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Nov 29, 2017 (Updated Nov 29, 2017)  
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Parachute - Single by Jaclyn Manfredi
Parachute - Single by Jaclyn Manfredi
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Jaclyn Manfredi is a singer-songwriter from Long Island, New York. Not too long ago, she released a grungy contemporary R&B tune, entitled, “Parachute”.

“We’re five thousand feet in the air. But it feels like you couldn’t care. I can see right through your blank stare. And I know it’s time for me to prepare.” – lyrics

‘Parachute’ tells an interesting tale of a young woman who feels cold whenever she’s by her significant other’s side.

Every day, thoughts about their relationship being a mistake filter into her mind, and her frustration about her partner’s missteps has multiply sky high.

Later, she admits that they’re running out of time, and the air in their relationship is running thin.

‘Parachute’ contains a relatable storyline, ear-comforting vocals, and groovy instrumentation flavored with retro-soul, R&B, and funk elements.

“‘Parachute’ is a song about a toxic relationship that you can’t wait to get out of and the feeling of having a weight lifted off your shoulders.” – Jaclyn Manfredi

At the age of seventeen, Jaclyn Manfredi performed at the acclaimed Apollo Theatre and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Shortly afterward, she won the IMTA national singing talent competition in 2017.

Her musical influences include Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, and the contemporary funk of Bruno Mars.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/jaclyn-manfredi-parachute/
  
Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)
Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)
Moira Young | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Blood Red Road completely took over my life for the few hours I was reading it. I found myself physically excited from reading. It was one of those books where you forget how long you've been reading and you look up to discover it's four hours later than it was five minutes ago, and the book is almost over. Dang. Then someone calls you to do chores and you get upset because you can't stop reading now!

Blood Red Road has everything a book should have: Immediately developed characters, tension the whole time, a multi-layered plot, and conflict around ever turn.

It seemed that one thing just naturally led to another—and that's the way it should be. Things don't always go as planned, people don't always do as you tell them to, and we're not always honest with ourselves about our feelings and motives. There were so many different layers, so many different things that influenced the book, that it felt real.

The writing was interesting. It was written the way the characters spoke. "Aks" instead of "Ask," "Thinkin" instead of "Thinking," "Fer" instead of "for," and a lot of slang like "kinda" and "ain't." At first it was really annoying, but then I got used to it and it didn't bother me. It slowed down my reading a little, but it didn't interfere with the pacing of the book (just my reading speed). It greatly added to the characters.

People betray us. People change. People fall in love. They argue with each other, they hate and they love at the same time, they put up with crap and they pitch fits. And that's what happens, so that's the way the characters were. I loved the change in Saba and Emmi's relationship (Emmi is her little sister) and I loved the growth, tearing down, tension, and forgiveness in the relationship between Saba and Jack.

Of course it wouldn't have been complete without a love story. Saba is so totally against outside help, so against Jack's attention (or maybe just terrified of it), that it causes an annoying and infuriating love story that gave me flashbacks to Mortal Instruments. (Only much better, because Jack is much more of a man than Jace. They both flirt about as often, though...)

I liked everything about this book except that it's only 512 pages. I didn't want it to end. I even like the cover. I saw it and thought "Oh I'm going to like that book." Saba looked like a kick-ass heroine. She is. I like her a lot (when she's not being a smart-aleck to Jack, and a jerk to her little sister).

And now I wait. This happened to me when I read The Hunger Games, Birthmarked, and Magic Under Glass, too. I read it first (either the day it was released, or I read the ARC), then had to wait longer than everyone else to get the sequel because I read it before they did. It stinks. Luckily, Blood Red Road doesn't have the horrible cliff hanger endings that Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Claire, and Jaclyn Dolamore have in their books. However, you can bet I will be holding my breath for the next one. Moria Young is going on my "auto-buy" list.

Content: Some violence, but not gore. I don't remember if there was any minor language, but there was so strong language. No sex. Ages 14+
  
The Fifth Letter
The Fifth Letter
Nicola Moriarty | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Joni, Eden, Deb, and Trina have been friends since high school, when a teacher grouped them together by their last names. However, as they age, it seems the women are growing apart. Desperate to keep her friends together, Joni books a vacation house for them by the ocean. It's been a yearly tradition for the group, and she's insistent they all keep it up. However, it becomes clear that the women are a little reluctant to gather together: three of them are mothers now, and many are busy with their careers and other worries. So they come up with an idea: they'll write anonymous letters on an old computer at the beach cottage, and read one a night during their vacation. But the game turns dark quickly, as the women struggle to guess who wrote what letter. Even worse, Joni discovers a "fifth letter" in the fireplace; partially burned, it appears to be filled with hate toward one of the women in the group (from another). The foursome is supposed to be the best of friends, but it appears it isn't so. Can they recover from this vacation? And who in the group wrote that awful letter?

I feel terrible, as I really enjoy the other Moriarty sisters ([a:Liane Moriarty|322069|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1459827224p2/322069.jpg] and [a:Jaclyn Moriarty|47290|Jaclyn Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199066598p2/47290.jpg]), but I just didn't care for this book at all. Throughout the entire novel, I never found myself able to care for these four women or their problems whatsoever. The premise of the book seemed utterly ridiculous: why on earth would a group of grown women write a bunch of letters like children and if they were such good friends, how could they know so little about each other? It was painful to read. Furthermore, the book itself was difficult to read. The book was set up in various ways: we had the current day thread at the beach cottage; we had threads in the past with the girls at school. Then, there's a thread where Joni is telling a priest (via confession) about what had happened at the cottage. Then we get pieces of the letters. Then we get snippets from the fifth letter. It was so utterly confusing that for parts of it, I couldn't tell who was talking, or what the dialogue related to, and it drove me insane.

Pieces of the women's problems were resolved far too easily, while others were blown far too out of proportion. Others were incredibly serious and just - ugh. When the big "reveal" happened, it made me cringe. I feel awful, but it almost felt like a bad imitation of Liane's book, [b:Truly Madly Guilty|26247008|Truly Madly Guilty|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467061262s/26247008.jpg|49997474]. A bunch of angst leading to a big "reveal," which sort of leaves you feeling let down.

Overall, I have high admiration for the Moriarty sisters, and I truly feel bad that I didn't enjoy this book more. I just couldn't find any sympathy with the characters, and the way the novel was laid out irked me. I kept comparing it with another book where the women escape for a girls getaway: [b:Girls' Weekend|28280644|Girls' Weekend|Cara Sue Achterberg|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453684219s/28280644.jpg|48328656], which was such a more nuanced and enjoyable portrayal of some similar subjects. I would recommend picking up Achterberg's book instead.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 01/24/2017.