• manga,  Uncategorized

    I Love You, Black Coffee – Yamashita Tomoko

    It started from “Love”. A man who confessed his love to another man. A man and woman who enjoy talking about shared hobbies. A woman waiting to meet up with someone. At a certain café, three different groups coincidentally come together. Two of the part timers there also get involved, and small dramas ensue. Yamashita Tomoko’s worlds, created with her wit and ability to make touching stories, are now available in this treasure trove of her works. In addition to her title work, there are six unpublished stories and extras!

    Yamashito Tomoko’s unique take on BL stories that are poignant, bittersweet and cute. 

    La Campanella: That gloomy, pessimistic tsundere we can’t help but fall in love with

    Love’s Magic Word Is…: A gaming otaku who talks in gamer-speak kissed his friend the night before. Awkward conversation ensues the day after. I’m guessing more kisses tomorrow

    Saturday, Boy, Phenomenon: Man was a victim of homophobia as a kid and now he claims he was abducted by aliens. Poor guy! I’m glad they meet again.

    The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: not your typical BL story. Middle age man who claims to have magic befriends a teenage girl. Man pines for lost love and girl discovers her magic. More of this, please!

    Cu, Clau, Come: A man gets off at watching the man he loves eat so he feeds him almost everyday. The going was good until that goddamn bombshell and then there were ninjas chopping onions.

    Once Upon a Time in Tokyo: The love of his life was staring at him through the glass and he was just staring back! Do something!

    Je T’aime, Cafe Noir: Nosy cafe employees eavesdrop on their customers and subtly intervenes on their conversation. Also involves love confessions that came out of nowhere. I like the setup.

     (source: https://www.mangatown.com)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    On Andross Station – J.C. Long

    Hikaru Adachi has come to Andross Station to discover what happened to colleague and fellow Inquisitor Katya. Thane, a tracer, has arrived at the station seeking a bounty on Galen Horn, one of the Unity of Planets’ most wanted men. They will find their paths cross as their interests intersect, and soon they are on a hunt that is more dangerous than they know, for Horn has enlisted some dangerous allies, including one from Thane’s past. If Thane and Hikaru together can’t bring Horn down, he will set in motion a plot that will see the entire station destroyed in an attack of massive proportions.

    On Andross Station is a fast-paced sci-fi novella about a search for a missing person and a hunt for a terrorist. One of the things I liked best about this novella is the world-building. It’s easy to picture out a universe of varied life-forms, busy, thriving space stations, and galactic governments with hidden agendas. J.C. Long was able to conjure these images without dumping too much information. His concise but informative descriptions of alien life-forms made me want to know more about the various species scattered throughout and the Tracers universe as a whole.

    The main characters were Hikaru Adachi, an Inquisitor tasked to find out what happened to Inquisitor Katya, and Thane, a Tracer and half-Alooran. Hikaru is a telepath and has a Virtual Intelligence implant which he uses to get information and hack systems. As an Inquisitor, he is pretty deadly but the moments when he talks to the VI or when he uses his telepathy, he seems distracted and I couldn’t help thinking that might be a good moment to take him out. Thane is out to catch Galen Horn, a known terrorist with a huge bounty on his head. Thane was curious about the Inquisitor so he checked him out and felt the pull of mutual attraction.

    One big plus about this story is that it is mission-centric and not romance-centric. While I am 100% OK if there was no romantic sub-plot at all and the novella is purely sci-fi with the characters who just happened to be gay, I feel I really didn’t get to know Hikaru and Thane well. I think the author barely scratched the surface and I would have wanted a better development of their characters as well as their relationship. More background information about them would be appreciated.

    The mission is what it’s all about. It’s what kept me glued. Going on what felt like a covert tour of the space station while chasing bad guys and avoiding getting caught was exhilarating. Hikaru and Thane went from gambling dens to restricted areas on their search for Katya and Galen Horn. Hikaru showed his bad-ass martial arts skills and scary telepathic powers. Thane wasn’t a slouch either. That revenge against the sadistic psycho Happy was very satisfying. They make a good team.

    It’s stated that On Andross Station is part of Tracers universe so I thought I might need to read other books in the series. However, I didn’t have any problems piecing together everything and the novella as a whole could be read as a standalone. It also felt like a prequel and if it is indeed one, I would be delighted to read the rest of the series.

    P.S.

    I received a copy of On Andross Station from Ninestar Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

    Rating

    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Hunted Down
    Artist: Soundgarden
    Album: Screaming Life/Fopp

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41079439-on-andross-station)

  • song,  Uncategorized


    [spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A4nnDr2vyxvKudkOH4CQv3K&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]

    Soundtrack to On Andross Station by J.C. Long

  • Uncategorized

    Piece of cake really – Enforcers, crazy psychopath dude with giant laser rail guns, throw in a few bounty hunters, a couple torture experts – sounds great, I really can’t wait can you?

    JJ Snow
  • book,  Uncategorized

    On Davis Row – N.R. Walker

    Nearing the end of a suspended jail sentence should unlock a brighter future for CJ Davis, only the chip on his shoulder is as hard to shift as his bad reputation. Born into a family of career criminals who live down Davis Road, an address the cops have dubbed Davis Row, his name alone is like a rap sheet that makes optimism impossible.
 

    Brand-new parole officer Noah Huxley is determined to see the good in men like CJ. After all, he knows firsthand that bad things can happen to good people. His colleagues mock his doe-eyed optimism, but Noah soon sees CJ’s bad attitude and bravado are weapons he uses to keep people at a distance.

    Both men know one simple mistake can change a life forever. At first glance, they might seem to be polar opposites. Yet underneath, they’re not that different at all. 

    My god, that was beautiful!

    Right after I finished this book, I had to stand up and pace around the house because I was sooo high. I am not an emotional person and it takes a lot to make me feel things but this book!

    I just had to root really hard for CJ. He was dealt a really shitty hand. Born into a family of criminals, didn’t graduate from school, had to put up with abuse, had to cope with illiteracy and deal with the stigma that comes with his name. Through out all this, he tries really hard to get by along with Pops, his grandfather who raise him. Pops has emphysema. His dad is in and out of jail. The asshole has also been abusing CJ since he was a child. Everybody assumes CJ is as bad as all the Davis before him, but CJ’s boss, Mr. Barese would be the first one to tell you, “he’s a good boy.

    Noah is a rookie parole officer. Still enthusiastic and optimistic about making a difference. The great thing about Noah is that he never lost the spark. He really believed not only in CJ but in all his parolees. AND *stage whisper* he smells really good!

    Bloody hell. I wanted to hug him again. “You’ll nail this. You watch. You’ll pass everything and the only thing you’ll be left wondering about is why you didn’t do it sooner.”

    When he looked up, his dark eyes were vulnerable, like the true CJ Davis was exposed within them. “Because ain’t no one believed in me before now.

    There were ethically murky lines between them and though they dip their toes across once in a while, I love them for sticking to the rule. The rule being they become officially boyfriends the minute CJ’s parole ends, unofficially is another matter. Thus begins the delicious anticipation, a whole lot of USTs and the goddamn countdown that made me a messy bundle of paranoia because Pops might wheeze his last breath, CJ might descend into a downward spiral, Noah might fail CJ, the dad might beat the living crap out of CJ just because, things might blow up their faces, the system might screw them and so on because something will jinx this, I just know…!!!

    So I breathed a sigh of relief when, among other things, Pops kept breathing.

    It was so uplifting to see CJ gain his confidence and a little bit of happiness day by day until the time he was finally free. Noah’s sincerity really impressed me. He kept assuring CJ that no matter what happens between them he would still help him with everything. And I know he really would.

    I love the list of firsts. CJ has missed out on a lot of things, the kind of things people take for granted like being able to read, getting a hug or having a driver’s license. Noah was his first in a lot of things. My favorite were the hugs.

    He was rigid, uneasy, but he didn’t recoil, and he didn’t tell me to fuck off.

    “You can hug me back, you know.”

    Then I realised that maybe no one had ever bloody hugged him before either. Pops was a great guy but none of the Davis clan seemed overly affectionate. Without pulling away, I said, “I’ve wanted to hug you for a while.”

    Still, with his arms by his sides, he asked, “Why?”

    “Because sometimes people hug as a way of saying things are gonna be okay.”

    I’ll hug you too, CJ!

    This book is full of emotions but it’s not sappy. It’s also one of the most emotionally satisfying books I have read this year. The slow-burn and the chemistry were amazing. That last chapter!  I got goosebumps and a pleasant case of hangover.

    A solid 5-star book, no doubt about it.

    Rating:

    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Worth the Wait
    Artist: We Are Scientists
    Album: With Love and Squalor

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36668702-on-davis-row)

  • quote,  Uncategorized

    The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered throughout our days

    Sue Monk Kidd