Movies We've Watched - Jay & Silent Bob Reboot

This past weekend, I watched Jay & Silent Bob Reboot on Amazon Prime.  I've been a Kevin Smith fan for some time.  While I may go so far as say this may be my least favorite, it was really nice nostalgia and great to see everyone back.  I did still laugh at some parts.  I will probably forget I even saw it by next year, but it was the movie I needed over the weekend.  I mean, it started with Jay doing his Silence of the Lambs bit which will never fail to make me laugh.  

The premise is that Jay and Silent Bob get arrested and lose their name to a production company who is doing a movie based on the Bluntman & Chronic comic?  The plot isn't important.  So, the duo take off from NJ to stop the movie from being made.  They end up at Shannon Elizabeth's house and find out Jay has a daughter.  Long story short, Jay hides the fact that he's her father, and the pair takes her and 3 other girls to Chronic Con in Hollywood.  Hijinx ensue.  Chronic Con is an excuse to bring in the cast of Clerks, Mall Rats, Matt Damon, and other cameos.  

If you're a die-hard fan, it's probably one you need to see to round out seeing them all. If you're not a fan, maybe skip this one.  If you've never been exposed to any Kevin Smith movies, definitely don't start with this one.

Movies We've Watched - The Umbrella Academy

I finished The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.  I was wary because it's not necessarily my type of thing, and I heard mixed reviews.  But, when you reach the end of Netflix and you only want something light to watch, you end up here.

I liked it.  I have so many questions which I suppose they'll get to eventually or maybe they're just there for those that read the comic books.  

It's only a little violent and relatively fast so that was good to me.  I think you have to suspend the usual superhero disbelief in the how are they the only people with powers and how did Hargreeves know when/where to scoop up these children?  How does it take place now yet they are still using pay phones and microfiche/microfilm (I never knew the difference between the two).  Still, I'm looking forward to Season 2 next week!

Movies We've Watched - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I have been wanting to read A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood since it came out because I have always loved Mr. Rogers.  This movie is inspired by a true story, but it is so good.  

A journalist is instructed to make a small piece on Mr. Rogers, and it turns into so much more.  Tom Hanks really captures the spirit of Mr. Rogers though is always Tom Hanks a little.  I thought it was really touching and soothing.  Mr. Rogers is so timeless.  

On a lighter note, goodness, the puppet recreation is amazing.  They look so good!  It made me very nostalgic.  Nostalgia was helped along with a couple of chats with college friends while watching.  I felt like Lloyd represented a lot of us during this cynical time, and this movie came along to help us through.

Book Opinion - Variable Onset

Variable Onset is the latest by Layla Reyne.  I really like her suspense, and I'm not usually one who reads a lot of action in books because I have trouble visually picturing everything that's going on, but she's so clear and the suspense is so present.  I was pretty bad figuring out the mystery of this one, but it was a fun ride.  

Lincoln and Carter go undercover  as a married couple in a small university town to look into a serial killer.  It's definitely more suspense than, I felt, romance.  I prefer a little more sexy times, but they were super cute together.  I also loved Lincoln with his family, too.  I wish I had a little more time with them.

Maybe it's the fact that I used to read horror books, but I love how rough and violent Reyne's books can be.  Usually, there is some life-threatening moment where the heroes figure out their love for each other and then there's some regret for not declaring it, you know, before they die.  OR there's the old stand-by, I'm so glad I found this person before I died and now I can die fulfilled.  It's more artistic than the cliches, but I eat that stuff up.

Book Opinion - Xeni

Xeni is the second in the Loose Ends series by Rebekah Weatherspoon.  I recently read Rafe after having it in my TBR pile for a long time.  I do like a marriage of convenience story.  It's a trope for a reason.  I thought this tackled a lot of big subjects while still remaining fun.  Xeni is a great character.  Mason is super sexy.  This one is mostly stand alone.  I know this series has characters from previous series, but they are my first two books so obviously, you can pick them up in any order - and that is HUGE for me to say.

Xeni's aunt passes away, and she needs to marry Mason as part of the inheritance.  This sparks up a whole bunch of family drama for both Xeni and Mason who, of course, fall in love throughout.  I really liked the first one and, though this one didn't grab me right away, the characters pulled me in.  I may go back and look up some other books by Weatherspoon.  

Just a warning, this book gets a little spicy.  Mason is also bi so there's some explicit play that you don't see in every book.  It's quick and not a whole thing, but it's still there.  

Book Opinion - Silver-Tongued Devil

I read Silver-Tongued Devil by Lorelei James a little bit ago.  I liked it.  It's a prequel to her contemporary Rough Rider series which is a little on the sexier side if you don't mind that in your books.  Because a lot of the story is set points in the universe, it was challenging to make it a romance with a happy ending, but still keep the legend or oral history already told.  

There are two sets of twins, the Orphan Train, feuds, hot tempers, and two surprisingly sweet love stories.  I didn't mind the historical setting because my romance heart started with historicals.  I thought it was unique, and I'm glad the ending played out as it did, but it did make me sad for the brothers.  I don't want to give anything away, but it was a complicated situation.

I'm glad to be somewhat back to reading though and hope to keep it up even if it's slow getting back into the groove.

Book Opinion - The Summer Deal

I'm back reading! It's been helpful making myself read the book club books for work, and I switched it up with some summer romances. The Summer Deal, I guess, is technically Women's Fiction which is basically romance for people who don't want to read romance. They have the summary covers and some complicated FEELS in them. (OK, Women's Fiction is where the focus is on the women and less about the relationship and LOVE, but in some cases, there is still some romance and sexy times.) 

I really like Jill Shalvis with like literally one exception. I've met her a handful of times, and she always pretends to remember me. I have my doubts, but it's nice. I wasn't as excited to read this one as others mostly because of my mood, but I'm so glad I did. It is mainly about two women who were sworn enemies as children. From each perspective, you really felt something for both women. It doesn't hurt that both have a love interest who is perfect for them. The men may be too perfect actually, only making small misguided actions. 

I love a book that can make you like a character that is initially unlikable. Neither woman did anything that, to me, was unforgivable, but everyone knows what it's like to have a childhood bully and how that weight sometimes follows them through adulthood. Books are interesting because these characters went through such difficult times and worked very hard for their happy ending. I wanted to stay with them longer now that they're all happy and adjusted. I guess that's a good complaint to have.

New Foods 2020 - Pasta Primavera

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Farmers' market primavera #yum 🥕🍅🥦🥒

A post shared by April Moore (@princessapr) on Jul 5, 2020 at 11:23am PDT

This isn't really a new food, but we went to the Farmers' Market and picked up a bunch of veggies - carrots, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, broccoli.  I roasted the cherry tomatoes and broccoli while I sauteed some garlic and red pepper flakes with the carrots (added the squash a little later because it cooks faster).  Then, I combined all the veggies, added chicken broth, a splash of cream, and some parmesan cheese.  I tossed in some linguini and called it a day.   I do these a lot.  Sometimes, I use wine or a dollop of red sauce or some lemon or onion.  It's just a good way to use up excess veggies and leftover odds and ends.  The fresh veggies made a big difference though. 

Book Opinion - Such a Fun Age

I'm having trouble focusing and finishing books lately, but I'm making myself read the books chosen for my work book cub.  Such a Fun Age is the latest.  It is an easy read.  I read it quickly once I decided to sit down with it.  Unlike last month's, it wasn't as much of a chore.  

This book opens with Emira out with friends and being called into watch a toddler.  It is an emergency situation in which the parents call her late, and she goes and picks up the toddler and takes her for a walk to the nearby market.  At the market, security is called as Emira and her friend raise suspicion from one of the patrons for holding a white child.  Another patron captures this incident on cell phone.  It all concludes when the employer comes to the market to verify.  That's the first chapter, and with our current climate, I spent the whole chapter on the edge of my seat/couch.

The book goes a lot of places after that.  It was a good book on its own, but it's such a good one to discuss.  I felt like a lot of people identified a lot of details I didn't (and I hope vice versa).  We were all pretty much on the same page and liked it a lot.  This is the first for our group.  We've been split for all the books before now.  Also, it's a great example of "just wait until the late page..."  

Book Opinion - Healing of the Wolf

It's funny because I am not a huge shapeshifter fan.  Healing of the Wolf is part of a series.  It is a romance, but it has some shapeshifting and involves some kidnapping and torture and some explicit scenes in terms of sexual situations and violence.  So, if you're still with me...

I don't know if this was my favorite in the series, but it wasn't my least favorite.  I think I like the wolves/cats more than the bears, but this is also the post-book to the big siege.  I liked the heroine quite a bit and glad to see the healer get his story after he popped up in the previous books.  It was also good to see more of his brother, too, who had previously not made a huge impression with me.

Basically, the heroine is kidnapped and tortured in captivity by these bad folks who are capturing all the shifters.  There is an entire universe created about this species, but I'm not going into it all.  So, a bunch of people are broken out and absorbed into separate communities where Margery traded one form of captivity for another.  She leaves and makes a nearby community her home and becomes neighbors (and more) with the two main male characters (one is the community healer and the other is a former city cop and security of sorts here).  

So, there is a little action, some friendship, and a happy ending.  These books aren't for everyone for a variety of reasons.  I didn't think they were for me, but I decided to try them out years ago and ended up liking them.  I kind of gloss over a lot of the shapeshifter terminology, and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.