March 28, 2022

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #30 Katherine Webber, Ilsa J. Bick, Mira Grant


Intro


Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version ðŸ˜‰. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

March 20, 2022

Josh Winning: "The Shadow Glass" (ARC Review)

Title: The Shadow Glass  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Josh Winning [Site | Goodreads | Other Goodreads (as Joshua Winning)]
Genres: Fantasy, Multiverse
Year: 2022
Age: 16+ (I shelved it as Adult because of the characters' age, but it can be read by mature teens - see "WARNING!" below)
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Fresh spin on the portal fantasy trope/puppet fantasy genre with grown-up protagonists. Stuffed (pun intended) with action and heart. Reads like an impassioned love letter to '80s cinema (and fandom of any kind), but will resonate with anyone regardless of age.
Cons: Some of the side characters could have used more development/agency.
WARNING! Blood and gore. A handful of scenes are particularly gruesome.
Will appeal to: Lovers of '80 cinema (especially if it involves puppets). People who have never seen an '80 movie, but can get behind the idea of love moving mountains - or better, conjuring up worlds.

Blurb: Jack Corman is failing at life. Jobless, jaded and on the “wrong” side of thirty, he’s facing the threat of eviction from his London flat while reeling from the sudden death of his father, one-time film director Bob Corman. Back in the eighties, Bob poured his heart and soul into the creation of his 1986 puppet fantasy The Shadow Glass, a film Jack loved as a child, idolising its fox-like hero Dune. But The Shadow Glass flopped on release, and Bob became a laughing stock, losing himself to booze and self-pity. Now, the film represents everything Jack hated about his father. In the wake of Bob’s death, Jack returns to his decaying home, [where,] during a freak thunderstorm, the puppets in the attic start talking. Tipped into a desperate real-world quest to save London from the more nefarious of his father’s creations, Jack teams up with excitable fanboy Toby and spiky studio executive Amelia to navigate the labyrinth of his father’s legacy while conjuring the hero within - and igniting a Shadow Glass resurgence that could, finally, do his father proud. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I beta-read this book. Also, Titan Books provided me with an evaluation ecopy via both NetGalley and Edelweiss (thank you!). Neither facts influenced my review in any way.

NEVER TOO LATE

The Shadow Glass reads like a love letter to movies like Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story (not to mention The Dark Crystal, to which its title pays homage - like that movie, the book centers around a quest for the pieces of the titular object), with a notable difference: its main character isn't a teen adventurer, but an embittered loser in his late thirties with (legitimate) daddy issues, who's grown to hate the fantasy world his father Bob created, the same world he idolised and whose magic he used to strongly believe in as a child. Fear not, though, because this story isn't a self-pity party - it is, for all purposes, a sometimes epic, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny coming-of-age tale with an adult at its center (which is the freshest thing about it), one who has to rediscover the power of magic and the hero within, while learning to process his anger and grief and, ultimately, to understand and forgive (plus to forge unexpected relationships, both with humans and puppets become alive 😂). [...]

March 15, 2022

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Would You Like to Be Paid to Blog/Write Reviews?


Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real LifeJen at That's What I'm Talking AboutKaren at For What It's WorthLinda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PAID TO BLOG/WRITE REVIEWS?

Absolutely...not. My blog is my kingdom and my happy place, where I'm free to run barefoot (figuratively speaking) and do cartwheels (not that I'm capable of doing cartwheels in real life, but again, you get my meaning). I carefully choose my books and I say what I want about them. If I got paid, I'd have obligations, and I'd have to read even the books that don't cater to my tastes. My blog wouldn't be my creative outlet anymore – just something that helps paying (a little slice of) the bills. And I couldn't have hiatuses and I'd have to curate my followers list and...I'm not sure I'd be allowed to be honest, or even if I did, I don't know if you all could believe I would. I'm clinging to this labour of love for dear life, and no, I wouldn't change a thing about it.

March 06, 2022

Offbeat Offline: February 2022


Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? Job-hunting, but barely, because I didn't even have time for that. MIL still in the hospital for her broken femur (see Offbeat Offline: January 2022), then in rehabilitation, then home again. Because the universe is NEVER finished with me and the people around me. Catch a breath? What's that?

(Anyhow, I managed to take a week off work from Feb. 28th, so things have been slightly less hectic these latest days...).

March 01, 2022

Tell Me Something Tuesday: If You Could Have Any Job in the World, What Would It Be and Why?


Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real LifeJen at That's What I'm Talking AboutKaren at For What It's WorthLinda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

(Note: I wrote this post prior to learning I would be unemployed from May 1st - haha Labour Day the universe is so funny ðŸ˜’ - but it's still relevant...maybe more than ever).

When I was young, I used to believe in dream jobs, or jobs that define you. I wanted a creative outlet, though on the other hand, I very much wanted to stay behind the curtain. When I got into radio - as a hobby at first - and it finally became my job, I thought I had found the perfect place for me. Except...you know what they say - be careful what you wish for. Fast forward a few years, and I was bored and disillusioned and angry, for a lot of reasons that I'm not going to list here, because I want to keep this post short. Now I know two things:
  • if you want to keep loving your "creative" or "artistic" job, you must do it at the highest level, in the best environment, with the best tools;
  • most of the times, it's advisable to pursue the things you love most as hobbies, when and how and if you want - that way they'll never take on a sour taste and will always bring you joy.
If I could choose whatever job right now? I would want one that required me to stay behind a keyboard, because most of the times, it's the safest place to be (I mean emotionally, too). I wouldn't care for the hows and whys - only that it paid a reasonable amount of money and left me with enough time to get behind my other keyboard and blog to my heart's content.