#sherlock: rose among thorns

[twistedtummies2]

I'm the anon who recommended the Alice in Wonderland themed otome games.

I haven't played The Fate of Wonderland myself, although I've been meaning to. I just don't like its character designs, which I'm particularly picky about. The game in general never looked promising to me for some reason. But I still decided to include it for you just in case.

Now your words got me interested to check out A Villain's Twisted Heart. Do you have any other recommendations for Genius Inc. otome games?

Ikémen Revolution is my personal favorite. It takes a completely different approach with the Wonderland theme in a world where a war is brewing between the Black and Red Armies. At the beginning it made me think that it was totally irrelevant to the plot and it was just another method of appealing to the Japanese audience with their favorite fairy tale. However, as I delved deeper into the story with every route, I realized it has a great world-building, intertwined fates of the characters and an overarching plot. While it's less popular in the modern Ikémen Series because the game feels lighthearted on the surface, it has a solid storyline that's darker than it looks, in my opinion. Unfortunately it got discontinued without ever releasing the route of the most crucial character to uncover the entire lore. Ikémen Villain was announced right after, which indicates Ikémen Revolution was sacrificed to make way for another title with fairy tale theme. As a result, I decided not to play IkéVil. Not gonna lie though, the villain, fairy tale and especially Wonderland concepts do tempt me to check it out. But I feel so bitter because IkéRev didn't get a proper closure when I was so invested in it and eagerly waited to put together the whole picture of their history.

Taisho × Alice has 3 main installments, each one contains 2 character routes. All the 6 love interests are actually the genderbend versions of the heroines from various fairy tales. It's suggest to play the routes in order (as in Episode 1, 2 and then 3) because it's the best way to enjoy the plot. Surprisingly, the routes are all alternate universes where the characters' roles also change. The story gets progressively darker with each Episode. Then in the Epilogue you get to play genderbend Alice's route, which I heard connects all the previous routes together. There's also Taisho × Alice All In One to avoid the hassle of buying them one by one. I've only played 1 route from Episode 1 and 2 each, because I'm not into the other 2 love interests, plus I couldn't wait for the dark elements since Episode 1 is too light-hearted. Episode 3 is next in my list. As much as I'm eager to find out all the mysteries of the game, genderbend Alice is a huge brat so his route is gonna be a pain in the ass for me. XD

Sorry for writing an essay here. I got too excited to find another fan of Alice in Wonderland based otome games.

First of all, sorry to hear that, regarding Ikemen Revolution. That truly is a shame. Having stated that, when/if I get around to looking into the franchise, I'll probably still look at both titles, because I'm curious about both. I'll just have to keep that info in mind when I get to IR (if I ever do).

Second of all...huh. Not sure if I've heard of a game of this type that does something like that, regarding Taisho X Alice. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm actually not the absolute biggest fan of Otome games. I've never actually played any, and the ones I've looked into have been because the subject matter of the story/characters interested me. With the "Alice" games I've taken a peek at, I looked into them not because I was looking for hotties or otomes, but because I'm a huge fan of "Alice" and I wanted to see how those characters were treated. The fact I could then form crushes on some of the characters was just an added treat, so to speak. :P I say this because I have no idea if the gimmick for Taisho X Alice is especially unique or not, but either way, it sounds different to me, and that's usually interesting. :) Third of all...so, Genius Inc. is kind of the bargain bin of otome games, from what I've looked at from their library. They make their games fast and cheap, and they're available for free. To make up for that latter fact, making certain choices involves ad breaks and/or currency spending to get through. So, as far as games THEMSELVES go, I wouldn't recommend them. In terms of the characters and stories...to say they are hit or miss is an understatement. Most of the Genius Inc. games I've looked into I tend to lose interest in, because they get so focused on the side of "these characters are hot and you will fall in love with them, dang it!" that they forget to actually tell a well-structured story, or they make choices that I feel don't quite match the characters as I imagine them.

WITH THAT SAID...there are three I would recommend potentially looking into. First, there's the one I mentioned here, "A Villain's Twisted Heart," which is by far my favorite I've seen. The characters in the game are all reimaginings of antagonists from classic fairy-tales/fantasy: Captain Hook (he needs no introduction), Grimm (The Big Bad Wolf), and Hisame (a genderbent version of The Snow Queen). It's the best written, in my opinion, and even though it isn't perfect - again, made fast and cheap - it's the one that I feel tells the best overall story. I would legitimately like to see that game transformed into a manga or an anime, if such a thing were ever possible. Next, there's "Lullaby of Demonia," which seems to be one of their most popular titles. That one's story is admittedly flawed, but I think the premise of it is very unique, and I genuinely like all of the major characters. I honestly think it COULD have been on par with "A Villain's Twisted Heart" with a little tweaking. And third, there's a more recent title, "Sherlock: A Rose Among Thorns." This is a Sherlock Holmes themed game, where your dating options, as it were, are Holmes himself, Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, and an original character named Sebastian Blackwood (whose name is a combination of "Sebastian Moran" from the books and "Henry Blackwood" from one of the Guy Ritchie movies). This is a game...I WANT to like more than I actually do. Because there are definitely things I find admirable or just fun in it. But there's also a lot of stuff that annoys me about it, both as a Sherlock Holmes fan and just from the perspective of storytelling. So I'd say consider it as an option and perhaps consider giving it a try to see if it works for you. There are lots of other Genius games (including one inspired by "Beauty and the Beast," one inspired by "Phantom of the Opera," one inspired by Universal Monsters, and more generic romance games about restaurants, monsters, demons, and mafia masterminds than you can shake a stick at), so...see about finding their website and looking to see if anything looks interesting to you. Just be aware anything you look at won't be Shakespeare...or...whatever the otome-game-equivalent to that would be. 'XD

[yandere-romanticaa]

I'm trying out this otome game, it's honestly a vibe!! I haven't gotten too far yet as I just started playing BUT for now, it's solid

[averlym]

[dailymolliarty]

So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings: 

The prince fought valiantly. He slayed the dragon. The princess cried for days. She loved that dragon. — Brothers Grimm

“From the window of the tower, sunlight came every morning and fell asleep behind distant mountains with the arrival of the night. A sparse blaze of grass, primroses and freesias had blossomed on the meadow surrounding the manor, and climbing roses embraced the stone and adorned the tower like a red mantle, up to the high battlements. And Molly, princess of a nameless kingdom covered by time and dust, watched absorbed the slow passage of seasons and years, from that window that represented the only glimpse of the outside world. Old age seemed to pass by her, never touching her. One of the many effects that the Dragon’s spell had left on her skin, a gift and condemnation that would not abandon her if not at the death of her abductor, a mark of black magic that kept unchanged her delicate, gentle features. Centuries ago, when the blood of war had swallowed up the fields and only smoke and ash were wandering in the silent skies, she was taken away from the castle of her noble ancestors through deception. Her people surrendered, and the Dragon finally won his battle. He then kept her in a tower hidden in the misty forest, deeply asleep for a thousand years, in a bed covered with flowers and silk, as the most precious of jewels, the most precious of treasures. 

He watched her from afar, every day, greedily devouring her pale skin, passing his gaze through her long brown hair. But the years passed, and hunger changed its traits, gaining more calm, mild, tender tones. It became love. Love for that princess who dreamed in his bed, petite and fragile as glass, like a tender blossom under gray mounds of snow, trying not to succumb to the frost of winter. And sometimes, in the darkness of those stone corridors where the echoes of his footsteps resounded slow and empty, he would curse himself for having grasped her forcefully by the hands of her fellow men, condemning her to a timeless life, far from those who once she called mother and father, now buried in cold lands. Until the day he knelt beside her, moved away the silk drapes that covered her lifeless-like body and, keeping her close to him, laid his lips on hers. Sweetly at first, almost asking permission. But James Moriarty, once a human among humans, had renounced his humanity to obtain from the dark forces an immortal heart, a Dragon heart, and so that encounter of lips soon became angry, passionate, desperate. It was then that the princess woke up, opening her eyes for the first time in a thousand years. Wide, kind eyes, two stars that seemed to have left their constellation. He moved his face away, feeling lost and guilty and completely untrustworthy, and his fingers left her back. She stood forward, grabbed him by the robe and pulled him back on her skin, kissing him again and again, until their breathing was the only sound that pervaded the room. She had dreamt of him, felt his quiet presence despite the magic that kept her asleep, and fell in love with the man who had taken her away, imprisoned  her on the highest tower of a castle surrounded by thorns and nettles. For a thousand years she waited for him to wake her up, to grant him her forgiveness. And so the princess and the Dragon looked for another thousand years at the stars of the firmament, side by side, from the top of that black tower. But time passed, the castles destroyed by the war returned to shine again, men crowned new  monarchs, and the story of the princess who was sleeping a sleep of death in the woods, guarded by an evil sorcerer with a Dragon’s heart, spread across the lands and beyond the sea. A knight who had deserved the title of Dragon Slayer, the brave Sherlock Holmes, set off on a horseback through the sharp shrubs, intent on killing the sorcerer and saving the princess. And one day, as Molly was looking up, from her lonely window, at the high mountains and the clear, glassy sky that stretched endlessly above her, a loud noise of clogs fell on the ground surrounding the manor house, announcing the arrival of the knight. But she wasn’t alone, in her room. James Moriarty had joined her at the window, moving her long hair away from her shoulder with a soft touch and looking down at his opponent. And the sorcerer saw a man who had not surrendered to magic, a man with a whole, devoted, unconquerable heart. Symbol and stronghold of that humanity that he lost, in exchange for his own soul. Sherlock Holmes, the Dragon Slayer, was a man not yet won by evil, who would not fall. And it was then that James Moriarty took the princess’s hands, brought them to his lips for one last time and told her not to be afraid. She looked at him. She understood. And begged him not to go away, to stay there, with her, until the end of the world, of everything known. They would become a memory, an echo of distant times, ashy ghosts of past eras. It was too late. He was changing his body into shiny scales, his skin taking the features of his cursed heart. The Dragon fell ferociously on the knight, growled with all the breath in his throat, covering him with flames and sulfur. But, when Sherlock Holmes raised his sword to strike him to death, he opened his wings and let the gleaming blade reach his heart. With a low cry, he fell on a bed of crocuses and daisies, spilling warm blood between stems and bright petals. Returning to his human form, he looked up to the tower, towards the window, and saw her. The sun’s rays illuminated her aching shape, sparkening the tears that were streaming down her face. James Moriarty smiled, with his eyes full of sunshine, and full of her. And he died quietly, in the red of his blood, facing the wide sky. After two thousand years, Molly’s life began to flow again.

[mautadite]

july book roundup

WE DID IT LADS!!!!!!! WITH FIVE MONTHS TO SPARE!!!!!!!!!! here’s to the 15 books i read this month, and the HUNDRED MORE I’LL READ IN THE COMING MONTHS +_+ (probably not. 50 more tho. that’s doable.)

how to bang a billionaire - alexis hall  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a book that i might have abandoned 3 pages in if not for the fact that it’s written by alexis hall, who’s written some of my favourite stuff. it’s sort of a parody of other billionaire d/s books? sort of? sometimes it was just played straight and i didn’t enjoy it. but i’ll prob give other books in the series a try.

a lily among thorns - rose lerner  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ delightful! i’m in love with serena, she’s my absolute favourite. solomon was okay. also there were spies and intrigue and fancy parties and good old romance.

courting the countess / charming the vicar - jenny frame  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ contemporary f/f romance set in a small english village. lot of the f/f out there tends to be femme/femme, so i was glad to find cute butches in here. one was a very sweet fairy-tale-esque story, the other tackled being queer within the church (and featured a lesbian vicar).  all in all two cute romances, but not amazing.

portland diary - jamie berrout  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a collection of short stories, all of which starred trans women of colour. man i liked it a lot, i just got frustrated that so many things were left unsaid. the collection felt extremely polished, but unfinished. and like i said in my review, i know leaving things unsaid is sometimes obviously the point of a story, it just didn’t work for me. still, i liked this a lot. it had sci-fi! it had dystopian futures! it had examinations of race and class! it had lesbians! i wanted for nothing.

coriolanus - william shakespeare  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reread this after seeing that gifset of hiddleston and fraser making out. still a banger. “we have been down together in my dreams, unbuckling helms, fisting each other’s throats, and waked half dead with nothing.” dang. gay.

the god eaters - jesse hajicek  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ this has been on my to read list for a hell of a long time. it was good! not great, but good. fantasy m/m in a western-esque world of magic and gods. the world-building was sort of all over the place, it leaned heavily on racist tropes in the beginning, and a lot of things just didn’t makes much sense. buuuuut the characters were good and they fell in luv.

how they met and other stories - david levithan  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i love david levithan a lot, i read a bunch of his stuff in my late teens, in my ‘I’M NEVER READING ANYTHING AGAIN UNLESS IT’S GAY!!!!!’ phase. this was a sweet collection of stories, in levithan’s always simple but always pretty and evocative prose. enjoyed it a lot! (tho ngl, i was crushed there was only one f/f story ;; and it wasn’t even happy!)

the adventures of sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ nth reread. not my favourite collection, among the short stories, but i love it a lot anyway. contains one of my favourite exchanges between holmes and a villain (grimesby roylott, in “the speckled band”). holmes the meddler! :D

huntress - malinda lo  ⭐️⭐️ this has also been on my to-read list for a while, and alas, it was a decided disappointment. flat characters, slipshod plot, omniscient pov/pov switching, which i hate more than i can express. i do not need to know what every character is thinking, if a scene is from a certain pov, LEAVE IT THERE, don’t switch around to let me know what character B thinks of A’s statement, right after A says it! agh. it was frustrating. but hey! malindo lo writes real pretty prose, and there were lesbians. so there’s that.

the sitar - rebecca idris  ⭐️⭐️ A BIG OLD YIKES. two stars because i really enjoyed getting a look into the british-muslim diaspora, even more so because two of the main characters were muslim lesbians. everything else: yikes. the author seemed undecided on what she actually wanted to SAY, so many passages were long and overwrought, character motivation from space, and NO editing/proofreading. also, the ending... yikes. yikes!!!

the merchant of venice - william shakespeare  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rereading coriolanus made me want to reread this too, just because it’s been such a long time. and wow it was a lot gayer than i’d realised in form 3. “say how i loved you, speak me fair in death. and when the tale is told, bid her be judge whether bassanio had not once a love.” gay.

sarah’s lover - saxon bennett  ⭐️⭐️ you’re ever reading a romance novel and you wonder, “wait, why is A falling in love with B? B’s an asshole!” this is the story of a lesbian who gets dumped by her asshole girlfriend, and proceeds to fall in love with a ghost who is eerily like her asshole girlfriend. but the author seems totally unaware of this similarity. yikes.

the covert captain - jeannelle m. ferreira  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reader, i swooned. this book has a very particular style, few descriptions and transitions, and it makes it hard to read at times, and there are other areas in which it’s less than perfect. but it also the tale of a traumatised veteran of waterloo, a woman who’s been in disguise for most of her life and all of her career, and how she falls in love with the sister of her closest friend. i loved it! frick.

briarley - aster glenn gray  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i love fairy-tale retellings!!!!! this is a gay retelling of beauty and the beast, set in 1940s england in the midst of wwii. a parson stumbles upon an old mansion, picks a rose for his daughter, and then a weird dragon man shows up and breathes fire in his face. this was unbearably sweet, i want a thousand more like it.

“so what’s next, now that you’ve finished the challenge?” WE KEEP READING BOIS. i’m not going to change my goal on goodreads, just to let myself off the hook, but i’ll keep reading. just not as much. i’ve been reading a lot of ultimately substance-less romance, which i love and is good for my soul, but i also want to get back into reading more classics, more nonfiction, more books in french. since i just took a free trial of kindle unlimited, and its selection of books kinds runs more towards the light stuff, i prooobably won’t be doing that for some time, but it’s on the agenda. right now, i’m listening to an audiobook of the memoirs of sherlock holmes, and ngl, i’ll be diving into some more romance soon. :D

[mushroomjar]

[ID: Screenshots of titles of multiple different fanfiction works on AO3. Every single title contains a piece of the lyrics of the song Take Me To Church by Hozier, and they've been arranged to read in the order of the lyrics in the song. The fanfics are from a variety of fandoms, which are: Homestuck, The Vampire Diaries, The Magnus Archives, Mass Effect, Father Brown, Final Fantasy, Good Omens, Harry Potter, Thunderbirds, IT, Sense8, Akuma no Riddle, Star Wars, Lucifer, Yuri!!! on Ice, The Umbrella Academy, One Direction, Now You See Me, Carmilla, Rizzoli & Isles, Les Misérables, Hawaii Five-o, wrestling, Flash, Hamilton, Steven Universe, A Song of Ice & Fire, Welcome to Hell, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Undertale, Among Us, Sherlock, Naruto, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Wynnona Earp, Gotham, Supernatural, Overwatch, The Witcher, Cobra Kai, BTS, Schitt's Creek, Bon Appétit, Hannibal, Panic! at the Disco, Hetalia, Critical Role, UnDeadwood, Death Note, video blogging, Avatar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Twenty One Pilots, The Old Guard, The Pacific, Castlevania, Welcome To Night Vale, Mortal Kombat, Big Love, Romeo and Juliet, The West Wing, Fleabag, Greek and Roman mythology, The Adventure Zone, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Law & Order SVU, Glee, The Addams Family, and Danganronpa. End ID]

[ttawoabw]

Wow, the last book haul I did was back in August of 2017!  I might have forgotten a few books or there may be repeats from old book hauls, but I honestly haven’t bought that many books in the past 7 months.  Wow.. 7 months without buying enough books to warrant a haul? I should receive an award. I am an affiliate for the Book Depository so in full disclosure, the links to purchase the books in this post may give me a small commission.

Rebekah

by Jill Eileen Smith

Book two in the Wives of the Patriarchs series.

Christian Historical Fiction

When her father dies and she is left in the care of her conniving brother Laban, Rebekah knows her life has changed forever. Her hope for the future is restored when she falls in love with her cousin Isaac, and their relationship starts strong. But marital bliss cannot last forever, and the birth of their twin sons marks the beginning of years of misunderstanding, disagreement, and betrayal. The rift between them grows wider and wider until it is surely too deep to be mended. And yet, with God all things are possible.

Book Depository: Paperback

Scarlet

by A.C Gaughen

Book one in the Scarlet trilogy.

Young Adult Historical Fantasy Romance Retelling

★★★★

I won this in a giveaway held on Twitter by Kelly from @divabooknerd.  I love this retelling of Robin Hood, I’ve read it over and over and I’m so happy to finally have a physical copy of it to read!

Will Scarlet is good at two things: stealing from the rich and keeping secrets – skills that are in high demand in Robin Hood’s band of thieves, who protect the people of Nottingham from the evil sheriff. Scarlet’s biggest secret of all is one only Robin and his men know…that she is posing as a thief; that the slip of a boy who is fast with sharp knives is really a girl.

The terrible events in her past that led Scarlet to hide her real identity are in danger of being exposed when the thief taker Lord Gisbourne arrives in town to rid Nottingham of the Hood and his men once and for all. As Gisbourne closes in a put innocent lives at risk, Scarlet must decide how much the people of Nottingham mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles have the rare power to unsettle her. There is real honor among these thieves and so much more – making this a fight worth dying for.

Book Depository: Paperback

Gemina

by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book two in The Illuminae Files trilogy.

Young Adult Science Fiction

When Illuminae came out I thought I would read it straight away.  I did not.  I read Illuminae the week the last book in the trilogy came out.  And I loved it! So I went out and bought Gemina and Obsidio because I needed to continue to story.  Even though I was hoping to get all of them in hardcover from the Book Depository.

(THIS BLURB IS FROM ILLUMINAE SO THERE WON’T BE ANY SPOILERS)

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Book Depository: Paperback

Book Depository: Hardcover

Obsidio

by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book three in The Illuminae Files trilogy.

Young Adult Science Fiction

  Book Depository: Paperback

Book Depository: Hardcover

Barnes and Noble: Special Edition

Daughter of the Siren Queen

by Tricia Levenseller

Book two in the Daughter of the Pirate King duology.

Young Adult Fantasy Romance

It took me a LONG time to get around to reading Daughter of the Pirate King, I mean I loved the premise and I love pirates and I was so excited when it first came out.  But it wasn’t until the sequel was about to be released that I actually picked it up.  And devoured it.  I went and pre-ordered Daughter of the Siren Queen (unfortunately I was too late to receive the pre-order incentive gift, but I still got the PDF first chapter of Daughter of the Pirate King from Riden’s POV so that was exciting!) and I also ordered it on Kindle so I could read it as soon as it came out.

(THIS BLURB IS FROM DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING SO THERE WON’T BE ANY SPOILERS)

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

Book Depository: Hardcover

Rosemarked

by Livia Blackburne

Book one in the Rosemarked series (duology, trilogy?)

Young Adult Fantasy

★★★★

I was originally a bit hesitant about this one, the blurb just sounded so cliche and I was worried I wouldn’t ever get around to reading it if I bought it.  But then I just sort of caved (can’t remember why?) and bought it.  Then when it arrived I read it.  AND LOVED IT!  I didn’t write a review but in the cover reveal fro Umbertouched, the sequel, I expressed some of my thoughts – so you can check that out HERE.

A healer who cannot be healed . . .

When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it’s only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she’s destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art—until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill.

A soldier shattered by war . . .

Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he’ll do anything to free them from Amparan rule—even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.

Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn’t be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes.

Book Depository: Hardcover

The Case for Jamie

by Brittany Cavallaro

Book three in the Charlotte Holmes quartet.

Young Adult Contemporary Mystery Retelling

I read A Study of Charlotte way back in 2016, and I loved it so much I wrote a review for it (you can read that HERE).  When The Last of August came out I also loved it.  And then I forgot all about this series.  It was by chance that I came across the third installment and discovered it would be a quartet.  I look forward to reading more about Jamie and Charlotte and seeing the character development that a year has had on them.

(THIS BLURB IS FROM A STUDY OF CHARLOTTE SO THERE WON’T BE ANY SPOILERS)

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

Book Depository: Hardcover

A Court of Thorns and Roses Coloring Book

by Sarah J. Maas and Charlie Bowater

Colouring book companion to the ACOTAR series.

Self explanatory.  It’s the colouring book for A Court of Thorns and Roses drawn by the greatest ACOTAR artist, Charlie Bowater.  I bought it in anticipation of A Court of Frost and Starlight.  I’m excited to start colouring it!

Book Depository: Colouring Book

Impressive Wingspan

by Jessica from JCroftDesigns on Etsy

A Court of Thorns and Roses series Sticker

★★★★★

I saw this sticker and could not resist!  I love it so much and the letter from Jessica was really sweet!  I have it on my laptop (my boss had questions….) and I love it so much I actually went ahead and ordered two more! It’s just  so cute, and funny and makes me swoon a little thinking of Rhysand.

Etsy: JCroftDesigns

  Second Hand Books

Trashed by Alison Gaylin

Trashed by Alison Gaylin

Trace by Lori Foster

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Burning Bridge by John Flannagan

Palace of Darkness by Tracy L. Higley

  What books have you bought lately?

Have you read any of these books?  What did you think?

  My Links:

Goodreads : Becca Winter

Instagram : bookie_becca

Twitter : @Becca_Bookworm

Facebook : The Troubles And Woes Of A Bookworm

Affiliate: Book Depository

Referral: OwlCrate

Referral: The Bookish Box

Referral: Romance Reveal

Referral: Cratejoy

Becca

xxx

(A Short but Long Overdue) Book Haul #16 Wow, the last book haul I did was back in August of 2017!  I might have forgotten a few books or there may be repeats from old book hauls, but I honestly haven't bought that many books in the past 7 months. 

[ebaeschnbliah]

LITTLE  ROSIE ... THE  ELEPHANT  IN  THE  ROOM ?

________________________________________________________________

INTERPRETATION HAPPENS THROUGH THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

The following is a reconstruction of a part of an older post (The stage is set ... the curtain rises) that 'got lost' round New Year. I was able to restore the main content in early Januar (X)  Here is finally the until now missing part extended by new material which turned up with series 4.

THE SILENT WATCHER _____________________________

Sherlock and John in the PILOT on their first case - their first 'date' - at Angelo's.  Wine and canlelight, an intriguing case and ... the 'girlfriend/boyfriend' talk. What a night! But they are not alone at this moment. Someone is watching them. On the mantlepiece next to them - very prominently displayed - stands a bust. The bust of Pope John II. Already noticed and discussed in 21014.

The head of the catholic church is forced to watch how two men fall in love with each other. He is forced to watch the beginning of a gay relationship.

________________________________________________________________

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM/WOMB _______________

'The issue that is obvious to everyone but deliberately ignored' (X). This term soon became a metaphor for Sherlock's and John's love for one another. For gay love. Points were connected, ideas discussed and suddenly a new and interesting question arose. Might Mary's pregnancy - the unborn child - have something to do with the 'elephant in the room'? Or more precisely: Could the baby be the 'elephant in the room'? (X)  Last year at SDCC even the creators and actors were joking that the baby might indeed be the 'elephant in the room':

"She (Mary) is more pregnant than an elephant. She’s got the longest gestation period I’ve ever known"   "It is an elephant!"   "That’s the big secret"

They even called the baby 'THE ELEPHANT IN THE WOMB'   SDCC  (at 28.00)

Considering Mary as Sherlock's strongest mirror, his facade (she shares more than 30 similarities with him) and the baby as the 'elephant in the room/womb' ... this turns little Rosamund not only into a token of Sherlock's and John's love .... this turns her literally into a symbol for 'gay love'. 

THE CHRISTENING ________________________________

If the afore mentioned assumptins are correct and little Rosamund is indeed THAT specific  'elephant in the room'  then we are watching here how 'gay love' receives - officially - the blessing of the curch.

SIRI: Sorry, I didn’t catch that.   .....   Please repeat the question.  :)))

WHAT LIES IN A NAME _____________________________

Rosamund Mary is the name the creators chose for the baby. And it's the name Mary chooses in the story because this is her original name. But if Mary is Sherlock's main-mirror then it's him who chooses that particular name.

ROSAMUND - It means 'Rose of the World'. But there is more to tell. There actually exists a rose with the name 'Rosa mundi'. It's an old rose with history (before 1581) and like many roses 'Rosa mundi'  comes wiht an alias - 'Rosa versicolor' meaning 'changing colors'  And isn't that another nice coincident?

MARY - most famous namesake is Holy Mary/Virgin Mary - which is just one of many similarities Mary shares with Sherlock - who is called 'the virgin' in ASIB. Apart from lilies it's the rose which has become a common symbol for Holy Mary as well as for Jesus (thorns). Furthermore roses are closely related to apples - family rosaceae - and this establishes another connection to Sherlock's red and John's green apple.

What might it tell that the creators chose the name ROSAMUND MARY for the woman at John's side .... that her alias is simply MARY .... and that the name of their child is - again - ROSAMUND MARY?  Just another silly coincidence? 

666 ... THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST _________________

The rather weird conversation below takes place in the Watson's bedroom in TST and in TFP we can watch Mrs.Hudson hovering and dancing to the music of Iron Maiden's '666 the number of the beast'. Clear references at the devil and the antichrist ... associated with baby Rosamund. What might that mean?

JOHN: Hm? Noticed what? MARY: The little ‘666’ on her forehead. JOHN: That’s ‘The Omen.’ MARY: So? JOHN: Well, you said it was like ‘The Exorcist.’ They’re two different things. She can’t be the Devil and the Antichrist. MARY: Yeah, can’t she? Coming, Darling.

Well, picture little baby Rosamund not as the sweet child of Mary and John but - metaphorical - as a symbol of Sherlock's and John's love - as a symbol for 'gay love'. Will there be people who would call 'gay love' exactly that? And associate it with devil and antichrist and other horrible things? Yes, there would. And not only strangers ... no ... friends, family, even parents can be found among such people.

Side note: If you want to take a look just google 'gay love+devil'. I wont link stuff like this on my blog

Side note: I think the metaphorical reading of this scene in such a way has nothing to do with the characters John and Mary or with the plot of the story itself. It's just there like the bust of the pope in the PILOT.  

ANOTHER VERSION OF CHRISTMAS _________________

Jim's rewritten version of the Nativity Story ... 'The Hungry Donkey'  Looks like not only the donkey is hungry. Little baby Jesus gets devoured/killed/eliminated by donkey, ox and sheep. Jesus now - in Sherlock BBC several parallels can be found between Christ and Sherlock. Many people have noticed this and written metas about it. Here's one of my favourite (X). But there aren't only parallels between Sherlock and Christ - there are also parallels between Rosie and Christ. The most obvious ones:

they are babies and lie in a crib

their mothers are called Mary

the possibility exists that their birth is announced by the same person - the angel Gabriel vs Gabriel from A.G.R.A./Sherlock - if it turns out that this character is a Sherlock mirror

Mary's child in the crib ... little Rosie in the crib .... being eaten by donkey, ox and sheep. Could this also be a metaphor for 'gay love' being devoured/eliminated/killed by donkeys, oxes and sheep. Or rather - by people who share the chracteristics allocated with that animals for ages? ...  stupid donkeys,  dumb oxes,  mindless sheep ...

Side note:  May the real animals forgive me. They aren't in any way what they are so often called by humans.

WHERE THE STORY ENDS ... FOR NOW ______________

Sherlock and John ... laughing and happy ... caring for and nurturing little Rosie ... having obviously a lot of fun with the sweet darling  ....

How does this translate when Rosie is the metaphor for 'gay love'?  :))))

.

Would the creators of Sherlock BBC include such clues, metaphors, sarkastic allusions?  Well, Mark Gatiss and Ian Hallard  got married under the picture of the man who prosecuted Oscar Wilde. Thanks @gosherlocked for reminding me.  So, yes ... I think they would.

March, 2017

I leave you to your own deductions.   Thanks for the scripts @callie-ariane

@isitandwonder @loveismyrevolution @monikakrasnorada @longsnowsmoon5 @sianbrooke @tjlcisthenewsexy @shadow3214 @justshadethings @devoursjohnlock @yan-yae @shylockgnomes @sarahthecoat

[twistedtummies2]

Oh, Not YOU Again...

SO! Some of you may recall our old pals of Genius Inc. They're the publishers of the games "A Villain's Twisted Heart" and "Lullaby of Demonia," among many, MANY other otome-style games. Yeah, been a while since I talked about 'em, right? Well, I have looked into several Genius Inc. games since those two, but none of the others I checked out could really keep my interest. HOWEVER, the company just announced a new game that's coming out soon and...well...

...Okay, is...is this some kind of joke? Oh, not the game itself, I mean...have I been cursed, or something? This is, the fourth or fifth time I've come across an "anime boi hottie" version of Sherlock-bloody-Holmes. And only one of those four or five was really absolutely awesome beyond belief, with the rest so far ranging from "okay," to "nah," to "I need to play more of Fate/Grand Order to really decide." Have I just been put under a spell that announces I shall spend the rest of my bloody life finding anime boi Sherlocks and judging them (partially with kinks in mind)? I...guess I COULD complain, if so, but...I'm more just rather confused. o_O Also, I swear to God, if either of the other gents on display here turns out to be Moriarty...this really IS a curse. I've already got two Moriarty crushes, I don't need a third strike! XD

[yandere-romanticaa]

i tried searching for the otome game moriarty and it is absolutely criminal that there’s no fanart of him

The game itself is actually called Holmes: A Rose Among Thorns but the anime I was referencing was Moriarty the Patriot!!

Also, fun fact, in almost every version, I cannot STAND Sherlock Holmes. Props to the actors but I could never fully watch any Sherlock TV show because he gets on my nerves so much. I want to sucker punch him. Although, he was nice in Moriarty the Patriot, that's the only Sherlock I can think that I like.

BBC Sherlock takes the cake for being my least favorite, even if Benedict Cumberbatch did a good job with him.