Book Review: Nightmare City by PS Newman

Author: P.S. Newman 
Title: Nightmare City
(Nightmare City #1)
Genre: UF, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Pages: 359 
Published:  November 26th 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Netgalley)

In post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, dreams come true. So do nightmares. 

 Ever since a shift in reality twenty years ago, peoples' dreams and nightmares come alive, spreading chaos and destruction. Monsters ravage cities, bottomless chasms split roads, and gold rains from the sky - the possibilities are limitless, unpredictable and often deadly. Eden Maybrey is a hunter of these "shades". When a friend tasks her with tracking down and eliminating an evil shade, the hunt threatens to expose Eden's deepest, darkest secret. To find her prey, she is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor, a hunter who hates shades with a passion - and who won't hesitate to put a bullet in Eden's head should he figure out the truth.

I could not resist this one! The concept is so cool! It fell on the back-burner for a while, but I am so glad I was able to finallllyyyyy get into this one. 

The story is set in LA after a terrible event happened years previously. Dreams AND nightmares can come true LITERALLY. It's unpredictable and can be deadly. They call these manifestations "shades". We follow Eden who is a hunter of these shades and is tasked to get rid of them. There are many other hunters out there, but there is something different about our Eden and she cannot let the world know what it is. When a friend manifests a shade, he hires Eden to take care of it, because it is dangerous. So dangerous it puts Eden and everyone she loves at risk. She is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor is who is anti-shade that even fellow hunters worry about him. 

Loved Eden. She was kickass! 

Loved Cece too. She was kickass. 

Aunt Vy the sword was a hoot and she was certainly a fun "character". 

Sean was fishy to me. 

Loved David. He was so sweet to Cece and her baby sister. 

Bella.....hate you. Hate you, hate you, hate you. I get you are a teenager who really went through some stuff. But you are manipulative and terrible. Someone needs to kick her ass. Maybe Eden will one day. But seriously Bella...get your head out of your arse. 

Besides for my loathing for that snot-nose kid, I really enjoyed this. I could NOT read this fast enough especially near the end. THAT TWIST! I guessed it, but I thought I was just being a negative nancy and cynical, but OMG. Danggg I need book 2 now!!!!!!


Okay - okay. Overall...this was awesome and fun. I highly recommend it. 5 stars. 

PS - Yes, I was bored so I had a little fun with doing HTML and formatting lol. Let me know if you like it! Maybe I'll force myself to not be lazy for future reviews/posts ;)

Movie Review: Mad Max Fury Road (2015)

Length: 2hr 
Released: 2015
Genre: Action/Adventure & Horror (And I am adding Drama)
Rating: R  
Where I Got It: Watched at Theater 

SUMMARY:
It's been 45 years since the collapse of civilization, and resources such as water, food and oil are scarce. Survivors cling to life at the Citadel, a fortress controlled by the tyrannical Immortan Joe. When Imperator Furiosa leads a band of rebels on a daring escape through the Wasteland, she forges an alliance with haunted loner Max Rockatansky. Together, they embark on a high-speed race through the desert, pursued relentlessly by the gangs of the apocalypse.


TRAILER: 

REVIEW:

This is not my favorite genre at all, but my father installed me with the love of the original Mad Max. I believe I was too young at the time, but he did not care, so I grew to love the series. So take my love of Mad Max and mix it with Tom Hardy...I am totally game. haha.

I went into the movie with low expectations, because yes....it is a remake....and as we all know remakes rid a fine line. However, I must applaud this remake, it did the original proud and I hope they make a sequel.

Yes...I said that.

The whole premise of Mad Max is that the whole world has gone insane and desperate, while Max tries to hold onto being good and doing good. Yet...he is mentally insane due to all he has seen and done. Oh yes...the irony. Max says very little, because he is utterly haunted and he is just trying to survive through this messed up world. Tom Hardy did a wonderful job with portraying Max. There was one scene in particular near the end that made me proud of him. I cannot say, but he has a moment of realization that he cares for someone and that person may not live, so he realizes maybe he should introduce himself. It is cute and sad and perfectly Mad Max-y (not a word, but should be).

I was worried that this would soley be action and visual and just guys having fun with bombs and making explosions. However, it was done nicely and it didn't kill the story. I know I was sitting on the edge of my sit worried for all the characters I liked. 

The whole cast did a good job. Kuddos to them. And I am glad they got a couple original Mad Max actors, which make me happy! :)

My only real issue with the film was the lack of Max scenes. I really wanted more scenes of Max showing that he may not be the "smartest" or "toughest" person in a fight, but he is clever and will do what it takes to survive. That is all he has left. There was one scene when he went to take care of business, but they didn't show it...he just came back covered in blood. Boyfriend made an excellent point, the scene keeps him a mystery about what he is truly capable of. True, but I maybe biased, but I wanted to see more of Max.

In the end, this was pretty good. I am proud to say it did the original movies and comics justice. The cast did well and the scenes were nice. It wasn't over-the-top explosions or dulling story; a nice mix. I really want to see a sequel. My only issue really was the fact that I felt they needed more Max scenes for new people to connect with him like I did with the original. Perhaps in the next one? Maybe this was a nice intro to get you curious and want to learn more about him and his madness? I am fine with that. I totally recommend this to Mad Max-ers and even for the newbies! Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4 stars.  

Favorite Character(s): Max (duh), Furiosa, and the wives 

Not-so Favorite Character(s): Immortal Joe (great actor, but sleezball character who got what he deserved)

Re-watch?: YES!