#review-y brigid

[brigidandair]

So, I saw Damsel today...

**Spoilers and complete plot for the movie Damsel will be all over this post, so don't read if you care about spoilers. Also, this is based on one watch only, so if some timeline details are very slightly wrong, that is why, though the important parts I'll be discussing are not contingent on these details.**

I'm not usually one to closely review a movie, but this one left me with a lot of thoughts that kind of sum up a lot of my feelings about big budget movies in the past decade, so here I go.

First off, I did like Damsel. I enjoyed watching it. It was gorgeous to look at, and Millie Bobby Brown did a fantastic job with the role and script she was given. However, I was left feeling like there was something very important about the whole experience missing, and it took me a few moments to really put my finger on it afterwards. The plot was fine, if a bit predictable, and I did appreciate the focus on Elodie as a protagonist. I loved that the dragon was given a plausable reason to want to devour/kill princesses, and that the dragon wasn't slain at the end, even though the opportunity was presented. And oh my goodness, the costuming department did a phenomenal job.

What I want to do here is give a rundown of the plot, and to then give my thoughts, so if you've seen the movie and don't care for a rehash you can skip to the next set of dashes.

--------

So, basic plot: The film opens on a scene of a king and his entourage of knights are entering a sinister cave, where there dwells a fearsome dragon. The king declares that they will defeat the dragon, and his knights charge, but are immediately melted by the dragon's fire, leaving only the king. The king drives his sword into the ground, and falls to his knees, and the scene cuts away before we see what happens next.

Centuries later, Princess Elodie and her little sister Floria live in a kingdom that is beset with hardship. They are low on money and food, and their people are facing a hard winter. So when the king is contacted by the royal family of the kingdom of Aurea--a kingdom they had never heard of, but that seems to be very wealthy--with the proposal that Elodie marry the Aurean prince, the family immediately travels to Aurea to finalize agreements. Amongst the traveling party are Elodie, Floria, their queen stepmother, and the king.

Upon arrival in Aurea, Elodie is introduced to prince Henry, while the kings meet alone. However, when the king emerges from the negotiation chamber, his wife immediately notices that he seems upset and deeply disturbed, though he assures her that everything is in good order, the deal has been made, and their kingdom will soon have more gold than he ever dreamed of as compensation for their daughter's marriage to the prince.

The stepmother queen, sensing something is wrong, goes to Elodie and tells her not to marry the prince, but she has resigned herself to helping her people, even if it means marriage to a man she does not know. That night, she steps out ont her balcony and sees another tower, with another young woman doing the same, before the young woman's maid calls her back inside.

The next day, Elodie is married to prince Henry, and is told of a ritual that is performed after weddings up on a nearby mountain, that honors the trials of their ancestors. They travel up to the mountain, where Elodie is told of the story we witnessed at the opening of the film. When the ancestors of the Aurean people arrived on their island, it was inhabited already by a dragon, who set upon them, raining destruction for the insult of invading its land. Though the king was unable to slay the beast, he was able to broker an agreement. His people would be left alone if he were willing to sacrifice his three daughters to the dragon. So now, whenever a new royal heir is married, they make the trip up to the dragon's mountain, over the chasm that leads to its lair, to commemorate the sacrifice of that original king.

The queen motions to Henry, who then slices his palm, and once Elodie has done the same, they mingle their blood, symbolizing that their people have now become of one blood and line. The prince tells Elodie that, at this point, he is to carry her back across the chasm, and that she should close her eyes. But halfway across, he whispers that he is sorry, and then he throws her over the edge, down into the depths of the dragon's caves.

Elodie survives relatively unharmed, her fall having been broken by many roots and branches along the drop, but there seems to be no way out. Very shortly thereafter, she has her first encounter with the dragon itself, who epresses delight at the thought of getting to kill her, and Elodie is forced to run from the dragon's fire. She hits a dead end, and there she finds the body of the young woman she had seen the night before, half burned, and realizes that they were always ment to be sacrifices to the dragon. The dragon continues to taunt her, breathing more fire down the passage where she is trapped, but she notices a narrow hole in the cave wall that she manages to wedge herself through it, barely escaping and sustaining a severe burn on one leg. She rips part of her dress off, wrapping it around her wound, and continues.

From here, we get a lengthy series of scenes of Elodie navigating her way through the trecherous cave system, hounded at every turn by the dragon. She finds an area inhabited by bioluminescent slugs, which she gathers in another part of the dress that she tears off, to use as a lanter, and finally reaches a small cave where a princess before her has written on the wall that this place is safe, and that the dragon cannot reach there. Written on the walls are the names of dozens of other princesses that, over the centuries, have reached this cave before inevitably being caught and killed by the dragon. Next to the names is a rough map of the cave system, showing Elodie a passage marked with a sun, which she assumes is the way out. She takes time to rest here, falling asleep, but when she wakes up she finds her burned leg covered in the bioluminescent slugs. She tears them away in disgust, but notices that anywhere a slug has been, her wound has been healed. Her determination renewed, she continues.

Elodie follows the directions of the map, making her way to the presumed exit, but finds that there is no way down the sheer rock face. As some riders go by she screames to them for help, but the dragon appears and nearly kills her, forcing her to retreat back into the caves. In short order, she ends up in the cave we saw in the opening sequence, and Elodie finds a three broken dragon eggs, with the desicated corpses of the baby dragons that once inhabited them still in the debris. The scene cuts back to that opening sequence, showing us that before encountering the dragon herself, the king and his knights murdered the dragonlings as they hatched.

Elodie realizes that it was the king who had originally attacked the dragon, killing her only children, not that the dragon had been a tyrant. The only reason she had demanded three daughters was in recompense for the wrong that had been done to her. The deal that had actually been struck was that the humans could only be allowed to survive if, every generation, they continued to pay the same price so as to never stop feeling the pain of losing their children. The kingdom, however, has figured out a loophole. By taking princesses from other countries, they could simply mingle blood, fooling the dragon into thinking that the princesses were actual descendents of their line instead of girls that they only knew long enough to technically become part of their family before being sacrificed.

However, at this point, Elodie's father, having been overwhelmed guilt for selling his daughter, arrives at the caves to save her. Before he finds Elodie, the dragon shows up, killing the king's men and mortally wounding the king himself. The dragon resumes her search, and Elodie is given the time to bid farewell to her father as he dies, and he is given the opportunity to ask her for forgiveness, and to tell her to use the rope that they had used to enter the cave to escape. He tells her that Floria and her stepmother have a ship and are waiting for her. So Elodie forgives her father, and follows his direction, barely escaping as the dragon persues.

When the dragon realizes that Elodie has escaped, she begins to raze the mountainside, creating an inferno that is visible from the Aurean castle. The queen of Aurea sees the destruction, and takes action, going to the ship where Floria and the stepmother are waiting. She has her men kidnap Floria, cutting her son's hand and throwing her into the chasm in Elodie's place. When Elodie finally meets up with her stepmother and learns of Floria's capture, she immediately resolves to retrieve her sister, and she follows the same footsteps that she had taken before, returning to the dragon's main chamber.

The dragon, still set on getting Elodie herself and able to smell that Floria is of the same family as Elodie, sets Floria up as bait for Elodie, but Elodie sets up a distraction, drawing the dragon away. She goes to Floria, who has been injured by her fall into the chasm, and before they can get away, the dragon returns. Elodie takes up the sword her father had dropped before, and manages to position herself directly by the dragon's eye, determined to tell the dragon of how they have both been lied to. The dragon, however, does not believe her, and tey have a battle, where Elodie uses her ingenuity to trick the dragon into severely injuring herself with her own fire. As the dragon lay wounded on the ground, Elodie shows her the cut on her hand, and tells her that the dragon has only been perpetuating the violence that had so hurt her before, killing innocent daughters instead of exacting the revenge she had sought. The dragon tells her to end it, then, but Elodie refuses, instead retrieving some of the bioluminescent slugs and placing them on the dragon's wounds to heal her.

The scene shifts to another wedding, where the third and final princess is marrying the prince, unknowingly destined to become the last sacrifice. As the ceremony nears its end, Elodie, still in the rags of her own wedding dress, walks in. She gives a speech to those present, and tells the last princess to take her family and go. The queen declares that they are not afraid of Elodie, and she says that it isn't her they should be afraid of, right before the dragon arrives, killing the royal family and razing the castle to the ground.

In the aftermath, Elodie's stepmother is given rule of their kingdom, which now has all of the resources that Aurea once owned, and Elodie sails off on a ship, with the dragon flying beside her.

The End.

--------

So, what was wrong with this film? Plot-wise, nothing that would ruin it for me. It was a good story, and, like I said before, lots of fun to watch. But I was left feeling extremely empty. See, at its heart, this story was about the love and loss of children. The dragon was the last of its kind, left alone because of the unthinking cruelty of a king who viewed her as a beast, and cared not at all about the lives of her young. The dragon, though not innocent for all the dozens of lives she took over the centuries, was acting out of pain and loneliness, wishing only that that pain and loneliness be shared by those that inflicted it upon her. She was the one wronged, and the royal line of Aurea callously shunted their punishment off on the innocent and desperate. They did not deserve their prosperity, so the storyline had to lead to the breaking of that cycle, but the problem is that the film focused more on the retribution and that Elodie herself was badass than it did on any emotion.

And that's the big big thing. This movie left me empty because it was empty. Elodie was awesome, and she ended cycle of death, but we didn't know anything else about her. We get told she is clever, so that we don't question how her plans always end up working. We are told that she is capable, so that we don't question how she always manages to pull through. We are told that the prince is somewhat reluctant, but only barely, so that he doesn't seem too cartoonishly evil. We're not given enough to know the extent of his guilt, or enough to really know how complicit he is, or if it's really that his mother (who honestly is kinda cartoonishly evil) forcing the issue. It seems like we're supposed to kind of like him and feel bad that he doesn't want to kill these women, but it feels like it's only halfway suggesting the idea instead of developing aything. Elodie's stepmother is kind, but we are barely shown any of that, instead glossing over any real emotional connection in favor of action. She basically exists to give very heavyhanded foreshadowing, to tell Elodie when Floria is taken, and so they can say that Elodie doesn't have to be bound to royal duty after the death of her father, because there's someone else who can do it. And we're just told that Floria and Elodie are close. Floria seemingly exists solely as a plot device to make Elodie choose to face the dragon after her escape.

The glow slugs are a deus ex, somehow capable of healing life-threatening wounds on both humans and dragons in seconds, which seems to be just so they can pretend for a second that Elodie could really get hurt, but then have her in good enough shape to escape before her family leaves or the next princess is sacrificed. And also so that she can prove how badass she is by mortally wounding the dragon and having it at her mercy, but still have it up in moments, ready to come toast the real bad guys.

And Elodie's character is, unfortunately, also stuck with this same shallowness. She's intended to subvert the "damsel in distress" trope, and she kinda does...except that there are numerous times she is saved by pure luck, and the plotline of her having to go save Floria is just straight up doing the trope, just with a princess saving the damsel instead of a prince. I didn't even catch the names of the queen or king of Aurea, the prince's name (which is as bland as he is) is only spoken a couple of times, and the stepmother, who is arguably one of the more major characters aside from Elodie and the dragon, gets about 3 minutes of screentime and doesn't have a name that I can recall. Neither does the dragon, for that matter, though at least we get to see her more than the stepmother.

This is a story stripped down to its bare bones, and it's only as much of a huge shame as it is because there was real potential. I can't help but imagine how much better it could have been if given even another 45 minutes to help us understand and connect to our characters. I would have loved a real conversation with the dragon, getting to really feel her pain and experience the true cathartic acceptance and regret for what was done to her and what she did in response, instead of cutting away to the last wedding. I would have loved to see the dragon show any dimension of character other than anger and cruelty. I would have loved to see the prince wrestle with himself, or try to push back at all, or see the true struggle that Elodie's father experienced before he reached the conclusion that he'd made a mistake and needed to go save his daughter. Why did the ancestor king of Aurea choose to kill the dragon in the first place? It's implied by the end that the dragon was attacked unprovoked, but we don't really know. Was the dragon actually a hostile force that made them want to kill her, or was she simply there and the king wanted to eliminate a potential threat? Did no other princess ever try to talk to the dragon, espcially when they had a safe cave they could shout from, and the dragon conveniently seems to know when to immediately murder someone or let them speak for the plot? Why would the dragon continue to harbor such strong feelings for so long, and think she was truly achieving justice and exacting revenge when the humans were obviously thriving so?

And what do they plan to do from here? We know Elodie wants to travel and see the world, because she (once again) told us so, but is she doing that? And what of the dragon? We're told that she is the last of her kind, but how do we know there aren't any more elsewhere in the world? Is every gleeful murder of an innocent girl at her whim just forgiven and forgotten because she wasn't killing who she thought she was, and now centuries of hatred and bias has evaporated entirely, making her a friend of humankind? The ending could have been made better in seconds, should we have been given any kind of closure for either Elodie or the dragon in any way at all. Perhaps they're going off together to explore the world, to find out for sure if the dragon is truly alone or if there are more of her kind out there. Perhaps the dragon really does know, definitively, that she's the last, and so has decided to accompany the princess that ended the tragic cycle that defined her for so long, to keep her safe as she lives life the way she always wanted. Maybe the dragon has vowed to atone for her cruelty towards humans by going with Elodie, assisting the different peoples they encounter in their travels. Hell, even if a single narrated line was given that told us "and so they went on many adventures, and lived their lives to their fullest" it would be unsatisfying, but not as unsatisfying as the actual ending.

It just...it could have easily been vastly improved in almost every emotional sense. Caring about our characters, their motivations, their struggles, and the emotional heart of grief and loss could have made this a deeply moving film, but the focus was instead placed on the princess saving herself. And I get the desire to do so, the desire to subvert that trope, but a story can't be a full, satisfying arc with just that. It's the same problem we keep seeing with big budget companies and their attempts to cash in on social issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for any progress, even if it is largely a soulless cash grab, because any progress, however small it may be, is still heading towards an eventual shift in social consciousness, and thus permanent change. But this film wanted to get the brownie points for having a badass princess who doesn't need a prince to save her, and so they ONLY cared about that. It wanted to show off its budget and CGI, and "subvert" the trope, but it missed everything about why women might want a capable subversion of these longstanding, sexist tropes.

A capable woman isn't solely defined by the fact that she is capable. The point isn't to say "I can do anything a man can," but that's what this film makes it out to be. Elodie, and the entire story itself, is stripped of literally anything but what it needs to be to keep the plot moving. The story keeps saying it's about Elodie, and how she overcomes the obstacles in her way, but at the exact same time, it doesn't care about her at all. It cares about appearing to care about her story, and it's so frustrating to see all that potential wasted on such soullessness. It's like having every piece of a puzzle, but the filmmakers only bothered to put together the edge pieces, threw the rest in the garbage, and called that good enough. So instead of a beautiful, satisfying picture, we're left knowing that the rest of the pieces exist, but that they'll never be put in their rightful places, and that the beauty it could have communicated has been wasted.

So yeah, I liked this movie, at least in that I enjoyed the concept and the actual watching of it to a certain extent, but I wanted to love this movie. I hate how good it could have been, and that if it were given the love and care it needed, it could have been made into so much more.

At the end of everything, a story isn't just a spectacle. It's sharing and exploring our lives, ideas, and humanity through imagination and creativity. The beauty of fantasy is imagining what people would do when put into extraordinary situations, or at least imagining the extent of ourselves we wish we could be. A story like this one can be fun once in a while, but a truly good story, one that you remember and carry with you, usually remains because it resonates with you. And it just really sucks that Damsel denies its characters of their emotional cores, because when you eliminate the emotion of a story, the viewers are denied a connection to the humanity that makes that story worth telling.

[herondalefairchildgreenbriar]

Reseña #8: "Una Maldición Oscura y Solitaria".

Reseña #8: “Una Maldición Oscura y Solitaria”.

1.1 Créditos a quien corresponda. ¡Hola! Aquí otra vez con una reseña fuera de Cazadores de Sombras, Shatter Me y Los Juegos del Hambre. Un increíble libro que me sirvió para darle mi más sincera admiración a mi autora revelación del año 2020, Brigid Kemmerer. Y me refiero a: Una Maldición OscurA y Solitaria. ¡Sigue leyendo! Ficha Técnica: Deben enamorarse para romper la maldición. Condenado…

[ladyherenya]

This was more-books-than-sometimes month, because rather than take the time to write about the books I'd finished, I just read more books! Also, I read a lot over the Easter break, including some shorter books and a very binge-able series.

Also read: Two-Step and Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet, Hooked by Cathy Yardley, “Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” and “All the Different Shades of Blue” by W.R. Gingell, and “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells.

Reread: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

Total: nineteen novels (including two audiobooks and one reread), one novella collection, two novellas, two novelettes and one short story.

Cover thoughts: Bellewether’s blue cover is (unsurprisingly) my favourite. I also really like The Ghosts of Sherwood. 

Still reading: A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White and Playing Hearts by W.R. Gingell.

Next up: Torch by R.J. Anderson.

My full reviews are on Dreamwidth and LibraryThing.

*

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (narrated by Saskia Maarleveld): Historical mystery about three young women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII.

My favourite out of the books I’ve read so far this year. Most of the narrative is set during the war, but interspersed with sections set in 1947 -- when Beth, in a sanitarium after a breakdown, has sent her two estranged friends a coded message begging for help. I loved this, but at times found it stressful and heartbreaking! The writing is so lively and effective and emotional. 4½ ★

 *

Castle Charming by Tansy Raynor Roberts: Fairytale retellings, collection of novellas.

A very entertaining and a somewhat different take on fairytales, focusing on the reporters, Royal Hounds and royalty at Castle Charming. Some of the character dynamics felt similar to those in Roberts’ Unreal Alchemy although I didn’t feel quite as attached to these characters. I’ll read the sequel. 3 ★ 

*

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley: Historical and contemporary fiction, set in Long Island during the so-called Seven Years War in 1759 and the present day.

Alternates between a curator overseeing turning a house in a museum and some of the house’s previous occupants, including a French-Canadian Lieutenant awaiting hostage exchange. Despite the various tensions the characters face, there’s something slow and ultimately gentle about this story. Which is lovely --  I enjoyed the picturesque sense of place and astute observations of people -- but it is less dramatic than I was expecting. 3½ ★

*

Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott: Contemporary romance, set on the Appalachian Trail.

A park ranger and a hiker shelter together during a storm. I was fascinated by the insight into hiking the Appalachian Trail and enjoyed some of the characters’ interactions, although I thought the way the romance unfolded was somewhat anticlimactic. Not always what I wanted, but I don't regret reading it.

*

Legacy by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary enemies-to-roommates-to-lovers.

Wes offers to move in with his late-best friend’s girlfriend to help her out financially. This sort of hurt/comfort appeals to me. I liked how seriously this story takes Corinne’s messy, consuming grief. I don’t really want to spend any more time with the characters, but I was very invested in seeing them reach a better place in their lives.

Two-Step by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between an actress and a dance instructor. I enjoyed reading this. I particularly enjoyed how Beau helps Iris with her anxiety about dancing and with her controlling mother/manager. He’s very supportive and understanding! But I finished this with a niggling feeling of dissatisfaction -- Iris needed more opportunity to support Beau in turn.

Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between a yoga instructor and her new neighbour, who has just got out of prison.

This one didn’t particularly appeal to me. Although interesting to see the experiences of someone recently released from prison, the romance developed too quickly.

(No, I didn’t read all three of these back-to-back!)

*

Hooked by Cathy Yardley: Contemporary fandom-y romance novella, set near Seattle. Takes place during Level Up and is about two of Tessa’s colleagues.

I enjoyed the characters' interactions and would have liked this more if it hadn't felt rushed. 

*

The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn: Historical Robin Hood retelling, novella.

Exactly what I wanted! It alternates between Robin and Marian’s eldest daughter, Mary, and Marian herself. I liked seeing Robin and Marian as a long-married couple, who still love each other and still have disagreements. And the dynamic between their children gave me a zing of recognition, reminding me of my siblings. 3½ ★

*

The City Between by W.R. Gingell: Australian YA urban fantasy (murder) mysteries. Set in Hobart.

I ended up enjoying this series so much more than I’d expected to!

Between Jobs: After a neighbour is murdered, our seventeen-year-old orphaned narrator acquires some unexpected housemates -- two fae, one vampire. Once I got past the opening, with its tales of murder, the worldbuilding intrigued me. I still wasn’t sure what I thought about her housemates or the fact that they call her “Pet”, but was willing to reserve judgement until I’d read more. 3 ★

Between Shifts: About supermarket shifts and shapeshifters. Pet and JinYeong go undercover at the local grocery store. This is a reasonable murder mystery. I was initially disappointed with how something played out (but in retrospect can see how that was actually a positive development for Pet). It ended on a cliffhanger, so I was extra motivated to start the next book. 2½ ★

Between Floors: This is where the series took off, because things suddenly get personal! One of her fae housemates has been captured and the closest any of them get to finding Athelas is Pet contacting him in her dreams.This raises a lot of interesting questions, not just about Pet’s abilities, but about her relationship with her housemates. How much does she trust them and how much do they value Pet’s personhood? 3½ ★

Between Frames: Pet’s housemates are hired to investigate a series of fae deaths around Hobart, which involves scrutinising some baffling security footage.  Another solid murder mystery.  The final pages felt like one step forward, two steps back, but yet again, in retrospect, this was a positive development. I’m glad I could dive immediately into the next book. 3 ★

Between Homes: Pet has moved in with some friends. Hurray for Pet having friends! I think this was the point where I started to feel comfortable with Pet calling herself Pet -- when it's the name used by people she likes and trusts and who don’t view her as a pet at all. 3½ ★

“Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” (novelette): An awesome title and an entertaining opportunity to see Pet from someone else’s perspective -- moreover, someone who doesn’t know her or what she’s capable of. 3 ★

Between Walls: Pet’s friend Morgana is worried about an online friends and asks Pet and co to investigate his disappearance. Along the way, they discover that there are human groups who actually know a lot about Behindkind. I am also becoming increasingly entertained by the Korean vampire. 3 ★

“All the Different Shades of Blue” (novelette): A great cover and it explains who that guy at the cafe is, but otherwise didn’t really do anything Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears hadn’t already done -- ie., show us Pet from someone else’s perspective. Most of the time, I have enjoyed this series all the more for binging it, but I suspect this particular story would have worked better if I had read it after a period of absence. 2½ ★

Between Cases:  My favourite of these have been the ones where things get personal, and this involves a lot of revelations about who Pet is -- from a fae perspective -- and why her parents were murdered. I enjoyed this one a lot. 3½ ★

*

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray: Historical espionage romance novella, set in 1893 onboard an ocean liner travelling to England. Apparently not the Duke’s first appearance in Gray’s fiction.

I liked the idea here much better than the execution. I liked Penelope, a fifty-year-old widow dependent upon her position as a governess, and I enjoyed her interactions with the older Duke of Olympia. But parts of the spy plot were rushed or confusing, and the resolution was almost-but-not-entirely satisfying. 2½ ★

*

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer: Fantasy. Follows on from the fairytale-retelling A Curse So Dark and Lonely and its sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken.

If this is meant as a conclusion to a trilogy, then the ending was a bit too anticlimactic, with a few too many loose ends, to be really satisfying. But I reached the end feeling positive about the story, because I really enjoyed the characters’ interactions. All of the protagonists have to deal with conflict in relationships. I loved the times when they each navigate these conflicts by acting fairly and communicating honestly, when doing so is often difficult and complicated. That’s realistic and satisfying. 3½ ★

*

“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells:  Science-fiction short story. Part of The Murderbot Diaries series, set after Exit Strategy.

Very, very short but I really liked seeing things from Dr Ayda Mensah’s (third person) perspective. 3½ ★

*

Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace: Historical coming-of-age fiction, set in Minnesota in 1912-3.

I am very glad to finally have read this! It’s delightful, a fascinating insight into community life in a Minnesotan town, and it effectively captures the emotional experience of navigating a period of transition. After high school, Emily’s friends  leave for college, but Emily has to find her own path to purposefully fill her time, build connections and further her education. 4 ★

*

On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White (narrated by Susan Lyons): Romantic historical mystery, set in London during 1918. Christian fiction. Features characters from The Number of Love.

Arabelle Denler is a nurse working in a London hospital; Phillip Camden is an airman now working for British Intelligence. I enjoyed their interactions, especially once they start to get to know each other. I didn’t like the antagonist’s contribution to this narrative -- between the dangers of wartime and the protagonists’ respective issues, there’s enough tension without her. But what I enjoyed about this story outweighed what I didn’t. 3½ ★

*

Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson: Historical fiction set during the Nazi occupation of Italy in WWII.

Nina, a young Jewish woman from Venice, goes into hiding by pretending she’s married to Nico, a Catholic farmer. Robson’s strength lies in pairing details of daily life with likeable characters, realistic dialogue and a sweet romance. I read this quickly and eagerly. But if the characters had been more nuanced, more complex, or if their emotions had been conveyed more vividly, I likely would have found reading this a more emotional experience. 3½ ★

[douxreviews]

Cloak & Dagger - ‘Shadow Selves’ Review

"What if I just want to hurt people?"

Well, this one certain gives us a few things to unpack.

Cloak and Dagger catches up with some supporting characters, while bringing us up to speed on what Mayhem has been up to since last season's finale. Oh, and gives us a mediation on the essential nature of self, as you do.

The 'shadow self,' according to Jungian philosophy, are those parts of one's personality that you reject or choose to not know about. That's a horrific oversimplification, and I apologize to any psychology students who might be reading this. It's not really my field. I had to google just to confirm that much.

Most obviously this is a reference to Brigid and Mayhem, implying that Mayhem is that shadow self that Brigid has always had inside of her, neatly separated off into its own body. I believe there was a Star Trek episode where something similar happened to Kirk, but it was a little less... let's be polite and say 'nuanced,' than what we get here.

Actually, the Star Trek comparison is useful here, particularly when compared to the explanation that Mina gives us in this episode. Since I'm going to actually talk about it, I've felt obligated to look up what it was called, and it's 'The Enemy Within,' for anyone wondering who didn't already know. Additional apologies to Star Trek fans for the oversimplification I'm about to launch into. Fans of both Jung and original series Trek, please contact me directly and I'll send you an apology fruit basket or something.

In 'Enemy Within,' Kirk is split into 'good Kirk' and 'evil Kirk,' and the point is very much that even good people have bad stuff in them and it's a character study of who Kirk is as a complete character. That being the purpose of the experiment, one Kirk is very definitely 'good,' and the other definitely 'evil.' In 'Shadow Selves,' Mina describes the process that's been splitting her test mice into two, and therefore by proxy what's happened to Brigid, as resulting in one version of the self with no activity in the brain's rage center, and the other version having activity only in the rage center. Your basic Hulk scenario.

But neither of those descriptions fit what we actually see of Mayhem's character this week.

Mayhem isn't full of rage, particularly. She's task-oriented and happy to kill people she views as 'bad,' but that's not at all the same thing. If anything, Mayhem is a much better cop than Brigid. Sure, her first instinct is to track down and kill her other half, but she gets distracted almost immediately by wanting revenge on the guy she was already looking to get revenge on before the personality split, and then never shows an inclination to kill Brigid again, despite the half a dozen times this episode alone in which she could have done so.

Great job to the showrunners for the Mayhem backstory we get tonight, and the way it pulls a lot of the pieces of this season's plot together. Mayhem starts with wanting revenge on Connors, isn't able to find him, and then decides that since she wants to kill people anyway she should focus on finding bad people to kill, becoming Dexter with Day-glo fingernail polish. Plus, she's clearly capable of being thoughtful and kind, as shown in her comment about Ty being her friend. It was nice that Delgado gives her the advice that pushes her in the direction of punishing the guilty, by the way. Put a pin in Delgado, we'll circle back to him in a minute, but there's one last point about Mayhem that I want to touch on before we move on.

This show is one of the rare examples in which every single change they've made to the source material has made the show stronger. The exception, as I've said before, being not having Ty stutter, but that's more of a practical consideration, so we'll let that slide. In the comics, Mayhem is essentially what you'd get if Toxic Avenger and the Punisher made a beautiful love child, but having Mayhem and Brigid be two separate beings who share Brigid's memories and thought processes was a brilliant move and is really paying off for them. The way that Mayhem clearly wants Tandy to side with her and be her partner on the investigation is just one aspect of the overall impression that what Mayhem really wants is to prove that she's better than Brigid, and that's fascinating. I can't wait to see where this is going.

But Brigid isn't the only one whose darker side has come to the fore here, and now we get back to Formerly-Father Delgado. Wow, was I not prepared for how dark they went with Delgado. I questioned last season why they threw in such a randomly dark note as the reveal that Delgado had killed a kid while driving drunk, but now I think they were just preparing us for this next stage in his character development. I don't have a ton to say about drunk street preaching nihilist Delgado except that I'm impressed that they went there, and it was nicely handled how he factored into Mayhem's evolution from seeking vengeance to becoming an actually effective rescuer of human trafficking victims. That was not where I saw any of that going.

And last but not least, Ty and Tandy continue their promised power-up. Tandy's ball of light which lit up the whole warehouse was cool looking, but my inner fangirl nearly passed out with joy when Ty finally unveiled his full body of darkness effect and then we got to witness firsthand someone inside the dark realm of his cloak being tormented by visions. Now all I need to die happy is for Tandy to ride 'inside' him to crime scenes and leap out throwing light knives.

Bits and Pieces:

-- The debate between Ty and Tandy as to whether they should just step back and let Mayhem kill the human traffickers had valid points all around. Generally speaking, I'd put myself on team 'yes, please murder the human traffickers' but Ty's concerns about the victims being collateral damage was fair. That said, I did not feel bad when Mayhem ran that one over with a truck.

-- Mayhem climbed out of the lake 242 days earlier, so Evita's statement last week that it had been eight months was more or less on the nose.

-- The extremely mini story-arc of Dale, the skeezy desk clerk at the transient hotel, was a thing of beauty. From creeping on Mayhem, to backing away, to the obedient puddle he'd become by the time Brigid came to find the hotel was just perfection. This show really does understated very well.

-- Haven't we all wanted to beat up a refrigerator?

-- Oh Mina Hess, I'm so glad that you're OK. Mina has apparently now added microbiolical bio-chemistry and behavioral research fellow to her already impressive track list of Structural Engineer, Thermodynamics expert, plumber, renewable energy expert, and about twelve other unrelated specialties. At this point I think it's best to view Mina like Reed Richards, i.e. all purpose science-y person who knows all the science-y stuff when it's needed. Plus just maybe she'll encourage a few more girls to pursue STEM careers, and that's a good enough goal in its own right.

-- Today I learned that SRO stands for 'single room occupancy,' a type of hotel that in a less dignified age I would have referred to as a flophouse.

-- Tandy mentions in passing that she and Mina have kept in touch. I feel like we were cheated out of a few highly entertaining explanation scenes.

-- Special shout out to Emma Lahana for the physical work she's doing to differentiate Brigid and Mayhem. Mayhem moves in a very distinctive shoulder forward way, which is very different from how Brigid walks. It's a nice, subtle detail, and should be praised.

-- Apparently I was overcomplicating the kidnapped girl plot last week. They seem to just be human traffickers who panicked and let Mikayla go because Ty had suddenly appeared in their ambulance so they had to cover their tracks. I kind of appreciate the show letting me work that out for myself.

-- 'The Glitter Gutter' is a great name for a strip club.

Quotes:

Mina: "Don’t worry, these cosmetics were tested on humans."

Brigid: "She’s not me." Tandy: "She’s got your face and she’s got your badge."

Dale: "No one went in your room. I didn’t mean to make eye contact, I’m sorry."

Tandy: "What is this?" Brigid: "This is Mayhem."

Mayhem: "And in another lifetime, Ty was a friend. At least he was to me, I don’t know if he’d say the same."

Tandy: "Hey Ty, look. Ya got a deranged map twin."

Mayhem: "You don’t get to play the victim. (Slashes his throat) Well, now I suppose you can."

Fuchs: "Who’s up for Awkward reunion pancakes?"

Lots of good stuff here, with only a couple of awkward plot contrivances to really criticize. For example, it's a little hard to swallow that Brigid being pulled from the lake would make breaking citywide news under those circumstances. Still, if that's the show's biggest sin, my shadow self is happy.

Three and a half out of four shadow dimensions.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[willreadforbooze]

Hello boozie readers!

Hope everyone had a fab thanksgiving!!!

Reminder:Our Will Read For Booze twitter account (formerly Sam’s personal account) is going to be dedicated to the whole blog! So go check us out kthxxxx. While that’s amazing, Sam has to start from scratch on a new account, let’s show her some love huh? Check out her new account TheBooktender_  She’ll love you forever and ever.

Sam’s Updates

Ok. So. Mama ended up in the ER this week, so I had to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 27 people by myself (that’s mostly a lie, my brother, aunts, and uncles helped a lot). Then I had to take care of her, so… I didn’t get much reading done at all.

What Sam read this week:

What Sam’s currently reading:

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer: This is the sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I didn’t love the first one (check the review here). I am REALLY not enjoying this one. It’s a “and we’re walking… and we’re walking…” book. I’m 2/3 through and I’m only just NOW getting the angst. Kill me now.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo: Linz’s review came out yesterday. I’m not usually a big fan of paranormal/urban fantasy but I’m liking this one a lot. We’re being given just nibbles of information about Alex at a time and I’m dying for the story now.

Linz’s Updates

NO TIME TO TALK I CAN PUT CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS UP NOW

What Linz read:

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin: SUPER dark but excellent teen revenge fantasy novel. I don’t think it really needed to be a riff of MacBeth, but if it wasn’t, I’m not sure the voice would work

The Night Country by Melissa Albert: If you read The Hazel Wood just go ahead and preorder this brilliant sequel

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather: NUNS IN SPACE. It’s not super action-y, but I adore this character study-heavy novella and if this is the only installment about this universe I will be pissed.

What Linz is currently reading:

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool: technically I haven’t started it yet because laundry and meal planning and Christmas decorations can go up now. I was really psyched to read this fantasy novel about a prophecy about a Prophet who would save or destroy the world, and the five people whose paths may or may not influence the prophecy, but some of the reviewers I trust have NOT been into it.

Ginny’s Updates:

Happy after Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas/Holidays. Our tv is now showing Hallmark movies and competitive skiing.

What Ginny Read:

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory: This book ended up being super cute and I’ve added the two sequels to my tbr. The tension built into the book was due to insecurities on both sides and was handled quite nicely. 4.5/5

The Last Human by Zack Jordan: I received this book as an ARC from netgalley, and will definitely be writing a review. Basically Sarya is the last human who has been raised by a “widow” and has been hiding as another species. The universe has a government that covers millions of species and even more galaxies. Can’t wait to write the review.

What Ginny is Currently Reading:

Scrum. Ha, havent touched this

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff: Still working on this one. I haven’t had as much time to read as I would have hoped. Mia is still a badass. I really enjoy the cast of characters, and I’m really enjoying a b-plot that’s popped up.

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst: Sprites are fucking evil and can be controlled by a small percentage of the population. Daileana is one of those people, though her power is relatively weak, she’s still being trained to become and heir and a possible queen. This world is fascinating and I’m really itching to keep moving on this.

Minda’s Updates

Well I had a fab Thanksgiving break! Stuck around home, attended a couple friendsgiving dinners, and took a mini-trip. Best of all, got some reading in.

What Minda finished:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – Love love love loved this! I think I was just ready for a quick read/enemies-to-lovers story, but right place, right time and all of that. Story takes place in a magical land outside human-world.

What Minda is reading now:

The Wicked King by Holly Black – Started this immediately after I finished the first one (see below)! The second in the trilogy takes up exactly where we left off—AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

Dark Age by Pierce Brown – Just got from the library and seems like a big lift. A Red Rising novel, I assume it picks up where Iron Gold (not my fave) left off. May take a min to remember where exactly that was.

Until next time, we main forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Ginny, Linz, and Minda

Weekly Wrap Up: Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2019 Hello boozie readers! Hope everyone had a fab thanksgiving!!! Reminder:Our Will Read For Booze twitter account (formerly Sam's personal account) is going to be dedicated to the whole blog!

[reader-fox]

I very nearly used the same quote from last month for this month on account of how many books I read. I’d forgotten I’d used it already for the exact same purpose. Well, on account of the fact that I did a Harry Potter Readathon in September, I feel as though this quote is an adequate description for the month of reading I did.

My review count went down to 17 this month, probably as a result of my excessive reading for the House Battles readathon. That said, I did read quite a bit more. This month alone was a month of 51 books. Now, some were children’s books and some were graphic novels, but even then, many were full length novels. Suffice to say, I’m rather proud of myself.

This month, for me, ironically enough the absolute best story I read did not come from a published (or to soon be published) novel. This is pretty rare for me, to tell you the truth. Rather than a novel, the best read of September came from a web series on WebToon that I basically counted as a graphic novel. If you’re looking for a fantastic fantasy story with amazing and unforgettable characters, I would highly suggest getting WebToon right now so you can read Nothing Special by Katie Cook. It is utterly magnificent and is already well into season two (which is the best one, tbh).

Seriously, if you haven’t read it yet, you really need to.

Topside [J. N. Monk]

Sorry I Ruined Your Childhood [Ben Zaehringer]

Winter [Marissa Meyer]

Iced Out [C. K. Smouha]

Eek, You Reek! [Jane Yolen & Heidi E. Y. Stemple]

A Warm Friendship [Ellen DeLange]

A Heart So Fierce and Broken [Brigid Kemmerer]

Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw [Gina Loveless]

Seafire [Natalie C. Parker]

Little Mama [Halim Mahmouidi]

Help Wanted: Must Love Books [Janet Sumner Johnson]

Kind Mr. Bear [Steve Smallman]

Choosing to Live, Choosing to Die [Nikki Tate]

Steel Tide [Natalie C. Parker]

Cursed [Thomas Wheeler]

Striped Pajamas [Firat Yasa]

The Animal Awards [Martin Jenkins]

| Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | It Does Not Do Well to Dwell in September and Forget to Live. I very nearly used the same quote from last month for this month on account of how many books I read.

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Sacrifice’ (#5 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Another guilty pleasure – but didn’t feel like the end of the series.

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance

No. of pages: 324

From Goodreads:

Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick understands pressure. He’s the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental…

[marianajacqueline45]

Hoy cumple años Angela Brigid Lansbury 92 años es una laureada actriz británica. También se ha desempeñado como actriz de doblaje, cantante, compositora y productora cinematográfica. Su trabajo en el cine, la televisión y el teatro a lo largo de 70 años la han convertido en una de las actrices europeas de mayor renombre en el mundo. Lansbury nació en una familia de clase media-alta en Regent's Park que emigró a los Estados Unidos en 1940 debido a los bombardeos nazis sobre Londres durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Estudió actuación en Nueva York y llegó a Hollywood a través de MGM, estudio con el que rodó películas como Gaslight en 1944 y El retrato de Dorian Gray en 1945 que le otorgaron dos nominaciones al premio Óscar. Continuó con MGM hasta 1952, interpretando papeles secundarios en su mayoría para luego desarrollar una carrera en el teatro. Aunque durante este periodo nunca se le consideró como una estrella de cine, su interpretación en la cinta The Manchurian Candidate de 1962 le otorgó el aplauso de la crítica, siendo considerada una de sus más finas interpretaciones. Su rol principal en el musical Mame de 1966 la convirtió finalmente en una actriz protagónica prominente y en un icono gay. Tras varios problemas personales, viajó a Irlanda en 1970 y continuó desarrollando una exitosa carrera teatral a lo largo de la década. Algunas de sus obras más importantes durante este periodo fueron: Gypsy, Sweeney Todd y El rey y yo, así como la cinta animada Bedknobs and Broomsticks de 1971. En 1984 logró la fama internacional al protagonizar la serie de televisión Murder, She Wrote, trasmitida hasta 1996. Dicha producción se convirtió en una de las series más largas de la historia de la televisión y una de las más populares del género policial. En 1991 prestó su voz en La bella y la bestia, una de las cintas animadas de mayor éxito de los estudios Disney. Desde entonces, ha viajado por el mundo haciendo parte de diversas obras teatrales y ha intervenido en varias películas. Entre las cintas más notables de su filmografía se encuentran: El estado de la Unión de 1946, Los tres mosqueteros de 1948, Calle sin ley de 1955, La historia más grande jamás contada de 1965, Muerte en el Nilo de 1978, Anastasia de 1997, Nanny McPhee de 2005 y Mary Poppins Returns de 2018. A lo largo de su carrera, Lansbury se ha hecho con varios de los premios más importantes de la industria del entretenimiento, entre ellos: un Óscar honorífico, seis Globos de Oro, cinco Tony, un Olivier y un Grammy, además de acumular 18 nominaciones al Primetime Emmy. En 2014 fue nombrada «dama» por la Reina Isabel II por su contribución a las artes interpretativas. Los primeros años de Angela en Estados Unidos transcurrieron en Nueva York; su estreno tuvo lugar a los 16 años en Canadáen el género del music hall. Luego la familia se mudó a Los Ángeles donde su madre y ella trabajaron en tiendas como cajeras y vendedoras. Allí aceptó papeles de reparto en varias películas de éxito que pronto le darían fama. En National Velvet (1944) encarnó a la hermana de Elizabeth Taylor. En Luz que agoniza (George Cukor 1944) interpretó al ama de llaves de Ingrid Bergman, papel que le valió su primera candidatura a los Oscar. Al año siguiente repetiría la hazaña al ponerse en la piel de una joven actriz que se suicidaba tras abandonarla su novio en El retrato de Dorian Gray, basada en la novela homónima de Oscar Wilde, donde trabajó también su madre. Ese mismo año se casó con Richard Cromwell, de quien se divorciaría un año después. Pronto contraería segundas nupcias en 1949 con el productor Peter Shaw (1918-2003). En lo profesional mantenía un contrato con la Metro Goldwyn Mayer, compañía bajo la cual rodó El estado de la Unión (en la que encarnó a una mujer amargada por el recuerdo de su padre difunto), Sansón y Dalila (Cecil B. DeMille, 1949), donde interpretó a Semadar, la hermana mayor de Dalila; y Los tres mosqueteros (George Sidney, 1948), donde apareció ataviada como Ana de Austria. Dos años más tarde obtuvo la nacionalidad estadounidense. El nacimiento de su hijo Anthony Shaw en 1952 la alejó del cine durante esa década en la que intervino en pocas películas: la disparatada El bufón del rey (1955) con Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone y Glynis Johns; Mamá nos complica la vida (Vincente Minnelli, 1957), y El largo y cálido verano, donde interpretó a la amante alcohólica de Orson Welles. En 1962 se produjo su regreso con The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer). Su papel de madre posesiva, ferviente anticomunista, casi le proporciona un Oscar a la mejor actriz de reparto que a último momento recayó en Patty Duke. Con la popularidad cinematográfica recuperada, Angela Lansbury volvió al teatro donde protagonizó el mayor éxito de Broadway de las temporadas 1966-1969: el musical Mame que la consagra como estrella absoluta y por el que gana el Premio Tony como la mejor actriz en un musical mientras espacia sus intervenciones cinematográficas, entre ellas la llevada a cabo en La historia más grande jamás contada (1965). El éxito de Mame no se repitió con Dear World, un musical basado en la pieza teatral La Loca de Chaillot de Jean Giraudoux; pero Lansbury recibió excelentes críticas y finalmente un Premio Tony a mejor actriz del año como la Condesa Aurelia. Los años setenta arrancaron con el estreno de La bruja novata (Robert Stevenson, 1971), cinta de la Disney en la que Lansbury interpretó a la Señorita Price, una solterona que emplea sus conocimientos de brujeríapara combatir ―con la ayuda de unos niños huérfanos que acoge en su casa― a las tropas nazis que asolan el Reino Unido. Doce meses después recibía una candidatura a los Globos de Oro. En 1973 regresa al musical con Gypsy, estrenado en Londres con gran éxito y luego llevado a Broadway; será su penúltima creación para un papel de musical. Gana su tercer Premio Tony como mejor actriz del año en Broadway. Muerte en el Nilo En 1978 reverdeció laureles en el cine al encarnar a Salomé Otterbourne en Muerte en el Nilo (John Guillermin), protagonizada por su ex cuñado Peter Ustinov, David Niven y un elenco de estrellas. Las condiciones precarias de rodaje en Egipto —la actriz tuvo que compartir camerino con Maggie Smith y Bette Davis— pronto se vieron recompensadas: su papel de escritora de novelas eróticas alcoholizada y que tenía que afrontar una posible demanda de difamación le llevó a las puertas de los Premios BAFTA. Por su parte la National Board of Review la proclamó la mejor actriz de reparto del año. La crítica incidió en la preferencia de Angela Lansbury por los papeles con mayor edad a la suya. Los productores de Muerte en el Nilo, John Brabourne y Richard Goodwin, estaban tan satisfechos con su trabajo que le ofrecieron la posibilidad de interpretar a Mrs. Marple en El espejo roto (1980), también basada en un relato de Agatha Christie, donde compartió cartel con una larga lista de estrellas veteranas: Tony Curtis, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Rock Hudson, Geraldine Chaplin y Edward Fox. A partir de entonces se consolidó su imagen de señora mayor, rebosante de sabiduría y humanidad, capaz de comprender los problemas de los demás de un solo golpe de vista y disminuirlos a base de buenos consejos, vitalidad, serenidad, humor, paciencia y afecto. En esos años también hizo cine, como la participación como la Pirata Ruth en la versión filmada de la opereta de Gilbert y Sullivan, Los piratas de Penzance con Linda Ronstadt y Kevin Kline (1983) y en una participación en la grabación de The Beggar's Opera (La ópera del mendigo) junto a Joan Sutherland y Kiri Te Kanawa. Su imagen de señora mayor, sabia y algo entrometida, acuñada en Muerte en el Nilo, se acentuó cuando su marido Peter Shaw inició la producción de la serie Murder, She Wrote(Se ha escrito un crimen), de la que se grabarían múltiples temporadas en la década 1984-94. Su papel de Jessica Fletcher, escritora de novelas policíacas aficionada a resolver asesinatos, le proporcionó una notable flecha que se tradujo con múltiples candidaturas a los Premios Emmy ―si bien ninguna traducida en una estatuilla― así como varios Globos de Oro. En pleno éxito profesional, Neil Jordan la llamó para encarnar a Angela Carter en la película de culto En compañía de lobos. A pesar de ello decidió avanzar en su carrera televisiva compaginando su trabajo en la serie con algún telefilme como Mrs. Harris goes to Paris, junto a Omar Sharif, la grabación de voz de películas de animación (La bella y la bestia, Anastasia) y algunas apariciones públicas como la que llevó a cabo en 1993 cuando entregó el Premio Jean Hershoft a Elizabeth Taylor por su labor humanitaria. En 1996 finalizó las grabaciones de Se ha escrito un crimen, volcándose en la enseñanza del oficio de actor. Entre sus alumnos podemos destacar a Matthew Goode. Asi mismo tuvo que atender a varios problemas familiares. En 2003 falleció su marido. Para sobrellevar la pérdida, Angela Lansbury retomó su carrera, protagonizando más telefilmes sobre Jessica Fletcher y regresando a la gran pantalla con La niñera mágica (Kirk Jones), sobre un guion de Emma Thompson. Pero una rotura de la rodilla le impidió participar en la adaptación de The Last Unicorn. También ha participado en doblaje de juegos como Kingdom Hearts 2. Después de veinticinco años, en 2007 regresó a Broadway en la obra Deuce de Terence McNally recibiendo una nominación para un premio Tony. En marzo de 2009, retornó como Madame Arcati en Espíritu travieso (Blithe Spirit) de Noel Coward. En verano de 2011 regresa a la gran pantalla protagonizando la comedia The Popper's Penguins (Los pingüinos del sr. Popper) junto con el actor Jim Carrey. La película fue estrenada en Estados Unidos el 17 de junio. En septiembre de 2013, la Junta de Gobernadores de la Academia de Hollywoodle concedió el Oscar honorífico en honor a sus trayectorias en el mundo del cine, rindiendo "tributo a individuos que han hecho contribuciones indelebles en sus respectivos campos". https://youtu.be/48aod52-OT0

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Secret’ (#4 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

A refreshing take on what was becoming a formulaic series.

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance

No. of pages: 328

From Goodreads:

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He’s trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won’t get in to college. He’s trying to keep his brother’s business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He’s trying to keep the secret of where…

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Spirit’ (#3 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Hormone fueled hot boys with superpowers and sassy girls… YA tropes at their best.

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance

No. of pages: 301

From Goodreads:

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather,…

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Spark’ (#2 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Book Review – ‘Spark’ (#2 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Hot boy trouble and teen drama.

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance

No. of pages: 345

From Goodreads:

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it. And no one…

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Storm’ (#1 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Book Review – ‘Storm’ (#1 The Elementals) by Brigid Kemmerer

Trashy and terribly addictive.

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance

No. of pages: 432

From Goodreads:

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn’t want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is…