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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df0TQJBkPP4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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REVIEW: His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto
His Quiet Agent – Ada Maria Soto
Arthur Drams works for a secret government security agency, but all he really does is spend his days in a cubicle writing reports no one reads. After getting another “lateral promotion” by a supervisor who barely remembers his name, it’s suggested that Arthur try to ‘make friends’ and ‘get noticed’ in order to move up the ladder. It’s like high school all over again: his attempts to be friendly come across as awkward and creepy, and no one wants to sit at the same table with him at lunch. In a last-ditch attempt to be seen as friendly and outgoing, he decides to make friends with The Alien, aka Agent Martin Grove, known for his strange eating habits, unusual reading choices, and the fact that no one has spoken to him in three years.
Starting with a short, surprisingly interesting conversation on sociology books, Arthur slowly begins to chip away at The Alien’s walls using home-cooked meals to lure the secretive agent out of his abrasive shell. Except Martin just might be something closer to an actual secret agent than paper-pusher Arthur is, and it might be more than hearts at risk when something more than friendship begins to develop.
Please note this book has a Heat Rating of zero.
First of all, the other book model doesn’t match the character of Martin Grove. They were suppose to be both young. Sorry, I tend to be very particular about book covers.
I love this! I really love this!! Given that most MM books have lust-based attractions, this book is refreshingly lust-free. Nobody was waxing poetic about the color of the eyes, nobody was getting hard-ons about sexy this, sexy that. It was simply all about connecting heart and mind with another person without thinking you want to fuck them. It was beautiful and totally my thing.
There’s something vaguely Japanese or should I say anime-esque in the way Martin is quiet. I usually encounter a lot of characters in manga and anime who are expressionless, rarely say a word or two, don’t make grand declarations and express themselves in the most subtle expressions. Martin is a complete enigma. We are given teeny tiny glimpses of his life but he is a tough nut to crack. Even that clue at the ending gives you more questions than answers so book two please?
And then in these kinds of stories, there is usually somebody, a persistent, do-gooding type, in this case Arthur, who slowly but surely chips away the wall and win their trust. I love how Arthur kept Martin’s trust and Martin showed his trust by slowly letting him in his solitary life. Also Arthur can cook a mean Pho and kept feeding Martin Vietnamese food. Courtship by food is always a win.
I sniggered at how nosy and gossipy the secret agents are. Carol, the not so hardcore lesbian, is a delight. In her own words:
And every pretty gay boy needs a tough, hardcore lesbian in their corner and every tough lesbian needs a pretty gay boy for balance. It’s in the rule book.
This is not a book where feelings were explicitly said yet it was one of the most emotional and emotionally satisfying book I’ve read so far. I usually hate how people just casually throw words of affection around. I feel it cheapens the sentiment. Here is how it’s done by Martin:
Finally, he raised his hand and touched his fingers to his forehead. “I can give you this.” He lowered his hand and pressed the tips of his fingers to the center of his chest. “And I can give you this. But not the rest. It’s not who I am. Or what I am.”
This speaks volumes:
Arthur turned his hand around and laced their fingers together. He could feel his own heart rushing in his chest as Martin’s fingers entwined with his. Better than a fumbled kiss or faked affection. It was strong and true. And it was theirs.
Oh, happy goosebumps!
Soundtrack: Reluctant Readers Make Reluctant Lovers
Artist: Library Voices
Album: Summer of LustRating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35238838-his-quiet-agent)
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I’ve learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what’s unsaid, what’s underneath. Understanding on another level of being.
Anna Kamieńska -
[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A1r6tqB8D5R7QBRIuG9W6xr&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto
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Koi To Wa Yosou Ga Tsukanai Mono De – Kanda Neko
Hachi is in love with his friend Rin but is keeping a safe distance. He thinks Rin has always been charming but could it be he’s missing all the signs?!
I’m willing to bet Rin will be making Hachi make up for what he missed.
(source: https://mangafox.me)
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The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal – K.J. Charles
A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes.
A note to the Editor
Dear Henry,
I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide.
You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told.
So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death.
I dare say it may not be quite what you expect.
Robert Caldwell
September 1914I said before I didn’t really care for Caldwell and Feximal’s romance when I read Remnant. I spoke too soon apparently. Going into this book, at first, I really didn’t but I gradually grew to like them both as characters and I’m happy that they are happy together. However, the beauty of this book is that it kept me hooked despite my initial apathy to the romance part. The stories are brilliant spins on British folklore interwoven with actual historical details. This is one of the delights of reading a K.J. Charles book. I always learn unfamiliar and sometimes obscure tidbits of British folklore and history that they never show on tv.
The Casebook is written as a collection of different stories each featuring a case Feximal and Caldwell worked on as well as updates on how their relationship developed and thrived. The last few stories were especially evocative. I have read Spectred Isle before this and recalling and connecting these two books stirred strong emotions.The ending was heartbreaking as well with war and all its consequences. I would choose to believe the editor’s note on Mediterranean cottages and ghostless quiet for my peace of mind. Simon and Robert deserved it.
Rating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Weighty Ghost
Artist: WIntersleep
Album: Welcome to the Night Sky(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34680762-the-secret-casebook-of-simon-feximal)
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People fall so in love with their pain, they can’t leave it behind. The same as the stories they tell. We trap ourselves.
Chuck Palahniuk -
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Soundtrack to The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles
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Kimi wa Natsu no Naka – Furuya Nagisa
Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda are two high school students who share a common hobby–they love to watch movies. After they meet, they become fast friends until one day, their relationship takes a sudden twist. What does it mean to love someone? What can you really do about it? Follow the story of their adolescence and relationship as it unfolds through a brilliant summer.
This is every bit as beautiful as the sky on a summer day. Brought tears to my eyes.
(source: https://myreadingmanga.info)