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When Odessa talks about how Black cuisine and dishes were created through the use of scraps, evolving into the dishes people know and love nowadays, it's crazy!! Mad respect honestly, and if you're interested in this, I think there's a Netflix documentary that talks about it in depth!
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Sourcebooks Summer of Swoon
Champion: Finished 5 Side Quest books.
ladypepperoni wrote a review...
picked this up on a recommendation from a little crime-focused bookshop. the premise of "through a series of events, normal person becomes semi-spy" is one that is a bit of a soft spot for me. my grandmother loved, and introduced me to, the mrs pollifax series from the 60s that is much the same base. that series is so fun, if dated by now. mrs pollifax is resourceful, smart, caring, and just a delight. while that series isn't exactly cozy, it has that vibe because mrs pollifax is such a lovely character.
i'd always longed for another series similar to that and this gets pretty close. it's definitely got a grittier tone and the acronym soup can be particularly rough, especially at the end. there's a lot of detail around government agencies, missile types, etc that add some realism but also confused me because i'm not that knowledgeable on these subject matters.
the biggest difference is our main character. jamie didn't have a lot of personality, i think by design. he's been part of the Legends program where he lives a minimal shell of a life (no relationships or close friends, no photos online, i think no vacations) in order to let a spy assume his life as a cover at some point in the future. so for a guy who can't do much, it's no surprise he's fairly forgettable. i would have loved to see him have a bit more personality and maybe even have some of his civilian job skills end up being an asset.
i will note that for these style books, you have to just roll with it. there are plenty of implausible things that happen and many convenient coincidences. but it's like any action movie where you just say "yep okay" in return for a fun story.
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A Reluctant Spy
David Goodman
ladypepperoni commented on a post
"Upon leaving the bus station we were almost run over by a cyclist and then, in what would have been a highly embarrassing incident, by a man dragging a barrow of cabbages."
Do you think Chris Fitch is an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan?
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Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert
Bob the Drag Queen
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A Reluctant Spy
David Goodman
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