#this book is gonna be one of the top historical romance drops of the year and it comes out in jan!!!!!

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

5/5. Releases 1/24/2023.

For when you're vibing with... Enemies to lovers, duke in the streets/freak in the sheets, Sagittarius-coded heroines, rough sex, and lines so romantic they'll make your heart grow three sizes.

Once upon a time, there was a romance series, and it was a great romance series (one of my favorites, easily). And in the first book, The Heiress Hunt, you got the rare legitimately compelling friends to lovers moment--but who stood between the friends (who became lovers)? The hot, perfectly coiffed, gentlemanly Duke of Lockwood (Fuckwood). Rather conspicuously during this novel, the heroine's best friend, bon vivant girl about town Nellie, was all, "You should not marry the Duke of Lockwood!!! He's the worst!!! Why? I shall not elaborate!!!"

And so, for the next book, The Lady Gets Lucky, Lockwood romanced another heroine in the hope of getting dollar princess dollars. But lo, he was cucked. Again. In the third book he didn't even try, but he still sort of got cucked, because why not? That's hilarious. But throughout the series, you get these little hints and asides that suggest that while Lockwood and Nellie hate each other, they really hate how much they want to absolutely rail the fuck out of each other.

Thus, we get The Duke Gets Even.

Truly, I don't know that I've ever been as excited about a romance release as I am about The Duke Gets Even. I was practically campaigning for an ARC of this book. And I have no regrets, even though I don't think that campaigning mattered much, because I have read this book several times since I got the ARC, and it is glorious.

There's something about a great historical romance series--wherein all the books do stand alone, but when read in sequence, you get these great tidbits of how a happy couple is doing, or who might come next. The Fifth Avenue Rebels has been great in this sense, giving us several parallel stories that all spin off of the same wild Newport house party (and building a core group of friends that I love). But undoubtedly, the couple that Joanna Shupe has been teasing the entire time is Nellie and Lockwood--a spitfire rich girl with a keen sense towards reproductive justice, and a seemingly uptight duke who needs to marry an American heiress in order to secure his estate's future. Reading previous books (which again, isn't necessary but is fun, not least of all because they're just good books) you know that Nellie has actively campaigned against this man getting with any of her friends. Now we see why. And we also get a love story that is less about his worries over her reputation, regardless of what the setup may make you think... and more about Nellie's fears of emotional intimacy and what an uncertain future with Lockwood (government name Andrew, I'll add) could hold. Trust and believe: the man is all in with her quite early in the book--while Nellie's journey really imitates a traditional historical romance hero's journey. God, Joanna Shupe's brain.

Quick Takes:

--Yes, this book is hot as fuck. Yes, he's a bit of a freak. To get it out of the way: Lockwood likes rough sex. Fortunately, Nellie also likes rough sex! He's into biting her and leaving bruises, she's into scratching him and drawing blood. There's a wonderful moment when he promises to ~stick to the outside~ because of previous exertions that lives rent free in my head. While I would say the sex in this book is very intimate and vulnerable and oftentimes emotional, I wouldn't say that it's like... "He parted my tender petals" sex. Which, like--is why Joanna Shupe, in my opinion, writes some of the best sex scenes in historical romance. Easily. The sex Nellie and Lockwood have feels authentic to who they are and their relationship.

--So much water in this book! I love a motif. Nellie and Lockwood meet in the water; swimming is an important part of life for him; they bond over her dad letting him use the indoor pool (Cornelius Young, my brother in CHRIST, setting these two up for naked pool shenanigans... He said "If my daughter's gonna have wild sex in inappropriate locations, I'd rather it be with a gentleman who adores her"). Lockwood's always like "Nellie is a beautiful winsome mermaid, I find that so annoying".

--I love that much of the emotional crux of this book does surround Nellie's love of women and her desire for a maternal figure. She does have one, but the loss of her mother is still acute, and that felt very emotionally authentic to me. Also: there is an amazing undercurrent of being the last single woman in your group of beloved female friends, and how lonely that can be, and oof--I've never read that in a historical in a manner that isn't about the woman wanting to get married, but the woman feeling isolated from her friends, and stunted somehow. Hit me real hard.

--I feel like it's important to say that this book is obviously very timely. Nellie does crusade for women's rights, and she has had an abortion in the past and has zero regrets about it. She distributes birth control to women who really fucking need it (that is: women who don't have the money to get it through illicit channels like Nellie and her friends do). It's very well done, and while I anticipated Nellie's activities putting her into conflict with Lockwood... They really don't? Not in the way you're thinking, at least.

--There is a lot of interesting "here's what a duke actually was in society by this point" shit, which I found hilarious and a great takedown of the "all powerful duke" in historical romance. In many ways, Lockwood is very alpha and take charge and everything you want from a historical romance hero. But also, the conceit of his entire plot since day one has been that he is BROKE. And he's in America! He's basically a fun little party guest! With no money! He came to the States with his title, his massive cock, and a dream.

--The dirty talk in this novel? The amount of times he'd just call her "darling" after instructing her to do a sex thing? "I'm going to cover you in bite marks, darling"???? There's such a fun back and forth in the dialogue between these characters. You definitely get filled in on the time that's passed over the previous three books, and how Nellie and Lockwood have been dealing with their shenanigans in the background of the other love stories. It leaves you with two people who aren't friends but do know each other quite well, and can't resist the urge to dig at one another.

--I love Nellie so much. Easily a top heroine for me. (Who does in fact get on top.) But I will say that Lockwood's inner monologue was just... fabulous. The amount of times this man would just be like "WELP. ONCE AGAIN THE WORLD IS HERE TO SHIT ON ME" when he wasn't just rhapsodizing over Nellie? Honestly, a relatable king.

--There is a thing in this book that did yield a moment and a love confession in which I did tear up, and I'm kind of impressed by how Shupe to chose to leave it. Like, I know how I'm interpreting shit, but--especially considering a recent discussion on romance Twitter--I found it intriguing.

This is just what I wanted it to be--a good dose of enemies to lovers, a man who's butt crazy in love, and a woman who can't deal with it. Also, the kinds of ridiculously hot sex scenes that only Joanna Shupe can deliver. God bless. I couldn't recommend it more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for giving me a free copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

[arashikurobara]

I'm gonna do this as a reblog since I figure some of my own followers might be into stuff and I don't talk about books much! So here's some stuff I rec'd in a Discord convo that turned to books for a bit not too long ago.

(Man I hadn't read much in a while, and then the office was real close to a library branch and books seemed like more appropriate work downtime material than bringing my Switch or something, so I read a lot again! ... and then the pandemic turned me remote and work downtime because TV and video games lol, oops.)

Starless, Jacqueline Carey: Princess and bodyguard bound together by destiny end up having to confront an all-consuming dark god. Epic fantasy, though the bond between them is the real forefront of the story. (Also, while I'm never inclined to rec a book based on representation alone because it doesn't actually say much about whether one's going to like the damn book, it's big queer and disability rep.)

Kushiel's Legacy series, Jacqueline Carey: Three trilogies of alternate history fantasy, heavily political intrigue throughout and fantasy epicness scaling up more or less from "kinda" to "very" within each trilogy. First trilogy is about a courtesan-spy, second about her eventual adoptive son, third about a druid-girl after a century or two of timeskip from the second. Also recently got a new release that's a POV-swap of the first book

My favorite series ever, though I put it after Starless here partly because Starless being standalone makes it more approchable and partly because it does have heavy enough levels of sex (and fairly kinky sex in the first trilogy) I know it can be a bit of a dealbreaker (though it's never especially explicit, a bit moreso in the first book but still not too much even then, and always pretty tasteful). Still not nearly, like, the Anita Blake series's reputation's levels of sex or anything though lol.

The Rook, Daniel O'Malley: Woman wakes up in a London park with amnesia, surrounded by bodies, and comes to learn that she's Myfanwy Thomas, one of the top eight officers in a covert organization of people with powers protecting Britain from supernatural threats, and that her previous self was being targeted by forces unknown. Has two sequels; I also enjoyed Stiletto a lot and, uh, shit I still have to read Blitz even though I received it as a birthday present last year. >_>

The Loyal League trilogy, Alyssa Cole: Historical romance about spies working for the Union during the Civil War. (... I guess I might like spy fiction.) Each book stands alone pretty well, though there's callbacks.

Rosewater trilogy, Tade Thompson: An alien dome appeared in Nigeria, and exudes a fungus that gives some predisposed people, roughly, psychic powers. Some years later, these people start dying off, and one of them who's a government agent needs to find out why.

I never actually did get around to the third book, I was reading this and Loyal League both right around March 2020 (in fact the second and third Loyal League books sat on my shelf for like two months while even the library drop box was closed), but the first two were both real solid. Rosewater was a little bit tough to read just because it's anachronic and so a bit hard to follow, but it's also on the shorter side at least; The Rosewater Insurrection switches to multi-POV but chronological.

btw I am grateful for the most recent round of follower book recs I got because I read so, so damn fast (it’s just the way I am, it’s not even speed reading, my casual speed is just insane) and I love reading so I run out really quickly. Please always feel free to hop into my mentions or my inbox and give me a book rec and there’s a decent chance I’ll read it!

[newagesispage]

                                                                AUGUST    2021

THE RIB  PAGE

Fran Drescher is running for National SAG-AFTRA President with Anthony Rapp as secretary treasurer for Unite for Strength!!! Matthew Modine is running under Membership first with Joely Fisher for Secretary Treasurer. Running in local elections are, among others, Yvette Nicole Brown, Shari Belafonte, Rosie O’Donnell, Jeff Garlin, Ezra Knight, Dule Hill, Camryn Manheim, Sara Rue, Mindy Cohn and Ever Carradine. Sept. 2 is the day!** Frances Fisher filed a suit against SAG-AFTRA over the health care plan but a judge rejected it.

*****

Sha’Carri Richardson’s problem is all our problem. No more drug testing for Mary Jane in this country!

*****

Chuck Schumer finally unveiled the Cannabis administration opportunity act to end Federal prohibition of marijuana.

*****

Dolly Parton used the $10 mil + in royalties from the Whitney Houston version of her song to invest in a black neighborhood in Nashville.

*****

Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler play brothers in The French Dispatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for October 22!!!!!!!!!!!!** The next Wes Anderson film will star Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody and Tom Hanks. No other details are out there yet.

*****

Trees save lives in heat waves.

*****

TBS will bring us n updated Stupid Pet Tricks with Sarah Silverman.

*****

So much organized religion is based on forgeries, fakes and plundering. Virtually none of it is based on any sort of truth, spiritual or even historical. Just lies to fulfill an agenda and control the masses. And so far it has worked. –Larry Charles

*****

Scarlett Johansen has sued Disney cuz her contract guaranteed a theatrical release only.

*****

An expert on the circus industry recently reached out to me and urged me to not compare Trump and his comeback tour to clowns and the circus, as that is an insult to clowns. –Jim Acosta

*****

Eric Adams has won the Dem primary for Mayor in NY.

*****

Have you seen High on the Hog?? It’s awesome!!

*****

Jeff Flake will be ambassador to Turkey.

*****

Cornell West resigned from Harvard with a scathing letter accusing the school of “intellectual and spirited bankruptcy of deep depths.”

*****

Biden gave a hell of a speech in Philly. He needed to go on more about the filibuster but he was passionate about the For the People act and the John Lewis voting rights advancement act.  He roared, “Peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.”

*****

Will Celebrity Dating Game continue? I am sure they think romance expert, Michael Bolton is a cute and quirky thing to do but not so much. If it stays, I hope they change the music, at least those final notes. And why are half of the questions, “Who am I?” The show could be cute but they need a little work!!

*****

Jeff Bezos donated $200 mil to the Smithsonian air and space museum.**Feminists everywhere winced when Gayle King was interviewing the Bezos space team.  Bezos commented about the 18 year old going with them into space and that he was just worried about the prom at 18. Gayle said “And I was just hoping for a date to the prom.”** But we have to love Wally Funk, the oldest woman to go into space.**Bezos thanked the Amazon employees and customers for paying for his trip. Yikes!**  Saw a great sign: Pay fair taxes, end hunger, help people, end poverty, save Earth or fly to space.

*****

Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford will star in Indiana Jones 5.

*****

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ashes were laid to rest 5 years after her death.

*****

The Britney conservatorship mess is still going thru the courts, and now topless?

*****

Pope Francis underwent colon surgery which caused him to comment on the need for good health care for all.

*****

Questlove brings us Summer of Soul!!!

*****

Reports show that about 150 people were killed by guns in more than 400 shootings during the 4th.

*****

Has anybody ever built a show around the Tex Watson tapes?? The LAPD apparently liked to deny them but there was a book.

*****

Henry Hall is out with his debut album, Neato, along with a tour.

*****

Do all male law enforcement officers have to be bald now?

*****

Idaho has begun an eradication campaign that could slash the number of gray wolves living in the state by 90%.

*****

Hooray for the monthly child tax credit!!

*****

Release Me 2 from Barbra Streisand is due out August 6.

*****

The look into the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun. Kinzinger and Cheney are in. **Tucker Carlson attacked Harry Dunn, a Capitol officer on air. The man protected Carlson’s son, a House staffer.** On Jan. 5, the Steve Bannon podcast went like this: All Hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. It’s gonna be moving. It’s gonna be quick.** Why is mainstream media putting nearly all eggs in the Covid and Olympic baskets and only a few on the insurrection hearing?

*****

Why do so many that call America , “great” seem to hate it?? How can one love this country and not want majority rule, not want democracy??

*****

The Emmy noms are out: Lovecraft Country was nominated even though it has been cancelled.  Also hooray for Pose, The Flight attendant and for Conan!! Lead actor is a tough category with Matthew Rhys, Billy Porter and Rege-Jean Page. Aidy Bryant and Jean Smart got lead and supporting noms. I have to route for Ewan McGregor and Anya Taylor-Joy. I am excited for Paul Reiser, Bowen Yang, Evan Peters, Carl Weathers, Renee Elise Golsberry, Dave Chappelle, Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Levy. There is love for Yvette Nicole Brown, Issa Rae and Maya Rudolph. The Masked Singer got a few noms. The doc category included Tina, Allen V. Farrow and The Bee Gees. Friends: The reunion got 4.

*****

“Voting is not supposed to be easy. That’s what our men died for.”- Jack Finger

*****

Giant Pandas are no longer endangered.

*****

Zalia Avante- Garde is the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ.** I’m more impressed by the girl who won the Spelling Bee than the billionaire who went to space. –Mike Jollett.

*****

Why do they have to run erectile dysfunction ads during true crime rape episodes? ** And why do people still say things like, “this just don’t happen here” or “dumped like a piece of trash? “ There have to be other things to say.

*****

Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee for Trump was arrested for foreign lobbying shenanigans. America first, right?** Wilbur Ross lied to congress about the census and the Trump administration declined to prosecute.** Stephen Calk, bank exec was found guilty of trying to get a WH position by giving Manafort millions in loans.

*****

Jake Ellzey won the Texas special election run off for congress, beating out Trump’s girl Susan Wright.

*****

Every city should have a Peacemobile!!!!!

*****

The Chinese government has been called out for malicious cyber -attacks.  Four officials have been indicted in California.

*****

Miracle Workers’ Simon Rich was there when FB was invented and was so creeped out by people using it to stalk women.

*****

There was a story in Rolling Stone about how Eric Clapton threatened to cancel shows if the venue required proof of vaccines. Valerie Bertinelli tweeted: Once a dick, always a dick.

*****

Every Fox news host is vaccinated. –Mikel Jollett

*****

Toyota has dropped out of Olympic ads.  Contenders are starting to drop out due to positive Covid tests.

*****

Actor Isaiah Stokes has been indicted for murder.

*****

Lionsgate has bought the rights to Clerks 3.

*****

Ready or not, here come the Olympics.- Harry Shearer

*****

The Cleveland Indians will now be the Cleveland Guardians.

*****

A bust of KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was taken out of the Tennessee capitol.

*****

American Housewife was sold into syndication.

*****

The poorest zip codes include Erie, Pennsylvania, Decatur and the south end of Peoria, il, Canton, Oh, Waterbury, Ct., Bonsecour, Al. and Elpaso, Tx.

*****

Issa Rae married Louis Diame.

*****

The court of appeals disqualified Judge John W. Ouderkirk from the Jolie- Pitt divorce because of a business relationship with Pitt’s attorney.

*****

Joe Manchin owns a coal company.

*****

The Hollywood walk of fame has welcomed Jimmy Smits, Kathie Lee Gifford and 90 year old Marla Gibbs. Terry Crews is next!

*****

Generation after generation of women love the bad boy.  Do they never learn? I will never understand, please explain.

*****

Pelosi rejected 2 of the noms to serve on the special committee looking into Jan. 6. Kevin McCarthy withdrew his 5 noms.

*****

The gun that killed Billy the Kid is for sale.

*****

I think you should leave with Tim Robinson on Netflix is hilarious if U get thru the gross. U can’t miss the episode with Clifton Davis and Fred Willard!!

*****

Joaquin Phoenix is trying to get some bears from a traveling show moved to an accredited sanctuary. The Bearadise Ranch in Florida has been cited for, “violating state wildlife laws.”

*****

Go employees Go!! Frito Lay is on strike, Coal miners are on strike and Ride Share drivers are on strike. A good portion of this country should be on strike. The top of the corporate ladder needs to learn! Let those that treat us fair rise to the top.

*****

Who owns Brett Kavanaugh?

*****

A Bishop seeking to deny Biden communion was caught on Grindr.

*****

Gabriel Jagger married Anouk Winzenried.** I don’t know why the Rolling Stones bass player doesn’t just change his name to “not pictured.” –Michael Mckean

*****

Frank Fritz will not be back on American Pickers.

*****

For the first time, astronomers have seen behind a black hole. Einstein predicted the gravitational pull of black holes is so enormous that they warp the very fabric of space. He was right. Scientists have now spotted light which was being emitted by the far side of the black hole.

*****

Look for Heels on Starz.

*****

What is this new screen for Amazon? It sucks.

*****

Biden has signed an executive order to protect infrastructure from cyber- attacks.

*****

Arthur was canceled.

*****

The Kennedy Center has revealed the latest honorees. The 44th class is Justin Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell and will be held on Dec. 5.

*****

Get well Bob Odenkirk!!!! The fabulous Odenkirk collapsed on the set of Better call Saul from a minor heart attack.

*****

Days alert: We have lost Days of Our Lives first director, Joseph Behar.  He will be missed.** Marla Ginns is joining the cast as Paulina’s Mother. ** Is EJ throwing Sami out? Will AJ McLean join the cast? **Rex is back.**Peacock is bringing us a limited series, Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem that will send many couples on romantic vacations and lead to intrigue. Lisa Rinna will star.** Arianna Zucker (Nicole) is set to marry Shawn Christian (former Daniel).  He popped the question on Father’s Day.

*****

R.I.P. President Jovenel Moise, Philece Sampler, Robert Downey Sr., Richard Donner, flood victims of Belgium and Germany,  Robby Steinhardt, Covid victims, Joseph Behar, Robert Moses, Jackie Mason, Dusty Hill, joey Jordison, Priscilla McMillan, Ron Popeil, Carl Levin, Saginaw Grant and Charles Robinson.

[neverlearnedtoread]

The Poppy War

⭐⭐⭐⭐: the entire vibe (and theme) of this book can be summed up as: 'they make me so mad, im gonna fly to antarctica and shoot a penguin!!'

Oh?? 👌😉😏

diversity!!!! chinese historical fantasy. not sure if we ever saw a non-poc...if we did i definitely don’t remember their name. i liked the colorism stuff, and how rin’s background of poverty changes the way she experiences/sees the world

no romance! okay tbf there’s some stuff that make you go 👀 but it’s a war story first and foremost, and at no point is that forgotten

the genuine friendships that cropped up along the way

a protagonist that, for the most part, i willingly followed all the way down - and it was a long way down. in a way i feel like all poc have, at some point, felt that well of unplaced fury about the inequality of being Other and Never Breaking Even...i guess if you’ve ever wondered how microaggressions make you feel, its a little something like this.....

No.. ❌🤢🤮

consider not reading this book in any headspace close to ‘not great’ - it’s a rough time, it’s meant to be, but that doesn’t mean you should suffer for the sake of experiencing a story

rin really does go apeshit at the end - and she’s not the only one, nor do I think she’s scratched the surface of apeshit she’s prepared to go. will have to read the sequel to confirm, but again, if this isn’t your thing, don’t force yourself to go through with it

it’s a long book and it takes a while to gain real traction - the first half and second half are really tonally different, so watch out for the drop

the ‘drugs help you tap into magical powers’ thing....something about that squicks me out

Summary: Rin, a war orphan from hicktown desperately trying to find a way out, aces a country-wide test in true Asian fashion and wins a place at the most prestigious military school in the Nikan Empire. She slogs her way through her studies just in time for old political grievances to bubble over into an invasion, and joins the war as part of the Cike, the most powerful (and shadiest) arm of the military. Everything goes about 90° downhill from there - but luckily there’s always long-forgotten gods, magic powers, and drugs to make it all get so, so, so much worse :)

Concept: 💭💭💭💭💭

Chinese history has thousands of years’ worth of civilization on record, and so much seems to be people beating the shit out of each other just to beat the shit out of each other again tomorrow. And that’s only the infighting. To have an author try to cover the breadth of China’s historical background is a feat too incredible not to appreciate. And to add in fantastical elements, reminiscient of classic Chinese mythos, on top of that? RF Kuang clearly didn’t come here to play with the big boys - she came to show them how it was done.

Spoilers under the cut!

Execution: 💥💥💥💥

They had me in the first half, I’ll admit - at first I felt a lil’ cheated, because Rin studying at the mystical-military-school-from-hell was a little lackluster after all the hype. Then the Fire Nation attacked Mugen invaded - after experiencing horrific atrocities, Rin straight up decides that it’s time to commit mass genocide on her enemies at a godlike scale, at which point you can either grit your teeth in agony or punch out your morality card, shrug your shoulders, and go ‘sounds reasonable’ while she takes the ‘eye for an eye’ mentality out on an entire population. (The only reason I’m not giving this section 5-stars is purely personal - the idea that one of the characters could just..casually come up with a plan originally executed by Zhuge Liang made me weirdly offended. Yes, I know it doesn't make sense. Yes, I stand by it.)

Personal Enjoyment: Intellectually (❤❤❤❤); Emotionally (❤❤)

How can you rate personal enjoyment ‘intellectually’? By having a great time reading about how uniquely terrible human beings can be to each other, even while your mental state bangs helplessly on the glass. I finished this book feeling bone-deep angry, melancholic, and impressed by the depth of emotion RF Kuang dug out of me.

Fave Moment: When Rin cracks the earth and accesses her powers properly for the first time - Jiang gives her this great bear hug, spins her around - it’s one of the only times I remember Rin willingly accepting physical intimacy.

Fave Character: Jiang Ziya - he’s annoyingly crude in the first half of the book, but his backstory (and you can figure it out pretty early if you pay attention) shines so much light on the way he acts. Also him constantly not remembering stuff becomes infinitely more hilarious. You were there, dumbass. If anyone should remember it would be you.

[silver-lily-louise]

What We Deserve – a Shadowhunters fanfic

Summary: ‘I’m afraid that one day, I’ll make one too many mistakes and you’ll realise that you deserve better. That you deserve someone who doesn’t leave you waiting for the next big fuck-up.’ Alec knows that he loves Magnus, but he isn’t so sure that he deserves Magnus. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the popular opinion. Word count: ~3.3k Warnings: A bout of arguing, a bit of swearing, some strategic drinking, and a whole lotta feelings.

~oOo~

It was a stupid argument – if you could even call it that – and Alec knew it the moment he stormed out of the loft. But pacing around his office, waiting for his nine o’clock, he’s still too angry to care. Was it too much to ask – after the week from hell, dealing with condescending Clave officials – that when he left something on the side, it stayed there? By the time Magnus had found him upending the contents of his bedside table, he was running ten minutes late and was starting to realise that the smart move would have been to give up. But he was irritated, and stubborn, and it was the principle of the matter by that point.

And then Magnus had snapped his fingers, and the watch had appeared around Alec’s wrist. ‘I saw it on the side and put it in the jewellery box for safekeeping,’ he’d explained. But for some reason, Alec had just found himself more aggravated. ‘Alright, fine – next time I leave something out, don’t put it somewhere I can’t find it, okay? Not all of us can just wave our hands and summon whatever we want.’ Magnus had frowned at his tone, but spoken calmly. ‘You could have asked me earlier. I was just trying to help.’ ‘Well, you didn’t,’ Alec had snapped, using his last bit of common sense to leave before he could say something he’d regret.

By lunchtime, he’s starting to suspect that he overreacted. A couple of hours later, he’s starting to suspect that he’s the absolute worst husband ever. Magnus was only trying to help, his conscience scolds. He didn’t hide it on purpose, and he got it for you as soon as you asked.

He groans, letting his head fall to the desk. ‘One of those days, huh?’ He looks up to see Izzy in his doorway, her expression halfway between amused and concerned. ‘Yeah, you could say that.’ ‘Just came to drop this off,’ she says, laying a report on his desk. Instead of leaving, though, she settles into the chair opposite him. ‘Wanna talk about it?’ 

On an ordinary day, Alec would reassure her it was nothing and send her on her way. He’d resolve to apologise to Magnus, and get on with his work. But he really has had an awful week, and his regret piling on top of that has left him feeling low, maudlin. He sighs. ‘I yelled at Magnus this morning over something stupid, and now I’m feeling like an absolute tool.’ Izzy rolls her eyes, but still manages to look sympathetic. Alec wonders if that’s a talent that all younger siblings have, or if it’s just her and Max that can pull it off. ‘So go apologise,’ she says. ‘And stop looking so mopey – he’s over five hundred years old and he’s got the perspective to match it. He’s not gonna divorce you because you had a bad day and lost your temper.’ Alec laughs, but it comes out slightly bitter. ‘Yeah, you’re right. One day he’s gonna realise he deserves better, but it’s probably not today.’ Izzy doesn’t laugh. Actually, she looks a little worried. ‘Do you really think that? Alec-‘ ‘It’s fine,’ he says, waving her away. ‘I’m kidding. Go on, get out of here.’ ‘Okay,’ she says, reluctantly letting the matter drop. She leaves, pausing briefly at the door. ‘We’re pretty much done for the day. Go see your husband.’

Yeah, Alec thinks as she disappears around the corner. That’s probably a good idea.

***

When he gets home, Magnus is sprawled on the couch with a heavily worn leather-bound tome open on his lap. His eyes flick up to Alec, his expression staying carefully neutral. ‘Hi,’ he says, before his gaze immediately returns to the book.

‘Hey.’ As if Alec wasn’t feeling bad enough. This isn’t Magnus giving him a well-deserved cold shoulder – he’s just leaving Alec some space, in case he’s still pissed. Even though Alec had no right to be pissed in the first place. Alec remembers when apologising used to be difficult, when he had a tough time swallowing his pride. Now, he can barely cross the room fast enough, hating the situation and wanting to fix it without another moment’s delay. He plants himself in the couch space at Magnus’ feet, gently laying a hand on his shin. ‘Listen,’ he says, and Magnus’ eyes meet his again. ‘I’m sorry. About this morning. I was a jerk, and I shouldn’t have let the stress get the better of me – especially when you were only trying to help.’ Magnus’ face softens. ‘I forgive you.’ He leans forward, lightly squeezing Alec’s hand.

A moment later, he lights up in sudden excitement. ‘Ah! I have something to show you,’ he says, springing to his feet. ‘I found it whilst rearranging my grimoires today. Come on.’ He pulls Alec up from the couch, and Alec lets himself be led into the apothecary – half listening to Magnus, and half wondering how many times he can possibly get away with this.

***

Magnus has only just lifted his hand to knock when Simon opens the door. ‘Hi!’ ‘…Simon,’ he greets, raising an eyebrow. Simon grins. ‘Heard the portal,’ he explains. ‘I’m not the only one who can create portals,’ Magnus points out, as Simon closes the door behind him. ‘You might have been blithely opening the door to someone much less friendly.’ ‘You’re really overestimating the number of warlocks I know.’ He has a point, of course. ‘I’ll go get the books.’ He disappears from the room to fetch the books Magnus loaned him – historical texts on the rivalries between werewolves and vampires. He’d borrowed them in an attempt to better understand his ‘new cultural heritage’, as he put it.

Magnus’ phone buzzes, and he smiles when he looks down to see a message from Alexander.

Made a reservation for 8pm at Pagoda. See you there x

‘Everything okay?’ Simon asks, reappearing with his arms full of Magnus’ books, barely able to see over the top of them. Magnus waves a hand, banishing the texts back to his apothecary table. He would reshelve them too, but that’s a bit of a nightmare to do remotely, so he’ll wait until he gets home. ‘Never better. Alexander and I are having dinner at Pagoda tonight.’ ‘I thought he didn’t like that place?’ Simon’s right – Alexander has always found establishments like Pagoda ‘stuffy and intimidating’, to use his own words. Magnus puts on a long-suffering sigh. ‘Yes, well, I told him to pick somewhere we both liked, but you know Shadowhunters. So stubborn.’ ‘Pretty sure that might just be a Lightwood thing,’ Simon jokes. ‘Still, that’s nice of him. I told Izzy that that whole thing about him not deserving you was bullshit.’

Magnus frowns. ‘What?’ Simon’s eyes go wide, and if he were still human, he’d probably have turned scarlet by now. ‘Oh- I mean- because you guys worked things out, I assumed he’d told you...’ ‘Told me what?’ Magnus is starting to dislike the sound of this. Isabelle’s generally so supportive; why would she say something like that to Alec?

Simon sighs, apparently realising he’s painted himself into a conversational corner. ‘Okay. But you didn’t get this from me, alright? I don’t wanna end up as target practice.’ He waits for Magnus to nod before he continues. ‘Okay – the other day, Izzy said that you guys had some sort of… argument? And she was kind of worried, because Alec seemed really down about it. She said that he thinks he isn’t good enough for you, and he reckons that one day you’re going to… realise that. Which Izzy and I both think is crazy,’ he adds hurriedly. ‘I mean, it’s you guys, you’re kinda perfect together.’

Yes, but to his surprise, Magnus is apparently the only one of them who’s noticed that. Well, he thinks grimly. At least his instincts are still top-notch. Turns out he doesn’t like this at all.

***

When Magnus meets his husband outside Pagoda, he’s entranced for a good few seconds, just standing there and blinking. The blue of Alec’s linen jacket gives the illusion of gold in his hazel eyes, and the softness of the hue is matched in his heather-gray pants. His dress shoes shine under the streetlights, his crisp white shirt is just unbuttoned enough that Magnus can see the entirety of his deflect rune, and his hair has the fluffed look of being freshly washed and blow-dried. Magnus can only stand and stare, because he’s bowled over by the heart-stuttering feeling of seeing his Alexander – not the soldier he first met, or the warrior that now leads the New York Institute, but the beautiful, kind man underneath that Magnus fell in love with. The only person Magnus has ever vowed to love forever.

Alec’s mouth quirks in amusement, a slight flush coming to his cheeks at the attention. ‘Magnus,’ he says gently. Magnus shakes himself. ‘Okay, I’m back,’ he teases. He closes the distance between them, reaching up to pull Alec into a brief kiss – pleased to find that his hair is just as soft as it looks. ‘You look wonderful, darling.’ He doesn’t often call Alexander that, but seeing him like this, it slips out as easy as breathing. Alec, for his part, glows shyly at the compliment. ‘Thanks. So do you.’ He offers his arm. ‘Shall we?’ Magnus smiles, unable to contain his delight. Back when they started dating, he found Alec’s stumbling, slightly awkward ways when it came to romance exceedingly charming, and wondered if he’d miss them when Alec inevitably became more comfortable with this part of life. What a foolish thought, he muses. How could he have forgotten just how attractive confidence is on someone like his Alexander? He takes his arm, and together they enter the restaurant.

The moment they do, Magnus feels Alec tense almost imperceptibly – and he can’t have that, so he devises a plan. Firstly, he lets Alec give the reservation, because although he knows his husband lacks some confidence in the etiquette department – an unfounded fear, but growing up fairly sheltered in Clave Institutes will do that to a person – Magnus wants to show Alec that he trusts him to handle this. ‘Lightwood-Bane for eight o’clock?’ Alec says, and they’re shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant. From there, they’d have a view out of the windows on two sides, and it’s perfect in terms of comfortable lighting – bright enough to avoid eye strain, but dim enough to set the proper mood. But those factors aren’t Magnus’ priorities tonight, and he places a hand on the maître d'’s upper arm to briefly steal their attention. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says, putting on a slightly embarrassed expression, ‘but I’m afraid my back’s acting up a little. Perhaps we could take one of the booths over there instead?’ The maître d' smiles sympathetically, agreeing to his request without a second thought, and Magnus meets Alec’s questioning glance with a wink that says just trust me on this. Once they’re settled, Magnus can already see Alec relaxing. Their booth is at the corner of the restaurant, far from the door but providing Alec with a clear view of it as well as most of the other tables, solid walls on two sides of them. It’s the kind of position that his training will immediately recognise as easily defensible. Safe. Magnus had hoped it would help put his husband at ease, and from the descent of his shoulders and the small smile on his face, it seems to be working.

Finally, Magnus waves a hand, and a faintly shimmering wall – one that looks like no more than a heat mirage, even to those with the Sight – briefly flickers, before fading into complete invisibility. ‘Muffling glamour,’ Magnus explains. ‘Allows all sound in, but dampens that going out. After all, I wouldn’t want the whole restaurant eavesdropping later, when I tell you over dessert exactly how good that jacket looks on you.’ Alec ducks his head in embarrassment, but his smile widens, and satisfaction settles over Magnus’ thoughts. The real reason for the muffling glamour is that he knows a lot of Alec’s discomfort comes from the fear of being scrutinised, of not matching up to expectations – especially in environments he’s less familiar with. The glamour will provide them with a little privacy, spare them some of that scrutiny by making them less noticeable.

Alec seems to enjoy their second visit to Pagoda a lot more than their first, and thus, Magnus does too. He looks across the table at his Shadowhunter – this wonderful man, who was entirely willing to spend his evening uncomfortable and on alert, just so they could have dinner somewhere Magnus particularly enjoyed. My darling Alexander, he thinks, confused and a little saddened by what Simon told him earlier. How can you not see that I’m the luckiest man alive to call you mine?

***

The portal closes behind them, and Magnus turns to Alec with a smile. ‘Shall we have a nightcap to round off this lovely evening?’ ‘Why not? I’ll be back in a minute.’ Alec returns the smile, wandering towards the bedroom, and Magnus goes over to the drinks cabinet, trying to quell the flutter of anxiety in his gut. He’s realised that there’s no natural way to bring up what Simon told him, but perhaps alcohol will grease the wheels for a slightly heavier conversation than they’ve been enjoying thus far. Magnus carefully measures out the grenadine into each glass – Alec’s palate for cocktails has expanded exponentially in the time Magnus has known him, but his taste in drinks still runs quite sweet.

Drinks mixed, Magnus takes a seat on the couch facing the balcony, waving a hand to open the doors and let in some of the cool night air and gentle noise of the city. It really has been a lovely evening, and he almost hates to dampen the mood with a serious topic. But if there’s nothing going on, they can move past it quickly – and if there is, it’s in both their best interests to talk it through sooner rather than later.

Alec reappears, sans jacket and shoes, coming to join him on the couch. Magnus hands him one of the glasses – managing to only be momentarily distracted by the way Alec’s pushed his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, baring his toned forearms. ‘There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,’ he begins, instantly aware that just that sentence has earned him Alec’s complete attention. ‘I spoke to Isabelle recently, and she mentioned something that… concerned me a little. Something you said.’ He makes a mental note to warn Isabelle about this conversation later – he doesn’t actually think that Simon would end up with any arrows sticking out of him, but an agreement is an agreement. ‘Something about you not deserving all this. That you don’t think you’re good enough for me.’

Alec’s face is stony, his movements stiff as he puts his glass down on the table in front of them. ‘I told her it was nothing to worry about,’ he says, and his mouth sets in a hard line. It’s abundantly clear he’d rather be talking about anything else, but Magnus has centuries of practice pushing past the signs that tell him to drop something. ‘She didn’t realise she was betraying your confidence,’ he reassures. There’s no sense getting Isabelle in any more trouble than necessary. ‘She assumed you’d mentioned this to me when we reconciled.’ Magnus leans forward, placing himself back in Alec’s eyeline. ‘Look – I’m not trying to catch you out, here. I’m not entitled to every thought in your head, only the ones you want to share with me. But if something’s troubling you, I want to help. I want you to know that you can talk to me about it.’

Alec’s still for a few moments; but then he sighs, sinking back into the couch, the fight visibly draining from him. Magnus decides to risk shuffling a little closer – supporting, but not crowding. ‘It’s fine, Magnus. It’s my issue, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to put it on you. Not out of some – some childish need for validation.’ Magnus suppresses an exasperated smile. So concerned about burdening me, and you still think you’re undeserving? ‘Well, take this as your official permission to stop worrying about that. If you want to tell me, I want to hear it.’

It’s a while before he gets an answer, but Magnus waits patiently. The right words aren’t always easy to find, after all. ‘I keep screwing up,’ Alec says finally, his voice low, confessional. ‘With you, with us. I can’t seem to stop it, and – I guess I’m worried that eventually, you’ll get sick of having to give me second chances.’ ‘Everybody makes mistakes, Alec. I don’t expect you to be perfect.’ ‘Yeah, but I’m not just talking about things like the other day,’ he protests. ‘I’m not just talking about having a short fuse, or arguing over house stuff. I mean the big stuff – like how we’re only together now because even after I yelled at you, you crashed my wedding to Lydia. Or how I screwed up with the Soul Sword thing.’

It takes Magnus a moment to respond, a little stunned. ‘Alec, all that’s in the past now. I thought we’d moved on from it.’ ‘Yeah, we did – because every time I messed up, you forgave me. And I hate that that’s our pattern.’ He looks away from Magnus again, dragging a hand down his face. ‘And I’m afraid that one day, I’ll make one too many mistakes and you’ll realise that you deserve better. That you deserve someone who doesn’t leave you waiting for the next big fuck-up.’

Alec swallows hard, and when Magnus impulsively pulls him into a hug he goes willingly, burying his face in Magnus’ shoulder even though he doesn’t return the embrace.

Magnus takes a few deep breaths before he dares speak again, knowing he has to get this right. ‘Alexander. How many times have you stood by me when I tried to shut you out? Even when it made things difficult for you?’ ‘It’s not the same-‘ ‘It is the same thing,’ he says, interrupting the muffled contradiction. ‘It’s exactly the same, in all the ways that matter. Because this – what we have – only works if we’re each willing to believe that the other is doing his best, and if we’re willing to forgive each other.’ He pulls back a little, cupping Alec’s face in his hands. ‘I know you. You’re a good person. Rarely have I met anyone so determined to make the world a better place, and certainly none so willing to learn and to change their own ways to do so. Alec, every mistake I’ve ever known you to make was because you were trying to do the right thing.’ He laughs softly. ‘Do you know how rare a quality that is?’

Alec doesn’t respond, but he looks less sorrowful now, which Magnus will take as progress. ‘I love you. I married you, Alexander, because you make me… indescribably happy. And no matter what happens – no matter how any of your future choices turn out – I trust you to follow your conscience.’ He presses a short, sweet kiss to his husband’s lips, smiling as he closes his eyes and rests their foreheads together. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

Alec’s breaths are still a little shaky, but he loops his arms around Magnus’ waist. Message received.

***

Alec still can’t quite understand how he got so lucky. But at least that small, scared part of him is quieting now. Beginning to accept that he did.

~oOo~

[brideofedoras]

Cupid’s Arrow

Cupid’s Arrow

A Modern AU Cupid/OFC

Disclaimer: I do not own Cupid or Aphrodite or the images in the aesthetic I created...  I only own my OCs...

Warnings: NONE!  (yet...)

Word Count: 2100+

Rating: 18+ (to be on the safe side)...

*Note: This was originally supposed to be a short one but it got away with me.  I’m nowhere near finished with it, I’m currently stuck but I wanted to post it for Valentine’s Day.  So...  Here’s part one!

Valentine’s Day is T-minus 7 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes…

Cupid snorted awake when the damned alarm sounded on his phone.  He rolled over and grabbed the device to silence the alert.  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he muttered, dropping the iPhone onto the blanket before scrubbing his hands over his face.  Dammit, he wanted to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately he had a job to do.  And if he didn’t do it, his mother would never let him hear the end of it.  

Aphrodite had been on a tear ever since she’d heard about some cute little brunette running a quaint little bookstore in the middle of Nowhere, Missouri.  Rumor had it the girl was very beautiful and every red-blooded man in a hundred mile radius were flocking around her.

He screwed his eyes shut.  His mother could be a very jealous woman at times, but this was ridiculous.  She wanted him to go undercover, get a job somewhere in that town (preferably at the bookstore, if Aphrodite had her way), and nail some fat, ugly old man with one of his arrows and make him fall in love with the girl.

He sighed heavily as he sat up, the bedding pooling at his bare waist.  One thing he hated was his own mother using him to ease her jealousy at some innocent woman’s expense.  

“That’s not how I work, Mom,” he muttered to himself.  He threw the covers off and stood up, shuddering at the slight chill in the room.  

He preferred to bring couples together naturally without wasting his precious arrows.  Occasionally someone would drag their heels and deny they were head over heels in love with the person they were meant to be with.  Then he would bust out the crossbow and take aim.

But to use an arrow to force love on someone?  It was immoral.  He would not do something that went against his beliefs.

He would go, he would try to get hired on somewhere in Valentine Creek, Missouri, and see if there was anyone she was interested in.  And if the feelings were reciprocated he would work his matchmaking skills, bring them together and hope for the best.

Cupid grabbed a pair of boxer briefs and pulled them on, formulating the plan in his head.  Research the town, see if there are any job openings, apply and charm his way into a job, meet the girl, befriend the girl, and hopefully fix her up with her one true love.  

He finished getting dressed and fixed himself a pot of coffee before he grabbed his laptop and settled down on his bed once more to do a Google search on the girl his mother had taken a dislike to sight unseen.  

Valentine Creek, Missouri.  Population 8,347.  Located on the Missouri River in the middle of the state, cute little tourist town with a rich history.  His hazel eyes skimmed along the list of businesses until the name of the bookstore Aphrodite had practically spat out last night caught his attention.  

Adventure Awaits.  Established in 1996 by Nic and Calliope Wilder on the square in historic downtown Valentine’s Creek, Adventure Awaits is a bookstore, bakery and coffee shop rolled into one.  Current owner and operator is their daughter, Penelope Wilder, a 2018 graduate of Olympus University where she studied business management and creative writing.  The Wilders have collaborated with area businesses during festivals to host wine walks to raise funds for restoring historic sites of interest; children’s workshops such as creative writing, art, dance, theater, and baking; pet adoption specials; back-to-school supply drives, and Christmas book drives.

He reached for his coffee and took a sip before searching to see if Adventure Awaits had a website.  “Bingo,” he murmured when it pulled up.  He frowned thoughtfully as he took in the simple page with a Victorian-esque background.  Links to view the dessert and beverage menu, books, gifts, upcoming events lined the top of the page.

He scrolled down the main page, finding it to be a blog of sorts touting specials, sales, employment opportunities and photos from recent events.  

One photo caught his attention.  A blue-eyed brunette curled up on an overstuffed armchair with a book and a three-legged cat.  

Meet the not-so-new owner and operator of Adventure Awaits: Penny (and Church).

Cupid double-tapped the photo to get a better look.  

Long dark hair flowing in waves, bright baby blue eyes framed with long dark lashes, high cheekbones, full pink lips, flawless skin.  An aura of shy innocence in that smile.

Warmth flooded through him as he studied, as he memorized Penelope Wilder’s photograph.  He wondered if her hair felt as silky as it looked, if it would curl around his fingers.  Would her lips feel plush and velvety soft under his?  What would her kisses taste like?  Would her eyes sparkle with love and adoration as she looked deep into his own hazels?

The increasing tightness in his chest snapped him out of his reverie.  Cupid scrubbed his hands over his face and drew in a deep breath.  “You are the God of Love, you have no time for a romance of your own, you idiot,” he berated himself.  “Mom would kill you, too, for this.”

He spread his fingers to peek at the computer screen once more, to the chocolate brown tresses and the baby blue eyes and the shy smile.  “I can’t do this.”

Cupid startled when his phone vibrated on the night stand.  With a groan he dropped his hands and snatched it up.  “Crap.”  He swiped his thumb to answer.  “Mom.”

“Cupid, don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”  The sickly sweet tone in Aphrodite’s voice belied the irritation he picked up on.

“No, I’m not doing it,” he leaned back against the headboard.  

“Yes, you are,” she growled at him.  “You are going to fly your cute little ass to Missouri and make her fall in love with some fat old geezer.”

“Mother, what you are demanding of me goes against what I stand for,” he warned.  “I will not force that kind of fate on an undeserving innocent.”

“I don’t care,” he rolled his eyes at her flippant tone.  “You’re doing this or I’m disowning you.”

“You say that every time you want me to do your dirty work, Mom,” he reached up and raked his fingers through his golden blond hair.  “You haven’t disowned me yet.”

“Just do it, Cupid,” she snapped and disconnected the call.

“No, Mom,” he dropped the phone onto the bed.  “I’m not gonna ruin her life to appease your jealousy.”  He leaned forward to look at the photo of the blue-eyed beauty once more.  

“No, Church, you can’t have a brownie,” Penelope smiled at the three-legged cat at her feet.  “You shouldn’t be back here anyway.”

Big amber eyes blinked at her from the sweet ebony face before the rescue hobbled off with his fluffy tail flicking sassily at her.

She shook her head as she finished stocking the dessert display.  “Chocolate isn’t good for furbabies,” she picked up the cream cheese chocolate chip brownie she’d saved for herself and followed the cat to the window display overlooking the park across the street.  It was cloudy out, snow was in the forecast for the afternoon.  “Think we’ll get the four inches of snow the weatherman promised?”  She scritched behind Church’s left ear.

The cat purred in response, a deep and loud rumble as he turned his head to urge her to scratch him under his jaw.  

She smiled as she complied.  “Not that we have to get out in it, since we live upstairs and I did the shopping last night.”  Her baby blue eyes wandered to the window again.  “Well, we have thirty minutes before it’s time to open, Mom will be here later to help me with today’s delivery…  Is it wrong to want a shot of tequila to get me through the day?”

“Mrrrrp,” Church gave her a half meow, half purr for a response before turning and hopping up onto the vintage wingback chair in the display.  He promptly curled up on the soft ivory afghan.

“It was just a hypothetical question,” she sighed as she straightened the books on the side table.  “Maybe.”

She turned away from the window and walked through the small store.  She switched around a few Valentine’s Day displays, rotating the books on the stands and tried not to groan as she wondered how many men she was going to have to fend off today.

Not a single one of them were interested in a relationship.  They wanted to hook up, do the one night stand thing and go on their merry little way, or the friends with benefits, no-strings-attached thing.  

She was shy, introverted, and hooking up for sex was something she could not do.  If she was going to invest her time in someone, step out of her comfort zone and make herself vulnerable then that person better be in it for the long haul, and not just for sex.  Some of her friends had a revolving door of lovers, and she understood that this day and age that was the new normal.  It just was not for her.  She wanted the old cliche, a whirlwind romance evolving into happily ever after.

Penny groaned.  “I should just go on vacation every year around this time, Church,” she picked up a copy of one of her favorite books and carried it to the counter.  “What do you think?  A little bungalow on the beach somewhere?  Maybe run away to New Zealand?”  She chuckled when she received no response from the stray-turned-spoiled house cat.  “I’m terrified of flying, that would never work anyway,” she shook her head as she propped Pride and Prejudice up next to the register.  One quick glance at the clock on the wall told her she had five minutes to go before it was time to open.  With another sigh she rounded the counter to start the coffee maker for the regular coffee, checked the other machines, and grabbed the keys to unlock the door.

“Church, it’s already starting to snow,” she commented as she unlocked the door leading to the enclosed foyer.  Once the main door was unlocked she dipped into her bucket of rock salt and stepped out onto the sidewalk to spread it out.  

“Penny, where’s your coat?”

Her head snapped up toward the shoe store to the left.  “Upstairs in my apartment,” she answered with a smile.  “I’ll grab it when I have a chance, Ed.”

“You be sure to do that, wouldn’t want for you to come down sick,” Ed Chambers smiled back.  “If you want, I can have Josh shovel the walk for you later.”

“Thank you,” she shook her head.  “I’ll take care of it.”

“The offer stands if you get busy, Penny,” he waved before ducking back into his shop.

Her smile dropped the moment she was alone.  Ugh.  I do not want Josh shoveling my part of the walk.  He will just come into the store and flirt and get mad the moment I turn him down.  She ducked back into the foyer for more rock salt.  “I’m quite capable of shoveling my sidewalk, clearing off my car, and carrying my groceries,” she muttered out loud.  “Don’t need some jerk coming along flexing to show off and entice me into something I want no part of.”  A few more scoops of salt later she grabbed the sign her dad had made years ago and set it where it was out of the way but easily seen.  Caution: Sidewalk might be slick!  Please walk with care!

She stepped back into her business and flipped the sign from “Closed” to “Come on in, we’re open!”.  Once she wiped her feet on the rough mat she sighed heavily.  “I swear to God, Cupid better keep his damned arrows away from me.”

Penny ducked around the wall separating the counter from the kitchen to wash her hands.  It would likely be a slow day for business with the snow arriving earlier than expected (never a good sign), and the main drag would be clogged later with rerouted traffic from accidents on the freeway bridge ten minutes away (happens every time it rains or snows, people think they can fly down the highway at 90 miles per hour regardless of the weather).  But she had her regulars to think about.  Employees from the businesses, city hall, the police and sheriff’s department and the courthouse often popped in for a cup of coffee and a fresh brownie or cookie during their breaks.  The auxiliary from the local hospital enjoyed coming in to request books and novelty items to be ordered for their gift shop.  She doubted they would come in.  

Slow days could be both a blessing and a curse, she thought.  With nothing else to do until the delivery, she settled in behind the counter for a long wait.

[crisyah]

A Guide to Webnovels

Some of you may have heard of webnovels / webfiction by now. Huge successes like Worm or The Wandering Inn have certainly not gone unnoticed by speculative fiction fans and most of us have heard whispers about that legendary site: Wattpad. Still, webnovels remain a niche product, with its audience being mostly teenagers. People might avoid them because the quality of the novels wildly vary and it takes too long to sift through so many options until you find something decent. But how is that different from looking through self-published books? Another reason is that people might simply not know where to look. Especially with webfiction guide not accepting new users, there's no other sites that list webnovels from various sources for you to look through. Or are there?

Well, buckle up, fellow speculative-ists, I'm about to help you out with finding new, free fiction that releases at a faster rate than that one book if you've waiting for for 5 years!

(Full disclosure: I am a webnovel author. You may find my name / novel pretty quickly on one of the sites I will mention in this guide because I'm on trending and high up on the dark fantasy tag there. I'm not writing all of this for self-promotion purposes, however. It honestly makes me sad to see amazing webnovels doing poorly while average ones do amazingly simply because the audience is severely skewed. This is my attempt to broaden the audience a little bit, while giving other speculative fiction fans the chance to find amazing stories and fellow authors another outlet for their creations.)Let's get into it:The cons of webnovels

Quality does vary greatly and you'll have to sift through tags and read synopsis, reviews and first chapters looking for something you like and that is a bit timeconsuming. I still think it's not much different from looking for books you might enjoy, if you search efficiently.

Novels tend to be dropped. A lot. The golden rule that everyone tends to follow is: if it's less than 20~30 chapters or 200 pages, don't touch it. Filter out everything that is on hiatus. Big yes to novels that have at least one arc / volume / book finished.

The pros of webnovels

They're almost all completely free. Authors will have patreons, paypal and ko-fi if you want to tip them or get extra rewards, but that's it. If you don't like something, you've wasted nothing but a bit of time.

Fast releases. To make their novels competitive, authors tend to release new chapters at the very least weekly, with the most common release schedule being 2~3 times a week. Some even release daily. Some, still, release several chapters a day. You can follow the novel, forget about it during the week or for a month and end up with quite a stash of chapters to binge.

Being part of something that is being created "in real time". Webnovel authors will often ask for input from their readers, have fun polls where they ask them to vote on certain things, active discord servers, etc. You can also come up with and discuss theories and character growth as the story advances. It's a livelier community than getting a book that's finished and then you just talk about a full, finished project.

Where to look for webnovels?

With webfiction guide not accepting new members, it becomes a bit harder to find an impartial list of quality webnovels. You can still look at their top webfiction guide, but you're likely to have heard about some, if not all of the authors there. So, what to do when you've read through this list already (or browsed through it and nothing caught your attention)?

Muse's Success - This is a "sister site" to webfiction guide that serves as a directory. Webnovels have to be added manually either by fans or the authors and there is a rating system, but I can't vouch for how reliable it is.

If you want to forego directories and go right to the source, however, I'd say RoyalRoad is the biggest site for speculative webfiction. Yes, Wattpad exists, but it's largely for romance (some with speculative elements, of course), but it's also a bit of a mess to navigate and it's very unkind to new authors and works more like a SNS than an actual writing site. RoyalRoad offers better options in terms of following webnovels, looking through and filtering tags, getting rid of fictions you don't want to see, etc. It's a very good platform, overall, the best of its kind, I would say. It does lack a mobile app, but that's being worked on at the moment.

The Tops and Lists

Of course, the first place most people will look at is the tops and most viewed lists on any site. Don't be surprised if you find yourself disappointed with some of these. It happens. Make sure you don't stick to the first page only.

Best Rated - As the name indicates, this is a list of the best rated novels in the entire website. Some of them are already finished and have been so for years, some are still ongoing and have been so for years. You can select the complete only and active only best rated depending on whether you're looking for completed or on-going novels, too.

Trending - This is a list of 50 fictions that are doing the best at the moment, on the site. They call them the "rising stars" because they tend to be newer fictions, but you might find some older ones there as well.

Popular This Week - Again, as the name suggests, the novels that have been most viewed and rated the past week.

These lists tend to be somewhat repetitive. If you're on the top 7 on trending, you get a lot of exposure and that makes you rise on Popular This Week and Best Rated. It's kind of a cycle. So, what to do if you're done reading everything that interested you on these?

Search Feature

Maybe you're out of more popular stuff to read and want to dive deeper. Maybe you like finding hidden gems. Maybe you want to scratch an itch for a very specific genre. Don't fear, the search feature is here. And I'm too. I'm going to link you directly to the speculative genre tag searches. All you have to do is further filter the searches for anything else specific you might want or not want, choose whether you want on-going or complete fictions, pick which content warnings you're fine with. Filter as little or as much as you like! Though I'd say to filter a little bit if you want something specific, don't filter too much or you might end up missing on awesome novels just because the author forgot to tick a box or decided to put in a gore warning for that one scene where someone gets an arm cut out.

Fantasy - Historical Fantasy - Horror Fantasy - Horror - Sci-Fi - Horror Sci Fi

Final Notes

Don't filter for completed if you want finished books but are fine with ongoing series. Authors will usually make a listing for a series but not mark it as completed until the entire thing is done.

Some webnovel authors will self-publish. If you become their patron early on, you'll be getting cool stuff, helping them on their journey and getting a free book at the end. You might even get a character named after you!

Rate, review, all that, but please be kind. A lot of webnovel authors are very young and / or just starting out. If you see a story that you absolutely despise and / or can't read, it's best to move on and click the "don't show me this novel again" button than to rate them a 0.5* and ruin their day. Did you enjoy a story, however? Splurge. Make an account (or log in with google) and slap on that 5* advance review on it.

You're gonna see a lot of, hmm, particular tropes. Don't give up. Please. For the sake of all of us that don't write them and need more readers. I'm begging you.

To paraphrase something another user said on the RR discord: "You tend to find good writing and the same boring old ideas in mainstream fiction, while webfiction is filled with original ideas and worldbuilding but the writing is sometimes not the best". I think that sums it up pretty well. If you're looking for innovative ideas while seeing and helping writers grow at the same time, give webnovels a try.

I hope this guide was useful and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!