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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.
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BLOG TOUR; Dreamer by Ja-Mel Vinson ft. Book Review & Book Aesthetic
Dreamer by Ja-Mel Vinson The day before moving into her new dorm, college freshman, Maya Lilac, has a haunting dream that ends with her coming face-to-face with a second version of herself. After being haunted by the dream during move-in day, she finally comes in contact with her double, nicknamed “Lucent”, and learns that she actually has powers and can – among other things – make her dreams come true. Maya’s heritage, however, runs deeper when she discovers that she’s the True Dreamer, a person reaching back as far as Joan of Arc that’s tasked with protecting her species, as well as the world, from any and all threats… including…
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instant to-read; the romance edition
I thought I was running out of ideas for this feature (which, um, there is so much scope, how did I think that?) but talking to a friend reminded me that I had not talked about genres! I thought I had, but apparently not? Which is probably a good thing, because a broad spectrum of what genres I read wouldn’t actually cover what I like about the genres. So instead, you get me breaking down the genres – like I’ve already done with the fairytale retelling editions. Romance is something I read when I need something a little lighter? I mean, of course, angst is well and good when it…
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review; wayfarer
Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow The Charmer’s Ball. Midnight. And one glass slipper… Newly orphaned, increasingly isolated from her friends, and terrified of her violent stepmother, Ellen Sinder still believes she’ll be okay. She has a plan for surviving and getting through high school, which includes keeping her head down and saving any credits she can earn or steal. But when a train arrives from over the Waste beyond New Haven, carrying a golden boy and a new stepsister, all of Ellie’s plans begin to unravel, one by one. Just when all hope is lost, Ellie meets an odd old woman with a warm hearth and a heavenly garden. Auntie’s…
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recipe; mushroom fried rice
I never thought I would enjoy cooking as much as I do now. Back when I first started, it was almost a chore. Yes, there was some satisfaction on a job well done when my family enjoyed my food, but that was it. Now, though? Now I understand flavour profiles a little better. I understand what our palates are like. I understand what works well together, at least to an extent. Now I actively look forward to cooking and adapting recipes to suit our tastes. This fried rice wasn’t an adaptation though. It was me realising that I needed lunch, there were a few vegetables at home that needed to…
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review; empress of all seasons
Empress Of All Seasons by Emiko Jean In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems. Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete – all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren’t hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If…
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;the jane austen project
There might actually be a Thing online with this title, but hey, this is my version of a Jane Austen project! And by that I mean I’m attempting to make my way through all of her novels. A few years ago, I was given a collection of Jane Austen novels as a present. I was super excited about it! But somehow, I’ve still only read Pride & Prejudice, and that too, because it was one of my English Literature texts. I am currently reading Persuasion, slowly, but also I have read a lot of P&P fanfiction over the years, and today, I’m going to talk about some of my favourite…