ARC Book Review: Cleaning Spells Before Courtship by Sarah Wallace and S.O. Callahan

The authors put out a call for ARC (advanced reader copy) readers for their upcoming book earlier this month, and I jumped at the chance. I was chosen to receive a digital ARC (the first 100 to sign up got accepted), which is so exciting and makes me feel like a real bookstagrammer/book blogger! 🤩

Official book summary:

To look at someone and to truly see them were entirely different.

Summer 1814: Moody fae Sage Ravenwing is on his way to the country estate of Wyndham and Roger Wrenwhistle - and very confused as to why he was even invited.

Still pining after Wyndham and nursing a grudge against Roger, Sage reluctantly joins the raucous house party, which soon adds a mysterious guest to their number.

Conrad Moore has come a long way from the docks of Bristol. Armed with a humble education, middling magical skill, and a great deal of audacity, he journeys to the Wrenwhistle estate to inquire about the open position on the Council.

Thrown together in the only remaining available room, the surly fae and cheerful human establish a tentative acquaintanceship. As they learn surprising lessons from each other - riding, swimming, and mending a broken heart - a tender friendship blooms and an explosive magical connection forms.

But just as Sage starts to yearn for a new future with Conrad, he discovers that the hardest lesson of all will lie in atoning for his mistakes and scrubbing his messy past clean.

The Fae & Human Relations series is one where you absolutely have to read every book in order, as each one builds on the one that came before. Cleaning Spells Before Courtship is the fourth and last book in the series (😭), but its establishing events took place in the first book. Sage and Wyn were fuck buddies, but Sage was in love with Wyn (without Wyn knowing) and took Wyn and Roger's whirlwind romance really badly (leading to the "light stalking by an ex" in my review's trigger warnings list for BSaBG). Sage said some really mean things to Roger and Wyn told Sage that unless he apologized to Roger, they wouldn't be in each other's lives anymore. I'm going off of what was recapped in the book, because it's been a while since I read the first one and I've kind of already forgotten  what went down between Sage and Roger. In the second and third books of the FaHR series, Sage is randomly mentioned in the Torquil Tribune gossip paper as having attended parties and events and sneaked off with various random men, which gives him a reputation. From these brief mentions, it was obvious that Sage was trying to make Wyn jealous and get over him, and I was sad for him and hoped that he would find happiness and love, so I was glad to see that this book is just that.

 

Anyway, Roger invites Sage to his and Wyn's country estate, ostensibly for a weeks-long house party they're having with their friends, but mostly so Sage can help Roger plan Wyn's surprise 30th birthday party and hopefully reconcile with him. The reason Roger gives for this is because if Wyn saw/knew Roger meeting one on one with one of their friends, Wyn would suspect Roger of planning a surprise party for his birthday. I understand Roger wanting his husband to reconcile with one of his oldest ex-friends, but asking the man who is still heartbroken and pining after Wyn to plan his birthday party is kind of callous. Sage reluctantly accepts. 

 

The house party consists mostly of Roger's friends that we met in book one and then kind of never spent time with again, apart from mentions in the gossip column (understandably, since the romantic leads in books two and three didn't know them). Speaking of, Torquil and Emrys and Silas and Keelan are part of the party too, and the friends are all having a great time... while Sage watches from the sidelines. Luckily he doesn't have to be the sole single person for long, because Conrad Moore arrives. 

 

Conrad is a dockworker who learned about the open position in the Council for Fae and Human Relations (which Wyn, Roger, Torquil, and I think Silas are all on), and decided to travel to meet with Roger and Wyn to hopefully be allowed to interview for the position. Like, he doesn't know anyone, doesn't write a letter of introduction, just shows up. Pretty ballsy. He's a friendly and eager to please person, and Roger and Wyn are nice, so they invite him to stay with them and join their house party, only, wouldn't you know it? All of their rooms are filled up, so he'll just have to room with Sage. What a surprising coinkidink. You'll be shocked, just shocked, to learn that there's only one bed!!! Sage is pissed at this turn of events, then pleasantly surprised to see that Conrad is hot and ripped, then pissed again as his hints to hook up just go winging over Conrad's smiling head. 

 

The couples (and one throuple) at the house party start to do the whole wink-wink, nudge-nudge, jokey-jokey thing at the two of them, so Conrad and Sage decide to fake-date to get them off their backs. I think you can gather what happens after this decision is made. 

 

Besides the couple machinations and Roger and Conrad doing magic, this book consists of the friends just hanging out, eating, and having fun together. It was a nice change from the last book, which was all "working on magic at & for the Council" and stressful due to Keelan's unwanted engagement. It was sweet to see how our two leads become close and fall in love, with Sage learning to trust and be vulnerable and Conrad enjoying taking care of and protecting Sage. Sage also slowly befriends everyone and apologizes to Roger (hopefully that's not a spoiler since "atoning for his mistakes" is in the summary). 

 

I'm sad the series is over, but I've really enjoyed visiting this world and cheering on its couples. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes Regency romances and queer love stories. Cleaning Spells Before Courtship comes out on October 4.

 

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶
Read in: September 12
From: digital ARC

Genres/classification: romantasy, cozy fantasy, Regency romance

Representation: gay MMC who is a man of color, asexual MMC, 2 nonbinary side characters who use they/them pronouns, a side sapphic character who is masc/butch (wears men's clothes), 1 poly triad, queernorm and racially diverse society with lots of queer side and minor characters, Roger has anxiety

Spoilers past this point

Tropes: close proximity, and they were roommates, only one bed, waking up wrapped around each other, rich x poor, grumpy x sunshine, morning person x night person, height difference (smol & tol), fake dating, they already think we're dating/fucking so we may as well pretend, catching real feelings while fake dating, found family

Trigger warnings: a character had hookups to feel wanted/avoid negative emotions and was not treated with respect (past), a character struggles with low self-esteem and feeling unwanted, unrequited love, past sex-shaming, food instability mentions, poverty mentions, amatonormativity

Book Review: Shade Spells with Strangers by Sarah Wallace and S.O. Callahan

London, 1814: hopelessly romantic fae Keelan Cricket has grown listless since returning to town. He agrees to help the Council study fae-human magic, eager to erase the memory of his passionate encounter in the country.

But the man he can't forget is now in London and, even worse, joining the project too.

Silas Rook-Worth hates London. His magic won't behave and he's weary of the prejudice he faces against fae-humans like himself. He's counting down the days until he can return to his hard-working, close-knit family — but he can't ignore the pull he feels toward Keelan Cricket, the man he slept with, and unkindly dismissed, a month ago.

As the two men gradually reunite, their mutual attraction blossoms into romance. But even a powerful magical connection cannot change Keelan's duty to his family or Silas' impending departure — and falling in love on borrowed time will force both of them to decide what truly matters.

I bought the third book in this series because I was chosen to receive an ARC of the fourth!!! Like the previous book, you do have to read every book in this series in order or you won't get what's going on. 

At Emrys and Torquil's wedding (the couple from book #2), a buff handsome workman, Silas, catches the eye of Emrys' best friend Keelan (a gentleman), and they hook up during the reception party. They part ways but can't stop thinking about each other. Silas is one of the fae-humans who writes to Torquil about his magic, and Torquil invites him and several other fae-humans to London to have their magic tested by the rubric Torquil et al. drew up in book #2. Obviously Keelan (a fae) is asked by his friends to help do the testing, and they meet again. It's super awkward but they're just drawn to each other, feel each other's presence in the room like a magnet, etc.

However, Keelan's mother (who is on the Council) sets him up with one of the fae-humans doing the rubric testing, a selfish and controlling rich girl from a good family who just wants a stupid arm-candy husband. Neither Keelan's mom nor the awful girl care if Keelan wants the marriage to happen or not, and both ignore or are oblivious to how he's suffering and how mean the girl is to him even though it's obvious to literally everyone else who sees them interact. I  couldn't believe that Keelan wasn't willing to stand up for himself and tell his mom and the girl that he didn't want to marry her. He was just waiting for someone else to save him from the marriage! Like I get that Keelan has a gentle personality, but the man is in his thirties. Stand up for yourself!

Luckily all is resolved, even the stupid third-act breakup that happened for no reason. There is an interesting lack of meddling in this book; it's mostly just Emrys and Wyn's grandma and Torquil's grandma making pointed comments to Silas about his 'secret' relationship with Keelan. That's practically nothing, compared to the first two.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot even if I thought Keelan was a doormat. This is a fun world to live in for a bit. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶/🌶
Read in: September 4
From: B&N Nook

Genres/classification: romantasy, cozy fantasy, Regency romance

Representation: bi MMC, gay Black MMC, 2 nonbinary side characters who use they/them pronouns, queernorm and racially diverse society with lots of queer side and minor characters, I'm pretty sure Keelan's dad is autistic

Spoilers past this point

Tropes: initially rude love interest, that hookup you can't forget, they keep staring/trying not to stare at each other from across the room, I'm engaged to another but in love with you, let's make the most of it (sexually) until I have to get married, arranged engagement to horrible controlling person, we can never be together because we're from different social classes/standings, forbidden romance, rich x poor, secret couple think they're hiding their secret relationship/feelings successfully but their loved ones suspect something/become aware/totally know

Trigger warnings: controlling and emotionally neglectful parent, verbally abusive and controlling girlfriend/fiancee, a character is forced into an arranged marriage engagement without his consent, racism/speciesism against fae-humans, classism, mentions of working-class family struggling financially

Flash book reviews for the last three months

 I am soooo behind on book reviews ugh. Comment or DM me for trigger warnings and more info.

 

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - K.J. Charles is an insta-buy author for me, so I snapped up this ebook when it went on sale. This is a Regency historical romance with plenty of action and suspense, and I couldn't put it down. A baron who recently inherited his title and estate in Kent learns that the local smuggler chief was his anonymous hookup back in London. There's a lot of friction between them as they parted on bad terms, and the baron almost testifies that he saw the smuggler chief's sister smuggling, but they can't stay away from each other. They go on cute bug-finding dates in the marsh and have to team up to save each other's families from bad men. While not related to KJC's other regency romance series, the theme of healing from childhood trauma is also present. I thought it was interesting that the smuggler chief's grandpa was a formerly enslaved man from the US.  ★★★★  🌶🌶🌶

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibberts - I've had this author's books on my mental to-read list for a while since a lot of bookstagrammers said they were really good. Despite my initial surprise that the book is set in England and consequently all of the characters are English, I was sucked in and devoured this book.  Chloe goes through a near-death experience (a car almost hits her on her hot girl walk) and she consequently decides to change up her whole life, since when it flashed before her eyes, it was really boring. She makes a list of things to do, like camping and 'meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex'. After her apartment building's hot super, Red, helps her get out of a tree while rescuing a cat, she enlists him to help her go through her list 👀 He's down bad for her so he agrees. Chloe is chronically ill, hence not having done many things in her life, and Red has trauma from his last rich upper-class girlfriend (which Chloe is, uh-oh) being horrible and classist to him. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a romance novel this much! This is definitely a kicking-your-feet-and-giggling book, but with a good amount of depth. I need to read the rest of the books in this series, which are about Chloe's sisters. ★★★★.5  🌶🌶🌶

 

I reread How to Keep House While Drowning since, well, guess. It's just as good and helpful as ever. I last flash-reviewed it here. 

I also reread The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick since I rewatched the webseries for the first time in a decade. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! The webseries (really a transmedia series, as the characters also tweeted and used various social media to add to the story) is a really fun modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice. This book is the book version of that webseries, as Lizzie's actual diary, and it goes through the same stories as the webseries, with more behind-the-scenes stuff that didn't make it into the YouTube videos. For instance, Lizzie's tour of San Francisco with William and Gigi Darcy is described. It's such a great retelling that left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, but I suspect someone who's never seen the TSDoLB webseries wouldn't be getting the same story out of it. I still recommend it, though. ★★★★

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond - I got this book from the thrift store. It's set in Oklahoma in 2013 (aka before gay marriage equality). Amy is a lesbian and a baker who is in the closet at her Christian baker job. Somebody outs her and she gets fired, so she starts working as a bridesmaid-for-hire since she loves wedding romcoms and is great at problem-solving. She also meets this cute lesbian engineer, Charley, but their dates are really sporadic due to Charley's demanding job, and Amy isn't sure where they stand. There's also friend drama and ex drama, and Amy struggles with her people-pleasing tendencies, being closeted at one job while bartending at the queer bar as her second job, and being true to herself. This book was not as fluffy as it looked, and there is tension with Amy having to go through lots of straight wedding drama while being unable to marry herself (hang in there Amy! 2015 is so close!). I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it. ★★★★  🌶🌶

Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery

I bought this during Barnes & Noble's half-off sale since I had a giftcard. Here's the summary; this book is about the residents of a women's hotel, the Biedermeier, in New York in the 1960s. There's not much plot, and the chapters are loosely connected. Lavery has that retro chatty informative tone down perfectly, and he's an excellent writer. While I enjoyed this, a lot of the women's stories were anywhere from a little to very sad, and the last story is rather horrible (the epilogue softens it). I'd recommend this to anyone who likes reading slice of life stories, mid-twentieth-century books, and how New York was in the past. I'll give this away due to lack of shelf space. ★★★★

Book Review: Murder By Memory by Olivia Waite

A mind is a terrible thing to erase...

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the [person whose] body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes...

I discovered this book on Libby while looking through their Pride Month featured books. It sounded fascinating, so I joined the holds list and read it when it became available. 

Listen: this book is so freaking good! You already know I love mysteries, especially cozy and/or classic British mysteries, and this book is just that, only with a futuristic sci-fi setting. We're on a generation ship going from Earth to some far-off distant planet that humanity will live on several hundred years from now. They've figured out how to store people's consciousnesses or minds in "books", like documents in a hard drive, and you can just get a new body when your current one gets old and is no longer up to living. Consequently, everyone on the generation ship is functionally immortal. The generation ship is huge and high-tech, with lots of residential neighborhoods and businesses that people can run as they are interested; capitalism is no more, although there is mention of "posh" apartment complexes, so it sounds like there's still a little income inequality and class differences for some reason. The "Her Majesty's ship" thing makes me think this ship is English, which would I guess provide a reason for that, plus the whole "we're going to find a new planet to live on" which is colonization in a sci-fi way.

I was a bit confused at first, as the book just throws you into what is happening (Dorothy waking up in someone else's body), but that's actually perfect because Dorothy is confused as to what has happened to her, and it makes you feel her confusion. Dorothy has been offline for many years, her consciousness preserved in her "book". Unbeknownst to Dorothy, her nephew Ruthie (very Bertie Wooster-ish, if Bertie was also a software & mechanical engineering genius) wrote a program into the ship's computer that any ship's detective (which Dorothy is) whose book is destroyed gets their consciousness immediately put into the nearest available body. The thing is? Somebody was murdered right before this happened, and the murderer may have been the person whose body Dorothy is in... The chatty ship's computer is offline due to an electrical storm, so Dorothy has to figure out what's going on without any help or her detective status to get her places. Dorothy herself is one of those very practical British aunts who solve mysteries and knits, and she's queer! She's attracted to her accidental host's lovely ex-girlfriend (a fellow knitter who owns a yarn shop), but the ex-girlfriend hates her (ex's) guts and may have had something to do with the murder...

I'm going to stop there as I don't want to spoil it for you, but I really enjoyed this book and wished it was longer! The worldbuilding was very interesting, and I thought it was fascinating how they drank beverages that let them experience memories (a summer rainstorm, for example). I naturally loved the Library, where all the consciousness books are kept. There were lots of little mentions/analyses of human nature, and we meet interesting characters I hope we get to know better in future books (this is the first of a series). I cannot wait for future books!

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars (half star off for being too short lol)
Spice score: 1 instance of sexual attraction but otherwise zero
Read in: June 20
From: my public library - borrowed via Libby, read in the Kindle app

Genres/classification: mystery, science fiction, futuristic sci-fi, classic British mystery a la Agatha Christie (especially with the aunt element)

Representation: sapphic/wlw (possibly lesbian) main character, several sapphic secondary characters, several canon sapphic couples, gay couple, 1 queer male character of color (Asian, I think), 1 Black woman minor character. As this is a near-utopian future there is no homophobia or transphobia or racism

Trigger warnings: murder, drowning death, toxic relationship where one partner is constantly lying to and manipulating the other (possibly cheating as well), putting someone's mind/consciousness into someone else's body without the consent of either party, financial fraud, distrust of police mention

Book Review: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who've tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home--at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

I was able to read this ebook by borrowing it from my public library via Libby, and read it in the Kindle app since that's how Libby works. I'm always here for queer cozy romantasy, and was excited to read this. Overall, I'd describe this book as Chalice by Robin McKinley meets Bridgerton, but gayer. I'd recommend Chalice to people who enjoyed the honey magic and cottagecore stuff of this book, although its romance is heterosexual. 

The good: Shields writes beautifully most of the time, and I really enjoyed the Claudes' slice of life stuff, the cottagecore vibes, the lovely setting with the plants and bees, the magic, and the fact that it's gay. The yearning and chemistry between Marigold and Lottie is good, even if both are really slow to cotton on as to why they feel the way they do about the other girl. I liked the relationships between Marigold and her family (apart from her mother) and the friendships as well.

We're told this book is set in the 1830s, and the Isle of Innisfree is a real place (though uninhabited if Wikipedia is correct), but since the early Victorian norms are only vaguely held, and the fashion and hairstyles don't seem to add up (we're told Marigold's ballgown is huge and poofy, which would not have been the case in our 1830s, and that her hair was pulled back super tightly from her face, which ditto), then I don't see the point in giving the book a time setting if you're going to ignore the conventions and just go off vibes. This just confused me, especially since sometimes the language used is jarringly modern. People say "okay" and stuff. We're also told a lot, rather than being shown. Marigold has a lot of beliefs and sayings that she holds and says without telling us why or how she knows/believes them. 

I also got annoyed at the repetitiveness throughout the book. Marigold laments that she'll never be able to fall in love and have a partner because of the curse her family is under what felt like thousands of times, which, we get it. It's especially annoying because you just know what's going to happen. 

Stuff I want to complain about that is spoilery (highlight to read): the thing with tattoos that kind of goes nowhere. Like sure, having Lottie tattoo Mari with her clothes off is super sexual tension-y, but if there's such a huge taboo against tattoos then why would Mari get tattoos and let Lottie get into a situation where someone would see her tattoos and blackmail her for them? Marigold was able to resolve that by magically erasing the blackmailer's memory, but like. What was the point.

re: the anachronisms that were jarringly modern to me: I cannot believe that people in the Victorian era went around saying "good girl" to each other in bed. I just refuse to believe it, and it took me out of the book to read that. 

Also the whole "cursed to never fall in love" thing, but Marigold still falls in love with Lottie, and it's obvious that Lottie falls in love with her too. Although supposedly Lottie couldn't feel it until the curse was broken, but their connection felt like more than lust to me, so then what was the difference? My denseness and borderline-aromanticism rear their heads again. The girls screaming in pain for each other during the third-act breakup also seemed really dramatic to me. Per usual in these things, Marigold's reason for breaking up with Lottie made no sense. 

It was super obvious to me who Lottie was going to turn out to be: the evil ash witch's granddaughter. Not to be constantly comparing Chalice to The Honey Witch, but the romance in that book is also between a honey-magic-user and a fire-magic-user.  Once Marigold saw that something (obviously her good magic's evil counterpart) was turning the isle's magical guardians evil, the first thing she should have thought to do was check the magical honey wards around the island and see if any of them had been removed, but she didn't think to do that! Hello??? What a stupid way to lose against an evil enemy. I was really sad that the cottage and its library burned down, and that so many bees died. :( Overall the magical battle was too uneven and catastrophic for my liking. The first 3/4ths of the book is so cozy and sweet and slow-paced, so the violent heartbreaking climax is jarring to read after that, rather atonal. We're told (telling again) that Marigold is a powerful honey witch, yet she's no match for the immortal ash witch. It made no sense to me that the evil ash witch was destroyed by fire. Hello, she's an ash witch??? It would have made more sense to draw her out of the house then drown her in the river. But whatever, we get a happy ending for the girls.

Quick last complaint: Marigold's best friend and her little brother are soulmates, but they're 22? and 18 so I felt a bit uncomfy at the age gap. 

Overall, I guess I did mostly like this book despite everything I've complained about above, and would recommend it to anyone interested in sapphic cottagecore cozy romantasy with spice and dramatic stakes. Check it out from the library though. 

Score: ★★★.5 out of 5 stars (Blogger, return to me the half star special character! 😠)
Spice score: 🌶🌶/🌶 
Read in: June 11
From: my public library - borrowed via Libby, read in Kindle app

Spoilers past this point

Tropes: forbidden romance, star-crossed lovers, "we can never be together" stuff, grumpy x sunshine, character who can never fall in love does so anyway, character with a family x orphan, only one bed, third act breakup, a character has mysterious origins that turn out to be very important to the plot, characters don't recognize that they're into each other leading to this song from Wicked, enemies to lovers in a way, that Romeo & Juliet thing where their families are historical enemies but the kids from those families fall in love

Representation: bisexual/pansexual fmc and lesbian (I think) fmc in sapphic relationship, side mlm/achillean couple (one of which is also bi I think), queernorm society, I don't remember if everyone is white (British isles) or if it's also a race-blind society

Trigger warnings: murder, death, a child is burned severely all over her body (past), gore, magical degloving injury leading to lots of blood, violence, kidnapping, a character is imprisoned and starved, manipulation, memory loss (both magical and trauma-related), orphaned character with trauma, bees death, controlling parent who withholds information (out of fear rather than just sucking)

Book Review: Fire Spells Between Friends by Sarah Wallace & S.O. Callahan

London, 1813—fae and humans alike are abuzz whenever Torquil's Tribune drops a juicy new tidbit. At the center of the gossip is handsome fae, Emrys Wrenwhistle, heir to his family's fortune. As speculation over his prospects grows, the search for a suitable spouse begins.

The trouble is, Emrys can't find anyone who measures up to the person he's been secretly seeing for years: the Tribune's witty society writer.

Torquil Pimpernel-Smith is accustomed to using the force of gossip to pull the strings of social influence. So when they are offered a position as the Council's first fae-human member, they readily accept.

However, their first project plunges Torquil into upper class circles rife with snobbery. Facing prejudice head-on is hard enough, without having to hide their true feelings for the eligible Emrys.

As the line of suitors starts to form, the Wrenwhistle family is intent on making a worthy match. Emrys and Torquil's passion burns perfectly in private, but navigating society together will determine if their love is a blaze—or in danger of being extinguished.

I adore Sarah Wallace's Meddle & Mend series and also really liked the first book in this series (despite my criticisms lol), so I snapped this ebook up when it went on sale. (I reread Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms first before reading this one, of course.) This book takes place right after the events of BS&Bg, so you do need to read it first as Roger & Wyn and their rubrics feature heavily in this book (yay!). Emrys is Wyn's older brother, and Torquil is the gossip columnist/editor who, in book 1, was like:

you know what would be hilarious? and posts that [Wyn & Roger] are engaged. They of course visit the editor to demand they retract the engagement announcement, but [Torquil is] like "no + deal with it + you two are cute together :)"

Poor Torquil, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, faces so much racism (speciesism?) because they're half fae, half human. They and their parents were shunned from society and disowned by Torquil's fae mother's rich and influential family; both the human and fae schools refused to accept them or test their magic, so they're basically without status or prospects in this magic-based society. My first paragraph in my BS&Bg review talks about this world a bit more and includes my thoughts. Torquil is poor and used to being alone and looked down on/discriminated against. 

By contrast, Emrys is the heir to his rich, influential elf family, one of the most eligible gentlemen in society, and wants for nothing... except that he can't put off his enterprising mama who will accept nothing but the best (aka rich and from a good family) spouse for her son, and keeps setting him up and making him go on dates even though he's less than enthusiastic. I was sort of surprised at Emrys having grudgingly-yet-long-accepted that his marriage would be arranged for him, instead of hoping to marry for love (I guess that's pretty common in this era). The way Torquil and Emrys meet (plus a short backstory for Torquil) is detailed in a short story (free if you sign up for the authors' email newsletters); basically they've been hooking up for years in a no-strings-attached to friends-with-benefits situationship. They both know they're from different social classes and financial situations, and that there's no way they could marry. 

Torquil is asked to join the Fae-Human Relations Council as its first fae-human member, and accepts in order to hopefully better things for themself and other fae-humans. However, they have to deal with prejudice from several council members and society folk, as being on the Council gets them invited to society events (Wyn's grandma gets them  the invites and makes them join society, much like she meddles in Wyn and Roger's lives). Roger and Wyn's new human and fae magic (respectively)-measuring rubrics are accepted, and it is decided a new rubric is needed for children like Torquil who have one fae parent and one human parent. Consequently, Torquil, Wyn, and Roger are entrusted to test out Torquil's magic and figure out a rubric that is both similar to the fae & human rubrics and that will work for the magic abilities of human-fae people. 

There's that classic SW "a character is cared for/given gifts against their will" thing, and that thing from book 1 about a newlyweds' wedding spell showing how much they're in love/compatible is expanded on in an ~interesting~ way. Much of this book takes place during December/Yule/Generic Winter Holiday That Is Definitely Not Christmas (Except It Totally Is) and would be perfect for a cozy winter/winter holidays read. I think I'll reread this in December for that reason. 

Some spoiler-y thoughts I want to talk about (highlight to read): I thought it was sad how Torquil's parents had zero qualms about buying Toquil the press and bouncing. They left them alone! :( I was so happy for Torquil when they got letters from other fae-humans like them, showing how they weren't the only one! I was shocked by that bombshell that Torquil's grandma actually didn't want to disown her daughter for marrying a working-class human but had to pretend to go along with it and wait until her husband/Torquil's grandfather died to publicly accept them as their family! Poor Torquil grew up thinking their grandmother hated them and wanted nothing to do with them.  I think it was wrong of Torquil's mom to keep that from her child; at least, she should have told them before she and Torquil's dad left for the continent. But at least they're not alone anymore, and being part of the rich and influential Pimpernel family means they can marry Emrys after all! We love to see an alone/unloved character end up with so much love and loved ones. However, I did find it kind of ridiculous that even after Torquil is publicly part of the Pimpernel family again, they and Emrys are still like "we can never be together" because of Emrys' social standing-obsessed mother. Hello? Torquil is a catch now that they're a Pimpernel officially. Get it together, kids. I'm a bit sad that Torquil had to give up their gossip newspaper, but at least it's in good hands. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and rooted for the two romantic leads to end up together. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars (Blogger, return to me the half star special character! 😠)
Spice score: 🌶🌶 
Read in: May 14
From: B&N Nook

Everything from this point on is spoilery 

Tropes: forbidden romance, "society would never accept our love", rich x poor, outcast x rich/famous/society darling etc., proud poor character who won't accept gifts/money from their rich lover, catching feelings during what is supposed to be a sex-only arrangement, "this perfect-on-paper suitor leaves me cold but I can't stop thinking about my forbidden lover", "I'll hide how I'm in love with them because we can never marry, never", rags to riches, long-lost/previously unknown rich family/family member who shows up and makes the character part of their family and fixes their social/financial situation, hurt/comfort (sick/comfort?), that thing where one character collapses and their "secret" lover freaks out making it super obvious he's in love with them, secret couple think they're hiding their secret relationship/feelings successfully but their loved ones suspect something/become aware/totally know

Representation: nonbinary character who uses they/them pronouns, bisexual/pansexual characters including both main characters, I think Roger and his family are Hispanic/Latinx, probably some other characters of color, queernorm, non-sexist & racism-free society; poor character

Trigger warnings: racism/speciesism, including microaggressions and bigoted language;  classism, poverty, a man in his mid-thirties briefly courts an 18-year-old girl who is into him (he's not into her. Several people point out their age gap is gross and he breaks up with her), hunger/food insecurity. (the authors give trigger warnings at the beginning of the book)

Book Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

 my book reviews for books 1 & 2 in this series

If you have not read the first two books DO NOT read this review, it's spoilery

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war while their Round Table is fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to grant him an audience, the Order’s Merlins imprison him. No one knows what he will demand of the Regents…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

I was thoroughly sucked in by the first two books in this series (reviews linked at the top) so obviously I had to read the next book when it came out. My Libby request for the Oathbound ebook was finally granted half a month after it came out, and I read it in a day. Literally why did I think this was going to be a trilogy? Basically nothing is wrapped up or resolved! This series is going to kill me. This book differs from the first two in that it's told from alternating points of view, not just Bree's POV.

Oathbound picks up immediately where Bloodmarked ended: Bree has stupidly just made a bargain with the Shadow King (who is also pretending to be a very high-up Merlin in the Legendborn Order), and it turns out that she's bound to him AND he erased her memories of everyone living that she's ever known. Has this wench never read a single work of fantasy? You don't make deals with demons! My god.

Anyway, we meet some new characters, including cambion twins (a Black teen? trans girl and cis guy) Zoelle and Elijah, and Sel's mom???? who is trying to help her son, who if you recall is like nearly fully demon now after sucking up Bree's magic root (not a euphemism). Bree's friends are trying to find her. Nick, who has been imprisoned by the Order, makes them let him go on a quest. Bree has to go on a heist into another demon's mansion; this dovetails into Nick's quest and they meet up accidentally and have to pretend to be an engaged couple who are guests at the demon's auction event party. Bree doesn't remember Nick but he obviously does and they have to share a bed and there's tons of sexual tension. Oh and there's missing Black girls who have root powers; naturally the authorities don't care but Bree knows she needs to find them and save them from whoever is probably stealing their root. And of course Bree has to figure out how to get herself free from the Shadow King and get her memories back.

Some spoilery stuff I want to talk about (highlight to read): 

Sel's mom runs into Bree (she of course does not recognize her), and just from her standing 2 feet away from her, Sel is able to get a whiff of Bree's scent off his mom and goes ferallllll. reaction gif  I was initially not fully on board with this ship (I hate love triangles) but like JFC I am living

Remember the Only One Bed stuff? Once they're done with the quest/out of the demon's house and back with Bree's friends who have the magical underground railroad safety house, Bree and Nick end up hooking up (I think?) on the roof of that house. Girl and guy. You were just in a really swanky mansion room with an expensive king bed. I know you weren't *there* yet mentally but that would have been way better then doing sex stuff on the roof of your friends' house. Yikes. 

Poor Alice :(((( She's my favorite besides Bree and Valec, and I picture her like if Paris and Lane from Gilmore Girls were one person. In Bloodmarked she was struck hard by King Arthur!Bree (he possessed her) and was like on the brink of death, and Bree let the Shadow King kill Alice to get her (Bree's) memories back DDDD: my shaylaaaaa 😭😭😭 I hope she doesn't actually die; I love her and Bree has lost too many people already!

That ending! Sel is the son of the Shadow King??????? He (SK) must have pretended to be/took over Sel's human father's body! WTFFF

Also how do we think the love triangle is going to play out. I know that's not the most important thing (Bree's health and safety is) but I have no idea. I feel like Nick is endgame, but Bree x Sel is so compelling. idk.

Anyway, read this series and scream about it with me. I am not okay lol

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars  (like still really good but too sad and scary for more stars)
Spice score: 🌶 I guess? maybe half a chili
Read in: April 15
From: Amazon via Libby via my public library

Tropes: all the previous tropes I listed, evenly matched battle couple fighting each other, there's only one bed, that's all I can think of for now

Representation: secondary/minor Black trans girl character, same as listed before

Trigger warnings, which of course are spoilery: past rape mentions, murder, physical violence, death, blood and gore, racism, kidnapping and imprisonment of teens, slavery mentions, grief, parental loss, fantasy violence, supernatural horror, memories are wiped/manipulated magically, spirit possession (past)

Book Review: Adrift in Starlight by Mindi Briar

When set adrift in the universe, some things are worth holding onto.

Titan Valentino has been offered a job they can't refuse.

Tai, a gender-neutral courtesan, receives a scandalous proposition: seduce an actor's virgin fiancée. The money is enough to pay off Tai's crushing medical debt, a tantalizing prospect. 

Too bad Aisha Malik isn't the easy target they expect.

A standoffish historian who hates to be touched, she's laser-focused on her career, and completely unaware that her marriage has been arranged behind her back. This could be the one instance where Tai's charm and charisma fail them.

Then an accidental heist throws them together as partners in crime.

Fleeing from the authorities, they're dragged into one adventure after another: alien planets, pirate duels, and narrow escapes from the law. As Tai and Aisha open up to each other, deeper feelings kindle between them. But that reward money still hangs over Tai's head. Telling Aisha the truth could ruin everything… 

Their freedom, their career, and their blossoming love all hang in the balance. To save one might mean sacrificing the rest.

I bought this ebook during one of those stuff your ereader sales last year. The premise sounded interesting, although the book is not as scandalous as the premise makes it sound. The setting is in the distant future, where many different planets are known about and colonized. The POV trades off between Tai and Aisha, who could not be more different: Tai is white, nonbinary, a cyborg, an orphan, in debt, and a sex worker who can charm anyone; Aisha is Black, asexual, touch-averse, an archeologist/historian, and an heiress who has been fighting against her ultra-rich and controlling parents to live the life she wants. Aisha's father arranged her marriage without telling her to a famous actor, the one who hires Tai to try to 'find out what she likes' and seduce her. The 'fiance' chooses Tai because they're a cyborg whose brain implant lets them read other people's moods and body language. Tai accepts the job despite their misgivings because it will pay off their medical debt: the shady doctor who saved Tai from the car crash that killed their parents and critically injured them when they were a child used the opportunity to implant the unregulated technology that saved their life, but also kept them chained to the doctor (who probably programmed the implant to malfunction every couple of years to keep the money rolling in), and no one stepped in because Tai was an orphan. This debt drove Tai to go into sex work when their parents' money dried up, mid-high school. So fucked up.

The story really takes off at Aisha's big museum exhibit of fossils from an ancient, presumed extinct ant-like alien culture. Aisha, her colleague Jimin (a nice Korean guy), a pilot named Hue who discovered an alien fossil in the exhibit, and Tai somehow figure out how to get an ancient piece of alien technology working, and it brings the fossilized alien to life! The ant-like creature takes back the alien technology and starts trying to escape, killing a security guard in the progress. Hue is able to communicate with the alien thanks to the dragon she's bonded with (dragons are aliens that can teleport and communicate telepathically, sort of eldila-like). The humans all help get the alien onto Hue's ship so they can get it back to its own people. From the outside, however, it looks like the four humans stole a valuable alien fossil and killed a security guard in the process, and they are now considered criminals on the run. 

They go to several different planets, all very different and interesting: a lush jungle-y planet with no sentient life, where they leave the alien; a pirate port planet named Tortuga after the pirate stronghold!, and Jimin's home planet Halcyon, a peaceful farming community watched over by dragons. All sorts of crazy stuff goes down, and Tai and Aisha grow closer throughout it all and fall in love, but Tai knows the lies will ruin everything between them. In my opinion, it was stupid of Tai to think that Aisha's 'fiance' would still be willing to pay them for seducing Aisha after they became fugitives from the law. In what world would that business transaction be kept? Tai should have realized this and just owned up on like day 2 or 3 when they realized they liked Aisha as a friend. Aisha was rejected in the past for being asexual, and it broke her heart; you can guess what happens when the truth is found out. More wild stuff goes down, and our lovebirds save each other and find a happy ending. I really enjoyed this book and the world it was set in, even though I hated how sexism, classism, and capitalism were still a thing. I'd be down to read more books in this series. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶
Read in: April 6
From: Barnes & Noble Nook

moodboard for Adrift in Starlight

Genres/classification: science fiction with some romance and borderline-fantasy elements

Tropes: opposites attract, sex worker x virgin (sorry), flirt x shy/standoffish, presumed criminals on the run, "this other person hired me to trick/date/bed you without you knowing I was hired to do so but now we're falling in love and I know it'll break your heart if you find out but I can't bring myself to tell you because I don't want you to be upset/break up with me" but she finds out anyway and leaves/breaks up with them but the liar apologizes and affirms they do love the lie-ee for real and they end up together anyway. You know the drill

Representation: Black ace female MC, nonbinary femme sex worker MC with they/them pronouns, straight? Korean male SC, Vietnamese bi or pan middle-aged female SC. Queernorm society, no homophobia or transphobia from what I remember

Trigger warnings: violence, death, suicide (very minor character, past), a character is drugged and imprisoned, medical abuse of a non-consenting patient since they were a child, a character began sex work as an underage teenager (all off-page), abusive/controlling parents, a character is shot with a future!gun, orphaned character whose parents died in a car crash (past), drugs and tripping/being high mentions, alcohol mentions, vomiting mentions, allergic reaction, gender dysphoria

Book Reviews: the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by K.J. Charles

I loved K.J. Charles' Will Darling trilogy and A Charm of Magpies series, and my love for Regency romances is well-documented on this blog, so when I saw that KJC had written gay Regency romance novels, I snapped up the ebooks when they were on sale.  I read the two books in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by K.J. Charles back to back in one day. They're set in the same world (well obviously all Regency romance novels are set in Regency-era England, but, you know, the characters have mutual friends and eventually interact etc.) but you don't really have to read them in order. Both ebooks are from B&N/Nook.

 

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.

Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury's heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn't impressed by good looks or fooled by false charm. He's sure Robin is a liar, a fortune hunter, and a heartless, greedy fraud -- and he'll protect his niece, whatever it takes.

Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care -- more than either of them thought possible.

But Robin's cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?

Gold-digging scammer siblings + an autistic-coded baronet who is not taken in by their charm + paying off a gambling debt by ~creative means~ 👀 They start catching feelings during what is supposed to be strictly a ~physical~ arrangement!! 😱 Both Robin and Hart are forced to come face to face with their parent wounds/childhood trauma, and decide whether they can let themselves be loved as they truly are. Marianne is dead-set on marrying a titled noble so she'll be rich for the rest of her life, but Hart's non-rich, non-titled friend is in love with her, and she might be falling for him... Also there's the math genius niece and card games. I liked this a lot and found it interesting to read about all the ways the Loxleigh siblings acted to achieve their desired results and manipulations. Hart and Robin gave me Roy x Jamie from Ted Lasso vibes. There's also a little KJC name punning going on.  ★★★★, 🌶🌶🌶

 

The Duke at Hazard 

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He's also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he's been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can't let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn't survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring--incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying... until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble--and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father's crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who's stolen his heart. He doesn't know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have...

Poor sheltered Sev (the Duke of Severn) just wanted to have one anonymous hookup, but gets plied with alcohol and robbed while unconscious. His well-meaning relations basically run his life and are always impressing the Grandeur and Importance of his title, so they can't know his ring was stolen; no one can know, as gay hookups are illegal. It was actually stressful reading about Sev (going by Cassian, one of his many names) trying to get around by himself when he has no idea what he's doing. Luckily he stumbles on Charnage, who was a few years above him at Eton, and hires him to help him look for the guy who robbed him. Their adventures have both highs (sightseeing, There Was Only One Bed) and lows (having to ride in a public coach that packs in smelly people like sardines, being in a horrible coach crash with casualties, getting kidnapped), but overall Sev/Cassian finds the freedom exhilarating. He and Charnage also keep running into a young lady hell-bent on eloping and evading her awful guardian, and try to help her. Charnage's deal was sad; I hated how he was cast out from society because his dad committed a crime he had nothing to do with. The fact that Sev/Cassian has been lying to him this whole time doesn't help. Overall this was a wild ride, and I loved reading how Sev came into his own as a Duke and how he used his position to make things right with Charnage and his friends and fix their issues.  ★★★★, 🌶🌶🌶  DM me for TWs (I believe both books have them listed at the beginning)

unorganized moodboard for the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series

Book Review: The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard

Crown Prince Silvyr Quilen is the family disappointment. His father, High King Keryth Quilen of Athowen, wanted a son to follow in his image of an elven warlord who rules with no regard for those around him and will do anything to maintain his power. However, the king finds Silvyr's desire to spend his days in the flowers and libraries to be pathetic and useless.

Despite that, Silvyr strives to receive his father's approval. On a diplomatic journey to Xeatia, where he was meant to collect taxes and return with a report on their financial situation, Silvyr is suddenly forced to confront the consequences of his father's actions when the Orcs of Ghizol attack his caravan.

Chief Brokil of Ghizol has been tasked with leading and protecting his people. For years he sacrificed and waged war to ensure the people who voted for him to lead could live in peace. For that reason, the risk was worth the reward. With the approval of the Ghizol council of elders, Brokil executes his plan: kidnap the Prince of Athowen, Silvyr Quilen, and send their ultimatum to the King. Leave Ghizol alone, or have his heir be killed.

Keeping Silvyr as his ward, Brokil finds that while the prince is the most annoying person he's ever met, he is also nothing like his father who carries the name Tyrant King. Absolutely bewildered and exhilarated, Silvyr and Brokil are forced to confront themselves and each other while the looming threat of Ghizol's demands hang over them.

I had seen this book be shared around a lot on bookstagram, so when it was available for free on Amazon, I downloaded it. The vibe I've seen is "this is spicy! 👀" but this book actually turned out to have lots of plot that was interesting to read about. 

Silvyr tries so hard to be the kind of son his father wants, but his father always sees him as too soft and cowardly regardless of what he does, and blames him for things he has no control over. His home life is so intolerable that getting kidnapped is a respite; even though hunky Chief Brokil yells at and insults Silvyr, at least he isn't also physically abused like he is at home, and he can look at flowers as much as he wants. 

Brokil, whose father the previous chief died at the hands of the elves, strives to live up to his role and feels the weight of his clan's existence on his shoulders. Certain that the Tyrant King's son is just as monstrous as his father, Brokil is surprised to learn that attractive Silvyr would rather learn about flowers than wage war, is soft-spoken when not in a yelling match, and is actually sort of nice?

Both men fight, and eventually give in to, their attraction to one another, but the political issues between their peoples create tension. Silvyr knows his captor could--and will, if the clan's demands aren't met--kill him, and he knows he should be doing everything in his power to escape and go home, including using Brokil's attraction as a possible manipulation tactic, but Ghizol feels more like home than his father's palace ever did. Brokil knows Silvyr could be manipulating him with his wiles, and knows the time may very well come when he needs to kill Silvyr, but he doesn't know if he can bring himself to do something that feels so wrong. 

I enjoyed this book and found it very interesting. My criticisms are really more quibbles: it sort of felt like the two leads slotted too neatly into M/F romance lead dynamics (Silvyr being kind of a damsel in distress* while Brokil is so much bigger and manlier than him etc. To be fair this is a common thing I've seen in M/M romances), and I was confused about their size differences (I swear the book initially said that Silvyr only came up to Brokil's chest, but the rest of the book sounded like they were closer in height than that, like the cover shows? This may just be that I'm stupid). I also felt that Silvyr and the other characters took way too long to figure out the solution at the end. Overall I recommend this to anyone who likes romantasy with spice but also plenty of plot. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Read in: March 24-27
From: Amazon

Genres/classification: fantasy, romance, romantasy, monster romance if you squint, some political intrigue

Tropes: enemies to lovers, kidnapped by a rogue you fall in love with, falling in love with one's kidnapper, forced proximity, there's only one horse, there's only one tent, there's only one bed, "they're only sleeping with me to manipulate me for political reasons" etc., healer x warrior, everybody can tell they're into each other/in love but them, that thing when a presumed bad guy saves/rescues a child, showing that he's actually a good person

Representation: trans man MC, gay relationship, Silvyr gives off neurodivergent vibes (I saw a review that said he's autistic), sapphic couple mention (blink and you miss it), inter-species relationship. There is no transphobia or homophobia in this book

Trigger warnings: torture, murder, blood, gore, a character is beat unconscious, a character is whipped, verbal, emotional, and physical abuse; battles/fighting, kidnapping, threats of death/execution, inferred threat of sexual assault (doesn't happen), characters are kidnapped into slavery (they are freed and the slavers get what they deserve), Silvyr experiences dysphoria, dubious/non-explicit consent for some of B&S's ~encounters~

*sorryyyyy that felt shitty to write about a trans man character! That is how he and their dynamic were written tho

Book review: The Classic Tales of Beatrix Potter

The March pick for The Enchanted Book Club was the tales of Beatrix Potter. I loved them growing up, as I did all animal books. My sister and I had a mini BP book set in a cardboard drawer that I think my grandma had thrifted; she (my sister) still has the drawer and the remaining books that haven't been lost. I checked out The Classic Tales of  Beatrix Potter: The 23 Original Peter Rabbit Books from my work library since I don't own them (yet). I had read most but not all of them; I don't think I'd read the pigs', hedgehog's, or squirrels' stories. The story I remember best is that of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-Tail, who fall into Farmer McGregor's hands after eating too much lettuce; that story taught me the word soporific.

I enjoyed the stories very much; the art is beautiful and realistic, with each detail lovingly rendered. The animals really look like their real-life counterparts; Beatrix Potter was a nature illustrator, so this makes sense. The animals are so cute in their little clothes. I had to force myself to slow down and stop reading so fast and look at the pictures. I used to pore over the illustrations as a kid; who knows when that stopped?

I had read an article a while back about how heavily Beatrix Potter had borrowed from the Brer Rabbit stories without crediting them; this kept me from fully enjoying the stories as much as the first time around. So fucked up to steal folklore stories from enslaved people who were literally stolen from their countries and those stories were the only things they had left from their home countries, right?? That really bothers me. She should have been honest about her stories being based on someone else's stories. I was going to bring it up during the bookclub zoom meeting but I chickened out (there wasn't time for everyone to talk anyway). 

Something I'd completely forgotten about was how often the animals are in danger from humans. Of course I'd remembered the danger Farmer McGregor posed to the Peter Rabbit family, but I was kind of surprised by how often the threat of humans turned up with the other animals. It makes sense that the animals would hunt each other and whatnot, as they do in nature/the real world; what weirds me out is that these are sentient, talking animals who often wear clothing and walk on their hind legs, yet the humans in the BP world have zero qualms eating them. If I had talking animals as my neighbors, who could say good morning to me and inquire as to the direction of the market, I would not feel comfortable seeing them as food options, let alone killing and eating them. Why don't the humans consider killing and eating a sentient, talking, clothes-wearing animal to be murder? There's a story where a sailor manipulates a young pig (aka a child) into going on a ship with him, then feeds the pig until he falls asleep, and the ship takes off with the pig trapped on board, all so the sailors will have a pig to fatten and eat on their voyage! That's basically human trafficking, albeit with a pig. No one feels a moral quandary about this? The pig story is BP's fanfiction about how the pig with a ring in its nose got to that island the owl and the pussycat go to in the poem. Funny how she did credit that story. 😒

Anyway, highly recommended. If you want to read this to young children, keep in mind a lot of the animals are often in danger from predator animals and human beings, and a decent percentage of them get animalnapped. That may scare or bother toddlers and small kids; I know my nephews would be like "but why??" 

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: March 17-27
From: borrowed from the library where I work

Genres/classification: children's books, children's literature, children's classics, picture books, picture books anthology, animal books, English literature, low fantasy

Book Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

When a wealthy widow and member of the King’s Abbot community takes her own life by overdose and the next day her fiancé, Roger Ackroyd, is stabbed to death, the local villagers are left in shock as rumours begin to circulate regarding the mysterious deaths. Did Roger Ackroyd know too much? Was money the motive? Was it something more sinister?

Detective Hercule Poirot emerges from his recent retirement to solve the case of his friend, Roger. Finding the answers won’t be without its challenges as just a few clues are left behind, most alibis are solid and twists lie behind every corner.

Death, blackmail and an unexpected ending come together in this enthralling novel that belongs on the bookshelf of every murder mystery enthusiast.

I love Agatha Christie mysteries; they are classics for a reason. I bought this slim copy (supposedly published by Bibliotheca Classica, a streamlined version without even page breaks for new chapters) from Something Novel Booksellers during one of their sales. I don't remember if there's a book summary on the back of my book (the summary above I grabbed from Amazon) but I probably didn't read it; I just knew it was a Hercule Poirot book due to the cover, and that's all I needed to know. I like Poirot; he's a cracking detective and a nice man with a rather stereotypical French accent (he is Belgian). 

We go through a good chunk of the book without even meeting Poirot, instead focusing on the relevant cast of characters and other gossipy members of the village. There's the eponymous murder victim, stabbed in a room he had locked from the inside; his dependent sister-in-law (money-hungry and annoying) and niece (beautiful, pushed to marry her step-cousin), the big game hunter friend who had gifted Roger the murder weapon, the too-cheerful secretary, the suspicious and secret-keeping servant staff, and the no-show stepson (handsome, went through money like water, and vanished right after his stepfather was murdered). There's also our narrator the village doctor, who knew and treated everyone; his queen of gossip spinster sister, her cronies, and their mysterious foreign neighbor... 

This was an excellent and twisty mystery, and I did not see the ending coming! Spoilers, highlight to read: the narrator was the murderer??? HOLY SHIT AC'S MIND 🤯🤯🤯 And for him to hide the stepson to "protect" him from being arrested when really it was to throw suspicion on him!!! I don't super get why the doctor felt he had to kill Roger though? All he had to do was use chloroform or something to knock him out and steal the letter. Anyway, highly recommended to anyone who likes murder mysteries!

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 0
Read in: March 14
From: Something Novel Booksellers

Genres/classification: mystery, murder mystery, whodunnit, crime, English literature

Trigger warnings: murder, blood, suicide, drug overdose suicide, drug addiction, blackmail, classism

You can read my reviews of the other Agatha Christie books I've read by clicking on my Agatha Christie tag below.

Book Reviews (ish): The Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace redux

I heard about the Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace from a bookstagrammer I follow who loves and promotes the books almost more than the author does. The first one was free, and as it was billed as a Regency cozy queer romance, I obviously downloaded it. I read them during my big summer East coast trip where I went from my annual conference to visit my aunt in Maryland and then stay with my sister and her family for a week during their trip to New York. Reader, I loved the book so much I immediately downloaded the next ebook, and repeated this (read & downloaded the next) for each book in the series. I almost never do that! The rapidity with which this became one of my favorite series is remarkable, as is them becoming one of my comfort series despite only having read them once. Since last July I've been fighting the urge to reread the series at least once a month, which also never happens. Here's a meme I made depicting my monthly struggle: 

I finally gave in to the urge last month because the sixth book in the series was released! I reread all five M&M books over the weekend, and then (after a struggle with stupid B&N who had put a hold on my account for no reason) downloaded and read the sixth book. I thought I'd do a mini rundown review (such as it is) of each book since I didn't have time or space to do so last time I reviewed them. All of the books take place in the same world: a sort of alternate Regency England that has magic and is queernorm, racism-free (and consequently racially diverse), and mostly free of sexism. Classism and poverty still exist, and birth order has replaced patriarchy: firstborns take the place of eldest brothers in terms of inheritance and heading the family after the parents die, plus having more freedom re: reputation. I appreciate the lack of sexism and homophobia etc. as a socially conscious reader, but at some point the genre (Regency historical romance) stops being what it is, plus it raises questions* about the world-building.

Mild spoilers throughout because that's who I am as a person

Letters to Half Moon Street - (synopsis) The first book in the series is an epistolary novel, consisting mainly of letters between Gavin Hartford, who is lonely and bored in London, and his sister Gerry, who is visiting family in Tutting-on-Cress (a country village), plus a few between Gavin and his new friend Charles Kentworthy, who Gerry thinks may be interested in her brother... Gavin is very introverted, shy, antisocial, and terrified of other people (mood), so it is up to charming extrovert Charles to make the friendship happen and make Gavin leave the house and do stuff around London. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop, but I didn't see why Charles needed to be so pushy (why make Gavin take up boxing when he hates it? Why didn't Gavin stand up for himself and say no?). Charles basically made the entire relationship happen himself, and he had to force Gavin every step of the way. Despite my frustrations with the characters, I really liked this book. The story is a bit slow-moving, but in a nice calm way; it's an enjoyable world to live in for a bit. Gay and pan rep, I believe. ★★★★, 0 chili peppers as there's no spice, just kissing and sex work mentions

 

One Good Turn - (synopsis) The second book is written in third person limited (I think), as is most of the rest of the series. Poor, barely-working-class Nell protects a rich man (Charles) from being robbed, kicking off a series of events that change her life. The crimelord, not happy that Nell's sympathy cost him money, sends her and her best friend Pip (who is the crimelord's lover) to steal a magical artifact from a viscount who happens to be Charles's best friend Bertie (we meet him in book 1 but he's not a big part of it). Bertie recognizes Nell's and Pip's magic abilities and offers them a chance to live and study magic with him. Nell jumps at the chance, and begins the life she always dreamed of. She also has to figure out her relationship with her friend with benefits (whose name I of course forgot), a single mother who has no time to go out with her (Nell is ridiculously slow at understanding this). Nell is, as far as I can tell, an aromantic lesbian who is allosexual; the representation is on-page but of course those terms are not used. She's also fat but I didn't pick up on this while reading the book; it may just be a throwaway mention. This book talks about sex much more frankly and frequently since it's from Nell's POV and poor people are not protected from reality the way upper-class people are (there are sex worker characters). This book is sadder and more angry-making than book 1 (it's implied that Pip was groomed into being the crimelord's lover; he basically raised Nell and Pip so that skeeved me out). There is a list of trigger topics in the beginning of the book, plus you can ask me for specifics. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 🌶🌶

The Education of Pip - (synopsis) Don't worry, Pip is rescued from the awful crimelord who groomed him into a sexual relationship after having basically raised him and, it turns out, forced him into sex work. Pip is thrown in jail, which gives Bertie an opportunity to whisk him away from London and his abuser, and takes Pip to live with Charles, Gavin, & Gerry in Tutting-on-Cress (Bertie has a house there too). Like Nell, Pip is taught to read and write and about magic, but he has a lot of healing to do. The T-O-C gang and their staff are so gentle, patient, and understanding with Pip; for him to finally be treated with care and love after everything he went through is so important to me! Part of the reason for Pip being in T-O-C is for him to be Gerry's assistant at her spell shop, which was very interesting to read about. Pip's relationship with Bertie slowly begins to develop as well. This book is pretty heartrending but it does have a happy ending. Gay rep as well as PTSD from everything Pip went through. There is a list of trigger topics in the beginning of the book, plus you can ask me for specifics. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 🌶🌶

Dear Bartleby - (synopsis) Gavin and Gerry have a younger brother, Sebastian; we meet him in the first book when he writes to Gavin to ask him for a loan for his gambling debts. Unsurprisingly, Seb's wildness and pranks cause him to be pulled from Oxford and sent to live with his older siblings and brother-in-law in Tutting-on-Cress. His father gives him a journal to encourage reflection; Seb christens it Bartleby so he can pretend he's writing to a friend so journaling will feel less boring. These journal entries make up the book, which I guess makes this book an epistolary novel despite epistle meaning letter and not diary entry, but whatever. Seb writes about his day, being bored, his pranks, and his attempted seductions. He's kind of annoying at first, but his older siblings and brother-in-law learn how to best love and support him, and he matures, even getting a love interest of his own (a wonderful trans man named Laurence). Also in this story is Bertie's search for a new Royal Magician; he hires Seb as his assistant, so he's very involved in the process. Some of Pip's past comes up as well, so trigger warnings for that. I also really enjoyed this book despite the sad parts. Gay and trans rep. ★★★★, 🌶🌶

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress - (synopsis) It's Gerry's turn to have a book, a love interest, and her family and friends' meddling. Gerry took over the Tutting-on-Cress spell shop when the previous spellmaster retired, and she's very happy despite it being a step down in society. Everyone in her life thinks it's high time she met someone and settled down, so they all force her to endure blind date teas and, you guessed it, meddling. Basil Thorne has just moved to T-O-C after losing his father to step in as the new head of the family to his much-younger half-siblings (who are just delightful) and stepmother. He's never been part of a big, loud family before, and, on a sibling-demanded trip to the village, has his head turned by the kind, pretty spellmaster...

Skip this part if you don't want to read spoilers or my rants. I ranted about the lack of consent and amatonormativity from the meddling in this other blog post:

everyone kept trying to set up the heroine with this guy she obviously liked even though she explicitly asked them all to not do that and respect her wishes re: not being set up because it's cringey and embarrassing. The whole "it's for your own good! otherwise you'd be single forever!" excuses being used to ignore said wishes just felt gross. It's the lack of respect and ignoring of consent for me. 😠 The lack of apology and/or realization that the setting-up was being pushed on people without their consent is very annoying to me. And the whole smug "see? I was right!" thing when the couples invariably ended up together used to justify it! Ugh. It's not cute or funny, and it smacks of amatonormativity. Not everyone needs to be paired up, and single people aren't tragic! 

The reason it bothers me to read about this amatonormativity and lack of consent is because this series is so otherwise respectful, queer- and trans-friendly; it throws me for a loop. You expect this sort of thing from regular cishet romance novels, you know? In book 2 Nell's aromanticism is respected, although they kind of have her "end up" with someone too. Gerry is basically the sole straight in the series, but she discusses maybe being demi-romantic with her friends and family since she likes Basil (who is pan and in love with her) but doesn't feel a romantic spark and isn't swept off her feet like she expected. They kind of lost me there, since the chemistry between her and Basil was swoony, and reading about how she interacted with him and felt about it didn't feel that different than the way reading about other romantic pairings have felt. Shit, Gerry and Basil have more romantic chemistry and cute interactions than Gavin & Charles and Bertie & Pip combined! Am I on the aromantic spectrum? Who even knows. 

Another sublot is that the Kentworthys host the eldest Hartford brother John and his wife Veronica (and their child who we never see because Veronica believes children should be unseen and unheard???). They are the worst and I hate them. Charles starts his signature loving psychology on John and he starts to improve. Literally how did the Hartford parents fuck up their kids so much that Gerry is the only one who doesn't hate herself and/or is a jerk in the beginning??? Shoutout to Basil's transfem bestie Modesty who is one of my favorite characters in the entire series; she's so awesome and I hope SW writes a book about her or at least that she shows up in all future books. I loved all the kids, even if some of them were written a bit too old and a bit too young sometimes; maybe we'll get a spinoff series about them finding love after they grow up?  This review has gotten way too long so I'll end it here. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 0 chili peppers (just kissing)

The Viscount Says Yes - (synopsis) This book wraps up Pip and Bertie's love story, which started in book 2 (1GT) when Pip flirted with Bertie after being caught trying to steal from him, and Bertie fell in love with him immediately. Their relationship developed very slowly over the next few books, each one giving us a little glimpse into how they felt about one another (how is them just looking at each other without touching in the garden at dusk so gd romantic??). The slow pace was necessary due to Pip's sad history that he needed to heal from (this book takes place about 2 years after TEoP). Bertie and everyone else had always taken great care to avoid touching Pip and asking for consent before doing so etc., and Pip decides he's ready to start initiating physical acts of affection with Bertie as he (B) never would initiate out of respect, and starts thinking about proposing to Bertie for the same reason... Charles, now that he has seen all his other friends and relations settled or about to be, sets his sights on Pip and Bertie, but at least his meddling is proportionally gentler due to Pip's history. I like Charles a lot but with all the meddling, he's basically as controlling as Veronica. Like just let your friends find love their own way and on their own timelines, dude! Anyway, with that title you can guess what happens in the book. Wallace wrote a little note at the end saying they've burned themself out writing the M&M series so they're wrapping up the series with this book. I hope it's a pause and not a full ending, and that she heals from the burnout soon because I need like 1000 more books in this series! ★★★★, maybe half a chili pepper due to sex mentions? dealer's choice

I know I've complained a bunch about the characters and their decisions, but I really do love this series. The magic is very interesting to read about. All the books are kind of slow, but in a nice cozy way; I enjoyed all the time we spent with the characters. If you like cozy fantasy and Regency romance books, especially ones with lots of LGBTQ+ rep, give this series a try!

*If it's a mostly non-sexist and queernorm society, then why do they still care about reputations (basically a code word for virginity)? What does reputation even mean/matter for people/couples who can't get pregnant? Why the heavy emphasis on birth order when being the oldest sibling doesn't automatically mean you're the most responsible and reliable? (I'm the oldest and my siblings are all more responsible and reliable than me. I should NOT be the head of my family.) Why should the laterborn spouse in a firstborn-laterborn marriage take on the 'wife' role (running the household, raising children, etc.) just because they're a laterborn, while the firstborn spouse takes on the 'husband' role (being in charge of the family and finances etc.)? Shouldn't it be based on personality and interests, and/or shouldn't the roles be shared? Why are there still social classes and poverty? How does capitalism still exist without white supremacy and the patriarchy there to support it?