#do i consider it a copout? yes. do i love grief? yes. but whatever

[violentdevotion]

i want to thank every trans person in the world for keeping donna noble alive tonight

[fae-fucker]

Review: The Songbird’s Refrain

by Jillian Maria

When a mysterious show arrives in town, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Brighton is both intrigued and unsettled. But none of the acts capture her attention quite like the blue-eyed woman. Locked in a birdcage and covered in feathers, the anguish in her voice sounds just a little too real to be an act—because it isn’t. The show’s owner, a sadistic witch known only as the Mistress, is holding her captive. And she’s chosen Elizabeth as her next victim. After watching the blue-eyed woman die, Elizabeth is placed under the same curse. She clings to what little hope she can find in the words of a fortune teller and in her own strange dreams. The more she learns, the more she suspects that the Mistress isn’t as invulnerable as she appears. But time is against her, and every feather that sprouts brings her closer to meeting the blue-eyed woman’s fate. Can Elizabeth unlock the secret to flying free, or will the Mistress’s curse kill her and cage its next victim?

Full disclosure without the fancy wording: Jillian straight up gave me a free copy of this book, and I’ve followed the development of this novel since pretty early on because it sounded like it was My Jam. Spoilers: it was, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be honest with my opinions! With that said: Jillian, don’t read this. And also, holy shit congrats on writing a book, we stan!! <3 But seriously, don’t.

This review contains vague character spoilers to serve as examples. No names are mentioned.

The Writing

Having read a couple of early versions of the first chapters of this book, I can’t express enough how amazing it is to read it in its final form, how far it has come from the days when an early draft was posted on a tumblr page which the author coded herself. That’s not to say the early versions of it were bad, but I don’t want to undermine and deny how far it has come and how polished it is.

As you all know, I’m not a huge fan of overly flowery prose because it often takes me out of the experience, and luckily, I can’t remember a single time I thought something was overwritten or took me out of the story. 

The writing is evocative without being flashy and Elizabeth has a clear, wonderful voice that feels fresh and easy and intimate at once. The dialogue feels natural and I’m honestly impressed with how characters rarely swear despite being in terrible situations, and how it never felt like a copout or like the author was censoring herself for the YA age range. 

Probably a weird thing to point out, but my characters swear constantly and I have no idea how to stop them from doing that without making it very silly, so props to the author for succeeding where I would definitely fail. 

The Characters

Oh my what a smörgåsbord of fun people! I won’t dwell too much on this section because the mystery is very much tied deeply into the characters themselves, and I don’t want to spoil things before the book is even out.

Elizabeth is a bean. She’s self-aware and relatable without losing her own individuality in the process. I hated seeing her suffer but loved watching her grow stronger through it. She has standards and opinions yet she doubts herself on nearly every step and all I wanted to do was to reach through the pages and give her a slap and go GIRL, YOU A STAR. She’s what a YA protagonist should be, in my humble onion. My only complaint would probably be that she’s a bit too self-aware for a reglier teenager, but it makes sense for the story and the premise and the growth she goes through, so I don’t think it’s something that ruins her in any capacity. Maybe she’s just way more clever than I was at 17, lmao. 

The Mistress. What can I say without saying too much? Man, what a villain! Like, damn! Yes! Gurl! Yes! Terrifying! I hate her absolute guts! Every time she was in a scene I wanted to crawl under a blanket and bring Elizabeth with me to protecc her. This woman’s aesthetic and evil-ness rivals a Disney villain, and like, not in a bad way, but in the best way. The panache with which she does all her evil shit is just *chef kiss* I wanted to do violence to this woman but I knew if I’d existed in this story she’d absolutely destroy me if I looked at her wrong, and I think that’s what my ideal villain archetype is. The Mistress is deliciously, stylishly evil. You read the book half because you want Elizabeth to win, and half because you want, nay, NEED to see the Mistress lose. Some might say they need a villain to be more complex or whatever, but I’m firmly in the “evil people exist and evil antagonists are fun to write if you do it properly” camp, and here it’s done properly, IMHO. The Mistress doesn’t need a sad backstory or a complex motivation to be an effective, intimidating, and interesting antagonist. 

I also really liked Madame Selene. At first I found her to be kind of cliché as a mystical fortune teller, but there’s actually a very interesting spin on that trope in her character, and I found her to be endlessly interesting as a result of it. I can’t say much more without further spoilers, but let’s just say there’s a reason she’s all cryptic and weird and refuses to speak plainly. My biggest gripe is that she didn’t get as much screentime as I wanted. I just need more of Madame Selene.

I honestly can’t say I found any of the other side characters to be lacking (even Bridget, whomst I need to strangle, was fun to hate), but I will say that my favorites were definitely one of the couples. The older one especially.

I will also repeat that I love Elizabeth. Very much. I love Elizabeth twice. Ahem.

Anyway, special mention should be made that the cast is quite diverse despite being fairly small. I didn’t expect anything less from Jillian, of course, but I just wanted to point it out for those who had doubts. 

The Negatives and the Mehgatives

Because oh yes, it ain’t a review by Eff if they don’t complain about shit.

Now, some of these are things that aren’t necessarily bad, but others did feel like they were in the way of making this book as good as it could be. I usually split my reviews further up into “worldbuilding” and “plot”, but since I don’t feel like I have enough to say about those to justify their own sections, I’ve decided to just throw them in here. 

The worldbuilding is sparse, and that’s fine for this genre and this specific story. It plays out (mostly) in the reglier world with sort of reglier people, so I wasn’t expecting Tolkien levels of depth going in (in fact I find Tolkien levels of depth to not be necessary more than half the time but that’s another discussion). I got glimpses of some very interesting things that I’d very much like to see more of, but it feels more like stuff that would fit an “extended universe” sort of series and the lack of more supernatural/unique elements felt fine and didn’t really bother me.

Now to the less than good stuff. As much as I enjoyed the progression of the plot and Elizabeth’s character, and the steady flow of hints and developments felt elegant, I did feel like the mystery was a little bit predictable, and the foreshadowing a bit on the nose, especially in the very beginning. (Elizabeth’s shoulder scar was mentioned probably half a dozen times more than necessary.)

For example (mild spoilers, skip to next paragraph if you want to avoid), there’s a section where a character is taken away and Elizabeth hears them scream. After that, she keeps mentioning how that character is definitely, 100% dead, there’s no way they survived, they’re totally a corpse now, someone dig a hole and find a coffin. I thought it made sense for Elizabeth to feel fear and grief and assume the worst, so I’m not as bothered by it as I would’ve been in a worse book, but it did feel a bit like she was trying to convince the reader more than like she was mourning.

The foreshadowing being on the nose and the mystery being predictable are sort of intertwined, and I think it’s probably the book’s biggest flaw? That said, if you don’t consider yourself super savvy with writing and storytelling techniques, you might not pick up on this stuff at all. I also liked the plot despite finding it predictable, so if you’re not really interested in a super complex mystery but are interested in a good story, you’ll probably find this intriguing enough. 

The second biggest flaw of the book is the ending, in my opinion. It felt a bit rushed, and I would’ve liked to see side characters tied up as neatly as the plot itself. Not ... in a sexy way, yikes. I mean their arcs and stuff. There’s one in particular I felt was lacking, where I would’ve wanted to see more of a reaction and conclusion to something terrible that happened before. The character in question was pretty important during the whole middle of the book, and in the end they’re just sort of glossed over and exit the narrative, literally. The ending is supposed to be sort of open, I think, so I can respect that, but it could’ve been open while still feeling complete, ya know?

And the romance ... Well, let’s move on to the next bit, shall we? 

The Gay

Full disclosure: I’m straight. Well, that’s the word I use, and some might disagree with it because I’m nonbinary and say my attraction to men would make me “queer”. But that’s the word I use for my general thing, not my sexuality specifically.

ANYWAY. This is all fluff that I’m using to ease you into the real point: I’m, like, not into reading wlw romance. Or mlm romance. At all? I’m not against it by any means, go wild my dudes, and I hate 90% of all “straight” romances because straight people largely can’t write love for shit.

I’m saying this because I think there’s a lot of fellow straighties out there thinking they’ll be made “uncomfortable” by the gays or that it’ll make them question their sexuality and stuff. And 1) lmao cowards 2) I get it, it feels “”””weird”””” and you don’t relate but like 3) stop being a lil bitch and open your mind.

If you’re a straighty and you’re curious about this book but think that the lady-kissing is spookie, I’m here to inform you that yeah, romantic love between women is heavily, and I mean heavily, tied into the main plot. But it’s not really a book about homosexuality or homophobia. It feels natural, and normal, and is never made out to be a Thing, except when Elizabeth speculates about her parents’ reactions to her coming out. It’s not a book about TEH GAYS specifically, it’s a book about love, that just happens to be between women. If you can accept that and go into it with an open mind, like I did because I am Very Woke, I think you’ll find a new appreciation and perspective for romances that aren’t straight.

Now, back to the actual book. The romance in TSR is frustrating to me because one of them is amazing, so amazing that even I, a filthy man-lover, found it melting my heart. It’s lovely, it’s beautifully written, it’s got a gorgeous aesthetic and an excellent pairing with plenty of warm and fluffy chemistry without shying away from their sexuality. I loved this relationship and I wish there was a book just about these two ladies. It’s honestly #romancegoals. 

The second one is ... not that. It felt sort of rushed and like it was constantly trying to justify itself. It wasn’t instalove, but it also sort of was? I can’t explain it without spoiling so you’ll have to read it for yourself. It could have something to do with the fact that the other couple are teenagers and the previous one are adults so their relationship felt more mature and established, but both get roughly the same amount of screen time and I’m quite frankly baffled by how differently they’re handled.

Given how dark and honest and real most of this book was (despite the magic stuff), it felt really jarring to have the second romance be so empty.

To its credit, I was very much rooting for the teen couple. I even imagined how they’d meet up and fight the villain together. If their ending had been just a little bit more open (as opposed to the general ending, which I wanted to be less open lol) and their romance not quite as definitively sealed, I think I would’ve loved it too, because it would’ve fit better with the tone of the rest of the storytelling.

As it stands, I think the different romantic relationships shown in this book are interesting and show off different dynamics and are a good starting point for important conversations baby wlw (and other romantically inclided peeps tbh) might want to have. Yes, even -- and possibly especially -- the abusive ones. 

This story has a lot to say about love and I think it’s important stuff people need to hear nowadays, especially YA audiences.

The Conclusion

If you’re looking for a paranormal YA mystery with a bit of gore thrown in, complete with a lesbian protag and a diverse cast, self-contained and tasty like a very small hamburger, The Songbird’s Refrain is well worth your time. 

It’s got a great romance, an excellent protagonist, an unsettling atmosphere, a fun villain, and a genuinely touching story dealing with important subjects like healthy love, abusive relationships, and self-worth.

If you’re not a fan of one aspect of this book but the rest seems appealing, I think you should go for it and maybe realize as you’re reading that it doesn’t matter that much because the rest of the package deal is excellent.

[jade4813]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the S3 finale of the Flash.

I wanted to wait until I was at a computer so I wasn’t trying to formulate and type my thoughts on my phone, so I appreciate your patience.

So, here’s the thing. It wasn’t perfect. Like season 3 as a whole, it had some flaws. There are definitely some things that I think they need to improve next year. That said...I enjoyed it. I thought season 3 as a whole was loads better than season 2, and that goes for the finale as well.

In a sense, it is the least “dramatic” cliffhanger we’ve had, but particularly when you consider it alongside the first two season cliffhangers, I think it’s really good. Of course, Barry isn’t going anywhere. He COULD to be sure - the show could go on with Wally as Flash. But he won’t. For one thing, we know Grant isn’t going anywhere. We haven’t heard he’s leaving the show. Remember Once Upon a Time announced right before the finale aired that JM was leaving the show. If Grant was leaving for good, there’d be no reason to hold off on revealing it.

He’s not even gonna be gone past maybe the first five minutes of the first episode. Sure, they could bring him back at the halfway mark or so, but he is the star of the show - and Flash has demonstrated over the past three years that they take that Very Seriously. Of course, being the star of the show, much will naturally be about Barry, but they take it to mean EVERYTHING is about him in one way or another, really, and nobody should expect that is going to change too drastically in the next season. He’ll come back and it’ll be pretty early on in the premiere.

Now, there are things that left me with a certain level of dissatisfaction. Yes, I would have loved Iris to get more POV throughout the season and for the arc about her death to be more about HER. However, that wasn’t going to be retroactively changed in the finale - nor could it be. So some of my issues with Season 3 remain, but there really is no way they could have been fixed in the final episode, so they are what they are and we can only hope they are improved upon next season. I also am annoyed that they never gave Killer Frost’s motivations for her actions beyond “well, I TOTALLY have some, guys. Believe me. And they’re SUPER good reasons, too.” Well, that tells me that - once again - they wanted Caitlin in a certain role and didn’t bother bringing themselves to the point of actually considering why SHE would put herself in it. (Tip: You can’t just say that a character has justified motivation behind her actions; you should actually bother to think about what that might be and maybe, I dunno, let the audience in on the secret at some point. Otherwise it’s clear you’re just SAYING they have reasons for their actions but you haven’t bothered to think of any.)

It also is irritating as hell that they could never quite resolve themselves on what they wanted Killer Frost to BE. Either it’s a force outside of Caitlin’s control or it isn’t. Either she’s evil and wholly distinct from Caitlin like a parasite feeding on a host or she’s still Caitlin, and everything she did is something Caitlin really wanted to say and do deep down. Either she was an invasion or a choice. The waffling they did on that to come down in a vague sort of nebulous “nowhere” is an irritating copout. Pick your narrative. Then have the balls to stick to it, WHATEVER that narrative is.

I don’t really care about HRs death. Maybe if he hadn’t died or left every single year of the show so far, it would have more impact? As it is...I saw someone say that the show went from the most impactful death to the least, and I would probably agree. There were times I liked HR; there were moments he made me laugh. And I never really realized (as others did) how much Harry’s whispervoice grated until it came out in full force and in comparison. But TC’s characters have died/left every. single. year and he keeps coming back, so am I going to be sobbing in my beer over it? Not really.

The grief at the top of the show ripped out my heart - JLM’s collapse, Barry rocking Iris’s body, Iris’s tears...I was glad that she tried to stop HR, and I do think that they set up an interesting contrast (unintentionally maybe) between Iris and Caitlin. That could lead to something interesting next season if they choose to take advantage of it. I’m not holding my breath that they’ll give that much consideration to Caitlin’s story to do so.

And I loved Iris getting through to Savitar. I liked Barry realizing that anger and grief and vengeance aren’t always the answer. In a sense, he’s always acted emotionally in the past two finales. The first, he was driven by grief and rage to go back and try to save his mom, only to change his mind and come back to the present and oops there’s a black hole now. The second, he was driven by grief and rage to create Flashpoint. It was nice that this season, he made a conscious decision: The rage and grief are in him, so he could choose to act on it. Or he could choose to be a hero and try to find another way.

The other way may not have gone according to plan, but I do like that he was brave enough to try it. And, really, it won’t always work...but heroes have to choose what kind of people they are going to be. One of the themes of the season was Barry not losing himself, and in the end he didn’t.

I also really loved the cliffhanger. Again, we know - more than perhaps the last two seasons - how the premiere is going to go. HOWEVER. I like the parallel. The first two finales utilized the speedforce as well, but, again, both times, Barry was acting in grief and rage. This time, he entered it with resolve and maturity and as a demonstration of his willingness to learn from his mistakes and accept the consequences of them. And hasn’t that been something people have been YELLING for him to do for two years now? So it’s not a HAPPY ending, but as a demonstration of how far Barry came this year? It’s a pretty damn good one.

Also? Candice killed it. 

I am looking forward to next year. I hope when Barry gets out, they’ll allow him to have that lightness back to his spirit. There are things that they need to improve...but I’ll be honest. People refer to Season 1 as the halcyon days of yore sometimes, but...come on. It was hardly perfect. Even as regards Iris as a character or how they treated Westallen. We spent a good chunk of it yelling for everyone to stop patronizing Iris and treat her like an adult who could be let in on the secret and make her own decisions. Her journalism story was perhaps better than it was this season as a whole, but it was still treated like an afterthought more than it should have been.

There are problems that the show needs to fix, but they are problems that the show has ALWAYS had. I do not expect them to be 100% fixed, but I live in eternal hope that they will be better than they have been in the next year.

And, really, in a lot of ways...Season 3 is still a MASSIVE improvement on Season 2. Even when it comes to Iris. Because while it is true we SHOULD have gotten her POV more and we SHOULD have gotten a journalism arc and the story of her death SHOULD have been about her more than it was...it’s also true that the story about Francine SHOULD have been more about her than it was (it was about her for like two and a half minutes before it became immediately hijacked to be about Joe finding out he had a son) and we SHOULD have seen more of how that story impacted her and we SHOULD have gotten her POV for more of what happened in season 2 throughout and...really...even if she’d had more of a POV in season 2 (and that’s arguable at BEST)...does it really matter if you’re never on screen to express it? I mean, Iris can be sitting in a corner saying to the wall, “I feel really conflicted about my mom’s return,” but if the show is only going to show Barry and Joe talking about it for five nanoseconds does it really matter? (“How’s Iris doing?” “She’s okay but she’s conflicted. Hey, is that a cheese danish? I love these. I used to go to this little bakery...”)

Ultimately...it wasn’t perfect. There are things that the show has to fix. There are things they’ve needed to fix from the beginning. Some of those things...they’ve gotten better at in some ways but still haven’t fixed the main issue. Some of those things (like Barry being the undisputed center of everyone else’s stories)...well, to be honest, I’ve accepted that are just not part of the fabric of how they view or approach the show, so I don’t really expect to ever change.

But I liked the season 3 finale. I think it leaves Iris and Barry and Joe and Wally all at REALLY good and interesting places for season 4. I think we’ll get to see Iris and Wally working together at the beginning as heroes and hopefully we will get that promised focus on journalism. I think there are interesting places they could go with Cisco and Frostlin. And, ultimately, I think that IF THEY EMBRACE IT, they’ve set themselves up for a more optimistic and CERTAINLY less angsty and dark season 4. At the moment, there is no reason for Barry to come out of that speed force like a self-hating sad sack. So hopefully the tone of S4 will be happier, too.

So I’m happy with it! I’m looking forward to S4 and the payoff of both the wedding and the twins and/or Bart.