The Genesis Jones Lounge

Time for a change - Genesis Jones no more!

2020-07-23T20:33:00.003-04:00

For the past few months, things have been crazy. I have been stuck in limbo, trying to figure out what I want to do with this blog and among other things, Since I was rather preoccupied with my job coupled with the lack of motivation to do anything blog-based, I finally feel like I am ready to get my feet wet again.

It was through these past four months that I realized that I needed to rebrand my site. The first thing is it is in need of a name change. The idea has been dancing around in my head for a while and as a friend pointed out that it is hard to find my site because there are a lot of Genesis Joneses out there. To be fair, the time that I came up with the name I thought it unique. But since I had business cards made, I feel it is a waste of cards. However, I think I am ready to go to the next level with this site.

So in a few weeks, look out for a name change. The url will change as well. There will be a new way to contact me. The blog will still have the review format with a few random stuff here and there. So you don't have to worry about any drastic changes in content.

That is all for now. Be well and take care of each other.

Review: Lupine

2020-06-28T11:16:00.004-04:00

Lupine by Hanleigh Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It all started because of that darn book! Love Blooms, indeed.

I just finished reading Lupine and I must say that I enjoyed it! Lupine had everything! From drama, action, and my personal favorite, romance. And romance this book really had.

Lupine Cortesse the owner of the orphanage in Silver Springs. Her past is shrouded in mystery. She doesn’t know who her parents are since she arrived at the orphanage herself as a baby. Feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of the orphanage and its children is a lot but its something she is willing to take on.

Everything seems fine until a group of sexy men shows in Silver Springs to open a gym. Rumors are that they are mafia. To make matters worse, they move across the street from the orphanage. Clearly this not a good idea to have such criminals so close to the children. Lupine is not too pleased or pleasant when the new neighbors introduce themselves. But with their striking good looks and respectful, always willing to help demeanor isn’t enough to win her over. Soon Lupine finds herself caught up in her past and four handsome wolf shifters in Wren, Rehan, Camden, and Kalen.

But what is that connects these five? Is it just kismet? Or is there something more mysterious? And why are these wolves so protective of Lupine? Hmm…? (no spoilers)

Bradley does a good job of building her main character. By far Lupine isn’t perfect. She has her flaws. But most importantly, Lupine is honest with who she is and what she is. I think that is why I like Ms. Bradley’s characters so much because they are always honest with the reader and they never appear forced. She makes you believe in the character and I think that’s what makes for good storytelling.

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Review: Flip A Coin

2020-06-26T01:19:00.002-04:00

Flip A Coin by Hanleigh Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I want to start off by saying that I am upset with myself that it took me so long to read Flip A Coin. But I am glad that I did! I won't spoil anything like I usually do. But I will say this, Bradley doesn't leave you bored at all. Flip A Coin has action, drama, romance, and betrayal. Ok, a lot of betrayals.

Olivia Dixon, the mob boss the biggest syndicate in London has to find her kidnapped sister, Emily. But to find her she must enter Emily's world. Olivia meets Todd, Emily's husband. Olivia quickly realizes that she doesn't know who her sister is since she has shielded her from the mob life. Before long nothing to Olivia is at is seems in this nail-biting story.

What I enjoyed about the story was the characters, especially Olivia. I liked how Bradley shows a sensitive side as well as the tough side to Olivia. In addition, I enjoyed the language of the novel. It felt authentic. Ms. Bradley has a way of writing that nothing is rarely as it seems and I liked that a lot. She constantly leaves you guessing.

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Review: Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success

2020-05-31T22:02:00.007-04:00

Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success by Carol S. Dweck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mrs. Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success is a good book for those who always wanted to know what kind of mindset they have or wanted to know why some people say and do the things they do. Yes, it is all about the human mindset.

According to Dweck, we have two mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. We all start off with a fixed mindset (things that we learned from our families, peers and what we may see in the media and society) tells us that we have a need to compete with others, but if one is seemingly better than you, we tend to blame others for our shortcomings. Whereas, the growth mindset is designed for us to make mistakes, learn from them, and move on. We are set to constantly challenge ourselves.

Dweck gives us many accounts were using the fixed mindset has failed some of our most famed stars and how the growth mindset has shown our famed stars some character growth.

As I was reading, I got the sense that she was pushing the growth mindset model on the reader. Not that it is entirely a bad thing, but I was left thinking that a person can have both, it depends on how and when to use them.

Again, I think it was a good book. The only things that I took issue with it were that the chapters were too long, redundancy, and too pushy on its narrative. If you don't mind those things then this is a good read for you.


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GJL Interview with Virginia Cathey

2020-04-18T19:57:00.000-04:00

Hi friends, it's your girl Genesis here. Recently, I had the chance to meet the lovely Virginia Cathey, owner and designer of Virginia Cathey Collections during NYFW.

Ms. Cathey who is no stranger to the fashion world displayed her gorgeous designs at the Infinite Exposure Fashion Show. Although this was her first time working with IEFW, Virginia was super excited to be showing her collection.

I am pretty sure that IEFW enjoyed having her this year as well.

If you'd ask Virginia what is her favorite line? She would tell you 'EVERYTHANG!' With her 'Mommy and Me' collection, to the 'Par-Tay Girl' collection, to my favorite, the 'She-Dress' collection. Virginia caters to every occasion from prom to the red carpet, weddings and more.

The one thing you could say about Virginia is that she excels in her versatility. Her inspiration to become a designer you ask? In a word, Women. Virginia wants to represent women, us, who have the 'asses' and 'waists' that the average clothing most women can't wear. Speaking as a plus-sized woman myself, I can relate to the frustrations of finding clothing for the right size.

In addition, to making designing clothes for all sizes, VCC prides itself on making clothing affordable for all women. Women love clothes that great and at great prices.

Follow Virginia Cathey on social media on Instagram, @virginiacatheycollections and her website www.virginiacatheycollections.com. Follow her also on Facebook and Twitter at Virginia Cathey Collections.

Click below is my interview with Virginia! Go check it out!

Review: Crush the King

2020-02-19T00:49:00.001-05:00

Crush the King by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Crush the King, the third installment in the Queen of Shards series sees Queen Everleigh in her continued effort to kill the king of Morta, Maximus. Evie almost gets kidnapped by geldjagers under the pretense of a surviving member of the Blair family. Everleigh becomes hurt and enraged by this and gets the idea that she will get her revenge at the Regalia Games on Fortuna Island.

Evie and company arrive at the island and meet the DiLucris, Driscol and Seraphine, the wealthy family who Evie suspects sent the geldjagers to kidnap her. From the moment that she arrives, Evie decides that the best way to stop Maximus is by killing the king at the Regalia, before he has the chance to take over other lands.

Serilda attempts to kill him but the king's power is too great and renders the arrow into pieces. Realizing that Evie was the one behind the attempt, the king sends assassins to take out Serilda.

Question is does Serilda survive?

I don't want to give too many spoilers here because I want the audience to read the book.

What I liked about this book was the evolution of Evie's power. There was a scene when she uses and invisible shield to protect her and friends from a huge tidal wave. Evie uses all her power to push the water back to towards a group of weather magiers.

Evie's character development continues to grow because she is more confident in herself in the effort to defend her people.

I enjoyed the imagery as always. The detail of the strixes and caladriuses are beautiful. I also liked how certain colors that characters are wearing match the color of their powers or a physical attribute such as eye or hair color.

I liked the use of names like Leonidas and Maximus. It made me recall two of my favorite characters from 300 and Gladiator.

I was disappointed at first at the result of the fight between Maximus and Evie, but I understood how Evie explained why she allowed the events to happen the way it did.

She wanted Maeven to experience what she had gone through. I think there is going a fourth book because of the way Crush the King ended.

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Introducing The Artists Spotlight: Young Av

2020-02-14T22:47:00.003-05:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Young AV (real name Avian Burns) at the press party at Infinite Exposure Shows for NYFW and I have to say that I am impressed by this young man. This Georgia-born, Greenville, South Carolina-raised native moved to New York, just a mere 3 months ago to expand his career. "God never steered me in the wrong," according to the rapper, when he explained his big move.

Young AV, picture by Elizabeth Martin Photography

Before his "purpose being bigger than Greenville," Young AV's first got into music when he was a kid. His parents who are high school sweethearts, his mom was into the church and his dad was from the hood. Together they made the perfect blend, which combined gave AV his love for music with the smoothness of r&b and the tough and yet fun hip-hop. He has his parents to thank for his great upbringing.

At the age of 17, he became independent while he was in high school. AV's love for Hip-hop/R&B music saw him in an 8th-grade talent show as part of a group called, Young Suave.

Young AV considers himself a 'jack of all trades' because he not only writes his own music, (which on the artist's best day can take him up to a day to get one song done) he owns the rights to his music and produces.

When asked who are his music inspirations? He responded,

"Chance the Rapper because he speaks about what he went through, his versatility with genres like jazz and hip-hop. Also Tierra Whack (from Philly) because of her melodies and she is chill. Her music has messages." These are all qualities that AV sees in himself.

Young AV stylin'

"I wanted to make music because it's personal." He said. And personal they are, with his song The Ville featuring Bryce Coker, the rappers talk about repping their hood of Greenville and calling out the posers. Everyone can relate to My Everything where he talks about loving someone, but not sure if the love is returned.

Aside from his budding music career, AV also is also on his entrepreneur tip with apparel brand State of Mind. Although he is not the owner of the company, he promotes their clothes and skin products.

If you ever get the opportunity to meet Young AV, he is the most down to earth person I have ever had the chance of meeting. I wish him the best of success in his career.

You can follow Young AV on his Instagram at @realYoungAV and Twitter also at @realYoungAV.

Click on the link for Av's Youtube channel.

He is also on Apple Music and Spotify.

Soundcloud: Young AV

Videographer: MsRKayBee

State of Mind Instagram: @Stateofmindfocus

Website: Stateofmindnyc.com

Check out Young Av's videos below!

Review: Assassin Roommate

2020-02-02T20:25:00.001-05:00

Assassin Roommate by Monica Gallagher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*This review contains spoilers.*

One word to describe season 4, would be "wow."

Gallagher wastes no time with the many twists and turns in her popular Webtoons series. In season 4, the audience is finally given a name for Mags agency. We also see Jamie trying to find her own path in the assassin business when she joins the Erinyes (a group that seeks vengeance for murdered women). Coincidentally, it is the same agency that Mag's mom used to work before she quit to have a family.

As the story progresses, Mags gets closer to solving who murdered her mom all those years ago and framed her father for the crime. Jason and Dustin get closer, but Dustin's memory seems to be erased and that sends Jason into a downward spiral.

Kurt and Mags' friendship turns into something more. Which is something that a lot of readers wanted. However, I have learned that while reading Monica Gallagher's work, happiness never lasts for too long for her characters. So it remains on whether their relationship is going to work.

In the case of Kurt and Mags, they never really had a relationship before so it would interesting to see how this is going to play out.

I know that I was going to say a lot more spoilers in this review, but I want you to read it for yourself. Assassin Roommate Season 4 was tons of fun to read and I can't wait to see what happens next in Season 5.

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GJL Interview with Abigail Moreira

2020-02-01T03:03:00.000-05:00

Abigail Moreira, Right.

Fashion week is almost here. So, your girl took some time to sit down with the owner of Munstruck Company, Ms. Abigail Moreira.

Abigail will be featuring a new collection at the Infinite Exposure Fashion Show on February 9th. Abigail is no stranger to the fashion world. Since the age of 13, Abigail has been sewing and designing clothes. She is a graduate of Fashion Institute High School. So, she is definitely a veteran in her craft. She designs clothing for both men and women, in addition to plus size. Her designs are for all body shapes and sizes.

With her upcoming second appearance with Infinite Exposure, Abigail and her Munstruck Company are looking to continue to make a name with her Ice collection.

Her inspiration for her collection is bold colors and keep it classy. She like all designers, love to make a statement with their line. Anything to get people talking and coming back for more.

I, for one, can't wait to see her collection and the other designers at the show. For tickets, please go to Eventbrite. For the full interview click on the video.

The Glorious Sons + Des Rocs @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg

2020-01-22T21:27:00.000-05:00

If you were in Williamsburg on Tuesday and happened to hear some awesome music, then you heard the sounds of Des Rocs and The Glorious Sons playing their sets at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Des Rocs who opened for the Sons, (is one half of Secret Weapons) came on the stage with his usual explosive energy. Des's presence is like Buddy Holly on steroids. Des brings tons of energy to his performances that it leaves the audience wanting more. His rendition of Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends is always a delight to hear. The crowd's reaction and participation never fail to disappoint. It is just enough of a vibe to keep me and everyone else entertained. Don't believe me? Check out the video and see for yourself! Des Rocs is a definite superstar in the making.

The Glorious Sons opened with One Church and SOS. The group who is no stranger to the music scene and promoting their third album War On Everything began their set with a soulful and powerful One Chuch, which absolutely shook the music hall to its core.

As a first time listener of the Sons, I got an Axel Rose-ish like feel. But the band definitely has their own sound and they sound freaking awesome! I recommend you to check out these guys!

Overall, the night was spectacular. Great music and hanging with a great friend. It was a good night.
Check out Des Rocs on his Youtube Channel here and The Glorious Sons on their Youtube Channel here.

Tyler Perry's The Oval Season 1, Episodes 1-9 Review/Rant

2020-01-06T23:49:00.001-05:00

Tyler Perry's The Oval. Image from Tvline.com

If there was ever a time that I wished that I watching this on my tv and not on my computer, then I wouldn't feel so bad putting my foot through my damned tv! I don't know why on Earth did I ever decide to watch this show. Maybe because I was in Scandal withdrawal and wanted another political show to replace the one that I been missing for nearly two seasons. Well, whatever it is I can honestly say that I can't stand this show and I wish it would just go the entire (insert curse here) away!
Tyler Perry's The Oval singlehandedly managed to take the most garbage tv shows and movies and make those look like Oscar-winning contenders. I'm not sure if Mr. Perry wants this show to be over the top, but the ridiculousness of it is just too much and not believable by any standards.

I am not going to do a break down of each episode, but I will use events that happened in the show.

Now to reiterate, I don't know if Tyler Perry wrote this show to be over the top, but this show is too much. For example, the first lady tasing the hell out of the first daughter because the girl wanted to go see her boyfriend. In addition, the President who really doesn't give a damn about the presidency. All he is concerned with is smashing his side chick, Denise (she is the twin sister of Ruth who had joined a cult, but I'll explain more later) in the Oval.

Then there is the wife, Victoria who seems to be on a hate brigade. She hates her husband, her kids and her only reason for being there is because she wants power. So, when she finds out that the President brought Denise into the White House, the first lady concocts a plan to take her fashion designer on a trip to the hood. She finds out that Denise owns a clothing store. Victoria then goes and confronts Denise who the first lady beats the breaks off of her in a dressing room, while the fashion designer, Lily listens.

Poor Lily has her own drama. But that would be explained later.

Almost every character has some drama on this show which manages to entwine with someone else's story. I swear this show sounds like "Reggie's cousin Theo who broke into an apartment of Cynthia who happens to work at Thelma's beauty shop. Thelma's friends with Reggie's sister Raquel, etc."

It is a trainwreck and it knows it is. With the stupid storylines and horrible acting, I really can't see this show lasting much longer, but with the machine backing TP, I think it would be a few seasons before this dumpster fire gets extinguished.

Unfortunately, I have to review this show because it is something to review. The latest episode is going to return on January 8th.

A lot of reviews...so little time!

2019-12-31T00:08:00.001-05:00

Hi friends,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

It has been a while since my last post. I have a lot of things I need to review, but between work and life, I have fallen behind.

Just to give you some details on things to look forward to...there is a review on Company XIV's burlesque performance of Alice in Wonderland. My review of the third installment of Jennifer Estep's Kill the Queen, Crush the King. I'm currently participating in an ARC for it. In addition, I am working on completing two books for author Hanleigh Bradley. Luckily for me, Ms. Bradley is very patient and understanding throughout the process.

Moreover, I have writing projects that are still in the developmental stages, so that has been keeping quite busy. I will let you all know when there any further upcoming events that I am going to be reviewing or attending.

With that being said, I hope you all continue to enjoy your holidays and stay safe!

Review: Secret Obsession

2019-09-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

Russell (Mike Vogel), Jennifer (Brenda Song) Photo from Polygon

*This review contains SPOILERS*

Um, wow.

I just watched this Netflix film, Secret Obsession and I have to say that I wasn't really impressed.

But I will get to that later. The movie stars Brenda Song (Suite Life of Zack and Cody) and Mike Vogel (The Brave) as the leads and along for the ride is Dennis Haysbert (24, Major League) as Detective Page.

As the film opens Jennifer is running for her life and ends up at what is to be a gas station and of course, no one is there to aid her from the hooded man with the wicked knife in his hand. She manages to run into the bathroom. (Why is the bathroom or closet the choice of hiding places in these kinds of movies, I do not know.) She escapes after makes it back to her car.

At this point, this guy is like Jason Voorhees who appears for a scare as she tries to start her car. Guess what the car isn't going anywhere because he has now somehow darted past her and got back into his truck and is attempting to pull her car out of the mud. (What? Why? Why not just drag her ass out of her car and put her in the truck?)

Jennifer then gets out of the car and flees into the road and gets hit by a car and is rendered unconscious.

She is taken to the hospital where they work on her and memories of her life play as she goes into her unconscious state. Soon her husband runs into the hospital looking for his wife. With no identification shown he runs towards the O.R. (So, no one is gonna ask this man how he got there so fast, especially when no one called him?)

To no one's surprise, Jennifer wakes up and has no memory of her husband. (Of course, she does.) Russell helps her get better and then she is released from the hospital. Russell takes Jennifer to this beautiful house, which is out in the boonies and has no cell service (of course it doesn't).

At some point, Jennifer has flashes of memories of her wedding to Russell, but she realizes that something feels off.

I don't want to give too much away but I would say this that this movie could have been a bit better. The acting wasn't really the problem. I think Vogel's Russell brought just the right level of creepy that almost makes you wonder maybe he's not really a bad guy. However, he really is.

The scene when they were about to make love and suddenly Jennifer has a flash and changes her mind. Russell goes from 0-100 when Jennifer refuses his advances, saying "I've been helping you get better. I'm your husband and you gonna do this to me after all I have done for you?!" All the way grabbing hold of her arm. Brenda Song almost looks legit scared of him as she turns away and goes to sleep.

Dennis Haysbert's Detective Page...he is slowly putting the pieces together about Russell/Ryan's true identity. Why would he go alone and not call for back up once he realized that this man is dangerous? And true to form, he finds Jennifer. He attempts to rescue her but gets stopped by Russell. This movie definitely likes to hit people in the head with rocks or some kind of object. (Jennifer hits Russell in the head with a vase, and a tree branch. Russell hits her in the head with a rock. He also hits Page in the head with a rock. He hits the guy who goes to report him to Page with a tire iron.)

Jennifer escapes the house on foot. She is injured and is trying desperately to get cell service. Ultimately, she gets in a fight with Russell to which he almost shoots her. Page intercepts and like traditional suspense, the gun falls as the two men struggle to gain the upper hand over each other.

A confused Jennifer who really delays on picking up the gun shoots Russell. But because Russell apparently goes to the Jason Voorhees school of 'No bullets can stop me,' takes the hit and advances on her. She shoots again missing him and then a third time, dropping Jason, I mean, Russell for good.

Sigh, this movie...I really can't understand movies like this. They made Jennifer so weak. As many times she tried to escape, she always got caught due to a fall or leaving evidence behind that shows that she left the room without Russell's permission.

If it was their intention of making her weak, they succeeded. I think Vogel's performance is award-worthy just for the fact that he truly brought a sense of creepiness to the character.

I wouldn't say that it's completely bad, so if you want to see it check it out. Let me know what you think.

Review: A History In Paris

2019-09-21T02:27:00.001-04:00

A History In Paris by Hanleigh Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A History in Paris is not your typical love story. Bradley introduces us to Kenneth Delos a 20-something-year-old who escapes to Paris. He is running away from his parents who have dreams of Kenneth becoming a politician. However, it's not what he wants. While he is there trying to sort himself out, Kenneth meets Michelle. A woman studying French literature. They start off as strangers, then friends, and eventually lovers. Kenneth decides that he will stay in Paris because of Michelle. But Michelle feels that she might be holding him back from his future.

As the two get closer, both Kenneth and Michelle refuse to tell their parents about their relationship. The book transitions from the past to the present. The story is told by both Kenneth and Michelle's perspectives. Kenneth and Michelle settle into their lives in Paris, but never tell their parents about their relationship and the pregnancy of their first child.

Eventually, the burden becomes too much and they leave the city where they elope. But once they come back to Paris, the weight of the lie is too much and it tests the marriage.

Once their first son is born, things seem normal. However, when Michelle's parents write about her coming home (by this time they have three children). Michelle's fear of being disowned by her parents causes the rift between her and Kenneth which ultimately makes her leave for home and never return.

Michelle divorces Kenneth, leaving him to raise the three children on his own (with the help of his parents).

Analysis:

What I found interesting about the book was the fact that despite Michelle's fears of Kenneth going back to England and becoming a politician, she was right. Michelle wanted to keep her life and her family she created with Kenneth in Paris in private. The decision to not tell her parents and never sending the letter made it a little bit easier for her. On the other hand, I believe that it was her choice to leave coupled with Kenneth’s inability to take care of the children which ultimately causes Kenneth to become Mayor.

Hanleigh does a great job of showing the complexity of the relationship between Kenneth and Michelle. It was a relationship made of good and bad decisions, some worse than others. These two were never meant to last. But at least they will always have Paris.

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Review: INSTINCT

2019-08-04T14:37:00.001-04:00

INSTINCT by Hanleigh Bradley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved the first person perspective and I don't think it would have worked any other way. I loved the pacing of the story as well. I enjoyed how Everette has softened as a result of Farah, but he still maintains who he is and Hanleigh never let's us forget it.

There was some small grammatical errors, but nothing to major.

View all my reviews

Review: Protect the Prince

2019-07-11T02:46:00.001-04:00

Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review contains spoilers.

Protect the Prince takes place a few months after the events of Kill the Queen. Everleigh has reluctantly settled in to her duties as queen of Bellona. Even after defeating her cousin Vasilia and claiming the crown for herself, Evie still hasn't won the minds and the hearts of her people because she is still seen as unworthy of her status.

After proving to the nobles that she is no weak queen, Evie ends up thwarting her first of three assassination attempts. With a keen sense of smell and her immunity to magic (mutt magic) she defeats her assassin, not before the young woman takes her own life.

This sets off a series of unanswered questions for our heroine which forces her to take a trip to Andvari to see King Heinrich to convince him to have a peace treaty with Bellona.

However, not everything is smooth sailing for Evie in Andvari, as she is seen as the cause of the deaths of the Henrich's son, Frederich and many others. The nobles give her a less than welcoming feeling as she finds herself in a battle to the death against the Andvarian captain Rhea, with whom has a grudge against Evie for the death of her father, Lord Hans.

Estep's book has Evie explain many times that she doesn't want to appear weak in front of people, therefore she must go out of her way to prove to others that she has what it takes to be a Winter queen (making the hard choices for the good of her kingdom regardless of what the cost is to herself).

It is because these hard choices that Evie eventually decides to marry her love interest's, older brother, Dominic as per the king's demands. Realizing that she and the future prince had served a second assassination attempt, and discovering that Heinrich was poisoned by someone close to him, Evie ultimately decides to marry Dominic, (but not really wanting to marry him or go through with the engagement) so she can lure the would-be assassins into a trap.

Her decision breaks Sullivan's heart and her own in the process.

As the story progresses, Sullivan tries to change Evie's mind about marrying is legitimate brother. When they make love for the first time. But soon as the moment is over, Evie is reminded of her duty to protect the prince and tells Sullivan that it was just a one time thing between them.

Sensing that Mortans are outside in the shadows and her being outnumbered, Evie breaks Sullivan's heart all over again by telling him that she could never be with him because he was nothing more than a bastard prince.

She let herself get captured by Maeven the Bastard Brigade and it is soon revealed that Sullivan's mother, Dahlia is the one who was poisoning the king and behind the second assassination attempt.

After some exchanging of words, Evie is saved by Gemma and her faithful gargoyle, Grimley. Sullivan comes back to the rescue and fights the Mortan goons.

Sully gets injured and Evie's true power is shown. Her immunity to magic doesn't just work with touching a magier, she can hone in their power and seize it (taking their power away permanently?)

Once the Mortans are defeated while Maeven escapes, Sullivan and his family stay in Glitnir to process what has happened and to give life to the treaty between two kingdoms.

Evie then returns to Seven Spire to her mundane court duties when Sully comes to ring the bell at the Pureheart bridge declaring his love for the Winter queen.

She climbs down and they share a kiss.

Analysis:

I liked the book, but I felt like something was missing from this one compared to the first one. I was introduced to all these new characters like Cho, Serilda, Paloma and Xenia etc. But most of the characters are reduced to background characters. I wanted to see more from these characters.

I understand that Evie and her search of finding the persons responsible for the assassination attempts was the driving force of the story, I would still like to see more character development in most of these characters.

The book took place over a span of three days? That is a short time for all of the events to go down compared to the first book which occurred over a span of months.

I don't know if it's just me, but the book feels a bit rushed, but a good read nonetheless.

I like the fact that we got to find out how Evie's family died and that she carries the watch that her father's killer had. It will be a constant reminder of who were she came from and who she is today.

In addition, there were a couple of grammatical errors, but can be easily overlooked.

With that being said, I can't wait to read the third installment Crush the King next year!

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Super Chic NYFW Show 2.10.19

2019-03-19T03:15:00.000-04:00

Hi friends!

Photo by @genesisjoneslounge

It's that time again! Oh, yes! New York Fashion Week!

Some of the best fashion designers from local and abroad came to show off their latest designs at the Super Chic New York Fashion Week on February 10, 2019!

I was excited to see the show because I had attended a previous show of Super Chic last year and I enjoyed it.

The show began with a vintage look, going back to the 20's and 30's style. The line was made by Barbara Binczyk. Her line focused on velvet with darker colors like olive, black, blue and purple. Barbara's designs are for those who love the old style and bringing back old school always work and she definitely pulled it off. (To see more of Barbara Binczyk's line. You can click on the link here.)

Photo by @genesisjoneslounge

Other designers like Tomas Benitez brought their 'A' game with his glamor and sexy chic look. My favorite look of his line is here.

There were so many wonderful designs that I wish I could list them all. Overall, the show was nice. But there are some issues I had with the show.

The Super Chic company is not a bad company. However, I think that there are some things that I would like to see change.

For example, the show started late. I understand that there are always last minute kinks that need to be worked on before any event, but if you are going to tell your audience that the show starts at 6, then the show should start at 6.

Secondly, they had many designers, which caused the show to go passed the time.

Photo by @genesisjoneslounge

I believe in everyone having the opportunity to show their designs, however the show was too long. That's including an intermission and two performances.

There was also fact that show seem to start off with one host and then there was two. One host seemed to be dominate the time, while the other seemed to be working on other things.

The constant yelling for the designers to hurry up from backstage over a live mic was very cringy. It was unprofessional and felt like this was a first-time show. There were people in the audience that seemed disinterested at times while the models were on the runway.

To be honest, I think because the show ran so long is why some members lost interest and even left the show before some designers had a chance to show their lines. I think it is offensive because these artists take a lot of time to make their clothing and to have the right model to represent the look that the designer wants. Through their work, the designers tell a story.

Photo by @genesisjoneslounge

Super Chic is a good show with a lot of tremendous talent and they try their best to keep their audience interested in the designers and their designs. That's what I enjoyed about the show.

For more information on Super Chic, click here.

To see my video click here.

Review: The Beginning (Obeying the Rules-Book One)

2018-12-16T15:06:00.001-05:00

The Beginning by Kitka Buchanan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*Spoilers*

Obeying The Rules: The Beginning is a BDSM novel by Kitka Buchanan. This isn't your mother's romance novel either. As the book opens, we meet Cade who works for The Mistress of a mansion. He is in charge of the servants/slaves of the mansion (the servants are societies undesirables, criminals) and Cade only has one rule, "obey the rules" and if you are lucky you will get to leave the mansion with a higher position. If not, then you will go back to jail or end up dead. It's their choice. The Mistress of the mansion, Cassia picks a resistant Gage and a fiery Nova, a timid Mason as her three new servants of the house.

These servants are to fulfill the desires of The Mistress and the Master of the mansion. If they refuse to obey the rules, The Master, Sterling (Cassia's husband) tortures and kills them. Whereas, Cassia uses her servants for her sexual pleasure (at least the ones she deems worthy to be in her bed). She chooses Gage because of his defiant nature. She tries to get him to obey her rules, but Gage refuses to submit. But as Cade warns him, that he better obey the Mistress or things could be a lot worse for him.

Nova who is (a computer hacker) confused by everything that is going at the house. She becomes Cassia's servant when Cassia needs to get bathed and ready to entertain the dignitaries that come to the mansion. Nova asks too many questions, which angers Cade. But soon, Cade finds himself punishing Nova in his office and realizes that Nova is enjoying it a little too much, which makes him enjoy it too. Cade and Nova don't know how to feel about one another, but eventually has the novel continues they develop feelings for each other while all the craziness is happening to them. Upon returning from business, Sterling finds Gage in bed with Cassia. Gage who at this point have given into his feelings for Cassia leaves her room. Cade and Nova are then called to the room to prepare Cassia for her punishment.

Sterling whips Cassia so severely that when Nova and Cade return her back to her room, she has open wounds on her back. When Cage finds out what happens, it sends him into a rage and he almost goes after Sterling himself. Cade warns him that Cassia wouldn't want him to do that and risk getting killed. But they must devise a plan to escape the mansion.

Later in the novel, it is revealed that Sterling has a files on all the servants in the mansion and he is planning to frame them for murders of some prominent figures, in order to further his gain. In addition, it is revealed that he is planning to get chemical weapons and Mason who is the a chemist has made a deal with Sterling without the other fours knowledge. "Play the game."

It comes a race to get to out of the mansion from under the clutches of Sterling and his men. Everything seems to be fine until, Mason tricks Nova and she lands into the clutches of Sterling who punishes her for her betrayal. Cassia, Cade and Gage go off to rescue Nova.

****

I really enjoyed reading this novel because it was an opportunity to read something outside of my comfort zone. I read erotica, but not much that involves BDSM. In addition, I liked how Ms. Buchanan gives you an action story. It makes the reader want to know why these characters got brought to this mansion in the first place? If this were there last chance to turn their lives around isn't there another way? What is the state of the world in at this point? I was wondering what was the setting of the novel? Why was Sterling such a powerful man and how did he get there?

With all of these questions, I can't wait for the second installment to the Obeying the Rules series. Well done, Kitka! Well done!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

View all my reviews

Kill the Queen Review

2018-10-18T02:45:00.000-04:00

Hi friends,

I'm sorry I haven't been around. Some personal things have happened and it has taken me away from what I like to do, which is blogging. While I was away, I had the pleasure of writing a review of one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Estep. I took part in her blog tour and my review is on my sister site, I Define I. I was super excited to take part in that since it was my first time officially writing a review for an author so closely.

I hope in the feature that I will be able to do more blog tours or actually get the chance to network with fellow bloggers (hopefully my fear of meeting new people won't take over me.) However, in the meantime, I will be back to give you more reviews. I just haven't decided which to do next. So stay tuned!

EST=Youngblood: Oh, The Places You'll Brunch! Review

2018-06-05T01:41:00.000-04:00

The Ensemble Studio Theatre hosted their final Sunday Brunch of the season at the 52nd Street Project yesterday. Youngblood/EST which is headed by Co-Artistic Directors, Graeme Gillis, and RJ Tolan. The program helps young playwrights with the creative process of playwriting "through meetings, readings, retreats, workshops and mainstage productions." Once the youngbloods reach 30 they age out/graduate from the program.

The program consisted of seven plays and one poem. Featured in her final Youngblood brunch playwright was Bleu Beckford-Burrell. Her 'Pina Coladas' play was second for the evening.

Her play was about a young woman who refused to go an event where she was being honored. She felt she had nothing good to say. She had given so much of herself doing the thing she was being celebrated for.

In her journey, she thanked her friends and her boyfriend for always being there for her throughout the breakdowns. It was without them, she realized she wouldn't have made it without them.

It definitely resonated with the sentimentality of the whole event. What happens now? You have studied and worked hard for this moment. As Michelle said, I want to leave the same way I came in. Who really likes to say goodbye? (Of course, I am paraphrasing here.)

Beckford-Burrell's words were honest. How many of us have gone through moments of self-doubt and moments of fearing the unknown?

Wherever her journey takes her, I hope Ms. Bleu Beckford-Burrell will continue her wonderful work.

Best of luck to her and the rest of the Youngblood crew.

Character Analysis: Jake Ballard (Scandal)

2018-04-07T00:51:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, I don't know if any of you still watch the show or not, but as it comes to close I have to see it to the end. Alright, without giving too much away...so Cyrus is not the big threat that everyone was worried about, but it appears to be Jake! See, I knew for sometime now that Jake wasn't some guy that you could trust. Since the first time Jake Ballard came on the screen, he was portrayed as the Jacob to Fitz's Edward (sorry about the Twilight reference). When things with Fitz was on the rocks, Olivia would turn to Jake in her moment of need. But somewhere down the road, Jake appeared to be something far scarier. We remembered when he was first hired by Fitz to watch Liv after the truth about Defiance came out. But Papa Pope also had Jake get close to her. So, it is kind of unclear who actually is to blame for Jake becoming into Olivia's life. (I actually blame Papa Pope because Jake was following Rowan's orders.) He has spied on her, broke into Liv's house while she slept and gave her some fingerplay while he asked Liv if she enjoyed watching Jake and his then-girlfriend Vanessa having sex. Eww. What a creep! He has choked Liv and held a gun to her friends, shot and killed James in front of David. Shot Peus among a slew of things he has done. The one thing that is absolutely clear about Jake is that he doesn't like to be in second place. Everyone around him at some point had referred to Jake as someone who takes orders and doesn't take the lead. However, with the death of his wife Vanessa, Jake has shown Cyrus that he's not going to be someone who is going to taking orders or going to be in second place. No, he is going to be partners with Cyrus whether Cyrus liked it or not. Hmm, I can't say that I am surprised at this, after all, Jake did kill James, Cyrus' husband. That wasn't something most of us got over. I hated Jake for that and I still do. But James' death aside, Jake had shown countless times that he was someone that needed to be watched carefully. I mean for crying out loud he was a product of B613. He worked for Command, and hell he's been Command twice! Of course, he's not someone I would want within two feet of me. He can be downright scary. The worst thing about it is that he knows this, that's why its so easy for him to make the choices that he has made. Jake is finally done being the lapdog to people like Olivia, Mellie, and Cyrus. He never got the chance to win, especially when he thought he had a one it was taken away from him by Olivia. Now, I am not saying that everything is Jake's fault. However, his training under Rowan's guidance made Jake the man he is today. And that is not a good thing. I'll be watching next week. So what are your thoughts about Jake? Do you think he is evil incarnate? Or just misunderstood? Check out the some of Jake's low points below: *photo from tvrecappersdelight.com*

Scandal Season 7 Review...the deconstruction of Olivia Pope

2017-11-06T23:13:00.001-05:00

Olivia Pope portrayed by Kerry Washington.

Hi friends, I know it has been some time since I covered Scandal and I apologize. I have been watching multiple shows all at once, so it has been hard for me to get my reviews together. With that being said, I have a major gripe with the seventh and last season of Scandal. I want to start off by saying..."Where is Olivia and what the hell happened to her?!" As a viewer of the show since its first season, I have seen a lot of changes happen. From the departure of OPA alum Stephen at the end of season 1, Columbus Short's publicized departure from the show at the end of season 3, the death of James (which makes me still hate Jake) and so on. But this season has Liv as the head of B613 (Command) and she is quickly becoming the stuff that nightmares are made of. Liv has now taken to tactics that her father, Rowan would do when he was the head of the organization. But seriously, what happened to the lady in the white hat? Where did she go? It feels like the audience doesn't even recognize Olivia anymore. Liv, who was always a woman who did shady things, she always had her client's best interests in thought. Always willing to help her employees, despite her giving them grief over it. Now, I know that she is highly flawed but she had some humanity left in her and some point, then towards the end of the sixth season into the seventh, Liv changed. She doesn't care who she hurts in order to stay on top. It rather saddens me that a woman who is as smart as Olivia is reduced to being a power hungry individual, who resorts to threatening to kill children just to get her point across. The old Liv would never do that. Which makes me wonder why in the hell did she go through the effort of removing Jake from under her father's grasp only to have him work for her? It practically the same thing, even if she doesn't see it. So, it makes me think that maybe Liv just wanted to the power for herself the whole time. Maybe Olivia wasn't what the audience thought she was and this is the true Olivia. She needed a push to get her to where she is now. She is Mellie's Chief of Staff and also Command. So...does that mean that people like her father, Cyrus and Jake get a pass because Olivia is proving that she has no soul left???? I can't speak for everyone who watches the show every week, but I am disappointed at the way Olivia is being written. I feel like Shonda really doesn't care for this character, which means she puts her to hop into bed with Jake in the first episode and sleeping with Curtis the next. Olivia seems to mot care about herself if she is jumping from man to man. When in episode 4, Marcus told Fitz that if it wasn't for Olivia then Fitz wouldn't be the man he is today. She was a black woman who had not only put the president in office but a black woman who had slept with the president and was crucified for it. Marcus practically made Liv sound like a martyr for a dying cause. Which in my opinion, I don't think Marcus had a clue has to who and what Olivia was. Olivia Pope is not a gladiator that she used to be. As the show stands, Olivia isn't a character that most people can stomach, put only put up with because she is needed in crisis situations. However, you wouldn't be hanging out with her at a bar somewhere shooting the breeze. Olivia symbolizes what is wrong with the Shondaverse. A black woman in power, but she had to step on the throats of people to get there. No longer doing bad things for the greater good, but doing those bad things because she knows she can and no one as of right now can stop here. Olivia is her own endgame. And that saddens me. But I will continue to watch to see if there is any glimpse of the white hat left.

Style2Smile + Munstruck Company Presents: Pop Up Shop & Fashion Show!

2017-10-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

Hi friends,

If you love to dress or just enjoy a nice fashion show or even just love to shop. Then you have come to the right place. Style2Smile and Munstruck Company will be having a Pop Up Shop + Fashion Show on October 14, 2017 at 581 New Jersey Ave. Brooklyn, NY, 11207 from 6pm-9pm. You are welcome to bring friends and family! I can't wait to see you then!

#30 Day Shipping Challenge: Day 2: What was your first ship?

2017-09-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

Over the years, I have been fans of many ships. But, no ship has got me in my feelings as much as Buffy and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Angel). Buffy and Angel was my first ever ship. From the moment that they meet outside the Bronze to the moment after the fight with the mayor, Angel and Buff stare at each other from a distance as he turns to leave (Angel goes off to L.A. to have his spin-off series.) The ‘Bangel’ ship was the first tv couple that I had ever written fanfiction on. I don’t know, at 16 years old, they were thee ‘it’ couple...despite the fact that he was a 200 something year old vampire and she was a teenage girl groomed to be the Slayer (on paper this pairing is sooo not legal). But their relationship made for such interesting drama. Especially, after Angel turns into Angelus (Angel without a soul) after he and Buffy consummate their relationship. Things are never the same with these two, especially when Angelus begins to torture Buffy and the Scooby Gang, which leads to Buffy killing Angel(us) in the end of season 2. However, they manage to get past all of that and remain on good terms, despite some reservations from Xander and Giles. I think what made Buffy and Angel work was that the chemistry they had felt genuine. Even though, she was the Slayer who hunted vampires, demons and the like...she fell in love with a vampire. They both knew that they shouldn’t and it went against everything that Slayer was told not to do, but as proven time and time again, that nothing can stop true love. It is that true love that makes me wonder that maybe if Angel hadn’t smashed the gem of Amara, would he and Buffy be together now? Hmm.

#30DaysShippingChallenge: Day 1: What is your current favorite ship?

2017-09-11T22:00:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, I am doing a 30 Day Shipping Challenge. This is my first time doing a challenge, so I really don’t know what to expect. So, I am in a Fanfiction group on Facebook and, today is its first challenge. Day 1: What is your current favorite ship? I have sooo many, but I just recently binge watch the three seasons of Jane the Virgin on

Rane celebrate the birth of their son, Mateo.

Netflix and I must admit that I rather enjoyed it. I won’t go too much into the show, but my favorite coupling is Rane (Jane and Rafael). The reason why I love these two together so much...(I am sorry to the Jane and Michael fans, but this is my opinion.) they come from different worlds. Rafe, the spoiled rich guy and Jane the honest woman who stands by her faith. They couldn’t be more opposite for each other, but when Jane becomes pregnant with Mateo and things just get more out of control for the two, you come to realize that despite growing up in completely different worlds, rich vs poor. That these two are really good together. Rafael changes as the prospect of becoming a father effects him. Despite them both being with other people, Rane manages to come together and they finally admit the feelings they have for one another. Now, their relationship wasn’t easy. Rane broke up due to a series of circumstances. Raf’s self-doubt about whether he was good enough for Jane and Jane’s refusal to marry him played a significant role in them separating. However, since becoming parents to Mateo, these two have maintain a friendly, loving relationship despite not being together. With a three year gap and the death of Michael, (Jane’s husband) and Raf’s imprisonment for his hiding stolen art, he gave up his freedom to set a better example for his children. When he returns the audience is treated to a more laid-back Rafael (Zen Rafael). He is very compassionate when it comes to his exs, Petra and Jane and adores his children (his children are from artificial insemination).

Rane's first kiss.

I think Rane has matured through their personal loss and have grown since the birth of their son. Whether they see it is another story. But, I have hope that they will find each other again and make it work this time, maybe even bring another miracle into the Solano-Villanueva fold. #30DayShippingChallenge #JanetheVirgin #telenovela #JaneandRafael #Rane