deepbutdazzlingdarkness's reviews
350 reviews

Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars by Lionel Friedberg, Scotty Bowers
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.

DNFed at 16% (about an hour and a half in). Really didn’t expect or like explicit descriptions of the CSA he experienced, especially talked about in a ~positive way like it was 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia

Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, from FDR through Clinton by James Kirchick

4.0

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

4.0

I liked this a lot better than I thought I would, largely because for most of the book. I found Beth very irritating. Like yes, her sister is an addict, but she was SO judgy and it drove me crazy, despite being an eldest daughter myself. I was satisfied by how they resolved their relationship though. I didn’t predict the reveal, but it made total sense and I cried at the ending. 

A Duke of One's Own by Emma Orchard

3.0

This was okay. I get that it is a book, and they can’t just get engaged 90 pages in or there’d be no story, but Georgiana’s reasons for saying no to Gabriel’s initial proposal seemed pretty flimsy to me. I guess back then infidelity was very commonplace but the immediate assumption that one or both of them would end up having an affair was like…okay. I did end up enjoying their relationship a lot. Some of the sex was hot but the dirty talk wasn’t really my thing. I loved all the clothes descriptions and stuff and that there was a f/f side couple!

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital ARC. All of my opinions are my own. 

Not How I Pictured It by Robin Lefler

4.0

I read this in one sitting in less than 2 hours (admittedly because my NetGalley copy expires in 19 hours) but it was super fun, The whole premise of Hollywood actors shipwrecked on the abandoned private island of a British porn producer was very entertaining and I liked the setup of Ness coming back to the business after 20 years away and eventually rekindling friendships and relationships. The inclusion of articles, books, tweets, etc. sprinkled throughout were great and it was nice to get snippets of what it was like back when Turning Tides was on the air. 

Even with a large ensemble and a book that wasn’t too long (286 pages), I feel like all of the characters were fleshed out and distinct. I was wrong about who was behind it all, but in retrospect I totally should have predicted it. That’s good though, because it makes perfect sense and the part where they tried unsuccessfully to do an evil laugh during the villain reveal cracked me up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the digital ARC; all opinions are my own.

The Chimp and the River: How AIDS Emerged from an African Forest by David Quammen

4.0

Good Vibes Baking: Bakes to Make Your Soul Shine and Your Taste Buds Sing by Sandro Farmhouse

5.0

HUGE plus right off the bat: unlike other cookbooks I’ve received from NetGalley, this one is actually formatted as an e-book instead of being a PDF so I can easily read it on my phone! I also love that it has both US and UK measurements.

His voice was so entertaining, the pictures are great and make the food look so gorgeous and delicious (although I do wish there were photos of all of them). I saved sooo many recipes from this and I can’t wait to try some of them once I have all my baking supplies on hand. I like that there’s different levels of skill and time/effort recipes in here and in fact I saved so many that I might actually end up buying a copy for myself tbh. 

Thanks to NetGalley and DK for the digital copy; all opinions are my own.  

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

4.0

This was gorgeously written, although I kind of felt low key not smart enough to get everything that was going on lol. I still don’t totally understand everything about the magical aspects of it, but I had a good time and the epilogue made me tear up. I always love stories about Old Hollywood and this was such an interesting look at a pre-Hays-code era Hollywood and how gay people have always existed and will find each other 

You May Now Kill the Bride by Kate Weston

3.0

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

4.0