Grinch Kisses by D.J. Jamison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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It was juuuuust after midnight when I finished reading Grinch Kisses by DJ Jamison. It’s the first book in the multi-author holiday series of male/male romance called “Christmas Falls”. The main characters are Griff “Grinch” Calloway and Logan Reid.

Griff’s job involves organizing the Christmas festival season each year in Christmas Falls. The small town depends on tourism, which means everyone depends on Griff to keep things running smoothly. He takes his job seriously, so seriously in fact, that friends and neighbors call him Grinch. With all the work he puts into the holiday, Christmas has lost its magical luster, but that all changes when his sister returns home with a gorgeous boyfriend in tow.

Logan was orphaned at an early age and bounced from one foster situation to another. For that reason he doesn’t put down any roots. He’s between seasonal jobs when his friend Jess begs him to accompany her home to Christmas Falls as her boyfriend to spare her the grilling her family will subject her to over her latest failed romance. Logan agrees, figuring he can get some home-cooked meals out of the deal. What he didn’t count on was that he’d end up staying with Jess’ brother, Griff, to spare her parents’ delicate sensibilities. Logan doesn’t mind at first, but the more time he spends with Griff, the more he wants to come clean about the fake boyfriend bit and get to know Griff better.

This was a fun holiday story. Each man has issues to work through. Griff initially returned home to Christmas Falls in hopes of luring his children into spending more time with him there, while Logan doesn’t feel like he deserves a big, happy family like Griff and Jess have. I thought the author spent too much time on their individual angsting, but things worked out in the end.

Favorite lines:
♦ “The next time I see you, there will be cream and bones for everyone.”
♦ “That cat sounds like it’s ready to do murder.”

Fun and seasonal, four stars

In Netflix's j-movie 10Dance, a ballroom dance champion and a Latin dance champion train each other and their partners to join the 10Dance competition.

It was pretty great, but the beginning felt too much like a caricature. They probably should have released it a month earlier, instead of in the middle of Heated Rivalry, where the writing/directing/acting is full of subtleties.

There's major m/m, and more to come if they keep adapting the manga.

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 76 icons from various Thai BL dramas ( 4 minutes , Jack & Joker , KinnPorsche , Love in the air , Love mechanics , Manner of Death , Only Friends , Sotus, The Heart Killers , Triage )

Please enjoy the newest chapter. It is a little bit smaller for this week and I hope you don't mind it. Nevertheless, thank you so much for reading! ♥

( The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter )

Various DC icon dump of various comics/shows/animated/film characters/pairings.

Preview

Please comment & credit if you use!


See the various character & ship icons here.....

18 icons + 2 Alts. Mostly Sorato, some Kosei

Find them here at chemyxstory

24 Stargate SG-1 icons slashed from SG-1, SGA & SGU + Continuum + manip icons!

   

Check out the rest here. <3 

Season 1 Slashed
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I Deliver Parcels In Beijing
Hu Anyan (author), Jack Hargreaves (translator)
Amazon Product Link

In 2023, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing became the literary sensation of the year in China. Hu Anyan’s story, about short-term jobs in various anonymous megacities, hit a nerve with a generation of young people who feel at odds with an ever-growing pressure to perform and succeed.

Hu started posting essays about his experiences online during COVID lockdowns. His recollection of night shifts in a huge logistics center in the south of China went viral: his nights were so hot that he could drink three liters of water without taking a toilet break; his days were spent searching for affordable rooms with proper air-conditioning; and his few moments of leisure were consumed by calculations of the amount of alcohol needed to sleep but not feel drowsy a few hours later.

Hu Anyan tells us about brutal work, where there is no real future in sight. But Hu is armed with deadpan humor and a strong idea of self. He moves on when he feels stuck—from logistics in the south, to parcel delivery in Beijing, to other impossible jobs. Along the way, he turns to reading and writing for strength and companionship.

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing is an honest and startling first-person portrait of Hu Anyan's struggle against the dehumanizing nature of our contemporary global work system—and his discovery of the power of sharing a story.


This is the book that the new book club I’m in has chosen by number of votes. There is also another book from the list that I may read over Christmas.

This was a bit of a palate cleanser, a somewhat monologue biography type of thing. The book is basically 5 pieces of writing. Timeline-wise it was a little disjointed, because each piece was written at a different time. The last chapter sort of is a conclusion piece that wraps up and kind of sorts out the timeline of the previous 4 pieces, and also kind of explains how, he seemed to have had a million jobs, despite being just 4 years older than I am.

This has sort of made me think about what I would describe as an idyllic life and a good work-life balance, without the common “BS” older generation people would think of… I consider myself part oft he older generation. There’s no real freedom, just the road to attaining freedom. I don’t think I’d really feel comfortable with total freedom. I have to have some kind of work going on. And right on spot about needing a safety net, a personal boundary. Will I ever have the courage to try the kind of 6-months working, 6-months going whatever? I know it’s never.

Anyway, this was a nice read. Glad to have had the chance to read this.

Dead-End Memories
Banana Yoshimoto (author), Asa Yoneda (translator)
Amazon Product Link

First published in Japan in 2003 and never before published in the United States, Dead-End Memories collects the stories of five women who, following sudden and painful events, quietly discover their ways back to recovery.
Among the women we meet in Dead-End Memories is one betrayed by her fiancé who finds a perfect refuge in an apartment above her uncle's bar while seeking the real meaning of happiness. In "House of Ghosts," the daughter of a yoshoku restaurant owner encounters the ghosts of a sweet elderly couple who haven't yet realized that they've been dead for years. In "Tomo-chan's Happiness," an office worker who is a victim of sexual assault finally catches sight of the hope of romance.
Yoshimoto's gentle, effortless prose reminds us that one true miracle can be as simple as having someone to share a meal with, and that happiness is always within us if only we take a moment to pause and reflect. Discover this collection of what Yoshimoto herself calls the "most precious work of my writing career."


This is actually the second Banana Yoshimoto book I’ve read (the first was Goodbye, Tsugumi). I don’t quite remember what I thought about that one, just that, it was about some dying the friend, but that friend just never died (until the end of the book). I forget if it was some real thing or something that was made up by the friend.

This had about 5 snippets or stories, all of which, per usual Japanese authored books, had no real conclusion to them. I think I kind of related the most to the main character of the last story (Dead-End Memories), whereas the one I could not relate to the most was probably the first one (The House of Ghosts). I can see the practical-ness of it, but I couldn’t see any real person actually ok with it (or maybe there are, how would I know).

Cute, I-thought-it-would-be-a-quick-read-but-wasn’t.

Cat Got Your Killer by Sofie Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I finished reading Cat Got Your Killer in the wee hours this morning. It’s the 12th book in Sofie Ryan’s “Second Chance Cat” series of cat-centric cozy mysteries. The main character is Sarah Grayson, along with her cat, Elvis.

When Sarah goes to the shore to see how her boyfriend, Mac, is progressing on the boat he’s building, she ends up helping to pull a body out of the water. The dead man was involved in another drowning that happened along that same beach fifteen years ago. People who knew the victim were convinced there was no way he would have returned to a place where a friend drowned, and when the police determine he was murdered, Sarah’s friend Glenn is implicated. Soon, the senior citizen PI’s that work out of Sarah’s shop are on the case. Sarah is certain the current murder is tied to the former death. All she needs to do is prove it.

A fun and charming story, as each book in this series has been so far. However, once again my enjoyment was tainted by Rose. I assume the author intended for the feisty senior citizen to provide some comic relief, but I do not find Rose amusing at all. She comes across as smug and condescending, which really just gets my hackles up. Who finds this funny? Moving on. Characterizations were stellar, from familiar people to those we meet in this book. The plot moved at a steady pace without any unnecessary meandering. The narrative was balanced nicely between the investigation, Sarah’s job, and her downtime.

Favorite lines:
♦ “You figured out that Michael Norris was murdered because he didn’t like seagulls?”
♦ “I’m pretty sure nothing is official if we don’t have cake.”
♦ “Avery could sell snow shovels in a heat wave.”
♦ “You did win me over with you lasagna.” // “I thought I won you over with my studly good looks.” // “No, I’m pretty sure it was the lasagna.”

Very good, four stars

Netflix's k-drama Genie, Make a Wish was so much fun! A psychopath invokes a Genie that aims to corrupt humanity.

Trust k-drama to make me ship m/f! <3 These two are adorable together, and Kim Woo-bin (5-8 in Black Knight) is as hot as usual. *fans self*

There's also a canon lesbian character, but she gets a storyline à la When Marnie Was There. iykyk

24 icons for the original live action Sukeban Deka.


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Name: Soda (she/her)
Age group: Late 20s
Country: United States
Subscription/Access Policy: At this point, anyone is free to subscribe to my journal and comment on my posts. That said, I would prefer to interact with users who are at least 20 years old. I will not respond to comments by minors, and I will not subscribe to their journals or add them to my access list.

Main interests: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and Splintered Fate mainly), Pokemon
Other interests: Anime, manga, western cartoons, comics, video games (mostly action platformers, puzzle games, RPGs, strategy games, and life/farming sims)
Fannish activities: Fanart, fanfiction, OCs, character design and development

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• Like anyone, I have topics and things that make me uncomfortable, as well as some major squicks that I do not like to see under ANY circumstances. Please respect that.
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Cat's Claw by Amber Benson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I only had the epilogue of my “work” book to finish; therefore I brought it home this evening and read that last bit. The book was Cat’s Claw by Amber Benson (from Buffy!), and it’s the second in her urban fantasy series “Calliope Reaper-Jones”.

Callie is Death’s daughter, rendering her immortal. However, she chooses to forego that part of her life in an effort to be as human as possible. She works a ho-hum job, lives in a cramped apartment, and buys designer knock-offs. Because she owes a debt to Cerberus, one of the guardians of Hell, Callie is tasked with finding what became of a deceased ancient Egyptian named Senenmut, whose soul never arrived for processing. Callie has 24 hours to deliver Senenmut to Cerberus, or else she must take over his position as a guardian of Hell. Callie soon finds herself on an epic adventure that takes her to Purgatory, Target, and ancient Egypt. By the time all is said and done, Callie ends up in a throwdown showdown with an ancient goddess—one who wants to possess her immortal body.

The author did a fair job of providing enough backstory that I wasn’t floundering for reading book 2 in the series first. That being said, I wasn’t all that enamored of the story. Callie is quite immature, shallow, and self-absorbed. I had difficulty connecting with her. She did step up and stand up when the chips were down, however. Characters were portrayed well. As for the plot, it was a long book to have taken place over the course of 24 hours.

Favorite lines:
♦ Little did I know then how badly I was gonna get creamed in overtime.
♦ Abject terror is a great motivator. It kept my feet moving long after the rest of my body had already given up.

Not really my cuppa tea. Three stars