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Cate Le Bon recommended Brighten the Corners by Pavement in Music (curated)

 
Brighten the Corners by Pavement
Brighten the Corners by Pavement
1997 | Rock
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This is a very personal selection. I was 13 years old and was falling into bad musical company - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Limp Bizkit and all the music that the hot boys at school were into - and coming home and threatening to get a Chili Pepper tattoo. I think my father had had enough and told me to listen to an album as he thought I might like it. He needed to pull something out of the bag and steer me onto a good path. My dad loved Pavement. It was the first time I had heard music that I felt was mine. I didn't know anything about the band – whether they were dead or alive. It didn't matter that it was music that my friends weren't listening too – it eclipsed all of that. I just remember being really struck by how the songs would trickle in all these different kinds of directions and would have all of these weird guitar solos. They weren't as formulaic as the guitar songs I was used to from all of the terrible music I was listening to at school. I became absolutely fascinated with Pavement and I didn't care that no one at school had heard of them. It was the beginning of having the courage to say, "This is the music I like and I don't care if anyone puts it down.""

Source
  
Part of Fated Mates: an MM Paranormal Romance Charity Anthology!

One thing I love about J.P. Sayle stories is that she comes up with different shifters and problems. For instance, in A SCENT LIKE NO OTHER, Pierre is a skunk shifter and has faulty anal glands. Now, hand on heart, I can honestly say I've never read about either of those before. I'm just glad he wasn't called Pepé! 😁

Along with Pierre, we have Eliphas, a mage who works well with his ancestors' crystals, as well as being an amazing tattoo artist, specialising in protection. Pierre knows they are a triad, but it comes as a shock to Eli. This leads to cross-purposes, as Eli isn't sure he'd be happy with a third, not when he has Pierre. But Pierre has always known and, now he's got Eli, he wants to know when they'll meet their third. This leads to Pierre doing a spell without Eli's knowledge, which opens a whole can of worms he wasn't expecting.

A great introduction to these two characters, and I look forward to reading more.

** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 23, 2023
  
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Another attempt at converting Stieg Larssen's very-popular-about-ten-years-ago characters into viable English-language multiplex fare. Film opens with implied child abuse followed by implied domestic violence (there's a lot of implication, in order to avoid the 18 certificate that scuppered the box office of the Daniel Craig/Rooney Mara movie), but this is mainly to set an authentically grim tone - the plot could fairly easily be retooled for one of the Bourne movies, as evil secret organisation tries to get its hands on apocalyptic McGuffin, hero gets framed for doing nasty things, and so on.

Not sure about Foy's 'Allo Sven, I got a Volvo' accent, but on the whole this is a decent, watchable thriller even if it does look a bit like an Ikea advert with extra gore. But the thing is that it is terribly generic. If the only way to bring these books and characters to the screen is to basically fillet out everything that makes them distinctive and memorable, one wonders why anyone should bother. (The producers of the film may be able to name 31 million reasons (at the time of writing), but this still hardly qualifies as a hit movie.)

(And I know it's a bit ungallant to say this, but Foy is 34 - at what point does she become *The Woman* with (for example) the Dragon Tattoo? The point seems pertinent.)
  
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Frank Carter recommended Nevermind by Nirvana in Music (curated)

 
Nevermind by Nirvana
Nevermind by Nirvana
1991 | Alternative, Rock

"I first heard Nirvana probably when I was 11 or 12. There was an older kid in my neighbourhood who used to listen to them on a boom box on the back of his BMX, but I didn't know what it was. I remember it sounding like a car crash, like nothing I'd ever heard before, so violent and aggressive. Also this kid was pretty cool, he had a chopper bike and a jean jacket, he might even have had one tattoo. I just remember thinking 'he's a badass', while I was on my neon bike and wearing shorts. I didn't stand a chance. I never spoke to him, I just asked his little brother what it was, and then later I was in a record store with my mum and we saw Nirvana Unplugged…, and I said 'I love this band!'. I think she was so shocked that I had said I loved anything at all that she bought the album on cassette and it was what we listened to on the school run. It was then I first started truly caring about delivery, I'm less bothered about the actual songs. I'm interested in art, I consider myself an artist more than a musician because I can't actually play an instrument. I nearly chose Bleach because that's catharsis on tape, but everything about Nevermind is iconic, it's got everything you could want from Nirvana."

Source
  
The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley #1)
The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley #1)
Jenna Black | 2007 | Contemporary, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
86 of 250
Kindle
The Devil Inside ( Morgan Kingsley Exorcist book 1)
By Jenna Black

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Exorcism isn't a job, it's a calling--and a curse. Just ask Morgan Kingsley, a woman who has a stronger aura than any demon. Or so she thought. Now, in a pair of black leather pants and a kick-ass tattoo, Morgan is heading back to Philadelphia after a nasty little exorcism--and her life is about to be turned upside down...by the demon that's gotten inside her.

Not just any demon. Six feet five inches of dark, delicious temptation, this one is to die for--that is, if he doesn't get Morgan killed first. Because while some humans vilify demons and others idolize them, Morgan's demon is leading a war of succession no human has ever imagined. For a woman trying to live a life, and hold on to the almost-perfect man, being possessed by a gorgeous rebel demon will mean a wild ride of uninhibited thrills, shocking surprises, and pure, unadulterated terror...

I’m somewhere between a 3&4 stars! It started brilliantly and was a good book. I like the characters and the whole story idea. We have a kick ass strong female lead that’s not over written and demons are always such fun!
Will definitely be carrying one with series.