Book #1

I decided to be more honest with my reviews this year and also to finally read all the free short stories that I downloaded last year. Well, let's just say it might not have been wise to combine these two resolutions...

"Wrong Turn (The Shenandoah Pack #1)" by Taylor Law

Rating: ♠

This was a free read - thank the gods above, because if I had paid for this drivel, I would have been really pissed. The average fanfic is better than this über-cliche stuffed with purple prose. Don't get me wrong, I love happy endings as much as the next girl but this? His sweet mate? Angel? The little man? The sweet male? Greek god? And my favorite - God-man? Is there a dictionary of the most ridiculous purple prose nicknames that the author decided to tap? Seriously, there's nothing wrong with using the character's name! Also, the idea that two people are not lovers till there's a penetration is entirely ridiculous!

Conclusion? AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!

Book #2

"Chosen (White Wolf #1)" by K. Matthew

Rating: ♠ ♠ ♠

Free read and the first story in a longer series. Also, a PWP. And... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Why? Because it plays heavily with dub-con/non-con and the Stockholm Syndrome. It's about a pack whose Alpha dominates his subordinates sexually. And not just that - the pack kidnaps young men and mentally, physically and sexually bends and breaks them to force them to join the pack. The pack itself doesn't see anything wrong with that. And I'm not sure if the author presents it as "no, it's not okay but the pack doesn't see it that way" or "yes, it's okay." And that really confuses me.

Well, in any case, it's something I have never encountered in a book before. And for that reason alone, I find it quite fascinating, to be honest. It definitely made me want to read more.

Book #3

"Collared (White Wolf #2)" by K. Matthew

Rating: ♠ ♠ ♠

Well, this is definitely not a story for people who are easily squicked by non-con/dub-con. At the same time, it's rather well-written. No purple prose, no excessive mushiness or spelling/grammar mistakes. So yeah, it's an... acquired taste, I guess.

Dream House

Rating: ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

♦ Wow. Just... wow. What a twist! I didn't expect that all! ( Cutting it because this movie is all about the twist! )

♦ I loved Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in this movie. They had so much chemistry. This is the movie during which they fell in love. AFAIK, they have known each other since university, for more than 20 years, but they had been just friends. But then they met again and fell in love. Call me a hopeless romantic but I think it's incredibly sweet. I'm usually not invested in celebrity couples but I love Daniel and Rachel together - just like Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult! I hope it works out for them.

JGL in Numb3rs

JGL was in one episode of Numb3rs, an ep called Sacrifice, in S1 - which is also the only season that I own on DVD, so - hah! He looked so cute with longer hair. I wonder if he took the part because of his friendship with David Krumholtz whom he knew from 10 Things I Hate About You.



( 3 more cut! )

He played the bad guy, Scott Reynolds. And I loved his last scene with Charlie. Loved his "You're asking me how I'm gonna live with myself - look in the mirror."

You know, I think N3 would be the perfect background for Inception's Arthur. Scott was a brilliant scientist but ruthless, willing to do anything to reach his goal, to do what he considered right. I think the army/CIA would scoop someone like that out of the prison immediately, especially for a project like the dream-sharing.