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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
2010 | Rhythm And Blues
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love every album by Kanye, and I covered part of "Heartless" from the 808s & Heartbreak album [in]. But if I had to pick just one, I would pick My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I remember listening to it for the first time, and it was like a proper, physical shock. It still feels really modern. It sums up everything I love about Kanye: excess, the production, memory, the future. It's comic, it's tragic, it's extravagant—and at the centre there's this one voice, and it's an angry man battling his demons. It's very much an album in format, as well—I wouldn't choose just one song. It's an experience. Sometimes I forget about this album, voluntarily, and I go back to it and discover something else. It's like a hydra, with a hundred heads."

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The Parting Glass (In a Dark Wood, #2)
The Parting Glass (In a Dark Wood, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This one concentrated more on the relationship between Tim and Luke than the first and the heartbreak they've been through since the last one. It's been two and a half years and a lot of stuff has happened in that time; some good, some bad.
 
I wanted to throw my computer several times throughout this for the stupid things that had happened in that space of time and that last 10% almost had me crying thinking it might not end happily.
 
It was rather angst-y and very emotional in places but I loved it.

<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_my4er3FNJo1skkueko1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_my4er3FNJo1skkueko1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_my4er3FNJo1skkueko1_5001.gif"/></a>
  
The Wayward Prince (Mind + Machine #2)
The Wayward Prince (Mind + Machine #2)
Hanna Dare | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
great follow up to book one!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

4 years ago, Sebastian stole The Wayward Prince from a young man called Ren. Now, Rem is back and offering Sebastian and his crew a job. Can Sebastian and Ren part again, with their hearts intact?

This is book two in the Mind + Machine series, and I would personally recommend you read book one, Machine Metal Magic, first. Jaime and Rylan plays a huge part here and there is some references to their story. Not necessary just a personal recommendation.

I really enjoyed this one! It's a great follow up to book one. Not quite a five star read but so very nearly!

It's also quite difficult to write a review for this book without giving anything away! There are plot twists all over, and I did not see a single one coming me! And the slightest slip up on my part would spoil that experience for someone else. So, this may well be very vague!

Loved Sebastian. He thinks he's a bad egg but really has a heart of gold. He loves his ship and his on-board family, waifs and strays he's picked up, or indeed, they've picked Sebastian up. And Ren? Well let's just say he's a sweetheart, and he wants to do right by everyone, even to his own heartbreak. But loved his solution to that heartbreak!

Loved the hints that come about each crew member's history! So many stories to tell, those people!

It's told from both men's point of view so we get it all from both of them and you know how happy that makes me feel!

Oh do you know what? I can't find anything wrong with this so . . . .

5 full stars.

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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James Dean Bradfield recommended Slow Dazzle by John Cale in Music (curated)

 
Slow Dazzle by John Cale
Slow Dazzle by John Cale
1975 | Rock, Singer-Songwriter
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"That moment I had when I was young, listening to White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground… I mentioned there's a song called 'The Gift', and John Cale narrates it. It's about a man who mails himself to his girlfriend as a present. She opens it, and she fucking kills him. I remember… I didn't realise John Cale was Welsh when I was 15. I remember listening to that song and I was like, "Fuck me! That sounds like a Welsh voice!". My mind exploded: one of the pivotal members of The Velvet Underground was a Taff! Anything is possible baby… I really got into John Cale from that moment onwards. I think if you get into John Cale you go to Paris 1919, which is an amazing album and some would say his best, but Slow Dazzle really pushes it for top spot. Number one, it has one of the best covers of all time: he does a cover of 'Heartbreak Hotel' which is a brilliant, brilliant cover. And he goes from that to 'Ski Patrol', and there's another song called 'I'm Not The Loving Kind', which is almost like a Harry Nilsson, beautifully orchestrated, melancholic plea to a lover. So he goes from serrated acuteness of 'Heartbreak Hotel' to the lushness of 'I'm Not The Loving Kind', which is just one of the great motivational songs of all time. In a strange way it just motivates you so much. This is where John Cale got his game together: he realised he was an experimental musician who could also write amazing tunes. And this is where you actually hear him not scared of his voice anymore. This was the start of his true greatness. As a solo artist he's nearly unsurpassable to me."

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A Child for the Reich
A Child for the Reich
Andie Newton | 2022 | History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Inspired by a true story, this book is absolutely gripping and full of tension, heartbreak and the story of one woman's quest to find and rescue her daughter from the Nazi's Lebensborn programme.

Anna Dankova and her family live in Nazi-occupied Prague. Her husband and brother-in-law have joined the Czech Resistance leaving them to try and raise their children with the ever present danger of the Nazi soldiers, the Gestapo and the much feared Brown Sisters; female nurses who were dedicated to the Nazi cause. They worked for the Nazi Welfare Organization and searched through villages and towns for Aryan-looking children.

Anna and her sister's children are blonde-haired and blue-eyed and their fears are only too real but they are powerless against the might of the Nazi regime and one day, Anna's daughter, Ema is literally ripped from her arms in broad daylight leaving Anna, understandably, distraught and determined to get her back whatever the risks before she is lost forever.

Anna uses all her skills, courage and guile to find her daughter, infiltrate the children's home where she has been placed to be indoctrinated into the German way and to figure out a way to get her out of there whilst under the ever present threat of exposure and certain death.

This is a story full of tension and heartbreak and one mother's determination to find her daughter no matter what and it was absolutely gripping and I have no hesitation recommending it to those of you who 'enjoy' reading historical fiction based on true stories and events.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of A Child for the Reich.
  
Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name
André Aciman | 2007 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
9
6.6 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very moving
I don’t know what I’d expected from this book, but I hadn’t anticipated liking it as much as I did. And I haven’t seen the film yet either.

This is a beautifully written tale of a kind of love story between a young teenager and his family’s summer house guest. The confusion, frustration and heartbreak of his first gay relationship really comes across throughout the entire novel, and you really feel for him. Elio is an endearing protagonist and I was really invested in the outcome although I feel like the ending and the summary of the 20 years following that summer were a little too short and very sad. I would’ve happily read on for longer for a slightly happier ending. But that said, it’s still a well written book and a very interesting plot.
  
Thank you for allowing me to read an egalley of this book.

When I saw the cover for this book and then read the synopsis I figured it would be perfect for me. Who doesn't want to read about heartbreak and maybe what comes afterwards. It seemed light, fluffy, and uplifting. Sadly it wasn't. The MC Lu just complains about how awful it was to be broken up with and then continues to bring it up the whole book. I know it's tough but in the book it becomes almost annoying.
I wanted Cal and Iris to be together, more so there was a happy ending. It didn't seem right for Lu to be with him, that just feels forced.
Overall I think a plot idea was there the MC just got in the way with all the whining.
  
A Woman Under the Influence (1975)
A Woman Under the Influence (1975)
1975 | Classics, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Next to The Wizard of Oz, it’s my favorite movie of all time. The most honest on-screen depiction of mental illness ever. Cassavetes perfectly nails the heartbreak and frustration that eclipses a family when a loved one’s sanity slips away. It’s at times both gut-wrenching and oddly hilarious, and Cassavetes manages to make gorgeous cinema with colors and composition. Besides the impeccable, monumental performances of Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, the supporting cast is flawless, including both Cassavetes’s and Rowlands’s own real-life mothers, Katherine and Lady, and in particular George Dunn in his role as Mabel’s one-night stand Garson Cross. In any other film the character would be played as a cad the audience would be rooting against. Not so in a Cassavetes film, where the roles of hero and villain shift moment to moment."

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Happiest Season (2020)
Happiest Season (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Romance
Loved it. It made me cry. Definitely the queer romantic comedy we all deserve. Kristen Stewart is excellent as Abby and Mackenzie does a good turn as Harper, her girlfriend who is struggling coming out to her family (and basically her entire hometown). Harper takes Abby home for the holidays, doesn't act her best, and heartbreak ensues. Daniel Levy is wonderful as Abby's best friend and Aubrey Plaza as Harper's ex. Victor Garber and Mary Steenburgen are spot-on as Harper's parents, who demand perfection from all three of their daughters. If you've ever had to come out to your family, this film will deeply resonate with you. If you're straight and haven't had that experience, watch it, consider what others around you may have gone through and feel some empathy. It's funny, heartbreaking, and sweet.
  
In Darkness: The Shark
In Darkness: The Shark
L. Diane Wolfe | 2022 | Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
10
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!


Jewels trusts no one, she's been hurt too many times by people that should be protecting her. So when she saves a great white from a tidal pool and he speaks to her, can she put her trust in him and where will it get her?


This is a lovely written story. It's the second novella in the Darkness series but can be read as a stand-alone. There is adventure, the growth of the characters, and a little bit of heartbreak. It's an easy read and can be quite quickly read but the story is enjoyable.


A recommendation 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. *