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MANGA: Cinema Next Door
Cinema Next Door – Gwak Jongpil
The walls are thin, and it’s hard not to know what your neighbor is up to, especially when they cry loudly every time they watch a movie.
OMG, this is so cute!
Bookworm Neighbor and movie geek Next Door Baldy bond over Del Monte juice and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution. End up staring in their own romance story.
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REVIEW: Witchbane by Morgan Brice
Witchbane – Morgan Brice
Seth Tanner and his brother Jesse’s fun evening debunking local urban legends ends with Jesse’s gruesome murder. Seth vows revenge on Jesse’s killer – too bad the murderer has been dead for a hundred years. Seth uncovers a cycle of ritual killings that feed the power of a dark warlock’s immortal witch-disciples, and he’s hell bent on stopping Jackson Malone from becoming the next victim. He’s used to risking his neck. He never intended to risk his heart.
I had high hopes for this. Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.
Witchbane would have been more effective if it spent more time establishing the occult elements instead of trying too hard to be steamy. It was annoying how Seth and Evan’s almost every other thought drifted to boning each other instead of putting more effort at finding that witch which kills the momentum of whatever chilling suspense Morgan Brice was setting up. I also found the writing repetitive at some points.
I wasn’t convinced Seth and Evan should be using the L-word already given that they hardly trust each other and have known each other barely a week. Also, Evan was TSTL which is ironic for somebody who ran away from home and should have honed his stranger danger radar already. I was amazed at how easily he trusted a stranger simply because that person was a cop. ‘Round these parts, we never trust cops. I know it’s a cultural difference thing but still, after what he had seen, why is he still doubting Seth?
I liked Seth and I could see he was really trying hard to do his job. He has no compunction about lying or hacking or breaking the law which at first glance makes him suspect but monsters don’t follow human laws and the necessities of monster hunting calls for creativity and an open mind. I want to see Seth becoming a sort of MacGyver because heck, I haven’t seen a MacGyver type of character in MM so far.
This is another series where the world is more interesting than the execution of the plot. The Witchbane world is interconnected with the Badlands worlds and I really liked Badlands. I’m hoping for cameos in both series although, TBH, I would probably stick with Badlands at this point.
P.S.
review of Badlands here
I received a copy of Witchbane from Dark Wind Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Small Town Witch
Artist: Sneaker Pimps
Album: Bloodsport -
SOUNDTRACK: Small Town Witch by Sneaker Pimps
Soundtrack to Witchbane by Morgan Brice
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See black, see bloom
Died on an impulse over you
Caught like a corpse
Crawling round a dream and loving you
And she hangs on youth
Crushing any feet to fit the shoes
Stepping it out with a size 12 mouth
And cursing youSmall town witch come to mess me up
Small town witch come to mess me up
Small town witch come to mess me up againShe whored and she graced
Bitching with the bottle, saving face
Blowing it out as the jury’s doubt is laid to waste
See black, see bloom
Choked up on a heartburn, bleeding through
How does it feel when the ones that feed are biting youSmall town witch come to mess me up
Small town witch come to mess me up
Small town witch come to mess me up again -
MOVIE FEATURE: The Ways Of Man
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MANGA: A Strange Saturday Afternoon
A Strange Saturday Afternoon – Na Yeri
Childhood friends Choiji and Yamare are all grown up and growing apart…?
A side story to the Youth manghwa compilation.
Not strange. Just rushed and open-ended.
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REVIEW: Key Of Solomon: Amber Moon by Hurri Cosmo
The Key Of Solomon: Amber Moon – Hurri Cosmo
Lucas has a low-paying, dead-end job, lives in a tiny apartment, and can count his close friends on one hand. Well, one finger actually, and for all the sympathy she has, it may as well be the middle one. No, Lucas’s life is not one any would truly strive for. However, it keeps him from thinking too much about his distant past and the one man who had gently held his heart… but then ripped it right out of his chest and crushed it under his expensive leather Gucci’s. As a teenager not even out of the closet yet, surviving the fallout became unbearable so Lucas did the only thing he could. He disappeared.
Fourteen painful years later and Lucas is ready to move on. He’s going to finally kill his unrequited love for Ryder once and for all.
That’s when the magic of Solomon and his galactic bar sweep in. Seems Lucas had the audacity to query the gods in the form of a fist to the sky. The cosmic bartender couldn’t resist taking up the challenge. Mainly because Solomon holds many keys and one of them just happens to be to Lucas’s happiness. He only needs to convince Lucas of that.
Shouldn’t be too difficult… right?
There must have been trigger warnings on bullying and homophobia somewhere or may I didn’t read the blurb carefully. The story was about putting the past behind and second chances. I know Lucas had a tough time in high school, I just wasn’t prepared for all the hate and negativity which significantly dampened my enjoyment of the story.
Lucas was miserable and I couldn’t blame him. He was putting himself down too much and I think he really deserved a clean break from the past. I’m not too sure whether it was Ryder he should be facing or Amber. Amber was the one who hurt him the most and who later became a sort of boogeyman, keeping him from doing what he loved. But a second chance was what he needed and that’s what he needed to let himself have.
With Solomon’s magic, mysterious objects appeared and their significance gradually unfolded. The ones with the artwork was particularly poignant especially when their meaning was later revealed. This was the part that finally convinced me 100% that Ryder does deserved Lucas.
I like the idea of Solomon and his magical bar which reminded me vaguely of the anime, Death Parade. Although, I expected there should be a prologue or a book 0 giving us an introduction to what the whole set up is all about because Solomon literally came out of nowhere. I suppose the mystery is part of his appeal but some backstory would be nice.
Overall, not the strongest first book but still a very interesting concept for a series. This is the kind of world where you can do all sorts of creative twists and I would love to see where the author would take us next.
P.S.
Thank you to IndiGo for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Empire Builder
Artist: Laura Gibson
Album: Empire Builder -
SOUNDTRACK: Empire Builder by Laura Gibson
Soundtrack to The Key Of Solomon: Amber Moon by Hurri Cosmo
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we are not alone
and we are more alone
than we’ve ever been
so hurry up and lose me
hurry up and find me
again -
MOVIE FEATURE: One Kiss (Un Bacio)