#author: rebecca ross

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t set foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind; plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instil fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls. As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.

[itsdeenlee]

[meeghanreads]

Top 5 books I want for Jolabokaflod in 2024

Hello friends!! Welcome to Top 5 Tuesday!! This week’s topic is top 5 books I want for Jolabokaflod in 2024!! In Iceland they have the greatest Christmas tradition ever for a booklover. On Christmas Eve, you exchange gifts of BOOKS and then spend the evening reading and drinking hot chocolate. Maybe eating gingerbread. And because the sun sets thedre at like 3pm in December, evening means you can…

[petalpetal]

Anyway here is the full list of books I’ve read this year this is a mix of adult and YA with one middle school book the ones in bold are my big reccomenders

- Hild and Menewood by Nicola Griffith

- Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin

- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

- Joan by Kathrine J. Chen

- The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

- Butcher of The Forest by Premee Mohamed

- The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

- Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

- The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik

- Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

- Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: and Other Stories by GennaRose Nethercott

- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

- Godkiller and Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

- Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

- The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec

- A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee

- The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

- Lore by Alexandra Bracken

- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

- The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

- Gallant by V.E. Schwab

- Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

- The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

- No One Will Come Back For Us: And Other Stories by Premee Mohamed

- Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by Various Authors

- The Libarary of Legends by Janie Chang

- The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

- Girls Who Burn by MK Pagano

- Starve Arc by Andrew Michael Hurley

- Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

- Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai

- A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher

- The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

- Circe by Madeline Miller

- Woodworm by Layla Martínez

- The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

- Sworn Soldier series by T. Kingfisher

- Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

- A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel

- Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

- Jonathan Strange & Me Norrell by Susanna Clarke

- The Darkest Part of The Forest by Holly Black

- The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack

- Six Crimson Cranes series by Elizabeth Lim

- A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

- Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi

- The West Passage by Jared Pechaček @jpechacek

- The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh

- Revelator by Daryl Gregory

- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

- Hera by Jennifer Saint

- Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

- The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

- The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

- The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

- The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

- The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

- Sistersong by Lucy Holland

- House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

- The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne

- The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

- The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless

- The Witch of Colchis by Rosie Hewlett

- Sisters of Sword & Song by Rebecca Ross

- Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

- Little Eve by Catriona Ward

- Pilgrim: A Medieval Horror by Mitchell Lüthi

- The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk

- Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

- O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

- everything by Shirley Jackson

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

Hi I love your stuff! Can I ask who are your favorite writers? It doesn't have to be all Jily writers, you can recommend actual published writers, too. I just need to be reading whatever you're reading! And Happy NY xx

hi this is so kind!!

so i have this recent fic rec list of an assortment of jily and jily-adjacent fics. i don't really follow specific writers. i mostly just read what comes across my dash (in a dream world, i would be a devoted user of ao3 filters, regularly finding undiscovered fic, but alas...i rarely have time to peruse. i trust the recs of my mutuals like my life depends on it!!)

as for published writers, i also don't really follow any particular authors religiously. (i'm realising as i type this how lame i must seem ha!) i usually try to keep four books at once on rotation: one fiction novel, one non-fiction, one classic, and one professional development book (i work in education, so lots of books about child development, leadership, etc.)

i'm assuming you're not interested in most of those, though, ha! so as for fiction novels with witty banter, lovable characters, and moments that make your heart squeeze and squeal a bit (the things i try to prioritise in my own writing!), here are a few recents reads that fit that bill:

divine rivals by rebecca ross

every summer after by carley fortune

any and all emily henry novels (she is the witty banter queen)

the mysterious benedict society by trenton lee stewart

the ten thousand doors of january by alix e. harrow

the heaven & earth grocery store by james mcbride

if you end up reading any of these, i hope you will drop back by and let me know what you think!! happy new year! xxxx

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Read in January 2025

new year, new books! this month stretched on forever and ever so I read a lot :3 it's been fun revisiting the fantasy genre after not being into it for a couple of years

my favourites were definitely Skysong and Where the Dark Stands Still. oh, and the Assistant to the Villain series, those ones are so much fun! ah!! and The Spellshop! and A Letter to the Luminous Deep! they were all just so good!

Nonfiction:

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - 5/5

Familiar authors:

The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst - 4/5

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison - 3/5

All Shall Mourn by Ellie Marney - 4/5 (ARC)

Rough Pages by Lev AC Rosen - 4/5

Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross - 4/5

Everything Glittered by Robin Talley - 2/5

Other reads:

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond - 3/5

The Bloodless Princes by Charlotte Bond - 3/5

When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll - 3/5

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall - 4/5

The Violence by Delilah S Dawson - 4/5

Servant Mage by Kate Elliott - 2/5

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - 2/5

All Hallows by Christopher Golden - 1/5

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden - 3/5

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner - 4/5

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner - 3/5

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - 2/5

Foster by Claire Keegan - 3/5

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - 5/5

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - 4/5

Where the Dark Stands Still by AB Poranek - 5/5

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - 3/5

The Honey Witch by Sydney J Shields - 4/5

Sister Maiden Monster by Lucy A Snyder - 5/5

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - 3/5

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell - 3/5

Skysong by CA Wright - 4/5

[sjsmith56]

Answers - A Private Man, Chapter 8

Summary: Bucky gets a warning from a surprising source. Tracey officially makes the decision to move in with Bucky and Rebecca.

Length: 4.2K

Characters: Bucky, Rebecca, Tracey, Matt Murdock, John Walker

Warnings: Bucky feeling paranoid (with reason).

Author notes: This story was originally written around the time of the Thunderbolts movie announcement. For the purposes of this story pretend not to have much of an idea of the purpose of the team (even less than what we know now). I'm not familiar enough with the comic book story of that group but Marvel doesn't really seem to be following that anyways.  I can tell you that the threat of Ross and Fontaine will hang over Bucky, Tracey, and Rebecca by appearing in future chapters.  Since this book already doesn't follow canon, in that it deviates from Falcon and the Winter Soldier storyline (Bucky living with his sister in Brooklyn) it may just deviate from putting him in the Thunderbolts.  You'll just have to keep reading to find out for sure.

<<Chapter 7

Tracey came for dinner that Monday evening and they all sat outside after in the warm evening, under the glow of the fairy lights, listening to a mixture of crooners and instrumentals from the 1940s through to current day.  Bucky brought up Tracey moving in with them and Rebecca agreed that she would like that. 

"I'll clear out some of the basement," said Bucky.  "We can make room for Tracey's things down there then go through everything and sell what we don't want to keep.  Does that sound alright to both of you?"

"We could have a yard sale," said Rebecca.  "I'm sure I have some old things down there that would sell.  What do they call it now ... retro or vintage furniture?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that," insisted Tracey.  "It is your house."

"And Bucky's," stated Rebecca.  "If it's in the basement I likely haven't used it for years.  Better it go to someone who will use it and enjoy it.  We can put the money towards something else, like a new roof or something."

"What's wrong with the roof?" he asked.  "I was just up there a few weeks ago.  It looked alright."

"It was just an example," replied his sister, rolling her eyes a little bit.  "You never know what will come up.  You'll bring Alley Cat with you, won't you Tracey?"

"Absolutely," she replied.  They were all quiet for a moment.  "Did you hear from Matt Murdock?"

"Yeah, they still won't give him an answer," said Bucky.  "I've been thinking of phoning Colonel Rhodes.  He's still with the Department of Defence, and has been trying to get the Avengers formally reinstated.  He might be able to find out if it's the Army that filed an objection."

The others thought that was a good idea.  When it was bedtime for Rebecca, Bucky carried her into the bathroom, where Tracey helped her then dressed her for bed.  He carried her to bed, read her another bedtime story from the book that Tracey bought them then tucked Rebecca in before kissing her goodnight.  Out in the hallway he put his arms around Tracey.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to stay but I think you want an uninterrupted sleep tonight," he smiled.  "I could do with a proper sleep myself."

"Is my fatigue that obvious?" she asked, jokingly.  "You don't mind, do you?  We could make plans for me to stay over Friday and Saturday, as long as you don't mind if I bring Alley Cat with me.  I hate imposing on my neighbour to look after him.  He tends to use it as an excuse to ask me out."

Bucky's eyebrows raised.  "I have competition?" Pulling Tracey closer, he kissed her sensuously, while running his hands down her back.  "Do I have anything to worry about?"

She shook her head slowly while looking him in the eye.  "He's rather creepy but he does try to be helpful.  So, I'm safe to give my notice to vacate my apartment at the end of next month?"

"Uh huh," he replied.  "How big is your bed?"

"Queen size, bigger than yours," she said, with a smile.  "We could always buy a king size.  I think it would fit in that room."

"Queen size is good enough for a while," answered Bucky.  "Don't want to have too far to reach for you."

They kissed again and Bucky walked her out to her car, kissed her once more, then watched from the street as she drove into the night. 

"Nice looking girlfriend," said a man's voice and Bucky turned towards it, seeing a man leaning against the light post and smoking a cigarette.

"Do I know you?" asked Bucky, his senses alerted.

"Just stopped for a smoke," said the man.  "Didn't want to interrupt you kissing your girlfriend."

Even in the dark Bucky could see the tells for someone lying.  "You live near here?" he asked.

"Next street over.  My wife thinks I've quit smoking so I walk around the block and have it over here."

"Funny, I've never noticed you before," replied Bucky.

"That's because you usually take off at this time," said the man, a little too casually.  "Figured you work night shift or something."

"No, you misunderstand me," said Bucky, standing square to the man.  "I mean I'm an observant guy and I've never seen you walking around this neighbourhood, never smelled anyone smoking the type of cigarette you're smoking.  So, either you're lying about being a neighbour, or this is your first time watching my house.  Which is it?"

The man smirked.  "Wow, you're paranoid," he replied, then he threw his cigarette down onto the sidewalk and crushed it under his shoe.  "I guess I'm going home.  You have a nice night."

Bucky watched as the man walked away, making sure he was out of sight before he picked up the crushed cigarette with his left hand.  He brought it into the house and laid it on a tissue.  Then he placed a phone call.

"Matt? It's Bucky.  I just caught a strange guy outside on the sidewalk smoking.  He says he lives in the neighbourhood but I've never seen him and I don't know many guys living in Brooklyn smoking a Japanese brand."  Bucky was silent for a moment.  "Okay, I'll put it in a plastic bag.  I'm not being paranoid but everything about this guy made my senses alert, you know?"

He said goodbye and pulled a sandwich bag out of the pantry, then picked up the butt and put it inside the bag.  After he turned off the lights he looked out the window cutout on the door, making sure he was in the shadow.  A few minutes after he started looking the man came back, leaned against the lamp post, lit up another cigarette, then watched the house.  Stepping away slowly, Bucky looked at the plastic bag in his hand and went into the bathroom.  He pulled out the box of Rebecca's adult diapers and placed the bag in the bottom, sliding it in between a couple of them.  Then he changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt, picked up a pillow from his bed and came out to the living room, lying on the couch.  Pulling a throw blanket on top he laid there watching the door until he fell asleep.

He was awakened during the night by sounds outside.  Looking through the cutout window he couldn't see anything but did notice several intact cigarettes scattered on the road, visible in the streetlight's glow.  For about 15 minutes he watched but he didn't notice any movement and eventually returned to the couch, falling asleep quickly. 

His phone woke him up at 5:45 am and he opened the door to get the newspaper, left on the front sidewalk.  The cigarettes were all gone but he noticed several drops of blood that seemed to lead away from the house.  Kneeling down to get a better look at the blood he saw an intact cigarette under a bush on their neighbour's property.  Extending his left hand he picked it up, confirming it as the same brand as the crushed one from the previous night.  There was also a faint scent of aftershave, something that he had smelled before but he couldn't place where.

"Interesting," he said out loud, then looked all around but he was alone on the street. 

Returning to the house he started up the coffee, put the intact cigarette in another sandwich bag, and made his breakfast.  Sitting at the table when it was ready he ate and read the newspaper.  It contained much the same news as it always did except for a couple of things that caught his eye.  The first was a news article about a masked vigilante taking on certain elements of the criminal underworld.  Police were reluctant to call him a criminal himself as he had often deposited individuals onto the front steps of certain precincts with a note detailing their crimes.  The second article that got his attention was buried deep in one of the sections announcing the appointment of a new CIA director.  Her name was Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and it had her picture.  He recognized her as John Walker's employer, and as someone who had apparently tried to have Clint Barton killed by Yelena Belova, according to Sam.

He texted a note about the second news article to Foggy Nelson, wondering if Fontaine might be the one who filed an objection.   After finishing his breakfast he got dressed, retrieved the crushed and intact cigarettes, put them in his jacket pocket, and waited for Kalyna to arrive for her shift of looking after Rebecca.  As soon as she did he headed towards the docks, clocked in, and met with the other supervisors to go over the ships expected to dock that day, their manifests, and which crews would be assigned to which ships.  It was a busy day broken only by the sight of Matt Murdock waiting for Bucky as he came out of the security gate to grab some lunch at a nearby café.  His appearance was expected as he wanted to "see" the crushed cigarette Bucky picked up the night before. 

"Hi," said Bucky, noticing some cuts and bruises on Matt's face.  "What happened to you?"

A small grimace flickered across the lawyer's face. 

"Walked into some low hanging branches," he replied.  "Really did a number on my face."

Bucky hummed.  "You want something to eat?" he asked.  "My treat."

"Thanks, just coffee," said Matt.  "You go ahead."

They sat at a table and Bucky ordered coffee for both of them plus a double order of a club sandwich and fries for himself.  While they waited he pulled out the two baggies and put the one with the crushed butt in Matt's hands.

Murdock opened it and smelled the tobacco.

"It does smell different," he commented. "Was that the clue that something was up?"

"Partially," said Bucky.  "In my previous occupation I did a lot of surveillance, watching people.  Got to read them very well.  He had tells that he was lying.  The cigarettes were odd for a westerner to smoke unless he had spent time working in Japan especially with the Yakuza as each clan has their favourite brand.  Don't ask me how I know that.  He came back after I sent him on his way.  Then during the night I heard what sounded like a scuffle.  He was gone but his cigarettes were scattered.  When I got up in the morning they were gone as well except for this single one that was under a bush.  There were blood drops on the sidewalk as well as a faint scent of aftershave in the air, similar to what you're wearing."

He placed the second bag in Murdock's hand then watched him intently, noting his reaction.  A small smile crossed the lawyers's lips.

"Busted," he said in a voice so low that only Bucky would hear him.

"You're him," said Bucky, in an equally low voice.  "Your secret's safe with me, although I'm curious how a blind man's senses are on extreme overdrive.  Did he tell you anything?"

"Hired by untraceable text.  Money transferred from a secret account.  He was only to watch you, not interact.  I think they're trying to establish your routine so they can take you at some point."

"Strange this happens just as the CIA gets a new director," stated Bucky.  "Sometimes a coincidence isn't."

"My thoughts also," said Murdock, taking a sip.  "Watch your back.  They might try something with your sister or Tracey."

"She's moving in," stated Bucky.  "I can handle anyone that comes at me here or in transit but if they threaten Rebecca or Tracey I'll likely go overboard."

"Understood," said Murdock, finishing his coffee and preparing to leave.

"Matt," said Bucky.  "Come to me if you get hurt.  I have unique field medical experience.  There are ways to speed up healing.  I have your six if it comes to that."

"I appreciate the offer," said the lawyer and he extended his hand.

Bucky shook it.  His food was delivered a minute later and he enjoyed every last bite.

Friday

The crew of dockworkers under Bucky's supervision finished unloading the cargo ship just before quitting time. He still had some paperwork to finish up and returned to the office to do it.  By the time he was done the place was deserted, as the night crew were yet to arrive.  Once they came on it would get busy while they began organizing the shipping containers to load the ship for the return journey across the Atlantic.  As he signed off on the last of his paperwork Bucky stretched and stopped at the dock manager's office.

"I'm off, Rick," he said to the burly man who would stay for another couple of hours finishing his own paperwork.

"Nice work this week, Buck," he said.  "I'm glad to have you on as a supervisor.  The crew respects you.  How different is it from when you worked here in the 30s and 40s?"

"Well, we didn't have the nice forklifts then," said Bucky.  "It was a lot more back breaking.  We had cranes but not these heavy duty ones that can pick up an entire shipping container.  Everything was on pallets.  Still the same goal; get it loaded and unloaded as quickly as possible."

Rick smirked then wished Bucky a good weekend.  He went to his locker, put his jacket on and checked his phone.  Tracey was already over at the house.  He smiled, considering himself a lucky man, then texted that he was just leaving and would be there shortly.  Waving at the security guard he left the secure part of the dock facility and began the walk home.  An SUV at the side of the road drew his attention to the presence of an individual in it and he slowed up, his curiosity heightened.  The person in the driver's seat got out and turned to face him.

"Get in, I'll give you a ride home," said John Walker, the last person he expected to see waiting for him.  "We need to talk."

"No offence, John, but there's been some weird shit going on for a while," replied Bucky.  "You'll have to forgive me for not trusting you."

The man sighed.  "I get it.  You have my word I'm taking you straight home."

Bucky took a moment to consider and made the decision to go with Walker.  He got into the front seat and buckled himself in.

"So, what do we need to talk about?" asked Bucky.

"The people who ordered your arrest, for starters," said Walker.  "I had nothing to do with it.  As far as I'm concerned you've paid your debt to society and deserve to be left alone but I'm in a minority."

"Fontaine was behind it?" asked Bucky.

"It was her great idea," said Walker, sarcastically.  "But she is being pushed by someone else.  Thaddeus Ross."

Bucky's lip curled.  "Why does he want me arrested?  I was pardoned by the President himself.  Can't he leave well enough alone?"

"You don't understand," said Walker.  "They don't want you in prison.  They want you working for them and they want you to do for them what you did for HYDRA."

Bucky didn't know what to say as he was suddenly very angry.  It took a few minutes for him to get his emotions under control.  "I don't kill."

"I told them," stated Walker.  "Said you're not the Winter Soldier anymore.  Ross just laughed.  Said once a killer, always a killer."

"So why are you telling me this?" asked Bucky.  "It's not like we're good friends or anything."

"No, but I do owe you something," he replied as he pulled up in front of Bucky's house.  "I never should have taken the serum.  I thought it would make it easier to do what I do but it's so easy to lose control and I'm terrified I'll do to someone what I did to that Flag Smasher, as much as I felt justified at the time.  I never realized why you kept yourself restrained.  I get it now.  You do it so you don't become a monster.  I was cocky when they gave me the shield but I didn't deserve it.  Sam was Steve Roger's choice and I know why.  He's a much more honourable man than I'll ever be."  He took a frustrated breath before continuing.  "They're still considering their options to force you to work for them.  Expect them to get dirty.  At some point they may ask me to come after you and I won't have much choice to say no.  They know things about me, things I did in the heat of battle.  It's why I still work for Val."

Bucky nodded in understanding at this unloading of emotions coming out of Walker.  "They have you over a barrel, in other words.  I appreciate the heads up, John.  I do.  But I won't be forced into killing again, for no one.  Do they know you're here, talking to me?"

"Sort of.  I said I could probably convince you but I just said that so I could warn you.  I'll tell them you turned me down, which you did.  Whatever they ask me to do personally, I won't hurt your sister or your girlfriend.  I won't cross that line but it doesn't mean they won't find someone who will.  Watch your back and tell Sam to watch his.  They're also the ones behind the campaign to defund the Avengers."

Walker stuck his hand out and Bucky looked at it for a moment then shook it.  It took guts for John Walker to tell him this to his face.  Perhaps their cooperation against the Flag Smashers in New York had changed him enough to try to walk a straighter path.  Regardless, he had answers now and with answers perhaps he could find the right ammunition to fight Ross and Fontaine.  He got out and Walker raised a hand to his forehead before driving off.  Bucky watched him until he was out of sight.  The door to the house opened, revealing Tracey waiting for him.  God, she was beautiful; his own angel.  He felt a warmth deep in his core at the thought of them in bed later. 

"Who was that?" she asked.

"John Walker," he replied, debating at first whether he should tell her more.  "I'll tell the rest inside.  You and Rebecca both need to hear what he told me.  I'm going to get Sam, Matt and Colonel Rhodes on the phone as well.  We may have a fight on our hands."

Ten minutes later he finished telling them everything Walker told him.  No one said anything then Matt's voice came over the phone speaker.

"Well, I guess we need to do some deep digging.  There has to be something these two have done that we can use against them."

"I don't know," said Rhodes.  "Ross was Secretary of State for President Ellis.  That's a lot of political power and he would have been thoroughly vetted before being offered the position."

"That's true, but he was also in charge of the super soldier project involving Bruce Banner, right?" said Matt.  "I've done some homework already as I wondered if he was behind your payout being delayed.  What if he made overtures to HYDRA at that time to get their intel?  He might have even known about you, Bucky.  One of my sources speculated that SHIELD was able to unthaw Steve Rogers successfully because they had access to how HYDRA took you out of cryostasis without mentioning you by name."  Bucky breathed heavily when he heard that but didn't respond.  "Let me do some digging.  There has to be someone somewhere who knows something."

"Try Helmut Zemo," said Bucky.  "He's the one who framed me but he also decrypted more HYDRA files than anyone.  You might have a hard time getting hold of him as he's in the Raft now.  His right hand man is an old guy named Oeznik.  As for Val, she's not clean, I know that much.  I wouldn't be surprised if she blackmailed her way into her position."

"She was married to a guy named Everett Ross," said Rhodes.  "Had him arrested recently but he was "kidnapped" on his way into custody.  Rumour has it that the Wakandans have him."

"I'm not sure he'll help either," said Bucky.  "He was the Deputy Commander of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre when I was taken into custody.  Sharon Carter worked for him and she helped us.  Maybe she knows something."

There was silence until Rhodes spoke.  "Buck, she's dropped out of sight.  In fact, she might be one of the targets that the CIA wants eliminated.   There's a rumour she's back in Madripoor."

"I can go there," offered Sam.  "But it would be dangerous for me."

"I could go with you," said Bucky, an offer that was met with a resounding no from both Rhodes and Matt.

"If you try to leave the country you'll just give Fontaine and Ross fuel to take you into custody," said Matt.  "You need to keep doing what you've done for the past year.  Go to work, look after your family, and stay out of trouble as much as possible."

Everyone agreed with that plan and Bucky accepted their reasoning.  For a man who had been an asset used to track down and kill HYDRA's enemies he felt somewhat helpless but he also knew that he was walking a very public tightrope.  Ross and Fontaine had resources to take him down and the last thing he needed to do was make it easy for them.  After the others hung up he sat back on the couch with his arm on the back of the sofa. 

"So how was your day?" he asked Rebecca and Tracey in an understated tone.

Rebecca had a gleam in her eye while Tracey went to the bedroom.  She came out with a walker, positioning it in front of the older woman.  Grasping the handles Rebecca raised herself and walked around the coffee table towards Bucky.  Slowly she turned around then sat down next to him, looking at him triumphantly.

"After my physiotherapy session yesterday Melinda put in for a walker," she said.  "It was delivered today, during Marie's visit.  She was so excited that she showed me herself how to use it.  She's trying to expedite that ramp."

Smiling, he put his arm around Rebecca's shoulders.  It was gratifying to see her walking.  Having mobility would help her feel better and less helpless.  There was a meow sound and Alley Cat suddenly jumped up onto the couch, settling down on Rebecca's lap.

"You brought him," said Bucky to Tracey.

"I guess he was exploring the house while we were on the phone," she said.  "I put his litter box in the basement.  You did a good job clearing space for my things.  I could add some things to the yard sale."

"You don't have to sell your stuff," said Bucky.

"I'm going to be part of the household, aren't I?" she asked, with a soft smile. 

"Yes, you are," answered Rebecca firmly, reaching across Bucky to grasp Tracey's hand.  "You can add whatever you want to it.  We're in this together now."

Bucky put his arms out to both sides and drew both women in close, kissing each of them on the sides of their heads.  Rebecca getting stronger and Tracey moving in were both important milestones for him.  The year before he first met Tracey had been hard and while he had no regrets about devoting his life to taking care of his sister the commitment had taken its toll on him emotionally and socially.  Just having another person to share even part of the load was a big weight off of his shoulders.  In many ways, it was close to the life he someday envisioned for himself before he went to war.  A home, a wife and family, perhaps looking after his parents as they aged.  So much had been denied to him and now it seemed he was finally getting that life, bit by precious bit.  There was no way he was going to give that up for the likes of Fontaine and Ross.

Part 9>>

Series Masterlist

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[flowercrown-hobbit]

I see some many comments about Wings of Starlight and that they want more spice inside of it. I find it so annoying. Wings of Starlight is a YA book. It is based on a children's movie from 2012! Why do you need spice inside your romance book? Not all romance stories need spice, romance can be about yearning to be together. It can also be about slowly building the relationship. A different author; Rebecca Ross had to explain on instagram that her new adult book won't have any spice because all of readers got angry about it. What is happening in the romance genre?

[village-skeptic]

10, 18, 21 (I know you've answered the music one so you can either say a new song or skip it 😊)

10. What's your favorite book?

My brain absolutely blue-screened at this, I will have you know! I'm so bad at favorites. It especially feels hard right now, as I continue to try to grapple with how to feel about authors who were important in my life and who have since turned out to be real whack jobs.

I've never regretted picking up a book by Terry Pratchett, Ross Gay, Rebecca Makkai, Cat Sebastian, Sally Rooney, Rufi Thorpe, Rebecca Solnit, Maggie Nelson, or Deborah Tannen. I have been legitimately entertained, sometimes in ways that involve a lot of arguing, by books authored by Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and Casey McQuiston. I have learned a hell of a lot about American history from books by Deborah Cohen, Jackson Lears, Walter Johnson, and Rick Perlstein, among a slew of others.

18. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?

Our second ("my") car. To which I recently said goodbye, in large part because the mechanics said it was going to need a new engine in the near future. Its last gift to me was holding on long enough to get us through our last days in our previous city.

Since our remaining car is getting very gentle use, my hope is that we can baby it with regular maintenance for a long, long time. But it's already an adolescent in human years, which is elderly in car years, so fingers crossed!

(I would prefer for our next major purchase to be real estate, but that's another can of worms.)

21. A song that evokes a good memory.

When I was a teenager and we were driving around in the car together with the radio on and singing along, my dad used to change the "you're still the one/and I wouldn't switch" lyric in Orleans' "Still the One" to "you're still the one/you son of a bitch" to crack us both up. 😂

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

[haveyoureadthispoll]

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

[orlissa]

How Not to Commit a Crime Against Historical Fashion–A Basic Guide for Writers

I have been reading a lot (mostly YA) (pseudo)historical (fantasy) novels (and let’s not even get started on what’s going on TV), and I’m stunned and horrified by the complete lack of basic understanding of historical fashion most authors display (not you, Rebecca Ross, darling, you didn’t do anything wrong). So here is a little guide from a miffed little gremlin who knows just a tad bit more about what people wore in the ye olden days than the average person (really, I’m no expert), so YOU don’t commit these heinous crimes:

First and foremost, and I cannot stress this enough: clothing and fashion don’t exist in vacuum. They are intrinsically tied to culture, climate, and, maybe most importantly, technology.

For the most of history (and I’m primarily talking about Western history here, sorry), people wore a simple base layer under their clothing: chemises, shifts, undershirts, underpants, drawers, combinations. Women and men! These had a very important function: they protected the actual outer layers from sweat, and protected the skin from chafing (e.g. from a corset). In the time and day when you didn’t have sewing and washing machines, outer clothes were relatively super expensive, while doing laundry was an actual nightmare. You didn’t want to wash you gowns much, because it was hard on your hands and on the fabric as well. So instead you wore a chemise–made of, most likely, some inexpensive, white material, in an easy-to-sew shape–, and changed and washed that chemise frequently. So as long as your worldbuilding doesn’t include (basically) fast fashion and washing machines (washing spells?), you really, really wanna have your characters to wear an undershirt/chemise.

You also have to think about colors. Chemical dying had a great advancement in the 1860s, which brought on a plethora of new and bright shades that actually lasted. Women’s clothing thus became extra and blindingly colorful, while men’s clothing went… black. As before these chemical dies black dye was hard to make and it also faded fast. (So yeah, your medieval bad guy is actually not that likely to wear black.) Purple is extra tricky, as it was traditionally made from a little creature called the purple dye murex, and making such dye was a lot of work and thus super expensive–so for the longest time only the wealthiest wore purple: senators, cardinals, kings…

(I just read a scene today where in the late 1800s Sicily a male character exchanged a leather shirt for a black (linen?) one at the town market, which he put right on the skin. I was understandably upset and manifested the author stepping on a piece of Lego.)

Climate really determines what people wear: think not only about the temperatures, but what raw materials are available at the climate. (Like, can they wear silk? Are there silk worms in this world? If yes, where? How can the characters have access to it?) Also, do not be daunted by the layers and think that your characters would be sweating buckets in the summer: we are talking about natural materials here which breathe.

Also, I’m not happy to rain on your parade, but generally speaking your (pseudo)historical character wouldn’t be showing too much skin in public. They don’t have sun screen, so they’d be protecting their skin from the sun by covering up–no short sleeves and super low necklines for you! However, evening attire can be more daring (short sleeves! Uncovered shoulders! Décolletage!)

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: before the… say second third of the 19th century, you don’t have corsets. You have stays, that give the body a conical shape. Then at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries you have transitional stays, which might be closer to modern bras/bralettes than you’d think. The point of these is to push the boobs up (since the gown is loose around the stomach, there is no point in trying to shape the silhouette there). Then you have corsets. You cannot tightlace (drastically shrink the waist) until the mid-19th century, when metal eyelets in corsets are introduced (and so they can take more tension). Still, it was more like an exception than a rule.

“Whalebone” is not actual bone. It’s baleen, those thingies in the whales’ mouth they use to filter their food from the water. Baleen is made of keratin, the same substance that makes up your fingernails, making them flexible.

Also, it’s just my general advice: try not to conceptualize corsets as bras, but as shoes: they need to be broken in, but once they are molded to your body, they are rather comfortable.

Clothes also play a cultural function–they have a meaning, a function. E.g. the point of panniers (those wide hip-thingies in 18th century gowns) and crinolines was that the women who wore them took up a lot of physical space. Women might not really had much say in everyday life, but they used fashion to show that they are there (men hated it, btw).

General silhouette guide to the 19th century, very roughly:

1800-1820s: Regency (brr, I’m gonna say it… Bridgerton). Boobs up, waistline right under the boobs, skirt is light and loose, with not much volume (will end up looking like a nightgown if the costume designer is not careful enough)

1820s-1830s: waistlines are going down (but still kinda up), skirts are getting fuller, sleeves puffier

1840s-1860s: waistline down to the natural waist, skirts are getting really full with huge crinolines, sleeves slim down, pagoda sleeves (getting wider down from the elbow) later down the road

1870s: First bustle period. Skirts get flat in the front and the sides, stick out in the back.

Turn of the 1870s-1880s: Natural form era. The bustle shrinks.

1880s: Second bustle period. The bustle comes back, gets even bigger.

1890s: Skirts become more A-lined, sleeves get puffed up (till they are ridiculous), chest shaped like a dove’s

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Letters of Enchantment

Author: Rebecca Ross

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2023

Genres: fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance

Blurb: After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again...but 18-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction, and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette. To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish...into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

[autistpride]

These books are written "geared towards" adults and older teens. I personally would let my teen read all of these, so I'm not gatekeeping literature, but use your own judgement on what you think is acceptable for your own kid to read.

Nonfictional Books for adults:

All the weight of our dreams by Lydia XZ Brown

Stim: an autistic anthology edited by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

Connecting with Autism by Casey Corner

Sincerely your Autistic child by AWNN

Uniquely human by Barry m prizant

Engaging autism by Stanley Greenspan

Raising human beings by Ross Greene

Beyond behaviours by Mona delahooke

The whole brain child by Dan Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson

Autism and gender by Jordynn Jack

It's your weirdness that makes you wonderful Kate Allan

Women and girls with autism spectrum disorder Sarah Hendrick

Worlds of Autism by Joyce davidson

Authoring autism by melanie yergeau

Nerdy Shy and Socially Inappropriate Cynthia Kim

Autistic disturbances by julie rodas

War on Autism by Annie McGuire

Rethinking autism diagnosis by kathenne Cole, Rebecca mallet, and sammy

Leaders all around me by Edlyn Vallejo Peña, PhD

Ido in autismland by Ido Kedar

Typed words loud voices by Amy Sequenzia & Elizabeth J. Grace

It's an autism thing by Emma Dalmayne

What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew by Autism Women’s Network

Women on the Spectrum: A Handbook for Life by Emma Goodall and Yenn Purkis

Unmasking autism by Devon Price

Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

Love, Partnership or Singleton on the Autism Spectrum & Bittersweet on the Autism Spectrum, both edited by Luke Beardon and Dean Worton

Autism, Anxiety and Me: A Diary in Even Numbers by Emma Louise Bridge & Penelope Bridge

Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate by Sue Fletcher-Watson and Francesca Happé

A Practical Guide to Happiness in Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A Positive Psychology Approach by Victoria Honeybourne

Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism by Eva A. Mendes and Meredith R. Maroney

The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum by Jeanette Purkis, Dr. Emma Goodall and Dr. Jane Nugent

Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After by Chloe Hayden

Memoirs:

Odd Girl Out by Laura James

Uncomfortable Labels by Laura Kate Dale

Drama Queen by Sara Gibbs

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Fall down Seven Times Get Up Eight by Naoki Higashida

The Reason I Jump by Naomi Hashida

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Wintering by Katherine May

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

Explaining Humans by Dr. Camilla Pang

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham

Adult Fiction:

Adult Virgins Anonymous by Amber Crewe

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

[thetypedwriter]

Klara and the Sun Book Review

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

I have been on such a journey lately. A journey of rediscovery. 

For a while now, I have felt…bored with YA. Don’t get me wrong, there are some absolute gems. Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat and Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross come to mind.

However, a lot of the other YA books I’ve read in the last year or two have felt incredibly mundane, cliched, and tropey. They all feel the same.  

So lately, I have been getting out of my comfort zone. I’ve been reading less YA and instead as many books as possible in as many myriad genres as possible.

It has been enlightening.

I feel invigorated with reading again, falling in love with words and pages like I did so long ago that set me on this path of creating book reviews and becoming an English teacher and writing my own book. 

I haven’t written reviews for them all, but I’ve read Brave New World, The Outsiders, Murder on the Orient Express, The Women, and plan on reading an adult horror novel called Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt soon. 

All this to say, I’ve rekindled my love for stories and characters, all thanks to the variety of novels I’ve recently been consuming. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro is no exception. 

Klara and the Sun is an adult novel that is told from the perspective of Klara, an artificial friend (AF). Klara is essentially a selfless robot who yearns to be put in a home and given a ward.

She watches the outside from her shop window, pining for the sun (she is a solar powered robot) and dreaming of the day she can go outside the shop on her own and be given a purpose. 

Her day comes. Klara is taken home by Josie, a thirteen-year-old girl, and her mother. What unfolds is Klara’s experience in this new place with Josie and her mother, the people in their life, the despairing world around them, and a nefarious secret with ambiguous motivations. 

I would get into the plot more, but that really is the basics. It would take an unbelievable amount of work to explain the complexities of Klara and this new life she’s found herself in and it’s better for people to read the book and see the mystery unravel for themselves.

Ishiguro as an author is really intriguing because he gives you nothing but bread crumbs. In a direct comparison to YA, Klara and the Sun gives you teensy morsels about society and the world, but never enough for you to piece things together until well into more than halfway through the book.

I only found this frustrating near the 200 page mark when I was desperate for answers. Up until then, though, I found it refreshing that an author wasn’t shoving lengthy exposition down my throat. 

I will say that the ending of Klara and the Sun was anticlimactic for me. What you expect

to happen just…happens. There’s no twist, no shock, no great revelations. When you finally realize Klara’s true purpose it comes across as a bit…problematic, but it’s not that wild of an idea once you think about it more fully and realize all the foreshadowing leading up to it. 

My favorite part of Klara and the Sun was Klara herself. I love the trope of robots becoming more human-like or learning about humanity (the movie, The Wild Robot, is a great example of this that I saw and loved recently). So I’m a bit biased when it comes to this trope in general. 

Ishiguro’s writing wasn’t beautiful exactly, but very dialogue driven which I found interesting. I liked that he didn’t push his world building in my face every opportunity he got, but I would have appreciated a little more explanation about the society and world he created.

There are still facts and details that are hazy after finishing the book that I would have expected to be more fleshed out. It would have been a better book with more of everything expanded upon. 

Recommendation: If you love robots becoming human as much as I do, you will enjoy Klara and the Sun. While it wasn’t the deepest read, nor one that I thought stuck the landing at the end, I still enjoyed the process.

I loved Klara’s POV, the ethics that arise from her place in the world, and the questions that popped up in my mind as a result from this story. As always, any book that makes me think is a book worth reading. 

Score: 7/10