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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A06GXqAxFwNFGtv7oMUfgUy&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Hexworld: Hexmaker by Jordan L. Hawk
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Good Day – Woof – for Lunch! – Itsuki Makoto
Tomuro Shigeru is a loner. Because his teeth look like a tiger’s, everyone calls him disgusting like an animal… so he’s learned to keep his mouth shut. One day, he decides to eat lunch outside – since he doesn’t have anyone to hang with anyway – and he meets a weird dog and his cheerful owner.
Cute boys + doggos
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTNIy9GuW5U?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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The Firebird’s Tale – Anya Ow
The Firebird’s Tale begins with the end of a familiar story: a Prince who never smiled, and by Imperial decree, has to marry the one who managed to make him do so.
Except that it was all an accident, and the Prince would say he didn’t actually smile at the thief who dared to rob a Tsar, and the thief was not even a woman—or, as it turns out, even human.
I love faery tales and MM so the combination of the two is a delight. This is the second firebird retelling I had come across with. It’s a story about the prince who was forced to marry the first person who made him smile. In addition, there are tales of different Russian magical creatures scattered throughout the story courtesy of the thief which is good but could have been better had it not been all over the place or dropped at inconvenient times. I would like some tweaks to the writing style, chief of which is the author’s tendency to namedrop magical creatures, people and places like the reader is suppose to know them already. Some explanation would have been appreciated. Like, what the hell are leshys suppose to be? What’s a vucari? What does their land look like? What are these dukes? A little depth to the characterization would also be nice.
The highlights for me are the moments between the prince and the thief that were playful and sweet. And then there were the harsh commentary on human nature by the thief in connection with the tales that were a bit jarring sometimes. I liked it though because it was from the perspective of someone not human.
Sadly, tried as I could, I couldn’t finish this story. The good parts were not enough to overcome the needs-improvement parts and reading has become a pain. An edited, more focused version of this would be appreciated.
Rating:
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn bookSoundtrack: Bird of Prey
Artist: Editors
Album: The Weight of Your Love(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31923190-the-firebird-s-tale)
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A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.
Herman Melville -
[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A3K3V35UXSezmcFWQ6NHc9M&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to The Firebird’s Tale by Anya Ow
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The Shop of Magician Sylvan – Ike Reibun
A slave boy is saved by a Magician. Tim, the slave has begun to fall in love with this amazing Magician.
Majorly cheesy stuff.
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm5FF-S64I?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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500 Kisses to Steal a Heart – Anyta Sunday
“… Five hundred kisses are all it takes to steal a heart.”
Chris Montgomery doesn’t believe it, and he’d know. He’s met— and had— many a man. None of whom he’d want to share five hundred kisses with. If you don’t like someone, you just don’t like them. End of story.
No amount of kissing will change that.
Dylan Halsworth doesn’t believe it either. But Chris and his arrogant, “always right, dare I be wrong” attitude has Dylan challenging him to try it. And who knows, maybe watching his most-loathed neighbor suffer through five hundred kisses with the same man is worth it? He’d sit back, crack open a Mountain Dew, and have a good laugh…
But… shit… there is one slight snag in his plan.
Chris has chosen Dylan with whom to prove his point…
An enjoyable friends-to-lovers/enemies-to-lovers (it’s a bit of both) story involving a stupid bet and major misunderstandings. I liked this better than the last friends-to-lovers contemporary I read. There’s slow build up but it never drags. It’s short but not rushed. I’m not an outdoors person but I could imagine how fun the whole Camp Halsworth experience must be. I don’t blame them for getting carried away.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Kiss Me Deadly
Artist: Generation X
Album: Generation X(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22442348-500-kisses-to-steal-a-heart)
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A fresh start can be as alluring as a good memory.
Jessica Hawkins
