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Natasha Khan recommended Disintegration by The Cure in Music (curated)

 
Disintegration by The Cure
Disintegration by The Cure
2005 | Rock

"I was probably about 17 [when I first heard it] and this one for me is very much about falling in love. I didn't realise for ages how much it must have influenced me because of the phasey synths, the layers of phasey guitar, the romance and the gloominess and depression, but within that depression there's always those bursts of euphoria and that sad/happy line. In music I tend to really enjoy the sad/happy dichotomy; they've been put together and it breaks your heart but you love it at the same time. You want to cry but you want to smile, and I think really hearing phasey guitars, massive intros, really lush, long droning synths, and Robert Smith for me, on 'Lullaby', it's just such great storytelling: "Quietly he laughs and shaking his head / Creeps closer now, closer to the foot of the bed". It's just like weird, dark, gothic literature or weird Roald Dahl stories or kids' stories about adult anxiety but told through Charlotte's Web-like fables and storytelling. 'Untitled' has harmonium and stuff and then it kicks into massively reverby drums, quite shoegazy, and 'Disintegration' is such a great song, I absolutely love it, and there's loads of really long intros where he just sings at the end and when you hear him yelping, "yeeeeah!". I felt like him and Björk at the time were both really exploring feral, expressive vocal sounds - and I think Robert Smith is a really underrated vocalist, not even underrated but I think he's like [mimics Robert Smith] and it's really free and endearing, just very unique I think."

Source
  
The Scarlet Code
The Scarlet Code
C. S. Quinn | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
These books must surely at least make it on to TV? They read like a film - I absolutely love them! I don’t know whether there were all-action, female spies around this time (I know there were female spies during the time just after the English Civil War, so why would they stop?), and frankly, I don’t much care. Well, I do, but what I’m hoping to get across here, is how much I LOVED this book! It’s rich in historical detail, the character development is equally good.

I’m really enjoying following Attica Morgan’s exploits (see what I did there? That’s not even a hint that I want more, that’s a “let there be more!”). Attica’s love of Paris, even at this really uncertain time between the fall of the Bastille and the actual start of the Revolution, is so well described that I felt that I could be there. I love a book where I can learn something. I’d always thought that the people released the prisoners from the Bastille (or in fact they didn’t, because it was virtually empty - or so I’ve been told), and then BAM! Voila la Révolution française! Well, by the sounds of it there was a bit of a tense hiatus between one thing and the next (we won’t discuss the fact that I was a French teacher in a former life - sshh!).

Anyway, if you enjoy a well written, historical romp, with an opinionated, strong female lead character - then this is the book for you! I can’t wait for the next one (not even hinting)!!

Many thanks to Readers First for sending me a copy of this book.
  
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Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Shelf in Books

May 12, 2022  
The Shelf
The Shelf
Helly Acton | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who would have thought that a book about being on a reality TV show after being dumped on TV would be such an interesting book topic?
I love that Helly Acton dreamt up an entire Tv show around a devastating moment in life and turned it around to something positive. Having seven women in a house at a low point in their lives could have gone completely horribly, but the characters that Helly wrote gelled together so well that there wasn’t a lot of drama but you still rooted for each and every woman in The Shelf house.
I loved how she integrated social media and technology into the house with The Wall and The Tracker, and used them to show how they would be interacted with if they were included in a real reality TV show.
I didn’t want to put this book down, and didn’t know who I wanted to be evicted each time there was an eviction as I loved each one of the characters. I also liked how at the end of the book, everyone’s happiness wasn’t measured by whether they were in a relationship or not, it was whether they had met their goals. And I also love that the theme throughout this book wasn’t that you need to be in a relationship to be happy, but that you need to love yourself first to be happy and don’t rush into being with someone who ultimately isn’t right for you just because you think that you’re running out of time.
I can’t wait to read Helly’s next book now.
  
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Merissa (13659 KP) rated Code Blue (Atrous Series #2) in Books

Feb 23, 2022 (Updated Jul 3, 2023)  
Code Blue (Atrous Series #2)
Code Blue (Atrous Series #2)
N.R. Walker | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
CODE BLUE is a follow-up to Code Red, the first in this duo. Now, I LOVED Code Red, so this one can't possibly be as good, can it? It's an N.R. Walker book - OF COURSE, it can!!!

I got my wish - I got more of Steve and Jeremy. What I wasn't prepared for was how much I would fall in love with both of them as they struggle with certain feelings, situations, and people.

Told completely from Steve's point of view, we see him struggle with his love for Jeremy when a stalker becomes apparent. He also has secrets from his past that come back to bite him in the butt, but which help to explain his feelings. Jeremy is also struggling with his health, which doesn't help matters. Code Red was on tour, this one is mainly at Jeremy's home for reasons that become apparent. And, yes, the name of the book means something!

I was so happy to see Moscoe here and the support they provided. The epilogue had me in tears for both couples, but then I'm sappy that way.

This was an amazing sequel and I'm delighted N.R. Walker wrote it. This is definitely a duology for me to buy in paperback, so I can look at them on my shelves, and fall in love with them all over again.

Absolutely fantastic and completely and utterly recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 23, 2022
  
Fighting Fate (Monsters of London #3.5)
Fighting Fate (Monsters of London #3.5)
Alexandra Keillor | 2025 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
FIGHTING FATE is part of the Monsters of London series and I highly recommend you read those first as most of this one takes place after those events.

We have two very different MCs - Vince, who has declared love off limits, and Dax, who is the cutest cinnamon roll who ever rolled! And when I say Vince has declared love off limits, I mean it. This dude has his heart locked away and only allows himself one-and-done's. That is until Dax! Even then, they have time apart.

This was a great read. Not only did I have the chance to see all of my other pairings and how things are for them after the climax of the other three books, but I also got to spend time with Dax and Vince. There are other characters here that I'm hoping will have their story told at some point too.

Told from both Dax and Vince's perspective, you get a nicely rounded story that was perfectly paced. I don't fully understand why Dax's old pack treated him the way they did and I really wanted an explanation for that. However, I did love how protective of him Vince was.

A great addition to the series that still gave me much-wanted time with Kieran's pack while following the MCs too. My rating is 4.5 out of 5 and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 14, 2025