Reckless Indulgence on BL

Wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I wasn't disappointed with the results. Definitely a new kind of graphic novel for kids that I think they'll gravitate to. It would really be good to hear that there's a tie-in interactive website to go along with this series - kinda like with the wildly popular The 39 Clues series.

Either way, an unexpectedly good read! Great for kids.

Ridiculously funny, cute, and entertaining! This is one feel-good read that won't disappoint. It'll have everyone wishing they had a best friend like one (or both of) these two!

My review can be found on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

I read this play for the Play On Reading Challenge.

Infographic by parajunkee.com

So just putting this out there.

This book had a LOT of feels. Mostly between Kinrei and the Ayame Prince, and Rakan and Chigusa.

And Narushige and his sister.....

sdfghjkl;kjhgfhjdaADFHSKJLDANALKFNALK

SO. MANY. FEEEEELS.

I don't know what star rating to give this one. On one hand, this was definitely a guilty, filthy, delicious pleasure for me. On the other, I... I just couldn't.

I think... I just simply won't star this one.

Yeah. Yeah that sounds like a good plan to me. o__________o

Because if I did I would have to give it both a 1 AND 4.5 star rating for being both utterly disturbing and purely PWP, but also HOT. Like.. really... REALLY HOT.

1.5 Stars
(Had to round up only because... well... ugh... Story wasn't utterly horrible, but everything else was.)

This was really bad. I mean, I understand it was a short story, but... this is ridiculous. So much went wrong, it isn't even funny. And not to mention the writing. It was... *rubs at eyeballs and tries to erase image of horrible writing from my mind* I just want to forget the last half hour of my life ever happened.

Never. Again.

This review can be found in its entirety on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

I read this play for the Play On Reading Challenge.

An enjoyable read! I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to read the play behind the famous motif of Prometheus, friend of man. The basic understanding behind the myth is a simple one: Prometheus gives gifts to man and in doing so saves them from Zeus' destruction, for which he is punished and left in eternal torment.

What struck me as rather interesting was the fact that he not only gave fire to mankind, but he also gave Man hope. This, beyond anything else, may very well be the gift that outshines all others. For one thing is for certain: Man's ability to hope and believe without proof, without a shadow of a doubt in things unseen, unheard, unknown... literally puts mankind leagues beyond all other creation. By having hope and being able to see beyond the immediate dire-ness of a situation, human beings can strive to accomplish so much. All on the hope that one day things will be better. Change can happen. If you believe it, you dreams can come true.

It's almost comical in a way, that Zeus should be so angered by the gift of fire being handed over to the mortals, instead of the gift of hope. Especially since it is Man's capacity to hope which ensures their continued survival even to this day.

Hands down, this play might be among my favourites of the Greek tragedies. Namely for its exquisite metaphors and parallels when comparing it to other myths of firebringers and helpers of mankind.

Highly recommended! I'm definitely going to give this one another read this year.

This review can be found in its entirety on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

This story was wonderfully told, like a silent film. There were no words, only visual stimulus to tell a well-thought out tale… of nature and beauty, and a savage, ancient love we as human beings will never understand. It was a true telling of “the circle of life” and all that truly entails. No singing and dancing. Just life and death. Survival of all, not just the fittest. Mankind has long since clung to that belief, that they are the fittest, the most intelligent and technologically advanced, and thus they can do what they want…. but not only is that arrogance, it is also illustrating every ounce of Man’s ignorance and prideful, selfish ways. Humans do not truly understand what it means to be part of this great world we live in. That everything has its place, and sometimes the predator gets its prey. Sometimes the prey outfits its predators. And sometimes, more times than most would admit, no one comes out “on top”. It is just a random thread on the loom of fate.

Tiger tries everything to just get himself a meal, and EVERYTHING goes against him, tries to kill or eat him, or just outright chases him away. In the end, he finds himself face to face with a predator who thinks far too highly of himself (with his guns and his tents to protect him), and that overconfidence, that lack of respect and understanding of nature and his place in it, is ultimately what gets him killed.

A poignant story, indeed. Let’s hope trigger-happy idiots don’t decide to use it for their own “WE MUST KILL THE BEAST” campaign, as that would once again only prove the lack of any understanding at all.

Continue reading here...

You can read my review on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

This review can be found in its entirety on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

Dahahaha… Oh dear sweet gods. This book is GREAT. The art style took awhile to grow on me, but the story is phenomenal and the characters wonderful.

I’m particularly lovin’ that field guy who marked Henni with his ring. He’s cool.

“Ah, the murderous imbeciles approach. …AND THEN THE UNGODLY CREATURE IMMOBILIZED ME WITH A DEMONIC HOWL… AND SHE VANISHED INTO THE DARKNESS!”
– quoted from the dude in the field as he tells the rest of the town what has “happened” to Henni xDD

Good gods you’re rockin’ that superstitious bullshit real good. Well done, sir! Well done. XD

I wish we had seen more of him to be honest with you, but the story progressed forwards, not back, and as such… it was to be expected.

I think the scariest part about this entire book, is that THIS SHIT HAPPENED IN THE NOT SO LONG AGO HISTORY OF OUR WORLD – although it was more common historically to have the women committed to insane asylums instead of outright killing them. That would be far too uncivilized after all.



Continue reading here...

This review can also be found on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

What rating would you give it?
4/4.5 of 5 Stars

What did you think of the book?

“I wish to bed you.”
[…]’s head snapped up. “What?”
Neferhotep arched on eyebrow. “I said I wished to bed you, if you are willing. […] Your scent is a very alluring one, and it occurred to me that bedding you would be a pleasant distraction. […] I know my appearance is not attractive for you, but I would not harm you, and I can be generous when it comes to bedroom games.”
[…]
“You are very strange.”
“Why? You have given me no reason to think you mean me harm, you smell nice, you are reasonably attractive. I thought we could play a little. What is strange about that?”

Pffft–! Neferhotep…. oh, you precious, precious baby. xD I am utterly in love with you and your straightforward nature. Honestly. The things that come out of your mouth. <3 You are truly my hero of this book.<br/>


I really REALLY enjoyed this story. Was hoping it would be different and — it definitely was. Egyptian vampires, huh? Fascinating. XD I have already always had a thing for Egyptian mythos and religion, so I was really intrigued by this idea of a “shroud eater” and how that would be used in the story. I knew a little bit about them – they’re German in origin, and generally cause bad luck, sickness and eventual death to their loved ones as they chew on their burial garments – but I wondered how the author was going to fit this myth into zier story. One source claims:

The nachzehrer, also known as a “shroud eater” in English, is a type of vampire which doesn’t rise from its resting place, but rather lies in its tomb — chewing through its burial garments. As the nachzehrer eats its way through the shroud, the deceased’s family members, neighbors and friends fall ill and die. According to some accounts, one can sometimes hear the nachzehrer noisily chewing like a pig, and after it has finished with the shroud it may move on to chewing on its own flesh or that of other corpses in its vicinity. Some also claim that when the ghoul has gained sufficient sustenance in this manner it can then rise from the grave as a true vampire.

You’ll have to read to find out which route the author went with in zier story. >) Sorrynotsorry


Now go READ THE BOOK!

I was also… pleasantly surprised and not expecting to have actual deity visitations in this piece, but their appearance (because there was more than one hur hur~) only went to make it a thousand times better. Not to mention, one of them being among my FAVORITE EGYPTIAN GODS AT THAT! :3

The only thing that sort of drove me crazy was that ending. It was… ughh… precarious, a bit unfulfilling because it left the details entirely up to the reader and this was one instance where I didn’t want that. I wanted to know what was about to go down between the two gods confronting each other in the desert, how Neferhotep’s offer was going to work, y’know… with him still being a bloodthirsty vampire ‘n all. I wanted to… ugh… I wanted MORE, but I’m still satisfied with what I got.

Any warnings you wish to make for your readers?
Not really, although I’ll say this only because I know there are some people out there who do not like nor want to read about this particular topic in their books, so here it is:

There is incest in this book (between brothers and also mentioned in several instances between brothers-sisters). If you know anything about Egyptian royalty, you should know that that is the how they did things for hundreds of thousands of years. It’s not graphic throughout the book, but it is mentioned and mild scenes of it do happen. It is also consensual and not abusive, from what I read. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Does it count towards any reading challenges?
-2015 Monthly Motifs & Keyword Reading Challenge (I’m skipping around with this one)
--Motif: (JUN) Take A Trip! = Egypt
--Keyword: (DEC) Flower = Lotuses
-2015 GoodReads Reading Challenge
-2015 LGBT Challenge
-You Read How Many Books?
-52 Books in 52 Weeks
-Read A Million Pages
-Readathon Day (2015)
-105 Reading Challenge

Would you recommend this book?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes– oh. Did I mention, YES?!

.... huh. Well. It wasn't horrible or anything, but it SO could have been better. To be honest, it felt like the beginning chapters of a much longer book that definitely had promise, but was rather abruptly cut too short. Not sure if I should give this a 2 or a 2.5 Stars... maybe even a 3? I dunno. I've got some REALLY conflicted feelings about this one... :/

This review can be found in its entirety on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word

It was cute. A "Disney-fairytale-ending" sort of cute. Short and to the point. Predictable, but that's not all that bad a thing, in this case. I liked it, but that's about it.

Don't know if I'd recommend it unless someone was solely looking for a cutesy, feel-good story to brighten their day a little. Then I'd suggest it as a quick read.

I honestly wasn't sure what to think when I first read the descript for this book. I gravitated towards it because I saw the words twins and eventually realized that would translate to reinvest, but I still had my reservations.

By the time I finished reading, those reservations were quite gone. xD

I won't say it was perfect, because it wasn't. but daaaayum was it GOOD. REAL good, in fact. There could have been more overall world-building and character development going on between some of the cast, but I can't say I'm entirely disappointed with the current results. One thing I did love was how well rounded (as INDIVIDUAL, yet wholly connected and dependent on one another) the twins were. As characters they really worked for me. They were believable, funny, quickminded a bit beyond their years though also teenagers and capable of acting like such... Brothers, even after taking their relationship to the next level. I just really bought it and loved the portrayal of their love and affection for each other.

Couldn't ask for anything more.

What I didn't like was the sudden shift in so many of the other characters... particularly Ventura who literally seemed to go from decent guy (and one of my more favourite characters) to backstabbing asshole in a flash. At least Striker was consistent. :/ Bane, on the other hand, was a character I could only dispassionately like, for he seemed so... unreliable as a person (which worked for him in this story, but as a person I just couldn't like him for his lack of principles and furthermore, his lack of simply taking an actual side. Either you're trying to help them or you're not. It's not that difficult. It would have been something if all his uncertainty was just simply because he didn't want to hurt or betray the twins by following orders, but it wasn't. He just lacked the conviction to simply make up his damned mind until it was made up for him and suddenly he's all, "Oh thank goodness you two are alright!"



Some characters are just assholes trying to be hapless victims. Bane, just stfu.

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On my blog, I'll probably give this a 3.75 or 4 Stars, depending on how I feel about it by then.

Gave Of Last Resort a rating of 4.5 Stars on my blog.

Originally read this book last year for the first time, but ended up re-reading it again on Jan 17, 2015 because I got my hands on the "sequels-that-are-actually-prequels" (With Pride and In Despair) and needed a refresher. And... since it is still technically a read for the year, I'm also letting it count in my tally for a couple different 2015 reading challenges I'm participating in.

You can find my original review for it on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word