The next book on my 2022 most anticipated list is serving up a dash of holiday romance with a side of raunch. It's a holiday raunch-com that sounds INCREDIBLE.
Friday, November 26, 2021
2022 Most Anticipated - Bee Merry
Thursday, November 25, 2021
2022 Most Anticipated - Golden Boys
National bestselling author Phil Stamper crafts the perfect summer friendship story, starring four queer boys with big hearts and even bigger dreams.Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small rural town by their queerness, their good grades, and their big dreams. They are about to embark on the summer before senior year of high school, where each is going on a new, big adventure. Reese is attending a design school in Paris. Gabriel is going to Boston to volunteer with a environmental nonprofit. Sal is interning on Capitol Hill for a U.S. Senator. And Heath is stuck going to Daytona Beach to help out at his aunt’s beachfront arcade.What will this summer of new experiences and world-expanding travel mean for each of them—and for their friendship?
1 What gif do you feel best represents Golden Boys?
Though the title actually has nothing to do with Golden Girls, this group hug GIF of four best friends (with very different personalities!) is a perfect fit.
2 Your book is set during the summer. If someone designed a signature ice cream for your book what might be included?
What a fun question! I have a feeling each of the four main characters in Golden Boys would have their own ice cream preference. So for that reason, I think it would be vanilla ice cream with a mix of contrasting salty and sweet ingredients: caramel, pretzels, M&Ms, and potato chips. 3 What is one song that made your playlist while writing this book? I'm usually not someone who writes to music with lyrics, but I did find myself going back to the same songs for certain characters. Of the four characters, Heath is the one who fits in most in their rural Ohio town, plus he's calm and stable and seems to be the rock of this friend group, so I kept coming back to the song "Classic" by Cam. 4 What 2022 release are you most anticipating? Oh, so many! The ones that first come to mind are The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters, and If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber. So many great queer YA books are coming out next year—I can't wait!
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
2022 Most Anticipated Event - Where The Night Has Teeth
The next book on my 2022 most anticipated list is inspired by one of my favourite movies from the 80s. It caught my eye because not only does it involved vampires but it is also being teased as a gender swapped take on the story.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
2022 Most Anticipated Event - Birds of California
The next book on my 2022 most anticipated list is the first of a couple that are set in Hollywood. This one involves former co-stars, dive bars, and nights at the beach.
Sparks fly and things get real in this sharply sexy and whip-smart romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a post #metoo Hollywood from New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno--page-turning escapist fun in the spirit of Beach Read, The Kiss Quotient, and Red, White and Royal Blue.Former child actor Fiona St. James dropped out of the spotlight after a spectacularly public crash and burn. The tabloids called her crazy and self-destructive and said she'd lost her mind. Now in her late twenties, Fiona believes her humiliating past is firmly behind her. She's finally regained a modicum of privacy, and she won't let anything--or anyone--mess it up.Unlike Fiona, Sam Fox, who played her older brother on the popular television show Birds of California, loves the perks that come with being a successful Hollywood actor: fame, women, parties, money. When his current show gets cancelled and his agent starts to avoid his calls, the desperate actor enthusiastically signs on for a Birds of California revival. But to make it happen, he needs Fiona St. James.Against her better judgment, Fiona agrees to have lunch with Sam. What happens next takes them both by surprise. Sam is enthralled by Fiona's take-no-prisoners attitude, and Fiona discovers a lovable goofball behind Sam's close-up-ready face. Long drives to the beach, late nights at dive bars . . . theirs is the kind of kitschy romance Hollywood sells. But just like in the rom-coms Fiona despises, there's a twist that threatens her new love. Sam doesn't know the full story behind her breakdown. What happens when she reveals the truth?
Monday, November 22, 2021
2022 Most Anticipated - How to Date a Superhero (and Not Die Trying)
With humor and heart, debut author Cristina Fernandez tells a wholly original origin story, proving that you don’t need a superpower to be the hero in this romantic coming-of-age story about growing up, falling in love, and surviving life—all set in the world of superheroes.Falling for a superhero is dangerous. You have to trust that they’ll catch you.Astrid isn’t a superhero, not like the ones she sees on the news, but she has something she thinks of as a small superpower: she has a perfect sense of time. And she’s not going to waste a single second.Her plan for college is clear—friends, classes, and extracurriculars all carefully selected to get her into medical school.Until Max Martin, a nerdy boy from her high school, crashes back into her life. Things with Max were never simple, and he doesn’t keep to her schedule. He disappears in the middle of dates and cancels at the last minute with stupid excuses.When a supervillain breaks into her bedroom one night, Astrid has to face the facts: her boyfriend, Max Martin, is a superhero. Double-majoring as a premed was hard, but now Astrid will have to balance a double life. This wasn’t part of her plan.
Cristina has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the book and her writing of it.
1 What gif do you feel best represents How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying)?
2 If someone were to make a signature drink in honour of your book, what might be included?
This is a tricky question since I am very new to drinks (and am a very picky drinker). Probably an Andre wine, since it’s a very college-budget-friendly champagne, and maybe orange or apple juice in an oversized coffee mug. Something fizzy, sweet, and a little fancy, but still very practical. My protagonist, Astrid, wouldn't want to waste time making some complicated drink or have to fit extra mixers in her mini-fridge, and she definitely doesn’t have room in her dorm to store wine glasses.
3 The superhero genre is fertile ground for romance. We've seen it shape and inspire superheroes. We've seen it create villains. What inspired you to write a novel from the perspective of a love interest of a superhero?
I’ve loved superhero stories my whole life, and I feel like romance is such an undervalued element to them, because it can often be handled poorly. I think the best superhero stories are grounded in love: for your community, for humanity in general, and for specific people. Also, as a girl watching superhero movies, the love interest for a long time was the primary role for female characters, and recognizing all these women as emotionally complex and full people, despite being side characters, has always been really important to me. While a lot of stories tend to flatten love interests, I wanted to tell one that centers that role and explores the unique experiences of being involved in someone else’s story while you have your own going on.
4 What is one song that made your playlist while writing this book?
Basically all of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Dedicated, though special mention goes to “Happy Not Knowing” for being the most emotionally relevant. That uniquely Carly Rae Jepsen blend of playfulness and angst in a song about trying to push down your feelings for someone to protect yourself and your time is everything I aspire to capture with this book.
5 What 2022 release are you most anticipating?
It’s so hard to just pick one! 2022 is shaping up to be a super exciting year for new releases. I think I’m probably most excited for Casey McQuiston’s I Kissed Shara Wheeler, though I’m also dying to get my hands on fellow debut Amanda DeWitt’s Aces Wild.
6 If not too spoilery, can you share the first line of How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying).
I’ll throw in two!
Astrid has a superpower.
Nothing exciting, not caused in any usual way by lab accident or genetic mutation, but for as long as she can remember she’s had a perfect sense of time.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Waiting on Wednesday .... Family of Liars
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pick is Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.Welcome back to the Sinclair family.They were always liars.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
#PopCultureResolution - Rope
Cast: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger
Synopsis: Just before hosting a dinner party, Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) and Brandon Shaw (John Dall) strangle a mutual friend to death with a piece of rope, purely as a Nietzsche-inspired philosophical exercise. Hiding the body in a chest upon which they then arrange a buffet dinner, the pair welcome their guests, including the victim's oblivious fiancée (Joan Chandler) and the college professor (James Stewart) whose lectures inadvertently inspired the killing.
Rope ended up not really fitting with my horror theme as it is definitely not scary or a horror movie. I would consider it more a movie filled with tension and held breath. It doesn't work as a mystery either but there is still something a little unsettling about it.
This is very loosely based on a true crime - the murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. It may not have many similarities to the real crime, but the motive and other details are definitely inspired by it. The short version of events is that these two young men commit murder purely to see if they smart enough to get away with it. In the movie, the two men decide to throw a dinner party the same day as the murder with the body concealed within their apartment.
There should be a photo of John Dall as Brandon Shaw next to the words arrogant and smug in dictionaries. He exudes self assured hubris that makes you wish to punch him in his smug face. He is so confident that it becomes overly so and that makes him a fascinating but rage inducing character.
Farley Granger as Phillip Morgan is the exact opposite. He is a hot mess in the extreme and his behaviour is telegraphing as suspicious. It is interesting that both are giving signals about their actions just in very different ways.
The cast is exceptional. Alfred Hitchcock is known for his directing but the casting of his films is equally impressive. James Stewart is especially good here and it lead to him collaborating on three other Hitchcock films (including the highly regarded Rear Window).
This is a film adaptation of a play and so it mostly has a single set that the action takes place on. Hitchcock makes fantastic use of this small setting by playing up the tension on when the body might be discovered and by whom. That proximity is a tell tale heart for the audience with the knowledge of it pulsing through your thoughts constantly. It makes the movie gripping and truly Hitchcockian. It also allows for longer shots that are seamlessly woven together.
This may not be my favourite Hitchcock film but it would probably make my top five. I wouldn't recommend it if you are wanting a horror movie but it is a well directed, well acted, tension filled film that I would highly recommend.
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
My Rating - 3/5
Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after.
Thrillers are particularly depended on their story not being revealed in advance. This makes them an interesting challenge to review. Often the best parts of the story are ones that you don't want to reveal. Goodnight Beautiful is a book that falls within this category.
I don't mind when books are inspired by other media. Art is made to inspire and that often leads to the creation of other art. This book is inspired by a popular classic horror novel that if I named would be a spoiler. It mostly worked for me and I think fans of that novel will appreciate this one. There were times, however, when you really feel that influence. It made the latter half not as gripping as the first because I felt like I knew this story. It is different enough to keep you guessing but its inspiration does ring a little loud at times. It's one of the things about this novel that just didn't resonate with me.
The characters in this one are certainly fascinating. There are a few memorable ones who leave you wanting to know even more about them. Unreliable characters and thrillers are a perfect pair and that remains true here. There are other characters though that will be forgotten with the turn of the last page.
The pacing is a large part of why I enjoyed this novel. It is definitely a page turner with each twist or reveal compelling you to keep reading. Fans of thrillers will know this feeling all too well and also know the disappointment of when a novel fails to deliver this.
The ending does get a little messy and just isn't as taunt as the beginning of this book. It felt a little mismatched compared to the rest and just didn't come together as strongly as I wanted it to.
Go into this one with as little knowledge as possible. I feel it works best that way. It is an experience and it works better if you allow the story to reveal itself in the manner and pacing that it is supposed to. Let go and enjoy the ride this book wants to take you on. You'll get much more out of it that way.
This starts out as a very taunt thriller whose ending did not quite deliver for me. It does offer up a fun, entertaining read that delivers some well crafted twists and that makes it worth the read.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
#PopCultureResolution - Halloween (2018)
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak
October's #PopCultureResolution, obviously, called for me to watch the 2018 continuation of the Halloween franchise. This is a sequel to the original Halloween only and it ignores all of the other sequels that are part of that franchise.
The three generations of Strode women and the generational trauma each of them has to deal with was by far the most interesting part of the movie. I couldn't help but think of Halloween H2O and Laurie Strode's son (played by Josh Hartnett) that does not exist in this reiteration. This is not the first Halloween movie to dive into Laurie's trauma and its impact on her children. This one does better job in that the entire movie is steeped in it, but it is not the first as some have claimed.
These movies are meant to be a fun scare around Halloween. I did not enjoy it as much as the first Halloween and was not as scared as I anticipated being. It is worth the watch if you are a major fan of the franchise because it does respect the mythology while adding to it. I am not sure those not invested in the franchise will get as much out of their watching experience but they will appreciate its short running time and getting to see Jamie Lee Curtis return to one of her most iconic roles.
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Weekly Obsessions
The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every week.
Monthly TBR and Wrap Up
October flew by and now it is already November. I do not know how it is possible that we are almost done with 2021, but here we are. It is officially the holiday season and while I haven't started the holiday movies, and music just yet it will be happening very soon.
I am going to be training for pretty much all of November and December minus some vacation time I have for the holidays. Here is hoping I manage to finish all of the books I want to read by the end of the year.
Before I talk about what I hope to read in November, I have to recap October first.
July - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Jess)
August - The Grace Year by Kim Leggitt (Christa)
Sept - Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Meaghan)
Oct - Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston (Katrina)
Nov - Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott (Kim)
Dec - Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (Julia)