Listening to Wednesday

Because it seems like I've been running across all kinds of great new music lately I feel the urge to share some of favorites. I'm going to start with my newest addiction, Keane's new album Perfect Symmetry. The whole album is freakin fantastic and has an awesome 80's sound to it. My favorite track is Spiralling which has a fun upbeat sound. And with keeping up the feeling of the cd the music video is pretty damn 80's.



Two other of my favorite tracks on the cd are "Pretend that You're Alone" and "Better Than This" Again, both of these songs are pretty upbeat.



The other cd that I've become rather attached to this week is Dr Dog's new album Fate. I love the piano worked into most of their songs and when its mixed with some brass instruments, like in Army of Ancients, its astounding.

Hang On is a beautiful song and looks like its the first music video they made for this cd.


A few other of my favorite tracks on this are; "From" (which I guess you can consider a ballad on the cd) and "The Beach" which has a decidedly Vietnam era sound to it.

Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadows

Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadows by C.L. Wilson

Rating: 4
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Combined Page Count: 788
Publish Date: 2007

Reason Read: Rosario gave it an A- and I was in the mood for a good fantasy romance novel.

BackCover Descriptions: Once he had scorched the world. Once he had driven back overwhelming darkness. Once he had loved with such passion, his name was legend. Now a thousand years later, a new threat calls him from the Fading Lands, back into the world that had cost him so dearly. Now an ancient, familiar evil is regaining its strength, and a new voice beckons him- more compelling, more seductive, more maddening than any before. As the power of his most bitter enemy grows and ancient alliances crumble, the wildness in his blood will not be denied. The tairen must claim his truemate and embrace the destiny woven for him in the mists of time.

Always she had feared the magic. Always, she had fought the dark visions. Always, she had dreamed of the lover who could save her. He had stepped from the sky to claim her like an enchanted prince from the pages of a fairy tale, but behind the mesmerizing beauty of his violet eyes she saw the driving hunger of the beast and an endless sorrow only she could heal. Only for him would she embrace her frightening magic. Only for him would she find the courage to confront the shadows that haunted her soul. For ahead an epic battle was fast approaching, and only united could they hope to turn back the armies of darkness.

Thoughts: I'm reviewing both these books as one because basically they are one large book as the first one dropped off rather abruptly and the story continues straight into the next. This is definitely not a series that you want to read out of order.

This is an epic romance/fantasy novel done right. It looks like the story will be expanding over the length of 4 books. To sum up these books would almost be impossible in how detailed of a world Wilson has built here but in a very tiny nutshell.... Ellie Baristani is a plain outcast of the Kingdom of Celieria. Ellie has always had a fascination for the fey tales and legends of the kingdom. So when the Fey King, Rain Tairen Soul, comes to their kingdom for a visit she is one among the crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the legendary Fey who once almost destroyed the world. And is shocked when he announces that she is his Shei'tani, which is basically Fey for soul mate.

Usually I'm not one for soul-mate stories, but this one is done in a way that I really enjoyed. Just because Rain recognizes Ellie as his Shei'tani didn't mean that he was happy about it or overwhelmed with love at first sight either. There are multiple levels to the Fey's soul mate process, like the fact that Rain still has to court Ellie so that they can get to know each other and develop the feelings that will strengthen their bond, etc. The lore and bonding process that Wilson develops for the Fey equivalent of soul mates is complex and intriguing and I found myself really enjoying that aspect of the plot.

The main thread of the plot was more fantasy based than romance based. Ellie is being hunted by a mage who wants to use her untapped power to basically take over the world and destroy the Fey. I was really enjoying this aspect of the plot until I started the Lady of Light and Shadows that's when that side of the plot dropped down a bit, but it quickly regained its momentum halfway through that book.

Rain was an interesting character in the lore that surrounded him along with his past, but Ellie on the other hand didn't start getting really interesting to me until midway through Lady of Light and Shadows towards the end of that book she finally comes into her own and starts showing a bit more strength and character.

The character that really caught my attention in the series though was Belliard vel Jelani. For me it almost seemed like Bel had more personality than Rain and I'm very interested in seeing more of him in the next two books and am holding out a bit of hope that maybe he'll get his own storyline in the future.

I'm really looking forward to continuing with this series as the world that Wilson has built in this books is wonderful and refreshing in how in-depth it is, she even developed her own time system and religion within the story, but I think I'm going to hold off on reading the third book in the series, King of Sword and Sky, until it gets closer to June so I can read the last book in the series right afterwards.

Warrior Rising

Warrior Rising by P.C. Cast

Rated: 3

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publish Date: 2008

Page Count: 352

Reason Read: Cast's Goddess Summoning series is an auto buy for me.

BackCover Description: The Goddesses have had it with the Trojan War. So much devastation—all because of some silly male egos. The worst of the bunch is that cocky, handsome brute Achilles. But the only way to stop a man like Achilles is to distract him with something far more pleasurable than combat...Enter Kat, a modern girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Goddesses transform her into a Trojan princess, having no doubt that she'll capture Achilles's attention. But can her independent spirit match the unquenchable fire of his epic rage? Goddess only knows...

Thoughts: Side note: I read this book like 2 weeks ago so my review is gonna be pretty bare bones.

I'm happy to say it seems like this series is getting back on track for me. Goddess of Love just did nothing for me. That one felt way too choppy and I felt like I almost needed a pop-up blocker for a few parts. Luckily this one stayed on track and I really enjoyed the fact that we stayed primarily with Katerina's view point of view throughout the story instead of switching back and forth from character to character. But then one person narrative is a personal preference of mine.

Anyway, even though I'm not a big fan of the Trojan war myths, I found myself enjoying the characters and world Cast built here. She had quite a few interesting spins on some of the old myths surrounding the war that I really enjoyed. I thought that Kat and especially Achilles should've been a bit more developed as they felt a bit flat to me. Also, I have to say with the ending the way it is... do I smell the hint of an Arthurian tale coming up for Casts next installment of the series?

Recommended for: Fans of the series or romances set in this particular time period

Series Order:

Goddess of the Sea

Goddess of Spring

Goddess of Light

Goddess of the Rose

Goddess of Love

Warrior Rising

Once Upon a Marigold

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Rating: 2.5

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Date Published: 2004

Page Count: 275

Reason for Reading: I've been in a fairytale/ fantasy book mode.

BackCover Description: Christian is gaga for Princess Marigold. But he's just a commoner, and no match for royalty. Heck, he lives in a cave with a troll! And now he's discovered another reason to put his love-soggy heart on ice: Queen Olympia is scheming to take over the kingdom—and she'll bump off her own daughter to do it. Can Christian foil her diabolical plans?

Thoughts: I think this book is less young adult and more 5th grader-ish. This one was recommended to me via our children's department lead, so I have no idea why I didn't go into this book reading it as a kids book. But anyway, honestly I probably would've adored this book back in junior high. Its a cute spin on the fairytale genre, but a little too predictable. A princess in distress who is the smart outcast of her sisters, an evil queen, a fatherly king, a prince in disguise, etc etc. Also, some of the lines in the story were corny to the max and the plot seems to move extremely slow in some places.

The main reason though why I'm giving this one a 2.5 is because I didn't necessarily like some of the stereotypes that this one seemed to reinforce. Yes yes, its mostly just the classic stereotypes you find in fairytales surrounding women and honestly I read this weeks ago and can't remember half of the things that had me growling at the book but still they still irked me.

Recommended For: Kids between the ages of probably 8-12.

The Hob's Bargain

The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

Rating: 4.5

Genre: Fantasy

Date Published: 2001

Page Count: 281

Reason for Reading: Someone had listed this as a beauty and the beast type of story and I'm a sucker for those.

BackCover Description: Hated and feared, magic was banished from the land. But now, freed from the spells of the wicked blood-mages, magic- both good and evil- returns. And Aren of Fallbrook feels her own power of sight strengthen and grow...
Overcome by visions of mayhem and murder, Aren vows to save her village from the ruthless raiders who have descended upon it- and killed her family. With the return of the wildings to the hills and forests, she strikes a bargain with the Hob, a magical being imbued with the power of the mountains. But the Hob is the last of his kind. And he will exact a heavy price to defend the village- a price Aren herself must pay.

Thoughts: Contrary to what I've heard and what the back cover says at the top of this book, I didn't find this story all that much beauty and the beast. Yes yes, the love interest is "different" looking while Aren is a pretty female but other than that it lacked the other elements to make me consider this a beauty and the beast story.

But that didn't lower my enjoyment of this book at all. In fact I rather adored this book. The world Briggs built is amazing and left me wanting to know more about it, as was the same for the characters. She had some fantastic characters in this book. Aren is the kind of female lead character I love in stories. She's strong and not afraid to stand up for herself or take things into her own hands. While the Hob with his tail and life loving attitude was adorable. I only wish we could've got a little bit more information on Kith, another main character aside from the Hob and Aren, who was just flat out delicious.

My only complaint about this book and the only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is that it was too short. Some of the areas I felt should've been expanded on a little more like the main bad guy (aside from the raiders) who was a looming in the backs of everyone's minds. All we really got about him was that he was evil and bad but no other information really on him. Also, because of how short this book is and how much Briggs has going on in the story some areas felt a little rushed to me.

Recommended For: Fans of Poison Study will probably find something love here with the world building. Also, fans of fantasies with some subtle fairy tale elements mixed in will probably love this.

An itsy bitsy rant

With working at the book store I've developed several things that annoy the crap out of me about people and after the week I've been having I need to vent a little so here's my tiny rant list.

1. This isn't a library. That is down the road a little ways and they encourage you to read their books and take them home for free. This on the otherhand is a business. Do NOT come into my store pick up a paperback then proceed to sit down and break the spine of the book while you attempt to read through it before we close, you have to go someplace, or your lunchbreak over at the olive garden is over.

2. In reference to number 1, do not dog ear the page of the book you are reading in hope that you can come back tomorrow and pick up where you left off and also do not put a piece of paper or one of the free bookmarks in the book then put it back on the shelf. I take special glee at the end of the night walking around the store and ripping those bookmarks out of our books.

3. If you are deciding what books you want to get and take a large stack of them to sit and decide which ones you want, at least attempt to put the ones you decide against away or at least put them up on a table where they won't accidently get kicked halfway across the store by another customer.

4. stop taking the freakin playboys out of the freakin plastic wrap. You want to see the nekid women buy the damn magazine or go home and look at them online for free. (Also do not take said unwrapped playboys into the bathroom, that's just nasty and yes we throw all those ones away)

5. If you take a book off the shelf then decide that you don't want it, please for the love of all things holy don't just shove it back into the shelf willy nilly. If you don't know where it goes or don't feel like walking back to the section of the store that you got it either put it on one of the tables or give it to the cashier and say that you changed your mind about getting it. While I appriciate your at least semi-attempt to help keep the store neat, it screws with us something mightly when the books aren't in alphabetical order and in the right section. Because another customer is gonna come in looking for said book and they're going to come up to an employee and ask for the book and then we're not going to be able to find it because the only copy of we have left of Memoirs of a Geisha is now sitting in the New Age section because that's where you left it after reading your horoscope and we're gonna get bitched out by the customer because they need it for a school report that's due tomorrow and now they're gonna fail and somehow in their mind its all our fault for not having the book.... Do you see the chain reaction here?

Movie: Corpse Bride

The Corpse Bride

Set in 19th-century Europe, Tim Burton's animated tale centers on Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp), a young man who, just as he's about to wed Victoria (Emily Watson), is sucked into the underworld by the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham-Carter), who desires Victor for herself. Victor is fascinated by the Land of the Dead, but nothing can stop him from trying to return to his true love.

Thoughts: Frankly, I thought this movie was pretty awful. The story line was dull as hell and the plot was pretty perdictable. Also, the random bouts of singing just seemed extremely out of place and random. The only thing that I really enjoyed about this movie was the imagery. The puppets, setting, and animation were gorgeous. I loved the character and world designs and some of the scenes (especially surrounding the corpse bride herself) were beautiful.

Rating: 1.5

Movie: Death at a Funeral

Death at a Funeral

The funeral for the patriarch of a wealthy but eccentric British clan is turned topsy-turvy when a stranger appears claiming to be the dead man's gay lover in this dramedy directed by Frank Oz and starring Peter Dinklage, Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves. The dysfunctional family grows wackier as the deceased's sons decide they can't let the rest of the guests get wind of this revelation. But can they get the cat back into the bag?

Thoughts: This is the first movie in a really long time that has made me laugh so hard I cried. I love a good dark comedy and this is right up there with Saved! for me. After his father's death, Daniel, is trying his best to give his father a proper funeral but problems keep piling up as; the funeral home brings the wrong body to the wake, people keep asking him why his genius writer of a brother isn't giving the eulogy, and when his father's gay lover shows up wanting "his due" from the family.

I loved how this movie managed to balance several different plot threads at the same time. I was also glad to see that it didn't use the secret gay lover thread as a crutch or beat it to death. In fact I wouldn't even necessarily call that the main plot of the movie, it mostly just got the ball really rolling to set off a chain of weird incidents that Daniel and a few other people have to deal with. What really stole the show for me though was Alan Tudyk as Simon who spends his time at the funeral tripping out after accidentally taking some hallucinogenic drugs.

Rated: 4

Movie: Black Adder III

Black Adder III

In season three of the successful British sitcom, Edmond Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) finds himself booted from upper-crust society and serving the incompetent Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie). This collection includes the first six episodes of season three, each cleverly named to mimic a Jane Austen novel title: "Dish and Dishonesty," "Ink and Incapability," "Nob and Nobility," "Sense and Senility," "Amy and Amiability" and "Duel and Duality."

Thoughts: Yup, I picked up this one mainly because it had Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, and Stephen Fry in it and I thought that with those three actors this can't go wrong. And for the most part I was right. Blackadder is the scheming servant of the feather headed Prince Regent. Throughout this season Blackadder is constantly either trying to obtain a higher social standing, keep the Prince Regent out of trouble, or trying to avoid being killed.

While a few of the plots in the episodes got a little formulaic this was still highly enjoyable. It was a fun change of pace for me to see Atkinson playing such a caustic scheming character after primarily seeing him play Mr. Bean. My favorite episode here was probably the one that incorporated "The Scarlet Pimpernel" as I'm a rather large dork and adored the light spoof of it.

Rating: 3.5

Movie: Penelope

After a friend introduced me to the wonders of Netflix and their mega enormous collection of BBC productions and other movies I'd given up on finding to rent, basically all my reading time has been inhaled by the DVD player.

So under that note, here's some reviews of the movies I've watched lately...

Penelope

Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) is cursed, and the only way out of it is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she possibly find her soul mate when she's sequestered inside her family's sprawling estate with only her parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) to keep her company? Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon co-produced this unconventional fairy tale about a girl who bucks convention to make her own happy ending.

Thoughts: Huge thanks go out to Zeek for her review of this a few weeks ago. I absolutely adored this movie. Its a little like a reversed Beauty and the Beast tale. A curse cast on Penelope's family from way back in the day has landed her with the nose and ears of a pig. And the only way the curse can only be broken is if someone from Penelope's social standing falls in love with and agrees to marry her.

What really impressed me about this movie, is how its not just a fairytale romance but also a story about finding and accepting yourself. The atmosphere of the movie was brilliant as well, they managed to make a very contemporary setting of a large city feel magical and like you could stumble across little red riding hood hopping out of a taxi on her way to grandma's. Also, the cast and characters of the movie were fantastic. I really enjoyed that there was no purely evil villain and that you felt every character in the movie could be redeemed and were just human. And I loved Christina Ricci and have to say that I want quite a few of the outfits she donned throughout the movie. Especially those awesome acid green maryjanes you can see there in the cover.

Rating: 5

Fall Challenge

Fall Challenge List

Books must be read between September 1 – November 30

1. Title that reminds you of a fairytale: Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

2. Book based on the cover: To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker

3. Read a book that has an “N” word in the title for November: Deadly Night by Heather Graham

4. Read an author that last name or first name starts with "S" for September: ?

5. For Halloween…. Read a book that is "spooky": ?


6. Title with an address or a place in it (city, State, lake, cottage, river, etc): Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

7. Title that has a name in it (Nicknames are okay): Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

8. Read a New (to you) author: The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

9. Title that has an animal in it: Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu

10. Title that is 2 words: Warrior Rising by PC Cast

11. Read a book with a one-word title. Shifter by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, and Virginia Kantra

12. Read a book with a number in the title. (ex. Fearless Fourteen, Three Little Sins). The 10th Kingdom by Kathryn Wesley

13. Read a book published before the year 2000. ?

14. Choose a book where the hero is a cop or lawman. Now You See Her by Linda Howard

15. For Autumn, choose an author whose first or last name begins with “A”. Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Midnight Pleasures

Midnight Pleasures by Amanda Ashley, Maggie Shayne, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Ronda Thompson

Rating: 3.5

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Anthology

Date Published: 2003

Page Count: 374

Reason for Reading: I'm currently on an anthology kick, and usually like Shayne and Kenyon's short stories.

Darkfest by Amanda Ashley

BackCover Description: The price of saving her dying mother is Channa's promise to spend a year at the castle of tormented nobleman, Lord Darkfest... to obey him as his servant or, as his secrets are revealed, to become his salvation. And her own.

Thoughts: This story had some weird kind of beauty and the beast/ medieval quest vibe going on. Darkfest is a reclusive wizard who can change into a large black wolf, Channa is a blind village girl who he, for some reason, is drawn to. Even though I couldn't quite see why the two characters were drawn to each other so strongly, I still enjoyed the story. Ashley could've went the asshole route with Darkfest but she didn't and in fact made him a pretty nice guy. My only real problem with the story was that it felt like Ashley was trying to cram way too many plot elements into 80 some odd pages, so the story felt rushed and the obstacles facing Channa and Darkfest felt too easily resolved. Other than that I really enjoyed the setting and magic elements of the story. I'll be looking to pick up one of Ashley's books in the future.

Individual Rating: 3.5

Phantom Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

BackCover Description: Haunted by recurring nightmares of terrifying beasts, Erin McDaniels is afraid to sleep- until a hero arrives in her dreams to save her... and makes erotic, incredible love to her. But can she find him again when she is awake?

Thoughts: This was above and beyond the best story in the book. Erin is physically drained from the terrifying dreams she keeps having, until a hero named V'Aidan suddenly appears out of no where in one of them. But once V'Aidan saves her from the monsters he can't leave her be and is suddenly in her dreams every time she closes her eyes. Now Erin has the problem of not wanting to be awake. This story is set in Kenyon's dark hunter universe but there is not really any mention of the dark hunters so if you're not into that series, you're still safe with reading this one. I adored this story in the book, the dream setting and the Greek mythology elements Kenyon put into the story was, as usual, fantastic. I can't wait to read more of Kenyon's dream-hunter characters in fuller detail.

Individual Rating: 4.5

Under Her Spell by Maggie Shayne

BackCover Description: A consultant for a TV series about one gorgeous witch, "white witch" Melissa St. Cloud plans to make the show authentic. But once on the set she is pulled into the arms of a man who opens up a doorway to the dark side and chilling peril.

Thoughts: I think I've read this story from Shayne before. Melissa lands the job of her dreams, working as a tech consultant for a paranormal TV show. Her only problem is that her boss seems to be messing around with the dark arts, so of course Melissa decides that she must take it upon herself to save him. I really didn't remember much about this story from the first time I read it, if that tells you anything. This was mostly just an okay read. Nothing really wrong with the story, but nothing really fantastic either. I found myself getting a little bored with the plot about halfway through but I did enjoy the characters.

Individual Rating: 3

A Wulf's Curse by Ronda Thompson

BackCover Description: Running away from an arranged marriage, Elise steals aboard a wagon in a traveling circus and finds herself in the bed of the Beast Tamer, Stearling Wulf, who is something other than what he seems... and suddenly all Elise desires.

Thoughts: Elise runs away from an arranged marriage to a man who sounds like Blue Beard and hides among a traveling circus. Another okay story. I really enjoyed the traveling circus setting, but the plot of the hero keeping the heroine at arms length for hidden reasons got a little old pretty fast. However, Thompson's take on the werewolf curse was interesting and all the characters she incorporated into the story were pretty good in how she managed to make them all not blur together. I think I'd be willing to pick up a full length book by Thompson in the future.

Individual Rating: 3.5

Recommended for: someone looking for a quick read or fans of short stories.