#Hero at the Fall Honest Book Review

[read-chill-wine]

Welcome to reviews of...

✨️Books Liz Loves that you should buy if you are in the US before the orange one takes office✨️

Warnings - slight spoilers, mention of misogyny, mentions of smut, a little bit of SJM criticism.

A/N - To those who may be disappointed, I do not discuss SJM as a person, deep plotholes, full character assassinations, etc. In short, I am not going in on glaring issues from this series or her writing. I have a huge post I have been working on for several months where I am addressing these things, but I will not be posting it until I have all the quotes and exact page numbers I am referencing.

The Banned Booklist

See Liz's original Banned Book Post here

As voted by so many of you, we're talking about the ACOTAR series today

**not my picture, but I'd do some bad things for these first editions. Mainly ACOFAS**

The ACOTAR series is a growing series of romantic fantasy, commonly called Romantasy, novels. The series centers around the three Archeron Sisters as they navigate a new life as made high fae after their own series of traumatic events. It spanned into a whole multi-verse connecting ACOTAR into Maas' beloved Throne of Glass and Crescent City series with many fans accrediting Feyre to being what saved both of those worlds as well. The argument has been made that without Feyre, Rhys would not have been freed to save Aelin. Without Feyre, Nesta would not have been made High Fae to collect the dread trove and help Bryce. This is something I do agree with since it does appear that everything in these three worlds is being shaped up to center around Rhysand's family and, in turn, Feyre. I am open to discussion on this, though!

Books 1-2 (the ones mainly beginning to fall under the book bans and challenges) center around the youngest sister, Feyre. In book one, A Court of Thorns and Roses, we open with Feyre hunting to help her family survive a hard winter. Feyre on this trip kills a wolf that turns out to be a high fae male (and unrated self-sacrificing hero) beginning our story. After this happens, the Archeron family is visited by 1 of the 7 High Lords of the fae lands, Tamlin, and she is forced to leave with him under the guise of a treaty between the fae and mortals.

We get to witness a delicious slow burn, almost enemies to lovers situation between Tamlin and Feyre that is littered with hints of something much more dangerous at play. The first book is filled with a lot of whimsy and reads like a very magical world fantasy novel where we see things like a night based in sex magic and fertility, holidays celebrating the arrival of the seasons, and the stunning scenery of the Spring Court. Without spoiling too much, Feyre's time with Tamlin in Spring comes to a very abrupt holt when we get our second glance into Rhysand and his discovery and confirmation of Feyre's existence in Spring and her relationship with Tamlin. Tamlin, in a delicious act of "I'm going to let the world burn for you," sends Feyre back home to the mortal lands for her protection.

Once Feyre discovers her man, male, something (depending on what SJM felt like calling the fae on that page) had been taken by the blight, Feyre gives chase, following him down under the mountain leading to us getting to meet the "Blight" Amarantha and the 3 challenges Feyre is forced to endure to free all of Prythian from the Queen Under the Mountain. Book one ends with Feyre's death and revival at the hands of the High Lords. The now high fae female meets with Rhysand, who may actually not be a bad guy, one last time before heading home with Tamlin to Spring.

Book two essentially picks up where books 1 leaves off. Feyre is back in Spring with Tamlin and struggling deeply. She is scarred from her time under the mountain and it shows through her outward appearance and inwards anxieties that we are a reader experience with her. I will be honest, A Court Of Mist and Fury is my least favorite of the series. I feel it was riddled with plot holes, character assassinations (Lucien, Feyre, and Tamlin) and I do feel SJM killed the very fantasy world based vibes she created with the Spring court once we as readers arrive with Feyre in Velaris. So, to cliff notes this, Tamlin turns into an abuser out of left field, Rhysand is Feyre's mate, they get dirty in some paint after Feyre gives Rhys some canned soup, and her sisters Nesta and Elain are turned High Fae after being kidnapped by Hybern after, and I cannot stress this enough, IANTHE not Tamlin IANTHE sells them out, they get thrown into the Cauldron, Feyre plays dirty little actress, has the King of Hybern (what's his actual name Sarah Janet) break her bargain bond with Rhysand, and we end up back with Tamlin in Spring.

From here, this series is filled with a lot of plotholes and twists that genuinely do not make sense, some poor character development, some good character development, some what the actual hell moments from Rhysand, and a beautiful story in A Court of Silver Flames that centers around Nesta and her growth and journey with addiction and mental health. In short, there are many good things and bad things SJM does, and while the hype around the books may be a little much, it is definitely earned. I do recommend this series to all of my friends in a reading slump.

ACOTAR has created a cult like following with readers ranging from their teens all the way to my 75 year old grandmother borrowing it from me and becoming a huge fan (she's a Helion girlie - I got my love of thighs from somewhere.) That fandom has spanned around the world with many readers in many time zones connecting on levels some argue has not been seen since the start of the Supernatural fandom.

The fandom is filled with controversy, love, drama, and some absolutely talented artists and writers who have all worked their booty off to keep the magic alive while we wait for what is going to be a high anticipated 6th book that many hope will be centered around the middle sister, Elain Archeron. It has helped a lot of readers get back into reading and has landed SJM on the list of top fantasy authors of all time *something I don't agree with. Romantasy, yes. Fantasy, no.*

SJM quickly became one of the most common newly banned authors in 2022-2023 lists with over 13 districts and states banning ACOTAR and ACOMAF with the rest of the series slowly beginning to trickle in. The reason these books are becoming challenged may not shock you all. The first and most common reason is smut. While ACOSF is definitely the most smut heavy, all of these books feature sex scenes. Are they the spiciest books I have ever read? No. Absolutely not. However, it has caused some pearl clutching, causing groups to question if they are appropriate for children and in public spaces. The second reason is ✨️magic✨️. The magic in the book shows "unchristian values" because, evidently, Jesus of Nazareth is the only person allowed to perform magic in books.

There are several common themes in banned romantasy books out side of smut and magic that many against censorship have brought up, and they do appear in the ACOTAR. The most common link in a lot of these novels is strong female leads. From Blood and Ash, Throne of Glass, the Hunger Games, and so many more have potential misogynistic views causing them to end up on these lists.

I don't have a golden way to wrap this one up. I love this series, especially for the fandom. I truly do. I have formed an amazing platform of friends, readers, moots, and connections I treasure dearly. It would genuinely break my heart if this book were to be banned from public libraries. It brings forth so much discussion and beauty, especially when you over look the bad.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt

4.75/5. Releases 12/10/24.

The Vibes: stern hero/perky heroine, femdom with an alpha submissive, caretaking, and soothing long-held wounds

Heat Index: 8/10

The Basics:

Elspeth and Julian come from families with a deep history of betrayal and dislike. He's cold, brooding, and strictly regimented; she's free-spirited, quirky, and... oh yeah, aligned with a centuries-old secret society of Wise Women. Julian is on the hunt that his wicked uncle murdered his mother, which brings him directly into Elspeth's path as she seeks out an ancient text of vital importance. As they continue on their separate missions, they keep running into each other—and sharing secrets... and perhaps discovering that their feelings run far beyond on the forbidden....

The Review:

THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED.

I will read anything Elizabeth Hoyt writes. She's written several all-time favorites of mine (Thief of Shadows, Duke of Midnight, The Raven Prince, Sweetest Scoundrel... to name a few) and her Maiden Lane series is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the greatest things committed to the romance genre. She takes big swings, she writes some of the best sex scenes on the block, and she pays equal attention to the characterization of her tortured heroes and her varied heroines who, frankly, rarely have time for said heroes' collective shit.

I have missed her, and I was honestly getting a little worried that she'd decided to take a step back. But I kept the faith! And it paid off, because this return release is everything I could have asked for. It reminds me of what historical romance can be, how it can stretch, and how it can, at the same time, harken back to the bonkers romps I love most.

There is, by the way, a bonkers overarching plot that honestly isn't as wild as Hoyt can get, but. You know. There's a mystical ancient society of goddess-abiding women and also the whole thing where Elspeth's brother killed Julian's sister (Many Thoughts On This) and the hunt for two separate crucial books... It's still wacky. And it should be!

That being said, this plot falls to the wayside in favor of Julian and Elspeth's relationship and character development. I feel like the first Greycourt book, Not the Duke's Darling, which I actually did like, might not have hit as hard for some readers because the Other Plot kind of overtook the Romance Plot. That is not the case here at all. Elspeth and Julian are so front and center that I feel like the Other Plot is borderline tangential, aside from the battle against the Evil Uncle (who you will have seen in When A Rogue Meets His Match, which I really enjoyed a lot but need to reread). You get a satisfying follow-through on all that, but you're absolutely reading for a truly swoony, hot, FEELINGS-Y romance.

I am a longtime lover of books that are basically "stoic man who's constantly wrapped up in his tragic backstory is flabbergasted by That Broad's Audacity". That... could just be how you sum up this book. At every turn, Julian, who it must be said is stupid hot, tries to stay devoted to his brooding. And at every turn, Elspeth pokes him, blinks, and goes "Why is that?"

When she's not reading Georgian porn. Which she does a lot, for someone who's on the hunt for an ancient, super important book. While also dodging assassination attempts. And that's so valid of her.

Julian just can't deal with Elspeth. She baffles him. He's supposed to hate her! She's the sister of the guy who killed his sister! Mortal enemies and all that! Also, she's seriously getting in the way of his own hunt, what with her constantly getting almost murdered and, you know, That Ass. And she's just so disarming, so honest (... in some ways), so blunt about her interests, her desires, what she believes in and what she doesn't. She immediately begins worming her way into his heart, while also making him Hard As A Rock.

But he can't allow for worming into hearts! Not when he has so many secrets, from Plotty Secrets I can't tell you about, to Sexy Secrets I can tell you about. In many ways, this book is basically a classic melting of the hero book. But instead of Elspeth melting Julian with her good, innocent heart... She's melting him with her dogged inability to be anything other than who she is. And her disinterest in being anything other than who she is, for that matter. Which is such a great contrast to Julian, a man struggling to deny who he is, to be what society wants him to be.

It's Uptight Meets Wild in a lot of ways, but Elspeth's a unique form of a rebellious heroine. She's not super concerned about society, but she's also open about her lack of experience in some ways. She's not mean in any way, shape or form. She doesn't have a chip on her shoulder. She's not really like... fighting society? There's one tirade she has about the hypocrisy of it all, but it's less "Fight the power" than "this is so fucking stupid". Which is a refreshing take on it all. Elspeth doesn't get it because it's all so dumb that like... no one as real as her should be able to get it.

And before anyone goes in on how unrealistic this is, A) it isn't B) this is a romance novel C) it actually makes sense, because Elspeth's backstory literally involves being raised in an anti-society, weird family with their own ingrained beliefs and customs. Literally away from high society.

For all that I think the sex scenes in this book will be a major talking point (more on that later)... dude. This shit is so soft at points. You have multiple scenes where Julian just catches himself wanting to stare at this woman. Even before she understands the extent of his pain, she wants to care for him. This is not an enemies to lovers book, despite the enmity between their families. There's a melancholy to their forbidden, especially on Julian's part. He's baffled by Elspeth, but he doesn't dislike her. He's not even in denial about his feelings for her, after a point. He just truly doesn't think they can be.

On some more technical points—this JUMPS right into the story. They meet on like... the second page. The plot kicks off immediately. I've seen so many slooooow, overlong new releases lately. This is a brisk, story that reads so quickly and isn't in any way overlong. You have an extended chunk that takes place in one setting, and yet... plot happens. Character development happens. Relationship building happens. Julian and Elspeth are together for so much of the pagetime, despite their opposite goals.

None of this should be like... notable. But it is. You feel the expertise in the writing here. She's just one of the best to ever do it, in my opinion.

Also! I respect Elizabeth's process and whatever may affect her writing schedule. But my God, I hope we get more Greycourt books, and I hope we get them fairly soon. I counted at least three possibilities for future love stories. And I have Thoughts.

The Sex:

NOW. On to the elephant in the room. The good elephant. The elephant that is as big as Julian's Appendage.

As I said earlier, Elizabeth Hoyt writes some of the best sex scenes in romance. They're unique, they're earthy, they feel tailored to the character. She uses language that is sometimes anatomical and sometimes campy and sometimes like... feels kinda filthy, even though I've read filthier?

Julian's struggles lie in the fact that, for all that he is cold and domineering and stoic, he's submissive in the bedroom. While Hoyt has definitely dabbled in some light kink in earlier books, I would say that a lot of it tends towards like... The kind of kinkiness you often seem in historicals. Where there are definitely dog whistles, but it may not be intentional (historical romance has long lended itself to an unconscious dip into D/s dynamics, in my opinion) historical romance kink often isn't explictly stated.

Here, it's called out for what it is, the societal judgments about it (some of which remain to this day, mind) are discussed, and Julian has processes. Elspeth is more than down. It's like he's unintentionally found his perfect woman (sexually, at least).

But for all that this is explicitly a femdom romance, I think it skirts around so many stereotypes, and it is not, in my opinion, a BDSM romance. They don't get into anything super OTT or formalized. It's really something Julian just... needs. And it's really not a sadomasochism situation at all. It's truly about this soft domme/sub dynamic. He wants to serve, and he wants to be cared for. His submission and what it gives him is described so beautifully. There's a lot of caretaking in this book.

Which doesn't in any way take away from how hot the book is, mind. There's a really unique de-emphasis on something historicals and honestly romance in general often obsesses over, which was so refreshing. There's a true sensitivity to why Julian is into this, and where it stops for him. I feel like Hoyt was doing a sendup of the tortured alpha here, while also exploring what that can mean in more unique scenarios. It was so good.

And so... sooooo hot. There's a lot of body worship in general and pussy worship specifically. Elspeth is curvy, and has her moments of insecurity, and Julian LOVES her body.

Those of us who missed some fun Hoyt-isms about sex are well-rewarded. "Lazily mouthed her cunny" is like.... everything....................

Basically: I loved this. I am so glad she's back. I hope she's back for good (but no pressure). I want a million more Hoyt books. I will, again, read whatever she writes. When I tell y'all she's showing us how it's done... I mean it.

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[abyssalzones]

Just another person sharing that I really appreciated what you've shared with the book of bill review - I actually was talking to my therapist this morning about some very similar things and how Ford's arc made me think about the differences between the "tragic hero", the "victim", and the "survivor" in narratives and how Gravity Falls as a medium handles those things (the conversation ended with her saying she might watch "the hand that rocked mabel" before our next session so we could discuss it) so I'm excited to see more people approach Ford's arc as one of healing and abuse recovery and I'm very excited to get more into the writing that you've done.

woah that's awesome!! I'm so glad you've found a therapist who you can talk to about that sort of stuff. to be super honest (just as a guy who is mondo autistic and processes a lot of things through Special Interest) it's been annoying in the past when I Did have a therapist because I didn't really feel like I could talk about a huge facet of my life and mindset/recovery process since it was. like. a cartoon. womp womp

anyway, all that to say you make a really interesting point about ford and the differences between the victim/survivor/tragic hero roles respectively, and I'm super glad you liked my analysis :D

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalie Caña

Rating: 3.75/5 Heat Level: 3.5/5 Publication Date: October 29th

Premise:

Sofi and Leo have been in an on-again-off-again secret situationship for years; Sofi is ready to move on, but Leo wants to make things real between them, and so do their respective meddling grandparents.

My review:

This novel almost-perfectly encapsulates contemporary romance in 2024; the main couple starts off as a situationship with some messy, one-sided feelings at the start, almost all the characters are people of color and first or second-generation immigrants, and there's plenty of career insecurities.

Sofi has been best friends with Leo's sister Kamilah for years, and she's also had an on-again off-again thing with Leo for years. After her falling out with Kamilah in A Proposal They Can't Refuse (I'd recommend reading this series in order), they've reconciled, but Sofi and Leo are still on shaky ground. Cue some meddling grandparents and whoops, they're roommates now... with a dog too.

I liked Sofi; she's a bit prickly and definitely the more guarded one in the relationship. It's in part due to her relationship with her absentee dad who she's tired of pleasing, and wants to part ways with on a career level. Leo on the other hand is very much a "I may be pretty but I'm not dumb, MOM" hero. He's a charmer and a flirt but has trouble being taken seriously by the people around him (there's a moment of reconciliation with his family re his childhood ADHD diagnosis as well). He's also the one pushing for a real relationship with Sofi while Sofi shies away. I did find it funny when Leo was being super tragic about how he's her *dirty little secret* but ultimately, what I liked is that it's not just Leo who is put in a position to grovel (and there is a grovel!); Sofi has to come to terms with why she keeps pushing people away in order for them to get their HEA.

On a rep level, there's fantastic first and second-gen Puerto Rican and Dominican-American rep, and the cultures are portrayed with a lot of love. I also really like how intentional Natalie Caña was about writing the diversity within the communities, for example, Sofi identifies as both Latina and Black, and her grandmother is white but both are Dominican.

My one note is, this book clocks in at almost 340 pages and I did feel that the plot got pretty meandering at times, especially with all the side plots; it seemed to lean more into a slice-of-life contemporary romance than a romcom.

The sex:

Pretty hot, especially considering this is being marketed as a romcom; I love when the main characters have a *history* and Leo isn't afraid to lean into that when it comes to seducing Sofi after over a year apart. There's also a good bit of good girl-bad girl stuff going on, considering Sofi is quite straitlaced on the outside, and Leo kind of coaxes her to let go of her inhibitions in the bedroom. We also get a good amount of dirty talk in Spanish aaaand there's face-sitting!

Thank you to Harlequin for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[honorary-knight-of-favonius]

Hi There 👋

I wanted to request for a genshin smut, where yae miko x fem reader fingering and teasing the reader and a mention of yae using electro element while fingering her, idk why but i just imagined this in my head and it looks like a cool idea😅 i really can't wait to see someone write about this

All the love ❤️❤️

Best Birthday Ever

Summary: It's Miko's first birthday that isn't spent working, or doing house chores after ending her relationship with the unbothered Ei. She now is being celebrated for being alive and spoiled by her new girlfriend and she decides to pain her back in pleasure.

Tags: Female!Reader, Undefined roles, Lesbian Sex, electricity play, Cunninglings, Fingering, Scissoring, spoiled Miko, slight aftercare.

I sighed, it had been several hours that I had spent in this bookstore as my darling, pink and prettied girlfriend browsed the numerous shelves she would occasionally come back to me and hand me books she wished to get before hurrying back to hunt down the best ones. I currently had a stack of seven books by me as she returned from her fourth search. 

“I found more!” she beamed happily, I smiled, Miko was oftentimes a temptress that aroused me beyond belief but here, on her birthday where I decided to take her out to dinner and a bookstore along with a movie she never lost her child-like smile as she danced happily at her finds. 

“What are they about?” I ask

“Well some of them are the basic romance stories or classical hero stuff but this one, I’m most excited for this one!” Miko said, showing me a cover from the book on top of her three. I smiled and took it from her. 

“What’s got you excited about this one?” I ask

Miko quickly sat next to me with her other two books on her lap, “It’s a book set in old japanese times that discusses the love that blossoms between a knight and the queen. Apparently the king is always with his concubines that the king forgets about his wife, the queen ends up falling in love with her guardian knight that- happens to be a woman disguised as a man.” Miko explained. 

“I pretty sure I’m thinking of Chinese women, but weren’t Japenese women able to learn how to fight?” I ask

“It was china that had female warriors. But anyways, the book has suspense, love, and from reviews it also explains how both women experienced pleasure from each other’s body,” She whispered the last part to me, “ And don’t even get me started on the murder arc!” Miko squealed, I chuckled and pet her before having her lay her head against me. 

“I hate to cut your hunt short but we do have a movie to catch.” I say, she giggled softly before nuzzling her face into my neck. 

“I was wondering when you’d ask me to stop.” Miko said.

“Shall we go check out?” She hummed and gathered some of her books as did I. We quickly checked out and the moment we were out of the store she bounced so happily that her tail revealed itself from the pure joy she was feeling. When we got in the car she hugged the bags still having the biggest smile. When we got to the movies Miko hugged my arm and though I don’t believe it was unconscious she did wrap her fluffy tail around me. I got our tickets and concession snacks before I was dragged into the movie and to my shared seat. The movie was about some Oni story that I didn’t entirely get but Miko was excited about it so I didn’t mind the confusion. When the movie ended Miko was cuddling up to me and she was increasingly clingy. 

“Sleepy vixen?” I ask

“No~ I’m happy.” She corrected, “Y’know out of all my birthdays I had spent with. . .Ei. She never did anything like this for me. If I’m being honest my birthday hasn’t been something I celebrated with her, I-I mean she didn’t really do anything with me. I-If I’m being honest I was surprised you asked me to get dressed up, I didn’t expect anything today.” I sighed and hugged Miko. 

“Princess, you are not Ei’s Girlfriend anymore. You are my girlfriend, I will always spoil you so never expect anything less. Alright princess?” I say

“Y-yes,” I planted a kiss on her forehead before taking her hand and leading her back to the car. Miko was quiet to a concerning point but instead whenever I looked back her tail was swaying happily and she’d make small yips of happiness that she tried to conceal by using a hand on her mouth. When we got to the car I was about to start the car to head to dinner but Miko quickly pounced and planted her lips on mine.

Her kiss wasn’t like the many others she had started, in fact she was reckless, she was being clumsy and so messy but neither the less she was passionate and rough. She pulled away out of breath, she panted slightly before looking at me, “C-can we skip dinner and go home?” Miko asked

“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask

“I am. . .but not for food.” I flushed at the realization and nodded, she smiled and I drove us home. The moment we got inside our shared apartment Miko had me pushed up to a wall and her lips were back on mine as her hands were on my hips pulling me in closer. 

Though sex with Miko before has felt good, it never felt this good and she was only kissing me. When we pulled away Miko’s pink tongue was out as she panted along with her sharp teeth I loved the sight of. When she finally caught her breath. 

“W-wanna see a magic trick?” She asked, I nodded slowly and Miko quickly dragged me to the couch and got on her knees. She quickly took off my pants and panties before she held my thighs open. Before she started she looked up at me. 

“If I hurt you tell me.” I nodded petting her before she dove into my cunt the was soaked, though it felt the same as it did when she ate me out previously only mere seconds after that thought I felt a spark, though it wasn’t painful, more kept happening all these sparks were concentrated on my clit and I don’t remember a time I had ever orgasmed that fast. When Miko pulled away I saw what looked like electrical sparks coming from her tongue. 

“Are you ok?” Miko quickly asked. 

“Are you?” I ask

“Huh? I-I’m ok. . .More than ok, despite changing my techniques this made you cum faster and harder than ever.” she smiled, before tilting her head, “Why wouldn’t I be ok?” She asked

“T-the sparks from your tongue.” I say

“Oh! Hehehe, that’s my magic trick. Here.” Miko opened her mouth and showed me how the lighting was in her mouth before it went to her tongue and was focused on it. 

“T-that doesn’t hurt?” I ask

“I’ve been able to do this since I was little all I’ve ever felt from it is a little ticklish.” I sighed and pet her, “do you mind if we keep going?” I shook my head and was forced to lay down on the couch as Miko positioned her fingers to tease my clit. I went to reach out and cup hers but she took my hand and pinned it down before stimulating my clit until I was ready to take her fingers, when I did those sparks were stronger, more enjoyable, and she was in fact making me even more wet to the point I was ruining the couch, but I felt a pressure in my stomach. Miko smirked as I gushed out, completely ruining our couch with my giant squirt. 

“F-fuck Miko. You made me destroy our couch.” I sighed. 

“Hehe, I’ll clean my mess. But I still want to get you to cum one more time, think you can?” Miko asked

“Yeah, anymore than that I might pass out.” Miko giggled before she got rid of her panties and tangled our lower halves together. Miko began grinding her cunt into mine slowly but passionately. 

“F-fuck Miko, shit you feel. . .” Miko laughed and sped up to a mind numbing point, in fact as her moans echoed through the apartment I listened intently as she sang a beautiful tune that only helped me get off even more. Miko was breaking my mind and it was hard to make sense of anything until I untied that final knot just as Miko did, having our bodies convulse which only overstimulated us more until Miko finally moved to lay her head on my chest. 

“Best birthday ever.” Miko hummed as her tail swished before her stomach growled. She looked sheepishly at me before asking, “can we order pizza?” I hummed and Miko smiled, sneakily taking my phone and ordering pizza before snuggling into me. 

I am so sorry it took so long for me to finally get around and write this, life is hectic right now and I've been in a slump but nonetheless I hope you all enjoyed this!

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb:

A delightfully queer Victorian love story, featuring a boldly brash trans hero, the beguiling botanist who captures his heart, and a buoyant bicycle race by the British seaside — from the author of The Duke Undone.

Former painter and unreformed rake Kit Griffith is forging a new life in Cornwall, choosing freedom over an identity that didn't fit. He knew that leaving his Sisterhood of women artists might mean forfeiting artistic community forever. He didn’t realize he would lose his ability to paint altogether. Luckily, he has other talents. Why not devote himself to selling bicycles and trysting with the holidaymakers?

Enter Muriel Pendrake, the feisty New-York-bound botanist who has come to St. Ives to commission Kit for illustrations of British seaweeds. Kit shouldn’t accept Muriel’s offer, but he must enlist her help to prove to an all-male cycling club that women can ride as well as men. And she won't agree unless he gives her what she wants. Maybe that's exactly the challenge he needs.

As Kit and Muriel spend their days cycling together, their desire begins to burn with the heat of the summer sun. But are they pedaling toward something impossible? The past is bound to catch up to them, and at the season’s end, their paths will diverge. With only their hearts as guides, Kit and Muriel must decide if they’re willing to race into the unknown for the adventure of a lifetime.

Review:

Former artist and unreformed rake Kit Griffith is determined to prove to his all male cycling club that women can ride as well as men, and that means getting a feisty botanist to ride with him in exchange for him painting for her botany project... the only catch? He has an art block and he might be falling for her despite him vowing that he would never do anything more than a fling. Kit Griffith used to be a woman but finally left behind his old self and finally made his own identity... but he didn't realize that leaving behind his Sisterhood of women artists would also costs him his ability to paint. Kit can't seem to paint anymore but he now has other hobbies: selling bicycles and trysting with as many women as possible. Then he meets Muriel Pendrake, a feisty New-York bound botanist who has come to St. Ives to commission Kit for illustrations of British seaweeds. Kit's all male-cycling club is having a bet: if he can get a female cyclist to ride with him through a certain period of time and beat the time, against male cyclists, then they will open the club up to more people... but he needs a female cyclist.. and Muriel would be the perfect person Muriel's condition for her riding with him is that : he has to paint for her and he agrees... despite knowing that he can't paint but he's hoping it's the challenge he needs. As Muriel and Kit spend more time together they begin to fall for one another... but could it even be possible when Kit doesn't do anything serious and he still hasn't told Muriel his own past or the fact that he knows he can't paint for her? This was definitely a fun read and I absolutely adored the queer representation in this. It was a really unique and fun representation of the queer historical experience and I thought the story was enjoyable overall. I did wish that there was a bit more focus on the plot and story because at times it felt so slow or just a bit clunky. however it was a fantastic read overall and I would absolutely recommend it!

Release Date: June 18,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Percy Jackson Series Review (Spoilers for Whole Season 1!)

I finally watched the finale for the Percy Jackson series and figured I'll write a review for the whole season. Overall I think it was a good season, there were some really great moments and I think the cast did a really good of capturing the characters and the relationships from the books. However for me there were a few issues with the first season. So before getting into it, these are my own thoughts and opinions and there is a spoiler warning in effect from here on out, you have been warned. I'm going to start with my critiques first to get them out of the way and because I think its better to end on a good note. If you are someone who loved the show, believe it could do no wrong and don't want to hear any criticisms, feel free to skip over this section. For me personally though my critiques were enough of an issue for me that it did effect my enjoyment of the show at times which is why I want to talk about them, this wouldn't be an honest review if I didn't. But don't worry as long as my critique may be, my list of things I loved is even longer.

Critiques

Ok I'm sorry but I hated how whenever the heroes would show up at a monsters lair, eg medusa, the lotus casino and crusty's, they would instantly announce whose lair it was and how they trap their victims. To me this was just boring. In the books part of the fun was that they wouldn't immediately know but there would be little clues as to who they were dealing with. It added suspense, a sense of stakes and danger to those scenes in the book because you knew it was likely connected to a greek monster and you were waiting for the reveal, if you were a reader who knew greek mythology it was also fun to try and guess who the monster was before the reveal as well. But none of that was transferred over to the show. I have seen the argument made that well Sally taught Percy Greek Mythology in the series and Annabeth knows about Greek Mythology from camp so it makes more sense that they would know instantly and yeah doesn't stop it from being boring, sorry. For me I would rather something be suspenseful and exciting and have build up and have to adopt a bit of suspension of disbelief than have something that is technically realistic and makes sense and be boring, for me the worst crime a show can commit is to bore me. Besides them knowing Greek Mythology would be what allows them to figure it out just in the nick of time. After all the whole point is that these monsters have disguised themselves within the real world so that they can trick demi-gods etc, what would show these kids skills is them figuring out and defeating the monster just before they fall victim to them unlike the monsters other casualties. I guess what I am saying is there was a better way of showing that these kids were myth savvy and smart whilst still keeping the suspense and sense of danger. The way they did it made me feel like the characters were just hitting pause on the scene then going hold on let me just give the audience the cliff notes of this particular greek myth and then we'll get back to our regular scheduled viewing. It felt out of place, the dialogue was awkward to me and it was just the epitome of telling and not showing. The first time it happened I was a little disappointed but I shrugged it off, but as the season went on and it kept happening over and over I just got more frustrated with it, to the point that when Percy walked into Crusty's and announced 'I know who you are' I just rolled my eyes.

So the next criticism I have is the whole Lotus Casino scene. This scene was just a huge disappointment to me because once again it was boring. It started with our usual cliff notes break down of who the lotus people are and how they trap people with food (lotus flower) and then it was just them walking through the casino. Again in the book this scene is fun, the whole point of the casino is that it is so fun, so intoxicating that it distracts our heroes from their quest. They get taken in by it all and just become twelve year old kids, like that moment in the finale where Annabeth talks about how her dad wants to take her to Disneyland and Percy replies 'just be a kid' well the casino was supposed to be disneyland ok. It was supposed to be the fun place that every kid dreams of going and the place where a kid can just lose themselves in the fun and the wonder of it all. Instead in the show it was just lacklustre and underwhelming. Don't get me worng the scene with Hermes was amazing and I will talk about it more later, and I get the whole idea they were going with by having Annabeth and Percy not forget each other because they were together but Grover does forget because he was alone, I love that idea, it was a nice sentiment and good lesson but again I feel like it could have been done in a more exciting way. Percy and Annabeth could still have been distracted from the mission and had fun at the casion but maintained their memory of each other because they were together, they could have broken out of the 'spell' because they weren't alone and they could have had it so Grover finds it harder to break out of it because he was alone. Same message but whilst still keeping that sense of child like fun and wonder and excitement. I know many will hate me bringing the movies into it but in my opinion the movies did the casino scene better and I do wish the show had kept that level energy and excitement that the movie had in that scene, I do wonder though if part of the reason why they didn't go the route of showing the heroes having fun was because they didn't want there to be any comparison to the movie scene, like they wanted it to be so different that you wouldn't be able to make any connection between the two, but that's just me speculating.

Another thing is the whole deadline already passing change. Now the change itself I'm not upset by, I don't need the show to be an exact copy of the book and it was clearly set up to have that scene where Poseidon surrenders to save Percy, which I am definitely talking about that scene later in the things I loved part because that scene was just amazing. But my issue was first off the reaction of Percy and Annabeth when they realise how long they've been in the casino and they later learn that the deadline has passed. There is no sense of urgency or panic, they announce it like they are announcing a weather update, like oh we've wasted a load of time, we've missed the deadline, bummer. I just wish they had put a little more energy and urgency into that scene. Though to be clear I don't think this was an issue with the acting, as I said before I think the entire cast did an amazing job, but I do think there was an issue with direction and writing somewhere. Another issue I had with the passed deadline change is that we don't see the effect it has on the world. What I mean by that is in the books and I'm pretty sure the movie as well, it is made very clear what a war between the gods would look like to the human world, its natural disasters, storms, earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, you name it. In the books and movie, even though the deadline hasn't passed yet we see the effect of the gods merely preparing for war, it shows the stormy seas, the thunderclouds etc. But in the show nada, not even a grey cloud in sight.

Ok so those were my major criticisms, I know its a little long so apologies. The only other critiques I had were much less of an issue, I am a bit disappointed that Percy never spoke to the Zebra. It was a bit odd seeing as they mentioned the Zebra in the title of the episode, so I am not sure why they didn't include it, who knows maybe now that the show is on disney they thought Percy talking to horses and sea creatures was a little too disney princess and decided to remove it, again that's just speculation on my part, but I hope they do include it in season 2 if we get one, let percy jackson be a disney princess and talk to the flying ponies and fishes ok.

I also did feel like the pacing was sometimes a little off in places, it sometimes felt a bit rushed and like they could have added a little more context to some scenes even if it was just a couple of lines of dialogue, but these are very minor issues.

All The Best Bits.

Ok so now the criticism is out of the way lets focus on the good bits because there were plenty of them. First I want to start with the Greek Gods themselves because I really do think the show nailed them. I do think they tried to make them a bit more sympathetic in the show than they were in the books, because in the books it was very easy to hate them and it took a bit to warm up to them, as they were very dismissive and detached. Whereas in the show I think they found the perfect balance between showing their flaws when it comes to their children and in general but also adding some nuance and showing that they do care and love their children and they do struggle with having to stay away from them but also in showing how their absence effects their children. So first lets talk about Hermes.

Hermes

The scene between Annabeth, Percy and Hermes I think was one of my favourites of the season. I loved how when we first meet Hermes there's this fun, laid back feeling to him, he's just chilling in the casino with not a care in the world, but his entire demeanour changes the moment Luke is mentioned and you see how much of an emotional effect it is having on Hermes. The actor played that moment so so well, it really was great.

There was so many layers to that conversation between the three that made it so interesting to me. First it gives us some backstory on Luke and how the last time he saw Hermes they got into a fight but also how Hermes was warned to stay away but didn't listen and in the end made it worse for those he loves, then you've got the reveal that Poseidon was the one that warned Hermes to stay away and the reason why was because its too hard to watch your child suffer and not be able to do anything to stop it, which brings in the whole even gods feel powerless and how hard that is for a god to accept, that even they can't protect the ones they love and how that leads to the struggles of parenting. I mean the whole conversation was just layered with interesting topics and themes that you could spend hours picking apart. It genuinely made me feel so sorry for Hermes, which was new for me, because you could see what he was feeling, you weren't just hearing him say it, you could see how much he loves Luke, you could see how much it hurt him that his son hates him, you could see that he felt helpless to protect Luke and his mum, you could see the guilt he felt that every time he tried to help someone get to the underworld it always ended in them dying and you could see the fear that if his friends died Luke would only hate Hermes more.

I also loved that despite deliberately delaying them and saying he wouldn't help, he still does ultimately help them. He knew that Annabeth had picked his pocket and instead of stopping them he lets them take the car and leaves them instructions. I just really loved what they did with Hermes character and how much they did with his character in such a short scene.

Ares

Ares was another fun character, like he was surprisingly comical, I couldn't help but laugh when he started a fight on twitter and when he's describing the coming war between his father and uncle and he's practically got tears of joy in his eyes, like he is legit giddy at the idea and honestly does seem very in character for a god of war. But despite having those comical moments he was still threatening and terrifying when he needed to be, you still knew that this was a powerful being and that our heroes needed to tread carefully around him and that when he does threaten our heroes that threat is real.

The growing antagonism between Ares and Percy was also interesting to see, its very clear that Percy isn't a fan of Ares and that mutual dislike very quickly grows into hate between them. I loved that scene at the end of ep 5 when Percy says 'You think you know who I am but you don't. And if you're not careful you're going to find out.' It takes alot of guts to stand up to the literal god of war and I think this scene says alot about Percy's character and how he has this defiance and fight in him but also alot of bravery. Also this scene could have come across very silly and cheesy, its very difficult to have a 12 year old threaten a god and not have it come across as a bit ridiculous but I actually think they pulled it off and to me Percy seemed believable and intimidating in the moment.

I also think this scene leads really well to the fight between them on the beach at the end of the season. When Percy first suggests single combat, first blood wins, its understandable that Ares laughs at him. I mean when you look at it from Ares' pov he's an all powerful god of war and percy is 12. Of course Ares thinks the notion that this 12 year old, new demi-god could possible beat him and make good on his earlier threat, is utterly ludicrous. So Ares wasn't careful and then he found out. Course if you choose to fight a son of Poseidon on a beach right next to the ocean you deserve what's coming to you. But I still loved that moment when you've got little Percy being towered over by Ares, this tall muscular god, and then that wave just builds and towers over them both before it takes out Ares, allowing Percy to draw first blood whilst Ares is trying to regain his bearings. That was some top notch imagery right there, 10 out of 10.

Of course Ares doesn't take the defeat humbly and instead announces that Percy has made an enemy of him which honestly not an ideal situation for Percy to be on the bad side of the god of war, I do hope that doesn't have any consequences later on down the road, nah I'm sure it'll be fine, right.

Hephaestus

Another scene I really enjoyed was the scene between Annabeth and Hephaestus in the water park. Don't get me wrong I really loved the original scene in the book, it was actually one of my favourite book scenes and I loved how when all the cameras started recording Percy took a bow and said he hoped they (the gods) enjoyed the show. But I also really love this change they made with the golden chair. Not only did it add more greek mythology to the story it created that scene between Annabeth and Hephaestus. Like the scene with Hermes this scene told us alot about the gods and the kind of rules of that world. Annabeth says in her speech that its eat or be eaten, power and glory and nothing else matters. With just that one line we are painted a picture of a family and a world who backstab each and who only seem to care about how much power they can claim and how much glory they can gain. This ideology is also pushed onto the demigod children. You want your parent's attention well then you have to gain power and glory to get it and if you have to push others down or out of your way to do it then that's just the way it is and the way its meant to be.

You could see that Annabeth's speech really got to Hephaestus. When you think about his backstory, how he was thrown from mount Olympus by his own mother, how his wife is having an affair with his brother and they flaunt it in his face, how he tells Annabeth that despite what his brother may have said he is not a push over, its not surprising that Annabeth's words had an impact on him, he in particular has, quite literally, been injured by his own family and their ways, so it makes sense that he has sympathy for Annabeth. I think you can see this sympathy when he admits that he thought Athena had gone too far in her anger at Annabeth, I think he relates to Annabeth because he has seen her be rejected by her mother the same way he was rejected by his own mother. I also think the fact that he does show sympathy to Annabeth, that he does openly admit that some of the gods, himself included, don't like to be that way and the fact that he lets Percy go when Annabeth tells him that Percy is different, that he's better than that, all tells us alot about Hephaestus and makes him a sympathetic character. I am hoping to see more of him in future seasons and see where they take his character.

Hades

Hades was another one that was fun to watch. I mean you've got to admit he's a great host, he was very welcoming, he offered them snacks and beverages even threw in a few jokes to lighten the mood. He even waits politely for Percy to finish talking about how Hades and Ares stole the bolt before correcting him. I also found he was very relatable when he said that he wanted nothing to do with Zeus and Poseidon's drama over the bolt, my siblings also often get into dramas that I want no part in, Hades just wants to make an honest deal with Percy to get his helm back and then he'll happily return his mum.

What is really interesting though is that shift when he learns that Kronos is on the rise again. He becomes so afraid that he changes tact immediately and now feels like he needs the bolt to protect himself from Kronos. I feel like all these conversations the heroes have with each of the gods adds another layer to the gods. With Ares we learn that the gods like to backstab each other and claim power no matter what. With Hephaestus this is reinforced but we learn that not all of them want to be that way, with Hermes we learn that the gods can feel powerless, especially when it comes to watching their children struggle and with Hades we learn that even gods can fear. It also helps establish just how terrifying Kronos is that even the god of death is afraid of him.

But yeah, Hades was fun to watch, I think he often gets a bad rep in alot of modern media as being this evil villain but actually he's not in most greek myths, so its good that they show him here in a more nuanced light than just a villain, he just wants his helm back and when he does get it back he makes good on his promise and returns Sally. He's another character that I can't wait to see more of in future seasons.

Poseidon

They really teased us with Poseidon's character throughout the season, like we learned alot about him through other characters before we ever met him and it was interesting how Percy and his father's relationship grew even before they meet for the first time. To start with Percy is very understandably angry at his father, angry at his absence and believes that his father doesn't care about him or his mother. Despite that as we see from the way he is so determined to do well at capture the flag and win enough glory to get his father's attention that some part of him is still desperate for his father's approval and attention despite his anger at him. Things shift for Percy though after he falls from the arc and his father saves him and he has that conversation with the nymph or naiad where she relays a message from his father telling him he's there with him and that he's proud, that everything is going to be ok. Also this happens at a big moment for Percy because its the first time he realises that he can breath underwater. At the start of that underwater scene you can see how panicked he is and how he's desperately trying to pull his foot free, the fact that they paired that imagery with the voiceover saying how hard it is for his father to watch him struggle was really impactful, but this moment really shows the audience that Poseidon was not the uncaring and absent father we thought he was, he does care about his son, and in this moment when it wasn't possible to come himself he sent someone to speak for him, to reassure Percy that he was ok that he just needed to breath. For Percy this was the turning point for his relationship with his father and I think that was not just because his father saved him but because his father asked him to trust him and when Percy did he really was ok, he realised he could breathe underwater and was then able to get himself out of the water safely.

I think the fact that his father does care and is looking out for him and that it is hard for him to see Percy struggle is then further solidified when he speaks to Hermes, not only does Hermes repeat what the nymph said about Poseidon feeling powerless when watching Percy struggle but I think hearing the backstory of Luke and Hermes helped Percy understand how complicated the relationship between a demigod and their godly parent really is, helped him understand his father a bit more. I think it only made Percy more excited and eager to meet his dad though and we the audience were also excited that we'd finally get to see Poseidon, because they built that anticipation up over those first few episodes, just like Percy, we the audience were also disappointed when Poseidon isn't there because the Solstice passed.

Despite not physically being there though, the conversation between Percy and Nereid still told us alot about Poseidon as she was speaking his words, and I think it was very telling that the first thing Poseidon wants to tell his son is that its not his fault that he didn't get there before the deadline passed, that he was brave and strong and that Poseidon is still proud of him. I also love that even though he was released from his quest Percy is still determined to see the quest through and that Poseidon waits for him to make the choice himself and then gives him the pearls. I also love the change from the book where there are four pearls, I think they did this to show that Poseidon also cares about Sally.

Speaking of Sally, that flashback scene in ep 7 where she talks to Poseidon was so heartbreaking. Seeing her so broken and feeling like she is failing as a mother really pulls at your heartstrings but then when Poseidon does come he immediately reassures her. I also loved how when she says he doesn't want to know why she doesn't want Percy to go to camp, he still encourages her to tell him because he knows that she needs to get it off her chest and that she doesn't have anybody else to talk to. So even though it'll be painful for him to hear he still bears it for her sake, he allows her to talk it through and helps her come to a decision about their son's future. He doesn't get angry at her when she tells him that she wants Percy to know who he is before his family tries to tell him what they want him to be, he knows that she is right so instead he reassures her as best as he can and assures her that Percy will be stronger for it in the end because she, his mother, raised him well.

The moment when she asks him if he wants to talk to Percy just so he can hear his voice was another heart wrenching moment because its clear how much Poseidon longs to speak with his son. But then there is that rumble of thunder, almost like Zeus is warning him not to dare. But despite not speaking to him in that moment Poseidon says one day, when Percy knows who he is, where he belongs and what his true path is then he'll be right by his side. I think when he says this he is not just making this promise to Sally or to Percy, he's also promising himself it.

One little detail I did notice in this scene that kind of got at me though is that throughout their conversation Poseidon doesn't look at Sally once, it's like he can't bear too, she doesn't look at him either and its like its either too painful for them to make eye contact or like they feel its forbidden for them to look at each other. So instead Poseidon just stares either straight ahead or down at the bar, he doesn't look at her or at Percy. That is until Sally asks that question of does he want to talk to his son and that's when Poseidon looks over to Percy for the first time, he just can't help himself, he needs one glance and its such a simple gesture but in this context it is so emotional and moving, like honestly it was genius writing and the actors really sold it.

So now we are at my favourite scene in the season and that is the moment when Poseidon shows up to protect Percy from Zeus. This scene was just so amazing, like the significance of Poseidon surrendering to Zeus, it was more than just him surrendering the war and giving Zeus victory and glory, in that moment he was laying down his pride for the sake of his son. His son's life was more important to him than power or glory or pride and the significance of that moment is shown by Zeus' disbelief that Poseidon is doing this. For me I think it was a great emotional payoff and definitely worth them changing the plot so that the deadline had passed and that they were actually at war and not just preparing for it, allowing this surrender to happen. I think this moment also really proved to Percy that not only does his father love and care for him but that he is his father's top priority, that he really will do anything for him.

l also love how Poseidon calls Zeus out when he says Percy is forbidden and shouldn't exist, by pointing out that he had Thalia and like Thalia, Percy is a hero who will inspire others.

The conversation between Poseidon and Percy is also really moving, when Poseidon notes that obedience doesn't come naturally to Percy and that the sea doesn't like to be restrained I actually think he was proud to see those qualities in his son, that he very much does have the nature of the sea, like his father. The part when Percy asks if gods dream and if Poseidon ever dreams about Sally was very sweet and even though Poseidon doesn't say anything I think we all know what the answer is.

One thing that did strike me about the dynamic between Poseidon and Percy is that whenever Poseidon appears to Percy, whether that's through Nereid or himself directly, he is always there in a form of protection and reassurance. The first time when Percy falls from the arch, he physically protects him by saving him and then when Percy is panicking whilst trapped he reassures him, in ep 6 when Percy reaches the meeting place too late he protects him emotionally by reassuring him that its not his fault and then gives him the pearls as further protection to allow him to escape the underworld and then in the moment in the finale, he physically protects him from Zeus and also reassures him when Percy admits that he isn't obedient, adding the sir trying to be respectful because he's afraid his father might be upset with him, but Poseidon reassures him by saying that basically its the sea's nature to be untamed and Percy is of the sea. But yeah, I really do think that with Poseidon they really wanted to embody the idea of a Father's protection.

Zeus

Honestly we saw so little of Zeus that I don't have much to say. I think the actor did a good job of making him seem powerful, vengeful and terrifying. It was interesting that unlike Hades he seemed somewhat unbothered by the news that Kronos is trying to rise. I do think that this may have been a bit of a front though because Percy definitely hit a nerve with that line about Kronos coming to put Zeus back in his place and the whole your family only obey you out of fear not out of love.

The Luke Reveal

I'll be honest. I was a little worried about the reveal, having read the books I already knew that he was the true lightening thief and so knew the reveal was coming and my concern was that we hadn't really seen much of Luke or his friendship with Percy so I was a tad bit worried that the reveal wouldn't be all that impactful. But I am happy to say that I was wrong I actually think they did a really good job with the reveal and I would actually argue that it was better than even the book.

I am really glad that they added in the flashback scene of Luke helping Percy with his sword work in the beginning of the episode. Not only did it set up Percy defeating Ares but it also reminded the audience of that friendship between Luke and Percy. I very much got a sibling vibe from them, like Luke was an older brother that had taken Percy under his wing.

I feel like the way the wrote the reveal scene in the show added alot more nuance to it, in the books it was like yeah I betrayed you scorpion attack, but here it seems like both Luke and Percy are more conflicted. I believed Luke when he said that his actions weren't meant as a betrayal but a recruitment and that he was Percy's friend but that the god's were his enemy. It also seemed like Percy partly understood where Luke was coming from and hoped he could convince Luke to change his mind. The whole scene was very emotional and very tense and it went down hill fast after Percy mentioned Hermes and this brought out Luke's rage.

I think adding Annabeth to the scene and having her reveal herself when she did and announce that she heard everything, only heightened that tension and made it even more emotional. Now it wasn't just the betrayal Percy felt but we got to see the betrayal Annabeth felt. Also when Luke sees Annabeth, that look he gives her hits you right where it hurts and only adds to the heartbreak of it all, again the cast just did an amazing job, I don't have a single bad thing to say about any of their performances.

Another interesting detail in this scene though was the lighting. Because of the fireworks going off in the background it really did make some intriguing lighting choices. Like I noticed that as Percy is figuring out that Luke was the one who betrayed him, Luke was mostly lit in a red colour but around Percy the lightening was mostly greens, blues and that same golden colour that nereid glowed. Red associated with blood, war and danger and the blues, greens and golden colours associated with the sea. The changing lights also made it seem a little more creepy, like you are in one of those haunted mansion rides with flickering lights.

The Trio

The dynamic between the trio was also great to watch and to see grow as the season continued. I think each of them had their moments to shine and they worked really well off each other. I particularly loved seeing the friendship grow between Percy and Annabeth and seeing how close they became, their hugs were really cute and the comment made by Luke saying that they were like an old married couple was funny too and kinda accurate. I liked that at the beginning of the quest they were all kind of at odds with each other, Percy and Annabeth didn't particularly like each other and were very much strangers, Percy was still feeling a bit betrayed by Grover after the whole Nancy fountain thing and I think there was still tension between Grover and Annabeth because of Thalia. Having that tension at the beginning made it all the more satisfying to see them work through those issues and become stronger friends come the end of their quest.

Now some might think I am being negative about Grover here but I want to assure everyone that I mean this as a compliment not a slight but one thing that surprised me and that I thought was a great addition to his character is how manipulative and calculating Grover could be at times. And what I mean by that is like when he manipulated Ares into pretty much revealing that he was in on the theft of the lightening bolt, it was a really interesting side to Grover's character and honestly I hope we see more of that side of him in future seasons.

Another that I thought was interesting was Annabeth's relationship with her mother, especially as we never actually see Athena. It is clear that her mother's respect means alot to her and when her mother turns her back on her you can see that it really hurts her. I loved Annabeth's growth throughout the series, at the start she is very much chasing glory and wanting to go on a quest and prove herself, she's living the life the gods want her to live. But I think the more time she spends with Percy the more she sees that it shouldn't have to that way, which is why I love the moment when she chooses to stay after Percy is trapped in the chair and try to get him out, she chooses her friend over the glory she could win by completing the quest and over winning back her mother's approval.

Now when it comes to Percy I just think Walker really brought that character to life, I really cannot praise his performance enough. I loved his sass and his defiance and the fight he had. He had so many great moments throughout the season, I loved it whenever he stood up to the gods, like he knew no fear, they tried to say this is how its going to be and this is what you are going to do and he just said no, I'm going to do what is right, what my mother raised me to do and you're all going to have to deal with it. I mean its not necessarily the smartest move to speak back to god but I still admire his gumption.

Special Effects

I also really loved the visuals in the series, all the monsters looked great and I loved the aesthetic of camp, Olympus also looked amazing. The stand out for me though has to be Nereid. The glow and her seaweed hair, it just looked so beautiful and bewitching, so shout out the the special effects team.

There is probably so much more I could talk about, but this is getting really long so I am going to leave it here, my ask box is always open so if I missed anything feel free to message. Overall despite there being a couple of issues I think they could work on, I mostly really enjoyed the series and I really hope we get a season two, I'd definitely be interested in watching it.

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Lucky, the Inscrutable (Franco, 1967)

This was made when Jess Franco was working with substantive budgets, so it looks like a real movie and not just ninety minutes of him zooming in and out of Lina Romay's crotch. (For the record, I have no qualms with the latter.) I'm sure he figured out ways to keep costs down, but this does look like a relatively lavish production and makes good use of its different locations. I watched this on Youtube in a 360p rip, which was probably not ideal, but perhaps because the transfer was taken from a restoration, the movie still looked pretty nice. That being said, this still has some classic Franco flavour, like his trademark nightclub performance scenes.

Anyway, this is a spy spoof with wall-to-wall attempted comedy that might be better appreciated by those who didn't throw this on because they woke up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep and are better able to keep up with the fast talking in thick accents. This relies pretty heavily on Bruno Nicolai's jaunty score to fool you into thinking there are laffs, but sophisticated viewers will not be deceived by this ruse. To be perfectly honest, I prefer Franco's sense of humour when the film surrounding it is a lot flimsier (see: What a Honeymoon), as his delivery here feels pretty leaden, but occasionally the jokes are so lame they cross back over to being funny. (See: Franco's cameo as a vagrant. "You're hungry? I'm Hungarian!")

All that being said, this is worth a look for Rosalba Neri, who plays an Albanian Communist police chief who handles a whip real good (another Franco trademark) and later, in one of the movie's only actually clever gags, has a love scene with the hero against a background of photographs of Marx and Mao and with little comic book style speech bubbles superimposed on the screen, and forgets to put her pants back on afterwards. I enjoyed her presence. The movie could have used more of her.

[elliepassmore]

Never A Hero review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: time travel, morally gray characters, magic

Only A Monster review

Have you ever had a series where you liked the first book but didn't love it, but then read the second book and it completely elevated your opinion? That's what this book did for me. I liked Only A Monster but wasn't in love with it (even though I rated it 5 stars, don't @ me I have rating problems). But this book definitely hooked me. I liked where and who the characters were when this book opened, I enjoyed the adventure they went on, and overall I was more interested in seeing how it ended and was more desperate for the next book when I finished.

Joan was less naïve coming into this book and was still grappling with the implications of everything that happened over summer. She's obviously struggling with her heritage and has vowed not to time travel ever again, but is also still having fade outs where her mind dangerously tries to make her travel without time. As the action picks up, we see that Joan is still hugely protective and loyal toward the Hunts, despite the mixed emotions she feels toward them. She's determined to ensure that they're taken care of while at the same time she's trying to survive herself. We get to see even more of her complicated emotions regarding her monster heritage and her feelings of loyalty toward humans, which I liked. I wasn't so much a fan of how she decided to take such a morally high road that she didn't even use the trinkets that hold time. Like, girl, it's already been stolen, it's not going to become any less stolen if you don't use it and hurting yourself to avoid using it doesn't do anyone any good.

I loved Aaron from the get-go in book 1, but he does fall downhill here a little bit. It's not...entirely his fault, but I did hope he'd snap out of things faster. That being said, Aaron does make the right decision and returns to being his hilariously privileged but lovable self. His and Joan's friendship continues to be one of my favorite parts of this series and I'm very excited that he'll be in book 3 from the beginning.

Nick comes back in and I liked him again! I felt, in general, like he was much better this time around than he was in the other timeline. We get to see a different side to him this time around. He's gentler and more caring, and his protectiveness over humanity now gets extended to Joan and some of the other people they meet along the way. I think Nick is a more complex, nuanced character in this book than he was in book 1, and part of that is that he is able to make his own decision and come to his own conclusions in this one vs. in the first book when he was manipulated behind the scenes every step of the way (or almost every step).

I'm going to be honest and say I kind of had mixed feelings about the plot for a large portion of the book. Don't get me wrong, I really liked that Joan was forced on the run and there seemed to be this big mystery about the timeline. I also really liked how we got more insight into the true timeline as well as some of the other families we briefly came into contact with in book 1. That being said, I felt a little weird about Eleanor (new character), though I came around to her role in things toward the end. It's just, she felt cartoonish at first, but as more was revealed, more of both her complexity and her monstrosity became apparent. I like a good villain, even if I don't root for them, and Eleanor shaped up to be a good villain. I'm very interested to see where she goes and what she does in book 3 (also kind of scared at some of the implications for how the team is going to fix this).

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one and it really elevated my opinion of the series as a whole. The villain in this one is more nuanced, and we get more nuance for our other characters and their past actions as well, which I particularly liked. The ending is definitely a banger and I'm looking forward to seeing how our protagonists get out of this one.

[thealmightyemprex]

Sci Fi Month Review 7 : Roger Cormans Fantastic Four

For this review…..We're looking at something special,the unreleased Fantastic Four movie

In this 1994 film Scientist Reed Richards(Alex Hyde-White ) and his companions Sue Storm (Rebecca Staab ),Johnny Storm (Jay Underwood ). and Ben Grimm(Michael Bailey Smith) take a space flight to study a comet,but things go wrong and the four find themselves changed with extraordinary powers and in the clutches of the mysterious figure named Doctor Doom (Joseph Culp )

So Marvel is huge now in mainstream American pop culture ……But that wasnt always the case.I'll just be honest people ,I am hesitant looking at pre Blade/X Men/Spider-Man live action Marvel adaptations cause they can be …Rough .I mean theres some gems ,I will always love The Incredible Hulk TV show starring Bill Bixby and even have a soft spot for the subsequent TV movies based on that show …..But then you have the 1990 Captain America movie ,Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD starring David Hasselhoff and of course,Howard the Duck .One that has always fascinated me is this film because in fandom circles for many years it was infamous for being the Marvel movie so bad ,they never released it (Which isnt the case truth is more complicated and capitalistic ,basically the film was a way to maintain rights ),a film you could only find as bootlegs at conventions,seen as a geeky oddity along the same lines as the Star Wars Holiday Special .Now you can find it on youtube (Which is how I watched it ) ,and having watched it……I think this film is kind of underrated and I am sad it did not get a proper release

So I gotta explain myself :As a kid some of my earliest comic memorie were reading the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run of Fantastic Four ,and my dad had the complete series of the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon ….So the Fantastic Four have a special place for me .From the pathos of the Things plight ( a man trapped in the body of a monster ),to the sci fi adventure,to the romance of Reed and Susan ,to the grand villainy of Doctor Doom(Heck a slew of great villains),to the feeling of family ,the Fantastic Four appealed to me .....And I am kind of grumpy that Fantastic Four lacks a great adaptation that captures the spirit .Now there is no shortage of Fantastic Four adaptations out there.....But most of them,at least for me,are kind of mid ,specifically the film adaptations have left a lot to be desired .The Tim Story duology has the humor and the four leads relatively right ,but drops the ball in that they dont DO much and completely misrepresent the villains ,and 2015's Fant4stic might be the worst comic book movie I have ever seen .However this film ,while not the definitive film version I crave and not really a great movie .....IS the BEST movie version of the Fantastic Four and a fairly decent super hero film I feel

Now there is a lot I could make fun of ,its very flawed,like keep in mind ....This was produced by Roger Corman ,they didnt have much of a budget ,so the visual effects are a bit cheesy and bad(The CG Human Torch looks like he is straight out of Reboot ) but I dunno I find them charming .The only lack of budget thing that bothered me is the dialogue of Doctor Doom.....In that they didnt either have the money to loop him or think to loop him(HAve him record his lines later ) which is a problem cause Doom is clanking about and is wearing a mask that muffles his speech......So I dont know what the main villain is SAYING sometimes (Credit to Joseph Culp who does project very well so I know 75% of his dialogue but that 25 % is annoying ).My main flaws are the romance elements ,from the creepy Reed falling for Susan who he knew as a child to Ben and ALicia being in love despite meeting ONCE(And even that scene is a bit creepy ).We also have a subplot that frustrates me as the film has two villains ,Doctor Doom of course.....But then you have the Jeweler.Now the Jeweler was supposed to be the Mole Man ,a guy who due to his physical appearence has cast aside society to live underground and was actually the fours first villain.....Till Marvel said "NO you have the rights to this select group of character,not the Mole Man " ,so he was reworked into the Jeweler ....And I think they should have cut him out.Now I like the idea of his subplot ,him falling for Alicia and trying to make her his queen ,inviting Ben who has now become the monstrus thing to joing his group and Ian Trigger actually gives a great performance ,being creepy but also having a sense of sadness (He reminds me of what Tim Burton tried to do with the Penguin in Batman Returns ) ,and while the name is changed,its a good adaptation of the Mole Man .........Pity he adds nothing to the film other then causing the accident that makes the four the four and kidnapping Alicia,things that Doctor Doom couldve easilly done .I mean it folks in the grand scheme of things,the Jewler is pointless,he never fights the Fantastic Four and he just kind of runs off before the third act .I like the performance and the plot idea,but it shouldve been reworked or cut

Thaaaatttt said.....I still like the movie.....BEcause of the Fantastic Four movies.....Its the bonly one to get that Fantastic Four feel to me:A fun lighthearted sci fi adventure and thats what I want from Fantastic Four .The Four feel in character,its accurrate to the source material andits the only one to get Doctor Doom right at ALL(Actually keeping that he is the King of Latveria and hinting at doombots ).Yes the film is low budget but it makes that budget work ,heck the comic accurate sewn spandex costumes for the Four are charming to me because in universe the costumes are made by Susan and they legit look like something she could make herself (An issue I have with a lot of superhero movie costumes ment to be handmade ).Doctor Doom looks like he stepped right out of the comics with the green cloak and tunic combo and metal mask /armor ,I love this look for Doom .The Thing looks pretty good too with an animatronic face that brings to mind the old Jack Kirby design and stunt man Carl Ciafalio gives a good physical performance (THoughI do find it amusing that the Thing is SMALLER then his human persona Ben Grimm,played by Michael Bailey Smith ) .No one in the main cast is bad ,alll these actors are giving it their alll .I have already discussed my soft spot for Ian Trigger as the Jewler, Rebecca Staab is a good Susan ,and Jay Underwood is a suitable Johnny .Michael Bailey Smith is a good Ben Grimm and he also does a decent job voicing the Thing and bringing the appropriate pathos (Though I do wish he had the Things signature Brooklyn accent ).Alex Hyde White might be my favorite Reed Ritchards really selling both the scientist and the leader aspect .Biggest props have to go Joseph Culp,who delivers a great performance despite being in a vfery uncomfortable costume with a mask that muffles his speech,and is able to project well ,make grand gestures (Inspired by real tyrants like Mussolini ) but also make him a fun eloquent villain who still has a sense of humor with a good hero villain dynamic with Reed .Also he is CONSTANTLY evil laughing ,and I dig it

I like this movie ,there is clearly a lot of heart in this movie .....Which makes me sad that the film was mistreated by those at the top.Its not a lost masterpiece ,but it is an highly entertaining B movie that pays tribute to its source material

@ariel-seagull-wings @filmcityworld1 @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @goodanswerfoxmonster @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

[pollyssecretlibrary]

“Wild Love”, by Elsie Silver

I was sent an advanced copy by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review First book of a new series; “Rose Hill” RELEASE DATE - April 9th, 2024 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

“𝓘 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓴𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓰𝓮𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾”

Reading “Wild Love” reconciled me with Elsie Silver’s books. I had my faith and love for her storyteller restored since the last books I read from her just entertained me, but didn’t leave a mark in me. I have read almost all of the books in her previous series, of which only two are favorites of mine, especially the second one, “Heartless”. Funnily enough, that book and this one are linked in that the hero of this novel, Ford, is the older brother of the heroine of that one, Willa. And now that I’ve finished reading “Wild Love” which of the two books are my all time Elsie Silver favorites: “Heartless” or “Wild Love”? I can’t answer to that.

The problem these days is that many authors are quite influenced by the trends, so the books are to my liking, quite unbalanced. In general, the spicy element is heavier than the romance, while it should be the other way around for me to really enjoy it or at least 50-50. The last few books before this one did not feel 100% Elsie Silver, and I’m sorry that I need to point this out because I know what she’s capable of, and she has demonstrated it this time. Still, the stories were good because a good storyteller cannot be completely erased, just not what I was hoping for.

Focusing on “Wild Love” and the reason why I had to clarify my opinion on the previous books is that I didn’t have the highest expectations for this book, I knew I was going to have a good time with it, but not much more. So allow me to express how pleasantly surprised I was when I was well into the book and I found myself rooting for these characters, enjoying their stories and the slow burn and proper development of the romance thanks to the writer’s magic words. There are so many things I would love to talk about, so many scenes, so many…. Let’s say “Mr Darcy’s hand” kind of scenes that I can’t really tell you about for fear of spoilers. I can only thank Elsie Silver for proving me wrong and for putting me in my place. I stand corrected. What a joy it was for me to see Ford and Rosie slowly fall in love, or at least realizing that they are in love, the banter, the playful dialogues, the support, the understanding, the longing! This story does not come without spice, of course, but the scenes come naturally, as sexy as romantic, a fulfilling of the love they have in common.

This is a brother’s best friend, single dad… with a twist (spoilers, sorry), small town romance about two people whose lives happen to be in turmoil, they’re at a crossroad kind of moment both of them and so they need to figure out which path to take while falling in love at the same time. It’s full of sweet moments and difficult phases from the past, and funny moments with the rest of the characters. Especially Ford’s 12 year old daughter Cora, whose circumstances put Ford in an awkward position and thus they need to find their bonding, with the help of wild Rosie. Highly recommended, what else can I say?

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review #1: Hummingbird Salamander, by Jeff Vandermeer

Okay, so 60 books and a review for each one, totally reasonable New Years resolution, right? Lets go. First up is the one I got for Christmas.

I’ve been a fan of Vadermeer for a long time, and his work’s always worth reading (though the first one I read was Annihilation and nothing he’s written since has really lived up to it). This was no exception – though it was by far the least genre-ficcy thing of his I’ve ever read. Which, low bar – note the lack of invasive xenoforming processes or building-sized flying bears or alternate universes – but still, I kept expecting it to get weirder than it did?

Not that it didn’t get weird – just, ‘technothriller 20 minutes in the future’ weird, not ‘cosmic horror’ weird. Though the ending did blur the lines a bit, I suppose.

The overall tone of oppressive, apocalyptic dread, of everyone just keeping their heads down and trying to keep going about their days as the natural disasters pile up and things keep falling apart, is really very well done and vivid. Even if the politics are a bit deep green and the portrayal worst-case, it really was a future sliding into dystopia and apocalypse that felt plausible and lived in and real, compared with what a lot of climate fiction goes with.

Beyond that – plot wise, the book kind of reminded me of Strange Bird? Not so much because of any of the beats in particular, but just because it felt to a great degree like a story of failure? Like, Jane’s primarily, but also everyone else’s. There’s a lot of bathos, of missed opportunities and fuck ups and conversations that never happen and relationships ruined and people hurt for basically no gain at all. There are multiple time skips where Jane just gives up for months or years, too. The ending’s a bit redemptive, a bit transcendent, but even that – Silvina died too, and she was as close to a world-shaking heroine as the story can provide. And a lot of the suffering on the way to the ending was less necessary and more just bad luck.

Jane as a protagonist was interesting – so self-deluding, so self-destructive, so totally incapable of having a single open and honest conversation with literally anyone. To the extent the book is a technothriller, ‘security consultant whose also a former semi-pro bodybuilder and built like a brick shithouse’ sure feels like a description of a Tom Clancy knockoff’s hero (and it’s definitely a case where taking a very generic character and gender-flipping them makes them much more interesting), even if all the muscle mass in the world didn’t really end up helping too often against knives and rifles.

Anyway, as usual with Vandermeer the prose was lovely, and the cryptozoology believable and downright hauntingly beautiful to read about. Guy really should just write a birdwatching guide, or something – he’s very clearly in love with nature, in a way that’s halfway uncanny but always lovely when you read it.

Still not better than Annihilation, but not at all unhappy about having read it.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount

4/5. Releases 9/24/24.

Vibes: cat and mouse, con artistry, heroine stomping her foot and going "ERRRGH" while the hero smirks

Heat Index: 6/10

Honoria Hartley doesn't want to marry--and that doesn't seem to be an issue, as she's been betrothed since childhood to the long-lost Viscount Vandemere. The last thing she expects is Vandemere showing up on her dootstep; and it's much worse than that. The man claiming to be the viscount is Oscar Flint, a con artist Honoria had a run-in with a year before (she probably shouldn't have told him about the missing viscount). She's determined to avoid marrying him--he's determined to pull off a con with his life on the line. Now, if they can only stop kissing...

One of the best things about Vivienne Lorret is her sense of humor as a writer, and this book is a perfect example of that. From the very beginning, you have this snarky interplay between the truly bratty (in the best way) and headstrong Honoria and the very smarmy yet very charming Oscar. It feels kind of like a screwball comedy, with the two of them--especially Honoria--going to increasingly ridiculous lengths to one-up each other. I'm talking like... disguises. Eyepatches. Honoria comes from a theatrical family, and Lorret takes full advantage of that.

It is a little cluttered at points, if I'm being honest--we have not only Honoria and Oscar falling in love and digging at each other, but an entire family attempting to get rid of Oscar. However, there's such a charming chemistry between the two of them--and so many hilarious moments--I could forgive a little plot lagging here and there. I wouldn't call this enemies to lovers, but it's definitely rivals to lovers, and if you're down with that... this is for you.

Quick Takes:

--I'm so used to romance novels starring plain heroines or heroines who are pretty and just don't realize it... Honoria is super pretty and very much realizes it. Oscar first meets her in total disguise (Honoria loves a disguise) and his dismay at realizing that she is in fact, just as pretty as she claimed to be, is excellent content. If only she wasn't hot!

Genuinely, the characterization of Oscar and Honoria is the best part of the book. They're both kind of disasters, and they act absolutely ridiculous over each other. It's just a lot of fun.

--At the same time, the stakes are fairly high. Lorret balances that tone with her turn of phrase, but she doesn't totally abandon the touches of darkness the plot necessitates. I mean, there is very much an executioner's bland hanging over Oscar's neck for a lot of this book. But he's so wry and clever that you don't always remember that. It's not a bad thing--the opposite, actually.

--It's honestly kind of nice to see a plot that's really zany, even if I think the pacing between the lovers could've been a bit faster. This reminds me a little of older historicals. You definitely feel the big swings coming, and I appreciate that.

--I love the Hartley family. So fun to read a historical in which the parents are into each other and the mom in particular is such a romantic. A romantic who wants her daughter to realize how important it is to get yours!

--I can't get into one thread that I was excited about... which turn out to not be that. It did make me wish that we saw more historical heroines who aren't particularly into the idea of having babies.

The Sex:

There are about 3.5-ish sex scenes, two of which sort of run into each other. They're all well-done and hot, though I think we definitely could've gotten a little more creative. But in my opinion, the hottest scene of the book is actually a RIDICULOUS picnic that has some of the most insane erotic eating content I've ever read. I was laughing, but at the same it was like... YES?

A con artist romcom is always fun, and this is no exception. Pick it up when you're in the mood for a romp, especially if you like the idea of heroines just! Not! Wanting! To admit! They're into someone!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my won.

[shadowyjellyfishgladiator]

Let's Talk... Dark Cloud

Not gonna call it review because I want to merely just talk about my game experience and what's on my mind rather than think too hard about formally rating the experience. I am going with the lens of if I liked it I liked it and if I didn't I didn't. I will talk also have some critical things to say as I remember them but... yeaaah. The game has a very basic story of a normal young boy who gets into a fantastic adventure and (SPOILERS) it kinda ends on that note too. It's a very circular story which is not bad and gives us that satisfying feeling. Most of the story involved somehow isn't even about the main character? The only thing that has the MC (Toan) that involved is that he was chosen by the Fairy King and he has the most improtant dungeon "skill" and all important accesory. Throughout the game there are nuggets of the MC being the son of a legendary hero. So, basically he is following in his footsteps. But none of that seems to matter much to the story as a whole? For some reason his own village doesn't even give him the treatment of him being related to someone important and really I don't mind too much to be honest. The cast all have their own stories that make them individually interesting but as a whole... you don't really see them interact much which again takes me back to the end... the journey happens and just seems to end. It kinda gives the feeling of reading a book but not making lasting connections? In the end, the boy returns home with his cat, who so conveniently happened to come around at the start of this journey and the mom doesn't comment on becoming a human-like creature for the duration of the story. Besides some of the dungeon areas I didn't find switching characters all that useful either. I did try to split up the fruit of eden and gourds evenly... But once I had Xiao good and ready I sling shotted everyone and everything. Who cares about getting the strongest sword? Melee weapons broke too easily in this game for my play style... I'll be honest and I was not gonna fight the terrible camera angles all throughout the game. The sling shot is the best weapon in this game. Perhaps the ring is also an option but again, why start over building up rings for Ruby when I had already built-up Xiao's slingshots? The game does make my dungeon crawling heart excited and I love to play it and fall asleep as I play. The Dark Cloud sound track is essentially my sleep play list. It also has the best ASMR. The most frustrating things in the game are bad camera angles, always being broke, repairing weapons making melee weapons useless, the Baron Garayan, the Georama. The Georama is supposed to be fun but there were times it felt more like a chore. All in all though it was a very fun game! I secured the platinum under my partner's account finally! The dungeon crawling it self and making up certain goals gives it playing value for sure. I got through all 99 floors of the bonus dungeon and fought the secret boss and he would be the last to defeat other than beating the game again (No trophy by the way) and I felt accomplished. I stopped upgrading my strongest sling shot because after a while I had maxed everything out except ATK and maybe MGC? Which didn't matter anyways since I had defeated all the big bosses. I have moved onto the 2nd game already and I am already forming thoughts. I think that I should probably post regular updates on my experience.

[triviareads]

ARC Review of The Scandal of Rose by Joanna Shupe

Rating: 4/5 Heat Level: 4/5 Publication Date: October 2nd

Premise:

Actress Rose o'Donahue propositions tycoon Moore Emerson for a one-night stand only, but Moore wants to make her his permanent mistress.

My review:

This was a high-heat, age-gap, mistress romance set in the Gilded Age that reminded me that Joanna Shupe's self-published works are SUPER HOT and honestly in a class of their own as far as historicals go. It's also quite rare to read a true mistress romance in historical romances, so I appreciated that as well.

Rose is a nineteen year old stage actress who has exactly the kind of gumption and assertiveness I love to read in historical heroines. She propositions the much-older Moore (he's thirty-eight) after she notices him coming to every single one of her performances for weeks, and ultimately agrees to be his mistress.

Interestingly, Moore is quite sweet as far as Joanna Shupe heroes go. He's older and worldly and a silver fox(!!) but has his moments of shame about the age gap, and he falls for Rose *quite* fast, all things considered. But in line with the classist attitudes of the time, he doesn't see her as wife material until later in the book. And that's what made most sense to me as far as what was stopping Moore and Rose from truly being together, because there are external factors that basically corner Moore into getting engaged to someone else, but I found it quite hard to believe a master-of-the-universe type like Moore could be so easily conned; the class difference keeping Rose and Moore apart made a lot more sense than Moore being "trapped" in the way he is.

There is a grovel at the end, which I did enjoy just for how much money and effort Moore put in.

The sex:

I mean, this book starts with cum-eating so.... there's your baseline lol. It's definitely higher-heat than Joanna's traditionally published romances.

I also REALLY loved that Moore basically refuses to stick it in until Rose agrees to be his mistress, so they're like, not-so-dry humping every day for a week which.... was hilarious. And not any less hot imo. Plus that man is obsessed with eating her out so, winner.

And as always this book would not be complete without classic Joanna Shupe dirty talk.

Thank you to Joanna Shupe for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[cogentranting]

My 2023 Reads

See below for the full list of the books I read and a 1-2 sentence review of each.

Fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Italicized- reread

Cloud Cuckoo Land (Anthony Doerr) - It's like a combination of All the Light We Cannot See, Cloud Atlas and The Book Thief, except not quite as good as any of those. Good, just not as good.

The Stolen Heir (Holly Black) - Highly recommend if YA fantasy romance is your thing

On the Incarnation (Athanasius of Alexander) - one of the foundational works of early Christian theology

Klara and the Sun (Kazuo Ishiguro) - Beautiful, and lovely, and thoughtful and bittersweet

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo (Tolkien translation) - technically this is poetry but its also narrative so I grouped it with fiction. Green Knight is very fun. Pearl is quite boring.

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution (Louise Perry) - I highly recommend this, just be cautious because it has some very frank discussions of some very hard topics so there's a whole bunch of language and trigger warnings attached to this recommendation

Justification Reconsidered: Rethinking a Pauline Theme (Stephen Westerholm) - I'm going to be honest-- I don't remember what I thought of this book. It was for school and I also did a bunch of research on the topic and I don't remember what part of that research this constituted.

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (J.I. Packer) - I read a few chapters of this for a research project last year and liked it enough to buy myself a copy and read the whole thing for fun

The Warden and the Wolf King (Andrew Peterson) - Book 3 of this series (this is 4) remains my favorite but this one is really good and is a beautiful culmination of the themes

The Elements of Eloquence (Mark Forsyth) - About as good as a book that is just explaining various rhetorical figures can be.

The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Richard Bauckham) -THIS book right here I want to read again. This book made me fall in love with Revelation.

King of Scars (Leigh Bardugo) -It's the reason why I'm very upset over the cancellation of the Shadow and Bone tv series (because I won't get to see more of my boy Nikolai) but it's fine

The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims (Rebecca McLaughlin) - A very useful book, very accessible

Rule of Wolves (Leigh Bardugo) - But seriously I love Nikolai and I mostly really enjoyed this duology.

The Waste Land and Other Early Poems (T.S. Eliot) - So many words saying so many things and maybe I'll know what they mean if I read this another 30 or 40 times.

Notes From Underground (Fyodor Dostoevsky) - Very different from other Dostoevsky but fascinating in its own way

The Scarlet Pimpernel (Emmuska Orczy) - It's a romp

Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue - genuinely very very helpful to me and just randomly was emailed to me as a pdf by some site that I ended up on the email list for

The Great Hunt (Robert Jordan) - I do not have faith in this series being good over time but at book 2 they're fun

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) -It really is that good.

Original Sin: A Cultural History (Alan Jacobs) - a really interesting exploration of the idea

Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) - The Space Trilogy is great because it just has such a different feel from most of the other sci fi I've read

Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been (Jackie Hill Perry) - Perry has such a lovely poetic way of telling her story

Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (Karen Swallow Prior) - This book is really lovely and peaceful and reflective

A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin) -honestly was not very impressed by this. It was fine.

Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) - If you're really into the Russian classics, I would recommend this, but there's like 6 others I would recommend first.

Firefly: Big Damn Hero (James Lovegrove, Nancy Holder) -If you want the book equivalent of a solid but not stand-out filler episode of Firefly

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories (Ken Liu) -I ranked all of the short stories in this on my blog if you search for it. Some are great. Some are not.

All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr) - It's really really good. A book you just want to sit with.

The Chalice of the Gods (Rick Riordan) - Kinda the same vibe as the Firefly one. It's good to see Percy again, it's a fun time, it's not taking any big swings or doing anything particularly new. But I did really enjoy the thematic linking of which gods were chosen to be a part of the story.

Dracula (Bram Stoker) - It's Tumblr, I don't need to review this here.

Biblical Critical Theory: How The Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture (Christopher Watkin) - This book is really big but it has so much good stuff in it. Well worth the read.

An Experiment in Criticism (C.S. Lewis) - There was quite I while through this one where I was not really jiving with it, but then at the end he pulls it together and I really like where he ends up, as evidenced by quoting half of it on posts here.

Poems (C.S. Lewis) - I'm not good enough at reading poetry to review it. There's a few in here that I quite liked though.

For teaching-

1. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)- it's still great. After reading it who knows how many times, it's just so good.

2. The Crucible (Arthur Miller)- The character work in here is fantastic, and I really do like it a lot, but if Miller understood grace a bit better? the ending could be phenomenal.

3. Long Way Gone (Ishmael Beah)- It's not my favorite but it is really powerful and worth reading and the kids were really invested in it