The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - Book

This is the first book in the Kingdoms Trilogy. Very cool world that she has created - great characters interesting magic and a good plot. We follow a young woman who is thrust into the ruling elite out of the blue and struggles to stay on her feet throughout a lot of difficult events. If you like fantasy novels, this is a good one!

The Brothers Grimsby

Wow. I really dislike Sacha whatevers movies. Really a lot. I watched this one because I like the genre it was spoofing - Super Spy movies. But it was typically thin and crude. Yes, I did laugh outload once. For a 90 minute comedy, though, that isn't much of a compliment. If you like him and his movies, you might like this one. I am sorry I wasted my time with it. Sigh.

The Broken Kingdoms - Book

This book is almost a direct sequel to the first book in the series. It follows Oree Shoth, a blind woman who takes Impetus, one of the Three from the first book. Lots of interesting characters, good story and a surprising ending made this an enjoyable second book. Very different from the first which makes it even better. Good read!

The Kingdom of Gods - Book

The last book in the "Kingdom" Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. This book focused on Sieh, the son of two of the Three (the first three "gods"). As with the other books in the series, it is interesting to be in a world where gods walk amongst the people. Someohw, Sieh gets turned mortal, discovers that he has a psychopathetic son and tries to save the world (and the universe). On the cover it sats it is a magic-filled thriller. I don't know if I would go that far, but it was worth the read.

The Meddler

Having seen Doris recently, I thought I would try this Susan Sarandon one woman movie. It wasn't as good as Doris. I thought her accent was a bit over the top. Not a lot happened in the movie. Lots of contrived occurrences. Not terrible, mind you, but not great at all. Focuses on a few weeks of Susan's life after her beloved husband has died. She has moved to LA to be near her only daughter, and is basically smothering the daughter. She gets involved in other people's lives to help her avoid the pain in her own life. Some funny bits, but as I said, not as good as Doris.

Running with Scissors

I came back from CR to find this movie sitting in my mail. I don't know when I added it to my list, but I am glad I did. Not a great movie, but interesting for sure. Great cast. It is the story of Augusten Burroughs upbringing during the seventies. I enjoyed the movie - Evan Rachel Wood and Gwyneth Paltrow both have small fun parts in the movie. Annette Benning was interesting as Augusten's driven but ultimately not talented mother. Alec Baldwin had a small roll as Augusten's alcoholic father. The Finch household was fun. It was also interesting to see a little of the original Dark Shadows. All in all, an entertaining film. There were some weak moments, but nothing that can't be overlooked.

Despicable Me 3

I started to watch this on my flight down to Costa Rica but the wifi on the plane was so slow, it just didn't happen. So I got to watch it on my way back to the US. Huzzuh. I liked the first one very much. The second, I don't really remember. The third was sort of fun, but the whole series is getting a bit thin. Add to that Steve Carrell playing two roles, well. Gru gets kicked out of the organization because he didn't catch a bad guy. Turns out that Gru has a twin brother, Dru, who wants to be an evil doer - like their father was. Gru has to redeem himself so that he can get his job back. And the minions abandon Gru because he is no longer evil. Some fun bits - there is a whole 10 minutes or so of the minions in jail. Overall fun, but not something I would watch unless I was sitting on a plane for a few hours and had absolutely nothing else to do!

Cars 3

Another fun Pixar/Disney movie. I don't recall the first two. I may never have seen the second one, come to think of it. But, given the chance, I will always watch a Pixar movie. My mom actually owned some pixar stock at one point. Anyway, this was a fairly straightforward movie. The lead car is trying to stay relevant as younger cars start to dominate the races. There is some of the underdog trying to ake good about this movie. And then there is a teeny twist. The voice acting is first class, animation excellent, plot - meh. Fun but not worth watching unless you like this sort of thing, which I do!

The Miniaturist - Book

Alice gave me this book to read, along with a second one by the same author and a third book that she said is one of her favorites. This one and the other one by Jessie Burton she had never read and was hoping for a review before reading them herself.

I liked this book almost immediately. It is written in the present tense, which is not common, I have found. A historical novel written about the 1600s in Amsterdam, it focuses on Nella Brandt and her husband's family. The period is one I only know a little teeny bit about before reading this book. And I still don't know a lot. But the author drew a good mind picture of the environment. Nella is a young wife to a rich merchant. His house consists of himself, his unmarried sister, two servants, Cordelia, an orphan girl and Otto, a black man. There are also two dogs. As a wedding present, Johannes gives Nella a dollhouse and Nella starts to populate it with miniatures from the title character. The Miniaturist's miniatures cause Nella to rethink her world. All in all, an appealing book, with lots of twists and good character development. I am looking forward to her the next book by the same author - Jessie Burton.

No Toads in Heaven - Book

I found this book at Karacters. It was the end of my stay in Costa Rica and I had read most everything that had looked of interest to me. This book had an inscription to an ex pat. My guess is that it is a self published book. The book follows Gene Florian, and antihero of sorts, who is trying to avenge the murder of a friend of his. Part of the reason that I pick this up is because a large part of the book takes place in Central America. I don't know that I will look for another book by this author. Not terrible but not great.

Room - Book

It occurs to me that I ought to include the author in my book reviews. Oh well. If someone wants to find the book badly enough they can find it. Or they can ask me and maybe I will remember. Ha ha Ha ha ha! Anyway, I was looking in Carol's book case for something to read and I found Room. When I was working at The Smith, Room was one of the movies I showed. I think I even watched it. Because the book seemed pretty familiar. Come to think of it, I think I rented it (got it from the library or from Netflix). It is the story of a young boy who has grown up entirely in an 11 x 11 room, thinking it was the entire world. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I thought at times there were a few inconsistencies in the logic, but I for gave those. I'm not sure that I will rush out to find another book by this author, since this one was a little on the gimmicky side.

Spoiler: I just had a realization - the mom gets severely depressed and I couldn't figure out why. I just realized, it was because she had her own realization - after the TV interviewer asks why the mom hadn't asked her captor to take the baby and give him away she realizes that she could have done that. True, she was young, desperate for a connection, for company, for love, but the truly selfless choice probably would have been to let the child go rather than to keep him in trapped in the room with her. Wow. Makes me like the book a bit better, actually...

Cross My Heart - Book

It seems that when I have more than one space in a title that I have typed blogger on my phone crashes. Joy and rapture. Just as I am filled with joy and rapture about this book. OK, not really. I am a little on the angry side actually. It was a cliffhanger. Leading to the next book in the series, no doubt. One set of murders does get solved in a less than satisfactory way. But in this book bad things happen that are not resolved at the end. Grrr

Killshot - Book

My second Elmore Leonard book. This one I liked too. Not great but ok. Features two bad guys trying to kill a couple who witnessed them committing a crime. I learned a little bit about a lot of things: ironwork, tug boats, air craft carriers, and the Witness Security program.

Chiefs - Book

I picked this book up because it looked interesting. And I was not incorrect. Spanning 40 years or so it tells the tale of some police chiefs in a small town in Georgia and a serial killer in their neighborhood. Good characters, interesting historical stuff, some thriller aspects, all made for this to be an enjoyable read. I may have to find another Stuart Woods book and see if his writing is consistent.

Double Cross - Book

Another James Patterson book. And another Alex Cross book. I think that my next James Patterson book might be my last for a while. This book contained to psychopaths. Or maybe even three. Depending on how you count psychopaths. What is a group of psychopaths called? Not a murderer. That is crows. Anyway, Alex has a girlfriend named Bree and there is a murderer killing people in front of audiences. Wow another serial killer that Alex had arrested, has escaped from jail. Death and mayhem and A few not scintillating twists follow. Good but not great. Worth a read if you are reading all of the Alex cross books. Or just need to read something.

Flight of Eagles - book

I have heard of other books written by Jack Higgins. And I think I have read seen a movie or two made from his books. I hadn't realized that when I picked up the book. This story seemed fairly contrived. The story of twins who fought on separate sides of world war two. It also felt very dry. But that could be because he is a British author. If you are a fan of the author, or World War II, then this might be a good book for you.

Disclosure - Book

Michael Crichton has written some great stories. This was good at best. The protagonist is a mid level manager who gets entangled in some corporate intrigue during the early 90s. Sexual harassment, corporate scheming, and technical advancements were interwoven well. I just didn't love the book.

Judge & Jury - Book

I decided to look for more James Patterson books. I found this one on Carol's bookshelf. The story focuses on two characters or rather three characters. The first is an FBI agent named NIck. The second is an aspiring actress named Andy. And the last is a Mafia Don named Coviello. NIck catches the bad guy and a trial in Sue's. And he is a juror and somehow NIck and Andy get together. There is a bit more to the book, but that is the most important bit, I guess. If you like James Patterson, and legal best thrillers, then this would be a good book for you. I apologize for the weirdness says in my recent and coming posts. Blogger is Miss behaving.

Split Second - Book

I have read other David Baldacci books. I think. I can't recall any of the other titles or plots at this moment. And I don't know how long I will remember this book either. The characters in this book were apparently interesting enough to spawn a series of books. And a TNT television series. This book tells the story of two semi disgraced secret service agents trying to solve to mysteries eight years apart. A decent thriller with some good twists and some good action.