Book Review: "Indexing" - Seanan McGuire

Indexing by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, I want to start by saying that I love McGuire's work (as herself, as Mira Grant and as a singer/songwriter) so I can safely start off this review by saying that I enjoyed that first book in her latest series, Indexing.

This novel started off as an Amazon series. You subscribed to it and Amazon sent you a new chapter every couple of weeks. However, as I don't live in American, I wasn't able to do this and had to wait for the whole book release a few months later.

But enough about that. What's the book about? The story follows a field team of agents who work for the ATI Management Bureau - an organisation that monitors fairy tales in the real world and tries to stop the narrative from talking over people's lives. The team is lead by Henry (who is very close to becoming Snow White, if she lets the stories get to her) and is made up by Sloane (a wicked stepsister), Jeff (a shoemakers elf), Demi (a pied piper) and Andy (who is the most normal of the team... so far).

Each chapter (or episode) is like its own wee story, each taking on another fairy tale that the team are trying to stop. Despite this, each story does lead into the next and they do build up to the climax chapter. So in a way, it's written like a TV show. Each episode being different but leading up to the season final. Thinking back on it now, nothing much really happens in the first chapter, just as in the first episode of a new show. It's just there to set the tone and introduce the world and characters.

Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. It hooked into what was happening and kept you guessing about certain things right to be end. Though it's serious in parts, overall there is a lot of humour in the story to balance it out. And I love Sloane, she's just brilliant. Book two, Reflections, is due out sometime in 2015 and I'm hoping that I don't have to wait around for it to become a full book before getting to read it again.

If you like fairy tales and/or crime dramas, I'd certainly recommend you have a wee look into this. You won't regret it!!

View all my reviews

Testing, Testing, Testing.... One, Two, Three...

Okay guys, I need to get this blog back in operation and fast. So expect some new posts and reviews on the way.

This week I'm planning 3 online short story reviews, a look back over this summers reading list and a series review on Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Noville books.

So keep your ears open and watch this space.

I am back!!!!

Film Review: "Frozen" (2013)

MINOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!

This review comes a little late, but that doesn't matter. Some people are yet to see this movie so here I am writing this up. Plus, I'm working on an editorial about the changes in the Disney Princesses over the years and hopefully this review will help me lead into that. But I'm off topic, what about Frozen? 

To be honest, I almost passed this one up. Why? I don't really know. It didn't really jump out at me. I knew it was Disney but that didn't encourage me to go see it. It was friends who wanted to see it and I came along too. But luckily, I was wrong and I'm glad I didn't pass up the chance of seeing this in the cinema. Twice. Three times! I enjoyed it so much, that I went back and watched it again and again. And downloaded the soundtrack.

So what's the story? The eldest Princess of Arendelle was born with the ability to control ice. Due to an accident, she becomes afraid of her powers and her parents shut her away from everything and everyone, including her younger sister. She bottles up her powers until one day, she slips and the town learn of her secret. She runs off, leaving the town in eternal snow and leaving her sister to go after her and save the town. On her journey, Anna teams up with ice salesman Kristoff, his raindeer Sven and a talking snowman called Olaf, to find Else and bring back summer.

I love pretty much everything about this movie. The animation is stunning. I do miss the days of the 2D Princess movie. But the past two "modern" 3D princess movies (this and Tangled) have still been great and stuck to the Disney Princess feel despite being computer animated. The soundtrack is great but I love Disney soundtracks in general. I heard that Disney are planning on releasing a sing-only version of Frozen soon which I'm not surprised by. The songs are catchy and memorable. I can't help bursting into song when's I hear "For The First Time In Forever" and "Let It Go" (both versions - i like Idina Menzel's version better but Demi Lovato's version shouldn't be overlooked!) Slightly off topic but, after seeing this the second time, myself and one of my coworkers ended up running down the street after another coworker singing "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" 

But what stands out to me most is the plot. It's not your typical prince faces off bad guy to save princess that he's just met or love at first sight plot. In a way, it parodies it. The film talks more about family. There is some romance but the focus isn't on that. There is also sense of female empowerment too. Both sisters can look after themselves and the men are just in the background. Also, come on, you can't sing along to "Let It Go" (mainly the Idina Menzel's version) without feeling empowered by the end! 

So is it worth a look? Totally. Even if the story doesn't appeal to you, the music will, or the animation will. My brother has been going on about how overrated this movie is since everyone online is talking about it, but I've been telling him not to judge it. He has no right to say its overrated until he's seen the movie for himself. The third time I saw it was because a friend of mine kept seeing stuff online about it and was curious. She ended up loving it too. So go see it and judge it for yourself. I don't regret seeing it and look forward to watching it again and again in the future. 

After all, "winter is a good time to stay in and cuddle but put me in summer and I'll be a..... Happy snowman!!" :)

Top 5(ish) movies of 2013

First off, I apologise for the lateness of this list. I'm setting myself reminders now, as one of my goals for 2014 is to review more and blog more. So here we are.

I found writing up a top 5 list of last years movies too hard, so this is technically top 7 but it works for me.

5. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 

I loved Anchorman. It was an instant classic. And it was a film I watched over and over again and I still found it funny. So on hearing about a sequel being made, I honestly was worried. Ok, it was fun having Will Ferrall turn up in character for an interview to announce the movie but the first one was so good. I didn't want it to be ruined by giving it a sequel. Ok, I know that the movie industry is stuck for movie ideas at the moment, which has lead to sequels, reboots and a ton for YA adaptations (but I will talk about that in a later editorial) but why Anchorman? There was nothing wrong with it. You don't have to change it. And I would hate for them to make the same movie again like they have done with the Hangover movies (the first hangover movie would have been put in the same catogoy as Anchorman as a comedy classic, if it weren't for the sequels!) 

Luckily however, I was pleasently surprised. Though I liked the first one better, this film was still good. It produced a lot of laughs and it wasn't just Anchorman all over again. 

If you're a fan of the first, chances are you will enjoy this too. If you haven't seen the first one, you can see this if you like, but make time at some point to watch the original!!

4. Despicable Me 2/Frozen

Because we need to have some animated movies on this list! First off, Despicable Me 2. I loved the first movie and was excited for the sequel. More of the girls and more of the minions! However, though I really enjoyed the movie, I did feel it didn't live up to my expectations. I would have liked to see more scenes with the girls. Agnes is sooooo cute! ITS SO FLUFFY!!!!! But apart from that, it was a great fun family movie. 

Frozen wasn't a film I was really interested in seeing but I saw it anyway, and I'm glad I did. So much so that I've seen in twice so far and downloaded the soundtrack! It's a stunning movie to watch, the music is good and the plot is great. I still have to publish my review on this so I don't want to go into too much detail. All I'll say is, I want it to snow so I can go and build a snowman! 

3. Now You See Me 

This is definitely the hidden gem movie of the year for me. Though there were loads of posters, I didn't actually see anything for this movie until after it was released. It's an interesting movie to watch and keeps you guessing until the end about not only the plot but how did they do some of the tricks! I totally want to see a magic show now! I don't know how they'll do a sequel to this (and to be honest, I don't want a sequel, the film was good enough on its own!) but we'll just have to wait and see. 

2. Catching Fire

Catching Fire was my favourite book in the Hunger Games trilogy and I was so excited about seeing this. And luckily, it lived up to my excitement. It was just as good as the book which is rare (normally the book is far better!). I'm looking forward to mockingjay. I don't know how they will do the two parts but we will have to watch and see. I'm just happy that Catching Fire ended the same as the book. I was just waiting for that last line! That and Tick Tock Tick Tock. Once they entered the arena, that's all I could think about. In fact, all my favourite bits of the books were included, from favourite quotes to the wedding dress :)

1. Iron Man 3/Thor: The Dark World

It's time for phase two people! Strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride!!

After the success of the Avengers, phase two had a lot to live up to. Luckily, both Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World were brilliant movies. Action-packed and fun. I loved the references to the previous movies but at the same time, you don't need to have seen The Avengers to understand what's going on. If need be, you are quickly reminded and then the film continues. We have two more phase two movies out in 2014 before Avengers 2 in 2015 and Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. Is still on air as a side along phase two project. This is massive. I just wish all the studios could come up with a compromise and we can bring the whole universe together with Spiderman and X-Men. But alas that isn't happening :( but what's happening at the moment is awesome and I can't wait to Captain America: The Winter Soldier! 

2014 Movies to Watch

There are plenty of awesome sounding movies out in 2014 (not as many as 2015, but that's a different story!) but i'm not too fussed about most of them. So a number of them aren't on this list. This is my personal must watch list for 2014 releases :)

• Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
• Last Vegas
• I, Frankenstein
• The Lego Movie
• Mr. Peabody and Sherman
• Muppets Most Wanted
• Divergent
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• The Amazing Spiderman 2
• X-Men: Days Of Future Past
• Maleficent
• Guardians Of The Galaxy
• The Expendables 3
• The Boxtrolls
• Paranormal Activity 5 
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
• The Hobbit: There And Back Again

As i've said, this is just a hand full of this years cinema releases. There are some big films i've left off this list like the reboots of Godzilla and Robocob, sequels for 300 and Sin City and movies based off best sellers like Vampire Academy and Fault In Our Stars. I may see these, i may not. But the ones in the list above, i do really wanna see, for different reasons of course (I don't actually look forward to the Paranormal Activity movies but i fancy seeing where they'll take the story next) 

And of course, as the year goes on, more movies will be announced. There might be another Resident Evil and Night At The Museum by the looks of it. 

All i can say now is, lets just enjoy the year. All the good movies and all the bad. Happy New Year

Happy 2014

I apologise for forgetting about this blog. One of my goals for the year is to get back into blogging and with two of my other goals being reading 70 books and watching 100 films I've not seen yet, i'll have plenty to review.

So, welcome back and lets see what the next year holds :)

Book Review: "Affliction"

Book Review

"Affliction" - Laurell K Hamilton

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #22

SPOILER FREE

I started reading this series back at the start of 2011. I never caught up with the series until the spring of 2012, so there wasn't much of a gap for me between books 20 and 21. But i bought #21 on the day of release and read it not long after that, meaning that i had a year gap between that and this. This was good because it gave me time to get excited about it. As the year went on, i kept up to date with Hamilton's blog and the hints she dropped on the lead up to this. I remember the sad morning at the start of the year, reading that Edward wasn't going to be in this one and the overly happy evening i had a couple of weeks later when she changed her mind.

Of course, like most series i read, i tend to speculate about what might happen and what i want to see happen. This was no different. From the scribbled notes i made when the plot was released, i pondered whether Hamilton had been watching too many zombie movies leading up to this. But it was a nice change, using zombies. Anita's natural ability is with zombies but we rarely see them in the series. So having a book based around it, i thought would be fun. 

And it was. In was an interesting element to add in. It moved at a steady pace. It was nice to meet Micah's family and see their reaction to him and his lifestyle. We learn a wee bit more about Micah's Coalition. It was more focused on the police work though, which i liked. I miss that. The past handful of books have been focused on relationships and sex with the crime element still there but pushed to the side. Having that switched was great. Some of the minor characters got a little more pagetime (eg. Dev) which was good too (though on the same point, when was the last time we saw Richard? I honestly can't remember!) 

But having a plot and sticking to it throughout most of the book made a huge difference. I actually can't remember much of the plots since book 10. Not a good sign. But it has balanced out over the past couple of books and this book is the result of that. And Edward was in this one which adds an extra star, plot or no plot (guess who my favourite character is??)

I am looking forward to where Hamilton will go next. She has good ideas, but the main thing (in my opinion) is keeping the balance which she has in this book. And on a final point: WHEN WILL WE SEE OLAF AGAIN !!! hehe