Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ #1)

Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ #1)

By: Rachel Aaron

Blurb:

Making a living is hard. In a lawless city where gods are real, dragons are traffic hazards, and buildings move around on their own, it can feel downright impossible.

Good thing freelance mage Opal Yong-ae has never let little things like impossibility stop her. She’s found a way to put her overpriced magical art history degree to use as a Cleaner: a contract municipal employee who empties out abandoned apartments and resells the unusual treasures she finds inside for a profit. It’s not a pretty job, or a safe one–there’s a reason she wears bite-proof gloves–but when you’re neck-deep in debt to a very magical, very nasty individual, you can’t be picky about where the money comes from.

But even Opal’s low standards are put to the test when the only thing of value in her latest apartment is the body of the previous tenant. Dealing with the dead isn’t technically part of her job, but this mage died hiding a secret that could be worth a lot of money, and Opal’s the only one who knows. With debts she can’t pay due at the end of the week, this could be the big break she’s been waiting for, but in a city of runaway magic where getting in over your head generally means losing it, the cost of chasing this opportunity might be more than Opal can survive.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
This is the first in a new series set in the same universe as my Heartstrikers books, but you don’t need to have read those stories to enjoy this one. MINIMUM WAGE MAGIC was written to stand by itself, so if you haven’t read the others, don’t worry! I wrote this book with you in mind. Thank you so much for reading! 

Review:

I’ve had Minimum Wage Magic on my kindle for quite a while at this point. I really liked Aaron’s Heartstriker series, so when this popped up on my radar, I bought it. One thing led to another, and I ended up forgetting about it. Now, for the first time in seemingly forever, I don’t have any library books. So I surfed through my kindle, re-read a few favorites, and then decided to read this.

Minimum Wage Magic is set in the same universe as the Heartstrikers series in the city of the DFZ, Detroit Free Zone. It’s a fascinating city, and I was thrilled to see more of it. Also, since Opal isn’t a dragon, we got to see a new side of things. Her relationship with dragons is completely different from the previous series, and I loved the contrast. It was seeing things from the other side, basically.

Opal is reckless. When she reveals things about her past, she seems more calculating but considering she’s had months of bad luck, that may have a part to play. When someone is backed into a corner, they aren’t always logical. She is fighting for her freedom and is willing to do just about anything to get it. Except, she doesn’t. She has a line, and even when on the other side is the answer to everything, she doesn’t take it. That’s a character quality that I love, possibly because I’m not sure I could do the same.

A potential romantic interest is introduced in the form of another Cleaner named Nic. He’s part machine, and Opal is a bit afraid of him. But he saves her and will probably wind up being a cinnamon roll—another favorite trope.

I liked Minimum Wage Magic, and as soon as I was finished, I jumped into Part-Time Gods. It’s a short series with only three books, but I hope it’s not the last series we see in this universe. Really, Aaron has spent so much time fleshing out this universe, and it’s incredibly interesting. I could read more set here. I love the idea of a universe with books from all kinds of genres being written in it. Not sure if that would actually work, but at the very least, I’d love more books like this one.

4/5

Back to the Future Part II

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Back to the Future Part II

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Robert Zemeckis

Bob Gale

Starring:

Michael J. Fox

Christopher Lloyd

Lea Thompson

Thomas F. Wilson

Elizabeth Shue

Blurb:

After visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985…without interfering with his first trip.

Thoughts:

Back to the Future Part II was always my favorite in the Back to the Future franchise. They go to the future! There are flying cars, hoverboards, automatic lacing shoes, and so much more. It was so awesome to think that the future would have such amazing things. Sadly, 2015 was nowhere near that amazing. The idea of people in flying cars is actually terrifying. The hoverboards were a massive disappointment too.

One of my major complaints about the original movie is the depiction of women. Unfortunately, Part II didn’t do much better. We still had the whole Biff and Lorraine rapey vibe going on in the 50s as well as the 80s. Jennifer was drugged and kept being left places, first in an alley and next on her front porch. Women get in the way, and cause issues is the theme in the Back to the Future franchise. It’s annoying.

Despite that, I can relate to the plot in Back to the Future Part II. If I was ever to gain access to a time machine, the first thing I would do is figure out a way to make money. I would go the lottery and stock market route, though. Doc Brown may not have invented the time machine for personal gain, but that is most certainly what I would use it for.

If you didn’t know already, it would be abundantly clear that the third film was made simultaneously. At the end of Part II, a trailer gives away the final part’s entire plot. If I weren’t doing this re-watch, I would have immediately put it in. It was hard not to. Oh well, I’ll just have to wait a couple of years before I get there.

Working Girl (1988)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Working Girl (1988)

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer:

Kevin Wade

Starring:

Melanie Griffith

Harrison Ford

Sigourney Weaver

Blurb:

When a secretary’s idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss’ job.

Thoughts:

How could I not love Working Girl? It was basically made for me. A strong female lead fighting for her chance at her dream job. Plus young sexy Harrison Ford. That’s exactly the kind of story I love.

I don’t remember the first time I watched this movie. I can’t think of any memories attached to it at all. It’s just one of those films that I discovered on TV and fell in love with.

It received mostly positive reviews when it came out. It also did well at the box office. Yet we don’t get these types of movies very often. Wonder why that is? Hmm… A film where a woman is kept down by the system deals with very realistic sexual harassment and has to deceive to succeed. No idea why this hasn’t been done more often. Maybe it has, and I just missed it. I’m not one for drama movies, and this has enough comedy in it not to take away from the story but to make it not as heavy as it could be.

I can’t even complain that the main antagonist is a woman trying to keep another woman down. That was an entire mindset for a generation of women. It’s sadly realistic. One of the best things to come from my generation is women helping other women. We can succeed together.

I’d love to see another movie like this with a modern setting. I don’t want a remake. It’s not the sort of film that needs that treatment. I just want to see a story in the same vein. A reboot, maybe?

Enjoy the View

Enjoy the View (Moose Springs, Alaska #3)

By:

Sarah Morgenthaler

Blurb:

River Lane’s acting career is tanking fast. Determined to start a new career behind the camera, she’ll will take whatever job she can get, including filming a documentary about the picturesque town of Moose Springs.

When mountaineer and Moose Springs local Easton Lockett sees a woman walking down the road looking lost, of course he offers to help. The last thing he expects is to interrupt a film shoot and earn River’s wrath. But Easton has an idea to make it up to her: he can take River’s crew up the local hidden gem, Mount Veil. When bad weather strikes, putting the film crew at risk, it takes all of Easton’s skill to get them back down safely…and to keep River in his arms.

Review:

So the Moose Springs, Alaska series is one of my favorite series of the last year. It’s hilarious and sweet. I devoured the first and second books and fought to put off reading the third. Each time I worry that I won’t enjoy the new book as much as the last, and each time I’m given a story as good as the previous.

Enjoy the View is about Easton, the gentle giant of Moose Springs. He’s a mountain climber and tracker. River Lane is a thirty-year-old actress that is trying to make the move to directing. They’re an unlikely pair, but the chemistry is instant.

Initially, River is trying to make a documentary of the town, but we now know the townspeople do not like outsiders. Since her documentary is for the Alaskan Tourism Board, they’re even less welcoming. So she decides to change her focus to the nearby mountain. She loves climbing, so it’s a natural choice.

The closest I’ve come to climbing a mountain is walking up Clingmans Dome in the Smokey Mountains. It is not a passion of mine or anything I ever have any desire to do. Enjoy the View further cemented my opinion of mountain climbing. It sounded beautiful, but there were moments where I was scared for the characters.

You’d think it would be hard to write a romance where the two characters spend most of their time bundled in thick layers of clothing, but it’s a testament to the chemistry between them that they had no problem on that front. I don’t mean they had sex on the mountain. That would be unrealistic. I actually appreciated that Morgenthaler didn’t go that route. I mean that their banter and longing looks were so well presented that it was clear how they felt about each other.

As always, at this point, I’m looking forward to the next story in the Moose Springs, Alaska series.

5/5

Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (The Brown Sisters #3)

By:

Talia Hibbert

Blurb:

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Review:

I’ve been curious about Eve Brown since the first book in the Brown Sisters series. She seemed quirky and sweet, and I wanted to know more. Finally, getting to read her book was fun, though it did take me a couple of chapters to get into it. Her mind is a bit too much like my own, and it was kind of stressful. She’s very anxious, for obvious reasons, and it wasn’t until we got to Jacob’s first chapter that I started to really enjoy it.

Eve isn’t sure what she wants to do with her life, and she’s terrified of failure to the point that she doesn’t settle on one thing. When she starts to get any kind of success, she runs away. It’s her coping mechanism, and it’s not till she meets Jacob that someone finally knows how to talk to her about it.

Jacob is awesome. He’s gruff and demanding but so understanding and accepting. He is just honestly perfect, and I love him. He knows what he wants and isn’t able to settle, but he doesn’t push people to be what they aren’t. Eve drives him crazy, but he understands her better than anyone else. She has developed coping strategies for how her mind works, and he accepts them or finds alternatives that work for both of them.

One of the things I loved the most is that Eve is a plus-size heroine, but it’s not the main focus. It’s barely even mentioned. The way that Jacob describes her isn’t pandering to plus-size people. The words used are—honestly, I’m having a hard time thinking of a way to describe it. Often when the heroine is plus-size, you’re very aware of it during sex scenes, but that is not the case in Act Your Age, Eve Brown. It’s refreshing, and I hope more books take this lead.

I enjoyed Act Your Age, Eve Brown, a lot. There were a couple of characters introduced that I’m hoping to see books about. However, this is the last Brown sister, so I’m not sure what will happen next. Still, I’m looking forward to what Hibbert writes next.

5/5