Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Book Reviews

Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love and Porn
Tera Patrick with Carrie Borzillo
Turnaround

£20.00 (Hardback)
Review by Brad Harmer

How does a girl go from being a shy, awkward bookworm to the biggest porn star in the world? In Sinner Takes All, Tera Patrick reveals all - including her career as an international model, losing her virginity at 14 to a 30-something photographer, learning oral sex techniques backstage at a Guns `n' Roses concert, having an orgy with a team of firemen, her brief career as a nurse, signing her first major deal with an adult movie studio, an abusive business relationship that almost shattered her career and how, with her husband's help, she launched her business empire.

Sinner Takes All is as cocky, sleazy and glib as the title itself. Patrick gives us a whistle stop tour of her life thus far and – while some parts are entertaining, there’s nothing here that really makes it essential.

The main problem is not Patrick, but Borzillo’s horrible ghost writing. It’s called ghost-writing because it’s supposed to be ‘not there’ or ‘invisible’. If Borzillo’s writing style is a ghost, then it’s Mr Stay Puft.

There are several interesting scenes here, interspersed along the way with Patrick getting some cock. Which happens a lot. Too often in fact. We get that she’s a porn star – chances are that’s why you’re interested in reading the damn thing (unless you’re really big fan of her Executive Production work on Saints Row 2); but we want to look at the person behind all that. We wouldn’t want a book on The Beatles to be nothing but song lyrics, and we don’t want a porn star biography to be nothing but fucking for the same reason.

The Emotionally Fourteen Rating
Violence:
Frequent domestic violence.
Sex/Nudity: Frequent and high explicit, including S&M, orgies and oh-fucking-everything.
Swearing: Frequent and strong.
Summary: It’s light, painfully obviously ghost-written at times, and pretty insubstantial stuff. Too many sidetracks and tangents water down what could have been a powerful story. 4/10
Savage Nature
Christine Feehan
Little, Brown Book Group

Available Now - £7.99 (Paperback)
Review by Charlotte Barnes

When Saria Boudreaux finds a dead body in the Louisiana bayou near her home, her first instinct is to go to the police. But there's a problem: it looks like the victim may have been killed by a big cat - and her brothers are all shape-shifting leopards. Sent by the land's owner to investigate, leopard-shifter Drake Donovan is ready for anything - except the insatiable hunger that rocks him when he meets Saria. Deep in his soul he knows that she is destined to be his mate. Torn between protecting her brothers and finding the truth, Saria treads warily around the powerful shifter. Yet as they venture deep into the mysterious bayou on a hunt for the killer, Saria finds herself longing for Drake's touch and the sweet release of surrender...

Christine Feehan’s Savage Nature is a really interesting perspective on how it would feel to be a shape-shifter or a were. In the novel she illustrates the leopard and the human as being two separate entities residing in one body. Rather that the two elements being at peace with one another, it is as if the human part is continually struggling to restrain their animal inside who is always vying for domination.

The characters are fantastically written and the story is so vivid that I found myself utterly encapsulated by the bayou and the people that live there. The old fashioned nature the inhabitants of Louisiana shows how similar their old ways seems to be the hierarchical system that is evident in the were-leopard community. The only difficult thing I found to grasp is the juxtaposition that happens by Feehan’s smattering use of French at various points in the different conversations. It is very probable that there were French settlers in that area, but why would they continue with the French in this day and age? Secondly, someone didn’t check the grammar on the odd occasion and I just feel that if you are going to include another language make damn sure that you are using it correctly!

The Emotionally Fourteen Rating
Violence:
Dead bodies, biting, shooting, scrapping and kidnapping.
Sex/Nudity: Plenty, enough to make me blush in private (let alone on the train home).
Swearing: Some
Summary: An enjoyable read, worth picking up from the bookshop or for your kindle/e-reader; an interesting perspective on the were/shape-shifter community. 7/10

BEFORE HE EVER LIFTED HIS MIGHTY HAMMER, THERE WAS THE SWORD

Fantastic journeys beckon from the mysterious nine realms. Places of dark mists and fiery voids, of winged creatures and giants in the ice. And the most alluring quest of all – the search for the legendary Lost Sword of Surtur. Hungry for adventure, Thor secretly embarks on the journey of a lifetime, joined by his loyal brother Loki, whose budding sorcery equips him with just enough magic to conjure up trouble, along with the Warriors Three – a band of boastful travellers reluctant to set sail on any adventure that might actually be dangerous. But what starts out as a harmless treasure hunt quickly turns deadly, and Thor must now prove himself worthy of the destiny he covets by saving Asgard itself.

He’s already waged battle in Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2, Next Avengers and Hulk Vs., and now one of the most beloved Marvel characters is ready to strike out on his own...See the God of Thunder as Marvel Animation and Lionsgate Home Entertainment team up to release Thor: Tales of Asgard!

Thor: Tales of Asgard builds on the strength of more than forty years and ten million copies of Thor comics to create a truly epic adventure that both lifelong fans and those new to the story will love. Packed with special features such as audio commentaries with the film creators, a “making-of” featurette plus a bonus TV episode of The Avengers, this is one not to be missed.

Thanks to our friends at Lions Gate Films, we've got five copies of Thor: Tales of Asgard give away! For your chance of winning, send your name to emotionally14@hotmail.co.uk before midday on Tuesday 17th May, making sure to put "Thor: Tales of Asgard" as the subject. The first five entries out of the electronic hat after the competition closes will receive a free copy!

Don't forget to put "Thor: Tales of Asgard" in the subject line. Incorrectly labelled or blank entries will be discarded.

Thor: Tales of Asgardis available from Monday 16th May, priced £9.99.

Entries limited to one per household. Offer open only to postal addresses in the UK and Ireland.

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