#Cynthia Reyes

[cowsplant]

it's luca's birthday!

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: January 2025

So Not My Type by Dana Hawkins (January 5th) Sophie Black has clawed her way up from coffee runs to project manager at a top Seattle ad agency. She’s laser-focused on her career—until the CEO’s daughter, Ella Northwood, joins the team. Forced to work together on a high-stakes campaign, sparks fly as Sophie’s scrappy determination clashes with Ella’s polished privilege. But there’s more to both…

[vtophya]

I completely forget to upload this old Twitter's challenge here :P

[onlylonelylatino]

Introduction of Peacemaker and La Dama by Cynthia Martin

[lostfan23]

[claudia1829things]

"LOST" Retrospect: Issues with (6.12) "Everybody Loves Hugo"

"LOST" RETROSPECT: ISSUES WITH (6.12) "EVERYBODY LOVES HUGO" I just finished a re-watch of the "LOST" Season Six episode, (6.12) "Everybody Loves Hugh". Needless to say . . . I found myself feeling pissed.

There were a few aspects of "Everybody Loves Hugo" that left me scratching my head or feeling slightly annoyed. One, the episode had Jack Shephard claiming responsibility for Juliet Burke’s death. As I had explained in another article, I do not accept this. I believe three people were mainly responsible - Juliet herself, Sayid Jarrah (because he had failed to ensure that the bomb would automatically go off) and especially DHARMA scientist Dr. Stuart Radzinsky. Mind you, I like Season Six. But one of my main frustrations was this narrative that Jack was responsible for Juliet’s death. James "Sawyer" Ford had initially accused Jack. Yet, fans had failed to pay attention to what really happened in the last few Season Five episodes. Come to think of it, so did the Season Six writers and showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. No one one had seemed to realize that Sawyer had wrongly accused Jack, because he had needed a scapegoat for his pain. Another aspect of "Everybody Loves Hugo" was Hugo "Hurley" Reyes' decision to use the dynamite from the stranded Black Rock slave ship and destroy the Ajira 316 plane on Hydra Island. Why? To prevent the show's main antagonist, the Man in Black, from leaving the island and endangering the world. Fortunately, the ghost of the late Oceanic survivor Michael Dawson managed to convince Hurley to drop this plan, claiming this act would cause the deaths of many on the island. Unfortunately, former members of the Others - Richard Alpert and Ben Linus, along with Miles Straume and Ilana Verdansky had all insisted upon going ahead with Hurley's original plan. And in the process, Illana accidentally killed herself by mishandling the dynamite. However, instead of using dynamite to destroy the Ajira plane, Hurley decided to lead other Losties - including Jack Shephard and Sun Kwon - to the Man in Black or "fake Locke". Why? Thirteen years have passed since this episode first aired. And to this day, I have no idea why Hurley had made this decision. The episodes writers, along with Lindelof and Cuse have never explained this decision. Or have they? Another aspect of this episode that annoyed me was this second attempt to build up Hurley’s potential romance with the late Oceanic survivor, Libby Smith. How can I put this? I had failed to buy their Season Two romance before Michael had killed her and Ana-Lucia Cortez in (2.20) "Two for the Road". After watching their interactions in this episode's flash forwards, I still cannot see the magic between the pair. What can I say? Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros had lacked any screen chemistry whatsoever. Garcia had better chemistry with an actress Marguerite Moreau, who had portrayed Starla, a young woman Hurley had been interested in before leaving Los Angeles in 2004. Also, Hurley and Libby's "romance" barely had a chance to start before her death. I simply could never buy it. But the one incident that really pissed me off in "Everybody Loves Hugo". As I had pointed out earlier, Michael's ghost appeared before Hurley to prevent him from continuing with the plan to blow up the Ajira plan in order to prevent the Man in Black from escaping the island. Michael also informed Hurley that he was a Whisperer - one of the island's ghosts, incapable of moving on. In Michael's case, he was incapable of moving on, because of his killing of Libby and Ana-Lucia. What really annoyed me was Michael’s fate, thanks to the series' showrunners. Why did Michael turn out to be the only one of the Oceanic 815 passengers who became a ghost on that damn island? Why him? Because he had killed Ana-Lucia and Libby? Michael was not the only Oceanic castaway who had committed murder or attempted murder. Nor was he the only castaway who had wronged another castaway. For example: *John Locke had committed a series of acts to prevent his fellow castaways from leaving the island - knocking out Sayid in order to prevent the latter from using a transmitter to get help; blowing up the Others' submarine and most importantly, killing Naomi Dorrit by throwing a machete into her back in order to prevent her from contacting her fellow passengers aboard the Kahuna freighter. Locke had also lied about the circumstances around the doomed Boone Carlyle's injuries, leading Jack to utilize the wrong treatment. *Kate Austen had murdered her biological father, Wayne Jensen, in cold blood after discovering that he was her real father. Kate had claimed she killed him to protect her mother from his abusive behavior and many fans still believe her to this day. But Kate had admitted in the Season Two episode, (2.09) "What Kate Did" that she had murdered him because she could not stand the idea of being related to him. She was having an identity crisis. She had planned a bank robbery that endangered the lives of some people in order to obtain a toy that once belonged to her first love. Kate had BETRAYED Claire Littleon and the Littleton family by pretending to be Aaron Littleton’s mother for selfish reasons. She kept Aaron from his grandmother Carole Littleton for nearly three years. Kate was a child KIDNAPPER. Other castaways who had escaped from the island in the Season Four finale - Jack, Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Frank Lapidus and Desmond Hume had either supported her lies or kept silent. *Jack had tried to murder Locke in the Season Four premiere. He was pissed at the latter for killing Naomi and possibly sabotaging their chances of getting off the island. He had never apologized for the murder attempt. Jack had also supported Sayid's torture of Sawyer in the Season One episode, (1.08) "Confidence Man". Both had erroneously believed that Sawyer had stolen Shannon Rutherford's inhaler without any real evidence to back them. For me, Jack's worst act was supporting Kate's lie about being Aaron Littleton's mother. During the three years off island, he had flipped flopped between keeping his distance from her out of guilt and supporting her lie. But Jack never really made a strong stance on the issue. I take that back. He did. In the end, he tried to help Kate keep Aaron and ensure she would not pay any legal price for the lie. *Sayid Jarrah had murdered a fellow Iraqi soldier in order to help the woman he had recently fallen in love with, Nadia Jazeem, escape from prison and possible execution. He had tortured Sawyer for Shannon's inhalers. But his real reason for torturing Sawyer was that he believed the latter was responsible for knocking him out and destroying the plane's transmitter. He tried to kill Ana-Lucia, who had accidently killed Shannon, believing the latter was an Other. While questioning a captured Ben in (2.14) "One of Them", he nearly killed the latter. Following Nadia's death in Los Angeles, Sayid had agreed to help Ben kill of many of Charles Widmore's men, because he believed the latter was responsible for Nadia's death. Many claimed Ben had manipulated Sayid into becoming his hitman, but Sayid was eager to do so anyway. While in 1977, Sayid tried to murder the twelve-to-thirteen-year-old Ben in order to change history. *Shannon Rutherford tried to murder John Locke for his lies regarding her stepbrother Boone Carlyle’s injuries in late Season One. She had never apologized for her murder attempt. Locke had initially apologized for lying about Boone’s injuries. However, he changed his mind and claimed that the island had demanded Boone’s death as a sacrifice . . . as if that was an excuse. *James "Sawyer" Ford had murdered three people in the space of three months, due to his penchant for resorting to violence to satisfy his anger. He murdered Frank Duckett because he thought the latter was the con man who had cheated his parents out of their money. When he finally met the actual con man, Anthony Cooper (who was Locke’s dad) on the island, Sawyer strangled him to death. Cooper was never really responsible for his parents’ deaths. Sawyer’s father had murdered his mother for her adultery and committed suicide rather than deal with rebuilding his life. Sawyer had murdered one of the Others, Tom Friendly in the Season Three finale, (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass, Part II", claiming he did it in retaliation for Walt Lloyd's kidnapping. But Sawyer had stopped caring about Walt by early Season Two. His real reason for murdering Tom was in retaliation for getting shot on Michael's raft, when the Others took Walt. But Tom had never shot Saywer. One of the Others with Tom had beat Sawyer to the draw and shot the latter in the shoulder, when Sawyer reached for his gun. However, Sawyer solely blamed Tom for what happened on the raft . . . even after he had learned that Ben Linus was Tom’s leader and had ordered Walt Lloyd’s kidnapping. Other castaways and island occupants like Charlie Pace, Ben Linus, Juliet Burke and Ana-Lucia had committed crimes or attempted to commit crimes. Yet, Michael was the only one fated to become a Whisperer on the island because "he could not move on". He could not forgive himself for his actions. Many other major characters had no problems with forgiving themselves or avoiding any kind of remorse. Yet, Michael was the only major character to suffer, despite his remorse. What a fucking joke! I suspect that racism was the real reason why Michael became doomed to be a ghost on that island. I believe that racism had negatively affected the series fans' attitude toward Michael. After learning about Maureen Ryan's book, "Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and a Call For Change in Hollywood", I wonder if Lindelof and Cuse had planned this for Michael after Season Two. Even to this day, many fans - including a lot of YOU TUBE influencers - made excuse after excuse for the crimes of characters like Sawyer and Kate. None of them have ever even bothered to discuss the crimes of the show's other characters - including Jack, Locke and Sayid. But many fans were not only quick to condemn Michael for his crimes in late Season Two, but also condemn him for not being a "perfect father" to Walt. I found the latter condemnation ridiculous, considering that Michael had very little experience as a father around the time of Oceanic 815’s crash. Like many other characters on "LOST", Michael Dawson was very complicated. And I suspect that was a big problem for a lot of the show's fans. Michael was never comic relief like Hurley. Nor was he a bad ass like Mr. Eko or Sayid. He was a complex, ordinary man with his own set of problems. Nor did he automatically turn to Jack or Locke to lead him. He certainly did not turn to them to help him rescue Walt from the Others. Considering that the Oceanic survivors never made any real effort to help him find Walt, except for one irrelevant move by Jack in (2.19) "S.O.S.", I am not surprised. In the end, Michael’s real crime was that he had failed to live up the fans’ expectations on what a non-white male character (especially an African-American) should have been. This disappointment of Michael not adhering to the expected trope of a non-white male character may have led to many fans disliking him. Either Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had dumped this shitty fate on Michael Dawson in "Everybody Loves Hugo" in attempt to kiss the fandom's collective asses. Or they had allowed their own feelings about the character, actor Harold Perrineau or any alleged racism on their parts to do so.

[rickollie]

Celebrating Connections, Memories & More from 2024

While ringing in the new year I wanted to highlight some individuals that have helped me throughout 2024 with some awards. #HappyNewYear #NewsYearsDay #memories #love #loveyou #awardsceremony #friendship #honoringlovedones #sharingiscaring #AuldLangSyne

Happy New Year After last year’s fun with the 2023 Friend Awards: Celebrating Connections, I decided the awards should come out annually. Welcome to the second edition! You are being both honored and roasted, if possible, as some of my favorite social media and real-life friends. Two blockbuster movies that hit the theaters in 2024 were Moana 2 and my favorite Wicked. This is where we’ll…

[fangirling-paradise]

Mothers of 9-1-1: Lone Star ♥️

“you don’t take a class; you’re thrown into motherhood and learn from experience.” - jennie finch

[the-bi-library]

Happy January! Here are bi books out in January!

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list.

Books listed:

This Feast of a Life by Cynthia So

The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

For One Night Only by Jessica James

Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz

Vessel of Shadows (The Shadow Sequence, #2) by Rowan Redfield

In Love and Death (Spellster and the Hound, #2) by Aldrea Alien

Tavern Tale: A Sapphic Side Quest by Kristina W. Kelly

An Honored Vow (The Halfling Saga, #4) by Melissa Blair

Unromance by Erin Connor

The Afterdark by E. Latimer

A Spark of Something (A Librarian's Guide to Witchery, #1) by Shelby Rhodes

Tarnished (The Elder Tree Trilogy, #1) by Erica Rose Eberhart

Love on the Sunny Side (Confession #2) by Cozy DuBois

Kissed and Missed by Cleo White

Dawn of the Obsidian Sun (Bound by Moonfire Book 1) by R.N. Barbosa

A Traitorous Heart by Erin Cotter

Goaltender Interference (Penalty Box, #4) by Ari Baran

Virulence (Bioluminescence Trilogy, #2) by Toni Duarte

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜🩷 Upcoming Bisexual Book Releases of 2025

💜 My little bisexual heart is SO excited for this upcoming bisexual book releases of 2025. Which ones are you adding to your TBR?

🩷 Say a Little Prayer - Jenna Voris 🩷 Love in Focus - Lyla Lee 🩷 We Are the Match - Mary E. Roach 🩷 Roll for Love - M.K. England 🩷 Solo Stan - Talia Tucker 🩷 Dream On, Ramona Riley - Ashley Herring Blake 🩷 Hopelessly Teavoted - Audrey Goldberg Ruoff 🩷 My Lady Hiraya - Steven Sy 🩷 The Gryphon King - Sara Omer 🩷 We Are the Match - Mary E. Roach

💙 Daughters of the Blue Moon - Millie Abecassis 💙 A Gentleman's Gentleman - T.J. Alexander 💙 Last Hellos and First Goodbyes - Elba Luz 💙 Tenderly, I Am Devoured - Lyndall Clipstone 💙 If I Dig You - Colby Wilkens 💙 Tenderly, I Am Devoured - Lyndall Clipstone 💙 Modern Divination - Isabel Agajanian 💙 Don't Drag This Out - Emery Lee 💙 For One Night Only - Jessica James

💜 Death Card - Jasmine Smith 💜 The Cuffing Game - Lyla Lee 💜 Lovely Dark and Deep - Elisa A. Bonnin 💜 A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters - Rita A. Rubin 💜 The Transition - Logan-Ashley Kisner 💜 A Vow of Wrath and Ruin - K.W. Foster 💜 A Fix of Light - Kel Menton 💜 No Body No Crime - Tess Sharpe 💜 The Trial Period - Auburn Morrow

💟 A Traitorous Heart - Erin Cotter 💟 Tarnished - Erica Rose Eberhart 💟 This Raging Sea - De Elizabeth 💟 An Arcane Inheritance - Kamilah Cole 💟 Nobody in Particular - Sophie Gonzales 💟 Better Catch Up, Krishna Kumar - Anahita Karthik 💟 The Afterdark - E. Latimer 💟 A Murderous Business - Cathy Pegau 💟 Her Dark Grace - Rae Valtera

🩷 The Broposal - Sonora Reyes 🩷 It's a Love/Skate Relationship - Carli J. Corson 🩷 Futbolista - Jonny Garza Villa 🩷 Holly Jolly July - Lindsay Maple 🩷 Homegrown Magic - Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos 🩷 Murder Land - Carlyn Greenwald 🩷 Iron Tongue of Midnight - Brittany N. Williams 🩷 Behooved - M. Stevenson 🩷 A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace - Emily Skrutskie

💙 The Coven Tendency - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💙 Serial Killer Support Group - Saratoga Schaefer 💙 How to Survive a Slasher - Justine Pucella Winans 💙 Well, Actually - Mazey Eddings 💙 Unromance - Erin Connor 💙 Medievally Blonde - Cait Jacobs 💙 Hazelthorn - C.G. Drews 💙 Savage Blooms - S.T. Gibson 💙 The Incandescent - Emily Tesh

💜 Backhanded Compliments - Katie Chandler 💜 Build a Girlfriend - Elba Luz 💜 Virulence - Toni Duarte 💜 This Feast of a Life - Cynthia So 💜 On Her Terms - Amy Spalding 💜 Wooing the Witch Queen - Stephanie Burgis 💜 Love Points to You - Alice Lin 💜 The Sun and the Moon - Rebekah Faubion 💜 Thrill of the Chase - Kathryn Nolan

💟 Exquisite Ruin - AdriAnne May & A.M. Strickland 💟 Alice Rue Evades the Truth - Emily Zipps 💟 Lucky Day - Chuck Tingle 💟 Dawn of the Obsidian Sun - R.N. Barbosa 💟 The Billion Dollar Dynasty - Dominique Davis 💟 Cyrus - A.E. Cosby 💟 Now She's Dead - Roselyn Clarke 💟 Voidwalker - S.A. MacLean 💟 Of Abrasion - S.J. Lee

🩷 Tavern Tale - Kristina W. Kelly 🩷 An Honored Vow - Melissa Blair 🩷 Love on the Sunny Side - Cozy DuBois 🩷 Advocate - Daniel M. Ford 🩷 TSWR: Love At First Flight - S Sidney 🩷 Vessel of Shadows - Rowan Redfield 🩷 Flirting Lessons - Jasmine Guillory 🩷 Love At First Fright - Nadia El-Fassi 🩷 French Pressed Love - M.C. Hutson

[alcrescendo]

#𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎.  a  private  and  selective  multimuse  roleplay  account ,  featuring  muses  from  fandoms  such  as  teen wolf , the vampire diaries , cobra kai , various korean dramas , and more .  

loved  by  kaja ( pronounced kah-yah ) .  31 .  norwegian - american .  rebooted in november 2024 . previously  𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐃

MUSE LIST BELOW THE CUT

*** designates a test muse

TELEVISION

caroline forbes. candice king. the vampire diaries

maya hart. sabrina carpenter. girl meets world

kira yukimura. tbd. teen wolf

lydia martin. madelaine petsch. teen wolf

mieczysław "stiles" stilinski. dylan o’brien. teen wolf***

lois lane. erica durance. smallville

KDRAMAS

do bong-soon. park bo-young. strong woman do bong-soon

ji eun-tak. kim go-eun. goblin

eun dan-oh. kim hye-yoon. extraordinary you

woo young-woo. park eun-bin. extraordinary attorney woo

lee eun-yoo. go min-si. sweet home

lim sol. kim hye-yoon. lovely runner

LITERATURE

addie larue. adelaide kane. the invisible life of addie larue

MANGA/ANIME

tohru honda. tbd. fruits basket

elizabeth “riza” hawkeye. florence pugh. fullmetal alchemist

sakura kinomoto. tbd. cardcaptor sakura

yuki itose. tbd. a sign of affection

WEBTOONS/COMICS

hay lin. leah lewis. w.i.t.c.h.

cornelia hale. kim do-yeon. w.i.t.c.h.

FILM

milagro “mili” reyes. belissa escobedo. blue beetle

sophie hatter. sophie skelton. howl’s moving castle

gwen stacy. kathryn newton. the amazing spider-man

elphaba thropp. cynthia erivo. wicked  (film and musical)

VIDEO GAMES

abigail “aby” blyg. ariel winter. the quarry

elizabeth “ellie” williams. bella ramsey. the last of us

ORIGINAL

charlotte “charlie” han. arden cho. cobra kai ( BIO HERE )

sophie park. chuu. fandomless

lyra varn. various. star wars

julia “jules” song. kim se-jeong. stranger things

synnova carmine. tbd. final fantasy xiv (my warrior of light)

[cowsplant]

the most underwhelming wedding i've ever played... but MY BABIES are finally married

[palmviewfm]

any mw counterparts?

there's  soooooo  many  counterpart  options  that  you  can  go  with  !  i'll  leave  some  under  the  read  more  for  you  to  make  it  easier.

riverdale:  betty  cooper,  veronica  lodge,  archie  andrews,  cheryl  blossom,  jason  blossom,  reggie  mantle,  midge  klump,  kevin  keller,  polly  cooper,  toni  topaz,  jughead  jones,  moose  mason,  and  josie  mccoy.

pretty  little  liars:  aria  montgomery,  spencer  hastings,  emily  fields,  alison  dilaurentis,  maya  st  germain,  mona  vanderwaal,  mike  montgomery,  caleb  rivers,  noel  kahn,  and  toby  cavanaugh.

teen  wolf:  lydia  martin,  scott  mccall,  allison  argent,  malia  tate,  derek  hale,  isaac  lahey,  liam  dunbar,  cora  hale,  theo  raeken,  kira  yukimura,  jackson  whittemore,  and  erica  reyes.

clueless:  dionne  davenport,  amber  mariens,  murray  duvall,  travis  birkenstock,  christian  stovitz,  summer  bonet  and  elton  tiscia.

charmed:  prue  halliwell,  phoebe  halliwell,  piper  halliwell  and  paige  matthews.

all  american:  olivia  baker,  layla  keating,  asher  adams,  patience,  simone  hicks,  thea  mays,  jj  parker,  damon  sims,  jordan  spencer,  spencer  james,  and  jaymee.

greys  anatomy:  lexi  grey,  arizona  robbins,  atticus  lincoln,  derek  shephard,  addison  montgomery,  callie  torres,  alex  karev,  and  april  kepner.

bridgerton:  francesca  bridgerton,  penelope  featherington,  daphne  bridgerton,  simon  basset,  kate  sharma  and  colin  bridgerton.

sex  and  the  city:  carrie  bradshaw,  miranda  hobbs  and  charlotte  york.

twilight:  bella  swan,  alice  cullen,  carlisle  cullen,  esme  cullen,  emmett  cullen,  and  jacob  black.

friends:  ross  geller,  joey  tribbiani,  chandler  bing,  monica  geller,  mike  hannigan  and  janice  litman.

the  vampire  diaries:  elena  gilbert,  katherine  pierce,  stefan  salvatore,  caroline  forbes,  bonnie  bennett,  enzo  st  john,  hayley  marshall,  klaus  mikaelson,  elijah  mikaelson  and  rebekah  mikaelson.

pitch  perfect:  beca  mitchell,  chloe  beale,  aubrey  posen,  lilly  onakuramara,  cynthia  rose,  and  stacie  conrad.

the  summer  i  turned  pretty:  belly  conklin,  conrad  fisher,  jeremiah  fisher,  steven  conklin,  taylor  jewel,  and  cam  cameron.

shadowhunters:  clary  fray,  simon  lewis,  isabelle  lightwood,  jace  herondale,  alec  lightwood,  and  magnus  bane.

gossip  girl:  blair  waldorf,  serena  van  der  woodsen,  georgina  sparks,  nate  archibald,  and  dan  humphrey.

scream:  sidney  prescott,  tatum  riley,  kirby  reed,  tara  carpenter,  sam  carpenter,  gale  weathers,  dewey  riley,  randy  meeks  and  casey  becker.

gilmore  girls:  logan  huntzberger,  lane  kim,  dave  rygalski,  paris  geller,  lorelai  gilmore,  tristan  dugray,  luke  danes,  dean  forester,  emily  gilmore,  richard  gilmore,  sookie  st  james,  and  kirk  gleason.

the  notebook:  allie  hamilton  and  noah  calhoun.

interview with a vampire: louis de point du lac, lestat de lioncourt, estelle, santiago, armand, samuel barclay, and grace de point du lac.

a  cinderella  story:  austin  ames  and  sam  montgomery.

10  things  i  hate  about  you:  kat  stratford,  cameron  james,  joey  donner,  and  bianca  stratford.

grease:  sandy  olson,  danny  zuko,  betty  rizzo,  marty,  jan,  frenchy,  doody,  putzie,  sunny,  chacha  and  kenickie.

dirty  dancing:  frances  'baby'  houseman.

heathers:  heather  chandler,  heather  mcnamara,  heather  duke,  and  veronica  sawyer.

scooby  doo:  velma  dinkley,  daphne  blake,  shaggy  rogers,  and  fred  jones.

powerpuff  girls:  bubbles,  blossom,  and  buttercup.

[richincolor]

New Releases for the Week of May 22, 2023

We have a nice collection of books to look forward to this week with a few contemporary realistic fiction novels, one fantasy anthology, and a story with a bit of a mystery. 

If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So Harperteen

Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.

In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make… — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Magic Has No Borders edited by Sona Charaipotra and Samira Ahmed HarperTeen

A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds…

A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil…

A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers…

A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny…

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders.

With stories by: ▪Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series, and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My Rage ▪Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series ▪Preeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma ▪Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce, and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. ▪Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow ▪Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial Trilogy ▪Olivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red Hand ▪Nafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee, The Candle and the Flame ▪Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of The Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash ▪Naz Kutub, author of The Loophole ▪Nikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce Fairytales ▪Swati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogy ▪Shreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selection ▪Tahir Abrar, New Voices selection — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes Balzer & Bray/Harperteen

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers, despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)

I’m safe here.

That’s how Sadie feels, on a perfect summer day, wrapped in her girlfriend’s arms. School is out, and even though she’s been struggling to manage her chronic anxiety, Sadie is hopeful better times are ahead. Or at least, she thought she was safe. When her girlfriend reveals some unexpected news and the two witness a violent incident of police brutality unfold before them, Sadie’s whole world is upended in an instant.

I’m not safe anywhere.

That’s how Sadie feels every day after–vulnerable, uprooted. She retreats inside as the weeks slip by and relies on her phone to stay connected to the outside world. When Sadie’s therapist gives her a diagnosis for her debilitating panic–agoraphobia–she starts on a path of acceptance and healing. Meanwhile, Sadie’s best friend, Evan, updates her on the protests taking place in their city. Sadie wants to be a part of it, to use her voice and affect change. But how do you show up for your community when you can’t even leave your house?

I can build a safe place inside myself.

That’s what Sadie learns over the course of one life-changing summer, with some help from her family, her best friend, an online platform for activists, and a magnetic crush she develops for the new boy next door. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

August Monthly Recap:

I was participating in the Magical Readathon by Book Roast, so my reading this month was primarily dictated by that. I was also on vacation for a good chunk of the month, so I had lots of time to read some of the longer books that have stuck around on my TBR for a while, and ended up reading 17 books. My favorite was Monstrous Regiment, with a shoutout to Happy Place and Earth Bound.

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang: 3.5/5

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig: 3/5, dnf

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne: 1.5/5, dnf

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson: 4.5/5

Happy Place by Emily Henry: 4.75/5

The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan: 4.25/5

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke: 3.5/5

Translation State by Ann Leckie: 3.5/5

Earth Bound by Emma Barry & Genevieve Turner: 4.75/5

A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon: 3.5/5

Mango, Mambo & Murder by Raquel V. Reyes: 3.5/5

Topaz by Beverly Jenkins: 3.5/5

Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers: 4.5/5, re-read

Beowulf translated by Maria Dahvana Headley: 4.5/5

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett: 5/5

The Crow by Alison Croggon: 4.5/5, re-read

Star Dust by Emma Barry & Genevieve Turner: 4.5/5

And my 2023 goals under the cut:

23 in 2023: 15 [+0]

Read 100 books: 137/100 [+17]

Translated works: 4 [+0]

Physical TBR: 10 [+0]

Top of TBR: 5 [+2]

Books in Spanish: 0

Read 40% AOC: 23.9% [+0.8%]

Discworld Books: 3 [+1]

Series: 22 started vs. 25 caught up/finished [+2/+0]

Storygraph recs: 2 | avg. 3.25/5 [+0]

Indigenous authors: 1 [+0]

[kwebtv]

The Corpse Had a Familiar Face - CBS - March 27, 1994

Crime Drama (based on the autobiography of Edna Buchanan)

Running Time: 120 minutes

Stars:

Elizabeth Montgomery as Edna Buchanan

Dennis Farina as Detective Harry Lindstrom

Yaphet Kotto as Detective Martin Talbot

Audra Lindley as Monica / Edna's Mother

Branscombe Richmond as Rodriguez

LuAnne Ponce as Jennifer Nicholson

Matthew Posey as Sam

David Spielberg as George

Lee Horsley as Ben Nicholson

Silvana Gallardo as Mrs. Sanchez

Kamar de los Reyes as Puerto Rican

Carey Scott as Billy

Kevin Patrick Walls as Stephen Hollings

Hugh Gillin as Stanley

Michael Ray Miller as Sal

Steven Meek as Tom

Stephen Peace as Rookie

Rebecca Hahn as Cynthia

Jessica Cole as Marcia

Yavone Evans as Paula Nicholson

David J. Partington as Alan

The next to last production Elizabeth Monthgomery starred in.