The Last Word (The Spellmans #6) By: Lisa Lutz

the-last-word

The Last Word (The Spellmans #6) By: Lisa Lutz

Plot:

Isabel Spellman is used to being followed, extorted, and questioned—all occupational hazards of working at her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Her little sister, Rae, once tailed Izzy for weeks on end to discover the identity of her boyfriend. Her mother, Olivia, once blackmailed Izzy with photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994. It seemed that the Spellmans would lay off after Izzy was fired for breaching client confidentiality, but then Izzy avenged her dismissal by staging a hostile takeover of the company. She should have known better than to think she could put such shenanigans behind her. In The Last Word, Izzy’s troubles are just beginning. After her hostile takeover of Spellman Investigations, Izzy’s parents simply go on strike. Her sister, Rae, comes back into the family business with questionable motivations. Her other employees seem to be coping with anxiety disorders, and she has no idea how to pay the bills. However, her worst threat comes from someone who is no relation. Within months of assuming control of the business, Izzy is accused of embezzling from a former client, the ridiculously wealthy Mr. Slayter, who happens to have Alzheimer’s, which Izzy and he are diligently trying to keep under wraps. Not only is Slayter’s business and reputation on the line, but if Izzy gets indicted for embezzlement, she’ll lose everything—her business, her license, and her family’s livelihood. Is this the end of Izzy Spellman, PI? The answer makes The Last Word, hands down, the most thrilling book in this bestselling, award-nominated series.

Review:

After the previous installment in this series I took a break from the Spellmans. I love the series, I own the first four books in hardback, but the last one made me a little mad. It was a good book, I gave it four stars (this was before the blog), but I was mad that Izzy dumped Henry. I get that she was bad for him but I loved him and I didn’t take things wells.

Years later I’m finally reading the next book. I’d forgotten how much I loved the Spellmans. How much I love them, but completely don’t understand them. Seriously they are right up there with the Adams family in weirdness (not gothic, just weird).

Izzy is finally showing some little bit of growth, but only after a lot of poor decisions. I spent a lot of the books screaming at her, she never does what I say, though. I love how all the ends are always tied up, even though it almost never brings a happy ending. In fact she always has to blind side you at the end with some horrible news and this book was no exception. It hits you right in the feels.

I love the series and if this is the last book I’ll be sad, mainly because I really want a happy ending or some kind of ending for Izzy’s romantic life, but these aren’t those kinds of books so I’ll understand if I never get that. That being said, if she writes more I will want closure on that front. We’ll see what happens.

4.5/5

St. Vincent (2014)

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St. Vincent (2014)

Director:

Theodore Melfi

Starring:

Bill Murray

Melissa McCarthy

Naomi Watts

Plot:

A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.

Review:

I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a Bill Murray comedy, as in his recent darker comedies, or if this was going to be a Melissa McCarthy comedy, as in raunchy. For those who are curious, it was a Bill Murray comedy. Actually I wouldn’t categorize this as a comedy and feel it was a dramedy at best. Very few funny moments.

It was ok. The characters were difficult to like, though, none of them were horrible.

I don’t understand how the mom could be happy about the son nominating Vincent, Bill Murray, for sainthood. It’s like we were supposed to forgive him for taking the kid to horse races, bars, and having him spend time around a prostitute. Yeah he took care of his wife in a home, and sure he was a war hero, but I’m not sure if that overrides all the bad, I’m just not sure.

The movie wasn’t horrible but probably not one I would recommend.

2.75/5

Calculated in Death (In Death #36) By: J.D. Robb

calculated-in-death

Calculated in Death (In Death #36) By: J.D. Robb

Plot:

On Manhattan’s Upper East Side a woman lies dead at the bottom of the stairs, stripped of all her valuables. Most cops might call it a mugging gone wrong, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows better. A well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, Marta Dickenson doesn’t seem the type to be on anyone’s hit list. But when Eve and her partner, Peabody, find blood inside the building, the lieutenant knows Marta’s murder was the work of a killer who’s trained, but not professional or smart enough to remove all the evidence. But when someone steals the files out of Marta’s office, Eve must immerse herself in her billionaire husband Roarke’s world of big business to figure out who’s cruel and callous enough to hire a hit on an innocent woman. And as the killer’s violent streak begins to escalate, Eve knows she has to draw him out, even if it means using herself as bait. . . .

Review:

Another great installment in the In Death series. I like the fact that there are ties to previous novels, though, at this point I barely even remember what happened in the previous ones. Obviously Eve and Roarke win and the bad guy gets caught, there’s also plenty of Peabody.

I like this series, even though it’s obviously predictable. I like the futuristic elements, I like how hard Eve is, and the side characters are wonderful. The stories are fun and action packed and consistent.

4/5

Miss Meadows (2014)

Miss-Meadows

Miss Meadows (2014)

Director:

Karen Leigh Hopkins

Starring:

Katie Holmes

James Badge Dale

Callan Mulvey

Plot:

A story centered on a proper elementary school teacher who moonlights as a vigilante.

Review:

Bizarre. Boring. Bad.

The triple B’s, not good. I knew going in this movie was going to be bad and probably have its boring moments, but I was not expecting the bizarre.

I really can’t think of any one thing I liked about this movie.

To be honest I wound up fast-forwarding at the end and I’m hoping I missed something because all of a sudden her man is okay with the fact that she’s a vigilante. I don’t know what was going on with them.

Seriously I’m trying to think of something good but nothing comes to mind. It was bad and unfortunately not so bad that it’s good, like I was hoping for.

1/5

The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Tales From Temerant) By: Patrick Rothfuss Illustrated By: Nate Taylor

The Slow Regard of Silent Things

The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Tales From Temerant) By: Patrick Rothfuss Illustrated By: Nate Taylor

Plot:

Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place. Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries. The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own. At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows… In this book, Patrick Rothfuss brings us into the world of one of The Kingkiller Chronicle’s most enigmatic characters. Full of secrets and mysteries, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is the story of a broken girl trying to live in a broken world.

Review:

In the author’s note Rothfuss comes right out and says you probably won’t like this book. It’s not a normal book, there’s no action, no dialog. It’s one character that you follow around. Auri.

Auri is in the Kingkiller Chronicle series, but it’s been so long since I’ve read those books I barely remember anything about her. I don’t think that mattered, well I might have liked this book more if I had, so maybe it did.

She comes off a bit OCD. She’s damaged, which is what I remember from the books, but she tries to make it work.

The books is amazingly well written, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Rothfuss. His words are always so beautiful. Despite that, and his warning at the beginning of the book, I was bored. It’s a short story and it took me days to get through because I just couldn’t get into it.

I’m still looking forward to the next book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, but I’m not if I would recommend this book to everyone. I would at least give the same warning he gave.

3.5/5