![]() ![]() I already enjoyed the very first novel, Storm Front, a couple of months ago, and Fool Moon, which I finished and reviewed last week, was so much fun that I had to immediately go and read another Dresden Files book. ![]() I absolutely loved Battle Ground (easily one of the best novels and audiobooks of 2020) and I have since decided to go back and check out the earlier entries in the series. ![]() Generally considered one of the best urban fantasy series of all time, I started enjoying this series last year when I read the latest novel, Battle Ground. I am really getting into the awesome Dresden Files novels, a major long-running urban fantasy series that follows Harry Dresden, a wizard living in modern-day Chicago, as he investigates supernatural crimes. In my latest Throwback Thursday article, I continue my dive into the bestselling Dresden Files urban fantasy series by Jim Butcher by looking at the third chilling novel, Grave Peril. Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia (Audiobook – 1 September 2001) ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() In Deep Water – Skinny-dipping to cool off in the Trinity River couldn’t cause any uld it?ĭeputy’s Bride - Can Sadie have a new life or will her old one rear its ugly head? In Too Deep – The peace of the day is shattered when her best friend steps too far into the Trinity River. This book introduces the first two heroes of the Naked Bluff, Texas Series With the future uncertain, he figured a passion-filled night might lighten the load of his matrimonial chains. Pissed, his bad mood eases when he learns a special lady was meeting him at his hunting cabin. Now a city girl, she’d probably turn out to be just like his family’s deserting momma, who’d bail when the going got tough. ![]() But at what cost? Will it secure their future or ruin her squeaky-clean reputation?Įxcited to celebrate his success of completing a long cattle drive with a sexy lady, Trent is blindsided with the news of an arranged marriage between him and a girl he hasn’t seen in four years because she’d hightailed it to Boston. Not wanting him to sleep with a painted lady or two on the eve of their engagement, she arranges a seduction. Furious, Catherine Jensen refuses to allow her dream of marrying Trent McCall to fall into ruins because of an end-of-the-trail party. ![]() ![]() ![]() This idea of the imposter is one that The Third Hotel obsesses over. He couldn’t make the trip because he died-“struck by a car and killed in the United States of America some five weeks ago.” So, Clare, a self-described “white woman of middling age and appearance, in tan pantsuits and unfashionable pumps,” decides to go to Cuba as a kind of pilgrimage of mourning, where she can “slip through unseen” and “walk around an imposter.” ![]() A lesser writer might have lost themself in this byzantine world of maybe-doppelgangers and maybe-zombies and maybe-madness, but Laura van den Berg is one of our most accomplished storytellers-it is no surprise that she has elevated the uncannily horrifying into something achingly human.Īt the novel’s start, Clare is in Havana, Cuba, attending a horror film festival in her husband Richard’s stead. ![]() Buoyed by van den Berg’s sinuous, marvelous sentences, the novel is instead a deep dive into memory, love, and loss as filtered through film theory, metaphysics, and the humid, sunstroked cityscape of Havana. The Third Hotel, Laura van den Berg’s gorgeously eerie second novel, begins with a question, one that protagonist Clare returns to again and again: “What s she doing in Havana?” Dense and uncompromisingly intelligent, The Third Hotel is uninterested in leading the reader to a simple answer. Farrar, Straus and Giroux | August 7, 2018 ![]() ![]() Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse - at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. ![]() ![]() ![]() Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. She worke Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels). After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby-writing novels-for emotional succor. Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels). ![]() ![]() ![]() This whole thing would have been easy enough to stage as Bruce Wayne looking anguished by himself, while internal caption boxes carry the conversation. Cooke works something out on the page that plenty of arguments in comic shops have raged on about over the years.īut, most of all, he shows the argument in a compelling way, visually. ![]() This split personality between Wayne and Batman, though, is so classic and so well-documented that dramatizing it in this way feels natural. It's kind of like most Doctor Strange stories where the rules of magic can change to give the writer whatever ending they need. Others fail miserably, such as most times an X-Men story moves to the Astral Plane, where make believe versions of people have make believe fights that may have impact on the real world if that's what the writer chooses to do. Right now, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are coming the closest in their series, "Kill or Be Killed". Dramatizing a built-in personality conflict with demons is enough to make me roll my eyes. This whole story is not usually my kind of thing. ![]() ![]() ![]() (Indeed, though she’s obviously far greener an on-camera presence, her approach as a broadcaster resembles that of another “The 1619 Project” executive producer, Oprah Winfrey, whose daily talk show ably addressed race in American life, Winfrey’s personal story or popular culture on any given day.) As a topic, the extent to which music extends from slavery is clear, but the connection of Rodgers’ tale of overcoming career setbacks during the fall of disco is one degree further removed still - and worth telling both on its own terms and as part of a tribute to Black ingenuity and virtuosity. ![]() Part of Hannah-Jones’ appeal is that she’s no purist. The episode is studded with heart-wrenching footage of blackface performers mocking Black joy, and anchored by conversations with Times critic Wesley Morris and disco pioneer Nile Rodgers. ![]() The show ranges widely: One compelling installment, in the middle of the series’ run, contemplates the role of music in Black American life. Episodes toggle newsmagazine style between interviews and more general observations about history and culture, including Hannah-Jones’ personal story as a biracial woman with roots in the South. ![]() This helps make the documentary feel novel, even as it restages for a new medium a conversation Hannah-Jones has been having for some time. ![]() ![]() Iyanu, one of the few Black girls at prestigious Wodebury Hall, prefers to stick to the sidelines, taking photos at school events - while her cousin Kitan has found her way into the inner circle of the popular (white) kids. But exposing the truth will change them all forever. With everyone’s dirty laundry suddenly out in the open, the school explodes in chaos, and the whispers accusing Iyanu of being the one behind it all start to feel like déjà vu.Įach girl is desperate to unravel the mystery of who stole the photos and why. Then photos from Iyanu’s camera are stolen and splashed across the school the week before the Valentine’s Day Ball-each with a juicy secret written on it. But as a Nigerian girl in a school as white and insular as Wodebury, Kitan struggles with the personal sacrifices needed to keep her place-and the protection she gets-within the exclusive popular crowd. ![]() ![]() She has money, beauty, and friends like queen bee Heather. But aspiring photographer Iyanu is more comfortable observing things safely from behind her camera.įor Iyanu’s estranged cousin, Kitan, life seems perfect. Within the walls of Wodebury Hall, an elite boarding school in the English countryside, reputation is everything. ![]() ![]() Mean Girls meets Dear White People in this big-hearted, sharp-witted UK boarding school story about family, friendship, and belonging-with a propulsive mystery at its heart. ![]() ![]() ![]() And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom-or doom them all. ![]() Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can't change her fate. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A darkly enchanting fantasy about a lying witch, a cursed prince, and a sinister prophecy that ignites their. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so- not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer-unless Violet does something about it.īut when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus's love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom-all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased-and not always true-divinations. Violet Made of Thorns - by Gina Chen 10.49When purchased online In Stock Add to cart About this item Specifications Dimensions (Overall): 9.3 Inches (H) x 5.7 Inches (W) x 1.3 Inches (D) Weight: 1. “Everything you want from an enemies-to-lovers fantasy starring morally gray characters.”- BuzzFeed A darkly enchanting fantasy about a lying witch, a cursed prince, and a sinister prophecy that ignites their doomed destinies-perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince. ![]() ![]() Another thing I picked up on was the repetitiveness. This also translated into their romance which based on how fast everything happened was pretty unbelievable. I couldn’t create any bond with Carter or Austin because the missing development made it so that I didn’t really feel like I knew them. Which brings me to the lack of connection with the characters. ![]() There was never time for anything to develop or for the reader to witness the development if there was any. The pacing was stilted and nearly every chapter in the first half of the book had a time jump of days, weeks or even months. If I understood correctly the book takes place over a 3-year time span and this may seem ok but in this case, it was severely lacking in development. My second issue was with the pacing which was probably my least favorite part. ![]() First, it became apparent early on that the dialogue between the characters was choppy and while sometimes that is easy to overlook when it is constantly present it becomes harder to ignore. Further to Fall was a rocky road but ultimately, I was happy with the ending… ![]() ![]() ![]() During their marriage, Cole's career flourishes. ![]() Because he loves her and is publicly affectionate, Linda tolerates his extramarital dalliances. Her first husband was abusive to her, but, as she confesses to him on their wedding day, Cole is completely different. From the start, they click and become a devoted couple. He recalls the night he met his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, a recent divorcee and stunning beauty. It is the second biopic about the composer, following 1946's Night and Day.Īs he is about to die, Porter's life flashes before him in the form of a musical production staged by the archangel Gabriel in the Indiana theater where the composer first performed on stage. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, until his death. De-Lovely is a 2004 American musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ![]() |