Lying and Stealing Movie Review

Lying and Stealing

Movie Review

3.76 out of 5 Stars

Lying and Stealing is an art heist movie that came out last year, starring Theo James and Emily Ratajkowski. Theo's character, Ivan, is closing out a debt his father owns to an art dealer by going to the wealthiest houses in Los Angeles and taking their precious artwork. Elyse is a struggling actor, not because she's bad at acting, but because a producer blackballed her from getting roles when she wouldn't sleep with him, then stole from him, and made sure his wife found out. To get out of his debt, she owes him some obscene amount of money which she is trying to earn in small foreign films and petty theft. Surprise, surprise, Ivan and Elyse team up for one last job.

 I'm not sure there's anything original about this movie. It's a heist; it's the last job; there's a team-up. . . all in all, it's pretty basic. I still really enjoyed it, but I just feel like the main through-lines for this kind of story were all things that I've seen before. Now, I love those stories and I absolutely hate when they're cheesy or over-the-top, and thankfully, this was not one of those movies. It was a heist that felt like it could be real, which is really what makes this genre so enjoyable for me to watch.

When it comes to the acting, I personally think the actors did a good job. I came across this movie because of Theo James however, so there may be some bias affecting this decision. But I thought Emily did a really great job as well and I thought they had a good chemistry between them. They were awkward when they were clearly faking at being together (which I think worked), and then they had a solid connection between them outside of the cons. I think it worked. :)

What I really loved were the heist bits themselves. I'm a sucker for a good tension-filled scene. My favorite in this one takes place in a game room. There's a bigger one after that which I won't go into, but the one in the middle was sooooo much fun to watch because there was a huge, lurking, knowledge that anyone could walk in at any point and see what was happening.

My only wish is that there was ~more~ to the movie. A little more character depth. A little higher stake in the game. A little more time between Ivan and Elyse. A little more of something special to set it apart. It was a perfectly good movie, and one that I would definitely break out in the future for a movie night to have fun with a group of friends. While it wasn't something new, it was something well-done and I think people could really enjoy it. 

Thanks for reading!

Review of Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

3.2 out of 5 Stars

I remember I read this right around when it came out and I wanted to love it sooooooo badly. Christine is one of my favorite YouTubers of all time and I adore her videos. I have been watching them for so long and I truly appreciate her insights into literature, movies, and all-around storytelling. When she started making videos about her writing experience, I was so happy for her and I am still so happy for her and that this book has come out and was on the NY Times list. For me though, because I know her through her videos, it was strange to read.

Undeniably, the book was a great, humorous, light-hearted contemporary about Shane awkwardly finding her way out of her shell. It was so nice to read about an introverted character, just like it is every time there's an introverted character. (The really nice thing is that Christine did such a tasteful job portraying that introversion.) The story was also set in London for the most part and I adore that city, so it was fun to be back there.

The big big element that I couldn't ignore however that drew my away from the story was that I could hear Christine talking. Shane was Christine, straight down to the username and study abroad and everything in between. The whole plot was almost autobiographical. The other thing that I was not thrilled with was the constant reference to pop culture. They were everywhere. In general, those are not my favorite things in the world. They need to be so carefully done in my opinion and even then, the timing as to be perfect for the reference to land a punch. There were references out the wazoo in this book and it drove me crazy.

At the end of the day, the big question is, would I recommend it?
Depends.

If I were talking to someone who was deeply entrenched in the book community, either actively or by viewing only, I would probably not recommend this one. Christine is just such a well-known persona that someone in the community would likely also hear her voice the entire time.

If it were someone looking for just a good book. Maybe. Definitely maybe. Clearly I won't recommend a contemporary to someone looking for fantasy or something like that. But even with contemporary recs, I think I would only give the title if someone was looking for a plot line similar to this one.

Thanks for reading!

Review of In Paris With You by Clémentine Beauvais (trans. Sam Taylor)

In Paris With You by Clémentine Beauvais (translated by Sam Taylor)

4.35 out of 5 Stars

In Paris With You was unexpectedly really fun to read. It took me a second to get a hang of reading in verse, but once I did, the story had a nice rhythm to it. The actual story itself is also, I think, really engaging in the sense that there are so many things that I'm still wondering about or that I think would be great discussion points. It was such a quick little read, something that you can flip through easily, but is unique enough to stand out in your mind.
 
PLOT:
It was such a cute plot! There were so many cute romance-y moments and touching inner dialogues that connected Tatiana and Eugene to the reader. I feel like it also left a lot for the reader to think about as well, not just at the end with how the story finishes, but with some of the different dynamics and facts that are explored on the way. One of the things that I think is really interesting is how Tatiana and Eugene have essentially flipped some of their worldviews and ambitions as they've gotten older, partially on their own, but also partially due to each other. There are a lot of smaller details like this one that have snagged my attention and made the book more interesting to read.

CHARACTERS:
There were so few characters which felt very different to me while I was reading. Of course a lot of stories are about only a handful of characters, but normally it seems like you can see all the people surrounding those characters as well. That wasn't the case in this book. There was Tatiana and Eugene as the main characters with really only three other characters that get page time: Olga, Lensky, and Leprince. Overall, I think this created an effect of putting Tatiana's and Eugene's relationship in an insulated bubble, which worked well given the plot line and themes of the story. There's also the narrator in a sense, but I'm still not sure who the narrator is. For awhile I thought it might be a neighbor, then I thought it was Lensky, then maybe it was an older version of Tatiana. . . I'm still not sure. It could also just be an omniscient narrator and I'm overthinking this. :)

WRITING:
There were so many beautiful phrases. I wish I had been marking them as I went along, and I didn't which I regret now because almost all of the quotes on Goodreads are in the original French. Speaking of the original French, I imagine it's beautiful, but huge props to the translator Sam Taylor. The verse was so elegant and I'm sure it must have been incredibly difficult to get the verse translated in a way that also reflected the poetic integrity of the original French. I was hesitant to read this because of the verse, and I think other people would straight up not even pick it up (which is fine), but I think it is definitely worth at least trying.
  
 This was a nice, semi-light book written in beautiful phrases. It had just enough to it that made me think and wonder about the nature of the characters and the plot without becoming burdensome or boring. The verse was also fascinating because somewhere along the way, I started picturing this in my head as either an animated short (sort of Disney-style, but I'm not sure Disney would take this), or as a play. It may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it and I think Clémentine Beauvais and Sam Taylor created a touching and unique work.


Thanks for reading!


(Side Note: I'm really curious about the title, because the original French title was Songe à la Douceur, which I believes means something like, "Think of the softness." It's just really interesting to think about because I think the French title adds more to the story than the English title does.)

Families of Chain of Gold

Mathew Fairchild by Cassandra Jean

Hmm. . . Who's Related to Who. . .

(AKA, a list of family connections in Chain of Gold (The Last Hours))

If you are like me, and it's been a minute since you've read all of the Shadowhunter books (although I am trying to reread TID), there will be a lot of characters to remember and mentally organize when you start Chain of Gold. Not only is there the multitude of characters from TID, but then there's their children as well. Now, you could go back to Clockwork Princess and look at that nifty family tree to help sort this all out. BUT, then you'll spoil yourself for who ends up with whom in this series.

So I've pulled all the relevant info and put in a non-spoilery form here! (Yes, I took one for the team and spoiled the relationship endings for the series. Now you don't have to be, you're welcome.)
**Name is a main character from what I know. . . 

CARSTAIRS
Some Carstairs parents:
--- Jonah Carstairs     +     Ke Wen Yu
------------------ James (Jem)
--- Elias Carstairs     +     Colette Verlac
------------------ Alastair

Lucie Herondale by Cassandra Jean

------------------ Cordelia

HERONDALES
Edmund Herondale    +     Linette Owens
--- Ella Herondale
--- William Herondale     +     Tessa Gray
------------------ James (Jamie)
------------------ Lucie
--- Cecily Herondale     + Gabriel Lightworm
------------------ Anna
------------------ Christopher
------------------ Alexander

LIGHTWOODS
Benedict Lightwood     +     Barbara Pangborn
--- Tatiana Lightwood     +     Rupert Blackthorn
------------------ Jesse (I'm guessing he's in this. . . )
--- Gideon Lightwood     +     Sophie Collins
------------------ Barbara
------------------ Eugenia
------------------ Thomas
--- Gabriel Lightwood     +     Cecily Herondal
------------------ (see above)

So the random tidbits to keep in mind:

• Matthew Fairchild is Charlotte's son and James's parabatai. He is related to nobody else (I think).
• Cordelia and Jem are cousins. 
• Christopher, Thomas, and Jesse are all cousins. (Along with Anna, Alexander, Barbara, and Eugenia.) 

This is all very google-able if you wish to double check me :)

Thanks for reading! 

The Last Hours artwork by Cassandra Jean

Thoughts on Chain of Gold (Excerpt) by Cassandra Clare

Chain of Gold (Excerpt) by Cassandra Clare

Thoughts

*Thank you to NetGalley and everyone else involved in making this excerpt available.*

Another little sneak peek into my thoughts based on a book! This excerpt only contained one chapter from Chain of Gold, the book to start the series I've literally been waiting yearsssss for. Really. I remember this series getting announced like, half a decade ago. Needless to say, I am very excited to return not just to this world, but to these characters.

Tessa.
Gray.
Will.
Herondale.

Two of my favs. I'm excited to see everybody though: Cecily, Charlotte, Gideon, Sophie, etc., etc., and. . . Jem. *swoons* I know that the series follows their children, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them all, but there's something tenderly nostalgic about being able to check in on the characters we said good-bye to in The Infernal Devices.

The lovely Cassandra Jean tarot card for James.

So- the non-spoilery tea. Here it is:
I want more.

Even if there was more to the excerpt than the first chapter, I think I'd still be saying this. We all know Cassandra Clare is a phenomenal writer and her characters are so robust, but I'm genuinely curious about the plot of this trilogy now. There's a very brief moment before the first chapter that I won't describe at all (muahahaha), but I'll just say it is a solid hook. I'm in. I was before for the characters, but now I'm in for the plot as well. There's not much more I can say besides that I want more. There was a hook, some setup, and some introductions, but nothing much more substantive to comment on. This excerpt was like being able to smell a delicious meal- it was great, but now I just want the meal even more.

Last quick side note: for as many characters as there were in TID, there's now also their children. If you are like me and haven't memorized the family tree from Clockwork Princess, I recommend looking up who's who's child and who's cousin to whom. Now, so that you don't get spoiled -- because remember that family tree goes up until The Mortal Instruments -- I will make a separate post just outlining who is related to who through this time period.

Thanks for reading!

Thoughts on House of Earth and Blood (Excerpt) by Sarah J. Maas

House of Earth and Blood (Excerpt) by Sarah J. Maas

Thoughts

*Thank you to NetGalley and everyone else involved in making this excerpt available.*

Okay, so I'm not quite sure I can consider this a "review" per say, but I'm going to categorize it as such for organizational purposes. I was able to get the first five chapters of Sarah J. Maas's upcoming release, House of Earth and Blood, and before I go any further I have to admit that I was so excited about these five chapters that I cried a little. I am a HUGE SJM fan-- after is a list of all the post related to SJM that I've written. It's a lot.

Any-who, I was thrilled with what I've read so far and I didn't think I could look forward to this book any more than I already was, but I've been proven wrong. Here are my thoughts on the first five chapters, without any spoilers of course, and I cannot wait until March 3 to be able to read the rest of the book!!!!

What I Liked:
SO. MUCH.


SERIOUSLY.

SO MUCH!

But for real, here's some of the highlights so far:

1. The Pack (I'm definitely going to have to explain this one a bit more fully when the actual book comes out and I review it.)
2. The Anticipation for Bryce's Character Development
3. Hunt Athalar (who, admittedly, I'm not sure was in these pages yet, but c'mon. . . read the description of the book and tell me you don't like the idea of Hunt's character.) 

Hesitations/Reserves/Curiosities:

1. There's a lot of information that gets thrown out right away. Drink an espresso or something before you go into this, take some notes, don't multitask, etc. You're going to need some brain power to organize the sudden influx of world building. 
2. I need me a map. A full on, whole planet/universe map because I'm a wee bit confused on a couple things. 

MY PEEPS THIS BOOK COMES OUT SO SOON WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER SARAH J MAAS BOOK IN OUR EXISTENCE IN LIKE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AND I'VE ALREADY DECIDED THAT I WILL LET MY MIND BE TRASH AT SCHOOL BECAUSE THIS BOOK WILL CONSUME MY EVERY THOUGHT AND FEELING.

Anyone else as excited as I am? Yes? I feel like for this one there must be at least one other person out there as excited as I am. :)

 Thanks for reading!

All My SJM Posts:
Empire of Storms Excitement
Review of Empire of Storms
Prepping for Kingdom of Ash
Review of ACOFAS
Swiftathon (there's a mention or two)
Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2016
Ten Bad*** Gals from YA Literature
AELIN IS GOING TO MAKE THE BATHTUB (Oh, past me. . . you were so confident in this.)
Books I'm Looking Forward To 2019
Ranking the Throne of Glass Series
Top 10 OTPs
Top 10 Fae Books
Feysand: A Ship in My Fleet
Review of ACOMAF
Rowaelin: A Ship in My Fleet
Throne of Glass Ships

I didn't even list them all. You could say I'm a ~little~ in love with her books.

The Last Confessions of Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw (Cover)

Hi, this is literally just a huge picture of the cover for the last book in the Shaw Confessions by Michelle Hodkin because I am trash for this series and these characters and the series is wonderful and everyone should read it. That's all, good-bye. :)

LOOK AT THAT BEAUTY

Spring Books I'm Looking Forward To

Spring Releases

The end of February-April Books That I'm Looking Forward to Coming Out

As the weather is (fingers crossed) starting to take a turn away from snow and ice, I'm getting really exciting for the books coming out this spring!! I'm stopping my list at the end of April in terms of release date because May is literally the end of the school year, which just automatically gets grouped into summer books for me then. Besides, I already have a huge list of books coming out for these two months alone.

End of February

The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith

The Seventh Sun by Lane Forbes

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

March 

Anger Is My Middle Name by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron

Haven Fall by Sara Holland

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

Moment of Truth by Kasie West

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

New Waves by Kevin Nguyen

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

The Sinner by J.R. Ward

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

April 

Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

They Went Left by Monica Hesse

Crave by Tracy Wolff

How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley

Thanks for reading! And hopefully this list grows even more! :)