C O M B I N E D W R A P U P M A R C H / A P R I L R E A D I N G Hello reader friends. I hope you've transitioned into the new year (or rather into the Spring season) with a bounce in your step and fortune as large as the sun. Mother nature turns her moods on a whim where I'm located but we’re finally bare to that which we’re usually unexposed to in my lay of the land: the sun. This is definitely a January-tailored message, I digress, but because my chronic health woes are immune to not even one season - including this flowery time of year - my January/February Wrap Up was pushed back and published a little later than expected. An organised agenda is a privilege for the non-sick so constructive gains are fewer and farer in between. In addition to that, I didn't manage to equip my opening Wrap Up for the year with a sum-up that usually precedes my reads for the past two months (since I fashion Wrap Ups every two months). But that's the very reason why I wrote this piece in advance, hoping to have something to share. Past me will be aglow with pride, hopefully! In any case, I hope my allergy-suffering friends are managing to find some joy in the shift, even as your immune systems run riot with all manner of pesky symptoms. Let me begin by sharing a mini-anecdote: I was hoodwinked. I was walloped with a colossal lie by none other than one of my favourite romance authors, a lie that would seem nothing short of trivial to the wider non-reading community but would be a true sting to the pro-smut romance reading readership should my horror have put on shoes and travelled for the day. I was matter-of-factly told, through this author’s newsletter, that she had made the decision to switch from sinful romance to clean Christian romance in an effort to align with a shift via self-reflection. I’m a strong proponent for personal choice, personal shifts and personal freedoms, but with every sentence I read about fictional sanctity, my stomach bottomed out with the understanding that her overhauled writing aims meant only one thing for me: doom. Utter doom. This writer writes incredible MMFM reverse harem-polygamous romances and not only did she announce this new wholesome change, she professed that all prior books would be cleansed of all traces of impropriety. Cue another round of doom at the ensuing vision of a sanitary Cole romance. But here's the thing, I was so stunned that I bypassed every little red herring that spoke to her April Fool ruse. I have a strong intuition, but my inability to filter through easy lies makes me easy to lie to. Had this author caught the look on my face at this epic myth I'm sure she'd have rejoiced with a megawatt smile but as it is, well played Cassie Cole. I may, however, never trust you again but this lie was the happiest thing to be a lie in recent memory! I shall not take this for granted. On a bookish note, I'm waiting with eagle-eyes for a promised copy of Isabel Jolie's new release Crushed!. To say I'm excited belies how more-than-excited I am. After a quick email exchange with the author herself as she generously decided to gift me a copy, I was abuzz over being a soon-to-be owner and a keeper of my first Isabel Jolie paperback. This exchange took place in February, and while I know it takes time for overseas book mail to reach its recipient, I'm slowly losing hope that Crushed will reach me (at all). Because I do, in fact, hoard the fortune of the damned, If you're reading this, please send up some prayer that Crushed reaches its new home safe and sound. Funnily enough, this is actually the second book I haven't received from her - the first being another gifted e-book copy some time ago now. I'm starting to believe that this is beginning to found an unfortunate pattern between our reader/writer distanced dalliance. Again, I plead you to send up some chant or solicitation to whoever you believe in, if only to break the cycle. On a more sober - but positive - note, heavy hearts are lining the country, they're lining the world for a terror that's nothing short of destructive. But it's during these times that communities come together to make noise and muster support. One such community has come to present Nightingale: An Anthology for Ukraine. As I know it Skye Warren, along with a cohort of best-selling romance novelists, came together very recently to contribute to this charity anthology. 100% of proceeds will be donated to Ukraine aid and relief support. I've bought my copy (which arrived in early April and weighs a hefty tonne) so be sure to buy your copies and know that you'll have hand in the sea of support for a terrible crisis. Amazingly 'Nightingale' has become an Amazon bestseller and has reaped a fantastic level of support from readers everywhere. I've also listed a few more charity anthologies below so you can take your pick and decide on which selection might be the best fit for you!! P.S. some of the following anthologies are time-sensitive so they may not be available for purchase for long! A note about Nightingale: While all stories within this compilation are said to be original, very few are full-length story features that stand alone. Most of the compiled stories are either extracts, short stories or openers so this is something to bear in mind if you were hoping to invest in a complete, standalone set of stories. BOOKISH PIC: My Copy of Nightingale Let's talk movies... We all circle, support and engage through the anatomy of this community because we love to read. We love reading. But I also have a fantastically desperate love for film. Both mediums are all about the human call to tell a story, share a story and receive a story. A full confession here though: I loved and collected movies before I ever touched or purchased my first book. I struggled with absorbing and understanding knowledge on a page during my formative years, tangential perhaps to the fact that I struggled with traditional education across the board. I still do, and as turtle-friendly as my reading pace is, I'm glad I found a passion for books later in life. For the sake of topical diversity, I decided that for all I discuss books, It wouldn't be a hassle to talk a bit about another media-type relish: movies! But more specifically, recent movies I've watched. So let's begin! (You can skip past and head straight to my March and April round up if you want the bookish stuff!). ➜ While I was dramatically insentient by way of a virus my sister graciously passed on to me, I watched The Meg starring Jason Statham and Li Bingbing; it was an aquatic action adventure and an underwater mission involving the overthrow of deep-sea predator. There's also a mild romantic thread. Humanity always pits themselves against every other lifeform while we forget that we're nature itself as much as we're a part of it. So to me, the theme spoke more about creature wars and species dominance as opposed to man vs. nature. Definitely a nice watch though. And as long as Jason Statham is involved? So am I. ➜ I also watched The Rhythm Section starring Blake Lively and Jude law. It was an interesting action/vengeance movie and seeing Blake Lively in a demoralised, completely-low-on-life role but was both novel and refreshing. Her family's dying in an airplane crash begins a road to self-destruction. Lively's character really struggles with the bereavement of her family, and even as she wants to claim some sort of vengeance, she's far from an expert in the darker world of espionage and complex crime. Perhaps what makes this one most interesting is its delivery of a heroine who doesn't have a sharp, silken transformation. She's framed as a woman simply just doesn't have it all together, At all. Even with the learned skills taught to her by a retired agent, her character still looks and feels as inept as her grief make her. This isn't a gird your loins sort of watch but an interesting take on revenge and redemption. ➜ Next Up: The Holy Man starring Eddie Murphy, Kelly Preston and Jeff Goldblum. Not a new movie by any means and I've seen this one numerous times before, and as we know, the spiritual path intersects the commercialised path when a white collared man meets a divine man, and how the crossroads then engage. My mum's a big fan of the spirited Jeff Goldblum, and honestly? I'm just as charmed by his undying energy (even if this isn't a strong watch in terms of provoking a compelling reaction). The theme of romance and self-realisation runs through this one, especially for Jeff Goldblum's character, whose life is the utter opposite to a man he (along with Kelly Preston's character) meets in the middle of the road. While this is a short pilgrimage for a pious man, it also turns into a bit of a pilgrimage for a television executive. And how can they not when a holy man has such a powerful sway on all who who meet him? This one's not a favourite of mine, but a bit of a nostalgic watch. ➜ I also watched The Longest Ride, originally written by Nicholas Sparks. It's a slow-going love story within a love story and it's definitely one for romance enthusiasts. Strangely enough I love reading romance even though it's a genre I don't particularly enjoy watching on a screen. I love the echo a romance through a novel (perhaps because I can share a personal intimacy with it), but films are my channel to action, thrill, suspense and adventure. Despite that, I think this Western romantic drama was beautiful in its own charming way. It toys with the common obstacle of whether two people with completely different lives and avenues for the future can share a life together. Us romance reading folk are familiar with the concept. Perhaps its fallback was that a greater interest can be garnered by the other love story within that really captures a touching sentiment of love. But that Britt Robertson's character was just as taken by this rescued curmudgeonly elder man who had a story to share in shards and pieces, is a sign that perhaps we were right to do so too! ➜ The Cobbler is next. I love Adam Sandler movies - they have heart in them and a message as much as Sandler's style of humour. It was an interesting story about a miserable displaced shoemaker who discovers a bit of magic in his own humble establishment. It makes a metaphor out the 'if you were in my shoes' saying, and Sandler's character does indeed become all whose shoes he endeavours to fix. There's a lesson to learn and there's some trouble to come from taking advantage of those he wishes and wants to be. It's not one of my favourite films of his, perhaps because I'm so used to the bigger, bizarrer humour I've seen from him in advance, but it didn't quite hit the mark of screenplay success for me. But its homely end - which can be seen coming - makes one feel better in knowing that Sandler's character will never be alone. ➜ Another TV debut was The wedding Guest starring Dev Patel and Radhika Apte. It's a British-American action mystery set in India and Pakistan about a kidnapped to-be bride. The mysterious (though deftly and expertly proficient) captor and and his hostage are in an 'on the run' situation. It made for some languidly interesting - if not surprising - watching that touches on the fate of many a South Asian woman fated to the culture of arranged marriage. Of course, there's a slow-build sense of closeness that develops between the two leads despite the suspicion of whether - or rather when - Radhika Apte's character may very well take her leave from the situation. ➜ Then there's The Secret Window - we all know it and we've all watched it. Starring Johnny Depp it's a 2004 production and brilliantly misdirected psychological thriller about a successful crime writer in the aftermath of a split with his partner. I won't delve further for the sake of discretion because, despite its being around for just less than two decades, I'll refrain from indulging the culture of spoilerism for those who aren't in the know. Its psychological core makes for a great depiction and it has that 'through the looking glass' finish as Depp's character struggles between a moral conflict, a personal one, a professional one, and perhaps most thrillingly, a psychological one. ➜ Like a Boss starring Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek. It's a best friends rom-com about a female friendship duo that built an independent beauty business from the ground up. Both friends though have very different styles and methods of running the ins and outs of the business and that's where the conflict initially exposes the cracks in their relationship. I have to say, despite really looking forward to this feature feel-good film with a majestic cast, the result wasn't as enthusiastic as I thought it would be. I think I hoped too much for a similar outcome to Girl's Trip - which was a real laugh-out-loud joy to watch, while also keeping central to the theme of female friendships. Not one of my favourites from Tiffany Haddish though I did enjoy the commentary on friendship loyalty. ➜ Unfaithful - A 2002 production starring Diane Lane, Richard Gere and Olivier Martinez. The first thing I have to say about this film is that the cast have some truly brilliant acting. To sum up, a married suburban woman takes temptation for a ride and turns to adultery to bridge a gap in what she feels to be missing in her marriage. There's a strong sense of sexual awakening and a sexual presence which surfaces the lure and the seduction, but on the flip side, there's the damage and the heartbreak and the heartache that follow her husband's discovery of her infidelity. The consequences are very telling and the fallout results in an unfortunate death that lead's back to a wife's deceit and her choices. It really opens up on the concept of a cautionary tale. It's empathetic, upsetting and really quite honest. Even without dialogue, the scenes have a very convincing and expertly angled quality. ➜ The Impossible - A flood of excellent acting makes this a piece of film to remember. I'm speechless. The Impossible makes for powerful, moving watching and I couldn't look away; it was so painful, so intimate and so poignant. About ten minutes into the film, I was already in tears and and my eyes were rarely dry throughout. The devastation and the potent human angle made the devastation feel like such a personal experience. This was a true disaster movie, but more than that, its delivery of its utter humanness was sublime. What gives this story another stroke of depth is the naming of its given title, because in a horrific situation where a family was literally ripped apart from each by the force of a tsunami, it should have been impossible for all of them to survive, especially when many families did not surface with the same fortune. But unbelievably, they did, and they found each other. Its authentic grounding of its telling, based on a true story as it is, makes one really reflect and engage in feelings of hope, desperation, destruction, terror and the brittle frailty of life, death, survival and family. It was a piece of art and a piece of desperate truth. IMBD's trivia section reveals that the ten minute scene when the tsunamic actually hits the resort took a whole year to piece together - a whole year - and I have to add that its impact was to a whole effect. Recommendations all around to watch this! I actually watched more films but I want to wrap this up without too much excess (*eyes entire prelude and refuses to admit that I may have already exceeded excess*). The fact that I tend to watch more films within a two-month period than I manage to read is not lost on me. It's also not a joy to remember for all I want to increase my reading volume but I'm in the process of accepting and respecting my chronically ill pace. And remembering what a friend recently told me: do whatever you can and call it a success! I hope it's something to take with you too reader friends, but before this becomes a tedious screed, I'll head to close and finish with my final reads for March and April! ... 1) Shadowboxer by Cari Quinn - Rating ★ ★ ★ 2.5/3
An unexpected competitor comes knocking for Tray "Fox" Knox in this Brooklyn-set barbed romance. Interest made money, interest garnered attention and that's exactly what the women’s fighting faction doesn't have. Mia needs Tray, needs his loss to win, needs his failure to thrive. She's paid for a life with her body and her blood, her sweat and her soul, and though she's all fists, teeth, fire and pain, it becomes harder to keep her mind in the fight, on the future, in the cage and out of the gutter with a man who's all endurance in every way Content Warning: Violence. Blood. Abuse. Poverty. Mentions domestic abuse, sexual abuse, past rape and kidnapping, past parent death. Misogyny/misogynistic attitudes. The narrative sometimes recalls Mia's trauma by way of flashbacks. Frequently describes injuries. Panic attacks and PTSD. You can find my full review of 'Shadowboxer' here! - 2.5/3 S T A R S to Shadowboxer 2) Let's Ger Textual by Teagan Hunter - Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ 4
Life's most brilliant adventures are half (or wholly in my case) had on page but some of life's best conversational interplays are best had hidden behind fast fingers, phone screens and kept alive by the simplest desire to fire back with swift wit, comical snubs and wonderful one-liners that keep two people delighted to come back to the other. An inventive easy-on-the-eyes shameless developer hero and a homebody heroine with and bold and barefaced personage have such a deliciously madcap utterly complementary-to-each-other courtship in Let's Get Textual. You can find my full review of 'Let's Get Textual' here! - 4 S T A R S to Let's Get Textual 3) Accidental Romeo by Nicole Snow - Rating ★ ★ 2
Content Warning: swearing, consumption of live gold fish (yes, I did just write that). Past house fire and connected deaths. Death of a brother. Mentions a gambling addiction. Some violence. Neglect of a cat. A past extramarital affair. Profanity and bedroom scenes. Adoption. You can find my full Goodreads review of 'Accidental Romeo' here! - 2 S T A R S to Accidental Romeo 4) Think Outside the Boss by Olivia Hayle - Rating ★ ★ ★ 3.5
I can easily call the first book in Olivia Hayle's New York Billionaires series one that celebrates the flavour of modern, contemporised romance. I tried for the pull, the spark and the draw, and while I absolutely still recommend this to all who adore contemporary courtships, it didn't manage to have that influential hallmark that commands my attention. Think Outside the Boss becomes a hardship where perhaps all one can think about is the boss, and a fated 'we meet again' scenario turns a masquerade into a slice of life with no masks, no glamour, no walls and is nothing short of a wholemeal tryst. Content Warning: since the Gilded Room is a steamy setting, there are some adult performances, public nudity and voyeurism within the place itself. A few bed bedroom scenes. Mentions a past death and deals with parenthood. Some profanity dotted throughout. You can find my full Goodreads review of 'Think Outside the Boss' here! - 3.5 S T A R S to Think Outside the Boss 5) The Hit by Julie Weaver - Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.5
Held in the humble abode of a mountaintop terminator, knowing her life has been gravely endangered by a careless brother and the spearhead of a criminal syndicate, she's the easy pickings of a dicey countdown. The Hit is a full-length captive/captor turned protector/protectee romance with a heroine who finds herself in a world of trouble and a hero who'd risk a war with a powerful mafioso if it meant she'd remain unharmed without a hair out of place. Content Warning: Drug addiction/drug dependence. Mentions money laundering, drug distribution, and human trafficking. Also mentions/describes murder, violence and torture. Unconsented captivity/handcuffing. Talks a bit about war and the horrors that accompany it. Army life. Mentions childhood abuse. Also mentions overdose/possible suicide. Attempted/suggested assault. Descriptions of injury. You can find my full Goodreads review of 'The Hit' here! - 4.5 S T A R S to The Hit 6) Hitching the Cowboy by Kennedy Fox - Rating ★ ★ ★
Hitching the Cowboy is predominantly low-conflict with light/mild development so I'd definitely recommend this one to readers who enjoy a more easy-going, sweet, simple and light-hearted read without major difficulties. The Bishops are a professedly fall-hard, fall-fast sort of family, and Riley's sweet dedication and confident knowing of what he wants in his life makes for a southern hero who has his heart set on his heroine quite quickly. Content Warning: Drinking, bedroom scenes, profanity and some violence. You can find my full Goodreads review of 'Hitching the Cowboy' here! - 3 S T A R S to Hitching the CowboyI hope you've enjoyed my March and April reads, but more than that, I truly hope you've enjoyed your own. Stay safe and well reader friends. I love interacting with fellow readers and hearing about reader opinion, so if you'd like to talk books or about your own recent reads, get in touch and comment below! H A P P Y R E A D I N G --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ R E L A T E D P O S T S: ● January/February Reading Wrap Up 2022 ● November/December Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● September/October Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● July/August Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● May/June Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● March/April Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● January/February Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● November/December Reading Wrap Up 2020 ● September Reading Wrap Up 2020 ________________________________________________ SHARE ON FACEBOOK Leave a comment and let's talk...
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VaishaliBorn in the UK Archives
February 2024
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