Movie Review #4: Ender's Game

Another movie review! I saw the movie Ender's Game recently and thought I would do a review. This is pretty much spoiler free.

Title: Ender's Game
Director: Gavin Hood
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4 Crowns
Release Date: November 1, 2013

Let me be honest, I firstly decided to watch this because Asa Butterfield is in it. I had a tiny obsession with him a couple years ago. But I also decided to watch it because I heard that it was good from some of my trusted friends.

PLOT

The plot was interesting but to be fair, f it wasn't I probably would not have continued to watch it. I thought the whole concept of the film was fairly interesting. I liked how there was a training school in space and how the characters were sent there if they had a certain potential. I didn't really understand why they were trying to wage war on a species that wasn't doing anything to hurt them. But otherwise, the plot was rather interesting.

ACTORS/CHARACTERS

Asa Butterfield plays the lead character, Ender. He was really good as the role. Ender has a pretty bad life. He is brillant and so that gives people reason to bully him. However, he gets chosen to go to battle school because of his scores and actions. Ender is really brave and determined to make his way in this world but he does have a few things that pull him back at times. Overall, Asa was a delight to watch and I enjoyed his character. 

Harrison Ford plays the Colonel. I didn't enjoy his character all that much because he was rather rude and pushed Ender even when he didn't really want to do whatever it was. He was still good in his role but I didn't much enjoy the character he played. 

Hailee Steinfeld played Petra and I adored her. She was strong and really smart and was one of the first people to open up to Ender in battle school. Ender was slightly out of place and Petra made sure he had a friend and could count on her. 

FIGHTING

The fighting is mostly on screens or virtually but there is a little where Ender fights other children. Otherwise, I didn't think there was much fighting. 

CONTENT FOR OLDER VIEWERS ONLY?

PG-13 is a good rating for this film. It does have a couple things that younger kids wouldn't understand and some of the themes could get younger kids annoyed or confused but otherwise it was reasonable.

I recommend this movie and think it is a good movie to watch for enjoyment. Don't judge it too hard. 

Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty Review

This is a spoiler free review!

Lock and Mori

Written by Heather W. Petty

Genre: Young Adult/Mystery/Retelling

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 15, 2016

Pages: 248

Source: Library

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students—one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty—meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.

Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more…

FACT: Someone has been murdered in London’s Regent’s Park. The police have no leads.

FACT: Miss James “Mori” Moriarty and Sherlock “Lock” Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.

FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.

FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock’s one rule—they must share every clue with each other—Mori is keeping secrets.

OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can’t trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again

Review:

Such an amazing Sherlock rendition. It made me laugh and almost sob. It was also really creepy and chilled me to the bone. I really enjoyed this one. I was a little bit worried because of what some of the goodreads reviews said. A lot of people didn't think it was a good Sherlock retelling but I honestly thought it was one of the best.

COVER

Not sure how I feel about the cover. It is interesting, that's for sure. I like how they have the two main character's faces on the front and I also like how it is kind of foggy and mysterious, just like the actual book.

WORLD-BUILDING

Not really much world-building in this one just because it is set in modern day England. But Mori lives on Baker Street and Sherlock actually lives at 221 Baker Street. *squeals* As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of the TV show, Sherlock.

Then there are the characters.

MORI

Mori is a strong female character. She is not extremely likeable at the begining and sort of seems detached from people emotionally but soon she clears all that up and you understand why she acts the way she does. You can really tell that she could be a master villain like her namesake. Mori does have a more compassionate side though. She cares about her brothers and really cares about her best friend and Sherlock.

LOCK

Heather really portrays Sherlock as if he was more the socially awkward type and not just the brooding brilliant hermit that he is in other adaptations. He has a strong sense of vulnerability and isn't the hero that we all expect him to be. He made you want to hug him every time he spoke or looked slightly upset. I really enjoyed his character and his character interactions. Can I have him?

PLOT

The plot was kind of what you'd expect from a Sherlock retelling or mystery book but it veered far away from the usual path. I don't normally read mysteries because they often confuse and annoy me so I put them down. But this one didn't annoy me as much. I found myself trying to solve the mystery with Mori and Lock and then almost breaking down by events that happened at the end. This book touches your heart.

ROMANCE

“When a person cares for another, he wants to know everything about her all at once.” 

The romance was a little bit like insta-love but I believe that when two people share this much information about themselves all at once then they have to form a strong connection. Lock and Mori really seem to care about each other and hold on to each other when times get rough. I found myself shipping these two and being immensely happy for them because I felt like they were two people that really fit and needed each other. 

WRITING

The writing in it was nice. It wasn't beautiful and flowy like some books but it was still nice. 

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It is a good Sherlock retelling and an even better book. I adored the characters and the plot was amazing. It does deal with some issues that may scare some people so proceed with caution but otherwise it was fantastic. The ending was also really well done and I would have never seen some of that coming. *shudders*

Quotes from the Book:

“Maybe that’s how one becomes a killer. Not with decision, but with acceptance.”

“I, of course, had heard of Sherlock Holmes and his secret lab in the basement of the theater. It was just cartoonish enough of an image to spread widely around the school.” 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Mid-Year Check In!

Hello guys. It is that time of year. Time to check on my progress on my goals for 2016!

I am participating in a number of challenges this year as well as making some of my own so I am going to see how well I have been doing and then maybe make a goal for the rest of this year. 

GOODREADS CHALLENGE

For this year's Goodreads Challenge, I have pledged to read 60 books. 

I am doing super well with this challenge. I have read 51 Books and I am 20 Books Ahead of Schedule. I may even up this goal to 70 since I will probably read 60 books by September. 

RETELLING CHALLENGE

I have pledged to read 20 Books for this challenge. 

I am not doing so well with this challenge. I have only read eight books so far but I have a couple more retellings I wish to read. 

NEW RELEASE CHALLENGE

I have pledged to read 15 books for this challenge. 

I have already read 14 books for this challenge so I will probably beat this challenge. I love reading new releases so it isn't that hard. 

DYSTOPIAN CHALLENGE

I have planned to read 15 books for this challenge. 

I have only read nine so I am doing okay but I wish to read more so I need to step up my game. 

BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2016!

I have 15 Books on this list. 

I have read 6 of these so I need to step up my game. 

And that is it for this post! See you soon!

Top Five Wednesday | Books I Wish Had Sequels [July 13]

  TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY IS A WEEKLY MEME HOSTED BY SAM. YOU BASICALLY GET A NEW TOPIC EVERY WEDNESDAY, AND YOU LIST YOUR TOP 5 BOOKS RELATED TO THAT TOPIC. HEAD OVER TO THE GOODREADS GROUP, AND ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST OF WEDNESDAY-ERS IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING!

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Today’s topic is “Books I Wish Had Sequels ” This was a fun topic for me to do because there are a lot of books/series enders that I want to continue. Unfortunately, I do not read that many stand-alones so that part was difficult but otherwise it was interesting and fun.

5. The Legend of Holly claus by brittney ryan

This is my only Middle Grade book on this list but I loved it so much and really feel like there should be a sequel. I want a lot more of Holly and the world that she lives in. I feel like if it continued, it could have a wonderful sequel that could possibly be leaning more into the YA genre.

 4. The fill-in boyfriend by Kasie West

This is not the type of book that I would expect to put on this list. It was a Contemporary book that was pretty short but I felt like there could be a sequel where the characters are in college. I also felt like I didn't get to experience the character's lives as much as I wished to. I wanted to know more about her friends and her family and I kind of wanted her to rekindle her friendship with her best friend. A sequel would be something that I'd really like. 

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3. rook by sharon cameron

I loved this book so much! It was a wonderful science fiction/historical fiction novel. I loved the characters and I know that it was wrapped up really well but I would love to get some more of the character's lives and the world that they live in.

2. A drop of Night by Stefan bachmann

  As you all know, Thrillers/Horrors are not my cup of tea but I had to read this book because it was compared with The Maze Runner. I ended up loving the book and wanting more. Yes, it was scary. And yes, I was frightened but I wouldn't mind it if there was a little more to satisfy my need. 

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1. stitching snow by r.c. lewis

This is one of my all time favorite fairytale retellings. It was set on another planet and had so much action and adventure that I couldn't put it down. I loved Essie and I loved Dane and I want more of them.

0. champion by marie lu

I was so unhappy with the ending of this book. This is the last book in the Legend Trilogy which is wildly popular. I really enjoyed it and was so mad at the ending. That's all I have to say. 

I hope you enjoyed this short little post and I'll see you all soon for another book review!

Weekly Update: 7/4 - 7/10

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

I am officially in LA and with my grandparents so blogging is limited. I have not bought and books and am not really planning on it. I haven't done a lot of reading either but I plan on upping my game next week and getting a ton of books read.

I have been doing a lot of shopping and going out though. I will post a movie review and a book review next week. See you soon!

New Books

Purchased:

Library:

 

In Case You Missed It

Monday: Music Monday
Top Five Wednesday was: Fav Books Outside Your Comfort Zone
Thursday Book Review: Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey
Friday Movie Review: Jack the Giant Slayer
Friday Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Choka

This Week I Read

  

Next Week I'm Reading

Upcoming Reviews

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Choka Review

This is a spoiler free review!

The Star-Touched Queen

Written by Roshani Chokshi

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Mythology/Retelling

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: April 26, 2016

Pages: 342

Source: Library

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.

Review:

I did not expect much from this book at all as I hadn’t really read that many reviews on this book or heard that much about it. But after I’ve read it and comprehended everything that’s happened, I realized that it was a lot better than I thought it would be. This was also a Hades and Persephone retelling and it was gorgeous and brilliantly executed.

COVER

The cover is gorgeous. I love how how the stars are at the bottom half and it is almost like she is coming up out of the stars. I also really like how she is holding a lantern and heading towards a palace. This is honestly one of my favorite covers of all time.

WORLD-BUILDING

The world building was done so brilliantly. The mythology within her world are so wonderfully described and we really get to know what the world looks like and is like. At first, the world building was a tad confusing but I quickly came to understand it.

"In all the tomes and folklore I had read from the archives, there was no limit to the worlds around us. Somewhere unseen were demonic realms filled with laughing asuras and blackened suns. There were austere kingdoms on the peaks of mountains where phoenixes serenaded the moon and the halls of the gods glinted with lightning. And there was our own, human world, mortal, with only the comfort of stories to keep away the chill of death."

Then there are the characters.

MAYA

Maya has a horiscope that predicts death. She suffered through loneliness because all the people she lived with believed she was going to bring about terrible things but she gains strength from her loneliness. Maya is open to what her heart really desires. She has such a big heart really and is such a strong character. And she did most of the saving. Not the other way around. She was cunning and witty and was able to pull apart deception that was set before her.

AMAR

Amar was really really sweet. You could really tell that he cared about Maya. He wasn't an assehole and wasn't sexist. He treated Maya like an equal and that is what made him truly beautiful. He shot up to one of my favorite male love interests pretty quickly. I was swooning half the book.

KAMALA

Kamala was hilarious. She was a demon horse who helped Maya and had such sass. She loved to eat people because she was a demon horse and she constantly jokes about it. I really enjoyed reading about her.

PLOT

The plot was really very amazing and quite unexpected. There were twists and turns at every page and you do not know what the villain is going to do next. Oh and the villain was so well done because you never know what she is going to do or what she is doing or why.

There, my queen,” he said. “A constellation to wear in your hair.”

“My star-touched queen,” he said softly, as if he was remembering something from long ago. “I would break the world to give you what you want.”

ROMANCE

Tons of people thought that this romance was insta-lovey but I don't think it is like that at all. Amar's eternal love for Maya was so beautiful and seemed so real that it was almost hard to believe that I was reading a book. They were definitely a match made in heaven or hell or wherever they happen to be. [That was literally the only confusing thing about it]

Oh and did I mention that this is a Hades and Persephone retelling that was so well done that it was almost better than the original.

WRITING

The writing was so beautiful and mesmerizing and it made the romance and everything in it so much more beautiful and real. The writing was also breathtaking. It was really magical. A true masterpiece.

Final Thoughts:

I highly enjoyed this book. If you like mythology or a good romance, I recommend this book. It exceeded my expectations and quickly became one of my favorite new releases.

Quotes from the Book:

“I know your soul. Everything else is just an ornament.” 

“I see only night and smoke, dreams and glass, embers and wings. And I would not have you any other way.”

“A memory is a fine legacy to leave behind.

“There is no romance in real grief. Only longing and fury.” 

“Trust is won in years. Not words.” 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Movie Review #3: Jack the Giant Slayer

Another movie review! Recently, I saw the movie Jack the Giant Slayer. It was a really good movie as I had hoped it would be. This is also mostly spoiler free.

Title: Jack the Giant Slayer
Director: Bryan Singer
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4 Crowns
Release Date: March 1, 2013

We all know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. But maybe we don't know the real story. This is the real story.

PLOT

The plot was done really well. It was unique and different to the normal Jack and the Beanstalk story. We got to know more about Jack and why he climbed the beanstalk. He climbed it to rescue the princess of course. Though the princess wasn't weak and helpless like you might think she'd be. She was very badass

ACTORS/CHARACTERS

Nicholas Hoult plays the hero of the movie, Jack. Jack is a poor farmer and lives with his uncle after his father dies. I really enjoyed seeing this different type of Jack. He is still quite an average person even though he happens to be a hero and saving the princess. 

Eleanor Tomlinson plays Princess Isabelle. I adored the princess. She was a strong-willed character who knew what she wanted and didn't want to be tied down. I have seen Eleanor Tomlinson in one other thing so far which was Poldark and I have to say, I adore her. 

Ewan McGregor was hilarious as Elmont. This was an entirely different role for him since the only other thing that I have seen him in happened to be Star Wars. He was a lot less series in this movie and funnier. 

FIGHTING

There was quite a bit of fighting as there is a fairytale/action type movie. I didn't mind the fighting too much though there was a lot of it. I feel like it made the movie more exciting. 

ROMANCE

There was a little bit of chemistry between Jack and Isabelle but not as much as I wanted. I feel like their romance was a bit rushed and could have been slowed down a little bit more. 

CONTENT FOR OLDER VIEWERS ONLY?

This movie is rated PG-13 for a reason. I feel like some of the fighting or "gorey" type seasons would not be for younger kids so watch out for that. But there isn't any profanity or nudity or things like that so in that respect, it is great for younger viewers.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I originally thought but Nicholas Hoult was attractive and a good actor and I adored Eleanor Tomlinson.