My plan was to do a movie review marathon but November kicked my butt. I only saw 2 awesome flicks...so I added a couple quick holiday reads that made me smile the whole way through (except at the end because I wanted more).
5 STARS! World War Z is so good. I've watched it three times. You know the premise probably. The world is over. The dead walk the earth, but in this case they run super fast and infect you. Most zombie movies are about survival and sadly most of the cast don't make it. You endure a whole lot of body munching, screaming, and gore. In World War Z, you move past that because there is no survival for anyone if they don't figure out how to neutralize the zombie infestation. So it's a mystery wrapped in an apocalyptic thriller. If you've always wanted to watch a zombie flick but were scared of entrails all over the place, this is the movie for you. Plus Brad Pitt is so very awesome in it. He rocks,
and tries to save the world. I love him.
5 STARS! The Way Way Back pulls you into the painful existence that is summer vacation trapped with the worst person ever. Fourteen year old Duncan is stuck spending his summer with his mom and her suck-face boyfriend. I wanted to claw the man's eyes out and kick him in a bunch of places that would make him cry. Luckily, Duncan happens upon a local water park run by a bunch of misfit adults who take him in like he belongs. I loved watching Duncan come to life and I rooted for his mom to follow suit. There's some boy/girl tension. Some divorced parents drama. And the best friend a kid could make in the form of actor Sam Rockwell. Oh how I love him. If you're looking for a feel good journey check out The Way Way Back.
4 STARS! The Gift by Karli Perrin is what I'm dubbing a smiling read. I'm not sure if I've ever read a story where the banter and chemistry entertained me so thoroughly. You have Imogen, a sassy creative writing student and Blake, the best male character ever! Okay, I'll calm down, but Blake is just too good for a tiny novelette. I want more from the pair. Author Perrin does a wonderful job making me swoon and feel giddy for the budding romance, but then the story ends and I kept clicking
next page. How could it end like that? Seriously, I needed an epilogue the same length of the mini-book. If you're looking for a fun, swoon-worthy holiday read, The Gift is a great choice. I have to thank Ki at
Doing Some Reading for gifting me this book. We had a great chat about it.
4 STARS! Snow Daze by Katie Mettner is beyond sweet. The characters were such solid, beautiful people I cheered for them to get their HEA. Dully is a Special Ed teacher with a heart of gold. He rocks. Snow has a doctorate and a disability that would push away some suitors, but not heart-of-gold Dully. They have a chance encounter that piques both interest and hope. The rest was a giant leap of faith. I enjoyed reading about adults going about having an adult romance. And I wasn't expecting the steamy scenes! If you're looking for a total feel good holiday romance, check out The Gift. I first heard about this novella from Tobi at Forget the Housework, I'm Reading. Check out the
post and read about Katie Mettner's awesome mission.
