Book Review - Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Title: Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1)
Author: Travis Baldree
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2022
 
Description: After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.
 
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success – no to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.
 
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to do it alone.
 
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.
 
Review: I’m not much of a fantasy reader, but I have enjoyed a bunch. I think the cozy fantasy is right up my alley.
 
Viv is an orc who is done with the adventurous life and wants to settle somewhere and start new. Something different from fighting battles and pursuing quests. She want something more quiet and something she give her heart and soul to. When she reaches the town of Thune, she finds the perfect place to do this. Viv has the idea of starting her own coffee shop, but no one has any idea of what coffee is.
 
The plot is fairly simple. It’s a fantasy book with low stakes. And as cozy as the story sounds, that’s really how it feels the entire time. It’s such a wholesome story. You just want to visit Viv’s coffeeshop. And The characters are all great to ready about. Not just Viv, but also her partner Tandri. They form this beautiful friendship. And then there is Thimble, the mouse who bakes the best pastries. And I was salivating every single time they described one of his new baked goods. He doesn’t say much, but I loved Thimble. I always enjoy the found family trope, and “Legends & Lattes” captures this so well. It’s the characters that made me love this book so much and you can’t help but smile.
 
Travis Baldree’s writing is really beautiful. It’s really easy to picture the characters and locations in your head while reading the book. It’s all so vivid.
 
Going in skeptical, coming out with a huge smile on my face. What a great read. “Legends & Lattes” is such a fun book, even if you’re not much of a fantasy reader like me.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Zone of Interest

Director: Jonathan Glazer
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Freya Kreutzkam, Ralph Herforth, Max Beck, Ralf Zillmann, Imogen Kogge, Stephanie Petrowitz, Johann Karthaus
 
Description: Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.

Review: The ‘Queen of Auschwitz’, what if people called you that? Or even worse: you could be bragging about it to your mother. Hedwig Höss, the wife os camp commander Rudolf, built her personal paradise on the piece of land just outside the thick fence of Auschwitz, an no one will take it away from her.

“The Zone of Interest” is Jonathan Glazer’s film adaptation of Matin Amis’ book of the same name, though you can’t say he’s gone straightforward. The focus is completely on the family. In the book, the name of the family has been changed, but Glazer is clear about who this story is following: the historical commander Rudolf Höss and his men. The filmmaker shows what humanity is capable of.

The camera always stays on the outside of Auswitz. At most, we see furnaces burning in the distance and the plume of smoke from a train pulling. But we here a lot. Rumbling machines, shouted orders, gunshots, cries of pain. Because of the sound design of the film, the Holocaust is always extremely close. No matter how hard the film’s characters are actively not dealing with it. And crucially, we follow the perpetrators.

Glazer explores how people, if they are incetivized enough to tak advantage of extreme human suffering, can turn away from the atrocities we ourselves commit. Directly or indirectly. Hedwig Höss has not merely created a beautiful house with an amazing garden for herself, she is willing to fight for it. For a piece of greenery with a swimming pool, were, admittedly, you can always hear Hitler’s death machine roaring and the ashes of victims gently descending. “This is our home”, she tells her husbans, “exactly as Hitler wanted it for us”.

Both Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller do not seem to acting so much as temporarily living in the skin of the characters. The family is filmed as naturally as possible during everyday actons.
The movie doesn’t really have a story, it’s more an experience. And it’s a very uncomfortable one. Occasionally a character seems to be aware of the inhuman context, everyone else puts it away. And constantly you are made aware of those circumstances.

It’s only a little over 100 minutes long, but it feels so much longer. It’s a slow burn and not an easy watch. It’s the implication of the horror that is going on, on the other side of the wall that make this film so difficult to watch. And it will most likely be your only watch. This film challenges you to understand that these people banish their perception of those horrors from their personal experiences of the here and now. And also to see that some children grow up thinking that such conditions are normal.  

Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Lakewood by Megan Giddings

Title: Lakewood
Author: Megan Giddings
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2020
 
Description: When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is reealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan.
 
On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying,. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program – and lie to her friends and family about the research being done in Lakewood. An eye drop that makes brown eyes blue, a medication that could be a cure for dementia, golden pills promised to make all bad thoughts go away.
 
The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world 0 but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating. As the truths of the program reveal themselves, Lena learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of her family.
 
Review: After Lena’s grandmother has passed, she realizes that her mother’s illness is worsening. They are also dealing with a huge family debt. Lena is forced to quit school and a find a job to support her family. In an add, she reads about Lakewood. A secluded town. There is a jo that pays highly and provides a place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a series of medical tests. When it sounds too good to be true, it most often is.
 
Even though Lena knows she is a part of medical research, she has no clue what to expect. And it doesn’t take long for her to see that something is very wrong in Lakewood. Why are (almost) all of the participants people of color, while the observers are all white? What are these tests for and why can’t they talk about it with their families? When at first the tests are pretty innocent, they quickly turn into something more dark, painful and terrifying.
 
“Lakewood” is provocative and thrilling. A breathtaking novel that takes un unflinching look at the moral dilemmas faced by many working-glass families and the horror imposed on Black people in the name of science.
 
It’s a disconcerting, surrealistic story. Very though-provoking and creepy. It’s so horrific because it feels so realistic. I felt the ending was a bit rushed for my liking, but overall I really loved “Lakewood”.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Report

Director: Scott Z. Burns
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, John Hamm, Ted Levine, Tim Blake Nelson, Maura Tierney, Corey Stoll, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Morrison

Description: Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA’s post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 20: A FILM WITH A STRON POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MESSAGE
 
Review: In the years following the 9/ 11 attacks, it slowly but surely became clear that the US had little to fear in the war on terrorism. The CIA engaged in gross torture techniques on a large scale in order to extract information from often innocent suspects. “The Report” shows how one drive investigator brought the world’s most advanced intelligence agency to its knees.

Dan Jones is a young man with sky-high ambitions. When Senator Dianne Feinstein gives him the task of working with an independent team to investigate the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation techniques, he bites the bullet. What he discovers bit by bit is unsettling and not for the faint of heart. The CIA saw little in the conventional interrogation techniques of Arabic-speaking agents who slowly tried to gain the trust of suspects. Two psychologists introduce new techniques, that they claim are scientific proof of more effective interrogating methods.

This is just the beginning. Whereas the CIA was initially cooperative, as Jones discovers more, of course, more and more doors are closing. Meanwhile, the investigative team he started with is thinning out. His colleagues no longer see any point in a mission doomed to failure. But Jones continues stoically.  

Adam Driver has already shown that he can play a wide range of roles. But he was made for this film. I think the film could have turned out a lot different with another lead actor. “The Report” may feel a bit ‘dry’ sometimes. It’s a lot of facts. Driver manages to create a character that you really want to succeed, even though he doesn’t show a lot of emotions. At least at first. Jones is a very stoic, pragmatic man, but when he gets deeper in the investigation, emotions do arise and that makes Driver’s performance even more impressive.

Unlike many American political films, for once it does not point exclusively at the Republicans. “The Report” is a very anti-America film if I may say so. But it’s still a political drama of integrity in the tradition of films like “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight”.

The political drama is a sub-genre that might not speak to everyone. I happen to be drawn to it. Political intrigue keeps my attention and with “The Report” I was invested from start to finish. I can’t believe nobody talked about this film when it came out. At least, I didn’t hear a lot about it.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Book Review - The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

Title: The Housemaid’s Secret (The Housemaid # 2)
Author: Freida McFadden
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2023
 
Description: It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs. Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day, I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…
 
That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to play. It’s simply a question of how far I’m willing to go…
 
Review: This is the sequel to “The Housemaid”. In “The Housemaid’s Secret” we follow Millie again. And again, she is looking for a job. It does not take place immediately after the first book. Millie eventually finds a job as cleaning the penthouse of the Garricks. A house that doesn’t really need any cleaning, because it looks spotless. But it’s paying well and it’s easy money. And Millie can combine it with her school. Douglas Garrick is her boss, she speaks to him and he gives out the orders. He seems like a nice guy. But she never saw Wendy Garrick yet, Douglas’ wife. He says she’s ill and needs to be left alone in the guest bedroom.
 
WARNING! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
 
The set-up of the book is very similar to the first one. Millie getting a new job in housekeeping, at first everything is perfect, but then she suspects something is very wrong. Even the narration is very similar, as in the perspective switches at the half-way point. This came as a surprise in the first book, not so much here. I kind of expected it to happen. And the intentions of this second person were also very similar.
 
Freida McFadden’s writing is very accessible, especially if you’re new to thrillers and you have just started exploring the genre. The book has very short chapters, a simple writing style and it’s in general a quick, entertaining read. It’s hard to put it down.
 
I do think, if I hadn’t read the first book, this one would have surprised me more. Because so many elements were the same. “The Housemaid’s Secret” still did have some twists here and there that did surprise me, but overall it was a lot more predictable.
 
I did have a good time reading it, it was a real page-turner. Do I think this book deserved to win the GoodReads choice award for best mystery/ thriller? No. But if you have liked Freida McFadden books before, you will probably enjoy this one as well.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Title: The Twyford Code
Author: Janice Hallett
Genre: Mystery/ Crime
Published: 2022
 
Description: Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to soling a puzzle. That a message in secret code ran though all Edith Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven’s memory won’t allow him to remember what happened. Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Isles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today? Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Isles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…
 
Review: Steven Smith has just been release from prison and decides to investigate a mystery that has been haunting him for decades. When he was a kid, he found a book by Edith Twyford, that was annotated. His teacher, Miss Isles, was convinced that this was a code leading to solving a puzzle. Miss Isles went missing and was never seen again.
 
The book is told in a unique way. It’s a set of audio files, transcribed into written text. At the start of the book, this is explained in a letter. There is also a legend, to how certain things should be read.
 
In Janice Hallett’s first book, “The Appeal” it was mostly e-mails, but also text messages and letters. I loved that concept and I rated that book 5-stars. For “The Twyford Code” I really like the concept as well, as well as the mystery. But the audio files are not always pleasant to read. Some words are not transcribed correctly (also stated in that legend). For instance, the word must’ve is transcribed as mustard and Miss Isles is missiles. And there are more of these words in the book.
 
Even though, I really liked the idea of the mystery surrounding author Edith Twyford, I wasn’t as invested and I lost interest at some point. And, like I stated before, it’s sometimes difficult to follow due to the way it’s told. This way, you don’t really get a connection with the main character either.
 
I still enjoyed this book for the most part, but had some issues with it here and there. I obviously prefer “The Appeal”, and I applaud Janice Hallett’s clever writing. Because “The Twyford Code” is a well-crafted mystery. It’s well thought trough. I can’t wait to read more by here.
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Title: Dark Matter
Author: Blake Crouch
Genre: Science Fiction/ Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2016
 
Description: Jason Dessen is walking hom through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie – when reality shatters.
 
“Are you happy with your life?”
 
Those are the last words Jason hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”
 
In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
 
Is it this world or the other that’s the dream?
 
And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined – one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.
 
Review: “Dark Matter” is not a book that is easily defined by one genre. It’s a psychological thriller, in which Jason doubts whether he can trust his own memory. But also a science fiction story, about a multiverse full of parallel worlds. I think it’s mostly a science fiction book with thriller elements. And it’s sci-fi for people who want to delve into the genre more. Because, even though it has a complex theme and plot, the story never gets too technical or unrealistic.
 
“Dark Matter” centers on an important thought experiment: what if you had made different choices in life? Would you be happy too? Or even happier or less happy? Every choice you make in life, even if it’s just what you’re eating for breakfast, affect the further course of your life. But what would it be like with multiple worlds?
 
It’s really difficult to talk about this book without giving too much away. The story has so many mind-blowing moments and it’s just a wild adventure you go on. The book has tension from the first page, the writing of Blake Crouch simply doesn’t make you want to put it down. I expected it too be a bit more action-packed though.
 
I predicted “Dark Matter” to be a 5-star read. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case here, missed it by a half star, but I still really loved the book. It’s a science fiction book suitable for a wider audience. And I’m really loving Blake Crouch. I will definitely read more of his work.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5