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Equal with colleagues in a ring
I sit on each calm evening
Enchanted as the flowers
The opening light draws out of hiding
With all its gradual dove-like pleading,
Its logic and its powers:
That later we, though parted then,
May still recall these evenings when
Fear gave his watch no look;
The lion griefs loped from the shade
And on our knees their muzzles laid,
And Death put down his book.W.H. Auden -
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mCc5ogH4Cw?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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Ouji-sama no Ryuu – Natsume Isaku
Charismatic, princely Asahina is an esteemed guest at the hotel Sakaki is working at as an attendant. It wasn’t supposed to be much more different from pampering other VIPs until Sakaki sees that same “prince” being accosted by a few hooligans.
So much potential! I want more chapters!!!
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The Community: Oversight – Santino Hassell
Spoiler Alert! The following blurb contains spoilers for Insight, book one of The Community.
Holden Payne has it all … or so he thinks. As heir to the founder of the Community—an organization that finds, protects, and manages psychics—he’s rich, powerful, and treated like royalty. But after a series of disappearances and murders rock the Community, he’s branded the fall guy for the scandal and saddled with a babysitter.
Sixtus Rossi is a broad-shouldered, tattooed lumbersexual with a man-bun and a steely gaze. He’s also an Invulnerable—supposedly impervious to both psychic abilities and Holden’s charms. It’s a claim Holden takes as a challenge. Especially if sleeping with Six may help him learn whether the Community had more to do with the disappearances than they claimed.
As Holden uncovers the truth, he also finds himself getting in deep with the man sent to watch him. His plan to seduce Six for information leads to a connection so intense that some of Six’s shields come crashing down. And with that comes a frightening realization: Holden has to either stand by the Community that has given him everything, or abandon his old life to protect the people he loves.
Last we know of Holden, he left a cut-off message on Nate’s voicemail begging for help to look for Chase. Oversight covers the aftermath of the Evolution debacle and after Nate and Trent left. Holden was assigned a handler by his father. The handler was Sixtus, a former juvenile delinquent psychic turn security guard for The Farm. Six was an Invulnerable, a psychic with an impenetrable shield, placed in the position of Holden’s babysitter as he was supposedly immune to psychic influence and seduction. Well, we all know where this is going.
I could definitely say this is a much better book than Insight. First, there were less info-dumping and more character development.
On the surface, Holden seems to be a typical privileged rich man’s son but he proved to be smarter than he looks.
As he realized the less than savory side of the CW, he struggled to reconcile what he know of The Farm and The Com and the reality of everything. Nonetheless, it was clear from the start that his heart was in the right place even if he didn’t know it until Six told him. Six was an enigma at first and
I didn’t know how Holden and Six’s combination would work but Holden’s a seductive little bastard and Six has a secret connection to Holden so it did, quite magnificently.
The pacing was fast and the writing was tight. The only let down was at the rescue scenes where I felt they were talking too much it was a wonder they didn’t all get caught. That and there was not much super power action.
With Santino Hassell dropping X-men references here and there, I am still hoping for an epic psychic vs psychic showdown. Come on, don’t waste all that cool superpowers, Santino. Jasper, the super villain did make an appearance. The dude just ooze so much evil he left a cold blast of arctic winds in his wake. I also think Greg Bordeaux knocked it again out of the park with his narration, especially that short scene with Chase.
Oversight was a well-written take on psychics and a vast improvement on the first book. It ended with a typical book 2 cliffhanger but has nonetheless a nicely resolved conclusion. I think this is why people love Santino Hassell in general and The Community series in particular. Highly recommended!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Reflections
Artist: Cast
Album: All Change(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364801-oversight)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A7d289XJqBv7mOQUDYEFcuR&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to The Community: Oversight by Santino Hassell
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… you just can’t differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.
Isaac Asimov -
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X__T9vN4Pc?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=375]
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Itoshi No Momonga Kareshi – Hirakita Yuya
After helping an unusual kid, Tsukasa’s unrequited love interest Kairi becomes a squirrel. This happens because Tsukasa makes a love request to the mountain god saying, “I want to always be with Kairi”! Now both must stick together and figure out how Kairi can revert back to his human body…
I prefer Nagao to the squirrel boyfriend.
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Cronin’s Key: Cronin’s Key II – N.R. Walker
History isn’t always what it seems.
With the battle of Egypt behind them, Alec and Cronin are enjoying the thrill of new love. Though fate doesn’t wait long before throwing them back into the world of weird.
They know Alec’s blood is special, though its true purpose still eludes them. And given Alec’s inability to be changed into a vampire, Cronin is free to drink from him at will. But the ramifications of drinking such powerful blood starts a ripple effect.
With the help of Jorge, a disturbing vampire-child with the gift of foresight, Alec and Cronin face a new kind of war. This time their investigations lead them to the borders of China and Mongolia—but it’s not what lies in the pits beneath that worries Alec.
It’s the creator behind it all.
In the underground depths of China, amidst a war with the Terracotta Army, they will find out just what the Key is, and what Alec means to the vampire world.
Well, it went downhill, didn’t it. Book 1 charmed me with major USTs, Gaelic endearments, multitude of accents and Egyptology. Book 2, unfortunately, turned into a boring fuckfest between Cronin and Alec. It didn’t help that the other vampires were listening in all the time and Eiji kept laughing at them. If book 1 was well-paced if info-dumpy, here I could feel the drag. So much so that I no longer care about the big mystery of Alec’s blood. All the Gaelic endearments in the world couldn’t save this one for me. DNF.
Rating
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn bookSoundtrack: Every Weekday
Artist: Camera Obscura
Album: Desire Lines(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25429279-cronin-s-key-ii)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A5ZWKljU9YFJ3XaQy31fDE1&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Cronin’s Key: Cronin’s Key II by N.R. Walker
