#reading a book and it turned out to be Bad. but it’s a free amazon book so what did i expect

[kabutone]

hate people that have no trauma but decide to be judgmental of people that do. like jesus christ how about you go through something that pushes you to attempting suicide and then you can give your opinion on how people react to trauma

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

girls just wanna have fun 1

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such as age gap, manipulation, blackmail, noncon/dubcon, coercion, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: you're struggle to push back against your controlling father result in a misguided crush. (Silverfox AU)

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself.

You bite your lip as you look at your reflection. The ribbed top clings to your figure, the razorback cut covers your cleavage but your lack of layers if obvious. If your dad was home, he’d freak out.

What the hell are you wearing? Put a bra on! 

You’re tired of telling him you’re an adult. You’re over his distrust. You’ve always been a good a daughter. What have you ever done to let him down? You kept your GPA high enough and your halfway through college. You're a hot commodity. Yes, that’s exactly what you are. 

You turn and push out your bum, running your hands over the curve. The TikToks might call it a glow up. It’s that classic era of a woman’s life when she comes into her own. When she fills out just enough, when she knows the power she has. Well, you think that’s what it is. You don’t know, it’s all still a bit confusing. 

Hard to be your own woman when you still live at home, but daddy pays tuition so you play by his rules. Well, it’s summertime and you don’t need to turn in a 4.0 to make him happy until Fall. This is going to be your summer. No studying, no lame ass book clubs, you’re breaking free. Well, you’re gnawing on the bars. 

Your phone buzzes and draws you away from your narcissistic revery. Before, you weren’t really into yourself. You wore a school uniform and your hair was always the same style, nails clean and cut, no makeup. Your coming-of-age at least let you take a bit more control over your autonomy. Your dad couldn’t really keep you from spending the money you made at your campus work study. 

Another text from Shelby. You don’t click on the preview. It’s worse to leave her on read than to just ignore the notifications. She’s a good friend but you think you’ve outgrown her. The last time you hung out, she just wanted to play MarioKart. You wanted to go out and do stuff but she hates public places. You’re no more fond of strangers but you wanted a bikini. You ended up staying in and ordering off Amazon. 

You put the phone down as the whir of a weed whacker sounds outside your window. You go to it and look out the pane. You can’t help the curl of your lips. You watch your neighbour trimming the edges of his lawn. He’s overly diligent about his landscaping. While many others hire gardeners, he’s certain to tend to every inch of his lot. 

Mr. Barnes doesn’t seem the type for half-measures. You like that about him. No, you love it. You feel giddy just watching him. 

You spin and lean against the wall with a sigh. You have a terrible crush. On an older man. For all the novels and movies you’ve seen, it’s a common trope, but that’s fiction and this is real life. You can’t lust after your neighbour. Especially not him. 

Just because you feel a certain kind of way, doesn’t mean you need to do anything about it. You can still dream. You can pretend when you’re home alone or at night when you’re lying in bed, unable to sleep. You feel a tingle flow through you and shudder. 

You get a bad idea. Nothing’s going to happen, but you just want him to notice you. Just a little. Just for a moment. 

You turn to the mirror again and touch the sides of your white denim shorts, slightly distressed for effect. You wiggle your hips and clutch onto your courage. You spin and flit out before it can elude you. 

You scramble downstairs and stop to push your feet into your slides. You stop and take a breath, centering yourself on your act. You pull open the front door and flurry through, squealing as you scramble across the porch and nearly tripping down the steps. You throw up your hands, shaking them as you commit to your act. 

“Ew, ew, ew,” you chant shrilly and the whirring trimmer stops. “Oh god!” 

You hear a deep breath and a grunt. You put your hands to your head and cringe, turning to look at Mr. Barnes as he squints in your direction. You turn your grimace to a sheepish smile and drop your arms, rubbing one shyly, certain to push up your chest with the act. 

“Hi,” you poke out the tip of your tongue, “sorry I...” you laugh at yourself, “there’s a spider in my bedroom. I panicked.” 

He nods and squares his jaw, shifting the trimmer as he grips it. He comes towards the low picket fence between your yards. You drop your hands and hook your thumbs in your shorts pockets, rocking back and forth. 

“Sorry, didn’t meant to bother,” you push your shoulders to your ears. His eyes twitch, barely resisting a skim of your figure. Instead, he looks past you to the long drive at the other side of your lot. 

“Dad’s not around?” He asks warily, his voice rocky and deep, just like you hear it in your head. 

You shake your head, batting your lashes at him. Him and your father don’t get along. Maybe you have some daddy issues but you really don’t care. He’s just so hot. His slightly mussed silver hair and his still toned arms. He might have some years on you but there’s no guys your age who look that good. 

“Working,” you pout, “he won’t kill them either. He just puts them out in the yard and they come right back in.” 

“Mm,” he hums and leans the trimmer against the fence, “want me to take care of it?”

Yes, I want you to take care of me. Focus.

You let your eyes round and push your lip out, “if you don’t mind. They give me the heebies.” 

“Heebies,” he repeats the word flatly, “huh.” 

He comes around the fence and lets himself in through the gate. You meet him at the walk and step in front of him, leading him up the front steps. You can’t remember the last time he came over. Not since he moved in. Yeah, his brief acquaintance with your father ended in a city prospector measuring the lots and relaying the property line. Oof, your dad still hasn’t let that go. 

You’re overly aware of him behind you as you climb the steps. You hope he’s looking at your ass. Those shorts hug it in just the right way.  

The front door is still open from your feigned escape. You step inside and habitually leave your slides on the mat. Mr. Barnes pauses and steps out of his workboots. 

“Um, it’s in my room,” you point up the stairs, almost shaking. You didn’t really plan this far. 

“Right,” he follows your direction and you stay a few feet back, keeping up your frightful act. 

He climbs the stairs and you tell him which way to go. He enters your room and looks around. Shoot. Your head is empty. Something about him just makes you dumb. 

“It was in the corner,” you lie, “it must’ve skittered off. Oh no! You think it’s hiding somewhere.” 

“Probably won’t see it again,” he shrugs. “Keep a shoe by your bed.” 

You hum and nod. Your eyes linger on the small vibe on your nightstand. Whoops. You kinda hope he sees it too. He faces you and clears his throat. 

“Eucalyptus or peppermint,” he says, “those will keep them away. Spray a little around your windows and door.” He points around the walls. He looks a little out of place among your purple walls and your fluffy aesthetic, yet not at all. You can just see him on your bed. You gulp as you realise he’s still talking. “All good?” 

“Uh, yes, d—sir,” you smile and clench your teeth tight around your near slip. Had you really almost called him dad? Oh shit. Yeah, that can just be tucked away and never thought of again. “Thanks for trying.” 

“Yeah, no worries,” he shrugs and moves towards you. 

You just stand there. He arches a brow and gesture past you. You blink and giggle, “oh, uh, sorry. Thanks again.” 

“Mm, I’ll let myself out,” he says as he brushes by you. Just the scent of his sweat has you flustered. 

“Sure,” you murmur after him, your heart fluttering. “Bye, Mr. Barnes.” 

You listen to him go and as the front door shuts, you spin and float over to fall onto your bed. You lay face down and groan. Ugh, that only made everything so much worse. You want him! You need him! You lift your head and reach for the vibe on the nightstand. Hopefully the battery in this thing still has some juice. 

[lyrakanefanatic]

Congratulations!

A book similar to inheritance games:🎃

☕️: Academic rival jameson hawthorne fic.

🍂: A double date (lyra x Grayson) + (Avery x jameson )

thank you!!

for 🎃, im sure you’ve probably heard this before, but the naturals by jennifer lynn barnes. the plot isn’t exactly the same as it’s about a young group in the fbi called “the naturals” but it’s similar in ways like them solving things like the inheritance games. it’s more similar character wise though, as a lot of characters are very much like the ones in the inheritance games. there’s also the found family trope of ur into that, and also a similar love triangle!!

there’s also another book, called “heiress takes all”, and it’s said to be very similar to the inheritance games and oceans 11. i don’t know what it’s about much, (as i haven’t read it) but im sure if you search it up on amazon or goodreads you should be able to read the blurb!!

for ☕️, im assuming that u mean an au and im so sorry but i am TERRIBLE at writing au’s 😭😭 im also really bad at writing *character* x reader but i can still try and write those, where as au’s are just so hard for me 😭😭 im so sorry but if u want something else done feel free to request it again!!

for 🍂, sure!!

LYRA X GRAY + AVERY X JAMESON DOUBLE DATE HEAD CANONS:

• lyra and grayson show up a bit late (nothing extreme, just like 5-10 minutes) which surprised both avery and jameson because grayson is never late

• they found out after that it was because lyra wanted to match with grayson last minute and scrapped her whole outfit to match with his ☠️☠️

• they would probably go to a restaurant first, and then maybe go to a second location

• it started with small talk about their lives and days, but then slowly it turned into jameson and grayson seeing who can embarrass each other more by telling humiliating stories about each other from their childhoods 😭💀

• as soon as jameson reached the leather pants story though, grayson switched the topic and stopped with the whole competition

• lyra was curious but left it alone… for now. 😈

• lyra ordered a pasta, grayson ordered a steak, avery ordered fancy fish?? (idfk what they serve at fancy restaurants just think of the most expensive and tasty fish u can buy 💀🙏) and jameson ordered… chicken wings ☠️☠️

• lyra made fun of him for it and then jameson told grayson to break up with her

• in fact, lyra ends up making fun of him the whole night 💀

jameson to the waiter: “can i have some chicken wings please?”

jameson, once the waiter walks away: “I haven’t had chicken wings 3 months!”

lyra, snickering: “you look like you’ve had enough chicken wings for 3 months”

jameson gives her a wounded look and rolls his eyes, turning to grayson: “she’s mean, you should break up with her”

grayson, before he can even finish speaking: “no.”

later again that dinner…

avery: “should we get another side for seconds?”

grayson and lyra shake their heads, but jameson speaks: “can i get one? im still hungry.”

noticing grayson’s raised brow, he sighed: “don’t give me that look. matter of fact, i skipped lunch today!”

lyra, giggling again and muttering in a voice that jameson could just hear: “doesn’t look like it…”

jameson: “LYRA SHUT UP!!”

people ended up staring and as soon as the date was over and they were back at the house grayson called a beat down (just to give him an excuse to beat him up ☠️☠️🙏)

• once they do get back to the house though and grayson and jameson are done fighting, they watch a movie and jameson is secretly side eyeing grayson and lyra the whole time LMAOO

• lyra and avery end up sitting next to each other on the couch with grayson and jameson on the other side and, in whispers, gossip about them

• the boys can’t hear what they’re saying but spend more time trying to listen and hear what they’re talking about then actually watching the movie

• once they’re finished watching the movie, (and by watching the movie i mean lyra and avery gossiping while jameson and grayson try to secretly listen to them) lyra feels bad about all her fat jokes so she slips jameson a packet of gummies with a sorry note attached to them

• the gummies were from xander’s not-so-secret stash and now he officially has a fued with lyra but at least now jameson is going back to liking her 😊😊 (one hawthorne at a time people 😪😪)

THATS ALL I HOPE U LIKED THEM!! 🫶 (and im sorry again about not being able to do the ☕️ one, if you have another one u want me to do thats not about an au just lmk pls 😭)

[angel-gidget]

Gidge's Guide to Amethyst

I did one of these a while back, but with reeaallly low-quality images. These days, there’s more Amethyst stuff out there, and that’s worth an update in its own right.

Amy’s first appearance was technically in Legion of Super-Heroes #298 which featured a “pull-out preview comic” to entice people into picking up the maxi-series. I’ve yet to get my mitts on it to confirm if it’s just sample art from the maxi-series, or has dialogue/art never seen anywhere else. Regardless, your best starting point is probably gonna be…

I. 1980’s 12-issue Maxi-Series (+ follow-up Annual)

High jump-through-portal fantasy. Fantastic creatures, creepy villains, magical royalty, intricate world building that explains some things and lets your brain fill in the gaps for others, and consistently gorgeous art. Can’t recommend enough.

The annual shown takes place after the maxi-series and sets the stage for the ongoing series that follows.

Get it by Patron methods: Dc Universe Series Page DC’s Showcase via Amazon or Abe Books (Note: no color art for showcase, only black & white)

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. 💎

II. 1980’s 16-issue Ongoing Series (+ follow-up Annual)

While there is a lot of fantastic stuff going on with the ongoing series, it is more of a mixed bag.

While I am forever in love with cover of issue #11, I remember turning to page 1 and wondering what the heck happened to the inside art. It’s not bad, really. It just doesn’t meet the high bar of the covers (or earlier interiors). Looking back, I realized the art was getting less detailed well before that, but my reading was all over the place as a kid bc I’d just read whatever issues I could find.

This here, at issue #12, is actually a good place to stop. By which I mean, the next 4 issues + special reek of grimdark edge-lord bs that doesn’t even make sense without reading Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, if you wish to proceed…

The final issue of the ongoing is technically a cliffhanger, and the Special grants the writers the extra pages they need to finish wrapping up their whole Lords of Order & Chaos/Dr. Fate tie-in.

After this, someone in DC editorial raised their pencil and went “Hey! What if we made the Gemworld the origin for one of our Legion of Super-Heroes villains?” And thus…

Get it by Patron methods: Dc Universe Series Page DC’s Showcase via Amazon or Abe Books (Note: no color art for showcase, only black & white) (Also note: Showcase contains both Maxi and Ongoing series)

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. ⚔️

III. 1980’s 4-issue Mini-Series

This thing is all kinds of whack, but it is gorgeous. I get the impression that when Kieth Giffen and Mindy Newell were assigned this sucker, they just read a summary of the OG series and winged it.

Probably not, since they technically wrote those final issues of the ongoing, but that’s how it feels. Despite this, it’s grown on me like a fungus, and the mind-blowing art by Esteban Moroto is, like, 98% of the reason why.

Amethyst is always at her weirdest when Dc is trying to tie her in with the rest of the DCU. In this case, the mini is supposed to explain how a Legion of Super-Heroes villain has origins that go back to the Gemworld. Why? Idk. But if I remember correctly, it was even part of the advertising for this series.

Get it by Patron methods: … you can’t. There are no re-prints of any kind and it’s tough to track down. If ye crave this treasure, best ye look to piracy, matey.

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. 🔮

IV. 2012’s DC Nation Amethyst Cartoon Shorts

In hindsight, these may have been made as the advent of the Sword of Sorcery series, but they really were a charming sip of water after two decades of nothin’. A cute lil’ standalone series that turns the Gemworld into a video game. Amy is then, of course, sucked into it.

Fun fact: the producer, @briannedrouhard is on tumblr, and often posts art and further ideas she had for the series.

Watch it: Full Series is officially free on Youtube. 👸🏼

IV. 2013’s Sword of Sorcery: Amethyst

This New 52 eight-issue (9 included the ‘0’ issue, oy) series got my hopes up after all those years, but I gotta admit I was a bit disappointed by the completely new supporting cast. Apart from Amy herself, none of the original characters made it into the series.

It feels likely a completely different fantasy series with an “Amethyst” label slapped on it. That said, Aaron Lopresti’s art is beautiful, and this version of Amy—Amaya—eventually joined the New 52’s Justice League Dark and picked up a bit of a cult appreciation over there.

That said, I’ve had some spoilers for her time on JLDark, and the storyline is just a bit… too… dark for my tastes. So I’m quite content to see her nu52 series retconed, even though I did nearly collect all 9 issues.

Get it by Patron methods: Dc Universe Series Page TPB via Amazon or B&N

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. 💜

V. 2019’s Wonder Comics - Young Justice: Gemworld

Remember how I said Amethyst always gets weird when she collides with the greater DCU? Yeah, forget I said that. Never mind. Most brilliant combo idea since peanut butter and jelly.

No, I’m not biased not at all bc I’m a big Young Justice fan. Nope. Ok. Maybe a lil’ bit. While the continuity here is it’s own thing, there are a lot of nods to the original Gemworld in the world-building.

Does this series fully explore the potential of all the ideas in it? Frankly, no. YJ fans complained a lot about the lack of breathing space in this series for a reason. But I’m still happy with it and happily re-reading it for the fun ideas it slaps together.

If you are reading this for the Amethyst, however, there isn’t much point in reading past issue 6, aka volume 1 of the trade. After that point, Amy stops getting much spotlight, though she remains on the team’s roster until the series’ end.

Get it by Patron methods: Dc Universe Series Page TPB via Amazon or B&N

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. ✨

VI. 2020’s Wonder Comics - Amethyst Miniseries

The fact that both this series and the YJ one appear under the “Wonder Comics” label is a bit misleading. They do not share any continuity at all. However, the opening splash page of the first issue references multiple events from original Amethyst continuity!

Later world-building details make it clear that this is a different version of Amy and the Gemworld, but Amy Reeder’s affection for the original series remains apparent.

Get it by Patron methods: Dc Universe Series Page TPB via Amazon or B&N

Get it by Peasant methods: Over here. 👑

VII. 2021’s Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld by Shannon & Dean Hale

This one is actually a kid-oriented graphic novel. Again, with its own continuity and world-building. I think the thing that stands out to me the most about this take is that the Hales give Amy a kid brother and make him quite relevant to the plot.

It’s pretty stand-alone and not really marketed as a comic book per se, but it is charming and the art is quite cute.

Get it by Patron methods: Graphic novel via Amazon or B&N Get it by Peasant methods: Over here.

🏰

In Summary:

“Original” Amethyst Continuity (by Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn and later Kieth Giffen & Mindy Newell ) is contained in Volumes 1-3. This is made of up the Maxi-series, Ongoing, and Mini-series from the 80's.

New52 Sword of Sorcery Continuity (by Christy Marx) is completely separate and self-contained.

Wonder Comics: Young Justice continuity (by Brian Michael-Bendis) is separate and self-contained, but has many nods to original continuity in it.

Wonder Comics: Amethyst mini-series continuity (by Amy Reeder) is mostly separate and self-contained, but implies that it shares events with the Volume 1 maxi-series.

Kid-friendly properties like Brianne Drouhard’s DC Nation shorts or Shannon and Dean Hale’s graphic novel make for fun additions, though they were not marketed as though they might tie in with any comics.

[nonhumanresources]

A List Of Books/Stories About Transformation

You ever seen those titles of extremely specific essays? If this was one of those I'd call it "A List Of Books That Contain In Whole Or In Part Some Amount Of Transformation, Or The Changing Of Oneself To Another That Has In Some Manner Been Fundamentally Altered From The Self You Used To Be." That was the original title but I didn't want to be mean.

I was rambling far too long about post TF on one of warmer-hotcakes's posts and they mentioned not being able to find stories with a positive relationship to transformation (as well as transformations that are permanent) so I wanted to put a few down in a list!

Granted, these are incredibly inconsistent in pretty much every way other than being SFF but hey, we take what we can get here. Plus they weren't wrong it is VERY hard to find these kinds of stories, half of the list at this point is self published novels on Amazon written by people I've met by chance in TF circles, to give you an idea. So, to pad it out I will add more tangentially related TF stories.

If anyone happens to have more stories feel free to comment them and I'll add them on! I will also add to the list sporadically if I feel like it.

Anyway, without further ado:

Wolven by Di Toft is about a kid finding a werewolf out in the woods. It's been years since I read it but it's got a fun dichotomy between a villain and a protagonist both suffering from partial werewolfication and the ways they deal with it.

Thousand Tales by Kris Schnee is a self published series of books set in the near future where an AI runs a video game that allows people to be "uploaded" into it. There's a lot of books that don't need to be read in any specific order focusing on different characters and is generally a more lighthearted approach to the topic than most, and also it has furries in it. There are books about people who upload immediately, people who do eventually, and people who never do. Not quite the same as adjusting to changes IRL but this is my list and I get to shill whatever I want. Also, it's some of the highest quality writing/editing I have seen in a self-published novel (especially TF novel).

How To Be A Hero: (And Part Time Dragon) by S. Blakeway is a book about a hero who gets defeated and turned into a wyvern by the Dark Lord. Her eternal torment is interrupted, though, by said Dark Lord sending her out on a quest, during which she has to navigate turning back into a wyvern every few days. It's fun and silly and has lots of TF and the author is a very nice and cool person. Go buy this one and the sequel and help me bother her into finishing the trilogy please.

Perspective Flip also by Kris Schnee and Shifting Tails by Paul Lotor are a pair of short story collections. These are more of a soft recommend; both include cases of protags adapting to transformations, and generally involve positive stories, but not all of them are great. Perspective Flip is generally good but Shifting Tails especially has stories that lean very far into the horny side of things as well as topics I was very much not into, but some of them were admittedly very enjoyable. Being horny isn't bad, of course; it's moreso that there is less "story" and more "hey wouldn't this TF be hot." To be fair, sometimes they are, but sometimes they stray far away from my interests, so take that how you will.

Wereworld by Curtis Jobling is something I read as a kid but I'm gonna be honest I remember almost nothing about it. However it is about therianthropes of all types and I like that so it's going on here. They even have sharks!

The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. Full disclosure, I have not finished reading this one, and I do not believe it has permanent TF, but it does feature a dude who astral projects into a dragon and is generally a fine book.

The Dangers Of Wearable Technology by Serathin Sabertooth (gods I hope that isn't a pen name, that would be so cool). This is one that I don't really recommend? Which is odd, you might say, for a list of recommendations. Correct! I just have a complex relationship with it, which I will include in a post here so that I don't flood this list with unnecessary words.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but like I said, feel free to send suggestions my way and I'd be happy to read em/add em to the list! Obviously it's pretty short right now and I'd love to bulk it up as much as possible for all us COOL NERDS

[dukeofdelirium]

If you look up Child Bride by Suzanne Finstad, you can find it on Amazon. I'm not sure if it's online anywhere. The Elvis-Priscilla timeline is basically that they were "courting" a bit while he was stationed in Germany, but it was quite common for teenage girls to do so while chaperoned. They saw each other for five months only on the weekends with other people, listened to music, normal stuff. Then he left and they did not see each other again for two years, though Priscilla wrote him a TON of letters (he didn't write her back a whole lot; as that other commenter said, he had his own steady girlfriend back home!). When she was 16, she visited his family for two weeks and left. About 2 months before she turned 18, she started begging her parents and Elvis to let her come over and live in Memphis. This was weird because Elvis was shooting movies and wasn't in Memphis at all at the time, but it was agreed that she could come if she would live with Elvis' father and his wife so she could be taken care of. But after being there for a few weeks, she just moved all her stuff into Graceland. It was kind of understood that Elvis did want to marry her when she was older, he thought it's what his mother would want for him, but he was also wishy-washy and kind of just went along with what his girlfriends wanted to avoid any conflict or hurt feelings. It was another 3 years before they got married, so she was 21 and he was 31. I think what's annoying is that people DO get the impression that they were together non-stop from the time she was 14, which is not true at all, and Priscilla was definitely the one who was pursuing it the most. Modern minds cannot grasp this, but women used to drop out of school and get married so often in the '50s-'60s, and it was considered fine to date an older man if you intended to get married one day. It was the idea of living together that was more of the scandal, and I think that's partly why Elvis' manager wanted to get the knot tied so bad. (And because he was close with Priscilla's family.) So yes, they "dated" but you also have to adjust your definition of dating to "Elvis wants to go to the movies with a bunch of other people, do you want to be there also?" ... and also he is dating multiple other people all the time. XD So it was not exclusive or serious at that time, it was more, "Let's put a pin in this and circle back down the road." I also want to emphasize that this was all very chaste, Elvis would physically leave the room a lot of times if Priscilla tried to make something happen, even after 18. This was his biggest sin to her.

Hm, interesting stuff. Thank you for the detailed explanations. I’m going to see if I can find this book online or download it somehow as opposed to buying it.

It sounds like to me based on what you’re saying that she didn’t have a personal relationship with him let alone an intimate one despite her continued pursuit of it. I’ll have to do more research in my free time and see if I can read this book, but I already hate Priscilla so this just makes it worse to me lol.

Though I can’t speak of hatred toward her when it comes to Elvis because I am not a fan of him. But I cannot stand the things she says about Michael Jackson and the way she tries to villainize him for the crime of *checks notes* wanting a family with his wife…. My real issue isn’t even the villainizing, it’s the fact she’s trying to say that this black man would be so privileged to be around Presley genetics and that their white genes are so precious and sacred and that he desperately wanted it by any means necessary that comes off as very racist of her.

Especially considering MJ clearly didn’t give a fuck about “Presley genes” bc he had a nobody nurse birth his first two kids 😐

Priscilla seems to live in her own world where in HER reality MJ saw the Presley bloodline as above all others or something. But in reality, he was a Jackson and he certainly didn’t need the Presley name, fame or “genes” and he also wasn’t even a fan of Elvis

Anyway, rant over (for now lol). I’m gonna check this book out and do some digging

[pretensesoup]

Queer books, day 30/30

Okay I have owed this post for like a while now. This was supposed to be over July 1st and I didn't do it and now it's hanging over my head like some kind of sword situation.

So like I did write this, and I do feel a little bad for promoting it here, but on the other hand it's a really good book and I have to tell people about it.

Dionysus in Wisconsin follows Ulysses Lenkov and Sam Sterling around Madison in late 1969. Ulysses is a grad student in the Department of Magic Studies, with all the regrets and avoidant behavior that entails, but also a magician and a member of the magic community in Madison, and he tries to help the people he runs into. (Also ghosts. He helps ghosts.) At the beginning, he gets a warning that something big/dangerous/bad is coming, and quickly figures out that the something is tied to Sam somehow. Sam is an otherwise very innocuous archivist who works at the State Historical Society and is involved in community theater in his spare time.

Side note, I learned that there is a woman in my aikido dojo who also works for the historical society and I feel weird about having written about it, but as she said herself, "It's a weird place."

After initial suspicion, the two of them work together to fight demons and try to figure out how to deal with the something, which turns out to be Dionysus (yes, the god) who is set to take over Sam's body.

Key quote:

Oh, also it's funny. Not quite a romcom (unless com means communism), but it's funny.

Anyway, this was a book that I wrote because I really wanted to read a romance that didn't have a third-act breakup, where there was a lot of chemistry and vibes between the MCs, no homophobia to worry about really, and also there was like magic and creepy stuff going on in the plot, and the plot had like a satisfying conclusion to it, which doesn't always happen in romances. And then I populated the book with people who were people that I know--the kind of weird Madison people I run into every day. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Wisconsin in general (like, it's not bad if you don't mind sometimes it's -20 degrees F and there's a lot of liberals but also a lot of NIMBYism and I could fill a dictionary with the sins of the city, that's not the point), but I have come to a renewed appreciation of the place after writing about it. For example, the house Ulysses's family lives in is real, it looks like this, it's in a place that's really called Mansion Hill, and I just find it incredibly funny to let a large family of Bohemian Bolsheviks live in it.

Anyway, 10/10, go read it. You can buy it on Amazon, or on other platforms (the ebook is $3.99, the paperback is $13.99), or if you want a signed copy you can send me a message. I'm selling them for $15. Also, I have free postcards of the cover if you would like one.

In the Madison area, there are (or were) copies at Kismet Books in Verona (an extremely trans- and queer-friendly store and super adorable!) and A Room of One's Own might have sold their copy but they can order it if they have the ISBN.

(Oh, I painted the cover, too. You can get it on a T-shirt or a sticker if you like that kind of thing.)

[ritzcrackee]

september tbr yayyyyy

rereads are marked by a ✩, new reads are marked by a ♡, library reads are italicized and new acquisitions are bolded

physical tbr: 8

dune messiah - frank herbert - ♡

oedipus rex - sophocles - ♡

antigone - sophocles - ♡

medea - euripides - ♡

the way of kings - brandon sanderson - ♡

wuthering heights - emily bronte - ♡

circe - madeline miller - ☆

the immortalists - chloe benjamin - ☆

digital tbr: 2

the hundred years war on palestine - rashid khalidi - ♡

in the shadow of the sun - em castellan - ♡

last months books: 8

a dowry of blood - s. t. gibson - 5/5

this was a rereaddddddd and it held up! i'll always feel mildly conflicted about alexi's age but its not enough of a hang-up for me to lower my rating. i like this book a lottttt yippee

dune - frank herbert - 1.5/5

guys. i fuckinf. ifucghinh. i did it. i rwad dune. slamsmy head againsy the wall.

i haven't talked about this yet (i think), but i kind of read dune twice? i realized very early on that the physical book wasn't the way to go for me. something about trying to absorb complex information when there's pretty lights and sounds and tiny tiny text on a weirdly shaped object was truly? impossible for me. BUT!! my good friend (hiii king) had given me his special annotated copy so i really wanted to read his thoughts on everything?

anyways, the way i solved this problem was to just... read everything twice. once, physically, as more of a vibes catching heavy skim, and then again, digitally, really trying to understand the minutiae of it.

this approach maybe worked? i still couldn't tell you very much of the plot, but knowing what was coming helped me enjoy it more? idfk

my favorite part wasssss the annex at the end and the chapter where the ecologist dies ❤

(franz please don't be offended by my rating and come to my house and kill me IM SORRY IM BAD AT SCI-FI I STILL LIKED IT)

in at the deep end - kate davies - 2.5/5

meh. writing style was fast paced and interesting, but a little too #qUirKy for me. the author said she was a big fan pf pheobe waller-bridge, and like... yeah you did kind of write knock-off lesbian fleabag didn't you? (to be clear i did enjoy this somewhat, just a perfectly average amount lol.

done deal - skrifores on ao3 - 4/5

woo hoo this was a 50k word modern au gentlebeard fic :3 i feel like 50k is enough to count as a novella? i guess we r tracking long fics too now. um yeah this was very sweeeet and very cuteeeeee

turn on the light - smallest church on ao3 - 5/5

THIS MADE ME TEAR UPPPPPP my babies.... (also a gentlebeard modern au fic but THIS one was 55k. so. yay)

divorce towers - ellen meister - 1/5

yeah idk what i expected. i got a free trial of amazon prime and this looked like the most interesting of the free book options? wish i had dnfed it halfway through but yk. i'm sure its for someone out there.

beastars vol 1 - paru itagaki - 5/5

yayyyy beastars ❤ fun fact i absolutely hated the anime on my first watch but like,,, in that obsessed way yk? rewatched it recently and LOVEDDDD it so i'm making my way through the manga :3

beastars vol 2 - paru itagaki - 5/5

i love to love animal cannibals....

last months goal: find a tbr system that fits my current goals better lmao

i just added a library marker lol. i was gifted a couple books, so my physical tbr got a lil longer. alsoo i keep reading novella/novel length fanfics so i'm tracking those as well heart emoji.

this months goal: read some stuff off of my fall tbr

gang i'm tired. the reading slump has been so real and i KNOW the fall weather is gonna kick my ass. i'd also love to finish a hard book this month but realistically i will read six fanfics and a romance. fml.

[luciens-worms]

The Cramp Twins Archives Pt 2: Cramp Twins Books!

Released Books:

First Book: "The Cramp Twins" or "Opposites Attack" [1995]

Description: "The local soap factory rules the lives of everyone in Soap City and has made Mrs. cramp a mad scientist of super-cleaning concoctions. Lucien (the good twin) and Wayne (the bad twin) push each other, their parents, and the town to hilarious limits! In this story, Lucien's best friend Tony "The Shrimp Boy" Parsons is accidentally swallowed by Wayne, who is of course up to no good, and it is up to Lucien and Tony to save the day. Lucien and Wayne are proof that opposites do not always attract!" - Amazon

Note: The book was re-released as "Opposites Attack" in 2002. Some even had the Cramp Twins TV show logo on them. I'm guessing this was to promote the show.

Book 2: Swamp Fever [1997]

Descriptions: "Lucien and Wayne are brothers who hate each other. They spend their whole time outwitting one another and annoying their weird parents. Wayne wants the swamp destroyed, and Lucien wants to preserve it." - Amazon

"Lucien (the good twin) is trying to save the precious swamp where his best friend Tony "The Shrimp Boy" Parsons lives while Wayne (the bad twin) is determined to blow it up. Luckily, Lucien and Tony manage to save the day with the help of the elusive Hairy Marsh Snail." - Amazon

Note: This was the inspiration for the Cramp Twins Episode of the same name. This book also had a re-released in 2002 with a different cover. Also, doesn't Lucien on the cover look a bit familiar? 😉

Book 3: "A Trip to Twinsanity" [2005]

Description: "Based on the graphic novels of Brian Wood, The Cramp Twins premiered on Fox TV in June 2002. Now Wayne and Lucien Cramp, adversarial twins with absolutely nothing in common, have turned Saturday morning television into an uproarious free-for-all. In this, a print spin-off from the internationally successful animated TV series, Lucien (the good twin) and Wayne (the evil twin), duke it out." - Amazon

Note: The art style of this book is very different from the other two books. It's looks more like the shows artstyle. I honestly kinda prefer the first two books' art styles to the actual show, but I like both art styles. Also, I wasn't able to find a picture of the back of the book. So, to anyone who owns Twinsanity, does it have anything cool on the back like the first two books?

Unreleased Books: I'm hoping to make a more in-depth post about these two books one day.

"What's What with Wayne/ Luciens Little Book of Love"

Description: "Based on the graphic novels of Brian Wood, The Cramp Twins premiered on Fox TV in June 2002. Now Wayne and Lucien Cramp—adversarial twins with absolutely nothing in common—have turned Saturday morning television into an uproarious free–for–all. In this, a print spin–off from the internationally successful animated TV series, Lucien (the good twin) and Wayne (the evil twin) duke it out in Lucien’s Little Book of Love and What’s What with Wayne? Designed in a unique, double-ended format, this is a must for fans."

Notes: This book is sorta lost media. We currently don't know if this book was ever released or not. However, I was able to find a few things.

▪︎ It was 112 pages

▪︎ It was double-ended

Double ended: "A book with two different stories—you read one side, then flip the book over and read the other one."

"High Noon In Soap City"

Description: "Wearing the embarrassing cowboy costumes their mother has created for the Soap City Country Western Barbecue is the least of the problems suffered by Lucien and his fiendish twin brother Wayne."

Note: This book is probably the most mysterious Cramp Twins book. There isn't any found cover for it, only a description. The description reminds me of the episode "Home on the Range."

---------------------------------------------------

Conclusion: So even though some of these books are lost media, we are still lucky to have the three that we do have that are easily available.

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

One Night Rendezvous by Chasity Bowlin & Laramie Briscoe!

Get your copy exclusively on Amazon or read free with KU!

Amazon US ➜ ​​https://amzn.to/4cgvdrs Amazon UK ➜ https://bit.ly/3VemUW9 

Amazon AU ➜ https://bit.ly/45mXZ7h Amazon CA ➜ https://bit.ly/4aVPjG8 

Start the series with One Night Slam!

Amazon US ➜ https://amzn.to/3VhhEkv 

Amazon UK ➜ https://bit.ly/3x7L7W7 

Amazon AU ➜ https://bit.ly/4bSJhYh 

Amazon CA ➜ https://bit.ly/3KDYGj8

From USA Today Bestselling Authors, Chasity Bowlin and Laramie Briscoe, comes the third book in a brand new small town series full of spice, steam, and second chances.

Ashley

Dixie Plaza. The hell hole I grew up in, is my new home, courtesy of my Dad’s petty spite. He sold my grandma’s house out from under me and now all I can afford is this beat up trailer. But Dixie Plaza isn’t all bad.

The hot, single dad neighbor with a slightly shady past and a killer smile? That’s definitely a plus. The way my pulse kicks up when he turns that smile in my direction? That’s a problem.

Ford

How the hell am I supposed to stay away from this woman when my kid adores her and the feeling is obviously mutual? I don’t have time to get involved with the pretty brunette who is not trailer park material. My daughter is my only priority. So what if I see my gorgeous new neighbor in my dreams? I’m a grown man who knows you don’t always get what you want.

But what if it’s not about wanting her. What if it’s about needing her? And that… that scares the hell out of me.

Read an Excerpt:Pulling into the gas station, I park, and glance inside. Ashley. She's a complication I hadn't counted on. A surprise I wasn't prepared for. She looks fucking miserable standing there behind the register. Like she's trying to hold back tears that are threatening to escape down that beautiful face of hers. Her fucker of a father should be in jail next to Felicity's mother, but some people don't get what's coming to them the way they should.

Getting out, I walk in, tipping my chin at her as I head over to the cooler. There's a plethora of energy drinks that all taste horrible and make my heart pound, but I need them to stay awake. Going up to the counter, I slap the can down, and give her a smirk. "Pack of Marlboro Reds too."

She looks me up and down, her light eyes traveling all over my body. "Both of those things are going to kill you, ya know? Fifteen thirty five."

"So will old age, but at least I'll enjoy these." I quirk my eyebrows at her, as I slide sixteen bucks across the counter. "Unless you wanna give me something else to enjoy." This is the first time I've blatantly flirted with her like this, and I don't even know what makes me do it right now. Other than the fact I need to feel like something other than a father working his ass off, and she appears to need something other than this damn job.

Her head tilts to the side. Tongue goes out to lick her lips. "You keep playing your cards right, Chevy and I might."

I snort loudly, laughing at the guts she possesses. "You know my name's Ford, and if I'm lucky maybe you'll be screaming it one day soon." With those words, I turn on my heel and walk toward the door.

"What about your change?"

I turn back to face her. "Keep it safe for me. If I ever need something, I'll ask for it back."

She takes the coins out of the register and slides them in her pocket. "All you have to do is ask."

[pricklyest]

What e reader did you buy? Do you recommend it?

I was waiting to answer this when I stopped being sick so I could maybe be coherent but at this point idk when that's going to happen so we're just going to go w it and hope this makes sense sorry

I bought a kobo clara 2e. I wanted the smallest ereader I could find that was a reasonable price and also waterproof because I like to read in the bathtub and I am not immune to dropping things in the water. have ruined more than one book that way, have also ruined a nintendo switch that way.

the kobo ecosystem is not bad in terms of ereaders if you exclusively buy your ebooks from the kobo store. the kobo store is better than the amazon ebook store imo bc it lets you download drm-free versions of your purchases without having to go through any conversions, which I don't think is true of the kindle store.

kobo also lets you upload your own epubs and pdfs to the ereader from your computer pretty easily (you can add them like you would to a flash drive or you can use something like calibre to manage your library for you). there have been a few times when I've plugged my kobo into my computer and it hasn't automatically connected so I had to disconnect and reconnect it but then it worked fine. so it can be finicky but ultimately you should be able to get it.

the software that actually opens the ebooks and that you read with is actually different based on whether it's an epub in the kobo format (the filename will end with .kepub.epub) or literally anything else. kepubs will support more features, like annotations and faster page flips and easy word lookups in dictionaries (especially useful for reading the locked tomb which is Full of vocab words). you can also actually make changes the the font type and size. whereas anything else it just displays and doesn't let you highlight, annotate, or select text text. you can zoom in on things, but that's about it.

the good news is there are a lot of tools that let you turn things into kepubs. I currently use a plugin you can get for calibre, but I'm thinking about trying kepubify bc some of the epubs I've downloaded have turned into funky formatting with the calibre plugin.

right now my kobo clara 2e downsides are 1) device is still bigger than I'd like*, 2) kepub vs other file formats thing is mildly annoying, 3) can't buy ebooks from kobo store via app on my phone, have to either buy from kobo website or from my ereader, 4) screen is often less sensitive than I'm used to with other touch screen devices (this may just be an ereader thing), 5) I can't send books to my kobo wirelessly unless I've purchased them in the kobo store (idk if this is something I could do for other ereader systems, I haven't looked).

*there aren't really any devices from any of the major ereader brands with screens smaller than 6in (which is what the clara 2e has). I also looked at the xiaomi inkpalm 5, which does appear to be an ideal size for me, but you have to do some annoying command line shit to get it running in english and it doesn't appear to be waterproof. I may look into it again if I get sick enough of not having my ereader actually fit in my pants pockets. you could also get an eink phone and use it as an ereader, but they're phone prices instead of ereader prices, and most of them have the same language support issues the xiaomi has. the other thing I looked at is the open book project and the m5 paper which are both diy ereader kits and I'm more inclined to fuck with one of those than the xiaomi if I decide to do something more fun in the future, but I don't have the bandwidth for that right now.

kobo also supports integration with overdrive so you can check out library books, but I have recently discovered my library card is expired and bc I'm sick I haven't gone in to get a new one yet so I have no idea what that looks like and whether or not reading library ebooks uses the good reader (like with kepubs) or the no features reader.

one last annoying thing is the kobo store on the reader keeps trying to tell me to subscribe to kobo plus, which is basically like spotify premium but for ebooks and/or audiobooks. but not all titles ever are included so I haven't really looked into it v much bc rn I've found what I wanted to read through other methods (shout out to standardebooks.org)

anyway overall I would say I'd recommend it if your use case is exactly the same as mine, which is I wanted something small to read in the bath and carry around to hopefully replace my doomscrolling habit with reading like I used to when I was a kid, and it so far has been mildly successful. I did start wearing a fanny pack on a regular basis so that way I could actually carry it around everywhere like my phone, but even with a fanny pack I don't think you could fit something much bigger than 6-7in screen, so I'm not sure anything else would work. if you wanted a bigger ereader, I know someone else who has one of the larger kobos (not sure which one, we don't talk super often) and seems p happy w it. I briefly entertained the idea of getting one from kobo w a stylus and using that to take notes in class bc I saw some people in the ereader subreddit say they liked using it for that, and then I remembered I have an ipad and apple pencil to do that exact thing already and I'm already really happy w that setup.

[rainbowvolt]

I tried this once already but out of nowhere I got attacked by the overwhelming notion that my antics are pointless and that the world around me is crumbling and so I deleted the entire message and took some time to journal out my feelings in the classic rambling poetry style that I have perfected over the years. It didn't make me feel better nor did it provide any fresh prospective but I'm feeling better today so I came to the conclusion that if nothing matters then I'm going to go back to inviting just a little bit of chaos into the everyday lives of people I have never met just because at least im having fun that way. That being said, what the fuck is up gamer? I put on some sublime to write this one to bit now amazon music is playing beck (loser) but I actually really like that song so I'll allow it. Anyway I was on hinge the other day, because just like you I am chronically single, and unlike you I do care because being alone with my thoughts for too long drives me insane and to do shit like this for fun. So I'm swiping and I'm complimenting I mean just imagine me turning on the God damn charm, and I match with this one girl who I think is attractive and we're chatting it up and suddenly bam, no reason at all, I lose all interest. I just felt like it was pointless to even keep talking to her my heart just wasn't in it so I did, I stopped. I probably still could hit her up if I wanted but the truth is it's just a lot of work, relationships that is, and I don't think I have the time to dedicate someone that I want to be able to dedicate. It's weird. Life. Love. Happiness. I try to remind myself that happiness, at least the way that we see in happily ever after movies and books, doesn't really exist. The best you I can ever hope for is to be content. And I'm not sure if that's true or if that's pure unfiltered copium that I'm doling out to myself on a strict rationing schedule so I can make it through the throes of years long depressive episodes. I've considered therapy but whats a therapist going to tell me? Oh you're unhappy for literally no reason, just take these pills? I've done that ya know, the pills didn't make me happy they just made me numb to the world around me and incapable of emotions. Plus my job would kick me out onto the streets if I sought out help, I already got a waiver for it the one time and if I get back on them I'm afraid it'll be game over for my career. So I guess I'm kinda screwing the pooch here. It's always like that, coin tosses and horse races I guess. I just want to break free. I don't know if that'll solve it all, but I want the option to at least seek it out. I used to believe, genuinely, without an ounce of fucking irony that my depressive thoughts and feelings, and my borderline schizophrenic tendencies were genuine fucking shortcuts to creativity. I would sit there and really channel them into my poetry, but you know what? While some of that shit is undoubtedly the best I ever wrote, it wasn't because mental illness is some sort of magical potion, it's not because hurt and pain breeds greatness, it's because I was just being truthful I think, as raw and true as I could possibly be. And I've read some of it to people ya know, like my mom and a few friends, and they just say it's so good and I guess I appreciate their support but it's not good, it's bad ya know, i was trying to share a piece of me that i rarely let anyone see and I guess people just saw it as a piece without the deep emotional relationship that it has to my psyche, maybe I gotta specify like hey this is real shit. But ya know I've also been trying to breed a mental positivity, I try to tell myself good job and "hell yeah dude" for anything that could be considered an accomplishment. I wouldn't say it's the most effective but maybe it's doing a little something. This whole self awareness thing is kinda new to me, obviously, like I seriously lived the first 8 years of my life without a single thought, I remember like watching TV or having a conversation and it was just static upstairs.

Which is kinda funny actually cause now all I fucking do is think. Ugh. To be a frog. A mindless bug eating happy little frog. Those guys have got it made. Love frogs. A ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and disappointing world. That and when people say bazinga. That shit is hilarious. Also, you have to say bazinga, that's the whole point of this. We've established a raport and now I'm cashing in pal, you gotta say bazinga, you owe me. And if you don't I'm reporting you to PepsiCo. They will bottle and carbonate your ass. You'll be sold worldwide. I wouldn't risk it just fucking say bazinga. I'm dialing them right now, doot doot doot look I've only got a few numbers left last chance bud

I, an autistic person who is currently wearing a flash t shirt, have been asked to say.. that word. Irony aside.. no. I'm not falling for your silly tricks, your insightful-incel Seinfeld style stand up routine, and so.. I turn it back on you. You have to say 'wubba lubba dub dub'. I'm exchanging all my favours, my coupons are going straight in to this uncomfortably shaped vending machine and my goodness something better come out. It's time to make good on your reputation, time to come forth and fulfil your destiny, to do what must be done; it's time to whip out a test tube or two to help Frankenstein some confidence into that ugly little lump of brain mass and say the damn words. Say. The damn. Words. Wubba lubba dub dub.

[anitabyars]

A Dirty Business by Tijan is now live!

When Jess Montell meets Trace West at a hockey game, she doesn't know his name or occupation. What she does know is there's an instant attraction that's impossible to ignore—or forget. And forgetting is exactly what she wants to do when she learns he's not just a successful Wall Street suit but the heir to one of New York's biggest Mafia families.

The last thing Trace needs is a romantic anything with law enforcement, and parole officer Jess has trouble written all over her. Too bad he likes trouble. Especially when it's a brunette bombshell with attitude and legs for days.

She's an absolute spitfire, and he wants to stoke that flame.

Trace didn't ask for the Mafia life. Jess doesn't want any part of it. They both know it's safer to stay away, but the temptation is too hard to resist—no matter how great the danger.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/ADirtyBusiness

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BXUGoP

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3CmkAUz

Meet Tijan

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college and once she started, she was hooked. She's written multi-bestsellers including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies and others.

She is currently writing many new books and series with an English Cocker she adores.

Connect with Tijan

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tijansbooks/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tijansaudiomen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tijansbooks/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tijansbooks

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@tijan_author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan

My Review

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you love a book that is full of suspense, intrigue, attraction, control, romance as well as sizzling passion that will keep you riveted until the very last page then this is the story for you! This story unfolds quickly and flows effortlessly from the start. A strong plot, complex characters, with twists and turns that were exciting and unexpected. This author has the uncanny ability to outdo herself every single time she writes a new book. I love how she develops not only the story, but her characters. I love how real they feel, their hidden depths and flaws, and how they evolve as the story progresses.

Jess Montell is enjoying herself at a hockey game with her best friend when she accidentally takes an exit stairwell and comes face to face with a gorgeous suit guy and their attraction is immediate, until he see her badge.

Jess loves her job as a parole officer by day and is very good at her job. She also works at a trendy nightclub Katya’s as a bartender on the weekends to help make ends meet. So the fact that the gorgeous guy didn’t like seeing her badge means only one thing in her book and that means he is no good for her. But it seems she just can’t get him out of her mind and the sizzling attraction to him.

Tristian “Trace” West makes his living on Wall Street as a hedge fund manager as well as many other nefarious family business ventures that he is tasked by his uncle Stephanie who is head of a mafia family. When Trace runs into Jess in the stairwell at a hockey game he is immediately taken by her and their immediate sizzling, attraction between them that is hard to resist. But when he finds out she is a parole officer he should realize that in his line of business these two are enemies. But when he sees her working in the club him and his best friend own, he can’t seem to stay away. And talk about his stalker-ish ways he was just so protective with Jess. And their connection was just so HOT!

A Dirty Business will grab your attention immediately, so full of the intense world of the mafia and their business and corruption you will be unable to put this story down. Fantastic from beginning to the end. And what a ending…aargh!!!

But now I need the next book in this series asap!!!

Received an early copy and this is my honest review.

[ginnyzero]

If you want to see what the algorithmification of writing looks like, go look at indie publishing on Amazon, or just go to wattpad. This is what turning books which can take at least 6 months to a year to write into "content" for "popularity points" ends up being. Under a read more because this gets long.

On Amazon, if you want any "success" you have to publish every 3 to 4 months to keep your name on top of the algorithm pile. I think you're name, because it's a seller system, not a 'we care about your book series system.' Though a series might help with consistency for your readers. (Then your books may or may not need upwards of 50 reviews and long term sales. It depends on what the algorithm is doing this week.) Amazon is also flooded with no content/low content books which are published upwards of 1000 to 1500 books a year and use the same tagging/meta system as the rest of the books.

The tagging/meta system on Amazon is awful. People put full on sentences in the tagging/meta system to try and get the most 'keywords' they can. (Also throwing keywords into title spaces and littering up the summary. X meets Y has been a thing on Amazon for at least 5 years if not longer.) No one is checking the categories to make sure authors are putting their books in the correct ones. (Hint, they aren't b/c they're trying to get that coveted bestseller gold ribbon so they'll deliberately miscategorize.)

So, what's happened leans towards one of 4 things. There are authors like me who sit on books. I'm sitting on 5 right now. I need at least 6 to feel comfortable publishing ANYTHING on Amazon to give myself a year or two cushion to write more. And I'd prefer those to be in a series, which means I'm 3 short of catgirl mysteries.

There are authors who will underpay and exploit groups of ghost writers and may or may not inadvertently end up plagiarizing other authors. (Yes, this happened and the ghost writer was very upset. They were working with scenes the "author" gave them. They didn't know. The "author" was only upset they got caught. Don't plagiarize Nora Roberts. Yeesh.)

There are authors turning to "AI" Language Learning Models and Generative Art Models to help write/illustrate their books. Yikes. (now against Amazon TOS or at least you can't make money off it and if you don't declare you use these things, they'll delete your author account. And using these in nonfiction spaces could get people seriously hurt.)

OR my least fave, authors will write a bunch of books, put them up on Amazon, when the sales fall, they take them down, SELL them to another author who repackages them with new covers and maybe titles, and SELLS them again. Thus hurting customers who end up buying the same books 2 or 3 times.

This doesn't include authors who drastically change their novels due to reviews. Authors who buy reviews. Authors who split a book into two to offer one free and the next paid as an enticement for you to find out how the 'cliffhanger' ending resolves. I don't know if "changing the item but keeping the old listing" scam has hit books yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. Scam artists who are pumping and dumping essentially with books of gibberish. Robo stuff for Kindle Unlimited. Authors who have faked their own deaths. (That was a doozy.) And the whole "Sponsored Ads" plastered all over the listings being the real service as authors have to BUY those.

Sometimes, and I do mean UNICORN level style of sometimes, an indie author will get a bunch of sales because of a booktokker finding their book and promoting it. This is as rare as an author getting a bunch of sales b/c someone random on twitter (X) promoted it.

This isn't me getting into the content/writing level/editing level of these books. This is JUST the mechanical end of it.

And if you think that's BAD. Wattpad/Royal Road/Reddit are WORSE. There you have to update from twice a week, to every day at different HOURS just to try and get attention. All of this is a recipe for cookie cutter books and burn out. Oh yeah, and Amazon has VELLA now. A Wattpad/AO3 like service. (Are you scared yet?)

Also, the wrong lesson learned from Iron Widow. Or any youtuber who gets a publishing deal (cough Lindsey Ellis.) Also, the story behind the publication of Lightlark. Also Amazon owns goodreads making goodreads useless. Also, many authors now 3 or 4 pen names because they want to write 3 or 4 genres and author names = brands. (Ugh.)

Look, there's a reason why an archive format like AO3 is a holy grail if you're indie or you're looking for books even if they're trad published. The closest you can get is a library. And even then, like I have a 30 library system, but my librarian isn't packing my already published books up and shipping them to another library to put on display for a month. They don't talk to each other unless the computer system is going down it feels like. So, I would have to take the books and go to the other library myself which is a hassle for me b/c the libraries might be 2 to 3 hours away. (And the library has a van that goes around and delivers books between libraries, so, I dunno. I really don't.)

Hey, if you can write that fast, and you like pulp tropey novels, then, good for you. I mean that. But it leaves a LOT of us buried (literally) in what feels like a HUGE pile of SLUSH. And with tiktok becoming even more popular, it means unless you have a schtick (and I don't really) you are stuck in this pile of slush without a shovel. I treat my youtube like a fireside chat because I have 2 choices, I can be an influencer or I can write and I prefer writing!

So, I've got a vampire romcom trilogy to finish, and then 3 more books to write in catgirl mysteries. Then MAYBE I can get back to writing urban fantasy biker werewolves. This is why I don't talk about my books b/c I have no idea when I'll be able to publish them because of the algorithms and I hate getting people's hopes up. (I'm Ginny O. on amazon and youtube in case any of that sounded interesting.)

me making sure i shake my head in disgust as i walk past booktok tables in bookshops

[kellysbookblog]

♦ ♦ ♦

She’s a fighter, but I’m a criminal who will do whatever it takes to steal her heart.

Gemma

I rose from the ashes of my childhood like a phoenix, and never looked back. The last thing I need is the cocky bad boy of the Monaghan family barging in and turning my

carefully constructed life into chaos.

He’s everything I shouldn’t want, nothing I was prepared for, and the only thing I crave. But his world is dangerous, and that’s a complication I left in my rear-view years ago. I’m determined to keep him out of my heart, even if I can’t seem to keep him out of my bed. But when the last person I ever expected to meet comes knocking on my door, Eoghan Monaghan is the only one with the power to free me from the dangerous ghost who threatens to

burn down my new life. Eoghan

The last thing I need is this inconvenient obsession with the tough as nails enchantress who

also happens to be my new sister-in-law’s best friend.

But here we are.

She wants to believe we would be a catastrophic mistake, yet every time her piercing gaze turns in my direction, the sultry fire in her eyes tells me she wants this as much as I do.

Only something is holding her back.

Good thing I’m determined to break down the walls she’s meticulously erected around herself,

even if she fights me tooth and nail every step of the way.

When a treacherous enemy of my family forces himself into her life, the only chance any of us have for survival is for my beautifully obstinate woman to finally let her guard down and do the

one thing she swore she never would…

Trust me.

PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D76XPBSZ GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214777084-eoghan ADD THE BOSTON SYNDICATE SERIES TO YOUR #TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/series/391123-the-boston-syndicate GOODREADS VOTE: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/198334.September_2024_Most_Anticipated_Romance_Releases

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate is a lover of all things books. It doesn’t matter what genre, as long as there’s a HEA, she’s in. She started reading romance in high school and would hide novels in textbooks to read during class. Becoming an author was always a dream she had and finally decided to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and write what she loves. She grew up in the beautiful upper peninsula of Michigan then became a West Coast girl where she lives with her amazing husband and hilarious son. She would love to hear from readers so check out all her socials and sign up for her newsletter so she can keep you up to date on her books and whatever other ramblings come to mind. CONNECT WITH LINKS: Website: https://katerandallauthor.com/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hN7Mkb Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katerandallauthor IG: https://www.instagram.com/katerandallauthor/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21235408.Kate_Randall Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kate-randall TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katerandallauthor Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/katerandall

My Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2TJTPFDMH2SNJ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

My GR Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6826661385?book_show_action=false

[freeworldallahmbaclass]

I hope this helps , I got hired to do a job so here I am helping you and sharing some of my ministers works and their books , read learn and grow the question I ask you is how bad do you want a better life for you and your family .

Turn up the volume and listen .

Primarily bonding with you this is my call to you hang out with me because it is sunday and my first lines to you is listen and read and learn .

Good morning get your fire back get your passion back and give the enemy the doubt the unbelief the fight of his life with this new book by Joel Osteen I downloaded the sample and got the introduction and the first two chapters for free , so go get your sample of the book on your own book reading account or from the store in your google playbook account or amazon kindle cloud reader account get your own account and download this sample and on your payday reach in your purse or pocket and purchase the book it will work wonders for you , it is healing for your soul . Get your books in English , Spanish , Chinese, Russian , German , or the dialect of your country it will change your life .

Tom Brady of the New England patriots excuse me for any disrespect to anybody I apologize for the strong language I was just trying to shake the blockers off of me my critics off of me the move from his regular team was a move to wake me up , the move to Tampa Bay Buccaneers means to get the red flags off my records no disrespect to anybody or no subliminals but this is my future he did it so I could have a future and maybe I could end up as a stock clerk in a nice job and get my certificate of good conduct and clean my act up to prove to employers that I educated myself and rehabiltated now I'm a much better person and where he stop is where I begin and to forgive people that may of harmed me he went all the way to that age to say that to me keep pushing even when life knock you down you get back up and keep fighting and I honor that , thank you Tom Brady so much thank you .

Good morning

Learn and happy sunday to you and your family and your city and town , country and hood , turn up the volume and listen 🎶 and read your books .

I apologize for any profanity I used on this computer I'm sorry and it wont happen again. I stand by the integrity of this page and dedicate my life to God's word and all of my pastors and ministers word and authority guidance and direction for my life , if I dont I'm fired and I love all of my teachers they are my friends and helpers and I put them and their ministry which they hired me to spread around their literature podcasts and tv shows to help make this world a better place for people individually for their spirit to be renewed and for their country city their town and community to follow God and I put them my ministers teachers and guides and the ultimate authority God's words before anything and my own ambitions , thank you .

From Joyce Meyer book

Blessed in the mess How to experience God's goodness in the miidst of life's pain

Help in Building Patience Meditating on Scripture helps us do what God wants us to do, and He does want us to grow in patience. Here are five scriptures related to patience for you to read, think about, and meditate on

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction define affliction , faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.Psalm 37:7–9

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Please be advised that due to a special event occurring in the downtown area, we ask the public to follow all posted detours between 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 27.

Drivers should also expect delays downtown and should consider alternate routes. Parking restrictions will also be in place. Residents, visitors and event attendees should keep these temporary closures in mind when traveling.

Fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Colonial Theatre. Expect road closures and detours24 hours ago The Berkshire Eagle

Fundraiser for me I'm in Pittsfield Massachusetts the Governors man and Presidents boy sleeping on the streets of Pittsfield Massachussets after all my accomplishments and help I gave , I get to sleep in a private park on order of 50 Cent though my true friend no lie he told me to lay there back off celebrities and this phone helping and maybe that curse on my life will go away anyway the Vice President is here today right now having a fundraiser for me hope it works the public and people do what they want though she drove right pass me darn I need winter clothes a roof over my head for the winter I heard it get cold out here in New England and I'm sleeping in the streets be proud of your boy though it is a private park in front of 76 East the courtroom and Jewish remebrance stones for their people our people my people and yes I own my own hospital an incubator in Brooklyn NYC it is amazing when you define it and find out it helps babies that is born to die to save their lives and to develop their organs bones muscles and their brain I love it now thank you so much wow I own my own hospital an incubator and bounded to it wherever I go in life so I'm that franchise a medical doctor I can't complain .

Pittsfield Massachussets

My fresh start and yes I'm grateful thank you to all that help me escape my old life , I have great hopes for myself I'm just scared of the winter and how social service and even shelter services how they leave people on the streets in the cold and voodoo then be your enemy when you are in their custody , thanks a lot America you are welcome for the help .

I gotta be careful

Bishop T. D . Jakes book Experiencing Jesus , six pillars from the book of ephesians .

The Greek word translated “prince” is archon, which refers to a person or being who is the first one in order of authority, or the leader. Satan’s territory is “the air,” in your ear controlling you and me which most commentators agree is the atmosphere where human beings live in my ear using witchcraft . Satan’s power is limited, and he operates only as the god of this world, small “g,” but we should never underestimate his power! While we were dead in trespasses and sins, Satan was our spiritual master. His demons were in the air around us in our spirit controlling us , programming us to oppose God, resist Jesus, and walk according to the course of this world. They drove us to waste our lives thinking we were “good,” or destroy ourselves and take as many others with us in evil. The Bible tells us that demons operate primarily through our thoughts. That’s what I meant when I said that they program us from the time we are born. Many times, what we thought was our own thinking was really demonic. Consider the following “good” and evil thought patterns: “I can get anything I want” or “I’ll never get what I want.”