swim through the fires to stay in this world

So, I just finished The Fiery Heart. I know it would end as it did, but still, that ending was brutal. Someone hold me.

I recently finished reading Spirit & Dust by Rosemary Clement Moore which was very enjoyable, despite the fact that it:

1. has a love triangle


2. and the side I two people I wanted to hook up didn’t.

( Read more... )

Okay, media update time.

In the area of books, I just finished Marissa Meyer's Cinder, which I loved. It’s a fantastic sci-fi retelling of Cinderella and it ends on a cliff-hanger that made me interested enough in the rest of the series to splurge and get the next two books from B&N.

I watched the first ten minutes of the most recent episode of SHIELD( we love our acronyms )

I loved this week's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.( this is a den of liars )

Arrow was actually pretty boring this week, imho.( where ever i go, I'm just answering phones )

I read Hawkeye 15, which was SO overhyped, imho.( he's just a shape )

On the subject of awesome queer ladies, I just watched the second episode of Bomb Girls. (My goal is to get caught up before the movie airs at the end of March.( if you can pour tea, you can pour amatol )

Based on grav_ity’s recommendation and this post, I went out and bought Cruel Beauty. I really enjoyed it, and I think the author definitely succeeded in making a heroine who was brave and bold and smart but very much Not Nice.

I’m also re-reading A Gentlemen Undone. Never has there been such an excellent historical romance with such an exquisite heroine, her soul made of clockwork and mathematics and sexual experience. That book is just so freaking wonderful and angsty and sexy. I've started on Down London Road by Samathan Young, which hasn't wowed me yet, but is froathy and enjoyable.

Up next: A whole bunch of WWII nonfiction and fiction. Between a random textbook I pulled off my roommate’s bookshelf and musesfool’s recent post, I have about six related-to-WWII books I want to read.

I would really love some recommendations from my flist for either romance novels or books with a romantic subplot that you think that I will enjoy. Because my luck with books (and specifically romances) has been decidedly mixed, lately.

In order:

I made it about ten pages into The Chocolate Thief and no. Things I am not interested in:

• rhapsodic descriptions of Paris and the heroine longing to be accepted there


• orgasmic descriptions of chocolate when I’m trying to lose weight


• an arrogant alpha male who acts like a dick the first time he meets the heroine

So that’s going back to the library.

Then I read What Angels Fear, which I actually really, really enjoyed. It's a Regency murder mystery with a main character who's recently back from the war, where he was a spy. As much as I enjoyed it, though, I don't think I'll continue with the series. First, there was a lot of sexual violence in this book, and I know the next one will open with another dead girl. Secondly, while I really enjoyed the romanceand it ended on a good note for the couple, I know they break up later, so I'm going to spare myself some pain and stop now.

Also, I was excited enough about That Touch Of Magic (Lucy March) to buy it instead of waiting for the library to finish processing it and while the entertainment value was high, I was very disappointedthat the romance was between the heroine and “the love of her life” who cheated on her when he went to college and is now suddenly back in town. Because nothing says true love like getting back with the cheating ex you never got over. I was rooting for the other guy who was going to be evil. I called this in the third chapter, and then I skipped ahead to the end of the book (which I never, ever do) so I wouldn't spend the whole novel hoping I was wrong and then being disappointed. (I was totally right.)

I reread Graceling and Fire. I loved Graceling so much on reread and Fire is, as always, kind of heartbreaking.

BUT I was thinking about Lienid rings, and thinking about choosing to remove a family ring if that person was, basically, a total dick.

ALSO, I just want to shout-out to the author for what a great job she did with her heroines, and how they're so different and all skilled in different areas and all have different weaknesses and flaws. Seriously, the heroines go warrior, healer, queen.

I real Bitterblue in, basically two days. Basically from

Theil's suicide

on I was weeping, and I cannot stress how rarely I cry over books or movies. This was definitely my favorite of the series (which I need to do an entire reread of, now).

Oh, Bitterblue.

(Also, this made me retroactively like Graceling a lot more, which I think I ended up judging very harshly for one narrative mis-step.)

(BTW, there are several queer couples in this book, all of whom have happy endings.)

(On the subject of romantic happy endings, I just cannot bear

another bittersweet romantic ending.

I just cannot. Don't say anything, but I am debating not reading Goliath until I'm in a better place with that, because I just cannot.)

I finished my re-read of the Darkangel Trilogy, the ending of which was even more unrelentingly tragic as I remember. I want everyone to read these books so we can fangirl over the prose and them weep at the tragedy of Aeriel/Irrylath.



I'm about ready to try to find fix-it fanfic, but I'm scared. So scared. I googled the pairing name and the first result was a fanfic on ff.net. Someone hold me. Someone stop me. My shadow burned away and I am made of moondust and grief and duty.

Navel-gazing fanfic questions gacked from musesfool:

Leitmotif of the year:

"Clint/Natasha, Stephanie Brown, and ships that involve a dude pining" is one answer. I almost feel like a more accurate one would be, "this are people I want to kiss. See them kiss."

What's the story that makes you happiest?

I'm really pleased with You Only Live Twice, both because I am so happy that Jason/Stephanie fanfic exists, and because I really enjoy that story.

My favorite story this year:

Couldn't Get That Boy To Kill Me (Natasha/Clint)

I love the prompt, the section of Natasha's history I was working with, what I ended up saying about Clint and Natasha, and just.... this went through several drafts and I think it shows (in a good way).

My 5 best stories this year:

This Is The Art Of Living With A Ticking Heart (Felicity/Oliver)
End Of The World News (Darcy/Steve)
Please Believe Me When I Say The Last Thing You Need Is Fixing (Stephanie Brown/Nick Gage, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson)
Couldn't Get That Boy To Kill Me (Natasha/Clint)
I'm Yours (Ghosts & All) (Natasha/Clint)

( ............ )