Broken Monsters

By Lauren Beukes

[She's never hunted a killer as deadly.

Something strange is happening in Detroit. Hybrid bodies

are turning up, half-animal, half-human. For Detective

Gabi Versado, they are the work of a twisted monster

who surpasses even 'Murder City's' most brutal criminals.

And he's only just begun...

For failed artist Clayton Broom, they are his greatest

work. Life destroyed his dreams, so now he's found

new ones. The question is, can Gabi find him before the

person she loves most is drawn into his nightmare?]

I didn't actually expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Right from the start it was darkly intriguing. 

At first I didn't enjoy the chapters jumping from character to character but, by the end, I saw how effective this was. It really enabled the story to be built up from all angles and for us as an audience to slowly put the pieces together of what was happening. 

This wasn't a book where you have to figure out who the killer was because it's stated in the blurb for God's sake; it's what he does to his victims and the way the other character's stories are interwoven. It was beautiful.

Even though some of the characters had flaws, and major ones at that, I quite liked them all which is unusual. There's normally at least one person I detest, but not with this book.

Detective Versado was a great character, a struggling single mum who is a very good cop but is struggling to balance it all.

Jonno Haim and Clayton Broom were other interesting characters along with the Detective's daughter and her best friend. 

I see now that they all had something "broken" about them, whether it be to do with something in their past or a part of their mental health. It was a very unique story.

One thing that slightly - and I mean slightly here - let it down was the ending. 

I'm not going to divulge any details (although this explanation could get very confusing without them) but it all suddenly went very surreal and almost supernatural. 

It was quite a confusing read in those last chapters but it also worked well for the stability for two of the characters deteriorating mental health. I'm sure that's what it was linked to, but other characters were affected as well towards the end which made me think the whole book had something supernatural to it.

It's not that supernatural is a problem, more that I didn't quite get what was fully going on. The whole art scene interwoven throughout touches on the surreal aspect and I think it's explained as to why the other characters were affected but even they didn't seem too sure in their closing statements.

A great read though and one I'd be sure to pick up again.

📖

After Anna

By Alex Lake

[A girl is missing. Five years old,

taken from outside her school.

She has vanished, traceless.

The police are at a loss; her parents are

beyond grief. Their daughter is lost

forever - perhaps dead,

perhaps enslaved.

But the biggest mystery is yet to

come: one week after she was abducted,

Anna is returned.

She has no memory of where she

has been. And this, for her mother,

is just the beginning of

the nightmare...]

I really wasn't impressed with this at all.

The plot was hella predictable the entire way through. Not to mention it kept contradicting itself along the way. 

At one moment Julia states her mother is in a nursing home, the next minute she states she's dead and then in a further chapter she goes and visits said dead mother in the nursing home, whaaaat?! It needed a bit more consistency if I'm being honest.

And further to that, I literally hated all of the main characters. They were so unlikeable it was annoying. The funny thing is they were relatable. Maybe that's what made them such annoying characters, I don't know. 

I can't pinpoint an exact reason why I didn't like Julia, she did the best she could in the circumstances thrown her way, I just didn't click with her. 

Brian and Edna though, I loathed. Brian because he was a spineless pushover letting his mother get exactly what she wanted and Edna because she was a manipulative old hag stuck in her old fashioned ways.

The only thing I did like was the perspective of the kidnapper's chapters. Using second person is always an interesting technique so it was a nice way to freshen up the book. The chapters for the main part were also set out pretty weirdly, in separate sections within each other. I don't know, I found it quite odd.

Maybe I just don't get on with these types of books. I'm never truly satisfied with whoever has supposedly committed the crime because, to me, it's always obvious who it is pretty early on.

📖

Moving

So this is an unusual post for me.

Having recently moved I've got a tonne of ideas buzzing around about how best to organise all of my stuff.

I'm determined not to have a cluttered space again like last time.

And, although I still only have the single room in a houseshare, I want to make it work.

Pinterest is one of those glorious websites that has also helped with the creative process.

I need to buy a bedside table in which I'm sort of going to use as a make-up/product stand instead, another DVD storage unit and a rug.

Once I have those few bits I feel like I will be more settled and everything will have its right place in here.

I have so many books and ornaments and lotions that I just need it all to be organised appropriately and not all clustered together.

AH!

Anyway, here are a few ingenious ideas from the wonderful Pinterest below. I may do an update once everything is all in order too.

x

Maybe I should do some reshuffling on the blog too, feeling a new layout...

🌸

Fevre Dream

By George R R Martin

[Abner Marsh has had his dearest wish come true - he has built the Fevre Dream,
the finest steamship ever to sail the Mississippi. Abner hopes to race the boat
some day, but his partner is making it hard for him to realise his ambition.
Joshua York put up the money for the Fevre Dream, but now rumours have
started about the company he keeps, his odd eating habits and strange hours.
As the Dream sails the great river, it leaves in its wake one too many dark tales,
until Abner is forced to face down the man who helped his dreams become reality.]

This was meant to go up last night but we seemed to be having wifi issues and you know me, still not scheduling my posts yet. 

Whoops. But here it is, the review for a George R R Martin book that isn't Game of Thrones!

Hm. I thought George R R Martin and vampires would be a good mix considering his other fantasy works. 

Alas, I was mistaken.

I really wanted to like Fevre Dream but I just wasn't taken with it.

I loved the characters. Abner was great, stubborn, set in his old ways, but loyal and courageous. 

Joshua was a true gentleman (apart from the one minor fact that he's a vampire), he sticks to his cause through and through no matter how tough it gets. 

And then there's Julian. Pure evil and a power-hungry bully. They were all written so well, that is definitely one thing Martin does extremely well - character development!

The plot though, I wasn't sure about. I can't put my finger on it, but something was just off. 

There were some great tense moments in amongst all of the river-boating stuff. 

Maybe it was the period it was set in? Or maybe it just wasn't like any other vampire novels I've ever read before. 

But the quiet moments didn't make me want to keep reading, I found myself getting a little bored if I'm honest.

The setting on the river and the slave plantations were pretty interesting though. The imagery was fantastic incorporating all of the corruption and power battles.

Bit of a weird one overall.



📖

Underworld: Blood Wars

Image From Pinterest

It's been such a good weekend already. In fact it's just been a pretty good week all in all.

The weather's been fab, I'm feeling a lot more settled in my new place and I've spent some time with family and Adeel so I'm feeling very at peace and happy right now.

Literally just spent my evening watching the Grand Prix whilst colouring which has been so calming and a lovely way to finish a busy few days.

But at the moment, I'm looking forward to a plan-free bank holiday Monday if I'm honest. Will most likely go for a nice slow run before finishing unpacking and cleaning my room. 

Perfect.

We went to see Pirates 5 today and, ohmygod, I cannot wait to write a review for that!

One film I was equally excited for at the beginning of the year was Underworld: Blood Wars.

I love the Underworld series and not just because Kate Beckinsale is my girl crush but because it's just a fantastic set of vampire films. Beats Twilight by a mile, a million miles.

Unfortunately I wasn't completely won over by the fifth instalment.

I don't think the story was very strong at all and I was very, very annoyed at how they barely even covered writing off Michael's character. I'm fully aware the actor didn't want to come back but it's not like he was anyone random, he was what the entire plot surrounded in films one and two.

I enjoyed the old characters and a couple from the fourth, but the new characters I almost felt were weak, that they weren't anything special given the previous villains. Plus, I'm kind of biased in the old characters because I absolutely love Kate Beckinsale, Theo James and Charles Dance.

The cinematography and the sets and the costumes were beautiful as usual. Lycra and medieval castles and epic battle scenes - classic Underworld action.

I'm not gonna lie though, I will probably watch it again beside the others because I like doing film marathons every now and again and it's part of the story, especially as there's going to be another one!

Let's hope the sixth is better.

---

Rating:
★★★☆☆



☽

Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)

By Robin Hobb

Narrated by Paul Boehmer

Image From Goodreads

[In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named
for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a
walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son
of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world,
friendless and lonely.

Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the
Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used
too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.
So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he
must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry,
scribbing, courtly manners, and how to kill a man secretly, as he
trains to become a royal assassin.]

I am so in love with my new place, it's the best and so beautiful and different and not London. In heaven.

Adjusting to a new routine is taking a little bit of time to get used to but one I'm sure I will pick up soon enough.

I'm yet to find a new place to run and I want to start writing my posts ahead of time so I can have them scheduled instead of doing them last minute each time. But, baby steps.

Need to finish unpacking yet...

Moving swiftly on.

I have heard SO many good things about Robin Hobb's books but the lengths of them always put me off starting as they were all just so so so long.

You know a good way to combat lengthy books? Don't look at the size of them. 

Audiobooks are perfect for this. I know 28 odd hours sounds long but it's way less intimidating than say 800 pages. It seems more manageable which is why I've decided to listen to all of Robin Hobb's books on audiobook. It will save me lugging around a large book and I will feel more like I am getting through it, which is always good.

I loveeeeee heavy fantasy books (not heavy physically), just all that intense description and packed in scenes where nothing actually happens but it's in another world and just what the characters eat is fascinating.

Medieval-fantasy is also good. Love a bit of old-fashioned swordplay.

This was similar to The Kingkiller Chronicle books (which are fab by the way) in that not a lot actually happens but it keeps you hooked anyway in the everyday events that the protagonist has to go through.

Fitz was a very loveable character, especially as we got to start with him as a six year old and end with him as possibly being in his early/mid teens? Still not sure how old he is currently but, still, we get to grow up with him making us just that little bit biased when anything happens to him.

The rest of the characters were well-rounded and interesting. There were a few I wasn't sure if I liked or not, and some I definitely disliked but they were all used very well for their parts.

Burrich was one of those I wasn't sure I liked all the way through. He was caring and almost fatherly towards Fitz but then he could also be quite cruel and harsh given how old Fitz was.

Galen and Regal I loathed. They were equally horrible, especially to poor Fitz, but their cunning plans are what pulls the story to its tense climax.

The plot was very good. I loved the slow pace of the beginning, introducing the characters and the surrounding world. Things did move pretty slowly for a long while, but like I said earlier, this was fine with me as it was all interesting. One by one hurdles were thrown Fitz's way; some minor ones to begin with but growing more and more intense as the story progressed.

The magical element was very intriguing. There appears to be two different types and one that's looked down upon. I'm still trying to work out what the difference is between the two but I'm sure that'll become clear in the following books.

The climax was fantastic. I was shocked by some of it which is always a good thing as it's not predictable! I honestly can't wait to continue reading Hobb's books to see how it all unfolds!



📖

Rogue One

Well hello there.

Image from Pinterest

Last Sunday I didn't even realise I'd missed a post until late the following day which never happens. I was so caught up on packing my last fews bits and travelling home to drop them off that it slipped my mind.

And then Wednesday's post I did miss on purpose. I thought I would give myself the week off as I had a busy week packing up my belongings and a few rare social engagements!

And now, although I am sad that one of my colleagues left this week, I am happy to report I am all settled in to my new place -- if settled means I still have packing boxes everywhere...

---

Well, this review has been a long time coming as it came out in what, December??

Bare with me if I forget a few of the details for the plot!

Think this was a spur of the moment watch as I'd taken the day off work to go to Winter Wonderland with Adeel. Then when we were done we decided to head over to Leicester Square and squeeze in a quick film before my drive home for Christmas the following day.

I'm not a massive fan of Star Wars, think I prefer Star Trek (although the second and third weren't as good as the first), but I've enjoyed the newer ones for sure as well as the original series (not so much the prequels).

I enjoyed the plot. It was very action packed which makes a change I think. The other Star Wars have been more quest driven with the one overall bad guy, whereas this one was a brewing war between two sides with many epic battles throughout.

I did find the ending a bit of a shock though. But I guess you never expect to watch a film and see characters get killed off. Princess Leia's cameo at the very end was quite nice and unexpected.

Felicity Jones is really growing on me as an actor. She's so talented and I love watching her characters unfold. Jyn was a beautiful character. Her backstory was intriguing and nicely interwoven throughout.

Diego Luna also did a good job of portraying Cassian and I rather enjoyed K-2SO's comedic comments as well.

Overall, it was a good film but one that I can't say I'm that fussed about. For me, it didn't make any impact, it didn't add anything to the other films but hey, I'm not a hardcore Star Wars fan so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

---

Rating:

★★★☆☆