Lenni Reviews: "Runner" by Parker Williams and Patrick Zeller (Narrator)

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*This audio-book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18.

Matt Bowers has made every effort to isolate himself from the world after he was assaulted as a teenager. He lives on a large piece of land, has everything he needs delivered, and lives off of a sizable settlement account. All that changes when a man comes jogging across his property. Since the stranger isn't doing anything illegal, Matt cannot get his officer brother to do anything about the man encroaching on his safe space. Faced with no other option than to accept him, Matt gradually learns to tolerate the man's presence and even get to know him.

This is a sweet story about a traumatized guy learning to love again. It is a quintessential hurt/comfort story with realistic leads who follow a very natural progression as their relationship grows. Matt and Charlie do become an overtly saccharine couple, though Charlie seems almost too perfect in dealing with Matt's OCD and agoraphobia. Charlie is positively saint like in his acceptance of it and that made him seem less believable in his own right. I mean, he barely blinks at some of the limitations he suddenly has to deal with where as I believe any normal person would at least express some sort of resistance to their life taking a complete 180 in terms of their freedom to do as they please.

I did enjoy listening to this book. Zeller is a great narrator who has a great range to make each character distinct to your ears. While the story kept me entertained overall, I did struggle to remember a lot of things when I sat down to write this review. Cute and romantic but not much staying power. 3.5 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Broken Mirror” by Cody Sisco

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

After the death of his grandfather, Victor is convinced he was murdered. But nobody believes him due to his diagnosis of mirror resonance syndrome, which causes blackouts, nightmares, hallucinations, and a lack of control over strong emotions. Determined to discover the truth, Victor no longer knows who to trust as not only his condition worsens but a dangerous conspiracy involving a possible cure and a plot to lock up any broken mirror whether they're a threat or not.

This is a great cyberpunk thriller. Set in a dystopian, 1990's, you get this futuristic feel and the stakes make it tense but there are moments that drag as the next twist is set up. I really felt for Victor and I think you'll find yourself rooting for him the entire book, as I did. The world around him is built perfectly within the narrative making the entire story engrossing and engaging. An awesome novel worth checking out. 4 out of 5.

Deadpool 2 Review

Audio Review  by Justin D Williams 

Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA. Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy of supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling mutant, Cable.

Lenni Reviews: "Same Love" by Tony Correia

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Upon finding out their son is gay, Adam's parents ship him off to a Christian camp and warn him they won't tolerate having a gay son. But while there, he falls for Paul and both teens must reconcile their faith with love in order to find happiness.

First off I gotta say, I'm Pagan and even I wish there were nicer Christians in this. From the parents to Randall, they're almost cartoonishly evil. Boys can't go shopping together? That means they're gay? How do you get clothes then?

Anyway, this is a quick story; which makes sense considering it takes place over a short period of time. It has the innocence and charm of a summer camp story without it feeling too much like a typical coming of age plot. I empathize with Paul's struggle and it's portrayed in a realistic way that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Despite being brief, the story does feel complete instead of rushed like some short stories can be. I can see a teen reading this and liking it and for me, it's a nice change from the quickie smut. 3 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Escape Velocity" Jason M. Hough

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

After the destruction of their ships, Captains Skyler Luiken and Gloria Tsandi with their crews are stranded within enemy compounds, scattered and separated with no escape and surrounded by the Scipio; having survived a huge attack, and now must find a way to find their comrades, defeat an armada, and get out alive.

Despite the flurry of characters, this is an interesting space opera with some high handed concepts that feel bigger than they really are. Other than my personal curiosity about the previous books in this series, this one stands alone just fine. It's enjoyable, the characters and writing kept me interested but not enough to get truly lost in it and I found myself easily distracted instead of engaged. It comes in, does its thing, then it leaves fulfilling its task. Not bad, though. 3 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "The Ghost, The Owl" by Franco and Sara Richard

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

One night, an owl spies the ghost of a young girl skipping across the swamp and goes to investigate. Despite the advice of his fellow owls, he decides to help the lost ghost figure out why she is lost and the mystery of how she died.

Despite being predictable, this is a beautifully drawn, sweet story. The art is a treat for the eyes; soft and flowing when it needs to be and crisp and scary when it needs to be. The detail is fantastic so, even though this is a pretty standard 'find out why the ghost died so they can move on' story, it's so pretty, it should be seen. 

The ending is a bit abrupt and I would say this is too dark for very young kids but I enjoyed it and give it a 3.9 out of 5!

Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay Review

credit: Warner Bro. Animation

Hey O&G fans, today we have a review of DC/Warner Bro. new animated movie Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay. As always before a review here is a quick synapsis of the movie.

Amanda Waller’s secret team Task Force X (consisting of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn and Copperhead) is sent to retrieve a powerful mystical object that they will risk their lives to steal. Unfortunately for the Suicide Squad, there are other villains who want the prize, and they must win a race to get it, in order to stay alive.

A Little about the Movie

Credit: Warner Bros.

Following Ocean Master's defeat, Amanda Waller dispatches  Task Force X, consisting of Deadshot, Count Vertigo, Black Manta, and criminal couple Punch and Jewelee, to recover a flash drive from Tobias Whale. Despite the team successfully completing the mission, Vertigo and Jewelee betrays the others by attacking Deadshot and killing Punch. They reveal to Deadshot that they have been working together since their time in jail. Unknown to them, Waller was listening to the conversation the whole time because she suspected there was a traitor and activates nano-tech bombs implanted in Vertigo and Jewelee's necks. Vertigo is killed by the bomb while Deadshot shoots Jewelee out of mercy, much to Waller's intrigue.

REVIEW

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is a Dark and Bloody animated movie with some laughs, but not quite as good as Escape from Arkam. Like Escape From Arkam, Amanda Waller (The Thinner Version) sends Task Force X  on a secret mission to obtain a supernatural McGuffin. ( No Spoilers you will see what it is when you watch the movie). This is a non sanctioned mission for the Squad, they are stripped of their usual resources and gear and are reduced to driving across country in an RV (imagine an all Super Villains road trip lol).

The movie set up feels like a 70's grind house film with blood, gore and sex, which isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't seem to fully work for this animated feature.   The fight scenes look great, but the more conversational scenes in between don’t fare so well. Especially the arguments between Deadshot and Bronze Tiger, it gets old quick. The characters have these stiff stoic expressions whenever they talk. Because of this, jokes and one-liners end up falling flat.

As always a solid voice cast with these DC Universe Original Movies, and this is no exception, with standout performances by Vanessa Williams (Amanda Waller), C. Thomas Howell (Professor Zoom), Greg Grunberg (ahem..."Steel Maxum"), and James Urbaniak (Professor Pyg). My personal favorite is Tara Strong who gives another great performance as Harley Quinn.

Overall I did enjoy the movie, the action and story were good. I would rate the one lower compared to the other films in this series. Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay will release digitally on March 27, 2018 and is released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 10, 2018.

By Sean Tucker