Divergent Review
Hi everyone. I’m sure quite a few of you have seen the film by now. I actually saw a screening of it. I teamed up once again with my friends over at The Grand Shuckett to do a podcast review and discussion. Feel free to listen here:
My general take: it was a solid film, if a bit too long. I didn’t leave the theatre feeling completely pumped. Contrast that to a Captain America 2 screening that I saw just 2 days later where I left the theatre giddy as a school girl and wanting to see it again right away. I’ve only read the first Divergent novel and it was years ago, so for me I felt like it captured the tone of the book fairly well. I was a bit fuzzy on some details since it’s been a while (forgive me, I’ve read hundreds of books since then), but it did leave out a few key scenes that could have generated more intensity and interest for those who have not read the books. Overall it’s a decent book to movie adaptation.
Oh, and Theo James is a sexy beast. And he’s got acting chops too! It didn’t take me until Divergent to figure that out though. He’s been on the list since I first saw him in Underworld: Awakening in 2012. Yep. He can already cross vampire off his repertoire. All in all I thought the Divergent book was okay but not amazing, so I was never motivated to keep reading. I also wanted to hold out on finishing it if it was anything like The Hunger Games where I found myself liking each sequel less and less (though the Catching Fire film was admittedly amazing). From the sounds of things that would have been the case for me so I’m glad I dodged that bullet. As for the movies? I’ll definitely watch the sequels, especially because I know there will be more of this:
Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) Giveaway Winner Selected!
You guys have waited long enough! Please forgive me. It’s been a really busy week and I knew I wouldn’t be sending it out to the post office anytime soon. But now I’m ready! I got to see a screening for Divergent on Tuesday and then another one for Captain America on Thursday. I’ll be posting my reviews of both of those soon. In short, Divergent was okay, but Captain America was AMAZING!! Can’t wait to let it all out soon! But I won’t keep you waiting any longer! I was actually very surprised to see such a mixed amount of responses when it came to everyone’s preferred format. I thought hardcover would really win out, but it seems like everybody is adjusting to ebooks! To be honest, I’m the same way now. Unless I’m getting a book signed (and that usually involves Kim Harrison), then I don’t really have a use for paper books myself. Oh how the world has changed!
I received a pretty big number of entries! 542 is one of my largest giveaways yet! Based on the announcement post for those of you who entered the Rafflecopter giveaway, I used the trusty random number generator and it chose:
Sarah Courtney
Your preferred format was the ebook! Please keep an eye out in your email. Congrats! And thanks again to all of you for entering and supporting the blog. It means a lot! I won’t keep you hanging too long for the next one either. As I said before. I am catching up on the Dresden books (FINALLY) and with how things are going, a Skin Game giveaway might just have to happen. Just sayin’! Have a nice weekend everyone!
Dresden Progress!
Alright! So I am really tackling my 2014 TO-DO goals. I’ve started several series listed so far, but at this point I’m making the most progress with the Dresden files! Lucky me that my library has all of the ebooks available! So far I’ve read through the first four and have started the 5th one. I think I’m making really good progress. It’s the first series of the 2014 bunch where I’m motivated to read them back to back. As soon as I’m done I can tackle a few ARCs that I’ve been neglecting. If I’m reading something else that means I’m making less Dresden progress! See my dilemma? So yeah, I think the only cure will be to read them all. I hear the books only get better. So far I’ve given the first four books four stars each! Maybe book 5 will be the first five-star! So far it’s on its way. Harry on a talk show is pretty hilarious! I likely will not post full reviews of each novel. I’ll probably just do one for Cold Days. But I’m looking forward to anxiously awaiting Skin Game like the rest of you :P. In the meantime, feel free to track my reading progress on Goodreads!
Oh by the way, does anyone know how many Dresden books he’s planning? We’re already at 15. I feel like I might have heard 20 somewhere, but you can never be too sure.
Need for Speed Review
Fresh from prison, a street racer who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I saw this, but overall I have to say that it was better than I thought it’d be. It wasn’t just The Fast & The Furious with Aaron Paul aka the Breaking Bad guy. It offered good action with no CGI effects, but because they had a fraction of the budget they had to pad it with more story. Just a little more, but it’s there even if it isn’t the greatest one. Aaron Paul’s acting chops are a better than entire cast of Fast & Furious combined so there was arguably more emotional impact. Don’t get me wrong, I love the latest Fast films and I think the cast has amazing chemistry, but nobody’s getting Emmys or Oscars anytime soon in that bunch…
One pleasant surprise for me was the chemistry of this ensemble cast. They brought their own brand of comedy and camaraderie. The biggest surprise was Imogen Poots. I really enjoyed her character and the back and forth with Paul throughout the film. It was cool that she used her British accent instead of affecting an American one. That actually made a difference for me.
There were some downsides of course. I thought it was too noisy. I don’t know if I’m getting old, but I found the constant tire screeching to be pretty grating. Thing is, it’s never bothered me for the Fast films, and definitely not latest one, so it could have been the sound editing. Dakota Johnson was pretty much a waste of time. Her role was completely non-essential and she was bland. I never felt emotional at all about her character, but I have a hard time sympathizing with naïve TSTL types. I wasn’t really all that interested in Dominic Cooper, her villain boyfriend, either. I love me some cool villains but he was your typical cookie cutter bad guy. Boring.
My final thoughts. If you’re comparing it to the Fast &Furious movies, it’s definitely better than the weaker films of that franchise, but I don’t see it replacing it anytime soon. If you love racing movies it might hold you over until the next Fast film. For a limited budget they actually did very well and made it count.
Night Broken – Review + Giveaway! Baby Mama Drama Rama!
When a book is quotable, I’m gonna quote!
“Adam snorted as he pulled on a faded green t-shirt that said “I Heart Coyotes.” Yet another sign that folding my clean clothes wasn’t too big a price to pay to make him happy. He didn’t have any “I Heart Christy ” shirts-or I would have burned them already.”
“I thought we should apply that kind of thinking to the matter of Cristy’s stalker.” He gave me a skeptical look. “No, really,” I said. “Now that we know that Flores is really this nasty, fiery, superpowerful nothing-can-kill-me demon from hell, maybe we should consider just giving Christy to him?” He laughed.
“I’m serious,” I said.“Seriously? Do you know how many guilty people are in jail? None.” Gary’s voice rose to imitate a woman’s voice. “Honest. I didn’t kill him. He fell on my knife. Fourteen times.”
You would think that our favorite coyote, Mercy, would have enough to deal with in her life when it comes to adversaries of the supernatural and furry variety. But she may have to confront her biggest challenge yet in the form of the former Mrs. Adam Hauptman. That’s right, the ex is in trouble and on the run from her psycho boyfriend. And Adam wouldn’t be the Adam that Mercy knows and loves if it wasn’t in his nature to help others, especially the mother of his child.
The ex, Christy, is only safest in Adam’s house and with his pack even though several things aren’t quite adding up. But one thing is as clear as day, Christy wants Adam back and isn’t afraid to play dirty to get him. Mercy isn’t going to take this lying down, but Christy’s peculiar psycho boyfriend may have more going on than some crazy stalker tendencies and as more bodies pile up, it’s up to Mercy to put a stop to it.
Night Broken is certainly one of the more memorable entries in the world of Mercy Thompson. She’s got bad guys…and girls all around and it’s hard to know who she can truly trust! Christy’s character is the one you love to hate. We’d been lucky for a while with her out of the picture, but since the character never died we knew she’d have to crop up sooner or later. And even death isn’t always a guarantee that we’ll be done with a character in the paranormal world, so it’s always in our best interests to just wait and see. I did thoroughly enjoy this part of the book, even if Christy made me want to
Mercy’s snark was of the highest order this time around and I found it refreshing. I loved this that novel tested the depth of Mercy and Adam’s feelings for one another as well. They define what it is to be a unit. I think Adam fans in general will find him pretty swoon-worthy.
The villain was pretty interesting. I wasn’t always sure what direction Briggs was going to take with his character so that helped keep the read very engaging. I did find myself annoyed more than once with Adam’s pack though. It really disappointed me how they treated Mercy despite her dedication to them and the fact that she sticks her neck out there for their sakes time and time again. I really wish they would get over themselves. One saving grace is the fact that if they can’t do it at once, they might be able to do it one by one. I thought the developments with Honey were well done and are a closer step in the direction of where things need to go.
My biggest gripe for the book would be the length. The latest Mercy books have felt too short to me. I mean, 350 pages might seem like enough but I feel like I whiz through it so fast. I could use another meaty 50-75 pages per entry. Additional pages would perhaps allow for more inclusion of side characters whose presence I found myself missing, namely Stefan. I know it’s probably not very easy to figure out how to incorporate him now that Mercy’s married to Adam, but I really like his character and his devotion to Mercy. Though he plays an important role, he is featured so little here and that makes me miss the old times. I am not that invested in the vampires as a whole, just him. I could use a Stefan spin-off!
But all in all it’s a good read and I think the fans will enjoy it immensely. The series still has a lot to offer and I look forward to what’s next.
*ARC Provided by the Publisher
Also feel free to like my review on Goodreads and vote it helpful on Amazon!
Giveaway
So now that you’ve read my review are you looking forward to having a copy of your own? Well one lucky winner of my blog will receive and ebook or hardcover version of the novel!
How to Enter (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): My giveaways are only open to followers of Your Urban Fantasy who are 18 years of age or older. In order to enter YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT POST AND INDICATE YOU HAVE DONE SO ON THE RAFFLECOPTER WIDGET! If you’re a new member, sign up on the right panel to follow my blog via email. (Make sure to check your email to confirm your subscription. You should receive a notification immediately, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it right away). Current followers can just say so in their post. The next three opportunities are for bonus entries. Overall, there are up to 4 chances to enter:
- Follow this blog via email (THIS IS REQUIRED)
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The more entries the better your chance to win! Good luck! And don’t forget to tell me what you’re most looking forward to in this book!
The giveaway will run from 3/6/14 - 3/16/14. Good luck!
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