Music Monday (202): The Weeknd, Jody Watley

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: Lately, I've been listening to a lot of The Weeknd's recent music. Dawn FM is pure excellence, and it was hard to choose just one song for Music Monday. But, for the sake of keeping this post at a reasonable length, my pick is Is There Someone Else?

Adri: This week I am listening to Photographs and Clouds by Jody Watley. I had to bring her up again because found out she released a house album rightfully titled Midnight Lounge. I love it. 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (217) & Book Beginnings: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

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...                                                                                                                                            Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

Beginning: "If you ask six different monks the question of which godly domain robot consciousness belongs to, you'll get seven different answers."

56: "Every two hundred days. That's it."

Comments: I finally read A Psalm for the Wild-Built. The story was fine. What are you reading this week?

Music Monday (201): Harry Styles, Jody Watley

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 Harry Styles' latest release: Harry's House. I rarely stay up for an album, but I couldn't wait till the morning to listen to it. I love it a lot (more about that on a different post later this month). For today, I wanted to mention two of my favorite songs. The first is Satellite.

 

My second pick is the last song on the album. It's called Love Of My Life. 

Adri: I've been listening to a lot of old school artist lately, and my pick is Dance To The Music by Jody Watley.

What are you listening to this week?

I Played Horizon: Forbidden West

Title: Horizon: Forbidden West
Developer/Publisher: Guerrilla Games; Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: February 18 2022
Platform: PS4 / PS5
Source/ format: Purchased, Disc
Other: Played on PS4

What I Thought:

I tried my best to keep this review vague, but there may be minor spoilers since I talk about specific parts of gameplay. 

I played Horizon: Forbidden West. Some of  what I said and felt in my review for Zero Dawn applies here, but it's done even better. All of this culminated to an enjoyable and dynamic playing experience.

The main plot was a wild ride with many expected and some unexpected twists. Needless to say, I’m glad that it didn’t hesitate to go in a more fantastical direction. Plot aside, like Zero Dawn, the side missions colored and expanded on the world, environments, and the plethora of characters both new and old. Each character felt super individualistic in their personality and in the way they spoke, moved, etc. Besides Aloy's interactions with different characters, it was nice being able to hear more of her personal feelings via periodically examining objects. Also nice was seeing more self realization developments for Aloy, especially by the end. The environments were straight up gorgeous, colorful, and felt broader. Finally, I have to mention Cauldrons. I enjoyed playing through them since, in a way, they seemed darker and more menacing. It's the same ambience I loved from the Frozen Wilds DLC.

To list my favorite new additions: the weapons (especially Spike Throwers),  different ways to get collectables, the ability to climb in countless areas, face paints, and armor dyes. Then there were others like a board game (Strike), racing, Melee Pits, additional mounts, and swimming. Swimming, sadly, ended up being frustrating during one of my favorite main missions. It felt a little awkward at times, even later when it was a lot easier. I enjoyed the added complexity to some of the puzzles like the Relic Ruins that used multiple Datapoints. Or how Tallnecks take additional and varied steps before being able to override them. The custom difficulty –where players can adjust a handful of options like the damage Aloy deals to or is dealt to for a truly customized experience. Last but not least, my absolute favorite and most important on my list –that I didn’t know I wanted –is none other than the Infinite Stash! With the Workbench based crafting system, it worked out great. Though, I definitely had to get in the habit of stopping by a bench to find out what was required for said upgrades.

My less enjoyed parts were mainly the later Melee Pits and combo chaining. The earlier ones, as well as the Pit Master and Enduring, were fine. But the instructions for the advanced combos weren’t as clear. After figuring those out, I then had to face the timing.  With that being said, I appreciated the combos in that they added more variety rather than a plain heavy or light attack.

Well, I loved how vibrant it got at times. And something I forgot to mention was, after going back to Zero Dawn, the controls felt smoother. Honestly, I want to see more. Overall, I had a swell time playing.

Thanks for reading.

We Free The Stars by Hafsah Faizal

Title: We Free The Stars
Series: Sands of Arawiya Duology #2
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Fantasy; Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date:

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble 

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The battle on Sharr is over. The dark forest has fallen. Altair may be captive, but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are bound for Sultan’s Keep, determined to finish the plan he set in motion: restoring the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate, and finally returning magic to all of Arawiya. But they are low on resources and allies alike, and the kingdom teems with fear of the Lion of the Night’s return. As the zumra plots to overthrow the kingdom’s darkest threat, Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood. He must learn to hone his power into a weapon, to wield not only against the Lion but against his father, trapped under the Lion’s control. Zafira battles a very different darkness festering in her through her bond with the Jawarat—a darkness that hums with voices, pushing her to the brink of her sanity and to the edge of a chaos she dare not unleash. In spite of the darkness enclosing ever faster, Nasir and Zafira find themselves falling into a love they can’t stand to lose…but time is running out to achieve their ends, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made.

Lush and striking, hopeful and devastating, We Free the Stars is the masterful conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology by New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal.

**Note: there may be mild spoilers for We Hunt The Flame.**

It’s always nice when the follow-up to a favorite book sticks its landing, and delivers an ending that was satisfying in drawing the story to a close. We Hunt The Flame is one of my favorite young adult fantasy novels, and the sequel (and final book of the Sands of Arawiya duology) has sat on my shelf for way too long. At long last, I’ve finally read We Free The Stars.

This book—THIS BOOK—was so good from the very first page. The aftermath of We Hunt The Flame’s ending was immediate and visceral in its intensity. And for a group of characters I was clearly rooting for to succeed, it was hard to watch them experience the consequences and the subsequent turmoil brought about by accident and their decisions. But the conflict they were embroiled in was quickly spiraling into a war. Sides were already clearly drawn, and the greater part of the plot was already set in motion. I knew exactly what kind of story I was in for.

One thing that this duology did so well was the characters. Zafira: her desire to protect and help, to change the system that treated her unfairly, and reclaim magic as well. Kifah: who wanted her revenge, but was loyal and just as determined to restore magic. Altair: with his plans and web of allies. And Nasir: who was haunted by his past, who strove to atone and grasp a better future. Clearly I liked the dynamics of the team. What I was surprised by, however, was how deeply Faizal examined the characters. The story delved into the layers of who they were—their motivation, goals, and what they were willing to do to ultimately achieve them. No one was perfect. Mistakes were literally made (and some of them had really terrible consequences). The emotional stakes were just as high as the journey/battle to restore magic to Arawiya.

Lofty ambitions abound, but there was a cost for it.

We Free The Star was a fitting sequel and an excellent ending to the duology. I’m looking forward to Hafsah Faizal’s next book.