Sunday Post: Easter Edition

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I was feeling a little bit sad on Thursday and Friday. I’m pretty sure it was because I hadn’t hung out with any of my friends for about a month. (I need to be around people other than my husband every once in a while.) And, when I tried to set up a lunch for my and another friend’s birthday this month with my friends (going to lunch is our tradition), I only got a response from two people; there are seven of us. I felt sad that the others didn’t make more of an effort. I know people have their own lives and they can’t always do things with friends. I just wish they had at least responded.

Blogging

This week on the blog:

Reading

I finished reading A RIVER ENCHANTED by Rebecca Ross this week. I actually stayed up until 4am last Sunday night.

I’m now reading DREAD NATION by Justina Ireland. It’s very interesting and eye-opening. I’m about 75% of the way through it. I’ll finish it today.

Tomorrow, I’ll start reading STALKING JACK THE RIPPER by Kerri Maniscalco. I’m so excited! I’m fascinated by Jack the Ripper and I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since it was published.

Listening

I’ve been listening to “Singing with the Wolves” by Anica. I discovered it while Corey was watching something on TikTok. It was playing in the background and I instantly fell in love with it.

Watching

I haven’t been watching anything new this week. I’ve just been watching my weekly episodes of Spring Baking Championship, Domino Masters, Masterchef Junior, and Star Trek: Picard.

The wait between episodes for Star Trek: Picard kills me every week! This season is so amazing.

I’m thinking about watching Roar on AppleTV+. It looks intriguing. I just want to spend more time reading and since this month is crazy with school work because the semester’s almost over, I’m being more selfish with my freetime.

Loving

Last week I said I loved my new hair color, but didn’t post a picture because I didn’t have one. I have one now. I thought I’d share it this week. This is my new profile picture everywhere and I love it.

Wanting

I want Corey to know how much I love him. He knows my birthday’s very important to me. We can’t afford to do much this year and what he did means the world to me. I thought we were just going to celebrate by going to see the new Fantastic Beasts movie on Tuesday, which is my actual birthday. We still are and that would’ve been just fine if we had only done that. However, he also organized a small party yesterday with our really good friends and their kids (more family than friends). We had pizza and dessert and played games. It was the best way to celebrate my birthday.

Needing

I need to get out more. This semester has been hard because it’s been online and isolating. I’m glad my classes in the fall are going to be in person. Until school starts in the fall and even while I’m in school, I think I need to get a part-time job so I have a reason to leave the house for a few hours each day/week. I’ll be graduating from my DBT therapy in four weeks so I won’t be doing that twice a week anymore. Maybe, I can get a job at Barnes & Noble or the local library. That would be awesome.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

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Book vs. Movie: Nine Perfect Strangers

Book vs. Movie is a feature here at JenniElyse. I do a side-by-side comparison of the book and adaptation. Afterward, I reveal which I like better.

As I said in my review of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, I was really excited to read the book because I love Liane Moriarty. I ended up really liking the book. I connected strongly with a few of the characters and I thought Moriarty did a great job of writing about depression, suicide, suicidal ideation, grief, psychedelic therapy, and the way we deal with trauma and setbacks in our life. I did think some of the plot was a little far-fetched, but the story and the characters were so compelling that I didn’t care.

I decided to watch the Hulu series with Corey because we were both such huge fans of the HBO production of Moriarty’s BIG LITTLE LIES. I didn’t tell him anything about the book when we started the first episode. We binge-watched all eight episodes in two sittings.

I thought that Melissa McCarthy was the perfect Frances Welty and that it was fun to see her real-life husband play Paul Drabble. I also really liked Samara Weaving as Jessica, Bobby Cannavale as Tony, and Manny Jacinto as Yao. I hated that Nicole Kidman was cast as Masha at first. She grew on me, though, especially the Hulu version of Masha which was very different from the book version of Masha. I didn’t like what they did to Carmel’s character. Regina Hall did a great job as Carmel; I just really hated the changes to her character. Everyone else was fine.

The Hulu series is SO different from the book that even though I knew the main story, I was mostly in the dark the entire time. I understand why the story was changed. Most books are when they’re adapted for the screen. I just don’t get why NINE PERFECT STRANGERS was changed as much as it was. View Spoiler »

I did like how the show explored depression, suicide, suicidal ideation, and grief. I think the psychedelic therapy aspect of the story was handled a little too cavalierly for my taste in the show vs. how Moriarty wrote about it in the book.

Verdict

The Hulu production is so different from the book, but the spirit of the story’s still the same. Most of the time, books are way better than their adaptations. In this instance, I think that’s still true. While the series was good and the actors were phenomenal, I think the original way Moriarty wrote the story is the better way.

Have you read NINE PERFECT STRANGERS? Have you seen the Hulu series? Do you like the book or the series better?

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Review: A River Enchanted

Review: A River EnchantedTitle: A River Enchanted
Author: Rebecca Ross
Series: Elements of Cadence #1
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 480
Source: Own
For: Book of the Month
Rating:
Sexual Content: 1.5 Flames

Add to Goodreads

There's content in this book that may be triggering to some readers. I've tried to include the possible triggers in this book at end of my review.
Goodreads Synopsis

Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.

My Thoughts

I’m so glad I chose A RIVER ENCHANTED as my February Book of the Month choice. As soon as I started to read the story of Cadence and its inhabitants, I was hooked. When I was reading A RIVER ENCHANTED, I didn’t want to put it down and I couldn’t stop thinking about it in between reads. I stayed up until 4am on Sunday night finishing it because I was that invested in the characters and the story. I haven’t done that for a very long time.

I loved that RIVER ENCHANTED was written from different POVs and that it wasn’t done chapter by chapter. The story was told from whoever’s POV it needed to be told from at that moment. (Don’t worry. It’s not confusing in any way.) I also loved all the characters and the slow-burn romances. I wish there was more kissing, but I’m glad the story wasn’t sacrificed for the romance.

I once thought home was simply a place. Four walls to hold you at night while you slept. But I was wrong. It’s people. It’s being with the ones that you love, and maybe even the ones that you hate.

I adored the mythology of A RIVER ENCHANTED. It was fascinating. The magical system with the spirits was fun to read about and experience.

I really loved the Scottish feel to A RIVER ENCHANTED and I think Ross could’ve pushed that aspect of the story a lot more. My guess is she didn’t want to make it hard for her readers to pronounce the names and places or dialogue between the characters. Because she didn’t embrace the Scottishness whole-heartedly, the story felt a little YA at times. (Ross states in her “review” on Goodreads that A RIVER ENCHANTED started out that way.) The YA feel doesn’t take away from the story. However, as a lover of adult high fantasy, I think A RIVER ENCHANTED could’ve been that much better if Ross had pushed the envelope a lot more.

I’ve been trying to decide if I want to give A RIVER ENCHANTED 4 or 5 stars. I finally settled on 4.5 stars. I’m so glad I finally got a chance to read it. It was a delight to read and I look forward to reading its sequel. It’s going to be a very long wait until December View Spoiler ».

Have you read A RIVER ENCHANTED? If so, what did you think?

Trigger Warning

There is a trigger warning for cutting, physical assault, mention of stillbirths, and loss of a child and parent.

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Top Ten Tuesday #13

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Authors I Haven’t Read but I Want to

This week’s prompt is a fun one. There are so many authors I haven’t read yet and want to. I could probably create a part 2, 3, 4, and 5 to this post. Narrowing down this list was really hard, but I did it. Here are my top ten authors I haven’t read but I want to:

Ali Hazelwood

Sally Hepworth

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Gabrielle Zevin

Ruth Ozeki

Colleen Hoover

Alice Oseman

Sara Zarr

Jaclyn Moriarty

Nicola Moriarty

I’ve heard such great things about all of these authors. In a couple of cases, I’m hoping greatness runs in the family (the two Moriartys are Liane Moriarty’s sisters). Either way, I’m really excited to read every one of these authors. Now the real question is which book by each of these authors should I read first? I already know the answer for half of them:

If you’ve read any books by the other five authors, please tell me which book I should read first in the comments.

What about you? Which authors haven’t you read but want to? Do we have any in common?

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Sunday News #13

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I’m feeling a little bit tired. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately for some reason. I’m not sure why.

Blogging

This week on the blog:

Reading

I’m still reading my February Book of the Month pick–A RIVER ENCHANTED by Rebecca Ross. I’m about halfway through it. I haven’t had much time to read this week. When I do read, I don’t want to put this book down. So far, I love it so much!

Listening

While I was listening to my “Faves” playlist in the car this week, Daft Punk’s “Instant Crush” came on. I always forget how much I really love that song. Corey turned me on to Daft Punk some years ago and this is my favorite song of theirs.

Watching

I found another show on Netflix that is amazing. It’s called School of Chocolate. I follow Amaury Guichon on Instagram and think he’s an amazing chocolatier and pastry chef. I love seeing what he does with chocolate. When I found out that School of Chocolate was him teaching other chefs how to do what he does, I couldn’t pass it up. Even if you don’t watch the Netflix show, you should check out his artwork on Instagram.

Loving

I love my new hair color. It turned out darker than I expected, but I love how it looks in the sunlight. Unfortunately, I haven’t been feeling well again this weekend so I haven’t had a chance to take a picture yet. I’ll get one and share.

Wanting

I want this semester to be over. I only have three more weeks and it feels like this has been the longest semester of my life, lol.

Needing

I need to convince Corey it’s still too cold to turn the AC on. It’s so cold in our house. I’ve been wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants, cuddling up under blankets and with my cats, and I’m still freezing, lol. The funny thing is I used to get hot like him, but not anymore. Maybe he has thyroid issues like I did.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

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