• manga,  Uncategorized

    MANGA: Fake Fact Lips

    Fake Fact Lips – Suehiro Machi

    Ryou and Zen are two men who hate to loseโ€”especially to each other. From high school rivals to rival co-workers, these two men have always been locked in fierce competition. They’ve competed over grades, sports, and even the number of Valentine’s chocolates received! And now that they’re salesmen at the same company, their rivalry has reignited. One night, while out for drinks, the two begin arguing about who’s more experienced in love. Suddenly, their newest competition is set: the winner is whoever makes the other fall in love with them first! But will this competition of hearts really lead to a win or something far more complicated?

    Fake Fact Lips is a rivals-to-lovers romance that once again proves that one’s biggest rival is one’s greatest love.

    Ryou and Zen have been bitter rivals since high school. Their rivalry reignited when they found themselves working for the same company, and their competitive spirits were so fierce that they competed over everything, from sales records to who could finish a drink first.

    One drunken night, they were so hellbent on winning, they came up with a brilliant contest of who could make the other fall in love first. Needless to say, their game quickly became a little too hot, a little too real.

    Ryou and Zen became friends as their rivalry began. Zen’s drive to be on top came from an inferiority complex; Ryou felt pressure from his father to excel at everything. They bonded over dropping others’ expectations to focus on each other as worthy opponents.

    The manga brilliantly portrayed Zen’s endearing mix of vulnerability and cockiness, his indefatigable desire to win warring with his slowly growing need for it not to be a game. And Ryou’s cool confidence and sudden bursts of passion hint at something fierce and deep. Because we know, oh, we just know, he lost even before the game began.

    From the intensity of their rivalry, to the conflicting feelings, to all that delicious pining, and the glorious win, this is a rivals-to-lovers story heated to perfection!


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  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Green Ravens by A.E. Via

    Ravens: Green Ravens – A.E. Via

    They erased their memories, rewrote their names, and made them beasts. Now, the hunt for vengeance begins.

    Chief Aiken Oakley and Chief Styles Sawyerโ€”two of the US Navyโ€™s most elite Special Warfare Combatant-craft officersโ€”vanished after their mission was ambushed in South America and later presumed MIA.

    Captured by the Ravenโ€™s organization, a covert assassin program, Oakley and Sawyer are stripped of their past, their memories, and even their names.
    They are subjected to inhumane experimentation and injected with predator DNA that transform them into primal, lethal weaponsโ€ฆ and are now known only as Valor and Zorion.

    After breaking free from the programโ€™s control, Valor and Zorion train themselves to master the beasts within themโ€”pushing their minds, bodies, and instincts to the edge.

    But to take down the corrupt organization, theyโ€™ll need more than strength, fury and an appetite for revenge. They’ll have to form uneasy alliances with the two other deadly Raven unitsโ€”the strategic, silent Browns, and the ruthless, unpredictable Blacks.

    Together, these assassins must unite against the program that created them… and destroy it before it creates something worse.

    Black, Brown, and Green Ravensโ€ฆ The organization turned them into weapons, and now theyโ€™ve come back for war.


    Green Ravens is the second book of the spectacular sci-fi military series Ravens by A.E. Via. The Ravens are genetically enhanced super assassins created by a black ops military program.

    Each team is identified by color. The first Ravens were the Blacks, Ex, and Meridian, who have gone rogue. They teamed up with the Browns, Grace, and Mirage, who also broke free as soon as they realized the program director had his own nefarious agenda.

    The third team are the Greens, former Navy officers Chief Aiken Oakley and Chief Styles Sawyer. As Navy officers, they worked together on a mission that quickly went tits up, leaving the two to fend for their lives in the Amazon.

    They came upon the secret Ravens encampment, and what they thought was a rescue turned out to be a genetic experiment nightmare for both. Now reborn as Valor and Zorion, they have enhanced animal abilities from the spliced DNAs of the Amazon’s apex predators. They just have to bide their time and escape from the insidious grasp of the program director who wants to turn them into mindless killing machines.

    A.E. Via outdid herself with this latest installment! Fast-paced and tightly written with a masterful blend of swoon, action, and suspense, Valor and Zorion are your deadly alpha super soldiers and sweet, soulful yearning lovers.

    Valor, with the DNA of the jaguar, is dominant, territorial, and protective of Zorion. Zorion has the DNA of the hawk, the natural enemy of the jaguar. Instead of clashing, the bond between the two men remained unbreakable.

    Echoes of their mutual attraction in past lives resonate with the magnetic pull of the present, a connection that transcended trauma and amnesia. It’s so unspeakably romantic! And if that’s not squee-tastic enough, we have Valor and Zorion constantly cuddling for that hurt comfort magic!

    We have been teased by The Order in Black and Brown, a super-secret society of righteous assassins. Here, we see more of the inner workings of The Order, helping train the Greens, taking down the bad guys, and reworking the Ravens program. The high-octane action scenes were thrilling! I’d love to see them on screen. From Shaolin martial arts to high-tech weaponry, the Greens are on top of their game!

    I think the only things missing are detailed sensory descriptions of sight and smell. I wished the author leaned more towards the animal abilities and made Valor and Zorion just a little bit more feral. But giving them hawk and jaguar pets were cool.

    I loved the concept of the Cherished, which is what The Order members call the other half of their souls. This is essentially what the Ravens are to each other, and I loved how the author portrayed the trust, loyalty, and love between the couples. With Valor and Zorion, there is a certain vulnerability and coziness to their dynamics, a constant warmth and refreshing lack of antagonism that made them stand out among the Ravens.

    The secret society is a badass addition to the already fascinating world of the Ravens. The world-building is fantastic, providing enough details to create a complete picture without info-dumping. The appearances of the Blacks and Browns are cherries on top of an already richly concocted treat, and this series is now my top favorite from the author.

    Green Ravens is a story of defiance and vengeance, of remaking and undoing. Equal parts a tender romance and a gripping sci-fi military story, this novel delivers compelling characters, high-stakes action, and heartfelt relationships. Overall, immersive, emotional, and intense as a trek through the Amazon!

    Rating:
    4.5 Stars โ€“ perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Savage
    Artist: Vowless
    Album: Savage

    P.S.

    Ravens is best read in order.

    Ex Meridian – I’m sorry but Ex and Meridian had me gushing! Technically part of the Nothing Special series.

    Black and Brown – Grace and Mirage speaking volumes in their silence gave me life!


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    GREEN RAVENSAmazon UK | Audiobook

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  • song,  Uncategorized

    SOUNDTRACK: Savage by Vowless

    Soundtrack to Ravens: Green Ravens by A.E. Via

    Savage by Vowless for a book about defiance, vengeance, and two apex predators remaking the world for the better.

    Iโ€™m a savage in a civilized world
    Unashamed, uncontained, undeterred
    I donโ€™t fit the script
    Donโ€™t play their game
    My soul wasnโ€™t built to kneel and obey

    Iโ€™m a savage in a civilized world
    Let them bleed
    Let them beg to belong
    I donโ€™t bow, donโ€™t lie, donโ€™t perform

    Let them chase a flawless reign
    I was built to break the chain

  • quote,  Uncategorized

    They walk the lines
    I tear them open

    They move in perfect circles
    Polish mass and quiet lines
    I’ll undo their perfection
    Just to watch them vaporize

    They humble for acceptance
    Pay for names and cold applause
    I stay feral in the shadows
    Tearing holes through all their laws

    I don’t fit their little boxes
    Don’t respond to trained command
    There’s no ribbon on my spirit
    There’s no leash around these hands

    Every time they try to tame me
    I just turn more iron-willed
    I’m a fire they can’t smother
    I’m a voice they couldn’t still

    They march in rhythm chasing higher praise
    I run my own beat through the smoking blaze

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Unashamed, uncontained, undeterred
    I don’t fit the script
    Don’t play their game
    My soul wasn’t built to kneel and obey

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Let them bleed
    Let them beg to belong
    I don’t bow, don’t lie, don’t conform

    I’m a savage in a civilized world

    They lace their dreams in cages
    Call their caution something wise
    But I found truth in chaos
    Where the hunting spirit lies

    Their hands are tied in comfort
    Mine are hooked in my own grip
    They speak about the path I take
    The path I burned through it

    They need a world that likes ’em
    I just need a world of taste
    They need shelter from the storm
    I treat the storm like a kind of kiss

    Don’t invite me to your kingdom
    I’ll just rip apart the dome
    My religion is defiance
    My allegiance is my own

    They march in rhythm chasing higher praise
    I run my own beat through the smoking blaze

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Unashamed, uncontained, undeterred
    I don’t fit the script
    Don’t play their game
    My soul wasn’t built to kneel and obey

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Let them bleed
    Let them beg to belong
    I don’t bow, don’t lie, don’t perform

    I’m a savage in a civilized world

    Give me coffins
    Give me stones
    Give me crowns
    Give me thorns

    Let them chase a flawless reign
    I was built to break the chain

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Untamed, unafraid, uncontrolled
    I’ve done marks around (?)
    Don’t wear them on my paws
    This is why my blood runs bold

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Let them kneel to the norm they serve
    I don’t blend, don’t bend,
    Don’t perform under storm
    That we’re warned about since birth

    I’m a savage in a civilized world

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    Uncontained, unrestrained, undeterred
    Let them walk in line bowing to the norm
    I was built for the wild
    Not built to perform

    I’m a savage in a civilized world
    I don’t chase, don’t kill
    Don’t learn to conform
    I don’t blend, don’t beg
    Don’t deserve their cause (?)


    I’m a savage in a civilized world

    ***not the official lyrics, this is my own transcription, apologies for any misheard lyrics