Pages

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

2020 Spotify Most listened to in 2020 Playlist

 I Revenge - MXMS

Lead You Back - Space RockerZ

Help I'm Alive - Metric

Storm Song - Phildel

Bright - Echosmith

Howl - Florence and the Machine

Destiny - Markus Schults

Pretty When You Cry - Vast

Insomnia - IAMX

Walk through the Fire - Zayde Wolf

Hide & Seek - Amber Run

Venice Beach - Lana Del Rey

Return to Outremer - Irfan

The Mystic's Dream - Loreena McKennitt

And There Will Your Heart Be Also - Fields of the Nephilim

Keep The Fire - Ashley - Wallbridge

You Have Realised - Gal Abutbul

Original - Leftfield

a Pyre of Black Sunflowers - Of the Wind and the Moon

Choke - Hybrid

A Forest - Carpathian Forest

Utopia - Brendan Perry

Kaleidoscope - Amplifier

A Forest - Clan of Xymox

Teardrop - Massive Attack

Cain - Tiamat

Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem - Peter Murphy

Haunted - Poe

Sometimes I Wish - Tritonal, Bethany

Here We Divide - Dead Letter Circus

Deep End - Ruelle

Siren Song - Bats for Lashes

Be a noBody - SOAK

Alone - JMSN

Running Up That Hill - Faith and the Muse

Breathe - of Verona

Raise the Dead - Rachel Rabin

Desire - Meg Myers

Kingdom - Devin Townsend Project

I Forget Where We WEre - Ben Howard

The Cage - Vera Sola

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor

Wolf Like Me - Tv On the Radio

Sleeper - whenyoung

I Feel You - Depeche Mode

Dissolve - Switchblade Symphony

Electric Glow - Tritonal, Skyler Stonestreet

Love is Strong - C-Systems

Cities of Asylum - Rome

No Light, No Light - Florence and the Machine

The Wolf - Phildel

Keep Falling - Fink

Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap

Sirens - Fluerie

Make a Shadow - Meg Myers

Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order

Appointments - Julien Baker

Little Black Angel - Death in June

Dark in My Imagination - of Verona

Night Walks - Dirty South

Cosmic Love - Florence & the Machine

Bones - MS MR

Weapon for Saturday - LOLO

Human Behavior - Bjork

Hideaway - Kiesza

Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine

Beggin for Thread - Banks

Army of Me - Klone

We Are the Wild Ones - Nina

Stretch Your Eyes - Agnes Obel

The Place I Left Behind - The Deep Dark Woods

When All Things End - Peter Aries, Karin My

Take Me to Church - Hozier

Annabel - Goldfrapp

Go It Alone - Dash Berlin

Sugar - Garbage

Black No 1 - Type O Negative

Sorry - Meg Myers

Blue Blood - Laurel

Wolves Without Teeth of Monsters and Men

The Reflex - Duran Duran

Night Sky - CHVRCHES

The Other Side - Madi Diaz

National Anthem - Lana Del Rey

Gutter Flitter - Switchblade Symphony

The Devil Within- Digital Daggers

Running - C-Systems

This World -Lena Fayre

Shiny Happy People - REM

A Million Stars - BT, Kirsty Hawkshaw

In the Dark - Cathedrals

Retrograde - James Blake

Everywhere - Cranes

Call This Love - Rafael Frost, Neev Kennedy

Happy Birthday - The Birthday Massacre

Tenenbaum - The Paper Kiss

Adelaid - Meg Myers

My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit

Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey, Cedric Gervais

Friday, September 4, 2020

Review: A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison


Book Summary (from Publisher):

Alexandra Daniels hasn't set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina in over twenty years. Ever since her mother's tragic death, her father has mysteriously forbidden her from visiting her aunt and cousins. But on a whim, Alex accepts an invitation to visit her estranged relatives and to help them in their family business: an herbal apothecary known for its remarkably potent teas, salves, and folk remedies.

Bellamy Bay doesn't look like trouble, but this is a town that harbors dark secrets. Alex discovers that her own family is at the center of salacious town gossip, and that they are rumored to be magical healers descended from mermaids. She brushes this off as nonsense until a local is poisoned and her aunt Lidia is arrested for the crime. Alex is certain Lidia is being framed, and she resolves to find out why.

Alex's investigation unearths stories that some have gone to desperate lengths to conceal: forbidden affairs, family rivalries, and the truth about Alex's own ancestry. And when the case turns deadly, Alex learns that not only are these secrets worth hiding, but they may even be worth killing for.

My Review:

I received A Spell For Trouble by Esme Addison from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  I have been reading a lot of paranormal cozy mysteries lately, and jumped at the chance to read the first book in this brand new series.  This cozy takes place in an herbal shop owned by the main character, Alexandra's aunt and cousins.  After her mother's death, her father estranged her from this side of the family.  In the beginning of the story, Alexandra's father has died, and she has quit her job.  Her aunt sent her an invitation to visit, and it seemed like a good idea, and some time away would help her figure out her life.  From there, she starts to work some shifts in the shop and witnesses a confrontation between her aunt and a customer.  The customer later winds up dead, and Alexandra's aunt it the prime suspect.  Alexandra decides to investigate and save her aunt.

As far as cozy mysteries go, Alexandra's character is pretty on par with other cozy amateur detectives.  She sometimes doesn't think things all the way through and makes poor choices from time to time or jumps to wrong conclusions.  This is typical of the genre.  I  think as the serious goes on, she will make less of these errors.  She does have passion and is willing to look at things differently and without the constraints that police officers face.  If you add in the paranormal aspect, the police don't have a chance of solving it without her help.

My favorite character is Alex's cousin Minka.  There is something very spunky and refreshing about her character.  I also enjoyed Pepper, the intrepid reporter.  She is somewhat of a busy-body and like a dog with a bone when it comes to stories.  I hope in the next book we learn more about the Wesley's and the history between them and Alex's family.  I would like more about Dylan as well.

The mystery was well done.  I didn't guess who the killer was until almost the end.  It kept me guessing in several places.  I also enjoyed the fact that Alexandra's family is Polish.  I love all the references to the different polish foods and legends.  This is a take on cozies I haven't seen before.  I do wish that the author had included some recipes for both the herbal concoctions as well as the polish foods Aunt Lidia makes.  A lot of cozies include recipes and I would love to try making some of the things I read about in the book.  I look forward to reading the next in the series when it comes out.

4 Stars


Thursday, March 5, 2020

Read so far 2020

Jenn's read-in-2020 book montage

Gabriel: Meeting Sang #5 - The Academy Ghost Bird Series
Odd Thomas
Dragon Tears
Forever Odd
Life Expectancy
Brother Odd
By the Light of the Moon
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Twelve Sharp
Visions of Sugar Plums
Smokin' Seventeen
Hard Eight
Explosive Eighteen
Ten Big Ones
Eleven on Top
Notorious Nineteen
Takedown Twenty
Top Secret Twenty-One
Tricky Twenty-Two


Jenn's favorite books »
 
Blog design by Imagination Designs all images from the My Midnight Dreams Danced Among the Stars kit by Tangie