Controllers & Coffee: Jedi: Survivor and Bayonetta

Posted in Gaming by Bizarre Brunette

The last Controllers & Coffee post I wrote was in 2023 when I was heavily invested in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. I will say, I have been playing fewer video games than usual. Being stuck on Jedi: Survivor for a bit has put me in a rut. With this month being my annual Star Wars month, I think finishing Jedi: Survivor will help me get back into playing video games regularly. I wanted to share a gaming update as to what I have been playing and enjoying recently.

Consoles

This image is a promotional image for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. It shows Cal with his blue lighsaber ignited and with BD1 at his side.

For consoles, I’m currently playing three games at once. The first is obviously Jedi: Survivor. I started Jedi: Survivor in January and here I am still playing the game. I go through spurts where I play a lot and then a month goes by where I don’t play at all. This is similar to when I first played Jedi: Fallen Order, so it’s not surprising that I’m following a similar pattern here. Besides Jedi: Survivor, I’m also playing through LEGO Star Wars. I won’t touch on this too much since I already shared this in my May 4th post.

The third game that I’m playing is Bayonetta 3. Since watching Critical Role, I have been paying more attention to voice acting whether that be in games or shows. Bayonetta 3 features Anna Brisbin aka. Brizzy Voices is a character in the game. I have been following Brizzy Voices for several years now and I’m happy to see her get more roles in video games. I will say that I exclusively bought Bayonetta 3 because of her as I never played the other Bayonetta games. I am enjoying it so far and I hope to finish the game by the end of the year.

PC

I haven’t played a PC game in a bit. I have quite a few games in my library. They include a few of the Nancy Drew titles, Arcade Spirits, and Zodiacats. Since it’s on my mind, I’m going to install Zodiacats and a Nancy Drew game, so they are on my laptop for when I have the time to do a little PC gaming.

As a side note, my laptop might be on the fritz. My laptop is from 2016 which is already eight years ago. From a technology standpoint, my husband tells me this is old. I tend to use my devices until they completely shut off on me. When my laptop eventually needs to be replaced, I plan on buying a gaming laptop. While I would love to have the time to build my own computer, I don’t have the space to put it anywhere, so a gaming laptop would make the most sense.

Board Games

I haven’t played any new board games recently. Most of the games in my collection have been opened and I have played through them at least once which is pretty good for me. I did receive Forbidden Jungle as a Christmas gift last year and it remains unopened on my shelf. I would love to play Queen by Midnight again along with playing another scenario from Vagrant Song.

TTRPGs

I’m still playing in our Dungeons & Dragons campaign every Monday. I should write more about what’s happening in our sessions. My character, Vesper Henshawe, she has been through a lot. Her back story has been revealed to some of the other characters and she’s even involved in a romance with one of the NPCs (non-playable characters). The romance came out of nowhere as this NPC wasn’t in the backstory I created for her, but it’s been interesting to see how this relationship has developed.

While I would love to play in another TTRPG campaign, I don’t think I have the time to fully commit to a game. I avoid playing TTRPGs on the weekends since the weekends are when I’m the most social. If I were to play another TTPRG throughout the week, Thursday would probably be the day I’m most free since that’s usually my off day from the gym. I don’t want to be that player who cancels as it’s not fair to the other players at the table. I could see myself playing in one-shots in the future, but we shall see.

Miscellaneous

I don’t think I have anything to share under the Miscellaneous section. Most of the gaming falls under the previous sections in this post.

I want to carve out more time to play video games and on top of that, I’d like to start writing regular posts about the campaign I’m in on Monday. The gaming section on Bizarre Brunette is one of my favorite sections to write. There will be more video game reviews and TTRPG recaps in the posts to come.

2May2024

Georgia O’Keefe and Meow Wolf – Santa Fe

Posted in Life Lately by Bizarre Brunette

It feels good to be back from vacation. I thrive on having a routine whether that’s scheduled workout classes, printing out new recipes, and having time to see friends and family. This trip was exactly what I needed as I was on the brink of feeling burnt out. While we stayed mostly in downtown Albuquerque, I did want to make a separate trip to Santa Fe. Santa Fe is northeast of ABQ by about an hour, so it’s easy to get to. From what I knew about Santa Fe, I knew it was a touristy area, but also an artsy city. I couldn’t agree more and I enjoyed our time exploring Santa Fe even though we had only a day to spend there.

When we arrived in Santa Fe, we stopped at Clafoutis, a breakfast cafe outside of downtown. Clafoutis is a French bakery and a sit-down restaurant. I’m all for having a cup of coffee and starting the day with classic breakfast food and a croissant because why not. After Clafoutis, we started driving more toward downtown Santa Fe. I’m not an architecture person, so don’t come after me, but part of the beauty of Santa Fe is how everything is historically restored. The buildings are all styled in the Spanish Pueblo architecture. Part of what I enjoyed about exploring Santa Fe was finding a bench and looking at our surroundings.

Image is a picture of a painting in an art gallery. The painting shows a horse's skull with a white flower on it. The painting is titled "Horse's Skull with White Rose"

One request my mom had was to check out the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. While Georgia O’Keefe was born in rural Wisconsin, she spent the majority of her time in New Mexico and the beauty helped inspire her in many of her paintings. I’m not going to lie, I’m not a big art museum person, but I think this museum was an exception. While Georgia is known for her paintings of flowers, I was drawn to a painting she did of an animal skull. The painting has this darker, grittier, gothic tone to it and it was my favorite painting throughout the exhibit. The exhibit took about an hour or so to walk through and it was worth it.

Image is a pathway that is lit by this neon trees of all colors. Pink, red, purple, yellow and green. The room is pitch black. It feels like you're in a rave.

Besides the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, the next item on our list was to check out Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf is difficult to describe. I would say it’s a mixture of an escape room, interactive art, and exploration. One thing I would recommend is to make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time. I figured it would be okay to show up, but when I looked online, I noticed the tickets were for a time slot. I would have been bummed to miss out on Meow Wolf if the tickets were sold out for the day. Our tickets were for 12:40 and when we arrived, there was a long line. Parking was limited, so if you’re planning on checking out Meow Wolf, taking an Uber is a good idea. We parked a little ways away, but I hate going somewhere and struggling to find a place to park, it puts me on edge.

Image is a picture of a figure wearing a submarine suit. The helmet is a classic bronze color that's round and has knobs on it.

We didn’t end up waiting long and the line moved fast. Once we were inside, there was a door that led to the entrance of the exhibit. As we moved inside, it was mesmerizing. There was a huge house directly in front of us. We went up the stairs and the museum guides recommended touching everything. Certain puzzles could be solved and the chimney of the house was open, so you could crawl underneath it. I wore a dress to this, so you would not catch me accidentally flashing someone to crawl throughout the area. By touching some of the gadgets, hidden doors would open which revealed hidden passageways connecting parts of the exhibit.

Image is a selfie of me. There's pink light that's on me, so my skin looks pink. I'm smiling at the camera.

Meow Wolf is interesting because there are no readily available maps, so it was difficult to know if I truly explored everything. My type A personality did not like not having a map of the area. I felt like I saw everything, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I ended up missing something. Meow Wolf recommends spending at least 90 – 120 minutes, I felt an hour was the perfect amount of time. I was able to take pictures and roam around. I’m glad I checked out Meow Wolf and if I happened to be in a city where there was another Meow Wolf, I would go.

After Georgia O’Keefe and Meow Wolf, me and my mom stopped for lunch at Palacio Restaurant. I ordered enchiladas while my mom opted for a sandwich. I mentioned this in my ABQ post, but we had such good food throughout the week. After lunch, we were debating on what to do next. Santa Fe has a ton of shopping, cocktail lounges, and art galleries to see. Most of the art was completely out of my price range as most of the pieces we saw were thousands of dollars. I’m not here to nitpick the cost of art as I think that’s rude to do so. After all the walking, we decided to drive back to ABQ as it’s still an hour’s drive and the next day was when were going to begin driving back to Minneapolis.

Santa Fe was a beautiful city, there’s a lot to see and I found the city to be walkable. Being able to park and walk to everything is a plus. Both Georgia O’Keefe and Meow Wolf were worth the drive and I would recommend checking both of those places out. To finish my ABQ three-part post series, I will recap all the fun little stops we made throughout the drive from Minneapolis to ABQ and then back to Minneapolis again.

29Apr2024

May the 4th Be With You – 2024 Plan

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches, Gaming, Life Lately, Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

It’s that time of year again! For the past two weeks, I have contemplated what types of Star Wars content I want to prioritize throughout the month. May the 4th is on Saturday this year which is pretty special. May the 4th will also be Free Comic Book Day and the last time this happened was in 2019. I remember this so well because that’s when my husband proposed. I always look forward to May and diving into all the Star Wars content I have time for. I wanted to share what books I will be reading, the shows I will watch, and the video games I will play throughout the month.

Books and Comics

Image is a stack of two books, the first is Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson and the second is Leia Princess of Alderaan. To the right, is a tabby cat that insisted on being in the photo. She's staring out the window.

I have two Star Wars books on my TBR that I am going to read first. They are Star Wars Leia Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray and Star Wars Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson. I purchased both books a few years ago and ran out of time to read them. I am determined to finish both of these books this month. I haven’t decided which one I will read first, I’m leaning towards Phasma because I think Captain Phasma is one of the coolest characters that came out of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and I think she deserved better.

To follow my typical TBR format, I have two books on hold at the library because I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to read. I have Star Wars Battlefront II Infernal Squad and Star Wars Dark Disciple both books written by Christie Golden. Star Wars Battlefront II Infernal Squad is a book that follows Iden Versio from Battlefront II. I loved the story from Battlefront II, so I knew I wanted to read this book eventually. Dark Disciple is a book that follows an assassination plot against Count Dooku led by Jedi Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress. I think Asajj is such a fascinating character. Her back story being a Nightsister, being betrayed by Count Dooku, and eventually teaming up with Ahsoka in Clone Wars, I want to read more about her in the novelizations.

For the comics portion of my May the 4th plan, I only have four Star Wars issues to read, they are issues #1, #3, #4, and #5 of The High Republic. Since The Acolyte takes place during The High Republic era, I wanted to get caught up on the series. With Free Comic Book Day, I do like to find older Star Wars comics that I can read throughout the month.

Movies and TV

Image is a promo image for Star Wars Rebels. It shows Ezra, Kanan, Zeb, Hera, and Sabine in the center. In the top left, it shows Thrawn hovering over them.

This month will be all about Star Wars Rebels. I started Rebels last year and left off on season #2 episode #13. This puts me about halfway through the series. I want to fully finish the show by the end of the month. I’m still pretty behind on Star Wars TV content as there is a lot that I have not watched yet. This includes The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian Season #3, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and, Tales of the Jedi. I don’t anticipate having additional time to start another Star Wars series unless I’m ambitious, but to have a backup in place, I think I will watch The Bad Batch if, for whatever reason, I finish Rebels early.

Gaming

I have been playing Jedi: Survivor for about four solid months now. I like Jedi: Survivor especially since Merrin has a bigger presence in the game. Part of the reason it’s taken me so long to get through the game is because of the amount of brain power I have to devote to play through it. The game is difficult, which is fine, but after a long day at work, I don’t want to play anything that requires me to fully commit to the story. Once May hits, I’m going to hunker down and fully finish Jedi: Survivor.

Besides Jedi: Survivor, I have been replaying LEGO Star Wars. I was close to completing the game a few years ago until a glitch froze my ship in permanent hyperdrive. I was salty about it and I wasn’t willing to fully restart the game. Now that it’s been a few years, I felt like enough time had passed, so I started to play through it again. The nice thing is that because I owned the game on PS4, I could take the free upgrade to PS5 which is how I have been playing through the game. I plan on unlocking all the achievements and collecting all the blue bricks, so wish me luck because there are at least 1000+ bricks to collect across all the planets.

As always, May the 4th Be With You!

25Apr2024

ABQ Book and Comic Haul

Posted in Life Lately, Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

In my previous post, I failed to mention all the comic book stores and bookstores we visited on our trip. I went to two different comic book stores throughout the ABQ metro and one bookstore. I wanted to share what I purchased from the shops we went to.

Twin Suns Comic Books & Game Center

Image features four different comics and issues laid out on the floor. From the top left, it's Scarlet Witch and Thunder Bolts. The bottom row from left to right is Moon Knight and Star Wars The High Republic.

The first comic book store we stopped at was Twin Suns Comic Books and Game Center. Twin Suns was located directly north of downtown ABQ. When we walked in, I noticed their selection of single-issue comics. My mom bought my brother a Magic: the Gathering playmat with their logo on it for his birthday.

I purchased issues #1-4 of Moon Knight which Jed MacKay is writing. I like Jed MacKay a lot as I also like his run on Black Cat. Moon Knight has quickly become one of my favorite characters to read about in comics. I picked up issue #6 of Steve Orlando’s run of Scarlet Witch. I bought the trade of the first five issues. I like how Scarlet Witch is running her own witchy store with Darcy. I picked up Thunder Bolts issues #1, #3, and #4. I don’t know much about Thunder Bolts, but there is going to be a movie that’s set to release in 2025, so I want to be prepared. Finally, I picked up issues #1 – #4 of The High Republic. I plan on reading those comics next month for Star Wars month.

Bookworks Bookstore

Image is a stack of three books and one graphic novel. From top to bottom it's The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce, How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin and Vampire the Masquerade The Complete Series.

The next place we went to was Bookworks, a local bookstore near Twin Suns. I ended up purchasing three books and a graphic novel. The first book I bought was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The Midnight Library focuses on Nora Seed who comes upon The Midnight Library, a library where you can view versions of your life based on decisions you make whether it be a change in career or dating someone new. The Midnight Library is highly rated on Goodreads and has been on my TBR for a long time. The second book I found was Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce. This is a romance book that combines theater and Dungeons & Dragons. It’s like this book was written for me. The third book I bought was How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. This book focuses on a woman who receives her fortune from a fortune-teller. The fortune tells her that she will be murdered. No one believes her and eventually her fortune does come true. This woman’s niece comes to her estate and is determined to figure out who killed her. The final graphic novel I bought was Vampire the Masquerade The Complete Series. I’m a big fan of Vampire the Masquerade and I have been reading the comics off-and-on. When I saw this, I knew I needed to purchase it.

Astro-Zombies

Image features two graphic novels - Daredevil The Man Without Fear and Snotgirl Volume #2.

The final comic book store we stopped at was Astro-Zombies. Astro-Zombies is located in Nob Hill which is considered the university district in ABQ. The outside of the building is cool because there are different art murals and the store itself is purple and green which helps it stand out. I thought Astro-Zombies had more graphic novels than single-issue comics which was a nice contrast to Twin Suns. I purchased two graphic novels. Daredevil The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller has been on my list to read forever, but I couldn’t find a physical copy anywhere. It’s a classic story in Daredevil’s comic run. The second graphic novel I found was Snotgirl Volume #2 by Bryan Lee O-Malley and Leslie Hung. I gave Snotgirl a second chance after buying the first trade paperback. I’m obsessed with Leslie’s art and I think the whole series is so pretty.

ABQ did not disappoint when it came to comics and books. I can’t wait to read everything that I purchased!

22Apr2024

Mountains for Days – ABQ

Posted in Life Lately by Bizarre Brunette

I am back from my road trip to New Mexico! I was gone all last week and it was a recharge for me. Originally, I had planned this road trip as a solo road trip, but last minute my mom was able to come with me and I appreciated the company. I had underestimated how much driving this trip would entail, so it was nice to talk to someone especially when driving across Nebraska. With all of my travel posts, I like to split them up, so I don’t have one extremely long post. This will be a three-post series, the first post will focus on Albuquerque, the second post will focus on Santa Fe, and finally, the last post will be all the miscellaneous stops on the trip.

Albuquerque is the city that we spent the most time in, so I figured I’d start with ABQ! Albuquerque is stunning! The Sandia Mountains surround the city and in the sunlight, they are a bronze or golden color. I couldn’t get over how beautiful the mountains were; no matter where we drove, they were always within sight.

Image is of Old Town ABQ. The pathways were all brick. There are tropical plants on the right. On the left are several older buildings.

For every trip, I like to pre-plan an itinerary, so I don’t miss anything. One of the first places that we went to was Old Town. Old Town is slightly north of downtown Albuquerque and filled with shops, restaurants, and art galleries. The reason Old Town is worth the visit is all the buildings are historically preserved. Walking around Old Town, it feels like you are walking in what used to be a Wild West town. If that wasn’t enough, someone had a pet kitty that would walk around the shops and it was friendly. It would come up to tourists looking for pets. I’m a cat person, so that’s an added bonus.

Image is a photo of Old Town. There are several clay, brown buildings. There are colorful flags hanging. There is a fountain and several benches seated nearby.

Image is a photo of the outside of The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. It shows an atom off to the left.

Besides shopping, one museum I wanted to visit was The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. New Mexico is filled with history since it is the U.S. state where the Manhattan Project was housed and where the first nuclear bomb was tested. The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History was well worth the trip. There were several sections within the museum that I found fascinating. There were items from the Los Alamos gate which is where the scientists would gather and test their findings. While this museum heavily focused on the Manhattan Project, I liked how it talked about how nuclear science shaped medicine and how nuclear energy has been a focus for renewable energy. There was so much to see and learn and I felt like I learned something new.

Another thing that we did was check out Sawmill Market. Sawmill Market is adjacent to Old Town and it’s an indoor market with various vendors. We had the best Mexican food at Flora. We split Chicken Enchiladas and they were so good! Speaking of, we ate a lot of good food on this trip. That’s another reason I love to travel. I love to try new restaurants, food trucks, coffee shops, and other local places. I do not limit myself when I travel and I think food is such a great way to connect people together. I could go on and on about all the food we ate, but this post is already getting long as it is.

The final thing I wanted to add about ABQ was all the breweries! ABQ has a lot of breweries which I wasn’t expecting. I have always liked the atmosphere at a brewery and since the weather in ABQ was so nice, I was specifically looking for breweries with an outdoor patio or seating area. In total, we went to four different breweries in ABQ specifically. I wanted to call out one of my favorite breweries that we stopped at, Bow and Arrow Brewing Co. Bow and Arrow is a female and indigenous-owned brewery. If you’re thinking to yourself, who cares? Let me tell you. Doing a quick Google search, the brewery industry is 89% men and 11% women on average. I think it’s great to see more women getting into the craft beer industry. With Bow and Arrow, their beer is brewed on Native Land, and proceeds from Bow and Arrow go directly back into Native non-profits specifically. If that wasn’t enough, Bow and Arrow has a lovely tap room and their beer rocked.

Photo is of me smiling at the camera. I'm standing in the middle of Old Town in downtown ABQ.

To say that I enjoyed ABQ would be an understatement. I have wanted to explore the Southwest for a long time, so I’m glad that this trip happened. For my next post, I will share a summary of our trip to Santa Fe which is about an hour Northeast of ABQ.

18Apr2024

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

It should come as a surprise to no one that I’m reading witchy books in Spring. Why should I only read Spooky-themed books in the Fall? I discovered The Ex Hex series a few years ago and it’s basically Charmed meets Gilmore Girls with a romance at the core of each book. I had The Kiss Curse which is the second book of the series on my TBR for far too long, so when I needed to make a last-minute switch to what I was going to read last month, I figured this would be a good choice. The Kiss Curse was as good if not better than The Ex Hex.

Gwyn Jones is in a good place. She has formed a new coven in Graves Glen, she’s mentoring students from the local college, and she’s helping to run her business, Something Wicked. When Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow returns to Graves Glen and sets up a shop right the street from hers, Gwyn can’t help but be ornery about it. Gwyn and Wells agree to a truce as they feel a dark source of magic brewing nearby. While investigating dark magic, Gwyn can’t help but develop feelings for Wells especially because he isn’t everything she thought he was.

With romance book series, I think it’s essential that each book builds off each other. In The Kiss Curse, there’s more revealed about the Graves Glen as a town and who has it out for Gwyn and Viv’s bloodline. I think it’s easy to discount The Kiss Curse as a smutty, witchy romance, I feel that doesn’t give the series enough credit. I did like Gwyn and Wells together as a couple. Wells is more serious, combined with Gwyn’s boisterous personality, they work well together as a couple. I thought this book had a nice balance between romance, smut, and plot.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I loved how this book was shorter. I’m all for believing that two people are the be-all/end-all, but sometimes I want things to cut to the chase. I feel like The Kiss Curse was perfect because there was build-up, the plot thickens, they have sex, and there’s an epilogue all within 306 pages.

The Kiss Curse was short, cute, and witchy. For someone who loves Halloween as much as I do, this series caters to my Spooky soul. I rated The Kiss Curse five stars on Goodreads.

15Apr2024

Carnivals, Schenanigans, and Frumpkin – Mighty Nein

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by Bizarre Brunette

Trying to get caught up on Critical Role is a daunting task. I finished Vox Machina last year and started watching Mighty Nein, Critical Role’s second campaign. In between watching Candela Obscura and Critical Role’s Daggerheart content, I needed to take breaks due to burnout. Since I have now gotten back into watching Mighty Nein, I wanted to share my initial thoughts about the story, the characters, and my overall thoughts on the campaign thus far.

I’m currently on episode #18 which doesn’t feel that far into the campaign, but I think it’s safe to say that I’m already picking or gravitating towards a few of the characters. I think the standout characters for me are Fjord, Jester, and Caleb. Fjord (played by Travis Willingham) is such a departure from Grog in the best way. I recently watched the moment where Matthew Mercer guided the players out of the room, so Fjord could have a moment to himself. He swallowed his own sword and I’m sitting here watching it all play out in shock. I am curious as to how Fjord’s story unfolds. Jester (played by Laura Bailey) is such a delight. I think she brings such levity to the table. Clerics seem to have stereotypes associated with that class and Jester kind of blows everything out of proportion which I adore. Laura seems so happy to play Jester and I think it’s fun to watch. With Caleb (played by Liam O’Brien), he has the personality of a Wizard. He is focused on learning new spells and the way that Liam describes Caleb’s spell casting is so descriptive. While Fjord, Jester, and Caleb are my favorites thus far, I am curious to see how the other characters interact amongst themselves.

As far as the story, I am not sure if Mighty Nein has a story arc going on right now. I think what makes Mighty Nein different than Vox Machina is Mighty Nein is all shown from the beginning whereas Vox Machina is a home game that transitioned into videos. As such, it feels like Mighty Nein doesn’t have story arcs since each character’s back story needs to be revealed and the characters are getting to know each other. It’s clear certain things are important (Mollymauk being called Lucien), but I don’t exactly know what the Mighty Nein are doing at this point in time. It’s not a bad thing, it feels more casual versus having a set list of tasks that need to be done which Vox Machina follows more of that format.

From what I have watched, I like that Mighty Nein has a darker magic feel to the story. The fact that the campaign began at a carnival set the tone for the campaign which I find interesting. I think Mighty Nein is more chaotic in a lot of ways which has been a blast to see how these plans work out. I feel excited to continue each episode because I think the cast seems excited to be playing their characters and there’s enough going on where I don’t want to be left on a cliffhanger.

I’m curious to see how Mighty Nein continues. I have been spoiled by certain events that happen and I know I’m getting close to one of them. However, it doesn’t take away the joy of watching Critical Role. With every episode watched, I’m getting closer to being caught up on all things Critical Role.

12Apr2024

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

I read Legends & Lattes, the first book in Travis Baldree’s series, last year and I loved it. It felt like I was reading a TTRPG except the players chose to open a coffee shop instead of fighting people at a tavern. Travis Baldree released Bookshops & Bonedust, which is a prequel to Legends & Lattes and details Viv’s prior adventures. This might be an unpopular opinion based on everything I have heard, but I enjoyed Bookshops & Bonedust more than Legends & Lattes.

During a battle with Varine, the Necromancer, Viv is injured and taken to the town of Murk to recover. Rackam’s Ravens, Viv’s mercenary group, leave her where they intend to finish Varine without her. While Viv recovers, she meets Fern when she stumbles into Thistleburr, Fern’s bookstore. Viv helps Fern redesign her shop and starts to develop a bond with both Fern and Potroast, Fern’s pet. As Viv makes herself at home, she sees signs that point her to the fact that Varine might return. Can Viv recover quickly enough to protect Murk?

One reason why I preferred Bookshops & Bonedust to Legends & Lattes is the fact that there was more of a driving plot in this book. Varine is clearly evil and there are signs of her return throughout the book. In Legends & Lattes, I found the pacing to be slower at times because it felt like I was reading about Viv brewing coffee, which is fine, but I wanted more going on in the background. In between Varine’s return, I liked Viv’s friendships that she formed especially with Maylee. I won’t spoil it, but I thought Viv and Maylee’s relationship was cute which ended up tying into the book’s epilogue.

With Bookshops & Bonedust being a prequel, I think it helps to read Legends & Lattes first. There are several name drops and this book illustrates how Viv met one of her party members. I thought her name was familiar, so I read the first chapter of Legends & Lattes. Sure enough, she was a friend and partner to Viv. There’s also a nice reveal about Viv’s sword and how she found it which I think helps to provide more worldbuilding in Viv’s story.

Bookshops & Bonedust was such a delight to read. I don’t know if Travis Baldree will write more books in the series, but I hope he does. This has quickly become a series that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. I would be slightly offended if I recommended this to someone and they didn’t like it. I rated Bookshops & Bonedust five stars on Goodreads.

9Apr2024

Bioshock in Space – Judas

Posted in Gaming by Bizarre Brunette

Playing video games will always be a hobby of mine, but the way that I play video games has changed. I don’t have nearly as much time as I used to where I can sit down and play a game for hours. It’s an inevitable part of growing up, paying bills, and being a grown adult. When I reflect on all the hours I spent playing video games, Bioshock is a game that I reminisce about. I could talk about Bioshock for hours, but for me, it was one of the first games I played after taking a break from Halo 3. I recently found out that the creator of Bioshock is coming out with a new game called Judas which will take place in space. I know nothing about this game, but I’m here for it when pre-orders are open.

Judas is a first-person shooter that takes place on a crumbling spaceship. Making alliances and being on the offensive is the only hope to survive. I don’t have permission to share the screenshots for the game, but in scrolling through them, there’s definitely some Bioshock inspiration to them. It appears that the main character will have powers as one of the screenshots features someone charging blue lightning to shock an enemy. Speaking of enemies, they all have this mechanical and robotic look. In one screenshot, a robotic chef is attacking the player character. Their face is painted in this horrific smile that would appear in my nightmares. I do think that Judas has more of an animated tone than Bioshock based on the screenshots that I’m reviewing.

There isn’t much else that’s been released about Judas. If Judas is a carbon copy of Bioshock or it’s a “Bioshock 2.0″, I wouldn’t care. I’d still love the chance to play the game. I don’t normally pre-order video games, but I would make an exception for Judas.

6Apr2024

Westerns and Space – Vacation TBR

Posted in Reading/Books by Bizarre Brunette

I am so excited to say that I will be going on a trip this month! I have been getting the travel bug since I haven’t traveled anywhere since our trip to Europe last year. I have a note on my phone listing all the places I want to visit. I chose to do a road trip to New Mexico! I am not a stranger to road trips and I find driving to be relaxing. To help get into the mindset, I picked books that I felt resembled where I was going or books that I thought would be quick reads to bring on vacation.

To recap last month, I ended up reading two books in March. The first book was Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree. It was lovely and cozy which is what I anticipated the book to be. It took a little bit longer to read Bookshops and Bonedust, so I only ended up having a week left in March to finish another book. I decided to swap out Vox Machina Kith & Kin and read The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling. This is the second book in the The Ex Hex series. The Kiss Curse was only 306 pages which I thought was more doable to read at the end of the month. While I ended up changing things last minute, I still felt that last month was a successful reading month. With that being said, I’m excited to share the books that I picked out to read this month.

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Kate Thompson is out for blood. Her father is murdered and the journal that he found is missing. The journal revealed the location of a hidden gold mine that many people are after. Kate goes off on her own and in her quest, she meets several unsavory people who stop at nothing to get their hands on the gold.

I have had Vengeance Road on my Goodreads TBR since March 23rd, 2015. I thought the concept was neat, it feels as if Mulan and True Grit were in a book, and that’s what I expect Vengeance Road to be. I thought this book felt fitting since I’m driving out west.

Dead Space by Kali Wallace

Hester Marley works at a security company based in the Asteroid Belt. She spends her days investigating crimes which in turn helps her company profit. One of Hester’s friends reaches out to her with information about an event that occurred in Hester’s past. Before she can learn more, her friend is murdered. Hester is motivated to figure out what happened to her friend and goes to a mining station to investigate. Secrets are buried and now Hester is stuck in the depths of space with nowhere else to go.

Okay so technically this book is labeled as SciFi / Fantasy according to the library, but based on the premise, this seems more like horror. Being stranded on a space station knowing that someone killed your friend, talk about terrifying. I picked Dead Space for this TBR since there’s a lot of history with New Mexico and potential extra-terrestrial life. I think it adds to the TBR theme that I’m going for.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Rachel Krall is the host of a popular true-crime podcast that helped free an innocent man. Fresh off her popularity, Rachel is looking for the next case to cover. Rachel is drawn to a small town where a young boy is accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. While investigating, Rachel is harassed with mysterious letters that seem to point Rachel in the direction of another case. Rachel is investigating both crimes and feels that she’s asking questions without getting straight answers. Are both cases related and will Rachel get caught in the balance of revealing secrets that have long been buried?

In picking the books I read on vacation, I usually lean towards Thrillers or Romance. The Night Swim might feel like an outlier on this TBR, instead, I figured it would be an easy book to read whenever I have downtime.

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks

Alix plays hockey and finds that she is the target of bullies. Alix gets into a physical fight with Lindsay which could hinder Alix’s invitation to a Hockey Summar Camp. Alix meets Ezra, one of the local theater kids at their school. Alix asks for Ezra’s help to control her anger. Alix and Ezra get closer and their feelings for each other develop into something deeper.

I wanted to start tackling my graphic novel TBR on Goodreads, so when I pick out my books for the month from the library, I see if my library has any copies of the graphic novels that I want to read. I am the first one to admit that I purchase most of my comics and graphic novels brand new, but the issue with that (no pun intended) is that I might read something I’m not a fan of and end up donating it. I’m trying to stick to a budget and I think it would be beneficial for me to rent more graphic novels and manga from my local library.

As a side note, all of the books in this TBR came from the library! I have a few books from my shelf that I plan on reading later in the year, so I wanted to exclusively read books that I rented from the library. I am looking forward to reading everything I picked out and I hope that with being on vacation, I will read everything on this TBR this month.