Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater review

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever is a fantasy, werewolf, teen fiction, drama, and love story. It is the third of a trilogy called Wolves of Mercy Falls. This book picks up rather oddly following the character Shelby (which is the one and only time the story is told from her point of view), and it was very confusing to me. Eventually the scene does make sense though. There is a slight gap in time that is probably at least a month or so. The story is still told from the viewpoints of Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole.

The change in each character is definitely more visible in this book, and it really hits you how much they’ve grown. They are still at the core themselves, but each has grown in other facets greatly. This book definitely made me care more about Isabel and Cole than Sam and Grace. It felt weird to not be more connected with the main characters. Not that I wanted them to die, but I definitely wanted Cole and Isabel to live and be happy.

The composition wasn’t as great as the other books; there were random moments that just didn’t read as nicely as other parts did. It aired on the side of feeling sloppy and quickly thrown together as well. This book also randomly decided to up its vocabulary level and I had to look up a one or two words, but their meaning were easy to pick up from their context. There was also a lot more angst and tension within this storyline, and I liked that part of it. But I was left feeling like I wanted more things to happen. The storyline isn't overall action filled with stuff; it is definitely more talk and people looking longingly into the distance.It is quite unlike a lot of other werewolf and fantasy books, there isn’t a like rivalry between two groups (i.e. werewolves versus vampires).

Overall, this isn’t one of my favorite series. There is also a somewhat anti-climactic ending; I was left wanting like an epilogue or something. As well as feeling a little soft on the ending, I did find that with the level of angst in this book there wasn’t enough big events. So it really left me wanting more things happening. There was a moment towards the end of the book that I had to completely like disassociate with, because it was so dark and hard to read. It wasn’t like a bad dark though; the events really give the book like a deeper feel. I'd probably give the series as a whole like a 6 or 7, because I liked parts of it and did enjoy reading it. I just wish there was more!

Side Note: the book does have red font which I quite like.

You can get it here:

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls)

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3)

Ripper Street (2014) Season 2 Premier review

Ripper Street Season 2 (2014)

IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes

While watching some other shows on BBC, there was a preview for Ripper Street that intrigued me to the point that I set it up to record. I will admit that I may have taken a little long to finally watch the show though. It looked like a cop drama that wasn’t like the Law & Order or CSI that I used to watch. Those two kind of got boring to me.

Actors: Matthew MacFadyen as Edmund Reid, Jerome Flynn as Bennet Drake, Adam Rothenberg as Homer Jackson, MyAnna Buring as Long Susan Hart, Clive Russell as David Abaline, and many more.

Creator: Richard Warlow

Genre: Crime, Mystery, & Drama

Season Premier Date: February 22, 2014

You can pre-order the series here:
Ripper Street: Season Two (DVD)

Ripper Street: Season Two (Blu-ray)
Or buy Season 1 here: 

Ripper Street (DVD)
Ripper Street (Blu-ray)

This series (or at least season 1) picks up after the end of Jack the Ripper's killing spree in the streets of England. This new series picks up after that one as they continue to build the reputation of the police again. The first episode was super packed with murder, mystery, drugs, and even some epic fight scenes that I was not expecting at all.

The whole episode had a feeling of Sherlock Holmes (2009) with the way it was shot. There is also the air of taking minute details to solve what has happened. But it also had a dark feel to the whole thing. The levels of corruption and deceit are so crazy, because they feel like they are everywhere. 

That being said, there were only two details that bothered me about this series. (Well three actually, but we will get to the third later!) The first being that some scenes were shot with very little light which made watching with the sun up a little difficult. The second was the accents. That falls onto me though; some of the characters just had accents that I wasn’t used to hearing so I struggled to understand sometimes and would replay certain parts a few times to make sure I heard things right.

Overall, I really enjoyed the series! Well, I enjoyed the episode, but I am sure I will enjoy the whole series. There was just a level of pull that got its hooks into me and made me want to know more. I also loved the joining of English and Chinese elements within this episode.  The fact that it was like the introduction of heroin to the streets of England also intrigued me (drug addiction is something that I studied in college). It was also nice to have more than one storyline, because it never left a dull moment nor did it ever get overwhelming to keep up. I would sum up the whole episode with one word: Intriguing.

Now on to that third thing! When I first started watching this episode, I had no clue it was season 2. So I completely missed season 1. That being said, I never felt lost or confused. Even if you missed season 1, that doesn’t mean you can’t join in now. The reason this is a detail that bothers me about this series is that means I have missed an entire season of episodes! So much intriguing things to catch up on and so little time to do so!

Hope you have a Victorian day!

Funny meme library for Season 1: Click me!

These and more Images here: No, click me!

How would you die in Victorian England? Quiz: You know you want to click me!

My results: My condolences, you have died of an overtightened corset.

The Reason I Jump (2013) book review

The Reason I Jump

Naoki Higashida

Release Date: August 27, 2013

This is a book that everyone should read regardless if you know or interact with someone who is autistic. It puts living with autism into perspective so well, and it is going to get you thinking about life. I found that they book really reads like a conversation. There are little entries that are short stories that add to the experience. And the end has a very lovely short story. I adored the story.

Having two cousins with autism, I always wondered what it was like in their minds. Studying psychology has given me some insight into the disorder, but not into their minds. This is exactly what the book offers. The examples, metaphors, and similes help you see the author’s point of view so well. There is a need to think rather abstract with this book, but what he is saying feels concrete with its definition.

Anyone and everyone should read this book. Heck, it should be a requirement for those in the mental health industry especially those working with autistic individuals, and also students in school. This could really shine light on a group that is often given a bad rap when they really just need a little extra patience and understanding.

This book was purchased on a whim, and I couldn’t be happier with the choice. It’s a quick read that will just expand your mind greatly.

You can get the book here: The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

Rush (2013) movie review

Rush (2013)

IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes 89%

123 minutes run time

I am a big racing fan! Though, I don’t keep up with all the races like I would like to sadly. And I am more of a Nascar fan, because most of my family are Nascar fans. It is also something close to my heart because my grandfather use to race on dirt tracks. So racing reminds me of my family, and the bond that we all share. But all of this is what made me really want to see this movie. I don’t know much about Formula 1 racing so I was excited to learn me some.

Actors: Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda, Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller, Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Lauda, Pierfrancesco Favino as Clay Regazzoni, David Calder as Louis Stanley, and many, many more.

Director: Ron Howard

Writers: Peter Morgan for screenplay

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, & Racing!

Movie Release Date:  September 27, 2013

DVD Release Date: January 28, 2014

This movie retells the story of a fierce rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Their rivalry was at its highest during the 1970s in Formula 1 racing. I liked that the plot allowed for the beginning of the rivalry to be seen and the build to the ultimate match for the title of Champion of the World! There is also information given about their home life which I really felt it added to the drama of the movie.

The story unfolds with the narrative being Niki Lauda’s, but the cinema part seems to mostly follow James Hunt. This helped to give you insight into both characters without one over-shadowing the other.  James is your typical playboy kind of guy, but I was surprised by Niki. At first, I found him to be rather rude and a jerk. As time passed, I found I quite liked that he was very brash and factual, and James started to bother me greatly.

I think all the actors did quite a good job in this movie. I wasn’t looking at them as actors, but the character they were meant to be. Daniel Brühl does an Austrian/German accent in the movie that took me a while to get used to. I’ve been around some people with a German accent, but it felt odd to me at first. It did grow on my after a while.

Overall, this is an amazing movie. If you love racing and/or drama, it’ll be an awesome watch for you! The movie does feel a bit longer than it actually is, but I never wanted to stop watching. There wasn’t a point in time that I was bored enough to even pull out my phone. There is even some great scenes with racing and crashes. I have no idea if it was CGI or tiny models that did the car scenes, but they were amazing. I was absolutely blown away by it. This is a movie that I do wish I had seen in theatres, and I will be watching it again. It has also managed to make me want to keep up for Formula 1 racing! Let me know your favorite and least favorite moments in the movie. My favorite is the scene with James Hunt and the reporter after the accident that Niki Lauda has. My least favorite scene was a random close up shot of a spider, like why did they have to do that. I literally screamed out loud, and then felt silly.

Hope you have a speedy day!

These images and more can be found HERE!

You can get the DVD here: Rush (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD with UltraViolet)