September 30, 2013
Shapes
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
While this is good for it's basic function (showing different shapes), it has no story or entertainment factor to hold interest. It's nice for a pocket size learning tool or a chew toy (as my daughter seems to think this is perfect size to gnaw on). Can't say I see this being a long-term favorite, but it has it's place in early learning.
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September 29, 2013
Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The trailers did more to draw attention to the series than the pilot did, sadly. Our favorite agent is back, his death having apparently been exaggerated in order to bring together the Avengers, who still don't know he's alive. A new group has cropped out working on laptops and out of vans that has the knowledge to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. and make their own super soldiers. These new field agents have their hands full between working on this new hurdle and trying to find more super agents.
September 23, 2013
In Death 37: Thankless in Death
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I can't claim that this is a favorite of the series as the plot itself feels a little stagnant and repetitive. There is very little in the way of progress with Eve and Roarke outside a few glimpses during the award ceremony and a bit towards the end with the family visiting for Thanksgiving. The story is only different in the sense that we have the killer positively identified straight from the start. Rather than putting the pieces together to find the suspect from the start, Eve is playing catch up to find him as the lazy, arrogant child hits an obscene streak of luck and manages to stay one step ahead, sometimes more, of our favorite heroine. Rather than any real finesse on the part of the dynamic duo, it's electronic signals from the most recent victim (embedded in the money transfers for Roarke and the new ID/credit card for Eve) that finally net the killer. This is even more disappointing with the added fact that the killer is renting one of Roarke's apartments. Normally Roarke and his people are on top of things enough that an alert goes out the second something like this crosses their paths, which should have happened when "Trevor" used this new fake ID to get the apartment in the first place. While I still love the characters and the world around them, I can't help but find myself a little disappointed with the turn out this time around.
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September 22, 2013
Dr. Seuss's ABC
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was originally one of my books, and now is in my daughter's library. It is a fun way for a young child to learn the ABCs as each page introduces a new letter with words and illustrations to help learn it. On the flip side, many of the names and creatures are made up, as true to Dr. Seuss's style. This leaves a little bit of bafflement to older readers while still being fun. Mercy was delighted with it. If not for fearing she'd tear the pages, I could easily see her handing this one back constantly to read over and over again as she carted it around the house with her. Until she learns not to rip the books though, I believe it will stay on the bookshelf when we aren't reading it together.
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September 19, 2013
Suits
Suits (2011)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is one of my husband's favorite shows. I'll admit that the first time I saw it, I wasn't even vaguely interested. After seeing a couple consecutive episodes so I can now follow the story line decently, I do find it entertaining. I still wouldn't list it as a favorite, and I often don't realize we've missed an episode until he points it out to me, but I do enjoy it when we do watch it.
Riley Bloom 1: Radiance
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
For how short this book is, I must admit to really struggling reading it. This series is definitely written more to suit a younger audience, which may have been part of my hang up about it. That and Riley initially comes off as a little bratty, which is not helped by her appearance in the original Immortals series. This ends up not really feeling like a full book to me at the end, but more like a teaser. In all honesty, I had to force myself to finish it as it was not holding my attention and I found myself craving another book that just came out from one of my favorite series. Not the best start. However, with this series being so short and already complete, I know at some point I will finish it just because I hate leaving stories incomplete.
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September 18, 2013
Love, Election & Chocolate
Love, Election & Chocolate (2012)
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Based on a videogame, the whole premise follows a group of friends in a lazy club that does nothing and decide to run for class president to keep their opponent from abolishing their club. Provides some randomness and interesting high school campaigning as a result. The artwork is cute however, and the light humor is a nice change of pace from the many serious or sword related anime in circulation.
Clannad: After Story
Clannad: After Story (2008)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are parts that are still very confusing, but overall this series follows the emotional roller coaster it started with Tomoya and Nagisa's budding relationship. Nagisa is so naive and innocent at times that it's laughable. An interesting contrast to Tomoya's bad boy trying to be better persona. There's a little more side story here as the delve into various situations with their friends and their families throughout.
September 12, 2013
Clannad
Clannad (2007)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very cute and emotional series. Between family accidents, illness and fights, a small core group of students pull together for some unexpected events. They learn first hand just how important those relationships are and how desperately they want to remember everything, even when it some of it is obviously out of their control. Adorable artwork rounds of the series and makes each episode a new treat.
Disney's Winnie the Pooh: Feelings
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Similar to the Senses book, this is another simple yet descriptive and fun learning book for small children. This is especially true if they like Disney and/or animals. As a bonus, it comes in a board book, so it's much more sturdy for little hands and teeth. Mercy has yet to put it down this morning.
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Disney's Winnie the Pooh: Senses
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This series is rather simple yet also good for small learning children. It describes the location of each sense (two ears, one nose, one tongue, etc) and how that sense works in a fun way that is true to the traditional Disney characters from the series. Seeing as Winnie the Pooh as been a going theme for her nursery, toys and books since the moment we found out we were expecting, this fits right in with many of her goodies.
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The Jiger and the Tiraffe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a cute story that's a fictional telling of the first Tiger and Giraffe. My in-laws got this for Mercy at a church event that actually included the author and got it signed for her. Cute art and a simple story make it ideal for small children.
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September 11, 2013
The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As with most movie adaptations off books, some things are the same, and some things are completely different. Certain things get cut, rewritten, or replaced to make the movie flow better. Overall, the film is rather dark, as in lots of black and grey tones that can sometimes make it difficult to really see what is going on. In this way, it reminds me of the Batman movies. There are some nice special effects at work though, especially for the demons. Overall the story is close enough, and the movie is enjoyable as long as you take it as a separate entity from the book series. Otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy with comparisons and miss the action.
Bedtime
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
As a simple child's board book, it's probably one of the easier ones for toddler's to learn themselves. It the range of entertainment value or how the story is written, there is none. The only appeal in this book is the sparkles that highlight whatever item is named on the page (rubber ducky, toothbrush, pajamas, etc). More of a picture book than anything else, this is rarely one that gets grabbed off the shelf.
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The Cat in the Hat
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Read this again yesterday for the first time in years. It's a little too lengthy for Mercy to pay attention through the entire book, and I have to watch her with the pages since it isn't a board book. She does seem to like the cadence however and enjoys the pictures, likely because she also sometimes gets to watch the TV show. That being said, I find the book much more disturbing as an adult than I recall as a child.
In my youth, I thought of the book as simply being amusing and that the kids sure got away with a lot. As an adult, the amount of mayhem along with the obvious lack of a real guardian at the time floor me. Where is dad or the babysitter while mom is out? The children don't appear to be that old where they'd be left unattended for any length of time. The end conclusion that the children won't really tell their mother what happened is also disturbing as this is not a precedent most would actually want their children to follow. So at the end I have to think that the book itself is amusing as it's geared towards children and humor, but does not actually follow any values you want your kids to learn at the end, given that the fish who says all the right things is continually ignored.
I also can't help but draw comparisons to the TV show now. Sally and Nick or obviously siblings with the same mother in this book. In the show, they are not, as is even more pronounced by their different appearances (Sally appears to be Caucasian while Nick appears to be Hispanic). The one similarity that I found disconcerting is the repeated line of "your mother will not mind at all if you do." That always drives me batty in the TV show, which is likely a large part in why I don't like to turn it on often. May not bode well for more regular re-reads of the book.
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September 8, 2013
Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online (2012)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting twist as the main characters are trapped inside an MORPG (Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). There's a catch though - dying in the game means you die in real life too. Adventures are real and not all at the same time thanks to this twist of fate. The main characters, Kirito and Asuna, especially grow on you. They have an amusing and very positive dynamic between them that makes it impossible not to cheer for them in the end. We're just starting the second arc when Kirito is out of the game and looking for Asuna.
September 4, 2013
Soul Seekers 3: Mystic
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is really going the way Immortals did, which is rather disappointing. Replace special juice and mental powers with animal guides and nature powers; you have the whole premise of this tale. Miraculously everyone comes back to life after having literally died for various reasons. Dace's spirit guide abandoned the oh-so-perfect upperworld to help retrieve Dace's soul and stop Phyre. It was pretty obvious from the start that something was very wrong with Phyre. The brief glimpse of Dace's skinwalker form leaves some curiosity at the end of the book, but that's about it. At least Phyre and her father won't be going on a rampant anymore. For the first time ever, Cade is the one hurt without it affecting Dace. A little surprised they didn't grab that chance while they had it, but then there wouldn't be anything for book 4. Sadly, I'm ready for this series to be over.
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September 3, 2013
Soul Seekers 2: Echo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Alright, so how does the series continue when all three of the main characters are now supposedly dead? This also nullifies Phyre's supposed purpose for being there. Sadly, most of the actions are rather predictable. Hoped it would get better as it went in, not take a sudden nose dive long before Immortals managed it. This is not boding well to finish out two more books for the series
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Soul Seekers 1: Fated
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I've been interested in this series for awhile, but had a really hard time getting into it. As in it wasn't until well past halfway through the book that I actually felt like I really cared about finishing it at all. That's not a good track record. Daire leaves as much to be desired in as Ever did in the previous Immortals series. Cade and Dace are another obstacle in the mix. Suffice it to say I don't get the impression things will end well for this trio. I also sadly find myself glad this is a short series as I'm not sure I could wade through more than 4 books if the next three are as hard to dive into as this one was.
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September 2, 2013
The Devil is a Part-Timer!
The Devil is a Part-Timer! (2013)
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The overall story line so far has not impressed, however the random attacks, constant bickering, and confusing relationship do make for some amusing interaction overall. To sum it up in the nutshell I asked my husband: "who comes up with these strange ideas?" It's amusing enough not to warrant wanting the change the channel, but not so much that I can say I'd really care if I caught a new release or not.
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