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marzo 13, 2017

A Conjuring of Light (A Darker Shade of Magic 3#) by V.E. Schwab - Review

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A Conjuring of Light
by V.E. Schwab


Victoria Schwab nailed it down again! She became a certainty, in all her book the writing is: elegant, composed, confident, polished, just pure bliss. And in A Conjuring of Light - final instalment in the A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy (#1,#2) - she give her best, making it the perfect conclusion for the series. Victoria Schwab is not yet 30 and she feels - quoting the New York Times - like an old pro. But let's stop with my eulogy, and get straight to the book.

In A Gathering of Shadows we left Red London celebrating the end of the Element Games, but while festivity are taking place, darkness is casting a shadow over the Maresh Empire, making space for another London to rise. Are heroes will have fight, with every possible means, against a magic force that is moving to drain the world for its greed. 

Every character is so fleshed-out, you will except (wish) them to jump out of the pages and come to life. they  are well-rounded and they keep on evolving. We see Lila, who in the previous installment came out has hot-headed and more boastful than I could take, showing determination and strength. From the free of attachment kind of girl, she became someone who is ready to die for the people she care about. She is more mature without losing the boldness and fierceness, that made her the character we all love.

"Only you would mourn the vessel instead of the sailors"
"Well," she said matter-of-factly, "the ship certainly didn't do anything wrong. The people might have deserved it."

We also get a better spectrum of Rhy and Alucard relationship - secret from Alucard's past and some mind-blowing plot-twists will determine our crown prince's future. Rhy is also put under a different light in this book, he is gone past the rebellious fase, and he is starting to behave like a mighty king.
But the most extraordinary character of the book was Holland, so complex and mesmerising. We get a better look at his past and we get to understand him better. He reminded me of Vicious in more than one way, he surly shows that nothing is just black or white, that an object changes depending on the perspective you are are looking it from. 

"I keep wondering" he said softly, "if all of it is my fault. Where does it start, Tieren?" 
He looked up. "With Holland's choice, or with mine?"

There was a loose end in the plot with Lila, you will get what I'm talking about when you pick up the book - cus you will-, that I'm trying not to hope it was intentional. From what I notice in Schwab's book nothing, not even the smallest details, is put there by chance so this missed realisation is making me think of another waiting adventure. I'm trying not to hope for it, thinking at a possible new series in the ADSOM's universe is too much, it will break my heart if not.
I think that I could go on and on talking about how good this series was, but that will that you away precious time to read it!

5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab's Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.



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marzo 09, 2017

A Monster Calls, starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones and Sigourney Weaver, directed by J.A Bayona - BOOK vs MOVIE

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A Monster Calls
by J.A. Bayona




"There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. 
Most people are somewhere in between"

I loved the book,(--->REVIEW HERE), Patrick Ness is one of my favorite writers and after waiting so long, I was finally able to watch the movie (we still need to wait until the 18th of May for the italian release).
The book/movie tells the story of Conor (Lewis MacDougall), a child whose mother (Rogue One heroine, Felicity Jones) is terminally ill; one night, he is visited by a giant tree-like monster (Liam Neeson). Anticiant, wild and relentless the monster will share three stories with him, and at the end of them Conor will have to tell him a fourth one, the Truth.

All the feelings and emotions I had while reading the book, did resurface. You will ached for Conrad, as he struggles to process his mum illness, the absence of his dad and the rejection of his peers. Lewis MacDougall was amazing in his role - such a young actor with beautiful expressions and good skills - he is able to guide you through Conrad's grief journey. MacDougall's angry big eyes are the mirror of the conflicts raging in Conrad's soul. 


The rest of the cast did not disappoint. Felicity Jones (Lizzy) was marvellos, the relationship between mom and son was palpable. 
Sigourney Weaver is not kicking any aliens here, but she is playing Conrad's grandmother, Mrs. Clayton. She needs to help her daughter, Lizzy, with her treatments and also look after Conrad, that was pretty much left to himself until her arrival. As a character she was able to come across even better than in the book, her facial expression could have suffice, she made an outstanding performance.


The graphics were a bit of a let down - probably budget shortage -, but the photography and the settings were beautiful. Starting from the Conrad's house, homely and lived in, to his uptight Grandma's one, bent and sculpted into gloomy antique furniture.
Apart from the computer glitches, the whole movie was near perfection. It follows the book step by step, while giving it a more adult twist. I would highly recommend; on Rotten Tomatoes is scoring a 87%, which I think is pretty damn good!

EVEN! Both book and movie are amazing.

Trailer:

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marzo 08, 2017

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson - Review

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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
by Robert L. Stevenson



 It's quite weird how the story came to be: according to Osbourne's account, Stevenson wrote the first draft of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with remarkable speed. The main details of the story were given to him in a dream, and in three days the first draft of the novel was complete. But after reading it to his wife he set fire to it and started again (quite drastic, I would say). He then spent some months to polish the work we still read and enjoy nowadays.

Are we good because we want to be, or are we good because we just don't want to be punished?

Surely Stevenson did ask himself the same question while writing this iconic novel. The theme of the dual personality was a novelty in the 19th century, but still feels contemporary nowadays. He was able to portrait in Hyde, Jekyll's alter ego, the dark side of man which civilization has striven to submerge. In fact, as you probably already known, Jekyll and Hyde are the same person and the two entity can not be separated. From my reading, Hyde is just a mask that Jekyll puts on to dissociate himself from the terrible acts he commits, it's his way of freeing himself of the restrictions dictated by the society. With Hyde's identity he can vent all is violent and dark instinct, but Jekyll doesn't disappear he is always there. The problem comes when Jekyll becomes slowly more addicted to his other self. Neither can survive with or without the other, there is only one solution....

It's an exquisite novel, in contrast with most of the Gothic Romances of the time, here there is no love and frilly romance, just friendship and male partnership. I was glad of that, since the classic love-tales tend to be a bit boring after a while. 
I founded the writing style quite peculiar, at time convulsive as probably is character psychology, but at the same time simple and quick to read - less than 100 pages. As in the majority of the novels of the time the characters are still a bit empty shells, that stand more for a moral ideal than a complex individual. Still the story is pleasant and engaging.

4/5 STARS


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marzo 06, 2017

A Gathering Of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2) by V.E Schwab - Review

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A Gathering Of Shadows
by V.E. Schwab



"How do you know when the Sarows is coming?
(Is coming is coming is coming aboard)...


Here we are back with my favorite Fantasy writer of all time: Victoria Schwab and the fantastic characters of A Darker Shade of Magic.
In this second installment of the Trilogy (A Darker Shade of Magic #1), old and new characters are back in Schwab's multiverse, and you are probably gonna love them even more than the first time!
Kell - the Antari traveler, who likes to smuggle little trinkets in between worlds-; Lila - once a thief, now a pirate and maybe something more; Rhy - the charming Prince of Red London, freshly back from the dead-, Alucard - the cocky Captain of the Night Spire with a mysterious past-, and many more.

We left, in the first book, with Lila sailing off to unknown venture; and Kell back in Red London, having bond forever his existence with his brother, Rhy.
After the threat from the Dane twins is called off in White London, and Vitari, the pure magical force casted back with Holland's dying body into Black London, thing are finally starting to settle down in Red London. They city is buzzing with the preparations for the Element Games - an extravagant international competition of magic- that will draw back into port some old friends.
But while one London is engaged in the festivity, an ancient shadows has been woken in another. It just seems that if our protagonists don't go looking for troubles, this one follow them.

"Delilah Bard had a way of finding trouble"

I couldn't be more happy with this fallup of the series, give me pirates and a magic tournament - that did call back HP memory - and I'm sold. And if you also look at the covers of this series, they are beautiful, even the internal graphics are superbs. Not to mention that as usual Schwab's writing skill looks effortless. Her writing is like breathing, natural and essential. In her book nothing is excessive or lacking, everything is always well balanced.
She is the true magician in this book, transforming words in vivid images and sensations. Her use of language is detailed and evocative, making the reader drown into Kell's and Lila's world. A World where all the different sub-plot, each with their different characters, are brought forward until they converge into one. This clue point, was the case of the Element Games, until the competition all the characters are split as we left them in the first book, but they are slowly drawn together chapter by chapter.
The characters are well-rounded, we get even more depths in them. Delilah Bard was the best Pirate/Thief  and much more that I ever read about. I can't get enough of her is the baddest badass of them all and she doesn't give a damn.
Let me also advise you that if you get to the end you will immediately need A Conjuring of Light. In fact the second book stop on a cliffhanger, leaving you leaning in like at the end of Soap-Opera's episode. 

5/5 STARS

 To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

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marzo 04, 2017

Vicious ( Vicious #1) by V.E Schwab - Review

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Vicious
by V.E Schwab
"Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human"

In Vicious, we find our self in a comic-like world where super villains and superheroes can be easily mistaken for one another.

The story starts with Victor and Eli - two brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. They start a research on adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events that reveals the possibility, given the right conditions, that someone might develop extraordinary ability. But when their thesis moves from theoretical to practical, things go horribly wrong. 
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend, aided by a young girl who can rise the dead, and other odd characters that tag along the way. Meanwhile Eli is on the holy mission to eradicate, from earth, every other supernatural being. With both of them terribly powerful and driven by revenge, the battle between the two arch-nemeses is going to be epic!

"The paper called Eli a hero.

The word made Victor laugh. not just because it was absurd, but becouse it posed a question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meat to stop him, did that make him a villain?"

It's all about the ambition, the betrayals and jealousies, that brought together first, and broke apart after, our two protagonists. Eli and Victor both have a dark-side beyond their collected and calm appearance; showing that there is a fine line between good and bad guys.
Everything about this book draws you in: the characters, the plot, the excellent and effortless writing of Victoria Schwab. It's elegantly crafted, the book move fluidly from past to present, each chapter is perfectly linked to the next.

Victor is one of my favorite Villains of all times, I would highly recommend this book to any reader it's beautiful. Also it seems that a fallup novel will come out in 2018 under the title of  Vengeful, can't wait for that!.

5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.


Book official trailer:



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febbraio 27, 2017

A Darker Shade of Magic (1#) by V.E Schwab - Review

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A Darker Shade of Magic
by V.E Schwab


After reading Vicious I had to pick up her high-fantasy series and I was not desapointed. Victoria Schwab makes music not with mathe and notes, but with words and letters. creating a beautiful symphony that makes you look back at the classics and at the same time forward with original plot and atmosphere.

Schwab created a multi universe, where there are four London existing simultaneously. The boring, non-magical Grey London,ruled by one mad King---George III. Kell's Red London, where he was raised along side with Rhy, the heir to this flourishing magical empire. White London, a corrupted city where magic is power, and the one to willed it are draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London, dead, sealed off from the rest, where magic had took evil form and consumed the city and its people. 
The only people capable of travelling between on London to the other are the Antari. Kell is one of them, ambassador of the Maresh Empire, he carries the correspondence between the royals of each London.But mail is not the only thing he is carrying in between worlds. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, bring small object to willing to pay for a glimpse of the world they will never see. A small innocent hobby, until he smuggle something he shouldn't have. 
He will soon cross path with, Delilah Bard, who will rob him, than save him and in the end force Kell to bring her with him to another world for a proper adventure.

"I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it."
"Seen what?"
Her smile widened. "Everything."

The plot flows like a river, perfectly. Every word is chiseled to fit in a larger scheme, it's crafted perfection. Beautiful.
The world-building is genius. Simple and a complicated, the concept of four London is not nearly as confusing as I thought, everything explains it self while reading it. And while I usually find some plot-holes in this alternate reality kind of plot, This time I couldn't find any, it's totally bulletproof.
The characters, are close to perfection. And here I'm repeating myself , but I simply can't find any other words to describe it. Perfect, perfect and perfect!
Kell is mysterious, a darkish character without exaggeration; while Lila stuck me for her badassery, and her energetic personality despite being surrounded by violence and cruelty. A life-force. But what I loved even more where the interactions between them: no insta-love, no insta-friendship, everything is built on the evolution of needs and opportunity.

Victoria Schwab is for  sure one of the most talented fantasy writer I ever read (with  Leigh Bardugo, of course).

 5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment of her trilogy that come out this month I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

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febbraio 27, 2017

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY - Enter to win a copy of A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab!

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The last and final book of A Darker Shade of Magic, A Conjuring of Lights, by V.E Schwab is just been released this month. If you have been following my reviews for a while you will know that she is one of my favorite author of all times.
The book for this Free Giveaway is the first installment in the series A Darker Shade of Magic in the english paperback edition (as in the picture). The Giveaway stands only for Europe (UK included). To enter you will need only 3 easy steps:

1- Follow the blog, click on the link SEGUI. 
2- Like the Blog Facebook Page.
3- Send a private message to the FB page with your name or if you don't have a facebook account send a mail to the blog page or leave a comment down below, letting me know that you wanna enter the giveaway. 


If you will be selected as the winner, you will get a text on facebook or in your e-mail asking for your chosen delivery address. The contest will close on the 31st of March 2017. If you have any question leave a comment below. GOOD LUCK!!


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febbraio 26, 2017

50 SHADES DARKER, starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan and Rita Ora, directed by James Foley - BOOK vs MOVIE

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Fifty Shades Darker
directed by James Foley




Fifty Shades is literary and movie phenomenon that still gathers a high attention from the audience. Either you've have read the books and loved/hated them or are just interested in seeing what the fuss is all about, the movies are picking up everyone interests. Just in the USA it gross out (to the 22.feb) almost twice the estimated budget of  $55.000.000, in Italy is been out for more than two weeks and when I went to the cinema, last Wednesday, the cinema room was almost full.

I read the books mostly under the suggestions of some of my good friends and the general attention that the series was getting. I really couldn't see and understand why people went crazy over it, I did find the book obnoxious and not even well written, I kept on wondering why other good erotic novels weren't able to gather such attention. Nevertheless nowadays it has become such a big topic that everyone knows at least summarily what the series is about.

Let me give you the general synopsis of this book: 
Fifty Shades Darker is the second installment in the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy, the novel was originally written as a Twilight fan fiction (it probably gets from there: the stalking, the obsession and weird fetish). The plot revolves around Literature student Anastasia Steele, whose life changes forever after she meets handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey. Their relationship, in this second movie, moves from a purely sexual one to a sentimental one. While Christian wrestle with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her. 
The plot is really simple and seems to move through conventional steps and characters that function just has a background to the steamy sex scenes.


Having not liked the book I was hoping for the movie to be a bit better. But although Jamie Dornan delivers a more elaborate and sensible performance than in the first movie, this sequel as the books still has a weak plot line and dull characters' portraits. The settings and the actors' performance in general from Dakota Johnson to Bella Heathcote ("Victoria Winters" in Tim Burton's  Dark Shadows)  and the singer Rita Ora were worthwhile, but such a good cast was wasted over a lame story. 


What was suppose to be a dramatic-romance movie, had instead a soap-operish feeling. It made me laugh out loud in the most inappropriate moment, some scenes were so bad you couldn't help but genuinely laugh. It was the cheesiest, corniest, most awkward-comedic movie I ever watched.
Surely this series gained so much success also for the fact that it is so controversial, probably E.L James' favorite say is: good or bad, it doesn't matter if they talk about it!

I don't really feel like declaring a winner between the movie or the book, but I know the book in some ways makes up for the massive plot hole that we find in the movie. BOOK WINS!

MOVIE TRAILER:


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febbraio 24, 2017

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer - Review

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Winter 
by Marissa Meyer



 "The young princess was as beautiful as daylight. She was more beautiful even than the queen herself."

For how much I wished there were more books, I'm happily I was finally able to conclude this series and have a sort of closure.

 In this final installment one events follows the other quickly without giving you almost time to take a breath; It's fast-paced, heart-pounding and a quite entertaining read. It was a quite long book (p.820), and still it was a really quick read.

This is the fourth installment in the Lunar Chronicles series ( Cinder 1#, Scarlet 2#, Cress 3#, Feriest 3.5#), taking as a start point Snow White's original story. The book starts off from Cinder, Thorne and the rest of the crew still  wanted criminals on both Luna and Earth, orbiting unseen in space they need to figure out quickly  how to break out a civil revolution on Luna and put an end to Levana's tyranny and their are gonna need a hand from the charming princess Winter.

"She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option."

Winter is loved by the people for her kindness and natural beauty; she despise her stepmother, and knows that Levana won't approved of her feeling for her childhood friend/royal guard, Jacin. We already got a good shot of him in the previous book at which end he sold out Cinder and her friends to the Commonwealth, quite a controversial character, definitely different from everyone else.
This is the real prestige that Meyer's books have, every character is unique and equipped with a complex personality. Jacin is fundamentally, from my point of view, selfish in comparison with the other characters he cares only about his princess and it's like that from the beginning to the end. I didn't feel his involvement in the squad as much as for the others, he felt like a temporary addiction, in it just for personal advantage. His crazy princess surely, makes the fun in the couple.
Winter stopped using her Lunar ability to defy her stepmother and have, in a contorted way, more control over her life, but by not using her Gift she is slowly going crazy. Her exchanges with Scarlet were one of the most funny of the book after Thorne's, their friendship was quirky and smart, really really fun to read. In this grand finale we are reminded that romance isn't everything and friendships is as important.

"Did you see any rice in there? Maybe we could fill Cinder's Head with it"
Everyone stared at him.
"You know, to ... absorb the moisture, or something. Isn't that a thing?"
"We're not putting rice in my head."

Marissa Meyer was amazing in orchestrating all the different plot and subplot, making them inter-wine and then finally converge with grace and effectiveness in this last book. The characters were has always right on spot, the true lead of the series. In fact if we consider that settings and background have little space in the book, what left are just the characters, speeches and actions that are able to keep the reader glued to the pages without time to spare.

I'm always surprised at how the author was able to pick up this traditional stories and build around and inside of them, so that you are still able to recognize the plot line but at the same time living a totally different feeling and story.
We all know that usually a fairy tales end with a Happily Ever After, but what really mattered in this book was not the ending but the road that took us there.

"And they lived happily to the end of their days"
-fin-
4.5/5 STARS

BOOK TRAILER:





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febbraio 10, 2017

Book to Movie Adaptation - 2017

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BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION 

TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2017




This are the 6 books I'm eagerly waiting to see on the big screen this year, some of them have been my favorites for a long time and some are on my 2017 TBR . But without any further do, let just go ahead and jump right in!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness


I loved the book,(--->REVIEW HERE), Patrick Ness is one of my favorite writers. The book/movie tells the story of Conor (Lewis MacDougall), a child whose mother (Rogue One heroine, Felicity Jones) is terminally ill; one night, he is visited by a giant tree-like monster (Liam Neeson), who stated that he will come back each night and tell him three stories.
The movie premiere as already been held in already on September 10, 2016 at the Toronto International Film festival, it was released than in the UK on the 1st of January, 2017. I'll still have to wait for the italian release, that should be on the 18th of May.
The movie already had such a great response from the book-community and critics. I really can't wait to watch it!

(TRAILER HERE)

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly


The story is about the true story of the unsung heroes of the NASA - the black female mathematicians who quietly enabled the biggest achievements in space in the 1960s.
I always like a good "girl-power" book, it got on my TBR for the movie trailer, and I will check it out for sure before watching it in the cinema.
US release on the 6th of January, in Italy the 8th of March.

(TRAILER HERE)

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L James


Valentine's Day is near and what better way, for a single like me, than going to the cinema for Fifty Shades of Grey's sequel to celebrate it!
US and Italian release on the 9th of February 2017.
I can't say I'm excited to see this movie since I didn't like either the books or the first movie but it's a blockbuster I know I will be in the cinema...

(TRAILER HERE)

Wonder by R.J Palacio

Tells the story of Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), a boy who is born with a facial deformity, and his struggle to fit in at a new school. Also Auggie mom will be played by Julia Roberts, something to look out for!
Hopefully the movie will be released this year, they are still in the post-production, no trailer but just the US release date: 7 april 2017.
I really liked the book (-->REVIEW HERE), an easy read that did make you meditate on the important theme of diversity, a perfect read for middle school kid.

The Circle by Dave Eggers


The Circle is about a young women, Mae Holland (Emma Watson), who takes up a job at a Google-like tech company where she quickly climbs the corporate ladder.
The plot had my hook from the breaking of every privacy criteria, something that nowadays we have to consider more frequently. Also the movie is starring Tom Hanks as, for what I was able to guess, the Corporation Leader.
I will surely check out the book before the movie!
US release date 28th of April 2017.

(TRAILER HERE)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie


No pictures or trailer out yet, but it's expected to be released for the 20th November 2017, in the US.
All we know is that: the classic mystery follows fictional detective Hercule Poirot as he pursues a murder on a famous train. Kenneth Branagh will be directing and also acting as Poirot, alongside with Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley and Michelle Pfeiffer, just to mention some.
I think it's a good opportunity to finally read this classic.

This where the movie I'm hoping to see as soon as possible, but what about you: Which is the Book to Movie adaptation you are waiting for this year?


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febbraio 10, 2017

Mio Fratello Rincorre i Dinosauri di Giacomo Mazzariol - Recensione (Italian review)

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Mio Fratello Rincorre i Dinosauri
di Giacomo Mazzariol




Un libricino breve che è riuscito a racchiudere in queste poche pagine grandi sentimenti.
Con naturale semplicità racconta la storia di Giacomo Mazzariol e suo fratello Giovanni con "un cromosoma in più". Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri ci porta attraverso la crescita di queste due persone e più di ogni altra cosa ci fa vedere come il loro rapporto cambi ed evolva, fino alla completa comprensione.

"Avevo impiegato dodici anni a vedere il mondo con gli occhi di mio fratello; e ve lo giuro, quel mondo non era affatto male"

Vediamo crescere Giacomo, la sua meraviglia nei confronti del fratellino appena nato, la sua paura del giudizio degli altri quando si fa più grande, la vergogna di non saper difendere il fratello e infine il completo inglobamento delle due anime. Giacomo e Giovanni si fondono come le loro camere, entrano ed escono ognuno nel mondo dell'altro.  Amano.

"Aveva il mio stesso numero di libri. Al posto della Fattoria degli animali aveva Gli animali della fattoria"

 Un bellissimo spezzone di vita, pieno di musica e film, raccolto in poche pagine e con una scrittura semplice che riesce ad esprimere al meglio la complessità della vita.

5/5 STARS

 Il libro nasce grazie a Joe principalmente, ma anche alla grande popolarità che il loro il video The Simple Interview ha raggiunto su Youtube.






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febbraio 09, 2017

A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper #1) by Christopher Moore - Review

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A DIRTY JOB #1
by Christopher Moore



It took me sometimes to finish  it, the uni's exams session did break up my TBR, anyways I finally got sometime to relax and enjoy my readings. 
This book caught my eye in the bookstore for the creepy title and cover, and I was a goner once I read the sinapsis. 

Our hero, Charlie Asher, is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, a Beta guy inside out. He is married to a brilliant, pretty women and they are about to have their first kid. But when his wife dies, other deaths follow. People start dropping dead around him, he hears whispers from under the streets and see darks presence in San Francisco. Something is changing, seems like ,Charlie Asher, has just been recruited for a new job: as Death, or to better say it one death. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

A Dirty Job is a good mix of genera, we have death merchants, hounds from hell, grotesque monsters and an impending doom. Everything has a good hint of humor, all the characters are quirky and they always have a smart comeback.
But all the quirkiness and irony, that are just right on spot in the first half of the book, are a mashup of bad humors and are repetitive and boring in the second part. 
The writing style is good from start to finish, he is really good in creating funny dialogue, but it loses some of that easy going vibe while you get to the end.

Overall it's a funny book, it's a good laugh, easy and relaxing to read. I'll probably check out some of his other books!

3.5/5 STARS

Book trailer:


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febbraio 06, 2017

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, starring Emily Blunt, directed by Tate Taylor - BOOK vs MOVIE

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THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
directed by Tate Taylor



I liked the book (-->REVIEW HERE), it was a page turner, engaging, full of suspense and mystery. The perfect summer read. So I can imagine that Fans of the book weren't probably happy about the changes made in the adaptations from book to the big screen. Whatever was shifting the destination from the gloomy London to New York, or cutting out Rachel's drunky sex scene, which I was eagerly expecting, the movie did a selection of what to bring on the screen and as it usually happens things got left out.
Yet having wait quite a long time after the book to watch the movie, I found myself enjoying it. It was able, nevertheless the changes, to bring back to the surface all the feelings that I had while reading it. What did definitely catch my eye was the outstanding performance of Emily Blunt, she was able to portrait perfectly Rachel, the drunky heroine of the book.
I've got to say that in the book I pictured Rachel as ugly, Emily Blunt can't get anything near the definition of "ugly" but the way she wears the character is perfect. Just some cracked lips, watery/red eyes and the unhealthy color skin were able to give the exact appearance of an alcoholist. Of course nothing would have worked if it wasn't for her amazing acting skill. 


She is the solo lead of this drama, while the other female characters, Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett) and Anna Watson (Rebecca Ferguson), don't leave a bigger impression than they do in the book. Haley Bennett female heroine in The Magnificent 7 (2016), is suited for her role has the intriguing Megan, but her character doesn't' come across as strongly as in the book.


What the move is lacking is the ugliness and humanity that did emerged from the characters in the book. They had perversion, obsession and fears; they felt real and well characterize on a psychological level. In the transposition to the big screen, the deepness of the characters was a bit lost, but they still managed to do a good job.
It's a really contemporary movie so the photography and the costumes are great for the suburb metropolitan background. I did appreciate how they tried to display Rachel's memories and drunken sight, blurry and moved, it did really gave the right idea.
If I had to choose between the book and the movie: I will say that the book is able to give a full and complete experience while the movie does this only in part. Still a good movie, you should definitely check it out.

BOOK WINS!

 Movie trailer:



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