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Kosha Ura no Natsu – Sakurabi Hashigo
Heartbroken Manabu-kun keeps meeting up with his senpai in the back of the school, who appears to be keeping a secret.
I’m not crying. I swear T_T
(source: https://mangapark.me)
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Kosha Ura no Natsu – Sakurabi Hashigo
Heartbroken Manabu-kun keeps meeting up with his senpai in the back of the school, who appears to be keeping a secret.
I’m not crying. I swear T_T
(source: https://mangapark.me)
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Sins of the Cities: An Unnatural Vice – K.J. Charles
In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret.
Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.
Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.
But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.
The second book of the Sins of the Cities series, An Unnatural Vice centers on Justin Lazarus, Seer of London and his entanglement with Nathaniel Roy, crusading journalist. It picks up from the latter parts of An Unseen Attraction where Clem, Rowley, Mark and Nathaniel were on the business of the Clem’s family troubles.
The overarching thread of the series is the riveting mystery of who is murdering people to find information about the missing earl. Suspicious characters consulted the seer, then kidnapped him to force him to find the twins. He escaped but having no one to turn to, Justin ran to Nathaniel’s house to seek shelter. Nathaniel, his chivalrous streak a mile wide, offered his protection. Justin, unused to pure kindness, kept looking for strings attached. and Nathaniel had to keep assuring him there were none. From the get go, we know Justin Lazarus was a fraud but boy, was he really convincing. So convincing in fact that sometimes I forget that this series is historical and not paranormal. I really enjoyed the parts where he revealed his tricks to Nathaniel. Lying, cheating bastard that he is, Nathaniel still saw the good in him, his intelligence, confidence and skills. This is one of the parts I liked best. Nathaniel never lost faith that Justin could be so much more than a fake medium. But as much as I like the two characters and as clearly as I could see their chemistry, I was meh about them as a couple. I don’t know why. Bummer.
The big reveal, now that was quite something! Through Mark’s efforts, the missing Repentance and Regret were found and the chaos that ensued was a major laugh out loud moment. Poor Mark though. Can’t wait for his and Pen’s book. The Talleyfer family troubles is still far from being resolved.
Time and time again, K.J. Charles proved that she’s not capable of writing a bad story. While I am not blown away by the Sins of the Cities series, as much as I was with the beloved Society of Gentlemen and A Charm of Magpies, I think her slightly mediocre (if we can call something this good mediocre) works still read as highly enjoyable, fast paced and gripping. As expected of the author, there is strong sense of time and place. London is very much vividly present in most of her works. The cherry on top was narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davis who was a master at bringing the characters to life. His run through the entire spectrum of voices and accents was very convincing.
Unfortunately, this had to end with a cliffhanger so I recommend buying all three books before starting on this trilogy.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love
Soundtrack: Believe
Artist: The Bravery
Album: The Sun and the Moon(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32161804-an-unnatural-vice)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A4Wvr1YaxNsCujq77dKujys&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Sins of the Cities: An Unnatural Vice by K.J. Charles
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Like This
If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,Like this.
When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,Like this.
If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is,
or what “God’s fragrance” means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.Like this.
When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.Like this.
If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.Like this. Like this.
When someone asks what it means
to “die for love,” point
here.
If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.This tall.
The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns.
When someone doesn’t believe that,
walk back into my house.Like this.
When lovers moan,
they’re telling our story.Like this.
I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.Like this.
When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.Like this.
How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?
Huuuuu.How did Jacob’s sight return?
Huuuu.A little wind cleans the eyes.
Like this.
When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he’ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise usLike this.
Rumi -
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oyJodhVRok?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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Stray Bullet Baby – Ichikawa Kei
Movie advertising agency employee Murakami Chihiro has someone he yearns for. His customer is fashion magazine editor Motona Kiyoharu. An incredible worker with an attractive smile, he is the one person Chihiro really desires, but they don’t get any opportunity to get closer. However one fateful day,at a drinking party Chihiro looks after a drunken Motona and takes him home…!? Selfish beauty x manipulative guy, Ichikawa Kei’s new office workers BL now begins.
Damn! I should have put more faith on Ichikawa-sensei. I thought Honna would be an evil manipulative bastard but by god did it turn out to be so cute and fluffy!
(source: http://www.mangago.me)
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Seven Summer Nights – Harper Fox
It’s 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him.
He’s used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can’t turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It’s a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living. With nothing but his satchel and a mongrel dog he’s rescued from a bomb site, he sets out to investigate an ancient church in the sleepy village of Droyton Parva.
It’s an ordinary task, but Droyton is in the hands of a most extraordinary vicar. The Reverend Archie Thorne has tasted action too, as a motorcycle-riding army chaplain, and is struggling to readjust to the little world around him. He’s a lonely man, and Rufus’s arrival soon sparks off in him a lifetime of repressed desires.
Rufus is a combat case, amnesiac and shellshocked. As he and Archie begin to unfold the archaeological mystery of Droyton, their growing friendship makes Rufus believe he might one day recapture his lost memories of the war, and find his way back from the edge of insanity to love.
It’s summer on the South Downs, the air full of sunshine and enchantment. And Rufus and Archie’s seven summer nights have just begun…
Seven Summer Nights is a standalone novel featuring a disgraced archaeologist and an atheist vicar. The story could be split into two. One thread follows Rufus’ struggle with PTSD, his endearing friendship with Archie, Archie’s rescue and Rufus and Archie’s awakening.
That rescue scene in particular had me crossing my fingers and praying really hard for Rufus and Archie. Theirs was one of the most wholesome relationship I have seen so far and a delightful combination of insta-love and slow-burn. They were so kind to each other from the beginning, there was never any moment of unnecessary drama between them. The second thread was archaeology and witch craft. From the island of Sabros to the rural village of Droyton, mysterious labyrinth and mysterious women kept their secrets for centuries. Rufus and Archie uncovered these mysteries to reveal tragedy and bloodshed. But even with the cruelties, the book was overflowing with kindness and humanity. I felt sad that Archie had to give up his post. He was one of the kindest, most humane persons I have ever come across with.
Women were one of the most significant aspects of the book. I love the rest of the cast. Mrs. Nettles, the level headed, very practical housekeeper, Drusilla, the mystical priestess, Elspeth, the precocious changeling, even the difficult Mrs. Trigg. Together, they form a sort of network or sisterhood that went back to millennia before Christianity and patriarchy took over. The antagonists were effective as well. I felt a significant amount of schadenfreude when that ass of a brigadier had his Wizard of Oz-like comeuppance.
Clocking at around 16 hours, the book was, admittedly, a tad too long but god was it beautiful! At the hands of another, less talented writer, the pace might have been called glacial but Harper Fox imbued the story with so much charm and appeal that I was swept along its languid pace. That summertime ambiance, the easy camaraderie, the small town quaintness, I was effortlessly transported to post-war rural Sussex. Living in a small rural town myself, I could easily relate to both the simple, hospitable, kind-heartedness and the religious narrow mindedness of small town folks.
I also have a special shout out to the narrator. Chris Clogg’s calm, measured delivery and the voices he created for the characters were perfect, especially Rufus’ mild-mannered, very polite and proper Englishman tone.
I think Seven Summer Nights is one of Harper Fox’s best books. Soft, surreal and pure with tight, suspenseful episodes that left me on the edge of my seat. I am not familiar with any archaeological expeditions of the 1940s so I am not sure how close to the facts the details are, but the mystery combined with the romance, post-war struggles and archaeological adventures make a potent brew.
Rating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Sparks
Artist: Beach House
Album: Depression Cherry(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33116450-seven-summer-nights)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A1tzwRqRNO2dDdUf3qMnQno&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Seven Summer Nights by Harper Fox
