Author: AllieS.

Book Review: Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright A Turks Side Story and Final Fantasy VII Remake Traces of Two Pasts

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At the start of the year I replayed Final Fantsy VII Remake to prepare for Rebirth and decided to read the Final Fantsy VII books that I hadn’t yet. These where The Kids Are Alright and Traces of Two Pasts.

Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright A Turks Side Story is set two years after the original Final Fantasy VII and is a prequle to Advent Children. This is mostly focused on new characters Evan and Kyire and them trying to find out what is going on in the world and with Geostigma. The other characters that appear are mainly the Turks who are very sarcastic and Elena is ready to throw down/kill anyone. I loved the connections with the cast of the game and finding out what the Turks were doing at the start of Advent Children. Some of the characters mention also appear in Remake. Though I feel like this is a book for fans that need to have interacted with everything.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Traces of Two Pasts focuses on the backstories of Tifa and Aerith with hints on what is coming in Rebirth. The first half of the book is Tifa’s story and the second half Aerith’s, and then there is a small section about a character that Aerith knows but we have never met that show how ruthless Shinra can be. With Tifa’s story I enjoyed seeing her past and how she met up with everyone but I would have liked to see more of the Nibelhime incident from her perspective. Aerith’s stor first focuses on her and her mother, Iflana’s escape from Shinra and then her relationship with Elmrya. The only thing that I’m supprized with Aerith’s story is there is nothing about Zack in it. As I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth its cool seeing the easter eggs that mention the events of this book.

Video Game Review: Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode INTERmission

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At the beginning of the year I went back and replayed Final Fantasy VII Remake to get ready for Rebirth and I finally got around to playing the Yuffie DLC Episode Intermission.

Before I get into the DLC, I still love Remake but when I played it again I did see a few more flaws with it this time. It did seem to me that the creators where trying to streach out the Midgar section a bit too much but on to Episode Intermission. There will be some spoliers for both Remake and Episode Intermission as I feel like I can’t properally explain my feelings without them.

This DLC follows the character Yuffie, who has come to Midgar with the help of Avalanche to attempt to steal materia from Shrina. Yuffie is joined on this mission by fellow Wutaian Sonon Kusakabe. In terms of when this story takes place it is set between the bombing of Mako Reactor 5 and the fall of the Sector Seven Plate.

This DLC is split into two chapters the first follows Yuffie as she makes her way to Avalanche headquaters to meet up with Sonon. During this section there are a few side quests that can be done and you do get to see many of the other characters from Remake but you are not allowed to interact with them.

Once they obtain Shinra idea cards the second chapter begins. Yuffie and Sonon attempt to inflitrate Shinra to find the materia but are spotted by Scarlet. Instead of alterting security she desides to test out new wepons on them. It is in the Shinra section of the DLC where the most happens. As you continue through Scarlet sends out Deepground to deal with Yuffie and Sonon which allows us to see Weiss and Nero for the first time and we have to fight Nero to escape Shinra. At the very end there is a short sceen with the main group getting a ride from Choco Bill and Zack showing up at the Sector 5 Church as a tease for where Rebirth is headed.

In terms of game play its very similar to Remake with some slight differences do to the party members and the fact that you can only control Yuffie directly. They also introducted Synergized actions during battle where Yuffie and Sonon will do a tag team move against the enemy.

Overall, I loved this DLC but there was some things that I wasn’t expecting. I would have loved to see Yuffie interact with the characters from Remake but for the plot I understand why we couldn’t and I wasn’t expecting Deepground to become such a big thing. Its becoming clearer and clearer that the developers expect you to know information from all the Final Fantay VII games that came before. The only other critism I have is that the ending switches tone very quickly as we have a very sad sceen followed immediately by Yuffie humming on the back of a Chocobo.

February 2024 Illumicrate

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Illumicrate is a UK based fantasy and science fiction book box that has monthly boxes or just a monthly book only subscription. Each box also includes a selection of bookish goodies some more practical, others more decorative set around a monthly theme. February’s theme is Caged Hearts.

The items included in this box are a Altan’s Trident replica from the Poppy War, a drinking glass inspired by The Serpent and the Wings of Night, a fairytale keyring, and pouch inspired by One Dark Window.

Illumicrate, like other book boxes, include a new hard cover each month and most months a letter from the author. This months book is To Cage a God by Elizabeth May which is a Russian inspired romantic fantasy. We follow sisters Galina and Sera who have had gods grafted onto them and have been raised to overthrow the empire. But when Galina infiltrates the place and becomes friends with the princess she you make a choice on if she will bring the empire down or work within it. This edition also has foiling on the hardback and digitally printed edges.

March’s theme is Fantasea.

January 2024 Wrap Up

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I’m finally starting to get caught up on posts that should have come out sooner. In January I read five books which most were fantasy.

Books:

First I reread American Gods by Neil Gaiman on audio book for my book club. American Gods follows Shadow after he gets out of prison and ends up working for Mr. Wednesday. Shadow finds out that gods both old and new are real and that there might be a war between them coming. I enjoyed this more this time than the first time I read it and feel like the audio book is the way to go. However, I think I would like the TV show adaptation more (currently I haven’t watched any of it) as to me the story feel like it would be great in a visual medium.

The next books I read were Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas which are the fifth and sixth books in the Throne of Glass series. I feel like most people know about this series and if they are going to like it or not. I will say that Tower of Dawn is a bit of a slog considering where Empire of Storms ended and not immediately continuing with those characters. I’m planning of finishing The Throne of Glass series this year.

Next I read Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom by Gypsy-Rose Blanchard which is a nonfiction book written my Gypsy about her past, present, and hopes for the future. This is not a full memoir but more of a recounting of conversations and writings from Gypsy. This gives insight into her personal feelings and the start of her telling her story on her own terms.

The last book I read in January and have a full review posted of was An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson. This is a Carmilla retelling set at an all girls Catholic college in the 1960s that is a dark academia story with a rivals to lovers romance between Laura and Carmilla. I really enjoyed this an could see many other dark academia and vampire loves enjoying this as well but it does have some dark themes so I would recommend reading the trigger warnings.

Book Review: An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

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An Education in Malice is a Carmilla retelling set at an all girls Catholic College in the 1960s. This is a dark academia story with a revivals to lovers romance between Laura and Carmilla. This book does have darker themes including uneven power dynamics, murder, and inappropriate relationships between a teacher and a student so definitely heed the trigger warnings.

I’ve enjoyed S.T. Gibson’s others works and loved how this was connected to A Dowry of Blood. I know a little about the original Carmilla story and was not expecting the changes made. The poetry professor De Lafontaine is the vampire, not Carmilla which we learn early on. But Carmilla is a large part of her world and when Laura overhears she gets dragged in too.

I enjoyed how the “villain”/antagonist had a bigger role compared to A Dowry of Blood and that things are not as the seem later on in the story. I also loved how the ending was just open enough to have your own opinion on what decision Laura makes. If you have loved S.T. Gibson’s other work I feel like you will loved this one as well.

January 2024 Illumicrate

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Illumicrate is a UK based fantasy and science fiction book box that has monthly boxes or just a monthly book only subscription. Each box also includes a selection of bookish goodies some more practical, others more decorative set around a monthly theme. January’s theme is Murder Mystery.

The items included in this box are a reusable sticker book, a set of Crescent City bookmarks, an apron, a phone grip inspired by A Master of Djinn, and a library stamp inspired by the Wayward Children series.

Illumicrate, like other book boxes, include a new hard cover each month and most months a letter from the author. This months book is Voyage of the Damned by Frances White which is a fantasy murder mystery set on a twelve day cruise. This edition also has foiling on the hardback, digitally printed edges, and bonus content.

February’s theme is Caged Hearts.

December 2023 Wrap Up

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The last serval months have been fairly busy and I have gotten behind on posting things. In December I read six books including a novella and a short story.

Books:

Legends and Lattes and Pages to Fill by Travis Baldree was the first book and short story I read in December. Pages to Fill is a short story prequel to Legends and Lattes which was included in the back of my copy of Legends and Lattes. Pages to Fill allows us to see Viv when she was an adventure and warrior and the start of her wanting to open a coffee shop. While Legends and Lattes follows the Orc Viv who is done with adventuring and has decided to open a coffee shop in a town that has no idea what coffee is. I love the cozy vibes and all the friends Viv makes along the way.

Next I read the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which is a reread for me. I still love the Harry Potter series all these year later and feel like these editions would be great as a gift to someone getting into the series.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher is the 13th book in the Dresden Files series and follows the aftermath of Harry’s death in Changes. Its been six months and Harry’s ghost is told that if he doesn’t find his killer then his friends will be in grave danger. At times a sad book as we see how much Harry’s death has changed things and also feels like a bit of a restart to the series. I don’t know where the series I going next but I plan to continue reading.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first book in the Murderbot series. We follow Murderbot a company supplied Sec Unit who has hacked his own governor module so that he can do what he wants. Murderbot would really like to be left alone to watch shows and decide who he is but when a group of scientists end up murdered he and the group he is protecting need to figure out the truth. I loved Murderbot and need to read more in this series.

The last book I read this month was Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin which was a book club pick. This is a fantasy comedy where our protagonist Skeeve gets pulled into a quest when the magician he is apprenticed under is killed. A cute take on fantasy and quest stories that I feel like I would have enjoyed more if I had read it when I was younger but could be a good introduction into a fantasy series.

Book Review: Ghost Story (The Dresden Files #13) by Jim Butcher

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Ghost Story is the thirteenth book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Ghost Story follows the aftermath of Harry’s death in Change and starts about six months after his death. Harry’s ghost is told that if he doesn’t find his killer then his friends will be in grave danger.

Overall this book is much more melancholy then the rest of the series as we see how much his death has truly changed things and untimely feel like the restart/reset to the series. I loved seeing all the different characters and what is going on with then and the ending was not what I expected. I should have written this review closer to when I read it as I don’t know what else to say other than I plan to continue with the series.

December 2023 Fairyloot

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Fairyloot is a Young Adult book subscription box focusing on fantasy based out of the UK. Each month you receive a new Young Adult hardback book and several bookish goodies. Like most book boxes the hardback are special editions and the items are a combination of both practical things and more decorative items. December’s theme is Artefacts of Power.

The bookish items included this month are a packing cube (which was delayed and mailed later), a set of bookends, a satin scarf, and a tealight candle holder. The monthly tarot cards features character art from Fourth Wing.

All Fairyloot books come with exclusive covers, generally signed by the author and include a letter from the author. This month the book is What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez which is described as The Mummy meets Death on the Nile adventure with a rivals to lovers romance. This edition also stenciled sprayed edges, artwork on the reverse of the dust jacket, and artwork on the hardback.

Januarys’ theme is Regency & Scandal.

November 2023 Wrap Up

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In November I only read two books and watched two movies but as I was busy with other things that’s okay.

Books:

First I read From A Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi which is an anthology of stories from different characters perspectives set during Return of the Jedi. While I liked most of the stories I felt like too many had major flashbacks that took away focus from the rest of the story. Would recommend from fans of Star Wars.

The only other book I read this month is a reread that I have talked about before, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant which I read for the book club I’m in. This is still one of my favorite stories and I hope one day we will get more of the murder mermaids and find out what will happen next.

Movies:

I watched Willy’s Wonderland which is a ridiculous Nicolas Cage movie where he ends up cleaning an abandoned family entertainment center which is inhabited by animatronics that are possessed by the souls of a group of serial killers. Cage also doesn’t speak throughout the entire movie. This is one of those movie that was created when news of the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie came out and is so over the top that it ends up being kind of funny.

The other movie I watched was The Pyramid which based on the poster one would think is a horror movie about mummies but instead its a bad found footage movie where the main cast gets trapped in a Pyramid in Egypt and are hunted by Anubis. I only finished this movie by using it as background noise and doing other things.