Book review: A Chance at Love by Beverly Jenkins

Loreli Winters never imagined she'd end up a "mail-order bride" in middle-of-nowhere Kansas -- until the two adorable orphan nieces of a dusky dream named Jake Reed beg her to be their new "mama." And one look at the dark, devastatingly handsome man is enough to entice her to abandon her California plans and stay put for a while in this one-horse frontier town.

Strong, sensible Jake was hoping for a wife to help him raise his girls, but Loreli may be more than he can handle. He can't stop wondering what it would be like to hold the fiery enchantress close and kiss her deeply. Surely he could never compete with the sophisticated gents she has known, yet he intends to try. But will his honest passion be enough to take a chance on a long-shot called love?

This was another ebook downloaded during the shocking B&N free ebook dump of last year. I had read of Beverly Jenkins, an iconic Black historical romance novel author, in an article about the historical romance genre, so I was pleased to nab this book. I read it in late February for Black History Month. 

Loreli is your typical Headstrong Tempestuous Heroine™ who is independent and doesn't need a man. She's stunningly gorgeous and turns heads wherever she goes, all the men want her, etc. Jake is your typical Good Steady Man hero who is also kind of a stick in the mud and Disapproves of the heroine's behavior. Loreli ends up in this farming community (which sounds like it's mostly Black?) because the train she's on took mail-order brides there (she decidedly isn't one but is happy for the women she befriended, who've all made good matches). She plans to go on to California for the adventure but then meets two adorable 9 year old twin girls who ask her to be their mama. They're orphaned and being raised by their single uncle Jake, a hog farmer-slash-unofficial vet who is single and gorgeous. 

Loreli has no plans of being tied down, but the adorable girls win her heart. Jake doesn't think Loreli is wife material (she makes her living by gambling and wears flashy fashions, plus the headstrong thing), but the girls love her and they really do need a mama. Loreli and Jake agree to marry and mother for a year, until he finds a more suitable wife. What with divorce not being a thing, I don't know why they thought getting married would be a good idea if it was only supposed to be temporary, but whatever. L&J are super attracted to each other (Loreli is the experienced one, while Jake has never been with a woman). They learn about and start to respect each other, reluctantly falling in love as their arrangement is supposed to be temporary and love isn't supposed to come into it. Then disaster strikes on their wedding day...

The story and characters are tropey, but I liked this book. It's a very solid example of its genre and achieves what it sets out to do. I liked that Loreli is 35 and Jake is perhaps a little younger; it's a nice change from the "18 year old girl + mid-thirties man" pairing you get a lot in this genre (looking at you, Georgette Heyer). Both characters are settled into who they are, but they help each other grow. Jenkins is a skilled writer and I'd definitely read more by her. A friend who read a different BJ book told me she was a librarian, so that's probably why she's such a good writer. Her setting felt researched and rooted in history. Jake is a union man, and has to deal with both political parties giving African Americans the runaround despite promises made during/right after the Civil War (this book is set in 1884). Jenkins includes some of the history she mentions in the story in her author's note, as well as suggested sources for further reading on the topic of labor unions and African Americans. Love that! Hell yeah unions and librarians. 

Overall, this is a good, interesting and steamy historical romance novel about two people learning to parent and overcome their childhood wounds. I recommend it for anyone who likes this genre. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶
Read in: February 25
From: B&N Nook

Genres/classification: historical romance

Representation: African American/Black, poor, Loreli is biracial (Black and white), rural Midwestern; Black female author

Tropes (spoiler-y): that thing I already mentioned where she's headstrong and tempestuous and he's like >:( about it, opposites attract, experienced heroine, virgin hero; one of them's uninhibited about sex and the other's repressed, good man who keeps his word (she finds that hot), marriage of convenience, "it's only a temporary arrangement", catching feelings during a practical arrangement, instant family (kinda), "I'm just here for the children", that Maria/Captain Von Trapp vibe. you know what I mean, "I can't fall in love with them because this is a temporary arrangement/he's going to find someone else", this house needs a woman's touch, that thing where a rich person solves everyone else's problems with money, someone from a character's past appears, someone objects during the wedding after "speak now or forever hold your peace", "I must leave in order to protect those I love, because while I'm with them, they're in danger", surprise pregnancy trope. This pairing has Taming of the Shrew vibes but luckily she's never tamed, he just gets over himself and goes along with her

Trigger warnings: racism, murder, kidnapping, sex shaming/whorephobia, a character was raped as a young teen (past, not described), extortion/ransom, past parent death, trauma, a character has a phobia of horses due to seeing someone be killed by a horse, an adult verbally abuses children and threatens them with corporal/physical punishment, sexism, terrible judgy pastor, religious abuse, past financial abuse if you squint, infidelity mentions, betrayal, corruption

Reading slump + reading update

I've been on a reading slump lately that lasted over a month. I think it started because I wanted to read one of my many unread books with latine protagonists for Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, and I think just the concept of "having to" read a specific type of book triggered my brain's ADHD* mental block against reading in general.

 

I did actually read one book (very slowly) during this time: this cute little book about historical and designer purses, which was actually very interesting and informative. I've always loved purses and fashion history, so this was a fun and interesting book to read. It was originally published in 2001, so the book only has purses up to that point, and has kind of a gap for the 1990s (too soon ago at the time to be considered historical). The writing is very similar to fashion editorials like they have in Vogue; lots of glowing praise for the fashion designers' creativity. My only quibble is that I wish she'd put the prices for the designer handbags. I don't remember if she put a works referenced list in the back of the book (another usual quibble of mine when it comes to nonfiction books). I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes purses and fashion history. ★★★★

 

In desperation, I decided to actually bring a physical book with me (safe in its padded book sleeve) to work, where surely the boredom of working the Thursday night shift would force me to reach for the book and read it, thereby breaking my reading slump. It didn't, but it did make me start reading an ebook on my Nook app (my second, sneakier reason for bringing a physical book to read)!

That book was A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J. Charles, a sequel to The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (flash-reviewed here). This book is about brand new earl Rufus d'Aumnesty, whose hostile formerly-estranged family is fighting tooth and nail against this "interloper", taking any and every reason to question his legitimacy as earl, which brings us to the other lead, Luke Doomsday, whose mother may or may not have married Rufus' ho dad before he married Rufus' mom. Luke was a very young teenager during the events of TSLoCG (he's the smuggler chief's nephew), and he grew up to be a secretary (Gareth the baronet from the first book gave him an education). Rufus needs help sorting out the truth, his office, and the family books (which are all as fucked up as the estates and the family), so he hires Luke as his secretary. They're both super attracted to each other, fight it a bit due to the whole boss/employee thing, and fall in love. Luke helps Rufus with being an earl and dealing with his family, but he has secrets of his own, and his own agenda for being at the estate... This book was excellent, with a bit of a Gothic flair towards the end, and actually settled a mystery that began in the first book. ANG2SaS has the same themes of healing from childhood trauma as its predecessor. Luke has a facial disfigurement (scar from an attack), and Rufus is demisexual and dyslexic. ★★★★ 🌶🌶🌶  DM me for trigger warnings

As is usually the case, this broke me out of my reading slump and I started reading again like it was going out of style. As it was still Ace Week (my reason for picking the above book), I decided to finally start on the Murderbot Diaries, which I had bought (along with several other Martha Wells ebooks) during a charity bundle purchase thing. I'd been wanting to read the Murderbot Diaries ever since I first heard about them, and I'd really been looking forward to reading them ever since the trailer for the Murderbot Apple TV+ series came out (it looks so good. I need to get a free month of Apple TV+ code or get someone I know who has Apple TV+ to let me watch it). I love stories about sentient robots making friends. I was going to start reading them through Libby, but my public library doesn't have them on ebook :((( I started reading these books on Friday afternoon, and as of writing this (Sunday evening), I've read the first six books in the series plus a short story, and that's that I couldn't read for most of Saturday. I lied when I told you I was reading like it's going out of style; it's more than that: I've INHALED them. I am obsessed. They are so freaking good, and I love Murderbot (it/its pronouns). It's anxious and depressed and autistic (hates eye contact etc.) and aroace and nonbinary (duh, it's a robot) and deeply funny and sarcastic. Murderbot (Murderbot is its private name; to others it goes by SecUnit, which is somewhere between a human being going by "Human" and going by their occupation title instead of a name) dislikes humans but also can't stop caring about them. It'll be deeply annoyed by them then be like, "Is anyone else gonna protect these stupid humans and keep them alive?" and not wait for an answer. When its friends make it experience an emotion, it has to turn and face a wall. I love it so much. I need eleventy thousand more books in this series; I'm preemptively mourning running out of them. I recommend this series to anyone who likes sci fi action stories with a touch of mystery, and stories about robots gaining sentience and friends and dealing with what it means to be a person.  ★★★★ DM me for trigger warnings 

I'm writing this blog post instead of reading them because the epub ebooks are all on my computer, and Apple Books didn't transfer them over to my Apple Books app on my iPhone. Ugh. I'm counting down the minutes of this ref shift until I can go home and keep reading the series. This is basically me right now:

 Update: I made some Murderbot memes and posted them to my Instagram (I forgot to include the one above tho). My IG handle is in my Social Media note. 

*undiagnosed, but like let's be real

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 bakery 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 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 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?

Flash reviews for books I read last month

Bookshop.org had a summer reading challenge where you could win a contest if you read for at least 28 days straight, so I read the unheard-of amount of 15 books!!!! Forget pre-pandemic reading levels, that is junior high reading behavior!!! Anyway, I don't really want to write out full reviews for all of them, so I'm just writing flash reviews. 

The Maid and the Mansion: A Mysterious Murder (book 1? of series) by Fiona Grace - ebook - another murder mystery where a maid does the investigating. Enjoyed this although I read "the men are coming back from war so there's no jobs for women" and assumed it was World War I and not II, leading me to be confused over several things including how she was able to run and fight in long skirts (nope, at/below the knee skirts). Trigger warning for sexual harassment from boss at work (he dies, yay!!) plus the usual stuff (murder, blood). 3.5 stars, would read the rest of the series if they're free

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly - ebook - absolutely amazing, one of my favorite reads this year. So sad and hard to read at times but so important, with the internal plot mirroring thoughts I've had re: coming out and balancing authenticity with safety, etc. Also there's cool book restoration/making stuff. Genderqueer, queer and lesbian rep. Lots of trigger warnings including homophobic hate crime attacks, transphobia (also internalized), homophobia (also internalized). 4 stars, 2 chili peppers

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis - hardcover book - I follow her on IG and bought the book at McNally Jackson bookstore in NYC to support her and because I need it. This book is for people who struggle with keeping up with housework--ADHD havers, depressed people, chronically ill people, etc. The non-shaming gentle parenting around cleaning that I never got, and lots of useful tips. She gets us because she's one of us. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

Recipe for Confidence by Samantha Picaro - ebook - I think I follow this author on IG as well. Her book was promoted by bookstagrammers I follow, and I bought it on sale because the main character is aroace. The teenage MC is autistic as well and feels like she always has to mask and act happy to please everyone around her. I'm afraid I did not enjoy this book; the writing wasn't very good and neither were the parents, and there was stuff that made me angry. I think I need to stop reading books about and for teenagers. 3.5 stars. 

The Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace - ebooks - This is a cozy found family fantasy series set in a magical, queernorm Regency England where racial diversity is also the norm. I ADORED this series! I downloaded the first one because it was free and one of the bookstagrammers that I follow is always promoting the series, and it was so good I downloaded the next one to read immediately, doing that for each book. I inhaled the whole series in like a week. One of the books, The Education of Pip, is about a character who is groomed into an unequal relationship that turns into forced sex work, so trigger warnings for that (there is a happy ending for him).  DM me if you want more info. There is representation for just about every letter of the queer alphabet, plus anxiety and PTSD rep. There are also characters of color (the society is also non-racist). I highly recommend these books and cannot wait for the next one. 3.5 (affectionate)-4 stars varying, amount of spice varies by book but it's usually just kissing or off-page (some Pip stuff does bleed into other books)

A Charm of Magpies series by K.J. Charles - ebooks - I loved this author's Will Darling Adventures trilogy and downloaded their other free ebooks a while back but never got around to reading them. These books are set in a magical gaslamp Victorian England and are about a tattooed duke with strong magical ancestry and a short magician who fall in love, fight magical crimes, and have extremely adult activities. They have to hide their relationship because it's illegal to be gay in Victorian England. The duke and his manservant lived most of their lives in China (which apparently was fine with gay people back then? That sounds wrong but I don't know enough to dispute it, plus KJC probably did their research).  The magical crimes (which are mostly grisly murders) make this series horror in my opinion; they were far too scary for me  but I couldn't stop reading them because they were so good. 3.5 stars (but a high 3.5) and probably 4.5 out of 5 chilis (very spicy).

I reread Lady Susan because it was the Enchanted Book Club pick for July, enjoyed it per usual, and had a lot of fun discussing the book with other book club members over Zoom. I also rewatched Love & Friendship afterwards, naturally. 

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev - paperback book - I bought this ages ago (not sure from where) but didn't get around to reading it. This was a really interesting loose retelling of P&P (duh) where the heroine is an Indian American brain surgeon and the hero is a Somali-Indian British chef, and both leads took on different aspects of both Lizzy and Darcy. It was really good but really sad, with the Wickham-Georgiana storyline being really dark. To be honest, I didn't get why the hero would really come around to being in love with the heroine when she was kind of an awful mess. Understandable, though, when her family was so terrible to her. I do recommend this book even though it made me sad (and hungry, the food sounded so amazing). Trigger warnings for a character being drugged and raped (past), cancer/terminal illness, police racial profiling, racism, xenophobia, miscarriage (past), manipulation, classism. 3.5 stars, 2 chilis due to a rather unnecessary scene at the end

What an Heiress Wants by Gemma Blackwood - ebook - This is part of a Regency romance series, of which I read one previously and liked it. The heroine wants to get back at this guy who led her on, so she concocts a fake flirting/courtship/engagement with her best friend's brother. You already know where this is going. This book has low spice (only kissing and lustful thoughts) and I enjoyed it, even though it got a bit dramatic at the end. 3.5 stars, 0.5 chili

Whew. I truly cannot believe I read so much. So many great reads this month as well!

Book Review: An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer

On the eve of battle, passions are running high... In the summer of 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life and war...

This is the second book I've read from Georgette Heyer (here's the first), and I've found her to be a writer of solid historical Regency romances. I've just found out by looking this book up that An Infamous Army is the third book in a trilogy, which is not mentioned at all in my 1970s copy. To be fair I skim or ignore everything before chapter one. The title comes from a phrase the Duke of Wellington wrote in a letter complaining about how ill-prepared and -uniformed his army was. 

Basically this book is Barbieheimer, if the Barbie part were a historical Regency romance novel and the Oppenheimer part were a dry, grim Napoleonic war novel. Actually, I just remembered the heroine's name is actually Barbara so that works perfectly! She's a young widow who is so beautiful and bewitching that she's constantly surrounded by enthralled lovesick men. She's scandalous because she flirts with all of them and paints her toenails gold like a Parisian prostitute!! Quel horreur!!! Alexa, play "Maneater" (either version works fine). The hero is Colonel Audrey, a dashing handsome man who is boring sensible and respectable; this is contradicted in the text by him falling in love with Barbara at first sight and proposing like the second time they meet, as well as him being stupid enough to think Barbara will stop being such a scandalous flirt after they're engaged, despite her telling him straight to his face that she won't stop and will keep doing whatever she wants. He's like "no you won't" and then gets all surprised Pikachu face when she does. Who could have foreseen this??? I don't get why he had to be so much older than her (about ten years). GH really had a thing for older male love interests; in The Nonesuch her hero was like 35 (like Audrey) and her heroine was 28. The gendered double standards re: aging are annoying to me.

The war half of this book is about the Duke of Wellington planning/preparing for war, which mostly seems to consist of him writing letters during the day and then going to balls and dances at night. He's basically the third main character of this book. Audrey is one of his aides, and other aides and their love interests are side characters. This part of the book is very dry and boring; when we get to the Battle of Waterloo it's very violent and sad with all the deaths and injuries. The injured survivors basically crawl to the town where the civilians are staying and the ladies bind up wounds etc. as best they can. The two halves of the book are very inharmonious and the nonexistent transitions between the two are jarring. It'll be like: "Her eyes flashing, Barbara bounded away. [paragraph break] The Duke of Wellington sat down to write a letter..." Heyer really did her research (she has a bibliography in the back of the book; take note, nonfiction writers) and did her best to write about the Duke of Wellington and the Battle of Waterloo in an accurate way, but it would have been better if she'd split the two books up. Pick a lane, Heyer. Don't go chasing war-terfalls; stick to the rivers and the balls that you're used to. Barbarloo was not fun; at least Barbieheimer was two different films so you could choose to skip one. Oh, and the ending was so abrupt I turned the page and was shocked to find it blank. Did they lose a page? Or did Heyer really think the best way to end the book was to have, you guessed it, the Duke of Wellington sit down to write a letter? 

Score: 3 out of 5 stars
Spice score: 0.5 out of 5 chilies 🌶 (just kissing)
Read in: March 30-31
From: a used bookstore called Griffeys' Book Emporium

Trigger warnings: death, dismemberment, limb loss, war, violence, fighting, animal (horses) death, period-typical sexism, period-typical sex shaming, teenage girl forced to marry much older man (past, off-page), infidelity I think

January books

 January felt so long but also like wow, it's over already? Time is weird.

My first read of 2024 was a book from the Sister Fidelma mysteries series, Suffer Little Children (summary here). I got this one, as I got the other first four books, from the free books rack in my library. As usual, this was an interesting murder mystery where I didn't see the twist coming. Peter Tremayne surprisingly limited himself to only one mention of Fidelma's "rebellious red strands of hair snaking out of her headdress", and then only right at the beginning. I did not enjoy this one because there were multiple instances where children (and adults etc.) were massacred in cold blood. Just way too sad. I gave it 3.5 stars. Trigger warnings: murder, children murdered, graphic depictions of corpses including blood, bodies burned, assassination mention, death, sexism.

 

I'm auditing a C.S. Lewis class for fun this quarter, and I'm really enjoying the class and rereading Lewis's books again. The professor lived in and ran the Kilns (CSL's home) for several years and is friends with lots of CSL-related people, including his stepson, so she has tons of fascinating insight to share. So far I've reread the first two Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Those are the only two Chronicles we're reading in the class, so I may reread the others at some point later this year. 

I also reread Surprised By Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, which is his memoir of his life up to becoming a Christian, and how the Joy/longing/sehnsuct he felt at nature and fairytales and mythology primed him for God despite being an atheist. Unsurprisingly, Lewis also talks about his schooling, and there was just so much physical abuse and bullying throughout his childhood and adolescent schools that it's a surprise he was able to learn anything. I think I maybe last read this book in my early twenties, and of course bring different views/opinions/etc. to the reading now as an adult in my mid-thirties. Lewis's account of how he felt he had to play a certain role with his father instead of being himself I had completely forgotten; his annoyance at having to forgo his alone time and reading in order to play the dutiful son was just too real. I think his father had ADHD, given Lewis's depictions of the way he thought and acted. Some of the stuff, such as his dad's quick, confusing way of thinking and him making his sons be/sit with him constantly out of some idea of family is so much like my mom. So often during my adolescence and young adulthood I'd be holed up in my room reading and hear my mom call out, "Michelle! Come be with your family!" and it was so annoying. Justice for introverted bookish children of extroverted ADHD parents! The sheer amount of everything he read and all the languages he learned is staggering; I especially enjoyed reading about his time studying with his uber-logical tutor. 4 stars, not sure how to rate this spice-wise because while there are frank depictions of "immorality", they are just written frankly in an academic/general way and not meant to titillate. Trigger warnings: physical abuse/punishment of children, starvation of children, neglect, bullying, passive suicidal ideation, loss of parent, mentions of sexual relationships between minors/teenage boys, war mentions, bugs/insects mentions (Lewis had a phobia at least as a boy)

I'm really enjoying all the readings, and am currently making my way slowly through Mere Christianity and Out of the Silent Planet.

Rest of December books

 I did my usual Christmas and New Year's rereading of Christmas with Anne. I also read The Nutcracker, Alexandre Dumas's version, as I was bored at my parents' house for Christmas. It was interesting and weird. 

I also read a couple of cheap or free ebooks I had downloaded.  

First up was Murder at Merisham Lodge by Celina Grace, the first book from a historical mystery series called Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate. The premise is that it's the 1930s and both girls are working as servants/staff in a big country mansion for a rich family, and murder starts happening. Both girls are bright and feel there's more to the mystery than the police are seeing, and decide to keep their eyes and ears open for clues. It's sort of like Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie, and I liked it.  Of course as a murder mystery it's pretty violent and sad. I'd read more mysteries from this series. 4/5 stars, no spice although there is mention of infidelity and extra-marital relations. Trigger warnings: murder, gore, blood, corpses, violence, sexual assault mentions, abortion mention (a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock), sexism, classism.

 

Next was I Was Born For This, which I snapped up because it's by Alice Oseman and I love her books and the ebook was cheap. I didn't really know what it was about, but it somehow also wasn't what I was expecting. Angel (who goes by the English version of her Arabic name) is a huge fan of a diverse boyband called The Ark, and would rather talk about the boys and their music than think about her future. She meets up with an online friend and fellow The Ark fan in London to attend the band's concert, and all sorts of stuff goes down. One of the boys from The Ark, Jimmy, finds almost every single aspect of fame and being in a boyband excruciatingly difficult and anxiety-inducing. He runs away from an important interview, and that is how he and Angel meet. A sort of weird friendship springs up between them, as Angel (who knows everything about Jimmy, yet is a stranger to him) helps Jimmy through a panic attack and running away to go back home. This book is a fascinating look at fandom, fame, friendship, and mental illness, and while it made me very sad at times, I cared for all the characters and rooted for them to be happy. The fandom stuff was interesting to me, as a decade-long user of tumblr (I was never a mega-fan of any musician/musical group, but was aware of the climate). I liked all the Christian/Biblical references and Joan of Arc quotes, etc. in the book. 4/5 stars, 2 chilis due to a little bit of (mostly mentioned) sexual content and talk. Trigger warnings: suicidal ideation, depression, panic attacks, OCD, blood, serious injuries, anxiety, alcohol, obsessive/stalking fans, transphobia, racism mentions, parental neglect, a character is kicked out by their parents, a guy lies to a girl to get her interested in him, drugs mention, knife

 

I think I forgot to mention this earlier, but I also read (not in December) The Screwtape Letters through one of those emailed enewsletters via substack. After the smash hit of Dracula Daily, a lot of other books (especially public domain books) got the email treatment. As an epistolary book, TSL works great for this, and it was fun to get an email in my inbox with the day's Screwtape letter. 4/5 stars. Trigger warnings for mentions of death, war, sins such as adultery and the damned being tortured/eaten etc. Nothing explicit

SimonTeen's free December ebooks

SimonTeen (the teen books arm of publisher Simon & Schuster) did a fun promotion where every day from December 1-25, they had a book you could read for free digitally if you made an account on their website. Being my parents' daughter, I love free stuff; naturally, I had to avail myself of the opportunity. I read so many good books due to this promotion; here they are. 

 

Pride & Prejudice & Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott ★★★★ (December 10) Aesthetics moodboard for P&P&P

Rather than being a lesbian Pride & Prejudice retelling, as the title suggests, it's about a 21st century girl who somehow time-travels to Regency England. Audrey, who had been trying to rediscover her spark for art, needs to figure out how to get back to her time and home in Pittsburgh. Lucy, the young lady whose backyard Audrey ends up in, is being forced into marriage by her domineering father. Can they figure out how to get Audrey home and Lucy out of getting married, and figure out their feelings for each other??? This book was so good and I really enjoyed it, even if the title feels like a placeholder they never got around to replacing. The story is not P&P enough to justify the title. No spice, just kissing. Trigger warnings: controlling & abusive father forces daughter into engagement/marriage and threatens to kick her out of the house, internalized and societal homophobia, a girl is tied up and locked in a room, semi-controlling boyfriend/codependent relationship (past)

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat ★★★★ / 🌶🌶🌶 (December 12)

Go read the book description at the link above and then come back, because it's hard to sum this book up succinctly. Rana is so full of grief at the loss of her best friend and angry at her mother's unequal and sexist treatment: her mom will nag her to diet and be more girly while pampering Rana's brother and letting him do whatever he wants because he's a boy. Their dad visits once a year because he lives in Iran, and the family frays under the weight of pretending to be one happy family. Rana wants to enter a rap battle in her friend's memory as it was his dream, and in starting to practice and gain confidence, she befriends and starts to fall for a fellow Iranian American girl. I really rooted for Rana and wanted her to have every happiness. I gave it 3 chilis because of a couple of sex scenes and explicit language. Trigger warnings: car accident death that may have been suicide, lesbian has sex with a guy which could be seen as self-harming, depression, mental illness, homophobia, bullying, anxiety, controlling parents, fatphobia and diet culture, drug use, underage drinking, sexism, infidelity, partying, sexism

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds and Zeke Peïa ★★★★ (December 14)

I loved both Miles Morales Spider-Man movies, so I was excited to read this one even though I don't usually read comics-based middle-grade novels. This one reads like Miles is writing in his diary or talking to you and includes poetry by Miles that moves the plot along. It's a sequel to MM: Spider-Man; you don't have to have read it to get what's going on here as it's summed up, but MM: Suspended is a continuation of that story. Miles is suspended for standing up to his racist teacher, and something is not quite right at school... I feel that Reynolds really captured Miles's voice, and I enjoyed being along for the ride, even though the villain/threat is creepy. Reynolds deftly folds Miles' personal and superhero dilemmas with the current racist book-banning issue in an age-appropriate way, and with such economy of language, all in a 14 year old AfroLatino boy's voice! I was really impressed by his writing and will have to check out more of what he's written. Peïa's art is dynamic and fun but never distracting. It's not illustrated enough to be a graphic novel, but it's got way more illustrations than your typical middle-grade novel (Miles should always have art). There's a librarian character I found very intriguing. Highly recommended. Trigger warnings: insects/bugs, violence/fighting (if your kid watches superhero movies it's probably fine), racism, racist/unsupportive school and teachers, lying to teachers (see prev. so it's fine)

A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartache by Laura Taylor Namey ★★★.5 (December 17)

This is the sequel to a book I asked for for a couple of birthdays ago and still haven't read, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. I hate reading series books out of order, but ABGG2HaH was only available one day, so I read it anyway. It seems to be a reverse of the first book, which was about a Cuban girl going to England after suffering loss; this one's about an English girl going to Miami after suffering loss. Flora has just lost her mum and has hurt her family with her grief and anger, so she runs away to stay with her friend Lila (first book girl)'s family. Her best friend Gordon, who had just confessed his feelings before she ran, follows her to Miami, just after she's met Baz, a Cuban cutie who's part of a famous photographer dynasty. Flora goes to cool places I'm dying to visit, deals with the Cuban chisme grind, and tries to figure out where her heart lies, all while continuing to throw herself into photography. I enjoyed this book a lot as a Cuban American, even though I know nothing of Miami. I'm not from England either but I'm not sure how true Flora's Englishness rang. The right words are there, but idk. Still, a great read! I def want to read the first one now. No spice, just kissing. Trigger warnings: death, early onset dementia, grief, hurricane/natural disaster

Regency romance novels and favorite rereads

 Wow, it's been forever since I wrote a book review! Whoops 😬

 

The last read of July was The Nonesuch, a Regency romance by Georgette Heyer. Heyer was basically the author who made Regency romance novels a thing and has greatly impacted the genre (second only to Jane Austen herself, of course). This book is about the most popular rich gentleman in London buying a mansion in a small country town and getting to know everyone, and everyone freaking out and gossiping about him. A "nonesuch" appears to be the male version of the society's "diamond of the first water". The nonesuch brings his young titled cousin with him, and the most beautiful girl in town sets her eyes on him, while her governess catches the eyes of the nonesuch. If you love the characters and setting of a Regency English country town more than the main romantic pairings, you will love this book. I didn't mind this that much, but spending so much time with other characters over the romances was unexpected. The beautiful girl was so spoiled and a pain in the ass that I wanted to shake some sense into her. The drama she creates eclipses the other romantic pairing in this book, and the author doesn't help by telling rather than showing its progression. Overall, just fine. Recommended if you like Regency historical romance novels. 3.5 out of 5 stars, selling. No spice (just kisses). Trigger warnings: teen girl flirts with and is flirted with by adult men (early twenties and early/mid-thirties), horses being whipped mentions, era-typical sexism, era-typical classism, lookism

Good Omens has been dominating my mindscape lately, as the second season came out in late July. I watched it, then watched the whole show all the way through, then turned to this book in desperation. There were so many little details I'd forgotten, and some random racist bits that made me cringe (the authors don't seem to be in favor of them, just describing middle-aged white English people behaviour. The Korean car having voice commands in bad English is suspect tho). There was other stuff I did wish had made it into the show, like the Brazilian man watching the Amazon rainforest grow back in/through his office building. Such a good book, and highly recommended. I made an Instagram post with (among other things) books from my top three authors, and put Good Omens to represent Neil Gaiman while also sneaking in Terry Pratchett. 4 stars, permanent collection. Trigger warnings: horror, body horror, murder?, a character is called a homophobic slur, racist English 'accents' of the Asian and Native American variety (the last one made by a white woman), everyday sexism

I read a couple of free romance novel ebooks while traveling, as I wanted something quick and easy to read. First up was The Footman and I, which was mostly a fun read. I liked that the heroine was a political activist in favor of poor rights, and she challenged the hero about a bill he wanted passed. I didn't like how she was 18 and he was 29, plus he was lying to her the entire time about being a servant. Overall a fun read, and I recommend it if you like Regency romance novels. It's currently still free via Barnes & Noble, so go check it out if you want. 3.5 stars, 4 out of 5 chilies 🌶  Trigger warnings: the aforementioned age gap, not asking for consent as is typical with this genre, male lead lies to female lead about his identity, period-typical sexism and classism, drunkenness

The second free romance novel ebook I read was The Spinster and the Rake, which is about a duke and a young lady forced to become engaged to avoid scandal when they're caught kissing (instant sexual attraction on both their parts, naturally). She has to take duchess lessons and they're so attracted to each other but his demeanor irks her as well. What I found interesting about this book was that the duke is autistic (the term is not used in the book due to the period) and the heroine is neurodivergent as well (less examined but I feel like she is). A lot of the way he is is because he's masking his autism from everyone and his fiance is disrupting his schedule and pressing his buttons. He's afraid she'll reject him and think him broken and she's afraid he'll never love and accept her. The book description says it's like My Fair Lady meets Pride and Prejudice, and while there are definite similarities, this book isn't them. As a fellow neurodivergent, I didn't like that she isn't really a spinster (just a young introvert uninterested in marriage) and he's not really a rake (he does have a history of bedding married women but it's not his defining quality and it barely comes up at all). I just don't buy instant sexual attraction and instant lust as plot catalysts (#i'mtooaceforthis). Anyway it's fine. 3 stars, 4 chilies. Trigger warnings: not asking for consent as is typical with this genre, suicide mentions, ableism, period-typical sexism, sex-shaming, and classism; alcohol mentions, financial scam and ruin

 I decided to reread Peter Pan, specifically the copy that I bought for 50 cents from my library's book sale, which is a facsimile of the first edition. The illustrations sadly look like mediocre-quality photocopies. I'd forgotten several details, like how Peter cries in his sleep, and how the Lost Boys all wear bear skins and are adopted by the Darlings at the end, and how the r*dsk*ns have Lost Boy scalps hanging from their belts. Peter Pan is always darker and more racist than you think. I'd also forgotten just how weirdly gendered the children's experience of Neverland is. I did remember Wendy being their mother, but that's literally all she did; the whole time she was sewing and darning and cleaning and cooking and singing to them, except for like two times where she's in danger and has to be rescued by Peter. Like, girl, have some adventures! You're going to be cleaning up and taking care of boys and men your whole life; you can do that at home! Like why is that play for her? I also don't really get why every female character was in love with Peter Pan when he's so dismissive of them and takes them for granted. He carves such a deep groove in Wendy's brain that she feels she's betrayed him by growing up and getting married. Girl, you are not a priority for him! Despite this, I cannot help but be moved by the last scene when they meet again and the story begins over again with Jane, her daughter. I suppose I'm one to talk since this story continues to be so important to me. I guess the best fairytale and fantasy stories are the ones that are deeply sad. 4.5 stars, permanent collection. Trigger warnings: murder, violence, racist Native American caricatures and slurs, Black character described in racist way, 1-handed amputee villain (ableist trope of disabled character being the bad guy), period-typical sexism and gender roles/gendered labor