read this book. I liked Rose as a character and I felt that her reluctance to touch people came across really well and I found it really easy to empathise with her as a character.

It was interesting to see the relationships that Rose had with the other detectives on the police force. I did feel that telling her to go undercover just like that wasn’t a good idea, though. It wasn’t very clear how big the town was, but I felt that having no undercover training would probably be more detrimental to Rose acting undercover.

I thought the mystery aspects of this book came across really well. I felt a lot of sympathy for Rose with her desire to find out what had really happened to her parents and why they’d been killed.

I liked meeting the other characters in this book, although there were a couple of them who I didn’t really like… especially one in particular on Rose’s team. I did like Tammi as a character, though… and it was good to see Rose have the opportunity to make a friend outside of the police force.

I wasn’t really sold on the romance aspects of this book. By the time it reached the end, I felt that the interactions between Rose and Mackey came across as a bit forced. Since it’s part of a series, I thought that it would have been better for the last scene between them to happen in the second book. The two characters didn’t interact enough for me to ship them together romantically.

I would have liked to know a bit more about Rose’s past. I’m not completely clear about how she joined the force so long. It’s implied that she went through school fast, but the main instance of her intelligence (the serial killer aspect) is… well, obvious. And it seemed like the other characters were dumbed down during that scene.

There were some good action and tense moments in this book and I found it really easy to read. I wasn’t impressed with the cliffhanger ending, though… even if I do want to read the next book in the series and find out what’s going to happen to Rose.

 

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 RaShelle Workman 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

X-Men 2

Posted by cat2002116 on June 30, 2015
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

X-Men 2

(This review may contain spoilers).

I liked watching the sequel to X-Men. It was good to see the familiar characters from the first movie, as well as have the opportunity to meet new ones. I especially liked Kurt’s character. He was my favourite in the animated series and although Logan could probably be considered my favourite character in the movie!verse, Kurt did come a close second.

I liked having the opportunity to see more of Bobby’s family, even though I didn’t particularly like them that much… especially Ronny. It was also good to see more of his relationship with Rogue and how difficult things were between them, given Rogue’s inability to touch someone for long.

I did also like seeing more of Scott in this movie, though it was disappointing that there wasn’t more banter between him and Logan. The love triangle wasn’t as irritating as many of them are… though the connection between Logan and Jean seems more based on attraction, rather than the history that’s clearly between Scott and Jean.

I did like Pyro in this movie and it would have been good to learn more about him. It was also interesting to see the X-Men team up with Magneto. It was good to see more of Mystique, too, despite her technically being evil. I find her quite an intriguing character.

I liked the hints of Storm’s connection with Kurt. It was good to see the two of them have the opportunity to bond a bit. I also liked Logan’s protection of the children in the school. It firmly cemented him in my head as one of the good guys.

There were a few elements of comedy in this movie, though as it progressed, there were a lot more tense scenes. I was quite happy to recognise another actor, one from Highlander, and it would have been good to get more background on the character he played.

I would have liked a bit more background on the woman working with Stryker… but I think there were a lot of characters who could have been further explored in this. The special effects were cool, but I would have liked to see more interactions between the characters and have opportunities to get to know the movie versions of them better.