Romance

Sabrina (1954)

sabrina-1954

Sabrina (1954)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Starring:

Audrey Hepburn

Humphrey Bogart

William Holden

Plot:

A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family’s chauffeur, but it’s his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.

Review:

I don’t remember the first time I ever watched this movie but I loved it. When I saw that Amazon had it available I had to watch. For whatever reason I don’t own this on Blu Ray or DVD, at one point I did have it on VHS.

Watching this now, older and not through the eyes of a teenager, I kind of think Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn, is an idiot. She has a huge crush on a boy and tries to kill herself because her father is sending her to Paris to go to school. Over dramatic much? It takes her years and she still doesn’t get over him, she just starts to feel like an adult, only she isn’t. Honestly it’s not until Linus, Humphrey Bogart, takes an interest in her that she actually starts to mature. Naturally, she falls in love cause that’s what she knows how to do.

Oh well. I like the movie a lot. Will watch it when I see it available and one day I’ll pick it up.

3.5/5

Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) By: Penny Reid

truth-or-beard

Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) By: Penny Reid

Plot:

Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level-headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.

His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order.

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

Review:

I read this sample a while ago and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the price of the ebook was outside of my normal price range, thankfully this went on sale a few weeks ago and I was able to pick it up.

Anyway, this book is set in a part of the US that I’ve lived in, which was fun. While I haven’t lived in a town quiet that small, it seemed pretty accurate.

I liked the Winston brothers a lot, Cletus was definitely my favorite. Duane was kind of boring, even though he was supposed to be kind of a daredevil. He was honestly like a normal man from that area, in my opinion.

I was concerned about Jessica at first. Scared that she would completely give up on her dreams, but that thankfully didn’t happen.

All in all, I liked the book, however I felt like it was kind of long. It took Duane too long to get past certain things and there was a lot of introspection that I could have done without. I liked the book and really liked the brothers, but I’m not in a rush to read the next in the series.

3.5/5

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

wedding-bellss-magic-spells

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

Plot:

Name: Raine Benares
Race: Elf
Job: Seeker, bride, peace talks referee
Problem: Back-stabbing diplomats, bride-hating mother-in-law

You would think that after having successfully destroyed the Saghred (aka, a legendary soul-sucking rock) and sending an evil goblin demigod to the Lower Hells that I would get some time off to plan my wedding to my sexy paladin fiancé Mychael Eiliesor, right? Wrong. Not only do I have to brace for meeting Mychael’s parents and cope with my burgeoning new powers, but it seems there may be another calamity brewing.

After the recent change in goblin leadership, the new—thankfully non-psychotic—king is willing to participate in an elf/goblin/human peace treaty. The Isle of Mid is the site of these delicate negotiations, meaning all hands on deck for Mychael and his Conclave Guardians. When the head of elven intelligence (and my wedding guest) Duke Markus Sevelien is nearly assassinated upon his arrival, I suspect my mother-in-law will be the least of my concerns. Sabotaging these talks may be only the first salvo in a treacherous and deadly new apocalyptic plot!

Review:

There were four years in between when this book was published and the last one, so it’s been a while since I’ve read these characters. It’s kind of weird because from what I do remember the last book was supposed to be the last book so I’m not sure why this book was made.

As a reader there are series that I absolutely love and the idea of them ending causes an almost physical pain, but at the same time I’ve seen enough series run too long and suffer because of it and I’d much rather still love the series when it ends. Some characters and worlds will always have stories to tell, but sometimes you need to at least leave some characters alone and move on.

As an author I understand that it can be difficult to get readers to go with you to a new series, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When you rely on one series for your entire income and the second one isn’t doing as well it can be tempting to go back to your cash cow. I don’t know Shearin so I don’t know if that’s what happened here, but I wonder.

Looking at a few reviews on Goodreads there were several people complaining about the ending on the previous book and the lack of closure so maybe this book is for them.

Anyway, Wedding Bells, Magic Spells was alright. Plenty of epic stuff going on, lots of governments in peril, it was just difficult to get back into caring about the characters since it’s been so long since I read them. Also it ended on a cliffhanger which means that there will be more books.

3/5

Born of Ice (The League #3) By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

born-of-ice

Born of Ice (The League #3) By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Plot:

In the Ichidian Universe where The League is law, most live in fear. We fight back. Welcome to a world where corrupt assassination politics dominate everyone. It’s kill or be killed. Welcome back to the future…and meet hell’s new breed of heroes. Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner; someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t. Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for—and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone, in Born of Ice, the third bestselling League novel from Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Review:

This book involves the children of the people from the first two books. It felt almost like Kenyon didn’t want anything too bad to happen to them, especially after how brutal she was in the first two books. On the one hand it was nice to have a character not be so damaged on the other hand that’s really the only thing she changed. The heroine still was hiding something from the hero, something big, and the man was still huge. This time at least the heroine wasn’t tiny and the hero didn’t take long to get over the lie. He understood why she did what she did, so that was nice.

I like the world, I do like the characters even though I complain about them, but I’m hoping that the plot of the next one is different. I’ve read it before but I can’t remember.

3.5/5

Born of Fire (The League #2) By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

born-of-fire

Born of Fire (The League #2) By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Plot:

In a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear–except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now…

Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life. He tried to destroy the evidence, and has been on the run ever since. Now trained as an assassin, he allows no one to threaten him. Ever. He is the darkness that swallows his enemies whole.

Shahara Dagan is the best bounty hunter in the universe. When Syn comes back on the radar, she’s the only one who can bring him to justice. There’s only one problem: Syn is a close family friend who’s helped out the Dagans countless times. But if she saves him, both of their lives will be on the line. Is Syn’s protection worth the risk? The only hope Shahara has is to find the evidence he buried long ago. Now it’s kill or be killed–and they, the predators, have just become the hunted…

Review:

I was a bit disappointed with the heroine in this book. She was supposed to be this total badass that was at the top of her game. So good at her job that her name was known and yet she did stupid things several times. Things that she should know better than to do. The twist at the end didn’t explain those away either. Also, the hero was always able to best her when he tried. Annoying.

The timeline for this book and the previous don’t match up, but Kenyon explains why at the beginning of the book. They were apparently published by two different houses and she had to make sure they weren’t connected, then when she got the rights back she tried to mesh them as best she could. The reasoning is convoluted but doesn’t really affect your enjoyment of the books.

Story was pretty similar to the first, from the super tall hero who’s the absolute best at what he does and also terrifying to people except the heroine, to the heroine who is super skinny and shouldn’t be missing meals. There are several other similarities as well.

Honestly I remember liking this book more and I thought that the heroine had so much potential, but she rarely lived up to it.

3/5