My reading year to date is slower-paced because we’ve been doing a Netflix movie binge. (I subscribed for reasons, thinking I’d unsubscribe after disposing of reasons, but if it keeps feeding us movies we like … .)
1. ‘The Build-a-Boyfriend Project’ by Mason Deaver. This was a bit of a slog due to the POV character being a guy I didn’t much like who did things I thought were stupid and/or self-defeating (and also bad for his love interest). Given the setup and the fact that it’s “MM romance” I predicted certain plot points, which all came to pass. On the plus side, representation; POV guy is a trans man and love interest is Korean American. Set in San Francisco, and I did enjoy seeing familiar places via the story.
2. [re-read] ‘Seeing a Large Cat’ by Elizabeth Peters, 9th (I think) in the Amelia Peabody series, the one in which it’s 1903, Ramses is sixteen, and Amelia is having a hard time seeing him as the young man he’s become.
3. ‘Once Upon You and Me’ by Timothy Janofsky. MM contemporary, older MC is general manager of his ex-wife’s Catskills resort, younger MC is the ex-wife’s personal assistant. Frantic pace, word choice & spelling issues, and disappointingly lacking in big feels despite a setup with huge potential for same.
Netflix movie recs of the week: ‘K Pop Demon Hunters’ (which is very much about being seen and loved for who you are, very funny, and full of music), ‘Back in Action’ (action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx), ‘Nonnas’ (based on a true story, starring Vince Vaughn who is great in it and Susan Sarandon who is always great). If you like violent suspense thrillers, ‘Carry On’ is like ‘Die Hard 2’ only actually good, starring Taron Egerton.