Thank Crunchie it’s Friday – Let’s play some music

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Emma

The past four weeks have been hectic with the day job. I haven’t done any writing (apart from blogging) or marketing, or anything of the sort the past week as a result – well that, and also I’m heavily involved in The Mortal Instruments series and spending every free minute I have reading those books. To ease me, and hopefully you, into the weekend, I’ve chosen some music (the first two songs have something of a dreamy quality to them) that I’ve been playing daily this past week. #TGIF

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Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” has been in my head all week, the Cedric Garvais remix rather than the slow version (if you want to hear that even more haunting version you can listen Here on YouTube). I adore Lana’s voice and music. Her cinematic videos are also great.

“Fade Into You” from Nashville sung by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio. This song made a big impression on me when I first heard it watching a Nashville episode. It’s warm and romantic and almost sultry. The lyrics are like a poem

And finally the last few minutes of the “Riff Off” scene from Pitch Perfect – one of my new favourite films, a perfect movie to watch on a Friday night. And it’s actually on Sky Premier this evening at 8.00pm!

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Now, I’m off to get a Crunchie bar and some rosé. Happy Friday the 13th.

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Posted in Songs that can change your life (or at the very least your day) | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Book Review: The Dazzling Darkness by Paula Cappa (Stunning)

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Emma

Wow – a beautifully written book.

In Old Willow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, you’ll find a statue said to weep tears. Behind the locked gate lives the caretaker of the graveyard , the elderly and reclusive Elias Hatch. His nearest neighbours are a young couple, Adam and Antonia, with two children. When their youngest child, Henry, goes missing, the spotlight shines down upon Elias. What exactly is he up to in his cottage? What secrets does he hold tight? Voices from the past whisper softly through Old Willow Cemetery, ghostly echoes that will raise the hair on your arms and make you wonder what life can happen after death.

ddThe Dazzling Darkness showcases some of the most beautiful prose I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long while. “The rain surrendered, leaving fog to rest domed and drowsy on the trees. Arched hemlocks hung with wet cobwebs. Vapors drifted in.” It’s extremely well-written and engaging. Watching the family trying to cope when their child goes missing is heartbreaking. Antonia and Adam hear their son chuckling from the willow tree, but they can’t find him. He calls from his bedroom but his room is empty when they check. An eerie stillness hovers around the house and cemetery nearby.

The action picks up when the detective, Mike Balducci, gets on the case. Soon he’s ordering graves exhumed, crystal skulls examined, enlisting the help of professors and scientists. We’ve got history, archaeology, ancient curses, science, transcendentalists and the supernatural all nicely mixed in together. There’s a definite hint of Dan Brown at times – old secrets weaved into modern life, an air of the magical.

I’d have preferred the last few chapters to stick with Balducci and his investigation into the crystal skull rather than going full force into the supernatural. The step by step investigation (again making me think of Robert Langdon off on a quest from the Dan Brown novels) was intriguing and I’d have liked more of it before the conclusion. The flirtatiousness between the detective and Dr. Phillippa Anna was a fun breather from the seriousness of the rest of the story.

Overall, The Dazzling Darkness was a pleasure to read. *****

Check it out on Goodreads & Amazon.

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Have I piqued your interest?

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments