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Almost Never
Almost Never
Amy Lamont | 2018
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This starts with what I guess is a prologue where we see Harper joining Declan at her first campus party. Things don't go as she was hoping when she sees her high-school bully whispering and pointing in her direction and the rumours she's spreading get back to Declan. Fast forward two years and neither has spoken to the other, though they keep secretly checking on the other, and only come together again when they see a mutual opportunity: Harper will help him pass a class and Declan will help her be noticed by her professor. Their attraction blooms once more as they spend time together again

I'll admit the cover pulled me in and when I got this, it was free.

I liked this initially but I started to lose interest about the 40% mark. It just wasn't gelling with me, I found the style a little awkward at times and Harpers attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She thought the worst of everyone and everything. It's like she didn't see anything as a bright spot, it was all down and out. One quote seemed fitting:

"I guess overreacting is my thing lately."

How about all the time?! Maybe some of it was warranted but come one! I got very fed up with her look on life. So much so that I totally lost interest in this one. I didn't read the sex scene as I didn't really care about the characters or the storyline, but I wanted to finish it.

And I did. Finally.

I'm glad Harper finally got a backbone, dealing with her aunt and getting into that much longed for medical program. And I'm glad Declan stood up to his dad. Other than that, I didn't care about the rest.

This didn't work for me at all and I'm not sure if I'll be reading more books by this author.
  
Tennessee Woman by Charlie Musselwhite
Tennessee Woman by Charlie Musselwhite
1969 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"For the rest of these songs we’re closer to now. My Father-in-law introduced me to this, he’s not a musician by trade but he grew up in the hippy era and was really into blues. He has all of these reference points, music that went totally over the head of my generation. The reference points from that period for my generation are a totally different set of people, Jimi Hendrix or music that even my Father-in-law didn’t know at the time, like the Jim Sullivan record that people are digging out as an undiscovered gem. “I would never have discovered Charlie Musselwhite but for my Father-in-law. He was excited that I was a musician and we could hang out and talk about records, sometimes it doesn’t work and his taste will veer in directions that I totally can’t get into, but he’s introduced me to some great music that I love, like Professor Longhair records. ""I heard this in 2009, after Veckatimest and it was really striking because it’s so straight-up and straightforward. It’s the most minimal 6/8 blues tune and it’s very simple, the drums, organ and guitar line don’t change, the harmonica does the melody and a simple solo and that’s it. There’s these beautiful little contained elements, all the sounds are super lush and it’s another kind of subtlety, the attention to tone is so specific. It’s really elegant and hip, but in a totally different realm, a blues perspective from a totally different era, it’s like what Beach House would have been if they were a blues band in 1962. “It’s not trying to do anything revolutionary, it’s just exactly what it is, great playing without trying to be great playing. It’s so personal and visceral and sometimes you really need that sort of music. It’s the simplicity and soulfulness, it’s so minimal and especially going into Shields we started talking about that more and more, having that sense of space"

Source
  
Obscura Burning
Obscura Burning
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars.

I love the cover of this. It's very sci-fi-y and drew my attention straight away before I even read the synopsis.

So I found this to be a bit confusing with the continuous switching between realities and it took me a while to get used to it, especially keeping up with how all the other characters interacted with Kyle between the two realities he was living. In one people are alive who should have been dead, in the other he was friends with a girl who treated him like crap in the former. Another strange fact is that while he's in one alternate universe, he continues to function in the other, so he zips back and forth and can be in the middle of doing something that he then doesn't remember starting.

The girl I just mentioned above, Mya, tries to help Kyle figure out what's happening by taking him to a scientist/professor who did a paper on multiverses. In the "Danny's dead" world, I really like her, she's friendly and fun, while in "Shira's dead" world, well, she's not. (I think I got that right...)

As for Danny and Shira, I don't think I was a fan of them from the start. I'm not sure why, maybe it was because we never really saw enough of them, or the them before the fire that injured/killed them. But by the end, I definitely didn't like them.

The writing style was easy to get into and I kinda devoured the book when I finally just sat back and let myself read it without any distractions.

Don't be put off with it having a gay relationship in it, there's nothing overtly graphic between Danny and Kyle, just references, it doesn't go into great detail. It doesn't go into detail with Kyle's female relationships either.

This was probably a little too sci-fi for me; alternate universes? Erm...not really my thing but I did enjoy it. If you like sci-fi and mystery then you'll probably like this.
  
Rings (2017)
Rings (2017)
2017 | Horror
5
3.8 (21 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Going in I have to admit I had the lowest expectations for this movie. And indeed it starts off seeming like a complete joke with a scene on a plane that is reminiscent of “Snakes on Plane” but with an evil spirit, flies, and black sludge instead of snakes. The theater filled with laughter for the first five minutes.

A plot about a film that kills people who watch it is in itself offputtingly hokey. Previously I was never a fan of “The Ring” or “The Ring 2,” and I did not find either of them memorable to say the least. But, this sequel starts off in such a comedic fashion that most people will no longer have expectations to be scared. But this may not be a bad thing at all.

After the first few scenes something happens, and the film begins to be more artsy rather than hokey. Trippy effects like rain flowing upward or weird black liquid that almost looks like melted latex flowing out each time the evil spirit is coming, make this a surreal piece of entertainment. This film is actually best described as a modern day dark fairy tale and not a horror film.

Parts of the plot are very dark as you learn the complete story of Samara. Themes of captivity, murder, infanticide, and child molestation subtly peak into the plot. But it does not delve too far into these aspects which could have been truly twisted, instead it veers off into a more modern theme.

A college professor, Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), who teaches an experimental biology course and studies the afterlife, discovers the deadly film when he buys an old VCR. After watching it himself he comes up with a creative way of keeping himself and others who watch it alive. Hint – it involves a selfish pattern of sacrifice, which is a bit darkly comedic but also a realistic and shadowy reflection of human nature.

“Rings” is no horror masterpiece, but it is entertaining, unique, and a tad bit creepy.