#lets try it with book reviews! 'I did not enjoy the pacing of this book' vs. 'The pacing of this book was terrible'

[the-cloudwatcher]

you know 99% of my issues with discourse online and everywhere else boil down to "maybe we should start using "I" sentences and not "you" sentences when we're fighting."

[devildom-moss]

hello !! happy anniversary to ur blog and so sorry again for not reading ur rules for the flash requests post 💔

may i request sfw + 12 w solomon. just him pining for reader. like doesn't even have to include dialogue w/mc, i just wanna see him being so horrendously down bad for them hehe thank you 🫶🏻

Thank you, and no worries! I hope you don't mind headcanons with this one. Now, did I get too invested in this request? I think so. It's almost double the intended length. Do I regret that? Not in the slightest. I hope you enjoy it!!

1 year anniversary flash request event - SFW

(Solomon x gn!MC)

Prompt 12 – Your choice: Pining

Pining!Solomon, whose hands tremble when you hug him as he slowly brings his arms up to try to hug you back. For his entire life, he had never needed to be held by anyone – not in the way that he needs you. When he’s in your arms, he almost can’t believe it. It feels too good to be true, like some cruel setup designed to bring him a moment of pure joy before ripping you from his grasp. So, his hands tremble with uncertainty and love and hope that he can never speak of. Solomon will snap himself out of his fear, and when he does, his hands will grip your back and pull you in. He never knows when to let go – or rather, he never wants to. If only he could keep you in his arms for a second longer. If only he could hold you every day. If only your warmth would linger on his skin forever.

Pining!Solomon, who will never give up sitting with his legs spread apart now that he knows the feeling of your warmth pressed against him when he refused to give you the space. He knows it’s rude, but he would do anything to keep that prolonged contact. He needs it. Politeness be damned. What does politeness know of the comfort he gets from the physical proof that you are right by his side?

Pining!Solomon, who traces the spines of his books, mapping your name through the topography of every curve or scratch as he waits for you to arrive for your study sessions with him. When you’re running late, your name exists on the spine of every book on his desk. You’ll live on them forever. Now, he can scarcely scan through his personal library without feeling your presence.

Pining!Solomon, who reviews your last sent message when he hasn’t seen you all day. His fingers hover over the screen as he contemplates reaching out. But is one day too soon? He scans his mind for any believable excuse to contact you.

Pining!Solomon, whose mouth is a reflection of his mind, always wandering in your direction. Whether he’s chatting with the demons or angels or in a conference with the Sorcerers’ Society. He can’t resist asking about your well-being or your daily life (the parts of it that he isn’t involved in). He brags about his adorable, talented apprentice to the Sorcerers’ Society and even random demons and witches he’s acquainted with. However, he’s always careful not to brag too much – less someone try to harm you or steal you right from under his watchful eye. If anyone so much as considered it, Solomon would see red until his anger was soothed by disproportionate aggression or the comfort of your voice and touch.

Pining!Solomon, whose body follows after you whenever you pull away. When you break off a kiss, he leans into you, chasing the feeling of your lips on him again. When you let go of his hand, he reaches forward, ever so slightly, trying to recapture your touch. When you let go during a hug, he inches just a bit closer. When you walk ahead of him, he picks up his pace to catch you. When your bonds strengthen with the others, his heart aches, trying to crawl its way back to you.

Pining!Solomon, who doesn’t know how to be alone anymore. His mind has your face and voice memorized. When you aren’t around, sometimes he imagines you calling him from the other room – that if he sat up and walked in there right now, he’d see your precious face, smiling at him. He’ll use technology and magic to preserve these memories with routine frequency – in case the worst should ever happen.

Pining!Solomon, who has never known fear like this. His entire life could collapse in on itself, making him an emotional black hole, from a simple shift in your existence. That is the magnetic strength of his love for you. No change in your presence goes unnoticed. If you got hurt. . . if you died. . . he would pull all realms into his pain.

But, also, Pining!Solomon, who has never known peace like this. If anything could wash over the wreckage of a garden that Solomon has cultivated himself – sick with rot and death that poisons instead of fertilizing, that smells of chemicals and rust, where only the toxic and wretched could bloom – and make it divine, it would be your presence. It would be your laugh when Asmo has pranked Solomon, and the witty sorcerer was none the wiser. It would be the way you danced along to music with Solomon in the kitchen as you prepared dinner – if for no other reason than pointless joy, then to distract him from his desire to help with the cooking. It would be the way you rolled your eyes when Solomon caused you trouble, because your annoyance couldn’t overcome your affection for him. It would be your warmth and the gentle sound of your breathing as you slumped against Solomon’s shoulder – when he longed to trace his fingers along your beloved form, but the fear of waking you stilled his hands. It would be the trusting, understanding smile on your face, when Solomon couldn’t express his feelings in anything more than a whispered “I love you” – even when you needed his praise shouted to the sky for all to understand.

A/N: this will be the last request for the 1 year event - SFW request day. I still have 3 more SFW requests in my inbox though.

Requests are now closed. I will be working on the NSFW requests tomorrow. Don't worry, if you got your flash request in (or if you're waiting on requests from the previous round of general requests), I'll still be working on those. This was a lot of fun so far, so thank you all for participating with me.

[short-honey-badger]

Peppermint Tea 6

Heyyy guys. Sorry this one took a little while to get out. I took a small break this weekend but this part is done. Quite a bit longer than my other parts! I hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

Warning! Kissing and Mihawk's imagination is dirty

You stare up at Dracule, face burning like a thousand suns. Why? Why did the man who plagued your every thought have to show up just as you were lamenting about him to your dog. You watch as Mihawk crouches to bring himself closer to you, eyes looking expectant, “What's wrong, sweet thing? Cat got your tongue?” He teases meanly.

Your expression morphs into a scowl and you try to pull away from him, but his grip simply tightens around your jaw, “Mihawk,” you whine his name, lips tugging up into a pout when all he does is angle a sharp brow down you.

“What, Dear One?” He coos innocently. Dracule had not expected to see you sitting with Hank on the beach when he'd returned to your island. His sharp ears had easily picked up your rant, and the knowledge that you'd been thinking about him just as he had you sent heat throughout his body. Mihawk wanted to be the only thing you ever cast your mind to when he wasn't there, “I'm only trying to make it fair.”

You knew that your friend wasn't about to let you out of his hold unless you kissed him. You reach forward, grabbing the lapel of his coat and tug Mihawk down. His knees hit the sand, and your lips meet his in a rough kiss. You huff and tilt your head, cheeks flushing when your nose bumps against his, but this is a much better angle.

Dracule allows you to go at your own pace, patiently letting you find out what works best for you. He encourages you by gently pressing back, mouth parting as arousal pools in his gut when he feels your cool tongue tentatively lap at his lips. Your lips are cool, soft against his own, and he greedily takes the messy kiss. His hand loosens around your jaw, becoming a sweet caress that he uses to hold you steady.

You lean into his sure hold, kiss breaking with a soft sigh as you look up at him through your lashes. You wet your lips and catch the way Dracule follows the motion of your tongue, “Was that okay?” You murmur softly.

“Adequate,” comes his reply, and your shoulders slump at the less than stellar review. Mihawk chuckles at your pout and gently flicks your forehead for it, “Don't be discouraged, dear. Take it slow. It's not a race.”

You huff, annoyed with his advice when he'd been the one teasing you in the first place. However, the scowl melts away soon enough. You are just happy that he is back. You flick your eyes over him, taking in the perfect facial hair and the way his hat shadows his unique eyes from the sun. He looks content, lips pulled into a tiny smile that makes you feel all squirmy inside.

Behind him sits a large pack that he turns and grabs, slinging it over his shoulder before he offers you a hand up from the sand.

“Better trip here this time?” You ask and take his offered hand. You dust yourself off and follow Dracule as he picks his way across the sand and to the jungle that separates the beach and your cottage. Hank bounds around the two of you, excited that his second favorite human had finally come back.

“I'm not soaked to the bone this time,” Dracule comments dryly, and you roll your eyes at his attitude, though the snarkiness makes you smile.

“Good. I'm glad I won't have to take care of an angry bird like last time,” you tease and snicker at his affronted look that your friend sends you.

“I don't appreciate being wet,” Mihawk grumbles lowly and enters your cottage like he owns the place. He bypasses the living room and goes straight to the kitchen, where he opens the pack and begins to sort through his haul. You step close to his side, peering past his arm in curiosity.

“Whatcha got?” You inquire, and Dracule lifts his arm to scootch you in front of him. You've got a much better view of all the things that he has brought with him.

“Your books, and just a few other things I thought you may enjoy,” Mihawk says, and your eyes zero in on the thick, undamaged books that he sets in front of you. Your hands twitch, and you long to flip through the pages, but Dracule hasn't stopped, and you don't want to be rude.

A dark bottle with a red label is sat to the side along with several much smaller bags of dried herbs. You pluck one up and examine it, “Tea from my own gardens and my favorite wine.”

You aren't sure what wine is, but you appreciate the offered teas, “Thank you. You didn't have to bring anything but the books.” You remind him gently, and Mihawk scoffs above you.

“Nonsense. I will get you things, and you will like them,” Dracule says confidently, casually as if he knows what is best for you. You find that you don't really mind. You've been alone on your island with only Hank for company for almost your entire life. What did you know about the world?

Mihawk watches you, finding your reluctance to take his gifts rather endearing. He abandons the bag to place his hands on your hips, turning you so that you now face him. He takes in the way you part your lips, tongue wetting your lips as you flick your eyes across his exposed chest. His lips twitch in a smirk, and he raises a hand to wrap it around your jaw, angling your face up so that he can dive in and capture your lips in a kiss.

Dracule has missed the way you give in to him, body relaxing as he takes what he wants and you give without thinking of the consequences. Your lips are cold, open, and inviting for him to nip, making your hiss at the slight pain before he smooths it with a lick of his hot tongue.

“So good for me, Darling,” Mihawk praises quietly, and you shiver at the sound of his voice. It sweeps through you like magma, warming you from the inside out and keeping the cold of your devil fruit at bay.

His hands drop to your thighs, and he bends his knees while wrapping his hands under your legs. You get the hint and reach up, draping your arms around his neck and hop up so that Hawkeye can wrap your legs around his waist. Your ass is sat on the edge of the table, but this new position allows the two of you to be even closer. Your legs tighten around his waist, and Mihawk suppresses a groan of want when he feels your heat against the growing tent in his pants.

Dracule needs to stop. To slow down before he pushes so far that he scares you. You told him last time that you had no idea what you were doing, and while the thought of your innocence has him quaking in his boots, he wants you comfortable with him, safe with him.

You whine when Mihawk stops the heated exchange. He soothes you with light pecks against your cheeks and lips, and then he is pulling away to watch you catch your breath. He gives you one last kiss to your brow and then carefully lowers your feet back to the floor and fixes his hat.

“Not going to hang those up?” You ask carefully. You don't want him to leave, not right now, and he has always taken off his coat and hat when he has stayed with you.

“Trying to undress me before dinner, Darling?” Dracule murmurs back and smirks when your face goes red and you look away from him with pursed lips.

“That's not what I was saying,” you grumble at him, embarrassed at your clingy actions. The warlord huffs and reaches for you, tugging you in to press your face to his chest.

“Enough pouting. I plan on staying a couple of days, if You must know,” Mihawk assured you, and you pushed away from him so that you could look up and see if he was being honest. You search his gaze, and a grin spreads across your face when you see that he is telling you the truth.

“Nothing to keep you away?” You question, and Dracule dips his head in a nod. You stuff down the urge to squeal in delight and surge up to kiss his cheek. He releases you to disappear into the living room for a moment only to come back hatless and with the white button up from before covering his shoulders.

“Make us tea and tell me about your weeks that I've been away, sweet thing,” Dracule orders, and you hop to it with a pep in your step. He watches you debate with yourself over the selection of tea bags he'd brought with him and ultimately choosing chamomile. You ramble as the water boils, telling Hawkeye about the pretty seashells you have started to collect on your back deck. You promise to show him the best ones later, and he agrees with an amused smile.

The whistle of the kettle halts you long enough to pour the two of them steaming mugs of tea. Before you can settle in your own chair, Mihawk snags you by the waist and pulls you in his lap, arm winding around your waist to hold you close to him. You blush prettily, and he hums in satisfaction when you rest your weight into him. Your thoughts wander as you sip your sugary tea, eyes occasionally flicking down to the arm around your waist.

“Why do you keep coming here?” You find yourself blurting out. The question has been bothering you since the last time Mihawe came to your island. You weren't complaining, absolutely not, but you were curious. You have no idea what your friend does when he isn't here on your island, but you assume it has to be more important than spending days on the seas just to come and see you.

“It's peaceful, and I enjoy your company,” You aren't expecting an honest and upfront answer so quickly. He doesn't sound upset that you are asking, but you can hear a warning tilt to his voice that makes nerves shoot through your stomach, “Your island is an oasis compared to the rest of this world.”

You shift and sip your tea in thought. Was it really so bad out there? Your memories aren't any help. You can't even recall what your parents look like, let alone what your home was like.

“Well,” you begin and set your mug down so that you can turn and snuggle into his side, happily letting his body heat warm you, “I'm glad you found me then, Mihawk.”

Dracule hums low in his throat, “So am I, dear girl” he rumbles, and the two of you lapse into a comfortable silence.

The sun is setting by the time you move from his lap. You disappear from the kitchen, and Dracule takes the opportunity to pilfer around for something to eat. Hank watches from the doorway, big puppy eyes begging him for any snack that he may come across. He reluctantly gives the mutt a plain tasting biscuit that he finds in a container set aside that is helpfully labeled Hank.

Dracule hears you before he sees you, ears twitching in the direction of the sound of your socked feet meeting the hardwood. He greets you with a tray of hard cheese, dried meats, and a couple of slices of the bread you had baked a couple of days ago. “I'll meet you by the fireplace,” Hawkeye tells you and hands off the try for you to take to the living room.

You settle the tray on a cleared end table and crouch to love on Hank when the big brute plops in front of the fireplace. You grin when you scratch his tummy just right, and he starts to kick, tongue lolling out to slobber all over the floor.

Mihawk watches from the entryway, a soft smile on his face as he watches you play with your dog. You make a delightful image with the happy smile on your face, eyes alight with a life that he doesn't see often. He holds two glasses of red wine in his hands, though they are set beside the tray of foodstuffs to let air out. The warlord scratches Hank behind the ear.

“I've always been more of a cat person, but he is a good boy,” He comments, and you shrug.

“I wouldn't really know. I've never met any,” you frown a bit at your lack of knowledge, but quickly shove any negative emotions down before your fruit decided to cover the three of you with snow.

“Hank's been my only friend for a long time,” you admit quietly and smile when the big lug gives you living brown eyes, “Yeah, talking to you, boy. You're my knight in shining armor, aren't you?” You coo, baby voice coming out for your good boy.

Dracule snorts and stands to sit in the armchair that has stayed clear for him since last time. He picks up his glass and swirls the liquid before taking a sip, humming in delight when the sweet flavor blooms over his tongue. You eye the other glass and turn around to watch him savor another sip of the red liquid.

“What is that?” Dracule hears, you ask, and he hides a smirk behind his glass of wine. He adores your curiosity, your naivety of the world.

Mihawk helpfully informs you of the name, but the foreign words go right over your head. He sighs when you give him a look that just screams confusion, “It's a sweet wine, my dear. Alcohol,” surprise lights his face when yours suddenly screws up is disgust.

“Ugh. No, thank you then,” you grouce and grimace when you watch him sip from his glass once more.

Mihawk frowns, slightly annoyed with your reluctance to try it. He casts his eyes around, curious if he could spot the culprit for your dislike of alcohol. He huffed a laugh when his ringed eyes landed on what looked like an old rum jar full of tiny knick knacks.

“Darling, your first drink should not be the foul concoction run of the mill pirates call rum,” Dracule admonishes and stands to point out the jar on the shelf. He examines the jar and turns his nose up at it when he realizes that the bottle is so old that the raised lettering on the bottle is hardly eligible.

“Well I didn't know,” you counter and stand to plop on the other chair that you've dragged out of the extra room for yourself. You sit cross-legged, still eyeing the wine like it might bite you, “That stuff tasted awful, so I just avoid anything that looked similar.”

“That is something we will remedy tonight, then,” Dracule announces, and a bad feeling curls your gut, but you quickly push it away. You trust that Mihawk wouldn't make you do anything you truly didn't want to do.

“No harm in trying it, I guess,” you agree slowly, and Mihawk nods in pride at you, being brave. He looms over You, setting his half empty glass to the side and taking up your full one. He lifts the glass to your lips, yellow eyes half lidded and heady as he stares down at you.

“Sip it, sweet thing,” Dracule orders and watches in rapt attention as you hesitate briefly before opening your mouth so that he could gently trickle the red wine past your lips. Your eyes go wide at the sweet but tart flavor that spreads over your tongue. Mihawk drinks in your expressful face, cataloging your reaction as the crinkle in your brow smooths out and your shaky nerves are replaced with pleasure. He tips the glass away long enough for you to decide if you want more, and his lips tug up smugly when your eyes go glassy in want.

Dracule tips the glass back up, and he can't look away as you work your delicate throat. His imagination spins, and he wants to see your throat constrict and work around something much thicker. His pants tighten, and he becomes so distracted at the thought of watching you struggle to take him that he doesn't realize he has been holding the glass against your lips for a little too long.

You pull away from him, coughing to try and clear the burning in your throat from the gulp of wine accidently forced down your throat. Mihawk hurriedly sets the glass away and kneels by your side, “Oh, Darling,” he croons and reaches for your hands that wipe at your face.

Your lips are stained dark red, face flushed as you clear your throat. You make a fetching sight, and Dracule commits it to memory, “Are you alright, dear?” He swaps both your wrists to one of his hands and reaches out to cradle your face in his free one, thumb gently swiping over your bottom lip.

You nod, “I'm fine,” you assure him and swallow thickly. That had been a lot all at once. Your head feels fuzzy, and you have to blink several times to get your vision to clear.

Dracule nods, hand slipping into one of your own so that he can kiss your knuckles, “Good. That was my fault, Dear One. I became distracted.”

You feel your entire body light up with the way Mihawk is looking at you. He looks hungry, like the massive sea kings that you've seen swim around your island. You swallow, and his eyes track the movement of your throat, yellow eyes seemingly glowing in the firelight. Everything feels electric, and you have no idea what you're supposed to do next.

@writingmysanity @goth-mami-writer @djbumblebee @kenkenmaaa @foggyturtleknightangel @browneyedhufflepuff

[jessread-s]

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🐉✨Review:

A strong start to a romantasy series with endless potential!

“Fear the Flames” follows Elowen Atarah, an exiled princess, as she teams up with Cayden Veles, the feared Commander of Vareveth, to free her dragons and save her people. As forces beyond their control try to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes irresistible. 

The concept of this book immediately grasped my attention. It was the reluctant allies-to-lovers romance that drew me in further! Elowen and Cayden’s knife to the throat meet-cute put me in a chokehold and I was living for their banter. Their dynamic is truly incredible and the tension had my heart pounding.

Unfortunately, the pacing and aspects of the writing are what lost me. While Cayden fell first, he also fell very fast. Many readers might like this if they prefer instantaneous chemistry, but I tend to like books where the relationship development moves more slowly, so I did not enjoy how quick it felt. Much of their dialogue, aside from the banter, was also clunky and cringey at times. 

As far as the plot, the heist was the main focus, so I was a bit let down when it missed the mark. There was a lot of build-up surrounding it only for it to be done and over with so quickly. Nearly everything was executed perfectly without a hitch, so it just ended up being anticlimactic. 

Overall, I appreciate this book’s vision and really liked some of its elements despite its setbacks. I’m interested to see what direction Darling takes the next book now that the groundwork has been laid.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Release date: 3 September 2024

Genre: young adult contemporary horror/thriller

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

A gut-wrenching story following a trans autistic teen who survives an attempted murder, only to be drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?

Content warnings

Transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming

Death, murder, violence, blood, gore, body horror, injury, fire injury

Gun violence

Hospitalisation

Car crash

Mentioned animal death/abuse

Implied sexual assault

Toxic friendship

Drug abuse/drug addiction

Ableism

Classism

(I did my best to get all the content warnings, but I might have missed some things so do be warned)

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!!!

I have heard nothing but good things about the author's other works, so I went into this book excited, but trying to temper my expectations in case I got let down.

Y'all. This book is pure FIRE.

This book is horrifying and visceral, but at the same time, it's moving and sincere. While this book tackles heavy topics like transphobia and classism, it's also very much about the importance of family and community.

Not to mention that the story/plot is absolutely gripping. I was tempted to finish this in one sitting, but I made myself pace it out so that I could enjoy it longer. Every chapter ended on a cliffhanger that made me want to keep reading. The author does a great job of interspersing the really dark moments with hopeful ones, so the book never gets too bogged down in despair.

One thing I have to mention is that I was very much NOT prepared for how dark this book got. I think I underestimated it because it's categorised as young adult, but this book gets really heavy.

If I had to critique something, it would be the formatting. The first page of each chapter is all black with white text, and all the other pages are the regular white with black text. The changes in page and text colour threw me out of the story a little, but TBH this is like a really minor nitpick, and also the only negative thing I have to say about this book.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #42 – The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

This is the rare book that I read less than six months after finishing the previous entry in the series, and only the second definite conclusion to a series. It was incredibly readable and never a slog, and the big final climactic set-piece absolutely worked for me, but on the whole I probably enjoyed it rather less than The Last Graduate?

The book picks up the precise moment Graduate lets off, with El getting shoved out of the Scholomance moments before it goes spinning off into the void by Orion – her storybook monster-hunting hero/traumatized child soldier boyfriend. Who she instantly tries to move heaven and earth to drag him out, and then spends a week near catatonic with exhaustion and grief. In the end, the plot comes in the form of Liesel, the valedictorian of her year at the Scholomance, arriving and all but dragging her off to save the London Enclave from imminent collapse and consumption by a rampant Mawmouth, one of the horrifying, deathless monsters that she is one of exactly two people alive to ever kill. From there she’s dragged into the mystery of an unknown malificer destabilizing and destroying enclaves, the brewing war between New York and Shanghai, and convincing Orion’s family to help try and rescue him before the Scholomance vanishes entirely into the void.

Despite being about ostensible adults who have graduated and are properly finding their places in the world, this still very much read like YA to me – moreso, really, without the conceit of the killer magic highschool overshadowing everything else. Or, okay, have gotten disagreement when describing the series as YA before, so to be more specific – El’s romantic and familial drama are quite literally the most important things in the world, as she and her highschool boyfriend are the most important and powerful entities in all creation. With the exception of El’s mom being a saint and providing healing and support, I’m pretty sure literally every consequential act that occurs on-screen is done either by or to someone under 20. El melts down, fucks off for a week, and never answers her phone in a way that is very relatable for an overwhelmed 18-year-old but potentially world-war-starting for a walking WMD. And so on. Without the deliberately artificial setting of the Scholomance, the wires of genre convention just show through more obviously, you know? (Also, my first introduction to Novik was Spinning Silver and I’m still waiting to read anything else of hers that comes near it on the level of prose and style).

None of which is a complaint – the fact that your boyfriend’s mom is literally the worst person in the world just comes with the territory. What is a complaint is how the book treats its supporting cast. This is El and Orion’s story, and I’m pretty sure they are literally the only people in it who get – not even an arc, but just any sense of development or change over time whatsoever. They feel like characters, everyone else feels like cardboard cutouts, or NPCs in a video game. Which is a fair choice to make when space is at a premium, but my copy of this came out to over 400 pages. Even the other characters with enough personality and screentime to make any sort of impression can honestly be counted on one hand.

In consequence, this is an incredibly plot-driven novel. The pacing is both frenetic and frantic, with what feels like basically the entire thing spent either in or rushing to one crisis or big dramatic set-piece after another – a surprising amount of it is spent in airports, honestly. The epilogue mentions that they ‘crammed a decade worth of crises into a fortnight’ or something along those liens and, yeah! The contrast between this and the previous two books spreading their crises across whole school years is inescapable.

That said, that frantic, 400-page-sprint plot did work. Or, at least, the big emotional setpieces and dramatic confrontations that are clearly the heart of the whole thing absolutely hit me like they were supposed to. The finale especially.

There is a certain sort of cliche in old arguments about superhero stories, where one side says that superman is boring because he’s more powerful than the rest of the world put together and impossible to threaten, and the other says that he’s interesting for precisely the same reason. This isn’t actually true of most superman stories as far as I can tell, but it still seems an apt comparison for this book. There is absolutely no point in the entire story where ‘Can El kill this?’ is a question that is in any doubt. The horrifying monsters that the thought of fighting again in Book 2 sent her into panic attacks? She can kill them with a sentence an a wave of her hands. There is simply not a moment in the book where her efforts fail due to a lack of force – so the entire story becomes an exercise in supplying dramatic tension and a compelling action-adventure wizard-battle narrative despite this handicap. And it (mostly) works!

The series has never been big on villains – in both the previous books, the central problem being struggled against was always environmental or systemic or a matter of coordination and planning. This book redoubles the commitment, to the point of dangling the red herring of the sinister dark wizard running around destroying enclaves before eventually revealing that the real villain is, well, the collateral damage of trying to fix (metaphorical) climate change and structural inequality without a full understanding of the problem. Never a really convincing red herring, but I still enjoyed the reveal.

Part of the whole YA feel is just the themes being very close to the surface of things and legible to casual reading. What with the enclaves of comfort and luxury that every wizard is fighting for entrance to literally being built on a foundation of eternal and deathless suffering, or the number of monsters in the world being the proliferation of enclaves as China and India began catching up with the Euro-Americans leading to an arms/development race that leaves anyone not part of it just more and more fucked over, and all. Not a bad thing – honestly it’s a compliment to say that the book managed to have such clear themes with such obvious applicability to the real world without ever feeling like it had turned into a lecture. Many similar works fail the test.

It is I think kind of funny how you can use the prominence of queerness in this series to track how the culture of mainstream publishing has changed between releases. From not really mentioned at all in Deadly Education to El sleeping with a woman on-page in this. (I actually can’t remember if she ever, like, realized she was bi or it just got retroactively established as something she was already comfortable with?)

Speaking of themes – this is mostly just on me personally, but the whole resolution with El’s great-grandmother left an intense bad taste in my mouth. I’m sure it was just necessary to make the whole very cute resolution of her whole doom-laden prophecy work, but ‘yes the family matriarch basically threw my mom in the gutter with newborn me in her arms, but it was with the best of intentions! She felt really bad about it, and she was right that it was the only way things would work out well in the end!’ is a trope that just viscerally repels me. Or at least it does when El reconciling and reconnecting with the extended family that abandoned her is clearly portrayed as part of the big happy ending. I’d probably react less harshly if this was a different genre, honestly? But as it is, yeah, in the same way that being so consistent about making The System the only real villain makes the fact that there’s apparently some sort of system of instant karma and doing good things/being a good person actually does make the universe like and do good things for you ring a bit hollow.

Anyway yes, there’s definitely more to talk about – Orion as a character is a whole essay in himself, and so is his mom, but that’s enough for now. It was a very fun, addictively readable book that hit the Big Moments very well, but everything outside of them and the two main characters felt kind of threadbare and perfunctory. Still, not a book I regret reading.

[kryptonbabe]

Reviewing the GoodReads reviews of Ultimate X-Men: Fears And Hates by Peach Momoko

Guys are we even reading the same comic? Why are the reviews for the first volume of Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko so lukewarm? What to do when you think everyone is wrong but you? I did what every hater does, read the reviews and tried to understand their different perspectives

Most reviewers are vague, not very clear about what they dislike. But reading them I was able to come up with 4 points that might have influenced the phenomenon:

a) The book's art style is distinctive. Peach has a unique work that can be viewed as soft and maybe targeted for a younger audience

b) The story moves at a different pace. Which means that it's way less action packed then the usual mainstream superhero comic book (is that so hard to adapt to though? Are people only interested in reading exactly what they expect and are used to? Hm)

c) The protagonist is a high school girl and her colleagues. This might reinforce the "younger target audience" impression (I don't want to be the person who points out how people dislike teenage girls and disregard all the other elements of analysis, but could this be the case here? I won't give this hypothesis much credit though, let's give the benefit of the doubt to the reviewers)

d) (This is a marketing element and could reinforce the other points) this series is drastically different from the other Ultimate Universe titles being released right now. However they happen in the same universe and have similar cover designs. Which could contribute to people getting interested in the book expecting a similar tone from the other titles, expectations that remain unfulfilled leading them to dislike this work

What we can take from these points is: Momoko's tone and style for this book is different. And we only understand that by comparing her work with others. When people compare her Ultimate X-Men with other Ultimate titles they might get disappointed for Momoko's take is pretty unique. The same can happen if people compare this series with current X-Men books, again Momoko is telling a completely different and original story, in art, tone and world building. But isn't the Ultimate line the perfect place for such a take? An alternate reality in which an artist is free to reinvent concepts and characters?

I am enjoying this series, but I understand people who are not, this is a different take on a familiar universe and that can be uncomfortable at first. Despite the cute looks, pastel color palette and the main characters being teenagers, the series tackles themes of suicide, guilt and grief, it can be shocking or incompatible for some readers. However, I wonder if these critics were to change their approach, taking the book for what it is and what it is trying to do, instead of comparing it with works that have different goals, wouldn't they feel different about this series? Managing expectations and opening up for the new? I can only hope future readers are able to do this, at least giving a try and enjoy Momoko's vision. Because there are a lot of qualities to this book, the art, the plot, it fits... There's a coherence to all of it, a confidence in its own rhythm, care put into its making and I appreciate that

Thanks for reading! This volume contains the first 4 issues of the Ultimate X-Men (2024) series

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Girl Squad: Assemble!

So I was staying with my sister for a week in July, and the entire time I was there, she was trying to cram this book into my hands. I was super leery because I had read ACOWAR, but I finally acquiesced--mostly on the strength of the little bits of Nessian from ACOWAR that I had enjoyed.

Reader...

I was absolutely floored by this book. It was leaps and bounds better than ACOWAR, and I found Nesta a way more interesting protagonist than Feyre. I also appreciated that she and Cassian weren't perfect off the jump; everyone got to make mistakes and everyone got to figure it out. I also adored the girl squad Nesta built for herself. So let's talk A Court of Silver Flames.

Hi, hello, welcome. This is your SPOILER WARNING. Proceed at your own risk.

One kind of cannot exist in book fandom spaces on the internet without knowing that ACOSF is a polarizing book. People love and hate Nesta, and there are legitimate, evidence- and text-based reasons for both sides. If you found Nessian to be Satan's Power Couple, this is not the review for you, because while both Nesta and Cassian are flawed characters, I enjoyed the hell out of them and this is going to be largely positive--although there are a couple of things we need to talk about that are less glowingly positive. But overall, I liked Nesta, and I liked her relationships with Cassian and her girl squad.

In terms of structure and sentence-level writing, this book was surprising. SJM still does that thing where she uses words that don't make either connotative or denotative sense (seriously, if Cassian's fly has stays in it, then something is DEEPLY wrong), but the pacing and structure of the plot and character arcs felt smoother and more intentional than the entirety of ACOWAR did, and there was just straight up more plot per page than ACOTAR or ACOMAF had. There was also more sex--and I know this is somewhat controversial too, but I defend this by noting that part of Nesta's coping ability with her trauma was to go hypersexual, so having her relationship with Cassian be extremely physical made sense in terms of Nesta's character arc. She even had a little monologue about the difference between fucking and lovemaking that I thought was actually really good for Nesta. Being able to identify different needs and contexts--as well as their inherent fluidity--was real growth for her emotionally. In general, I wasn't bored by this book the way I was by ACOTAR and I wasn't going "WTAF is happening" like I was with ACOWAR. Getting away from Rhys and Feyre seems to have really set SJM up to write a story, not her favorite ship, and I think readers can really see the difference.

At this point, I want to shift into character group/ship headings, because that's the easiest way to address the disparate parts of this book.

Nessian

Nessian is my favorite ship in the ACOTAR books, because Nesta and Cassian are interesting characters to watch, and they're allowed to fuck up and fix things. For example, Nesta is kind of godawful at communicating and following directions. She full-on does not stay in the tree, and almost gets herself murdered to death by "kelpies." She does also find the mask, so she gets a bit of leeway, but she gives Cassian more than a few hear attacks because she's prickly but has a soft gooey center that she is often acting out to protect. She would literally cut her own nose off to spite her face before admitting that's what she's doing, but that's very much what is happening for her. And Cassian is smart enough to eventually figure out what Nesta is doing.

My favorite example of THAT is when Cassian puts together than Nesta pissed off Clotho specifically to get his ass in the library long enough to show off his teaching skills and methods to prove that he's a safe person to all the women in the library. He's literally walking out the door afterward when the penny drops and it's adorable. This isn't to say he never screws up, though.

He REALLY fucks up when Nesta spills the baby wings beans. Did we need to push Nesta to the point of literal physical collapse on that hike? No, no we did not. That was fucked up, my dude. But they do talk it out and they work through it. What they don't ever really work through is Cassian being in the worst possible position in the Nesta-Rhys relationship. Cassian is a murder himbo (affectionate). Off the battlefield, he's a cute slab of muscle with a single brain cell and a good heart. He is also deeply tied to Rhys in a way that is perhaps not entirely healthy, so he absolutely goes back and forth between putting Nesta first and putting Rhys first. Which is messy and uncomfortable and gets baby ex machina-ed at the end rather than actually sorted out. Like, the worst, most toxic part of the Nessian ship is Rhysand and the Inner Circle. And that never really gets resolved because Cass will never leave the Inner Circle, and Nesta is never going to be fully accepted in it.

Despite that, however, I do love that Cassian arrives at the point of trusting Nesta to the point where he trusts that she can girlboss HERSELF out of the Blood Rite. We all know that if that had been Feysand, Rhys would have broken every rule ever and hung the consequences. I love that Cassian is actually held to the rules and has to trust Nesta and his relationship with her and their (admittedly rocky) past to get her out of that situation alive. And she ultimately chooses him again and hauls his ass out of the fire too. They just complement each other well, and I enjoyed watching them negotiate the relationship--even if I missed the mate bond snapping into place entirely because what even WAS that writing, SJM???

I know that some fans criticize the pattern of "solve your depression and trauma with hiking and combat training" in the ACOTAR books, but I found that it made more sense for Nesta than it ever did for Feyre. Nesta has a deep desire for control and enough power not to feel helpless. She's also got a genuinely good sense of "the most good for the greatest number of people," and that plus her general boyfriend makes it make sense that she would end up reforming the Valkyries.

Nesta's Girl Squad

Which brings us nicely to Nesta's girl squad. I absolutely ADORE that Nesta goes out and finds friends outside the Inner Circle. Her relationship with the Inner Circle is toxic on a GOOD day, and they quite simply cannot support Nesta in the way she needs to be supported. So Nesta goes out and finds people who can and will.

Gwyn and Emerie are really fun characters, and the best parts of the girl squad for me were not so much the Valkyrie training (although I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy that) but the parts where the three reclaim the parts of girlhood and girl friendship that they were denied. They have a SLEEPOVER. They make plot-relevant FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS. They SHARE SMUTTY ROMANCE NOVELS and TALK ABOUT THEM. Literally this is the most wholesome relationship and it's a genuine treat to see Nesta form bonds outside of the fate of Prythian and her sister's complicated in-laws. This was probably the part of the book that I loved best (yeah, possibly even more than Nessian being Nessian), because we finally got away from the toxic sniping from Mor, the sheer evil of Ianthe and Amarantha, and the deeply fucked-up sibling relationship between Nesta and Feyre.

The girl squad just likes and supports each other.

That happens rarely enough in books that where there are strong, positive bonds among female characters, I always love it. Did Emerie and Gwyn get the amount and depth of development I'd have liked? No. Was that justified? Yeah, kind of. It was Nessian's book, it's a romance, and the fact that we even GOT a girl squad in a straight romance is a win as far as I'm concerned. Did it start as a trauma pack bond? Also yes, but like...that's just on-brand for ACOTAR, and at least Nesta's girl squad does the work of dealing with and processing their trauma.

*Side eyes the hundreds of years that Mor, Az, and Cass have been sidestepping around whatever the fuck their little triangle is*

The Feysand Thing and Nesta

Ok. I know why we had to have Feysand in this book. Plot reasons are a valid reason to include characters. That said...the pregnancy subplot was too stupid for words. It turns Rhysand--who I was already not enamored with after ACOWAR--into a patriarchal anti-choice asshole. It's Feyre's body, she gets to have 100% of the information about what it's doing and what her options are. And Rhys, dear, if you're too much of a coward to "take away Feyre's happiness" by telling her that giving birth is almost certain to kill her, make the healer do it. Yell, scream, and beat your chest, if that makes you feel better about it, but FOR FUCKS SAKE, tell her what's going on with the pregnancy. There was an opportunity to have a real conversation about abortion (because apparently C-sections aren't a thing in Velaris), but SJM didn't bother taking it. Instead we were stuck with a STUPIDLY overprotective and stressed Rhys. He is a massive dick to Nesta for this whole book, he's protective to the point of literal murder (which is not a good look), and frankly Nesta having to save his entire family's lives for him to stop literally wanting her dead feels...icky.

Also, I cannot not be on Amren's side over the stupid death pact that Feyre and Rhysand made. That was somehow EVEN STUPIDER than the pregnancy subplot, and uh...were I a citizen of Velaris, I would not be super happy with how the succession of the court is set up OR the fact that my 500-year-old High Lord thought that making a death pact with a 20-something who has a high-risk pregnancy was a good idea. Like...there are no brain cells at work here.

Nesta might not have had the best of intentions when she tells Feyre that Rhys has been lying to her and she's probably going to die, but like...FEYRE HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW. And If Rhys had balls, he'd have been the one to tell her or arrange for the healer to tell her.

Literally Nesta and Rhysand are never going to be friends, and that's FINE. But Nesta should not have to live with his bullshit.

Nesta and the House of Winds

Nesta has a pet magic house. It's amazing, I wouldn't change a thing.

The Stays Thing

There have been multiple posts about this on my blog, but of all the "words mean things" crimes SJM has committed in her books, the one that goes "Cassian's cock strained against the stays and buttons of his pants" is absolutely the worst one. For context, these are stays:

Stays are a boned support garment for the upper body that have historically been worn by people with breasts. I have no idea how you'd even BEGIN to put a pair of stays in the fly of a pair of pants, but if SJM meant that Cassian was straining against his own type of support garment, then the word she wanted was "jockstrap." She could even have gone with "cup" or "athletic supporter." Literally any word that describes a garment that keeps penises from flopping wildly about during physical exercise would have worked here, but nooooooo, we got "stays." I might actually be madder about this than I was about the use if "twist" in ACOWAR, because at least with that one, the word was in the ballpark.

Literally all my friends have heard this rant, but the winning response was from my sister who looked at me and went, "When I read it, I assumed they were the things that made his pants stays [sic] up."

Reader, she got the screech of rage she wanted from me with that response.

Nesta's Death Magic

Ok, I am so deeply conflicted about how Nesta's death magic was handled in the book. This idea had so much potential and some HELLA cool moments, but I can't say that I love that she gave up 99% of it at the end. I get why, and I even get that Nesta was probably more comfortable without the phenomenal cosmic powers, but the execution kind of felt like it was one more thing she had to surrender to not poke holes in Rhysand's fragile-ass ego. IDK, I'm conflicted, and your mileage may vary, but I didnt want to not mention the badass powers and Nesta's sheer force of will in controlling and directing it.

Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed Nesta's book, and I would absolutely recommend reading this one. It's an SJM book, so you're getting a fair number of expected flaws with it, but in and around those flaws, there are interesting characters and a compelling story.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: March 2024

……….FILM……….

Dune: Part Two (2024) Every piece of technology felt and looked so tangible. The baby worm too! Love the tactile nature of this whole production and I hope studios take note that CG can't be the only tool in your belt. So much bigger than I imagined and just enjoyed the whole thing.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) Ages surprisingly well and a script that lets the main quartet be both funny and layered.

……….TELEVISION……….

Columbo (1.01 to 1.03) Hey I'm starting Columbo! Love that each episode is feature-length and Columbo appears fully formed right out of the gate. The sets and costumes are all so glamorous and L.A. Very excited to keep going.

Succession (2.05 to 3.04) The Kendall play at the end of season 2 felt very much like the Kendall play at the end of season 1 and while I'm still a huge fan of this series, I just hope it's not the same going into season 3 and 4.

Delicious in Dungeon (Episode 1.09 to 1.13) Great adaptation that isn't just a straight recreation of the artwork in the manga. The more kinetic/frantic moments in the animation are a nice departure and while they don't pop up in each episode, now that I'm 13 eps deep I can appreciate how they're sprinkled throughout.

Love is Blind (Episode 6.02 to 6.13) It still amazes me that anyone goes on reality tv.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Twilight | ContraPoints by ContraPoints Yes I did watch a nearly 3-hour essay on Twilight, sexual expression, and all that comes with that. And you should too. VIDEO

Instagram fatigue and the rise of 'Resentment Reels' by Taylor Lorenz While I haven't noticed this specific phenomenon, I have noticed Instagram declining as an app (both as a user trying to see anything other than ads, and a creator trying to get my work seen in between those ads). It's a bummer. VIDEO

Saltburn: The Tumblr-ification of Cinema by Broey Deschanel Every since I saw Saltburn, I've been thinking about what wasn't quite sitting right with me. This unlocked a lot of what I couldn't describe and most of it stems from the writer/director's upper class upbringing. Saltburn isn't a "take down the rich" movie, it's a horror story from the perspective of a wealthy family. VIDEO

Why Is It So Hard To Cross The Street? (& What You Can Do To Help) by Strong Towns Accidents where drivers hit a pedestrian are going up in my area so this really hit home. And for those feeling like there's nothing you can do at ground level, consider taking their course (not a paid sponsorship I'm just in real support of community-lead initiatives). VIDEO

……….READING……….

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (Complete) After picking up the last book in this series (which I've yet to read) I figured I'd start at the beginning. Love the fast pace pulpy action and I can see how this influenced the creation of D&D.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (Complete) This one would lose me for stretches but the final quarter of the book is stronger. A lot less cozy and a lot more action than I was expecting but skimming other reviews it sounds like this was written during her more...adventure-focused era. Three books deep and I have to give Christie credit that each has been a completely different experience.

Adventures of a Japanese Business Man by Jose Domingo (Complete) Always love going back to this nearly wordless epic that follows the titular Japanese business man. I love the complexity of the earliest panels and wish that could carry throughout more of the book, but it's always such a treat to discover just where each new panel will go.

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 5 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Enjoying rereading this with shorter breaks between volumes as I certainly missed/forgot details on my first read. It's here that the story and tone shifts from light romp to a more dramatic and dangerous affair but it never loses its spot-on humour. Love those dryad pumpkins.

Ultimate Spider-Man HC Volume 11 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, David Lafuente, and more (Complete) Going from some of my other comics back to this, I'm struck by just how wordy it can get. Now knowing where the story goes, it was a great idea to prime readers to the idea of Peter Parker dying even if it's not from this event.

……….AUDIO……….

Blank Check with Griffin & David (Podcast) Late to the game on this but really enjoying burning through their back catalog. Obviously started with their episode on Speed Racer as it's a near perfect film that you should watch right now.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday group just killed a mayor! So the aftermath of that is going to play out over the next couple of sessions. And the Mof1 crew is investigating the aftermath of their own district-wide catastrophe and it's all looking rather suspicious!

Spot It (Blue Orange Games) I can't recommend this game enough. It's so easy to learn, rounds last maybe 5 minutes, it plays well with small or large groups of any age, and all it requires is pattern recognition and quick reflexes. Every time I've played this someone says they're going to buy a copy for themselves.

And that's it. See you in April!

[the-batacombs]

Okay! Comics!

I think I've read so many things since I last made a comics post, so this is probably just going to be an assorted overview of things I have on my mind.

Nightwing 119/120: It's interesting. It's definitely going somewhere that I'm willing to go. The art is good, but it's not really catching my interest, and neither is the pacing. I think I'm dropping this one for now and will come back to read it in trades when I get around to working through Nightwing where I left off. Congrats to everyone really excited about Watters' run; it looks like it'll be good, but it's really not written for me.

Absolute Superman 1: Oh my gosh the cover on this. It's so good. I loved this story, even if I was a little...not sure how I feel about the twisted origin. I'm definitely willing to wait and see how I feel about it. The relationship between Kal and the suit...the glowy arms...the way he approaches each problem and tries to solve it? I love this. Everything I'd hoped it would be--actually, a lot better than I'd hoped it would be. I love Lois but I'm not super enamoured of the modern comics version so the twist at the end was like...okay!

Absolute Wonder Woman 1/2: Gave this a shot on the basis of the reviews I've been hearing and am loving it. The paneling on this? The PANELING? That one page in issue one where the panels fan out as concentric circles that Diana runs through, that was something else. The tone and atmosphere in this book are exceptional, it really does catapult you into the story and not let you go, and I like the balance of the relationship between Steve and Diana. The colouring was amazing and I'm really disappointed DC even printed a "Noir variant" because it seems to devalue the hard and deeply impressive work of the colourist so much.

Same goes for the Absolute Batman Noir variant.

Absolute Batman 1: Yeah, this one isn't for me. I said at the start I was only going to give Absolute Batman a shot if there was an Absolute Robin, and I'm still there. I picked this one up on a whim and because I'd heard good things about the art; the art is great, but the story is...it's just not for me. It's a little silly (the panel with the bat-ax versus the cleaver was an excellent visual gag) and the art is indeed fantastic: visually strong, dynamic, interesting (the title page and the one where Bruce pulls on the cowl were both top-notch), but the rest of the story isn't balanced in a way that I'm interested in. I did love Bruce's utilities/engineering background. I'm mostly frustrated by the sense of Gotham, I think. In A!Wonder Woman and A!Superman, you have a very clear sense of the Absolute-style suffering and terror that DC is trying to frame our heroes against. And Gotham is...mostly the same? The "heart" has gone out of it? The decision to have an external narrator on A!Batman 1 and A!Wonder Woman 1 was excellent, though.

DC, when are we going to get Absolute Flash? It keeps getting teased but there's nothing in the Previews for anyone else. That's the one I want to see.

Batgirl 1: I think I've covered this elsewhere. Gorgeous, and an okay starting place, but I think the pacing was a little off, a little too slow. I could have done with a little less spine-twisting. And Cass' internal narration is very different from her internal narration in the current Birds of Prey; withholding judgement or an opinion on that, but it was interesting to note.

Black Canary: Best of the Best 1: I'm going to be honest I had hopes in the gutter for this one because I still haven't read more than a couple issues of Tom King's writing that I actually enjoyed. I do like Ryan Sook, though. This...was really good. There was a lot of dialogue but it was well-written and justified in-story, and it moved quickly and was really fun. The structure was great, the plot is solid, it feels like a strong story with fun stakes, I loved it, I'm going to keep reading it. Tom King don't you dare mess this up. I'm counting on you.

Side note but is this before Absolute Power or something? I thought Barry didn't have his speed...

Batman: The Brave and the Bold 19:

The Hum: So many plot holes in this story, but if you ignore those, it's...okay? Again, needed an editor. Lots of "telling" over "showing" and superlatives when a close-in look at the crisis would have served much better. "I've never seen Gotham this bad." Okay, Bruce. Very much a middle-of-the-road stocking stuffer of the type you find in these anthologies. Hopefully they'll let the writer keep honing their skills! I'd really love for these stories to be places up-and-coming writers can try new things, see what works, see what doesn't work.

Robin Season: This is...not good. Not in character. The dialogue is canned. The art is just okay and hard to follow. Tim saying the hacker brain line out loud made me physically cringe.

The Hive: YES! Loved this and want to see where it goes next. Arts and colours were great on this one, and I loved to see more of Maxine, who I have not seen a lot of except as a very supporting Flash character.

Man's Underworld: Nikola Čižmešija saved this one with the art. The dialogue and the patter were also good--this is a good story, just...not one that I loved. Bits and pieces in here that made me wince, just personally. Nice to see a totally out-of-Gotham story, though, and the team-up is a really strong bedrock for the story.

Leftovers: Very good art, again, thank you Stevan Subic. Strong ending story, well-written, although I'm not sure what the...point? angle? on this story is. It's very dark and atmospheric to feel a bit shallow once you're done reading it. Also I originally posted this without it because I had completely forgotten it existed in the hour since I'd sat down to read it. So that's...maybe a review in and of itself.

I've been reading through Action Comics and really been enjoying the Waid/Tamaki stories, although I do think the A story took a while to get off of the ground, and the B story is moving so slowly I'm getting increasingly confused. Enjoying the art on both of them and interested enough to keep coming back every week. Loving the genre fun of Waid's story: the airship, the phantom zone, the dimensional travel. Tamaki's started as the more compelling narrative, but as it drags on I'm finding myself hoping it'll be a tighter story in trade or after it's all come out.

Batman 153/154: Look, I'm going to be honest, I picked up The Dying City because I saw it had Mayor Nakano in it, and Mayor Nakano is one of my all-time favourite tertiary characters. So you can imagine how I'm doing right now.

Iron Man 1: I don't read a lot of Marvel, but I heard good things about this one and I have a friend who's a big fan so I figured I'll pull it in time with her. It's good, lots of re-setting-up from the last storyline which I knew nothing about. Ackerman is new to comics and you can kind of tell, but I think he'll get his feet on the ground pretty soon. Opening Marvel after so much DC is always a bit disorienting: the paper is different, the font is different, they do these single-page titles with so much text on them. Anyway, this one is provisionally very good--I'm always down for a good legal/corporate fight--and I'm happy to see where it goes.

The new Flash I'm saving for tomorrow.

[toon-tales]

Hiya! Back with another fic, a Broppy slice of life as you will see, because I just can't stop writing about them!

Anyway, reviews are always appreciated, enjoyyyy!

Sweet anticipation

Poppy tried to settle herself on the soft, moss-covered floor of Branch's bunker, her legs glued and her fingers intertwined, resting on her knees. This was it. Branch doesn't know she's here, doesn't even suspect it, thanks to the Snack Pack helping her distract him from visiting her pod, and now, she just had to wait for him to come back.

She took a deep breath, trying to enjoy the quiet solitude, but the stillness was unfamiliar, almost unnerving. The walls of the bunker, adorned with Branch's quirky collectibles, seemed to close in on her, making her fidget. She picked up a small, smooth stone from a nearby shelf, turning it over in her hands, examining its colors and contours, but her attention quickly waned.

She stood up, pacing back and forth, her footsteps silent on the earthen floor. She ran her fingers along the spines of books her boyfriend had read her a hundred times, the titles blurring into a sea of words that no longer piqued her interest. Poppy glanced at the clock, its hands crawling at a snail's pace, each tick a reminder of the dragging minutes. She sighed, her gaze drifting upwards to the lift, still still and seemingly not planning to move any sooner. The shadows played on the walls, a slow dance of light and dark that did nothing to ease her restlessness.

With a huff, Poppy flopped back down, pulling a cushion to her chest and squeezing it tight. She tried counting the threads in the fabric, tried closing her eyes and listening to the subtle sounds of the bunker - the distant drip of water, the creak of timber settling - but it was no use. Her mind was too active, too hungry for stimulation, for the laughter and chatter of her friends, for the thrill of a new adventure.

She needed to do something, anything, to drive away the boredom that clung to her like a stubborn vine.

She looked around the place. Berries. She wasn't surprised. But the Pop Queen wouldn't give up that easily. She rummaged through the cabinets, her hands grasping at some flour that she had almost dropped to the ground while examining how much it was. There was chocolate, too. Branch loved collecting chocolate, even if he didn't eat it a lot. Something about it having more nutrition and being better for emergencies.

"Flour, chocolate…" she muttered, eyes lightening up at the sight of eggs. "Perfect!"

Three ingredients out of… Poppy didn't know, all she knew is that she still needed…

"Found it!" she exclaimed, holding the bottle of milk in her hands. Baking powder and vanilla? She always has spare ones nestled securely in her  hair.

"Now, let's get down to business!"

Poppy, with a skip in her step, gathered the ingredients she had just found, her voice a soft murmur of anticipation. "Oh, Branch is going to love this," she whispered to herself, measuring out flour with a precision that belied her bubbly nature. Eggs followed, each one cracked with a gentle tap against the bowl's rim, their yolks a golden sunburst amidst the powdery white. "Just a pinch of happiness and a dash of fun," she giggled, reaching for the sugar and vanilla, her movements a dance to the music in her head.

She stirred the batter, her spoon carving swirls of potential delight, and all she could imagine was Branch's smile when he's back. The thought warmed her heart like the oven preheating beside her. She poured the mixture into a pan, the scent of sweet promise filling the air. "Now for the magic to happen," she said, sliding the pan into the oven and setting the timer. While the cake baked, she busied herself with the frosting, choosing colors as bright and cheerful as her disposition.

"Let's see, teal Branch, pink for me," Poppy hummed, mixing the hues with a flourish. She talked to the frosting as if it were an old friend, "You're going to be the most beautiful cake topping in all of Troll kingdom!" With the frosting ready, she checked on the cake, her nose twitching with delight at the aroma that greeted her. "Perfect," she beamed, donning oven mitts to retrieve her creation.

The cake, now a canvas awaiting her artistic touch, was cooled and frosted with loving care. "Swirl, dot, swirl, dot…," she guided herself, dotting the surface with colorful confections.

Done.

She stepped back and admired her work, her heart fluttering with the hope of sharing this piece of her heart.

The final touch was sprinkles, like the sparkle in her eyes when she laughed.

"And now, we wait," she sighed contentedly, cleaning up her baking space with the same enthusiasm she put into the cake. "He's going to be here any minute," she thought aloud, a smile playing on her lips. The anticipation was almost as delicious as the cake itself, a confection made not just of sugar and flour, but of love and the unbreakable bond they shared. "Ready or not, Branch, here comes a taste of joy!" she exclaimed, the wait now a sweet prelude to the surprise she had in store.

As the last sprinkle of cocoa settled on the freshly baked cake, a sense of accomplishment washed over Poppy. The kitchen was a canvas of pastel hues and the air was sweet with the scent of vanilla and chocolate. She had poured her heart into every swirl of frosting, each dollop a testament to her affection for Branch.

With the cake sitting proudly on the counter, Poppy stared at it as if it was a treasure, calling for her. But no. She had to wait. This cake is for the two of them to enjoy when Branch is done with his chores. Her chin rested on the table, her eyes inches away from the treat. The same eyes that were fluttering the longer she stared. A yawn escaped her slumped form, and her cheek was now the thing resting on the table.

Just five minutes, she thought.

—------------

Branch tiptoed into the bunker, the silence greeting him like an old friend.

Long day, to say the least, and all he wanted was some relaxation and his cup of coffee. Poppy, he quickly thought, was supposed to be waiting for him, but for whatever reason, he found Cooper and Prince D dragging him away from her pod, telling him she was busy with her queenly duties.

The elevator finally came to a halt. Branch's eyes adjusted to the dim light, and there, amidst a flurry of flour and a rainbow of frosting, lay Poppy. She was a picture of serenity, her chest rising and falling in the gentle rhythm of sleep, her pink hair a stark contrast against the earthy tones of his bunker.

A beautifully-adorned cake sat on the table, right in front of her, and Branch couldn't help but smile at the sight, the corners of his mouth lifting in a rare display of tenderness. The bunker always felt more like home with Poppy in it, even if she had invaded his space without him knowing.

He shook his head with a smile. With careful coordination, he wrapped his arms around his girl and slowly made his way to the couch. Her head lolled against his chest, as if sensing his arrival, and he draped a blanket over her after he made sure she was comfortable.

Now, the bunker.

He set about cleaning the mess, his movements quiet as not to disturb her peaceful slumber. As he worked, he found himself humming a tune, one that Poppy had been singing all day yesterday, and the notes seemed to fill the space with warmth. He began the cleaning process by first assessing the chaos before him. He started by gathering all the utensils and cake-making tools scattered around, placing them into the sink filled with warm, soapy water. He then methodically wiped down the counters, sweeping away flour dust and sugar granules, making sure every surface gleams. Good enough, he thought, he didn't even have the energy to properly clean it. He damped a cloth, bringing it to the table and wiping any sticky spots of frosting, moving with care so as not to disturb the slumbering Poppy. He hummed softly to himself, as he worked his way through the bunker, picking up stray decorations and returning them to their rightful places.

The floor is next.

He looked around.

This was going to be long.

Careful, nice and slow, he didn't want the dust to fly to the cake. He would pause occasionally to check on Poppy, to adjust her blanket and smile at her peaceful expression.

And once the sweeping was complete, he filled a bucket with clean water and a dash of pine-scented cleaner, mopping the floor in smooth, even strokes. The air filled with the fresh scent, and the bunker slowly transformed back to its original state of tidiness. Finally, with everything in its place and the mess a mere memory, Branch collapsed on the other side of the couch with a satisfied sigh, admiring his handiwork and the quiet joy of a job well done.

Till Poppy's eyes fluttered open.

He offered her a gentle smile. "Hey, there, sleepyhead," he teased. "Slept well?"

"Branch, you're back!" she exclaimed sleepily, her voice thick with sleep and gratitude as she pushed herself up on her elbows.

Her boyfriend chuckled. "Yeah, and it looks like someone took advantage of me not being here."

Poppy's eyes widened as she looked at the bunker. "Branch… you didn't have to do all of this."

"Well, it's only fair that I clean up. You made the cake," he pointed out. "Besides, it's not every day I get to have a cake disaster in my bunker."

Poppy smiled, brushing a stray sprinkle from her hair. "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise for you, but I guess the surprise is on me now," she admitted, a playful glint in her eye.

And in slow motion, their fingers intertwined.

"The only surprise I need is you in my life everyday," the male said softly, and Poppy's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink.

"Flatterer," she teased, but her heart swelled with the sincerity in his voice. "Come on, I've been waiting to taste it with you."

"But I have to warn you, I can only handle so much sugar before I crash."

Poppy stopped, images of Branch throwing up his guts after a dessert flashing in her head for a second.

She chuckled nervously. "Nope, you only have one piece, mister!"

"Alright then," he murmured. "You can cut it while I make myself some coffee. Need anything?"

Poppy's eyes lit up. "Do you have any-"

"Blueberry and banana? Already on it." he interrupted gently, earning a wide grin from his girlfriend. He added, "You can take it outside if you want, I'll be back with our drinks in a bit," before heading to the kitchen.

Poppy followed with light steps, stopping at the kitchen entrance and peeking her head. "Hey, babe, if you don't mind, can you add some cream and sprinkles on top?"

Needless to be said for Branch. But he nodded anyway, his eyes focused on the brown liquid on the stove. "Sure, Poppifer."

"Thanks, Branchifer!"

And with that, the girl went back to her treat, preparing it for the surprise, unplanned-picnic.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

4/5. Releases 3/5/2024.

Vibes: heroine-forward, single parents, finding yourself, and discovering a person who actually *sees* you

Soledad lives the affluent good life in Skyland--though she certainly relies emotionally more on her friends than her husband, Edward. The mother of three girls, she's a planner, a fixer, and the model wife. Which is why her life is so thrown into chaos when she discovers the depths of Edward's secrets--secrets exposed by his coworker, Judah Cross. At first, Soledad resents Judah for his part in the downfall of her perfect life... But as she rebuilds and rediscovers who she is independently, she finds herself growing closer to the man who's never seen her as a pretty object on a pedestal.

Both of Kennedy Ryan's Skyland books have been deeply emotional and focused on tough, realistic subjects (though they certainly aren't without humor and fun drama). This Could Be Us is definitely more heroine-forward than Before I Let Go, which I found to be more of a balanced heroine and hero's journey. That's not a critique--Soledad's a compelling, likable heroine I was instantly rooting for, and that never let up. And that's not to say that Judah isn't a hero; we see his POV, and Kennedy maps out a rich backstory for him.

I'd call this one a sort of blend between women's fiction and romance. You do get all the romance beats, and the story does center Soledad and Judah's love story. It's a slow burn with simmering tension from the moment they meet--and they do in fact meet and initially feel that tension before Soledad recognizes the depths of Edward's betrayal, and that tiny hint of dirtybadwrong is delicious. But I would say that the novel centers Soledad's individual journey just as much, and definitely more than it centers Judah's. If you're looking for a book that really makes you feel that sense of like... I don't know. Maybe A Waiting to Exhale vibe? With much more romance? This could be exactly what you want.

Quick Takes:

--Personally, I really like having someone truly hateable in a romance novel, and I kind of feel like a lot of recent releases have sort of let up on having a hardcore dickwad who just needs to go die in a fire. Well! Kennedyn certainly did let me down with Edward! The guy is a Grade A jackass, and I think the novel does a great job in the beginning of showing us how certain men can wear a woman down over the years without raising a hand against her. And in fact, because physical violence doesn't happen, emotional violence and neglect is excused because we as women have been societally conditioned to think "well, at least he doesn't hit me".

In general, I've thought a lot over the past few years about the grossness and the less-critiqued epidemic of men who just can't fucking stand being with women that shine. That's what you see here. Soledad is everything--beautiful, caring, talented. Not flawless; she's deliciously human. But she's far above her stupid husband, and rather than just being happy that he punched above his weight and won, and enjoying the woman he managed to catch, he's constantly trying to bring her down to his insecure level. Dude, that is so real, and so awful.

I kind of had a feeling pretty early on that I knew where Edward's damage was going, and you don't wait long to find out about it. But there was another thing on top of it that just made so angry for Soledad. Which speaks to the investment I had in the story, right?

--I do think.... and this is me being someone who loves a dirtybadwrong read... that while Kennedy set a strong pace by having Edward's misdeeds revealed early on, we could've used a bit more time and interactions between Soledad and Judah when she's still fully in her marriage. There's an immediate spark between them, and having some of that tension build while she's truly forbidden fruit would've been fun.

--In contrast to how shitty Edward is, Judah's ex-wife, Tremaine, is lovely. She's not a conventional ex-wife/single mom figure, and I so appreciated that on several levels.

And the thing in romance novels and the romance-reading community.... There's a real fear of depicting exes, especially female exes, in a positive light. Like, I know there are bloggers who will categorize Tremaine as an "other woman/OW" simply because she slept with Judah in the past. Never mind that she was in fact fully married to this man and had two kids with him, and has now fully moved on and supports him as a co-parent in moving on as well.

I just really loved seeing this positive but realistic depiction of co-parenting. It was also kind of a fun contrast to Yasmen and Josiah's co-parenting relationship in the previous book, as they were very clearly still in love, and Judah and Tremaine are very clearly nOT.

--A big part of Judah's side of the story is that his twin boys are both autistic. I am not an expert on the spectrum by any means, and I can't speak to the accuracy of that. Kennedy does discuss her research in a note, and it seems like she made a big effort (and she has an autistic son herself). Just wanted to call that out for curious readers or reader who hear about this but are uncertain about the perspective from which she's coming.

The Sex:

This is a sloooow burn. As in, no kissing until about the 70% mark. I'll admit, I did kind of want some action before then, but the sexual tension is great. It's just a different take than some of the other Kennedy books I've read.

After that point, you do get a few very good scenes. I really loved that one aspect of Soledad's relationship with sex was getting over some really shitty things Edward said about her body and made her feel, and the worshipful way in which Judah treated her was super great in that respect.

Also, always nice to see people who aren't like... 20-30... having hot sex in a romance novel!

While this was a slower-moving and more women's fiction-adjacent book that I expected, it's still an absorbing and deeply effective story. I really enjoyed reading about Judah and Soledad's love story, and it's definitely a great story for those who need something that meets them where they are in a journey of rebirth. Don't we all need that sometimes?

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[popculturebuffet]

James Earl Jones Memorial Halloween Special: Treehouse of Horror I Review! (Comission by WeirdKev27)

Happy Halloween all you happy people! I"m amped not just because I love spooky season: the decoratoins, the candy, the excuse to inject horror into my veins but that we get to talk about one of my faviorite shows. Despite the many, MANY simpsons refrences that grace this fair blog, largely thanks to the site frinkiac for making it easy to meme any simpsons refrence that ops into my dome, I don't cover the show itself often. A lot of it is simple: I just forget to and what retrospectives me or kev have had ideas for have never materialized. Still Kevin, my producer and frequent comissioner, found a perfect episode to cover for the perfect reason: last month legendary actor, voice actor and voice in general James Earl Jones sadly passed and while trying to think of something, Kev brought up how James is present in all three seconds of the first treehouse of horror.

It was a great prospect both to honor james, as he has a sizeable role in the second segment and is essentailly the star of the third as the narrator, and to explore an episode of simpsons I don't really watch. I didn't watch season 2 much to begin wtih as a kid, and don't really now, and didn't like the middle segment. Petty I know, it's the same reason I don't watch Treehouse of Horror IV as much as I should when I can just.. skip the middle segment and enjoy devil flanders and dracula burns. So it was a chance to explore a treehouse I really didnt' know that well and to honor a man who was a part of my childhood and adulthood and general seemed like a kind, resonable person. So in honor of james and to give this episode a fair shake, join me under the cut for some halloween fun with everyone's faviorite family.

We open with Marge warning everybody, a fun idea that works well and would get played with in later specials. The insperation for this one according to writer Al Jean was EC Comics, doing that sort of horror anthology thing tales of the crypt used to do in comics and would again.

The wraparound is a fun and simple one. I also miss them doing these as while I get why it stopped, to give the segments more times, they were a lot of fun, paticuarlly III's halloween party. This one has Bart telling scary stories to lisa in the treehouse, a fun little premise. Homer is listening in because he just finished trick or treating, none of which is suprising but is still entertaining. We'll come back to this at the end for now let's dive into the meat of this special

Soooo hot take.. this was my faviorite of the three segments. I love the raven and will gush about it later, but this was a very nice suprise, having a more rapid fire pace from the seasons to come compared to the rest of season 2 or even it's fellow segments.

This wasn't a huge shock when I found out who wrote it: John Swartzwelder, a singularly weird simpsons writer who smokes and who did all his writing in a diner booth and continued to even after smoking bands by purchasing one, who tends to shy away from the public, to the point they called him on a commentary track just to prove that yes, he exists.

Swartzwelder has written 59 episodes with heighlights including Bart the General, Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish, Homer at the Bat, Whacking Day, Krusty Gets Kanclled, Homer the Vigilante, Itchy and Scratchyland, Homer the Great, Homer's Enemy, Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores, Homer Vs the Eighteenth Amendment, and Homer's enemy among many others. While he did loose a bit of his sheen as he went on, it can't be denied his peak stuff is some of the series best and this is no exception.

The premise is simple: the simpsons take on the amityville horror, the film based on the book that used a real tragedy to make money. The Simpsons move into a spooky house, nearly murder each other and escape alive. Which isn't a guarantee with Treehouse of Horror NOW but seemed to be a requirement early on as the simpsons don't impliclity die till Treehouse of Horror V and don't die on screne till Treenhouse of Horror X.

It's mainly an excuse to just pack the things with joke after joke, all hitting: the moving man, played by james earl jones mutters under his breath he's glad the house will kill them. There's a random vortex in the kitchen that theyt hrow an orange into.. that throws back a piece of paper asking them to stop throwing garbage in that dimension. The walls bleeding barely bothers marge and Bart getting choked by a lamp has Homer asking how he'll explain his way out. It's just joke after great joke, with Harry Shearer doing a great job as the house which frequently bellows GET OUT. My second faviorite joke of this segment is when Marge decides indeed to get out, and the house puts the kids coats on them for them. Just a simple hilarous gag. I also like homer being bounced into the celing and trying to act like it's fine.

He does get them to stay overnight which leads to the creepiest part of the specail as a whole and a great bit of horror: the house convinces the rest of the family minus marge to kill each other. The expressions here are truly disturbing, and i'ts unsettling to see the simpsons all in a trance ready to murder each other.

Thankfully the humor right after not only deflates it, but is great: Marge is seen grabbing a knife like the rest of her family.. but is making a sandwitch, easily lectures them out of it then plans to leave spouting the awesome quote I choose to use as the image. I'ts just such a marge thing to brush off something this horrid like it's some new conflict in the family.

The simpsons soon find the old racist trope of the house being built on a native burial ground.. which is a thorny concepts for sure, but this is an old enough episode to get away with it and I like homer angrily calling his realtor only to find out the guy mentioned it 5 or 6 times. The house tries to give a meancing speech.. only for marge to angrily tell it off, a bit I love, from Julie Kavner's delivery to how it works. She demands it either leave them alone or live with them in peace.... it chooses to collapse on itself after shooing them outside instead. Aw well can'jt please everyone. Just several minutes of great jokes with some great horror sprinkled in.

Not a fan of this one. It IS better than I remembered as it packs in some good jokes. That's courtsey of writers Jay Kogan and Wally Woodarsky, who while having a slow start, finished their run on the show with classics Bart's Friend Falls in Love, Treehouse of Horror III and Last Exit to Sprinfield

The premise is a riff on the Twilight Zone Classic , To Serve Man. For those of you who don't know what the Twilight Zone is, you just made me feel very old, but it was a classic Science Fiction anthology series, running the gamut of genres and often falling into horror. The simpsons would go to the twilight zone a LOT for Treehouse of Horror: They'd riff on at least one episode a year for the first four treehouses and would still return to the well on occasions. The simpsons has parodied A Good Life (Bart's Nightmare), Living Doll (Clown Without Pity), Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (Terror at 5 1/2 Feet) , Little Girl Lost (Homer^3), and finally A Kind of Stopwatch (Stop the World I Want to Goof Off). As the show went on they drifted into parodying horror films more as Twilgiht Zone faded, but I miss it and hope they do one again some day or as a special since their now doing Treehouse of Horror Presents.

At any rate it's a pretty basic parody: Kang and Kodos in their first apperance kidnap the simpsons along with Sorak the Preparer, played by JEJ, and have them eat a lot, making vauge hints they'll eat the simpsons and droolling a lot. There's a gag or two I love: the ufo they abduct the simpsons in having to put out an extra beam to pick up homer, tilting to the side otherwise, the aliens admitting to having thousands of channels except hbo "That costs extra", and the aliens defensifiness when how primitive pong is is brought upop "Raise your hand if your capable of intergalactic travel". I love bart sticking up his hand and homer slapping it down. Good stuff.

Most of it though.. is eh. The twist is that. .they aren't trying ot eat them and are hurt Lisa assumes it with the book being how to cook FOR humans. Then how to cook FORTY humans, then how to cook for FORTY humans. I love Sorek's hurt feelings and what not, but it's a pretty bland parody compared to Bad Dream House, which nailed it. It feels like a bland middle to two pretty dope piece sof bread. It has some good jokes nad gave us Kang and Kodos, so it's not without merit, but it's easily the weakest segment in an otherwise good episode.

For our finale Lisa reads Edgar Allen Poe's classic Poem the Raven. In the second best refrence to it the shows ever done

It's the breakout of the segments and while I prefer Bad Dream House and stand by that, The Raven is very close and a very creative flex. Matt Groening was nervous it'd come off too pretentious, but instead we get a great break from formula. The first two segments, while fun breaks from teh simpsons mostly grounded reality, at this point anyway, do feel lik ea standard episode that just happens to be about a murder house. The Raven.. is something entirley diffrent.

It's a mostly straight adaptation of the poem: James Earl Jones does an impressive and haunting reading of Poe's narrations, while Dan Castlenatea does an awesome job as homer, injecting some humor into it but reading moments like the main character lashing out at the raven and his sorrow with such convection. While we'd see plenty of range from homer as the show went on, this was an early indicatior of just what dan was capable of with the character.

The show also nicely breaks tension in places: Homer is literally reading a book of forgotten lore, Bart chimes in with his commentary, and there's some good physical gags. But the heart of it, a tale of greving, loss and ultimate death, as the narrator gets haunted by a raven (Played by bart naturally, with Lenore played in a painting by marge (with the nice gag of her hair extending into another painting and Lisa and Maggie playing Serapphim), i'ts a wonderful segment that is hilarous.. yet also heartwrenching and haunting. I haven't read the poem, but this segment makes me feel it, a haunting wonderful piece. James Earl Jones kills it with the utmost conviction in his reading, upping the intsnesity was we go and really getting into it. He did a marvelous job and apparently went the extra mile for his performance in the second segment by eating a cookie while recording to get the drool right. What a man

So we end the specail with the kids fine but homer scared and Marge refusin gto help him because.. I dunno she's a dick tonight. A great end to a fantastic start to a wonderful tradition. Thanks for reading.. and james wherever you are up there... thank you.

[richincolor]

Title: Wander in the Dark Author: Jumata Emill Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller Pages: 400 Publisher: Delacorte Press Review Copy: eARC provided via NetGalley Availability: Available now

Summary: Amir Trudeau only goes to his half brother Marcel’s birthday party because of Chloe Danvers. Chloe is rich, and hot, and fits right into the perfect life Marcel inherited when their father left Amir’s mother to start a new family with Marcel’s mom. But Chloe is hot enough for Amir to forget that for one night.

Does she want to hook up? Or is she trying to meddle in the estranged brothers’ messy family drama? Amir can’t tell. He doesn’t know what Chloe wants from him when, in the final hours of Mardi Gras, she asks him to take her home and stay—her parents are away and she doesn’t want to be alone.

Amir never finds out, because when he wakes up, Chloe is dead—stabbed while he was passed out on the couch. And in no time, Amir becomes the only suspect. A Black teenager caught fleeing the scene of a rich white girl’s murder? All of New Orleans agrees: the case is open-and-shut.

Amir is innocent. He has a lawyer, but unless someone can figure out who really killed Chloe, things don’t look good for him. His number one ally? Marcel. Their relationship is messy, but Marcel knows that Amir isn’t a murderer—and maybe proving his innocence will repair the rift between them.

To find Chloe’s killer, Amir and Marcel need to dig into her secrets. And what they find is darker than either could have guessed. Parents will go to any lengths to protect their children, and in a city as old as New Orleans, the right family connections can bury even the ugliest truths.

Review: [Wander in the Dark prominently features discussion of systemic racism in the U.S. justice system and racist cyberbullying in a private high school, in addition to some brief but intense descriptions of violence, an infidelity subplot, and past animal death.]

A surefire sign that a mystery or thriller is hitting the way it should for me as a reader is just how worried I get about the characters. And let me tell you, I spent so much of Wander in the Dark extremely worried about Amir, Marcel, and their family. Author Jumata Emill really knows how to craft a fast-paced mystery, and I raced through the book because I desperately wanted to know what would happen next.

Amir and Marcel are great character foils for one another, and their contrasting narrative voices served to strengthen their respective plots and highlight the similarities they developed. Race and class/privilege shaped both Amir and Marcel, often in noticeably different ways, and their experiences influenced how they saw, related to, and interacted with the world. It made the gradual development of their sibling relationship immensely satisfying to read, especially the times when they united together against other people and in support of each other. I also appreciated how complicated their views of each other and the rest of their family were, especially how neither “side” was blameless in how the conflicts had played out.

Jumata Emill did a fantastic job of layering subplots into Wander in the Dark’s murder mystery. The different investigative paths Amir and Marcel went down as they tried to prove Amir’s innocence developed nicely and tied in to one another in unexpected ways. I never felt like the story was lagging or that a potential red herring was dragging out for too long, and while I had some nitpicks about how particular things played out, none of them were significant enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story. This is the kind of mystery that I would enjoy reading again specifically to spot more of the clues/foreshadowing the second time around.

Recommendation: Get it now if you enjoy mysteries. Jumata Emill’s Wander in the Dark is a fast-paced murder mystery that tackles complex families, systemic racism, intracommunity politics, corruption, and so much more. Amir and Marcel are fantastic narrators, and watching the two of them figure out how to be brothers while trying to clear Amir’s name is a great way to spend a weekend.

Extras: Book Talk: Five Questions with Jumata Emill

Author Interview – Jumata Emill

[multifunctionalnitroglycerin]

Th Sting of Victory / Fallen Gods Series Thoughts

The Sting of Victory/ Fallen Gods Series Thoughts

So I might or might not have binge-read through the entire series – or at least the published books in it - in the five days since my exam period was concluded. And honestly I am surprised these books don’t have a bigger following. Horror and moral decay aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, that’s for certain, but they are a well written bunch that play at well liked themes, like the “villain” per say doing absolutely everything they can to save their loved one. And I do mean in a “I’ll let the world burn for you, and if I have to I’ll be the one starting the fire” scale. And they have good ratings, so I am quite surprised there is next to nothing to find online about them.

I’ll try to keep this one spoiler free as much as possible and will rant about the characters and the plot in another post, but generally I did enjoy reading this book series. I couldn’t wait between finishing one book and starting the other, though I will admit I was more worried about the world-building and the world-wide implications of the main character’s actions and less about Flowridia herself. The writing is concise and simple enough, and the books are easy to read. There is a flow in them, y’ know? The descriptions are rather lively and certainly an extra point in my book, and the characters we meet all have the chance to evolve as the series continue, or at least we get to see various aspects of their personalities and form more well educated opinions on them.

Now, I must admit that I don’t really read horror. Or moral decay, or sapphics that much to be honest. And the hardest part of going through those books for me was the moral decay. I still enjoyed them - as much as I can when I viscerally disagree with all the decisions the main character makes, though that too has it’s charm- but it was a bit more in a gut wrenching toe curling, page clenching way (no books were harmed in the reading of this series or the writing of this review).

What’s kind of funny is that simultaneously, the part that created so much conflict within me was the really charming and compelling part about the books. They are a prime example of what I have many times seen in this site that the main character is not necessarily the hero, just the person whose POV we follow. (Idk how people equate protagonist and hero, but well… these books make it very very obvious, or rather… not. I do encourage you to find out for yourselves)

And the antagonists. Oh my lord, I do like them a lot more than the main pair that’s for certain, and I really love the way they are written as well. The Demoni are probably the most straightforward and simultaneously the most deceitful race and its a really compelling combination. I feel like Khastra and Casvir are probably the most steadfast characters in the entire series in what they want, what their morality is and the roads they’ll use to achieve their goals. They are consistent in their moral compass and mostly logical detachment from everyone and everything.

And speaking of moral compasses. Another thing that gives the books a point for me is that the relationships are really fleshed out, and the characters are so...human. They each have their own morality and conscience and try to make the best decisions not so much or not only for the greater good, but for what matters to them. Like we would do. There are little to no characters overcoming their sense of self in order to service the ultimate good or evil. There are fleshed out complicated characters struggling to make do with the cards fate dealt them, while trying to adhere to their sense of right and wrong, good and bad decisions.

Again moral decay is really not my thing, and Flowridia infuriated me to degrees I didn’t think possible when I had started reading the series, but they are a solid and enjoyable read. Now that I have time, I might slow down and read them again at a more human pace, but I’d definitely suggest you try them out at least. Especially if sapphics that would destroy the world for each other is your thing. Or sapphics that try to save it.

See y’all soon.

Stay hydrated and take care of yourselves!!!

[sciralta]

hi :)

i haven’t played choices for a while & now i‘m actually overwhelmed by all the new books (looking at the covers & first chapter descriptions is one thing, but actually playing 🙈).

and bc i came to like your posts relatively quick (i’m all for criticizing popular books, especially if the hype was high & they just didn’t deliver, even though they had the opportunity) & the year is ending … what are your gems & flops of 2023? 🤔

Screw it let’s make this my year in review.

NOTE: Rating only books that have had a wide release:

Alpha — 8/10. Is it trashy? Well, yes! But also I’m having fun and enjoying it and I do like MC + Channing’s chemistry. Like, they had an intercrural sex scene. They said let’s have gay sex ancient city style.

The Billionaire’s Baby — N/A (didn’t play). I just… could not be assed.

Blades of Light and Shadow 2 — 7/10. I am being dead honest, a 7 is me being generous. The pacing was… bad. It was bad. There’s no getting around that. There was a distinct drop in writing quality that only became the fantasy epic we expect from Blades in the penultimate chapters. I think this book really suffered from Andrew no longer being the lead writer.

Crimes of Passion 2 — 6.5/10. Look it just didn’t excite me. It bored me at times. I don’t think MC ever was correct once throughout the entire book. Like, what kind of detective are you? At least I could be gay.

The Cursed Heart 2 — N/A. Considering there’s only one chapter released, I can’t really rate it, but I mean I liked it.

Dirty Little Secrets — 10/10. When the Choices world needed gay shit the most, this whore came in and gagged us. It’s fun, sexy, hilarious and amazingly well written. Whoever wrote the gay sex scenes was either a real gay dickpig or the only valid fujoshi. PB captures the voice of catty suburbia perfectly, and MC and Charles’ chemistry is amazing that I’m excusing this book for being a single LI one.

The Duchess Affair — 5.7/10. A patently ridiculous book, however it really struck a chord whenever the MC was trying to protect her little sister and gave it an actual heart. Those were the book’s best moments, however they can only make up for so much.

First Comes Love — 4.6/10. MC and most of the supporting cast annoyed me and it’s not like there was an exciting plot to pick up the slack. Not much more to say.

Getaway Girls — 6.8/10. It was a cute story! But I didn’t really enjoy how much we switched around with the other girls and think it should’ve focussed on the MC more.

Guinevere — 6.9/10. It really didn’t interest me but I can admit it’s probably one of the better written books of this year. That is a low bar to pass.

Kindred — 6/10. It was just squarely mid I’m not going to apologise.

Kiss of Death — 5/10. I was hoping they’d lean into the bad wattpad writing if it all, but they didn’t really. The CG of the LI in the first chapter made me cackle it was so ridiculous.

Roommates With Benefits — 3/10. Girl. FLOPTINA AGUILERA. A truly dumb MC. An unbelievably insufferable LI who isn’t even attractive enough to make up for how annoying he is. But what really cements this rating, the cardinal sin of all, is the god awful pet name the LI gave the MC. Baby bird. BABY BIRD? BABY BIRD? This just takes the cake of bad pet names.

Ship of Dreams — N/A (haven’t played). Honestly probably not gonna play it either. I think I’m kinda over most non-GoC books unless they’re truly stellar or interest me enough. I came for gay shit and I want gay shit and I’m not gonna get that from a genderlocked book :/

Surrender 2 — 2/10. What are we even doing here? Pixelberry, when did the hurt begin?

Let me know if I missed any cause I’m pretty sure I missed a few.