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The Wilderness (Lavender Shores #8)
The Wilderness (Lavender Shores #8)
Rosalind Abel | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
the weakest one, for me
(Verified purchase, Sept 12 2018)

This is book 8 in the Lavender Shores series, and you don't NEED to have read the others before this one. I would, however, probably recommend that you read book 6, The Glasshouse. You'll get a better picture of what Will suffered, and it gives a hint to this book!

Will was left at the altar in font of a multi million viewing audience. Andre's wife passed away. Together, they get themselves through a really tough period. But it's not until Will decides to run clear across the world, does Andre realise what Will means to him, and just how much his heart would break, if he lost him.

For me? The weakest of the series, and I've no idea why! And you KNOW how much that pains me!!

I loved the other books, all 4 and 5 stars reads, and I really was looking forward to this one, especially after that hint in book 6, and I really don't know why in falls flat *insert wailing*

It's well told, from both Will and Andre's point of view, in the first person, just like the rest. It's extremely well written and well delivered and I saw no spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading. And I DID read it in one sitting, just like the rest!

It has very early (internal) professions of love, from both guys, and I don't usually like that but its quite some time before they SAY the words. It's a bit more . . . whats the word . . . lovey dovey . . . hearts and flowers . . . . .type of thing, than the rest, or at least I thought so? Maybe that's it?? **insert more wailing**

I just don't know WHY this one didn't hit the spot, and for that I'm sorry. But still a nice read and a good addition to the series.

3 good solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Juliette Jackson recommended track Rip It Up by Orange Juice in Rip It Up by Orange Juice in Music (curated)

 
Rip It Up by Orange Juice
Rip It Up by Orange Juice
1982 | Pop, Punk
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Rip It Up by Orange Juice

(0 Ratings)

Track

"It's such a tune! That's the main reason it's on this list, I want everyone to listen to it more. I love the vocal delivery – that crooning is my favourite – that really smooth, male, cheesy-sounding vocal: I love it. “I love the sentiment. I don't know exactly what it's about but I'm guessing it's about when you meet someone for the first time and you screw it up and you gotta start again. Or you meet someone and you're too awkward to be cool and you're like ""fuck! I just wish I could meet you all over again and be a cool, normal person.” I love the lyrics ""When I next saw you, my heart reached out for you! My hands stuck like glue to my sides."" It sounds like the feeling you have in a dream where you can't run. It's another one we listen to in the van all the time. It's just such a banger. “We always wanted to do a cover of it but we haven't quite got round to it yet. I really enjoy covers. It's really fun to take someone else's song and rip it up, pull it apart and add new music into it, whole new parts, or take lyrics out and put new lyrics in and just fuck it up. I love playing covers live and surprising people with them, because we can see it in their faces: they know we're playing something they know, but they can't work out where they know it from, because we're playing it so differently. “At the moment we're covering Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and it's just so bombastic: I didn't wanna totally change it. We used to play a cover of Madonna's “Beautiful Stranger” and that one was really different from the original. If we did ‘Rip It Up’ I'd definitely sing it in that crooning voice, because I love it so much. I'd get Celia to try and play that weird bubbly bass line with some cool pedal."

Source
  
Man on Fire (2004)
Man on Fire (2004)
2004 | Action, Drama, Mystery

"Man on Fire, I think what Tony Scott did was ahead of his time, revolutionary. I mean, as far as how he shot it and how he used and maximized his ability to shape a film with sound. He would loop in, like, tiger, animal noises with Lupita Ramos’ scream. He put in a foreshadowing scene, like when we first see Creasy in the cab with the beard, and he flashes to the end when he dies, and then he flashes back to the cab scene, and we didn’t even know. It took me like four times to realize, “Oh, that was at the end!” And just getting introduced to Mexico in that way, how he captured it. How he captured the performances of Christopher Walken and Mr. Washington. It was like an indie film, and then it turned into this beautiful action film in the same movie. To me it was the perfect film. It was the perfect balance of art and commerce. You could sell this thing, but again, like Dances with Wolves, he didn’t compromise anything for the sake of story. Again, how he used language, too., When they’re speaking Spanish, but how he kind of had it where you can read the subtitles — how he did that, and how he mixed sounds and mixed music. I think it’s a perfect film. I love that film. I really do."

Source
  
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Rick Astley recommended Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths in Music (curated)

 
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
1984 | Rock
9.5 (6 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Johnny Marr was quite young around this time, wasn't he? And Morrissey…some people are more lyrical than others and their conversation can use the language more [stylishly]. And he must have found that it came easily to him. But how does Johnny Marr play like that! Even people who hate The Smiths agree that Johnny Marr was a genius. To be honest, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce weren't a bad rhythm section either. How did they do that quite young? I don't know. One of my older brothers was into The Smiths and we shared a bedroom so I heard a lot of their music. We would have been teens about this time. I loved the fact that they were from Manchester. I saw Andy Rourke around this time in town and it made me think 'fucking hell! It happens! I've just seen HIM! He's in this band that are totally credible, cool, has put Manchester on the map and I've just seen him walk out of the Arndale Centre!' And so yeah, we bought records and got drunk in Manchester and it felt like the town was happening at the time. The first time I saw them was on a north west television show and they did 'This Charming Man' and I was like [mouth agape]. We had had the Duran Durans and Spandau Ballets who looked great and were very glamorous and then you're confronted with these guys from Manchester – very ordinary in a way you might actually see them in Manchester but they weren't ordinary in their music. They didn't dress in clothes made by someone in Soho. It was like they got their shirts in Afflecks Palace! It was almost anti-glamour. And that felt very touchable. What do I think of Morrissey now? For me, lyrically he's still incredible. I can't say I know the last album well but I just think, like anybody who is an artist, you can tell a story a number of times and it has a freshness about it but we know Morrissey's way [by now]. I don't want to judge him but I don't really get into what he says off record because sometimes you wonder if he's taking the piss? But I don't know, I haven't really followed it. Is he doing that to create something going? Will he come back and say 'I didn't mean it like that'? Surely he must know [his recent comments around Britain First] are not a cool thing to do. But he's bizarre and thank God he's bizarre. I don't want him to be normal in any way, shape or form."

Source
  
TG
The Guardian's Wyrd
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Guardian's Wyrd didn't exactly hit the bull's eye with me, and half the time my mind was telling me to just click the DNF button because there wasn't much going on.

Or maybe I just need to lower down the chances of trying to catch my attention from 50% down to 25%. A quarter just seems a tad bit harsh, and 50 just seems like a nice number compared to 38. :p

The book focuses on a guy named Jason September, in which I actually thought he was a she and "her" name was September. Confused? Yeah... that was me for 10% of the book. Is it a girl, or is it a guy? It sounds like a guy, but is his name Jay (preferred nickname), or is it September? And if it's September, why does that sound like a girl's name? That's like my parents naming me Jace May (if you really fell for that, you must be a newcomer. Welcome. Please take a moment to look at who posted this if that is the case). I'm not exactly sure how that works, and that probably says I should remain a single pringle, in which I'm happy to oblige. Just be sure to buy me a pack of Pringles every Valentine's Day.

Said dude who isn't actually a girl in the long run apparently has a crush on his music teacher, lives in Cape Town (I'm sort of a fan for books that are well... set in not so major cities like LA or NYC), an oddball at school who gets picked on a lot and dreams of being a famous musician. The Guardian's Wyrd seems to focus a lot on Jay's dreams of being a musician. I think that probably shows how determined he is to go after his dreams, which isn't always a bad thing.

Problem is, when you're too busy daydreaming of being the next Harry Styles, it doesn't actually keep my attention forever. Oh, and he has a temper problem. LOTS of anger. >_<
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ISpQyM6f4zY/U3qB1NhQnYI/AAAAAAAADRA/wqRU0-4YX4s/s1600/giphy.gif"; height="179" width="320">
It's not until around 34% of the book that things actually catch my attention, when View Spoiler » . Then it sort of gets ruined a bit a few moments later when Jay meets a birdy and ends up kissing her. Within 3 pages, actually. Fortunately it doesn't seem like it's instalove, so that's not exactly a problem (yush).
While I did get warned that the language may not be what I'm used to, what does larny or jawellnofine even mean? I don't think it's in the dictionary either, so if anyone knows, do tell me. And if any of the definitions are as bad as twerking or even remotely close to it, please. Don't even say a word. Because I do NOT want to know. o_o
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Advanced copy provided by the publisher for review
Original Rating: 3.5 out of 5
This review and more can be found over at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/arc-review-the-guardians-wyrd-by-nerine-dorman.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Horror
Not a patch on the first
The Babysitter was a surprisingly good film, in all it's cheesy gory goodness and whilst it was a shock to see they had made a sequel, I was really hoping it'd have the same music. Sadly it didn't.

I feel like the success of the first film may have gone to the makers heads. They've tried to take what worked in the first film and take it to the extremes - the back stories of the original characters, in jokes and references - but the problem is that for the most part it just doesn't work. Seeing the original characters back is fun for a minute and then it (and they) just become irritating. This film really does suffer from the lack of Samara Weaving who doesn't have nearly enough screen time. Judah Lewis is fine but his relationship with Phoebe isn't at all interesting and watchable like his one with Bea.

The gore and deaths are quite fun, but the majority of this film just comes across as cringeworthy rather than cheesily good like the original. I really don't know what the ending was about and why they decided to go down this route. This almost spoils the original and I think is yet another case of a sequel that should never have been made.
  
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Steven Dodd (1449 KP) Sep 28, 2020

No where near as amazing as the first. Wouldn’t mind seeing more movies that don’t take themselves too serious

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Emeli Sande recommended track Gosh by Jamie xx in In Colour by Jamie xx in Music (curated)

 
In Colour by Jamie xx
In Colour by Jamie xx
2015 | Rhythm And Blues
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Gosh by Jamie xx

(0 Ratings)

Track

"In the past year or two I’ve really been getting into more electronic music, and finding there’s so many subgenres! I’ve found this niche of really melodic electronic music, like Jamie xx and Jon Hopkins, and I just found it so soulful – it gives you this energy at the same time. That’s really opened a world up for me, ‘cause I always assumed electronic music couldn’t be as musical! Hearing this new sound, and these new methods of being musical through newer instruments, I was like, ‘wow!’ You can really reach that point of emotion in such a different, more energetic way. ""I just love this song. It’s a masterpiece, and I love the video as well. Learning about production a lot on this last album, it’s such a skill to let each element shine through and complement one another. The main thing for me is that simple line that comes in – a synth or something – halfway through, and the way everything builds. It’s like a symphony, really. Ever piece has been so considering in the song, and has such an emotional impact. It changes one note, and you’re sucked into a deeper level of emotion of the song. It’s effortlessly epic! ""I’ve used 'Gosh' so many times to warm up before a show, to get in a very focussed sense before a performance or doing anything high-pressure. It’s definitely our tour song. It has so many emotional memories for everyone that was on tour – our cameraman had to go ‘cause his first son was about to be born, so we played that song for him when he left. It’s never got boring to me, and I think I’ve rinsed it for about two years now! It’s never lost its magic. It just gives me life every time I hear it."

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Twilight (Twilight, #1)
Twilight (Twilight, #1)
Stephenie Meyer | 2005 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
6.8 (160 Ratings)
Book Rating
Yes, I admit it - I'm in the Love It camp and so firmly in Team Edward it's ridiculous! The jury definitely seems out, not only this book but on the series in general. People seem to either love it or hate it with no middle ground, a bit like Marmite! What follows is my opinion, and only my opinion!

I didn't immediately read this book upon it's release due to the hype that had preceded it so I was happy to wait. When I did eventually buy it, it was because it was on offer as a paperback in my local supermarket and I was looking for something new to read. So I bought it. I read it in a couple of evenings, starting as soon my children had gone to bed and reading through until it was my turn to retire for the night.

The book has its flaws and faults just like every other book out on the market. But you either like Bella and Edward (Jacob isn't in this book much) or you don't. You know that he's a vampire from the beginning so it comes as no surprise when he admits it. I like the fact that Bella doesn't see herself as others do and is clumsy and uncoordinated.

I have since bought this in hardback and still enjoy reading it and I still fall in love with Edward every time that I read it as he is such a "gentleman" to me.

One thing I would say - whether you like it, love it, think it's ok or hate it, you are entitled to your own opinion the same as I am. Just don't knock mine because it's different to yours!