#5-Star Review

[peterkazmaier]

Surprised by the Movie SURPRISED BY OXFORD

If you loved Carolyn Weber's book, I think you'll love the movie.

Carolyn (Caro) Weber’s very personal memoir, Surprised by Oxford, is one of my favorite books. I have read it at least twice, I’ve discussed in the book club I attend, and I’ve given it to members of my family. Imagine my delight when I noted the book had been made into a movie (2023) and was available on Hoopla at my cottage area library. While eager to watch the movie, I did wondered if I would…

[authorajalexander]

River Guardian's Second 5-Star Review

Just a few minutes ago, I came across River Guardian’s second 5-star review! I’m so grateful and happy that the book is a joy to read and that the responses are so far amazing! REVIEW I am loving this series so far and book six does not disappoint. In book six we meet Eavan a farie and guardian of the rivers living life on earth while trying to do her duties. Nature though is failing and Eavan…

[westywallowing]

it's in my head that for school work experience or for an internship Adrien gets a job at a cute local family owned coffee shop and the owners try to adopt him like a son

[dolltwink]

I am in awe of these creatures,,, thank u @shirecorn

Pspsps get them here

[reedreadsbooks]

Book Review: Dreadnought by April Daniels ✨🏙️⚡️

rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

(5/5)

After Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero, is killed in combat, closeted trans girl Danny Tozer inherits his powers and is transformed to have the body she’s always wanted to have. Now she has to deal with having superpowers and being an out trans woman, all the while hunting down the supervillain who murdered her predecessor.

This book was phenomenal, and I’m kind of at a loss for words to describe how much I liked it.

To start, I love the world of this book. This is such a classic superhero story. Daniels uses the conventions of the genre without making things feel like a parody and subverts tropes just enough to make the story distinct.

I also really love Dreadnought as a trans narrative. This book doesn’t shy away from transphobia. Between Danny’s parents, kids at her school, and other heroes she meets, we get a pretty broad and realistic representation of the types of abuse a young trans woman might face. There’s also so much trans joy in this book. It was really nice to see Danny come into herself, and it was cathartic to watch her realize that no one could take her transition away from her. This is the type of story that will give trans kids hope for the future.

I would recommend this book to literally everyone. In fact, I plan on recommending this book to literally everyone. But because that’s not helpful, I’ll be more specific and say I highly recommend this book to fans of Andrew Joseph White. Obviously, it’s very different from his work, genre-wise, but I think the themes are really similar. If you like Hell Followed with Us and The Spirit Bares It’s Teeth, I can definitely see you liking Dreadnought.

[pl3as3hangup]

deep down i know in my heart that top gun maverick is a 5 star movie but hangman and rooster didn't kiss so i just can't give it that extra 1/2 star

[samwisethewitch]

REVIEW: Backwoods Witchcraft by Jake Richards

I feel like Jake Richards's books are pretty popular with folk witches. If you have any interest in Appalachian folk magic, or even American folk magic more generally, you've probably at least heard of this book. Part of why I put off reviewing it for so long is because I feel like there's already been plenty of attention given to it online, so I'll try to make this brief.

Pros:

Definitely authentic Appalachian folk magic. Jake Richards writes about a lot of things I've seen people do or heard people talk about but never seen written anywhere.

This book is really well researched! I'm very impressed by all the references and footnotes.

I love that Richards uses the correct Tsalagi (Cherokee), Gaelige (Irish), and Gaelic (Scottish) words when talking about the cultures that influence Southern folk magic. I also love that he includes pronunciation guides.

Cons:

I didn't finish this book on my first read. It wasn't until I revisited it recently that I actually read to the end. Something about the writing style and the way the book is organized made it a little hard to follow at times, at least for me.

The research is generally good, but there's definitely more detail given for European and Cherokee cultural influences than for African. When talking about European influences, Richards will usually specify the specific country or culture something comes from, but for African influences he just says "African." While this research is harder to do because the slave trade intentionally cut people off from their cultural traditions, other authors like Luisah Teish and Stephanie Rose Bird have shown that we can often trace these African influences back to a specific culture, or at least a region. I would have liked to see the same level of effort put into researching African practices that went into the European ones.

Other Observations:

Christianity is a big part of the author's practice. This is faithful to traditional Appalachian conjure, but just know that it may be triggering if you've experienced religious trauma in a Christian setting. I found this book harder to read than other books on conjure that incorporate Christian elements, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because it sounded too similar to the Appalachian church where my abuse happened? Just something to be aware of if this is a tricky topic for you.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

"distant relative" i assume you are referring to my father?

[spiderman-into-the-sapphiverse]

The Last Wish Puss in Boots 🤝 Lego Batman

singing a self-congratulatory song as an introduction in their solo movie to establish their self confidence before they have a shattering identity crisis later on

[sixstarries]

book so good i want to download it into my subconscious

[keplercryptids]

i just think if you purchase someone's art or other handmade crafts, you shouldn't give negative reviews unless what you receive is like, wildly different from what was advertised, etc. "always rate your uber drivers 5 stars" but for indie artists, please.

[authorajalexander]

River Guardian's First 5-Star Review

I’m so excited to learn that The Paranormal Romance Build has published River Guardian’s first 5-star review on its website. This is a wonderful, happy, and encouraging gift on this day! Reviewed by Linda Tonis Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team Dr. Eavan Delaney is an elf princess left by her parents with a human family and raised like their own. Her parents are in exile, and…

[thollandnewsbra]

STAGE TO PAGE has given 'Romeo & Juliet' a 5 star-review!

Jamie Lloyd has taken the greatest love story of all time and made it into the most gritty, visceral piece of theatre I've ever seen. 

Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers share some of the best onstage chemistry I've ever seen in live theatre. Holland is a quietly charismatic Romeo against Amewudah-Rivers' fiery and bold portrayal of Juliet. The intimacy co-ordination from Ingrid Mackinnon must be applauded here as she's created what appears to be the perfect atmosphere for the pair to thrive and bounce off of each other.

Watching Holland's descent into madness and animalistic rage, and his acting in the end of act one is as raw and exposed as you'll see. Amewudah-Rivers domineers the stage and demands you to take notice of her sensational take on one of literature's most loved female characters. Jamie Lloyd has once again created an absolutely ground-breaking production. Whether good or bad, this adaptation will certainly have people talking and is a true reflection of the subjectiveness of theatre.

[scaredforboomboom]

[wordfather]

my cat will act like the whole world is ending because its taking me more than a millisecond to put food on his plate

[genericpuff]

yeah i don't think this is the kind of advertising rachel needs right now-