Yves Robichaud's Blog, page 4
August 13, 2013
Movie Review – We’re the Millers
Movie Review
We’re the Millers
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
Movie format: In theatres
Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Release Date: August 7, 2013
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Actors: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Anniston, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts
My rating: 4.1 stars out of 5
David is a small-time drug dealer with minimal responsibilities and even less ambition. When his entire stash and life savings get stolen, his supplier leaves him with an ultimatum in order to repay his debt. He must smuggle a large shipment from Mexico into the US. David has the bright idea to hire a “fake” family to help with the smuggling. After all, vacationing families never get pulled over at the border, right? He hires a stripper to be the mom, a homeless girl to be the daughter and last, but not least, a dorky neighbour to be the son. The entire family leave together in an RV in what is sure to be an action-packed trip of a lifetime.
Fans of Jason Sudeikis movies (Horrible Bosses, Hall Pass, Hangover) should not be disappointed with this hilarious comedy. The movie runs at a very fast pace, as action sequences and funny scenes blend together. While Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Anniston both do great jobs with their roles, in my opinion, Will Poulter steals the show. He perfectly portrays a very inexperienced, very clumsy teenager that comes of age during this trip. Overall, the movie was entertaining from start to finish and has several laugh-out-loud scenes.
May 26, 2013
iPad 2 Giveaway
On June 1, 2013, I will be doing a draw for some great prizes. Someone will win a brand new iPad 2! First prize will be an iPad 2 along with a signed copy of Kaylen’s Rising. There will also be 2 runner-up prizes consisting of a $25 gift card (either Amazon or Chapters Indigo) and a signed copy of Kaylen’s Rising.
To participate in the giveaway, you need to complete certain tasks to get your name in the draw. Please help promote Kaylen’s Rising and at the same time earn chances to win fabulous prizes. Since the draw is done randomly by Rafflecopter, the giveaway is open to anyone, including friends and family of the author. Also, there are no age restrictions on the giveaway, as long as the participant is old enough to read the book and has a Facebook account or email address. Feel free to share this page by email too.
By doing all the tasks, you can put in your name in the draw up to a total of 17 times! Please make sure that you do in fact finish the task at hand if you mark that it is accomplished. All tasks will be verified and any fraudulent entries will be declared null and void. Here is the entry form for the giveaway by Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 24, 2013
Book Review – Ruby Blue
Book Review
Ruby Blue (Ruby Blue Series, Book 1)
By Julie Cassar
Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Ruby Blue is American author Julie Cassar’s debut novel. It is the first instalment in the young adult fantasy Ruby Blue Series. This is the story of Ruby, a loveable 17 year-old girl, and the adventure she goes on with her friends. Ruby leads a somewhat typical life aside from the fact that she has the gift of Fairy Sight, which means that she can see the tiny magical creatures. She enjoys ice cream, gardening, nail polish and is obsessed with Converse sneakers. Her two best friends are Jeremy, a gay gothic boy and Anya, who just happens to be a fairy. When Ruby starts dating Nick, the hottest boy she’s ever know, strange, disastrous events start happening in town. While she is trying to sort out her feelings for Nick, will Ruby and her friends be able to solve the mystery before it is too late?
The author does a terrific job bringing you into Ruby’s world. The first person narrative and casual, personalized style of writing make it very easy to get attached to Ruby. The characters in the story are lively, well described and have lots of depth. I enjoyed each and every one of them. They are all unique and easy to identify with. The plot runs at a casual pace and is somewhat predictable yet is still entertaining.
I believe that most young girls will totally relate to Ruby and thoroughly enjoy this book. The story is filled with magic and romance, however, it is light on action and would therefore probably appeal more to the female reader. The book is tagged as young adult, but my thinking is that it would be more geared towards the middle grade category. I would recommend this book to any young female reader looking for a mix of romance and fantasy. It can also be enjoyed by anyone looking a nice, entertaining, light read.
May 9, 2013
Book Launch Giveaway Update
As part of Kaylen’s Rising book launch, I will be giving away some fabulous prizes. Right now, the prizes are: a Kindle Fire HD tablet and 2 gift cards of $25 for either Chapters Indigo or Amazon. However, if the post of the picture on the left gets shared at least 1000 times, the Kindle will be upgraded to an iPad 2.
There are two ways to enter the draw. First, everyone that shares the Facebook post containing my picture will automatically be entered once. Second way is to complete certain tasks to get your name in the draw and log them in the Rafflecopter application below. Please help promote Kaylen’s Rising and at the same time earn chances to win fabulous prizes. Since the draw is done randomly by Rafflecopter, the giveaway is open to anyone, including friends and family of the author. Also, there are no age restrictions on the giveaway, as long as the participant is old enough to read the book and has a Facebook account or email address. Feel free to share this page by email too.
To everyone that has already entered the giveaway, I must apologize for extending the deadline of the raffle to May 31, 2013. I promise that it won’t change again. I wasn’t getting much interest in the giveaway so I decided to make one last attempt at getting exposure for the book.
By doing all the tasks, you can put in your name in the draw up to a total of 17 times (plus once more if you shared the post of the pic)! Please make sure that you do in fact finish the task at hand if you mark that it is accomplished. All tasks will be verified and any fraudulent entries will be declared null and void. Here is the entry form for the giveaway by Rafflecopter:
May 8, 2013
Kaylen’s Rising Book Launch Party
This is one of my favorite pics from the book launch party. Check out the Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/kaylensrising) for the entire photo album.
April 17, 2013
Interview at Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection
Read my first interview as an author at the Children’s and Teen’ Book Connection. Let me know how I did!
April 11, 2013
April 2, 2013
Book Review – Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight
Book Review
The Awakening of the Mageknight (Light & Dark, Book 1)
By Daniel M. Fife
Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight is American author Daniel M. Fife’s first novel. Danny, a 13 year-old boy, and his fairly large group of friends enjoy a trading card game called Knights. The card game features Dragons, Knights and various equipment. The players much choose a faction to play, the light, the gray or the dark. When a new girl in school shares their appreciation for the game, they all soon learn that it is much more than a game and that the factions are for real. They are recruited to attend a special school where they will train to become Knights of the Light. Thus starts an adventure that will change their lives forever.
When I first read the synopsis of the book, I was intrigued. My son and I are both fans of trading card games, such as Magic the Gathering. The story seemed original and had potential. The book did not disappoint and surpassed my expectations. The initial instalment of the Light & Dark series can be compared to Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or even the Hobbit. It is very easy to draw a likeness to these series when reading the story. Having said that, the plot, settings and characters are all unique, original and magical. The writing is smooth and flows easily. Both the real world and fantasy world were so well described that detailed images appeared without any effort. The action sequences were written with skilful precision.
I was so impressed with the Awakening of the Mageknight, that after purchasing and reading the ebook, I decided to order the paperback. The story contains knights, elves, dwarves, swordfights, magic and dragons. The target audience would be middle grade or young adult, however, this book can be enjoyed by fans of fantasy of any age. For anyone that has enjoyed trading card games, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or the Hobbit, this book is a must read. I will anxiously be awaiting a sequel. The first book of the series was epic!
Kaylen’s Rising Review by Marc Labelle
Rating: 3 stars
Don’t let this average rating fool you. Kaylen’s Rising is an excellent story. It is fast-paced and full of action. There is always something happening, forcing the reader to keep flipping the pages to see what happens next.
What this book needs is a little more depth. The characters are a little flat and their relationships do not evolve much, save for a small few. There is a budding love story, but it goes no further than its inception. Future books will most likely elaborate on these romances (I will clarify nothing so as not to spoil the story), but this novel left me disappointed. Kaylen’s family history is revealed nicely throughout the book, however, so I was quite satisfied with his development.
The final confrontation is a little anticlimactic for me. The tension builds beautifully until the final moment, then it just deflates. The problem is resolved too easily in my view, so I was disappointed.
All in all, though, this novel was a good read. It is meant for an audience of children between ten and fourteen, and I believe most of them would enjoy this story
Kaylen’s Rising Review by Anna Del C. Dye
This is quite a story for lovers of fantasy and elves. They will surely enjoy the trip through its pages. I really enjoyed the trip myself. It conveys a new, completely refreshing twist to elf tales.
Kaylen is fourteen and he has never been out of his yard. He knows not why, but his parents refuse to discuss it. When finally he is allowed to go to school, he discovers many mysteries surrounding his parents. The least of all is that he is limited to studying music, while all his schoolmates do weapons, magic and healing. Thanks his music professor, he finds out that he is a summoner and he can summon skeletons that will answer his every wish. But when he uses his power to save his parents from certain death, they turn against him and he runs away.
Humans are at war with the elfs and have pushed them to live in caves. There the humans try to eliminate them altogether. It’s hard to see this happening to his people, yet Kaylen finds a way to help them with his particular talent.
This is a great first attempt at a fantasy story. It is perfect for preteens and young adults.
