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There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You
Book
By turns, it is riotous, deeply serious, practical and sad. Reading it is like being at her kitchen...
Debbiereadsbook (1611 KP) rated Immersion Play (Leather and Lattes #1) in Books
May 10, 2024
Stunning intro into this new world!
I was gifted my copy of this book, that I write a review was not required.
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT if you follow my reviews, you'll know I have a particular fondness for this author, having followed her for some time and I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to write a review to tell you about this book.
Because it's a cracker of a book! Full of love and smex and found families and disfunctional real families and all the geeky references that are McIntyre's trademark!
Micah runs from his home, literally in the middle of the night, back to San Fran and his previous college room-mate, Pixie. He lands the job at Whipped as barista, and is introduced to a world of kink. Parker is a Dom, a Daddy as well. But he refuses to let anyone into his heart after seeing what losing the love of his life did to his dad. Micah, though, gets under his skin and sneaks in. Knowing it can only end in heartbreak, they still embark on a rollercoaster of a relationship, til Micah pushes Parker away, and Parker has to make some difficult decisions.
What I loved about this was that it really did creep up on me! I was enjoying it, yes, but couldn't say I loved it. Then I have no idea what happened, who said what or anything, but I started to LOVE this book, I really did!
Whipped is a kink cafe, and the staff are extremely free with their affections and bodies. I liked that Micah knew this, and still went to that first play night with them all. He did some research too, and knew once he found out that Parker liked to spank, he wanted that, wanted Parker. I loved that parker was well aware that Micah was new to the screen, and led him accordingly, even if Micah was the brattiest brat he ever came across, and Micah really didn't know that about himself.
Scorching smexy scenes between Micah and Parker, with a connection rarely seen. Even for McIntyre, the connection runs deep and hot and I loved it!
As it is a kink cafe, there is lots of smexy scenes, and I loved the introduction to the staff and owners and their particular flavour of kink. I feel that all these people will have amazing tales to tell and I really look forward to them!
Micah and Parker's story has some difficult themes: death of a parent, withdrawl from life of another, obnoxious families, and all that entails. I loved how each topic was dealt with. Parker tries with his dad, he really does, but it's not until Parker lays it all out with his dad, that dad then tries too. Micah's family caused all his problems, caused him to run, but he always thought they would come round. It's not until his sister Eva, comes out to them, that they show their true colours and Micah decides enough is enough.
It's Eva who gets the next story, her and Pixie hit it right off when she visits Micah. I look forward to reading that book!!
I can't give it anything other than . . . .
5 full and shiny, and super smexy stars!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT if you follow my reviews, you'll know I have a particular fondness for this author, having followed her for some time and I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to write a review to tell you about this book.
Because it's a cracker of a book! Full of love and smex and found families and disfunctional real families and all the geeky references that are McIntyre's trademark!
Micah runs from his home, literally in the middle of the night, back to San Fran and his previous college room-mate, Pixie. He lands the job at Whipped as barista, and is introduced to a world of kink. Parker is a Dom, a Daddy as well. But he refuses to let anyone into his heart after seeing what losing the love of his life did to his dad. Micah, though, gets under his skin and sneaks in. Knowing it can only end in heartbreak, they still embark on a rollercoaster of a relationship, til Micah pushes Parker away, and Parker has to make some difficult decisions.
What I loved about this was that it really did creep up on me! I was enjoying it, yes, but couldn't say I loved it. Then I have no idea what happened, who said what or anything, but I started to LOVE this book, I really did!
Whipped is a kink cafe, and the staff are extremely free with their affections and bodies. I liked that Micah knew this, and still went to that first play night with them all. He did some research too, and knew once he found out that Parker liked to spank, he wanted that, wanted Parker. I loved that parker was well aware that Micah was new to the screen, and led him accordingly, even if Micah was the brattiest brat he ever came across, and Micah really didn't know that about himself.
Scorching smexy scenes between Micah and Parker, with a connection rarely seen. Even for McIntyre, the connection runs deep and hot and I loved it!
As it is a kink cafe, there is lots of smexy scenes, and I loved the introduction to the staff and owners and their particular flavour of kink. I feel that all these people will have amazing tales to tell and I really look forward to them!
Micah and Parker's story has some difficult themes: death of a parent, withdrawl from life of another, obnoxious families, and all that entails. I loved how each topic was dealt with. Parker tries with his dad, he really does, but it's not until Parker lays it all out with his dad, that dad then tries too. Micah's family caused all his problems, caused him to run, but he always thought they would come round. It's not until his sister Eva, comes out to them, that they show their true colours and Micah decides enough is enough.
It's Eva who gets the next story, her and Pixie hit it right off when she visits Micah. I look forward to reading that book!!
I can't give it anything other than . . . .
5 full and shiny, and super smexy stars!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Imagistory: Schools Edition - A Storytelling App
Education and Book
App
"This app is an educators dream come true" - BestAppsforKids.com Review (4.9 Stars) * "This app is...
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated I Was Here in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Well, here's to my first contemporary audiobook.
Gayle Forman's latest novel didn't exactly give me the feels as much as <i>If I Stay</i> did. <i>I Was Here</i> mainly focuses on Cody, a girl who finds her best friend Meg's suicide a bit fishy and decides to look deeper into her death.
From all of the flashbacks, Cody is obviously a follower – a shadow to Meg. After Meg's death, Cody is a little lost – she's grieving, she wants to find out if Meg actually did commit suicide (or if someone coerced her into it), and all of that leads her to dig deeper into Meg's past year at college. With Cody trying to find her own footsteps after Meg's death, <i>I Was Here</i> felt like a coming of age story.
It's also a story where all of those online safety rules that I learned in elementary school are flipped upside down. I don't know if I should say Cody is just a really stupid character, or a really brave character. Perhaps both. In her digging, Cody is led to an online suicide support group that Meg frequented on, which eventually leads her to a user Meg communicated off the boards as well. In an attempt to weed out the user, Cody decides to pose as a suicidal person as well, which eventually leads her to finding out the person's address (with help) and Cody actually decides to go to that person's home.
I still don't know whether to call Cody an idiot or not. Obviously she has balls to try and find out what really caused Meg's death, and she's obviously not an idiot if she brings someone with her.
Jorjeana Marie seemed quite platonic throughout most of the narration – either for the possible effect of Cody being platonic as she finds her path, or another reason entirely. It was also difficult at times to tell if Marie was making an attempt to have a different voice for male and female characters. If the character was angry or snapping at another character, you can tell there's a bit of rage or snap if you listen closely, but when you're walking to work when there are cars driving by, it's actually hard to tell if Marie did snap.
Marie does, however, do a fantastic job in the very emotional parts of the book, especially when Cody or Ben or any of the other characters are crying. I almost believed the narrator was actually crying, or an actual kid came in and narrated a kid part. I doubt there are books that mainly consists of crying, but if there are, I'm half expecting to see Jorjeana Marie's name on the back. :p
The entire novel is really just about a girl who lived under a shadow of another girl, and when that girl died, the shadow has to try and find her own path without that person. <i>I Was Here</i> isn't exactly emotional unless you can <i>really</i> connect with the story and the main character.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-i-was-here-by-gayle-forman/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Gayle Forman's latest novel didn't exactly give me the feels as much as <i>If I Stay</i> did. <i>I Was Here</i> mainly focuses on Cody, a girl who finds her best friend Meg's suicide a bit fishy and decides to look deeper into her death.
From all of the flashbacks, Cody is obviously a follower – a shadow to Meg. After Meg's death, Cody is a little lost – she's grieving, she wants to find out if Meg actually did commit suicide (or if someone coerced her into it), and all of that leads her to dig deeper into Meg's past year at college. With Cody trying to find her own footsteps after Meg's death, <i>I Was Here</i> felt like a coming of age story.
It's also a story where all of those online safety rules that I learned in elementary school are flipped upside down. I don't know if I should say Cody is just a really stupid character, or a really brave character. Perhaps both. In her digging, Cody is led to an online suicide support group that Meg frequented on, which eventually leads her to a user Meg communicated off the boards as well. In an attempt to weed out the user, Cody decides to pose as a suicidal person as well, which eventually leads her to finding out the person's address (with help) and Cody actually decides to go to that person's home.
I still don't know whether to call Cody an idiot or not. Obviously she has balls to try and find out what really caused Meg's death, and she's obviously not an idiot if she brings someone with her.
Jorjeana Marie seemed quite platonic throughout most of the narration – either for the possible effect of Cody being platonic as she finds her path, or another reason entirely. It was also difficult at times to tell if Marie was making an attempt to have a different voice for male and female characters. If the character was angry or snapping at another character, you can tell there's a bit of rage or snap if you listen closely, but when you're walking to work when there are cars driving by, it's actually hard to tell if Marie did snap.
Marie does, however, do a fantastic job in the very emotional parts of the book, especially when Cody or Ben or any of the other characters are crying. I almost believed the narrator was actually crying, or an actual kid came in and narrated a kid part. I doubt there are books that mainly consists of crying, but if there are, I'm half expecting to see Jorjeana Marie's name on the back. :p
The entire novel is really just about a girl who lived under a shadow of another girl, and when that girl died, the shadow has to try and find her own path without that person. <i>I Was Here</i> isn't exactly emotional unless you can <i>really</i> connect with the story and the main character.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-i-was-here-by-gayle-forman/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Hello, Sunshine in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Sunshine McKenzie is a the top of her game. Her YouTube show, "A Little Sunshine" has milions of subscribers, The Food Network wants her to host a new show, and she's about to put out a series of cookbooks. But when her Twitter account is hacked an her entire world comes crashing down, she must evaluate what is truly important in her personal and professional life.
I read Eight Hundred Grapes a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed Laura Dave's writing. I've heard mixed reviews on this book, for me it was alright.
Sunshine Stephens grew up in Montauk, NY Even though the town was full of people with wealthy backgrounds, Sunshine was not a part of those people. She didn't come from a wealthy family, but she escaped the first chance she got. When she met Ryan, he promised her fame and fortune. All she had to do was tell a little lie about who she was and her abilities as a chef. But after a few years like this it's hard to separate fact from fiction. So some jerk has decided to knock Sunshine off of her pedestal and bring her back to reality. All of this was to remind her who she was and where she came from and the life she was currently living was not hers at all.
Overall, this book was pretty good. I liked Sunshine as a character. It sucks that her life had to come down to this life and career destroying conclusion. Will she be able to bounce back and continue to live her life?
I read Eight Hundred Grapes a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed Laura Dave's writing. I've heard mixed reviews on this book, for me it was alright.
Sunshine Stephens grew up in Montauk, NY Even though the town was full of people with wealthy backgrounds, Sunshine was not a part of those people. She didn't come from a wealthy family, but she escaped the first chance she got. When she met Ryan, he promised her fame and fortune. All she had to do was tell a little lie about who she was and her abilities as a chef. But after a few years like this it's hard to separate fact from fiction. So some jerk has decided to knock Sunshine off of her pedestal and bring her back to reality. All of this was to remind her who she was and where she came from and the life she was currently living was not hers at all.
Overall, this book was pretty good. I liked Sunshine as a character. It sucks that her life had to come down to this life and career destroying conclusion. Will she be able to bounce back and continue to live her life?
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Robert is an ex-FBI agent who's now the VP of Security for a foreign market firm in NYC. On September 11, 2001, he finds himself in side one of the Twin Towers as they are attacked, and he helps guide people down the stairs to safety. He's hailed as a hero, even has his picture shown all of the media, but this is just the start of a major turn of events for him.
All Robert wants to do is move past that day, but nobody will let him. Not even himself, considering he's now found himself infatuated with a woman he helped that day. She's half his age, has two kids, and he's married, for Christ's sake, but that doesn't stop the growing bond between them. How will all these new feelings affect Robert, especially when, whether he wants to admit it or not, he's still dealing with the stress of the attacks?
I must say, this story provides an insightful perspective on September 11th, as you get to see it through the eyes of someone who was not only there, but who also had to deal with the constant praise and pats on the back, even though so many others died around him. Not to mention, it's the start of what is probably a mid-life crisis; probably not such a great time to have it. The characters are interesting, as is the story, and you can definitely tell when Robert's starting to crack under everything going on. An interesting read, and I look forward to other works by this author.
4 stars
Robert is an ex-FBI agent who's now the VP of Security for a foreign market firm in NYC. On September 11, 2001, he finds himself in side one of the Twin Towers as they are attacked, and he helps guide people down the stairs to safety. He's hailed as a hero, even has his picture shown all of the media, but this is just the start of a major turn of events for him.
All Robert wants to do is move past that day, but nobody will let him. Not even himself, considering he's now found himself infatuated with a woman he helped that day. She's half his age, has two kids, and he's married, for Christ's sake, but that doesn't stop the growing bond between them. How will all these new feelings affect Robert, especially when, whether he wants to admit it or not, he's still dealing with the stress of the attacks?
I must say, this story provides an insightful perspective on September 11th, as you get to see it through the eyes of someone who was not only there, but who also had to deal with the constant praise and pats on the back, even though so many others died around him. Not to mention, it's the start of what is probably a mid-life crisis; probably not such a great time to have it. The characters are interesting, as is the story, and you can definitely tell when Robert's starting to crack under everything going on. An interesting read, and I look forward to other works by this author.
4 stars
Amber Murray-Schroer (4 KP) rated S-Town in Podcasts
Aug 17, 2018
Prepare to laugh and cry at this real life mystery unveil in real time....
I can't think of any other podcast like S-Town, but after I binged the entire first season on it's release date, I expected to find a plethora of the type in the next few months on account of it's success. But unlike Serial - a true crime podcast that broke the internet and introduced 90% of the world to our amazing little corner - S-Town is hard to even identify it's genre , let alone duplicate something that's good because it is unique , so to my dismay, I still hold S-TOWN up there as my top 5 and am always on the lookout for the next diamond in the rough.
Unfortunately, telling you too much of any of this podcast is not fair because you deserve the chance to listen with unabashed views or predetermined ideas so you too will have no idea of what's coming...that's the best way to go into this one!
Oh, since I didn't tell you ABYTHJNG about it, just know that of all the podcasts I've tried to get my husband to listen all the way thru to - this, S-TOWN, was the only one he's ever listened to from the first to last episode. And he is hard to entertain with podcasts or audiobooks , so if he was asking me to "play the next one" after the first, you're sure to enjoy it just as much as we did. And that's all ya need to know!
Unfortunately, telling you too much of any of this podcast is not fair because you deserve the chance to listen with unabashed views or predetermined ideas so you too will have no idea of what's coming...that's the best way to go into this one!
Oh, since I didn't tell you ABYTHJNG about it, just know that of all the podcasts I've tried to get my husband to listen all the way thru to - this, S-TOWN, was the only one he's ever listened to from the first to last episode. And he is hard to entertain with podcasts or audiobooks , so if he was asking me to "play the next one" after the first, you're sure to enjoy it just as much as we did. And that's all ya need to know!
Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated Go Slow - Single by Wild B in Music
Jun 17, 2019
Wild B (Krystal Parks) is a singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Not too long ago, she released a lovely tropical R&B tune, entitled, “Go Slow”.
“Sipping champagne while he whispers my name. I never been scared, we can go, we can play. Dripped in Balmain, don’t care what they say. Rock the boat, roll the boat, rock my body. You’re my type of speed. I think you should take the lead. Can you be all I need or more? I can throw it back when you throw it down. I can be the jewel on your tilted crown. Now tell me how you want to end the night.” – lyrics
‘Go Slow’ tells an interesting tale of a young woman who shares a special moment in time on the dancefloor with a guy who she desires to be with.
Apparently, what he possesses she likes, therefore, she wants him all to herself for the remainder of the night.
‘Go Slow’ contains a dreamy storyline, pleasing vocals, and rhythmic instrumentation scented with a tropical R&B fragrance.
“‘Go Slow’ was birthed on the night of a spontaneous encounter with a beautiful stranger. In the midst of a fast life in an even faster world, we caught a moment that we unintentionally made last forever. Now when I close my eyes, I remember it in slow motion, as if the universe slowed especially for us to cherish. Not only is it a memory but a reminder of the fulfillment I/we can all receive but just slowing down and enjoying the beauty of NOW.” – Wild B
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/wild-b-go-slow/
“Sipping champagne while he whispers my name. I never been scared, we can go, we can play. Dripped in Balmain, don’t care what they say. Rock the boat, roll the boat, rock my body. You’re my type of speed. I think you should take the lead. Can you be all I need or more? I can throw it back when you throw it down. I can be the jewel on your tilted crown. Now tell me how you want to end the night.” – lyrics
‘Go Slow’ tells an interesting tale of a young woman who shares a special moment in time on the dancefloor with a guy who she desires to be with.
Apparently, what he possesses she likes, therefore, she wants him all to herself for the remainder of the night.
‘Go Slow’ contains a dreamy storyline, pleasing vocals, and rhythmic instrumentation scented with a tropical R&B fragrance.
“‘Go Slow’ was birthed on the night of a spontaneous encounter with a beautiful stranger. In the midst of a fast life in an even faster world, we caught a moment that we unintentionally made last forever. Now when I close my eyes, I remember it in slow motion, as if the universe slowed especially for us to cherish. Not only is it a memory but a reminder of the fulfillment I/we can all receive but just slowing down and enjoying the beauty of NOW.” – Wild B
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/wild-b-go-slow/
In Gratitude
Book
The future flashed before my eyes in all its pre-ordained banality. Embarrassment, at first, to the...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Painted Veil (2007) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
If there's one thing John Curran excels at more than anything, it's evoking emotionally gut-wrenching performances out of his actors over a gorgeous backdrop & score to deliver not-great-not-awful dialogue for a potentially stimulating premise that deserves more than just the okay execution he ends up giving it. An oddly specific trademark, now that I think about it. As decent a recreation of an Old Hollywood romance as the year 2006 probably could have offered, with as skilled and engrossing performers such as Watts and Norton (finnicky accent from the latter aside - they're tremendous) this is still more than watchable in spite of its lack of any nuanced bone in its body. Could have rated this even higher to tell the truth - it is quite sophisticated and well paced after all - though not only does it rush itself out the door in its final scenes, but the age-old "white people save misguided foreign nation" stuff really turns me off here. It's like it intentionally brushes off all its politics in favor of ensuring these two white people remain relatively happy. At one point the Mother Superior gives an entire lecture about how Watts saving her own ass and finding her husband is more important religiously than staying and helping all of the deathly ill Chinese people and the horribly undermanned staff overseeing them. Not the only time it does something like that either, but for what it's worth this does it much less aggressively than other films like it, I guess? Wouldn't watch it again but I liked it, it is what it is.