Music Monday (125): Berlin, Barry White, Salaam Remi, Teedra Moses , and D-Nice

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Recently, I've been listening to music by Berlin. One of my favorite songs is The Metro.

 

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Barry White, Practice What You Preach, and Salaam Remi, Teedra Moses, and D-Nice's new song, Black Love. Have a great week everyone!

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (182) & Book Beginnings: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love. Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.

Beginning: "Because that's what the story's really about: getting out of paying your debts. That's not how they tell it, but I knew. My father was a moneylender, you see. He wasn't very good at it."

56: ""It's very kind of them to make us such a present," my father said, dry."

Comments: I also reread part of Spinning Silver. It's still one of my favorite books. What are you reading this week?

Short Stories I Read In June

Today, I’m here to talk about the short stories, podcast episodes, and other miscellaneous posts I read and listened to in June.

St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid by C.L. Polk (Tor.com, June 5, 2020)

The first short story I read in June was St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid by C.L. Polk. This was an immersive story. It felt like a coming of age tale, and it was excellent. Polk’s writing is deft, and the story flows so well that I felt like it was over too soon. The voice of the narrator is vivid, and the world built here was detailed and full of bees and magic—both helpful and dangerous—that felt organic to the environment. St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid is the kind of story that leaves a lasting impression, and it’s world was one I want to read about again. I already have a copy of Polk’s novella, and I want to read it soon.

Two Truths and A Lie by Sara Pinsker (Tor.com, June 17, 2020)

The second story I read was Two Truths and A Lie by Sara Pinsker. The story followed Stella, who was home visiting her parents. While there, she ended up helping an old friend clean out a relative’s house after their death. Immediately, I enjoyed Stella’s perspective, as she tried to figure out what was going on—with her memories and what that had to do with an old, unsettling TV show from her childhood. From start to finish, this story was an engrossing and chilling read with an atmospheric tone that captured the creepy/horror aspects of some of the darker fairy tales. It did it in a subtle way that gradually built up the tension as the story progressed, and I never knew what was going to happen next. What made this one so memorable was the feeling it invoked: how it rapidly went from feeling very “every day” and somber, to mysterious, and then to eerie. The twists were fantastic and unexpected, even to the very end of the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

From Around the Web

• Not Until We Get A Turn: Retellings, Tropes, And Who Gets To Tell Stories (Kalynn Bayron; Tor.com; June 8, 2020)
• Raise Your Voice: Bethany C. Morrow’s A Song Below Water (Alex Brown; Tor.com, June 8, 2020)
• Nature, Horror, and the Inherent Darkness of the Human Condition (Alexis Henderson; Tor.com, June 4, 2020)
• Print Run Podcast episode 132
• The Role Publishing Plays in the Commodification of Black Pain (L.L. McKinney; Tor.com, June 17, 2020)
• Our Opinions Are Correct Podcast episode 60: Why Stories Need Good Dialogue

Music Monday (124): Ellie Goulding, Laura Mvula, and D-Nice

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to Ellie Goulding's latest album, Brightest Blue. One of my favorite songs from it is How Deep Is Too Deep.

I'm also listening to more of Laura Mvula's music. I'm really enjoying all her performances with the Metropole Orkest, and I love this version of That's Alright.

Andrea: Hi all. On Friday July 24th, D-Nice celebrated the 30th anniversary of the song and album, Call Me D-Nice. So I thought I would share it with you this week. 

Have an amazing week and stay safe!

What are you listening to this week? Has there been any new music releases that you're enjoying? If so, leave your recommendations in the comments. 

ARC Review: Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Title: Deal With The Devil
Series: Mercenary Librarians #1
Author: Kit Rocha
Source/Format: Bookish First; Bound ARC
More Details: Science Fiction; Romance
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor Books; July 27, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers in the vein of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author duo Kit Rocha 

The United States went belly up 45 years ago when our power grid was wiped out. Too few live in well-protected isolation while the rest of us scrape by on the margins. The only thing that matters is survival. By any means. At any cost. Nina is an information broker with a mission: to bring hope to the darkest corners of Atlanta. She and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to help those in need. But altruism doesn’t pay the bills—raiding vaults and collecting sensitive data is where the real money is. Knox is a bitter, battle-weary supersoldier who leads the Silver Devils, an elite strike squad that chose to go AWOL rather than slaughter innocents. Before the Devils leave town for good, they need a biochem hacker to stabilize the experimental implants that grant their superhuman abilities. The problem? Their hacker’s been kidnapped. And the ransom for her return is Nina. Knox has the perfect bait for a perfect trap: a lost Library of Congress server. The data could set Nina and her team up for years... If they live that long.

Deal With The Devil is the first book I’ve read by Kit Rocha. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it was a wild, action-packed dystopian novel. There were plenty of science fiction nuggets packed into this book too, including enhanced super soldiers, clones, and corporations that were up to some not so good things. It was dark and gritty story with hints of romance, set against the backdrop of a devastated and crumbling version of the US.

For starters, I enjoyed the world building in this story. Rocha did an excellent job of quickly establishing the rules of the world, while also maintaining a consistent level of ruin and corruption scattered throughout every part of the setting. Even the first chapter established how cutthroat and unforgiving society had become since an incident called the Flares, and the details about how certain areas were rebuilt and governed were also quite interesting.

In general, the story was a good one. There was a good deal of travel going on. That being said, the action started basically immediately, and there was a bit of a mystery about who had kidnapped the Silver Devils’ hacker. Needless to say, I was hooked from start to finish.

Another part of the reason why I enjoyed Deal With The Devil so much was because of the characters. The characters were personable. Nina was a standout in the story. I enjoyed the chapters from her perspective, and a highlight of the story was the dynamic between Nina, Maya, and Dani. They each brought a skill to the table, and honestly I just liked the friendship and camaraderie between the three of them. I also enjoyed the chapters from the POVs of the secondary characters. It offered a different perspective to the events of the story, and gave those characters a moment of much needed development outside of Nina and Knox’s perspectives.

Deal With The Devil proved to be an excellent start to the Mercenary Librarians series. I’m excited to see what Kit Rocha has in-store for the next book.

About the author...

Kit Rocha is the pseudonym if author duo/cowriting team Donna Herren (@totallydonna) and Bree Bridges (@mostlybree). They are best known for their gritty and sexy dystopian Beyond series. Bree and Donna met while writing X-Men fanfic in 200, which is the best meet-cute in history for writing BFFs and coauthors, and have been penning original work since 2007. They currently live three miles apart in Alabama and spend their nonwriting time caring for a menagerie of animals and crafting handmade jewelry, all of which is chronicled on their various social media accounts....

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tor Books) via BookishFirst for this review, thank you!