#make evelyn a love interest 2021

[slashingdisneypasta]

Thank you for writing marvelous stories even for villains little known or long forgotten. Ive seen so much beautiful love all around this blog 🫶🏻

My question is, any Disney or Pixar villain you REALLY don't like at all? Not even to write for them? 👀

💕🩷💕 noooo, you're welcome 🩷💕🩷 thank you so much 💕🩷💕🩷💕🩷

And oh, interesting question 🤔

Also hard. I've said this before, but I don't want anyone to ever think they can't come here and talk to me about their favourites! Just cuz I'm not personally into that villain?? Noooo. I can still understand you liking them and support you!!

And also- I kinda pride myself on being able to enjoy certain aspects of every villain! ^^; so even if overall they aren't my favourite, I can still have fun writing them/watching them/talking about them!

But... *sigh* there are of course some that I find much harder to enjoy then others 😅 They're f e w, especially in Disney and Pixar, but they exist and they're under the cut ): XD Haha 😅

Maleficent 2014-2019 (why. make her. sympathetic?? Why take her greenness?? I can respect her as a completely different character and au to 1959 but even then, I don't care about her. )

Jafar 2019 (they made him young??? They made him traditionally handsome??? They ruined his voice?? He's not a creeper anymore??? 😰😣 uh uh no this does not spark joy anymore- )

Cruella 2021 (Same issues as Mal. Let my nasty women be nasty, please.)

The Red Queen 2010-2016. (In fact I don't really care about the Red Queen/Queen of Hearts in general. The animated one is cute!! But I still don't really feel anything for her 😅)

I haven't even attempted to watch the new Lion King or Little Mermaid, and I don't see myself doing so, so those versions of Scar and Ursula go here too 😅

Assistant Mayor Bellweather (I just don't care.)

Evelyn Devour (I have this irrational feeling that she was trying to come onto Mrs Incredible and make her cheat on Mr Incredible the whole time and it upsets me 🤣😭🤣 I can't get past it XD I know, I'm a child.)

Al McWhiggin (He's just... gross?- )

There are also other villains who are just plainly not my type- but for some reason or another I can still write for. For example, Dr Facilier does nothing for me but he is a fun villain- so I can still have a good time writing for him! Or both the Sheriff of Nottingham and Judge Frollo- these gentlemen also stir nothing in me, but they are n a s t y and I can use their characters to fulfil my desire to write certain plots I really wanna try out XD Like corrupt judge/man of religion stuff and corrupt law enforcement/wolfman stuff (; Haha XD In this category we also have Maleficent 59, Judge Doom, King Candy, Strombolli, Goob, etc.

[gloryride]

Then VS Now

I'm really interested in this thread, so I'm jumping in. And as it's Monday, I'm going to start with Virgile ! Virgile was born on XboX, after finishing my 100% game with Vanessa. I wanted another path, to try out netrunning and romance Panam, which was basically my baby blue when I created him.

Xbox [april - june, 2021]

Virgile was lucky enough to have a second-hand 4k TV to play with, unlike Vanessa. I wasn't looking to make a VP at the start, just take some photos for fun. Then I got my tumblr and I tried out a few things, with the limitations of the console, but I still have very fond memories of my photos, like this noir series that I still love, this photo in Mikoshi where I love this symmetry ^^. Virgile hasn't changed since the XboX, and I've always been happy with the way he looks.

PC 1 [june-december 2021]

The husband bought his brother's old PC, with an obsolete graphics card, but enough to play Cyberpunk. I discovered another world, with fewer limitations (but a lot more than today). I didn't know that you could turn the photomode for portraits, I used to capture them with PS. Despite an old graphics card, it takes some very nice photos, particularly in this netrunner den with its wonderful cold light, or Nix's office at the Afterlife. Then the card burnt out in December because I pushed it too hard …

PC 2 - last shots

Poor Virgile, I neglected him a bit in 2023. I explored a lot of his NetWatch years and his darker side, as well as his affair with Evelyn because I'd started writing the fic (which I still have to continue). Virgil spends his time between the Badlands at sunset, or in dark, cold places. I've given him a bit of a cowboy look, like I'd already tried on the console, but also better netrunner clothes, with these suits I've made. Virgil doesn't have many mods, apart from hair, a facial complexion and cyberware, he's identical to the XboX. I've added a little brother who's been taking centre stage lately, but I really like my baby blue, I really want to take more photos of him.

And it starts with this little post, so that you can see his evolution before seeing his new adventures!

[harrowscore]

best books read in 2022 by yours truly, in no particular order:

the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle by stuart turton (technically started in 2021 but finished in early january 2022, so it counts). murder mystery + time loop + redemption themes = perfect mix, 10/10 recommend

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar & max gladstone: space lesbians but what if they were enemies? lovely, lovely prose. one flaw tho: more of a ~i'm being poetic for the sake of being poetic~ than a character story. still, interesting read.

the plague by albert camus: i couldn't not include him. 5/5 stars, he's easily becoming one of my favorite authors.

hygiène de l'assassin by amélie nothomb: a female journalist succeeds where everyone else fails and interviews an old misanthropic and cynical nobel-winner author. but not everything is as it seems... insane little book, great characterization for the female protagonist. perfect ending. i couldn't put it down, thankfully it's quite short.

carmilla by j. sheridan le fanu: this doesn't need introductions, does it? :)

hedda gabler by henrik ibsen: a play revolving around a woman - daughter of a general, unsatisfied by her current circumstances and marriage. a fascinating female protagonist, especially for the time; the kind of writing you usually get for male characters, and a role every actress would give everything to play at least once.

salomé by oscar wilde: one act only, but it stays with you. particularly incisive adaptation of the biblical story; wilde's writing as usual is stunning.

an oresteia (agamemnon by aeschylus, elektra by sophokles, orestes by euripides) by anne carson: another read that doesn't need introductions.

the hours by michael cunningham: somehow based on mrs dalloway, it is about one day (and the life) of three women in three different time periods; among them, virginia woolf herself. lovely prose.

the cycle of earthsea by ursula k. le guin: series of 5 books (including one of short stories) masterfully written by ms le guin. the first book is a sort of fantasy buldingsroman about a young wizard named ged who, because of his hubris, makes a peculiar sort of enemy... the next books follow ged as he becomes an adult, a middle-aged, and an old man + a varied cast of characters (most importantly tenar, introduced in book 2). original worldbuilding and story (especially for the time - the first novel was published in the 60s), lovely prose and themes (light/dark as yin/yang, necessary to each other's existence - sw wishes it had what earthsea has) + beautiful love story in the last volumes. bonus: most characters in earthsea are very much not white. again, very avant-garde for the 60s, and something all adaptations deliberately ignored.

grendel by john gardner: based on the beowulf poem - the story told by the antagonist's point of view. just striking, and oh my god the themes. couldn't stop thinking about it for days.

in the night garden by catherynne m. valente: a girl trapped in a garden spins a labyrinth of fairy tales for a boy - the only person willing to listen to her - a la scheherazade. told in the usual beautiful prose made in valente, amazing settings and atmospheres.

the sundering duology by jacqueline carey. (thanks for the rec, @queen-zimraphel ❤️) basically a lotr retelling told by the Bad Guys' povs. the inspiration is clear but also it's meant to be a mirror and say 'what if?'. grey morality everywhere, elegant but simple prose + death and the maiden vibes from the local tormented dark lord/the beautiful elf lady. (tho the main love story is not about them specifically... but still.) a great tragedy, but masterfully told - this is how characters who were dead from the beginning and given a role to play in the narrative by a fate larger than them should be written.

honorary mentions to áqua viva by clarice lispector, waiting for godot by samuel beckett, enrico iv by luigi pirandello, and then there were none by agatha christie, sharp objects and gone girl by gillian flynn, in the margins by elena ferrante, ficciones by jorge luis borges, and obviously demons by fyodor dostoeveskij <3

[gorgxoxus]

I posted 2,378 times in 2022

57 posts created (2%)

2,321 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rinezha

@satellitesunset

@justasmallbloginabigklainefandom

@blog-carmex

@backslashdelta

I tagged 1,469 of my posts in 2022

Only 38% of my posts had no tags

#heartstopper - 136 posts

#fanart - 96 posts

#klaine - 61 posts

#taylor swift - 58 posts

#kurt hummel - 52 posts

#kurtbastian - 37 posts

#a little life - 34 posts

#glee - 33 posts

#blaine anderson - 33 posts

#heartstopper spoilers - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 141 characters

#i’m going to listen to smooth criminal gcv (it’s the only way i can ever listen to a mj song again now that i know some of mj’s backstory 😬)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Mid year book freak out tag:

Best book you’ve read so far in 2022?

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I made both my mother and sister read this book, that’s how much I loved it. I love a morally grey bisexual disaster and I adore TJR’s writing! It was one of the first dual POV books I’ve read where the voices were very distinct, which is telling of great writing.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022:

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman. The Paris Trip is still my favourite part of Heartstopper and I’m looking forward to the day that mess of a trip will be displayed on screen!

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to:

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong. It’s a poetry collection and it’s gay and I want to get my hands on a copy soon. It’s also my only 2022 release on my tbr 😭.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’m 🤏🏻 close to preordering a copy. Also the reviews that have been coming through of people who’ve already read the book are giving high praise so that’s getting me more excited.

Biggest disappointment:

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman. But also I knew the premise (boy bands and fans) wasn’t something I really enjoy so it wasn’t a surprise I didn’t love this book. Also I read this right after A Little Life so Alice Oseman had no chance sorry.

Biggest surprise:

The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. I put off reading this book for years after buying it on a whim in Canada and it was genuinely great! Also I started it in 2021 and couldn’t get into it but once I pushed past chapter 2 and the adventure begun it was very interesting. It also went in a different direction to what I expected which was a nice surprise. Also I hadn’t heard a lot about the book, but in the end I gave it 4.5 stars.

Favourite new author (debut or new to you):

Brit Bennet - I LOVED The Vanishing Half and I want to read more of her books! So far this year I’ve mostly read from authors I’ve read before this year.

Newest fictional crush:

See the full post

11 notes - Posted June 16, 2022

#4

I’m experiencing so much joy rereading this fic and I’ve forgotten that reading can make me so happy.

11 notes - Posted March 21, 2022

#3

I will be in the US so soon!!!!!!!!

11 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

I have officially finished Uni 😅🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

12 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[norbezjones]

I did the art meme! It was actually quite interesting, digging up pieces from my past for this retrospective, and it made me reflect quite a bit. So here's a full reflection of my art journey as depicted in this timeline:

2015: I was dedicating myself more to my art, and made a comic with a friend for a contest that year. I had always been passionate about comics, and had made comics in the past, but with this one, I really stretched my creative muscles. I was trying to learn more techniques with inking & lining. I did traditional art, as I had tried digital art, and considered myself very bad at it. I had been drawing consistently from a young age, and loved the craft.

2016: more traditional art, more comics. Still very passionate about art. The art depicted was for a little exercise I made that became the story idea "Complex Chords" (which is ironic, because I said in the caption of the original piece that, "I won’t be continuing this story." TOTAL LIE LMAO).

2017: the art depicted is the cover art I made for the public release of my game The Mouse, which is an interactive project about a college student named Evelyn Grey who is being abused by their roommate. I drew a lot of Evelyn Grey and her friend, Miss Dexter, that year.

2018: I can't remember much about this year, to be honest. The art depicted is the yearly self-portrait I did from 2015 to 2018ish if I recall correctly.

2019: I tried doing more digital art, using the Fire Alpaca creation tool. I didn't consider myself very good at it, and that discouraged me. The art depicted is a crossover piece between Good Omens and a friend's game, which I gave to that friend as fanart. The most important thing to know is this: I basically gave up on art completely this year or 2020, because I became convinced I wasn't good enough at it, as I had been told by people in my life I wasn't good enough at drawing. So I basically stopped, aside from doodles for myself in my notebook.

2020: I barely drew this year, aside from the coronavirus zine for charity, which the art depicted is from.

2021: I searched far and wide, but I couldn't find any saved pieces from this year. I assume this is because I still wasn't drawing at that time, so there wasn't much to save.

2022: This is where things take a shift. Due to my pseudo-dementia (which was not yet diagnosed), I needed an outlet to express my feelings, and began drawing again. I was very scared to return to drawing, because I was convinced I was so bad at it, but to my pleasant surprise, doing so was a rediscovery of a lost love. I had forgotten how passionate I was about drawing, and I eagerly continued where I had left off, drawing A TON that year. I especially loved returning to inking & lining with pen. The art above is from an animatic I made of my friend's actual play show, Heart Town Hunters. Go watch it, it's really good!

2023: I decided to try digital art again with the program Ibis Paint X, because I was in pseudo-dementia recovery, and only had a phone in my possession. Ibis Paint X is a mobile & PC application, and it's pretty versatile as well. I soon found a great meeting point between my traditional art, and my desire to thrive in the digital art space: I could line the art traditionally, and color it digitally. This meant I used my copic markers less, but it really helped develop my skills in an aspect of art I hadn't yet practiced much. I also participated in ArtFight for the first time ever that year! The art depicted is from my NSFW alt, of my 4 horsemen characters and their handler.

2024: this year, I've only developed my digital art skills more, though I'm no good at shading--that still alludes me (if you have any advice/tips for that, please share them!). I drew all of the art for my upcoming game Romance The Backrooms, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'm making a lot of progress, and I'm happy. Here's to more art in the future!

[showclubpod]

The Outlaws (2021) - Season 1

This month, it’s time to meet The Outlaws! The 2021 series is available on Amazon Prime and stars Stephen Merchant and Christopher Walken. Season 2 is out now! Kerri definitely likes this one a lot more than Rachael’s last pick (Veronica Mars) and Evelyn thinks this is fine. 

  SPOILER WARNING: There is a massive twist that happens near the end of this season that is discussed in detail. So, if you haven’t watched this show, go watch it and then come back and listen to what we have to say.

  It’s an interesting show because while there’s a lot that happens and these people go through so much together, none of their circumstances have changed. The people have changed and become better, but their lives are exactly the same. It’s really good, though. 

  Rani’s mom is really super awesome. We love her. We also love Greg and Gabby. They’re just awesome as friends. But what if Gabby’s dad is the boss of The Dean? That would be interesting.

  What would you guys do if you found a giant bag full of money? Also, THEY PAINTED OVER A REAL BANKSY!!! How could they??

Next month, Evelyn has selected Arcane: League of Legends which can be found on Netflix. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/fXmAurh012s?si=aUKbAx1YBRxw8r0y MAKING OF SPECIAL: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5_skaAKwU5QAZOA09SGdkkMo49ijzWqx&si=2QBY43hhgvv0RB1L TUMBLR: https://showclubpod.tumblr.com/ EMAIL: showclubpod@gmail.com

Brand new episode available now!

[thisismytwocents]

For someone who just feels too much, I decided to reread "Normal People" by Sally Roonie. I felt the urge to read it again, as watching the series did not feel right. I felt lost and uninterested, which was not the case when I read the book.

So I decided to rekindle that spark before getting myself to rewatch it. And I guess, just like with Evelyn, I might have a different stand after this.

My reading journey started in 2021, though last year was the time I felt really interested as a friend of mine was passionately talking about what books contributed to her. And I somewhat miss talking to a person who shares her interest and is not just reaching out to me for money.

Fast forward: I fell in love with her, but she loves her solitude more as she is not ready to give it up yet, which I respect but also don't know how to respond to since I don't want to lose her. I tried making up to her, but eventually, she became the biggest lesson I had.

I was a mess when she came into my life. And now I'm messier. But she left me with the wisdom that when you don't have anyone in life with you, Books will be there to take you and be with you all the way through.

I do hope it's like that enemies to lovers trope for us. Until then, Imma sleep a lot since that's the only time I see your face now.

I'm sorry. I love you.

[drachenfalter]

I posted 683 times in 2022

That's 251 more posts than 2021!

336 posts created (49%)

347 posts reblogged (51%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sepublic

@drachenfalter

@langernameohnebedeutung

@zkbigbang

@bunjywunjy

I tagged 668 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#the owl house - 526 posts

#toh spoilers - 364 posts

#the owl house spoilers - 175 posts

#toh speculation - 134 posts

#toh meta - 120 posts

#toh hunter - 77 posts

#emperor belos - 67 posts

#gus porter - 48 posts

#any sport in a storm - 44 posts

#willow park - 41 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#i wanted to do something more complicated but didn't think i'd get it done in time for the next episode so i tried something simpler

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I've seen a lot of people saying "King's blood could be used to build a portal".

And while that is probably true, how about a less gruesome option.

What if King could learn to harness his magic to create portals and travel the multiverse?

1,393 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

#4

Why Graye uses "Actors"

There is a strategy to Graye using actors behind his illusions that aren't himself.

By using other witches, he keeps himself out of the line of fire and can focus on keeping up the illusions.

He could create Illusions without someone behind it, but those Illusions would be unable to interact with the environment

-> He puts in witch actors, that can talk and cast magic and interact with his audience in a way a pure Illusion couldn't.

And I find this interesting because it is so similar to what Gus did at the Graveyard, putting the Illusion on himself so he could grab Bria's leg and convince her she was actually in danger.

But Gus put himself in danger as well. If Bria had attacked the statue, she would have hit him. Graye keeps himself safe, putting others into the line of fire instead.

1,544 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#3

Flapjack and Evelyn

Okay, since some people still seem confused about this, here is how the episode spells out why Belos said "Goodbye, Evelyn" when crushing Flapjack:

Setup: "CALEB!"

"Caleb!?"

See the full post

2,164 notes - Posted October 19, 2022

#2

One thing I love about how Hunter's story is written is that his (possible) redemption/rehabilitation/whatever you want to call him breaking away from Belos doesn't rest on the shoulders of one single person.

Yes, Willow's actions were important. She might even be the most important person in this. But it wasn't just Willow.

It was also Luz, who like Hunter was born without magic, who was the first to reach out a hand.

It was also Flapjack, who heard Hunter's wish to chose his own path, and decided to become Hunters palisman.

It was also Amity, who like Hunter has to deal with abusive parents, who told Hunter that there are better people out there, people that won't make him feel like he always has to prove himself.

It was also the Flyer Derby team, Gus, Viney and Skara, who accepted him as a friend and showed him what it means to be a normal teenager.

It was also Steve, a coven scout who went through the same training as Hunter, but is old enough to tell Hunter that no, that was not okay, that was messed up.

It was also Darius, who supported Hunter standing up for his friends and gave Hunter a way to stay in contact with those new friends.

And yes, it was Willow, who pulled Hunter into her friend group when he had nobody. Who gave him a second and third chance, but also didn't compromise her own values to do so, standing up for her friends as well. And in turn, showed him what a healthy friendship looks like.

And ultimately, it was Hunter himself, who started to regret. Who followed Darius to undo what he had caused and who was willing to take the fall to protect his new friends from the consequences of his actions.

It took the help of a lot of people to give Hunter a chance to escape from Belos.

We can only hope it was enough.

3,122 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The life saving jacket

So, the scene of Hunter getting swallowed by the ground and Luz trying to pull him out with her jacket is generally interpreted as Luz trying and failing to save him.

Except Luz didn't actually fail. It just looked like that to her and Belos in that moment. And the writers did some very clever setup here.

The next time we see Hunter, he is using glyph magic to stop Belos and protect Luz. Glyphs he wouldn't have had if Luz had not thrown him her jacket. Glyphs that were probably the reason Hunter could escape from wherever Belos sent him in the first place.

Which means that even though Luz could not pull him to safety at first, she still left him with what he needed to save himself.

6,626 notes - Posted April 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[koko-heads]

if evelyn no love interest then why

[lesbian-helen-gansey]

10 Favorite Books of 2021

Making this list made me realize that I read a lot of books this year that I just felt meh about, which was kind of disappointing, but these are the really good ones! About 70% of what I read was fiction, and about 70% were written by women. This is also where I once again add the caveat that I’m terrible at summarizing books, but I do have good taste. You just have to trust me. 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book is about four celebrity siblings who are hosting the party of the summer, and the narrative takes place over the course of the party as everything starts to go wrong. It’s my favorite kind of book in that it’s about people’s relationships with each other, which all books are kind of about, but this one especially. The bond between siblings, the pressure each of them feels in their role in the family, how can you be responsible for each other when no adult has been responsible for you etc. Calling all Lynch Siblings Lovers. (Adult fiction)

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

This is not a feel good read. This book made me very sad, but Alan Hollinghurst is one of, if not my favorite writer, so it’s worth it. I’ve never read another author that describes the specificity and complexity of human emotion the way that he does. This book takes place during the 80s in England, and is about Nick, a gay man, who moves in with his friend’s wealthy conservative family. It follows his experiences over the course of several years of trying to exist as a gay man in this time and find meaningful relationships with people without being able to be very open with any of them. It’s very character driven and is about Nick’s emotional experience as he tries to figure out who he is and how he fits in the world. Hollinghurst is such a talented writer and the book really shows off his craft. (Adult Fiction)

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

This is a super interesting book about how structural racism in America has led to the country’s economic inequality. It talks about the history of a variety of policies including housing and social safety programs and how people would rather destroy these programs entirely than see Black people benefit from them. These is really accessible nonfiction as it’s very narrative based. (Non-fiction)

The Crying Book by Heather Christle

If you love the web-weaving style posts on this website, than this book is for you. This book is all about crying -how we cry, why we cry, what it means to cry-, and Christle weaves together science, philosophy, and her personal experience into something that reads both like a personal essay and an extended poem. It’s really creative and beautiful. I don’t think anything else like it exists. Every page had a quote I wanted to remember. (creative non-fiction) 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

A group of old college friends take their annual New Year’s Eve trip to a secluded hunting lodge. It seems like their personal drama and the secrets they’re keeping will be enough drama to keep them busy for the trip, until someone is killed. A snowstorm means no one can get in or out of the lodge. New secrets, old friends, someone dead, no help on the way. (Adult fiction)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

It seems almost unfair to say I read this book In 2021 when what really happened was that is took me over a year to get through this audiobook, but I did finish it in 2021, so I’m saying it counts. This book is about a boy, Theo, whose mother dies in a terrorist attack at an art museum. It follows him trying to come to terms with this trauma as he becomes an adult. He also stole a painting, which is both the entire point and not the point. This book is very much an exercise in craft with extensive descriptions that Tartt can only get away with because she is such a talented writer. A book that’s worth the effort. (Adult Fiction)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Another TJK! This one is about a famous movie star, Evelyn Hugo, during the golden age of Hollywood. She is looking back on her infamous life and career through the lens of her seven different husbands. I cried more reading this book than any other in recent memory, but in a good way, obviously. I agree with all the popular praise of this book that talks about how vivid Evelyn’s life seems, that it seems like she must have been a real actress. For all the times I got emotional, this was a really fun read, mostly light and easy. (Adult fiction)

The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

This year I got really into domestic thriller type books, I think in part because they tend to be quick and easy, and they also really center around the lives of women. This book is about a young mom, Sophie, who recently moved her family to a small town in Texas. Her new life isn’t what she thought it would be, and she becomes fascinated with the gorgeous and wealthy Margot. As her friendship obsession with Margot becomes more intense, she begins to spiral into a world of sex and violence she’s not sure she can get out of, or even really wants to. (Adult Fiction)

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Steifvater

This was both a very thoughtful and heart warming book that made me very happy. I just thought it was the sweetest thing, and I really loved it. It’s about a family who preforms miracles and the people who seek them out. After a miracle goes wrong for one of their cousins, they reconsider if their traditions are as true as they think they are. Also, people fall in love. Maggie Steifvater has such a knack for creating complex, loveable characters, and this book is no different. (young adult fiction)

The Girls are All so Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

This is by far the craziest book I read this year. If you want to read about girls being evil to each other and villainous behavior, this is the book for you. Told in two timelines, Amb is attending her college reunion and is being threatened with revenge for what she did her freshman year. It’s about the pressure women feel to compete with each other and the way that projecting your insecurities onto others can make you into the vilian in the story really quickly  (Adult Fiction, cw sa)

(I feel like everyone on here already knows I loved Call Down the Hawk and Mister Impossible, so It feels redundant to put them on the list, but those too!!)

[belphegor1982]

Roommate AU+Holiday Fic for (platonic) Rick and Jonathan

(Send me two tropes from this list + characters and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story!)

Oooh, this one’s hard but I love it :o)

It ended up almost as long as the two previous asks put together 😅 Also Evy features quite a lot because, well, Evy 💜

Right, modern AU. Let’s say this is an alternate 2021 with no Covid. Evy and Jonathan are still half English and half Egyptian, and Rick is still American – recently he’s been kicking around Britain for a couple of years after a 5-year stint in the French Foreign Legion. He’s about 27; Jonathan is 31, Evy is 25 going on 26.

I can’t help but think these two had rocky first impressions, to say the least – not necessarily “Jonathan stole one of Rick’s few remaining possessions for a lark” but a pub brawl was definitely involved, and Jonathan bailed on him at a crucial moment (discretion being the better part of valour after all, old boy). Except a couple of minutes after, Rick got arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour (he wasn’t that drunk and definitely not that disorderly – not much more than the rest of the pub, anyway) and when he gets out of the drunk tank his landlord has kicked him out. So when his old buddy and occasional employer Winston mentions he knows a decent bloke who is looking for a flatmate to share the rent, and introduces Rick to none other than the guy who (he felt) started the whole disaster –

Well, Rick says “Oh, hell no” and punches Jonathan in the face.

Winston is dismayed (“Oh hang on, old chap, there’s no need for that sort of violence”), but Jonathan raises a hand from the floor and says, “Okay, that’s fair, I deserved that. Can I buy you a drink to make up for it?”

And Rick thinks, What the hell. Why not.

Turns out Jonathan is good company when he’s not picking someone’s pocket and diverting the blame to unsuspecting Americans who just want to drink alone. Pretty gregarious, too; he never balks at inviting Rick along to poker nights or pub quizzes. He spends a lot of time on his laptop putting people who have art to sell in touch with people who want to buy it, and vice versa, and sometimes people actually want to track art/artefacts and know where it ended up. Rick, who was deployed with the Legion to Afghanistan then Mali in the mid-2010s and saw hundreds- and thousand-years-old relics being pillaged and passed around illicitly, knows exactly what he’s talking about.

Winston casually mentioned Rick’s stay in the Foreign Legion when he introduced them, but to Rick’s relief Jonathan didn’t pick up on it. (It’s not until a few years later that he learns Jonathan actually spent a couple of years as a sniper with the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) in Afghanistan around the early 2010s. Small world.) For all that he talks a lot, Jonathan doesn’t say much about himself, really. But he does talk a lot about his sister, Evy, who is currently working her ass off to get a doctorate in archaeology and Egyptology, despite the sexist bullshit she still gets thrown at her every now and then. (“I mean a hundred years ago it would already have been total bollocks, but now!? For God’s sake.”)

The first time Rick sees Evelyn Carnahan, she doesn’t look like anything he pictured. She’s a small whirlwind. She’s brisk, usually in a hurry; the bun at the back of her head is held up in place with a pencil and a pen and wild brown curls are framing her face. She and her brother throw good-natured barbs at each other, but she’s polite with Rick, if not very interested at first – until he says his unit once went through Mundigak and Deh Morasi, and he’s not good with archaeology and everything but that was… wow.

Evy’s eyes glint.

They spend the evening talking – well, mostly Evy talks and Rick listens and asks questions – about early history in the Hindus Valley and Ancient Egypt while Jonathan pretends to be miffed. And not only Evy is fascinating and knows a scary amount of things while never being snooty about it, it’s also the first time Rick has talked about his time as a soldier in a different way from just “doing his job and trying not to get killed”.

It’s a change. A nice one.

Months pass; Rick loses his job, gets another one, and starts to think Winston was on to something when he suggested Jonathan Carnahan as a potential flatmate. They’re very different (and Jonathan is much more of a slob than Rick is with his stuff) but they’re both fairly easy-going and they get along well. And it doesn’t hurt that sometimes Evelyn visits, or they have a drink in a pub when her workload isn’t too heavy, and she’s passionate and smart and actually hilarious when she wants to be funny.

As Christmas draws near, Rick figures the siblings will spend the holidays with their family. While the thought of getting the flat to himself for a while isn’t unattractive, it’s also weirdly lonely, especially in a city like Greater London where you’re reminded that Christmas is coming soon everywhere you go. To his relief, apart from hanging a few decorations around the flat (some of which look so worn they must be decades old), the most Jonathan does is place a bet on what the Christmas number one single is going to be and ask Rick if he’s got plans for the 24th.

“Not really,” says Rick. “I thought I’d stay here and binge a few shows. Maybe a Christmas movie or two. Don’t you have plans?”

“Oh, nothing grand. You see, on Christmas Eve, Evy and I like to tog ourselves up, put the Muppet Christmas Carol on, and pig out on basbousa. Nothing can beat our mum’s but there’s a great little place in Shadwell that does the next best thing.”

That sounds nice. Familial.

Private.

Rick thinks about the last time he celebrated Christmas with his mom, in that crappy little Chicago apartment a dozen years ago, and tries to quash the pang between his ribs.

“So when are you leaving?”

Jonathan stares at him.

“Leaving? Where…? Oh, that’s right, you haven’t seen that shoebox of a flat Evy’s got in Oxford. Good Lord no, we’re having it here. Evy can take the convertible. Last year we had it at her flat and I had to sleep in the bath.”

Rick’s heart sinks.

“I guess you’ll want the place for yourself, then.”

“Actually I meant to ask you if you liked basbousa. And muppets.”

In hindsight, that might be when Rick cottons on to the fact that 1) the siblings effectively are a family of two and 2) little by little their lives and his crept over each other’s like some kind of weird Venn diagram with a centre that gradually ate up more and more room until the edges were gone.

Rick grins in spite of himself.

“I love muppets. And I’ve never had basbousa but now I’m curious.”

Jonathan’s own grin is small and crooked but genuine.

“Good show, old boy.”

(Sometimes Rick wonders if Jonathan cranks up the Britishness just to wind him up. And maybe he does. But also he doesn’t.)

When Rick comes back from work on the evening of the 24th, he puts on slacks, his best shirt – the one that needs cufflinks instead of buttons – and the jacket and vest he bought on sale after the Legion because he didn’t want the only dress-up suit he owned to be his dress uniform.

To his relief, Jonathan wasn’t putting him on: he’s also wearing a three-piece suit with a tie, although his doesn’t look like he bought it on sale. More like bespoke, or at least tailored. But before the old shit, maybe I don’t belong here class-related bullshit can really sink its claws in Rick’s stomach, Jonathan whistles and says, “Well, I’ll be damned. Looking good here, O’Connell.”

There is no trace of irony in his voice, so Rick relaxes, and that’s when someone knocks on the door.

It’s Evy.

Who puts down her tote bag with the Christmas presents, hands Jonathan her coat, meets Rick’s eyes and smiles.

Rick. Just. Stares.

I mean. He knows Evy is pretty. No amount of messy hair and glasses can hide that. And she’s never dressed badly or even baggy. But her dark hair is tumbling down her shoulders and her little black dress is exactly the right cut for her curves and suddenly it’s like getting hit in the head, hard.

The only thing that doesn’t make him feel like a complete idiot is that Evy’s eyes go as round as his do. Distantly, he realises she’s only ever seen him in battered jeans and soft t-shirts, and he wonders if it’s just being surprised that he actually owns a suit. But, uh… maybe not, after all. Because a small smile is tugging at her lips and turning into something warm and beaming and okay, Rick is so far gone it’s kinda ridiculous.

Jonathan’s eyes jump from one to the other and back. Then he shakes his head and snorts.

“I knew it.”

They have takeout dinner from the Egyptian place Jonathan mentioned. They exchange presents. They watch the Muppets’ Christmas Carol slumped on the couch in their good clothes, then The Holiday when Rick says he’s never seen it.

And on Christmas morning, when Jonathan emerges from his room rumpled and dishevelled, he doesn’t comment on the fact that his sister is wearing one of Rick’s t-shirts and that they’re both smiling like a couple of idiots.

It’s the best Christmas Rick’s had in years.

Fortunately for him, it’s the first great Christmas of many more.

⁂

Did I just write a fic!? Anyway, I hope you like it!

Mundigak and Deh Morasi are archaeological sites in Afghanistan and were important urban centres from the 5th to the 2nd century BC; basbousa is an Egyptian dessert, a sweet semolina cake soaked in syrup.

Thank you so much for the asks 💜

[forthegothicheroine]

Stealing this book meme from @wormwoodandhoney, originally from booktubers! Feel free to steal it from me!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2021: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. What can I say about this book? I don’t read a whole lot of dark memoirs, but this true story of the author’s relationship with an abusive girlfriend is formatted by taking it through a million different literary and film genres, examining it through a million different lenses, pulling out the reader’s heart a million different ways.  It’s amazing.

The other favorite book I’ve read so far is A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling.  It’s also dark non-fiction, but this one reads like super-dark comedy, Stephen King by way of the Coen Brothers.  It’s about libertarians attempting to make their ideal community in an economically depressed Vermont town, exactly the same time a bunch of bears who may have had a brain-affecting parasite started invading.  My husband called it Bearoshock.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021: Bright We Burn by Kiersten White. This was the final book in The Conqueror’s Saga, an alternate history about a female Vlad the Impaler.  While I (still) found the relationship with Mehmed a bit forced, this continued to present one of my all time favorite antiheroines, unlikeable and terrifying and very compelling.  I know very little about this history, which I imagine would make me like the book either more or less, but White really knows how to capture and keep my interest.

3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to: Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire, the final book in her Ghost Roads trilogy, my favorite of her many series.  Just ordered it!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix.  I’ve already read multiple books with similar premises (Final Girls, We Are All Completely Fine) but I adore Grady Hendrix and I feel he’s wonderful with female protagonists and premises that are silly on the outside and very deep on the inside.  He’s an automatic buy for me.

5. Biggest disappointment: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.  This won the Pulitzer Prize, so it’s probably my fault for not getting it.  Still, I was baffled that you’d come up with a steampunk/magic realism concept about a literal railroad to freedom and then not actual do anything with the railroad.

6. Biggest surprise: The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (translation by Wayne A. Rebhorn) is so much fun!  The stories are so bawdy and goofy and the narrator’s voice is really delightful.  Sympathetic to Jews, disdainful of the church and preoccupied with the idea of women being in their rights to seek out good times, it gave me a view of the kind of Renaissance personality I have never seen onscreen. Besides, tailoring stories to tell to friends during a plague is something I’ve been doing a lot in the past year or so, so I strongly identified.

7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you): Alyssa Cole.  Her romance novella Let it Shine was amazingly beautiful and painful and sexy and compulsively readable.  I have to check out her Loyal League series now!

8. Newest fictional crush: As above, Ivan Friedman from Let it Shine, a Jewish boxer and activist in 1960s Virginia full of passion and fight, committed to being the one who takes punches for other people.  But I wouldn’t want to take him away from Sofie, respectable black college girl turned Freedom Rider.

9. Newest favorite character: Jordan Baker from The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo, a magical realist retelling of The Great Gatsby.  This Jordan is a Vietnamese adoptee, stylish and smart but forever an outsider, possessed of a magical talent exploited by her selfish best friend, in love with two weak-willed people, the only one who can see through to demonic souls even after it’s too late.  I got an ARC from work- look out for my official review!

10. Book that made you cry: Help at Any Cost by Maria Szalavitz.  Oof.  This is a scathing and horrifying and unfortunately page-turning expose of schools designed to break “troublesome” children into submission.  It’s a few decades old, but I can’t imagine this line of thinking and abuse has gone away.  (Side note: it inspire me to try and write a ghost story, which I can’t decide whether it might be in bad taste, but it’s the way I have to work out my feelings.)

11. Book that made you happy: Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss, an examination of the pre-Harry Potter ya books sold at scholastic fairs, meant for only a few uses.  I haven’t read most of them, but this made me feel like I was on a giddy sugar rush at a sleepover party, recommending and making fun of books with my friends.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received): Through the Woods by Emily Carroll.  An eerie graphic novel collection of Carroll’s horror stories. illustrated in a deceptively simplistic but bone-chilling style.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, partly because it looks amazing but also to justify impulse buying it when I already had too many unread books at home.

[ephemeral-winter]

the year in books, 2021

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (reread)

i am problematic and i am obsessed with ms rooney and i’m not apologizing for it

The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, ed. Charlotte Mosley

can you believe i am [redacted] years into my mitford obsession and it took me until this year to read their letters? your honor, i love them

How to Speak Brit by Christopher J. Moore

my uncle bought me this after i got into grad school (in the uk) as a joke and i read it to be polite? why? 

Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony (reread)

!!!!! once again i heartily recommend both reading this and following @entertheaardvark

A Fine Old Conflict by Jessica Mitford

this is decca’s underread and underappreciated second memoir, and it is mostly about her time in the communist party in the us in the 50s and 60s. what a life! 

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

i’m not including 99% of what i read for school this year because who has that kind of time, but i’m making an exception for this because holy shit. all the content warnings apply (novel is about a slave revolt in jamaica c. 1790), but holy shit. 

The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia  Woolf, edited by Louise DeSalvo and Mitchell A. Leaska

yeah i cried what about it

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood

fuck she’s so funny

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

this one was less funny

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

i learned a lot of new slang! but i suspect i am not the target audience

Saturday by Ian McEwan

lmao so my creative writing teacher this past spring told me to read this because she thought my story draft needed a sex scene and this novel apparently contains a great example of one? 1) my draft did not need a sex scene 2) the scenes here were not good and 3) i can source and read good erotica on my own, thanks

Codex by Lev Grossman (reread)

he wrote this before the magicians and it’s about video games and medieval manuscripts and has lovely descriptions of the tedium of archival librarianship so

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

i completely missed the twist in this and was so confused for the last 50 pages… idk if you like spies this might be good

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adam’s (reread)

i read this about every 3 years and every time i forget what happens in it, which is nice for me i guess? 

Antiquities by Cynthia Ozick

read for my bookclub with my grandmother. meh. 

The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

well i AM a sucker for thinly-disguised retellings of the wills/kate saga what can i say

The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr

the best nonfiction i read this year

Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers

based on everything else about me i should have fell in love with peter wimsey years ago but i never got around to it and maybe i’m too jaded now but i just was not impressed? 

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (reread)

holds up imo! i watched the disney+ show and reread at the same time; book is better

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (reread)

i had a cold and wanted to stay in bed

Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

oh wow another memoir of an american journalist in paris. tell me more about navigating french department stores for the first time, please, i find it so fascinating

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (reread)

fuck did i really do this one TWICE in one year? i hate myself

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

brandon’s twitter is miles more interesting than this book but i guess i see why it got shortlisted for the booker. i guess. 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston

look it’s not my fault i needed something easy to pick up and put down while the kids i babysat this summer took their naps

Helena by Evelyn Waugh

i think i read this one in one sitting in the bath but other than that i could not tell you anything about it

Normal People by Sally Rooney (reread)

i’m clinically insane

The Past by Tessa Hadley

i actually liked this a lot! never read any hadley before but i might get into her now

Quartet by Jean Rhys

i think i prefer good morning midnight over this one

The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan

interesting stuff but i gotta ask: haha and then what? 

Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney

read this on the plane on my way to start grad school. i have no interest in rereading it

White Houses by Amy Bloom

FUCK this is so good. she captured the intimacy of eleanor and hicks so beautifully. goddamn

Matrix by Lauren Groff

i was supposed to love this especially since my mentor was the historical advisor and also i was present at the lecture that inspired it but uh…. twas not my ideal representation of a 12th cen nunnery

How to Be Both by Ali Smith

picked this up on my first day out of a stupid week of stupid isolation and whizzed through it! i am an ali smith stan now

Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford

this reprint of a 1930s novel was charming! recommend

The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold

very interesting history, but i prefer the tv show (harlots)

[readingaway]

Mid Year Book Freakout Tag

Stolen from @ninja-muse, this was a good distraction for a few minutes

How many books have you read so far?

126; fewer than I wanted to have read but there’s a lot of extenuating circumstances and reading must take a back seat to everything else. A few have been re-reads like Dance of Thieves, Red White & Royal Blue, the first three books of An Ember in the Ashes, and I will get to re-reading We Hunt the Flame in the next few weeks. 

What genres have you read?

A decent mix, I think. It’s still somehow dominated by fantasy and YA (or YA fantasy), but I’ve gotten in quite a few other genres like contemporary/ adult literary fiction, historical fiction, romance, sci-fi, classics, and some nonfiction, poetry, short stories, and graphic novels. 

Best books you’ve read so far in 2021:

Not counting re-reads -

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (book 3 hurt so much)

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

A Memory of Light by Brandon Sanderson & Robert Jordan 

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (my favorite Discworld novel so far)

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

New Spring by Robert Jordan

The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald (was a bit hard to read but the flow and the emotional pull)

The Lives of Christopher Chant and Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones (I’ve discovered that when I’m in a slump - usually because my reading has been too depressing or dry I just have to pick up a Jones or a Pratchett to fix things)

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir (I mean, I thought I was upset by certain things but then I checked the tagged posts on here and realized I’m normal, actually)

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley

Curses are for Cads by Tamara Berry

The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021:

Uh, I’m gonna go with The Box in the Woods even though it’s not quite a sequel, it is connected to the main series

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to:

Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton, Delicates by Brenna Thummler, Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize by Margo Rabb, and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. There’s a few more but these are the ones I’m most anxious to get to.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

I’m very excited for A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger, Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson, Hypnosis is for Hacks by Tamara Berry, and The Winners by Fredrik Backman - the intended release date is unclear but it looks like it should be out in English in November/ December but might be pushed to next year. (On that note, I am still waiting for The Winds of Winter and The Thorn of Emberlain.)

Biggest disappointment:

Ace by Angela Chen was well put together but nothing earth-shattering or even that affirming for me. I keep myself sheltered from discrimination so I don’t face the stuff that people in the stories related faced, nor is it like I’ve never heard of asexuality before. 

In terms of books I think were just bad, Coyote America by Dan Flores was a flop; it looked like it might be pretty informative and some parts of it were, but there were so many assumptions and presumptions, as well as poor argumentation, that it threw everything else the author was claiming into question. Brideshead Revisited and A Handful of Dust, both by Evelyn Waugh were also big disappointments, out of all the classics I’ve read so far this year they were both boring, stale duds in which nothing interesting happened at all and the narrative voice was even more boring and grating. 

Biggest surprise:

Um, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I thought it would be iffy but it was... it flowed well and highlighted the differences between the women and had such emotional depth and also drew so much attention to patriarchal religious structures and patriarchy in general. 

Favorite new author (debut or new to you):

Ooh, I’ve read quite a few debut novels - mostly middle grade since I’ve been reading a lot of middle grade since my own novel project falls somewhere between middle grade and YA and I want to study the story types and narrative styles and I like how they’re written much more clearly than YA and adult books and yet typically have great emotional depth. So for most notable debut authors I liked Rebecca Mahoney and Nora Shalaway Carpenter. In new to me authors, Rachel Maddow, Tillie Walden, and Natuso Kirino all have other books that I’m now interested in checking out. Actually I have one of Tillie Walden’s other books next to me right now.

Underrated gems:

I’m going to say Spindle’s End, The Goddess Chronicle, The Valley and the Flood, Cures for Heartbreak, the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones, Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (a classic horror/ sci-fi novel), and The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Newest fictional crush:

Was gonna say “don’t have any” but one could say that I love Marko in Saga (they draw him with such a strong jawline and he wears armor and has beautiful ram horns; bearded Marko was peak Marko) and Eleanor Wilde in Tamara Berry’s Eleanor Wilde mystery series might count.

Newest favorite characters:

the crew in Saga and Ashby in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet stick out but really, I loved a lot of characters this year.

Book that made you cry:

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles, Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid leap to mind

Book that made you happy:

Aside from the ones I already listed, The Transatlantic Book Club by Felicity-Hayes McCoy

Most beautiful book cover of a book you’ve read so far this year:

Oh but there’s quite a few! Like The Pull of the Stars, the vintage classics copy of Orlando, The Go-Between, The Valley and the Flood 

How are you doing with your year’s goals?

Well I didn’t make any official goals aside from my overall reading goal of 200 books, which I’m doing well on. I might up it to 250 but I’m not sure how demanding fall semester is going to be yet. Aside from that I just have vague goals to push my boundaries and read as diversely as possible - not just with things like #ownvoices books but in genre, all the different categories, as well. That’s going pretty well.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

SO MANY. I can’t give a list because there is no way to keep it concise.

Tagging: @softironman, @she-wolf-of-highgarden, @motherofkittens94 and anyone who wants to do it.

[another-rogue-trevelyan]

Wow, it has been a while since I’ve had progress to share. Life has been busy, but I’m happy to have something to post once again!

Thank you @musetta3 @hawkeish and @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold for tagging me within the last weeks!

Here is a hot off the presses (I literally typed this 5 minutes ago) snippet from an upcoming chapter of Hearts Like Lions, my ongoing Cullen/Trevelyan long fic. I’m hoping to have the next chapter out before the New Year, but if I can’t make that happen expect to see it in the early days of 2021!

The music swelled as the dance separated them again. This time, Evelyn found herself in the arms of none other than the Grand Duke himself.

“How are you enjoying the ball, Inquisitor?” He asked. Evelyn heard rather than saw his distaste for the event beneath his mask.

“It’s lovely, though all of this elegance is a little jarring for those of us who have been out in the field doing real work.”

Gaspard threw back his head and laughed. “I knew you were an intelligent woman, Your Worship! Such finery is an insult when you’ve been living on the front lines. You know as well as I the importance of a ruler who leaves the throne behind long enough to do something. One can’t run an empire while never lifting their ass from a cushion.”

“And what of this, Grand Duke? Does dancing count as field work? Getting off the cushion?”

He chuckled, pulling her in a bit closer to speak quietly in her ear. “This is The Game, Inquisitor. I couldn’t pass over a chance to dance with such a magnificent woman, even if I would normally say dancing is a waste of time.”

He lingered for just a moment, and Evelyn was acutely aware that she was being used. Gaspard, of course, wished to make use of her growing popularity and the piqued interest surrounding her, and the familiarity presented by the closeness of the gesture stirred whispers and sidelong glances. She felt a pair of eyes boring into her back and, as they turned, she found Cullen, white knuckled and staring after her.

“Your kind words are appreciated, My Lord. I’m sure we shall speak again before the night is out.” Gaspard bowed as the couples were passed back to their original partners. Dorian gracefully caught her hand, guiding her back into place as they floated across the floor.

“I don’t like him,” Dorian said simply, spinning her again. Her skirts flared out in tandem with the other dancers.

“Nor do I. Something about him makes my skin crawl. But that doesn’t guarantee he’s our man.”

“We could kill him anyway,” Dorian suggested with a nonchalant shrug. Evelyn snorted.

“You’re awful!”

“I’m awful? You have an assassin for a personal trainer!”

“I’ll have you know those skills from my ‘personal trainer’ have saved your ass on more than one occasion.”

“Please. I’m too pretty to die,” he teased. “And should I remind you who pulled you out of Redcliffe Castle while you were determined to get yourself killed?”

He had her there.

“Call it even?”

“Fine with me,” Dorian grinned.

The most recent chapter can be found here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431211/chapters/68078761

I’m tagging @charlatron @noire-pandora @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold and anyone else who wishes to do this! I know many are taking a little break until the end of the year, so didn’t want to tag too many, but if you’d like to share some recent work please do and say I tagged you so I can read it! No pressure as always ❤️

[thetypedwriter]

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Book Review

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Book Review by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

It’s funny. Two book reviews ago I went on a lengthy diatribe about how giving people books is often annoying and unwelcome (or maybe that’s just me). Recommending and suggesting books I love and can do all the livelong day. 

I encourage people to tell me about their latest foray into fiction or that one novel they haven’t been able to stop thinking about for years, but when you actually physically give someone a book, well. 

There’s pressure involved. 

In that other book review post, A Man Called Ove, I outlined how one of three things would happen if someone gives you a book and you read it:

1. The book is good and you chastise yourself for being a moron and not knowing about it earlier. 

2. The rare occurrence of the book being a home-run and has a place proudly sitting on your favorites shelf forever. 

3. The book sucks, the whole journey was tedious and annoying, and the person who lent the book to you in the first place is disappointed or butt-hurt. 

In the last review it was the third option, and to be fair, it usually is. Oftentimes this isn’t even because the book is bad per se, but more so because the book isn’t for me and my interest in it to begin with was tenuous and shaky at best. 

Fortunately, in the case of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo it was option 1 with a small leeway into option 2. I had never heard of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo before or the author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, for that matter, and when my friend gave it to me I put it off on my shelf to collect dust for several months.

However, as my to-be-read list dwindled down to nothing and my newest shipment of books was not yet ready (I might have been waiting for all those Barnes and Noble gift cards I knew were lurking in unopened Christmas cards) I decided to give it a try, and oh boy, am I glad I did. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an adult fiction LGBT novel that focuses on two different timelines running parallel throughout the book. We start off with our main character in the present day of 2017, Monique Grant, a biracial journalist in her 30’s who currently works for a publication called Vivant in New York City but wants more. 

In the midst of an impending divorce, stagnating at work, and missing her long ago deceased father, the only thing Monique takes pride in is a piece she did about euthanasia and how there is mercy in killing before suffering a few years back. 

Her life takes an unexpected turn when Hollywood legacy, Evelyn Hugo, reaches out to her through her job and asks to meet with her. What she thinks is simply a meeting about Evelyn’s recent gown donation turns out to be a life-changing decision where she not only learns about the life and loves of Evelyn Hugo, but also about herself and the choices she made along the way by being tasked to write Evelyn’s biography. 

Monique’s POV is sprinkled throughout the story, thrusting us back into the present every so often, but most of the book is now an eighty-year-old Evelyn dictating her rise to fame from the 50’s all the way to the 80’s and beyond as she lays out the ugly, the beautiful, the sordid, and the desperate actions and choices she made to where she rests as an old woman before Monique, alone, filthy rich, and ominous about the end of her life from a first person perspective. 

To be very blunt, I didn’t care much for Monique. 

I liked the representation of her character, but she often came across as judgy, annoying, and rash. Several times throughout the novel, she has to apologize for speaking too quickly or for jumping to conclusions and for someone who is a journalist I found it to be an odd trait. 

Her growth as a character as a direct involvement with Evelyn was interesting, and I truly enjoyed the fact that at the end of the day, Monique remains a single woman who didn’t want to settle for something less than she deserved. 

That’s more than I can say for most YA protagonists who almost always end up with someone romantically because god forbid they remain alone. 

Evelyn, on the other hand, I immensely enjoyed. 

She’s snarky, manipulative, mean, catty, ruthless, and greedy. 

She’s also hardworking, confident, intelligent, and passionate. 

She came across as a real person to me, a real person with flaws and with qualities I admired. She was kind of a bitch, and I loved that about her. The other characters from Evelyn’s tale, mainly her seven husbands, her friends, and Celia St. James, were also well developed and nuanced characters. 

Nobody was good or bad. Everyone had aspects of both in them and it was so good to see portrayals of characters that resembled real flesh-and-blood human beings. 

As you would expect, there is a lot of scandal, romance, sex, and the glitter and glamour of Hollywood throughout these pages. What I didn’t expect were the themes of race, of sexuality, of gender roles, of death, and of forgiveness. 

Having a bisexual Cuban-American main character detailing her rise to fame in 1950’s America was incredibly interesting from a variety of standpoints. 

To me, though, the biggest theme was about love. 

As the book is called The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, there is of course, an explicit understanding that love will play a large role in the novel. What I didn’t expect was the complex way in which love was depicted. 

The author Reid wanted to convey that romantic love wasn’t the only love worth writing about, and how there are all kinds of wonderful and all-consuming loves that have nothing to do with romance or sex at all. 

Parental love, friendship, inspiration, romance, and familial bonds were all represented and not one was shown to be more valuable or more interesting than the other. All of Evelyn’s relationships had merit, and at the end of the day, everything Evelyn did, start to finish, was for someone she loved one way or another. 

In some ways, aren’t we all Evelyn Hugo?

Together with the myriad themes, the alternating timelines, the representation, and the juicy plot, the story was enjoyable from the first page to the last. The writing itself is very fluid and very easy. 

This is not a hard read by any means. The vocabulary was simple and the writing was simple, but it was very entertaining and at the end, even thought-provoking. 

It made me think. 

Was I making the right choices in my life? Or was I settling for easy? For forgettable? Was I holding myself to high standards and getting what I wanted? What I deserved?

Books that make me sit in silence after I finish reading them, tears in my eye because I’m so emotionally overwhelmed are few and far between. This is what I did after finishing reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I simply sat on my couch, mind spinning, and tried not to cry. 

That, to me, is the mark of an excellent book. 

Recommendation: If you like strong and sassy female characters then this is definitely a novel worth checking out. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a whirlwind romance, but perhaps not in the way you would suspect. With fluid writing, engaging characters, a scintillating plot, and themes that will leave you gaping, what better way to start off the year 2021 than by giving yourself a truly fantastic read? 

Score: 9/10