Tuesday 30 January 2018

Top 10 Favorite Movies of All Time


I like to mix it up once in a while so today, I'm going to got through my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Now I am 10 times as critical of movies than I am of books, so when I say these movies are my favorite I'm saying they are the best of the best and I can't actually rank them because I love them all so much. I even had honorable mentions because I couldn't even fathom not having some of these movies on the list.

1. Deadpool



Let's start off with a basic. Deadpool is crude and badass, I couldn't think of a better movie to suit my personality. I love action/superhero movies because I have the attention span of a walnut, so this movie kept my attention the whole time.

2. Thor: Ragnarok



I watched this movie and couldn't believe that it actually rivaled my love for Deadpool. I loved everything about it and even thought of doing a movie review for it back when I saw it. I never actually did, but I certainly contemplated it. The best part of the movie by far is Stan Lee's cameo. Golden.

3. The Departed



This was art. I really don't watch a lot of gangster movies, but this one had me hook line and sinker. I mean A+ acting from A-list actors and so much drama and action. There was so much double-crossing going on that you were just waiting for the whole thing to come to a head and being so excited to see it happen.

4. The Dark Knight



An old favorite. I can't say I'm happy with how DC movies are happening right now, they just aren't good. However, I haven't seen a superhero movie be as much of a cinematic masterpiece as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. What made the movie for me was Heath Ledger's amazing performance as the Joker. He's 1000x the Joker that Jared Leto will ever be. 

5. It



I saw this in theaters with my friend and let me tell you, the two of us were curled up in our chairs screaming. I watch a lot of horror films and a lot of them are bad. What set this one apart from all of those other bad horror films was the dynamic between characters. I feel like a lot of the time in horror films no one ever really gets attached because you know they're going to die eventually. It, however, build up a friendship between all of the characters to the point where you don't want any of them to be apart, you want these kids to beat the monster and come out okay on the other side.

6. Thelma and Louise



Best empowerment movie out there. This movie itself is a feminist icon. I loved Thelma's character development throughout this movie, it was worth every hardship they went through to get there. It's a must watch.

7. Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2



I'm counting these as one because they are two parts to the same story. I'm a sucker for Tarantino, I decided to only put one Tarantino movie on this list though. I chose Kill Bill because much like Thelma and Louise it's full of female empowerment and badassery. 

8. Zodiac



If you know anything about me as a person, you know I have a major obsession with unsolved mysteries, my personal favorite being the Zodiac Killer. This movie had me hooked from the beginning, it had me so on edge and had my mind in overdrive trying to put all the pieces together. I love it, even more, knowing that almost all of what happened in this movie as fact. Just saying, I am also a firm believer that Arthur Lee Allen was the Zodiac.

9. The Silence of the Lambs



I live and die for this movie. The Silence of the Lambs was the first Thriller/Horror type movie that I genuinely loved. Hannibal Lector is enough to keep anyone engaged. If you haven't seen this movie, you definitely should as it's a classic.

10. 10 Things I Hate About You



This movie never fails to get me in a better mood. Heath Ledger is on this list twice because I love him. 

Honorable mentions:

The Incredibles



Mulan


Heathers




Stand By Me


What are some of your favorite movies of all time? Let me know in the comments!

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Monday 29 January 2018

The Peer and the Puppet Cover Reveal



Time for the cover reveal of B. B. Reid's latest novel! This book will be coming out on February 13th, 2018

Genre: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:


THE PUPPET

Borrow the bike. Win the race. Collect the cash. It should’ve been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother’s latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don’t belong, and I’m not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior’s only son, I’m a stray looking for a bone.

He’s lord of the manor.
King of the academy. 
And number one on my shit list.  

THE PEER

I have no intentions of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn’t bank on her returning. 

Four’s out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She’s smart, but she’ll have to be smarter. Sending her away won’t be good enough this time. I’m going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I’m nothing without my silver spoon. 

She’s lady of the trailer park.
Queen of the swamps. 

And my new favorite pastime.

Cover:




Teasers:


Sunday 28 January 2018

Sunday Favorites: The Sea of Tranquility


I'm actually horrible at doing these Sunday Favorites, however, I like doing them. This week we are going to go all the way back to 2014 when I initially read The Sea of Tranquility.




The Sea of Tranquility
In case you're curious, here is the synopsis:

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.
Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.
The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.


The Sea of Tranquility is an NA novel, the only novel that Katja Millay has ever written and I would like to say before anything else that I would love to read more of her writing. This book was so completely full of soul that it was impossible not to get sucked in. It was heartbreaking at times, I may have actually cried because of how sad it was, but it was worth every tear I shed. The book was a reawakening of sorts. You have to get through all the heartache and hope that you will be better on the other side.



I first discovered this book, believe it or not, from another romance novel. The characters from More Than This by Jay McLean were talking about it and freaking out about the last two words in the book. Obviously, this got me incredibly curious. Stupidly, the first thing I did once I had a copy of this book was read the last two words. I had no idea what their significance was, obviously, since I hadn't read the book yet. It actually didn't even make sense to me until that last scene when it was completely transparent.

Nastya and Josh have a beautiful little relationship. They both have terrible backstories that have shaped who they are, but they find solace in each other. They see something in each other that resonates deep within. I feel like this is one of those books where the characters are very flawed and live pretty realistic lives and that's why the novel hits so close to home because nothing about it is impossible.

The writing itself is spellbinding. We get gems from the story like this:


I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

If that one quote doesn't have you interested in the book than I don't know what will. Maybe the fantastic characters, maybe the premise of the story itself. And I have to say, the characters are jarringly vulnerable at times. We really get to the heart of who they are, and I hate to sound like a broken record because I say this all the time, but they are relatable!

This was one of the few books that I read an ebook of and decided that I had to have a physical copy of it. I don't usually do that unless I absolutely loved the book. I really do hope I've convinced you to give this beautiful piece of literature a read, I swear by this book.

Have you ever read The Sea of Tranquility? If so how did you feel about it?

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Friday 26 January 2018

Recommendations: Children's Picture Books


I wanted to do something a little fun today and I thought “What’s more fun than children’s picture books?” the answer is nothing. So I’m gonna talk about some of my favorite childhood picture books. I know this isn’t even close to my normal thing, but I do a throw-throw back? 

Anyway, if your interested in recommendations for children’s picture books (I don’t actually know why you would even look for that on my blog) then here is a post for you!

Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?



I love that this book has a rhythm that you can read it to. It feels so smooth and fun. If you have children this would be perfect to read with them.

Love You Forever (Really Anything from Robert Munsch)



When I was a kid my mother had gotten my sister and I this huge book of Robert Munsch books and I loved it so much. If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know that as a child I absolutely hated reading, so that says a lot about me loving all of these stories. Love You Forever was definitely my favorite of the bunch, it’s iconic it even appeared on an episode of Friends.

The Cat in the Hat



This is a no-brainer. Dr. Suess is the king of children’s books.

Chester



I loved this one because of how sassy it was. Chester the cat is the reason I am such a sassy adult.

Where the Wild Things Are



This children’s book was so completely epic that there was a movie made about it. I’m honestly tempted to buy myself a copy of this book as it seems to be an all ages thing.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar




Who didn’t read this book as a child? If you didn’t your childhood is empty as it’s missing this masterpiece.

What are some of your favorite children's picture books from when you were a kid?


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Wednesday 24 January 2018

Waiting On Wednesday


Angel
by Sarah Brianne

Release Date: January 31st, 2018


Synopsis:



Angel is the son of the devil, bleeding Luciano blood.
Adalyn is fascinated by bad boys, bleeding Caruso blood.
Seized by his enemies, he’s only a moment away from death.
Toying with the enemy, she’s about to get caught in her own trap.
One kiss could betray his family and seal his fate.
That kiss could cost her life.

I’m just a f**king pawn.

I just want to be a f**king mob wife. 

My Thoughts:

This one comes out this week! Hopefully! This is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. This is the fifth book in the series so I've already come to love so many of the characters including Adalyn. Hopefully, I will come to love Angel as much as the other Made Men. This series is dark and angsty and if Angel is anything like the others, this is going to be one hell of a wild ride.

Tuesday 23 January 2018

Top 10 LGBTQ+ Books


I'm a bit guilty when I say that I apparently haven't read as many LGBT books as I thought I had. I'm hoping to fix that this year. If you're wondering why a certain book isn't on this list, it's because I wanted to limit this list to books where the LGBT characters weren't just some obscure side character, they were pretty much front and center. A list of my favorite LGBT characters and ships is a whole other list. Without further ado, let me begin my list. 


10. Cut and Run 



Our two protagonists are two manly men FBI agents who don’t really get along at first but have to work with each other and soon realize they have a thing for each other. It’s thrilling, it’s sexy, it’s perfect.

9. Him



This has the honour of being the first Elle Kennedy book I ever read and I have to say it set me on the right path. Our two protagonists have been best friends for years, one openly gay and in love with the other and the other being 100% clueless. It’s as packed full of drama as you think.

8. The Raven King



Okay so these characters aren’t the main main characters, but they are main charactery enough for me to give them this spot on the list. Also there are two of them so that doubles their significance. I won’t say which characters because spoilers, I will however say it’s important enough to put on the list.

7. This is Where it Ends



I didn’t realize until I had finished my list that this is my only lesbian couple on this list. I’ve definitely read more books with lesbians in them, just never with them being protagonists. Their relationship is a huge part of the story. It’s important to plot and characters.

6. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue



It took these two a billion years to figure it out but every second was worth it because they are so cute together. Monty and Percy are perfect together, Monty is out of control and has shit impulse control and Percy is calm and will call Monty out on his shit.

5. Carry On



This was basically the Harry and Draco fan fiction I always wanted, but better. These characters are loosely based on the previously mentioned characters, but they are also their own. 

4. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens agenda



This was the last book I read in 2017 and I am happy to say I ended my year off on a good note.

3. Captive Prince



What I love about this book is how open it is about sexuality. Everyone is either gay or at least bisexual. I don’t think there is a single person who is 100% straight in this book and I loved that. In a sea of books where everyone is straight it’s nice to see a book where everyone is LGBTQ+.

2. I’ll Give You the Sun



Noah’s sexuality is a large part of this story, his point of view is all about him coming to terms with it and being in love with someone he shouldn’t. 

1. Wolfsong




This is the book that inspired this list. It was just so fantastic that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This is officially my latest obsession. If you haven’t read this book yet, do.

Have any suggestions for LGBT books?