Music Monday (188): Aurora

 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: One of my most anticipated albums of the year was Aurora's The Gods We Can Touch. I already had a post dedicated it. So, my pick this week is Exhale Inhale. I love this song.

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (211) & Book Beginnings: Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee

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...

Virginal, chaste, humble, patiently waiting for rescue by brave knights and handsome princes: this idealised - and largely mythical - notion of the medieval noblewoman still lingers. Yet the reality was very different, as Kelcey Wilson-Lee shows in this vibrant account of the five daughters of the great English king, Edward I. The lives of these sisters - Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth - ran the full gamut of experiences open to royal women in the Middle Ages. Living as they did in a courtly culture founded on romantic longing and brilliant pageantry, they knew that a princess was to be chaste yet a mother to many children, preferably sons, meek yet able to influence a recalcitrant husband or even command a host of men-at-arms

Beginning: "Close your eyes and think of a medieval princess. Do you see a woman clothed in vibrant silks and rich velvets, her head, hands, and waist girdled with gleaming gold and sparkling gemstones?"

56: "Now under royal patronage, the next century saw significant expansion in the wealth and size of the priory." 

Comments: My first read of 2022 was Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee. It's a nonfiction book I've been meaning to get to, and it was just as good as I thought it would be. It's all about the daughters of Edward I. 

What are you reading this week? Or what was the first book you read in 2022?

I Listened to The Gods We Can Touch by Aurora

A lot of good music came out in January of this year. First with FKA Twigs’s mixtape, Caprisongs, and now with Aurora’s album: The Gods We Can Touch. 

With Aurora, I already guessed that the album would be thematic, and I was right. The six singles—Cure For Me, Giving In To The Love, Exist for Love, Heathens, A Dangerous Thing, and Everything Matters featuring Pomme—offered a taste of the tone of the album, and the title paints a pretty clear picture of what to expect.

The Gods We Can Touch was emotional and topical, but ultimately it was lighter and different than some of Aurora’s previous music. It felt a lot more experimental and upbeat, bringing in notes of electro-pop without losing the ethereal/dreamy nature adjacent quality that I liked about Aurora’s backlist tracks. Some of my favorites from this particular album include: Cure For Me, Blood Like Wine, Exhale Inhale, and A Dangerous Thing.

In some ways, it reminded me of Halsey’s 2021 album: If I can’t Have Love, I Want Power. They both have historical and mythology references, but the albums go about the presentation of themes in a way unique to the respective artist.

So, The Gods We Can Touch was one of my most anticipated albums of 2022. My expectations were sky high, considering how good the singles preceding its release were. Overall, this was a great album, and I’m looking forward to Aurora’s next project.

Music Monday (187): FKA Twigs, Sevendust, & Deniece Williams

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 FKA Twigs's new mixtape, Caprisongs. I talked about it in a separate post at the end of last week, and I wanted to mention one of my favorite songs for Music Monday. I really love the mixtape, and one of the memorable tracks is Honda featuring Pa Salieu.

Adri: This week I'm listening to Dirty by Sevendust.

Andrea: Hi all! I'm listening to Let's Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Caprisongs by FKA Twigs

While I started my blogging year with historical nonfiction, on the music side, the first thing I listened to was Caprisongs, FKA Twigs’s mixtape released on January 14th. 

Mixtapes can be hit or miss for me; after all it’s a place where experimentation with style and genre can (and often does) occur. So when they’re good they’re good. Some of my favorites have been Magdalena Bay’s Mini Mix vol. 1 & vol. 2, as well as Angel Haze’s Reservation. And Caprisongs falls right in with some of the best I’ve listened to.

When FKA Twigs releases something new, I know I’m in for a good time. With features including Pa Salieu and The Weeknd (among a handful of others), Caprisongs delivered everything I was looking for. Proceeded by two singles—Tears In The Club featuring The Weeknd and Jealousy featuring Rema—FKA Twigs’s genre-bending style and distinct vocals were front and center.

I listened to Caprisongs in one sitting, and I enjoyed every minute of it. From the splashy intro (Ride The Dragon), to the features (Honda, Tears In The Club, Papi Bones, Which Way, etc.), and to its excellent conclusion (Thank You Song). This is a mixtape I’ll be listening to again.

Music Monday (186): Allie X, Epica, The Weeknd

 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: Allie X released a deluxe edition of her 2020 album, Cape God, which added four new songs. One of my favorites is Anchor.

 

Adri: I'm listening to The Skeleton Key and Kingdom of Heaven PT 3 by Epica. I like the album versions, but I feel the Omega Alive performances add an extra flair.

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Take My Breath by The Weeknd. Have an amazing week all!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Pop?, Rap?, and R&B? by Tierra Whack

Welcome to the first “I Listened To” post of 2022. Today, I’m going to delve into my thoughts about Tierra Whack’s most recent music, a series of Eps with three songs each that were released in December 2021. They’re called Rap?, Pop?, and R&B?. 

Tierra Whack is one of those artists that I return to time and time again. Her music is always so creative, and her vocals are a distinctive part of what makes her work so memorable. So once I started listening to the Eps, I went through all three in one sitting.

Rap?, Pop?, and R&B? have all the characteristics—in sound and stylish vibe—of what I’ve come to expect from Whack’s music. Here though, that sound was mixed with the influence of the genre associated with the Ep titles. Some of my top favorite songs from them include: Millions, Stand Up, Body of Water, and Heaven.

All in all, in terms of music, this was a great way to start the year. And I’m excited to see what the rest of 2022 has in store.

 

ARC Review: The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Title: The Appeal
Series: n/a
Author: Janice Hallett
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Mystery; Thriller
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria Books; January 25, 2022

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble 

Synopsis from Goodreads...

This murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child—but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect.

The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals for an Arthur Miller play, when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Haywood and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their fellow castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival. But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. New actress Sam, a former NGO worker, raises doubts. But are her suspicions justified? Or does she have a history with the doctor involved? As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head the night of the dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that a killer may still be on the loose.

A wholly modern take on the epistolary novel, The Appeal is a debut perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Lucy Foley.

When I got approved for The Appeal by Janice Hallett, I’ll admit, I could barely contain my excitement. With its epistolary form, it’s one of my most anticipated mystery/thriller releases of 2022. The Appeal was a page turner, and I enjoyed so much about this story. It had a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters, but it was the kind of story that made me want to read till the end. The driving force behind it, for me, was to see who did what, who knew, and when they knew it. The reveal was a big one. And Hallett excelled at laying down the clues, telling us who the players were, and how it all happened.

The Appeal tells the story of a mystery centered on a sick child and a family’s desperate race against time to fundraise enough to obtain an unapproved treatment that could help her condition. It’s centered on a local theater group called The Fairway Players and the people most closely associated with their latest production. The further I got in the story, the more it was apparent that there was something darker lurking under what first appeared to be a warm, welcoming, and sunshiny community. It was beyond just cattiness and friendly competition between friends, family, and new acquaintances. The theater group was built around one family, the Haywoods, and their cliquish social circle. It was cut-throat, and you were either in or out. It was to the point where fundraising for a good cause seemed to become a competition between who could be the most supportive for the Haywoods as well as getting the best number of donations for the appeal.

Since it’s told in the form of letters, newspaper clippings, emails, and text messages among others, it reads like a case study because it technically is. It’s pretty clear that the above mentioned things were assembled prior to the start, and I actually like the occasional story that gets told in this manner. I did get more of a mystery than the high tension of a thriller—due to the messages offering a limited view of the characters—but the story was interesting. My favorite bits were in the later half where there was more of Olufemi Hassan and Charlotte Holroyd’s comments regarding the case.

All that to say, The Appeal was an excellent mystery.

   

About the author....

A former magazine editor and award-winning journalist, Janice has written speeches and articles for, among others, the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Department for International Development. In screenwriting, Janice's first feature film RETREAT was released by Sony Pictures (co-written and directed by Carl Tibbetts) which starred Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell. Janice’s stage plays have been performed at Theatre503, The White Bear, Hen & Chickens and TheatreN16. She was also one of six female playwrights selected by All The Rage Theatre for its Seize The Stage festival at Rich Mix. Her play NETHERBARD has twice been performed by Budding Rose Productions. Janice has had television scripts in development with Slim Film & TV and with Retort (part of FreemantleMedia). Her sitcom TWO LADIES was performed at the Museum of Comedy in June 2019. Janice was selected for the Triforce Creative Network year-long mentoring scheme and featured on the BBC New Talent Hotlist. She won Best New Screenplay in the 2014 British Independent Film Festival.
​
Janice's debut novel, THE APPEAL, published by Viper (Serpent's Tail) in January 2021.

Goodreads     Website     Twitter 

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Atria Books) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Music Monday (185): Brux, Kimbra, & Tetrarch

 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 somehow missed this song when it came out in October 2021. It's called Take by Brux and Kimbra. 

Adri: I found a lot of rock / metal songs last year that I liked, but I didn't get around to using them for Music Monday. So I'm going to start now. My pick for today is Trust Me by Tetrarch. It's one of the slower songs from their album Unstable. I'd equate it to simmering water.

What are you listening to this week?

Most Anticipated Books & Music of 2022

Welcome. Today, I want to talk about my most anticipated books and music of 2022, as well as some of the other titles I want to get to before the year is over.

Books…

The middle grade horror include: Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden, Camp Scare by Delilah S. Dawson, and The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown. Other books: A Thousand Steps into Night by Tracie Chee, The Couple At Number 9 by Clair Douglas, the next volume of The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki, and The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah. The classic I want to read this year is The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The series I want to finish in 2022 are The Folk of the Air by Holly Black and Sands of Arawiya by Hafsah Faizal.

Music…

There are a couple of albums I’m waiting for this year. Some of the ones I’ve included here have already come out, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet.

In January: Icy Season by Saweetie (January 7), Caprisongs by FKA Twigs (January 14), The Gods We Can Touch by Aurora (January 21), and Motordrome by MO (January 28).

In March: Crash by Charli XCX (March 18).

Other releases with details to come: Kimbra’s fourth album, album by Kim Petras, Rina Sawayama's 2nd album.

So that’s what I’m currently waiting for this year. And, as always, this list will evolve as the year goes on. What are you looking forward to in 2022?

I'm Back....

My break from blogging is over. I hope everyone had a great New Year. I enjoyed my time off, but I’m ready to try and get back into the swing of things. Posts will be kind of sporadic for a few weeks, and Short Stories is still on hold this month while I prepare February’s edition. So I thought I would start the year with a chatty catchup type of thing, which I rarely do on the blog.

So what have I been up to?

Over my break, I did a lot less reading than I thought I would. Instead, I spent way too much time making miniature clay animals (many hedgehogs, two penguins, a possum, an owl, and all the other ones I haven’t had the chance to paint yet). I originally started the project with the intention of making Christmas gifts (and those ones aren’t pictured here), and I discovered that I really like making tiny animals. The process was time consuming, and so it remains an ongoing activity on my end. I also made some ornaments based off of a DIY project I saw in a Michaels newsletter in early December.  

Baking…

I didn’t try many new recipes this year. Although, Emmymade, a Youtube channel I follow, made a master cookie recipe. You can find the video HERE. Master Cookie recipes have been on my baking list for the longest time. And, during December, I wanted to make some thumbprint cookies. I figured it was a good time (and a good excuse) to see whether or not I liked the way the base dough baked.

It’s a fantastic cookie on its own, but with the jam it was absolute delicious. The texture is crisp on the outside but soft on the inside, and the taste is lightly sweet and reminded me of a very rich shortbread cookie.

As mentioned on the recipe, there are other flavor combinations for this dough: peanut butter, chocolate, etc. I eventually want to try them all.

Reading…

As I mentioned above, I did very little reading. But I did get to Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake and Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, two books that were delightful reads for vastly different reason. I recommend both.

Games...

Animal Crossing New Horizons. There's so much to do in the game with the 2.0 update and the Happy Home Paradise DLC. I'm having way too much fun decorating houses, but as I told Adri before the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct, I had my fingers crossed that Happy Home Decorator would be ported for the Switch in some form. I literally got what I wished for. 

So, I’m back, and I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Up next, I’ll do my most anticipated 2022 books and music. So, keep an eye out for that. Happy reading!

Music Monday (184): Tierra Whack, FKA twigs, Central Cee, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire

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: And we're back! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I enjoyed my extended break from blogging, but I'm looking to get back into the swing of things starting with one of my favorite weekly memes: Music Monday. 

My pick for today is Body of Water by Tierra Whack. It's from her Pop? EP that released in December 2021 (I have a post that better explains my thoughts about Whack's recent releases scheduled for later this month).

 

Adri: My pick is Measure of a Man by FKA twigs featuring Central Cee.

Andrea: Hi all, this week I am listening to Does He Love You by Reba McEntire featuring Dolly Parton. Have an amazing week!

What are you reading this week?