Dazzled by Now You See Me

Thanks to a fall which resulted in a broken ankle I will be spending the next two weeks with my butt on the couch. The good thing about this is it gives me plenty of time to be EnterTAYned!

I started this morning with a movie I had really wanted to see and am now regretting not seeing it theatres. Now You See Me has a Star Studded cast yes but it also has a story that wows and a twist I did not see coming. I was sure I knew who the person in the gray hoodie was. I was so surprised and thrilled to find out I was completely and totally wrong. I love the fact that I didn’t figure it out because, as someone who sees a lot of movies and reads a lot of books, I find many of them to be predictable. I don’t mind that. There’s a certain comfort in it. It’s just really nice to be truly surprised every once in awhile.

Now You See Me is the story of 4 magicians struggling to make a name for themselves in one way or another when they are brought together by a mysterious benefactor. A year later they make a name for themselves by robbing a bank from the stage. Or do they? And if they do, just how did they pull it off.

A good story filled with the unexpected, lots of action and a hint of romance all come together in a most mystical display of movie magic.

This is a movie I will watch many times looking for the hints and tricks I had previously missed.

I give this movie 41/2 reels out of 5.

Breatheless-ly Good!

Brigid Kemmerer’s Breathless takes us back into the Elementals series with Nick Merrick’s story. Nick is the level headed brother. The one that can be counted on in an emergency, the one who always knows what to do and the best thing to say but now Nick is the one who doesn’t know what do to.

Brigid Kemmerer takes a turn that I didn’t expect with Nick. Though Nick has a girlfriend it’s her dance partner Adam that is throwing Nick into a tailspin. Unsure of what to do with the feelings Adam stirs with in him and uncertain of how his brothers would react if they found out as well as dealing with his desire to go away to school has left Nick feeling at his wits end.

I don’t even know what to say about how wonderful this story is. Having read the other books in the Elementals series I had no inclination that this was the direction Nick’s character would go. Maybe I should have, but I didn’t and I have to say I don’t care. Apparently the author is getting flack for introducing a gay character and thereby influencing innocent teenagers in inappropriate ways.
It still surprises me that in this day and age people still believe that kind of hogwash. As a 40 something year old heterosexual woman who has been reading most of her life and romance novels since she was 12, I say good for you Brigid Kemmerer!
It’s about time those in the LGBTQ community have characters in mainstream literature to identify with. It’s about time that those of us who are not part of the community see it as it really is. A community not so different from ours, whose people are just looking for love, acceptance and their place n the world. People who want to work, play and live happily ever after. Is that so different than you?

I say again, Bravo Brigid Kemmerer for writing a beautiful breathtaking story about two people finding each other in this crazy mixed up world. Two people who have so much more to deal with than anybody should have to deal with just to find
love.

Mystic City – A world of romance and magic

Mystic City is not the Manhattan we know today.

In this Manhattan, the city is mostly flooded and the rich live high in the sky in a series of skyscrapers known as The Aeries. The poor live below in an area known as The Depths. The Mystics also live in the squalor of the Depths, especially the ones who haven’t been drained of their magic.

Aria Rose is from one of  Mystic City’s most elite families.  She is engaged to Thomas Foster, son of another elite family and formerly her families bitter rival. The problem is that Aria can not remember falling in love with Thomas and her quest to bring back her memories is what this story is all about. Her quest for the knowledge she’s lost takes her deep into the depths and more deeply into the world of unregistered Mystics.  It gets her a job where she learns things about her family that she didn’t want to know. It teaches her that you can’t always believe what you think you see to be the truth. It introduces her to Hunter, an unregistered Mystic that she should feel afraid of but instead feels familiar, who rescues her on her first foray into The Depths.

Yes,  Mystic City has a Romeo and Juliet-esque feel to it. Yes, it is full of magic and forbidden love. Yes, it is a sweeping tale of good vs evil, right vs wrong. It is all of those things and then some. Yes it would make a fabulous movie.

For many readers this will be a story to devour in one sitting. It will be the story that they are dying to read more of.  I found it to be a very good read. Intriguing, mysterious, entertaining and full of romantic moments. There are characters to love and hate and despair over. I truly enjoyed all of it.

I give this book a total of 4 out of 5 reads. I will choose it for book club. There are a number of regulars I can recommend it to but it was not the You Have To Read This! book that I can recommend to everyone. It’s up there though. I predict that Mystic City will find quite the fan base.

For fans of Divergent, Delirium, Starters, Meridian, etc..

*Advance Readers copy received from Random House.