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

Lenni Reviews: "Blood Borne" by Archer Kay Leah

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

Ress is cornered between two opposing factions while all he wants is a quiet life with his family. Arden is trapped by duty to the Shar-denn and the orders to hunt down Ress for betraying them yet Arden finds the growing feelings for Ress may outweigh the task.

Setting aside how fucking confusing the pronouns for a nonbinary/gender queer character (Arden) are without knowing them before you start this book and think they are typos, it is the characters that make this book. The writing makes them come alive but the rest? I sadly found it tiresome. Boring isn't quite the word because I made it through the book without my mind fogging and my eyes glazing over but if what made the impact is the new pronouns making me feel like an out of touch old geezer, then something is missing. Not bad, took a chance with a character like Arden which needs to happen more, but ultimately a 3.5.

Lenni Reviews: "Bettie Page" Vol. 1 by David Avallone

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is recommended for older readers.

In this collection of "secret diaries," we follow our femme fetale, Bettie Page, as she dodges the cops, secret agents, and cult members all while trying to make a living as a model and movie star of B movies with aliens... All while helping beat the bad guys.

This book is a whole lot of cheese and I kinda love it for that. I am an absolute sucker for pin-up art and all the guest art and the comic itself is lovely to look at; even with the batshit crazy ideas. However, there's this sensation of being in a glitter bomb; shiny, pretty, but confusing in all it's bright colors and movement. At the end, I had to re-read it all because I didn't remember what exactly happened. Gotta give it a 3 out of 5 for that but it sure is pretty.

Lenni Reviews: "Fire" (The Ninth Circle #1) by C.A. Harland

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

This book follows the adventures of Tala and Aiva Morgenstern as they search for their missing sister, Hartley, in a world filled with magic and demons.

The way this flows is just like episodes of a TV show; absolutely riffing off Buffy, Angel, or Supernatural. If you like those shows and want some fastpaced urban fantasy, this isn't half bad. I don't wanna give away too much since there's a lot going on. Sometimes the writing felt forced; trying too hard to be badass but overall, it's a fun read. A bit gory but hey, there's demon killing happening so that's to be expected. 3.4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Witch Creek" by Laura Bickle

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

Petra's husband, Gabriel, has gone missing and despite her body being currently ravaged by chemotherapy and cancer, she devotes her remaining days to finding him by any means necessary, even going so far as to adventure into the underworld.

There is a lot going on in this book. Aside for Petra, there's a coverup about Gabriel's disappearance, wolf clans, a mermaid seeking revenge for her imprisonment, a long lost son, a whole bunch of stuff. But it is cool stuff. We have a diverse cast of characters who meet up by chance, fun action, and interesting magic. I had a good time reading this but it didn't leave much of an impact after it was done. 3.8 out of 5.

Rainbow Dash (Review)

Reviewed by Justin D Williams

Rainbow Dash is a lightweight and colorful platformer suitable for adults and children alike. The game was developed by solo developer Austin Sojka because he wanted to make a game which was easily accessible to his niece.