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SOUNDTRACK: Secret Santa by Gwen Stefani
Soundtrack to Secret Santa by Jay Northcote
For the song, I went with the obvious here with Gwen Stefani’s catchy little tune, especially with “Let’s play Secret Santa in the dark / Don’t tell anybody where we are“. This is a light, frothy number that goes well with the book’s vibe.
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Don’t need a guest list
No names inside a hat
Forget the presents
No minimums, no max
Tonight I’m thinking we
Should do this differentlyLet’s light a fire
To fight the winter cold
Red wine and cider
You know where this will go
Kristopher Kringle’s got nothing
On you and meLet’s play Secret Santa in the dark
Don’t tell anybody where we are
There’s no limit to the ways that we can celebrate
A midnight gift exchange of heartsLet’s play Secret Santa through the night
You’re the only one that I’ll invite
You don’t even have to RSVP back to me
Get over here and hold me tightDon’t need a wish list
You’re all I really want
This year for Christmas
Just keep me up ’til dawn
Wrap me in kisses
I will be your Mrs. ClausLet’s play Secret Santa in the dark
Don’t tell anybody where we are
There’s no limit to the ways that we can celebrate
A midnight gift exchange of heartsLet’s play Secret Santa through the night
You’re the only one that I’ll invite
You don’t even have to RSVP back to me
Get over here and hold me tightLet’s play Secret Santa through the night
Let’s play Secret Santa in the dark
Don’t tell anybody where we are
There’s no limit to the way that we can celebrate
A midnight gift exchange of heartsLet’s play Secret Santa through the night
You’re the only one that I’ll invite
You don’t even have to RSVP back to me
Get over here and hold me tightLet’s play Secret Santa through the night
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MOVIE FEATURE: West Of Eden
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Home Ice Advantage by K.R. Collins (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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MUSIC MONDAY: 2020 Christmas Playlist
Found this tag on Read Rant Rock & Roll. This meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday.
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Little Match Girl by Dianne Hartsock (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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SONGS OF 2020: January to June
It’s the time of the year when we look back at the months gone by and post year-end wrap ups. I’m going over all the bookish soundtracks and Music Mondays I posted on my blog in 2020. I’m compiling the songs for each month here so you can find them all in one place. Well, two places really, I’m posting the July to December playlists at the end of the year.
Enjoy!
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FLICKer: Dominant Chord
Featuring LGBT short films I found around the interwebz a.k.a Youtube. Okay sucky intro, but yeah, that’s it.
A closeted Country Music star on the verge of being outed must make an impossible choice between the two things he loves the most.
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MANGA: Kimi To Wa Gokai Kara Hajimarimashita Ga
Kimi To Wa Gokai Kara Hajimarimashita Ga – Mishima Kazuhiko
Miike writes a love letter intended for the girl he sees everyday on his way to school. The girl misunderstands and winds up giving the letter to her brother and now Miike and him are dating! How will Miike fix this misunderstanding…?!
It Started From A Misunderstanding is a super cute twist on the gay for you trope.
Gloomy, introverted high-schooler Miike hands a love letter to his crush who thought it was for her big brother. The misunderstanding was due to a confusion with how the kanji or characters were pronounced. Miike thought it was Hifumi but it was actually read as Utakane.
He ended up dating Utakane who asked Miike to call him Hifumi. He tried his best to correct the misunderstanding only to be interrupted again and again by Hifumi just when he was about to blurt out the truth. Little did he know, Hifumi has some secrets of his own…
Both MCs are opposites in the best way possible. Miike is blushy and shy while Hifumi was forward and open about his feelings. He doesn’t hesitate to shower Miike with affection, slowing winning him over and helping the shy boy gain confidence about himself.
When Miike realized he was falling in love with Hifumi, at first, he was so confused and ran away. With help from his only friend at school, he learned to accept his true feelings.
Not only was the story beautiful, the art perfectly reflects the mood. Even if the romance is slow-burn, the plot moved quickly and there was never a dull moment. Each panel was executed just right.
I liked it a lot that the MCs were the same height. All too often, a character of Miike’s type is the smaller one, being the uke. Hifumi is a very toppy seme which fits his personality to a T. I loved how he clearly adores Miike.
The manga had some nice twists that really worked well in tying everything together. The scene where Hifumi first fell in love with Miike goes right to the kokoro!
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SERIES REVIEW: Paranormal Princes Books 2 & 3 by Charlie Cochet
Paranormal Princes is one the most enjoyable shifter series I have ever read.
When I started on the series, I wasn’t that familiar yet with Charlie Cochet‘s writing. My first experience with her early shifter stories was a miss. This was soon put to rights by the hilarious and adorable The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard. This is the first novella about an ocelot shifter prince who had to go on a quest accompanied by a grim wolf shifter acting as his bodyguard. It had all the humor and charm I have come to associate with the author.
Paranormal Princes is set in an alt-universe where all kinds of shifters exist, everything from hummingbirds to whales. Not just shifters but fae, ancients gods and mythical creatures too.
The father and King of All Shifters is Alarick. With the help of his advisor and long-time friend, Jean, he designs a quest for each shifter prince or princess. They are accompanied by a companion, chosen for them by the king. Many of his children were not happy with it. That is, until they realized it was for the best.
Paranormal Princes: The Prince and His Captivating Carpenter – Charlie Cochet
PRINCE BERND
As Prince of the Bear Shifters, I knew the time would come for me to prove myself worthy of my crown. I expected my quest to be perilous. What I didn’t expect was for it to take me up into Espen Mountain, a place that’s brought me nothing but grief and terrible nightmares. Not only must I find the five magical ingredients, but I have to do so alongside Saer, a mysterious and charming shifter coyote summoned by the king to be my guide. But who is Saer, and why do I feel as if we’ve met before?
SAER
Crushing on Prince Bernd from afar was one thing. Being given the responsibility of saving the prince and his kingdom was a whole other story. Banished from my kingdom by my own prince years ago, I never imagined I would be summoned to help Bernd. What could I possibly offer a prince? How was I supposed to save him? I was no one. A shifter with no place to call home. What I did know was that I would do everything in my power to help Bernd succeed on his quest. All I had to do was stop crushing on the guy, find the magical ingredients hidden up a dangerous mountain, and save his heart. What could go wrong?
Prince Bernd is the Prince of Bear Shifters. He inherited the throne after his father died a tragic death in Espen Mountain. Bernd is still mourning his death years after. He closed himself off, spending more and more time in the library amidst the beautiful furniture lovingly made for him. The Prince is hot-tempered but he is devoted to his mom and his siblings. He takes his responsibilities to them and his kingdom seriously.
Then the fateful day arrived when the king assigned him his quest to the very same mountain his father died. He was to be accompanied by Saer who will act as his guide. Attractive though he was, Bernd couldn’t understand why the king chose him. Saer was a complete stranger.
The Prince and His Captivating Carpenter is a story of grief and healing. It’s not as funny as the first book but it had plenty of cute moments too. Saer was all adorably shy and awkward during their first meeting. He had been crushing on the prince for a very long time. The prince, unfortunately, didn’t even know he existed.
I was neutral about Bernd for much of the story. For their quest, it was really Saer who did most of the work. However, their adventure opened the prince’s eyes to the realities of his kingdom as well as the beautiful things he missed because of his grief.
Like all the books in the series, the romance was wonderfully done. It was interwoven seamlessly with the overarching thread. The chemistry between Bernd and Saer was so palpable, even they couldn’t deny there was something between them. Bernd might be the biggest, most powerful bear but he was also a teddy bear.
The ending played out as expected. There were not many surprises here. It did, however, provide a nice jumping off point for the final book.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: The Healing
Artist: Carfax Abbey
Album: Second Skin
Paranormal Princes: The King and His Vigilant Valet – Charlie Cochet
JEAN
The past has a way of catching up with you, even if you are immortal. I’ve spent thousands of years as the valet and companion to the powerful King of All Shifters. It has been my honor and duty to protect, serve, and advise him. I never intended to fall in love with him. My past is filled with death and bloodshed, but I never once regretted keeping Alarick safe. Now an evil I thought long gone has resurfaced, determined to kill Alarick and plunge the world into chaos. Saving Alarick means revealing the truth about myself. I don’t know what’s worse, failing to protect the king I love, or watching him turn away from me in disgust when he discovers what I really am.
KING ALARICK
As King of All Shifters, my powers are connected to the cosmos, and I have been around since the dawn of time. There are few things that can kill me. Unfortunately, one of those things has escaped its prison and is set to destroy me. The only weapon that can defeat this creature is the Scythe of Kronos, which has been missing for nearly as long as I have lived. When Jean and I set out on a quest to find the scythe, questions I had long ignored must now be answered. What is Jean’s connection to this evil? Why will he trust me with his life but not his secrets? As my most trusted valet, and my greatest friend, surely nothing that happens along this perilous journey can change what I feel in my heart for him. Or can it?
Now here is a love story thousands of years in the making. Talk about slow burn!
As many reader might notice from the start, King Alarick is a doofus. He is spectacularly oblivious to his best friend’s more than friendly feelings towards him.
Jean has been with the king for a very, very long time. He was actually the one who designed the quests. Jean is very loyal to Alarick. Despite being blind, he is the king’s fiercest, most formidable warrior. He developed quite an intimidating reputation. He is also very mysterious. Not even Alarick knew what kind of creature he is.
Alarick and Jean’s story picks up directly after the second book. A threat to the king’s life was revealed. This was connected to Jean’s past, something he had long since buried. The monster can only be killed by the Scythe of Kronos.
The two friends embarked on a quest to look for the weapon. Along the way, they met several of the king’s shifter children who wanted to help. They met some of his past flames too. Jealous Jean is cute Jean.
I love how the king doesn’t mind that people were pissed at him, most of the characters here were. But when somebody tries to talk smack about Jean, he puts the bitch in place. He does it firmly in the nicest way possible because the king is a genial, easygoing sort of guy. I have never seen him lose his temper, ever. Not even when whacked half-way across the ocean by an irate siren.
The King and His Vigilant Valet is the best kind of shmoopy, squeetastic fluff! When I first met them, it seemed Alarick and Jean’s dynamics was that of the bumbling superior and the wise assistant. But here we see a new side to the always composed Jean, a flustered blushy side that’s freakin’ adorable! Alarick was a lot smarter than people give him credit for. And he was just so infinitely kind. It was that very goodness that made Jean fall in love with him all those years ago dancing together at the Parthenon.
And damn, the twists were so clever! All the things that were built up since book one came together beautifully. The scene where all the shifter princes rally to defend their king was as epic as that scene where all the Avengers and their friends popped out of portals to fight Thanos. The revelations were very unexpected. I would never have guessed the real purpose of the quests and Jean’s true identity. And why he is blind.
All in all, a grand and very sweet finale fit for the immortal king who started it all.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: Never Tear Us Apart
Artist: INXS
Album: Never Tear Us ApartP.S.
Paranormal Princes should be read in order. Start by meeting the
adorablediva prince Owin and the valiant warrior Grimm in The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard. And oh, don’t call Owin adorable (at least not to his face). He prefers fierce.
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THE PRINCE AND HIS BEDEVILED BODYGUARD
THE PRINCE AND HIS CAPTIVATING CARPENTER
THE KING AND HIS VIGILANT VALET
