Thursday, February 13, 2020

Review - The Waking of Ghosts by Lilliana Rose

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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There is an evil awakening. At the Lost Souls academy, students aren’t your typical everyday alumni.
Rejects from clans, packs, and covens walk these halls, but there’s something more sinister haunting the academy. A resident ghost has new student, Zarya, on the fight to banish it. Will her actions cause more enemies at her new school than friends?

‘I’m coming for you.’

A message from beyond has Zarya fearful. Her skills are underdeveloped, but as a ghost hunter, she must stand and fight this new evil.

Can Zarya grow to be the ghost hunter she’s destined to be or will forces overpower her and bring chaos and destruction to the Lost Souls Academy?

Once upon a time, I used to read quite a bit of paranormal and supernatural stories until I got bored with the genre. I'm not exactly sure what made me want to read The Walking of Ghosts  —  the title or the stunning the cover art.

The book centers around the Lost Souls Academy, which is a school for rejects ― witches, werewolves, ghosts, and vampires who don't fit in with other supernaturals. The main character is Zarya, who happens to be a witch and a ghost hunter.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Waking of Ghosts. I never know what to expect with a new author so my expectations were an open book, and I was pleasantly surprised with the story. Supernatural and paranormal school plots have been done to death over the years but author Lilliana Rose cleverly found new ways to make the genre fun again. The characters are well-written and the dialogue is lively. It ends in a cliffhanger so I'm wondering what happens next.


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Lilliana is an Amazon Bestselling author, who writes romance in the subgenres of contemporary, paranormal, steampunk, and rural. She enjoys helping characters overcome problems, or issues, and the misunderstandings that often plague relationships, to help them fall in love. Whether it city heels being replaced with country work boots, or some magic beyond this world, or cogs and gears and corsets, each story shows how love can prevail.

Review - Out of the Attic by V.C. Andrews

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.
Available on Paperback and Kindle!

The newest V.C. Andrews' book, Out of the Attic, was released last week from Gallery Books, which is the 10th book in the Dollanganger Saga/Family series that originally began in 1979 with Flowers in the Attic. That story involved four children being forced to live in an attic by a greedy mother and their crazy grandmother. Toss in a bit of incest into the mix, the novel turned became a bestseller despite being challenged by schools and libraries due to its dark themes. Three sequels were published before V.C. Andrews' death in 1986. A ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman, was hired to finish writing the prequel novel, Garden of Shadows, and to continue the Casteel series, as well as penning all future V.C. Andrews' titles.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Blu-ray Review - Swamp Thing: The Complete Series (2019)

Available on Blu-ray and DVD!

Swamp Thing: The Complete Series will arriving on Blu-ray (+ Digital Code) and DVD today from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras.

Based on the DC Comics series by Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, Swamp Thing was created by Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden for the DC Universe streaming service. Originally, the first season was given an order of 13 episodes but it was later cut down to 10 episodes. Just after the season premiere aired on May 31, 2019, the series was canceled. While there hasn't been an official reason announced for the cancellation, it most likely had to do with the fact that the promised $40 million tax incentive from North Carolina turned out to be only $14 million.

Set in Marais, Louisiana, the series centers around CDC doctor Abby Arcane (played by Crystal Reed) returning to her hometown to investigate a deadly virus, dubbed the "Green Flu," that has infected several locals, including a young girl, Susie Coyle (played by Elle Graham). Shortly after her arrival, she meets Alec Holland (played by Andy Bean), a disgraced biologist who was hired by her adopted father, Avery Sunderland (played by Will Patton), to study the marsh. After being attacked by Sutherland's hired hands, Alec is shot and left to die in the swamp. The swamp mutates Alec into a plant-like creature — Swamp Thing (played by Derek Mears)

The rest of the cast includes Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Beals, Kevin Durand, and Ian Ziering.


Final Thoughts

After binge-watching all 10 episodes of Swamp Thing over the weekend, I wish the series had continued with a second season. Sure, there are many problems with the story, which I'll get to in a minute, but overall I enjoyed watching it.

Derek Mears gives a great performance as Swamp Thing, who should have been the center character but instead was forced into the background while secondary characters took the spotlight. Crystal Reed does an alright job playing Dr. Abby Acrane but the writers spent too much time focusing on her story arc.

The big baddie, Dr. Anton Arcane, from the '80s Swamp Thing movies and the '90s television series doesn't appear in this adaptation. In his replacement is Avery Sunderland (played by Will Patton) and Dr. Jason Woodrue (played by Kevin Durand), which their characters were left in limbo thanks to the series cancellation.

The Blue Devil subplot was poorly written and felt pointless, especially when you add in Ian Ziering's bad acting.

The picture and sound qualities for all the episodes on the 2-disc set were topnotch. It would have been nice if there were a few special features.

Overall, despite some storytelling problems, Swamp Thing had the potential to improve if the series was allowed to continue. Here's hoping Swamp Thing: The Complete Series does well enough on Blu-ray and DVD so it won't be the last time we see the Swamp Thing on-screen.



Sunday, February 9, 2020

Sunday Post - Out of the Attic, Swamp Thing, and a Bookmark

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

Good Afternoon, Everyone!


 Here's my new favorite bookmark!



What Am I Reading?


I've a lot of reading planned for this coming week, starting with Out of the Attic by V.C. Andrews (Andrew Neiderman), which I will start reading later today.

Next, I'll be reading an ARC that I almost forgot about. It's called The Chill by Scott Carson. I will read it as soon as I finish Out of the Attic. I want to finish reading it by Tuesday, which is also being released on Feb. 11th.

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Review - Walking the 10 Paths of Self Healing


*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.
Available on AMAZON

I don't read very many self-help titles. However, I'm attempting to make a few healthy changes in my life so I thought I would give Walking the 10 Paths of Self Healing (382 pages) by Nadav Ben Yehuda a chance.

After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and cancer, Nadav decided to make many life changes which resulted in being cured from his illnesses.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Book Blogger Hop: February 7th - 13th


Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop! 


If you want to schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

The Book Blogger Hop now has its own Facebook Group! Please join the group to get all the newest Book Blogger Hop updates. Also, you can communicate with your fellow book bloggers in the group.

What To Do


1. Post on your blog answering this question:


What are some of the most memorable books you read as a child? What made them memorable?

This week's question is submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.


2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below. Please enter your Name/Nickname @ Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading a few posts and possible become a new follower. The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

DVD Review - A Psycho's Path



Yesterday, I wasted 84 minutes of my life watching the dumbest movie ever filmed― A Psycho's Path.

The film is produced by Entangled Entertainment, Hourglass Pictures, and Stroboscope Studios, and written and directed by Rocky Costanzo. Mill Creek Entertainment and ITN Distribution released the movie on DVD last month. There are no special features or bonus extras besides a trailer. The DVD does come with a movieSPREE Digital code.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Review - Bloodborn by Sydney Winward

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo

Add to Goodreads

Adam Degore's personal need to find a cure for vampirism drives him to ensnare a vampire, but the creature he captures is Dracula's daughter. Worse yet, he's drawn to her—a monster he's vowed to kill.

Despite her father's wishes, Willow chooses to live among humans instead of the vampire conclave where she would be safe. She wants a life filled with more than shadows. Being captured by a human, not to mention falling in love with one, is not part of her plan.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Blu-ray Review - Stephen King's Doctor Sleep

Available to Pre-Order on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

It should be no secret to anyone who follows this blog that I'm a big Stephen King fan and one of my favorite books is The Shining, which I had just reread last year along with its sequel, Doctor Sleep. I'm also a big fan of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, even though it leaves out most of King's story, including the ending where the hotel burns to ground.

The long-awaited sequel Doctor Sleep will be arriving on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, February 4th. Included on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray is the 3-hour Director's Cut. Both the theatrical version and Director's Cut is already available to own on Digital HD. (Note: The 4K UHD and Blu-ray comes with a Digital Code featuring both the versions.)

Sunday Post - Bloodborn, Doctor Sleep, & Alexey Pehov

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

Good Morning, Everyone!



What Am I Currently Reading?


Instead of reading of Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah last week, I ended up taking a break from reading entirely. Today, I'll be reading Bloodborn by Sydney Windward, which isn't very long at all. I just received an eBook copy a few days ago for a book tour and my review is scheduled for tomorrow!