DIY Spoilertags!
Nifty!!!
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*Previous post had a little problem. This one will work (I'm talking about method 2)
If you're a goodreads transplant, and, like me, depended heavily on those handy little spoilertags, then don't worry. Booklikes is flexible enough that you can make your own!
Here are two ways, for different levels of effort/html-savvyness. And since I actually am quite rusty and haven't used javascript or html for years, I'll bet my life there are even better ways.
1
Helpful Tutorials from AnHec:)
TIPS:
notifications:
http://anhec.booklikes.com/post/424188/not-a-tutorial-just-a-tip-about-notifications-
TUTORIALS:
How to change colour of text on your banner :
http://anhec.booklikes.com/post/423482/how-to-change-colour-of-text-on-your-banner
Added pages - I can't read it! My background is dark and font is black! And I want to have a comment section!
Changing appearance of followers/following counters and repositioning them:
Changing font colour (text, links, comment section):
Background for a search bar (what to do when it's invisible on a dark background):
Reading Challenge - how to post it on your site and a few simple customization options:
Status:
My booklikes account (like many of the migrants from GoodReads) is on hold and semi-inactive until GoodReads has officially been disowned in my eyes. Who knows, I might choose to run both at the same time, though. Booklikes is kind of cute, I admit.
Anyway, I'm also importing my books. Just in case.
Add Books Manually & Add Missing Book Covers
Two "Add" functions are available on BookLikes from today: add books manually and add book covers.
From now on it doesn’t matter if you want to shelve unpublished books or self-published or from a local bookstore, now you can put on your Shelf all books ever existed. It’s called manual book adding. We have it online!
If you don’t find a desirable book in a search box you can easily ‘create’ a book from the scratch.
Click on “Add new book” after no results were found and fill up the necessary information of Book Title, Book Author, Book Cover, Book Description and ISBN. Click “Add Book” and add it to you bookshelf or create a post.
Second “add” function is about missing book covers. If some books on your Shelf lack covers, you can add them manually too. Click on a green book (no cover) and ‘Add cover' underneath it. Then choose image from your computer and voila. The book looks perfect with cover of your choice!
So what book will you add first?
How to customize your BookLikes blog
Many - myself included - either have only rudimentary knowledge of Custom Style Sheets (CSS) or none whatsoever. Whichever category you fall in, there is a way to easily edit your CSS to customize the layout of your blog. Many browsers have addons to live edit your CSS and preview it at the same time. For Google Chrome I use Stylebot.
Poignant, slightly angsty, and more than a little lovely. A skilfully written and realistic approach to a taboo subject (a favourite kink of mine). Interestingly enough, the present tense wasn't hard to adapt to, especially since I enjoyed the writing so much. Good read.
My reaction to the prompt picture:*stares in confusion*
What is this...
*eyes widen*
Oh. Oh
*starts staring again in hunger*
Just a few more seconds, I promise...
******************************
I admit, I do so love tentacle kink. In fact, it's right up there with Mpreg (hello depravity, old friend) and so when I discovered this delicious little snack, I couldn't click fast enough; my poor computer couldn't keep pace with my desperation, hah.
In reading No Boundaries I was delighted by the wonderful writing, threadbare yet somehow wholly sufficient world-building and the delicious vulnerability of Commander Inna. I admit that when I saw the words "THE END" I cried out involuntarily in dismay. I was so looking forward to an extended sex scene... *glare*
I would happily, happily welcome an extended story. And pay for it. Happily. (Oh my god I'm begging you)
Fun fact: Barbie Mariposa the Fairy princess was being advertised on the side. Tentacle sex & Barbie... *ponders* Yeah, that makes sense. *snort*
Mind Magic is a sweet romance with a somewhat intriguing spin on the supernatural aspect, but overall quite bland. There were some good moments, and others that I wish would just move faster. I think it was a rather nice simple read, one that I didn't enjoy so much especially when the whole vampire ancestry complication was brought in. Complicating things I didn't want to be complicated, and in a boring manner too. I thought the children were rather cute at times (I admit the scenes with his son made me roll my eyes a number of times; it's just so difficult to make kids sound authentic), and I adored how their pack adopted Simon so wholly.
My verdict? It's a gentle, straightforward read that isn't really worth it if you value your time and enjoy your quality literature, however it's a good book to laze around with on a too-quiet evening where you can't seem to get off the couch. I probably won't be continuing the series, though.
Rating: not quite 3
There are some pretty good elements to this story: fabulously gruesome murders, a lovely (if somewhat dull) introduction to BDSM and a sweet and fulfilling romance. However personally this story didn't 'do it' for me. The writing was difficult to immerse myself into (I entertained myself by reading in a monotone at the very beginning) and the utter stupidity of Gavin near the very end made me grind my teeth so hard my jaw locked up. Although the murder mystery was incredibly intriguing at the beginning, my interest crashed hard from how damn obvious the murderer was.
Something that really personally irked me was Gavin's marriage. I felt utterly confounded as to how he and that she-devil even married in the first place. The entire thing felt like a sham and that was used to spice the book up. Not only that, I see no point in its inclusion when the conclusion to it was so utterly pathetic and poorly thought out. The divorce was executed in such a shitty manner. Really? Having the wife cheat on him just felt like an excuse to get that faux-marriage out of the way. The whole situation just felt very cliche and idiotic-- not enjoyable at all.
Apart from that, Gavin and Ben's relationship was very sweet! I loved how they found refuge in each other after the stress of the murders became too much. Not only that, the aftermath was done very nicely. It was absolutely lovely watching them learn more about each other and what they share.
Overall, this was a nice read. Not too really bad or that good. I enjoyed it but really, the read wasn't worth the effort or money.
Rating: less than 3
A vivid, poignant and hopeful story.If It Ain't Love is a gentle, heartwarming story set during the skillfully painted scene of America during the Great Depression. Tamara Allen manages to capture the desperation and darkness of that era with such subtle yet evocative prose until even I couldn't help but feel the stench and grit of unwashed skin and sharp pangs of hunger and despair.
What really shone through for me was the absolute and powerful theme of hope. During a time where even something so simple like a bath and kind smile could make all the difference in the world, hope really is so significant, and it really does show in this book. Reading about them lifting each other from their own abyss and giving each other courage and the will to make it was so brilliant, so moving and so damn rewarding. I was invested in the two of them, their relationship and welfare the entire time.
I enjoyed this story immensely-- there seriously isn't a reason not to enjoy this. I found no faults, even if it didn't cross into the realms of 'love' for me. *snort* If it ain't love. Okay sorry, that was sightly lame. On a more serious note, I really think that this book is worth a try.
Rating: 4 - 4.25
This was a very quick and relatively fun read. The blurb basically sums the whole book up: there are two guys, both form the support-side for their respective Superhero team. They meet and fall in love.There wasn't much depth to this book, but I did enjoy it. Some of the parts I was slightly iffy with was:
The book got a little too big for its breeches; in other words, I found it was slightly too ambitious.
There were quite a few big issues which Ottoman included within Your Happy End, one of which is abuse. Now, I'm not criticising the inclusion of abuse as a back story to a character (though I have grown rather sick of it-- sob story after sob story), but I do think that with a short story like this, bringing up such an issue can lead to a lot of underdevelopment, cliches and frankly, a huge case of eyerolling. I'm not belittling abuse at all and fact is it happens, so if you character suffered from abuse then they damn well did, but in this case I felt that bringing it in simply created a cliche that should be avoided. It wasn't well explored or executed.
And something not so much 'too big for its breeches' as much as confusion was when, one their first date, it was asked "What pronouns do you use? and suddenly the terms genderqueer and cisgender male were thrown at me.
I think it's brilliant that they know who they are and they're making sure that there's no misunderstandings at all, but the whole conversation felt very stilted and unnatural, and somewhat like a lecture. I'm not quite sure if the author was trying to inform me that there were all of these subgroups of identity (though I personally find labels utterly constrictive and unnecessary) or the author was just trying to add another layer of depth and meaning to the characters.
Now, I'm not a gay male, but I've never actually come across this before. Is it the norm to introduce yourself as (e.g) queergender, or is this just something the author included? I'm not sure whether to think that the author was trying lecture me or simply portray a nice healthy relationship where they talk everything out... Either way, those terms confused me more than anything and I felt that the author was trying to explore something that they simply did not have the length of book for.
On another, more positive, note, I was really excited when I read this:
Cooper filled out his jeans with a cute, rounded ass, nice wide hips, and a cute little belly. He was round in all the right places.
Good bye unrealistic six pack and hello baby. Now he sounds adorable and utterly delicious. Thank goodness for a nice and realistically built character. *smooch*
Overall I think that some of the issues explored in this book would've been more suited for a lengthier novel, but it was still a somewhat enjoyable read, if with nondescript writing.
Sorry for the bad review, but I'm in a bit of a funk, so this will just mainly be dot points:- promising premise that ended up disappointing (lacked the realism and intensity that made the premise so grabbing)
- idiotic, 2D and unlikeable characters. I couldn't relate or sympathise with any of the characters
- the book was so damn ridiculous yet still managed to be so dull and bland. Little depth and no food for thought.
- eyeroll-y and incredibly boring. I couldn't finish fast enough.
- I'm not quite convinced about the romance
Overall this book wasn't bad, as blunt as my review was, but it really didn't work for me. The mystery did keep me guessing near the beginning though and the book concluded nicely.
Rating: Not quite a 2