#Kathleen Ayers

[triviareads]

Could you recommend some historical novels with some kind of game involved? Idk chess, cards, etc

Yes! This is by no means a comprehensive list because there are a lot that are tangentially set in gambling hells and the like, but here are some of my favorites:

Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven has a card game subplot; Harry is a savant and can easily count cards, and she realizes her and Thomas's houseguests are cheating them during cards so they devise a plan to win back their money. Tom's also a gambler and a high-stakes one from what I remember.

What I Did For The Duke by Julie Anne Long has a sexually tense game of blindman's bluff complete with not-very-discreet groping, and then a dramatic card game that finally makes Genevieve realize in a very roundabout way that the duke loves her and wants her to be happy unconditionally.

The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers has a way-too-sexually-tense game of lawn bowling. The hero later admits he wanted to tug the heroine's skirts up on the lawn and take her then and there.

Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe has a heroine who wants to start a gambling hell for ladies so she asks big bad casino owner Clay Madden for lessons.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean: There's a really hot card game scene at the end where Ralston is basically Done and ready to get this seduction started after Callie is all "hm I wonder what it would be like to be a courtesan".

The Awakening of Ivy Leavold by Sierra Simone: this is a historical erotic romance; There's a game of blind-man's bluff that turns into an orgy by the end.

All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue by Sophie Jordan: Aurelia likes to sneak out and go to a pleasure club dressed as a courtesan and play cards and at one point I believe the hero has to pay a forfeit where he strips naked in front of everyone.

The Viscount Always Knocks Twice by Grace Callaway: It's a house party so there's lots of games; I remember hide and seek which ended with Violet and Carlisle making out in a Priest Hole, and Carlisle also gifts Violet with a handmade bow and arrows during their courtship because she likes those kids of games/sports.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas: Derek Craven owns a gambling hell, there's a GREAT scene where Sara is disguised by a mask and she's playing cards and all them men can't help but he drawn to her including, of course, Derek Craven. This is actually suuuch a romantic part of the book, at least until he finds out it's Sara under the mask and then it descends into (horny) farce.

Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas: Lily agrees to a high-stakes card game and if she loses she has to sleep with the hero Alex; obviously she loses, there's this really interesting bit where Derek Craven half-assedly protects her honor in that he tells Alex to be gentle with her, but also, says she needs to honor her debts and basically shoves her into a private room to await Alex lolol.

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas: Annabelle and Hunt play a lot of chess while she's recovering from a snake bite and it does get to the point where she's having sex dreams about it. Both this book and It Happened One Autumn have scenes where the wallflowers are playing rounders (kind of like baseball?), most notably in SoSN where they're playing in their underwear and Simon Hunt and Westcliff happen upon them.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn has a pall-mall scene where Kate and Anthony are super competitive and Kate ends the game by whacking Anthony's ball into the lake.

Gavin Hunt from Her Wanton Wager by Grace Callaway, Cross from One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean, and Aiden Trewlove from The Duchess in his Bed by Lorraine Heath are some of my favorite gambling hell heroes except I can't quite remember how much gaming there is in their books, but I strongly recommend them.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

An Heiress for August by Kathleen Ayers

The Rake Review #8

Delightful enemies to lovers romance with assumptions, misinformation, and other issues to overcome before August and Hazel are able to achieve their happily ever after.

What I liked: * The prologue with very young Hazel and August at a lawn party that introduced the main characters and set the stage, in a way, for their future encounter

* Hazel: draper’s daughter, wealthy, charitable, has a chip on her shoulder, disliked/envied by the ton, believes that she is only wanted for her money, has given up on love and marriage…mostly

* August: the nephew and cousin of the previous Dukes of Courtland, commissioned officer, survived Quatre-Bras, valiant, has nightmares/PTSD, needs a fortune to refurbish his Duchy

* Maria Talbot: widow, married for love, Hazel’s friend, hostess of the house party

* Eliza: August’s cousin, knows the estate needs money, has her eye on someone other than Hazel for her cousin, and has some past issue that I am curious about related to Everhurst

* Everhurst: ex-military, admires August, good friend, admirable person, and seems to still be interested in Eliza

* Wondering if and when Eliza and Everhurst might get a book of their own

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* That though it took awhile to warm up to and be able to see August and Hazel together…gradually as more was uncovered…I couldn’t see them with anyone else

* That I cared about and became invested in the outcome of the romance and would have loved to have had an epilogue to see how the couple are in the future

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The machinations, scheming, and rudeness of some in the ton

* The desire of some parents for status more than the happiness of their children

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

London’s most notorious rake needs to wed. August Wade was never meant to be the Duke of Courtland. Now he’s inherited the title from his uncle along with the poorly managed ducal estates. After months of attempting to remedy the situation, August concludes that he must wed an heiress. Specifically, Miss Hazel Dartmont, only child of an obnoxiously wealthy textile merchant. Not only is Miss Dartmont wealthy, but she is several years on the shelf and far beneath him socially. She will be thrilled to draw the attention of a duke. Desperate, even. Miss Hazel Dartmont is an expert at avoiding marriage. Hazel only accepted the invitation to Lady Talbot’s house party to escape London and the attentions of an overly amorous gentleman. As a wealthy heiress, albeit one with a pedigree most of society turns their noses up at, Hazel is accustomed to being targeted by every desperate dandy in London. Now well past marriageable age, Hazel delights in her independence and has no intention of ever taking a husband. Not even the rakish Duke of Courtland can change her mind. An Heiress for August is book 8 in the multi-author series The Rake Review. If you enjoy watching some of London's most notorious scoundrels getting raked over the coals, then be sure to collect all twelve bachelors in The Rake Review!

[darlenefblog]

Hot Duke Summer: Regency Historical Romance Anthology

Thank you to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing, Inc, and all the authors involved for this advance reader copy of the book. Below is my honest review.

By Scarlett Scott, Alexa Aston, Annabelle Anders, Meara Platt, Kathleen Ayers, Chasity Bowlin, Sara Adrien, Jude Knight Publisher: ‎ Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. Publication date: ‎ August 24, 2024 Print length: ‎ 406 pages Rated a 3 out of 5 stars

An anthology of never-before published novellas. What a cute Summer read; it didn't take long to finish each story which is perfect for Summer when I seem to always be on the go. Taking a bit of time for myself was easier to do with each being a short story. I'm always up for a historical romance involving a hot duke. While each story is a standalone some fit into a series if you're interested in reading more of a particular author.

A few of the stories weren't up to par for me. Vering off the historically correct path a bit is ok, but I prefer not to go so far that it's unbelievable. A couple weren't interesting. I don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment or bias you unkindly to a story you might think is grand. I'm going to pick my favorite to give you a taste of the material.

Love is the Duke's Best Remedy by Sara Adrien. A play on Pretty Woman and a bit of Cinderella. I've never read any of this authors work and was pleasantly surprised by how well the plot moved along, the dialog was enjoyable, the characters likeable. Edmund and Lola are our couple with Brewster as the bad guy lawyer. For me using the plot of the movie as the basis for the story worked, with a few changes it fit into Regency England without too much fuss. Edmund can't sleep, Lola grows flowers and herbs to sell at an apothecary, Brewster is a mover-and-shaker lawyer using Edmund as his pawn in deals to make himself rich. One of the tweaks is Lola's job. The Cinderella aspect has a bit of a twist but it also works. There're mean shopkeepers, rubies, opera, and a brown polka-dot dress. I loved it.

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Early days in slowly going through Kathleen Ayers's The Beautiful Barringtons series and damn, Amanda, what the hell were you thinking naming your youngest child Phaedra? Did you run out of Greek myth heroines that you resolved to stick the baby with 'horny stepmom who would do a frame-up on her underage stepkid when he wouldn't fuck her.' It's like naming your daughter Klameddia or Rapestia now. It just doesn't work, especially when Hecate, Atalanta and Selene were like right there? No wonder the kid needs more adventurous hobbies growing up.

[missygoesmeow]

Hi, hello! If it's not a bother, may I ask if you have any recommendations for historical romance novels, please? 👀

hello! and no bother at all :)

these are some of my favourites

If you want something more historically accurate you can’t go wrong with Georgette Heyer! These books do not have sex in them but they’re wonderfully written and feel like they were written in the time period they’re set in.

I’m a harlot so I mostly read trashy romance ones like those above haha Tessa Dare is probably my favourite author and so I’ve read a lot of hers but I really like Kathleen Ayers as well.

[booklovingpixies]

REVIEW TOUR - Tall, Dark and December by Tracy Sumner

Tall, Dark and December by Tracy Sumner   In a city where every scandal and secret counts, iron-willed inventor Weston Witaker’s world is turned upside down by Lady Penelope, leaving him determined to win her heart. Readers who love Kathleen Ayers, Lisa Kleypas, and Sarah MacLean will devour Tall, Dark and December by Tracy Sumner, a steamy, reverse age-gap, My Fair Lady retelling.   “This…

[bucolicbook]

Hot Duke Summer: Regency Historical Romance Anthology by Scarlett Scott, Alexa Aston, Annabelle Anders, Meara Platt, Kathleen Ayers, Chastity Bowlin, Sara Adrien, Jude Knight 

US pub date - 8/24/24

The Duchess Bride - Scarlett Scott 

*character called Buttercup ✔️

*character named Westley ✔️

*masked, yet familiar, man kidnaps MFC to save her from a miserable marriage not to a Prince Humperdinck but to a Humberton  ✔️

Dilemma over a Duke - Alexa Aston 

*MFC decides on a marriage of convenience to a friend ✔️

*childhood friend / crush (her betrothed’s brother, oops) returns from war ✔️

The Duke’s Day Off - Annabelle Anders 

*titled man falls for his mother’s long suffering amanuensis / companion ✔️

*Memento Mori leads to love? ✔️

The Moonstone Mermaid - Meara Platt 

*injured soldier and duke falls for the woman he ‘accidentally’ spies on while she’s swimming ✔️

Say Anything, Duke - Kathleen Ayers

*accident prone MFC ✔️

*MFC’s mother = 🤬🤬🤬✔️

I Know this Much is True - Chastity Bowlin 

*insta insta love ✔️

Love is the Duke’s Best Remedy - Sara Adrien

*My Fair Lady / Pretty Woman vibes ✔️

The Worth of an Earl - Jude Knight 

*reverse Aladdin 

Anthologies are an excellent way to discover new-to-me authors or read shorter offerings from favorites and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read 🙂

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it’s that time again! #TBQsBookDeals

Your Wednesday thread of #romancedeals is ready, FREE to $2.49. Happy shopping! 📚❤

    FREE ✦ Coming Home to the Top of Main Street by Meg Easton

Best friend's sister. He's a chef, she's very business savvy, they team up to open an ice cream shop.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3MbeIT3 

$0.99 ✦ Wild Cowboy Ways by Carolyn Brown

He's the new owner of a very ramshackle ranch and needs her carpentry skills to get things in order.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3Mbq0qn 

$1.49 ✦ Alpha's Moon by Renee Rose

1st POV. Wolf shifter + human kindergarten teacher + fake date.

Paranormal Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3NTef9k 

$1.99 ✦ Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

A notorious rake/blackmailer returns from exile intent on revenge + heroine who becomes his housekeeper to search for blackmail being used against her mother.

I liked this one.

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3pngE1Y 

$2.49 ✦ The Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers

She wants to be introduced to his friend. He agrees . . . but only if she plays the piano for him while dressed only in her underwear.

KU Title

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/42p2DzA 

 Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq 

[agendergorgon]

It made sense to me, friend Taka, having heard long conversations about your from long conversations while walking or sat about cups of coffee. I've a few OCs from WormRP back in the day, not many took off or had romances but there was one, Mewl, a "Nyanbinary catenby" with vaguely slasher movie themed secondary powers and a primary power to understand the layout and lines of sight of any room they'd been in. Mewl themself was originally an alternate identity for a more Saw themed villain named Squeak, but Squeak was just some boring carpenter with a mouse mask and for some reason I can't put my finger on playing a trans character was appealing to me, even when it started as just a joke and a purposefully cringe costume adopted by a villain who wanted a heroic identity for sinister purposes. Mewl dated two characters, both played by people who were my long distance partner at one time or another. The first was Leanan Sidhe, a mob boss that granted super powers to their minions in exchange for a measure of control and a physical mark on their body. She kept Mewl as a pet, one who was happy for the affection, chance to submit, and money towards their surgeries and medication. Leanan was played by an ex of mine named Kathleen, who was a friendly figure who helped me explore my feelings early on before transition, and who would later be banned from all servers we shared for attempting to groom a minor (not myself, different server), making me reflect a lot less favourably on our interactions. No song pick cos I can't think of one rn idk fucking Poison from Hazbin Hotel or something, that one's cringe enough to match my memories of that entire relationship. https://youtu.be/xEGWKXwUb54?si=6z9zJ1d28VkxC-cY I was a somewhat different person at the time. Mewl later ended up dating one half (two people sharing a body, each played by a different person) of Sister Stigmata, a nun with a reality warping vision of hell that she could show to others and sometimes physically overlay atop them and the environment. Sister Stigmata was played by my now fiance, Nash, and our characters dating was a sorta slow entry into us dating. A few excitable discussions of how the two would interact on casual dates and continued slowburn romance turned into long calls together and chatting about every little obsession and interest we had. Because I'm always about as literal with my song choices as David Ayer's Suicide Squad, song choice would be Demon's Are A Girl's Best Friend, on account of Sister Stigmata interacting mostly with a fucked up eyeless incubus rendition of Mewl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhK2ev_O-pc @nashoid is still in my DM's calling me cute to this day, and I owe it to a silly roleplaying server and a lot of trial and error.

OC Ship Song Tag

Tagged by @gabeorelse - ahh thank you!! Okay this will be fun because I don't tend to talk about my ocs much here

Rules: list the ships of your wip (canon or otherwise!) and the song that "describes" your ship, or that would be used for a fan edit of the ship.

This is a bit complicated because actually a lot of my wip projects aren't exactly shippy, especially since I am trying to write predominantly aromantic stories - but Gabe said I could do platonic or single characters if I wanted to 😌 I think what I'm actually gonna do is songs for the characters who , if I had a fandom, people would end up shipping lol. I'm gonna do these for Onkalo because I think that's got the most to going on (and also the longest playlist haha) and actually I think it'll be funny to do this by how common or rare I think the pairing would be hahah

For those who don't know: Onkalo is my original tv series concept set in several hundred years after the collapse of our civilisation. It follows Peregrine, a grief-stricken father who dedicates himself to finding Onkalo, a mythological structure buried under the ground that is said to contain an item of great power. He believes that he can use whatever is inside to protect his son, Ash. On the flip side, Ash, who believes he has been abandoned by his dad, sets off to find him after a disaster destroys their community.

Harper/Reo or Harper & Reo - these two are basically my og spydoc - childhood friends who bonded in adverse circumstances, but then Harper manages to escape the Bad Situation, and Reo is left to suffer the consequences. Reo ends up becoming something of an antagonist, bitter and set on making Harper pay, whilst Harper becomes a semi-parental figure to Ash as he looks for his dad (she is absolutely terrible at it). But, eventually, Reo choses to help Harper, Ash and Connie escape, and sticks with them. It's not completely smooth going, but fundamentally they missed Harper and their friendship too much. If any ship is canon in this show, it's these two.

Songs: Go Down Together by Foxing or La Lune by Madeon for more shippy fandomy stuff, but Sink by Brand New is my song for them, and it's a lot angrier. However, in the show, I'm 100% intending to have the very intense sequence of Reo and the others escaping be set to The Bike Song by Mark Ronson and The Business Intl, because bikes are involved and I'm hilarious - so if anyone set a video to that song, they would absolutely correct.

Peregrine/Caleb or Peregrine & Caleb - the canonical-ness of this one is very muddy, because I'm fighting with my fascination over their dynamic and how they do or don't feel about each other, and my overwhelming desire for this show to be as aromantic as possible. As it stands, Peregrine is entirely driven by his grief and guilt surrounding the death of his wife, Heather, but if he wasn't, then he'd be open to it. I reckon Caleb has a hell of a crush but will take it to his grave. As it happens, they're super doomed by the narrative and almost certainly not going to survive anyhow. However, I reckon if there was a fandom, this would be one of the Big Ships because I know what fandom is like.

Song: Wild Country by Wake Owl

Peregrine & Ash - the relationship between these two is so mired with desperate, familial love and aching anger. Ash wants to hate his dad, but fundamentally he still travels across the country to find him. Peregrine is so driven by the need to protect his son like he couldn't protect his wife that he completely abandons his son to hunt down a folktale that ends up killing him.

Songs: Above the Clouds of Pompeii by Bear's Den, and Welly Boots by The Amazing Devil

Harper & Connie or Harper/Connie- I think anyone who ships this would be so galaxy brained, tbh, but Harper and Connie both travel with Ash and lowkey become his stand-in parental figures, but not in any standard sort of way. Harper is like, reluctant dad figure, and Connie is the only person with the braincell. I reckon the appeal of this one is that this is that they're both people who have been defined by their own communities and families, but in very different ways. I think Harper would learn a lot about what family can be from Connie, and Connie would learn to blame herself less from Harper. People who ship Harper/Connie/Reo would be even MORE galaxy-brained, but adding Reo into the mix would make the whole thing a bit more rancid, bless. I think Connie and Reo would actually be super interesting.

Songs: if it's just Harper/Connie, it's Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos (this one also works really well for Peregrine and Caleb too). If it's Harper/Connie/Reo....ooh, it would probably be Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos, with Reo being the soldier, Harper being the poet and Connie being the king. Okay damn I lowkey love how that works, like non-romantically.

Connie & Peregrine or Connie/Peregrine- Peregrine actually meets both Harper and Connie on separate occasions earlier in the plot. The dynamic between Harper and Peregrine is lowkey hilarious to me, because I'm pretty sure they look at each other and go 'oh, yikes' and leave it at that. Connie and Peregrine actually get on really well, though, and hang out together for a long while. Peregrine is allergic to nice things though, and actively avoids making new emotional ties. With Caleb, he fails drastically - but he also fails regarding Connie too. Con actually wanted him to stick around, but he tricks her into getting left behind (because he's an ASS, but actually it's mainly because he didn't want her to die/get hurt. And it's a good thing tbh because by the next episode he's captured by an amnesia cult who try to lobotomise him, so....). Anyway, I think both Caleb and Connie are people that Peregrine could have learnt to overcome his grief with, in a different world. I think Connie and Peregrine in particular find common ground in how much their communities mean to them. They are both driven on journeys, spurned by grief and guilt - but for Connie, she still remains in orbit of her family, whereas Peregrine has isolated himself entirely. I feel like not so many people would ship this, but I'm soft about it

Ship Song: I Will Remain by Matthew and the Atlas

Peregrine/Heather - the only CANON ROMANCE, but I killed it lol because Heather is dead from the start. She haunts this entire series, but her relationship with Peregrine is SO IMPORTANT because it drives the entire plot. I love them both a lot augh

Ship song: You Are a Memory by Message to Bears

That ended up SUPER LONG and also won't make sense to anyone probably rip, but!! Here it is!

Tagging - this is obviously optional, and feel free to make this about fandom characters instead if you like! But! @taardisblue, @novantinuum, @chaoticacecryptid, @subducting, @agendergorgon (I think you have ocs? For worm?)

THANKS GABE!

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers

The Beautiful Barringtons #2

 Enemies to Lovers and/or Opposites Attract ~ Great  Historical Romance that had me waiting with bated breath.

 What I liked:

* Lady Adromeda “Romy” Barrington: designer of extraordinary clothing, hiding her talents from the ton, loves her family, more than a pretty face, strong, intelligent, knows what she wants, not willing to settle for less than what she desires…and deserves

*  David Warburton, Duke of Granby: an upright prig, rigidly and abusively raised, following a path set out by his father, drawn to Romy though she is all wrong for him…or so he thinks, grew through the story

* David’s aunt…much more to admire before the book ended…really liked her

* Theodosia “Theo” Barrington: has a crush on Lord Blythe, vanity precludes wearing glasses with predictable results, artist, will star in book 3 (already read and adored)

* Being reminded of the rest of The Beautiful Barringtons and knowing each, hopefully, will get his/her own book

* Meeting some of David’s friends and wondering if they will show up in future books and if so, who they will be paired with

* The “bubble” that the Barrington family created and lived within…and how they all cared for one another

* Seeing how Tony and Maggie were doing….and hearing Leo is away on business (think I will be reading about him next in book 4)

* The sound of the gorgeous outfits created by Romy

* That some of the “mean girls” did not win

* That the emotions, feelings, and behaviors were believable and in keeping with the characters

* That Romy was true to herself, stated her feelings strongly without excess emotion, and stood true to herself

* The truth that emerges toward the end of the story and how it impacts Granby’s future

* All of it really except…

 What I didn’t like:

* Granby’s father

* The mean girls, the gossip, and the hatefulness of the ton

* Thinking about how difficult it must have been to be a woman in that era…and also how difficult to be poor

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

 Thank you to IndiePenPR and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5

     BLURB

  Lady Andromeda Barrington is the most unsuitable young lady in London. At least in the Duke of Granby’s opinion. Granby doesn’t care for bastard relatives or tainted pedigrees and Andromeda possesses both. Nor does he like opinionated young ladies who enjoy hurling insults in his direction. Andromeda is, in short, the most annoying creature he’s ever met. When she arrives, uninvited, to a house party given at his estate, Granby can’t decide whether to kiss Andromeda senseless or send her packing. Andromeda is the victim of infatuation and bad luck. The infatuation is that of her sister for the Earl of Blythe, but the misfortune belongs solely to Andromeda after she is forced to attend a house party hosted by the Duke of Granby. She and the duke are previously, unpleasantly, acquainted. The entire party is bound to be awkward, and their mutual dislike difficult to hide. Her only recourse is to avoid the giant block of ice masquerading as a duke. Thankfully, Granby’s estate is enormous. But instead of mutual hostility upon arriving, Romy is greeted with unexpected attraction. Insults turn into flirtation. Heated discussions become lingering kisses. Her heart is ruined. Granby may not even have one. And the duke has already chosen another young lady to be his duchess. The Design of Dukes is steamy historical romance with a guaranteed happily ever after and next in the series The Beautiful Barringtons.

[triviareads]

@anon here are snippets from five HR novels with mirror scenes that actually happened that I think are very hot:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

The Designs of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers

Sutton's Sins by Scarlett Scott

How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret

What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long

also, here's my (incomplete but still superior) list of carriage scenes:

Wait...I literally just saw someone post a quote about Colin wanting to do in front of the mirror like yesterday. Are people making this up? What is going on. Mind you I only just found out about this since people only talk about the carriage scene didn't even know this was like a thing.

Lol so it's been a long time since I read RMB, but I was kind of thrown by the mirror discussion because I didn't remember that happening, and I felt like that was something I remembered in general, but DEFINITELY in a Bton book. Because the sex is so boring that Sir Phillip's "efforts" are seen as incredible lol.

Then @triviareads let me know that she and @jeanvanjer verified that there was in fact no mirror scene. He just talks about it. Which most certainly does not count. An anon recently reiterated that lol.

The carriage scene is also incredibly lame, to be real. It is very normal. Light stuff. If you want a real carriage scene, try Joanna Shupe's The Devil of Downtown (... is he ever ...), The Bride Goes Rogue, or Grace Callaway's Fiona and the Enigmatic Earl.

I actually really get annoyed when heroes TALK about what they're going to do versus just DOING IT. But that's a typical Colin moment, tbh.

[papermoonloveslucy]

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

April 8, 1946

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth. Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney,  Norman Taurog, Charles Walters. Robert Lewis Producer: Arthur Freed for Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The shooting schedule ran between April 10 and August 18, 1944, with retakes plus additional segments filmed on December 22, 1944 and then between January 25 and February 6, 1945. The film was first proposed in 1939. 

Synopsis ~ We meet a grayed, immaculately garbed Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. in Paradise (his diary entry reads "Another heavenly day"), where he looks down upon the world and muses over the sort of show he'd be putting on were he still alive.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball ('Here's to the Ladies') is appearing in her 64th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. 

Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies' / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues’ / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), and Follow the Fleet (1936). His name was mentioned twice on “I Love Lucy.”

Lucille Bremer (Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues') 

Fanny Brice (Norma Edelman in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') appeared in the original stage version of many editions of The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway.

Judy Garland (The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943). 

Kathryn Grayson (Kathryn Grayson in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Lena Horne (Lena Horne in 'Love') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Gene Kelly (Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). He made an appearance on the Lucille Ball special “Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980).  

James Melton (Alfredo in 'La Traviata')

Victor Moore (Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars')

Red Skelton (J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes') also starred with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together. 

Esther Williams (Esther Williams in 'A Water Ballet') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946). 

William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.) also played the same character in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). 

Edward Arnold (Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars') appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ellis in Freedomland (1952).

Marion Bell (Violetta in 'La Traviata')

Cyd Charisse (Ballerina in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Hume Cronyn (Monty in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') was honored by The Kennedy Center in 1986, at the same ceremony as Lucille Ball. 

William Frawley (Martin in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') played the role of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. He also appeared on “The Lucy Show,” his final screen appearance. 

Robert Lewis (Chinese Gentleman in 'Limehouse Blues' / Telephone Voice in 'Number Please')

Virginia O'Brien (Virginia O'Brien in 'Here's to the Ladies') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and Meet The People (1944). 

Keenan Wynn (Caller in 'Number Please') appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946), Without Love (1945), and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). 

SUPPORTING CAST

Ziegfeld Girls

Karin Booth  

Lucille Casey  

Aina Constant  

Elizabeth Dailey  

Frances Donelan  

Natalie Draper  

Karen X. Gaylord  

Aileen Haley  

Carol Haney  

Shirlee Howard  

Margaret Laurence  

Helen O'Hara  

Noreen Roth  

Elaine Shepard  

Kay Thompson  

Dorothy Tuttle  

Dorothy Van Nuys  

Eve Whitney - appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15).

Dancers

Gloria Joy Arden

Jean Ashton  

Irene Austin  

Judi Blacque  

Bonnie Barlowe  

Norman Borine  

Hazel Brooks  

Ed Brown  

Kathleen Cartmill  

Jack Cavan  

Marilyn Christine  

Laura Corbay  

Rita Dunn  

Meredyth Durrell  

Shawn Ferguson  

Jeanne Francis  

Jean French  

Mary Jane French  

David Gray  

Bill Hawley  

Doreen Hayward  

Charlotte Hunter  

Virginia Hunter  

Patricia Jackson

Margaret Kays  

Laura Knight  

Laura Lane  

Dale Lefler  

Melvin Martin  

Diane Meredith  

Lorraine Miller  

Joyce Murray  

Janet Nevis  

Ray Nyles  

Billy O'Shay  

Jane Ray  

Dorothy Raye  

Beth Renner

Melba Snowden  

Walter Stane  

Ivon Starr  

Robert Trout  

Chorus Boys

Rod Alexander

Milton Chisholm  

Dick D'Arcy  

Dante DiPaolo  

Don Hulbert  

Herb Lurie  

Matt Mattox  

Bert May - appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford”

Jack Purcell  

Tommy Rall  

Ricky Ricardi (!)

Alex Romero

“LIMEHOUSE BLUES” starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, and Robert Lewis

Robert Ames (Masked Man)  

James Barron (Couple with Banners)  

Eleanor Bayley (Couple with Branches)  

Mary Jo Ellis (Couple with Banners)  

Sean Francis (Ensemble)  

James King (Rooster)  

Harriet Lee (Bar Singer) 

Eugene Loring (Costermonger)  

Charles Lunard (Masked Man)  

Patricia Lynn (Ensemble)  

Ruth Merman (Ensemble)  

Garry Owen (1st Subway Policeman)  

Ellen Ray (Couple with Parasols)  

Jack Regas (Masked Man)  

Billy Shead (Couple with Parasols)  

Ronald Stanton (Couple with Branches)  

Wanda Stevenson (Ensemble)  

Ray Teal (2nd Subway Policeman)  

“LOVE” starring Lena Horne

Juliette Ball (Club Patron)   

Lennie Bluett (Dancer)   

Suzette Harbin (Flirt)   

Avanelle Harris (Club Patron)  

Maggie Hathaway (Dancer)  

Charles Hawkins (Club Patron)  

Marie Bryant (Woman Getting Her Man Taken)   

Cleo Herndon (Dancer)   

“THIS HEART OF MINE” starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Helen Boyce (Countess)   

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Lieutenant)

Naomi Childers (Duchess)

Charles Coleman (Majordomo)   

Sam Flint (Majordomo's Assistant)

Sidney Gordon (Masked Man)   

Count Stefenelli (Count)   

Robert Wayne (Dyseptic)   

“PAY THE TWO DOLLARS”  starring Edward Arnold and Victor Moore

William Bailey (Subway Passenger)

Joseph Crehan (1st Judge) - played a Detective on “I Love Lucy” “The Great Train Robbery”

William B. Davidson (2nd Judge)

Eddie Dunn (3rd Subway Policeman)   

Harry Hayden (Warden)   

George Hill (2nd Subway Policeman)   

Wilbur Mack (Subway Passenger)   

Larry Steers (Magistrate)

“NUMBER PLEASE” starring Keenan Wynn

Peter Lawford (Voice of Porky)

Grady Sutton (Texan)

Audrey Totter (Phone Operator Voice)

Kay Williams (Girl)

OTHERS

Bunin's Puppets

Elise Cavanna (Tall Woman)

Jack Deery (Man)

Rex Evans (Butler in "A Great Lady Has An Interview”)

Sam Garrett (Roping / Twirling Act)

Silver (Horse in "Here's to the Ladies') 

Arthur Walsh (Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket") - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11). 

‘FOLLIES’ TRIVIA

Sidney Guilaroff, Lucille Ball’s hair dresser, who takes responsibility for her famous ‘golden red’ for this movie, becoming her trademark color.

Although they appear in different segments, this is the only feature film collaboration between “I Love Lucy co-stars" Lucille Ball and William Frawley. Coincidently, Frawley's character in this film shares a striking similarity with his iconic character of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In this film he plays a money-hungry curmudgeon of a landlord, much like the show. In the above photo, he appears with director Minnelli and co-star Brice. 

The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is the Lone Ranger's Silver!

Lucille Ball was actually fired by Ziegfeld from his road company production of Rio Rita in the 1930s.

In February 1956, Lucy and Desi appeared on “MGM Parade” to promote their MGM film Forever Darling. The show also included footage of Lena Horne singing from Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy also played a showgirl in pink in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E19) aired on February 21, 1955. The scene was inspired by Ziegfeld’s legendary stage shows featuring beautiful women wearing elaborate costumes navigating long staircases. To solidify the comparison, Ricky says he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was one of the directors of Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy Ricardo had previously cavorted around in a lampshade in the manner of a Ziegfeld girl in both the unaired pilot and “The Audition” (S1;E6).

Ziegfeld Follies includes a sketch for Red Skelton called “When Television Comes” aka “Guzzler’s Gin” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. This sketch was an obvious influence on Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin routine in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aired on May 5, 1952. 

Ziegfeld Girl Eve Whitney appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15). She used her own name for the character.  

The Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket" Arthur Walsh - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11) as Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh. He teaches Lucy how to jitterbug. 

The first Judge in the “Pay the Two Dollars” James Crehan also played the Police Detective on “I Love Lucy in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) first aired on October 31, 1955.

Porky, a voice on the telephone in “Number Please” Peter Lawford, played “Password” against Lucille Ball on September 24, 1964.  At the time, Lawford was married to President Kennedy’s sister, Patricia. On November 26, 1968, Ball was a guest on “The Tonight Show” when Peter Lawford was sitting in for Johnny Carson.

Chorus Boy Bert May appeared as a solo dancer on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford” (TLS S5;E21) in February 1967. 

In the dressing room, Lucy jokes with Fanny Brice, one of the funniest women in showbusiness.  This was the only time Ball and Brice collaborated and was Brice’s last film. 

Ziegfeld’s follies began on Broadway, so it was appropriate that the show featured past and future Broadway musical stars:

Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat (1960)

Carol Haney ~ The Pajama Game (1954)

Tommy Rall ~ Call Me Madame (1950)

Fanny Brice ~ The Ziegfeld Follies 

Marion Bell ~ Brigadoon (1947)

Victor Moore ~ Anything Goes (1934)

There was a lot of material that was not filmed, but written and cast. Some of the original skits would have added “Lucy” performers Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, and Van Johnson to the cast.

[whitejeweler]

Welcome to Music Monday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam sing about a 14-karat love in their #1 hit from the summer of 1987, “Head to Toe.”

Lisa Lisa (born Lisa Velez) uses jewelry metaphors, pop culture references and what Ad Age magazine called the best advertising slogan of the 20th century to illustrate just how much she cherishes her guy — a guy who used to be her best friend and now is her boyfriend. She sings, “14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile / When we make love, diamonds are forever.”

Penned for a De Beers marketing campaign in 1947 by NW Ayer copywriter Mary Frances Gerety, the brilliant four-word tagline “A Diamond Is Forever” has inspired an Ian Fleming novel, a James Bond flick, an iconic theme song by Shirley Bassey and Lisa Lisa’s “Head to Toe.”

The Jewel of the Nile was a blockbuster action-adventure movie from 1985 starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

The dance number, which zoomed to the top of the U.S. Billboard 100 chart, is one of the iconic dance tunes of the 1980s. It features a Freestyle vibe seasoned with a generous sprinkling of soul, electro-funk, Latin rhythms and hip-hop. It’s the type of song that would come up on a playlist alongside the early work of Paula Abdul, Gloria Estefan and Sheila E.

“Head to Toe” was composed by Full Force, a long-time production and songwriting powerhouse. According to music trivia website SongFacts.com, the girlfriend of Full Force member Paul Anthony blurted out what would become the song’s catchy hook during their gym workout.

Apparently she was so impressed by his physique that she screamed that “she loved him from head to toe.” Anthony brought that nugget to the rest of the group and, before long, a chart topper was born with the unforgettable hook, “Ooh, baby, I think I love you / From head to toe.”

“Head to Toe” appeared on Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s Spanish Fly album, a critically acclaimed work that sold more than one million copies and spawned two #1 hits. The other was the memorable “Lost in Emotion.”

The Harlem-based Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam consisted of lead vocalist Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex “Spanador” Moseley and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. The group was assembled and produced by Full Force, which has worked with a long list of top acts, such as Britney Spears, James Brown, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, La Toya Jackson, Patty LaBelle and Selena.

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam enjoyed a successful seven-year run from 1984 to 1991. We invite you to check out the official video of “Head to Toe.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Head To Toe” Written by Full Force. Performed by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.

Head to toe I know

Today started with a crazy kiss On our way home We were in for a surprise Who would have known

Who would have thought that we would become lovers As friends we were so, so tight Can’t help myself, you make me feel so right I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe I know

Here today, gone tomorrow It’s possible, but I doubt it His kiss is credit in the bank of love I never leave home without it

He’s different from any boy I know Body supreme Bedroom eyes, head back to the side Please don’t be so mean

14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile When we make love, diamonds are forever Top to bottom I love you, I will leave you never I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe Ooh, baby, I’ve got to kiss you From head to toe

Ooh, baby, I think I love you You got to know Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe You can’t hurry love, you got to take it slow But my angel, you forget your wings tonight [Heaven up above] Baby, you got the love

14-karat love, you are my Jewel of the Nile When we make love, diamonds are forever Top to bottom I love you, I will leave you never I got to, got to, got to tell you, darlin’

Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe Ooh, baby, I want to kiss you From head to toe

Ooh, baby, I think I love you You got to know Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe

I think I love you from head to toe I know

Ooh, baby, I want to kiss you From head to toe Ooh, baby, I think I love you You got to know

Ooh, baby, I think I love you From head to toe

Credit: Screen capture via Youtube.com.

Visit our website at whitejewelers.net

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[missygoesmeow]

I was browsing your blog (oh gosh I hope that doesn't sound too weird?) and I saw you posted about the Wallflower Series by Lisa Kleypas. I loved that series so much, I didn't think many other people knew about it! It's definitely part of what got me into historical romance. That and her Hathaways series, which is also fantastic!

hello! and no, not weird at all - I am happy it is browsable haha

yes, I love her Hathaways series too! I mostly read historical romance and I love her books. my kindle is pretty much just full of historical romance lmao if you haven't read it, I really enjoyed The Beautiful Barringtons Series by Kathleen Ayers - though I haven't read them all. but I love the first one in particular and re-read it a lot!

[mayathepsycho]

La mentira del año: The Rise of Skywalker.

Stephen King tuiteó el día de ayer que es época de Star Wars y que eso le recuerda a una canción de Bob Dylan, "People got a lot of knives n’ forks...and...they gotta cut somethin". Sí, la gente siempre va a tener algo que criticar, sobre todo tratándose de Star Wars. Pero en el caso de una película que se presenta tan intencionadamente mal hecha, creo que las reacciones están más que justificadas. El episodio IX de Star Wars no parece tener otro propósito que hacernos pasar el peor día de nuestras vidas a los seguidores que le dimos el beneficio de la duda, a pesar de la paliza que hace dos años nos dio The Last Jedi. Mi texto no está libre de spoilers, así que pueden leerlo sólo si ya han pasado por esta experiencia nada grata.

Debo reconocer que estoy hablando como una fan más de la serie, no como una crítica, ni como una persona objetiva. Dicho eso, no puedo enlistar y ni siquiera vislumbrar todos los niveles y aspectos en los que The Rise of Skywalker falla y se convierte en la peor película de esta trilogía. Desde hace unos días, los críticos y los fans, gracias a los leaks que de alguna forma terminaron en la web, ya habían detectado la raíz del problema. Parece que en  Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy alguien sentó a JJ Abrams y a punta de pistola le encargó la tarea de arreglar el tren descarrilado que Rian Johnson dejó, a como diera lugar. JJ determinó que la única manera en que se podía apagar el fuego del descontento de los fanáticos, que llevó a cancelar el proyecto de Disney de una película de Star Wars por año, era complacer a todos. De esta manera, The Rise of Skywalker resulta una amalgama de hechos sin sentido, que grita por todos lados “Perdón por el desastre, perdón por haberlos llamado trolls, por favor no dejen de comprar entradas para las películas”. La película contiene elementos para intentar consolar a todo segmento dentro del fandom, todo aquel que haya deseado ver algo en las películas y lo haya externado en algún momento en internet. ¿Quieren saber quienes son los padres de Rey de verdad? Rey sí es alguien después de todo. ¿Pero también quieren a Rey Skywalker? La tienen. ¿Quieren su Reylo? Lo tienen. ¿Pero también odian a Kylo Ren? No hay problema. ¿Qué querían ver a un Finn con habilidades Jedi? Listo. ¿Quieren ver al Luke original? Lo tienen. ¿Todos odiaron al personaje de Rose Tico en The Last Jedi? Sáquenla del guión. JJ Abrams mostró su subordinación ante un fandom dividido y harto, y, más importante mostró sus verdaderos colores: Tienen miedo de dejar de vender, es lo único que les importa. Pero, cómo, por dios, cómo puede alguien estar tan corto de visión, tan falto de creatividad, cómo pueden entender tan poco del universo de Star Wars para fallar tan grandiosamente en complacer a todos, queriendo hacer eso. 

Estas personas intentaron vender el Episodio IX como el cierre de toda la saga Skywalker, cuando lo que estas películas más hacen es pasar por encima de la historia original y arruinar todo lo que uno cree sobre ellas. Las precuelas eran malas, pero al menos ellas dejaron relativamente en paz el trabajo de la primera trilogía. Pareciera que JJ y Rian sólo nos quieren hacer sentir como unos tontos por creer ciertas cosas acerca de un universo ya establecido, o que sólo quieren burlarse de nosotros por creer que Star Wars era acerca de la esperanza, del amor, de no darse por vencidos. ¿Por qué habríamos de pensar eso? ¿Esperanza, en Star Wars, dónde? No contentos con arruinar el universo y el marco narrativo de años, nadie nunca en Disney pensó que tendría que molestarse en escribir una trama. Literalmente no puedo creer que nunca nadie se haya reunido en una habitación para solucionar una cuestión elemental: habrá una nueva trilogía, tres películas, episodios VII, VIII y IX. necesitamos saber de qué va a tratar esto. Entonces, por más que uno se esfuerce, por más que uno intente bajar las expectativas y apagar el cerebro y disfrutar de su Star Wars sin más, no hay manera de sobrevivir mientras JJ por un lado aniquila todo en lo que crees, y por otro, intenta hacerte sentir algo por personajes terriblemente escritos y por una trama que no va a ningún lado. 

Dado el estado de caos, sólo me voy a centrar en las tres peores lagunas narrativas que encuentro en la película. No hablaré de la ausencia de duelos lightsaber memorables, de escenas culminantes, del horrible tratamiento de personajes (cofcof Rose Tico, cofcof General Hux), o del insostenible ritmo narrativo de la trama; esos son errores de la película en sí misma que valen para un texto separado y para mi (y muchos más) el problema más grande con estas secuelas ha sido la falta de planeación. A estas alturas, no creo que nadie pueda defender que Palpatine estaba programado como un suceso culminante de la saga. Es evidente que nunca fue el plan y la película no ofrece una sola explicación de por qué el Emperador está de vuelta o cómo sucedió, y no sé por qué confié en que se molestarían en hacerlo cuando escuché la risa en el trailer. Palpatine no encaja en la historia, no es claro cuál es su objetivo y el intentar explicarlo sólo hace surgir las inconsistencias detrás de tres películas que no fueron articuladas como una trilogía en primer lugar. El recurso de reemplazar al bad villain de Snoke con él es triste, es patético, es una burla, todo al mismo tiempo. Entiendo que la muerte de Snoke haya sido la peor decisión narrativa en la historia moderna de los blockbusters, que haya arrinconado a JJ, y que sea algo con lo que vayamos a tener que vivir de aquí en adelante. Pero al menos tuve dos años para hacerme a la idea de que esa había sido la decisión y que episodio IX tendría que partir desde ahí, sin Snoke, con Kylo Ren como un villano principal. Cómo va a llenar Kylo Ren los zapatos de Supreme Leader siendo el desastre emocional que es, y con Hux queriendo apuñalarlo a la primera oportunidad, cómo va a arreglarse con Rey mientras ella está en el polo opuesto de la Resistencia . Eso es lo que estaba esperando dado que en eso había terminado la maldita película, no contaba con tener que soportar ver a Palps de vuelta somehow y que encima JJ se atreva a declarar que ese fue el plan desde siempre. Y por supuesto, tampoco contaba con tener que asimilar la idea de Rey Palpatine. Oh, dios, Rey. 

No entiendo cuál es el punto de nombrar a tu película THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, tener un personaje que literalmente es el último Skywalker, hijo de Leia Organa, sobrino de Luke Skywalker, nieto de Anakin fucking Skywalker, quien durante dos películas ha ido trastabillando de la oscuridad a la luz, y que al final resulte que el ascenso de Skywalker se refería a Rey porque...sí. Rey, quien por alguna razón en verdad es descendiente de PALPATINE (¿cómo? ¿cuándo...? ¿que Palpatine qué...? ) a pesar de que en la película pasada se hizo la revelación de que Rey es nadie. No sé como JJ esperó que aceptaríamos sin más su modo de “enmendar” esta decisión al ignorarla por completo, pues para bien o mal, es uno de los momentos memorables de TLJ.  No intento defender a Rian Johnson y yo misma recuerdo cómo la revelación de Rey nobody acabó con algo en mi para siempre. Pero si la historia ya tomó ese ritmo, si Rey lo único que quiere es pertenencia, una familia, hacerse un lugar en la historia, ¿cómo infiernos esperan que me trague que la señorita es descendiente de un hombre que hizo la misión de su vida manipular a otra familia que definitivamente no era la suya para consolidar su imperio? Por otra parte, el reproche de que Rey es una Mary Sue no me golpeó hasta esta película. Es bastante aburrido, frustrante y horrendo ver cómo Rey es la Jedi perfecta, la piloto perfecta, que ninguna de sus decisiones representa un problema. Ni siquiera su amor por Kylo le trae los conflictos que debería, una Jedi enamorándose del Supreme Leader, la Resistencia seguramente tendría mucho que decir, pero jamás vemos que haya un reto verdadero para ella en toda la trama. Tal vez el único momento en que me tragué que había un poco de oscuridad en ella fue cuando apuñala a Kylo en un descuido, pero en general, nunca entendí cuál es el camino del héroe de Rey, si es que tuvo alguno. Rey es una scavenger con poderes increíbles (todos los poderes de la Fuerza habidos y por haber le pertenecen a ella), quien busca  a su familia....quien resulta ser el Emperador....para que al final ella adopte el apellido Skywalker. En verdad, no sé quien leyó el guión de The Rise of Skywalker y creyó que era una buena idea. 

En medio de la tormenta, siempre creí que había un solo hilo conductor de este desastre de películas. Kylo Ren es el único personaje con dimensión en estas secuelas y Adam Driver hizo un trabajo titánico al lograr sacarle credibilidad a los guiones, y en particular al último. No es casualidad, parecía que Kathleen Kennedy y JJ lo único que tenían claro era qué clase de villano querían construir y hacia donde querían llevar su historia. Un niño que más que querer conquistar la galaxia, sólo es emocionalmente volatil y que vive a la sombra de su abuelo. El linaje de Ben, el hecho de que sea incapaz de llenar las expectativas que el lado oscuro tiene para él, y la aparición de Rey, su igual en la luz, apuntaban al camino de la redención, y es algo que creí desde la primera película hasta el momento en que el título,THE RISE OF SKYWALKER,  fue revelado. No obstante, en verdad tuve que sentarme a ver una película donde Ben Solo es lanzado a un precipicio mientras la heroína se encarga de derrotar a Palpatine en persona. Todos los Jedi le hablan a Rey porque ésta es la era de los personajes femeninos empoderados, ¿por qué razón Anakin Skywalker tendría que tener unas palabras para su propio nieto, quien ha pasado la mitad de su existencia rogando por la guía de su abuelo? Más allá de si Rey tenía derecho o no a robarse el clímax, no tiene sentido que durante tres películas nos hayan metido en la cabeza que Kylo Ren y Rey son iguales en la Fuerza, luz y oscuridad, ying y yang, luna y sol, para que al final no haya habido un enfrentamiento de iguales y la redención prometida. Sobre este punto, sólo tengo halagos para Adam Driver, quien con su actuación fue capaz de hacerme feliz en medio de esta pesadilla. Adam Driver, desprovisto de líneas en el enfrentamiento final, en medio de un guión que no hace sentido por ninguna parte, aun así fue capaz de transformarse mediante puro lenguaje corporal en Harrison Ford, en el mismísimo Harrison Ford que ni la película Solo, ni los personajes raquíticos de Finn y Poe lograron emular. Espero que JJ Abrams y Kathleen Kennedy hayan sentido en sus huesos el momento en que las audiencias enloquecieron cuando Ben Solo recibe el sable de Rey para enfrentarse a los Caballeros Ren. Ahí va el único personaje con el que logramos conectar, sí, el único personaje por el que la gente pagaría otra entrada para el cine, o una suscripción para Disney+. Pero ahora Ben Solo está muerto y con él morirán los millones, lo único que quería Disney de Star Wars.

Por ahora, sólo nos queda intentar olvidar este tren descarrilado. Ya surgen en Tumblr y Reddit los análisis más agudos  que señalan los problemas de edición y las decisiones de última hora que llevaron al desenlace anticlimático que obtuvimos. En lo personal, creo que es más frustrante tener a la mano los datos de lo que The Rise of Skywalker pudo haber sido, si ésta no fuera la era del feminismo y del internet. La única resolución que he obtenido del final de la saga Skywalker es que no volveré a consumir entretenimiento que se desarrolle en la lógica cultural del capitalismo avanzado. Si quiero entretenerme, tendré que hacerlo yo misma, o tendré que recurrir a las historias menores de oriente y de fantasía que aun se resisten a ser devoradas por el capital. Tal vez de ese modo, podremos volver a ver a nuestros héroes completar su camino.

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it’s that time again! #TBQsBookDeals Your Friday thread of #romancedeals is ready, FREE to $2.99. Happy shopping! 📚❤

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She's running away from her half-brother (who tried to sell her off), when she runs into the hero, who was at said auction and refused her.

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 Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq