"The site is live and running again. No other features are planned in the nearest future. The performance will be looked into depending on the problems and the availability of resources. Sorry for any inconvenience."

Comment on BookLikes' Facebook page, last night (July 13, 2020).

Sorry, but that just isn't good enough. 

Not any more.  Not by a long shot.

It's not about "new" features.  It's about fixing problems that have existed for years -- in fact, ever since Legimi acquired BookLikes four years ago --, that have grown progressively worse over the course of time, and that have been brought to the attention of BL management time and again, always (as we all know) to no avail whatsoever.

A serious commitment to fix those problems would require immediate action: no ifs or buts.  Not "depending on the problems and the availability of resources."  Not just "looking into" the performance of the site.

Not just a canned response that couldn't possibly say "we really don't care" any clearer if it had shouted as much in neon letters a foot high or higher.

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After last night's statement on behalf of BookLikes, I won't create any content here anymore.  In fact, if that statement had been posted about 45 minutes or an hour earlier, I wouldn't even have created the new post(s) I did still create last night.  I will instead continue to do what I already started doing when BL crashed for several days back in January of this year; namely, back up and salvage all that content of my BL account that isn't already backed up elsewhere anyway (such as, fortunately, most of my blog posts, my library and most of my book-related data).

To those who want to stay in touch, as of now you can chiefly find me here:

Wordpress: This is where I will continue posting my reviews and other blog posts.  In the past, my WP blog has been primarily -- though not exclusively -- my back up site for BookLikes posts, so it will take some tender love and care to be made truly presentable, but some projects are already under way; and other than salvaging my BL content, that will be my focus over the rest of the summer.

Librarything: Far and away the best online library system; you can really tell that the site was created by people who are librarians (and techies) first and foremost.  LT's book database -- and librarian / editing features -- were superior to those of BookLikes by a magnitude of several galaxies even at the best of times: I've been willing to put up with the standard that BL had to offer for the sake of its blogging features and, most importantly of course, the BL community, but ... no longer so.  There is no question that LT's social / communication features are unwieldy and in need of a serious overhaul.  And no, I am not entirely comfortable with the fact that Amazon holds an indirect minority ownership interest in LT, which it very likely could increase to direct / sole or majority ownership at any time if it so chose.  But at least LT (unlike BookLikes) lets you export your book data -- and I am not planning to post any reviews there --, so if it ever comes to that point, it will be easy enough to pull out.  And its social features are "learnable" and, like everything else, get easier to manage with increased use.

Goodreads: I left GR behind as my main book site back in 2013 and have no intention of reversing that decision.  However, I understand that not all of my friends from the BookLikes community feel comfortable creating a blog elsewhere or navigating Librarything, and at this point many have already made the move to the Outpost and / or (Mostly) Dead Writers Society groups on GR.  So to the extent that discussions and community activities are hosted there, I'll participate.

Twitter: This is not an account I use to actively participate in any discussions, at least not outside the rare book-related convo or other; but I can be reached by PM there if necessary.  If you do have a blog or a Librarything or a Goodreads account, though, those are the paths of communication that I prefer.

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Buddy Reads

There are two buddy reads to which I had been looking forward here on BookLikes in the near future.

For Hannah Arendt's The Origin of Totalitarianism, BT has already created a thread in the Outpost group. (@ Mark, I hope you've found us there!)  As she said in her first post, please join us -- everybody is welcome!

As for the planned second French buddy read (and possible "buddy watch" of the TV adaptation of the Nicholas Le Floch novels), @ Tannat and @ Onnurtilraun, please let me know your preferred venue!  You can comment on this post -- I'll still be around for a while, so there is every chance I'll see it -- or reach me on any of the above-mentioned sites.  (Tannat, I know you're on GR, LT and WP ... not sure about Onnurtilraun, though?)

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Like so many others who have posted something similar in the past couple of days and weeks, it breaks my heart to be making this decision.  The BookLikes community is, without question or comparison, far and away the best book community I've ever belonged to.  The basic setup of BookLikes -- a blogging community with an integrated book database -- is, as such, unique in the online world.  But while I've always said that I'll be here until the end, I feel the end has now indeed come -- not because the community has given up on the site, but because its owners and administrators have.  Their statement on Facebook couldn't possibly make that any clearer.  So:

(You didn't really think I could do this without a cat meme, did you?)

I fell in love with this story right from the very beginning !Callum was like a knight and shinning armor glad in blue jeans and sunglasses and looking sexy as sin.

I really loved each and every character with the exception of Marjorie and Mal those Valentine Boys all just melted my heart each and everyone of them and we loved how protective they became of Desi in such a short amount of time.They were as so cute that

"I was in awe of them."

Desi was just one of those characters so easy to love because no matter how much crap her ex husband dished out he never was able to break her spirit of that kind and loving women she was.

Callum and Desi had buckets of chemistry and they were simply amazing together. Callum was a smart man to see what was right and front of him and was determined to hold on tight knowing that women would change his life forever as well as his families.

This story was just one of those romance stories that touches one heart it was so sweet and touching.The ending of this story could not have been more perfect for this couple.

"We loved it !"

Another great story in this one going series.The story was filled with romance

intrigue and betrayals and it had a great cast of characters that we absolutely loved and we have to say we loved the twists that we never saw coming.

Arlo's story was a train wreck waiting to happen right from the very beginning and the whole time you waited on pins and needles just waiting for the ball to drop all the while waiting to see how he was going to get out of the mess he created.I have to say we wanted to smack him a time or time for his stubbornness other than that we loved his character.We loved the sinful sexy man and we loved that Elenora was having him want to be a better man for her.

Elenora we loved from the onset of the story.We loved the sweet and innocent and love-able woman who loved her independence but, thought for a savvy business women she was so naive that she bordered on stupidity. "I kept shouting in my head go with your gut women!"

We loved Gavino this time around he was almost human. lol

Overall we loved the story from beginning to end and were rooting for Elenora and Arlo to have a happy ending.We loved their bumpy road wrought with the twists and turns that we never saw coming and we love when that happens.The characters were amazing and we loved Massimo and Luca even a little bit more than the others has they were team Elenora all the way even if it was only in emotional support only."I thought this was so sweet my heart melted!"

Another great edition to this on going series that we are so loving.Looking forward to the next read in this on going series.There was more that beats the eye going on in this series and we can't wait to see what happens next.We love when harder-end men fall and they fall hard especially when they live in such a dangerous world its all so bittersweet to see that they can just be themselves even for a little bit in the company of the women who were brave enough to love their dark and dangerous and secretive men with all that they have to give.

"We loved it!"

Omg ! I really don't know where to start with this one as this book was one emotional roller coaster for us!The story was exciting and intense and riveting and the characters just captivated me especially Reap/Marcus he was one seriously dark and dangerous man and a whole lot of mind -ffed.
"The story left me reeling and my heart pounding!"

No matter how messed up Marcus was that man drew you right in and saying he was a bad boy was not nearly enough but, one word sinister comes to mind and whats more women are drawn to him just ask pretty girl.

Rochelle comes from a loving family completely opposite of Marcus but, she in a sea of pain at the moment and Marcus seems to be her salvation but, is anything but, she is drawn to him and perhaps she sees something in him that others don't but, we always crave the things we cannot have.I really loved Rochelle's character she was a whole lot of fun, sexy,funny,tells it like it is kind of girl,sassy and has no filter and with the men she is currently hanging with can get you dead.We loved Marcus's pet name for Rochelle the moment he saw her all broken and lost he started calling her pretty girl which was kind of sweet .

The push and pulled and distance did nothing to the chemistry that Rochelle and Marcus had as their chemistry was explosive and hotter than hell.Marcus was whacked in my book but, when he was with Rochelle he was still a douche but, he was also something else as he could be loving and caring and compassionate and Rochelle was changing him because he was addicted to her not only sexually but, on some small emotional level just by being who she was.Marcus's possessiveness was hotter then hell and their is no doubt if someone tried coming between them there would be dire consequences.

Blaze was another interesting character as he could be sexy and playful and could turn on a dime and be deadly as sin.What a contradiction this man was.Blaze was intriguing and we are going to love getting to know more about him as you could not help but be drawn to the man who could go out of his way to help a girl he barely knows and yet , could hate someone so fiercely.

Overall this dark romance was a gripping read for us and we loved it and we love how unusual it was so much so as Marcus owned and worked a crematorium "yet", he belonged to and MC as well and his brother was the Clubs President and somehow they where partners not your typical biker and it is really unclear what roll Reap is within the club but, with a MC and its members being thrown into the story in any capacity made the story all the more interesting and Snow he caught my interest. lol

" We loved it !"
If you love Dark Romance this is the perfect book to dive right into the book left me reeling and uneasy but, it had me engrossed into the pages to the bitter end .The more I read this author the more we love her....

When I was a kid, I developed this strange habit of staring at the night sky. I would wake up in the middle of the night, sneak out and stare at the moon for hours. I didn’t know if my parents noticed it or not but no one ever said anything. I did it for a long time. Until the day life got in the way. Then, I didn’t have time to sit and gaze at the silver ball of light.

There was so much that I only shared with the moon. It knew all my secrets. I was always a self-proclaimed loner. If it weren’t for the full-moon nights, I might have lost my sanity a long time ago. Thankfully, the moon was there for me when I needed something to anchor myself to. Did you know how calming it was to look up and see that one thing that was always there?

#

“If you don’t love the moon,” she said with a smile, “then you aren’t my type.”

“Why the moon?” He asked, narrowing his eyes as if trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind her words. But there was no mystery there. It was what she said because the moon mattered.

“Why not?” She raised her eyebrows, challenging him.

“Ok.” He relented, “if you love the moon then I will love it too.”

“Just like that?” She didn’t believe him.

“Yes, just like that.” He reassured her.

She shouldn’t have trusted his words. No one changes that easily. You couldn’t love something because someone told you to love it. That’s not how these things work. She didn’t know that. So, she trusted his words and he broke her heart. He was so not her type. She was a moon lover and he loved the sun. She was a night owl and he preferred the day. She was a mystery and he hated mysteries. They weren’t meant to be.

#

That night the moon had decided to hide behind the clouds. I hated that. I felt as if my best friend was angry with me and ignoring me because I had disappointed it somehow. Why now? Why tonight of all nights? I needed my anchor. I needed the moon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have that one thing that I needed the most; moon’s calming presence to steady my heartbeat and find my hope.

Everything changed that night. I lost the love of my life and I lost my best friend. The moon wasn’t there for me so I gave up on it. I wondered if my life would’ve been different if he didn’t cheat or if the moon was there to console me. But there was no point in crying over the past. What’s done was done and I had to move on. So, I did.

#

“Do you like this color?” She asked, “I’m not sure about it. Maybe we should see some more samples before picking it.”

“It’s perfect,” he said, “there is no need to waste more time when we have already found something we like.”

“Hmm,” she sighed. “You’re right. No point in thinking too much. This will do.”

That’s how they settled everything. She would doubt and raise questions and he would tell her that she was over-thinking or trying too hard. She would give up and allowed him to lead the way. Slowly, she was losing her voice. What made her her wasn’t there anymore.

#

It was a full moon night and I was sitting outside bathing myself in the moonlight. There was something about the moon that night which made me question my life choices. Did you ever notice that moonlight is the prettiest thing in the world? You could sit there, staring at it for hours and still wouldn’t feel bored. It was actually very relaxing.

My mind was troubled that night. I had had the worst day and wasn’t so sure what the future had in store for me. The only thing I had was hope and the moon. It gave me its full attention. We stayed together for hours and I was much relaxed afterward. What would be, would be. At least, the moon would always be there for me.

#

“I’m rather tired today,” he told her, “let’s call it a night and head home.”

“But the festivities are yet to begin,” she complained. “Let’s stay a while longer.”

“Sweetheart,” he said, “I have work tomorrow. I really do need to sleep otherwise I would still be tired in the morning.”

“That’s not fair.” She pouted, “I have been looking forward to this night for so long. And how come you’ve work tomorrow? It’s the weekend. Who works on the weekend?”

“Let’s not argue here.” He pointed, “we can talk about that at home.”

After that, she said nothing. They left the party early and he went to work the next day. She didn’t ask him about it again. It was like she didn’t care anymore. She knew something wasn’t right but she wasn’t ready to know the truth. Thus, she buried her head in the sand and waited for her fate to decide everything for her.

#

Around that time, I had started taking sleep medicine. Insomnia got too difficult for me to handle. Never before had I wanted to sleep as much as I wanted it then. There was a reason why they called sleep the ‘half death.’ At least, for those few hours, my problems went away. At that point in my life, that was all I wanted. Staying awake and greeting the moon every night had lost its charm. I was no longer interested in that. There was no attraction in the moon. My life was a mess and all I needed was an escape. So, that’s what I did. I slept every night, eight hours minimum, and forgot that even if the prince I loved turned out to be a toad, there was something else out there that had once mattered to me.

#

“I truly am sorry,” he said, looking ashamed of himself, “I never intended to hurt you. I loved you.”

“Save it,” she said, “it doesn’t matter now. You betrayed my trust and you broke my heart. That is all I know. I don’t need to hear your empty words.”

“Will you ever forgive me.” The look in his eyes beseeched her.

“Not a chance!” She didn’t understand why it mattered to him whether she forgave him or not.

“You changed,” he said. There was remorse behind his words.

“I changed?” Now, she was angry. The hurt was gone and the fire blazed behind her eyes. “You’re a lying, cheating bastard and you have the audacity to say, I changed.”

“But you did.” He didn’t raise his voice the way she had.

“Get out of my house. I don’t want to see you ever again.” She pushed him towards the door.

He left and that was how their story ended. She never forgave him and she never trusted anyone ever again. Love wasn’t for her. She wasn’t the love’s type. There was a secret within her soul, a story within the story, and only the moon knew. It wanted to tell her but she wasn’t ready to listen. Someday she would be. After all, there was a time for everything.

The End

© 2019, Fizza Younis.