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Guarding His Melody (Enhacned World #1)
Guarding His Melody (Enhacned World #1)
Victoria Sue | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
loved this addition to this world!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is billed as book 1 in the Enhanced World Standalones series, but you don't need to have red the 3 books in the main series, before this one. I have listened to book one, Five More Minutes, and am currently part way through book two, Who We Truly are and will get to Beneath This Mask after that. Mild spoilers, is all. and a hint at what I have to come.

After getting meningitis as a child, Seb is left deaf. Throw in mark of the Enhanced that appeared when he was 12, and life has thrown him a double whammy. When there are death threats, Seb hires Gray as a bodyguard. But the Threat is getting worse, after the death of his previous bodyguard and that of his music teacher. If Seb could shake these crippling headaches, and just play his piano, he'll be happy.

I'm really enjoying these books! They are different and different is always good in my book!

Seb is pretty much housebound, but the first thing Gray does, is drag him out of bed at stoopid o'clock to do Tia-Chi in the garden. Helped him, so gotta be worth a try, right?? And that there, is what I particularly LOVED about this book.

The HINTS at what Gray suffered. You don't get the FULL story, not at all, just hints and clues along the way that make you put together a picture, a bigger picture at what Gray suffered, HOW much he suffered and how he got through it. But you just know, that someone else will put together a different picture, with the same clues. And I LOVED that!

Seb's threat isn't who I thought it was, but it was just as bad. I do love being proven wrong!

The chemistry between Gray and Seb bubbles along for much of the book, and I did, at one point, think we wouldn't get to the main event, but we do, and it is glorious!

Talon and Finn (Five Minutes Longer) pop up at the end, and the others are mentioned at various places in the book, so ties the books together.

The Enhanced status of Seb plays very much second fiddle to his deafness.
But I'm not left wanting to LISTEN to this book. Nick J Russo narrates the other books, and I hope he does this one too. I'm eager to see how Seb's voice comes across.

I originally wrote 4 stars at the top of the page (and yes, i do WRITE them up by hand before I post them!) but, actually, I can't find anything to knock that star off, so...

5 full stars!

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Alfred: And The Underworld
Alfred: And The Underworld
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
“Yes Alfred, that is it. I love you. I love you so much. And I am worried. I, we, your father and I, and even Tirnalth – we chose this life for you. We fled for you. A great magic was unleashed to help us, for you Alfred. It helped us escape a world fallen to darkness”

Alfred and the Underworld is the second volume of Alfred: The Boy King series by author Ron Smorynski. Published on November 2017, this book continues Alfred’s journey as the King of Westfold. After spending some time back with his mother in the human world researching and preparing, he goes back to his people. Things are not going well, and Alfred has a lot of work to do to help his people get back on their feet and defend themselves from the darkness that surrounds them.

In this book, Smorynski continues not only with this adventure-filled story but has continued to build up his fantasy world. Alfred encounters several new magical creatures, both good and bad around his kingdom. We also get a further building of the magical system and who has access to magic, which adds to the world and what is possible within it. Another interesting aspect was the history and politics that took a forefront position in this book. We are given a better grasp of the world outside of Alfred’s little kingdom. There are more players in the game now some that could be allies and some that have allied themselves with the evil in the land.

I really enjoyed that in this book we get to see different perspectives. While mostly told from Alfred’s point of view, we also get sneak peaks into both his mother’s mind and the enemies Alfred, and his people are fighting. This was interesting because these other characters are privy to information Alfred does not have access to and helps build the intrigue of the story. I particularly liked the chapters focused on Alfred’s mother. Through the excitement of Alfred building up his kingdom and the thrill of preparing for battle and defeating enemies, the mother is a reminder of a big picture and a deeper mystery. Throughout the first book we were given pieces of the life that she left behind when she brought Alfred to our world, and slowly those pieces are coming together.

I greatly enjoyed this book and am excited about the third book in the series Alfred and the Quest of the Knights. Alfred and the Underworld was an exciting, fun, and interesting story on its own, but it also set up nicely for the next installment. Between the big bad that is Gorbogal the witch and the truth bomb that was dropped on Alfred in the last sentence as a cliffhanger, this book as left me desperately waiting for more.
  
Six Cats a Slayin'
Six Cats a Slayin'
Miranda James | 2018 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kittens and Murder at Christmas
Charlie Harris's feline family has grown quite a bit. Someone left him a box with five kittens in it, and he's taking care of them while trying to track down the owner so he can figure out what to do with them next. Fortunately, Charlie's Maine Coon cat, Diesel, has taken to the kittens and is helping take care of them as only a cat can. That isn't the only problem Charlie is facing this Christmas, however. There's also his new neighbor Geraldine "Call Me Gerry" Albritton. Gerry is rubbing everyone the wrong way, including Charlie. Charlie isn't prepared for murder, however, and when one happens, he begins to investigate. What will he uncover?

Fans of this series know to expect a wonderful puzzle wrapped in a cozy shell, and that's just what we get here, with the Christmas setting only helping the cozy feeling. The mystery of the kittens occupies much of the early book while the foundations of the main mystery are being laid. Once the dead body turns up, we focus more on that with the kittens taking their place as a sub-plot. The twists of the mystery keep the pages flying, and the story takes a more serious tone. That tone provides a nice contrast to the Christmas season and the kittens, both of which keep the book from becoming too dark. I was thrilled to get to spend so much time with the series regulars; I just love Charlie's family and extended family. This book left me with happy tears in my eyes and Christmas carols in my head. What more could you want?
  
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Nick Love recommended The King of Comedy (1983) in Movies (curated)

 
The King of Comedy (1983)
The King of Comedy (1983)
1983 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery

"You know what, I think I’m going to swerve The Godfather and go for The King of Comedy. I love Scorsese – I loved Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets — they were all really seminal, but I always like a film which is, if not leftfield it’s not obvious Scorsese. He has made less obvious films, like New York, New York or The Last Waltz, which don’t hit the mark for me, but King of Comedy is a gem I think. Curiously enough I was talking about it to my fiancé at the weekend, saying, ‘You’ve got to see it,’ because I think it’s where we are now as a contemporary celebrity-seeking society. There are Rupert Pupkins everywhere now. What they don’t have, that Rupert Pupkin had, is innocence and naivety. When you see the whole Big Brother world, the way that people are cloying to get famous now, that’s Rupert Pupkin. I remember when I first watched The Office I saw a lot of Rupert Pupkin in David Brent. Rupert Pupkin had such likeability whereas Brent is a toad – you want to watch him fail. With Pupkin you want to say, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t go to Jerry Lewis‘ house. Don’t tell Diahnne Abbott you know him — you don’t!'"

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The Secret Garden (1993)
The Secret Garden (1993)
1993 | Drama, Family
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’m as influenced by contemporary filmmakers as I am by past filmmakers, so for me it was important to put two of them on here. The two films that my crew, my cinematographer, and I talk about when we’re going out to shoot are The Secret of the Grain and Fish Tank. They’re reference points for us. The lived-in intimacy of The Secret of the Grain and those two dinner sequences! The story is great, it’s fun, it’s engaging, but those dinner scenes are moments that have touched me very much. I felt, for the first time, that I was truly living with people I didn’t know. The film has these ongoing dialogue scenes that just feel so natural, even though they’re constructed, and those kinds of scenes set the bar for what cinema can do. Fish Tank I love because I love Andrea Arnold, and I can relate to this young protagonist who isn’t so goal-oriented. It’s not like she’s got a mission. She’s just trying to grow up, and she’s as confused about her life situation as anyone else. And it leads her to make some bad decisions, but ultimately we really like her because we know what she’s going through. She’s never presented as someone who we need to decide whether or not she’s likable. There’s an ambiguity to her presentation—you’re just letting her be herself. To me, it’s one of the great examples in modern cinema where a director casts someone and lets the person take over the role, as opposed to tailoring the person to the role as written. I think the movie benefits from that, and everyone around her just falls into her world. Michael Fassbender—you’ve never seen him like that, not because he’s better than he’s ever been, but because he’s forced to deal with the energy of this girl who’s just being herself. So this is just one of those movies I have to keep showing to people who haven’t seen it and have to keep watching to remember that representation of that girl, which is as good as anything I’ve seen in modern cinema."

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Jonas Carpignano recommended Fish Tank (2010) in Movies (curated)

 
Fish Tank (2010)
Fish Tank (2010)
2010 | International, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’m as influenced by contemporary filmmakers as I am by past filmmakers, so for me it was important to put two of them on here. The two films that my crew, my cinematographer, and I talk about when we’re going out to shoot are The Secret of the Grain and Fish Tank. They’re reference points for us. The lived-in intimacy of The Secret of the Grain and those two dinner sequences! The story is great, it’s fun, it’s engaging, but those dinner scenes are moments that have touched me very much. I felt, for the first time, that I was truly living with people I didn’t know. The film has these ongoing dialogue scenes that just feel so natural, even though they’re constructed, and those kinds of scenes set the bar for what cinema can do. Fish Tank I love because I love Andrea Arnold, and I can relate to this young protagonist who isn’t so goal-oriented. It’s not like she’s got a mission. She’s just trying to grow up, and she’s as confused about her life situation as anyone else. And it leads her to make some bad decisions, but ultimately we really like her because we know what she’s going through. She’s never presented as someone who we need to decide whether or not she’s likable. There’s an ambiguity to her presentation—you’re just letting her be herself. To me, it’s one of the great examples in modern cinema where a director casts someone and lets the person take over the role, as opposed to tailoring the person to the role as written. I think the movie benefits from that, and everyone around her just falls into her world. Michael Fassbender—you’ve never seen him like that, not because he’s better than he’s ever been, but because he’s forced to deal with the energy of this girl who’s just being herself. So this is just one of those movies I have to keep showing to people who haven’t seen it and have to keep watching to remember that representation of that girl, which is as good as anything I’ve seen in modern cinema."

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