Music Monday: Westworld

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.

Rules:

Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.


I've recently finished the first season of Westworld.  I liked the old movie with Yul Brynner and I'd been told I ought to try this series - as it turns out I love it.  There's so many great characters and I love the sci-fi element, as well as how creepy it begins to get the further you go along.  Anyway, one of the best little surprises of the series is that player piano in the saloon, so this week I'm spotlighting the show's version of "Black Hole Sun" and "Heart-Shaped Box" which was featured in the trailer for the second season.  I can't wait to see season 2!

Time Was by Ian McDonald (ARC) - Review

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

During World War II, Tom and Ben were brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar. The two had to kept their growing love for one another secret. When the project they were assigned to went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished and were never seen again, presumed to be dead. Now they are lost in time, searching for one another by leaving clues in books - hoping to make their timelines overlap in order to be together again.

I'm a sucker for a good time travel story and Time Was by Ian McDonald sounded exactly like the novella for me. Unfortunately, after I completed the story I felt like I'd been duped because the story is described as a WWII time travel love story, but really it's about pretentious book-loving historian who happens to find some of Ben and Tom's correspondences and begins to put their story together. We do get a handful of short POV chapters from our time travelers perspectives but not nearly enough to really care about their story at all, no matter how much I wanted to become hooked. Plus, I hate to say it, but Tom and Ben were actually on the dull side.

Overall, I love the idea of Time Was, but I was underwhelmed by the execution. The storytelling begins to get more disjointed and disconnected the further you go along and we don't get nearly enough time with the cast to become invested in their stories. I think I would have preferred to have followed Ben and Tom's storylines directly without the historian framing their tale. Unfortunately, Ian McDonald's newest release just wasn't for me although there's plenty of potential.

Thanks anyway, NetGalley.


I read this novella on April 18, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.  Time Was by Ian McDonald will be released on April 24th, 2018.

A Graveyard Visible by Steve Conoboy (ARC) - Review

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Caleb can see an ancient graveyard from his bedroom window and he's certain that it's a just a little bigger every time he looks at it. There are funerals there every night, but no one in his town seems to be dying. Misha, the odd girl who lives at the cemetery with her grandfather, is interested in Caleb and no matter what Caleb does he can't get rid of her. He's sure those creepy graveside mourners that are at every funeral are forcing her into strange rituals against her will. Caleb, who is still reeling from the death of his mother, has found himself pulled into the world of the dead and it may be too late to pull himself back out.

A Graveyard Visible by Steve Conoboy is a very promising story to start off. I liked the author's gothic and descriptive writing style. The first twenty to thirty percent were actually pretty fantastic that really had me hooked. However, the further I read through the story the more my interest waned. I was most interested in what was going on with the graveyard, but we never really get any real answers about it. Plus, the more I read the more difficult it became to follow the course of events. In the beginning, Conoboy does a brilliant job of building and creating that sense of suspense and tension. Unfortunately, by the end of this story I was close to DNF'ing this one. Most of the questions I was interested in are never answered and sometimes the shifts in perspective and formatting could be a bit confusing.

Overall, I really wanted to like A Graveyard Visible by Steve Conoboy much more than I did. It has a lot of potential and it started off well. By the end, though, it just wasn't for me. I felt like I was left hanging on the elements that intrigued me the most.

Thanks anyway, NetGalley.


I read this ARC from April 14 - 17, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.  A Graveyard Visible will be released on April 27th, 2018.

The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): Nevermore (Cal Leandros #10) by Rob Thurman + 50/50 Friday

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice, Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books. For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs.

This week I'm spotlighting one of my current #BeatTheBacklist reads, Nevermore (Cal Leandros #10) by Rob Thurman.  I love this urban fantasy series and with this novel I'll be caught up on the series.  Unfortunately, I've heard this one ends on a cliffhanger and as it turns out book eleven, Everwar, missed it's publication on December 6th, 2016.  I haven't heard anything about that book, the author, or anything.  I hope everything's alright.  Anyway, I'd bet you'd love this series if you're a fan of Supernatural.

Beginning:

People die.

All the time.  Everyone knows that, right?  The world is dangerous.  Existence is precarious, the footing beneath you shaky.

56:

One corner of his mouth crooked upward.  It was the closest thing to a smile you'd get out of me at that age.

50/50 Friday: Favorite/ Least Favorite Harry Potter Novel - I love this series to death, but if I was forced to choose...

Least - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 

Favorite - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


What are you reading today?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting and perhaps even commenting down below!

Come Back To The Swamp by Laura Morrison (ARC) - Review

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I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Bernice is doing invasive species research in Cleary Swamp for her graduate degree in ecology when she is confronted by a strange woman who claims to be the swamp. When Bernice uncovers that the old woman is a missing person named Rebecca Hallet who disappeared ages ago, she tries to get her some help. However, Rebecca has a supernatural connection to the swamp itself. The swamp knows that Rebecca's body isn't going to last much longer and it needs a new caretaker host, and it doesn't want to let Bernice go.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Laura Morrison's novella, but I'm glad I took the opportunity to try Come Back To The Swamp. Ecology isn't really my subject, but what we get of the science is quite readable either way. My favorite aspect of this story is easily Bernice herself. She's a fan of classic sci-fi, Lord of the Rings, and bluegrass music. I don't know about you, but she sounds like someone I'd want to make friends with. She's also very level-headed and isn't not willing to take whatever Rebecca/ the swamp says at face value. I appreciated that she does her best to put together the pieces behind what's going on with Rebecca and the swamp. Tonally, I also liked how this story comes across - it's very creepy and disconcerting - and how the tension builds up as the story is reaching the conclusion. Finally, I only have one complaint - the story is too short. I wish we got to see more of these characters and the swamp. There's so much more I want to see that we just get a taste of here.

Overall, Come Back To The Swamp by Laura Morrison comes with high praise from me. There are so many great things about this story from intriguing characters, great writing, and supernatural elements that leave you wanting more. If only this story was longer so we could stay with everyone for longer. I am definitely interested in trying more from this author in the future.

I read this ARC from April 8 - 9, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.  Come Back To The Swamp by Laura Morrison will be released on August 7, 2018.

Top Ten Tuesday: TV Shows I Want To Start

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is a freebie - I've decided to try list some tv shows I plan on starting in on soon.  Here we go, in order by series title:


Altered Carbon - I don't know about you, but I think this looks like a pretty awesome cyberpunk series!

Big Little Lies - I just recently finished the novel and I'm definitely interested in what they do with the adaptation - This one actually came in much sooner than expected so I just finished watching it actually.



Damien - Bradley James in a horror series that expands on The Omen? I'll have to give it a try!

Hemlock Grove - I've been told that I need to start in on this werewolf series so many times.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - I have no clue why I haven't already started this one honestly!



The Librarians - I loved the tv movie series and I've been meaning to watch the tv show. I've heard lots of good things about it!



The Man in the High Castle - This alternate history series has been recommended to me too many times to count...

Orphan Black - I've been meaning to start this for ages, but for some reason I keep pushing it further down my watchlist. I need to just start it once and for all.



Westworld - I love the movie 1973 movie and I'm actually about halfway through season one as you read this.


Wynona Earp - One of my friends watches this show and she has nothing but good things to say about it, so I'd better try it out.

Have you watched any of these shows?  Which should I start in on first?  What are you watching now?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

Music Monday: Music From The Bahubali Series

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.

Rules:

Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.

This week I'm spotlighting some of my favorite songs from the Bahubali two-part movie series.  I just recently watched the final part and I absolutely loved every minute of the series!  It's an epic action fantasy set in ancient India - it has something in it for everyone, including great musical numbers, stunning fight scenes, and breathtaking cinematography.  Seriously, this series was everything I never knew I needed in my life and I highly recommend it!  Below, I'm sharing my five favorite songs from the series - the first three are from the first movie and the last two are from the final movie.  Unfortunately the videos below don't have English subtitles, so you won't know exactly what's going on unless you know Hindi or have already seen these movies, but either way these will totally give you a taste of just how awesome this series is.  By the way, the movies were originally made in both Telugu and Tamil, but it was also dubbed in Hindi (which is what the DVD editions I watched were in).  Check out the trailer for Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) here and Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) here.  I think I'm going to have to be on the look out for more movies featuring Prabhas, the actor playing both Bahubali and Shivudu, even though before this series he was mostly known for his work in romantic comedies because he's just that good.