Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling #1) By: Nalini Singh
Thank goodness for a kindle

Thank goodness for a kindle

Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling #1) By: Nalini Singh

Plot:

Nalini Singh dives into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind-and none of the heart.

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation” – the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was…

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion – and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities – or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation.

Review:

I’ve read this book before, but I’ve been thinking about it lately and decided on a re-read.

Last time I read the book I wasn’t writing, this time I read it from a different perspective. Looking at it now I loved the world building, there was so much going on in this book and having read several books down the series, it’s obvious that Singh was already thinking ahead.

The Psy are so cold and in control and the concept of them is so interesting. The Changelings are like most other shifters and based on what little was discussed on the humans they’re the same as normal. What was fun and interesting was the fact that they all lived together. There was no moment of ‘holy cow psychics and shifters are real’ moment. It was just accepted and you got to look at what a world with them would be like.

Honestly I could have done with less of the romance because the world was so interesting. The thing is I liked the romance as well and probably wouldn’t want to read the book without it. Kind of like the New Species novels by Laurann Dohner.

I’ve read up until number twelve in this series and I enjoyed the books at varying degrees, none below a three star. The series is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone that like these types of books.

4.5/5

 

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) By: Felicia Day

never-weird-on-the-internet

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) By: Felicia Day

Summary:

From online entertainment mogul, actress, and “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.

The Internet isn’t all cat videos. There’s also Felicia Day—violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world…or at least semi-influential in the world of Internet Geeks and Goodreads book clubs.

After growing up in the south where she was “homeschooled for hippie reasons”, Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia’s misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an Internet star.

Felicia’s short-ish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia’s strange world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism—just like her memoir.

Hilarious and inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.

Review:

Full disclosure I’m a big Felicia Day fan. For a time I bordered on obsessive. I’ve watched everything she’s done and purchased most of her stuff, still lacking a couple comics. At the height of my obsession I friended her on Goodreads and started reading her reviews. Our relationship soured a bit when I saw that she didn’t love Ilona Andrews as much as I did. So I backed off. I still loved her, but I didn’t hang on her every word. I think this has made our relationship more stable.

Anyway, my husband bought this book for me after a particularly horrible day at home with my daughter. The terrible twos have hit hard in our home and I believe my daughter has evolved into a monster. After a lovely BLT and my demon spawn laid to rest I started reading. The world was instantly better.

If my parents were liberal and not conservative Christian I could have been Felicia Day. Totally. We’re like totally the same. It’s awesome.

She loved Anne of Green Gables growing up. ME TOO!

She was homeschooled growing up. ME TOO!

She’s neurotic. ME TOO!

She took violin lessons growing up. Um… I took piano lessons and only for like six weeks because my parents couldn’t afford it. Kind of the same, right?

She is really good at math. Yeah…about that. My mom told me that girls weren’t good at math and science. I guess we aren’t the same.

*Sigh* Oh well.

Still, this book was so great and made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Which is weird, because I’ve never thought about feeling alone because of my geeky likes. I know that I can get on the internet and find all kinds of forums with people talking about my fandoms, I just never do for some reason. The one forum I post on I still agonize before every post afraid I’ll say something stupid and people will attack me.

Back to the book. I loved getting a glimpse into Felicia Day’s life. She could have very easily name dropped all the famous geeks she knows or talked exclusively about games, but she didn’t. She came off as humble, hard working, nice, and really funny.

5/5

 

tl;dr

LOVED IT!

Doctor Who Series Nine Episodes One – Four – BBC Saturday 9 EST

Doctor Who Series Nine Episodes One – Four – BBC Saturday 9 EST

Network:

BBC

Starring:

Peter Capaldi

Jenna Coleman

Thoughts:

I’ve watched Doctor Who since 2008 when I discovered it on Netflix and proceeded to watch the first four series over and over again. I loved David Tennant and introduced so many friends and family to the show because of that love. When Matt Smith showed up I was wary but ended up adoring him and the Ponds.

Around series seven things started to change and the show didn’t make me as excited. Even the Ponds weren’t doing it for me anymore. I still cried when they left, but it was almost because I was expected to. I continued to watch the show but I stopped watching it live, I stopped watching it on Saturdays, I pretty much had to force myself to do it.

The fiftieth anniversary special felt like a return to what I loved and I was excited again, but then it was back to more of the same. The Doctor changed and I hoped that we would get things back to what I loved, but nope.

It would be easy to blame Clara, Jenna Coleman, but I really don’t think it’s her fault. I also don’t think I’ve somehow changed fundamentally in the TV I like. I’ve decided to put the blame on Moffat, which is crazy because he’s given me some amazing episodes, but I can’t think of any other culprits.

I’d love to point to what changed but I loved Doctor Who so much that my brain basically melted any time I tried to come up with why. Now that I don’t like it I can’t really point to a reason.

It still has the cheesy Sci-Fi, the Doctor still saves the day, but something has changed. The risks don’t seem as high and Clara doesn’t seem as human as the other companions, but I’m not sure why. Missy, Michelle Gomez, is fine and I enjoyed Pink, Samuel Anderson, but they aren’t enough to make my old love return.

I watch every week with a hope that things will get back to what I loved, but each week it gets more difficult. I intended these weekly posts to be about my favorite episodes of the week, but I couldn’t ignore what’s going on with Doctor Who and I wanted to know if I was the only one that feltthe same. I know that the people I introduced to Doctor Who feel the same, but maybe they do because I do?

What does everyone else think?

 

When a Beta Roars (A Lion’s Pride #2) By: Eve Langlais

When a Beta Roars

When a Beta Roars (A Lion’s Pride #2) By: Eve Langlais

Plot:

How degrading. Stuck babysitting a woman because his alpha said so. As Pride Beta, he has better things to do with his time, like washing his impressive mane, hunting down thugs for fun, and chasing tail—sometimes his own if his lion is feeling playful. But his babysitting job takes an unexpected turn when the woman he’s assigned guard duty over turns out to be his mate. A female threatened by an outside wolf pack.
A woman he wants to call his own. A mate who doesn’t fall for his charm. Usually Beta’s leave the roaring to the Pride’s alpha, but in this case given his level of frustration, he might have to make an exception. And if anyone doesn’t like it, they can kiss his furry tail. Rawr!

Review:

So much action! From the first sneeze all the way to the end so much was going on, I really loved it.

Arabella and Hayder made a good couple. She’d been beat into submission and he showed her that not all men are horrible.

This book did not paint werewolves in a nice light. The last book it was more calling them dogs, but this book made them out to be just horrible. Felt really bad for Arabella for having to deal with them.

I liked this one a lot more than the last and can’t wait to continue the series.

5/5

Arrow Season Four Episode One – Green Arrow – CW Wednesday @ 8 EST

arrow-season-4

Arrow Season Four Episode One – Green Arrow – CW Wednesday @ 8 EST

Life has been a bit hectic in my house so I apologize for missing a post, it probably won’t be the last because I’m very behind on a lot of things. Life, man.

Anyway, Arrow was probably not the best episode of television I’ve watched this week, but it was certainly the one I had the most comments on. I’ll start off with what I disliked and then try and end on a positive.

Did not like Diggle’s new costume, the helmet looked very cumbersome and like it would be more of a hindrance then a help in a fight situation. Also didn’t like any of the Felicity/Oliver scenes, which makes me sad. I’ve loved Felicity since the beginning, but I really don’t think she should have gotten together with Oliver, they just don’t work as a couple. It’s too domestic, maybe when he’s older, way older, but not now. I can only see one satisfying way out for the character, though, and I don’t like it.

Pros. I liked Thea. She’s clearly enjoying her new violent lifestyle and I think it might be interesting to see how far she’ll go before realizing she has a problem. It is a CW show so they had to throw in the big brother talk and her brushing him off like a silly teenager, but since the Felicity/Oliver bits were worse it was easy to overlook.

I also noticed that Oliver and Diggle seem to be a lot more buff then they were, especially Diggle. It’s obvious what they were doing this summer.

I also liked the addition of mysticism in the Arrow/Flash universe. It’s in DC comics so I’m glad to see it enter the TV shows.

The surprise at the end I totally didn’t see and then the very ending could end up being so many people that I’m only sixty percent sure I know who it is.

Ultimately I’m looking forward to the new season but this episode didn’t blow me away.