Talkie Tuesday: Red Notice

 

"Always appreciate a quality double-cross."

 

Hello everyone!

 

This is it. We made it.

 

The last non-Christmas blog post for this calendar year, as starting this Thursday we're heading straight into that extravaganza as soon as we can manage it!

 

Honestly, I'm a little bit excited, because I tend to enjoy the holiday related stuff I post on my blog over the month of December, and there's got to be some holly jolly on here, right? After all, there's so much other stuff going on it isn't even funny anymore.

 

So before we unveil what the first holiday-themed book is going to be, let's have one last look back at what people are saying was probably a fun movie for the most part.

 

And I mean, it was.

 

But I think my expectations were too high because I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would, in the end.

 

So let's roll in with Red Notice and see what it's about, shall we?

Saturday Snippet: Advent

 

It's starting already, the countdown begins this Sunday!

 

xx

*image not mine

Tome Thursday: The Barbarian's Vow

 

Hello everyone!

 

This is the last pre-Christmas book-related blog post that I'll be doing this calendar year, as next week begins the extravaganza that is running up until the holidays are over!

And as I promised you guys last week, it's time to wrap up the duology we started then.

Keira Andrews has ALSO promised another holiday romance coming around this time next week as well, so I'm pretty excited about that, I always am about the themed books she writes, because I normally fall in love with her characters and plots pretty easily.

I did with the Barbarian too, at least in the first book.

But I will warn you - and this is only fair - that I wasn't as enamored with this second one as I was with the first, and it'll probably show in the review.

Nothing against the writing (which is still superb), and everything against how the plot turns out, sadly! However I will say I enjoyed aspects of it, and at the very least there is a HEA in here as well.

So without further ado, let's just get right into it, shall we? The Barbarian's Vow has been waiting all week, after all.

Talkie Tuesday: Jungle Cruise

 

"One person is world enough."

 

Hello everyone!

 

If you're lucky enough to live in the US, you've probably been to Disney at some point in time, and in that point in time you've also, most probably, taken their Jungle cruise ride in the theme parks.

 

I've had no such luck in my life BUT when I heard there was going to be a movie based off it, well, I was hooked.

 

Then I kind of forgot about it until I accidentally spotted something on Instagram and recalled that, yes, I kind of STILL want to watch it!

 

And so this past Sunday I went and sat down, and ended up laughing for about an hour and a half. My stomach muscles still hurt two days later, not to mention my face since I've also been watching all sorts of interviews with the cast online.

 

There's just so much sheer joy that went into making this movie, I can't even begin to describe it.

 

So hold on to your pants, it's time we took a little joyride down the Amazon river, and in case you haven't figured it out yet ... it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Jungle Cruise, here we go.

 

Saturday Snippet: Yule Log ... wut

 

Listen, it's not MY idea, it was Youtube's years ago 😂

 

xx

*video not mine

Tome Thursday: Wed to the Barbarian

 

Hello everyone!

 

It's been a little bit since the last time I reviewed a book by Keira Andrews, and I'm super happy to be able to say tonight is the night again.

 

I accidentally stumbled across Ms Andrews's work when I was looking for something new and exciting to read, and since then, I've probably gone through most of her written works, if you ask me, though I don't think I have them all reviewed.

 

But every once in a while, usually before or around Christmas time, I do get back to it at least.

 

Tonight's book isn't exactly holiday-related - that one's coming in December! - but it IS amusing nonetheless.

 

You know how you always read stories about barbarians (usually Scottish) who come to sit on a council or whatever or they have to be appeased somehow, and the only solution everyone can think of is marrying one of them to one of their delicate ladies?

Well, this is about the same story, only it's a turnaround into gay romance.

Wed to the Barbarian, here we go!

Talkie Tuesday: Mirror Mirror

 

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" 

Hello everyone!

You didn't think I'd leave you hanging and not review the second Snow White-themed movie that released at around the same time (or at least the same year) as Snow White and the Huntsman, did you?

Of course not.

I remember thinking at that time that it was a bold choice to have both movies in that same time frame, especially given the fact that it was such a competition back then, and still is, but it looks as though people may have learned from that by now and stuff like it doesn't happen anymore.

Or maybe I just haven't noticed it, which could also be the case.

In any event, I'm getting wildly off-track here.

For this week, we continue on with our Snow White extravaganza, because there is no escaping the magic mirror and Evil Queens who can't bear to have anyone be more beautiful than they are.

The very aptly titled Mirror Mirror is up next!

Saturday Snippet: Obi-Wan Kenobi CONCEPT ART

 

Listen.

 

LISTEN.

 

THE HYPE IS REAL.

 

xx

*image not mine

Tome Thursday: New Spring

 

Hello everyone!

 

With the premiere only one week away at this point (well, one week and a day), I figured it MIGHT be time to dig into the books, am I right?

 

I've never before read any of this series, though I've had them on my list for a while, so a new fantasy adventure seemed like just what the doctor ordered, given it's been some time since I've picked one up that I'd end up enjoying.

 

Did I enjoy this one? Well, the jury's still out on that.

 

See, I enjoyed the world building for the most part, and the magic, and the majority of the characters, but unfortunately the main one just rubbed me the very wrong way, something I wasn't expecting.

 

Usually, you like the lead character!

 

Not me, not in this book at least. However, I've been told by reliable sources that the continuation of the series serves up much better characterization along the way.

 

So here's to hoping!

 

Robert Jordan's New Spring, here we go.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Snow White and the Huntsman

 

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

 

Hello everyone!

 

I seem to be swimming in older movies recently, as tonight's pick is almost ten years old. 

Sometimes you just have to circle back and find things that you thought you didn't enjoy, watch them again, and then make a decision about it.

I think the only sin this movie would be guilty of is the fact that it was released around the same time as another on the same topic, Mirror Mirror, and of the two it seemed that the latter one knew what it wanted to be and to do, whereas this one was kind of stuck in between genres.

That said though, it isn't as bad as everyone made it sound at the time, and even my own personal opinion changed while I watched it.

There really are some things which you look at differently over time, after all, and I think time has actually helped this one a lot.

Time is a magical thing like that.

Snow White and the Huntsman is probably the biggest example of it.

Saturday Snippet: Wheel of Time OFFICIAL TRAILER

 

Woop!

 

xx

*video not mine

Tome Thursday: Tempted by Twilight

 

Hello everyone!

 

I'm back with something that ISN'T Hunger Games related, even though I know I still have the prequel to read, but I needed a break from it so picked up something from BookSirens yet again.

 

For those of you who don't know yet, BookSirens is a site where you can sign up and pick up different ARCs from, from different authors and genres. The only limitations are how many books you can read to start off with, and how long you have for each book before you're asked to supply a review, on the site itself or on Goodreads, Amazon, etc.

I really like it, they usually give you 90 days, which is MORE than enough for 200 pages (rough estimate), and you can find some really cool hidden gems on there!

I've probably run into more than my share of books that I've fallen in love with thanks to them.

But I took a bit of a break over the summer holidays, and am now back to perusing their choices from the shelves, so here we are.

Tonight's pick is definitely one for this spooky autumn, as it deals with the supernatural, and then some.

Tempted by Twilight, from Nichole Wolfe, is up.

Talkie Tuesday: Dune

 

"A great man doesn't seek to lead; he's called to it. And he answers." 

Hello everyone!

I am fully on board this express train right now.

Aka I've actually watched this movie relatively quickly after it's release AND gotten in on the hype that everyone and their mother seems to be feeling about it, especially given that a part 2 has already been green-lit (and why wouldn't it have been, based on the film's success, am I right?).

Suffice to say though, I was going into this blind.

See, I've never read the original novel by Frank Herbert. Oh I'd seen it, there was always one of those covers with either a big ass worm on the front of just sand dunes all over the place, but for some reason it never caught my attention enough to warrant me picking it up.

Suffice to say I will do so NOW, of course, for that and probably the rest depending on just how the story ends up unfolding.

But until such a time as that, the only thing left is to get on a ship and travel to the desert planet ourselves in this blog post. And, seriously, does EVERY epic saga ever begin on a desert planet in the middle of the universe? Dune is the new-age Tatooine!