Book Review: Phoenix Unleashed By Margo Ryerkerk!

Back in March, I reviewed the final book in The Ardere Series by Margo Ryerkerk- Phoenix Unleashed! Since then, this series has been renamed as the Dark Legacy Series, so that might confuse a few people looking for previous books in the series! Anyways, since this was the 5th and final book in the series, I was really looking forward to seeing how everything ended! Here’s the blurb:

Bahadur has awoken.
His touch will enslave everyone.
Only Sierra can stop him.
Bahadur’s ascension shakes the world. Able to kill with one touch, steal supernatural auras, and turn humans into bloodthirsty henchmen, he’s invincible.

The only person who stands a chance to stop his tyranny is Sierra. Prepared to do whatever it takes to defeat him, she throws herself into danger. Unfortunately, her impulsiveness backfires and puts her in a worse position.

Desperate to undo her mistake, Sierra travels across the world to find the one magical object that might give her a fighting chance against Bahadur.

However, Bahadur is two steps ahead of her and makes a move no one expected.

Will Sierra find a way to triumph over him or will Bahadur succeed and drag the whole world into darkness?

Read it now to unlock the conclusion to the Dark Legacy series!

And the cover:

Totally gorgeous!! Anyway, here’s my review for Phoenix Unleashed:

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review 🙂

The final book in the Ardere (oops, I mean the Dark Legacy) series is Phoenix Unleashed. Everything Sierra, Gavin and the others have been working to accomplish over the past few months has been compromised with the rise of Bahadur. Now, the focus is on training each of the Ardere factions to fight against him effectively.

At first, Sierra’s attitude really sucks. She seems high and mighty and acts like she is some brilliant war strategist who knows everything. Her haste almost gets people killed, so she kind of has to reel in her attitude a little bit. Even Gavin notices the change in Sierra, and he tells her at one point that her “sense of duty extends to everything but our relationship.”

While Sierra continues to tap into her Fluidus powers and gains power, she is taken captive by Bahadur. Again, she thinks she is more brilliant than him, and is constantly attempting to outsmart him. Bahadur said something I was thinking the entire time: “You think that after 18 years of being on this planet you can stop a plan that had been in the making for over 300 years?”

Without spoiling anything, the ending is pretty much what you would expect. Everything wraps up really neat and tidy. I’m glad the series ended on a good note, because I really enjoyed it as a whole. At the beginning of this book, I felt almost as though some of the characters lost a bit of dimension, but everyone kind of got their spark back by the middle of the book. Sierra’s know-it-all attitude annoyed me for most of the book, because I felt like it was such a sharp departure from how she is portrayed in the rest of the series. I don’t see her as much of a leader, though everyone around her seems to think she is.

Anyway, despite my minor gripes, this was a really good series that I enjoyed very much. I’m sad it’s over and I can’t wait to see what Margo Ryerkerk writes next! 🙂

I gave Phoenix Unleashed 4/5 stars on Goodreads!

End Game Thoughts: Puyo Puyo Tetris!

Game Title: Puyo Puyo Tetris
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Hours Played: around 2

About The Game

Puyo Puyo Tetris is a game that came out for the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It was also released on several other platforms, but I played it on the Switch, so there ya go. This game combines two puzzle types- Puyo and Tetris. I’m a huge fan of Tetris, and I’ve played a Puyo-type game before (Kirby’s Avalanche) and had fun with it, so I thought why not? Plus, the game came with a couple cute keychains, and I’m a sucker for freebies!

What I Liked

The main thing I liked about this game was the sheer number of modes that are available for you to play! Whether you prefer Puyo, Tetris, or strange combinations of both, there is something most everyone will enjoy. There’s even a story mode that’s totally whack and makes no sense, but who really buys a puzzle game for the story anyway?

What I Didn’t Like

Playing Puyo Puyo is just okay- it’s not really my favorite thing to do. I much prefer Tetris, and fusing the two together is a bit awkward sometimes. I found myself gravitating toward one mode or the other instead of modes that combined the two play styles together. That’s not much of a gripe, just my personal preference.

However, one thing that really got on my nerves during this game- the characters’ annoying ass voices! Oh my lord. Every single one of them grated my eardrums, and there was no way to silence them. I often played with the volume turned way down because it annoyed me so much.

Closing Thoughts

This game is fun, and it’s got so many different modes to try out. I tried all of them, and while some are better than others, there is definitely a good selection there. My favorite mode was one where the game would randomly switch back and forth between Tetris and Puyo. This is a good game to pick up and play for a few minutes at a time- or until your eardrums explode from the awful voices.

Memory Museum: Yoshi’s Safari!

Note: I originally wrote this post on LadiesGamers.com back in February 2019. Click here for the link to the original post! 🙂

A featured series on LadiesGamers.com: Memory Museum. Our earliest gaming memories to the backdrop of what was happening in our personal life. Plus, what was happening in the gaming world back then! 

It’s the year 1993. Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned NES, which allows cartridges to be inserted at the top of the console, instead of the front. They also bring us The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on the GameBoy. Square releases Secret of Mana, and hasn’t yet joined forces with Enix. 

Over in America, Brandi  gets a Super Scope peripheral to play a very special game.  

Going on Safari with the Super Scope

There are many significant gaming memories I have throughout my life. After all, I started gaming at a very young age! When originally approached with the idea for this article, my first instinct was to write about Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo. I have a great love for that game (and the series as a whole), and I have so many childhood memories tied to it! However, I’ve previously written blog posts about the game, and I wanted to write about something a little different for this article. I looked through my Super Nintendo games and came across one that holds special significance for me: Yoshi’s Safari.

Yoshi’s Safari was a game that came out in 1993 for the Super Nintendo. This game was pretty unique in the fact that it required the Super Scope peripheral to play. I could go into the details of the Super Scope, but maybe we’ll save that for a different post! If you are unfamiliar, the Super Scope was basically a light gun peripheral that you rested on your shoulder. You aimed at the tv and looked through the scope of the gun, and that was how you played! Naturally, most of the games that were played using the Super Scope were shooters. Hence, Yoshi’s Safari was classified as a rail shooter.

When the Super Scope came out, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I got a few games for it, but the one that stood out to me the most was Yoshi’s Safari. According to Wikipedia, the plot of the game is as follows: “In this game, Mario and Yoshi have to save King Fret and his son Prince Pine of Jewellery Land from Bowser and his Koopalings.” Haha… I definitely don’t remember anything about that! Anyway, you ride on Yoshi’s back for the duration of the game, and you shoot at enemies with the Scope. It’s not horribly complex due to the fact that the levels automatically scroll, so almost anyone can pick up and play a few levels!

Yoshi’s Safari even appealed to non-gamers

So why is this game so special to me? Well, growing up, no one in my household really wanted to play video games with me. I would always beg my mom to play, but she just wasn’t into it. Same goes for my aunt, uncle, and grandparents. But something about Yoshi’s Safari drew interest from my mom and my uncle, and to my surprise, they actually wanted to play the game! I was thrilled to sit there and watch them play as they tried to make it to the end of the game! Of course, this meant that sometimes when I really wanted to play my Super Nintendo, it was occupied… but I digress!

One memory in particular stands out to me. I was staying at a friend’s house for a sleepover, but around 11p.m. I got sick and wanted to come home. She lived right across the street, so my mom walked over and brought me back home. I couldn’t believe it when I went to my room and found my uncle sitting there, playing Yoshi’s Safari! My mom told me they had snuck into my room to play while I was gone. Apparently it took them a few minutes to figure out how to hook everything up, but since they really wanted to play, they figured it out! I think they were pretty bummed that I came home…

Haven’t played Yoshi’s Safari in many years, though I still own it (and the Super Scope too!). I remember it fondly for its unique gameplay and the fact that this game was one of the few games I was able to convince members of my family to play. Because of this, Yoshi’s Safari will always hold a special place in my heart!

The Sunshine Blogger Award!

Somehow, I missed a post from Art of Redress (who, sadly, does not have a blog anymore… though he does post for The Well-Red Mage now and then!) back in September 2018 awarding me The Sunshine Blogger Award! Oops! I’m not sure how that even happened. So here I am, accepting my little award 9 months later! I really do appreciate it, even though it took me this long to respond. Anyway, here’s the rules for this lovely award:

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.

Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.

List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

So let’s get to the questions.

1. What is your favorite Sega game? 

I’m going to have to go with Crazy Taxi. I’ll admit, I didn’t even play Crazy Taxi until it came out on the GameCube (I never had any Sega consoles until I reached adulthood!) but I loved that game and played it for so many hours.

2. What’s the furthest you’ve ever ran?

Haha… that’s funny! I hate running. Hate, hate, hate. If you see me running, it means shit is going down, so you’d better run too!

3. Winter or summer?

I love summer! Yeah, it gets hot as balls, but I love swimming and going to the beach. I enjoy winter too, even though we don’t really get much of one here.

4. If you could go back in time to stop All Saints covering Under The Bridge, would you?

I’m not familiar with All Saints, so I can’t really say.

5. Favourite comedy film?

Hmm, this is a tough one. I like comedies, but for some reason I’m really drawing a blank here. *checks Pinterest for inspiration* Ya know what, I’m going with Bad Santa. Billy Bob Thornton is disgusting in this movie and I love it!

6. What mobile phone do you own?

I have an iPhone 8. It’s decent, but I find myself wishing for a bigger screen. My eyeballs ain’t what they used to be!

7. Favourite ice cream brand?

I don’t really eat ice cream all that often, but good old Publix brand is what I usually buy if I get any!

8. Cinema snack of choice?

If I get food at the theater, popcorn is a good choice obviously… but I also like getting either a hot dog or some nachos!

9. What is your worst gaming experience ever?

Playing the shit stain known as Napoleon Dynamite for the PSP.

10. Last time you did a press up?

It’s been awhile, haha! Probably since before my shoulder got all messed up like 2 years ago.

11. If you were a cat, what name would you hope your owners chose for you?

Beelzebub. I’ll also accept Evil the Cat, like the little guy in the pic above (from Earthworm Jim!).

And there you have it! Since I was nominated for this award quite awhile ago, I’m not going to think up questions and stuff. I’m lazy, which y’all know by now! 🙂