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MPL Books
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Добавлен 8 окт 2011
Bookish (and more) commentary from an author who has also worked on the publishing side.
M Pepper Langlinais also writes YA as Amanda Innes. She has worked for Houghton Mifflin and Pearson. As well as a published author, she is a produced playwright and screenwriter who interned on Hollywood movie sets.
M Pepper Langlinais also writes YA as Amanda Innes. She has worked for Houghton Mifflin and Pearson. As well as a published author, she is a produced playwright and screenwriter who interned on Hollywood movie sets.
Book Review: CLOSE TO DEATH by Anthony Horowitz
#mystery #bookreview
It's... fine. But the animal cruelty was not cool, and the solution to the murder was decidedly flat. Like, the whole setup could have been interesting, but the resultant "investigation" was actually kinda dull.
It's... fine. But the animal cruelty was not cool, and the solution to the murder was decidedly flat. Like, the whole setup could have been interesting, but the resultant "investigation" was actually kinda dull.
Просмотров: 7
Видео
Diversity in Media: The Pie Metaphor 🥧
Просмотров 616 часов назад
Bottom line: like what you like but don't tell other people what they can and can't (or should and shouldn't) eat. I'm actually allergic to berries, so my pie options are curtailed, but I do love apple, peach, and lemon meringue. My favorite, though? French silk!
Book Reviews: TOXIC by Sarah Ditum and 60 SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THE 90S by Rob Harvilla
Просмотров 814 дней назад
#books #popculture #music Time stamps: TOXIC 0:38 author discussion 5:04 60 SONGS 9:04
Book Review: ARGYLLE by "Elly Conway"
Просмотров 2028 дней назад
#books #spynovels More about who actually wrote the book: murder-mayhem.com/argylle-elly-conway-book-movie screenrant.com/argylle-movie-spy-book-series-adaptation-explained-director/ www.vox.com/culture/24047134/argylle-elly-conway-taylor-swift-authorship-controversy-explained
Unboxing My Yankee Candle Haul
Просмотров 51Месяц назад
#candles #yankeecandle Sorry for the abrupt ending! Let me know about your favorite candles/scents.
Books: TROUBLE by Lex Croucher (dnf) and THE ORACLE by Ari Juels
Просмотров 13Месяц назад
#bookreviews #technothriller #regencyromance Yeah, it gets a little bit ranty... I start with TROUBLE, which I did not finish, and coverage of THE ORACLE begins around 2:43
Library Find Update: It’s going downhill…
Просмотров 5Месяц назад
#books #bookreview #technothriller 50% in and… kinda boring. Not sure it’s worth pushing through?
Book Review: RED SIDE STORY by Jasper Fforde (mild spoilers!)
Просмотров 42Месяц назад
#books #bookreview Almost perfect, but... (Watch the review to find out what I subtracted a fraction of a star for and then be prepared to call me nitpicky!)
Recent Viewing: HACKS (Season 3), FLORA AND SON, RIPLEY (Eps 1-3)
Просмотров 62 месяца назад
#film #hacks #ripley Still loving HACKS, was mid on FLORA AND SON, and I'm probably being hypercritical of RIPLEY, but... Hacks 1:04 Flora and Son 3:36 Ripley 6:42
Book Review: THE WOMAN IN ME by Britney Spears
Просмотров 372 месяца назад
#memoir #musicindustry #britneyspears Keeping in mind that I am not some big Britney fan and went in knowing only the bare minimum. This gave a know-nothing like me a broad understanding, but I think people looking for something in depth would be disappointed.
Book Reviews: THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE by Richard Osman and BLACK BUTLER vol. 33 by Yana Toboso
Просмотров 172 месяца назад
#books #manga #blackbutler I often tire of longer series before the author finishes writing them, but I'm still here for Thursday Murder Club and I'm hanging on with Black Butler (barely). The Last Devil to Die 0:41 Black Butler 4:13
Book Review: EMILY WILDE'S MAP OF THE OTHERLANDS by Heather Fawcett
Просмотров 392 месяца назад
Book Review: EMILY WILDE'S MAP OF THE OTHERLANDS by Heather Fawcett
Odds & Ends: REN FAIRE, THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS, and THE BULLET THAT MISSED
Просмотров 92 месяца назад
Odds & Ends: REN FAIRE, THE CITY OF FALLING ANGELS, and THE BULLET THAT MISSED
Book Review: THE EXVANGELICALS by Sarah McCammon
Просмотров 773 месяца назад
Book Review: THE EXVANGELICALS by Sarah McCammon
Book Review: A POWER UNBOUND (The Last Binding Trilogy) by Freya Marske
Просмотров 313 месяца назад
Book Review: A POWER UNBOUND (The Last Binding Trilogy) by Freya Marske
Book Review: OLD FLAMES AND NEW FORTUNES by Sarah Hogle
Просмотров 134 месяца назад
Book Review: OLD FLAMES AND NEW FORTUNES by Sarah Hogle
Book Review: THE DEAD ROMANTICS by Ashley Poston (spoilers!)
Просмотров 754 месяца назад
Book Review: THE DEAD ROMANTICS by Ashley Poston (spoilers!)
Recent Viewing: STEVE! (MARTIN), ARGYLLE, THE IRON CLAW, PRISCILLA and (a semi-rant about) WISH
Просмотров 84 месяца назад
Recent Viewing: STEVE! (MARTIN), ARGYLLE, THE IRON CLAW, PRISCILLA and (a semi-rant about) WISH
Book Review: THE LEFTOVERS by Tom Perrotta
Просмотров 464 месяца назад
Book Review: THE LEFTOVERS by Tom Perrotta
Books: DUNE re-read (Part III: THE PROPHET)
Просмотров 425 месяцев назад
Books: DUNE re-read (Part III: THE PROPHET)
Books: DUNE re-read (Part II: MUAD'DIB)
Просмотров 915 месяцев назад
Books: DUNE re-read (Part II: MUAD'DIB)
Book Review: THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon (dnf)
Просмотров 3245 месяцев назад
Book Review: THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon (dnf)
Recent Viewing: TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY and DUNE: PART TWO
Просмотров 196 месяцев назад
Recent Viewing: TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY and DUNE: PART TWO
TBR Check-In: Revisiting Old Faves I Haven't Read Since Middle & High School
Просмотров 96 месяцев назад
TBR Check-In: Revisiting Old Faves I Haven't Read Since Middle & High School
Book Review: THE ONLY ONE LEFT by Riley Sager
Просмотров 1186 месяцев назад
Book Review: THE ONLY ONE LEFT by Riley Sager
Book Review: THE EMPRESS OF TIME by Kylie Lee Baker (mild spoilers)
Просмотров 277 месяцев назад
Book Review: THE EMPRESS OF TIME by Kylie Lee Baker (mild spoilers)
Viewing: PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS - final thoughts
Просмотров 167 месяцев назад
Viewing: PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS - final thoughts
I thought it was 5 star. I think it’s relative to all readers bc all religions can be traumatic for children. The hell, fire and brimstone crap then the fairytale verbiage if you believe enough …. leaves children with a lot of mush to muddle over later in life.
Naw we chilling today
I’ve always been soo proud of my imagination but while reading this I had such a hard time imagining all the stuff, it almost felt like I was just reading words, I honestly didn’t enjoy that. I did struggle with the first chapters though, but I have to admit I did enjoy the romance. Usually male characters are like tough dudes with no feelings, but Alaric it’s the opposite and I loved that! The sequel is a must read for me ❤
Yep! I'm roughly halfway through it. The concept is interesting
Yeah, I did like the overall concept.
This book was amazing. I'm sorry it wasn't for you. That's art, right? Great book imo.
I just finished this book and came looking to see if anyone felt and thought about this book similarly to me… and you did. I really expected the writing to have more of a Shirley Jackson feel or for the framework to have an OG Hill House feel. Now I want to write a story that *does* have those things! Thank you, I really enjoyed your review.
Did I mention the sporks in this take? I'll just say I was disappointed that the spork thing never went anywhere... It makes sense that there are more important things going on, but still.
I am halfway through and have the same exact feelings as you, don't even care how it ends at this point. It's very basic and as you said perfectly, dumb. Good to know the end was just as dumb as I thought it would be. Thanks for the other recommendation as well!
Agreed! I was so excited to read this book. It was hyped to be cozy and wonderful. I kept reading reviews saying that it was a slow burn and to just a stick with it, so I did. I am a few chapters away from being done and I still don’t like it. I have to force myself to read it. I’ve read other books twice its size during the course of trying to finish just this one. I was struggling because I feel like the world building was lacking, the characters have no substance or like-ability, It is painfully slow paced, and it was written with over the top wordiness where it is hard to even enjoy reading it. Tedious book. I don’t recommend and will not be reading the other 2. 2 stars as well.
I lived at the Cecil, and I knew Amy and Pedro well. They were both very kind.
I was really looking forward to this after reading The Seven Year Slip by the same author and enjoying it… well, I feel similarly to you 😂 I gave it 3 stars and while I didn’t loathe reading it or anything, it was just kind of blah. I wish she cranked up the Addams family vibe, made the romance spicier, and the story less corny in general. She has a new book coming out this month which I was excited for and will probably still check out.
Yeah, I didn’t hate it, and I wouldn’t immediately discount reading something else by this author. I think I’m sad because I love Reylo but can’t seem to find any books based on that pairing that I enjoy. The importation of them into other worlds/scenarios doesn’t seem to work for me, but I wholly acknowledge that’s a “me” thing.
I tried to read this 3 times and I just can't. I really wanted to like the book. It was good for learning new vocabulary words though.
There's peach Pepsi
There used to be (maybe still is?) a drink called Big Peach (made by Big Red). My dad used to buy it and mix it with his cola, and it was actually pretty good.
It seems to me that if you're reading the book because people said it was popular and it had romance, and you just wanted in on the hype, those people seemed to have hated it. But the people who wanted a cozy fantasy read absolutely loved it. I think some people also thought it would be a literal encyclopedia of faries. Instead, they got journal entries.
I agree … dumb is a good word to describe it.
I would put black cat on the room, let the other cat in❤❤❤❤
I want to let Hazy in! But my family says I am not allowed to steal the neighbors’s cat. 😢
@@mplbooks oh lordy. I got you
lmaoo exactly my cat the first day he met out new cat
Crowley was ready to fight😂
Did you name Crowley after the character on Supernatural?
I adored this book and have read and re-read it mutiple times. It doesn't sound like you paid very close attention to her details. The Character developmant is strong. The dialogue entertaining and the romance dangerous and intriguing. I think you have done this work a great disservice in this review.
That’s one of the things that confused me reading. Was that they could see other people’s colored dots and other colors even though they can only perceive a certain color.
My understanding was that they could only perceive certain *natural* colors but artificial colors were visible to everyone. Which is why pigment was so expensive and a mark of wealth.
@@mplbooks I wish that part of it was explained more. The tech of it because I THINK he mentions some kind of tech but it was mentioned maybe once or twice vaguely. Maybe in the sequel he'll explain it. I'm listening to the Audio book.
OMG! I can't believe I forgot to rant about the inconsistencies! There were SO MANY! How does ghost Ben sit on benches and lie on beds but pass through walls and can't pick up books or other objects? Why does Carver have a Rolex most of the time but then a smartwatch in one scene (a scene in which he ALSO is wearing a Rolex? Is it a Rolex smartwatch?)... The hotel has a keycard but also keys hanging from hooks? AND... I so hated the name dropping of authors and books too... This just needed a better edit for sure.
Thank you! I started wondering why everyone everywhere I looked praised this book - I found it so tedious! And I really wanted to like it - I love real life mythologies and folklore, but for the world where Fey are real, the book is surprisingly dull. And don't get me starter on Emily!
I discovered your channel through this tag video. Happy Reading! 😎📚👍
Nice
Plz post prt 3 soon :)
As soon as I finish the book! I have about 100 more pages.
There should be a book or film written from the perspective of the killer.
Another thing that gets bypassed by the movies: Paul and his mother can't just leave Arrakis because they've become addicted to the spice after so much exposure. Leaving would mean terrible withdrawal at best and possibly death unless they can be continually provided with spice.
I know this is an older video, but I wanted to say I love your review. I’m an 18 (straight) girl, more than likely not the typical audience for such a book, but I loved it. The letters were written well, and I liked sensing each character. One thing I wished the authors did differently was the retelling of times they spent together, or even separate. The letter form could remain intact for some events they were apart from each other, but the word-for-word thing just is unrealistic. I wish that the author took breaks from the letter writing now and then, when they were getting closer, and spent more days together. The age gap I didn’t really mind for the story, I also thought that Kurl being held back was kind of unimportant and the story would’ve been fine without that part, the fact of him being seventeen rather than eighteen would be more crowd-pleasing, I’m sure. I believe that the writer being female shouldn’t be a problem. To me, though I shouldn’t have much of a say on this as I only write for a hobby. I don’t share my writing with anyone, but I believe that any writer of either gender or any sexuality should be able to put out whatever story they want to, despite any differences between the author and said story. I also think that people can be a little uptight on whether the author correlates themselves sexuality-wise to the characters. I like to separate my characters from myself, personally. A lot of times I end up writing characters of whom are the polar opposite of me. Of course I respect others opinions on the topic, but I just would like to share mine as well. The consent part to me wasn’t that being of a problem. In stories I believe that the consent between them can be received however, and written however. The way the other described some of the sexual scenes grossed me out, but I am kind of a prude, haha. The abuse storyline to me was interesting, and a good twist, but there are a lot of common sense ways it could’ve been resolved quickly, and they just kept it in for more added interest. Also, in my eyes, I believed that Kurl was stronger than Uncle Vick, so why not fight back? Why not talk to the police, why does he, for lack of a better term, ‘lean’ into it? I guess i don’t understand some of those parts. Over all, it’s a story I really enjoyed. I am not much of a reader, despite the fact that I love writing, I always have been that way. But this story, I stuck with, and binged. I finished it within three days. But anyway, I just wanted to say I am happy to hear your reaction to the story, and I am a new subscriber. :)
Yes, I'm petting my cat Crowley while filming!
I forgot to mention that I was low-key impressed that DUNE: PART TWO made me feel a little bit bad for Beast Rabban? He's still evil, of course, but his desperation under the circumstances was somewhat sympathetic...
Dave Bautista is a good actor. For the second half of the movie he basically said nothing and just pouted very well.
i’ve been loving Neil Gaiman books. I think anything by him is safe to say will be quality. I’m sure you know him though. I just think he’s awesome and am finally reading more of his works and growing a deeper appreciation. I just finished “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” which has some horror aspects, I loved it. I just love how Gaiman doesn’t lose the intrigue of childhood wonder, which there was a lot of in this story. Whenever I read his books I just feel like they appeal to my inner child, where a lot of adult books don’t do that.
Just finished this newly released, original collection of fairy tales, entitled 'Sillies, Fancies, and Trifles' - it was phenomenal and just perfect for the season. You guys would love it! What's everyone else reading, I want some more recommendations to add to the lovely ones here. Keep up the beautiful videos :)
i hated the percy jackson show. they took all the fun out of it. the books make me audibly laugh. all of the show is melodramatic and taking itself way too seriously. and the shortcuts are horrendous, lots of completely skipping all context to major plot points n characters n just having one of the kids say a speech explaining who the charecter is and what’s going on (when they shouldn’t know) instead of letting the story unfold naturally. show don’t tell. basically all they do is tell in the show tho. it sucks.
Yes to all of this, really. It just was: go here, do this thing. They didn't have to really struggle? So little tension or excitement at all. It felt like a walk-through of a very easy video game? I dunno. Huge disappointment.
@@mplbooks lol i like that description of it, for sure agree!
Koontz made some anti-Japanese comments in letters directed towards a Japanese film executive, hence leading to the controversy. He was also accused of writing a bunch of erotica in the 1960s and 70s, but I feel that the racism is probably more important.
Thanks! Yeah, I don't have any issue with people writing erotica if that's their thing (it's def not mine) but the racism would be concerning.
I'm glad I'm not the only onw who was wickedly bored by this book. None of the characters feel like they have any substance, they are just set dressing for Emily to fumble conversations with. At the 25% mark at best she's talked to one fairy, one changeling, has finally told us her suspicions about Wendell but is still no actual development towards the plot has kicked in. For someone supposedly writing notes to refer back to when she writes her manuscript about Hidden Ones she really doesn't spend a lot of time looking for them. Also I started to suspect this is low-similarity Dramione? It's feels like the asthetics of a woman with untamable hair and a blond posh man is supposed to carry their reasons for caring about one another. It's a DNF for me.
Oooh, I hadn’t even considered a Dramione angle!
Sadly agree with basically anything you said. Gutted about it! I had really looked forward to reading it with my book club here in February 🫠
It is a bit of a shame the author wanted to focus on convoluted, cliche time stuff rather than any historical allegories and cultural exploration.
Finally....I was so bored that I dnfed this book!!! I don't know what the hype was about. Thank you for your video 😊
I just finished it. I found it a bit hard to stay focused on the read. It was ookkk at Best.
Exactly. I didn't hate it, but I just didn't feel anything for these characters. It didn't give what I was looking to get from the story.
Nothing about this book worked for me. I hated the love interest and therefore the romance and the female lead was not really likable as well. It was my biggest book disappointment of 2023 😅
Agreed - the romance part wasn’t very strong, and you don’t really get anything about why Wendell likes Emily above all others. It’s more like - she’s the main character, so she’s special, but we don’t really get HOW their relationship is more fulfilling for him than others. “She doesn’t like me back fast enough” isn’t a good enough reason
Ugh THANK YOU. The amount of scrolling I had to scroll to find someone reviewing this book who didn’t have a giant smile next to the cover was ridiculous. Emily was the worst. She is basically a sociopath with high functioning autism. At least Sherlock had charm she has none. I agree with EVERY critique you gave. Ugh, worst let down I’ve ever read. This should have been an obvious 5 star book and it’s a 2.5 at best
Ha! I left my comment before I finished watching. Yup 2.5. As far as Emily she is boring and I don’t care but why couldn’t we have at least had Windell used some of his sexual charm to take her out of her bitchy comfort zone? Like during one of her constant barking sessions with him (which I guess we are all supposed to find endearing and cute) why couldn’t he turn on his Fae charm and get a little sexy. I mean he is an immortal man whore and she is a grown ass 30 year old woman! Give me something interesting!! At least let me swoon for him? No. No they both behaved like 12 year olds. I can’t believe the hype of this book and I can’t believe we are in the minority here.
i've trying to find other people's take on this book. i absolutely loathed it. beyond Oliver's internalized homohobia the elephant in the room is the legal rights that marriage affords you. for those of us who went through the AIDS crisis and fought for gay marriage those rights are extremely important in the face of homophobic families -- like Oliver's. it's downright insulting that that never came up especially since Oliver is a lawyer. to get to the end and it all be about eschewing white picket fences... well don't have $@#^ white picket fences. it's fine to have a conversation about the patriarchal nature of marriage but the book doesn't do that. it's just so much gay trappings: bad, gay marriage: bad and leads me to believe that the author is on Oliver's side.
Great points! The more I think about this book, the less and less I enjoyed it. And, as you mention, the fact that people are fighting to be accepted, and to have the rights and privileges marriage affords, and this book just tosses all that aside in a "f*** the system" ending is... Not a great look.
@@mplbooks yeah, one of the vids on my meager youtube output is my husband and i getting married in San Francisco City Hall in the Winter of Love in 2004 on NBC. it's a pretty personal issue to me and it shows that the author is coming from a position of having a metric buttload of privilege
How would an author submit a book for you to review?
Well, my e-reader no longer works, but I can read a PDF if you email it, or you can mail a physical copy. I don't read horror/gore or erotica.
I love this book review so much! I really agree with a lot of your points. Personally I related to a lot of the stuff she spoke about throughout the story, but yeah it's different for a lot of autistic people. It made me feel a lot more seen though. I'd give the book a 3.5/5 rating to be honest. At times I'd be really fixated, and other times I'd have less interest. Probably related to my low attention span lol :)
Same, in that parts of it really engaged me and then parts of it I had zero connection to. Which, you know, makes sense when you consider you're never going to 100% align with another person's personal experiences. I'm just glad to have [female] autism represented and spoken about so openly. Even if experiences vary, it's nice to hear/read about it.
I adore your videos! Thank you so much.
Aww, thank you! 😊
It’s actually kind of impressive how this book gave me ZERO FEELS. Not even a tingle. 🫤
I forgot to put Noah Galvin's name on the screen, but he's the one I was trying to remember in "Theater Camp."
Never liked Armond, I don't trust him! And yes, everyone loves Louis...would he fall in love with a human woman, or is he strictly gay?
Angel wishes for viewers to know they got the wording of the Apology Dance incorrect. It should be: “You were right, you were right, I was wrong, you were right.”