Today Only Ebook Deals!

Dec. 1st, 2025 04:30 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

The Love of My Afterlife

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood is $1.99! Sarah had the author on the podcast and she picked it as her favorite read of 2024.

A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up…

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife.

When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Butcher & Blackbird

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver is $3.74! This is book one in The Ruinous Love series. All three of the books in the series are discounted today, as well as Weaver’s latest Tourist Season. I believe that one is a bit pricier though at $7.99. Just in case you might be waiting on a library hold list.

Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.

***Butcher & Blackbird is a DARK ROMANCE intended for an adult audience – please see Brynne’s website for a comprehensive list of CWs***

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Funny Demon Valentine

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher is $2.99! This is book one in the Hell Bent series. I’m super curious about this one! Have any of you read it?

From instant New York Times bestselling author Aurora Ascher, comes the first novel in a funny steamy, paranormal romance series about learning how to love—and what love is in the first place—complete with HEA, clothes-ripping-hot love scenes, a crew of devilish demon brothers who are supposed to be the bad guys—Love can be Hell.

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to make music. Jazz, specifically. Unfortunately, he’s a demon. And he’s supposed to be evil.

Clearly, for Ash, a career as a musician isn’t exactly an option. Plus, he’s cursed. Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his three brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth. But it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail . . .

The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught, the consequences will be dire. Yet everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but, no matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends . . . and, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least that’s what Eva tells herself when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a 7-foot-tall monster. Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever. Or maybe just doom it. Eva and Ash will learn the path to love can be complete Hell.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The King’s Messenger

The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley is $1.99! I remember Sarah starting this one. Here’s what she said:

It is so absorbing. Essentially it is partly a historical road trip with lots of intrigue and atmosphere and secrets, with a sweet romance. If you like Kearsley it’s a good day for you!

“I’ve loved every one of Susanna’s books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly’s delicate touch with characters—sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won’t let go!”—DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one’s duty in this rich story of an ordinary man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

In 1613, King James sends his messenger Andrew Logan to Scotland to arrest his late son’s close advisor Sir David Moray. Accompanied by his aloof neighbor Phoebe Westaway, Andrew slowly untangles the real point of his mission—to frame Sir David for Prince Henry’s death. But Andrew is unwilling to bring an innocent man into a treacherous betrayal.

Andrew’s feisty and lovely neighbor Phoebe Westaway has always been stand-offish to Andrew, having heard malicious gossip against him. But as they journey to Scotland and back, Phoebe has the opportunity to see Andrew for the honorable and loyal man that he is, and her change of heart may open new possibilities for them once their mission is complete.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Next of Kin

Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance with forced proximity. I’ve been curious about Bonam-Young’s romances. Would this be a good one to start with?

When people-pleasing Chloe learns that her birth mother has unexpectedly had another baby, she doesn’t hesitate to become a next-of-kin guardian. But when she fails to pass Child Protective Services’ financial evaluation, she is faced with a choice: see her baby sister placed in foster care or participate in CPS’s new initiative, where two prospective guardians join households to qualify.

Enter Warren, a surly mechanic’s apprentice attempting to get custody of his deaf fifteen-year-old brother. From the moment Warren drives up thirty minutes late, blasting music out of his car, Chloe is convinced that this is a very bad idea. The two immediately clash but eventually agree to live together for the sake of their younger siblings.

As their lives intertwine, and Chloe adjusts to caring for her newborn sister, she begins to see a new, softer side of Warren. In fact, they’re far more similar than she could have imagined. What started as forced begins to feel natural—and far less lonely. Chemistry soon intensifies beyond what either of them can stand, but is their mutual attraction worth risking everything they’ve fought for?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Delicate Deception

RECOMMENDED: A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian is $1.99! Ellen absolutely loved this one and gave it an A-, and Ellen’s review cracked our top 5 reviews of 2019:

Overall, I do not have much more to say about this book except that it is wonderful. It made me feel many feelings and think many thoughts about how people relate to each other. If I could get you all copies, Oprah-style, I would.

When Amelia Allenby escaped a stifling London ballroom for the quiet solitude of the Derbyshire countryside, the very last thing she wanted was an extremely large, if—she grudgingly admits—passably attractive man disturbing her daily walks. Lecturing the surveyor about property rights doesn’t work and, somehow, he has soon charmed his way into lemon cakes, long walks, and dangerously heady kisses.

The very last place Sydney wished to be was in the shadow of the ruins of Pelham Hall, the inherited property that stole everything from him. But as he awaits his old friend, the Duke of Hereford, he finds himself increasingly captivated by the maddeningly lovely and exceptionally odd Amelia. He quickly finds that keeping his ownership of Pelham Hall a secret is as impossible as keeping himself from falling in love with her.

But when the Duke of Hereford arrives, Sydney’s ruse is revealed and what started out as a delicate deception has become a love too powerful to ignore. Will they let a lifetime of hurt come between them or can these two lost souls find love and peace in each other?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Second Death of Locke

The Second Death of Love by V.L. Bovalino is $2.99! This released in September and I remember being really excited about it. We’re seeing a lot of lady knights this year and into next year.

Love. Loyalty. Sacrifice.

Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier. She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier’s to wield. They are bound together by blood and magic, but there is one truth Grey dare not reveal . . . not even to Kier.

When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into a dangerous mission, Grey will need to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to protect her secret.

For Grey is no ordinary magical well, and if she dies, all magic dies with her.

The Second Death of Locke is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy about the undying bond between a knight and their mage, perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig and Alix E. Harrow.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Copper Script

Copper Script by KJ Charles is 99c at Amazon, but is $3.99 elsewhere right now! This is a m/m historical mystery and romance. It also appears to be a standalone.

Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.

Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?

But when Joel looks at a powerful man’s handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost–unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Terror at the Gates

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair is $2.24! I mentioned this on Hide Your Wallet when it came out. I also love this cover.

The first in an all-new fantasy series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair. In this biting, feminist retelling of Lilith’s story, Lilith will rise from the ashes of her former life to destroy the ancient power that stole everything she loves.

She is the beginning and the end.

She is peace and chaos.

She is terror knocking at the gates.

Estranged from her powerful family, Lilith Leviathan finds refuge in Nineveh, a district in the city of Eden devoted to sin. There, she uses her magic to steal for a living, attracting the attention of the five governing families as well as the church, which expects women to remain pious and silent. When Lilith comes into possession of a beautiful blade, she thinks all her worries are over…until her usual buyer dies while inspecting it.

Frantic, Lilith turns to the only man who can help Zahariev, head of the Zareth family and ruler of Nineveh. His currency is information, and his power is extortion, though he’s always had a soft spot for Lilith. But when the dagger appears, he isn’t sure he can protect her from what’s to come.

Together, they embark on a mission to discover the true power running their world. As their lives intertwine, Lilith realizes Zahariev is more than just a friend, but their devotion to each other is a threat—to the truth, to the church, and to those who want to tear it all down.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy

The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish is $2.24! This is a queer romance with some light paranormal elements. I remember this one flying under the radar when it released in September.

Jamie Wendon-Dale may design haunted houses, but they don’t actually believe in ghosts—until they meet Edgar Lovejoy, who is tall, clever, beautiful…and 100% haunted.

A COZY, GHOSTLY LGBTQIA+ ROMANCE

Jamie Wendon-Dale (transmasc they/them) creates haunted houses for a living. Haunting is their life—but nobody working New Orleans’ spooky circuit actually believes in ghosts.

Edgar Lovejoy (cis he/him) is 100% haunted. No, really. Ghosts have tormented him since childhood and he’s organized his life around attempts to avoid them.

Opposites? Get ready to attract. But while Jamie’s biggest concern is that Edgar sometimes seems a bit distracted, Edgar’s fears are much greater. Not only is he scared of encountering the dearly departed whenever he leaves the house, but he’s terrified of making himself vulnerable to Jamie. After all, how do you tell someone who believes ghosts only exist as smoke and mirrors that you see them everywhere you go? And how can you trust in a happy future when you can’t even believe in yourself?

A little spooky, a little magical, and a whole lot The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy will leave you feeling like you’ve found a brand new bookish family of your own.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Can’t Get Enough

Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan is $1.99! This is book three in the Skyland contemporary romance series. Have you read any of these?

“Kennedy Ryan pours her whole soul into everything she writes, and it makes for books that are heart-searing, sensual, and life affirming.” ―EMILY HENRY

Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry’s rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it.

She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she’s facing her toughest challenge caring for an aging parent.

Who has time for romance? From her experience, there’s a low ROI on relationships. She hasn’t met the man who can keep up with her anyway. Until…him.

Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer’s hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired and appreciated, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself.

But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her—is it time to let herself have something more?

“One of the finest romance writers of our age.” –Entertainment Weekly

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Switch

RECOMMENDED: The Switch by Beth O’Leary is $2.99! Catherine read this one and gave it an A:

It’s a very gentle, wholesome sort of book. I read it last week when I was sick, and it was really the perfect book to curl up with if one is under the weather.

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena’s tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it’s time they swapped places…

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn’t as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Always Only You

HABO SOLUTION: Always Only You by Chloe Liese is $1.99! This book was the answer to a HaBO! This is the second book in the series and we featured book six in the series on sale. Collect them all!

It’s an office romance on the ice rink in this heart melting story about love’s power not in spite of difference but because of it.

Ren has known Frankie Zeferino was a woman worth waiting for since the moment they met. She’s a master of deadpan delivery, has a secret heart of gold, and a rare one-dimpled smile that makes his knees go weak. But as long as Frankie’s the team’s social media manager, she’s off limits.

Frankie is a self-admittedly blunt, grumbly grump, but even she isn’t immune to sunshiney Ren Bergman. Who could be, when he’s a six-foot-three hunk of happy with a hockey player’s physique? Maybe in the past, Frankie would have gone for a guy like him, but since being burned too many times by people who learn about her diagnoses and see a problem, not a person, she’s wised up.

After waiting years for the right time to make his move, Ren learns Frankie plans to leave the team to pursue a new career. But what he didn’t anticipate is how hard he’ll have to work to convince her to let him have his shot at winning her heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Beautiful Ones

RECOMMENDED: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a B+:

The Beautiful Ones is a book that includes many genres, including fantasy, romance, manners, and just a little bit of Gothic. I enjoyed it more as a soap opera than a romance, but your mileage will vary depending on your interpretation of the characters.

In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be.

Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society. Under the tutelage of the beautiful but cold Valérie Beaulieu, she hopes to find a suitable husband. However, the haphazard manifestations of Nina’s telekinetic powers make her the subject of malicious gossip.

Yet dazzling telekinetic performer and outsider Hector Auvray sees Nina’s powers as a gift, and he teaches her how to hone and control them. As they spend more and more time together, Nina falls in love and believes she’s found the great romance that she’s always dreamed of, but Hector’s courtship of Nina is deceptive.

The Beautiful Ones is a sweeping fantasy of manners set in a world inspired by the Belle Époque.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Ice Planet Barbarians

Ice Planet Barbarians is 99c! I read the print version and I’m unsure if the first ebook edition differs in content. If you know, please chime in below. Be warned that there is mention of sexual assault and dubious consent/power differentials.

The international publishing phenomenon Ice Planet Barbarians, now in a special print edition!

Fall in love with the out-of-this-world romance between Georgie Carruthers, a human woman, and Vektal, an alien from another planet, in this expanded edition with bonus materials and an exclusive epilogue–in print only!

You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women–including me–on an ice planet.

We’re not equipped for life in this desolate winter wasteland. Since I’m the unofficial leader, I head out into the snow to look for help.

I find help all right. A big blue horned alien introduces himself in a rather . . . startling way. Vektal says that I’m his mate, his chosen female–and that the reason his chest is purring is because of my presence. He’ll help me and my people survive, but this poses a new problem.

If Vektal helps us survive, I’m not sure he’s going to want to let me go.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Dowry of Blood

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson is $2.99! This a queer Gothic novel tied to Dracula. This was originally e-only and then received a successful print release.

This sensational novel tells the darkly seductive tale of Dracula’s first bride, Constanta.

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

“A dizzying nightmare of a romance that will leave you aching, angry and ultimately hopeful.” —Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Kiss of the Basilisk

Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube is $2.51 at Amazon and $2.99 elsewhere! This was a wild read and I think I only stuck with it out of morbid curiosity. It’s a bit of a love triangle, which I didn’t love (since I don’t think the main character will end up with my fave) and felt she had more personality with one love interest than the other. The second book just came out and I’m waiting on a friend to tell me if it turns out to be a why choose scenario.

From internet sensation and Amazon bestseller Lindsay Straube comes the first book in the sexy, biting Split or Swallow series, featuring dangerous basilisks, competitive seduction, and a love triangle that could destroy kingdoms.

Twenty-year-old Temperance Verus has never been kissed. But that’s what the basilisk is for.

Along with thirteen other contestants, Tem must train with a basilisk to learn the power of seduction and win the prince’s hand in marriage. When Tem is matched with Caspen, the Serpent King, she realizes she might actually stand a chance.

But with tensions rising between the basilisks and the humans, Tem is suddenly torn in two directions. As her bond with Caspen deepens, so does her connection with the prince. When she uncovers a terrible secret about the royal family, Tem finds herself caught between two worlds, neither of which she can survive without.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Fear the Flames

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling is $1.99! I believe this had lots of hype on social media when it came out. It’s book one in a series.

An exiled princess teams up with the last man she thought she could trust in the start of a dazzling and unforgettable epic fantasy romance series.

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

An immersive fantasy filled with a sizzling reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance, a world to get lost in, dangerous quests, dragon bonds, and an entertaining band of characters to root for, Fear the Flames marks the stunning debut of Olivia Rose Darling.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

12 Days of Christmas - Thing #25

Dec. 1st, 2025 04:13 pm
smallhobbit: (Christmas tree 2025)
[personal profile] smallhobbit
Every year I offer to write ficlets for friends which will be posted between 26 December and 6 January.  This year is no different.

My range of fandoms can be found on AO3, where I'm Small_Hobbit, where, if you're not already aware, you can see the sort of things I write.  Do note that there is no guarantee in the way my brain will work, but I will attempt to produce something you like.

Therefore, if you would like a ficlet, please comment below with your AO3 name if you have one and I don't already know it - not essential, I will make sure to let you know when yours is posted if you don't.  And include your preferred fandom and character(s) (can be a pairing, several characters, or just one), together with a prompt.  The prompt may be seasonal or not, as suits you.  

And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu

Dec. 1st, 2025 11:34 am
lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
[personal profile] lightreads
All That We See or Seem

3/5. Marketed as scifi, but it’s actually a near future AI tech thriller about the loner hacker who gets tangled up in the search for a missing woman whose job is weaving AI-enhanced mass dream experiences.

Meh. A lot of the AI speculation here is really interesting. It’s all extremely plausible – the internet mostly just bots shouting at each other, everyone with means having a personal AI assistant who is trained to think specifically like them, what new kinds of art really draw people in as authentic, etc. – but speculates about these things while touching lightly on how they are bad and how they are good. Letting it be complicated with AI, can you imagine? Is that even allowed? In the era where I have been told that I’m a “traitor to humanity” for occasionally finding a particular AI powered accessibility tool to be extremely helpful in ways no prior tool has ever come remotely close to? Oh but surely we can’t have nuance in these conversations, oh no.

Unfortunately, everything else about this book is meh. The villain POV (please stop), the weirdly flat delivery of events that are supposed to be tense or upsetting, the main character and the shallow thriller treatment of her trauma, the “twist” in the epilogue.

This makes me not want to read his fantasy, actually. Does it have the same problems, or is he trying too hard to write like a thriller guy?

Content notes: Violence, slavery.
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
Canonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1888828.html




Hey, Americans and people living in the US going through open enrollment on the state ACA marketplaces who haven't yet enrolled in a plan for 2026!

Just about every state in the union and DC (but not Idaho) proudly touts an end date to open enrollment sometime in January. This year for most states it ends January 15th, but in CA, NJ, NY, RI, and DC, it's January 31st, and here in Massachusetts, it's January 23rd. (Idaho's is December 15th.) [Source]

That sure sounds like the deadline is sometime in January.

No, it kinda isn't.

tl;dr: Just assume if you want insurance to start Jan 1, the deadlines are to enroll by Dec 8 and to pay for the first month by Dec 15. Important deets within. [950 words] )

This post brought to you by the 220 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.

Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Welcome back to Cover Awe!

A black woman in a teal period dress and pearl earrings has her hair pulled up. She's turning away. She's on stone stairs that look like it's just rained. Green fields and a blue sky are behind her.

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

Cover image by Lauren Rautenbach | Arcangel Images

Sarah: This is the Brazilian cover.

Elyse: That is so gorgeous. There a quiet drama there.

Tara: That cover is a balm to my soul, which is weary of illustrated people on covers. This is just perfection.

Sarah: It’s dramatic and intriguing and soothing at the same time.

I love looking at international editions.

An illustrated cover of a brunette woman sitting in a window seat reading a book. She's wearing jeans and orange sweater. And orange and brown cat sits next to her. Framing the window are purple bookshelves and a purple curtain.

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

Cover illustration by Dawn Cooper

Sarah: That is very cozy and kind of looks like a tarot card.

Shana: That is gorgeous!

Amanda: Is there anything that pairs better with books than a window seat and a cat?

The perspective is taken from the top of the stairs and you're looking at an illustrated couple walking up them. Light is being cast that is split into a purple side and a red side. The woman on the purple side is in a light blue, one shoulder dress. She's blonde. She's holding the arm of a man in a burgundy suit and matching blue shirt. He has brown hair and is wearing sunglasses. Her shadow is normal. His reveals a batlike vampiric creature.

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

Cover illustration by Roxie Vizcarra

Amanda: I love the perspective and his vampy shadow and how it kind of matches with her previous book in the series.

Sarah: Illustrations that use shadows as reveals make for very neat covers. Alexandria Bellefleur has one as well and it’s so clever.

Two small figures stand before a large city made up of distinct buildings all different colors. A figure in grey, hiding their face and has four arms, sits cross legged before a stone tower in the middle. On the right is a person in red with a thorny crown and face covering next to a tower toped in a crescent moon. The top right has a figure in a blue dress with three arms. Her head is covered by a castle wall. She stands next to a tall building made up of many columns. The top left has figure in a dark blue suit of armor. Flames come out of his helmet. He stands next to a foreboding castle. The left side has a gold slanted building with a figure wearing gold robes and the head of a white bird.

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček

Cover illustration by Kuri Huang

Amanda: There are so many details and I want to find out what they all mean!

Lara: Whatever style they’ve used in designing that cover, that is my favourite style.

Sarah: What a cool visual puzzle! Who are they, what’s going on, and why do they look like they are moving? Maybe that part is because I’m tired but wow that’s cool.

Kiwiria's November Novels

Dec. 1st, 2025 11:04 am
kiwiria: (Default)
[personal profile] kiwiria posting in [community profile] christianreader
Going Overboard - Portia MacIntosh, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~7hrs
Rounded up on goodreads because THERE WAS NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!

*ahrem*

Really, really sweet novel. Portia MacIntosh is a bit hit-and-miss, depending on whether or not she remembers that communication is key, and how much second-hand embarassment she subjects the reader to, but as neither issue was a problem here, it ended up being the best book I have read by her so far.

Lots of things to love about the book - from one of my favourite settings (a cruise ship!!! That in itself would have been enough to make me pick it up) through the fake dating trope (one of my favourites when done right) to the ride-or-die friendships (people who actually care about each other!).

I do think that Nikki's hostility lacked an explanation - especially as Jessa herself questioned it, but I loved Brody, and it was so refreshing to see a relationship - even a fake one - where people actually TALKED about things!

Predictable as - but really sweet all the same :-)


The Survivor Wants to Die at the End - Adam Silvera, 3/5, Audiobook ~18hrs
First and foremost - heed the trigger warnings! Neither suicide nor self-harm is a trigger to me, but if it is to you - stay away from this book! It's not just a brief sentence here or there, but a HUGE part of the plot!

Unfortunately the weakest of the lot. I liked "They Both Die at the End" and loved "The First to Die at the End", so had high hopes for this one - but it just couldn't deliver.
It's a hard book to review without small spoilers, so fair warning. I'll try to be as vague as possible.
Getting my complaints out of the way first ...

First of all - the book was too long. Not so much that I got bored listening to it, but there was a lot of repetition that could easily have been cut down.

Secondly, the vilification of Paz didn't make sense. The kid was 9 at the time of the shooting - how could people take it as anything other than the desperate acts of a desperate child? The fact that it was still ruining his life 10 years later seemed contrived to me.

Thirdly, there was a tad too much insta-love. I know this was the case in the other two books as well, but there it made SENSE, as they were working on a deadline. That wasn't the case here. Also, the relationship was unhealthy as. The very definition of a codependent relationship.

Finally, the end - a completely cop-out! Extremely annoying foreshadowing that made me subtract a star all by itself.

Right! That aside ...

I really liked the friendship between Paz and Alano. I liked that they spent time getting to know each other, and that they actually managed to communicate and understand each others' blind spots.
Paz' disorder seemed well described as well. Both the way his thoughts would spiral, and how he tried to stop himself, once he became aware of what was happening.

So all in all a book that could have been awesome, but which fell flat because of the end. A shame.


Alchemised - SenLinYu, 4/5, 1030 pages
This is a retelling of a Harry Potter fanfic - turning it into original fiction. I have read the fanfic as well, and while I do think the fanfic is better, SenLinYu did an amazing job of turning it into a piece of original fiction.

Getting the main issue out of the way first - the fanfic is better, because the backstory is more complete. It could hardly be any different, when one is based on a long series with character development and worldbuilding and the other has to stand on its own. In "Alchemised" we have to take the authors word for the friendship between Helena and Luc, and the animosity between Helena and Ferron ... in "Manacled", those things are implicitly understood, because we know Hermino, Harry and Draco. Having read "Manacled" I could extrapolate the relationships - I'm not sure how it would work, coming into it blind.

That said, I still found "Alchemised" incredibly well written, and was impressed by how SenLinYu twisted the magic around to turn it into original fiction. It's very dark fantasy, and any reader would do well to take the trigger warnings seriously.

I couldn't put it down, and read it at any chance I got, finishing 1030 pages in less than two weeks.


Lykkeriddere - Claus Holm & Simone Lindquist, 4.5/5, 398 pages
I've always been a fan of Claus Holm's books, and this is not only one of the best I've read by him, it could easily become one of the best books I read this year!

It's a wonderful mix of "Treasure Island" meets "Our Flag Means Death", and I could easily have read it in one sitting, if work and sleep hadn't gotten in the way.


Eight Cousins - L.M. Alcott*, 4/5, Audiobook ~8hrs
Rose In Bloom - L.M. Alcott*, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~10hrs
The Rose series still makes for an adorable story. It doesn't suffer from the same moral anecdotes as "Jack and Jill" and deserves to be quite as well known as "Little Women" because IMHO it's just as charming. It clearly describes the love and friendship between Rose, her seven cousins and her many aunts and uncles. One of those wonderfully old-fashioned "feel good" novels.


Books Read: 84
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Guest Reviewer

F

Love’s Magic Spell

by Glenna Finley
August 6, 1974 · Signet
Contemporary/OtherRomance

This guest review is from Lucynka! Lucynka is a long-time lurker, who has occasionally commented under a couple different names in the past. Over the last few years, she’s become really interested in the history of the romance genre, particularly those forgotten or oft-overlooked parts. You can find her on Bluesky @lucynka.bsky.social, or else over on her WordPress, where she blogs about “obscure bullshit,” including a lot of romance pulp magazines from the 1920s-’40s.

Back again, with another pick from Heather S’s Half Price Books excursion from earlier in the year. If The Lilac Ghost caught my eye because it looked potentially good, then Love’s Magic Spell caught my eye because it looked so ludicrously bad. To refresh, here’s the cover copy:

When lovely Sara Nichols came to Louisiana to sell the family’s newly inherited plantation, Bellecourt, love was the furthest thing from her mind. But tall, handsome Piers Lamont had other plans for Sara. A notorious ladies’ man, Piers was intent on making Sara his personal property.

And wealthy, young Lee Sherman seemed equally determined to keep Sara entertained. But suddenly strange rites of voodoo magic closed in on her, and the true terrors of Bellecourt revealed themselves. It was only then that Sara knew her fate rested with one of these two men—but could she trust her heart to choose wisely…?

So yes, we have a Louisiana plantation, Voodoo, and a love interest who’s intent on making the heroine “his personal property.” This has ALL the red flags, but you know what? At this point, I’ve made my way through more than my fair share of horrendously offensive pulp stories from the early 20th century, so I figured I probably had enough defenses built up to take one for the team, wade through this pile of problematic, and pull out anything inadvertently entertaining.

I was SO READY for this book to go beyond mere “bad” and into “utterly batshit,” was SO READY to bestow that golden unicorn of Smart Bitches ratings, the elusive F+, onto it.

And to be fair, it really looked like that was how things were going to go for a while! I mean, check out the promisingly bonkers teaser:

SHE WAS BACK IN THE DARK STAIRWAY AT BELLECOURT—

Julius and his robed disciples filed up the dark stairs searching for her. She heard the sound of their relentless advancing footsteps echoing up the black corridor, the throb of the tom-tom drum, and the disturbing rattle of the calabash gourd. Desperately she tried to shut out the ominous beat, the wailing, chanting voices, but they sounded louder by the second. She had just realized there was no escape from her prison when she saw the serpent slither from the shadows toward her and she fell sobbing and screaming against the locked panel door.

“Sara…stop it!” Gentle hands were pulling her up, and Piers’s voice was talking to her.

“Piers? We have to get away…they’re coming.” She struggled to get the words out.

Strong arms pressed her against his chest. “It’s all right, Sara. Nothing will hurt you while I’m here…”

Who the hell is Julius? (Is the “Lee” of the back cover actually short for “Julius”?) If Sara is presumably locked in some sort of cell/cellar by herself, then where did Piers come from? Is the serpent a metaphor (for either sin or a penis or both)? Did Julius get a bulk discount on his disciples’ robes? So many questions!

Sadly, it’s all downhill from there, and the rating—as you can see—ended up being just a plain, old F. For (wet) fart, I like to think.

The plot, such as it is, sees young Chicagoan Sara Nichols traveling down to New Orleans to oversee the sale of Bellecourt, a plantation house that her aunt just recently inherited. Said aunt has—*ahem*—fond memories of the place, but definitely doesn’t have the money to renovate it, and can’t go herself to oversee the sale because she just broke her foot. The paperwork admittedly could be handled by mail, but for—*ahem*—sentimental reasons, Auntie still wants someone from the family to give it one last visit and send-off. Hence our intrepid heroine, and the back cover would seem to imply sinister happenings once she gets down there, and perhaps even that the property is “cursed” in some way.

Ignoring the romanticization of a plantation house and the cultural appropriation of Voodoo here (a tall order, I know, but let’s just try it for a moment), this is at least a decent structural set-up: Fish-out-of-water heroine gets caught up in a deeper, darker plot that threatens her very safety, and is unsure who—if anyone—she can trust.

The problem (one among many) is that the book never actually delivers on that front. I went charging in with all my mental armor on, ready for some offensive, exploitative Gothic Voodoo shenanigans, and instead what I got was a seemingly never-ending series of dinner dates. Or lunch dates. Or breakfasts. I kept waiting for the main plot to kick in, only to get to the end, whereupon I realized, “Oh. Oh, okay. I guess all that dinner-date bullshit was the main plot. Good to know.”

One particularly egregious part of the story sees Sara getting a very detailed, four-page walk-through of a sugarcane processing plant, apparently just so Glenna Finley can let us know she did her research. Even worse is the way the author seems to subconsciously know on some level that this is boring as fuck, because she proceeds to tease us with the sort of story we could be reading right now, had we only loved ourselves more and made better life choices:

“The filter cake goes back out to the fields where it’s used as fertilizer. The clear juice is piped on to the evaporator.” Lee led her along another catwalk for a few minutes until they came to a complex of machinery looking like a gigantic laboratory with its vats and complicated pipe connections.

“All this needs is a mad scientist running around in a long white coat stuffing the heroine into the boiling syrup,” Sara told him.

“We only let him out nights when the moon is full. Right now we’re requisitioning some vestal virgins to go in the cauldrons. If you’d like to volunteer…” he paused hopefully.

“I am sorry but I already have an appointment for the first full moon,” she said. “There’s a werewolf living in the apartment above us who plans his get-togethers ages ahead. Last month there was a sit-down orgy for twenty-four.”

Mad scientists and werewolf orgies? DON’T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME, GLENNA FINLEY. I live-blogged my reading experience over on Bluesky, and at one point, bored out of my skull, I actually demanded in exasperation, “WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET TO THE OFFENSIVE, APPROPRIATIVE VOODOO???” Because, truly, anything would be better than this.

It takes a whole third of the book for Sara to even visit Bellecourt, at which point we finally get our first hint of Gothic shit: In an unintentionally apt bit of symbolism, the house is literally rotting from the inside out, making it physically dangerous to venture into. As such, Sara is waiting for Piers to meet her, to act as her guide in looking the place over, only she gets impatient and—like a dumbass—decides to go exploring on her own. Cue the front door blowing shut behind her, somehow trapping her in total darkness, and in an attempt to find her bearings, she reaches out and her hand touches…wait for it…something bloody on a banister! Alas, it turns out to simply be the rooster Julius—the old (white) caretaker of the place, and definitely not Lee Sherman of the cover copy—killed for his dinner.

There are precisely three instances in this book where it looks like something exciting might happen. (Not even does happen, mind you, merely might happen.) The first is the above rooster incident. The second is when…

TW for graphic animal violence

Sara finds a dead garden mole tied to her motel doorknob, with all four of its paws cut off

…which is a genuinely gruesome bit of imagery, and one that frankly deserves to be in a much better story. (RIP to you, garden mole.)

And the third instance is when Sara stumbles upon Julius’s religious support group and jumps to the wrong conclusion, and I WISH I WAS MAKING THIS UP.

But no, seriously, all the purported, sinister Voodoo shit? Turns out to be Julius just doing his thing. On the one hand I guess it’s nice that Voodoo isn’t presented as some evil cult (even if Julius is the only one who genuinely practices it, and the other characters regard him rather patronizingly for it), but on the other hand THIS IS NOT THE STORY I SIGNED UP FOR. And maybe this wouldn’t bother me so much if the rest of the novel was actually interesting in some respect. But, as stated, it isn’t.

And that promisingly bonkers teaser? In one of the most rage-inducing cases of bait-and-switch I have ever come across, it turns out to be JUST A DREAM, WTF. The reason Piers seems to appear from out of nowhere in that scene is because he’s literally waking Sara up from a nightmare.

Absolutely no one should read this book (certainly not now, and not even back in 1974, when it was published), so I’m just going to get all spoilery here and tell you that the whole “conflict” of the story boils down to nothing more than a little bit of real estate drama: Basically, Sara’s aunt has to sell, and Bellecourt’s neighbor, Colonel Sherman (father of Lee), wants to buy, to expand his sugarcane farm. Sounds pretty perfect, especially as he eventually might even be able to restore the house to its former—*ahem*—glory.

Except this is a lie, and he actually plans to resell the property to a big chemical company, who will bulldoze the house and put a factory in its place, MUAHAHAHA! To facilitate this plan, Colonel Sherman bad-mouthed Sara to Julius (who is bizarrely in love with Bellecourt, to the extent that you almost expect him to announce his marriage to the building), at which point Julius became the colonel’s unwitting lackey, planting the rooster and the mole in an attempt to frighten Sara—the idea being that she’d take care of the paperwork ASAP so she could GTFO. This retroactively means that Sara was never even in any real peril, which—if you’re familiar with the Gothic romance and/or romantic suspense subgenre(s)—is practically a heinous crime in and of itself; someone should at least be trying to kill this bitch.

On top of all that is the rampant Southern apologia and white-washing of history (I honestly lost count of the number of times the terms “servants” and “slaves” were used interchangeably, and THOSE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS, GLENNA FINLEY). At the end of the day, I have a hard time getting emotionally invested in the story, because I have a hard time seeing how the destruction of a plantation house—this glorified symbol of slavery—is supposed to be a tragedy. Like, idk, maybe it should be bulldozed to the ground. Or perhaps set on fire? I guess I should be glad it ends up being sold to a local historical society, with plans to turn it into a museum (you know, as opposed to a wedding venue), but considering everything else on display here, I don’t know if I trust said society to actually address its fraught history in any meaningful way.

“Okay, that’s all terrible, but what about the romance?” I hear you asking. Dear readers, it too SUCKS BALLS.

First of all, the love triangle the cover copy seems to set up is in fact one more lie, because it’s pretty clear from the get-go that Piers is the official love interest here—Lee is little more than a distraction for a couple scenes and an excuse to make Piers jealous. And how to describe Piers? HOO BOY.

We’re introduced to this Piece of Work in the first paragraph, where he’s thinking about how the local government should plant hot women on the roadsides instead of trees, and he frankly never gets any better. His and Sara’s relationship mostly consists of them snapping at each other, for reasons I never fully comprehended, because the author doesn’t seem to understand how human emotions work. Ostensibly Glenna Finley was trying to go for belligerent sexual tension here, a kind of enemies-to-lovers thing, but it completely falls flat because there is no sexual tension—just two weird, prickly assholes who are willfully determined to misunderstand each other AT EVERY SINGLE TURN, I AM NOT EVEN JOKING. Sara and Piers are EXHAUSTING. It honestly doesn’t even seem as if they like each other, and yet I’m somehow supposed to believe in their HEA?

Add to that the fact that Piers is an arrogant, insulting ass, with a habit of violently shaking Sara (and who later threatens to not only spank her so hard she “won’t be able to sit down for a week,” but who also threatens to full-on backhand her), and the so-called “romance” goes from being merely incomprehensible to outright gross. Like, there’s overbearing, old-skool romance novel heroes, and then there’s…this guy. It’s a bad sign when the biggest physical threat to your heroine turns out to be her designated love interest, yikes.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the third act break came, my immediate reaction was “GOOD!”—Sara’s not exactly a prize peach of a protagonist, but holy moly, she at least deserves better than Piers. Alas, the end sees her giving up her life in Chicago to be with him in Louisiana (for anyone who cares, he’s revealed to work for the previously-mentioned historical society), and we don’t even get an apology out of him—it is in fact Sara who apologizes, and then she…just pluckily resigns herself to Piers’s refusal to properly communicate, basically. It’s pretty fucking grim, made all the worse by the way the Southerner “wins over” the Northerner, as is the case in so many romance novels that—whether explicitly or implicitly—uphold the “Lost Cause” narrative:

Sara found herself clutching her purse and made an effort to relax. “Piers, are you sure your sister wants to spend all that money on Bellecourt? You’re sure she can afford it?”

“Positive. Her husband practically has a direct wire to Fort Knox. Besides, he’s almost as anxious to rebuild Bellecourt as Tessa.” Piers’ drawl became more evident. “Nothing like converting a northerner now and then to help the cause.” 

UGH. DIE IN A FIRE, PIERS. AND TAKE BELLECOURT WITH YOU.

Research indicates that Glenna Finley specialized not so much in Gothics, but in more standard romantic suspense, and she also seems to have specialized in “travelogue” romances, that allowed the reader to vicariously experience far-away places. This makes sense in hindsight, as the depiction of New Orleans culture—and especially food culture—is perhaps the only redeeming aspect of Love’s Magic Spell (though there are suspiciously no Black characters to speak of, in fucking New Orleans, save for one driver/porter, so I’m still withholding any points I might otherwise award the author here).

The other single worthwhile thing about this book is an outfit Sara wears to one of her innumerable dinner dates, that consists of a silver skirt, a magenta-and-silver striped top, and blue eyeshadow. Good god, I want it, just like I want that jacket/dress on the cover.

In other news, out of sheer, perverse curiosity, I actually read another Glenna Finley title immediately after this (1983’s Wanted For Love), just to see if all of her novels were such heinously boring clusterfucks, and to my pleasant surprise, it appears the answer is “no.” (I mean, Wanted For Love still wasn’t good—I would probably rate it a solid C, if you twisted my arm for a letter grade—but that’s still way better than an F, yeah? The romance, while still incomprehensible, at least wasn’t worrying the way it is here, and there were actual stakes at play—who knew!)

But back to Love’s Magic Spell. Do yourself a favor and never read this fucking book. And if someone you know is considering reading it, do them a favor by knocking it out of their hands.

Please, I beg of you. Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain.

#172 - Avant-garde

Dec. 1st, 2025 12:42 am
mxcatmoon: Vocab_blue (Vocab_blue)
[personal profile] mxcatmoon posting in [community profile] vocab_drabbles
This week's word is

Avant-garde

ˌä-ˌvän(t)-ˈgärd


From Word Hippo



Noun
1. (obsolete) The vanguard of an army or other force.

2. Any group of people who invent or promote new techniques or concepts, especially in the arts.

Adjective
3. Innovative, pioneering, especially when extremely or obviously so.

it never ends

Nov. 30th, 2025 05:25 pm
kaydeefalls: doctor & clara silhouetted (doctor&clara)
[personal profile] kaydeefalls
I had taken the whole Thanksgiving week off work, as per my habit the past few years to use up vacation time, in order to have a nice chill writing staycation. And instead my wife was hospitalized all week following a day in the ER and emergency surgery to repair what turned out to be a hole in her stomach. You know, like you do.

She's back home as of last night, which is good, because hospitals suck. Does mean I'm now her fulltime caregiver through recovery, which, given how escalatingly bad her health has been over the past couple of years, is also just...unfortunately normal. Everything in her body is just going haywire for no discernible or diagnosable reason, basically. We thought she had an MS diagnosis earlier this year; nope! She doesn't actually meet the markers! So back to the drawing board in terms of what the actual fuck is wrong with her. But basically, she's completely physically disabled at this point, I'm the sole income for our household, and everything is stressful and exhausting all the time. When she's not immediately post-surgery, she's still baseline functional in terms of being able to take care of herself physically, so we're not at THAT level of awfulness yet. But she's basically just in a huge amount of pain at all times, and it sucks. Throwing a fucking hole in her stomach - and the doctors have no idea what caused it! - on top of everything she's already going through is just kicking her while she's down at this point.

Also it took the ambulance an hour and forty minutes to get to her when we called 911, in order to take her to the ER that's literally less than a 10-min walk away, where she lay in pain on a stretcher in the hallway for ten hours before the doctors finally did the CT scan that prompted them to immediately rush her into surgery. So like. That was a fun cherry on top of the trauma sundae.

So yeah. That's how we're doing. I am running on fumes at this point. But, y'know, back to work as usual tomorrow morning. At least I fully work from home, which, in addition to health insurance, is why I can never quit my job even though I really hate the org at this point.

I just...don't see how anything is going to get better, after experiencing it all get so much worse over the past few years. And that's really, really hard. Fandom is pretty much the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

Sorry for the downer post. I'm just so fucking tired.

Seasonal vegetables

Nov. 30th, 2025 08:05 pm
[syndicated profile] kathleenjowitt_feed

Posted by kathleenjowitt

Sliced carrots, which instead of being the usual orange are a deep purple colour. Some have a lighter ring around the core

We got purple carrots in the veg box this week. If I told you I’d been saving them for Advent I’d be lying: in fact I fancied leek and potato soup on Monday, had a really busy day on Wednesday so just defrosted some tomato sauce and cooked some pasta, thought the broccoli was probably more urgent on Friday, and didn’t cook on the other days. So in fact it’s worked out very appropriately with these magnificent carrots arrayed in deep purple for the solemn season of Advent. Some of them even have stars in the middle, as you see, although these didn’t look as striking after cooking.

It’s St Andrew’s day as well, of course. I did think about that (very slightly) in advance, and cooked a bought salmon en croûte in his honour, and thought of my last church, dedicated, like many others in Cambridge, to the first fisherman-apostle. But it’s been a wearing day at the end of a wearing month, and I don’t quite feel as if I’ve properly got started on Advent yet, or given St Andrew the attention he deserves. Plenty more of Advent to come, of course. St Andrew might have to wait for next year.

pictures for November

Nov. 30th, 2025 03:14 pm
pauraque: bird flying (Default)
[personal profile] pauraque
Last month I finally got off my ass and put up bird feeders in the yard. Moving is a process, okay?

small bird with a green back, gray wings and tail, yellow belly, white face, and black cap perches on a vertical tube feeder full of mixed seed and nuts

Black-capped Chickadee. Despite being our most common backyard bird, they are kind of my favorite. (Don't tell the others.) I love the color palette of their plumage. They can't open seeds with their beaks, so they will often take one and fly away to bang it open on a tree branch. Sometimes they are clever/lazy and bang them open on the feeder perches.

more birds [8 photos] )

not birds [4 photos] )

[ SECRET POST #6904 ]

Nov. 30th, 2025 02:42 pm
case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6904 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 30 secrets from Secret Submission Post #986.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
jazzy_dave: (books n tea)
[personal profile] jazzy_dave
Lol Tolhurst "Goth: A History" (Quercus)





This is the second book by Lol Tolhurst who was the original drummer for The Cure. Both Tolhurst and Robert Smith (lead guitarist and singer) were Catholic and raised so until their high school years when they saw the church as limiting rather than liberating both morally and culturally. They grew up in 1970s England, which was hard hit by unemployment during Margaret Thatcher’s term as Prime Minister. Tolhurst says The Cure arose in the first place from a place of Catholic guilt and longing and the emotional distress that came from that guilt. Technically speaking this book should have been titled Goth: A Personal History since much of the book comes from Tolhurst’s personal reflections. There is a name Index and Notes/Bibliography (which always love) but much of the book are his own recollections. This book has a forward by Budgie (drummer for the band Siouxie and the Banshees) who is also a crucial person at the origin of Goth as a modern phenomenon.

These two have worked together recently and the result has been a podcast and this book by Tolhurst. Tolhurst credits many artists who paved the way for Goth as it exists in various forms now: Shelly’s Frankenstein, T.S. Eliot, Camus, Sartre, Sylvia Plath, Joy Division, The Clash, even The Doors with “Moonlight Drive” and “The End”. Tolhurst says that many people claim that goth music came into being with “The End”. This book touches on a huge amount of topics which makes it formidable to argue against considering that Tolhurst speaks from personal experience almost on every page. The book ends with Tolhurst defining a new entity called “Elder Goths” which deals with self-determination. Elder Goth’s own personal decisions to live and dress as they please even if that means society (the general culture) mislabels them as strange.

The whole thesis by Tolhurst is that Goth is a valid and worthwhile subculture which deserves and must live on as a foil to authoritarian regimes which hold sway, as did the Punks in Thatcher’s England until the Sex Pistols flamed out. Tolhurst enjoys writing and I like his personal style and his consistent approach to his subject matter. Obviously Tolhurst has used this book as further self-discovery and self-healing and he shows himself as vulnerable in many places. Many memoirs are written by ghost writers, but you can feel that this is Lol struggling to be as truthful with his expressions as possible and determined with all his strength to be honest and sincere to the events and his feelings about those events. Wort hreading.

fuckin white people

Nov. 30th, 2025 11:17 am
sabotabby: (furiosa)
[personal profile] sabotabby
 The City of Toronto decided to, at the request of Black Lives Matter six years ago, rename a bunch of places that were named after Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811). Many important landmarks here, including a major street and two subway stations, are named after this guy (as well as a small town and many other streets around Ontario).

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811), was a wealthy British white man who was in favour of the "gradual abolition" of slavery, which is to say that over half a million Africans who might have otherwise been freed were instead trafficked during the delay.

Many, many people are suddenly amateur historians defending the life and beliefs of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811), the beauteous sound of the syllables upon the tongue, the importance of remembering history (textbooks no longer exist, you see, and Wikipedia was never invented) and the cost to the city of the renaming. These same people have never, to my knowledge, issued a single complaint about Gichi Kiiwenging being renamed to York and later to Toronto, constituting a massive act of disrespecting and forgetting history and culture and a financial cost still borne by today's Anishinaabowen. They probably even call the Skydome the Rogers Centre now!

Is this act symbolic and pointless? Kinda. Black Lives Matter also asked, famously, for the police to be defunded, but this year the police budget got a 3.9% raise, ballooning to a princely $1.22 billion, at a time when violent crime continues to fall. I think that's a more important demand! I also think that the new name of the subway station is stupid. However, as a Jewish person, I wouldn't like to be walking down a street named after Hitler, so I do think it's a nice symbolic gesture to call it something else.

All I can say is imagine being so white and having so few problems that you have suddenly started caring about Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811)!

November 2025

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
910 1112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags