New month, new book post!

Jul. 17th, 2025 01:06 pm
glitteryv: (Default)
[personal profile] glitteryv
Re-reads. HUH

* Towards Zero by Agatha Christie (Classic mystery) - A group of ppl gather at Gulf's Point, home of Lady Tressilian. Among the guests is famous tennis pro Neville Strange, Kay Strange (his second wife), Audrey Strange (his first wife), and a handful of other folks. There's a palpable tension that keeps climbing once murders begin to occur...

I first read this book when I was in 6th or 7th grade. After hearing that the BBC was gonna drop a new adaptation (and having watched another version), I decided to pick this novel up to refresh my memory. Even though it's the 5th in the Superintendent Battle series, I first read this book as a standalone and that's how I approached it this time around.

FWIW, I was disappointed with the story this second time. It had a good build-up, great atmosphere, etc. However, the whole plot kinda dissolves in the last two chapters. There are sudden coincidences that help solve the crimes and reveal the murderers identity. But everything was so convenient that I almost felt secondhand embarrassment. I gave this book a 2 out of 5.


I DNF'd

* Making It Fierce by Ian O. Lewis and Luke Jameson (M/M romance) - Elijah was a marine for 14 yrs until an accident led to him getting discharged. Now he's making a living as an audiobook narrator and voice actor. Lucas is a radio DJ and audio producer. They meet when Elijah rents studio time to record a v. important (for his career) audiobook.

The gist of the story is that both MCs want to love and be loved. For Elijah, that means meeting someone who doesn't mind he's got some physical injuries (including disfigurement) and also PTSD. Meanwhile, Lucas is tired of being everyone's one night stand.

Frankly, the writing was ATROCIOUS. Both MCs sounded exactly the same. And, for some weird-ass reason, the authors decided to dedicate entire pages to the het (really bad) romance that Elijah was recording. Awfulness all around. Thankfully, I'd borrowed this from my library cuz I'd have been pissed to have spent money on this. I gave this a 0.5 out of 5.


Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there)

* The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan (Historical Romance) - Set in the late 1800s England, the story is abt Chloe trying to help her father set up a business for the upcoming village festival. She's got NO time for anyone's nonsense. Especially Jeremy.

Meanwhile, Jeremy is back in Chloe's life (after being away for years). He's DETERMINED to woo her and (hopefully) marry her. His only problem is figuring out how to tell her that he's the duke that everyone in Chloe's village seems to despise...

Funnily enough, I bought this book in 2020 (when it was published), started reading it, and stopped by chapter 3 for no reason I can think of. So I went back to the start and managed to read it all the way through.

FTR, the writing was AMAZING (as expected from a Courtney Milan book). I also really liked the relationship between Chloe and her father, the many perspectives on being part of a diaspora, and the description of all the yummy food Chloe's father cooked. Oh, and I loved how grumpy Chloe was; she had a fun personality and was someone v. easy to root for.

OTOH, however, it took me AGES (at least until the last two chapters?) to finally warm up to Jeremy. On top of that (and despite enjoying a lot abt the book), I'm still not fully convinced abt Chloe and Jeremy's romance? In part, I think it's because, once the romance part gets going, there's a v. strong screwball comedy vibe that comes to the foreground. Chloe's hyper-organized and serious vibes vs. Jeremy's carefree and chaotic good ones. I found it tiresome. YMMV.

The OTHER thing that lowered the rating for me is a
HUGE SPOILEROK, so Jeremy's ENTIRE CONFLICT is abt Chloe's v. likely negative reaction once she finds out he's the Duke. He's STRESSING THE FUCK OUT abt this from the second he shows up in the novel. HOWEVAH, by chapter 5 or 6, there are a couple of character who let him know they know he's the Duke. And, OFC, after "coming clean" to Chloe, it turns out that she's known he's Duke FOR YEARS. As a matter of fact, the GORRAM ENTIRE VILLAGE knows and collectively decided to just, you know, play along for funsies?


NGL, I HATED THIS SO MUCH!!! In part cuz I guess I was somewhat emotionally invested in the goings on. Other readers have loved this twist. IDEK, y'all. It is a pretty low-angst book and the intimate scenes were good too. My local library does have the next 2 books in the series, so I'm planning to get around those eventually. I gave this book a 2.1 out of 5


Had a good time

* You're Ours by D.C. Emmerson (M/M/M romance novella) - Tyler works as a comptroller in a nameless company. One night, he accepts a dinner invitation to Jackson (a fellow comptroller) and SKy (Jackson's husband)'s place. The mood turns hot and then all three tumble into bed...

NGL, I was ready to DNF this novella cuz I can be v. picky/techty when it comes to office romances. [NB: technically, Jackson is one level above Tyler, but that's handled mostly OK and then there's a good resolution that works for everyone w/o breaking up the triad. I'm just mentioning it in case anyone else gets as (potentially) squicked abt these kind of unequal work dynamics as I do.] But this is a v. low-angst book. Or, better said, the angsty part has some weight to it. I also liked that all three characters were ADULTS with real jobs and stresses.

There was a smidgen too many sex scenes (which were good). Also toward the end, the author seems to have run out of space cuz there was a lot of telling instead of showing. THAT SAID, the writing was good, I liked the fact that no one was freaked out abt one of the characters being a trans dude, there was no cheating, etc. I'm giving this one a 3 out of 5.


* The Silent Places by Skyla Dawn Cameron (Mystery/Thriller) - As the anniversary of her husband's disappearance draws near, Imogen is still trying to survive all of the gossip and side-eyes thrown at her in the village of Red Fox. Everyone says she's killed her husband (but she didn't). And now there's someone sniffing around her story and her husband's. Imogen is worried cuz there are things she really, really does not want to be uncovered...

This was my first time reading this author and I gotta say WOWZA! Excellent writing, fantastic tension, and the kind of ending I'm STILL thinking abt. I also liked seeing POC and queer characters. FWIW, IDK why I can't give it a top rating, but I still gave this novel a 4 out of 5 and I'm planning to read more from this author.


Current fic tally

There's been a bit of progress in some ways (have picked up 134 fics, DNF'd 70). BUT, a lot of the fics I've been reading are 60k+ so it's slow going. Still having a good time, tho!


As for my profic reading, hmmm. June went on pause cuz of BORAMONTH + OT7 reunion, 4 different online concerts I had to wake up at 3-4 a.m. for, and lots of random livestreams. It's not like things have settled down per se, but I find myself getting back onto reading a bit more than before.


Up next...

Was finally able to borrow The Thursday Murder Club after, like, 10 weeks on hold. Have also borrowed a hot Adriana Herrera novella, am re-reading something regarding movies, and there are a handful of other things I've got my eye on. Good times altogether.

(no subject)

Jul. 14th, 2025 02:52 pm
turps: (mcr ( wertica_))
[personal profile] turps
I was at the gym this morning using the lat pull down machine that's in the free weight section. I'd done two reps when one of the muscle guys came over and said he'd noticed I was using a narrow grip, and he thought a different attachment would work better for me. Read more... )

Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-5.png

Challenge #4

Fun House
Journaling: What is making you smile these days? Create a top 10 list of anything you want to talk about.
Creative: Write from the perspective of a house or other location.


These guys, MCR! I've been enjoying watching footage and seeing new photos from their concert so much. My love isn't as intense as it was in my height of bandom days, but it's still there, and I still think Mikey is hot like fire.

Seeing him with his bro, how happy he looked throughout that surreal, weird and yet awesome show, well it made me smile, too. Also, comments from Gabe and Travis on Mikey's Insta post, it was like being thrown back in time in the best way.

So, lets go old skool and have a top ten plus four picspam. behind here )

Three times makes a habit

Jul. 13th, 2025 03:52 pm
romantical: (in these shoes?)
[personal profile] romantical
Actually I've heard 7 times make a habit, but I don't believe it. But who knows. I think a habit is something you have to force for one reason or another (have to or want to) until it just sticks. And if you slide, doing it gets harder.

However, I did some things! We went to the Paranormal Cirque and it was a lot of fun. People doing things like running on wheels in the air and scaring the breath out of me when something didn't go quite right, a guy dressed up as Leatherface who was fucking hilarious, and making one of the "spooky" things in the haunted house almost laugh when my response to being scared was "Jiminy Crickets!"

I rewatched Generation Kill and I love it so much. I also am not...not writing? For the first time in 5 years. Part of it might be that my classes are easy this term, it's my last term, I have the summer off from work-school, and I love them GK boys. I'm not sure I have their voices right, so might have to watch a couple more times (oh, darn). I have three friends from the old LJ days that I'm sharing bits with and the bonds of fic shall never be broken.

Oh, and I went to this little concert. This band called MCR. It was amazing, though I prefer smaller venues to stadium shows. Gerard was the MOST dramatic, and Mikey was all smiley, and Ray was a guitar god, and at the show the camera didn't really focus on Frank that often, so I was bummed. Here are some pictures, but be aware that they're taken of a giant screen by a phone camera from the 300 level. Had I known security was pretty much non-existent, I would have taken a real camera and given you all pretty pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/27659024@N08/albums/72177720327490285.

Having learned to choose comfort over costuming at a concert, I was nice and cool in my capris and tank top and sensible, unlike the emos in all black, makeup, high heels, and such in the 80 degree weather [27 degrees to my non-American friends].

Also, if you think about it, the dad in Black Parade is really awful. I mean, who takes a young kid to a parade and instead of letting him enjoy himself, makes him promise to be the savior of the broken, beaten, and damned. That's a lot to put on a kid who just wanted to hear the trombones.

Portland Leather Company also opened a store in Seattle and this weekend was the grand opening. I spent too much then had whipped feta and tomatoes on garlic bread for lunch, and hung out with a friend through it all, so it was a good day/weekend altogether.

Crazy thing I learned today from my college reading that you will never believe: People who can afford therapy for their autistic children and are able to devote more time to working with them have kids that do way better. Weird, right? Like, WOW. Who would have EVER guessed that. I wonder what else that might apply to? [does the sarcasm come through enough? I'm not sure]

(no subject)

Jul. 12th, 2025 03:52 pm
turps: (beach)
[personal profile] turps
I've had a very lazy day today as James has been off doing a community overtime event for work. So, I've been tidying up indoors, given the garden a good soak and got caught up online. Well, the DW posts anyway, I've still got so much TV to watch, and yes, I know, the tiniest violin needed for me.

Tomorrow we're taking my MiL out for a belated birthday lunch, so I've enjoyed the quiet do very little day. Even enjoying the sunshine and the heat, due to not having to actually do anything but waft around in it.

Sunshine revival challenge prompt now.

Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-2.png

Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


The first thing that came to mind here was beach sandwiches. Which were the chopped salad cream, egg and tomato sandwiches my mam used to make for us when I was a kidlet. We'd head off to the beach, and have a picnic, and the sandwiches were always soggy, flat, and always had sand in them, no matter how carefully they were handled. But, at the same time, they always tasted delicious, especially so as mam used to buy a carton of chips to share while eating them.

A more up to date summer food. I was in the garden picking strawberries, raspberries, chillis and pea pods yesterday. There aren't that many of them as I only have a small garden, and the tomatoes haven't started to ripen yet. But, I thought the bowl looked pretty.

(no subject)

Jul. 9th, 2025 05:40 pm
turps: (curves ( theidolhands))
[personal profile] turps
I've just had a good lymphedema appointment. cut for details )

It was the second new day and time weight management class this morning, and along with two new people a few more of the regulars turned up, which was great. We talked about getting back on track if you've lost progress, and goodness knows, been there and done that multiple times.

It was a good talk, though as usual dominated by the overbearing couple. The exercise part was good, too, with a lot of arm strength focus. So my arms felt like spaghetti afterwards.

Something of interest, in a few weeks or so Rosie is going to offer exercise only sessions on our original Monday time, and also on a Thursday evening, which is great, but also a lot of classes. I'm not sure if I'm going to all three yet, but I really appreciate they're putting on these classes for free.

Rosie finally asked if the gym staff would put a sign on the door asking people not to come in while a class was in progress. She said she was fuming last week at the woman who arrived really early and walked through the middle of the class and then just stood watching as she waited for her own group to start. That must have been the straw that broke the camel's back because yeah, there's now a sign saying keep out.

More gym stuff, which I'll cut for those not interested )
romantical: (Default)
[personal profile] romantical
Boring stuff: My week this past week involved doing homework, sleeping, and being lumpy. Though I did exercise four times, so I wasn't that lumpy. A walking lump maybe.

Adventures: Today M and I did an art trail on one of the islands, and it was great. Cool art, a glass blower who does Venetian glass making techniques with all these amazing patterns in the glass let us watch her make glasses and explained everything while she did it and it was really cool.

We hit up one of our favorite bookstores (The Book Rack in Oak Harbor) and drove and looked at water and looked at sculptures and walked a few trails and it was a wonderful day. Now I am very tired. Photos here: https://flickr.com/photos/27659024@N08/albums/72177720327356511.

Tonight I'm taking one of the kidlets to a paranormal/horror cirque de soleil type thing, so we'll see how that goes. People bending in ways they're not supposed to and doing things I could never do in a million years. Can't be all bad.

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