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Book Review The Extinction Trials: Rebel by S. M Wilson

Publisher: Usborne
Pages: 368
Release Date: 7.2.2019
About: Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival. Welcome to The Extinction Trials.
Storm and Lincoln’s city is burning. The people are starving. The only place left to run is Piloria, the continent of monsters. It’s up to Storm and Lincoln to keep their people alive as they colonize this lethal paradise. But will the biggest threat to their survival be the monsters in the jungle…or the ones inside the encampment with them?
The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park in this wildly popular series filled with action, survival and betrayal.

Okay… So I finished this book over a week ago and I’ve not been able to sit down and write this review. Mainly because to write it, is to admit that this amazing ride that has taken my blog through its book review infancy is over. It was the first book in which a publisher reached out and asked that I take part in a blog tour and I got to host a wonderful Q&A with S. M. Wilson. I don’t want this book series to be over, I am currently cursing past me from willing the books out faster. Damn, not only would I have waited the Harry Potter standard of 2 years between books for S. M. Wilson’s talented writing, I’d have RR Martin waited for them.

Enough of my end-of-series grief. Lets get down to what you are all here for: does it live up to the others and how quickly should you be adding it to your TBR?

The simple answer is that not only does it live up to the 2018 outing and its sequel, it surpasses it. Not only is the reader given an excellent, movie worthy, sequel its a well crafted ending to a series. There’s scares, screams and tears a plenty as time is given to all the characters we’ve met so far. As with Exile, Rebel gives us what we expect without playing the game by numbers and retreading the same plot.

My heart was in my mouth from the opening chapter and the pace never let up for a single second, which is how I found myself hitting the last page at 3am Sunday night/ Monday morning; the same day I’d bought it. There’s payoffs, there’s shocks and there’s even creatures I’m too afraid of to mention their names.

I don’t want to mention too many details about the plot, as I’d hate to ruin anything I enjoyed reading but what I will say is that those fans from the start will be left satisfied with how the series ends. I’d also like to point out that, intentional or not, there are still questions and scope for further adventures within this crafted world. I’m not saying Wilson has to start writing another. No, she’s done something so much more for us. She’s provided an imagination playground for plot bunnies to run wild. Certainly for me, if I wasn’t strictly on a ‘no fan fiction’ writing diet while I get my own fictions off the ground; I’d so be penning something set in this world. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me a truly good writer not only gives you a world to escape to, but they create a spark within the imagination.

One final thing I will say, is that I cannot wait for Wilson has in store for us. This has been an amazing trilogy that should be picked up by a film company post haste. S. M. Wilson has a fan for life, and I only hope I can write half as well as her; chapter fourteen of Rebel is hands down the best chapter I’ve ever read and I’ve kept coming back and rereading it all week.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve read the others, buy this book. If you’ve read none of them; buy them all and clear your diary and TBR. It’s a book series that will take pride of place on your bookshelf and, for me, will be a yearly re-read for decades to come.

Love Han x

Movie Review: King of Thieves (2018)

Length: 1Hr 48
Rating: 15
About: A crew of retired crooks pulls off a major heist in London’s jewellery district, but what begins as a nostalgic last hurrah for the group quickly becomes a brutal nightmare when greed overtakes them.

The Good

I can’t fault Michael Caine. He’s brilliant and I know most of my experience of him is as a mentor and fatherly figure. Even Now You See Me, is tame compared to his Get Carter roots. It’s good to see him in a modern heist movie and he certainly seems at home.
It’s certainly an antidote to the fast paced action blockbusters that are saturating our box office. Having the heist done by a group of aging men who have lived their life on the silver screen is refreshing.
On that note, its really funny. Between the British geezer humour and the commentary of how times have changed, there’s not a scene goes by without a chuckle. It’s best seen in the group preparing for the first night of the heist.
There’s quite a nice touch seen with the use of footage from older heist movies; making connections between the behaviours then, and now.
You can’t deny; its quite a cast they’ve gotten together to play cops and robbers on screen for a few hours. You can tell they’re all having fun and it just adds to the viewer’s enjoyment.

The Bad

I’m not sold on Charlie Cox’s performance and I can’t put my finger on what it is. I know that while the others know who they are portraying, Cox had nothing. However, it does have what I feel is a little inconsistency. The meekness and jittery demeanor doesn’t mesh with the actions in the later part of the movie. I was almost waiting for a
Keyser Soze type change in personality that matched with the ‘mastermind’ status Basil is given.

The Ugly

Did I really need to see Gambon and Courtenay converse in the whirlpool?! Did we need that many iterations of the word ‘cunt’? Well, not really but part of me likes that the film didn’t really hold back.

Final Thoughts

It’s a decent watch that i’ll most likely pop on again at some point, but I think the most to be gained from it for me, is a motivation to see all of the main players in some of their earlier films.

Love Han x

Movie Review: Raising Helen (2004)

That’s right. Shoe-tying is tough. Why do you think Jesus wore sandals?

Length: 1Hr 59
Rating: PG
About: Single and self-involved, Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) has a thriving fashion career and a lavish lifestyle in New York City. Helen is shocked to hear that her sister and brother-in-law have died in an accident, and alarmed that they have named her the guardian of their three kids (Hayden Panettiere, Spencer Breslin, Abigail Breslin). As the children struggle with the change, Helen has to decide whether she’ll cling to her old ways or come to terms with her new family role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=022ampc_2gc

The Good

It’s an upbeat alternative to Beaches with an Uncle Buck vibe to it. Kate Hudson and John Corbett are beautiful leads. I’m not sure why I avoided Hudson’s films when they were being released; I certainly missed out.
It’s crazy to watch this film 15 years after the fact and see the young faces of the three orphaned siblings; while I’ve not caught Spencer Breslin in much since the early thousands, Hayden Panettiere has very rarely left the screen and Abigail Breslin was most recently seen alongside other child stars in Scream Queens.
It has a happy enough ending. What more do you want from this romantic comedy that has cameos from the director’s stable.

The Bad

This film is coming at the end of the romantic comedy roll out. As a result, it feels a little cliqued and tired. It’s a paint-by-number plot with very little variation.
As much as I love both Hudson and Corbett’s characters and their individual delivery, there’s zero chemistry and it really shows.

The Ugly

It’s a personal thing, but why have someone as amazing as Felicity Huffman cast to not use her fully. Man, I am gutted that she’s the sister that died.
Joe Mazzello was not in nearly enough to justify me watching this. One scene and then zip, nothing.

Final Thoughts

This really isn’t one of Gary Marshall’s best offerings and even playing “Whose from his acting stable?” Was enough to rescue this film and make it one that i’d watch again.

Love Han x

TV REVIEW Star Trek Discovery: S2 Ep4 (An Obol for Charon)

What an episode. Okay, plot wise we don’t get much by way of progression. However, we have so much character and relationship development and it’s beyond perfect.

Saru

Saru is our main character in this episode. Upon being held captive by an organic entity, Saru’s biology betrays him and he begins to go into what he believes to be a terminal condition. What I loved about this thread was that we learnt even more about Saru’s species and how he ended up working within the Federation. It’s quite a heartbreaking watch and Doug Jones demonstrates his skills; not only is he able to embody the pain and empathy that Saru feels, there’s something hypnotic about watching his broken body struggle around Discovery.
The joy at the final act reveal is only surpassed by what it might mean for the character. We’ve had 19 episodes with an alien who is susceptible to fear and was the embodiment of caution. Without this and discovering everything he knew of his species was a lie, I can’t help but wonder what lies ahead for this character.

Tilly, Stamets and Reno

I’ve missed snarky Stamets. It’s been too long since we’ve witnessed a closed and stand-offish engineer. I have obviously enjoy the character break down the walls and warm up to those who work closest to him, but it was a joy to see him clash with Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno.
How they spar over the way they see the future of technology is wonderful, and one that is played just right. Its a play that could have gotten old fast, if it was handled by lesser talent. I’m hoping this is the start of a beautiful friendship; when it comes down to it it is a balance of both of their insights that they need. When things that got critical, they bounced off each other as all good scientists do.

“Hey kiddo…” Have I said that I love the growing relationship between Stamets and Tilly? It’s something that I don’t feel we’ve seen with such sincerity in a Trek franchise before. The care and trust that the actors bring to the characters is heart warming. Although, their rendition of Space Oddity was beautiful and haunting. It almost had me in tears to think that Stametts was using it as a form of distractions.

And of course, there’s a bit of a game changer to the resolution of this plot thread. In a Stranger Things/ Shawshank homage, we discover that Stammets wasn’t completely successful in keeping Tilly safe. I dread to consider how we’ll find Stamets when we pick up again next week.

Saru and Michael

I have never cried at Star Trek. I think as a kid I was relatively detached from the shows to be so emotionally involved. However, there’s a few things in the show that really had me invested in the relationship of these two characters and what each was experiencing while Saru was facing death.

Firstly, we’ve seen from the first series that Discovery has no hesitation in killing off its main crew so I did spend the entire episode believing that this was the last we’d see of Saru and Doug Jones. Throughout the franchise we’ve seen semi-regular characters die; Tasha Yar springs to mind and there is also the shocking departure of Terry Farrell in Deep Space Nine. However, its very rare to see a main character leave so early in a show. I’m completely in disagreement with my father; upon finishing the episode he expressed that they took it too close to death to u-turn. I think it was necessary in order to show how much the relationship between Saru and Michael had grown and the impact it’ll have on Michael’s relationship with Spock.
I loved the whole thread that saw Michael caring for Saru, but it was that death-bed scene that caused me to cry. I can’t help but compare it to Eastenders and the heartbreaking scene between Dot and Ethel all those years ago. Saru was requesting Michael participated in voluntary euthanasia. The words weren’t said, it wasn’t used as a way of looking at it in a political way but it still held the emotional gravitas. As a relationship, Saru and Michael have progressed, in such a short space of time, from at-odds colleagues to friends, and now family. It was beautiful and will be something that can only get better.

Final Thoughts

I still have reservations about the Spock story arc. It’s nothing to do with the storytelling, at all. It’s just that I can’t help but feel like I’m in the middle of a puzzle and I’m sure I missed something. I know I have to be patient, I know by the time series 2 is wrapped up I’ll be satisfied… but, well lets put it this way; if I was a Kelpien, my ganglia would be showing.

Love Han x

Movie Review: Capricorn One (1979)

Length: 2Hr 4Min
Rating: PG
About: Three astronauts (James Brolin, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson) are about to launch into space on the first mission to Mars. But when a mechanical failure surfaces that would kill the three men, NASA removes them from the Capricorn One capsule. To prevent a public outcry, NASA launches the capsule unmanned and requires the astronauts to film fake mission footage in a studio. However, the plan is compromised when an ambitious journalist (Elliott Gould) discovers the conspiracy.

The Good

Bloody hell, talk about a legacy cast. There’s nothing better than watching an old school film and recognising people you watch. Not only that, they’re 30 years younger. James Brolin, Elliot Gould and ? all bring their a-game to this chilling political conspiracy thriller. I’d have liked to have seen more from ?, as early parts of the film hint at a comedic side I’ve not seen in his most recent roles.

The film has this delightful slow build of a plot which you simply don’t see getting made in Hollywood nowadays. There’s no heavy pattern or formulaic action sequences. Elliot Gould may take top billing when it comes to the credits, but there’s no clear star driving this plot forward.

In an age where movies are catering for an over-stimulated audience, this is a nice change of pace; it’s atmospheric, chilling and emotive. I’m not ashamed to say, I jumped twice at events I wasn’t expecting. Actually, I yelped too at one and screamed at the other.

The Bad

As I said, there’s no star. Unfortunately while it’s a blessing, it’s also the film’s curse. As a result of no one person being followed, the plot feels overly choppy and, at times, hard to follow. It also gave the film an overall uneasy feeling and while I don’t personally like it, I can’t deny that it adds to the whole film.

The Ugly

why was the on-trend colour of the 70s all shades of brown? Literally everything in this film; from costumes to sets was brown. This is such a personal thing but picking a colour palate because it’s in fashion dates a film and it’s a shame because the theme and conspiracy at the heart of this movie has a timeless ‘fake news’ quality about it.

Love Han x

TV Review: Star Trek Discovery (S2 Ep3- Point of Light)

Another strong episode for the show that is finding a wonderful balance between episodes that work as a stand alone but also work towards a larger story. It’s so natural that there’s no need for the dreaded ‘To be continued…’ fans used to fear.

There’s a welcome return of Shazad Latif, Mary Chieffo and Michelle Yeoh for the first of three main plot threads in today’s episode. I do love the Viking and tribal or clan-like homages made while we spend time with the Klingons. It’s not something I would have normally liked, but this had my attention from the start.
I found Ash/Vok’s situation well acted from everyone involved and that brought so much emotion to the surface. I immediately wondered if this was Discovery creating an explanation for the appearance of TOS Klingons. It still might be and, if so, this show just keeps winning me over.
By the end of the episode, I can’t help but feel we’ve seen a back-door pilot of sorts and can’t wait for more news on Yeoh’s upcoming spin-off.

Michael Burnham spends the episode chasing leads as to where Spock may be. Unfortunately, it does seem by the end of the episode she’s further removed from more than just Spock. I am torn as to whether I am happy with how this story is playing out. The questions are starting to rack up and I feel a little Lost! No, I capitalise correctly, because I feel lost in more ways that one. I have this anxiety that the questions will topple long before I get an answer; much in the same way Lost did back in the day.
That said, I had my reservations about the pre- Kirk setting and I was very happy to be proved wrong by the end of series one. I really do hope we get some resolution soon. Or at least someone else sighting the red angel.

Finally, there’s Tilly and her little ghost stowaway. For the love of Roddenberry, it was heart breaking seeing Tilly so vulnerable. From the outburst on the bridge, to her tear ridden reveal to Michael I was feeling her pain. If Mary Wiseman isn’t at least nominated for an Emmy in the next awards season, I will eat my hat. (I don’t have a hat, nor do I understand awards and nominations, but guys she deserves all of them)
I loved that it was Stamet’s she needed and that it wasn’t as clear cut as I’d predicted last week. As always, Rapp is a delight to have on screen and this was no exception. With his help there was a resolution of sorts. It’s definitely not the last we’ll see of May, but at least Tilly is out of harms way.

Final Thoughts

If this show keeps going, this is going to very quickly replace Deep Space Nine as my favourite in the franchise. Something that I never thought I’d see.

Love Han x

Book Review: Song for a Whale by @LynneKelly @PiccadillyPress

Publisher: Piccadilly Press
Pages: 322
Release date: 5th February 2019
About: A stirring and heart-warming tale of a young deaf girl who is determined to make a difference, the perfect read for fans of Wonder.
Iris was born deaf, but she’s never let that define her; after all, it’s the only life she’s ever known. And until recently she wasn’t even very lonely, because her grandparents are both deaf, too. But Grandpa has just died and Grandma’s not the same without him. The only place Iris really feels at home anymore is in her electronics workshop where she loves taking apart antique radios.
Then, during a science lesson about sound waves, Iris finds out about a whale who is unable to communicate with other whales. The lonely whale awakens something in Iris. She’s determined to show him that someone in the world knows he’s there.
Iris works on a foolproof plan to help the whale but she soon realises that that is not enough: Iris wants to find the whale herself.
One stolen credit card, two cruise ship tickets, and the adventure of a lifetime later, Iris and the whale each break through isolation to help one another be truly heard in ways that neither had ever expected.

I don’t think i have ever related to a character so much in all my life. I felt every emotion Iris had along her journey. My heart ached at the beauty of the storytelling and the gratitude that this book exists for those who identify with Iris’ hearing issues. Not only is this book about to go out into the world and allow some people, like myself, to feel represented but it’s a book that will enlighten others on some of the physical and emotional problems faced by those with hearing difficulties.

The theme of isolation resonates with me quite strongly; I was diagnosed with serve hearing loss at the age of 15. However, I was showing signs of hearing loss as young as 6 or 7. My inability to answer people was put down to my dreamer nature with a bit of laziness thrown in.
School was a different matter. I suspect that in an environment where blanking someone was the highest crime. I was considered rude and stuck up. I felt like I spent much of high school in my own little prison cell of silence.
In short, I totally relate to Iris’ frustration and I would have been exactly like her and feeling the kinship with Blue-55. I might not have gone on the adventure she did, but curling up and reading this book I feel like I actually did.

The writing is breath-taking and compliments the heartfelt plot entirely. How ASL is relayed in the book is nothing short of perfection. There’s a distinction made between speech and ASL, and that in itself is wonderful. However, Lynne Kelly goes beyond that and gives some stunning descriptions of the hand movements to some words and phrases.

The plot moves at an engaging pace, intermingling what appear on the outset to be completely unrelated and independent plot threads. It means that you get to know all the characters that surround Iris in all parts of her life. I’d have personally loved to have seen more interaction between Iris and her brother, but it reminded me so much of the relationship I had with my brother and I just wanted to dive right in and stay a little longer.

This book will forever have a place in my heart, it has soothed my soul and I already predict a mid-year reread. Thank you, Lynne Kelly, from the bottom of my heart for allowing people like myself to be seen, heard and most importantly, understood.

Song for a Whale is out on 5th February 2019.

Love Han x

Movie Review: Overboard (2018)

“Can you get me a prettier nurse?”

Length: 1Hr 52
Rating: 12
About: Kate is a single, working-class mother of three who’s hired to clean a luxury yacht that belongs to Leonardo — a selfish, spoiled and wealthy Mexican playboy. After unjustly firing Kate, Leonardo falls off the boat and wakes up with no memory of who he is. To get payback, Kate shows up at the hospital and convinces the confused amnesiac that they’re married. As Leonardo tries to get used to manual labor and his new family, Kate starts to wonder how long she can keep fooling her fake husband.
Netflixhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80216281

The Good

The cast is brilliant. Eugenio Derbez for me was a curious casting choice, but once you see the film he will win you over. His privilege, charm and development of character is on point. Leo’s growing relationship with Kate’s three daughters was sincere, heartfelt and rather cute. A difficult thing to pull off without seeming seedy in the current climate.
Eva Longoria was just delightful in a supporting role as Kate’s best friend. She’s got the sass and the guts to get the plot rolling and I’m almost sorry she wasn’t given the role of Kate; she’d have nailed it.
Of course, that’s not to say Anna Faris was bad. Over the years she’s really come into her own and there are some sincere and emotional scenes that she owns that I don’t think she’d have pulled off a decade ago.

The Bad

It was rather slow and lacking any charm or humour. There were a *few* giggles to be had, but it was with old and tired jokes which means I already know this will not stand up to repeated viewings. The film takes up too much screen time establishing both Leo and Kate’s situations. I’m not sure if the creative team felt that more was needed here due to the gender bending of the premise, but it felt like it was trying too hard to justify Kate’s motivation to bring him into the family home.
It had a hard job, trying to live up to the original movie. It’s a classic Sunday afternoon, waiting for your roast dinner sort of film. Quite a brave film too, having it be a single dad and a yuppie woman. There really isn’t anything that can be added to it, and it is almost like the film knew that too.

The Ugly

No so much the fault of the film, but Netflix and its dodgy formatting. Make sure you go into the film with your subtitles on. It was about an hour in and three scenes in Spanish before I hit the subtitle button. The first scene I thought was meant to be like that as one woman slipped into English a few times. It meant that I was pulled out of the film. Okay, so it’s not like its a complicated plot, but it does show that those scenes don’t add anything either. It also meant that the subtitles had to be on for everything and not just the bits we needed translating. For me, parring down Leo’s family and using that screen time to work on Leo’s relationship with Kate would not have harmed at all.
In fact, I really needed more Leo and Kate. Their chemistry was brilliant and you really could see Kate’s feelings changing, but the falling in love part felt like a LOT of scenes went missing.

Final Thoughts

Overboard is worth a watch, but the most you’ll get out of it is a hankering to watch the original.

Love Han x

Marvelous Movie Reviews: Iron Man (2008)

“Let’s face it, this is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”
Tony Stark

Release: 8 May 2008
Rating: 12
Length: 2Hr 6min
About: A billionaire industrialist and genius inventor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is conducting weapons tests overseas, but terrorists kidnap him to force him to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds an armored suit and upends his captors. Returning to America, Stark refines the suit and uses it to combat crime and terrorism.

First Thought

I was VERY hungover when I first ever watched this film. I missed a lot as I dipped in and out of sleep. Up until watching it to review the film for this new series, I considered it a rather disjointed mess of a film that I never wanted to see again. It didn’t help that each time I’ve watched it since has been because its been found on TV mid film.
I actually wasn’t looking forward to this watch and I’ve put it off all month.

The Good

While my poisoned brain did not appreciate the way this film opened, I loved it this viewing. Being thrown into the action can seem a little disorientating and certainly not something done often in cinema, but it’s a device used in many tv shows to great effect. Here it gives you a snap shot of who Tony Stark is, before finding out how he got himself into the situation.
It’s an economically told origin story. When I compare this to others, it would have been easy for the first 40 minutes to be stretched to the full 2 hours, leaving the remainder of the plot to a sequel movie. I’m so glad that didn’t happen.
The relationship between Stark and Yinsen is something I slept through the first time, and it’s the strength of the movie. It gives Stark his motivation to become ‘Iron Man’ and change the mission statement of Stark Industries. It’s sincere and emotive; I only wish there was a look back to him at some point. Perhaps there is and I missed it; this rewatch will answer that.
What a good bad guy. It’s the one thing I don’t think Marvel gets quite right in subsequent movies. No long-winded explanation as to why, no sob story to make him an anti-hero. Just pure greed. The moment in which Jeff Bridge’s Obadiah renders Stark vulnerable is really chilling and the most sinister scene of the whole franchise.

The Bad

It really bugs me that Yinsen lists off all the languages that The Ten Rings speak and the one they don’t, is English. Surly if your main aim is to hold a demographic to ransom, you learn to communicate with them. However, I do like the fact that the film gives us Yinsen to translate and eliminate the need for subtitles.
Not sure if it’s because I’m so used to his replacement, but I’m not a fan of Terrence Howard. He doesn’t seem to gel with the rest of the cast and his scenes with RDJnr fall a little flat for me.
While the CGI of the suit and its construction is some of the best in the franchise, I found the CGI during the ultimate showdown a little old and ropy.

The Ugly

Watching it now, it makes me realise that the franchise started on such a high. It set a tone and standard that I fear I am going to watch slowly degrade as I go through my re-watch.
There’s not enough Happy Hogan. I’m sure directing was time consuming and explains Jon Favreau’s presence being reduced to nothing more than a cameo, but I’m certainly looking forward to him having more screen time in later films.

Final Thoughts

I’m glad I gave the film a second chance. I’ve really been missing out with not giving this installment my full attention. Perhaps I would have been Team Stark outright when it came to Civil War had I really, properly, watched Stark’s humbling journey.

Next week in Phase One of the MCU rewatch is 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which sees Edward Norton taking up the mantel of the Toxic Avenger.

Have a Marvelous week.
Love Han x

Han’s January Wrap Up

Now I’m no longer teaching and am on the road to officially being my father’s carer, I am hoping to up my game with my blog. There’s no goal in terms of followers or awards, I just want to be more organised and help more books to succeed.
One thing I’ve always wanted to do is show my gratitude for the books I receive and reflect on what I’ve achieved over the previous month. Hopefully, this will be the first of many Wrap Up posts in which I share with you my purchases, book post and Net Galley gains before implementing a TBR I hope to stick to.
As always, comment and follow.
Love Han x

The Books I Got

Slay on Tour by Kim Curran (Usborne book post)
Hotel Flamingo by Alex Milway (Piccadilly Press book post)
Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge (Hot Key book post)
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger (Zaffre book post)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald by J. K. Rowling (Sphere/ Little Brown. Bought)
Evermore by Sara Holland (Harper Teen. Bought)
DC Icons Batman: Night Walker by Marie Lu (Random House YA. Replacement purchase)
Doctor Who: The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson (BBC books. Bought)
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly (Piccadilly Press book post)
Monsters in the Mirror by A J Hartly (UCLAN publishing book post)
Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu (Hodder Children’s Press. From Wildest Dreams Book Box subscription)
Dark Blade by Steve Feasey (Bloomsbury YA book post)
Slayer by Keirsten White (Simon & Schuster Children’s UK. Net Galley)
Twisted by Steve Cavanagh (Orion Press. Net Galley)
The Go-Away Bird by Julia Donaldson (Macmillan Children’s Books. Net Galley)
Ever Alice by HJ Ramsay (Red Rogue Press. Net Galley)
Aries 181 by Tiana Warner (Rogue Cannon Publishing E-Copy)

The Books I Read

Slay on Tour by Kim Curran
Hotel Flamingo by Alex Milway
Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge
Slayer by Kiersten White
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
Dr Ninth by Adam Hargreaves
Dr Tenth by Adam Hargreaves
Dr Eleventh by Adam Hargreaves
Dr Twelfth by Adam Hargreaves
Enchantee by Gita Trelease
Twisted by Steve Cavanagh
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
The Go-Away Bird by Julia Donaldson
Ever Alice by H.J Ramsay

So as it stands, I’m 14 books (18%) into my Goodread’s 80 book 2019 reading challenge. It also puts me a staggering 8 books ahead of schedule. I would love to keep this up, but I am also aware that 5 of my books are 5 minute reads.

The Books to Read in February

Monsters in the Mirror by A J Hartly
Dark Blade by Steve Feasey
Aries 181 by Tiana Warner
Time Traveller’s Guide to Modern Romance by Madeline J. Reynolds
Hunting Evil by Chris Carter
Extinction Trials: Rebel by S M Wilson
When We Collided by Emery Lord
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke
Doctor Who: The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson

Happy February geeks x

It’s Not All Doom and Gloom

From the Feeds

Today’s post comes from Buzzfeed and is a compilation of 33 wonderfully heartwarming photos.

Daily Three

I got to watch a film with my dad that I found purely on a few bits of information he gave me. Capricorn One is a tense slow-build of a film that actually even made me scream.
I tidied, hoovered and generally been productive. It’s strange that I had to move back home to unlock the full adulting level.
I made the perfect omelette. It didn’t stick to the pan, it didn’t rip as I folded it and it was cooked all the way through.

It’s not all Doom and Gloom

From the Feeds

Dad and ‘bonus dad’ share cute picture with their daughter to show how blended families can work

There’s no right way to raise a child. But there’s certainly wrong ways. This article is a heartwarming look at how people who bring a child into the world can make the best of a situation and put their child first. I’m not saying everyone could, or even should, but just look at how happy everyone is in that picture.

https://ew.com/movies/2019/01/21/kenan-thompson-and-cast-hit-the-ice-for-a-mighty-ducks-reunion/?fbclid=IwAR3NzlZ-68KyJHjTSB7RgEqk5BZs4pbIMz7t0n0HaE1r66lI_tQeS4kBJFw

Quack Quack Quack Quack! Anyone who is anyone should click the link above and check out the Mighty Ducks cast reunion in which some of the fan favourites took to the ice like a duck to water.

Daily Three

1.The internet has arrived. No more checking my phone every five minutes. No more expensive data bolt ons from o2.

2. I’ve gotten myself super organised with my blog. I have the next few months mapped out with themes and what not.

3. Anthony Rapp from Star Trek Discovery has liked my review of episode two.