Pam and Tommy – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Our Flag Means Death – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5Minx – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Heartstopper – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The Dropout – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Severance – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jake Johnson back on my screen? In authentic 70’s clothes? SIGN ME UP! But really, Minx was a really fun period show following the first porn magazine made for women. I’m so glad it was just announced that…
I’ve been letting this blog fall to the wayside and that makes me really sad. I’m going to try to make a bigger effort to get my reviews back on track. Until then, my March Wrap Up!
The Empire of Gold/S.A. Chakraborty (Daevabad #3) (new adult myth-based historical portal fantasy)-Nahri never really believed in magic…until she accidentally summoned a djinn warrior, who swept her off to a magical city of djinn and deadly politics. Six years later, everything has turned on it’s head-Nahri is back in Cairo, Daevabad is splintered, and there is an old magic which’s memory has long been repressed back.
r cRogue Protocol/Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #3) (adult ai sci fi action novella)-Murderbot is a SecUnti-an artificial intelligence built to act as a security guard-who hacked its governor module. It still continues protecting clients, however, using its freedom to watch serials. Then, on a regular planet survey something goes very, very wrong. Now there are people who know that it hacked its governor module. People it can trust-to an extent-but it still needs to get away. So, three books later, its looking for evidence against the baddest bad guys when everything goes wrong again. Of course.
Meet Kirsten/Janet Beeler Shaw and Renée Graf (Kirsten Larson #1) (early chapter book American historical fiction)-Kirsten cannot wait to finally reach land-America! When they get there she, her family, and her best friend Marta will all travel to Minnesota, and she’ll get to meet her Uncle Olav who moved to America before she was born.
r cA Study in Scarlet/Arthur Conan Doyle (adult murder mystery & historical fiction adventure)-John Watson’s roommate is really weird. It turns out that he’s a consulting detective. When two policemen ask for help Watson goes along with Holmes to solve the mystery of the uninjured dead man in a room filled with blood.
cEliza and Her Monsters/Francesca Zappia (realistic young adult contemporary)-Eliza has on real life friends and she’s fine with that. She has online friends and as the creator of one of the most popular webcomics she’s kept busy with her fans-none of whom know her real identity. But her parents dislike how much she’s online, and she has a crush on an rl fan of her webcomic.
cRevolutionary War on Wednesday/Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House #22) (early chapter book fantasy historical fiction)-Jack and Annie discover a magic tree house in the woods that can take them to any time and place if they point at a book and wish to go there… Now Camelot is in trouble and to save it Annie and Jack need to find four special writings. The second is somewhere near George Washington, during the Crossing of the Delaware…
r cManiac Magee/Jerry Spinelli (middle grade realistic fiction)-A homeless kid who is also a legend (He runs on the tracks, hit twenty home runs in a row, and kissed a buffalo) looks for a family in a racially divided town.
bShe Who Became the Sun/Shelley Parker-Chan (The Radiant Emperor #1) (adult magical realism war-driven historical fiction)-Two siblings in 1345 China, a boy and a girl. The boy is given the fate of greatness, the girl nothingness. But when the boy dies the girl decides to become him and take his fate. From there the story follows someone who is neither a girl nor a boy through monkhood to general-hood.
c Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes/Roshani Chokshi (Pandava #1) (middle grade religious myths based fast-paced fantasy)-When Aru tries to show off to her classmates who look down on her she accidentally awakens the Sleeper, who will destroy the world-unless she and the other reincarnations of the Pandava brother stop him. Two years later, all of the Pandava sisters are together but the war against the Sleeper is growing more dire and a prophecy makes it all the more urgent. Aru and her crew must find the Tree of Wishes, Kalpavrishka.
r cThe Tale of Desperaux/Kate DiCamillo (fairy tale-like adventure didactic tale)-Despereaux is a mouse who is different from the other mice. This gets him in trouble enough that he is sent to the dungeon. He knows he must be brave, but does not know if there will be a “happily ever after”.
r cHenry Huggins/Beverly Cleary (Henry Huggins #1) (1950s middle grade realistic anthologic fiction)-Henry wishes for some excitement. When he finds a skinny dog plenty of excitement comes into his life, starting with trying to take the dog-Ribsy-home on the bus.
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes #9) (adult mystery short story collection)-Sherlock Holmes has retired, but the passage of time means that Dr. Watson can publish sensitive events that couldn’t be published before. Plus, one story by Sherlock Holmes himself.
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1904 (adult short story collection)-A collection of-mostly romance-stories of happy endings in early 19th century country and small town Canada.
Series finished: 2 Series continued: 5 Series started: 1
To audiobook or not to audiobook? That is the question. As for me, I LOVE audiobooks. Here’s a quick rundown on why I adore them:
I can read them while I’m travelling/commuting
Whether you’re trying to hit your reading challenge or you want to keep your mind busy while stuck in road traffic or doing menial tasks, listening to an audiobook can be a god-send when you find the right audiobooks!
Hi friends! It’s been a while! I hope you’re all safe and healthy wherever you are right now.
May has been a good reading month for me, considering the general unpleasantness of this month and the previous ones for a lot of us. I’m still in a blogging slump that’s why it took me until June to finish this wrap-up post.
Before I start my bookish wrap-up, I would just like to drop some…
Hi everyone! I try very hard to write wrap-ups every end of month, but since I’m also the Queen of Procrastination and Sporadic Posting, I decided that maybe every two months is more doable for me. So what did I read last September and October? Read on, babies!
September!
The Gilded King (Sovereign #1)by Josie Jaffrey
It has been a LONG WHILE since I read a book with vampires in it so…
This is the final installment in Allison’s blog series on editing the anthology “Who is the Silhouette?”. Today (March 3) is the final day to back the project on Kickstarter. You can find the previous posts on submissions, the editing process and more at who-is-the-silhouette.tumblr.com.
Today is the day that it all ends.
The kickstarter, that is. Today is also the day that so much else begins.
Following a successful kickstarter, there is a two week waiting period for Kickstarter to collect and process payments and finally deliver them to the creators. During those two weeks Tom and I will send out backer surveys to collect shipping information, wrap up the book layout, do a final round of copyediting and get everything ready to send to the printer (this time ‘round we’re working with Keness, a company out of Pittsburg. Previously we’ve printed with Print Ninja, which has offices in Evanston and China. We like both for different reasons.).
Then kickstarter releases the funds and the book order goes in. The printer will create a print proof for us to review, and then we’ll give the go-ahead to print the whole batch! And then we wait.
Depending on the type of printing and the location of the printers, the waiting period can vary from a few weeks to a few months. During this time we’ll send out the PDFs, gather packing materials, and get ready for the intense period of sketching, signing, packing and shipping that will follow.
Books come in and rewards go out! Because of Tom and my schedules, we will likely prep books in batches, with a big push to send out as many of the rewards as possible in May and June (filling out backer surveys quickly helps us get you your book in an early batch). Our contributors will all be getting bundles of books from us, which they can sell at shows or give away or transform into paper mache hats at their discretion.
Rewards sent, Tom and I will breathe a deep sigh of relief and not know what to do with ourselves until convention season hits in earnest and we take the book to as many shows as we can! As much as I love ordering books on Kickstarter, there’s something extra wonderful about buying a book in person from one of that book’s creators. We hope our books will find homes on many more shelves across the country both during and after the campaign!
4. The Charm Offensive, Alice Cochrun — ★ 4/5 stars ★
Happy Pride! Today is also the one year anniversary of this blog! In honor of the occasion, I updated the web version, so it’s acceptable — or at the very least, tolerable — for those of you who use tumblr web. <3
We also reached 500+ followers this month! Welcome to those of you who are new. My asks are always open, so don’t hesitate to leave me an ask or comment. <3
Keep reading for my unsolicited opinion on what I read this month.
Like the last months, I wasn’t able to use the “Keep reading” feature without it duplicating or outright deleting my reviews, so I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. <3
2. Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
Winter’s Orbit had galactic politics, mystery, and, of course, romance. It had all of my favorite tropes: queer arranged marriage, gruding allies to lovers, only one bed, and forced proximity. Kiem and Taam’s relationship was full of angst and misunderstanding, but contained surprising depth. Although the mystery was not as complex as their relationship, it provided the perfect backdrop for these grudging allies to fall in love.
3. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
I picked up The Darkness Outside Us for the slow burn enemies to lovers romance — which it delivered! — but I stayed for the spectacular science-fiction thriller. The mystery of their existence forces Ambrose and Kodiak to depend on one another in a brilliant depiction of human fragility, vulnerability, and intimacy. The Darkness Outside Us argues for the need for vulnerability and intimacy (in whatever form it should take, whether it be platonic, romantic, and/or sexual) in order to prevent insanity. It also argues that we should accept the inevitability of death as we must die in order for future generations to live. Ultimately, it is not a romance, thriller, or mystery, but a poignant portrayal of life, death, and the depth of human connection.
4. The Charm Offensive by Alice Cochrun
The Charm Offensive portrayed love after heartbreak, vulnerability, and intimacy. Dev and Charlie’s relationship felt incredibly real, despite the fact that it was set against the backdrop of a heavily-faked reality TV show. I appreciated the sensitive depiction of depression, anxiety, and OCD. I also appreciated the demisexual representation. Altogether, it was a wonderfully wholesome read.
I count 62 times, which is 5 more than Grey. I wonder if ELJames has a quota. Anyway, they make a funny kind of poetry if you read them all at once:
“The sound travels straight to my groin” (11) “I feel it in my groin” (21) “My cock stirs at the thought” (35) “The sweet sound travels straight to my cock” (43) “Her smile widens into a salacious grin that speaks directly to my cock” (65) “My cock approves, big-time” (76) “I pull her against my growing erection” (77) “Ah! My cock has some room” (81) “She reaches up and grabs my erection” (81) “My erection hardens” (91) “She may as well be addressing my groin directly” (103) “pull her against my erection” (108) “Thoughts of spanking Ana have gone to my groin” (130) “My cock twitches in approval” (148) “I might as well have my cock in her mouth” (153) “her ass brushing my erection” (153) “until her fingers are resting on my erection” (166) “yank down my underwear, freeing my eager erection” (173) “I wrap my cock in latex” (173) “I feel it in my groin” (205) “I flex my hips, pushing my erection against her” (208) “compressing my hardening denim-clad cock.” (208) “tug down my pants, freeing my erection” (208) “unfurls the condom over my straining dick” (209) “The sound is music to my dick” (236) “Her intrepid fingers meander from the zipper to trace the straining outline of my cock” (237) “She pushes her hand inside my pants and takes hold of my cock” (237) “I flex my hips, pushing my erection into her hands” (237) “She grabs my erection” (238) “Her hair falls, forming a curtain around my cock” (238) “Unrolls the condom on my rigid dick” (238) “I’m still pinning her to the wall with my hips and my hardening erection” (249) “An image of her on her knees servicing my cock comes to mind” (255) “I feel it in my dick” (255) “And my cock approves” (256) “I adjust my stance to accommodate my growing erection” (256) “I’m a fan. So is my cock.” (259) “My erection is fighting with my fly” (261) “I tug my fly open, allowing my cock some room” (262) “My erection sitting at the sacred junction of her thighs” (294) “I nudge her with my erection” (317) “I remove my boxers, freeing my cock” (367) “Her fingers on my erection are torture” (368) “Her fingers brush my erection” (404) “wraps her lips around my eager cock” (405) “She clamps down on my cock” (405) “My cock recovers” (406) “My erection sits in the cleft of her behind” (411) “She wiggles, squeezing my dick” (411) “The sound resonates the length of my cock” (442) “It might as well be my cock” (444) “Groin-tighteningly wanton” (448) “A rhythm I hope to repeat with my dick in a few minutes” (449) “I pin her with my hips and my erection” (450) “She finds my erection” (484) “I push my impatient cock into her hands” (484) “She undresses me, freeing my erection” (485) “She works her way down to my ready cock” (485) “She might as well be addressing my cock” (499) “I don’t want her distracted by my impatient dick” (502) “Freeing my raging erection” (505) “I unzip my pants and free my erection” (524)
ELJames likes to talk about Christian’s “Darkness”, which I’m pretty sure is really a tapeworm. In this installment, Ana tamed it with sex. It’s no inner goddess, that’s for sure. Here’s every mention of it:
“Before the darkness takes hold, she unfastens her seat belt” (37) “The darkness erupts inside me and grips my throat with its claws” (71) “The darkness stabs at my insides” (71) “The darkness squeezes my ribs” (131) “The darkness is circling like a culture, waiting to consume me” (142) “The darkness slides into my throat, threatening to choke me” (143) “Holding the darkness at bay, she is my salvation” (143) “She’s driving the darkness out” (144) “She’s subdued the darkness” (146) “It tames the darkness” (197) “I close my eyes, waiting for the darkness to constrict my chest” (197) “The strange feeling swells in my chest. Scarier than the darkness” (206) “Fear fills my gut, my chest, and my throat, leaving nothing but the darkness” (217) “the splash of the water as it washes the darkness away” (219) “The darkness is gone” (237) “She’s scared of the darkness, too” (351) “The darkness expands inside my rib cage and my breathing quickens” (353) “Heat and pain spiral across my chest as the darkness unleashes its claws” (366) “The darkness is swirling, trying to dislodge her” (367) “But the darkness is pushing at each point of contact” (368) “I steel myself, preparing for the confusion and fear that comes with the darkness.” (404) “The darkness remains quiet” (404) “The darkness is quiet” (452) “The darkness is long gone” (474) “The darkness is quiet” (484) “I think she’s driven the darkness away” (508)
