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handle with care; the romance edition
I can’t believe it’s still a conversation online on what classifies as a romance novel? Like, it’s kind of a given that it is NOT A ROMANCE NOVEL if it doesn’t end with a Happily Ever After. It can be a romantic book, but it is NOT A ROMANCE, thanks. If I’m reading a romance novel, I want that HEA. That’s why I’m reading romance. There are a lot of good tropes in the romance genre. And then there are some that need to burn away in a fire until there’s nothing left. And there are some that fall in between the ‘ohmygod yes please‘ and ‘oh god why‘, and…
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review; mirage
Mirage by Somaiya Daud In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered…
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review; the fill-in boyfriend
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend – two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley. The problem is that days after prom, it’s not the real Bradley she’s thinking about, but the…
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recipe; nutella mug cake
Uh, no, I did not go over to my uncle’s house while I was on holiday at my parents’ to bake this for photos because I thought February was a dessert post month. I am not that extra, thanks.* *Except I totally am that extra and I totally did this. This molten Nutella mug cake – yes, the center is gooey and chocolately and utterly wonderful – is the perfect indulgence for a day you want to feel guilty. I actually have the recipe for a microwaveable version of this cake, but because of health reasons, I no longer use the microwave. Stumbling across an oven-baked version of the cake…
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TWISTED TALES; peter pan
This story has been retold so many times, but once more, with feeling diversity. Twisted Tales is a series of photosets depicting POC fancasts of fairytales that are traditionally cast as not-POC. Featuring: Forrest Wheeler as Peter Pan Sasha Rojen as Wendy Darling Janel Parrish as Tinkerbell Alexander Siddig as Captain Hook Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremour ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile…
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RACEBENT ROMCOMS; the wedding date
This movie has a Bollywood remake that has some pretty good songs, so you should all check that out too. Racebent Romcoms has me taking existing Hollywood romantic comedies (and romances), and recasting them for the modern day with a more diverse cast. Featuring Gemma Chan as Kat Ellis and William Jackson Harper as Nick Mercer. The hardest thing is loving someone and then having the courage to let them love you back. But if you know her shit and she knows yours, and at the end of the day if you still would rather give up than try, nothing’s ever going to be worth it.
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;book settings to use for dnd
If you follow me on Twitter or my personal Instagram accounts, you might have noticed that I’ve started playing Dungeons & Dragons. I’m loving it, playing a character and building a rapport with other players. It’s as fun as watching Critical Role – and honestly, I’m already planning to use dice rolls as a way out of plot holes I may write myself into, at least for the first draft of my stories. The thing about the game is that the worlds you put your story in can be from the official books, or homebrews. That is to say, stories that the Dungeon Master build themselves. In those cases, one…
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review; kin
Kin by Lili St. Crow Full moon. Glowing eyes. Red lips. And such sharp, sharp teeth… In the kin world, girls Ruby de Varre’s age are expected to play nice, get betrothed, and start a family – especially if they’re rootkin, and the fate of the clan is riding on them. But after a childhood of running wild in the woods, it’s hard to turn completely around and be demure. Even if your Gran is expecting it. Then Conrad, handsome and charming, from a clan across the Waste, comes to New Haven to seal alliance between their two families. The sparks fly immediately. Conrad is smart, dominant, and downright gorgeous.…
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;literary adaptations that i adore
I’ve spoken a bit about webseries in some of my instant to-read and handle with care editions, but I’ve not really spoken about my love for these adaptations. I feel like it covers a scope that movies and even television shows miss out on – these webseries’ allow for interpretations that cover race and gender and sexualities, and it allows for interaction between creators and fans on a level that is different from what we usually get. So I’m not going to talk about all of that though, I’m just here to gust about some webseries that I love. There are many I haven’t seen, so for a more extensive…
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TWISTED TALES; the swan princess
I missed a month’s worth of these but I am back! And if you have any suggestions, I am always open to them. Twisted Tales is a series of photosets depicting POC fancasts of fairytales that are traditionally cast as not-POC. Featuring: Lenora Crichlow as Odette Jon Foo as Derek He had danced with fair maidens before, but Odette was different. She was graceful and beautiful, but there was something in her eyes and in the things she said, an intelligence and a boldness that belied her quiet demeanor.