The blog of author Stacy Kingsley - Stacy Kingsley

Book Review - I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS by Iain Reid

9/16/2018

I really wanted to like the book I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. I really did. Unfortunately, I did not like it, I did not like it at all.

I really hated this book. At first I enjoyed it, I thought it was interesting to hear the girlfriends thought, even though they were repetitive, and she got to be a little annoying. Then I just got bored.

Over and over the girlfriend repeats things in her head like: I should tell him I'm going to end things, I should tell him about the caller, Who is the caller, should I answer the phone. I got tired of it all and just wanted to kick her. She never changed her tone, until the end when we find out the huge secret. I also have to say I hated the ending. The last half of the book felt rushed, even though I knew what was going to happen (it was easy to figure out and no, I didn't read any of the reviews before hand). I would have liked it to go in a different direction, and not leave so many loose ends. I would have like it to be more cohesive as well as I found the way things developed was a tedious, time suck.

I don't like hating books. I want to support authors, but I don't get how this has so many good reviews. I think that because it is "literary" that may be why it has garnered so much attention. In my view, it was a book that didn't deliver what was promised, and in the end it left too many things open. I understand that the caller was an abstract idea to some, but to me it was a suspenseful element that didn't add anything to the story.

Not a fan. Not a fan at all. I wanted to like this book so much because of the title, it really drew me in. But, it just couldn't get there and lost me along the journey.

Book Review - Madame Zero: 9 Stories by Sarah Hall

9/12/2018

What can I say about Madame Zero: 9 Stories by Sarah Hall? A lot and yet a little.

So this is a book of nine stories, and some are interesting while some are not. I wasn't sure what I was getting when I won this book in a goodreads giveaway, but I loved the cover and I loved the description so I was excited when I won it. When I received it I couldn't wait to look between the pages to see if it was as beautifully written as it looked.

Of the nine stories I didn't care for a lot of them, because honestly a of them felt unfinished, or like I was missing something. I felt at one point that they were a little pretentious. I did however enjoy "Goodnight Nobody," "Evie," and "Mrs. Fox." All of these seemed to have some element of horror to them though, "Goodnight Nobody" made me think of life and how children are often treated. How much freedom we give them and really how often we depend on them to care for themselves. Also, it was a little freaky if you know the children's book Goodnight Moon.

"Evie" was an interesting story because it was a frightening story about the self and how things might change and we might notice, until something awful happens. It made me think about all of the choices my friends, family, and even those I've made, that might be controversial.

The last was "Mrs. Fox." This was a sad story to me. It was about how we lose things, and can't be around them anymore, even though we want to, and how humans are creeping too far into nature and the natural habitats of the animals we share the world with. It was beautiful, and sad, and lovely.

The rest of the stories didn't touch me as much. I would have liked more involvement for me with the characters. I think this may be what bothered me the most, I didn't get a visual of many of the characters. In fact the most visual images I got were when "Mrs. Fox" and her children were described. Other than that there wasn't a lot of description, or sensory detail, and I would have loved there to be more of that throughout the stories, something to stitch them together.

I can't say I recommend it, but I can't say I don't as I did get a lot out of the stories I did like. But, I know not everyone will enjoy these, or the ending that some of them have, or don't have.

Author Interview with Gracie Wilson

9/12/2018

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Gracie Wilson, a Canadian author who has a new poetry book out. Gracie writes honest novels and poetry, and sometimes it is so honest it hurts. I've known Gracie (online) for a few years, and find her to be a lovely and brutally honest, which is something I love about people when they aren't trying to use the honesty to hurt you.

So here is my interview with author, Gracie Wilson.

Tell the internet world a little bit about your books.
So I have two series. The Beautifully Series and The Lonely Girl Series. I also have a poetry slam book out called Look What YOU Made Me Do!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you write.
So I’m from Southern Ontario in Canada. I’m first generation Canadian with my family going back to the Highlands of Scotland. I am an avid reader and HUGE animal lover. I have three dogs, two cats, and a turtle! (Stacy - Wow, that is a lot with a turtle! I only have two cats!!!)

Why do you write the genre you do?
I write Young Adult, New Adult, Contemporary, Suspense, Dark Romance, and Poetry… pretty much everything HAHA!
This makes you a very versatile author. How exciting!

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I was dared. Five days later I was an author, then three weeks later I was published for 2twodays as an indie. After that I was picked up by my first publisher.

How do you select the names of your characters?
Sometimes they just have one already, other times I have a list of names I like.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Going to RT every year. It has introduced me to so many amazing people! But other than that my Mac!!! Apple FOREVER!
I love that you are loyal, but Apple... NOOOOO!

What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Writer's Block, and I find the biggest one is often themselves! Don’t sell yourself short!
Very good advice!

Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Energizing, I actually forget that the world exists and I can get into a pace where it’s 12 hours and 18k later!

What was your hardest scene to write?
My hardest was my entire Poetry Slam Book. It was amazing to get it out but it was so sad to see the reality in black and white.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have a couple hundred authors that I’ve worked with at events, anthologies, and such. I feel like each person brings something different to Book World so I’m all about meeting new people and learning more about the craft!

If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
Probably work with animals.

Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
No, I just jump into a new book and then it’s done and they start talking again J

What is the first book that made you cry?
The Giving Tree when I was little I cried when it was read to me because the Tree gave the boy everything!

Do you Google yourself?
I have after being told by a friend she did it! LOL

What question do you wish I had asked and what is the answer to that question?
I think you covered everything!

And that was Author Gracie Wilson. Below are links to her books and information about them. Her poetry book Look What YOU Made Me Do! is her newest release, and it is an honest portrayal of life, and moments that a lot of us in the real world have gone through.

*~ Beautifully Forgotten ~*

Naomi’s life has been anything but beautiful, aside from having her grandparents and her best friend. From day one, they tried to protect her from the world. From a dad who didn’t care enough to come around and a mother who, at every turn, chose something else above her daughter —even contemplating whether to allow Naomi to be at all.

You fight for those you love. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, such protection isn’t always successful, and hate can find its way in, creeping up from the darkness, toxic people can bring. Love is a fickle thing. Sometimes it can heal you, other times it can destroy you.

One day. One phone call can take away everything you love.

Naomi would know because that’s exactly what happened.

When she finally decided to take the chance, stand up for herself and risk everything, her life changed forever...if only she could remember what she did. Life can be beautiful and Naomi is ready to fight the world to make it so.

Sometimes forgetting people is the best thing that can happen to a person.

This is her story.

This is Naomi’s comeback!

Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Beautifully-Forgotten-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07DDLFVNL
Amazon Ca - https://www.amazon.ca/Beautifully-Forgotten-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07DDLFVNL
Amazon AU - https://www.amazon.com.au/Beautifully-Forgotten-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07DDLFVNL
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beautifully-Forgotten-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07DDLFVNL

*~ Look What YOU Made Me DO ~*

Look What YOU Made Me Do is a debut poetry book from Romance Writer Gracie Wilson who is a YA/NA Amazon, International Best Selling Author and now thanks to this book an Amazon #1 Best Seller.

- And words are my power, and this is your final hour! -

Look What YOU Made Me Do is a collection of poetry from childhood to adulthood about loss, family betrayal, and taking back your power. You will find slam poetry included, a song written as a child, and poems about coming out of that darkness.

The Mother’s Tears
Arithmetic
She’s Not My Mother Anymore
Today’s A Brand New Day
Untitled Gracie Wilson age 12
Morning Wake up
Look What You Made Me Do
Do You Remember
Who You’ve Become
To the Bone
Truth Be Told
Little Dove
My Life
Last Words
Take Care
Any Other Way
Nine Months Old
Seen And Not Heard
Two Little Girls
Less Is More
Suck It Up Buttercup
#Strong
See You Next Tuesday
Hello Pot, meet Kettle
Congratulations
Beep, beep, beep
Today
Why I will never see You again

Buy Links
Amazon US - https://goo.gl/sKJ8js
Amazon CA - https://goo.gl/eK5YR7
Amazon UK - https://goo.gl/UcEQvF

Poetry Slam reading - Look What YOU Made Me Do!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkSm9DGWE5k

Buy Links
Amazon US - https://goo.gl/sKJ8js
Amazon CA - https://goo.gl/eK5YR7
Amazon UK - https://goo.gl/UcEQvF
#PoetrySlam #Poetry #PoetryDebut #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo

Book Review - OUR LITTLE SECRET by Roz Nay

8/26/2018

SPOILERS!!!

In Our Little Secrets by Roz Nay, the scene starts in a police interrogation room. A young twenty-six year old woman, Angela, is being questioned in a police station by a Detective Novak about her relationship with a young man named HP and his wife. During her time in the police station, Angela continually goes back, beginning her story in the formative high school years of her life, when she first met HP. Throughout their years HP and Angela were friends, but eventually they become more involved after being very close friends for years. When Angela finds that she is being forced to go to England to go to university they make an agreement that they will see how things happen, but they both apparently want their relationship to continue.

In all honesty this book wasn't bad, but I didn't believe what was going on. I didn't believe that Detective Novak would continually let Angela run her mouth off about what life was like as she grew up and grew closer to HP. Every officer I know would have more aggressively brought her back to the subject at hand, what has happened and where is the missing wife? Being able to ramble through her life, meeting HP, inserting herself into his life later, and basically lying about everything, seemed to be a little to much. She was given more time than anyone would have been given to talk about her past relationship.

The one thing that I did take away was the narcissistic nature of the main character, Angela. She was obviously either mentally ill or had antisocial personality disorder. This book did remind me a little of the book The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve. The stories had similar main characters, woman who were in love with a man who they weren't sure loved them, or a love triangle.

The ending of the book did surprise me. Although there were characters I wanted a little more information about, like Angela's self-involved mother, her new best friend Freddy, and her absent but intelligent father. I even wanted more information about Saskia, the wife of HP. I don't feel she had enough of her own personality and character, which I do understand since she is being represented through Angela's eyes, and Angela is obviously biased.

I do think this book was interesting, and I do recommend that if you liked books like Girl On a Train and Gone Girl this might hit some of the right spots for you. While I enjoyed it, it did seem to stretch a little long, and I wished that it had gotten deeper into the story earlier. After a certain point I didn't care what was going on between Angela and HP. I just wanted to get to what happened after HP and Saskia were married.

Movie Review - THE LOFT

7/23/2018

The Loft is a 2014 movie that I had wanted to see in the theater. The movie revolves around five married men who join together to secretly share a loft. This loft provides a place of their own where they can take their extramarital affairs if they so choose. One day the unthinkable happens, and they find a body in their loft. They must decide what to do, and which of them might be the murderer.

This movie, when I first saw the trailer, looked like it might be an interesting horror film. It is actually more of a suspense movie, with a little extra infidelity in it. None of the men are really good guys as they all either want to or do cheat on their wives. The movie does however start with a shock as we open on a car being struck by something heavy, which one can only presume to be a body due to the tone of the movie. This beginning also sets up the overall dark tone of the film itself.

Of the five men the leader, or the one who provides the loft, is Vincent. Vincent is a man who doesn’t seem to care for anyone, his wife, his friends, or the women he sleeps with. Marty is a drunk who tends to do whatever he wants, and say whatever he wants, when he is drinking. Chris tries to believe he is a good guy, but he is like every other guy, although his wife doesn’t make things any easier as she doesn’t seem to like him, or any of his friends. Phil is a man who plays until the day he marries, and he really does play until the DAY he is married. Lastly, there is Luke, a man who seems to have his life together but who also seems to have a secret, which everyone thinks is his attraction to other men.

Throughout most of this movie it goes round and round, showing all of the bad deeds done by the men. Each one of them confesses to a problem they have had, and each one shows how little they care for others. This movie didn’t have many likeable people in it. The only one any of the audience could feel in the least bit sorry for is the character of Sara. But, to talk about her too much is to give away a lot of the story.

There was suspense, as we could wonder throughout who the killer was, and who the victim was. Also the depth into which the men go to live their lives as degenerates, it makes none of them likeable characters. In the end we do want to know what is going on, but it is almost a little anti-climactic. The story behind it was a little tedious, and finding out that some of the men get what they deserve while some of the others don’t was a little frustrating.

This was not a movie with a happy ending, and when it did end I felt bad for Luke. If you do end up watching it then you’ll understand why. His character was very sad, and he even though in the end he was not a great guy, just like his buddies, he did leave us with something to feel.

Are There Any GOOD Movies Out There???

3/22/2018

I know it has been a while since I wrote a blog, but either I've been in a funk or there hasn't been a lot that was interesting to me out there in movie land.

Now, I'll be honest, I haven't really felt like going out a lot, partly because it has been freezing cold where I am, and I am just tired of being cold and spending all of my money on warm drinks. However, there also seems to be a good movie freeze, or the movies I am interested in seeing are not appearing in theaters near me, or for very long. For example, I really wanted to see the movie WINCHESTER. Do you want to know when it was playing? 10pm at might. Now I am a night owl, but I also have to wake up at 6:30am to go to work, so I am sorry I am not going to get my butt out of bed after getting home at 12:30am and be happy to go to work that day. I am usually not happy to get up at 6:30am, I'm not going to push it.

Where are all the good movies at? It seems that all the movies being put out are either remakes (DEATH WISH) or weird romantic movies, or something that is just not a type of movie I am interested in. I mean the last good movie I saw was BLACK PANTHER and I thought it was okay, not great, but okay. I hated the ending. It was dumb. And I hated the ease of what happened to Claw, that was stupid too. I know my opinion is one the the few about the movie, but hey, I wasn't a fan of WONDER WOMAN either.

So, someone, tell me what's good out there! I feel like I am falling behind in my movie watching. I've been catching some good television, like, JESSICA JONES, ALTERED CARBON, 9-1-1, and catching up on MAJOR CRIMES. In fact, I still get the DVD's from Netflix and the next movie I'm getting is KEDI (so super excited!!!!). I mean a movie about cats... HELL TO THE YES!!

Anyway, enough of my ranting. If you have any good movies I should see, in the theaters, on streaming, or on DVD please share them with me! I am so bored and need more movies to watch!!!!

Movie Review - 47 METERS DOWN

2/12/2018

Anyone who has watched JAWS might have a certain fear of sharks. Now, sharks have become the thing of parody with the SHARKNADO movies, but 47 METERS DOWN bring them back to the surface as movie monsters who will eat your face and not care what happens later.

47 METERS DOWN is a suspense horror film about two sisters (which I didn't realize until later in the film when Lisa states that Kate is her sister) who have ventured out for a relaxing and adventurous time with each other. One sister, Lisa, is attempting to move past her broken relationship, while the other sister, Kate (also the younger sister), has been out living life and enjoying adventures. Kate talks Lisa into going out on a boat to see some sharks, which has Lisa very frightened. However, Kate is able to talk Lisa into pretty much anything, and they end up going, which costs a couple of lives, and a lot of time.

There is a lot of suspense in this movie as the audience gets to wonder continually if Kate and Lisa will survive the mishap that left them 47 meters below the surface, with only a little bit of air, and a couple of man hungry sharks. Mandy Moore does a good job as Lisa, but there were several times in the movie where I wanted her to be eaten by a shark. She screamed a lot, and whined over and over and over about being scared and not being able to do this or that because of her fear. Kate, played by Claire Holt, did a much better job, screaming when it was warranted, and I really didn't hate her character at all. While throughout I didn't care if Lisa died, I found myself hoping that Kate lived.

As someone who doesn't find much scary anymore, I will admit there were a couple of times while watching this movie that I did jump, and I was on the treadmill, which almost caused me to fall off. This of course, would have been hilarious, but I am glad I didn't fall off of the treadmill. This is me doing you a solid though, don't watch this while you are on the treadmill, or prepare yourself for some jump scares (which were well done and warranted).

Now for the bad. There is a section of the movie, towards the end, that wasn't good. It tried too hard to make this one point believable and it only served to annoy me. I don't like any of the following because they are overdone - a dream within a dream, someone hallucination that they live, someone hallucinating one thing which turns out to be the exact opposite of what happened, or someone hoping for something so much that the director decides to show us them escaping, then drags us back down into the hell they are trapped in. While this worked in the movie THE DESCENT, every other time it has been used has been overdone. So, that was the only scene in the movie that I did not like, for one it was an eye-rolling moment, and for two it didn't fit the format or theme of the movie.

Movie Review - ONLY GOD FORGIVES

8/16/2017

This 2013 movie is set in Thailand. The plot revolves around a drug trafficker (Ryan Gosling) who has an icy mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) who sends him on a mission to avenge his older brother, who was killed for beating an underage prostitute to death.

This movie didn't gain much of an audience as it is a pretty avant-garde and unknown film. It is stylistically breathtaking, and the characters are all toned down a little so they aren't overstated or reaching. Gosling is a very quiet character who doesn't say much in this movie.

The movie begins in with men boxing and slowly moves to Gosling's older brother visiting a brothel. The brother is a disgusting human being. When he gets to the brothel he tells the proprietor that he wants a younger girl, when the proprietor says he doesn't have anyone younger, the brother tells him to bring his daughter. He ends up not getting the 14-year old he wants. In the end bad things happen and the brother ends up dead. Gosling goes on the lookout for the person or people responsible for his brother's murder, but when he finds out why we find that he has a high set of morals. The mother then arrives and we find that the relationship between her and her two children is somewhat complicated.

We meet several characters throughout the movie, and none of them have any redeeming qualities. Even with his morals Gosling is still a despicable human being. Now, don't get me wrong, I did not hate this movie. It wasn't a great movie and seemed very simplistic, but it wasn't terrible either. The best part of this movie was the stunning atmosphere. The brilliant and florescent colors were fantastic, and the scenery was brilliant in working with the flow of the movie.

From one scene to another the picturesque brightness and the dim park work It is almost as with each scene the director is setting the mood and making sure the viewer understands what is happening. For example the scenes with the other are often bright and she is often the center of the picture, yet of what the audience learns she is one of the worst mothers in history. Each scene of violence is expertly portrayed with both bright colors.

I don't know if I can recommend this movie based on the acting or the merits of the movie, but as a stunning picture it is wonderful to watch. It was also interesting to see Gosling play a man of few words and not really much in the way of muscular prowess.

So take this review as you want, and either watch the movie for the settings, or skip it, it won't hurt my feelings.

Movie Review - CHLOE

3/19/2017

I watched this thinking I was going to watch a horror movie, partly because the trailer makes it seem like a suspense horror movie, it is not a horror movie but it is still pretty interesting, especially since it was not about what I thought it was about. Chloe is about a doctor who hires an escort to test her husband, whom she suspects of cheating, though unforeseen events put the marriage in danger.

Writing movie reviews is a little hard when you want to say a lot, but if you say too much you give away the surprise of the movie. There are things I want to write about this fantastic movie, but I have to restrain myself because I know I will give away everything and I think people should watch it.

Chloe is an innocent looking young woman who obviously has some personal issues and has, quite possibly, not had the best life. The audience doesn't get much in the way of backstory to Chloe (played by Amanda Seyfried), and the most the audience knows about her is that she is an escort or a prostitute, but she is not a street walker. The character of Chloe is both needy and sad, but her character isn't sad in the traditional way. The audience doesn't feel bad for her because she is an escort, the audience feels bad for her because there is obviously something broken in her and we are only left to guess what that is.

The other characters are a little dull compared to her, they seem like an every day family with a wife who suspects her husband of cheating, and their son, who hates his parents, but obviously really loves them. It is the normal picture of an American family, or at least the American family today. The wife hires Chloe after she finds a picture on her husbands phone of him and another woman, one of his students. She continues to have Chloe test him, and receives the news that her husband has fallen for Chloe's charms and has completed the act of adultery.

After this things change and the story line twists. I'd love to say more, but a lot of it has to do with Chloe's own issues and her desire to feel loved.

Of all of the actors Amanda Seyfried really brings this movie together, and what happens to her character at the end of the movie is stunning and beautiful, because she is everything and nothing at the same time. She is the stalker that you might not mind. It was weird because she was creepy, but the ending made her less creepy and more human.

I recommend this movie, mostly because it isn't the same old husband cheating on his wife story that we have seen a million other times.

Movie Review - BURIED

2/28/2017

This 2010 movie is about an Iraq-based American civilian truck driver Paul Conroy, played by Ryan Reynolds, who, after being attacked, wakes up to fins he has been buried alive in a wooden coffin. The only things his attacker or kidnapper left him are a lighter, flask, flashlight, knife, glowsticks, pen, pencil, and a mobile phone.

I can honestly say it took me a while to talk myself into watching this movie. I wasn't sure a movie about a guy buried in a box would be very interesting, like what could actually go on. And I had read that this movie was all about the guy in a coffin, there were no other landscapes, nor any other actors to watch, just Ryan Reynolds. Another reason I wasn't sure if I could like or be able to watch this movie is the fact that it is a guy in a coffin, and one of the things I have always been afraid of is being buried alive. I hate admitting that I am afraid of anything, being a horror author, nothing is supposed to scare me, but being buried alive seems like a slow and torturous way to die. However, I decided to finally watch this, and I can't say I hated it.

The synopsis at the beginning of this post is basically what this movie is about. Throughout the movie the audience gets to see the panic, the hope, the anger, and the acceptance Paul goes through. This shows what a good actor Ryan Reynolds can be, especially after doing that horrible GREEN LANTERN movie. He has done a lot to come back from that movie, besides playing DEADPOOL in the movie, he has done this and he was in another movie I reviewed, THE VOICES (which is a really good dark comedy if you haven't seen it). This is just Ryan Reynolds reacting to outside stimuli, mostly the voices on the cell phone he has been left with, and the fear, the panic, the discomfort he feels, the viewer can actually feel it.

The movie itself was simple, with a few things happening to give the audience hope that he will be found and that everything is going to be okay. The ending of the story was really, really, well awesome! I was actually thinking one thing was going to happen, and it did, but I was surprised at how and what was said.

I recommend this movie, as a horror movie not so much unless you are afraid of being buried alive, more of a suspense because the audience gets to go through it all just to find out what happens.