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Paul It feels like I’ve been drowning for five years, barely keeping my head above the water. I...
Contemporary MM Romance
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The House by the Cemetery in Books
Jan 31, 2019 (Updated Feb 2, 2019)
I have a love-hate relationship with The House by the Cemetery by John Everson, and it’s really tearing me apart. I absolutely enjoyed the story itself, but there’s a few issues, one of which is a huge red flag, that I simply can’t allow to go unspoken–and if other reviews are any clue, I’m not the only one that’s immensely bothered by it.
The story involves a witch that died in 1963, a haunted house, a haunted house attraction, and a lot of characters (too many to keep track of without a notebook, actually). Hired to repair the haunted house so that guests can safely walk through it, Mike Kostner spends much of his time drinking beer and talking with the girls, Katie and Emery. At the same time, Jeanie’s been hired on as a makeup artist for the upcoming attraction and drags her boyfriend, Bong, into it. Then there’s Jillie and Ted, paranormal investigators. And then there are three other groups of people to form more members of the cast, which I found to be extremely overwhelming.
At this point in my review, I usually talk about characters and their development, what I like about them, what I don’t, etc. In this case, I can’t really do that. The only character I managed to forge any sort of emotional connection with was Jeanie, and it’s mainly sympathetic. As for the rest of the roles played, I’m largely disappointed. Why? Because there’s a severe lack of sensitivity in this novel–which has been mentioned in several other reviews. There are four characters whose sole defining characteristic is either their race or their weight. There’s no depth given beyond that to them as an individual. The remarks dealing with weight are largely shaming and those dealing with race are stereotypical. And here’s where I’m going to take a moment to discuss the character Bong, which I feel is the most blatant insult to another race’s customs that I’ve seen in a long time.
Bong’s full name is Bong-soon Mon. Phonetically, that sounds a lot like “bong soon man.” It’s not overly obvious if you’re not familiar with Korean names, and Bong-soon is an actual name used in the drama Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. However, in this case, Everson shortens Bong-soon, which is actually the character’s name (whether it’s his first or last, I’m not sure), to Bong. Thus he makes it more of a laughing matter (really, it’s not funny), whether it’s intentional or unintentional. Usually I’m not sensitive to these types of material, but in this book the way it comes across is really bothersome and, like several other readers, I agree with the idea that this book desperately needs an edit for sensitivity. Please bear in mind that I read an arc of this book and so I’m not sure if any of these issues were addressed in the final publication.
EDIT: After speaking with the author, he explained to me that the reason he shortened the name as he did comes from personal experience with someone that had the same name, and what they went by. Everson also assured me it was not his intent to fat shame those characters. I really appreciate that he reached out to me, and feel it's important that my misconception be corrected, but not hidden.
Plotwise, I adored this book. I can’t go too much into detail without sharing spoilers, but I can say this: the Everson does have a talent for creating beautifully grisly, albeit somewhat repetitive, scenes. The bloodbath that takes place near the end of the book is a glorious gore-fest that I felt the rest of the story worked up to quite well, even if it crawled earlier on while Mike was working on the house. As for the setting, it’s well written. I liked the idea of a house next to a cemetery, and its easy to infer its age without being told: it’s too close to a turnpike to have been put there before the turnpike was built. I was, however, confused by the juxtaposition of a heavily wooded house and cemetery in close proximity to a city or town, as in my experience turnpikes usually don’t have exits between major locales. At least, not very many present-day ones do, as most of them have been converted to, or created as, a controlled-access highway, where intersecting roads tend to cross over or under so that they do not impede traffic. That said, it strikes me as weird that a single house and cemetery would have an exit from a turnpike.
So I decided to google cemeteries and turnpikes, and what did I find? Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is an actual haunted locale found in the suburbs of Chicago. And yes, it actually is that close to a turnpike! If you like to watch Ghost Adventures, the cemetery was featured in a 2012 episode. Also, the cemetery is extremely old. Even better? Many of the ghost stories referenced in the book are actual tales surrounding the cemetery. It’s actually pretty fascinating and I wouldn’t even have known about it were it not for Everson’s book.
Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I loved the homage to horror movies of all types, including lesser known genres. I absolutely adored the way in which some of the characters were manipulated, too. Hence why I stated early in this review that I have a love-hate relationship with it. Because of the lack of sensitivity though, and the way I was made to feel as a reader because of it (I’m overweight, after all), I can’t give it more than three skulls.
I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for review.
The story involves a witch that died in 1963, a haunted house, a haunted house attraction, and a lot of characters (too many to keep track of without a notebook, actually). Hired to repair the haunted house so that guests can safely walk through it, Mike Kostner spends much of his time drinking beer and talking with the girls, Katie and Emery. At the same time, Jeanie’s been hired on as a makeup artist for the upcoming attraction and drags her boyfriend, Bong, into it. Then there’s Jillie and Ted, paranormal investigators. And then there are three other groups of people to form more members of the cast, which I found to be extremely overwhelming.
At this point in my review, I usually talk about characters and their development, what I like about them, what I don’t, etc. In this case, I can’t really do that. The only character I managed to forge any sort of emotional connection with was Jeanie, and it’s mainly sympathetic. As for the rest of the roles played, I’m largely disappointed. Why? Because there’s a severe lack of sensitivity in this novel–which has been mentioned in several other reviews. There are four characters whose sole defining characteristic is either their race or their weight. There’s no depth given beyond that to them as an individual. The remarks dealing with weight are largely shaming and those dealing with race are stereotypical. And here’s where I’m going to take a moment to discuss the character Bong, which I feel is the most blatant insult to another race’s customs that I’ve seen in a long time.
Bong’s full name is Bong-soon Mon. Phonetically, that sounds a lot like “bong soon man.” It’s not overly obvious if you’re not familiar with Korean names, and Bong-soon is an actual name used in the drama Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. However, in this case, Everson shortens Bong-soon, which is actually the character’s name (whether it’s his first or last, I’m not sure), to Bong. Thus he makes it more of a laughing matter (really, it’s not funny), whether it’s intentional or unintentional. Usually I’m not sensitive to these types of material, but in this book the way it comes across is really bothersome and, like several other readers, I agree with the idea that this book desperately needs an edit for sensitivity. Please bear in mind that I read an arc of this book and so I’m not sure if any of these issues were addressed in the final publication.
EDIT: After speaking with the author, he explained to me that the reason he shortened the name as he did comes from personal experience with someone that had the same name, and what they went by. Everson also assured me it was not his intent to fat shame those characters. I really appreciate that he reached out to me, and feel it's important that my misconception be corrected, but not hidden.
Plotwise, I adored this book. I can’t go too much into detail without sharing spoilers, but I can say this: the Everson does have a talent for creating beautifully grisly, albeit somewhat repetitive, scenes. The bloodbath that takes place near the end of the book is a glorious gore-fest that I felt the rest of the story worked up to quite well, even if it crawled earlier on while Mike was working on the house. As for the setting, it’s well written. I liked the idea of a house next to a cemetery, and its easy to infer its age without being told: it’s too close to a turnpike to have been put there before the turnpike was built. I was, however, confused by the juxtaposition of a heavily wooded house and cemetery in close proximity to a city or town, as in my experience turnpikes usually don’t have exits between major locales. At least, not very many present-day ones do, as most of them have been converted to, or created as, a controlled-access highway, where intersecting roads tend to cross over or under so that they do not impede traffic. That said, it strikes me as weird that a single house and cemetery would have an exit from a turnpike.
So I decided to google cemeteries and turnpikes, and what did I find? Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is an actual haunted locale found in the suburbs of Chicago. And yes, it actually is that close to a turnpike! If you like to watch Ghost Adventures, the cemetery was featured in a 2012 episode. Also, the cemetery is extremely old. Even better? Many of the ghost stories referenced in the book are actual tales surrounding the cemetery. It’s actually pretty fascinating and I wouldn’t even have known about it were it not for Everson’s book.
Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I loved the homage to horror movies of all types, including lesser known genres. I absolutely adored the way in which some of the characters were manipulated, too. Hence why I stated early in this review that I have a love-hate relationship with it. Because of the lack of sensitivity though, and the way I was made to feel as a reader because of it (I’m overweight, after all), I can’t give it more than three skulls.
I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for review.
Justin Patchett (42 KP) rated Roma (2018) in Movies
Mar 3, 2019
Caught in a bad Roma
Contains spoilers, click to show
It’s been a long while since I watched a film deserving of a truly, harshly negative review. I have gotten so close so many times, and I’ll be damned if Netflix hadn’t gotten close to earning that with the fridge-logic that ruined Bird Box. Even Bird Box, though, feels enjoyable in retrospect compared to another Netflix exclusive: Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma.
Since I’m in a clear minority on this film, I feel obligated to preemptively address some common criticisms. If Roma had been produced in English, presented in color and with any score, it couldn’t fix the fact that I simply dislike Roma’s genre. Sure, I’ve liked slice-of-life drama films, and modern period pieces do fine by me. Pretentious Oscar-farming arthouse flicks like this, though, never win my praise.
Roma follows Cleo, a housemaid in Mexico City. Cleo has gotten pregnant and the presumed father, Fermín, leaves her to buy cigarettes before the baby’s even born. Her employer, Sofía, is dealing with a cheating spouse. What follows is two hours of both of these women marginally helping each other with their respective situations. As slice-of-life films do.
Since it's a slice-of-life film, much of the story just basically happens. You'll remember a scene here or there that happened, even if it was ultimately insignificant. In one scene for instance, Cleo goes to confront the baby daddy, who’s at a huge martial arts class. She spectates and proves to be the only one able to perform a certain yoga pose. Which is important because it helped add another few minutes to the film.
Cleo goes into labor not long after this confrontation, but her daughter ends up being stillborn. This all happens in the midst of the Corpus Christi Massacre. What the heck was the Corpus Christi Massacre, you may ask? According to this film, it was a brutal inconvenience on Cleo’s way to the hospital after her water breaks. This actual historical event simply happens and is never addressed for one second more. You know, just like in Titanic where the shipwreck just makes things inconvenient for Rose and Jack.
The last major scene in the film comes when Sofía invites Cleo to come with her family on a trip to the beach, not as staff but to help Cleo cope with the tragedy of losing her child. While they’re there, Sofía leaves the children in Cleo’s care for two freaking minutes, and two of the kids nearly drown. Cleo, though, can’t swim, and so she stands out in the water as the kids rescue each other. And that's about as close as Roma gets to a cohesive plot. Cleo only came with them to help her grieving, which meant she could be there to be powerless while her employer’s kids save each other’s lives. Bad things happen to us, the film teaches, so that good things can coincidentally happen in our proximity.
In fact, coincidence seems to be the running theme, here. Remember the Corpus Christi Massacre? No? What if I call it “the scene where Cleo goes into labor”? Maybe that helps? Fermín briefly held Cleo at gunpoint in the middle of it. Again, mere coincidence. Just like it’s a mere coincidence that she goes into labor the same day as a massacre that killed 120 people. As coincidences do.
Roma isn’t an aggressively bad film. There are a rare few moments within Roma’s 2-hour runtime where you think, “I can see that clip showing up during a Facebook video binge,” but again: These are moments more rare than our current president ordering a rare steak. That rarity has everything to do with the fact that the movie has so few moments, at all. The rest is shots that linger too long from angles that repeat themselves all too often. It’s like Cuarón asked someone, “What does a movie like Juno need to be better?” They responded, “Nothing.” So Cuarón packed Roma with nothing.
Which brings up one of my biggest criticisms of Roma: The cinematography is bland. Cuarón shot practically the entire film on one camera, set a specific distance from the subject, and kept takes running as longer than they should have, padding out a short-film’s worth of content to feature length. It’s bland cinematography that somehow earned an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Gravity showed us what Cuarón was capable of. Beyond bringing a seemingly authentic view of space to the big screen, Gravity offered variety. Yes, the huge collision scene in Gravity takes on the feel of a one-take scene, but even then, the camera moves with the action. And if your attention moves away from the foreground the shot, you’re able to see other important things going on. With Roma, though, your foreground is your film. Period. And to be sure, you'll be kept at arm's length from that foreground at all times, both metaphorically and cinematically.
There's a number of reasons why Roma wasn't the Best Picture, this year. Gravity proved that Roma is not Cuarón’s best film. Bo Burnham–yes, that Bo Burnham–wrote and directed a better slice-of-life film with Eighth Grade. And Roma might not even be the past year’s best black-and-white film; I dare suggest that Cold War may have been better.
To give it the credit it’s due, Roma’s cast rightly earned nominations for their performances. Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira earned Best Actress nominations for their roles, and for their part, their performances were authentic as can be. It's the least the Academy could do for having them endure Cuarón's lengthy takes.
But now that I've given it credit, I demand my time back for the scene of Fermín going Star Wars Kid meets Full Monty.
Since I’m in a clear minority on this film, I feel obligated to preemptively address some common criticisms. If Roma had been produced in English, presented in color and with any score, it couldn’t fix the fact that I simply dislike Roma’s genre. Sure, I’ve liked slice-of-life drama films, and modern period pieces do fine by me. Pretentious Oscar-farming arthouse flicks like this, though, never win my praise.
Roma follows Cleo, a housemaid in Mexico City. Cleo has gotten pregnant and the presumed father, Fermín, leaves her to buy cigarettes before the baby’s even born. Her employer, Sofía, is dealing with a cheating spouse. What follows is two hours of both of these women marginally helping each other with their respective situations. As slice-of-life films do.
Since it's a slice-of-life film, much of the story just basically happens. You'll remember a scene here or there that happened, even if it was ultimately insignificant. In one scene for instance, Cleo goes to confront the baby daddy, who’s at a huge martial arts class. She spectates and proves to be the only one able to perform a certain yoga pose. Which is important because it helped add another few minutes to the film.
Cleo goes into labor not long after this confrontation, but her daughter ends up being stillborn. This all happens in the midst of the Corpus Christi Massacre. What the heck was the Corpus Christi Massacre, you may ask? According to this film, it was a brutal inconvenience on Cleo’s way to the hospital after her water breaks. This actual historical event simply happens and is never addressed for one second more. You know, just like in Titanic where the shipwreck just makes things inconvenient for Rose and Jack.
The last major scene in the film comes when Sofía invites Cleo to come with her family on a trip to the beach, not as staff but to help Cleo cope with the tragedy of losing her child. While they’re there, Sofía leaves the children in Cleo’s care for two freaking minutes, and two of the kids nearly drown. Cleo, though, can’t swim, and so she stands out in the water as the kids rescue each other. And that's about as close as Roma gets to a cohesive plot. Cleo only came with them to help her grieving, which meant she could be there to be powerless while her employer’s kids save each other’s lives. Bad things happen to us, the film teaches, so that good things can coincidentally happen in our proximity.
In fact, coincidence seems to be the running theme, here. Remember the Corpus Christi Massacre? No? What if I call it “the scene where Cleo goes into labor”? Maybe that helps? Fermín briefly held Cleo at gunpoint in the middle of it. Again, mere coincidence. Just like it’s a mere coincidence that she goes into labor the same day as a massacre that killed 120 people. As coincidences do.
Roma isn’t an aggressively bad film. There are a rare few moments within Roma’s 2-hour runtime where you think, “I can see that clip showing up during a Facebook video binge,” but again: These are moments more rare than our current president ordering a rare steak. That rarity has everything to do with the fact that the movie has so few moments, at all. The rest is shots that linger too long from angles that repeat themselves all too often. It’s like Cuarón asked someone, “What does a movie like Juno need to be better?” They responded, “Nothing.” So Cuarón packed Roma with nothing.
Which brings up one of my biggest criticisms of Roma: The cinematography is bland. Cuarón shot practically the entire film on one camera, set a specific distance from the subject, and kept takes running as longer than they should have, padding out a short-film’s worth of content to feature length. It’s bland cinematography that somehow earned an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Gravity showed us what Cuarón was capable of. Beyond bringing a seemingly authentic view of space to the big screen, Gravity offered variety. Yes, the huge collision scene in Gravity takes on the feel of a one-take scene, but even then, the camera moves with the action. And if your attention moves away from the foreground the shot, you’re able to see other important things going on. With Roma, though, your foreground is your film. Period. And to be sure, you'll be kept at arm's length from that foreground at all times, both metaphorically and cinematically.
There's a number of reasons why Roma wasn't the Best Picture, this year. Gravity proved that Roma is not Cuarón’s best film. Bo Burnham–yes, that Bo Burnham–wrote and directed a better slice-of-life film with Eighth Grade. And Roma might not even be the past year’s best black-and-white film; I dare suggest that Cold War may have been better.
To give it the credit it’s due, Roma’s cast rightly earned nominations for their performances. Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira earned Best Actress nominations for their roles, and for their part, their performances were authentic as can be. It's the least the Academy could do for having them endure Cuarón's lengthy takes.
But now that I've given it credit, I demand my time back for the scene of Fermín going Star Wars Kid meets Full Monty.
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Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated Laws of Attraction (The Manx Cat Guardians #6) in Books
Apr 29, 2019
i had another hissy fit!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 6 in the Manx Cat Guardians series, and you really SHOULD read the other books first. There is MUCH referenced to, but not fully explained, from those books, and you will need to know what’s happened before now. And, you know, I TOLD you to!
Nick has had an attraction to his brother’s best friend, Brody, since he was a child. Now, on the Isle of Man, working on Aaden and Greg’s new kitchen, with Brody in close proximity, Nick can no longer hide his feelings. Brody’s reaction to Nick at Christmas has him questioning everything he ever thought about the squirt. When a certain witchy-poo's involvement in both men’s feelings come to light, and that spell is lifted, Brody is confused about some things, but he knows this: Nick is HIS. They just need to get to the bottom of Brody’s true feelings, what Nick thinks happened all that time ago, and just how deep that witch went with her spell.
So, yes, book 6, but I’ve been awaiting this one since we met Nick and Brody in book 4, Searching For A Soul to Love. Nick is Aaden’s younger brother and Brody his best friend. There were some hints to this book in that one, and a development in 12 Disasters of Christmas and this one does not disappoint!
Well, it DOES, just a tad, and I’m being petty, I know but these books tend to bring out my darkest thoughts, and also the most extreme! I wanted Nick and Brody to get together FAR sooner in this book! They do get together, I just had to wait til nearly the end for the main event! Oh don’t get me wrong, its sexy, and steamy and hawt as hell in places, but for the final joining of their souls and bodies? FAR too long I had to wait! And this is why I can’t stretch to 5 stars!
Everyone has a say, EVERYONE! Brody and Nick, mostly, but some of the other guys get a few minutes too. We also get a lot of that witchy-poo, Christina, and how she spelled Brody and Nick all that time ago, and WHY she did it. And now she’s paying the price for that: but she was warned! She is working off her penance, helping to find out who is trying to sabotage Greg at work and she wants her magic back. She does NOT like feeling human! Some amusing moments, though, for Christina and her body without magic.
King Manannan has a say, and we get how he feels about said witch. Which was totally unexpected! I did not see that coming! There are a lot of HINTS about what Christina is to the King, and about something that her father did to her as a child, but these are not fully explained and I wanted to know! Again, the extremes these books drag out of me! I was like, JUST BLOODY TELL ME!! And Ms Sayle, in true fashion, does not tell me, and so again, I spat me dummy out and threw my toys out the pram and everything, A-BLOODY-GAIN!
And we meet Ellie, and Cam, who are the stars of the next book. And even though THEY didn’t meet each other, I have a feeling their book will be quite explosive. So, write quicker, please!
Because I had to wait so bloody long for the main event, and because my questions about the King and Christina are NOT answered (but I think HERE, everyone will be asking questions about those two!) I can only stretch to..
..a hot and steamy 4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
This is book 6 in the Manx Cat Guardians series, and you really SHOULD read the other books first. There is MUCH referenced to, but not fully explained, from those books, and you will need to know what’s happened before now. And, you know, I TOLD you to!
Nick has had an attraction to his brother’s best friend, Brody, since he was a child. Now, on the Isle of Man, working on Aaden and Greg’s new kitchen, with Brody in close proximity, Nick can no longer hide his feelings. Brody’s reaction to Nick at Christmas has him questioning everything he ever thought about the squirt. When a certain witchy-poo's involvement in both men’s feelings come to light, and that spell is lifted, Brody is confused about some things, but he knows this: Nick is HIS. They just need to get to the bottom of Brody’s true feelings, what Nick thinks happened all that time ago, and just how deep that witch went with her spell.
So, yes, book 6, but I’ve been awaiting this one since we met Nick and Brody in book 4, Searching For A Soul to Love. Nick is Aaden’s younger brother and Brody his best friend. There were some hints to this book in that one, and a development in 12 Disasters of Christmas and this one does not disappoint!
Well, it DOES, just a tad, and I’m being petty, I know but these books tend to bring out my darkest thoughts, and also the most extreme! I wanted Nick and Brody to get together FAR sooner in this book! They do get together, I just had to wait til nearly the end for the main event! Oh don’t get me wrong, its sexy, and steamy and hawt as hell in places, but for the final joining of their souls and bodies? FAR too long I had to wait! And this is why I can’t stretch to 5 stars!
Everyone has a say, EVERYONE! Brody and Nick, mostly, but some of the other guys get a few minutes too. We also get a lot of that witchy-poo, Christina, and how she spelled Brody and Nick all that time ago, and WHY she did it. And now she’s paying the price for that: but she was warned! She is working off her penance, helping to find out who is trying to sabotage Greg at work and she wants her magic back. She does NOT like feeling human! Some amusing moments, though, for Christina and her body without magic.
King Manannan has a say, and we get how he feels about said witch. Which was totally unexpected! I did not see that coming! There are a lot of HINTS about what Christina is to the King, and about something that her father did to her as a child, but these are not fully explained and I wanted to know! Again, the extremes these books drag out of me! I was like, JUST BLOODY TELL ME!! And Ms Sayle, in true fashion, does not tell me, and so again, I spat me dummy out and threw my toys out the pram and everything, A-BLOODY-GAIN!
And we meet Ellie, and Cam, who are the stars of the next book. And even though THEY didn’t meet each other, I have a feeling their book will be quite explosive. So, write quicker, please!
Because I had to wait so bloody long for the main event, and because my questions about the King and Christina are NOT answered (but I think HERE, everyone will be asking questions about those two!) I can only stretch to..
..a hot and steamy 4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
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Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated Homeward Bound (Pine Cove #3) in Books
Sep 29, 2019 (Updated Dec 6, 2019)
can't fault it!
I was gifted my copy of this book, that I write a review was not required.
Swift finds out he is a father, 5 years after Imogen’s birth. But Imogen’s mum is struggling and Swift takes custody of his daughter while mum sorts herself out. Micha is home, after some time in custody, and is struggling being at home. He loves his family, he really does, but they don’t know who he is, deep down, he can’t tell them, not after what he did before he left. Swift comes to Micha’s aid and vice versa. The things start to spiral out of control with Micha being in such close proximity to Imogen, when his past finds and threatens those he has come to love, and Micha makes a dreadful decision. Can Swift get to him in time?
Ms Welch has out done herself, AGAIN!
I mean, the whole previously undiscovered bisexuality genre is growing on me, big time, and it is almost entirely due to Ms Welch’s skill at writing these characters!
Swift is Robin’s (from book 1, Safe Harbor) older brother, and Swift is Micha’s older brother’s best friend. Micha makes no bones about his attraction to Swift, from when they all hung out together when he was a teenager. But Micha is a grown man now, and surely can’t still be crushing on Swift, right? Clearly, he is. And he struggles so much with that attraction with Swift’s little, entirely innocent, touches, because Micha doesn’t want them to be innocent. But Swift is straight, cos he has a child. And Micha just suffers in silence.
Swift, however, is questioning everything. His daughter just landed on his doorstep, and he has no idea what to do! Having Micha help is a godsend. Having Micha in his space is . .nice. Having Micha OUT his space, is not so nice and it’s not till Swift thinks he might lose Micha that he questions why he feels like that. And Swift is just like, Okay then! Micha is MINE and I want him back. And he goes all out!
When Micha tells Swift about why he can’t tell his family he is gay, I cried, I really did. It breaks your heart, the pain he has been carrying around all this time.
It’s a well told tale, of getting what and WHO you want, it really is!
But PULEEEEEZE, Ms Welch, write Ava and Peyton a full story!!
5 full and shiny stars!
Nick J Russo narrates this series.
And just as Ms Welch outdid herself WRITING this book, Russo outdid himself NARRATING it.
I mean, I rarely react out loud (verbally, shouitng, crying at what I'm reading) when I am READING. When I am LISTENING, however, its a totally different ball game and I don't think I was ever more verbal with this book than maybe one other, in years of being an audio book listener!
Right from the start, Russo broke my heart for Micha. Well Welch did of course, but HEARING how broken Micha feels he is? I think I was crying right at the first chapter!
But when Micha is telling Swift why they can't be together?? Oh dear Lord. I had to stop what I was doing and just listen to poor Micha pour his heart out to Swift and I sobbed my bloody socks off! So much so, my daughter came in to ask if I was okay!
But equally, Russo gets over Swift's emotions too. Not quite as dramatically and gut wrenching as Micha's but Swift goes through a lot here, and Russo gets all of that across.
The voices for the other characters are carried across the series perfectly, and most of them pop uo here are some point.
While I was listening, I made a connection to book 4 that I hadn't made when I was reading. Elias and Ben pop up here and it was great to figure out where they fit in into the Pine Cove bigger picture. I have their book to read next.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Swift finds out he is a father, 5 years after Imogen’s birth. But Imogen’s mum is struggling and Swift takes custody of his daughter while mum sorts herself out. Micha is home, after some time in custody, and is struggling being at home. He loves his family, he really does, but they don’t know who he is, deep down, he can’t tell them, not after what he did before he left. Swift comes to Micha’s aid and vice versa. The things start to spiral out of control with Micha being in such close proximity to Imogen, when his past finds and threatens those he has come to love, and Micha makes a dreadful decision. Can Swift get to him in time?
Ms Welch has out done herself, AGAIN!
I mean, the whole previously undiscovered bisexuality genre is growing on me, big time, and it is almost entirely due to Ms Welch’s skill at writing these characters!
Swift is Robin’s (from book 1, Safe Harbor) older brother, and Swift is Micha’s older brother’s best friend. Micha makes no bones about his attraction to Swift, from when they all hung out together when he was a teenager. But Micha is a grown man now, and surely can’t still be crushing on Swift, right? Clearly, he is. And he struggles so much with that attraction with Swift’s little, entirely innocent, touches, because Micha doesn’t want them to be innocent. But Swift is straight, cos he has a child. And Micha just suffers in silence.
Swift, however, is questioning everything. His daughter just landed on his doorstep, and he has no idea what to do! Having Micha help is a godsend. Having Micha in his space is . .nice. Having Micha OUT his space, is not so nice and it’s not till Swift thinks he might lose Micha that he questions why he feels like that. And Swift is just like, Okay then! Micha is MINE and I want him back. And he goes all out!
When Micha tells Swift about why he can’t tell his family he is gay, I cried, I really did. It breaks your heart, the pain he has been carrying around all this time.
It’s a well told tale, of getting what and WHO you want, it really is!
But PULEEEEEZE, Ms Welch, write Ava and Peyton a full story!!
5 full and shiny stars!
Nick J Russo narrates this series.
And just as Ms Welch outdid herself WRITING this book, Russo outdid himself NARRATING it.
I mean, I rarely react out loud (verbally, shouitng, crying at what I'm reading) when I am READING. When I am LISTENING, however, its a totally different ball game and I don't think I was ever more verbal with this book than maybe one other, in years of being an audio book listener!
Right from the start, Russo broke my heart for Micha. Well Welch did of course, but HEARING how broken Micha feels he is? I think I was crying right at the first chapter!
But when Micha is telling Swift why they can't be together?? Oh dear Lord. I had to stop what I was doing and just listen to poor Micha pour his heart out to Swift and I sobbed my bloody socks off! So much so, my daughter came in to ask if I was okay!
But equally, Russo gets over Swift's emotions too. Not quite as dramatically and gut wrenching as Micha's but Swift goes through a lot here, and Russo gets all of that across.
The voices for the other characters are carried across the series perfectly, and most of them pop uo here are some point.
While I was listening, I made a connection to book 4 that I hadn't made when I was reading. Elias and Ben pop up here and it was great to figure out where they fit in into the Pine Cove bigger picture. I have their book to read next.
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Sunlight Pilgrims in Books
May 13, 2017
Smashing novel
‘What are you meant to do when a humongous cloud is coming toward you on a sheer mountain drop? He lifts his phone and there are no bars, he can’t even google it. Two eagles spiral out of the cloud, calling to each other, and one has something small gripped in it’s claws. They coast on the wind – each wingspan must be about three feet – and they appear almost still.’
Jenni Fagan’s The Sunlight Pilgrims was published by Windmill Books in 2015 and for me, was a much-anticipated novel. After reading her debut novel, The Panopticon, my expectations were high and I was not disappointed. This is a pre-apocalyptic novel set in a fictional Scottish town of Clachan Fells in the not too distant future of 2020. The novel explores the lives of a community of eccentric individuals living in close the proximity of a caravan park. As the temperatures plunge into extreme minuses, the residents are faced with a bleak and uncertain future, not only of their own survival, but also the survival of the human race.
The most interesting thing about this novel is that on the surface, nothing really happens, yet it would be wise to look deeper. Amongst the daily challenges of individual lives, there lurks a thought provoking tale of identity, community, and environment.
The novel is written from the perspective of two of its main characters Stella – a transgender teenager and Dylan a Londoner who recently moves to Clachan Fells. The most interesting thing about these two characters is the perspectives that each individual has about place. For Stella, her world is a difficult place full of prejudice and rejection, even from her own father. Whilst her own personal identity is unquestionable, the community rejects her choices. This point of view provokes the reader to question the nature of identity, a topic often argued when discussing Scotland. From Stella’s point of view, her own identity is progressive, changing, developing while the society around her static. Alistair’s point of view however, allows the reader a modern and open approach. Described in the prologue as the Incomer (notice the capitalization) directs the reader towards Margaret Elphinstone’s novel The Incomer published in 1987. Elphinstone’s novel is a post-apocalyptic tale and, like Fagan’s, novel examines the question of identity. Thomas Christie suggests in Notional Identities, that Elphinstone is ‘depicting the country’s ability to adapt to extreme change¬ ̶ carving a form of localism from the bones of globalisation ̶ she recognises its progressive aptitude to embrace forces of social transformation while retaining recognisable core cultural imperatives.’ It is no coincidence that Fagan has subtly steered the reader to this novel; identity is clearly a topic that the author is keen to explore. Dylan is a progressive character in Fagan’s novel. Discovering Stella identity very early in the novel, the character never questions her choices or that of Mother who has two partners. Likewise, this progressive thinking expands to the other residents of the caravan park, which houses a prostitute, an alien worshipper, and a disabled man with a crooked back who worships the sky. Not only does Dylan accept people for who they are; his deep connection to the environment makes him instinctive as opposed to the more rational thinkers of the world.
Unlike many modern writers, Fagan raises more questions about society and identity than she answers. This is an interesting technique as it leaves the reader to question the novel as opposed to question to authors own political and societal views. That said there is no doubt that this is a Scottish novel. The story is steeped in Scottish mythical symbolism such as the blackbird that lands on a fence post with his eyes reflecting a vast mountain range, to the eagles and stag’s on the mountains. In addition, the characters take on mythical persona’s including a giant, a girl with second sight, and a moon polisher. With oral tales of Sunlight Pilgrims highlighting the Scottish oral storytelling tradition, and a poetic sentence structure done in true Fagan style this novel feels truly Scottish.
I would highly recommend this postmodern novel, which urges the reader to look beyond society and address the problems of ego and the rational mind in order to create a progressive unified world where outsiders are welcomed as incomers – a prevalent issue in today’s society.
Jenni Fagan’s The Sunlight Pilgrims was published by Windmill Books in 2015 and for me, was a much-anticipated novel. After reading her debut novel, The Panopticon, my expectations were high and I was not disappointed. This is a pre-apocalyptic novel set in a fictional Scottish town of Clachan Fells in the not too distant future of 2020. The novel explores the lives of a community of eccentric individuals living in close the proximity of a caravan park. As the temperatures plunge into extreme minuses, the residents are faced with a bleak and uncertain future, not only of their own survival, but also the survival of the human race.
The most interesting thing about this novel is that on the surface, nothing really happens, yet it would be wise to look deeper. Amongst the daily challenges of individual lives, there lurks a thought provoking tale of identity, community, and environment.
The novel is written from the perspective of two of its main characters Stella – a transgender teenager and Dylan a Londoner who recently moves to Clachan Fells. The most interesting thing about these two characters is the perspectives that each individual has about place. For Stella, her world is a difficult place full of prejudice and rejection, even from her own father. Whilst her own personal identity is unquestionable, the community rejects her choices. This point of view provokes the reader to question the nature of identity, a topic often argued when discussing Scotland. From Stella’s point of view, her own identity is progressive, changing, developing while the society around her static. Alistair’s point of view however, allows the reader a modern and open approach. Described in the prologue as the Incomer (notice the capitalization) directs the reader towards Margaret Elphinstone’s novel The Incomer published in 1987. Elphinstone’s novel is a post-apocalyptic tale and, like Fagan’s, novel examines the question of identity. Thomas Christie suggests in Notional Identities, that Elphinstone is ‘depicting the country’s ability to adapt to extreme change¬ ̶ carving a form of localism from the bones of globalisation ̶ she recognises its progressive aptitude to embrace forces of social transformation while retaining recognisable core cultural imperatives.’ It is no coincidence that Fagan has subtly steered the reader to this novel; identity is clearly a topic that the author is keen to explore. Dylan is a progressive character in Fagan’s novel. Discovering Stella identity very early in the novel, the character never questions her choices or that of Mother who has two partners. Likewise, this progressive thinking expands to the other residents of the caravan park, which houses a prostitute, an alien worshipper, and a disabled man with a crooked back who worships the sky. Not only does Dylan accept people for who they are; his deep connection to the environment makes him instinctive as opposed to the more rational thinkers of the world.
Unlike many modern writers, Fagan raises more questions about society and identity than she answers. This is an interesting technique as it leaves the reader to question the novel as opposed to question to authors own political and societal views. That said there is no doubt that this is a Scottish novel. The story is steeped in Scottish mythical symbolism such as the blackbird that lands on a fence post with his eyes reflecting a vast mountain range, to the eagles and stag’s on the mountains. In addition, the characters take on mythical persona’s including a giant, a girl with second sight, and a moon polisher. With oral tales of Sunlight Pilgrims highlighting the Scottish oral storytelling tradition, and a poetic sentence structure done in true Fagan style this novel feels truly Scottish.
I would highly recommend this postmodern novel, which urges the reader to look beyond society and address the problems of ego and the rational mind in order to create a progressive unified world where outsiders are welcomed as incomers – a prevalent issue in today’s society.
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Desire of the Gods in Books
Jun 12, 2019
Taudry Statue Gets Woman Laid in Desire of the Gods
Contains spoilers, click to show
The last thing Paula needed was a blindfolded, glowing god in her bed, but that’s exactly what she got.
Still reeling from her fiance, Nick, breaking up with her, Paula is desperate to try anything to get him back. So when her neighbor, Mrs. Stephanopolos gives her a magic statue that will give Paula her heart’s desire, she’s skeptical but does the required ritual anyway.
A split second later, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, is standing in her bedroom, ready to help Paula, even though he thinks Paula can do so much better than Nick.
Everything seems to be working out until Eros sneaks in and shoots one of his insta-love arrows at Apollo. Now the sun god needs to stay permanently blindfolded to avoid falling in love with the first woman he sees, especially when Paula is so not his type. Now Paula and Apollo are stuck with each other until Aphrodite can swoop in and reverse the spell. But with the two of them in such close proximity to each other, they might realize they’re each other’s types after all.
I definitely enjoyed this book. A lot of little details were explained, like the history of the statue and why she and Apollo can understand each other, despite them speaking different languages. And even though this book has a lot of my usual pet peeves, like insta-love, arrogance, and even lack of regard for personal boundaries, I still didn’t mind it. I think it’s easier to accept because Apollo is a god and things work differently for him. His love for Paula doesn’t have to be completely realistic because he’s not human.
However, the actual moment Apollo gets shot is incredibly anti-climactic.
Suddenly, the golden god flinched, and he slapped at the side of his neck as if stung by a mosquito.
“No – Oh No! Not again!” He shut his eyes tight.
“What’s the matter?” Paula stared at him.
“Eros,” groaned the god, keeping his eyes tight shut, “He’s fired on me.”
That’s it. It’s a significant event in the book but it’s as dramatic as a mosquito bite. You don’t even meet Eros in this book. But aside from that unsatisfying scene, this was an excellent story.
I really liked Paula as a character. She’s a bit of a smartass and despite being insecure with her looks, she’s not whiny or obsessive about it. Even though she needs to go along with Apollo’s absurdity to get her heart’s desire, she stays snarky instead of being resigned to taking his (unintentionally) hurtful comments about her appearance. The only thing I didn’t really like about her was her attachment to Nick. I get the fact that he was her fiance and she’s in love with him, but it got a little repetitive, even in this novella-length story. It was especially bad when Nick saw her with Apollo, jumped to conclusions, and called her a slut for moving on so quickly, even though he left her for another woman.
However, for the most part, Paula rocked.
Apollo is so absurd, he’s adorable. Normally, arrogance turns me off, but Apollo is so over the top, it’s impossible to take him seriously.
“Turn away from me, and try not to think of my wonderfully developed upper arms or what you moderns call my six pack”
It’s just so silly that it’s funny. And Apollo genuinely does care for Paula. He warned her away from Nick from the start, telling her she could do better. He also offered to strike Nick dead for her and was in general very protective of her (but not in a controlling way).
His lack of personal boundaries bothers me slightly. He has no concept of personal space and has no problem touching Paula randomly and without warning. When sleeping in her bed, he used her breasts for a pillow, and while sleeping he dry-humped her.
While this sort of behavior would usually bother me a lot, I don’t really mind it because it’s pretty clear he’s not doing it to exert power over her or because he thinks he owns her. He’s just pretty oblivious to how the world works. (The second book in this trilogy explains that the gods are all immature and careless like this because they do not have the ability to change and grow like humans do.)
However, I really liked him for the most part. He’s really sweet in general and has a great dynamic with Paula.
Still reeling from her fiance, Nick, breaking up with her, Paula is desperate to try anything to get him back. So when her neighbor, Mrs. Stephanopolos gives her a magic statue that will give Paula her heart’s desire, she’s skeptical but does the required ritual anyway.
A split second later, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, is standing in her bedroom, ready to help Paula, even though he thinks Paula can do so much better than Nick.
Everything seems to be working out until Eros sneaks in and shoots one of his insta-love arrows at Apollo. Now the sun god needs to stay permanently blindfolded to avoid falling in love with the first woman he sees, especially when Paula is so not his type. Now Paula and Apollo are stuck with each other until Aphrodite can swoop in and reverse the spell. But with the two of them in such close proximity to each other, they might realize they’re each other’s types after all.
I definitely enjoyed this book. A lot of little details were explained, like the history of the statue and why she and Apollo can understand each other, despite them speaking different languages. And even though this book has a lot of my usual pet peeves, like insta-love, arrogance, and even lack of regard for personal boundaries, I still didn’t mind it. I think it’s easier to accept because Apollo is a god and things work differently for him. His love for Paula doesn’t have to be completely realistic because he’s not human.
However, the actual moment Apollo gets shot is incredibly anti-climactic.
Suddenly, the golden god flinched, and he slapped at the side of his neck as if stung by a mosquito.
“No – Oh No! Not again!” He shut his eyes tight.
“What’s the matter?” Paula stared at him.
“Eros,” groaned the god, keeping his eyes tight shut, “He’s fired on me.”
That’s it. It’s a significant event in the book but it’s as dramatic as a mosquito bite. You don’t even meet Eros in this book. But aside from that unsatisfying scene, this was an excellent story.
I really liked Paula as a character. She’s a bit of a smartass and despite being insecure with her looks, she’s not whiny or obsessive about it. Even though she needs to go along with Apollo’s absurdity to get her heart’s desire, she stays snarky instead of being resigned to taking his (unintentionally) hurtful comments about her appearance. The only thing I didn’t really like about her was her attachment to Nick. I get the fact that he was her fiance and she’s in love with him, but it got a little repetitive, even in this novella-length story. It was especially bad when Nick saw her with Apollo, jumped to conclusions, and called her a slut for moving on so quickly, even though he left her for another woman.
However, for the most part, Paula rocked.
Apollo is so absurd, he’s adorable. Normally, arrogance turns me off, but Apollo is so over the top, it’s impossible to take him seriously.
“Turn away from me, and try not to think of my wonderfully developed upper arms or what you moderns call my six pack”
It’s just so silly that it’s funny. And Apollo genuinely does care for Paula. He warned her away from Nick from the start, telling her she could do better. He also offered to strike Nick dead for her and was in general very protective of her (but not in a controlling way).
His lack of personal boundaries bothers me slightly. He has no concept of personal space and has no problem touching Paula randomly and without warning. When sleeping in her bed, he used her breasts for a pillow, and while sleeping he dry-humped her.
While this sort of behavior would usually bother me a lot, I don’t really mind it because it’s pretty clear he’s not doing it to exert power over her or because he thinks he owns her. He’s just pretty oblivious to how the world works. (The second book in this trilogy explains that the gods are all immature and careless like this because they do not have the ability to change and grow like humans do.)
However, I really liked him for the most part. He’s really sweet in general and has a great dynamic with Paula.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) Feb 1, 2019
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) Feb 1, 2019