It's maybe a little odd to phrase it this way, but only after like 4+ years of on and off watching BL dramas (and getting into GL dramas) am I getting to stage of actually being okay with/open to "bad" endings again because it's not about the gay, it's about the plot. You now have my trust that you're not âkilling off the gaysâ because they're gay, so I'm okay with killing off main characters if the plot makes sense that way.
[spoiler about a 2025 GL series]I really loved Runaway. And I probably would not have been ready to like it 4 years ago.
Right now I'm making personal bets about characters dying in [vague not-really spoiler about a currently airing BL series]Goddess bless you from death and having a lovely time.
(Okay Iâm still not going to watch heavy political/etc. type dramas but thatâs just a general preference.)
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Apparently watercolors date back as far as the cave paintings of Paleolithic Europe. (Thanks Wikipedia!) It was done on things like stone, leather, papyrus, and now ...
(Dear wreckorators: PLEASE do not go and actually wrap a cake in tissue paper. Please. No, really. Put. The paper. DOWN.)
Did your art teacher in school ever show you that trick of sprinkling salt over your watercolors? It gives it this super-nifty texture, kind of like... this!
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Fandom: Star Trek Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock Rating: Teen and Up Length: 4188 words over 2 stories Creator Links:almondrose at ao3 Theme: Crack Treated Seriously
Summary: "an AU where the enterprise is a VSA ship filled with vulcans"
Reccer's Notes: This short series (two stories, "logical" and "illogical") is one of my favorite pick-me-ups. Captain Skirk of the VSA's exasperation with his CMO's insistence that Spock is human slays me, as does said CMO's reaction to encountering his alternate-universe human self.
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 45 secrets from Secret Submission Post #994. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
January is soon coming to an end. Here’s what we’re reading right now:
Lara: I tried to read a book featuring a disabled/chronically ill couple but instead of relating or learning, I just felt deeply triggered. So that was that. Now I’m flailing looking for something to take me out of my head.
Sarah: Oh heck I hate when that happens. I’m sorry you’re going through it. Do you have a “break glass in case of emergency” book?
I’m listening to Grave Expectations by Alice Bell, ( A | BN | K | AB ) which is entertaining if not compelling. I love one of the side characters but the main character is giving me increasing feelings of frustration.
Lara: Sarah, I had an emergency nap which always resets me. I’m going to dive into one of Jodi McAlistairâs bachelor inspired books tonight. Something new to me from an author I really enjoy. I’m hoping that’ll set me on the right path.
Elyse: I’ve really been on a historical fiction kick this month. I just finished Meet the Newmans ( A | BN | K | AB ) and now Iâm reading The Star Society. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Claudia: I ‘ve just finished an amnesia Harlequin historical and loved it, much to my surprise! It’s A Marquess to Remember by Jenni Fletcher.
Susan: I’m reading the first volume of Art Thou Ailing by Ru Si Wo Wen, and all of the beats of the romance feel very familiar. Not in a bad way, just in a “Ah, here is where they pin each other to a wall to hide from a guard… Here is where there’s only one bed… Here is where they fall over and one protects the other from snow…”
This is not a complaint, btw. I read fanfic, you KNOW I will read these tropes in every form they come in.
Shana: I’m reading Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao ( A | BN ) and it is such a perfect comfort read. Itâs about a trans woman healing from a bad breakup, who moves in with butch woman who has some healing of her own to do. Thereâs union organizing, and forced proximity, and so much yearning.
Carrie: I am reading The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub ( A | BN | K | AB ) and it is a delight.
Amanda: My latest game board square is to read something published ten or more years ago. Motivated by our latest solved HaBO, I picked up book one in the series:Â In Bed with a Highlanderby Maya Banks. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Whatcha reading right now? Tell us in the comments!
Fandom: Game Changers series Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov Rating: Explicit Length: 4639 Content Notes: Discussion of unplanned pregnancy and of abortion as a treatment option. Brief mention of a tapeworm analogy. Creator Links:SirMxALotts on AO3 Themes: Crack treated seriously, AU, Canon LGBTQ+ characters, Mpreg, Established relationship
Summary: Most people in Shaneâs position would call a doctor after two positive tests, but Shane isn't most people, so instead of doing that, he takes 17 tests over the course of two days.
Final result: 16 positive, one negative.
Reccer's Notes: A classic crack trope this time: Mpreg. The reason why a man could become pregnant in this AU isn't given, nor why Shane did nothing to prevent it (or didn't expect it), but it has happened so he faces a choice. This is where the "taken seriously" part comes in, as it's the same difficult choice any woman faces with an unplanned pregnancy. Rather than an unrealistic tropey outcome, Shane (after ignoring the whole problem for a while) finally talks to Ilya about it and makes his decision. I enjoyed the realism and the way Ilya was supportive without trying to persuade Shane one way or the other. We don't see the final outcome, but the story covers enough so that we know Shane's decision.
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #993. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver is $1.49! This is book one in The Ruinous Love series. I read this one and these are my thoughts from my Goodreads review:
This one started off really promising. Unfortunately, the pacing started to falter about about a third of the way into it. The last quarter was suspenseful and I appreciated the twist, but yeah…the middle of the book felt mostly like filler. I also didn’t feel a ton of romantic progression between the leads.
One thing that really confounded me was that Sloane is described as being in her early twenties. She’s an accomplished serial killer and quotes Zoolander (which came out in 2001). Look, I love Zoolander as much as the next person, but it’s not exactly the Criterion Collection. It really took me out and had me wondering when exactly did this story take place.
Overall, I enjoyed the tone and dark humor. It’s a unique romance, but needed some refinement.
Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.
When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusiveâthe friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?
Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.
***Butcher & Blackbird is a DARK ROMANCE intended for an adult audience – please see Brynneâs website for a comprehensive list of CWs***
Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan is $2.99! Lara was middling on this paranormal romance and gave it a C-. I enjoyed Dananâs contemporaries so I remember looking forward to this one. Did you read it?
Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her familyâs knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when sheâs hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrivalâuntil he tries to get her fired.
Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware canât allow a self-proclaimed âcurse breakerâ to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.
Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If theyâre not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.
The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce is $1.99! This one was featured in a previous Book Beat post. Weâve also had Bryceâs debut Wild Women and the Blues on sale before.
A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoriaâs court and adapting to life in Victorian Englandâbased on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.
With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a âgift.â To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoriaâs magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.
But embedded in Sarahâs past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.
From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James’s Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.
Based on the real life of Queen Victoriaâs Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonettaâs story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.
Rebellious Desire by Julie Garwood is $1.99! This is a Regency romance that was first released in the 80s. Garwood fans say this isnât their favorite book of hers, while others enjoyed the mystery element added to the romance. Have you read this one? What did you think?
Before there was Downton Abbey, there was Rebellious Desire…in this classic Regency romance from bestselling author Julie Garwood, an American heiress must land a titled lord.
Of all the dukes in England, Jered Marcus Benton, the Duke of Bradford, was the wealthiest, most handsomeâand most arrogant. And of all Londonâs ladies, he wanted the tender obedience of only oneâCaroline Richmond.
She was a ravishing beauty from Boston, with a mysterious past and a fiery spirit. Drawn to the powerful duke, undeterred by his presumptuous airs, Caroline was determined to win his lasting love. But Bradford would bend to no womanâuntil a deadly intrigue drew them enticingly close. Now, united against a common enemy, they would discover the power of the magnificent attraction that brought them together…a desire born in danger, but destined to flame into love!