Book v. Movie: How to Train Your Dragon

So How to Train your Dragon was suppose to be the Book v. Movie for January but I just couldn't get it all done and last month was just a crazy month around here. So here it is finally.

NOTE: There will be Spoilers involved (otherwise how would I be able to compare the two?)

 

Synopsis: "Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon."

My Review: I loved this movie so had to read the book as soon as I found out there was one. It is actually quite a bit different than the movie, but I really enjoyed it. I think that it is great that the boys have something to get them into reading. I really enjoyed the Viking personality along with the dragon attitude. Hiccup & Toothless are fantastic, underrated heros. It was a great adventure to read and I want to read more (can't wait for Munchkin to get into these books so I can read them along with him)!        

 

My Rating: I enjoyed this book and it will definitely appeal to Munchkin when he gets older, a great adventure for little boys. I give it a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag!

 

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Synopsis (From Wikipedia): "How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the English 2003 book of the same name by Cressida Cowell. The film was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the duo who directed Disney's Lilo & Stitch. It stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and David Tennant.

The story takes place in a mythical Viking world where a young Viking teenager named Hiccup aspires to follow his tribe's tradition of becoming a dragon slayer. After finally capturing his first dragon, and with his chance at finally gaining the tribe's acceptance, he finds that he no longer has the desire to kill it and instead befriends it."

My Review: I loved this movie! Toothless is so awesome, I kind of want a Night Fury for myself. The Sub-characters are fantastic too. The story line was great, Hiccup learning secretly about dragons and developing a relationship with Toothless.  I loved watching the training as Hiccup used his secret methods against the dragons. The animation in this movie was fantastic as well, so much detail and brilliant colors! All around I loved this movie.

My Rating: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and am glad I have it so I can watch it again and again! I give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

 

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To say that the movie is loosely based on the book is really an understatement. All the movie took from the book is the setting, names, title and the fact that there are dragons. While the story lines were completely different, I think they were both fantastic in their own ways. With that said I think I might have liked the movie a little better. I enjoyed the dragons more, and the drastic change in the tribe's take on dragons better.  However, I think Hiccup becomes even more of a hero in the book than in the movie (and considering they had to defeat not one but two giant dragons made it even more fantastic).

 

I definitely preferred the movie Toothless to the book Toothless. In the movie he is clearly a very special dragon, a Night Fury, but in the book he is a common dragon that they had to make up a name so Hiccup could look like the chief's son. I also think that Hiccup was a more likable character in the movie as well, he made a much bigger change in the tribe than the book Hiccup did.

 

While I did really prefer the movie to the book this time, both were great stories in their own respects. I really did like how the book will encourage young boys to become readers.

 

 

So have you read the book? Seen the movie? What did you like or didn't you like? Which did you like better?



Bedtime Story: Little Grunt and the Big Egg



Synopsis: "A boy brings home a big egg that hatches into a dinosaur."

My Review: This was a favorite of mine as a kid (I had won it in a summer reading contest). It is great that I get to share it with Munchkin now. A very cute story about a boy and his dinosaur who won't stop growing and gets too big for the families cave. It is not only a great story for little kids but a little reminder to parents not to make any promises you can't keep and to research to be sure the pet you get your kids is one that suits the whole family and living situation (ok animal rescue volunteer lecture done). The illustrations are cute. It is more appropriate for kindergarten aged kids as it is a little long. This is also great for either boys or girls.

My Rating: I still love this book after so many years and I hope Munchkin will love it just as much as he gets older!  I give it a rating of Four Paws!

Good Night, Sweet Dreams!

Review of When First They Met by Debbie Macomber

Welcome to a month of Lust and Love!!

I will be sharing a variety of books with you all surrounding the theme of lust, love and all that lies between. I will have some sweet romances, some childrens love books, and of course plenty of After Dark Steam for all different tastes! Hope you will all stop in and join me!

 

Synopsis: "From the moment Jo Marie sits next to Paul inside the Seattle Seahawks’ stadium, she feels a spark. Paul’s striking blue eyes and kind smile tell her that he’s someone special—different from any man she’s met before. When they strike up a conversation, Jo Marie and Paul realize how much they have in common, yet there’s one thing keeping them from a fairy-tale ending: Paul is in the military and will ship out of Seattle within the next six weeks. As Jo Marie wonders if she should once again open her heart, she decides that, no matter the stakes, she can’t forgo her chance at true love."

My Review: Macomber has such a knack for creating characters you love almost instantly. This one is a short story but draws you in so quickly, you feel like you have been reading about these characters for ages. I absolutely love the setting, the characters and the story line. Forewarning only read the excerpt from the next book if you are prepared to read that one immediately and go on the emotional roller coaster right away!

 

 

My Rating: I loved this book, and any author who brings football into their stories gets an A in my opinion.  The only draw back is that you really have to read the next books, I mean you really can't help it! I give it a rating of Four Paws!

 

Review of Dancing with the Duke by Suzanna Medieros

Welcome to a month of Lust and Love!!

I will be sharing a variety of books with you all surrounding the theme of lust, love and all that lies between. I will have some sweet romances, some childrens love books, and of course plenty of After Dark Steam for all different tastes! Hope you will all stop in and join me!

 

 

 

Synopsis: "She's loved him for years...
Charlotte Grant can't remember a time when she didn't love her best friend's older brother.

He's never noticed her...
The Duke of Clarington hadn't spared a thought for his sister's friend in years.

Their situations are about to be reversed...
It is the beginning of a new Season and Clarington intends to stay away from all the young ladies and eager mamas hoping to ensnare a duke. But that plan falls into tatters when his mother sponsors his sister's friend and enlists him to dance with her at Almack's. The beautiful vixen he meets that night bears little resemblance to the shy, gangly girl who used to follow him around. Now, instead of avoiding Charlotte, he finds himself frustrated when she seems to notice everyone but him."

My Review: Dancing with the Duke was a great short story. Usually these shorter stories especially ones that need to introduce time periods, settings and characters tend to leave me feeling like I missed something or it was incomplete. This one however was a great fully developed story with interesting characters. Granted I didn't get as attached to them as I normally would have because there was a little lack to their depth but I was still rooting for them! It was a typical story line but still well done. It may be worth looking into the rest of the books in the series.

My Rating: I rather enjoyed this one even though it was a short story, and it wasn't filled with erotic scenes to make up for story development. I give this one a rating of Three Paws.

Review of For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund



Welcome to a month of Lust and Love!!

I will be sharing a variety of books with you all surrounding the theme of lust, love and all that lies between. I will have some sweet romances, some childrens love books, and of course plenty of After Dark Steam for all different tastes! Hope you will all stop in and join me!

 



Synopsis: "It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it."

My Review: This one was recommended to me for my month of lust and love. I admit it took me a while to get into it and I started to doubt the choice but I pushed on anyway. I am glad I did continue reading it as it started to pick up steam about a third of the way through the story. I have to admit I was very intrigued by the characters. I particularly loved Elliot, such a loving soul who suffered so much to protect the ones she loved, but she was too loving and giving, almost to the point where there wasn't much fault to be found. Kai on the other hand was so real to me, I loved his flaws and how he seemed more human to me than Elliot (kind of ironic when you read the story). I am not sure about the story, granted if it is inspired by Jane Austen's work that is probably why, I am not a fan of hers. That said, it was a lovely combination of dystopia and romance and made some very interesting points. It may not be one of my favorites and ride the middle of the road for me but I know several others who would love this one.

 

My Rating: Like I said before this was a real middle of the road book for me, I liked parts while others just didn't capture me. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.

 

Review of The Other Guy by Cary Attwell



Welcome to a month of Lust and Love!!

I will be sharing a variety of books with you all surrounding the theme of lust, love and all that lies between. I will have some sweet romances, some childrens love books, and of course plenty of After Dark Steam for all different tastes! Hope you will all stop in and join me!

 

Synopsis: "Emory James is, by his own admission, not the type of person the adjective exciting would ever deign to touch with a ten-foot pole. Cautious, reserved and staid, however, all crowd around him like best friends. Still, he gets by -- or at least he gets by up until his fiancée dumps him at the altar. Out of spite, he takes a solo honeymoon to Thailand, where he can pretend to be someone better than himself for a little while. In meeting Nate, a fellow traveler, Emory slowly discovers how to stop pretending."

My Review: I absolutely adored this book, it could be my favorite so far this year. The snarky bit at the beginning really drew me in (and I have book marks and highlighted quotes all over the first couple of chapters) and from there it ran away with me. I became very attached to Em, Nate and Linn, I wish I could hang out in real life! Emory has a very tough road of heartbreak and self discovery to travel throughout the book and you feel privileged to be on that journey with him. I loved the sweet development of the relationship between Em & Nate as well, little Chicago made me go "Awe". Attwell even made me very interested in Emory's job as a Speech Therapist, I may have to do a little research on that, it was adorable how he got on the floor and wiggled like a snake hissing to help Abby. There are just so many touching, sweet, and comical moments that I can't possibly tell you all of them. All I can say is go get this book and read it!

My Rating: I really can't rave about this book enough, I really hope you all will give it a chance. I give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag.  I will note for you though it is a gay (M/M) romance, nothing explicit but just a note incase you aren't comfortable with it.

The Other Guy was sent to me by the author for review.

If you would like to find out more about this book or Cary Attwell please visit his Goodreads Page 

You can obtain your own digital copy on Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Graphic Novel Review of Cowboys, Babies & Shotgun Vows



Welcome to a month of Lust and Love!!

I will be sharing a variety of books with you all surrounding the theme of lust, love and all that lies between. I will have some sweet romances, some childrens love books, and of course plenty of After Dark Steam for all different tastes! Hope you will all stop in and join me!

 

Synopsis: "Ryder wakes up to find the girl he spent the previous night with is gone. He had helped her get to a motel after finding her drunk in a bar. She seduced him, and they spent a night of passion together...even though she was a virgin! Not only that, she is the daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon. It looked like it was never going to work, but when he thinks of her his heart skips a beat. He has to find her, and ask her why she dumped this confident playboy after just one night!"

My Review: I am not sure if I really like Manga, but I do know I dislike digital Manga, it was very difficult to read. It either didn't fit on the screen or was so tiny or light that I could barely read it. With that said, I am not sure I liked the story either. The story was very choppy, maybe because it was taken from a longer traditional harlequin book and tried to be condensed into a graphic novel. I was also not a fan of Ryder who seemed to take advantage of Ashley when she was drunk and ill. I did like the aspect of the farm and other family members and the fact that Ryder was able to stand up for his loved ones, but well I was just disappointed and disliked so many aspects of the story.

 

My Rating: Well, maybe I would have enjoyed the story better in its traditional novel form but it was definitely not to my liking. I give this one a rating of One Paw.