Happy Birthday to Me
Don’t know that anyone else will say it so I will…I am going to have a great birthday today. I have so very much to be grateful for-I am alive, I have experienced great love, I have two girls, who despite being teenagers love AND like me, I have people spread far and wide who love me. And so I go into my birthday grateful and positive about whats to come.
[Top]Wisdom and a Laurell K Hamilton Quote
There is wisdom in this. We all have a choice in how we deal with bad things. We can rant and rail and drive ourselves crazy with all the bad in our lives, or we can accept that bad things happen and look at the positive. Be grateful that we have a chance to react and find a way to focus on that. That is my wisdom for the day… Be a victim of life or a survivor… I choose to survive and be grateful for what I have and can do… Rather than bitter about what I cant
Wisdom and a Laurell K Hamilton Quote was originally published on Best Book Lover Book Reviews
[Top]Netflix led me to compare … Gilmore Girls versus Good Witch
So, of late I have been watching a lot of netflix. I usually don’t because I’m reading or rereading something. And as a book addict, well I sort of agree with all book nerds that the best things lie between the covers, movies never live up to the original form and TV is a form of the deliberate dumbing down of America. So when I found myself sick and reading was too much effort-I started watching netflix shows (on my 13 year olds netflix account). Once I got past the shock of some of the shows I didn’t know she was watching, I started looking at shows for me. And I found myself watching “Good Witch” from the Hallmark Channel. It’s a plucky story of a widowed mom who lives in a quirky town with her 15 year old daughter and her two older stepchildren who are out of the house. Catherine Bell is a witch in this small town who decides to open her home as a Bed and Breakfast. As I watched episode after episode of this show I realized it’s a sanitized version of the Gilmore Girls. Instead of sarcastic wit and insane townspeople, we have magic feelings and sappy story lines. No one is having sex, but we have a lot of townspeople working together to bring bizarre festivals to life. And I realized that this dichotomy is one we are facing in everything today. Instead of sarcastic banter we have vitriol. Instead of challenging plot lines we have super heroes. And instead of leaving each episode of a favorite TV show feeling a little bit guilty for enjoying all the pop culture banter and the snarky commentary of Lorelai and Rory–we have this empty feeling as though that’s an hour we will never get back…
[Top]What’s the deal with Amy Lane?
As most of you know by now, I’m kind of a big fan of Amy Lane, in general, and as an author. I stumbled upon Vulnerable back when it was first published, and I have been watching, waiting and cheering each time a book came out and we got to join Cory on her journey through an alternate world where all the rules are good ones…
The new Amy Lane website http://www.greenshill.com/
https://t.co/DO9FBBMSxL Forgiveness and unconditional love are the most human of enchantments @AmyMacLane #GreensHill
Shiloh Walker’s Pieces of Me
Book Review of Shiloh Walker’s Pieces of Me
I am a huge fan of Shiloh Walker. I have been for a very long time, so when I
heard about Pieces of Me I got excited.
I love all of Shiloh’s series and had read a good number of her other
works. The great thing about Shiloh’s
work is that even within the same genre each story is unique. Shiloh is able to really encapsulate the
feelings of her characters and this book did not disappoint. If you like romantic suspense novels, this is
definitely a great read. This book has
graphic sex and violence against women.
While the heroine does a great job being a survivor, it could be
upsetting to those who have experienced abuse.
You have the main
heroine, Shadow Grace-A woman who has been broken so completely she doesn’t
know how to survive. She struggles to
make a life for herself while recovering from a traumatic experience that makes
Russian prison camps look nice. Yet, as
broken as she may be, she clings to her art and has the talent to bring beauty
into an unforgiving world. Shadow isn’t fully
healed but every day she is getting stronger and she dares to reach by starting
to fantasize about a guy she sees on the beach regularly. Shadow barely dares to dream about a man, but
for some reason, this one-well he sticks in her brain. And he doesn’t come out easy, even when
fantasy starts to merge with reality and they meet.
The hero of our story seems perfect in so many ways. Strong, supportive and a little bit dark with
a body that doesn’t quit, Jenks seems like the perfect man. As they start to build something together, he
doesn’t fall apart when Shadow starts the revelation process, in fact he seems
to stick a little harder. But he has a
secret and once it is revealed-well things are not quite as simple as they
first seem.
Of course, the past comes back to haunt Shadow and not only
Jenks but some of the other friends she has made find themselves in
danger. While Shadow know just how sick
and depraved people can be, others doubt that it could have really been that
bad. When the past swallows all of them
whole, only a few will have the chance to survive. And after that—life will never be the same.
Shadow manages to rebuild herself and truly become strong,
facing not only her past but her present and deciding that she deserves more
than what Jenks can give. But when her
past still threatens her, she finds that safety can be found in a strong
partner and Shadow has to decide whether to stand on her own or chance being
hurt again.
July 25, 2017
Obsession can be deadly... Nobody knows that better than Shadow Harper. It seemed like a dream come true when a rich, suave older man noticed her during her second year of college. Stefan Stockman seemed to love her obsessively. He came into her life and swept her off her feet, seduced her, married her...and then slowly, eventually, that dream come true became a living nightmare. Now, three years after she finally escaped him, she's trying to put her life back together. Haunted by memories, struggling with post-traumatic stress, she spends most of her time locked away in her home on Pawley's Island, a small town on the South Carolina coast. Her rare moments of joy come from her trips to the nearby beach. She compulsively checks the locks on her doors, makes sure she has her cell phones--five of them--and if she misses something on her schedule, it throws her into a panic. When she accidentally leaves a sketchbook on the beach, an anxiety attack seems imminent. Her art has become her salvation, her sanity, and losing even one sketch is like losing a piece of her soul. When she returns to hunt for the sketchbook, already fearing it's gone for good, she's surprised to find it still sitting there, saved by a sexy fellow beach lover--the mysterious Dillian Jenkins. He's brash, bold, brutally handsome...and gentle. He's the exact opposite of the man who'd tormented her for years, and Shadow finds herself slowly, almost reluctantly, falling for him. Even obsessing over him. When her ex-husband once again intrudes on the happiness she's finally discovering, Shadow turns to Dillian. But will she find shelter there...or another betrayal?
Curse the Dawn ch24-25
Time to cry over CtD some more! It’s funny this is one of those books I don’t reread all that much (unlike htm which I can nearly recite by heart) so I’ve forgotten how really really good it is. I’m just enjoying it so much:
-chapter 24 – where do I start with this one? Rosier siccing the rakshasas on his kid and then wondering why he’s a great father, ummmm, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?? Pritkin, once again trying to sacrifice himself for Cassie, that boy has a complex (side note: I love how KC follows through on things – she makes it very clear that Pritkin has something of a saviour complex, where Cassie is concerned anyway and it ultimately gets him killed. His sacrifice in HtM was actually super predictable and we really ought to have seen something like it coming. I mean, “It was the only reasonable course of action,” FOR REAL, who says that after almost getting themselves killed??). Plus, we have sudden, out of nowhere Casskin making out, which is essentially what I live for. Like most of the body swap stuff it’s simultaneously weird and sexy. Cassie is essentially getting to see the effect she normally has on Pritkin, and well, it’s hot. The ley line car chase is KC’s usual brand of breakneck pace, humour and adrenaline. I love how even Pritkin is freaked out by the whole thing.
– chapter 25 – I’m gonna have a stroke, there’s so much going on here. Marsden’s dog trying to attack Mircea. Mircea hugging Pritkin-in-Cassie’s-body. Cassie-in-Pritkin’s-body accidentally swearing at Mircea and pissing him off. Mircea pulling Pritkin-in-Cassie’s-body out of the room, presumably for some relieved reunion cuddles and from the sounds of things, gets slapped or kneed in the nuts or sth. Marlowe, dressed up and ready to party, wandering around offering everyone booze. Cassie talking shit in front of everyone: “What? You like wearing a bra?” Serious note – hasn’t Saunders turned up early? Cassie’s been saying all day that her meeting with Saunders is ‘tomorrow’ but this is still today right?? I’m confused. Less serious note – Marlowe trying to provoke Pritkin is one of the many many joys in these books, they should wrestle it out again. There could be some kind of oil involved … Uh, moving on. “Renegotiate this!” Epically silly line, 10/10, would put in trailer for movie adaptation which is sadly never gonna happen. Mircea kissing Cassie-in-Pritkin’s-body – either he’s very relieved that Cassie’s okay or he’s always secretly wanted to make out with Pritkin a little bit. I mean, who hasn’t?
So, Fist I have to say thank you to @windsurfingthroughhell for posting these awesome summaries on the reread. I suck at writing summaries. I discovered this when I tried to do a timeline for the Anita Blake series cause I kept getting confused. The software i used https://www.tiki-toki.com/ is amazingly awesome, But the free account only allows a certain number of entries. And by the time I got to the 4 or 5 Anita Blake books, I had hit the max. Which was totally insane. And those of you who saw my attempts for the Cassandra Palmer series, know I get lost in all the stuff.
I am hoping someone will make a Cassandra Palmer timeline for us all to share at https://www.tiki-toki.com/ since I already used my freebie, and that thing took weeks of work, so I don’t care if its incomplete, I ain’t deleting it.
SO, my original point is that I keep responding to these posts, cause it keeps me from dancing merrily along to my tangential brains music…So, I am not arguing points or tearing anyone down, OK? Just adding my two cents, and if I get a little vehement, it’s only because all of these characters mean something to me, even FRED for god’s sake…
From the beginning, Rossier confuses the shit out of me. So, the fact that Rossier, who hates Artemis and Cassie with a vehemence, is the vehicle through which Apollo is taken down is just Fucking Priceless. I think the fact that Rossier has antipathy towards Cassie and always jumps to “let’s kill her” is odd. I mean, theoretically he has been waiting all these years for SOMEONE to break through Pritkin’s self hatred and walls. But from the moment Cassie shows up, well its weird. It keeps getting weirder.
These chapters are my favorite part. We see so much stuff. It hard to even begin listing it or really digest it. I love Cassie, and its hysterical to see the vampires out of their element, the mages out of theirs and god so much more. I mean, theoretically they are all supposed to be working together but no one knows anyone else’s plan, they don’t even know who is who!
And seeing Kit Marlowe, spy extraordinaire still fucking lost-it just makes me giggle. I mean they are fighting gods, with Cleopatra and Jack the Ripper and all Marlowe can do is hand out drinks. He’s the stewardess on this flight to Ragnorak…And he keeps hitting his goddamned head, which is so fucking unfair. And he knows something is up with Pritkin, cause he isn’t responding right, but in his defense who’s first thought would be “That must be the pythia’s soul in the war mages body because of a chaos loving buddhist type god”? (Since we are on a reread, I will also say that I love it when Cassie and Mircea end up arguing in Marlowe’s office later, and he’s all “there is a god and he loves me”) As a second aside, does anyone else want to know how Marlowe’s ties to the witches just up and disappeared?
And then you add in the triple D’s and Apollo and running up how many goddamned floors with Prtikin in a dress?
And yeah I REALLY want Karen to write the Pritkin Pov of what happens in that bedroom between Cassie’s body, Pritkin’s Soul, and Mircea! Damnit, maybe there will be another event or opportunity to bring that up at some point when Karen has contracts for more books, and is looking for an idea…Sigh, who am I kidding? I don’t have the money to buy a swag bag, let alone…oh well, I digress
And when Mircea kisses Cassie in Pritkin, just WOW. I mean I know sexuality is probably mutable but still, to love someone’s soul so much that it transcends the physical…sigh again!
Anyways, I could go on forever, but who wants to read that? SO, thank you for giving me talking points and tell me where I’m wrong. I keep trying to do reread posts, but I read too fast and even though I am rereading the same stuff, each time i get a little bit different stuff.
Fiction
Penguin UK
April 2, 2009
400
Cassie Palmer, the world's chief clairvoyant, just can't seem to stay away from trouble. After trying to come to an agreement with the Silver Circle - the magical organisation that's been trying to kill her for years - she finds herself kidnapped by one of its members and swept away in the ley line system, a series of magical currents that occupies the space between worlds. Cassie manages to escape but, fearing for her safety, she decides to invest in a magical device for protection. However, all she can afford is a statue that grants wishes ...But what Cassie doesn't realize is that the statue doesn't always grant wishes the way the wisher would like. And when she wishes for the strength to shift herself and companion Pritkin away from a dangerous fight, the statue grants the wish by switching her into Pritkin's body and him into hers. And that's when the real trouble starts ...