#mini reviews

[therefugeofbooks]

[27.06.24] 4/50 days of booklr

I've finished listening to Deephaven! It was on my radar for a while, and the setting and characters are super cool. I love middle-grade horror/mystery and this one didn't let me down.

I also finished listening to Boyfriend Material for the second time 🤪 I don't know why but this book brings me such comfort with all the messy characters!

How's everyone reading week? :)

[lolotheparagon]

Every Yonderland Episode in a Nutshell - Season 1

For those who dont know, Yonderland was a British fantasy comedy show about a stay at home mother named Debbie, who finds a portal to another world in her utility cupboard. She finds a bunch of Elders who claim her to be the Chosen One, but they have no idea what a Chosen One does cos one of the Elders threw up on the Chosen One scroll and completely destroyed it in the process. So Debbie and her friends Nick the Stick and Elf go on daily quests in Yonderland, whilst trying to find out what her destiny as Chosen One even is. Meanwhile a Robbie Rotten like villain named Negatus and his imp minions cause trouble as usual.

Its a very tongue and cheek parody of 80s fantasy movies like Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, with the usage of puppets and live action actors in a fantasy setting. The humour and dialogue is quite British, but not enough to be alienating to ppl. You will still get plenty of jokes as the show is reliant on snarky comebacks, Family Guy like cutaway gags and surrealist humour. Which is, quite frankly, what British comedy is best at.

Anyway, I've loved this show so much for being just a sheer riot and the humour is practically tailor-made for me. Even when the show got more 'story-heavy' as much as that phrase makes me want to gag, it still retained its charm and goofy spirit.

So without further ado, here's my quick reviews on each Yonderland episode! Starting with Season 1!

The Chosen Mum - 9/10

The idea of a someone being deemed a Chosen One by the leaders of a fantasy realm only to find they have no idea what a Chosen One actually does cos the one scroll that is all about that has been vomitted on and destroyed is fucking hilarious and that should be in a lot more legit Chosen One stories more often. Also love how Debbie is not at all impressed by the fantasy world. Its like the opposite reaction of an isekai and I love that

The Wizard Bradley - 7/10

Debbie and Elf try to do marriage counselling to get an elderly Caddicarus-like wizard and his Muppet husband to make up so they can continue their magic act. And also so the wizard can help Debbie find a copy of the Chosen One scroll. OH YEAH THERE'S COPIES OF CHOSEN ONE SCROLLS NOW. LEGENDARY SCROLLS ARE LIKE FAX SHEETS IN THIS WORLD XD. Btw I love how Debbie asks the wizard to make a potion to help cure her husband's flu, that was sweet.

Reformation - 10/10

Debbie finds a group of monks that have Sheldon Cooper levels of unfiltered honesty and in order to save them from poverty after their truth has caused one angry customer to destroy their monastery, Debbie tries teaching them how to lie...by turning them into real estate agents. I have never laughed so hard at a TV episode in all my life.

The Ultimate Prize - 8/10

Debbie tries to get a nerdy page to enter a grand tournament cos the knights keep on dying before they enter lmao. A bit weird that Debbie has to kiss the page in order to give him confidence for a kissing trial cos Debbie's been hit on by the characters quite a lot in this season and it gets old really fast. This is what happens when 5 men write a show about a female protagonist. Meanwhile, Negatus risks sending his boss' most strongest warrior behind her back so he can win the tournament. What a fucking dick, I love him.

Closing the Portals - 10/10

When Debbie declares she's had enough of Yonderland, Elf and the entire realm helps her on her last quest and bid farewell to Debbie throughout the whole episode. This episode is one giant guilt trip and I fucking love it. Although, it was really sweet that a tribe of fluffy babus made Debbie an embroidered apology, like do you know HOW DIFFICULT EMBROIDERY IS TO MAKE?? ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE TINY BBY HANDS?!

The Idiot King - 8/10

The Elders team up Debbie with a narcissistic king (btw love how there's monarchies all over Yonderland and not one of them is in charge of the whole realm) in order to find another copy of the second scroll. Turns out the king is absolutely hated by the public and he's blissfully unaware that him showboating his wealth is the reason why everyone hates him. So its up to Debbie's speech and Little Orphan Timmy to get this king to have a change of heart and give out his wealth to the people. Oh, if only monarchies were this easily fixed in real life. Highlight is definitely the king trying to serenade Debbie and its clear from the first lyric, its not working. He even drags his poor butler to do backup singing. Its hilariously pathetic.

The Heart of the Sun - 6/10

Okay, the joke of Debbie being the only smart person in the room and be practically a mother figure to a bunch of grown men is getting old now. The fact that she has to teach a group of idiots to not be idiots in order to save themselves from catapulting into the sun wouldve been a fine episode on its own, but it only highlights one of the show's biggest problems...Although. The ending does make it worth it. Im not gonna spoil it but it did make me laugh which is all i ask for in a Yonderland episode. Kendall was definitely the highlight. I mean, look at this guy: he was MADE FOR TUMBLR

Dirty Ernie - 10/10

After kidnapping Elf, Negatus dresses up as a hobo in order to lure Debbie into his lair. I love how the characters Debbie has helped in previous episodes: the real estate agents, the wizard and the polite knights have banded together to help her save Elf. It really makes Yonderland feel like a community repaying Debbie for all her good deeds. Its about time this woman got some respect. I also love how the guys came up with a legit clever plan to save Debbie when she gives herself up. Also love that small scene where everyone celebrates at Debbie's house for tea. Man, this episode's just great.

Conclusion:

A great first season to start off the show. Funny, endearing, has that wacky yet dry wit that is a staple of British humour and its just unapolgetically fun. Which is a relief from all the peak tv nonsense that plagued the 2010s. I have been warned that the second season gets a bit more into Debbie's past and her relationship to the looming villain Imperatrix bullshit. but due to the strictly episodic nature of the show and the fact there are 8 episodes a season, its not as bad as other shows cos there's no time for waffling. It also helps that the few bits of season 2 ive seen still have Yonderland's charm and goofiness, so that definitely helps.

[cristalconnors]

51. My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979)

The work of coming to know yourself, of sticking to your guns and following your heart as gritty manual labor. Judy!!!!!! Rating: 9.5/10

[bitchy-peachy]

I watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last night.

Keeping it undercut to not spoil for casual screen scrollers. I'll still try to be as vague as possible though. My brain is all over the place so warning you for being nonsensical. (I loved it!)

My nostalgic old ass actually loved it and I usually hate sequels. I even wanted to yell at Lydia on the screen cos girl... this creepy ass mf demon Beetlejuice has loved you (in his weird ass way) for 30 years and you're with the... Well you'll meet her dislikeable meatbag boyfriend in the movie (as you can see I hate him).

OK I'll shut up about this and will probably get hate for my weird ass ships again...

Will admit the mini fake romance with Astrid and the sneaky brat in town was cringe. I knew something was wrong cos I trust no weird, suddenly-we-have-so-many-things-in-common kinda dudes in movies. Only been in town for 2 days and there's already smooches.

As a mom myself I was like, "Nuh uh, child. Me da mala vibra. Bad vibes."

I, of course, was- watch the movie I'm spoiling too much.

Monica Bellucci as Delores (my gods 😍❤️❤️❤️❤️) was and is as eternally beautiful as always. Regret not seeing more of her on screen cos I'm such a hopeless bisexual simp for this goddess. And I loved the romantic goth with black wedding dress and stapled on body parts look. Stunning woman. Quite literally breathtaking me to death.

The musical numbers I enjoyed cos I'm a nostalgic old lady. I wanted to sing along like a goof but I held back to spare everyone. I can be a very nice considerate person... sometimes.

The humor was nice and maybe slightly more mature than the 1st one (OK it was more mature) but it isn't anything extreme so you can bring your kids that are old enough to watch (pg 13).

Personally speaking I'm so used to horror, comedy, dark humor and body horror imagery that I was surprised it was pg 13 cos my weird mind would have put it as just pg. (That's why I shouldn't rate things cos I'd be like "This ain't that bad. I think babies can watch it." 🤣🤣🤣)

Overall I enjoyed and will probably watch again. Maybe others will enjoy it too and this fandom can become more livelier.

I shouldn't do puns. I suck at them.

PS: I feel so bad for Bob. He was just trying to do his job.😭

[isthequeerbookgood]

I'm alive! Just. Between exams and catching covid I managed to finish exactly one book during June, and it was a nonfiction book called A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects. Which I do recommend, but isn't entirely relevant to the theme of this blog.

However I did fail to complete a number of books, so naturally I'm here to tell you all exactly why.

Born of Scourge - S. Jean This one mostly just didn't grab me. The overall concept seemed pretty cool, but the writing felt quite… naive? I bounced off the style and wasn't invested enough to finish, I think other people might enjoy it more but to me it did feel kind of like it was written by a teenager. DNF'd at 20%

House of Crimson Hearts - Ruby Roe Reads like something I would have written aged 14 and that is not a compliment. It's just. So absurdly edgy. The main character is an extra special vampire who is hated and feared by everyone because of the way she was born. She owns a nightclub that has optics full of special flavours of blood. There's dubcon lesbian sex in chapter 2. I'm just too old and tired for this. DNF'd at chapter 3.

Moonlight Love and Witchcraft - Vaela Denarr and Micah Iannandrea This book deliberately advertises itself as low stakes and cosy, which is a legitimate choice. However, the authors seem to have mistaken low stakes for low impact. Lots of things happen but they don't seem to mean anything, and it didn't really feel like the characters or relationships were developing at all (kind of a problem in a romance novel). It felt like the write up of people batting around cool ideas about their OCs, rather than a coherent novel, which is... not the worst thing in the world?

Honestly I would probably have kept reading except for the fact that the character described as ADHD rep was so viscerally annoying that she felt like a hate crime against me personally. Also it's 150k. DNF'd at 40%.

10 Things That Never Happened - Alexis Hall Honestly I quite enjoyed Alexis Hall's other novels in this universe. His writing tends toward the ridiculous, but they are genuinely funny and he has a real awareness of contemporary life. Unfortunately this one seems to revolve around some tropes I personally don't enjoy (the main character faking amnesia - I really hate romance stories that revolve around deceit) so I put it down. I can't remember where I DNF'd because I returned it to the library.

[paperback-bitch]

DNF Friday

Unfortunately, not every book can be right for every reader. Sometimes I can't get through a book for any number of reasons, but I think it's still important to record and acknowledge them, because you might feel differently and want to try them anyway!

So here's my list of DNF reads for this month, and why:

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson: some books are polarizing, and you either really love them or really don't. Some people really love this book, and I wanted to, but I don't. I couldn't stand the main character Bel, and the pacing was unbearably slow for me. Too much was telegraphed in my opinion, so when I gave up and read a synopsis instead of finishing the book, I saw a lot of it coming and the rest of the ending was just...wild. DNF @ 42%.

Ember of Light by Hannah Jacklin: this book has some great reviews, but it just wasn't for me. It felt a bit rushed and cluttered/chaotic, and maybe I just wasn't in the place to read it, but I tried and it just didn't hook me so I gave up. DNF @ 30%.

[leologs]

Read the full review of the movie "Red Eye" on the link below.

[courtneysmovieblog]

"Totally Killer" and other Halloween mini reviews

I was debating whether or not I should watch Five Nights At Freddy's. I never heard of the video game, and it doesn't seem like my thing. I've read mixed reviews and ultimately I'd rather keep my childhood memories of Chuck E. Cheese untainted by horror.

But that doesn't mean I haven't indulged in other scary movies for Halloween:

The Beguiled (1971): Wounded yankee soldier (Clint Eastwood) picks the wrong girl's school to mess with. It definitely has a more Western feel to it than the Sofia Coppola remake, or maybe that's because of Eastwood. Either way, if you like gothic horror, it's definitely worth a watch.

A Star Is Born (1976): Not a horror movie, but unless you're a Barbra Streisand fan, the Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper version is the best version.

Hollow Man: Kevin Bacon turns himself invisible and uses it to rape women and kill people. That one scene is so messed up...

Malignant: A woman (Annabelle Wallis) is haunted by her imaginary friend. The surprise twist in this movie reminded me so much of Stephen King's The Dark Half, and that's all I will say.

Antlers: Any movie involving roadkill is just nasty.

They/Them: I don't know why this had to be a slasher film. Showing the actual horrors of a conversion therapy camp would have been much more effective.

Sick: There was a right way and a wrong way to make a movie taking on how people have acted in the pandemic. This was the WRONG way. What were you trying to say, Kevin Williamson? That people that want to take Covid seriously and are fed up with how selfish and reckless people are acting are just crazy?! Because, yeah, not cool. Some of us haven't had Covid yet, and we'd like to keep it that way!

Miranda's Victim: Nothing is more disturbing than real life. Abigail Breslin delivers a harrowing performance as the woman whose real-life attack (and how the police botched it) wound up the catalyst for the Miranda Rights. While it is a necessary right for people, the fact that it was because of a guy who actually committed the crime and was trying to weasel his way out of jail by a technicality is just nauseating.

Totally Killer: Two of the best 80s genres, slasher and time travel, come together in this great horror comedy where Kiernan Shipka time travels back to the 80s to save her teenage mom (Olivia Holt). Even if you don't like horror, this is a delightfully fun movie for Halloween that I highly recommend.

[thelowerdecker]

My ratings of the two Episodes!

Space Babies: It was alright, wasn’t a fan of the gross out humour. 🤢

The Devil’s Chord: Now, that was when things picked up, absolutely love that episode, that ending song is still stuck in my head! 🎵

[datamodel-of-disaster]

The Riemann Report: January

I suppose you could say my New Year’s resolution was to do more… idk, real-feeling things. Stuff that feels tangible, like I actually do something with my time and my life.

So… as the year started, I’ve started reading books, again. My result stack for January is small but proud. A shitty job, mental health issues, and life events kinda stole all my attention span and drive to pursue real hobbies last year, so knowing I’m coming from rock bottom I’m genuinely happy with my progress. So… behold the books I finished!

And well… since this is sort of a “book report”, you can find my opinion on them below the cut!

Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

Am I late to this party? Probably. But holy shit. A genuine page turner, somehow, despite the subject matter. If you’d told me I’d find a book about a domestic abuse situation this hard to put down I wouldn’t have believed it, and yet. There I was, sneaking pages while on the toilet at work, completely enthralled. I can’t explain it, you have to read it yourself.

Delta of Venus - Anaïs Nin

Anaïs Nin should be glad she wrote long before the advent of TikTok, because this book is Problématique (and proud to be so). A series of erotic short stories that read like snapshots from a parallel universe, like a voyeur’s dream -where every action is titillation, every body exists to be seen and fucked, and cheating, prostitution and even assault are but sexy games people play. The only jobs anyone seems to have are model and painter -and even those are but an excuse to get up to sexy shenanigans. In short: it’s absolutely delightful. A peak into the pornoverse, anno 1940.

In Praise of Older Women - Stephen Vicinczey

A fake memoir of a Hungarian man with a remarkable life. At once a ridiculous tall tale, a sexy fantasy, and a surprisingly convincing “true to life” narrative, always balancing on the very edge of believable. Excellent read. Avoid if you are easily upset by…. Let’s call it non-ideal sexual situations.

The Field Guide to Understanding “Human Error” - Sidney Dekker

A bit of nonfiction. Sidney Dekker talks about plane crashes and offshore oil rig accidents, from the perspective of a safety expert and accident investigator -but underneath the specific examples, he talks about the human condition and its many pitfalls and logical fallacies. About how to approach the aftermath of disaster with willingness to understand rather than eagerness to condemn. About what “safety” actually is, and how it can be both built up and eroded in human interaction. Highly recommend even if you work a desk job.

En Dan Nog Iets - Paulien Cornelisse

A Dutch book! Title translates as “And Another Thing”, but I’d wish anyone luck trying to translate the contents. Written by a Dutch cabaretière, it’s a collection of witty observations of the Dutch language in its natural habitat -with its idioms, expressions, trendy words, but mostly, the many almost untranslatable ways people give themselves away in the way they talk.

Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close

Did I like this book, or did I find it horrendous? Both. The blurb on the back sells it as a chick lit about a group of women who struggle with romance while continuing to attend the weddings of others. What it actually is, is a painfully astute dissection of life in your twenties and thirties, in all its small-minded, vapid, petty, anxiety-riddled, hopeful, generous, and truly all-too-human glory. “Relatable!”, the blurb promises. I’d say, take that as a threat.

The Social Life of Information - John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid

More non-fiction. An IT book from the year 2000, I can hear you think “what relevance does that even have anymore?” -and you’d be surprised. Most of the book is not about tech. It’s about people, and how people form an indispensable part of any IT ecosystem. It’s remarkable, how relevant much of the contents still are, from the isolation of the home office, the battle against bad actors on the Internet, and the difficulties of transferring knowledge, to the endurance of paper within the office and the value of informal information exchange. A niche read, but valuable.

The Hotel Life - Javier Montes

Did I like this book? No. Would I recommend it? Also no. Was it memorable? Very. This book was at once boring and baffling. Nothing happens for ages; the narrator is not particularly interesting, even as he sinks into an increasingly unhinged parasocial fascination with a female porn director he met only once. There’s nothing sexy or even fascinatingly dark about the main character even as he essentially becomes a stalker. He’s boring, even while insane. (There’s also an almost random murder near the end that happens bizarrely blasé and doesn’t get addressed?) Anyway. A book like a developing psychosis. Proof no one becomes interesting by going mad.

….

Let’s hope I also manage to read some the coming month!

[abookishshade]

So January, 2024 was a productive reading month for me.

I read 7 books in all, of which, I read:

🔹️2 audiobooks

1️⃣▫️The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eyn, tr. Lizzie Buehler- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (lit fic, thriller, contemporary)

I had not known about this aspect of the tourism industry before reading this book. So it was quite fascinating to me.

2️⃣▫️All Systems Red by Martha Wells- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Sci-fi)

This is, I think, the first pure sci-fi that I have read, and I enjoyed being inside the head of a robot.

🔹️1 series continuation

3️⃣▫️Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (fantasy, romance)

Finally I'm done with the Innkeeper Chronicles. While this was still a comfort read, it was also a slow read. There was a lot of political intrigue involving characters I didn't much care for so this one wasn't as fun as the previous books in the series.

🔹️2 rereads

4️⃣▫️The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (middle grade, greek mythology, urban fanasy)

It was also my first read of the month. The recently released show got me interested in this again. I have made another post on it.

5️⃣▫️The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (middle grade, greek mythology, urban fanasy)

It was also as much fun as the first Percy Jackson book, especially because I have forgotten everything from my first read. Came across the character Circe in this one, and couldn't help myself from wanting to know her pov next before starting the 3rd book in the series.

🔹️2 fresh reads

6️⃣▫️Circe by Madeline Miller- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (greek mythology, feminist retelling)

The Sea of Monsters made me want to read Circe. And this was my favorite read of the month. I loved the character development of Circe. I loved the witchy vibes. I loved the depiction of her solitary independent life on the island. I loved the critiques of patriarchy. What I didn't like was the ending.

SPOILER AHEAD

I understood Circe's loneliness but I didn't like that the powerful witch Circe ended up needing to spend her mortal life with Telemachus and bear his children to get her happy ending.

SPOILER OVER

7️⃣▫️The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (historical fiction, mystery)

I buddyread this one, and enjoyed reading it even though it was a slow read. Buddyread definitely helped in going through with it. There were two timelines. Sometimes the transition from one timeline to another felt like an interruption but at the end both the timelines added to the substance of the story, especially the past timeline was important for the characterization of our protagonist. I loved the various little details including those pertaining to the setting, the law and the architecture and also those pertaining to the various characters and their dynamics with each other. I also enjoying making speculations about the killer. I also liked how it touched upon some of the societal issues of the time period through the lens of a woman.

[authorkarajorgensen]

April 2023 Wrap-Up Post

This week's blog post is our wrap-up of April, so check it out for mini book reviews, what's up behind the scenes, writing progress, and much more.

Looking back at my goals for April, I feel like I was a tad unrealistic considering this is one of my busiest grading months. While I hit quite a few of these goals, others I totally fell short, but I will not feel bad about readjusting or rerouting my energy once chaos hit. Let’s take a look at what I thought would happen when I made my goals back in March before checking out what actually…

[pleasedontbreakit]

February 2023: Mini Reviews

Reviews of books, movies, and shows I watched in February. (more…) “”

[cristalconnors]

126. Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968)

Crackles with combustible creative energy, though it sometimes feels more like an exercise than a fully realized artistic statement. Though that’s not say this movie doesn’t have anything on its mind- the terror of vulnerability, desire, intimacy, and rejection strikes me as a central theme. Alternately tedious and electric. Rating: 8.2/10

[dailychatterbox]

Of all the trauma I have experienced- and I have seen some shit mind you- I think the most traumatizing thing is taking a bite into that spinach feta wrap from Starbucks.

They were out of my grilled cheese. That’s fine. That’s okay. I’ll just try something new. The lady that is normally super sweet was for some reason or another in an awful mood, that’s whatever people have days. When I asked for that damned wrap she flinched and typed it in. I should have heeded that, but I was naive.

So I’m sipping my iced chai waiting innocently. My name gets called and I take it. It looks normal enough from the outside. Then I just took a bite. What the fuck is that? Because that’s not fucking spinach?

Have you ever eaten dirt? Looked at some dirt, squatted down and pinched it between your fingers letting it dribble down and watching it fall like salt and went ‘hmm I bet that’s just delectable’ and hummed that shit into your mouth?

If you do that then you’ll fucking know what that godforsaken wrap tastes like. That lady at the counter knew. She knew. Maybe it made her day a little better- maybe she needed that sadistic kickstart.

This was supposed to be a mini review. But I can’t review that. I suffered. I’m still suffering. That was yesterday. I woke up thinking about that abomination.

Update: the discord is up! Please pm me to join! 😁

[isthequeerbookgood]

Probably not going to do a full review but I just finished What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher and I'm pleased to report that it is queer and it is good to read.

... well, for a given value of good, given that it's a horror story and full of lots of horrible mushroom situations. but I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend if you enjoy gothic horror, body horror, and general creepy vibes!