Movie Review: Underworld: Awakening

Production Company
Screen Gems/Lakeshore Entertainment/Saturn Films

Director
Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein

Writers
Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, J. Michael Straczynski
Allison Burnett and Len Wiseman (story)

Main Stars
Kate Beckinsale,Stephen Rea
Michael Ealy, Theo James and India Eisley

When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrior Selene leads the battle against humankind.

The moment I saw the trailer for this movie my first impression was that it reminded me of Resident Evil which disappointed me. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Resident Evil but if I am seeing a trailer for an Underworld sequel it should have the vibe of it's predecessors not the vibe of an unrelated movie franchise. Initial vibe disappointment set aside I was also worried about the lack of Scott Speedman in the trailer, Michael was a pivotal character in the first movie and a main character in the second and after finding out that Scott Speedman wasn't in this movie but his character was I didn't want to see the movie at all. I of course came around when I found out that he might possibly be in the fifth.

Underworld: Awakening begins with Selene recounting the events of the first two movies and ending with the fact that the world is under Martial Law because humans have now discovered the existence of both vampires and lycans referring to them as the Infected. Queue in a montage of scenes and news reels showing what looks to be S.W.A.T clad men forcibly entering homes and exterminating anyone they discover to be "infected" amid riots and bombings and you get a pretty good idea of how crazy the world has become. Which is why Selene tells us that her and Michael are leaving tonight, leaving to go where the viewer doesn't know nor does it matter since both Selene and Michael don't escape, in fact Selene gets captured and entombed in a container of ice for twelve years while Michael's fate is unknown.

What is found however is a little girl who isn’t human with a mental connection to Selene. Why they have a connection is pretty obvious but I had a hard time even considering the factor until it was actually stated in the movie. Selene and Michael have a daughter, a twelve year old girl who is in fact a hybrid and the institution who had captured Selene want her, not only that but so do the lycans.

Underworld: Awakening was an unsurprisingly, fast paced action-packed movie filled with guns, head-slicings and the usual vampire versus lycan fighting scenarios. I found it vastly entertaining but entirely too short. The movie is a mere ninety minutes long and could have been lengthened and fleshed out with some much needed character development and world-building. We barely find out anything about Selene's daughter, how she came to be, how her life has been, we don't even get her name. We also don't get any explanation on how the world became to be the way that it is. How did the humans find out about lycans and vampires, how was it so easy for them to find most of the covens and lycan hideouts and why was the story moved from Great Britain/Europe to the USA? The location change made no sense to me and caused the mood to feel like a diluted version of the previous Underworld films in my opinion.

Still, despite these few failings if another sequel is made I will be seeing it because I am quite curious to find out what happens next. And if you're an Underworld fan don't miss out on the movie, I think you'll enjoy it, but don't expect it to be your favourite.

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Book Blogger Confessions #5

Book Blogger Confessions is a new bi-weekly meme hosted by Tiger @ All Consuming Books and Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews.

Let's talk about a positive aspect of blogging! How has blogging influenced your real life in a positive way? (not related to books or reading) Have you learned to be organized or are you more social now for example?

Not related to books? I have no idea. I don’t think I am more organized I still leave things to the last minute, procrastinate, miss personal deadlines, reply to emails late and I certainly utilize twitter a lot more than I did in the beginning but what motivated me to get a twitter was so I could follow authors so I could keep updated on their work. And now besides my friends I follow other bloggers and publishers and other book related things xD.

Oh wait!

Blogging has made me a lot more html and CSS savvy I can do formatting without having to use the Compose screen and I can add captions to images, create tables, add shadow to text or put blocks of a post in div “boxes”. I can edit my template and make blog buttons scroll, turn an image into a button and other neat little things that I had no idea how to do before I started a blog. Now I am trying to learn how to make my own template (on Scribing Shadows) or add a sidebar here on WildFire Writing. I also want to learn how to develop/design websites which is something I wanted to do before blogging but blogging has certainly made me a lot more motivated and knowledgeable.

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Cover Up #2

Down below are a few lovely covers that were revealed in the past few weeks.

Embers and Echoes (Wildefire #2) by Karsten Knight (US Edition)	The Raven Boys by Maggie Stievater (US Edition)
Gravity (The Taking #1) by Melissa West (US Edition)	Defiance by C.J. Redwine (US Edition)

What do you all think? My reaction was "pretty!" when I saw the cover for Embers and Echoes which is the same reaction I had to Wildefire. What are your favourites here?

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Book Blogger Confessions #4

Book Blogger Confessions is a new bi-weekly meme hosted by Tiger @ All Consuming Books and Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews.

Social networking with authors: Do you interact on Twitter/Facebook etc. with authors? Does it affect how you review their work or do you look at their books differently because you are on friendly terms with them?

I follow many authors on twitter and will occasionally send them tweets if they ask a question or comment on a fandom I am apart of but I am not close with any of them except one or two author’s and even those couple of authors I only communicate with through the occasional tweets. I am not a gregarious person so getting me to talk to people I don’t know is already hard enough let alone getting me to talk to authors who I kind of worship xD. I think knowing an author on friendly terms does affect the way I approach the book because before I pick it up I am already hoping that I love it because I don’t want to let the author down with a negative review so I might be a bit more forgiving towards the book if it does have things I don’t like but in the end I have to be honest with myself and to my readers and say what I couldn’t look over if the book did disappoint me.

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Book Review: Dark Lover by J.R Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Dark Lover took me only a few hours to read and that only happens when the book is wonderful. I felt like this story was actually written about two real people who fell in love who are actually vampires. Well to be precise this story is about one full-breed vampire who seems heartless but is just afraid of putting himself out there and a half-breed vampire who does not know what she is, who are brought together because of the death of a father she never got a chance to meet.

Wrath, the only full breed vampire left in the world and also now king of the other vampires was afraid of letting people down and so decided that rather than lead his people he wanted to be a warrior and fight alongside them.

Beth, whose father was a vampire and mother human, never met either of them. So she grew up in a home and then when to college and became a writer for a newspaper. She has just turned 25 which is when half breeds go through transformation to become a vampire, of course not a lot of half breed go thought this transformation and even if they do , they do not survive.

Daruis, who is a part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a band of vampires who fight to keep their own kind alive, was not only very close to Wrath but was also Beth’s father, knows that she is on the verge of changing and wants her to live. Darius asks Wrath to help his daughter through this tough time because he lost all of his sons to the transformation and would like his only daughter to make it but Wrath turns him down. Unexpectedly, however, as Daruis leaves their meeting place he is killed.

Wrath then decides he owes it to Daruis who was truly his only friend to try and get his daughter through the transformation and they end up falling in love but no matter how good something gets it never seems to last.

This book is a must read and I think I like it so much because it reminds me of the Dark Hunter Series. It is like Ash’s book and to be honest I gave Ash’s book 5 out of 5 so for this one I would give a 4.8, so rounding that off to a 5.

There is a lot going on and there are a lot of twists and turns, this book jumps out at you and once you’re in you are in there is no turning back. This is a beautiful story and I can’t wait until I start book two.

Thanks J.R. Ward, this first novel was a page turner.

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Book Review: The Body Finder By Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

I think this story was great but it was dragged on a little too much by the main girl dying over wanting to know if her best friend likes her the way she likes him. In fact that is my only complaint about the book.
I find that the story was different from others books I’ve read, her power or curse, which ever you want to call it, is unique in its own little way. I like the book I even like some of the characters in the book, like Chelsea, she is not seen much but she is one of those friends that everyone hopes to have (kind of like my friend Sandy).

Spoilers
Violet is a normal girl, other than the fact that see can sense when something dead is near and the thing that killed it. She has grown up with this gift and at the age of six she discovers her first human body, it was a body of a girl. They never found her killer.

She has a best friend, his name is Jay and he is the only other person that knows about her gift/curse other than her family. When they both turn seventeen, Violet finally starts seeing him as the cutest boy in the world I guess you can say, and so do other girls. Of course Violet and Jay come to a disagreement and she ends up going to the homecoming dance with someone else and he with the most beautiful girl in school. Of course the disagreement will be over Violet leaving his side, while in searcher for this murderer that has come into town killing teenage girls.

Violet decides that she has this power and wants to use it to find this killer, and she does. The killer admits to everything even the girl Violet found when she was 6. The town thinks it is safe again, but what Violet doesn’t know is that the serial killer has a partner and that the partner knows she’s responsible for the caught killer ending up in jail. He decides that before leaving town she needs to die or she might catch him too.

So Violet and Jay end up together before homecoming of course, so they are dating now and loving it, but one day Jay has to leave the house from there make out sessions held in Violet’s room, every day after school to help his mom with something and Violet feeling safe decides to go for a run by herself on a trail she always takes, it wasn’t until she was far enough away from her house she senses something and figures out that it is following her, she looks back and sees a man hiding his face painted in army camouflage colours. She gets scared and starts to run, of course, and he starts to chase her, then as she runs she hear Jay calling for her and she starts yelling for help, she ends up rolling down a hill and hurting her leg. Jay finds her and takes her to hospital, where she tells her uncle who is the Chief of Police what happen and he tells her he thinks the serial killer had a partner. The doctor tells her that she won’t be able walk on her injured leg for a while and that it will take weeks to months to heal.

Jay followers her everywhere now and of course Jay tells her family about their relationship and he is still taking her to dance, to show her off even though she can’t run or walk and a killer is out to get her. Please. And her parents agree to that, I don’t care how much I trust my daughter’s boyfriend, she was almost killed and she can’t run if she tried, why in the world would I let her go to the school dance, Hell to the NO!!!

Not only that but at the dance Violet goes to the bathroom farthest away from the dance area and insists that her friends leave her there alone so that they can go back to the dance and wouldn’t have to wait while she re-wraps her foot. Then she doesn’t listen to herself either, the echo’s (murdered people imprints) were playing so loud in her ears and she was not listening, so while the guy stood beside her in the bathroom she didn’t notice until it was too late. Again if you know someone is after you, you shouldn’t insist on being left alone, that is just dumb.

In the end she was again saved by her boyfriend and slowed them down so much that he ends up getting shot, good thing the guy was off balance from where she hit him and her uncle Chief of Police came right around just in time to shoot the guy. Oh and did I mention that the second guy was the police officer that she ran into before she got his partner taken away by the police. I mean come on!!!!
 Spoilers End

This book was a bit of a disappointment, I guess I held my expectations up a little too much… I don’t think I will be reading book two. Maybe if someone can give me a good review on it, I might pick it up but I will not buy it on my own. I mean don’t get me wrong I love the whole you can see where the murder victim is buried and who killed them but Violet was a little to whiny and self-centred to me and I think that her stupidity is what destroyed this book for me personally.


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Book Review: Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

Blood Bound (Unbound #1) by Rachel Vincent

Bound by blood, condemned by fate

As a bloodtracker, Liv is extremely powerful. And in a world where power is a commodity that can get you killed, Liv's learnt to survive by her own rules.

Rule number one? Trust no one.

But when a friend's daughter goes missing, Liv is bound by a potent magical oath. She can't rest until the child is safe.

And that means trusting her dangerous ex, Cam.

A sinister prophecy tells that she and Cam will be the death of each other, yet Liv's tired of being a slave to destiny. She's ready to play the forces controlling her world at their own game.

No matter what the cost.

First of all let me say this, if you want to read books by a creative and innovative author then look no further than Rachel Vincent. Blood Bound is the third book I have read by this talented author, the second of hers that is targeted to adults and by far my favourite. Set in a world where your name is your most precious secret Blood Bound takes the term "binding agreement" to a whole new level in this action packed, urban-fantasy about a woman who fights every day to keep her freedom in a world where freewill can be signed away with a few drops of blood.

Olivia or Liv is a blood tracker, meaning if she has a drop of your blood she can track you down from miles away. Unfortunately for Liv being special in her city usually leads to gaining the attention of unsavoury characters, in her case, one of the leaders of the warring crime syndicates plaguing her city, the abusive Ruben Cavazos. The specifics of Liv’s job for Ruben are a secret, a secret even the reader isn’t privy to except for a few occasional hints throughout the story and although this isn’t the main plot of Blood Bound it is quite important.

From the very first few pages the story is set when Olivia gets a visit in the middle of the night from her estranged best friend Anne who has come to ask for her help, an act that should have been impossible due to a binding the two women signed along with two other friends when they were still teenagers. Why would they each make such an agreement? To override a deadlier one each of them unwittingly made years before - to help each other if one of the four girls merely asked. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal except refusing to help leads to your body slowly and painfully shutting down until you agree to help or die. And what’s worse is that not only does Olivia have to help Anne against her will she has to do it with her ex-boyfriend Cameron Caballero.

My favourite part of this novel was the world Rachel Vincent had created because despite it having similarities with other books I have read before (people with unnatural talents) it wasn’t just about the individuals but the rules they have to follow. People may be powerful but the more powerful they are the more careful they have to be because of the attention they can attract and even if a person isn’t “special” they have to protect themselves. Not just their identity or every drop of blood they ever spill in the normal measures a person would take in our world but they have to go beyond that by using nicknames, carrying around first aid kits wherever they go - first aid kits that include bleach. Rachel Vincent took such great care in every detail from rules, to loopholes, to the government and law that it wasn’t difficult at all to immerse myself into her novel, especially since she took care to thread details throughout her narrative piece by piece instead of piling it on top of the reader in one big info dump.

My other favourite part of Blood Bound was the host of characters the reader is introduced to. Characters that are strong but flawed and damaged by the choices they make, characters that may not all be likeable but are most certainly intriguing that you can’t help but want to know more about, and not just main supporting characters but characters you only hear about or see for just a chapter that I hope to hear more about in the next book. Speaking of the next book it’s going to be told by one of the side-characters I had quickly grown to love in this first instalment of the Unbound series so I have very little doubt I won’t love it just as much.

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Book Blogger Confessions #3

Book Blogger Confessions is a new bi-weekly meme hosted by Tiger @ All Consuming Books and Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews.

Deadlines for reviewing and blogging. Do you set them? How do you keep them? What do you do if you can't meet a deadline?

Referring to Scribing Shadows: For review books I have set myself a 30 day deadline but like all deadlines I have never always met them and of course felt guilty about it. Now I’m not even taking requests because I know I have no time for them. As for deadlines outside of requests I have given up doing that because I know something will come up, I will procrastinate. I will get distracted and not meet it, which is why my blog posting is so inconsistent. I took a break in January however to get over a blogging slump and to actually schedule posts a month in advance so we will see how long that lasts :).

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Sherlock: Series 2 (BBC One)

You want a show that will have you emotionally invested with just six episodes? Heck you want to have a show that will have you loving it with just 1 episode? Then watch this show. Watch Sherlock because this is one of the most brilliant things that have ever graced the television screen in years. In my first post about Sherlock I talked about the writing and the actors which have not only continued to excel but have also improved now that relationships have been firmly established and characters have continued to develop. So I won't go into too much detail about them this time around but will mention other important elements of the show that I completely overlooked when I watched the first series.

In series 2 Sherlock picks right back from where series 1 ended, with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson facing off against the finally revealed Jim Moriarty, one move away from all of them being blown up until something unexpected happens in one of the most hilarious but typical ways possible. Moriarty gets a phone call announced by the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" ring-tone and after threatening to skin the caller if they are lying (lying about what? the viewer doesn't know) cancels Sherlock and John's murder for the day. Switch scene and we have a very scantily clad Irene Adler, holding a riding crop, and entering a room with a woman strapped to a bed.

This year’s series was comprised of the three most popular Sherlock Holmes stories - A Scandal in Bohemia, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, and The Final Problem. Now I haven’t read any of the books yet but I have heard a bit about them, and internet forums are very useful places for gathering information so I had a basic understanding of what to expect.

Portrait of Martin Freeman
as John Watson by Alice X. Zhang

Along with seeing the modernized twists on the above titles I knew I would see Steven Moffat’s version of Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outwit Sherlock Holmes, Mark Gatiss’s turn to differentiate his take on Hounds from all other previous adaptations (it’s the most adapted story), and that I would cry during the last episode. Now for those of you who don’t know anything about the books I won’t tell you why I knew I was going to cry but I will say that I did (thanks for that Steven Thompson) and that Sherlock fans on tumblr are kind of masochistic.

Besides excellent storylines and solid acting my favourite part about this series is how much effort is invested in every detail of the show because it’s not just the characters and their story that makes this show such a treat but the dedication everyone has to make it the best. What I didn’t notice in the previous series until after listening to commentaries and watching extras is how (one) the writers LOVE Sherlock Holmes and (two) the creative camera work, art direction, soundtrack, and editing that goes into each episode that when you stop to think about the amount of time it must take to complete one episode they really are like, in the words of Martin Freeman, “three feature films” or in my words, three fantastic feature films.

Are you getting tired of my gushing yet? I don’t mean to sound like a fangirl or to get your hopes too high if you haven’t seen this show yet because I myself get wary of shows/books/movies that are incredibly popular because I don't want to be disappointed. But I also think if I love something that I think other people will also love then I should do my best to convince them to at least give it a try.

Have I convinced you yet?

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Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson


Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns was very interesting and is one of those books that will stick with you. Not only does it leave you thinking about it but you never truly realize this until the end of the book.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns had me tearing up whenever certain parts came along; Rae Carson wrote the book in a way that you feel as if Elisa… is a part of you. You feel what she feels. Then there are times when you wish you could strangle her for her blind trust in people, but then you see where the story leads her and you understand why she is supposed to be that innocent. Even with a war happening, Elisa still believes in and tries to protect everyone.

There is a lot about this book that I like but at the same time you have to pause and think about it because it is very easy to be drawn in and then after the book does hook you it can leave you feeling a bit lost. I must also admit that the story was really slow in the beginning, but after that it picks up in no time and from then it moves at a constant fast pace.

This book took hold of me and it held me for two whole days from beginning to end. If I were to describe this book I would say The Girl of Fire and Thorns reminds me of the Seven Kingdoms Trilogy by Kristen Cashore, except instead of having a particular group of people with unusual talents you have one girl. Overall my rating was 4.8 but I will round it up to 5.


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Book Blogger Confessions #2

Book Blogger Confessions is a new bi-weekly meme hosted by Tiger @ All Consuming Books and Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews.

Have you ever had reading/blogging slumps? How do you work through them or work around them?

I have been in a reading slump for most of December that has now led into January. Every time I pick up a book I get as far as maybe 5 pages lose interest and place it down which I doubt has anything to do with the quality of the books themselves because the few I have picked up have been In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane, Enclave by Ann Aguirre, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, and Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent which have all received positive reviews and which are all books I have been greatly interested in but am not at the moment. My conclusion is that I have read too much paranormal/speculative fiction in a row and am burned out and need something different like a contemporary to get me out of it since going on the usual reading hiatus hasn't done much good.

Do you have any good contemporary YA recommendations?

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Book Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

I have read books about faeries, many of them staying true to folklore and few of them including specific characters right out of Irish mythology like the Morrigan but never had I read a book that shed light on other aspects of Irish mythology like Tir nan Og and the Tuatha de Danann. I have also never, though I suspect there are novels out there, read a book where the main character was a druid.

Siodhachan O Suileabhain or Atticus O’Sullivan as he is known to almost everyone in current modern times is a witty, twenty-one century old druid living in Tempe, Arizona with his Irish wolfhound Oberon. He enjoys hunting for Big Horn Sheep in his down time though never able to catch them, making googly eyes at the local bartender. And making sure that the Irish God of Love Aengus Og never finds him because if he does love would be the last thing Aengus wants to give Atticus since he stole a very special sword from him centuries ago and has refused to give it back ever since.

In this book the action starts from the very first page where the reader gets to see right away the consequences Atticus has had to face ever since he stole from Aengus Og and we see that for the most part Aengus’ persistence has been more irritant than danger since the fae he sends to defeat Atticus do little more than give him a flesh wound. This attack however is just the beginning of a much bigger threat and after a visit from the Morrigan - the Irish Goddess of Death Atticus knows that Aengus’ who has never tried to retrieve the sword personally before may indeed be serious about repossessing it this time.

This story was an action packed and entertaining read filled with a whole host of witty, dangerous, ancient, badass, funny, and interesting characters who range from witches to werewolves, Irish Gods to a mind-speaking wolf hound and Ancient Druid to vampires. The writing was fresh, had me laughing in almost every chapter and was both fast pace and full of charm. I enjoyed Kevin Hearne’s different take on the many familiar supernatural creatures I have come across in previous paranormal and urban fantasies but I especially enjoyed his version of the figures and deities of Irish mythology which I admit I did not know very much about before reading Hounded. The only down side to this lovely novel was that although it starts off strong soon after it reaches a hitch in pace. There was a need for some background information for readers to understand Atticus’ current situation and I thought that part was slow and found myself being distracted as I read it. However, if you can get past that little blimp then I recommend this to all fans of urban fantasy because you will indeed enjoy it.

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Book Blogger Confessions #1

Book Blogger Confessions is a new bi-weekly meme hosted by Tiger @ All Consuming Books and Karen @ For What it's Worth Reviews.

The first question is:

How has the "job" of book blogging changed your reading habits? Both pro and con.

The Good: I read a lot more books now, much more than I used to which means I have a read a lot of great books that I may have never heard of before because blogging and all the things that come with it have kept me up to date with upcoming books and author news.

The Bad: I am easily influenced a lot more by other people's opinions since I follow so many book blogs and have friends on goodreads so although other people’s opinions have saved me from wasting my time on a bad book it may have also prevented me from reading a book I was initially interested in that I might have found to be good.

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Merlin (BBC Series)

There is one word that describes this show “Fun” but since this word alone is not an adequate description I will say a few more. Merlin is an enjoyable, retelling of the Legend of King Arthur told through a different perspective. There are the familiar stories of the Knights of the Round Table, the Lady of the Lake, and the Sword in the Stone but in previous adaptations where the stories are often told from Arthur’ s point of view – the great king to be, Merlin is told from the point of view of the great wizard to be, hence the title.

Often portrayed as a wizened mentor with long, white hair and a matching long beard the Merlin (Colin Morgan) we first see walking casually down a road towards Camelot is actually a gangly, young man with plenty to learn in both magic and life. The former might be more difficult however because although Merlin has been sent to the city of Camelot in the hopes of keeping him safe through proper guidance we quickly learn that anyone who is caught practising magic is executed because magic in Camelot has been banned by the King, Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), Arthur’s father. Still, not doing any magic at all is virtually impossible for someone who has been able to do it since he could walk, especially when there are many others who choose to use their magic to try and bring an end to Uther, Arthur and Camelot, a goal Merlin cannot allow to happen because it his destiny to ensure that Arthur (Bradley James) becomes the great king he is meant to be who will one day restore magic to the land. Is this a lot of pressure to bestow on one young man? Don’t worry, Merlin has help from his guardian Gaius (Richard Wilson) the court physician and a thirty-foot talking dragon (voiced by John Hurt) who likes to give advice in the most cryptic way imaginable which our main man likes to ignore more than follow. 

"One day people won't believe what an idiot you were."

Filled with familiar characters shown in new ways Merlin is a show brimming with fantastic actors, fast paced story lines that tend to wrap up in the span of one or two episodes and is a mixture of serious drama and wonderful humour. The show, I also believe does a great job of showing how the characters we see in Season 1 become the characters we have heard about from the legends, we get to see how each character grows and changes and by seeing their journey the audience has no problem believing that a bully can become a great king, a servant girl a queen, or a naive but loyal young lady become a powerful and evil sorceress. However, despite these high notes I will say that the show Merlin is not perfect because although it is completely enjoyable and entertaining and one of my favourite shows on TV it does have its short comings which I think is due to the inconsistency in writing. To truly enjoy Merlin I am often forced to suspend disbelief in the case of plot holes and out-of-character moments, simple things that could be avoided if more time was spent on polishing out scripts would make this series more than just a fun time but really fantastic but I will say the show improves with each season as does its popularity and cannot wait for Season 5 to be released later this year. Which may indeed be the final season; I am not sure how I feel about this yet.

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Book Review: Unwelcome by Micheal Griffo

Unwelcome by Michael Griffo

Archangel Academy is more than a school to Michael Howard. Within its majestic buildings and serene English grounds, he's found friends, new love, and a place that feels more like home than Nebraska ever did. But the most important gift of Archangel Academy is immortality. . .

Life as a just-made vampire is challenging for Michael, even with Ronan, an experienced vamp, to guide him. Michael's abilities are still raw and unpredictable. To add to the turmoil, the ancient feud between rival vampire species is sending ripples of discord through the school. And beneath the new headmaster's charismatic front lies a powerful and very personal agenda.

Yet the mysteries lurking around the Academy pale in comparison to the secrets emerging from Michael's past. And choosing the wrong person to trust—or to love—could lead to an eternity of regret. . .

Michael Griffo is an award-winning writer and one of six playwrights whose career will be tracked by WritersInsight.com until 2010. He is a graduate of New York University, has studied at Playwrights Horizons and Gotham Writers Workshop, and has written several screenplays.

Unwelcome was a good book, I find that it shows not only the wickedness in people that hate you but also the wickedness in people closest to you. In this story you are able to see that even people who love you can betray you without even knowing or by doing it unwillingly. It shows that even as you shower someone with hatefulness they can still find love and even with secrets their love can grow. If people would learn from their problems they would be able fine each other and love each other better.

I think this book was a little slow in the beginning and that that the main character is not really learning anything useful. I also believe that the father of the main character is a little uneven. I am hoping that these books get better over time.


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