Year: 2018

Audiobook Reviews 4/5: The Countess Intrigue by Wendy May Andrews, narrated by Julie Hinton

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, regency romance, romance, women's fiction , ,

Summary:

Lady Elizabeth Castleton sneaks off to a dark corner for a private chat with Lord Justice Sinclair. They’re busted, of course. And the ninnies around them have nothing better to do than gossip, so Sinclair fibs that they’re engaged. That sets the poor girl into a tizzy because of the rumors Sinclair killed his first wife.

Additional Comments:

– If you’ve read the blurb, you have about 80% of the story.

– Elizabeth’s obsession with the rumor that Sinclair had something to do with offing his first wife go from interesting to “lady, get over it” quickly. She clings to it until about 15 minutes before the end of the audiobook.

– It would have been better if there was more of a mystery for her to solve, but that’s probably just my proclivity and preference for mysteries coming forth.

– Characters 4/5: They’re typical regency romance fodder. Daughter of a rich guy with a mother obsessed with marrying off her youngest child well. Rich guy in wont of a wife.

– Romance 4/5: Squeaky clean, as promised.

– Narration 4/5: Solid performance by a great narrator.

Conclusion:

If you’re a fan of clean romance or sweet regency romance, then this book is for you.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: The Big C: A Memoir by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Nonfiction ,

Narrated by Fiona Thraille

Summary:

Very short personal tale from the author’s life. It gives a glimpse into the uncertainty and terror that can accompany a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Additional Comments:

  • I like that the author pointed out how much she relied upon her family during this hard time but there are many others who aren’t so lucky.
  • The author also showed that there’s still some humor to be found in everyday life events, even when one is dealing with something difficult.
  • The narrator does a lovely job as usual, though being nonfiction it doesn’t really stretch her talents much because there’s not a great deal of dialogue. Still, she has a nice energy about the way she reads.
  • It’s very short. You could probably read the story in about 10 minutes.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a little bright spot in the midst of a tough thing, this is a good story to check out.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Instant Family

Julie Gilbert comedy, contemporary, Family, Movie Reviews , , , , ,

*Spoiler Section After Ads

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale (I love her), Isabela Moner, Tig Notaro, Olivia Spencer (Love her too), and many more

4/5 Surprisingly Touching Family Story

Summary:

A husband and wife consider adopting through the foster system because they want to shake up the monotony of their lives. They take an 8-week course and go to a fair where they can meet and greet some of the kids in the foster system. They talk themselves into and out of the situation several times, but finally, doubts from their family pushes them to take the leap. They’re interested in a teenager who just happens to come with two younger siblings.

Additional Comments:

  • I’m not a huge Mark Wahlberg fan because a lot of them are truly ridiculous, but this one turned out fine.
  • The trailer made the movie seem like it would be funnier than it was.
  • Like anything truly to do with family, this movie took turns being charming, frustrating, amusing, and heartwarming.
  • It’s not an easy road to walk. Kids from troubled homes have all the normal kid problems plus a few dozen more unique to those in the system.
  • Characters: I don’t remember much about the kids’ names, except that the teenager went by Lizzy. Can’t even remember the parents’ names. I do remember Grandmother Sandy.
  • Drama: The filmmakers did a nice job catching a good variety of sweet and hellish moments with the kids.

Conclusion:

Worth watching. Don’t think it’s a movie that really encourages people to go out and enter foster classes, but it’s a worthwhile tale. Would be good to watch alone, with friends, or with family.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Spoiler Section:

  • Favorite Moment: When Grandmother Sandy tells them plainly that their court speech stinks, and they need to rewrite it pronto.
  • Sometimes, I wonder how much of the “based on a true story” part is true. There are certain things these people say and do, like punching out the janitor or being slapped by the people they went to for help, holds truth. A lot of what they said, especially in confronting the high school kid they thought had sent lewd pictures to the teenage girl, seemed highly inappropriate in and of itself.

Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Creed II

Julie Gilbert drama, Movie Reviews, Sports , , ,
I don’t own the promo pic

4/5 Creed II: Powerful Boxing Movie

*Spoilers and Favorites after the ads

Summary:

I’ve never seen any of the Rocky movies, and I’m not a fan of the professional sports movies anyway. Still, despite being completely 100% predictable, Creed II delivers on entertainment. Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, but he gets challenged to a fight by Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago (guy who killed his father, Apollo). Whew, that’s a lot of connections when it’s spelled out.

 

Additional Comments:

  • If you’ve seen a trailer, you’ve seen 80% of the movie.
  • Viktor Drago has a few surprising moments. More later.
  • Fight scenes were well choreographed and suitably dramatic.
  • This has one of the weirdest soundtracks I’ve ever heard. You could get classical music two seconds after a rap song. Pretty sure training montages happened on quite a few occasions.
  • Characters: Bianca and Creed’s mother show up at key times. Ivan is suitably grim-faced and determined throughout the whole process. Rocky’s very much a side character, but they worked him into a few things.
  • I seriously wanted to punch the promoter. He was annoying and oily and slimy the first second on screen, and he the same his last second on the screen.

Conclusion:

Whether you like these kind of sports movies or not, it’s worth watching at least once.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Spoiler Section:

  • One kind of knew there would be two fights in here based on the fact that the first one came so early in the movie.
  • One of the funny lines came when Rocky was suggesting they name the baby girl Becky or Cate. Creed responds with: “You do know she’s gonna be black, right?”
  • After Creed has an emotional moment, he picks up his baby girl and comforts her because she’s fussing. He says, “Daddy’s being a b—-.”)
  • Drago discussion continued. Clearly, this dude’s got mommy issues, but who wouldn’t if your mom left the family because your dad lost a fight? The end scene where his father’s running along side him, instead of chasing with the car is actually kind of touching.
  • Motive and motivation: It’s not clear in the beginning or end what Creed’s actually fighting for.
  • Some of the most surprising character development happened within Ivan Drago.

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 Stars: Serpent of the Shangrove by CN Lesley

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy , , , ,

Narrated by Julie Hinton

*spoilers possible in the discussion

Summary:

A dragon shapeshifter named Copper gets insulted at a party. As a result, he goes on a quest to prove himself. That’s what I gather from the book description. Reality is a tad more subtle. I don’t think I would have picked up on that being his sole reason for his quest relying just on the story. Anyway, he runs afoul of a serpent in the shangrove of a different world, one his clan just migrated to. His parents try to rescue him. Meanwhile, the girl who did the insulting also slips through the portal and finds trouble.

 

Additional Comments:

  • World-building (4/5) – The author created a rich and full and fleshed out messy world for these characters. I suppose that’s part of it being book 2 in a series. Descriptions of magic and general lore were fun and imaginative. The power over small creatures is kind of sadistic, but neat. There seemed to be a lot of explaining why characters couldn’t do something. The simple reason being because if they could the plot wouldn’t exist as is.
  • Plot (2/5) – The insult at the gathering being the inciting incident for Copper to go on his quest to find Jazlyn (sorry about spelling, I heard the audio, so I’m not sure how it’s supposed to be), is kind of weak. Most other things follow a logical path. Copper goes with his uncle, a drake who really likes eating rats. Raven, Copper’s mother, and Connor, his father, go on two separate quests to try and save him.
  • Content Warning (high) – What’s with the obsession with rape? Either through spells or brute force and coercion, two characters in separate strands of the story are raped repeatedly. The whole plot sort of centers around the aggressor’s need to have heirs by these unwilling people.
  • Narration (4/5) – I’ve heard the narrator before. Her voice variation, editing, and reading is pretty good, though book to book most of her bad guys sound the same. Most of the Drakken sounded British. Can’t go wrong with that accent. The snake was suitably creepy.
  • Characters (3.5/5) – Rosella’s probably the most intriguing side character, as the other three are sort of main characters. Yet, she goes straight from super annoying to victim. It would have been nice to see her come into her own here, but I guess that’s going to wait for another book. The other three, Connor, Raven, and Copper are livelier and more likable. Raven’s powers are probably the coolest.
  • Ending (2/5) – Blatant bid for a sequel. It’s not quite a true cliffhanger, but there are definitely huge loose ends.
  • I never read Darkspire Reaches, nor am I going to.

 

Conclusion:

There’s a niche for every kind of work. Those who loved the first in this series probably won’t be disappointed. Those who like the narrator could go either way. Her performance is good, but despite liking her, I didn’t particularly enjoy the story.

 

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Movie Reviews 3.45/5: Widows *spoiler free

Julie Gilbert drama, Movie Reviews , , ,
Not my favorite movie poster, but functional. I do not own the movie poster image.

Summary:

When a heist goes terribly wrong, the entire crew perishes. To make matters worse, the bad guys want their money back and demand that the crew chief’s wife make good on the 2 million dollar debt.

 

Additional Comments:

– Cast 5/5: Pretty star-studded. They all do their jobs well.

Viola Davis plays Veronica Rawlins, Elizabeth Debicki plays Alice, and Michelle Rodriguez plays Linda. Daniel Kaluuya (Jatemme) doesn’t even have to change his expression much to come across as a seriously scary dude. Collin Farrell (plays Jack Mulligan) pulls off a decent version of a creepy politician.

– Story 3.5/5: The straightforward plot is complicated by going down several nonsensical rabbit trails. There’s one part where one of the widows nearly has a breakdown in the home of a complete stranger (quite logical) and ends up in a very deep, very passionate kiss with the guy (not logical).

– Content Warnings: Lots of adult content, including strong language and seeing more of the actors than you probably want to if you’re used to squeaky clean content.

– These aren’t professional criminals, though they had all apparently married ones. The crime they intend to take on is a simple in and out thing.

– To think about: There aren’t any truly innocent/good characters in here, but the audience is certainly meant to root for the ladies.

– There’s a lot of backstory, including more into the relationship between the Rawlins. While that eats up time, most of the backstory is relevant to the big twist.

– The big twist: Predictable yet satisfying.

– Annoyingness: Must every movie now start with an incompetent “Thank you for watching this movie” thing?

 

Conclusion:

If you’re okay with adult content, this is an interesting heist movie.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 3.5/5 Stars Ramora: Tales from P.A.W.S. Series by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Horror , , ,

Narrated by Falon Echo

Summary:

A dark little backstory for one of the characters. Ramora’s faced with a difficult choice. Her parents have arranged for her to marry a merchant who’s much older and basically wants a servant. On the other hand, a shady little fairy offers her a way out for a price.

Additional Comments:

  • I don’t know enough about the P.A.W.S. series to get the full impact of this story. Pretty sure I’ve only read one of the books.
  • That said, I like the concept of backstories that flesh out the origins of each character.
  • Without spoiling much, one does come to sympathize with the title character. She didn’t seem to have many good options.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for more P.A.W.S., this is a good addition to the collection.

 

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars Dragonia: Revenge of the Dragons by Craig A. Price, Jr.

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy , , ,

Summary:

This story picks right up from where the first in the series left off. (And it ends much the same way, with a wrap-up of this part but leaving things wide open for a sequel.) The Resistance has won their first major battle against the evil empire. No, this isn’t Star Wars. It’s slightly more traditional fantasy, less space-y.

Additional Comments:

– Having heard the first one, it was nice to get to know the sister a little better.

– It’s been a while. I think it might have been more enjoyable if I remembered who was who going into the story.

– World-building 4/5: Intriguing extension on the first story where the wyvern and dragon blood and oil makes a big difference in the battles.

– The story has quite a few interesting characters, but I feel like we don’t really get to know some of them.

– Battles 4/5: Well-described, suitably desperate.

– Plot 4/5: Good guys have been betrayed and need to survive the onslaught of the evil empire.

– Ending 3.5/5 The ending felt good until the final twist which basically just opened it back up to a big, fat To Be Continued sign. I’m just not a fan of the tactic. It’s not quite as bad as a true cliffhanger, but the sentiment is there.

– Narration 4.5/5: I like Reuben Corbett’s voice. Pretty sure he did the first book in the series too, so there’s consistency between the works, which is nice.

Conclusion:

If you like dragons and epic adventure sort of fantasy, this is a great series to consider trying.

 

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Black Friday Giveaway and Clean Reads Book Sale

Julie Gilbert Family, freebies, Kindle books, mystery, Reader Resource, suspense, thriller, women's fiction, Writing, Young Adult , , ,

 

Hey,

Check out this big Black Friday sale. There are over 150 titles available and they are all either $.99 or FREE!

There are also a long list of paperbacks for sale at incredibly discounted prices as well! And the good news is they are all clean reads! Be sure to go check out this amazing sale here.

(If you’d like any of my titles discounted in paperback, you have to email [email protected] … I think my website only has like 2 listed at full price.) I do sell series at a discount. That’s not specific to this sale.

Enter to win stuffs too. (Grand Prize winner receives 20 paperbacks and the 2nd place winner gets 20 e-book titles)

You can sign up for the giveaway here.

Fine Print: The giveaway runs from November 22nd till November 26th @12AM ET Grand prize open to US winners only. 2nd place prize is open Internationally.

Not quite ready to jump right in?

You Could Win These 20 Paperbacks … (Grand Prize)

Leandra’s Enchanted Flute by Katy Huth Jones

Mythical Doorways by Jenelle Schmidt

Faith is the Victory by Faith Blum

Kiera by Kate Willis

Because Anonymous Diana L. Sharples

After: Book One in The Neverway Chronicles by Savannah Jezowski

Specter: Book Two in The Neverway Chronicles by Savannah Jezowski

Eagle Eyes by Tammy Lash

London in the Dark by Victoria Lynn

When Beauty Blooms by Victoria Lynn

Aerisia: Land Beyond the Sunset by Sarah Ashwood

Iced and Nailed by Avery Daniels

There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman

Bridgers: A Parable (paperback) by Angie Thompson

Love Blind (paperback) by Angie Thompson

Code by Angie Thompson

Christmas Eve at the Backdoor by Rebekah Morris

The Seven Drawers by Kendra E. Ardnek

He’s Making Diamonds: A Teen’s Thoughts on Faith Through Chronic Illness by Sara Willoughby

You Could Win These 20 E-books … (2nd Place)

Beyond Broken Pencils by Julie C. Gilbert

Ashlynn’s Dreams by Julie C. Gilbert

Gather Round the Fables by Erika Matthews

The Case of the Tabloid Tattler by Perry Kirkpatrick AudioBook

The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Perry Kirkpatrick Audiobook

Coffee Shop Christmas Ebook by Ryana Lynn Miller

The Land of Cotton ebook by Ryana Lynn Miller

Entertaining Angels, Entertaining Angels Book 1 by Emerald Barnes

Secret’s Kept by Jennette Mbewe

The Firethorn Crown by Lea Doue

Soldier On by Vanessa Rasanen

Burning Rose by Hope Ann

Iced and Nailed by Avery Daniels

Imani Earns Her Cape by Bokerah Brumley

October by J. Grace Pennington

Disowned by Sarah Addison Fox

My Compass Home by Michaela Bush

Summer Shadows and Necessary Evil by Killarney Traynor

Check out the whole sale. Most are discounted as ebooks and/or paperbacks.

Convinced yet?

ENTER NOW.

 

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

If clean thriller is more your thing, try Scratched Off (New Release): FBI agent Samuel Kerman takes on a serial killer.


OR

Awesome Movie Reviews 4.5/5 Stars: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, children's, Family, Movie Reviews , , ,
A simple yet effective ad for the movie. I don’t own it, but I don’t really see Disney complaining about me advertising for them here by posting a favorable review.

Spoilers after ads

A Worthy Sequel to Wreck-it Ralph

Summary:

The steering wheel breaks for Vanellope Von Schweetz’s game, Sugar Rush, and there is only one place they can get a replacement part: eBay. So, Ralph and the kid set off on a grand adventure to get into the internet and track down that part.

 

Additional Comments:

  • It’s a fun sequel that is different but almost as fun as the first.
  • The portrayals of the internet sometimes come uncomfortably close to reality.
  • Themes: There’s a lot in here if you want to unpack deeper meanings. Cyber bullying, friendship, changes to friendship, loyalty, growing up, internet safety, and much more are packed in here somewhere.
  • Part of the middle is irksome (when Ralph’s being an idiot and doing the breaking of the internet part). Everything works out, but the dark moments are rather dark.
  • As with the first movie, Easter Eggs lurk everywhere. That makes for a fun movie to see a couple of times.
  • Coolest new character: Shanks.
  • My favorite parts: Will put in after the ads in the spoiler section.
  • The mid-credit scene was amazing and hilarious.

 

Conclusion:

Fun family-friendly movie.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

 

Spoiler Section:

  • I like how of the two options to fix the Ralph virus, the one that ultimately works is “therapy.” Because Ralph gets to figure things out on his own.
  • Funnies parts: Disney princesses save Ralph by using each of their skills. Nobody can understand Merida. Vanellope first meets the Disney Princesses. Spamly tries to catch Ralph but he goes right through the car. Fix-it Felix becomes a father of 15!
  • I wish we could have seen more of the original side characters from the first movie.