-
Soundtrack to Sovereign: The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey -
“YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN MAGIC, THEN?”
“OF COURSE,”, SHE SAID, “BUT JUST BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ONE KIND OF MAGIC, IT DOESN’T MEAN I HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THEM ALL.” -
-
MANGA: Ani No Chuukoku
Ani No Chuukoku – Asada Nemui
Tsuzuki hasn’t seen his older brother, his only blood relative, in about ten years. Living this family-free lifestyle, he falls in with some bad acquaintances. But in these circumstances, his older brother Hajime suddenly shows up?! From a new and brilliant artist with the passionate support of Canna’s army of authors, a mind-blowing debut work! 1. Ani no Chuukoku (Admonition from an Elder Brother) From Blissful Sin 10 years has passed since his one and only brother has gone missing. Tsuzuki’s lived a carefree life with his bad friends. However, one day his brother, Hajime appears in front of him and…?! 2. The Swerve 3. Kemushi (Hairy Caterpillar) 4. Life in the Park 5. Nami no Oto ga Kikoeru (The Sound of the Waves) 6. Ani no Kokuhaku (An Elder Brother’s Confession)
Ani no Chuukoku + Ani no Kokuhaku: Hands down the most awkward scenes involving brothers
The Swerve: Fun story involving a bungling yakuza and a jobless man
Kemushi: Weirdass shit about true love
Life in the Park: Bureaucrat tries to deal with homeless people but gets punched in the face. Gets to know the guy who punched him and did his job. That’s it really, dunno if this is even BL.
Nami no Oto ga Kikoeru: He’s right in front of you, sensei!
(source: http://www.mangago.me)
-
He felt it too, the air between us, the invisible lines that something or someone had drawn to connect us. That’s the way I remember it. – Sara Zarr
-
-
[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A5fgb3Md1xjt3mxeBqguiIA&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Between The Lines by Sally Malcolm
-
Between The Lines – Sally Malcolm
Theo Wishart has given up on finding love.
Luca Moretti doesn’t want to find it.
A handful of summer days may change their lives forever—if they’re brave enough to look between the lines.
Eyes might be windows to the soul, but for Theo Wishart they’re all shuttered. His dyspraxia makes it hard to read people. He doesn’t do relationships and he certainly doesn’t do the great outdoors. Two weeks spent “embracing beach life” while he tries to close the deal on a once great, now fading seaside hotel is a special kind of hell.
Until Luca. Gorgeous, unreachable Luca.
Luca Moretti travels light, avoiding all romantic entanglements. Estranged from his parents, he vows this will be his last trip home to New Milton. His family’s hotel is on the verge of ruin and there’s nothing Luca can do to save it. He’s given up on the Majestic, he’s given up on his family and he’s given up on his future.
Until Theo. Prickly, captivating Theo.
No mushy feelings, no expectations, and no drama—that’s the deal. A simple summer fling. And it suits them both just fine. But as the summer wanes and their feelings deepen, it’s clear to everyone around them that Theo and Luca are falling in love. What will it take for them to admit it to themselves—and to each other?
Oh Theo, you poor cinnamon roll! Lemme give you a hug（⊃≧ω≦(´ω｀*⊂)
Damn you Luca! For making him go through all that. You should have been the one begging!
There were moments where I almost didn’t like Luca. Moments when he was being so damn stubborn. It was Don, of all people, who made him open his eyes. He was suitably contrite and more importantly, took that big leap forward so I forgave him. Though, I still think he needs to make up to Theo big time.
Theo, at first glance was a privileged snobby rich man’s son out to make profit but right off the bat, I had an inkling he’s going to be the cute one. Turns out, he was a hopeless romantic who cries at weddings. Aaaw…
Luca was the golden boy who can do everything but doesn’t want to be tied to anything. I kind of felt like the balance of the relationship was tipped in his favor. Like there was slightly more take than give. In fairness to him, he tried to understand Theo’s dyspraxia and I am convinced he does love him but he was also a coward who made Theo go through painful scenes so you better give him his dream wedding, mister!
Between The Lines is set in New Milton, a small seaside town which is slightly on the decrepit side and needed that economic boost Lux Properties was offering. This is one of the three novels set in New Milton. Perfect Day is a prequel of sorts and the couple there, Finn and Josh had their big wedding scene here. However, Between The Lines could be read as a standalone and I had no problems dealing with the references from the first novel even though I have not read it yet.
I was swept away by this summery little tale. Sally Malcolm created a delightful story with an equally beautiful setting. Granted there were some predictable elements, the overall delivery was still engaging and enjoyable. As the cover suggests, this is a good book to read while getting toasted on the beach.
P.S.
I received a copy of Between The Lines from Carina Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: I Would Do Anything for You
Artist: Foster the People
Album: Torches(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40794540-between-the-lines)
-
Gozen Yoji, Sasayaku You Ni – Minazuki Akira
One day, Souichirou met a mysterious guy at bar he frequents. The first thing that guy told him was, “You look like you’re about to die”. Souichirou, however, did not find that the least bit amusing and brushed it off easily. Until his first encounter with danger and then everything started to spiral out of control…
Gozen Yoji, Sasayaku You Ni: Kind of breaks the heart a little bit but then
When you wake up, won’t you give me a kiss?
Shogahamu Mushi mo Sukisuki +Tsumamigui no Iiwake: For once, I wished he was a ghost. Or that the kid was really a zashikiwarashi. This has so much potential!
(source: https://mangakakalot.com)
-
Midnight Angel – Kevin Klehr
Dinner is overcooked. The guests haven’t arrived. And Luke is sitting alone at his dining table on New Year’s Eve. He was hoping to romance Nathan, one of the people he invited for this intimate evening meal.
As midnight draws closer, it seems an angel, who has magically appeared in Luke’s apartment, is the only person to drink champagne and watch the fireworks with.
But this angel has other ideas. He’s about to grant Luke the New Year’s Eve party he thought he wanted.
Midnight Angel is your typical heartwarming holiday story that’s sure to give you feels. However, I felt it was a tad too cheesy at times. Some of the lines and dialogue didn’t feel natural and I couldn’t imagine anybody saying them out loud with a straight face.
One of the best parts of the story is the friendship between Luke and Tim. When they laid it all out and decided that they might be able to make it work, I felt like they would still be friends even if it didn’t. For me, this kind of relationship is more important than a forced romance. I wanted to see more of Tim’s interaction with Luke prior to the party. We are told rather than shown his awkwardness when talking to Luke and I thought it would have been adorable to witness.
The main theme was love vs infatuation and Guy, the angel, tried to steer Luke in the right direction because it was pretty obvious to everyone that Mr. Right was right in front of him but he stubbornly refused to see.
In the end, Luke was able to open his eyes to what the future might bring. They didn’t call it love, at least not yet. I liked that they took time to nurture the relationship and let it grow. As the months go by, Luke was able to finally find the strength to say the words and the story ended in the best possible way.
P.S.
I received a copy of Midnight Angel from Nine Star Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
Soundtrack: Searching for Mr. Right
Artist: Young Marble Giants
Album: Colossal Youth(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42836188-midnight-angel)
