#I only have like one more audiobook until I have to find a new series...

[canterbury-bell]

Fanart for Chapter 4 of @beanandberry's excellent AU where Jax and Ragatha are new neighbors <3 Here Jax (whose dad pays for absolutely everything) made up a health crisis to visit Ragatha at her ER nurse job... but she still has to actually check him out before she can let him leave, and it's closer than they've been before.

[longsightmyth]

Books read in January 2025

I said one day I'd do it and I found myself laying awake in bed instead of sleeping and went. You know what. I should do that.

A Duke In Shining Armor, by Loretta Chase

3.5 stars

I won't say this is a dud, because Loretta Chase never truly writes duds, but it is. Perhaps. A little less riveting than the Loretta Chase novels I am used to.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, by Loretta Chase

4.5 stars

WE'RE BACK, BABY. We stan a lady ready to fight parliament, the regent, and probably god. With an umbrella. Whilst informing an ingrate duke that he is, in fact, an ingrate. They find love through the power of Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mom defeats their enemies through politely worded social threats in one (ONE) carriage ride with the offender. Her dad leaves it in her mom's capable hands and asks if they want tea. Her meek outwardly socially conforming sister is sniffing out competent legal and parliamentary aids one at a time and delivering them to her father like a cat leaving dead mice. The sister might marry of them later if she thinks they're competent enough.

Komarr, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

Reread. Apparently when I get brain frozen I pick up Bujold or Aaronovitch. Go figure. Ekaterin is still the queen of my heart.

Daindreth's Assassin, by Elizabeth Wheatley

3.5 stars

The beginning of this was very good, but unfortunately started going downhill once the romance kicked into gear, mostly because I wasn't sold on the eternal curse-breaking devotion happening so fast. In fairness this was also about the time I swapped to audiobook, which could have accounted for it: I didn't quite jive with the delivery.

The Arbella Stuart Conspiracy, by Alexandra Walsh

0.25 stars

You read that right. Storygraph lets me give quarter stars and unfortunately I had to use them. I spent entirely too long throwing increasingly deranged snippets and summaries of what was happening at an increasingly incredulous @oldshrewsburyian AS WELL AS the bookening, who were perhaps less surprised at the poor prose, worse character development, abysmal representation of historical research, and nonsensical plot progression but only because there is literally a thread in the bad books channel called 'Myth's Bad Tudor Habit.' I really think that anyone who decides to make up from wholecloth a conspiracy theory about Kathryn Howard having secret legitimate twin tudor children, one of whom is swapped with Mary Queen of Scots at birth, must simply commit to an alternate history and current timeline. You just have to. There was too much. Lettice Knollys faked being Lizzie 1. None of the executions actually happened except Arbella Stuart was apparently burned at the stake. Her daughter wrote the 'fake history' we know today, which these 'historians' will be killed for discovering for Reasons. It's too much. You have to put some of that back OR you have to link it somehow to earth logic.

A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

You can't read Komarr and not follow up with A Civil Campaign, even if you, like me, read A Civil Campaign before Komarr on the first reading round.

The Goblin Emperor

5 stars

There's a new one in the series out this year, okay? Was I NOT supposed to read about Maia doing kindnesses until he accidentally gains the eternal loyalty of a lot of people, including a political fiancee who is eternally twenty feet too far away to stab people trying to assassinate him and mad about it?

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

Have you accepted our lady and savior Alys Vorpatril into your heart? You should. The book wasn't even technically about her and she still managed to steal the show in her grief and anger and love and loving angry grief. Also she raised her son to be a wifeguy, and boy is he.

My Inconvenient Duke, by Loretta Chase

3.5 stars

Once again I reiterate: this was not a dud. In fact parts of this were really great. Loretta has started interacting more and more with the fact that she is writing historical romances about English Nobility and what that historically... meant. It's possible this one was my own fault, as I went in expecting a second chance romance with a pragmatic lady unafraid to get her hands dirty. That's... not really what this was, and probably waiting for that to happen made me enjoy this less than I might have otherwise.

Long Live Evil, by Sarah Rees Brennan

5 stars

This was published last year and I preordered it and owned it and had to wait to read it because Sarah Rees Brennan's books take some Emotional Commitment and I was pretty sure this was gonna take some brain power and some heart power and possibly some help in the form of the power of friendship and I was CORRECT. A+. We love a man who can follow instructions. We love all of these characters in this house. We love an examination of what stories mean and when characters can become real to us-the-readers and also a good dance number about being evil.

Anyway it's a good time! Prepare to leak snot and saltwater.

[storybook-souls]

top ten books i read in 2024

i read (will have read, when i finish these last two) 72 books this year, and these were the ten (well, okay, fifteen) that i liked best!

1. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

It is so nice to finally get around to a beloved classic that you're pretty sure you'll like and discover that it rules even more than you thought it would. I loved Watership Down. Hazel is an incredibly compelling protagonist, the supporting characters are distinct and interesting and lovable in their own rights, and Adams managed to never let you forget that his characters were rabbits while also keeping his story high-stakes and epic enough to earn all his Homeric and Shakespearean epigraphs. this children's book about rabbits is IT!

2. Some Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh

GOD did this book blow me away! Had me hooked right from the long list of content warnings--it is so refreshing to read a book that doesn't shy away from the ugly reality of misogyny, homophobia, sexual assault, and how it all reinforces each other and is used to prop up those in power. AND that is a fun, phenomenally-paced science fiction story with great characters, crazy situations, and a scene right in the middle that had me sitting on my couch with my mouth wide open for at least half an hour. Kyr and Avi win the award for my favorite new character dynamic this year and I basically haven't stopped thinking about and telling people to read this book since I read it.

3. Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien (read by Andy Serkis)

I re-listened to The Hobbit and the entire LOTR trilogy this year, but ROTK was the one that really stood out to me, probably because it was the one I remembered the least well. It's so tense, so desperate, so hopeless until all of a sudden it's not. And I still love how much time Tolkien spends on the journey home--it's important! It's part of the story! And of course the ending is perfect. And the Andy Serkis audiobooks are excellent. Lord of the Rings forever <3

4. Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, by Benjamin Stevenson

I got on a big mystery kick this summer, and this was my favorite new find to come out of that. This is a mystery for mystery fans, one that starts off with the narrator telling you exactly which page each death will occur on, but doesn't let the genre-savvy gimmicks get in the way of being a well-paced well-plotted mystery with a satisfying solution and a couple little tricks so neat they gave me goosebumps.

5. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

I love Ray Bradbury's short stories, so I'd read quite a few of the ones in here, but there were also several I hadn't read and seeing all of them together in context gave new meaning to even the ones I had read before. He's such a brilliant writer, and he so clearly and precisely uses science fiction to make exactly the points he wants to make. My favorites were "The Third Expedition", "The Martian", "The Long Years", and "The Million Year Picnic".

6. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, by Janice Hallett

I love Janice Hallett and I was really looking forward to this one of her "found materials" mysteries, and it did not disappoint. So many layers to peel back only to find something elegant and deceptively simple at the core. So many insane pencil notes that I got to make in my paperback <3

7. Ptolemy's Gate, by Jonathan Stroud

I finally read the Bartimaeus series after bemoaning that I couldn't think of any series where the last book was also the best, and Ptolemy's Gate sure managed to do it. All the dominoes that had been set up in the previous books finally fell, the characters crashed together in interesting and compelling ways, and the ending felt like exactly where the story had been going all alone.

8. Crooked House, by Agatha Christie

I love Agatha Christie, but I'd never read this one until this year, and I think it's an underrated standout of hers! I really liked how it flipped the traditional locked room into "Literally everyone here had motive and opportunity--but who actually did it and how can we find out?"

9. Shorefall, by Robert Jackson Bennett

This is the second book in the industrial high-fantasy Foundryside trilogy, and it's certainly the best of the three. The stakes are at the perfect level, the villain is terrifying and compelling, the characters and their relationships are at their most interesting, and the plot is one where everything just keeps getting worse and worse and worse!!! <3 As I said on discord while I was reading it, "i love when protagonists have no good options. i love when there's a bunch of factions with their own selfish motivations AND their own misguided way of doing what's 'best for everyone.' i love when antagonists exploit something prideful that the protagonists did in order to totally fuck them over. and most of all i love mind control."

10. Sharks in the Time of Saviors, by Kawai Strong Washburn

I loved this indigenous Hawaiian magical realism book about what it means to be the miracle that's supposed to save your family and people and land, and about what it means to be the parent/sibling of that miracle. Heart-wrenching and delightful.

Honorable Mentions:

11. The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton (weird twisty sci-fi murder mystery!)

12. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis (baseball and math!)

13. Bad Cree, by Jessica Johns (character-driven horror about family and identity!)

14. The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling (cave horror and toxic lesbians!)

15. Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future, by Gloria Dickie (bears!)

if you made it all this way, add me on storygraph for further takes <3

[witchthewriter]

𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔, 𝑨 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 & 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑹𝒆-𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅

Okay, so I'm re-reading all of SJM's books (well, Throne of Glass series, ACOTAR & Crescent City) before the new CC3 book comes out. And I've had some thoughts and opinions ... (I would also love if people wanted to share their 2 cents!)

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝑶𝑮:

・Okay, I guess I'll never have the same exciting feeling when reading this series

・It feels like coming home, honestly.

・When the book ended, I just ... I didn't want it to be over, I felt like Aelin when everyone was going back to their own kingdoms - just stay until the end of Winter!

・I cannot say how much I love Abraxos; he PLAYS in the FLOWERS, and he FALLS IN LOVE. Like??? Can we get a lil book on the Wyverns SJM please! (because technically the game of thrones dragons are actually wyverns. Dragons have four legs and a pair of wings, wyverns have two legs and wins that attach to the front.

・I can't picture Lorcan perfectly in my head and that drives me crazy. And I was also againt Henry Cavill as Rowan, but I can't unsee it. After watching the Witcher...

・

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝑪𝑶𝑻𝑨𝑹:

・I honestly do think Feyre is a bit of a Mary-Sue. Even after all these books, I still don't understand why a mother would ask her youngest to look after the two eldest? Her illiterate youngest child?

・And why is Elan planting FLOWERS in the garden? Why not VEGETABLES? Ffs, or at least edible flowers like wtf.

・Nesta ... I'm one of the people who understand her, but also ... coming from poverty myself, I know what it's like to

・Also can Feyre fall into her female rage a bit? I just feel like she has a lot of pain that she's pushed down, and down and down. She needs to ... have more healing.

・AND HER BECOMING PREGNANT GOD REALLY, it just kinda ... I hate that trope. I only like this trope with Katniss and Peeta: that's how it's done right.

・Having two sisters mated to two best friends, but then the third sister and best friend may not be mated?? It's either all in or all out.

・I wish there was some explanation about the magic involved in not only the mating, but also the cauldron. It's all too ambiguous.

・AND WHAT MAKES MOR POWERFUL?! "Her power is truth." What. Does. That. Even. Mean.

・I did like A Court of Silver Flames though. I thought it was a brilliant book about Nesta's healing.

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝑪:

・It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did ... omg, I have even more characters that I love.

・And I cannot wait until the next book comes out! Although there were some aspects of the book that I found boring; like the viper queen (if I even got that right)

・Also the audiobook for CC & TOG are much more superior than ACOTAR. Even though they have a 'dramatised version,' there's an even better one on Youtube by the reader hag.

・I miss Lehaba so much

・And I saw somewhere that Bryce is the long-lost ruler of a Prythian court? And that Azriel might be one of the Princes of Hel?

・SJM does a great job at forming groups that you feel apart of

・Some people find Hunt boring, I don't ... I, well I rank him above Chaol. Ruhn is cool though, Bryce is incredible. Though I hate when I look up fanart of her and it's just a skinny girl with red hair? She's got golden skin, she's fit but curvy, and I want to see proper representation.

[theonlyendersgamefan]

I hate that it takes 4 books for the bean saga to go from “guys it’s he’s just like ender I promise. Remember ender? You liked him right? He’s just like ender” to genuinely good well written political thriller.

Orson Scott card developed this chronic illness sometime in the early 1990s which rendered him unable to write more than one compelling story line in a book at a time. There were experimental treatments done while he was writting shadow of the giant but they had to stop due to funding issues. His books weren’t selling very well.

Best example of this is actually outside of the bean saga entirely. Children of the mind, universally considered to be the worst of the original quartet and I would argue that it’s one of his weakest books of all time. Children of the mind actually has several compelling premises. 4 to be exact. Way to many for any to be well developed enough as to be compelling. You have Jane trying to find a new body, and peter and wang-wu planet hoping to influence government, and ender trying to get back with novinha, and everyone else trying to find thé descoladorians.

Only the intergalactic odyssey feels like it was given any real care. The other story lines feel thrown together like they exist purely to finish up the series and put a bow on top and say “here publishing house I did the thing” which ofcourse, is the case. In the post script of the children of the mind audiobook there is an extra from orson Scott card, he says that xenocide and children of the mind were originally going to be one book but it ended up being too long. He offered his publishers to make it into two books and the publishing house seeing an opportunity to sell twice Samantha books, readily agreed. Now this is immediately visible in the actual book. For one children of the mind does not have a large time skip like the other two sequels do. The story takes place immediately after the end of the xenocide. For another thing, after a certain point about half way through the book you notice and realize that this is the end of the series, even if you haven’t already known, and your think to yourself “why is this still going on”. And the answer is because Scott card hasint bothered making this one story. He thought “what haven’t I wrapped up” and tossed it all together.

I liked all the “moments” in children of the mind. I don’t think there are any chapters you can point to and say “this was poorly written”. I cried at some parts there was no lack of passion and emotion in the moments problem is there’s no narrative for the moments to hang on to and so unlike Enders game and speaker for the dead and yes to some extent xenocide the moments don’t blend together to form a story but rather the story has to hold the moments up to cover all of its holes.

What was a talking about? Oh right SHADOW OF THE GIANT IS SO PEAK. The bean saga had the same issues children of the mind had. Yes, bean growing up and his experience with battle school is an interesting idea but so much of the book left me thinking “so what?” Too much of it exists purely to retroactively justify beans position in Enders game. Then the next two books consist of the characters just doing incredible things without any explanation. Peter keeps talking about “his contacts” and graffs resources are seemingly endless unless of course it deals with anything plot related in which case “minister of colonization” is an empty title.

I would much rather read the bean saga from Achilles or alai or hot soups perspective. Why? Because orson Scott car abuses the fact that they are not POV characters to totally disregard any semblance of plausibility. Sure s story of a bunch of child geniuses ruling the world won’t be realistic but Jesus he just pulls whatever to get Achilles out of trouble until suddenly he’s stupid enough to trust one guy, who has known been ten times longer than he has know Achilles, to actually be loyal. Achilles de flandre, the most paranoid boy on planet earth, shot dead because he invited bean to come in with a gun. I would pay good money for a book on Achilles but it would have the same issues as Enders shadow there’d be to much shifting as Orson Scott card tries to fit Achilles where he is supposed to be in Enders shadow. But still it would be worth it just to hear his internal monologue, we really only get 4-5 moments where Achilles is interacting with Petra and I need to know what he was thinking every time. Why did he bring her to the India Pakistan meeting? Why open the plane door? Ajirodndej

This problem goes away entirely in shadow of the giant even a bit before. In shadow puppets we actually get important internal monologue from a character which is not bean or Petra. It’s hot soup, navigating Chinese bureaucracy. It’s boring and clever and I love it. It’s the kind of stuff you saw in Enders game small but totally reasonable conclusion based on real relevant information that existed before this very moment. In the actual book shadow of the giant, we see that alai hadn’t actually maneuvered his way into ruling the entire Islamic world, he was being used as a figure head, presumably by one of the high rankers who had formed the original caliphate. We are shown that the Islamic countries had a loose alliance and that alai, when brought back from Russia, was a mediator between these countries, eventually his prestige as one of Enders gishe and also having proved his unbiasedness, was pronounced caliph. This back tracks on the vague insinuation that alai had done what Peter did but just in a couple of years. We also get to see the bridge goddess thing with virlomi play out and the people that hot soup rule over as emperor act differently than the people that virlomi rules over as goddess of India and they act differently than the people alai rules over as caliph. The fact that we get to seem more of other people help’s this book out so much. We get a wider view of the world and so it doesn’t feel out of nowhere when they world Changes. It feels like an intelligent move made by competent people and not characters who exist purely to get the last page as quickly as possible. It’s genuinely like a different person wrote this book. Or like orson Scott card sent the bean saga back in time 2 decades and let his 40yo self write it.

[queer-reader-07]

I'll help you procrastinate!

What were your favorite books as a child, and what are your favorite books now?

Also, I need book recs. Preferably fantasy or sci-fi, but I'm not opposed to other genres.

you, my friend, have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into

my favorite childhood books were definitely the Magic Treehouse books and Percy Jackson! (although i'm still a huge Rick Riordan fan to this day)

i say my number one spot is tied between The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver (a truly beautiful YA t4t romcom that i WILL peddle until my dying breath). and Dune by Frank Herbert! (the duality of man, if you will). i've written many a long winded pieces on Dune but if you haven't read it already go do that <3

i also read a lot more nonfiction nowadays, usually feminist & liberationist literature & memoir! (and ofc my fair share of romcoms and occasional litfic... as i say this i'm realizing that aside from horror i kind of read it all 😅)

SFF book recs!! (i'll throw in some other genres at the end if you do decide to branch out 👀)

i am a HUGE Octavia Butler fan so i'm going to recommend Dawn & The Parable of the Sower

Dawn is the first in the Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood series (and i will admit that i have yet to read the sequels, don't come for me i'm ass at finishing series). I love this novel for how it discusses what it means to be human through explorations of race and gender in the wake of an apocalyptic event. I'd also class this novel under "it's about hope if you pay attention enough" which is a huge thing for me

The Parable of the Sower is part of a duology (which i have finished!) although was meant to be a longer series, unfortunately Butler passed before finishing it. this is the book that had me going "this woman is a prophet" because of how much the events of the novel remind me of the modern day. set in the 2020s in the wake of climate and economic collapse, we follow Lauren, a teenager with hyper empathy (a condition she has due to her mom's drug use during pregnancy) as she not only works to survive in a crumbling society but also build a new future for humanity. this is another story that i believe is at its core about hope, but that specific kind of hope that can only exist because of the despair one has experienced. a hope borne out of a refusal to accept destruction as the only way forward. a hope borne out of a love for humanity.

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers!!! this is a soft, quiet, tender story about a robot who just wants to learn what humans need. and this robot starts to learn that when it encounters a monk who just wants to be in the wilderness alone to find their true calling in life.

Babel by RF Kuang is one of those books that i will fully admit is a tad bit condescending to the reader but nonetheless i find it a great and engaging place to start when it comes to literature that explores the violent ramifications of colonialism. like yes it overexplains things that i think could've been left to subtext, but i will also point to it before i point to academia, ya know?

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams follows a main character who is like if Indiana Jones was a Black lesbian in a fantasy world and better. i call this one "not necessarily adventure gone wrong but rather adventure became far larger and graver than you could have ever imagined." empires on the brink of collapse, a species of creatures people don't quite understand are about to return, and the ninth rain is imminent. (also part of a series i have yet to finish, im sorry!!)

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. this one has NG vibes but is written by a markedly better person!! the godson of Death, a vampire real estate agent trying to sell a house and a ghost haunting said house (he's quite the pain in the ass if you ask her), and some really high stakes games involving the literal gods; what could possibly go wrong? (specifically recommending the audiobook for this one, it was phenomenal!) (this one is also very gay!!)

ok now i'm gonna throw some non sff at you to try to get you out of your comfort zone :)

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is a heartwrenching memoir-esque narrative of a queer boy writing to his mother in a language he knows she cannot read. it tells the story of what it's like to be an immigrant and the child of one, of what it means to be queer in a culture that doesn't accept you. it is, at its core, a story about the urgency of survival and the anguish of love that explores how we find joy in this broken mess of a world. (i read this one in a Gender in Lit and Film class i took my freshman year of highschool for a unit on masculinity and it has 100% shaped how i view and interact with masculinity especially in regards to race)

in a similar vein but not quite i'll also recommend Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. written in the 50s, this is a heartbreaking story to two queer men falling passionately in love only for it all to be ripped apart. i've recommended this book before alongside the lyrics to Good Luck Babe! by Chappell Roan. "you can kiss a hundred boys in bars // shoot another shot just to stop the feeling // you'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling"

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a novel i read right around when it came out back in 2020 and i really ought to revisit. it is, in my opinion, one of the best fictional explorations of what it means to be a mixed race person in the US. Bennett explores race in the United States through two twin sisters, both biracial, one who lives her life in the town they grew up in as a Black woman and the other out west as a White woman. told throughout generations their lives become more and more intertwined (were they ever really separate?).

probably my favorite memoir of all time is A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliot which explores race, gender, colonization, and more through the lens of Elliot's experience as a mixed race, First Nations Indigenous woman. the title comes from the Mohawk phrase for depression and it is with the same urgency and feeling that that phrase evokes that Elliot writes all her essays with. I particularly think of her essay titled "Half Breed: A Racial Biography in Five Parts" because its exploration of the grief only felt by being mixed or having mixed children is deeply personal to me. however, all her essays have so much depth and emotion to offer.

i'm not sure if romance novels or YA contemporary are your thing but if you're interested shoot me another ask about those, didn't include them here since those are more "you like em or you don't" imo

ok that's all for now thank you for providing me this distraction and giving me a chance to go full special interest on you <33

[thisaintascenereviews]

10 Albums That Changed My Life: 2000s Emo Edition

For the past few days, I’ve been listening to an audiobook version of 2023’s Where Are Your Boys Tonight by Chris Payne, and the book chronicles the emo / pop-punk scene between 1999 and 2008. It’s about the rise and (unfortunate) fall of the genre’s mainstream success, but it metaphorically comes straight from the horse’s mouth. The book has interviews from loads of musicians and important folks from the “scene,” such as Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Geoff Rickley, Buddy Neilsen, Anthony Raneri, Hayley Williams, JT Woodruff, Chad Gilbert, Chris Carraba, Andrew MacMahon, and many others.

Because I’ve been listening to the book, I wanted to start a new series in which I talk about ten albums that changed my life, and I wanted to start with 00s pop-punk and emo. I was at the right age when emo broke into the mainstream, so a lot of the big bands at the time were like gods to me. Some of these albums aren’t necessarily some of my all time favorites, but I still love them. For all these episodes, I also wanted to include a “bonus pick,” where I include an album that’s a rather obvious pick, because it’s an album I love and talk about all the time. That way, I can talk about ten other albums that I may not have talk about as much.

The aim of this series is to highlight albums that are important to me, but these albums are in no particular order. I don’t rank these lists, because some of these albums aren’t necessarily more influential than another. Each one of these albums is important in some way, but I wanted to highlight them regardless.

Bonus Pick: Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

For the first bonus pick, I wanted to start off with an obvious one. I’ve talked about Fall Out Boy’s third album, 2007’s Infinity On High quite a lot. This is the album that got me into music, and to make a long story short, I had listened to a few alternative albums beforehand, but I didn’t truly get into music until I heard that record. This isn’t the first album I picked up, but it was the most impacting one, because it truly blew my mind. This is still my favorite album, although it’s interchangeable with Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but this record really opened my eyes to how unique and awesome music can be, especially alternative, emo, and and pop-punk. I can say so much more about it, but this is the album that truly started it all for me. Little did I know that picking this album up at Target on the weekend of its release that it would change my life.

Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave

I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with the first couple of Fall Out Boy records, especially 2003’s Take This To Your Grave. Back before I would just order stuff online, or download music on iTunes, I would only buy music through retail stores, like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. I remember finding Take This To Your Grave at Walmart for $9 back in 2012, and while I was a huge fan of them, I didn’t know their early stuff too well, especially their debut. I picked it up, and I absolutely fell in love with it.

Take This To Your Grave is the record that introduced me to the early 00s pop-punk scene, and it was a scene that I only vaguely knew. I was a little too young for it, but hearing their debut was mindblowing. In retrospect, Take This To Your Grave is a hardcore album disguised as a pop-punk album, because it has the ethos and energy of a hardcore record, but the songwriting of a pop-punk album. As a kid in my late teens when I really sunk my teeth into it, and with the “defend pop-punk” movement being huge, this record (and many more like it) worked for me. The lyrics just spoke to me, but I’ve always been a sucker for Wentz’s lyricism.

Over time, however, my relationship with the album soured a bit, partially because my taste in music was becoming more removed from the current pop-punk scene (and reckoning with the fact that a lot of that scene was very misogynistic, including some lyrics on the first couple Fall Out Boy albums), so I wasn’t as into them, and I championed more of the later work, as well as some of the post-hiatus albums. It’s come full circle now, because I really love Take This To Your Grave, warts and all. This is a record made by kids that just loved hardcore and pop-punk, so if you look at it as anything more, it’s doing the record a disservice.

Paramore - Riot

My first experience with Paramore wasn’t with 2007’s Riot, but it was with 2005’s All We Know Is Falling. That was the first album I downloaded on iTunes, back when iTunes was just exploding, but I somehow lost the album (I think it was due to losing my first account, or my hard drive crashed, something like that). I listened to the album pretty soon after, but in between that, Riot was released. Riot is the album that blew Paramore up to the upper echelons of the emo and pop-punk scene, and for good reason. I’m pretty sure I got this album at Walmart, but this record was the soundtrack to the summer of 2007. It came out right before my freshman year of high school, so I played it a lot.

Between Hayley Williams’ vocals improving tenfold between the debut and Riot, their sound having more of a “mainstream” sound, and emo / pop-punk being at the crux of its popularity, this record came out at the right time. It was lightning in a bottle, but they were truly something special. This record has some of the best hooks and vocal performances of any band in that scene at this time, rivaling Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance (the scene’s two biggest bands at that time, arguably). This is just a monster of a record, and one of the most pivotal and important records from that time, and it’s cool to see people still talking about them all these years later. They just won the first Grammy earlier this year for their 2023 record, so it’s awesome to see that success pay off.

The Academy Is - Almost Here

One of the most underrated bands in the emo / pop-punk scene of the 00s is Chicago’s The Academy Is. These guys didn’t get their time in the spotlight, or at the very least, they skirted with fame at the same level as labelmates and friends in Fall Out Boy. It feels like highway robbery almost, because their sound was just as good. Their first two albums really changed my life, but for different ways. I wanted to focus on their debut album, 2005’s Almost Here, because this album is arguably the more influential album compared to 2007’s Santi. Santi was a more eclectic and interesting album, but Almost Here was more influential, because it was a big influence to the mainstream rise to emo and pop-punk.

Vocalist William Beckett is one of my favorite frontmen of the scene, too, and he has such a good voice, especially here. Almost Here is a really catchy, clever, and accessible emo record that surely should have been bigger, but oddly wasn’t. I don’t know what happened, other than that the scene was just too saturated. There were just too many bands out there, and that’s one reason the scene began to disappear from the mainstream. There were so many bands that were vying for peoples’ attentions, but Almost Here is one of the best records of that era that not a lot of people, at least outside of people who were a huge fan of the scene itself, have heard.

Bayside - The Walking Wounded

Contrary to the belief of what “elder emo” TikTokers will tell you, there are more bands in the scene than Fall Out Boy, Paramore, MCR, and Panic. The scene is so much bigger than what you saw in the mainstream, and a lot of it began in New York, including the band Bayside. These guys got pretty big in the early to mid 00s, even playing some late night shows (a lot of bands did, which was super cool), and they’re still around now, but they’re not on the level they once were.

My introduction to them was 2007’s The Walking Wounded, which was their third album, but I found them through an Alternative Press compilation of with an acoustic version of a song from that album. I picked up the album, because I really enjoyed the song, especially Anthony Raneri’s lyrics and vocals, and the album surprised me quite a bit when I heard a pop-punk album with heavier guitar riffs than your average pop-punk album. This remains my favorite album from them today, although their newest album from this year is great, too, and really reminds me of the inventiveness I heard on that record. It showed me that pop-punk can be both catchy and heavy at the same time, and the record still rules today.

Forever The Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater

In the late 00s, a lot of the emo / pop-punk in the mainstream started to disappear, and popularity waned for that style, despite a few bands still being popular. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic, and MCR still reigned as kings and queens of the genre. A new challenger emerged, at least in the underground, and that was neon pop-punk. Retrospectively named for its bright and colorful aesthetic, as well as how catchy and pop-focused the music was, neon pop-punk was the early 00s pop-punk fun-loving cousin that didn’t really take itself too seriously.

One of the most important albums of that movement, and while it’s probably not the first album that you could call neon pop-punk, Forever The Sickest Kids’ debut album, 2008’s Underdog Alma Mater, is a big moment for the genre. This album is catchy, slick, energetic, fun, and a little immature at times, but it also doesn’t take itself seriously and knows what it is. I always loved this record, because as catchy and synth-laden as their music, they had some good hooks and riffs to match. They were more than just a vapid pop-punk / pop-rock band, and this record shows it. They should have been a lot bigger, but they kind of fumbled the bag by releasing mediocre albums after and then just disappearing by the 2010s, so it’s unfortunate, but their debut is still one of my favorite albums from the scene.

New Found Glory - Sticks & Stones

Outside of Take This To Your Grave, I wasn’t familiar with a lot of early 00s pop/punk and emo, but where that album got me into that style of pop-punk, New Found Glory’s 2002 record, Sticks & Stones solidified it. Funnily though, this wasn’t the first NFG album I heard, that would be 2009’s Not Without A Fight, but it took me a few years to go back in their discography and listen to the album with their most iconic song “My Friends Over You.” This is easily one of my favorite 00s pop-punk records, and it’s kinda for that song alone. This record is so much fun, and it’s one of the first examples of easycore, where pop-punk and hardcore breakdowns met. You can hear it on this record a lot, and it’s awesome, but even after listening to this album for the first time in over a decade, I still enjoy it quite a bit.

Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends

Taking Back Sunday is one of the OG pop-punk and emo bands of the 00s, including New Found Glory, but I found their debut album, 2002’s Tell All Your Friends through word of mouth almost. This album was my all my favorite bands’ favorite album, especially in the 2010s “defend pop-punk” scene. Tell All Your Friends was a generation before mine, as I was too young when this record came out, but when I heard it, it blew my mind. I kept thinking, “This is what my favorite bands are influenced by? This is great!” There are loads of catchy hooks, one-liners, and mosh-ready instrumentation galore. These guys really helped to bring a new style of pop-punk to the forefront and you can hear the influence in a lot of records afterwards.

Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out

Panic! At The Disco’s debut album, 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, is lightning in a bottle; this record could only have come out in the mid-00s. It has a really unique sound, especially for the time, but it helped to catapult emo to the mainstream. Hell, “I Write Sins” is one of the biggest songs from that era, and it’ll be a song that people always remember, let alone gets played at emo nights across the country. Fever is such an iconic record, but it’s also a unique and interesting album that showcases Panic wanting to aim higher in terms of emo and pop-punk. The album is split into two halves — an electronic first half and a baroque pop second half, but it doesn’t feel jarring or strange.

It’s funny, because I remember downloading only a few songs from this album at first on iTunes back in 2007. I found the band through the Alternative Press compilation I’ve mentioned over and over again. I heard a live version of album closer “Build God, Then We’ll Talk,” and I loved it. I ended up listening to the rest of the album sometime later, but Fever is still such an iconic and nostalgic album for me. It still holds up all these years later, too, especially for its unique sound.

MCR - The Black Parade

Talk about another nostalgic album, because The Black Parade is very much another album that defined not only my adolescence, but the entire scene during the mid-00s. Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, and My Chemical Romance were the big four of the scene at the time, but The Black Parade is really what cemented MCR on that list. Their first two albums were a darker version of the emo and pop-punk sounds that came slightly before them, and during their rise, but The Black Parade was a new sound entirely. Dubbed the emo Queen, these guys made an emo rock opera that really justified that description.

This record is huge, expansive, melodramatic, fun, dark, poignant, and incredibly interesting in all facets. I just absolutely love this record. I don’t remember how I found them, because I found them at the same time as Panic and Fall Out Boy (Paramore came last, as I found All We Know Is Falling a bit before Riot came out), but I was obsessed with this record as a kid. It’s one of those rare albums that I can listen to as an adult and still appreciate what it does on a purely technical and artistic level, because there are a lot of nuances that I didn’t pick up back then. It’s easily their best album to me, despite how they only put one more and disappeared (they still haven’t put out another album despite coming back a few years ago), and it’s the one that I always go back to.

The Cab - Whisper War

For my last pick, I wanted to include another “neon” album, but a bit of an obscure pick. The Cab were a band that were heavily involved with Fueled By Ramen, as well as Pete Wentz’s Decaydance imprint, even including both Patrick Stump and Brendon Urie on the main single for their debut album, 2008’s Whisper. Called “One Of THOSE Nights,” the song showcased what they were all about, and they had a really unique R&B and soulful take on neon pop-punk. Their vocalist had a lot of range, and reminded me a ton of Patrick Stump, but I just fell in love with how catchy and groovy that album was (and still is). It showed me that pop-punk could utilize more outside influences, and while The Cab never got as huge as the bands that they clearly were inspired by, they had a rather dedicated following in the scene, but they just never got as big as they really should have.

[kryativelogos]

Cinder's Racial Ambiguity Frustrates Me (Spoilers for The Lunar Chronicles)

Hi hello long time no post! I haven't had a chance to really consumed any media until just recently so I'm finally back with another review!

Today we're gonna talk about The Lunar Chronicles, written by Marissa Meyer, and published in 2012. I had read this novel back in 2015/2016 when Fairest and Winter were newly released and had the opportunity to reread it (albeit in audiobook form) these past few months. Buckle up babes, I have a lot to say.

I wanna just say right off the bat that in terms of world-building, plot, and even character design, this story still holds up quite well from when I read it the first time. From how each character gets their own time to shine and development, to how they all connect with one another, I loved seeing the major plot unfold and how it concluded so nicely.

But I do want to discuss something that has bothered me from the first time that I read this series and still does after reading it a second time: Cinder's race.

Now you may be wondering, why do we care what Cinder's race is? Well, I'm Asian, Singaporean to be specific. And it would be great if Cinder's race was Asian/Chinese as the website, as the author, and as most people in the fandom believe to be. However, I am skeptical for this to be the case at all.

We don't know what race(s) the Lunars are.

They're an "evolved" race of humans that have magical abilities. Even Meyer herself states that the ethnicities start to blend because it's so far in the future. It's already quite difficult to pinpoint specific ethnic groups just in the royal family.

Queen Channary had olive skin and dark brown hair which could be a myriad of ethnicities and races although I'm heavily inclined to believe that she is/was South/Southeast Asian due to her name being taken from the Khmer dialect found in Cambodia [evidently in the wiki]. Even Queen Jannali was described to have had tan skin and chestnut colored hair, which again, says nothing about her race, but her name was taken from the Aboriginal language [also found on the wiki] so that may count for,,, something. Essentially, following Cinder's lineage, we already have little evidence to support the idea that Cinder is Asian, let alone Chinese.

Cinder's description in the book did not help her case (and I believe Meyer attempted to retcon this later on, like, look at the new covers - she looks so [East] Asian, but then you read the description in the actual book??).

Her first description in Cinder was tan skin, angular body, and mousy brown hair. Mousy implies, light brown. Literally look up "mousy brown hair" online, you'll see a bunch of eurocentric, white women. No Asian that I know, naturally, has "mousy" brown hair unless you dye it or it is heavily sun-bleached (which has happened to me but still not light enough to be considered "mousy", I could have safely called it brown). Cinder was also told by the end of the book, that she was found in Europe. You can see that as someone who's been wanting an Asian MC would be disappointed with finding out that ah, she must be European (and later, more than likely, French). Even if Cinder was Wasian, I believe genetically, the dark hair would have been dominant. I can't say the same for the tan skin since she was outdoors a lot and Asian folks do tan quite easily in the sun and remains tanned for at least 6-8 months.

I would love for Cinder to be Asian, I really would, but all of this evidence just keeps her race too ambiguous personally. I can't seem to get over the "mousy brown hair". If not for this particular descriptor, I would 100% believe Cinder to be Asian. But because we don't even know Channary or Jannali's race with only their names as some kind of clue to Cinder's background, we will never know for sure.

I don't think it helps that a majority of fanart I see of Cinder has very eurocentric features, which draws me back to her thinking she's French/European. It also bothers me that while Winter and Iko get rather well-written descriptions of what they look like (aka black), we can't seem to get one good description, showing some form of Asian representation that I'm sure many of us are grasping at straws for, of the main character of the series. So many of us are still hoping that Cinder is Asian simply because she's living in New Beijing (which I will be making another post at some point about how I, personally believe, is a poorly designed/created city in terms of world-building) but she's literally adopted from Europe (Luna if you wanna get technical, see the first point).

I know my points are kind of moot and there wasn't much warrant for me to go on a tirade about a fictional character created in 2012. But this is important to me as a WOC, as an Asian girlie who so wants to connect to a character that looks like me, that was written to look like me; but I feel cheated and the ambiguity makes it hard for me to fully love Cinder as much as I love the other characters (if anyone is asking, my favorite characters are Winter and Scarlet). If anyone else has thoughts about this or has something to prove to me once and for all that Cinder is Asian. Please send it my way.

PS I wish I had a physical copy to directly quote the book, but again, my second reread was through audiobooks, so I can't reference pages at all atm. Sorry about that TuT Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy from the library soon so I can edit this post with direct lines.

[litcityblues]

"Memory" --A Review

I went to the library a while back because the Eldest Spawn is getting tutored in math once a week and I wasn't planning on checking out any books- as my dance card is pretty full when it comes to reading, but naturally, that meant I went home with three books I hadn't planned on reading- one of which was Memory, the next installment of the Vorkosigan Saga.

This is the first Vorkosigan Novel I haven't snagged off Audible, so it was kind of a different experience at first-- but incredibly enjoyable just the same. I don't know why I've listened to them all on Audiobook-- I just started and kept going that way, so it was nice to mix it up with this one and get an actual book in my hands to enjoy the next installment.

Memory opens with Miles waking up on a hospital bed in a Dendarii Medbay after he has a seizure during a mission and accidentally (but thankfully not fatally) cuts the hostage's legs off. He's been having seizures periodically ever since he was resuscitated during Mirror Dance and, in typical Miles fashion, he's been keeping them secret, desperately hoping they would go away on their own.

However, cutting a hostage's legs off tends to be something that gets noticed and his lover and second in command Eli Quinn calls him out on his condition and grounds him, sending him back to Barrayar to report to his boss, Simon Illyan, the head of ImpSec. Unfortunately for Miles, the temptation to keep his double life as Admiral Naismith, commander of the Dendarii Mercenaries going proves too great, so he falsifies his report- but Illyan finds out and he's forced to accept a medical discharge out of ImpSec.

Out of a job, bounced out of the service, and unwilling to flee into permanent exile and go back to the Dendarii (there's a Barryaran law that prevents members of the Vor class from running their own private armies and it's a capital offense-- Miles has been getting around that by having his fleet work for the government, but now that's gone.) he falls into a deep depression, but his cousin Ivan and ImpSec Captain Duv Galeni (from Brothers In Arms) get him out of his funk.

Galeni is enamored and to the point of proposing to a wealthy Komarran heiress, Laisa Toscane, but when they go to a party thrown by the Emperor, Gregor impresses her, and the two falls in love before Galeni can propose. He blames Miles and it sort of ends there, because suddenly, Simon Illyan is suffering a crippling mental breakdown- his eidetic memory chip is malfunctioning and badly- dumping random sets of memories into his mind faster and faster. Miles attempts to investigate himself but gets immediately stonewalled by the new Impsec Boss- so he goes to Gregor and asks him to make him an Imperial Auditor, a troubleshooter answerable only to the Emperor himself.

This breaks the logjam with impressive speed. They soon discover that a synthetic biological agent is responsible for the breakdown in Illyan's implant and Miles orders it removed. Illyan survives the operation and moves into Vorkosigan House to recover but Miles is no closer to an explanation until he finds a false record claiming that he, Miles entered the ImpSec storeroom. Then, they find a weapon commissioned by Ser Galen, Duv Galeni's father and then just as quickly Duv Galeni is arrested and Miles, convinced it's a frame-up has to move fast to unearth the real culprit.

(Which, of course, he does) Despite a tempting offer to go back to the Dendarii, he declines and Gregor (after consulting with the other Imperial Auditors) makes his appointment permanent. Miles makes one last attempt to get Eli to marry him, but she declines and more or less, everything ends happily.

Overall: What an incredible book this is... this might be my favorite of the series so far because it feels like such a turning point in the overall saga. There's so much character development in this book, so much growth for Miles- who goes from depressed and unmoored when he loses Admiral Naismith and the Dendarii to figuring out who he is- including a return visit to the backcountry of the district that we saw in The Mountains of Mourning which was probably my favorite part of the book. Bujold doesn't usually get the room all the dusty for me-- there have been a few points where it's been like, 'damn, it's dusty in here' one of which was the original Mountains of Mourning and the end of The Warrior's Apprentice where Aral has to plead for his life- but that return to the backcountry- ugh. Such a beautiful moment for the character as well as such an important moment for the series itself.

This really does feel like Miles finally growing up and getting down to the business of learning who he actually is, instead of hiding behind Naismith and the Dendarii. It's a welcome shift in direction for the character and the series and I can't wait to see what's next. I loved every page of this book. I'm glad I got the book version so I could read it and not just listen to it like I usually do. I remain incredibly frustrated it took me until adulthood to find these books but I am so glad that I did. My Grade: **** out of ****

[mybookplacenet]

Tell us about yourself.: I'm very tall, lanky, and I was a bear in a past life. English is my second language, French is my first. I live in beautiful Québec City, Canada, but I spent a good 98% of my life living in Montreal, having been born and raised there. I've been writing with the goal of publishing some books for nearly twenty years, mainly in the horror genre. My latest book, AMOK THE POWERFUL, which saw the light of day on November 26th, is my first foray into the Sword & Sorcery genre. Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?: I grew up in a very residential area, middle class, an only child. It didn't influence my writing per se; it was mostly the movies I watched and the comic books I read growing up that influenced me the most. Do you have any unusual writing habits? In my early years as a writer, I was only inspired to write very late at night. Then I switched it entirely and would do all my writing from the crack of dawn until noon. Now I just write on weekends, usually on Sundays, and preferably in the afternoon. What authors have influenced you? I grew up in a very residential area, middle class, an only child. It didn't influence my writing per se; it was mostly the movies I watched and the comic books I read growing up that influenced me the most. Do you have any advice for new authors? Don't do it! I'm only half serious, of course. Know what you are getting into and that it will be like climbing Mount Everest every single time you write a novel. It will also be an uphill battle to find readers to buy your books and read you. It's an incredibly frustrating (and sometimes quite lonely) process, but it's also wonderfully rewarding. There are very few things in life that match the feeling of typing THE END after having written 85,000 words. What is the best advice you have ever been given? Write what you know and love. It's pretty straightforward but it will always ensure that you write about what you're passionate about. What are you reading now? "Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon" by James Lovegrove. I've got about 40 pages to go and it's a fantastic read from beginning to now. I'm also revisiting the late, great Margaret Wander Bonanno's original "Star Trek: Probe" novel; the unpublished version titled "The Music of the Spheres", which she had personally emailed me back in 2008. I haven't read it in over 15 years and felt like reading it again after all this time. What's your biggest weakness? I can't decide between dark chocolate and red wine. What is your favorite book of all time? Fiction: Richard Laymon's "The Traveling Vampire Show"; one of the most magical and atmospheric coming-of-age tales ever penned. Non-Fiction: Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic"; I couldn't think of a more apt title for this book about creativity that is a must read for anyone creative, from writers to painters to actors. When you're not writing, how do you like to spend your time? About seven months a year, I love watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball. Apart from that, I'm an Audible junkie and consume most of the books I read as audiobooks. I also listen to a lot of music; not a day goes by that I don't spend at least a few hours listening to music. Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you? Not the first story I read, but the first short story that cemented my desire to pen dark tales was Robert Bloch's "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." It captivated me from the first to the last sentence and I immediately wanted to read everything Mr. Bloch had written. What has inspired you and your writing style? My writing style is very cinematic. It's dialogue-driven probably due to the fact that I used to be a movie junkie from the age of about 5 to 40. I've seen way too many movies for my own good; films in all genres from the silent era to the late 2010s. Nowadays, I hardly ever watch movies or series for that matter. What are you working on now? Nothing. No seriously, I'm taking a long break from writing fiction. I have a music blog where I do album reviews, so I'll be focusing on that in the near future. What is your favorite method for promoting your work? None, because hardly any of them ever work (from personal experience over the last 18 years). Word of mouth does wonders though. What's next for you as a writer? I honestly don't know. If AMOK THE POWERFUL is a hit with readers and generates serious book sales (or is at least way more successful than my previous two novels) and readers want to read more about this character, I have a great idea for a novella that I'd love to write. But I need readers to manifest their interest otherwise Amok will continue to slumber in the recesses of my mind. How well do you work under pressure? When it comes to writing, I thrive under pressure. I work best when I have clear self-imposed deadlines to finish writing a book. How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing? It all depends on the genre I write in. Although, it's very hard to stray too far from your roots. I've always said about myself that you can take the writer out of the horror genre, but you can never take the horror out of the writer. It always seems to creep back up in one form or another. If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be? I write the literary equivalent of junk food. It's nothing deep or sophisticated like Duck à l’orange, but I guarantee you'll never be bored reading one of my books. It's like pizza; it's always fun to eat! My stories are meant to be light and fun, to entertain the reader and take them away from their worries for a few hours. Alan Draven's Author Websites and Profiles Website Amazon Profile Goodreads Profile Alan Draven's Social Media Links Twitter Read the full article

[dollycas]

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!  I am happy to share my thoughts today about The Herringbone Harbor Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum. The Herringbone Harbor Mystery (Seaside Knitters Society) Cozy Mystery 7th in the Series (with this publisher) Setting - Massachusetts Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (November 26, 2024) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496747186 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496747181 Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1F1PV5 Audiobook ASIN B0D8JVF9VL It’s beginning to feel a lot like tourist season in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, and beachside shopkeepers are getting ready for the annual wave of visitors. But even before the season starts, the heat is on to find a killer . . . The Yarn Studio’s Seaside Knitters have their hands full designing new classes for vacationers, as well as testing each other’s originality by creating a single blanket together. Birdie’s teenage granddaughter is also visiting for the season and has started a dog-walking business with her friend, Daisy. Meanwhile, the Lazy Lobster and Soup Café’s local fare is gaining newfound attention with the addition of a well-known chef. It’s sure to be another beautiful, busy time in their tight-knit town . . . Until Birdie spots a huge blaze from her balcony one evening, frighteningly close to knitter Cass’s lobster business. But the morning brings news that it was a house in Fishermen’s Village, and a popular businessman, and mayoral candidate, is found dead inside. Not only did the teenagers walk his beloved sheepdog, Squid, they may have been the last people to see him alive. When questions surface about the actual timing of the man’s death, it turns out something is more than fishy. As suspicion rocks usually placid Sea Harbor, knitters Izzy, Birdie, Cass, and Nell must pick apart tangled secrets and wrap up false accusations—before the killer hooks another victim . . . Dollycas's Thoughts Sea Harbor, Massachusetts is getting ready for the tourists to descend on their wonderful town. Izzy is stocking up on varieties of yarn and planning new classes. Birdie's granddaughter Gabby and her friend Daisy have started a successful little dog-walking business. There's a new chef at the Lazy Lobster and Soup Café. The Seaside Knitters are creating a herringbone patterned afghan with each person knitting a long panel that will all be knitted together as their entry for the upcoming art auction. And the mayor is running around town trying to stay on top of it all. Then one evening Birdie is awakened and sees smoke down by the harbor and hears sirens. Then Cass wakes up, smells burning wood, sees the smoke, and hears the sirens. Next, it's Izzy's turn.  Then Nell. They all trusted the Sea Harbor Fire Department to take care of the fire. The next morning one of the dogs Gabby walks showed up at their door lost and scared. Soon the news is out. The home on fire belonged to a popular resident of the town and the dog's owner. Nick Cabot was found dead in the ruins but he did not die in the fire. The police are investigating a homicide. There are many questions surrounding Nick's death and the Seaside Knitters are ready to untangle the clues and knit them back together to catch Nick's killer before they cast on a new victim. _____ It is always a delight to return to Sea Harbor and catch up with my favorite knitters, Birdie, Cass, Nell, and Izzy. I love that they are collaborating on a knitting project for the art auction. You just have to look at the gorgeous cover to get a peak at the finished afghan. They get together every Thursday night to knit, eat, drink a little wine, and discuss everything happening around town. Nell's house is usually a gathering place on Friday nights or whenever they need to all put their heads together about the current murder. This group of women and their spouses are all genuine and giving people. They are ready to lend a hand or a listening ear or with the best advice they can for anyone and everyone. Their friendships are solid and that is what makes this series one of my favorites. The murder in this story was hard to take. We just meet Nick Cabot and learn of all the good things he did for others, that he wanted to run for mayor, and that he had a great shaggy pup named Squid. Then he was gone. It was hard to believe and even harder to pin down who would have killed him but the knitters came up with a few suspects. You know the author was going to throw in some twists and turns and she did. This story was perfectly plotted. A phone call that almost wasn't made, made everything clear leading to a heartbreaking confession. I was surprised by whodunit, why, and how it happened. It was an emotional end to the case. The end of the story was filled with emotions too. Sally Goldenbaum is an incredible storyteller.  In The Herringbone Harbor Mystery, we are treated to a complicated mystery, set on the beautiful Massachusetts coast, with characters that leap off the page to bring readers into their lives. The theme of friendship is knitted into each book in the series. The Seaside Knitters have the golden gift of each other, a gift many of us long to have. And for us armchair sleuths to have a mystery to solve would be icing on the cake. Curling up with a newly created afghan would be special too. Each of the books in this series can be read on its own. There are 11 books before the 7 published by Kensington cozies. You truly can start anywhere but if you can start at the beginning you will get to know Nell, Birdie, Izzy, and Cass from the start and see their friendships and lives build to where they are today. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent ` About Sally Goldenbaum Sally Goldenbaum enjoys writing mysteries about the intricacies of women's friendship, the complexities of small-town living, and what happens to the good people when a murder disrupts their lives. She has written more than forty novels but is best known for the USA TODAY best-selling series, Seaside Knitters Society Mystery Series. Sally also writes the Queen Bees Quilt Shop Mysteries. Born in Manitowoc,  Wisconsin, She now lives on Cape Ann, MA, the inspiration for her current mystery series. In addition to writing mysteries, Sally has taught philosophy, Latin, and creative writing, edited bioethics, and veterinary healthcare journals, and worked in public television at WQED Pittsburgh (then home to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood). Follow Sally Webpage Twitter    Facebook    Find more books by Sally Goldenbaum here. I am giving away an Advance Review Copy of The Herringbone Harbor Mystery! The contest is open to anyone over 18 years old with a US or Canadian mailing address. Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited. You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find something you like here and become a follower. Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow. Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Following My Facebook Fan Page. Add this book to your WANT TO READ shelf on GoodReads for 3 Bonus Entries. Follow Kensington Books on Threads for 2 Bonus Entries! Follow Kensington Publishing on Facebook for 2 Bonus Entries!  Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 Bonus Entries. If you share the giveaway on Threads, X, or Facebook or anywhere you will receive 5 Bonus Entries For Each Link. The  Contest Will End December 4, 2024, at 11:59 PM CST The Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org The Winner Will Be Notified By Email and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar. Click Here For Entry Form Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Read the full article

[oniria-fumblr]

Are there any queer romances that are high-lexile?

This thought has been crossing my mind recently. A streamer, who I follow, talked about how a lot of adults seemed to only be into reading YA novels, which made him upset because he thought people could always aim for challenging themselves and increasing their reading level. I agree with him on that point, and I've been thinking about it a lot ever since.

To be quite honest, I'm very new to literature. Up until October, last year, I hadn't read a single book for myself, for my own pleasure; it had always been textbooks or novels that I only read for book reports. My first book I ever read was actually an audiobook, it was Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue. I wouldn't really know if it was a YA novel, I wonder how I could check that in Audible; all I really know is that it was a masterpiece, a 10/10 read, probably one of the best books ever made. After that, I also read Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad my Mom Died, which was another masterpiece, and I wouldn't really know if it was a YA book either. Personally, I wouldn't classify either of them as YA. However, I am currently reading Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante series, I'm currently on the second novel, and I would definitely classify this series as YA. I wouldn't really know, though, because I don't really have a metric for it, I just sort of sense whether they are or not. Again, I am very new to reading.

On one hand, I would absolutely love for my novel to be a lot more challenging than just any other YA novel; on the other hand, there's a part of me that fears such a challenge will overwhelm me. I want to be daring and wild and all for the sake of making a great novel, but sometimes it can feel like it'll be "too much" for me, like I'm perhaps not set for the journey. It's sort of why I wanted to do something like this blog. I want to expose myself to new environments and let myself dare, mess up and learn from messing up. I want to stop being afraid of creativity, and I want to act like that wild and brilliant person that I want to become. Right now, I'm comfortable in the thought that I do at least have the tools and the money to create my novel and make it as great as I want it to be, it'll only be a matter of time and effort.

I think my mind is getting a little carried away, but I promise it's related. I think the reason why I'm wondering if there are any high-lexile, LGBTQ+, romance novels, is mainly because I want a great story to inspire mine. I'm sure there are many great high-lexile novels that are super challenging and interesting, like Lord of the Rings, but I don't just want to read a story for being high-lexile: I want to read a story that caters to me and also happens to be high-lexile. Lord of the Rings is old, has already been read, watched and analyzed by millions that it almost seems just pointless to engage with, and there hasn't really been an aspect of it that has caught my interest in any way that matters to me. I want something that feels new and is actually challenging for me.

I think I'll just browse through Audible or Google and see what I can find.

[booksbydlwhite]

Bookcast Episode 76: Updates + How I Write Pt 3: Just When You Thought Quicksand Would Not Be a Concern

On Episode 76, we discuss reading a bit, I give an update on writing THE PEARL at Black Diamond, share what's happening with Spotify/Findaway as I try to have control over my books on their platform to teach AI, and continue my HOW I WRITE series on dealing with a slow, unexciting middle to create an interesting ending, build up to an exciting climax, and end on a satisfying note.

A quick heads up that I'm not an expert, just sharing my own process. But if you're looking for expert advice, check out Tasha L. Harrison's new podcast "Making Words" from the WordMakers writing group. It's all about authors and the writing process, hosted by Tasha L. Harrison - fiction author, developmental editor, and creator of The Wordmakers Writing Community. Give it a listen if you're a writer – it's fantastic!

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE (Grab a Transcript here)

I talked about the following books on today’s episode:

Been in Love With You (The Love of Elias Book 1) by Tina Martin

When Hearts Cry (The Love of Elias Book 2) by Tina Martin

Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver

One Summer of Love by Reese Ryan

Candidly Yours by Reese Ryan

Love and Hot Chicken by Mary Liza Hartong pubs 2/20

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin pubs 2/27

The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen pubs 2/27

Notes on the Spotify/Findaway TOS edit issue

(these are my notes and therefore likely incomplete. Use these as a starting point to educate yourself on the topic and make the best decision for your author business):

Background from Courtney Milan, author and attorney:

PSA: If you are using Findaway Voices to distribute your audiobooks, you should know that their new terms of service have significant problems. The new TOS contains this section: Source: 4b here: https://my.findawayvoices.com/terms-of-use 1/6

 I got this from the Marketing audiobooks wide group:

Spotify Terms Update: Next Steps:

1. Communication from Spotify regarding the new terms. As everyone has most likely seen, Spotify sent out an email last night stating that they got the language in the new terms wrong and are going to fix and address it.

2. Alternatives to Spotify Heather G Harris Author was kind enough to compile a list of Findaway alternatives in the other Spotify post that I'll list here. Thanks, Heather! It is up to you to do your own research on these. Every author has different needs for their business. 

https://www.dreamscapepublishing.com

https://audiobooksunleashed.com

https://storyfair.net/

https://lanternaudio.com/independent-publishing-services/

https://www.authorsrepublic.com/

https://publishdrive.com/ 3. We always have the option to sell direct and if you want to learn more, there will be a zoom session forthcoming. There are also multiple groups on selling audio wide. I also have experience if anyone has general questions. I distribute direct via payhip and Bookfunnel.

Last night Spotify sent out a message that was basically, our bad, just kidding, we aren’t going to assume rights to your books, we won’t reproduce them without permission and we won’t train AI with them.

We should not have to threaten suit to get people to act ethically and it does not at all miss me that this is the stuff they pull on indie authors. I know a few authors who plan to move anyway. I had a feeling when Spotify bought them that things were going to go downhill. I make money on wide audio but only if I discount books. IF I make money on audio it’s via Chirp or libraries so until I find another avenue to reach them, I am holding but I am watching.

I referenced the following resources in today’s episode.

Writing Mastery

Janice Hardy’s Fiction University

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley (The Wild Wynchesters #4)

Preorder

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Synopsis:

The riotous Wynchester family has taken on a new case to expose a forger, but the prime suspect isn't at all what he seems in this captivating Regency romp from a New York Times bestselling author. Lord Adrian Webb is a no-good, roguish, rakish scoundrel of the first order, which is why his father sends him to the Continent and cuts him off without a farthing. When (penniless) in Rome, what's a disgraced gentleman to do, but dabble in some light forgery? After all, better to leave the original works of art where they belong instead of some English snob's drawing room. But soon his scheme snowballs out of control, and a blackmailer is out to ruin him. The Wynchester family is known for their daring capers to help those in need. Until now, Marjorie has always let her siblings take the lead when it comes to planning undercover work. But someone in London is trying to pass off counterfeits and this time she's the only one with the skill needed to find the culprit. Her investigations lead her straight to Lord Adrian Webb. But every time Marjorie thinks she's figured Adrian out, she learns something new that turns all her assumptions on their head. He's a sinner. A saint. A heartless scoundrel. A loyal brother. A liar. A good kisser. Er…wait… She can't afford to lose herself in the passionate embrace of a man she'll have to turn over to the magistrate as soon as the case is closed.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

I always love Erica Ridley's books, and I love the Wild Wynchesters the most. A charming, witty family of orphans with unusual talents who dedicate their less-than-legal efforts to the protection of those in need. What's not to love?

This is Marjorie's book, and it was so nice to get more of an understanding of her character. She has hung back in previous books (for reasons nicely explained here) and so was the Wynchester I was least familiar with. She is not only an incredible artist and forger, she has synesthesia and has a stubborn, independent streak that has previously been well-hidden.

Adrian is a cheerful, charming forger who gets in trouble with a slimy crime boss and requires Marjorie and her family to rescue him. The banter and flirting between them was such fun, and I loved seeing two artists and creative minds working together and sparking ideas off each other. It was inspiring.

I read the entire book with a smile on my face and hated to see the story end. I don't think I could ever get tired of the Wynchesters' heists and capers and sheer chaos. This is definitely one of my favorite romance series. The story is fun and light and flows easily and the characters are well-rounded and feel like real people.

I can't wait for Elizabeth's book. I realize I've been saying that from the beginning, but it's still true. She always manages to steal the show for a bit from the sidelines for me. I'm terribly curious about Jacob's story as well. His trained animals also always steal the show a bit and inject a lot of humor into the story. How could adorable homing kittens and hedgehogs fail to charm?

I have preordered the audiobook so I can listen to the story again when I need to be cheered up. I highly recommend this series for fans of lighthearted Regency romps (one of my favorite genres).

*Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Any book a reader chose to invest time in was by definition a worthy book.

---

“Finally,” Elizabeth said with feeling. “I thought I’d never get to use my sword.”

---

“Any excuse to create art is a good reason.”

---

Marjorie hooked her arm through Adrian’s. “We each have our talents.” Elizabeth brightened. “Is my talent murder?”

[hahahahawk]

Skimming the goodreads reviews for Morning Star, I have to wonder if these thousands of people read the same book I did, because holy hell the third of the book leading up to the climax was absolute horseshit for me.

Backing up for opinion context - I didn’t *love* Red Rising. I think Pierce Brown did a fine job writing the book he wanted and telling the story he wanted. I rate my enjoyment of the experience at 3.5 stars out of 5, but the book itself at 3. I don’t think it’s *good*, but I had a decently entertaining time listening to it.

I was going to abandon the series, but then I saw the goodreads ratings ticked up for books 2 and 3. Of course, this kind of distillation of opinion can happen because the people who rate the first one poorly don’t even try the subsequent books, but it’s still a good sign if there’s a consensus that “the first is the worst”

Adding to that the knowledge that the series moves away from “Hogwarts/Hunger Games/Ender's Game” comparisons, I was willing to give it a shot.

Audiobooks from the library only cost time, after all.

At first, that decision paid off! Golden Son was dumb, pulpy, (less gory than Red Rising, which was a plus for me), and had really good ups and downs. Ragnar, Darrow no longer being alone with his secret, Ares. Taking Mustang to Lycos. I even liked a lot of the action during the Iron Rain.

Golden Son gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me. Definitely worth the price of admission.

And Morning Star continued that good feeling for at least half the book. Imprisonment sequence was gross, uncomfortable, and upsetting, unsurprisingly. Sevro being a shit Ares was also very stressful and uncomfortable, BUT that set up the fight between Sevro and Darrow (when Quicksilver was ‘captured’) that was hella cathartic. The world was set right, and they had a new ally, and things felt stable again.

The book trundled along, there were cannibals (gross! I liked that book 2 was generally less gross), and then Ragnar died. That was a gut punch (and really well written!) and I had to call in outside support for cuddles and comfort.

After that, the book did some reputation mining. Going to the Rim to see the Moon Lords (interesting that we never really hear about the science that makes it possible to travel to the gas giants in a matter of weeks, but I guess this is more space opera than science fiction) was… fine. There were some cool moments with Roque, but it was a little sad that Darrow never got to tell him the full truth, which I thought was actually sweet and poetic. The space battle out there bored the shit out of me. Roque got a better death scene than he deserved. Then Darrow committed a war crime (destroying the Ganymede dockyards (betraying the Sons of Ares in the Rim was also really shitty. Destroying the docks just felt worse to me)). The series seems pretty fuzzy about when things are being recorded and when they’re not.

The next GOOD scene I remember was –

Hold the fucking phone. When did Darrow’s mom find out about Pax? No, Mustang must’ve kept him a secret from just about everyone until after she was Sovereign. We’ll get to the Renesmeness of THAT later.

Ok. Right. The next GOOD scene was Gobin and Gold, when Sevro forced Sefi to save Cassius. That was entertaining and interesting.

I guess Sevro and Victra getting married was also enjoyable.

Looking back at my notes (read: texts I sent to the one friend who has read these books), after complaining about Darrow committing a war crime, my next comment to him was “Predicting that Sevro eats it by the end of this one. (Victra just dumped him)”. So. Yeah. That was my mindset as the fleet headed back to the Core, even after the wedding.

In retrospect, the next few texts I sent are interesting in context.

Me [16:30]: The transition from a call with the Jackal to “we’re approaching Luna” feels strange. I thought the Jackal was the big bad in this book, but there’s not enough book left to do both of them in a satisfying way.

Him [16:41]: Space war is all about misdirection

Me [16:42]: Fair. As it has been for the last 30 chapters.

Me [17:13]: A) called it

Me [17:13]: B) that was bullshit

Me [17:14]:Darrow is like the guys who peaked in high school and never let go of the douchebag friends he had then

Him [17:18]: To be fair he and his high school friends did some pretty wild stuff after graduation...

Me [18:09]: Yeah, I’m just not sure I have faith this book will stick the landing right now

Me [18:51]:Stopping after Darrow lost his hand to do social evening things. Still annoyed, upset, and distrustful

Reader… I didn’t get to return to the book for TWO DAYS. I wonder if my experience would have been different if I went straight through and didn’t leave Darrow et al in captivity for two days (my time). Coming back to the book, Darrow, Mustang, Sevro, Cassius, Antonia, and the Jackal were all being escorted into the Sovereign's audience chamber.

My first comment to my friend was “Cassius did his double cross, but I’m still annoyed. I don’t like Aja.”

As a recap, at this point Antonia had been executed for treason. They turned on the holo cam and take off Darrow’s muzzle. Aja was going to execute him, but the Jackal asked to do it. I was looking back and forth between Octavia and the Jackal and thinkin “they fuckin’?”

Anyway, Jackal goes to shoot Darrow with Sevro’s gun– a gun I’d like to point out that the Jackal had never shot before.

Darrow howls, the Jackal fires a blank, Cassius hits the button to unlock Darrow’s restraints, Darrow pulls out a hidden knife and goes to stab Octavia.

I’m going to complain about Aja for a minute then will never mention her again.

She was a poorly developed foe. She felt more like a construct of the story than a person. (Not unique to her, but Aja was treated as such a boogeyman, especially with her falling into a crevice in the ice and surviving, and the Valkyrie couldn’t track her??!?!?!) Death by a thousand cuts in the 4 v 1 was kinda cool, but Aja is boring to me. The end.

So. Ahem.

Am I surprised that there was a big change in direction in the audience chamber? Absolutely not. I intentionally did not call it a twist or a surprise. The number of chapters left was dwindling, and Pierce Brown isn’t gonna do a TPK. Something was going to happen.

Between Cassius and the Jackal, it was going to be Cassius. He was pretty protective of his prisoners since they left the shuttle. He refused to leave the room to wash up and have dinner.

Cassius is back in the fold. The surviving high school friends are back together on the same side. Good for them.

So the seed for this was set that night when Cassius and Darrow had a night drinking whiskey and watching Rouke’s tapes of… their time in high school. I believe that was when Darrow gave him the holocube. Cool.

Then Antonia killed Thistle in prison, then Cassius was nearly executed by Sefi only to be saved by Sevro sticking his neck out, then Darrow sets up the escape shuttle.

Conveniently, we hear very little about the trip back to the Core. Just the uprising and the wedding.

Already, Darrow is lying to *me*. I was with him in death. I was with him under the knife. I was with him in the mud. I was with him in the box. I stood by Darrow during his darkest moments and he treats me like this.

…

Let’s examine this series of events a little more closely.

Cassius shoots Sevro, frees Antonia, puts Goblin, Mustang, Reaper in a box. Everything is according to plan.

The Jackal shows up–seemingly a surprise!--and takes Sevro’s gun off of Cassius. Everything is according to plan.

Darrow gets his hand cut off. From Darrow’s point of view, and Cassius’s point of view, this is apparently the only unexpected wrinkle in the plan.

Sevro is dragged along into the audience chamber. Nobody shoots or stabs the apparent corpse of ARES. Everything is according to plan.

Here’s one that really gets me: Aja is lined up to execute the Reaper, and the Jackal asks for the privilege. We get the sense from Darrow that he doesn’t know why Octavia goes along with it. He doesn’t know why she defers to Adrius, but apparently HE’S BEEN COUNTING ON IT??

Darrow howls, Jackal shoots, Cassius kills people, Darrow stabs Octavia. Aja is distracted trying to keep Octavia’s guts in her body, and SEVRO IS STILL A CORPSE?

The number of fucking times everyone turns their back on Adrius during this drives me up a wall. Even after he lost his tongue, I was sure he was gonna get up and shiv someone.

Speaking of Adrius, look back on all the details that big brain darrow foresaw about this fake imprisonment, from the brig to the shuttle to the other shuttle to the citadel to lying about the Obsidian invasion to get more people out of the room– he thought of ALL THAT (including the Jackal’s presence on Luna) and not the possibility that Adrius put atomics on the Moon? What the actual everloving fuck.

What are other people smoking that they think this is good writing?

Yes, my beef with the first person narrator lying to me for a dozen chapters can be called a matter of taste. (And I do appreciate unreliable narrators at times! But this felt more like abusive gaslighting asshole boyfriend than unreliable narrator)

But also, it felt like bad storycraft. This sequence was not a deus ex machina in the sense of Fitchner swooping down and saving Darrow’s ass from certain doom, but there is a sense of deus-ex when everything is going according to plan, but I, as the audience, don’t know there is a plan, so in retrospect nobody has any agency from the brig to the citadel. Yeah, sure, Darrow doesn’t have agency because he’s in chains. I’m talking about the sense of adventure and excitement when things go NOT according to plan and our heroes have to scramble to compensate. In retrospect, that whole time we were basically watching a pre-recorded movie. Reaper loses a hand and it’s barely an inconvenience.

Sevro, the terrorist Ares, was A CORPSE and nobody beheaded him. Kicked him and ruptured a kidney. Sure, there’s the poetry of graduating from hiding in the corpse of a horse, to the corpse of a moon, to the corpse of yourself, but Darrow didn’t let us in so we could be terrified of how fucking dangerous it was for him to carry on that way. What the fuck.

Two tweaks that would have made this more palatable for me without too many alterations to the story:

Sevro and Cassius (and maybe Mustang?) collude without Darrow (or the audience!) knowing. Let Darrow actually feel like he was trying to do the right thing by his old school chum and gets fucked over, then given the gift of a vulnerable sovereign, THEN has to figure out how to handle it.

Sevro overdoses on adrenaline and dies. I don’t just want this because I predicted he’d die, and he’s one of my favorite characters, so losing him from future books would be a loss, but imagine that he has that mini-heart attack as they’re leaving the audience chamber, then as the group walks through the Citadel, he falls behind and keels over, heart exploded. Nobody notices right away because fucking Mustang is carring the scepter through the halls and Lysander is calmly coming with her. How gut wrenching and bittersweet would it be for Darrow to lose his best friend, then follow Mustang into the senate chamber and lead everyone in kneeling to her. Fucking phenomenal.

After how brutal the books have been, it felt cheap for the core three to all be standing together at the end.

Speaking of the three standing together after walking through the Citadel’s halls– at some point I could’ve sworn there was a mention of Darrow and Mustang holding hands. Maybe I imagined it. I’m not going back into the book to check. You only get rants, no fact checking. (I’d put more research in if I had physical paper copies, not just the audiobook.)

I swear I heard that Darrow was holding Mustang’s hand (though yes, I was a little concerned when I hear the Jackal was over D’s shoulder), so for the ensuing chapter, walking through the citadel, every time I heard her having “a symbol of power in each hand” or whatever, I thought it meant scepter in one hand, Reaper in the other. Sure, fine.

IT WAS OCTAVIA’S HEAD??

I whole-ass missed the beheading.

And I don’t care.

Now that we’re beyond the climax that made me so angry, we’re in the falling action that made me angry in a different way. Because it was mostly good. Big ass side eye to atomics on Luna and the trolley problem that played out– Weren’t the holocams still recording???

But I loved Lysander’s part. I always had a feeling he’d be on the track to be a good egg, one who realized that other people are human and he doesn’t want a job that makes so many people want to kill him. I very much liked Octavia’s death sequence. I loved the walk through the Citadel (Goblin’s non-death notwithstanding). I liked Mustang taking power, and Darrow’s perspective on it. I loved the Jackal’s hanging. Darrow’s note that he was standing on marble.

That would have been sticking the landing! But half of the routine that preceded it was a RaeGunn masterpiece. Didn’t lose points on the landing, but lost so many more right before it. Yeah. I’m so angry i’m warming over jokes that weren’t even funny a month ago.

I could have forgiven the boring third act if there wasn’t a massive pile of shit in the fourth. I honestly don’t know if I can forgive it and move on with trying Iron Gold. I haven’t put a hold in at the library yet, and the Poppy War books are already on my loans shelf. So I have a week or so to think about it.

Let’s end on a lighter note: my reaction to the Epilogue.

Me [13:44]: Mustang is a Twilight fan. Their trip to Earth is to visit Forks, WA

Me [13:51]: SIGH

Me [13:51]: I was yelling in my car. Figured out about the kid very early in Mustang’s speech

Not gonna ask questions about the logistics involved or I might start yelling again.

Good night.

I finished Morning Star and I am SO IRRITATED but can’t properly process/express it for a couple more hours.

Luckily I had a friend I could text my live reactions to, so I have notes on the highlights. But UGH for having to stew/distract myself until I have a chance to lay it all out.

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Attraction

Summary: Dieter is in love with your voice. He just hasn’t met you yet. You are the woman who was hired to record his scripts for him so he could listen to them. But one plane ride to Spain might just change both of your life’s.

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x fem. Reader

Wordcount: 2.8k

Rating: T

Warnings: puns, dyslexia, toddlers, air plane food, fluff, some sexy talk, mentions of drugs and alcohol, a surprise end?

Masterlist

Something was ringing. 

Dieter groaned, his right arm reaching over to where the noise was coming from, keeping his eyes closed until the very last moment, while he brought his phone to his ear.

“Where are you? The car is waiting outside,” the familiar voice of his new PA droned in his ear. 

“Why?” he croaked, his eyes finally blinking open, finding the room in complete darkness, save for a slit of light from the bedroom window. 

His PA, Anthony, sighed. 

“Your flight to spain? We talked about it yesterday. Your suitcase is already in the car. Do you need any…”

“Fuck. Right. Forgot to set an alarm. I’ll be down in 15,” Dieter said and rubbed his eyes.

“Good. I have your Starbucks here.”

“I love you,” Dieter hummed and Anthony chuckled before he ended the call. 

Dieter took a deep breath before he sat himself up, using the home app on his phone to open the curtains. 

It was a new house. He still wasn’t used to the view. The sound of the ocean crashing against the shore just outside of his property. 

Dieter had changed his whole life in the last two years. 

After the whole cliff beasts disaster he went off drugs. Tried to make the relationship with Anika work. Failed. Got back to drugs. Got fired by his agency. Almost died again because of the drugs. Went to rehab. 

Now it’s been three months since he was completely sober. 

And he felt…. Good. 

He had a new agent, a new house, he even had a fucking work out routine. Technically. He even tried going vegan for a while but he fucking couldn’t live without swiss goat cheese in his life. 

He got out of bed, his limbs protesting. The air in his bedroom was cold, goosebumps erupting over his whole body. Turning around he narrowed his eyes, trying to find his airpods. He fell asleep listening to his script again. 

Listening to you. 

What many people did not know about Dieter (or more like what he didn’t know about himself until the tender age of 32) was that he was dyslexic. 

Back in school the teachers just thought he was another dumb mexican kid not caring to learn anything. (thanks racism) Then once he got out of school Dieter always found someone to read for him. 

He enjoyed reading. Always did. He just couldn’t figure out why it was so fucking hard for him. Back in the 80s people did not care about such things. 

It was back when he was shooting a shity mini series he couldn’t even remember the name of anymore, that he talked to a colleague who had the same issues. 

Things had changed after that. Dieter took lessons, got ebooks in a special font that made it easier for him to read. And it really got better.

But there were still days when it just won’t work. For days like that his old agent had organised someone to read his scripts for him. Much like an audiobook.

And… weirdly this woman, you, became the only constant in his life ever since you started with the recordings almost 10 years ago. 

Which was funny because he had never met you. 

Just your voice. 

He knew your first name. That’s it. 

And he built this whole picture of you in his mind.

Was it possible to fall in love with a voice?

Dieter opened the doors to his little balcony, inhaling the ocean air as he closed his eyes. 

He would miss it. 

Four months of shooting a series in Spain were coming up, his first project after his relapse. He was looking forward to it, as much as he was scared. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been on a set with a clear head. Without any drugs or alcohol in his system. 

Instead he had organic smoothies, breathing exercises and his therapist on speed dial. 

He scratched his chin, taking a last look at the ocean in front of him before he turned around and made his way to the shower to get himself ready. 

You hated airports.

HATED them. There were too many people. It always had that weird smell? People everywhere seemed to be in a rush and frankly, fucking rude. 

But you had promised. 

You had promised your sister that you would take a 10 hour flight with a toddler, your precious daughter Maxie, aged two, to Spain because she wanted to have a destination wedding. 

Yes, it could be worse as getting a paid trip to spain for three weeks, in first class, mind you, because your sister’s future husband was fucking loaded. 

Just a 10 hour flight with Maxie… You looked down at her, sleeping soundly against your chest as you sat at the gate, waiting for the flight to board. 

You closed your eyes, kissing her on the top of her head. 

Her father, your previous boyfriend, had left you when you found out you were pregnant. 

You hadn’t heard from him since. Not throughout your pregnancy, not when Maxie was born, not ever. 

There were times where you wished you had help in your life. You didn’t have family living close and you did not have many friends. Your neighbour Mr. Winter had been your saviour. He was in his seventies, his wife passed years earlier, leaving him a little lonely. He had found you crying in the hallway when you got back from the appointment where you found out you would be having a girl, having no one to share the news with. 

He had invited you for a piece of lemon cake, drying your tears. 

Mr. Winter was the father you wished you had in your life. He was like a grandfather to Maxie and you were glad you had him in your life. 

“First class for flight DT453 to Barcelona is now boarding,” you opened your eyes, looking at the people making their way towards the doors. 

You watched a man in a purple sweater make his way towards the flight attendant, his ticket in his hand. He was only carrying a small bag over his broad shoulders. He had dark hair, curly and unkempt. 

You looked after him until he walked through the door and towards the plane before you carefully got up from the uncomfortable chair, Maxie still in your arms as you grabbed your backpack and pulled your boarding tickets and passports out. 

If you were lucky, she would stay asleep for a little while longer. 

Dieter was listening to your voice, reading him the newest script of a SciFi Thriller. He had his airpods in as he made himself comfortable in his seat, taking his shoes off immediately and pulling Crocs on. He put the seatbelt on, grabbing his phone to put it into flight mode before he leaned back and sighed. 

In the corner of his eyes he could see a woman walking past his seat with a toddler in her arms, getting into the row in front of him. He watched her as she put what he thought was her daughter down on the window seat before she pulled her backpack off and rolled her neck with her eyes closed. Her eyes caught his when she opened them and she blinked once, twice, before she gave him a small smile and a nod and sat down in her seat. 

Dieter closed his eyes, relaxing in his seat and it wasn’t long before he fell asleep. With your voice in his ear.

Maxie thankfully slept through the beginning of the flight, giving you time to relax.

Technically. 

Years ago, when money was low you had started working for a local agency making audio readings of scripts. 

Apparently there were actors out there who were too lazy to read the words by themselves. 

But Dieter Bravo wasn’t. 

You had read about his condition and even saw an interview or two where he spoke out about it.

Of course you knew who he was. The tabloids were full of his escapades. 

And now he was sitting behind you on a ten hour flight. 

You had never met him. You wouldn’t say you were a huge fan but you did enjoy his works. He was a very talented actor when you ignored the whole scandals around his person. Though you had read that he had gotten sober and changed basically every part of his life lately. 

“Mommy,” Maxi blinked her eyes open, her little head turning to search for you. You smiled at her, taking her hand. 

“Are you ready to fly to see Auntie Sarah?” you asked and Maxi rubbed her eyes but nodded. It was her first flight. 

“So you gotta sit in your seat until that little light goes off. And then we can watch Moana?” Maxie nodded with a small smile, trying to look outside. 

The flight took off and Dieter had fallen asleep at some point, waking up when a Stewardess asked him what he wanted to have for dinner. He ordered the lasagna and some fruity mocktail before he groaned and stretched his muscles. 

He heard a childish giggle from the seat in front of him, followed by a voice talking he would recognize everywhere. 

You had just been reading to him after all. 

He narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer, but yes. It must be you. 

You who had unknowingly been the one constant in life for almost ten years. 

Taking a deep breath he got up from his seat to walk to the restroom to freshen up. He was still unused to seeing himself so… healthy. He put on some weight and that skin routine his stylist taught him was doing wonders for his skin. 

He chuckled to himself as he made his way back, asking for a Kit Kat when he passed the bar.

Some habits were just too good to get rid of. 

He made his way back to his seat, the little girl who had been giggling when he left now sleeping on the seat and he decided to use this time to talk to you.

“I know you,” you turned your head around looking up to see Dieter Bravo standing beside you. You narrowed your eyes. 

“That’s…. An odd way of saying hello to a complete stranger,” you said and he flinched, his hand rubbing his neck.

“Yeah. Noticed that too. I sound like a fu…” he looked at Maxie sleeping, “freaking stalker,”  he shook his head and you huffed a laugh. 

“Okay. From the beginning. Hi. I’m Dieter and I think I know you,” he held out his hand which you took to shake it. 

You told him your name.

“I know you too. But it’s not that creepy when I say it,” you winked and he chuckled.

“That’s true. But… It is you? Right? I was listening to you reading that very very bad Sci Fi script earlier…”

“Oh yeah. Yeah that was me. I’m glad you think it’s bad too.”

“It sucks. Don’t know why my agent even sent it to me,” he shook his head with a smile. 

“I mean if you’d take it it might be ending up as a decent movie,” you shrugged and he grinned.

“Was that a compliment I just heard?”

“Maybe. Don’t get used to it though.”

Four hours into your ten hour flight you were sitting next to Dieter, Maxie on your lap as you all watched Pets.

Well Maxie was watching with her headphones on while you and Dieter talked. About everything really. 

He had told you about how hard it was to stay sober, but that he wanted to keep it up this time. He even told you how close he came to dying the last time and your heart broke for him. 

“I don’t think you should be telling things like that to a total stranger,” you teased but he smirked. 

“You’re not a total stranger. I fell asleep with you more times than I can count.”

“Oh,” you said, suddenly flustered. 

“Honestly. I feel like you’re the only constant in my life I had in the last ten years which sounds… so freaking weird because we never met each other.”

“It’s not weird. I feel like I know you too. Or I thought I did? I mean… I know tabloid Dieter. But I like this version better,” you smiled.

“Thank fuck, oh sorry,” he apologized as he looked at Maxie but you just shook your head. 

“She’s totally focused on the movie. She won’t hear you.”

“How old is she?”

“Two. Turning three in four months.”

“She’s adorable. You must be proud.”

“More than that. She’s my whole life,” you smiled down at her.

“Are you… Are you and her father…” he asked. You shook your head. 

“Haven’t seen him since I told him I was pregnant. It was… It was a hard time back then.”

“What a… asshole,” he whispered and you chuckled, strangely taken by how he was trying to keep the cursing at a minimum. 

“Yeah. But it’s his loss really. She’s perfect,” you said and Dieter nodded. 

“I think you are too,” he mumbled and you grinned. 

“You think?”

“Give me the rest of the flight to figure it out.”

“So have you done other audio readings?” he asked after dinner. Maxie was asleep and hopefully would stay that way for the rest of the flight. The lights were dimmed and Dieter had ordered what looked like all the sweets of the bar. 

“I’ve done a couple. But yours are the ones I kept up with.”

“Any… steamy stuff?” he wiggled his eyebrows. You huffed a laugh. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” you hummed with a teasing smile.

“Fuck yes I would,” he whispered and you bit your lip.

“I haven’t done readings,” you finally said. 

“But way back I might have done some… dubbing for European porn.”

“They dub that shit?” he asked and you laughed quietly, nodding your head. 

“It was only two movies and it was awkward as fuck.”

“I wonder how you…” he stopped himself, biting his lip as he looked at you. 

“You wonder how?” you asked expectantly.

He leaned in, and you could feel the warmth of his body against your side. You gulped.

“I wonder how you sound when you cum,” he whispered against your ear and you shuddered. He kissed you beneath your ear before he sat back in his chair, watching you the whole time. 

“I… Maybe this was….” you stuttered.

“Maybe this was?”

You turned his body towards him, looking into his eyes. 

“Okay so. Isn’t it crazy that we met each other like that? And… you feel that too right? I never felt… I… Whatever this is?” you gestured between you and him. 

“Yeah. I mean… Not to be too forward but I think I fell in love with your voice years ago. Even when I was fucking high and out of it, you could calm me down. And meeting you? Yeah… Yeah I feel that.”

“How long are you in spain?”

“Four months. Shooting a series. You?”

“Three weeks but…. I work from home and my sister’s husband is fucking loaded so maybe I could stay….”

“I want to get to know you. I wanna take you out on dates. I wanna get to know Maxie and feed her as much Ice Cream as possible.”

“Don’t you dare,” you laughed, but he took your hand. 

“Give me your phone so I can give you my number.”

The flight was spent talking with Dieter. At some point Maxie woke up and climbed into Dieter’s lap before she continued to sleep. You were… You were as much confused as he was but he assured you it was okay and that he had many nieces and nephews who did the same. 

He helped you get your things together once the plane landed and you arrived in Barcelona, keeping Maxie in his arms as you walked out of the plane.

“So…” he said. 

“So,” you said, Maxie already sitting in the black car that would bring you to your sister. 

“I’ll see you soon?” you asked. He nodded. 

“If there wouldn’t be these two paparazzis around I would kiss you now,” he whispered and you smiled. 

“I would let you,” you grinned. 

“Text me when you get to the hotel,” he said.

“You too.”

He hugged you then and you inhaled his scent. 

You said your goodbyes and got into the car, unknowing that you would see Dieter for dinner with your sister and fiancé later on the same day.

Because as it turned out, Dieter Bravo was the cousin of your sister's fiance Javi Gutierrez.