#especially when mystery series are apparently a hard sell to the American audience

[lupizora]

Since I finished my yearly re-read of the Tantei Gakuen Q/Detective Academy Q manga, I guess it's time I finally started reading the Kindaichi series after all this time 🤔

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 1, Chapter 5

• I'm back! I missed doing these. It's fun taking a look at the beginning of this series knowing what lies ahead, especially when you can recall exactly what it felt like when you first read it.

• In the time it took for me to get back to doing this series, I decided to do a fail-play to answer a few questions I had about the series. I was dying guys I was dying. The secondhand embarrassment level was off the roof. Oh God. I hope I NEVER EVER have to do that again 😭

•

So you guys have already met my MC, Esther (If you haven't, she's the one on the left! She has a new hairstyle now though, she has the long hair with the braids on top. The big cream flower was clashing with everything). On the right is my Disaster!MC, Persephone. She romances Hana and when I say her crush is painfully obvious, I mean painfully.

• The last chapter I did a Book 1 QT for was Chapter 4, where a Liam stan could FINALLY dance with their Prince (and maybe sneak a kiss in the hedge maze if you spent the diamonds), and then meet Bertrand just minutes before he loses his shit completely and almost drags the name of his own House in the mud (why you so stupid, Bertrand)

• We're attending a horse race, so obvious title will be obvious. It's Off To the Races.

• A Day At The Races would have been better, because Queen xD

• So apparently it's now the day of the Derby, and we either go for the press-friendly runway-worthy gown, the modern one that'll catch the eye of Queen Regina, or...uniboob (yes, uniboob. I have painfully huge ones and I get even more conscious of them in outfits like that one 😣).

It's kinda interesting that Drake-dislike is the default for the MC at this point. But I also think it's also a good strategy to ease the reader (and their MC) into this association with him. You have this best friend who has a painful insider/outsider relationship to Court, has a massive chip over his shoulder, is trying really hard not to soften to this strange woman his best friend likes, has this painful past he's reluctant to share with anyone.

• While Hana's and Liam's first diamond scenes emerge very early and from a place of concern (because they have already established themselves in the narrative as likeable to this MC) Drake is the kind of person that takes some getting used to. If you tried to sell me a sob story about his sister shortly after he made sexist, classist comments about me on a plane, my first instinct would be to flip the bird at him and save my diamonds.

So instead he's given a bodyguard-type role with you, then you can choose to tease him mercilessly during that cronut excursion, then he thaws a little more towards you at Lythikos...leaving that field open to him finally opening up to you (via diamonds) when his Savannah-related wounds are reopened. The reader gets a chance to feel differently about him, ergo invested enough in him to pay diamonds for that scene.

• Esther will drag Bertrand mercilessly behind his back since Bertrand has no qualms doing the same. Sauce for goose, sauce for gander. So yes she responds to "how will you address Bertrand?" with "Hey you".

•

Unless he's around Savannah, then he has one at the moments he least intends to.

• NOW Maxwell tells us what the house and duchy name is. Now! You had enough time to tell me this last night dude!

• Bertrand comes to us to figure out our progress in terms of learning etiquette, and Maxwell and the MC prove to him that they've covered the basics. Which Bertrand brushes off as protocol that can be brushed off as stuff you can get on an internet search.

Me Back Then: Oh sorry I can't process information in the speed of light, bro 😒

Me Now: You know, Bertrand, if you'd just spent less time poring over Maxwell's scrapbook for the raciest photos...and actually spent more time sitting down and teaching me protocol, you wouldn't be grinding your teeth at me today.

•

So Persephone fell for Olivia's little lie and kissed King Constantine's shoe. Looks like the court had a field day with that because it gets mentioned to her twice. Once from Maxwell before she goes to see Liam, and once now, from Bertrand, who has just heard about her disaster of a performance and now cannot trust Maxwell with coaching her.

• Bertrand decides to test exactly how prepared we are with a small test. After a round of greeting, he takes our hand with his right hand, and gives it a courtly kiss (in this universe, the proper way is to take the lady's offered hand with your left hand, otherwise it is viewed as an insult). We're supposed to figure out what he did wrong. If we do give him the right answer, he is happy about our observational skills but demands that the MC not become too complacent since she's "ever only one mistake away from a scandal".

What does interest me are the exchanges that come out of the wrong responses:

"Didn't Bow" brings into play the hierarchy that the nobility maintains. Bowing here is viewed as a sign of respect to someone of a higher rank, and though the MC is now a lady by virtue of her sponsors, she is still regarded as a commoner. There is the joke response, "Didn't Address Me As Your Highness", which Bertrand hardly graces with a response besides highlighting the MC's 'arrogance'. The common thread is this exchange, though:

I think this gives us a tiny insight into how much ground the MC has to cover in understanding the society she is trying to become a part of. The last two chapters we had Liam and the other competitors, to help us understand exactly what we were up against - this time we're grappling with the reality of all the people we will need to please (in one day, we have to pretty much win the favour of both the Queen and the press). The MC has to not only familiarize herself with how she should behave but also be aware of the signals other people send. And she isn't exactly going to get a lot of help at this stage, not when the men sponsoring her have their own problems and are viewing her experience from the eyes of people who have grown up in Cordonia.

•

LMAO @ the MC's shit-eating grin the minute they say "limo" 😂

• So we're on our way to Honeyhill Downs on a limo, and since we need to deal with the press the moment I get out, the Beaumonts now try to convince us to impress the press.

• Book 1 is about this commoner woman schmoozing among the elite and trying to fit in, so really the only people who are seen (unless they're Drake) are the nobles. This is understandable in the first two books, where MC is kind of the underdog - not so much in the later books. You never get to see actual commoners who live in houses and walk on the streets until Book 3, and even then it is a fleeting glimpse. Anyway, the narrative attempts to bridge this gap by making the press the representative of the people.

• Bertrand and Maxwell now give us advice on tackling the press: we'll be asked easy questions (basically to figure out who we are and create a story around us accordingly), and then hardball questions about the country, how you'll be as a potential royal, and most importantly - Cordonian apples. The MC is confused at first but agrees to roll with it.

• The moment the MC mentions that the Derby area looks like a fair, Bertrand says "this isn't a county fair where you weigh pigs and eat pie". Between this and the Downton Abbey reference the next chapter, I'm pretty sure Bertrand was created initially to lend the image of Cordonia a bit of an "old world" appeal - given that he and Maxwell are the nobles we most regularly interact with in the first two books.

• Now comes the part I'm most excited about! Our actual first press interview. It's separated into two categories: easy questions (Donnie Brine) and hardball ones (Ana de Luca)

•

Donnie Brine: You know how in reality shows you hear about the importance of spinning a 'story'? How to get the audience's sympathy, sometimes your 'story' can get you where your talent may not (in fact, a few weeks ago Fiona Syed was saying just that to the MC when they were auditioning for "One in A Million" in Platinum!). Well, that's why we have Donnie Brine of the CBC (Cordonia Broadcasting Center). He's here so we can choose and carve our own narrative. So depending on our answers, we will get a moniker that will be carried forward throughout this book, and briefly referenced in the next:

1. The Mystery Woman: The answers suited for this option are 'A mystery' (when asked who you are) and optionally 'Liam couldn't figure me out' (when asked why you're the Prince's favourite). She is literally someone who emerged out of nowhere, and apparently sets herself apart from the other suitors by not being too open about her background.

2. The American: She can call herself the "lone American wolf", and optionally also mention that Liam and she shared a love for the Statue of Liberty. This spin on the MC's story highlights her "difference" in terms of foreignness and unfamiliarity with the country, which can be a challenge but also could wound up making her eventual triumph that much sweeter. In a very good playthrough especially, she will be the foreigner that embraced the customs and traditions, and fit in perfectly despite the odds.

3. The Everywoman: Now for a very long time I thought the responses in this one would yield a negative reaction from Donnie, but turns out thankfully it doesn't!! You need to choose both "just a regular woman, like many out there" and "I was his waitress". I also noticed an interesting difference about this that I will expand on later. But the point is that The Everywoman is as good a choice as any tbh, refers to her commoner origins and positions her as someone who can connect with the people.

Ana de Luca: Throughout the series, and for a half of Book 2, she's the tougher interviewer. She works with Trend, a fashion and celeb news magazine - and because of her already-established fashion credentials (introduced in MW as fashion designer) - becomes the mediaperson that compliments you on wearing the dress Olivia recommended.

Besides this, a lot of the political, country-related questions esp in Book 1, tend to come from her. She asks you your thoughts on Cordonia as a newcomer, how you would fare as a ruler and the inevitable question on apples. This is the interview that could affect your early popularity if you fail it, because any response you choose for Donnie Brine's (including showing the silly face for his photo), will work out alright. If you fail this one, the press largely ignore you to focus on the next candidate before you can even say "goodbye".

Me Back Then (hovering over options for the press photo): OMG OMG OMG don't press silly face don't press silly face don't -

Me Now (shamelessly clicking over aforementioned silly face): So Donnie doesn't mind my silly face at the Derby but will suddenly be ZOMG SCANDALIZED by it at the Regatta? HMM 🤔

• We now move towards the tents, except that Maxwell told us the wrong colour. Was he so distracted by the pinkness of the (optional) diamond outfits that he blurted out that colour instead?

• We end up in a stable with a horse that's as scared of us as we are of her.

• Drake jumps into temporary-bodyguard duty and saves...the horse.

• There are two ways you can respond to this: either focus on the fact that Drake saved you from the horse, or on the fact that he might have been following you. Interestingly he comes out with the truth of the matter faster if you're more suspicious of him - probably because that's a response he's expecting. On the other hand with the nicer response, he falls back on snark - thus annoying even the MC that wants to be nice to him. Either way, Drake eventually spills out the truth: he's here because Liam asked him to look out for the MC. And it won't be the last time Liam thinks ahead and takes measures to either protect or guide her.

• The option to either join Drake to Liam's private tent, or go ahead to where the other ladies are, comes with a price. Spend the diamonds and you'll see Hypervigilant Liam, pushups and at least a few minutes less to worry about a couple suitors roasting you for not fitting in the NANOSECOND you arrive. It also features this bombshell of a line from the MC:

Fun Fact: When this chapter first came out, I was at a point where I'd regularly panic about getting options wrong, and going through an entire chapter before a replay. To make sure that didn't happen too often, I'd watch a non-diamond playthrough on YouTube, and figure out the correct answers that way. It was fun.

So imagine the amount of cringing I did at Olivia and Kiara making smartass comments about the MC, which led me to believe that maybe the other option would save me from that kind of roasting.

Ladies, gents, non-binary people - THAT is how I ended up buying my first scene this book. To escape from the ladies of the court 🙈 (which didn't happen but at least I got a nice Liam scene out of it. Teehee. Teehee)

• The Private Tent diamond scene has the following:

- proof that Liam can and will pounce on someone for fear of attack. this is part-defense-training and part (IMO) trauma response because he's been the target of a number of assassinations

- you get to confront Liam about having Drake look out for you, and if you don't like the gesture, Liam is contrite BUT tells you the Derby atmosphere can be chaotic and scary for a newcomer, and since he couldn't directly watch over her he needed to ensure she'd be okay somehow. This is something he keeps doing for the MC in small, easy-to-miss ways throughout the social season, actually.

- this conversation about horses, which took a symbolic turn I wasn't exactly expecting if you choose "trapped". But it killed me. Killed me guys 😭

That last line. "Nothing like a little gilding to make a cage bearable", Liam says and you can TELL that's most of his life captured in a single sentence.

- shirtless Liam

- Drake-Liam banter, and I mean genuine good-natured Drake-Liam banter that isn't Drake "calling out" Liam on being privileged while never admitting his own privileges (though Drake does say that his presence in Liam's life is to keep him humble, which...eh).

- one more blue star point from Drake if you're nice to him, and overall the MC and Drake leave on better terms (although, the second thing already happens even if you walk straight to the suitors' tent).

- a kiss if you're romantically involved.

• Me Back Then: So if I take the diamond scene, the mean ladies won't @ me for tardiness, right? Right?? 👀 👀

Me Now: WRONG. But at least you got to sit on Liam while he was doing push-ups.

Me Back Then: Well. When you put it that way...

• Whether or not you choose this diamond option, you'll be called out on being late anyway. It's mostly Olivia and Kiara: Olivia stresses on how "fashionably late you are", and Kiara comments on how it's only Day 2 and you can't keep up (...she'll eat those words in Lythikos, I think), with Hana being the only support and defending the MC, pointing out (like Liam) how chaotic things get after the press interviews are done. The only difference is that in the diamond option, these dialogues occur after the race is over, and in the free option it's before. Esther gets roasted by them after the race is over, poor Persy gets it before the race has even begun 😭

• What interested me about this scene were the brief parallels between the race portions of the Liam/Drake scene, and the free scene. Two of my current favourite characters in this book take their place in the free version 😁

In each version of the scene, a character viewed as more 'friendly' (to the MC) pins their hopes on Twilight Dash. A more distant character will however guess correctly that Marabelle's Dream has the edge. Kiara doesn't exactly give us a reason why, but Drake tells Liam he's been looking at the stats and seems regardless to have pretty extensive knowledge about horses.

The funny thing obviously is that the fun element in Liam's scene (the bet), is hinted at in Hana's scene when she tells the MC that she was fortunate they couldn't bet anything.

Me Back Then: Liam didn't exactly lose anything!

Me Now: He lost...his shirt 👀👀

Esther: 👀 👀 👀 👀

Persephone: (Blissfully unaware that any of this ever happened, too busy making heart eyes at Hana. I would too, Persy, I would too)

• The ladies - mainly Olivia and Penelope - are disappointed about not seeing Liam (hah! says Esther) but hope to meet him at the tea party where his step mother Queen Regina is also in attendance. Our last scene is with Hana, building up to the first scene next chapter where she tells us about the tea party!

• I made some pretty interesting observations about how Donnie's end of the interview was coded, based on what I played in the game + what I observed from the other YouTube playthroughs. Here it is:

- as you already know, there are three monikers, all of which apply to this MC - the Mystery Woman, the American and the Everywoman.

- Each moniker emphasizes on her differences. She is different from the rest of the court in her penchant for mystery, she is a foreigner in a country where foreigners may not always be viewed in the best light if they don't fit in, and she is a commoner by birth to the Cordonian nobility here. All of which serve to either make her eventual success in assimilating even more impressive than usual, or in emphasizing why she would be wrong for the position if she doesn't do well.

- In the case of "Mystery Woman" and "The American", if you choose the first option, THAT is what will be coded as your moniker regardless of what your second option is. So if I chose "American Lone Wolf" in my first option, but mentioned "Liam couldn't figure me out" (mystery option) in my second one, I would still be called The American.

- The twist is that this is completely different if when you go for a first "Everywoman" option. If I choose "just a regular woman out there" for my first option, but the "fascination for Statue of Liberty" (American option) for the second...it will default to The American anyway.

- Only if you choose the option to tell Donnie that the MC was a waitress, does she get the "Everywoman" moniker. It's like the writers would really, really much rather you picked one of the other two!

• I enjoyed the diamond scene, I think. It was fun, cute and fluffy the first time I played, your MC and Drake got the chance to slightly thaw towards each other, and when you came back to the "Liam's reaction to you scaring him" scene later on, there was so much you could gain out of it! (an essay of mine "Trauma and Triggers", explores that part of this scene in detail, if anyone would like to read it. I'll probably give the link in the comments).

• I find it interesting, in the overall scheme of things in the books, how Kiara's comments seem to revolve around settling in to the court. (In her first scene if you choose to ask the women why they're okay with Olivia speaking of them as 'harpies', Kiara's first response is that they all knew what they were getting into, and surprise that the MC didn't - and her second comment is about fitting in. Her third actual scene with us, she compliments us on the same if we do gain support by the time we reach Lythikos). When you do actually do well, she's more ready to support you. It makes me more interested in the dynamics of the scene we have with her at Lythikos.

• Me Back Then, however, hates her guts right now. Don't worry, Me Back Then, you'll get there, you'll get there 😂

• The thawing towards Drake sets the stage for the cronut scene next chapter, I think, which further sets the stage for the bonding with him in Lythikos.

• I find it interesting how the press is viewed as "a window to the people" in the initial books, but it's disheartening to think about now. Especially when we don't really get to see a lot of commoners outside of someone like Drake, at least not one with a full fledged role yet.

• I'm hoping I can make a regular thing out of this!! 😁 It's been fun to do.

--

Tally Counts:

Number of Times Drake has Called Esther/Persy by Their First Names: 2 (I forgot he called her that again at the Masquerade Ball)

Number of Times Tariq Has Mentioned His Shoes: 1

Number of Times Drake Has Taken A Drink that’s Not Whiskey: 1

Number of Times Someone Has Called A Reigning Monarch 'Your Highness’: 2

Number of Times You Can Leave Hana Shook. SHOOK I TELLS YA: 2

Number of Times We See Penelope’s Angryface: 2

[manifestoonmoralmanlove]

Soulless Riffing: Brainless Ch. 2

I got a supernatural action/romance book series as a gift that’s just riddled with stuff that I hate….and as a steampunk Victorian London action romance story filled with werewolves and vampies…it’s yeah gonna be easy to poke fun at.

I just want to say, it’s totally cool if you like this story or ones like it!  It’s certainly a better caliber than a lot of what I make fun of….however…I can’t help but want to make fun of it.

Over here for the 1st chapter

SO FUCK IT HERE GOES!

Chapter 2

An Unexpected invitation FOR ME TO RANT ABOUT EXPOSITION!

Before I get into the meat of this chapter, allow me a bit of ranting time about some exposition we get in both chapter 1 and 2 here.

Even though Alexia was told she’s a rare and super cool SOULLESS when she was 6 years old. NOBODY IN HER FAMILY knows she’s Soulless. And I’m sitting here like…

????????????????????????????????????

There’s no fucking way any 6 year old can keep the secret that they have cool powers for longer than 10 minutes.  Especially if they weren’t told it was something to keep quiet about, and especially, ESPECIALLY if you’re telling a girl who grows up to be an out-going woman who’s confident about defending herself.

It’s as if there is some dramatic reveal on the horizon where her family finds out and is mean to her for being born BADLY.

SPEAKING OF BEING BORN BADLY this bit of characterization burns my biscuits a big one.

Alexia is considered unfuckable for a few reasons.

1.)    Big Nose, face isn’t considered traditionally pretty. – Okay that’s a good addition

2.)    She’s too STRONG-WILLED – Okay sure

3.)    She’s half Italian.

Woah hold up there…

Sorry, not sorry, but I hate this cowardly, cynically pandering horseshit.

Can that make sense in this pseudo-bullshit historical setting? Sure.  But we also have fucking werewolves and vampires.  The fact that they chose for her ~lower status~ to be tied to the fact that she’s A DIFFERENT KIND OF CAUCASIAN is deliberate and pathetic. They author wants to pander to women who feel like they’re…

“NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS” but at the same time don’t want to risk the book not selling if HEAVEN FUCKING FORBID there was a BLACK AND/OR FAT AND/OR TRANS AND/OR LIVES WITH A DISABILITY woman on the cover.  It’s just pandering to that extra shitty part of white people that’s like, “I’M A SECOND CLASS AMERICAN CITIZEN BECAUSE MY HERITAGE IS IRISH AND A LONG TIME AGO THE IRISH WERE TREATED SHITTY!”

Were the Irish and the Italians treated shitty in historical contexts?

Oh absolutely!  

Problem is this woman published a Victorian styled book that’s full of steam punk, yiffable supernatural vampires, in 2009. When you write it in the modern era and it’s full of fantasy bullshit and you want to make commentary about discrimination and prejudice? Don’t try to jam that in with a leading woman who’s an upperclass, straight, able-bodied, neruotypical, white, skinny, cis-woman but like THE BAD KIND OF WHITE!

Is it a book written from a problematic perspective? Not necessarily, but it’s fucking cowardly and you can get the hell out of my face with that gutless trite.

I have a feeling this is going to be an on-going theme too. People being discriminated against EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE COOL!  This chapter already implies that Vampires, Werewolves, Scottish People and YES even Scientists (for reasons) are discriminated against even though ALL OF THE ABOVE are well represented in the upper echelons of high society.

Can you be rich and respected but still be discriminated against? Yes, of course, but…it’s very hard for me to picture any of these groups as hugely oppressed when they’re dripping in money and good social standing. I’m so dreading the scene where somebody says something blatantly and maliciously racist about her powerful, wealthy werewolf boyfriend and Alexia stands up and GIVES THEM WHAT FOR cause she TOO knows what racism feels like cause a dude she asked out once was like, “Eww ur half-Italian no way lawl.”

I’m white, but Jesus Christ, fucking white people.

So with a page of me bitching about exposition out of the way….Alexia, her mother, her 2 half-sisters, and her step-father are all gossiping it up at the breakfast table. And boy howdy is it apparent what the author and by extension, what she thinks her audience would find shitty.

YES YOU GUESSED IT! Her younger half-sisters are

PRETTY BLONDE GIRLS!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOW COULD THEY!?!?!??!?!?

But they do have the negative trait of being SHALLOW!

Yes Alexia stand in judgment of those women who care about how they look.  Let’s ignore how every outfit you don, is lovingly described in detail, and that there were at least 3 separate situations last chapter where you fussed about how you looked.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with the author happily describing elaborate, Victorian outfits, or a woman fussing over her looks. I’m saying it’s bullshit that she snidely calls them shallow and insipid from atop her ~NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS~ throne while engaging in the same fucking behavior.

GO TO HELL ALEXIA!

So,

There’s an article in the paper about the dead vampire but there is no mention of Alexia in it. When asked if she knew anything about it she derails into huffing about how she wished she said more mean shit to Lord Macaron. When like…I’m sorry? You both said some sassy stuff, but HONESTLY? You violently killed a man at a ball, and got out of that REALLY FUCKING EASY, and while Alexia insulted Macaron to his face the worst he said to her was she was as covert as a sledgehammer and immediately apologized for it. (BTW, he said this in response to her DEMANDING to be given a job that doesn’t exist but she will get one like it in t-minus 5 chapters.)

Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know…a bit more concerned that a mysterious man attacked you last night, and there could be more like him out there RIGHT NOW rather than you didn’t have enough witty one-liners on hand? Get over yourself Alexia.

So let’s settle a bit.

She goes out huffing on a walk with her Bff Ivy Hisselpenny to calm herself down.

Even if Ivy is also an outcast due to voluntarily wearing SILLY HATS!  I’m calling it now she is a cinnamon roll that must be protected from Alexia’s “I’m best girl” narrative.  May I say I find it a gross misuse of time to use a paragraph to explain the difference in French/English Fashion by their introduction but spend 2 words, “Hideous bonnet” on describing the silly hat? FOR SHAME!

Thankfully Alexia doesn’t’ incessantly tease poor Ivy…yet.  On their walk they are stopped by Mable Dair who tells Alexia her Vampire Matriarch, Countess Nadasdy, wishes to see her.  

Everything about that situation screams bad fucking news for her.  Again, thankfully, Alexia has enough brains to try to determine HOW BAD that situation could be.

So she sees token gay and vampire friend Lord Akeldama.  The author makes no qualms about characterizing him as the floucniest priss that ever ponced a sissy.  Now, I’ll confess, I have a guilty pleasure for fictional gay stereotypes that bleed into problematic territory. 

EH-HEM!                        

Yet Lord Akeldama is not doing it for me.  It might be the fact that since this is kinda Young Adult territory that you can’t be subtle. But I can’t help but feel condescended to with the tons of IMPLIED nods to how gay he is. I’d almost rather she just come out and say, “THIS MAN IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO GAY…HE IS A DICK WITHIN A COCK WITHIN A PENIS! HE’S LIKE A TURDUKEN BUT IT’S A DICK-COCK-IS!” Instead I’m tapping my fingers going, “Oh this new line of dialog now makes it the 67th new cutsey flower-based nickname he’s calling Alexia by! Thanks cause, I missed all the previous 66 of them!”

To be honest, I might be being a bit too judgmental here.  Like with all things I love a lot, I can be a bitter opinionated bitch about what I consider good and bad versions of it.  So anyway Akeldama doesn’t have much to add besides

“Create more sexual tension with that Hunky werewolf wiener”

BOY HOWDY AM I LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE SEXY AND ROMANTIC DIALOG LIKE…

“UR A BIG STINKY FART-FACE!”

��I KNOW WHAT YOUA RE BUT WHAT AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII? NEH!”

Say something Nice Faps:

Lord Akeldama being interested in Alexia makes some sense due to her soulless ability. The author makes a point about how he likes holding her hand and feeling human. So even if Alexia is insufferable or nothing special otherwise it makes sense that this vampire would enjoy her company for that at least.

They describe Mable as both chubby and very good looking. CAUSE TURNS OUT YOU CAN BE BOTH!

As I said, Alexia at least has enough brains to get some info before driving straight into the fire here.