Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

Just a small post this week as not much was revealed. American Horror Story: 1984 starts next week which I am very excited about! Looking forward to sharing my recaps once it begins airing.

TV/MOVIES

The Politician posters

I am excited about Ryan Murphy's first show for Netflix. It's a comedy about a man who wants to be President (at least from what I understand). They reently released some posters and I love them!

This show is making all kinds of promises and I am here for it. I love all three of main ones so much. I am excited to see Ben Platt in something new and am always here for Jessica Lange to come show everyone how acting is done. 

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

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Waiting On Wednesday ... In Five Years

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.

But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.

After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.

Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.

I loved The Dinner List so much that I was thrilled when it was announced that Rebecca's next book would also be an adult novel. The synopsis seems to point at this book bringing forth just as strong an emotional reaction as The Dinner List did.

I am loving the theme of Rebcca's books - questions that people tend to get asked at parties or on first dates - and how she plays with those questions. I also love that they hold just a little bit of magic in them as well.

Bookmark this one for your bookclubs because I think it is going to be perfect for discussion over a nice glass of wine (or beverage of your choice).

Expected release date - March 3, 2020

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Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

TV/MOVIES

Just Mercy Trailer

The season of trailers for movies with Oscar potential is still upon us and the trailer for Just Mercy was just recently revealed. I have to say that it looks pretty good.

Michael B Jordan looks great in this and I could see it being something the Academy really latches on to.

OTHER

New York City Comic Con Exclusive - Stranger Things

Funko has been unveiling their New York City Comic Con exclusives and they have one Stranger Things Funko being offered.

The moment between Suzy and Dustin towards the end of the season is perfection and I am excited to add her to my collection.

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

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Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

Whisper Network by Chandler Baker
Release Date - July 2, 2019
Publisher Website - Raincoast Books

Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  352 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Four women learn their boss (a man who’s always been surrounded by rumors about how he treats women) is next in line to be CEO—what will happen when they decide enough is enough?

Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita are four women who have worked at Truviv, Inc., for years. The sudden death of Truviv's CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company. Ames is a complicated man, a man they’ve all known for a long time, a man who’s always been surrounded by...whispers. Whispers that have always been ignored by those in charge. But the world has changed, and the women are watching Ames’s latest promotion differently. This time, they’ve decided enough is enough.

Sloane and her colleagues set in motion a catastrophic shift within every floor and department of the Truviv offices. All four women’s lives—as women, colleagues, mothers, wives, friends, even adversaries—will change dramatically as a result.

"If only you had listened to us,” they tell us on page one, “none of this would have happened." 

Whisper Network is certainly a timely read that is a compulsively readable mix of a murder mystery with the frothy feel of a television drama. It has a familiar pattern of a group of women caught up in a mystery but also boasts plenty to say about feminism and what women experience in the work place.

Chandler Baker's writing is something that stood out to me. The pacing is part of what propels the reader to keep turning the pages. The parts that are supposed to be a bit snarky and funny hit just as hard as the mystery elements do. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what else this particular author writes in the future.

The book gets its title from a list that gets passed from woman to woman. It is a list of men and their bad behaviour towards women. It is a warning device so that women may be aware and used as a means to protect each other. I could instantly recognize the versions of this list that I have experienced in my own life - actual whispers to not be alone with this man, mentions of misdeeds from others. Women use things like this all over the world and I expect a large majority of us has had some form of warning like this while in the work place. This part of the novel, and the examination of the things women experience and put themselves through in the work place was what made the book work for me. The little aggressions about how women are supposed to balance careers and motherhood while still looking good and being sexy is something that will resonate with plenty of readers. It also highlights the ways in which we grapple with guilt or the lack thereof about everything from motherhood to relationships or how we feel about ourselves and others and how we think we should feel.

The books construction from its characters to the mystery at the heart of the book felt very similar to Big Little Lies to me. There are obvious differences but that comparison is there. I do think that the order in which someone reads them may impact their enjoyment. If you were experiencing this without having previously read Big Little Lies I expect your impression of this book would be quite different.

I could easily see this being a limited television series. I kept casting people in my head as I was reading. I kept picturing Richard Madden as Ames (it's probably the grey/white stripe in the hair). One of the characters felt perfect for Reese Whiterspoon to play and I kept picturing another as Nicole Kidman. This could be because of the previously mentioned similarities to Big Little Lies however. It is, however, something that you could easily see one of the streaming services picking up.

While I enjoyed The Whisper Network I did find myself not as invested due to similarities to other books I had read. The elements that set it apart were the most fascinating parts of the story and the writing itself ensured I remained invested. I do recommend it, and think it makes for a great book club pick. I particularly recommend it to those who may not read as much from this genre as I think they'll really enjoy it.

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Waiting On Wednesday .... Docile

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Docile by K. M. Szpara

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

There is no consent under capitalism 

Docile is a science fiction parable about love and sex, wealth and debt, abuse and power, a challenging tour de force that at turns seduces and startles.

To be a Docile is to be kept, body and soul, for the uses of the owner of your contract. To be a Docile is to forget, to disappear, to hide inside your body from the horrors of your service. To be a Docile is to sell yourself to pay your parents' debts and buy your children's future.

Elisha Wilder’s family has been ruined by debt, handed down to them from previous generations. His mother never recovered from the Dociline she took during her term as a Docile, so when Elisha decides to try and erase the family’s debt himself, he swears he will never take the drug that took his mother from him. Too bad his contract has been purchased by Alexander Bishop III, whose ultra-rich family is the brains (and money) behind Dociline and the entire Office of Debt Resolution. When Elisha refuses Dociline, Alex refuses to believe that his family’s crowning achievement could have any negative side effects—and is determined to turn Elisha into the perfect Docile without it.

I was instantly drawn to the synopsis of this upcoming release. It also doesn't hurt that I was hearing buzz about this one almost right away.

It has a bit of a dystopian feel and seems like it'll plenty to discuss and dissect. I can easily see it being a book club favourite simply because it seems like it would provide an interesting conversation.

Expected release date - March 3, 2020

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Monthly TBR and Wrap Up

It is time, once again, to check in with my monthly reading. August was the worst month for me yet but I did manage to read a couple books. I am hoping September goes much better for me.

To wrap up August ....

The books that were on my list are:

Finale by Stephanie Garber (goodreads)
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo (goodreads)
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte (goodreads)
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (goodreads)
Transcend by Jewel E Ann (goodreads)

Plus I had some ebooks on my list:

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer (goodreads)
These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch (goodreads)
Interference by Harlow Cole (goodreads)
Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour (goodreads)

I managed to read three books this month which is horrible. I went to Orlando for a quick trip to Universal Studios and ended up getting really sick which sucked a lot of my time and energy.  Universal Studios was so much fun though. Here are some of my favourite photos from that trip:

I got to try butter beer, play quidditch with Harry and Ron, chase magical creatures with Hagrid, and escaped Gringotts! I picked up an official Hufflepuff scarf and was pretty much the happiest Harry Potter fan ever. The rest of the park was equally awesome though and I loved a lot of the rides (the Jimmy Fallon one is pretty fun, as is the Spiderman ride).


Here is what I actually managed to read in August:

Transcend by Jewel E Ann (goodreads)
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer (goodreads)
These Divided Shores by Sara Raasch (goodreads)

Now moving on to what I hope to read in September. I have all new choices as I have to get in some books that are publishing this month. I am going to bring back the ones I didn't get a chance to read from previous months as soon as I can though.

American Royals by Katharine McGee (goodreads)
Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi (goodreads)
Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee (goodreads)
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (goodreads)
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (goodreads)

I have some ebooks on my reading list this month as well. Just keeping it to the two I did not read last month. I am looking forward to getting to these as soon as I can.

Interference by Harlow Cole (goodreads)
Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour (goodreads)

I am currently reading The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker. I am enjoying it A LOT so far and will be counting it toward my September reading tally as I technically started it at the beginning of the month.

What books are you reading this month? Have you read any of the ones in my list? If so, let me know what you think in the comments.

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Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

Sunday post this week is thanks to the nasty end of summer cold I got this week. I was pretty much in bed for two days straight and am now behind on pretty much everything. I expect that I caught something on the flight back from Orlando.

BOOK

Cover of Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams (goodreads)

The sequel to The Bromance Book Club recently had it's cover revealed and it is just as fun as I expected it would be. This entire series has me really excited and I cannot wait to read the The Bromance Book Club and begin eagerly anticipating this sequel.

The animated style covers that have been popular with romance novels recently are some of my faves! They're cute and offer up something a little different.

TV/MOVIES

American Horror Story: 1984 Trailer

The first official trailer for AHS: 1984 was recently released and it is giving me major slasher film vibes! I love the camp setting, and the obvious nods to some classic horror tropes.

I am expecting there to be two killers running around thanks to the casting reveal trailer BUT I think one is going to be more featured than the other. I cannot wait for the soundtrack this season!

The Aeronauts Trailer

Heights are not really my thing but this takes them to a whole new level. Some of the images are breathtaking and dizzying. I image it is going to look stunning in IMAX.

The plot also sounds interesting. I have no clue how accurate this is but I predict it'll be a fun, visually stunning film that will offer plenty of tense moments of the characters almost falling to their death.

Joker Final Trailer

This movie is going to be polarizing. It is going to have a bunch of strong opinions behind it (both for and against) and I predict there will be a ton written dissecting it. The trailer, however, indicates a beautifully shot, and incredibly acted movie. A, perhaps, controversial one.

We'll have to see what critics and fans think once it is released but I do like the grittier look of the trailer.

Joker Movie Poster

We also got a new poster to go along with the new trailer. We actually got a few but I love this new poster the most out of all of the new ones we got.

OTHER

New Stranger Things Funkos

I enjoyed both Robyn and Alexi in this new season of Stranger Things. I was excited that Funko would be releasing Funko Pops for both of them in the next wave and both are featuring moments from the third season that are fan favourites.

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

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