Oof, this scene!
And
"Oh, Viola." Now a tug on her hair, and Viola lifted her head to find Louise peering up at her with sudden ferocity. "Sometimes it is the most vital thing in the world to be selfish."
Sing it, Louise
Friday, May 26, 2023
40%
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Reading Update: Page 1
When Viola takes the chance to live as herself after presumed dead at Waterloo, she also has to give so much up.
After losing his closest companion, Justin is crushed by grief.
A reconnection years later could bring Justin back to life but cost Viola everything once again.
Gah! Well, this sounds heartwrenching.
I really liked this one! I was a little nervous with the mixture of some flavors but certified Yummy.
I used Stubb's Sticky Sweet BBQ sauce
Review: The Dolly Parton Activity Book: An Unofficial Lovefest
The Dolly Parton Activity Book: An Unofficial Lovefest by Nathan JoyceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
'Is There Anything We Can All Agree On?
Yes: Dolly Parton'
A fun informative activity book about Dolly Parton that could be a lifesaver on a long trip.
There's quizzes to take, crosswords, spot the differences, decorate Dolly's guitar case and outfits, tidbits on Dolly's philanthropy, Dolly True or False, Dollyisms, and etc.
If looking to learn more about Dolly's journey through life, this delivers and if wanting to test yourself about what you think you know, well, you'll find out. (I learned that there is moss named after Dolly!)
A little under 200pgs, this had plenty for an hours long trip or could last weeks if you skipped around and just did the activities here and there when bored.
Entertaining and will give you the ability to dominate any Dolly Trivia night.
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Monday, May 22, 2023
Traveling essential
Puzzles, games, word search, drawings, quizzes and all geared to learning about Dolly.
I'm having so much fun with this and will now be able to dominate any Dolly Parton trivia night 😂
Review: Love at First Set
Love at First Set by Jennifer DuganMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
2.5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
She looks miserable and not a single person here seems to notice but me.
Lizzie has worked at James' family gym for the last five years, moving up to front desk manager. With the family business expanding, Lizzie has her eye on a promotion and becoming manager of the new gym opening up and hopefully, getting her own gym someday. But Lizzie hasn't worked up the nerve to even apply for the promotion yet, so when James begs her to be his plus one at his sister's wedding, enticing Lizzie with one-on-one time with his parents to impress them, she begrudgingly agrees. And then has a drunken conversation with James' sister Cara where she convinces Cara to ditch her fiance and wedding.
I stop and wait for her to look up. Her eyes are already blissed out and unfocused, her lips parted in the most devious of smiles.
And oh, this is gonna be fun.
As soon as Lizzie saw and talked with Cara, she was in instant lust but tried to stay away because of “bro code”, not wanting to hurt her friendship with James. Along with this, Lizzie had some self-worth issues, her mother is an alcoholic who depends on Lizzie for money and therefore Lizzie can't save up money to do the things she wants to do in life. Cara is a lawyer who has been the golden child and Lizzie can't see why Cara would ever want to be with her. This was all told in Lizzie's pov, present tense, so readers don't really get insights to other characters. There were a couple times it felt clear that Cara was trying to hit on Lizzie but mostly, we are getting everything from Lizzie's stream of conscious. I have some trouble with first person pov, present tense (ex. I jerk my head and am met with the biggest pair of brown eyes I've ever seen. I instantly think of cows. Wait. I don't mean... Like she doesn't look like a cow, just her eyes are big and soulful and tender like cows'. In a good way. Hot cow eyes. Wait, that's weird. ) but if that narrative style doesn't bother you, your mileage would vary.
“I love her.” And I hate so much that the first time I say it out loud, Cara isn't around to hear it.
Lizzie and James have a friendship that is touted as close brother sister but mostly seemed to consist of getting together to watch The Bachelor and bemoan James' love life and Lizzie's inability to take any steps forward for her dream of owning a gym. It was a little hard to cheer for Lizzie to get her dream when she couldn't even get herself to apply for a promotion that she talked about throughout the whole book. The only action she seems to take towards owning her own gym is scribbling drawings/notes on napkins. There were a couple scenes of her in the gym and a long yoga scene with Cara but it felt more like an idea to have the gym as a setting than having it part of the story. I had kind of the same thoughts with the characters, I could almost see the character names on a tag board with James – bff to Lizzie, gay, trainer, competitive with sister and Cara – Lizzie love interest, lawyer. The characters had defining components but like the setting, it didn't fill them out, they were pretty cardboard. James and Cara's mom played the villain but a tad too cartoon mustache twirling.
What would happen if I leaned into the people I love, instead of racing away as far as I could get? What would happen if I trusted someone, well and truly trusted them? It could be fucking awful...but what if it wasn't?
The first half was a little difficult for me to get into, while the second had more of what I thought worked well, Lizzie and Cara talking, interacting more. Lizzie and Cara did have good byplay and the dialogue between them felt natural and calmed the story down focusing on the growing getting to know someone attraction between two people. This did have an open door intimate scene but then more close the door, fade to black. Lizzie's mother's issues and how they affected her was introduced early but then the mom didn't really show up until the latter second half and was never really resolved. Instead, the ending deals more with James and Cara's mom and then resolving issues and blowups between Lizzie and James and Cara. The ending had harsh words spoken by all and for a more dramatic blowup it was resolved all too soon and quickly, giving a very rushed feeling ending.
“Only for you,” I say, as she leans in for a kiss.
The beginning was tough for me to get into, the first person pov, present tense along with Lizzie being glum because she wants her own gym, even though she won't even apply for a promotion she wants and the setting and characters with just tags instead of flushed, developed out feeling (also, Lizzie is twenty-four and thought this “We make quite the pair, a couple of queers, inching our way toward the wrong side of thirty”. Wrong side of thirty?? Skipping right past dreading thirty to WRONG SIDE, bleh). Lizzie and Cara's interactions did hit nicely at times and I could see them developing some feelings but the underdeveloped noise of everything else didn't deliver a supportive setting for them as much as I would have liked.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Review: The King's Man
The King's Man by Elizabeth KingstonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion.
He asked for death, the deep-set blue of his eyes demanding mercy. And she had not given it.
Wales 1280 with Edward Longshanks in the midst of trying to quell the Welsh sets the stage. Sir Ranulf Ombrier, the King's Butcher, gets lost in the Marches (disputed borderlands of Wales and England) and gets attacked by Gwenllian of Ruardean's cousin, Madog. Once they recognize Ranulf's heraldry, they know him to be the Lord of Morency. Madog wants to leave him for dead, who would care in the Marches but we need Gwenllian to heroine, so she nurses him back to health. The beginning of this was difficult for me to get into. It's slow moving, because newer books I've been reading lately jump into the action and subtlety is more rare than common, I can't say, but I struggled. It's quiet and subtle and we see Ranulf want Gwenllian to kill him, at this point readers aren't quite sure what's going on with him but depression is obviously shadowing him.
Her mother turned back from the window and nodded. “I told him we would escort him to his king in a week’s time. So you will take him, Gwenllian.”
The politics of the time and how our characters are involved get revealed in this beginning, getting to know the characters is much more slowly dribbled out. Not only is Ranulf “The Butcher” but Gwenllian has been suing Ranulf for his Morency lands. At fifteen Gwenllian was betrothed to the Lord of Morency, who was Ranulf's foster father and also the man Ranulf killed in his sleep. !!! A big reason Ranulf is known as the butcher and why people fear and whisper about him. Recently though, there have been rumors that King Edward has been calling for Ranulf to pay a visit and yet, Ranulf was found in the Marches. Gwenllian's mother sees an opportunity to help their suing case and orders Gwenllian to take Ranulf to the King. At 30% this turns into a road romance.
He followed the gleam of firelight up the blade to where a thick-gloved hand grasped the hilt and found the green boy who had guarded his back through the long journey, wearing leather armor and helm.
At the start of the road romance, Ranulf has been kept away from Gwenllian and only vaguely has memories of her tending him at his sick bed. Readers know the importance of Gwenllian, she's called Pennaeth Du, black chief, by the men (her father has been off Crusading for years and her mother is running the joint with positioning Gwenllian to be copy of a Welsh legendary heroine so she can be a rallying cry to get the Welsh to fight Edward). Gwenllian dresses as a man on the journey and Ranulf is none the wiser, until he starts to make rude jokes and Gwenllian challenges him to a fight. Gwenllian has trained as a fighter her whole life and with Ranulf still a little weak from his injury and taken off guard, she wins the fight but reveals she's a woman and the one trying to get claim of Morency.
He was Ranulf of Morency, the king’s loyal and lethal friend. He killed defenseless old men and valiant knights of the realm, and was never shamed by it. That was what men saw. That was the skin he must live in.
You're going to hate Ranulf for a while in this later beginning, the things he says and acts toward Gwenllian, well, let's just say, in modern parlance, he basically tells her she's too ugly to rape. He's a hurt people, hurting people and it really plays against Gwenllian's insecurities of not feeling feminine enough. She's the leader of men and good at it but she knows the danger of being found “not right” at this time and when they get to Edward's court you could feel her character withdrawing into herself and the fear and anxiety of “acting a lady”. There's a moment on the road romance part where Ranulf escapes and Gwenllian catches up to him and then they have to work together to fight off bandits and there was some easing of the tension between them, they also kiss for the first time. Gwenllian gets the feelings but as the reader, these two were still cool and standoffish to me and I didn't feel any heat. Ranulf does reveal how awful of a person her husband-to-be was and starts to have her looking at him different. We also learn that Ranulf was lost in the Marches because he was looking for the White Monks. The brother of the wife of the Lord Morency Ranulf killed is a monk and because Ranulf can't get over how he couldn't help Morency's wife (she ended up killing herself), he's making some amends/looking for forgiveness, redemption.
She had to be a legend, her mother had said. So she was. It had sounded a great and glorious thing, a secret that would one day be sung by the bards. But never had she guessed that it would require this endless proving of herself, always holding on to power with the very tips of her fingers.
They make it to the court and Gwenllian realizes what a strategic player Edward is when he says that her and Ranulf will be married. So at 40% we get our marriage of convenience. There's some fragile bonding as Ranulf picks out a wedding dress that has dragons embroidered on it for Gwenllian and they realize how they need each other in this den of wolves. We get a sex scene but it's fairly short and then you flip the page and it's the next day with them doing something else, this happened a lot after intimate scenes and kept me from bonding with this couple. Because while Ranulf's depression with what he's had to do in his life and Gwenllian's anxiety and pressure of acting the knight and leader is explored, Ranulf's depression actually plays a big part, it's a majority of the time done in isolation. It's Gwenllian thinking about Ranulf and psychoanalyzing him and figuring out why and how he's depressed, it's Ranulf observing the rigidness of Gwenllian's shoulders when she's in a dress and doing the part of Lady. All subtle workings that I love in stories but I needed more directness too. They spend a fair amount in their heads and the pace is all murky languid as these are deep dark emotions to be working through.
I only want to know what she is, he thought. And she had said trust, and honor. She had given him a choice and expected more than villainy from him. She saw through it.
It's when they get to Morency when they start to bond more and some of the outside political importance mutes for awhile. Ranulf sees how Gwenllian leads, love and loyalty are what she wants not fear and blind allegiance, and Ranulf sees a different way to lead life. Around 60% they both internally think they are in love with the other but Gwenllian's mother eventually shows up to crash the party and wants Gwenllian to lead the men against Edward. Gwenllian refuses with a mixture of understanding how the current world is and how they aren't going to win and just get everyone killed and not wanting to go against the husband she has found herself in love with.
She stared at the linen of his shirt, stained with the blood of other men, and knew she had no potion that might heal him.
Ranulf's self-hatred resurfaces and has him saying/acting hurtful towards Gwenllian and Gwenllian can't get over not supporting her mother, so she leaves to join her mother in her rebellion. The last fifteen percent has Ranulf thinking clearing and he goes to retrieve Gwenllian. There's a quick figuring out of a oblivious traitor that has Gwenllian's mother realizing the danger she put her daughter in and that her battle isn't going to happen and Ranulf and her kind of join forces to protect their lands.
Again, I like subtlety but this had character's in their heads a bit too much and I just wasn't in the mood for the languid pace and working through depression. I wanted more direct talking at/with, instead of quietly working out in their minds. The emotions were all written out but I couldn't get myself to feel them. I see why this is a favorite, it's got some Meredith Duran and Cecilia Grant tones to it but I had struggles connecting.
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Record Scratch
I "just" realized that tomorrow is Wednesday, Thee Third of the month! and then I just realized that there is no playoff hockey on tonight. So, I'm going to bust my butt reading for the #TBRChallenge (set up by SuperWendy).
I missed April's theme of Unusual Historical and was super bummed because I had a book picked out that I've really really cherry on top have been looking forward too. But, lo and behold, IT WORKS FOR THIS MONTH'S THEME TOO! Dark magic?? I have been reading more fantasy than usual lately, rubbing off on me? Probably only explanation.
So, for this month's Freebie, I'm going with a Kindle Freebie (I think that is how I got it? It was in my Freebie folder, so either Kindle deal or someone gifted it to me). Every time I say I want to read a Medieval, this indubitably (I love saying this word, go on, do it!) gets rec'd.
I'm finally reading it! And hopefully, posting my review tomorrow.
2023 #TBRCHALLENGE Reviews
Jan. - The Ranger by Holly Harte
Monday, May 15, 2023
Reading Update: Page 1
One of those magical women's bathroom talks has Lizzie unknowingly convincing the bride-to-be to ditch her groom.
Cara's free and now on a quest to find herself, and Lizzie, not wanting her bosses to realize how she helped break up the wedding, gets pushed to help Cara in her new found freedom.
But as Lizzie tries to keep all the secrets safe, she starts to really fall for Cara. But can Cara really fall for someone who's making a mess of her life?
This sounds full of shenanigans and emotion!
I used turkey sausage and just added more Italian seasoning. Yummy one!
Review: The Blood Gift
The Blood Gift by N.E. DavenportMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I will burn the world down, I promise Reed and myself. I will annihilate the world for him, for us, for the team if it comes to that.
Picking up where The Blood Trials ended, this continues the story of Ikenna and her quest to avenge her grandfather while also fighting for her nation. This is a duology, you can't just dive in here as you'd miss how the chess game started. It's a scifi fantasy world with war, gods, magic, and power hungry individuals. Ikenna's grandfather was a Legatus for Mareen, she finds out that he was murdered by other tribunals and this sets her off on becoming a Praetorian (Mareen fighting elite) to get access to investigate who was behind the murder. In book one, enemies and friends were made and lost and it ended with Ikenna being made to, slash, deciding to go on her own, along with five other friends she made along the way. She knows who was behind her grandfather's murder, and for the most part, has gotten her revenge, but now it's about once again trying to put a stop to The Blood Emperor.
We're literal children of war, born and bred to fight. To do battle. So that's what we do, and we take the punches that come with it and keep going. Children of war don't have the freedom, or the luxury, to do anything else.
The first was very fast paced, this started off giving Ikenna and Reed, a Praetorian who trained her in the Blood Trials and her grandfather's protege, a breathing moment to explore and define their developing romance. I appreciated this pause to sit with the characters more and how Reed calms and centers Ikenna. Ikenna has a lot of rage from her grandfather's betrayal, the racist and sexist society of Mareen, and just general stress and conditioning that comes from a society at war. Her feeling and not swallowing her rage endured her to me and added some thrilling get it action but it also crosses over into frustration at her not stopping and thinking for a moment. I would have liked to have seen more growth from Ikenna here, it made her character seem childish as times, especially later in the story when Ajani comes in and you compare and contrast the characters.
As if in answer, my nausea ticks up as I wonder: What did the goddess do to me? What precisely did Amaka make me evolve into? What does becoming her Chosen and Blood Daughter entail?
The alluded to danger of the Blood Emperor from the first comes into play here, as he's actually gathered some allies and is attacking Mareen. Ikenna and her friends get taken by some Accacians (Blood Emperor's people) and brought to the Emperor's second in command, Ajani. This starts off another journey of plans to defeat the Emperor and who can't they trust and who can they, as Ajani comes to Ikenna with a plan to kill the Emperor. This whole plot was intriguing and had just enough of suspense to keep me on my toes as Ajani stays mysterious enough to wonder if Ikenna can trust him.
But what I can do as long as I've got breath left to breathe and blood in my body is what I've always done best: fight.
Ajani comes to Ikenna because he thinks she is the only one who can kill the Emperor, he's heard about the gold in her blood. Questions I had in the first about Ikenna's magic get answered here and the Gods fantasy part of the duology gets flushed out more. There's more explanation of how the Pantheon gods were chased out of Ikenna's world but how they can still bestow gifts on people, like Ikenna. We get to meet the God of War and Ikenna's patreon goddess and learn the gods have their own whole story going on in the background to Ikenna's world. This storyline was fascinating to me but, as you can tell, there was a lot going on in this book, probably too much. I do think some could have been cut out, like Ikenna traveling to a Queen to get an ally. I liked the Queen character and her story but that thread never really got utilized and in the end, only made the story feel cluttered as it took away from other more interesting or important threads.
I'm a warrior first and foremost. We all are. Always have been. Always will be.
So let's warrior the fuck out.
The built up and looming danger of the Blood Emperor makes his appearance halfway through the book but by 70% Ikenna pretty much dealt with it and I ended up being a little disappointed by how it felt too here and gone (a little of The Night King from GOT feelings). The last thirty percent deals with and reveals if Ikenna's trust was misplaced in Ajani, the future of Mareen, and a new looming threat. Ikenna also had to take on another opponent and I thought this was rushed even more than the Blood Emperor.
We will do this because we love one another.
The Blood Gift gave me more of the world flushing out I was missing in the beginning and I'm definitely fascinated by the Gods aspect of it. I cheer on Ikenna's warrior attitude but do get frustrated when her rage has her blinded to reason and would like character experience and maturity to show growth. With a new enemy on the horizon, a frenemie in the wind, and a country to stabilize, Ikenna and her crew definitely have material for a new adventure.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
50%
If I helmed a country and was faced with the extermination of every one of my people or bowing to a tryant...The ferocious part of me insists I'd choose the Lytheian answer and stand free, fighting and dying for the right rather than choosing to live chained to a brutal empire. However, the deaths of millions of people would be on my hands. And I don't know. Is it better to find a way to persist, to survive, to keep your people and legacy enduring so that, maybe one day, those who come after you might find a way to set things right?
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