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Merissa (12055 KP) created a post

Feb 4, 2021  
šŸ’„AVAILABLE NOW with special release week's price $2.99!!!šŸ’„OF WICKED BLOOD by Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz
  An Upper YA Paranormal Romance series with magic, mystery, adventure, and a slow-burn romance, lots of cursing, and not just the magical kind...
TITLE: Of Wicked Blood
SERIES: The Quatrefoil Chronicles book 1
AUTHORS: @olives21 and @katie_hayoz
GENRE: Upper YA Paranormal Romance
BLURB
NO REST FOR THE WICKED . . . OR THE CURSED.
SLATE
I didnā€™t mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morelā€™s crypt.
Scratch that, I did mean to steal it.
Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses.
If any of us fail, Iā€™m dead.
Iā€™ve never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill right about now.
The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel.
CADENCE
I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft.
Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldnā€™t have died, and Papa wouldnā€™t be stuck in a wheelchair, right?
Wrong.
The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my motherā€™s grave, I call him a monster.
But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well . . . he becomes something else to me.
Something frustrating to live with but impossible to live without.
Something I will fight for, no matter the cost.
**Warning: contains profuse cursing (and not just the magical kind).
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GET IT NOW: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SJ1LKPL
ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48915669-of-wicked-blood
CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING BOOK TRAILER: http://oliviawildenstein.com/the-quatrefoil-chronicles/
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#OfWickedBlood #TheQuatrefoilChronicles #OliviaWildenstein #KatieHayoz #MagicPenBookTours @magicpenbooktours #NewRelease #AvailableNow #PNR #ParanormalRomance #UrbanFantasy #matureyoungadult #bookstagram #romancereadersofinstagram #instareads #igreads #bookaddiction #BookCommunity #bookaholic #witchyromance #paranormalromancenovels #witchcraftbooks
     
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Kathleen Hanna recommended Cut by The Slits in Music (curated)

 
Cut by The Slits
Cut by The Slits
1979 | Rock
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Tobi Vail, the drummer from Bikini Kill told me about them, and I went to the record store and bought it and I smoked too much pot and listened to it and I was like, "WHAAAAAAAT?!" There was so much in it, and it was not because I was stoned, because then I listened to it not stoned and I still kept finding stuff in it. Sonically they really changed my world and the freedom and the looseness. They were funny, tough and experimental. In my small town there was a certain sound formula that people were doing and I was like, "Man!" I appreciated women being able to experiment outside of these genre boundaries. They sounded so determined and weird to me. They taught me about production. I listened to that album so many times to figure out how it was produced: which side the guitar was panned to, was there a double guitar? I would just sit here and pick it apart in a way that I had never wanted to pick something apart before. To me the sound of that album and the way it was produced was such a great reflection of their material. It just really got me thinking about and being excited about production. This was probably a couple of years into Bikini Kill. There was also a radio interview we heard with them, they were asked about sexism and stuff like that and every time they'd moan and make crazy dog noises because they clearly were always asked about gender and were so sick of it. I'm always trying to be super diplomatic but they were just such awesome brats. Some guy called up and was like, "I'm really interested in your show I can't wait to see it" and they were like, "I'm in the phone box around the corner", just making fun of him like he was some perv. They were fun punks and it's not just about the funniness of it but also about speaking back to power and you can do that through humour."

Source
  
Where Every Man (Inspector James Given #4)
Where Every Man (Inspector James Given #4)
Charlie Garratt | 2020 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Where Every Man by Charlie Garrett is set in rural France at the beginning of the second World War. James Given has retired from the police force back in England and has moved with his wife Rachel, to work on a farm. He seems happy with the work, and their plan is to move south with the good weather. This looks increasingly less likely as time progresses because of the approach of the German army towards Franceā€™s borders. Regardless, James and Rachel love their lives in the small French town, and consider staying anyway. Rachel teaches local students to play the violin, and itā€™s one of these students who draws James back in to his role as an investigator when the local librarian dies unexpectedly. The local policeman believes its merely a cycling accident, but it increasingly looks like itā€™s murder. When James looks further in to the accident, it appears there is a German spy in the village. Before he can do anything about it, the spy disappears. Did the spy have anything to do with the death of the librarian?

This mystery played out so well, and I loved the interactions between James and the violin student. She wants to work as a police officer when she leaves school - much to her fathers disapproval. The students role in the story was a really good way of showing how James approached the task of solving a murder.

I have to say, I read a lot of this with a feeling of mild panic, especially when James goes to visit his uncle and his family nearby. It showed the vulnerable position he and his family were in as Jews in France. Even though James and Rachel have forged passports that showed that they were Christians, there was still that worry for them and their family - and the spectre of the Nazis is hanging over this whole story.

I always enjoy these James Given books, and Iā€™m intrigued to see what comes for him next as war approaches.

Many thanks to Sapere Books for a copy of this book to read and honestly review - I really enjoy this series (I bought books 2 and 3 myself, if thatā€™s anything to go by!)
  
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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated Under Currents in Books

Sep 20, 2019 (Updated Sep 23, 2019)  
Under Currents
Under Currents
Nora Roberts | 2019 | Contemporary, Romance, Thriller
9
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
AGAIN. Nora Roberts did it again. She got me.
Definition of undercurrent:
1: a current below the upper currents or surface
2: a hidden opinion, feeling, or tendency often contrary to the one publicly shown<

While Under Currents may not have put me on the edge of my seat as often as some previous Nora Roberts titles (see: Shelter in Place, Come Sundown), it more than made up for that in sheer emotion.

The first part of this book is both brutal and beautiful. The descriptions of the horrific abuse Zane and his sister suffer at the hands of their father can be hard to get through; I found myself tearing up quite a few times, entwining the sorrow with anger that anyone should have to experience any of it, least of all a child. However, there is beauty in how they come out of it.

Thankfully, the horror does lift, and we're treated to a wonderful story, at times simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking. The character development here is terrific. Each character, down to the most random of townspeople, has a purpose and a backstory, and interacts perfectly with the other characters, building a supportive community with a definite small-town vibe.

The descriptions of landscaping and gardening are so well done I could picture the finished products quite clearly in my head - and man do I want a "water feature" now! (the fact that I do not have a yard in which to do this is completely irrelevant šŸ˜).

Each plot line, whether primary, secondary or tertiary, was well developed and led toward a satisfying resolution - and each contained under currents of its own.

A couple of final thoughts:
*Zane & Darby are #couplegoals.
*I feel like there's always a dog, and I always love the dog. šŸ¶ Although, hey, Nora: cats are pretty awesome too. šŸ±
*Nora Roberts is a master of attention to detail.
*Sad tears? Happy tears? This book will bring them all.
*Can we take a minute to appreciate this gorgeous cover??


Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARE!
  
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Rusty Brown
Rusty Brown
Chris Ware | 2019 | Comics & Graphic Novels
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Just look at what a beautiful object this book is! It gets better on the inside, too. The detail and creativity is immense; the dust cover unfolds into a gorgeous mosaic, with puzzles, and even the copyright notes have a little Easter egg snuck in there. Every satisfyingly thick page of it is dense with ideas and art of admirable quality. Itā€™s heavy and well made. Simply, one of the nicest books aesthetically Iā€™ve ever owned.

I donā€™t have a big history of reading graphic novels. In fact I can count them on one hand: this one, Watchmen, V for Vendetta and Persepolis. But what I see I like. There is something extra on the storytelling that is the best of both a book and a film ā€“ like a film unravelling at the pace of a book, with your imagination made into still images. I love the possibilities of them! There really isnā€™t anything you couldnā€™t do with it given enough imagination. I must try a few more as I go through life.

Rusty Brown, by Chris Ware is rich, melancholy, sometimes downright sad, but always truthful. Nothing is exaggerated, only presented, as we see snapshots of all the children and teachers that live in a small American town. They are dealing with regret, nostalgia, self-esteem, bullying and secret Joys, but in a mundane way as the routine of life plays out around them. Yet it manages never to seem bleak or hopeless, as enough moments of beauty keep everyone afloat.

There is a hint of subversive politics going on under the surface, but no more than issue flitting through Chris Wareā€™s mind; thereā€™s no agenda or propaganda going on. Heā€™s basically showing us a place he knows and saying, huh, what do you think of this. It made me laugh out loud many times, and cry at least twice. Remarkable work.

Both this artist and graphic novels in general are now very much something on my radar to learn more about and enjoy. If you havenā€™t ever really tried, I recommend Rusty Brown Chris Ware whole-heartedly as a starting place.