New Book; Crazy Bitches

 I think I've started work on a series of short stories. It's going to be a collection of women driven to madness caused by the bull shit they have to go through. I don't know if this will lead to anything, but I feel a sense of catharsis in writing it. I hope that readers will feel the same. I foresee the characters being some antiheros we can all relate to, especially women or more feminine identifying folks. I feel inspired by Gone Girl and other various feme fatals. But instead of being feared, my characters will allow for readers to relate to them, like Breaking Bad or Osarks (the drug one in Alaska, I think... I haven't actually watched either of these shows). I'll post a few of my drafts on here to keep me going. 

Gothic Reads 6: The Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins

The Before:

    I have tried to read this book soooo many different times. It's not bad, I actually really like it, I just keep getting distracted by other books on Cloudlibrary (my library app). I purchased this as an audiobook from Chirp about a year ago. I keep getting through the first few chapters, so let's see how this goes.

The Feels:

This started as good proper gothic romance.

The Concerns:

WOW this was dragged out. This took forever! IT'S JUST THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN; they bump into each other but done realize who the other one is. I WANT SOME DRAMA! I want a ghost (a real ghost, not a dumb apparition). I want murder. I want death. I'm disappointed because I have read Collins before and I know he can do better!

Plot 0/10

Writing Style 3/10

Meaningfulness 1/10

Gothic Reads 5: Beetlejuice

 The Before:

    I've seen this movie like once before (in high school I think), so I really don't remember what happens. Here is a young millennial version of what happens. (Yeah it was a little before my time). A girl with some serious 80's goth vibes, played by Winona Ryder, moves into a haunted house with her nightmare of a mother and stepfather(?). The previous couple that lived there are dead and they don't want to cross over because they like their house. Beetle Juice is a demon or ghost that just  likes to mess with people. There are some giant snake worm things like in Dune. I think Winona Ryder dies after they sing the "Put the lime in the coconut" song. Then the ghosts just live in the house?

The Feels:

    *GASP* It's that lady from Cutthroat Island. Yes, I love that movie! (Also I had to look up the name of that  movie by googling "worst pirate movie ever").

    I also like their caseworker, she's pretty hilarious.

    Also I think this is Tim Burton and it doesn't have any main male character has issues with his father plot. That's also a bonus. Unless this isn't Tim Burton, in which case, strike that. *googles furiously* Yes this is Tim Burton. Wait, what? Alex Baldwin was in this? Where?

The Concerns:

    The couple was murdered by a dog?... Jesus! This movie's f*ckin weird. So it's her stepmom and biodad, but they can't see the ghosts. The ghosts won't leave because they like their house, but then they almost leave because they like Winona Ryder.

    Few concerns about people taking their own lives. There was a joke in the waiting room and I guess her punishment is having to work as a secretary for eternity? Then Winona Ryder says she is going to take her own life at one point... And it's sort of played as a joke? Like she's too naive and is just being "over dramatic"?... YIKES

    And then what is the point of Beetlejuice? He just scares people? And then tries to marry a child bride? But then he doesn't because they say his name too many times and Winona Ryder's family abandons her, so the ghosts raise her? And they sing the Day-O song not the Lime in the coconut song?

    They did a lot of drugs in the 80's right?

Plot: 1/10

Writing Style: 5/10

Meaningfulness: 3/10

Gothic Reads 4: Suspense Radio (Vincent Price Collection)

The Before:

    I've mentioned before that I have a love for all things old-time radio! I came across a collection of Vincent Price stories and have been listening to it all week. Here's a link to the collection if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yMLgxIJ2R0&t=11129s&ab_channel=CalebJones

The Feels:

    I really don't know much about Vincent Price, other than he's almost always the villain, which for the most part, rings true in this collection. It's a bunch of great stories, perfect for this time of the year.

The Concerns:

    Obviously, these stories are old, but I'm always a little surprised with some of the"word" choices that are made. Women are also not the most well depicted in these stories. If you're not in the mood to ignore some old-timey nonsense, don't listen to this. I mean as much as I love it, some of the things they say can momentarily take me out of the story. This collection might not be for you and I totally understand.

Plot: 8/10

Writing Style: 4/10

Meaningfulness: 6/10

Gothic Reads 3: Seven Gothic Tales

 The Before:

    This is one that I've had for a while. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to read it. I'm giving it one last shot today.

The Feels:

The Concerns:

Just about fell asleep with this one... Cannot recommend. 

Plot: 2/10

Writing Style: 3/10

Meaningfulness: 1/10

Gothic Reads 2: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Before:

Today is the loviest of all fall days. I woke up this morning and began to read out on my patio (reviews to come). I've been so busy with the start of the school year, so I've decided to try something a little different today. I'll be listening to a radio drama version of this wonderful story, which you listen to as well right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7kVIIVsFMk&list=PLfkJoqn3qIr1CQ5UV3MUa5FY-7JDRcvJl&index=16&ab_channel=PacemakerStudios

The Feels:

What a perfect start to the season! It totally awoken that cozy feeling inside me, which was only helped by my adventure to the apple orchard today. Katrina is much more kind in this version. 

The Concerns:

YIKES! The conversations in that classroom... The teacher actually hits a kid and we hear the slap. Ichabod is a bit more of a d-bag. Katrina didn't really lead him on; he was really only invited to a party. He then assumed that meant that Katrina wanted to marry him. Although it wasn't nice for Katrina to have invited him while having an ulterior motive, that shit's on him. He was also pretty awful to his horse. 

Plot: 10/10

Writing Style: 9/10

Meaningfulness (Yeah... it just dawned on me that this is in fact a real word and yes I have been spelling it wrong all these months...): 8/10

Gothic Reads 1: Mexican Gothic

The Before:

    Well I obviously have to start the season off right with this big summer hit! Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is about a young woman in the 1950's who is trying to help her newly married cousin that is suffering from some sort of strange illness. Also Yay! New Adult novel. 

The Feels:

    YAAAASSS!! Woman of color lead? Set in Mexico? I'm here for it. Everything is quite literally an homage/criticism of everything Gothic. You've got The Yellow Wallpaper, Rebecca, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cathulu guy that was super into racism/eugenics so I'm not going to bother looking up his name (she was obviously critical of him), and a bazzilion more. Even got a little nod towards the film Crimson Peak. This is a perfect book for experts of the Gothic genre. 

The Concerns:

    Um... There might be a few rape scenes in this novel? I hate that I honestly don't know if they are or are not. Just left me feeling weird. Not of fan of that part. Taking off some points for that...

    The plot was also a bit slow. Wish the ending was a bit darker/more tragic.

Plot: 8/10

Writing Style: 9/10

Meaningfulness: 10/10

Gothic Reads: Intro

     As summer slowly draws to a close, my attitudes towards Gothic Lit have heightened. Gothic Literature is my absolute favorite genre, (other than perhaps fairy tales). Although I have always enjoyed the Gothic, I learned more about it when I studied abroad. I took a Romantic class, which turned out to be a Gothic Romance class. Some of the novels I remember the best are The Monk by Mathew Lewis, Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe (NO I did not read the WHOLE thing), Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, and (of course) Frankenstein. I absolutely loved everything we read, even Udolpho, which if soooo f*cking long. 

     This autumn, I have decided to rededicate myself to the Gothic, after all, my novel is not just a Romance; it is a Gothic Romance. Some of these books will be ones I have on my "To Read" shelf and have been there for some time. I cannot wait for you to join me on this adventure of the Gothic.

Summer Reads 38: The Indian Fan by Victoria Holt

 The Before:

This one was just a bunch of romantic-gothic stories I've collected. I'm at the point of my Summer Reads list where I'll be getting into more of what I would like to be writing.

The Feels:

This book has sucked me right in! There is a good amount of mystery and countryside building. I know that's not a legit term, but it's something I use to describe those novels set in rural settings and celebrate that sublime visual.

The Concerns:

I'm not a fan of the tension built between our main character and the little sister up at the Big House. The little sister is over the top spoilt bratty kid. It gets a bit cartoonish at points.

A little bit of Orientalism, which is not good. Does not read well in a modern context. Holt is a great writing, and this feels like a book that was written in the Victorian era... and there are parts of that that are realllllllyyy bad. I would like to be able to find a way that turns this trope on its head. How? I don't know yet. Maybe a main character that uses these tropes and then we as a reader realize what a pos they are?

Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10 
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Summer Reads 37: Susanne Weyn Once Upon a Time Books

 The Before:

I've read these before and loved them! I just was in desperate need of a palate cleanse after that nonsense I put myself through. 

The Feels:

Water Song, I think this one is my favorite! Such a pretty story and I remember the ending make me happy cry when I first read it.

The Night Dance, I lied... this one is my favorite. I'm a giant dork and I love the Barbie Twelve Dancing Princesses movies. I think they're fantastic👸. This is like that, but geared to an older audience. 

The Diamond Secret, This one is so pretty! I don't know how else to describe it. If you like the fake story of Anastasia, then you will like this one!

The Concerns:

I always feel a little bad when the tell the story of Anastasia... I mean we know she died tragically and it isn't good to lump her in with the rest of the fairytales. Although, if I died tragically young, I would love for someone to turn it into a romance-fairytale. That somehow I escaped my tragic fate.

Plot: 10/10
Writing Style: 9/10 
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Summer Reads 36: A Stroke of Luck by Andrea Pickens

 The Before:

LAST TRASH BOOK!!! LAST TRASH BOOK!!! (Don't worry there are still more GOOD books to come in my Summer Reads)

The Feels:

The Concerns:

And we end with an accent. OOF! He says the word "Arrghshoorraysir." Like duh f*ck?

Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10 
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 35: The Haunted Miss Hampshire by Kasey Michaels

 The Before:

GHOST?! yay!!

The Feels:

The Concerns:

When I hear there is a ghost in the book, I think it's going to go one of two ways; full ham Casper or horrifying demon ghost. This book did neither and now I'm sad. 

Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10 
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 34: The Questioning Miss Quinton

 The Before:

The Feels:

Ok, well this one actually made met think about something. Why are all the leads in these stories thin/slim/willowy and not pretty or crazy pretty? It's exhausting to keep hearing these same descriptions over and over again. I'm going to really have to concentrate on this when describing my characters. 

The Concerns:

Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 2/10

Summer Romance 33: The Luck of the Devil by Barbara Metzger

 The Before:

I have four left of these shitty books. (I know there were originally 60, but some of them were really that bad... I had no words.

The Feels:

The Concerns:

You can't name a character Miss/Mrs. Simpson. All anyone will ever think is "PRoTect THe tHronE!!"

Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10 
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 32: A Perfect Scoundrel by Martha Kirkland

The Before:

What's a "natural daughter?" (see back cover)

The Feels:

The Concerns:

Brothers are Alex and Tony. What is this a 50s gang in the Bronx?

Plot: Pastrami/10
Writing Style: /10 
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 31: The Diamond Key by Barbara Metzger

 The Before:

The Feels:

The Concerns:

Torrie short for Victoria... I think not. Especially when the book is about rich asshats. 

Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 30: Ruled by Passion by Lois Menzel

 The Before:

The Feels:

The Concerns:

"Anne Waverly sat alone in the library of Wildrose Cottage. It was not actually a library, but a small morning room..." p.1 FIRST.F*CKING.LINE

I'll just let you think about that for a minute.

Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: -1000000/10 
Meaningfullness: 0/10

Summer Reads 29: Miss Chadwick's Champion by Melinda McRae

 The Before:

Yorkshire... better not use the accent.

The Feels:

Reminds me of one of Georgette Heyer's novels

The Concerns:

Yeah... I think she ripped off The Convenient Marriage... Even the hitting a guy in the head and almost killing him. 

Also if Heyer has taught me anything, it is that proper young ladies do not/cannot travel across England alone.  In Sylvester (I think it was?), she literally travels with a STRANGER! 

Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 28: The Perfect Fiancee

This one doesn't even get a proper review.

DON'T MARRY YOUR WARD!!!!!!!

That's literally what every bad guy tries to do in every gothic novel and OG fairytale

Plot: 0/10
Writing Style: 0/10 
Meaningfullness: -1000/10

Summer Reads 27: Twice Betrothed by April Kihlstrom

 The Before:

The Feels:

The Concerns:

Lord Stacy is not a sexy man name.

Plot: 0/10
Writing Style: 0/10 
Meaningfullness: 0/10

Summer Reads 26: Marry in Haste by Lyn Kerstan

 The Before:

Meet cute by hitting love interest in the head with a frying pan... That sounds bad, but it also sounds like the Disney movie Tangled!! 👸👸👸👸💖😻

The Feels:

Off to a good start. The dream is actually not too cliche. I like how Kerstan wrote about the lead; she doesn't know how to make hot chocolate and worried to upset the cook if she tries. She decides to make tea. This shows the reader that; 1.) cares about her staff. 2.) self aware as a person 3.) shows her privilege 

The Concerns:

Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 8/10 
Meaningfullness: 7/10

Summer Reads 25: The Enterprising Lord Edward by Michelle Kasey

The Before:

The Feels:

The Concerns:

Plot is "this guy wants to f*ck my cousin, but she's can't f*ck. I guess I'll have to get him to f*ck me instead.

Plot: 0/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 24: The Toplofty Lord Thorpe by Michelle Kasey

The Before: 

The Feels:

The Concerns:

This is basically a continuation of my last post... would also like to add f*ck starting with a letter.

Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: .5/10 (Because of the double whammy of plot dump argument and letter)
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 23: The Ruthless Lord Rule

 The Before:

The Feels:

One upside... The over looks like Miss Fisher.


The Concerns:

*sighs* NO SPIES!! And wayyy too much exposition at the beginning of the book; total word dump. 


Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 22: The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt

 The Before:

Another Victoria Holt novel; let's see if it holds up as well as the last one.

The Feels:
It did! Yay! Another good basic gothic novel. Love the countryside aspect of it. Feels a little like Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I think the perfect analogy is Jane Austen : Georgette Here :: Daphne Du Maurier : Victoria Holt.

The Concerns:



Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 10/10 
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Summer Reads 21: The Shadow of the Lynx by Victoria Holt

The Before:

From reading the back, this sounds like The Count of Monte Christo meets The Castle of Otranto! 😍

The Feels:
I was not disappointed! I would also like to add in a little dash of The Witch of Blackbird Pond to that mix. This is a well written book and heavy with emotion. Holt has a knack for the sublime and I'm here for it!

The Concerns:



Plot: 8/10
Writing Style: 10/10 
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Summer Reads 20: A Proper Companion by Candice Hearn

The Before:

The Feels:
OOOOOO!! Love this conflict in the plot! The main characters are an elderly lady, her companion and the elderly lady's son. The son is engaged (pretty darn quickly) to a woman the elderly lady doesn't like. She so spends the rest of the book basically trying to set her son up.

The Concerns:
Normally, I don't like books that involve cheating of any sort. However, I don't feel like our two leads are really at fault here. The mom made them do it. Don't get me wrong, cheating is still bad. I just don't think this is exactly it. I've been cheated on and it sucks! I think I would feel differently if the he's mom set him up because she hated me. If she hated me that much, I would not want to be any part of that family!


Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 19: The Dashing Miss Fairchild by Emily Henrickson

The Before:

The Feels:


The Concerns:
DULLLLLLLLLL

Says that 23 is an old maid. It isn't and wasn't at that time! Also refers to the main character as the Honorable Miss Clare Fairchild... You only use the title "Honorable" if the person is not from the UK...💩💩💩

Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 18: The Vengeful Viscount by Leigh Haskell

The Before:

The Feels:
I love how observant Felicity, our main character, is. It shows us how self-aware she can be. We start the novel off at a funeral and just see with Felicity sees. She watches the reactions of her different friends and family members at the funeral. We not only see how/what she sees, but it allows for the reader to make snap judgments about the different characters. 

This method also draws us into the story, painting a picture of the world we are entering. Haskell starts the story by describing the town and townsfolk watching the funeral. We get a few random details about how the upper class is perceived before we even get to our main characters. 

The Concerns:



Plot: 4/10
Writing Style: 4/10
Meaningfullness: 4/10

Summer Reads 17: Lady Angel by Roberta Eckert

The Before:

I've been having some mixed luck with these summer reads. Let's see how this one goes.

The Feels:
This book might be trauma informed? I don't know if Eckert realized it or not, but these family dynamics appear to be trauma informed! Evelyn, our main character's mother, appears to be struggling with the passing of her own mother and a father, struggling with the trauma coinciding with the passing of his wife, that is emotionally distant. Evelyn's strategy for coping with this trauma is by acting out in extravagant ways. She strives for the attention she cannot get from her parents. Her sister, on the other hand, appears to cope with her trauma by being perfect. She probably feels abandoned by her parents and sees the negative attention her sister receives. Her way of actin out is by over achieving and striving for perfection as dictated by her social circumstance.  I think our main character, Angel, also falls inline with this idea. The passing of her grandmother has led to a multigenerational trauma. 

My big takeaway from this book is to be more trauma informed in my writings. It develops the characters in such a raw way. It makes them feel more like real, relatable people.

The Concerns
Angel is insulted when her grandfather states that not only does she have beauty and a good personality, but she also has a large dowery for when she marries, so it should be easy for her. Angel says there is more to her than so "prize" to be "bought". I mean... yeah... her grandpa just gave her two other complements. She has money, so what? It wasn't as though he said she was butt ugly and had a shit personality and the only way a man would marry her is for her money.


Plot: 4/10
Writing Style: 4/10
Meaningfullness: 7/10

Summer Reads 16: Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

The Before:

I.LOVE.GEORGETTE.HEYER

The Feels:
She has not failed me! This is a wonderful book! Wonderfull messy drama with well rounded character. Main character works at her aunt's gaming house, which is frowned upon by the upper echelons of society. Love interest is perfectly broody and looks out for his young cousin. He was unlikeable with out being a total asshat or abusive, and that is always nice. (SOOO tired of abusive men in romance novels. It's harmful, toxic, and sooo unnecessary.) Def an "I hate you, I love you, I hate you, let's get married" sort of romance! 😍 My fave!

Also, upped the age of the main character. I really need to do this in my book. Allows for more self awareness.

The Concerns:
Couldn't put it down so I'm a little behind on housework...


Plot: 10/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Meaningfullness: 10/10

Summer Reads 15: The Runaway Bride by Judy Hedlund

The Before:

Audiobook! Switching things up.

The Feels:
I've made a terrible mistake.

The Concerns:
Just about fell asleep with this one! Weird historical comments that have very little context. Feels a bit all over the place when it comes to the time period. I can't tell you when it takes place. In Canada sometime between 1600 and 1900...


Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10 
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 14: Death is a Red Rose by Dorothy Eden

The Before:

I think this one is gothic and I've had it for a while

The Feels:
Decidedly gothic!! Love the touch of mystery. I think my novel should have the main plot by a mystery and use romance as a subplot. More people will be drawn to it.

Eden also uses an older main character in this; she's 76 at the start of the book and I'm here for it

The Concerns:



Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Meaningfullness: 9/10

Summer Reads 13: The Marriage Masquerade by Teresa DesJardien

The Before:

I wanna quit my Summer Reads so baadddd😭. This is worse than trying to read all of those Linda Castillo books in a week.

The Feels:
This book is... GOOD? Dare I say it?!?

Love the idea of having characters fall in love after the get married. Something different. She also plays with the female lead's age a bit by making her a little older. Such refreshing ideas!!

The Concerns:
Only major concern is having a real historical figure, Queen Charlotte, as a main character. I just didn't work for me, so I pretended she wasn't a real person. Having her in the book triggers the historian in me and I start to ask too many questions of the book/author as I read.

Not my favorite book I've ever read, but SOOO much better than what I have been reading. 


Plot: 5/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Meaningfullness: 6/10

Summer Reads 12: Susan Carroll x2

The Before:

The Wooing of Miss Masters and The Bishop's Daughter. Not sure if they are in any way related to each other.

The Feels:
BAD BAD BAD DULL BAD

The Concerns:



Plot: 1/10
Writing Style: 1/10
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 11: Miss Prentiss and the Yankee by Susan Carroll

The Before:

I'm regretting doing this whole Summer Reads nonsense.

The Feels:
...

The Concerns:
...

There is a reference to a group of "Creek Indians"... no such thing. There are people that belong to the Cree tribe?

Just googled... There is a tribe called the Creek (aka the Muscogee). Google says they are one of the "Five Civilized Tribes"... That's worse. Gross. 

Plot: 1/10 
Writing Style: 4/10
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 10: The Fortune Wheel by Valerie Bradstreet

The Feels:

.....

The Concerns:
...

What I learned; do not try to write accents unless I am able to speak with someone that knows linguistics. Kept using the world "gel" meaning "girl" and spelled migraine "mergin"... like what? Even using that specific accent it would be "me-grain". Also says Sir Adrian is a marquess... don't make anyone a marquess. That word looks goofy in writing.

Plot: /10
Writing Style: /10
Meaningfullness: /10

Summer Reads 9: Lord Ryburn's Apprentice by Laurie Bishop

The Before:

From my big order of Romance Novels

The Feels:
Miss GEORGIANNA mArland... gee I wonder who that is supposed to be a mix of. I'll give this one a pass, since one of them is from my favorite Jane Austen novel. I'm rather sick of these Austen references though.

The Concerns:
Reference to a woman's dress being "a la mode"? Dear Ms. Bishop, I think you meant avant-garde. A la mode means... with ice cream.

Plot was dull.


Plot: 2/10
Writing Style: 3/10
Meaningfullness: 2/10

Linda Castillo 3: Breaking Silence

The Feels:

    We begin inside of the killer's mind, just before the murder. She did this in the first book as well and I liked it. It makes the book more exciting. It also instills a little fear in the reader; really sucks you in.

    I picked up on the number of police codes used in this specific book. That was fun to look at. Here's a chart I found if you're at all interested: https://copradar.com/tencodes/ 

    There were a lot of great twists in this book. I felt like my main reactions were 😲😳😱. Of these first three books, I would say this one has the best mystery. I've read this one before and this one has always sort of stuck with me. Very Agatha Christie. 

    One major idea that stuck out to me was the bigotry against the Amish. Having grown up in the rural Midwest, I could see some of it. Where I come from, I see Amish and Mennonites every so often. My experience has been only positive. I have heard some negative rumors about how "they" treat their horses that has been concerning to me, but I recognized that could just be a few isolated incidents. 

The Concerns:

   The main story starts off inside Pickle's head. He's the old guy, "reserve" cop. It was not fun being in his head. Talking sh*t about Mona and women cops. I f*ckin love Mona. Well, I guess Castillo is a good writer; she can even get inside that Macho Greatest Generation-Elder Boomer Gender B.S.

    Castillo's two favorite words; pump/pumping/pumped and staccato. Please😂, find better words. People also are constantly raising "a shoulder" then letting it "drop" and taking stairs "two at a time". Linda. Linda. You're a better writer than that. Or should be blame the copy editors on this one? They should have picked up on that.

    A bigger issue I have with this book is how the police handle suspects... In this post George Floyd era, I think crime writers need to be more mindful of how the police act, even if they are 100% the character has committed a crime. This is America, and even convicted criminals have rights, let alone suspects who have not been before a judge. Kate and Tomisettei got too far in this one. I know they both have trauma and PTSD they are working on. That is not an excuse for them to take that out on suspects. 

Overall, a great read! 

Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Linda Castillo 2: Pray for Silence

The Feels: 

    Yay! Kate is getting closer with Tommestti. They have a few great... moments... together😜. I didn't realize their age difference until this read... I think Castillo should have upped her age just a little. She's only 31? I thought she was at least 35 or 36. 

    We learn more about Kate's past. I would have liked to have been able to meet her family in this one. (She spoke with them in the last book, so where are they in this one?) The mystery itself it pretty good in this one. It was good for Castillo to base the killing around someone Kate can self identify with. It helps her character grow and helps us empathize with her as an audience. 

The Concerns:

   This was one of the weaker books in the series. I, along with a few others, were a bit confused by who the killer is. There were a LOT of suspects in this book and for some reason, it was difficult for me to keep track of them. Even after finishing and doing some digging on Goodreads, I'm still confused as to why Castillo didn't pick a different character. *SPOILERS* I thought the killer was going to be the guy who sold a few Amish hex symbols to the shop the girl worked at. I honestly don't remember his name and it is very possible that he could have been one of the accomplices. It just felt like he was set up to be the killer because he was so charming when talking to Kate. The actual killer was terrified when Kate interviewed him, which is weird, because Kate refers to him as a sociopath when he is unmasked. Overall, a good read, there are just a handful of weird details that don't full add up. 

Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Meaningfullness: 7/10

Linda Castillo 1: Sworn to Silence/An Amish Murder

*A Trigger Warning: The Kate Burkholder Series contains many plot lines around sexual assault and murder.

This post gets to be me killing two birds with one stone; a series review and a film adaptation! Linda Castillo's newest novel, The Outsider, was just published a few days ago, so I've been wanting to write about her Kate Burkholder Series. I was first introduced to her book series through the Lifetime movie, An Amish Murder, which is an adaptation of Castillo's first book in the series, Sworn to Silence.

I rewatched the movie the other day with my mom, who is also an avid fan of the Kate Burkholder Series. It had been a while since I had last watched it, but it has held up well! An Amish Murder originally aired in 2013 and stars Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. As a young girl, Kate was sworn to keep the secret of what happened to her and is forced to leave her Amish culture behind. Returning to her part English (those that are non-Amish) and part Amish hometown in Painters Mill, Ohio, she has found solace in her roll as chief of police. Tragedy strikes when a young girl is found murdered in a similar manner to the way a serial killer had been attacking women 17 years ago. Is it the same man? Could it be a copy-cat killer? Why is this BCI agent John Tommesetti so handsome? What will he uncover?

The film and the novel mirror each other pretty well. The only major difference being is that the film had to cut out certain parts and a few suspects. The novel is based around the reader learning more about Kate and her past. The reader also learns some more really important information about Tomesetti's past as well. 

Castillo also adds in a nice range of diversity into the novels. She has clearly tired her best to research Amish culture and does her best maintaining respect for their way of life. She also adds in a Black cop who bonds well with Kate due to their "non-traditional" identities as cops.

The biggest struggle is handling the sexual assaults and PTSD in the book. I believe that Castillo has done her research on how trauma can effect a person and has applied this well to her characters. She represents trauma in a fairly realistic way, which is hard to do. 

Overall, a great start to a series. And Neve Campbell was the PERFECT Kate Burkholder.

Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Meaningfullness: 9/10

*Because the film and novel are so similar I have decided to give them the same rating.

Best Film Adaptations: Umm.. What?

I was thinking about doing a few different series based on different film adaptions of books. I was doing some digging online and found that many lists are basically sausagefests. A lot of Stephen King bull and The Godfather/Fight Club nonsense. Stephen King doesn't even like most of his film adaptations and the ones he does are terrible! (Yeah fuck you The Mist). I also saw some nasty things like Gone With the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird (stab me with a frickin soul with a spork). Then I saw Hidden Figures on a list of "novel" adaptations. You rude-growing turds! That actually happened (except for the part with Kevin Kosner, fuck him and is white savior complex), so it is in fact NOT a novel. For more petty reasons; frickin Little Women 2019, a movie that stole an Oscar from ROCKETMAN! I didn't even see Rocketman, but just based on the trailer, the costuming was far superior. I mean it's Elton fucking John; the mutherfucking style icon himself and they were spot on. Give.them.the.damn.Oscar.

So now I have to do a few different series on best adaptations. I think I'll just start off with a few of my favorite basic level adaptation. The one where they just take the book and put it into movie form. I have a few other categories like Modernized/Teen Dramas and Fantasy adaptations. There are also a few authors that I will be separating out like Jane Austen and the Bronte Sisters. I'm not doing Shakespeare, because he's part of this whole sausagefest problem. And after glancing at my list again, I realize it's practically a Target in the suburbs, cause it's almost all white authors and almost white narratives. As of writing this I have three stories of color being told by white people (*ick*), one that was supposed to have all characters of color but was whitewashed (Tales of Earthsea), two Western properties (Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice) rewritten by different Asian cultures, and one Chinese to Chinese story. Sooo... I'ma work on that as I review. I'm mostly familiar with a lot of stories about slavery that have been adapted into films and honestly that's not the narrative I want to push. Slavery was awful. Too much sadness, too much trauma; more importantly I'm writing about fiction.

Further Reading:

Little Women; the Facts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sBqqERMblo&t=3s

The Aviator's Wife

I started to read The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin and I became immediately frustrated with it. It was a moment where all I could think is, "Why am I so angry at this otherwise pretty forgettable novel?" When this happens, I like to take to reviews Goodreads to see if anyone else can name my frustrations for me. And there I found it. A list of books titled "The ______'s Wife."

I'm sick of historical fiction novels where the title is depicted as how the female main character is related to a male, usually a side character, in their life; The Aviator's Wife, The Painter's Daughter, The King's Mistress, The Doctor's Wife, The Emperor's Great-Grand Niece. Seriously, publishers, STOP.

And the Aviator-Painter-King-Doctor person is usually an ass. For example, in The Aviator's Wife, Charles is portrayed as an abusive cheater at the best of times and at the worst point it is implied that he might have had a hand in murdering their child. (This book is based on the events of Anne Marrow Lindbergh and I have done very little research on her life).

It also bothers me that there is a list of books on Goodreads titled "Famous People's Wives". Perhaps I'm reading into this title a little too far, but that sort of implies that the wives are neither famous nor people. Anne Marrow Lindbergh was the "it" girl of her time. It would be like writing a book about Angelina Jolie and titling it "The Actor's Ex-wife". That would be weird! It sounds like Jolie's one great accomplishment was that she was married to Brad Pitt. Same goes for Marrow Lindbergh. Was the best thing she ever did was get married to Charles Lindbergh, the ass hat aviator? No, it wasn't. So why do we allow titles to reduce women to a single event in their lives? 

Summer Reads 8: Deirdre and Don Juan

The Before:

All I cant think of is how the English pronounce "Juan"... J = H in Spanish, Lord Byron.

The Feels:
ummmm... no.

The Concerns:
This story is about a hypersexual "Latin" Lover. 

First of all, that's racist. People from Latin American have been hypersexualized for too long.

Second, hE'S FrOM SpAIn! And therefore NOT Latin.

The best part of this book is that it reminded me about the hypersexualization of people with darker skin, especially those from Latin America. I will be addressing this in my upcoming novel that I am writing. 

Plot: 0/10
Writing Style: 1/10
Meaningfullness: 0/10

Summer Reads 7: The Fortune Hunter by Jo Beverley

The Before:

I was a little excited about this one. The summary made me think of Sense and Sensibility.

The Feels:
I skimmed this one. It isn't bad, at least none of the plot points I picked  up on were. It's like off-brand Sense and Sensibility, but gives the heroine a more progressive sense of independence. I liked that she knew she was pretty and really didn't dwell on it. I feel like so many female leads are the "I'm not like other girls, I'm so ugly, but everyone thinks I'm pretty and I attract every man I meet." Amy is confidant in her looks without being obsessed too. She isn't vain, she just knows that beauty can bring unwanted attention.

The Concerns:
Nothing really.
 

Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Meaningfullness: 6/10

Summer Reads 6: Enchant by Demelza Carlton

*Trigger warning: This book involved a plot element around rape and sexual assault, although it does do this in a trauma informed way.*

The Before:

I've read this one before, but I was in desperate need of a palate cleanser after that last bit of trash. It was just as good as I remember! I wish Carlton was more widely read.

The Feels:
This is a great retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Carlton does great work making Belle an active character through her character Zuleika. She also struggles with PTSD. It was clear to me that Carlton has a solid understanding of sexual assault and the trauma that goes along with it. This is how a book should use rape as not just a throw away plot point, but as a trauma that can effect characters in different ways. 

There is some sexual content in this book. Nothing too graphic though. I would give it a PG-13 to mayyybe an R. There is nothing really described in the rape scene (thankfully!). That scene is mainly about what Zuleika thinks and feels.

The Beast, Vardan, is an emotionally intuitive, which is great to see in a masculine lead. He cares deeply about those around him and is just lonely. He also already hated his brother, and how his brother treated Zuleika just adds to this. I don't like it when sexual assault is a plot point to make two men hate each other. Sadly, that doesn't happen in real life.

The Concerns:
It's implied that Zuleika's PTSD is just cured at the end of the book... I don't like that. I think a little more thought should have been put into that. 


Plot: 10/10 
Writing Style: 9/10
Meaningfullness: 10/10

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

The Before:

OOO pretty cover. Looks a little like Alice in Wonderland. I'm borrowing this one from the library as an audiobook. 

The Feels:
The world building in this novel is fantastic! Highly diverse, racially, culturally, and linguistically. Love that! I really wanted to spend more time in this world. The narrator was also great; she really read into the world well.

A bonus is that this fantasy world is LGBT+ friendly. El mentions that men could be attracted to the male lead and it is even implied that he might be sleeping with a prince.

The Concerns:
The world building was a little too confusing. I thought El's father for the longest time was the "pretender" king. But then he wasn't? I guess he's just a lesser king?

El... is stupid. She focuses on the small picture as opposed to the big picture. She complains that her father is a pretend king, because he's lazy and lives off other people. What about the king that she lived with? She finds out pretty early on that he was crazy corrupt and kept stealing from the poor. All she thinks is, "Well that sucks... I'm going to go be a healer." She lacks self-awareness of her privileged and I honestly can't tell if the reader is supposed to pick up on this or not. Bates really hits you over the head with the fact that  El is sort of a dingus. She complains about how her family "abandoned her"... EL.... YOU ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE. That's sort of the point... They CANT get you back. She also wonders if she still has her powers as a child. This wouldn't be stupid, if she hadn't just used her powers.

The term "regicide". That's ducking stupid. It's called assassination.

I really think this book could have used a more critical eye in the editing process. There were just so many bad things that were distracting to the reader. This could have been such a great book! DNF😭

Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 2/10
Meaningfullness: 9/10

Summer Reads 5: A Talent for Trouble by Anne Barbour

The Before:

Back cover uses the word "Ton" instead of London... This should have been my first warning.

The Feels:
None.

The Concerns:
Clearly Barbour needs to do some more research on the Regency Era. Yes, London is referred to as Town, but it's pretty rare to see it as ton. That's just stupid and annoying.

The male lead, whose name I can't remember and won't be bothered to look it up, chastises the female lead, Matilda or whatever, about her painting. When he finds out that she's good at painting, I kid you not, he says, "but you're a woman?" Women in the Regency Era were expected to know how to paint, especially in the upper class. That's a whole subplot in Austen's Emma. It was one of the few things women were allowed to do; that and draw. It would be like him saying, "WOW! You know how to read? But you're a woman."

DNF- Had to rage quit. 


Plot: 1/10 (Purely because it has one.)
Writing Style: 0/10
Meaningfullness: 0/10

Summer Reads 4: A Dedicated Scoundrel by Anne Barbour

The Before:

Yet another book from my Esty box. I loved the line on the back cover, "He called himself John Smith, but to Catherine his name was temptation." 

I couldn't not read this one.

The Feels:
It was a pretty good romance. Catherine was a good character. She felt a little more well rounded as opposed to some of the previous female main characters. She was an active character and (understandably) didn't exactly trust Justin to begin with.

The Concerns:
Justin is all of the problems with this book rolled into one. I mean, first of all, "Justin" is a 80's/90's d-bag name, not the name of a leading man in a Regency Romance. Surprisingly, I did not take issue with his amnesia. I didn't like that we as the reader knows who he is and are inside his head. That gets things a bit confusing. It would have been a lot better it Barbour just kept the reader with Catherine.

Justin was also accused of rape by a woman in his past...

Yeah, I'm not on board with that. And it's a very quickly dismissed line. This book was published in '97 and I really thought we would have more sensitivity to that sort of thing. And it never says that it wasn't rape... It just says that his seduction of her was consensual from his perspective. Gross.

Plot: 5/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Romance Summer Reads 3: The Indifferent Earl by Blair Bancroft

The Before:

The Indifferent Earl by Blair Bancroft was one of the books in my Etsy order. The plot of a school headmistress going to live in an English cottage she inherits was what initially intrigued me. 

The Feels:
Yet another dud. *sigh*

The Concerns:
I really wanted to get into this one. Abigail is basically my life goals; An American school teacher that inherits an English mansion and falls in love with an earl. Too bad she sucks. All she does is complain about how the United States is the best and England needs to get off its high horse. To be fair, it was published in 2003, meaning it was being written right after 9/11... meaning the American author had a lot of feels about America. It did not age well and Abigail is insufferable. The Earl of Langley, Jared, isn't the greatest either. Also what kind of fuckboi name is Jared.


Plot: 2/10
Writing Style: 2/10
Meaningfullness: 1/10

Summer Reads 1 & 2: Diane Gaston's The Governess Swap Series

The Before:

I had purchased A Lady Becomes a Governess a while back and recently purchased the sequel, Shipwrecked with the Captain. I love your standard Regency Romance, so we'll see how this goes.

The Feels:
A Lady Becomes a Governess: It's amazing! I love this book. Just your standard Regency Romance like I thought. Really not much more than that though. If you want a nice Regency Romance, here's a good pick. The characters are fine and the plot has a few small twists, nothing too thrilling though.

Shipwrecked with the Captain: Dull... DNF. I think it was the main character mixed with the amnesia plot. Claire is very much a Beth March... *screams internally*... It's pretty much just assumed that she died in the first book. Gaston could really have just left it at that.

The Concerns:
I really don't have any concerns about this series. The first book was a great read, while the sequel left much to be desired as far as plot and character development goes. I didn't hate it and there weren't any of the usual concerns, like abuse or prejudice. It was just boring. I'm not a fan of amnesia plot lines. The bonus of this series is that it doesn't have to be... You can just read the first book. 😅

A Lady Becomes a Governess

Plot: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Meaningfullness: 5/10

Shipwrecked with the Captain

Plot: 2/10
Writing Style: 4/10
Meaningfullness: 2/10

A Defense of Amy March

It has recently been brought to my attention that Amy March is the least liked of the four March sisters in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. I was honestly shocked by this! Sure, Amy is a bit of a snotty brat in Volume 1, but she's a child who has been growing up through one of the most difficult times in American History. I think her brattiness about limes can be forgiven. 

But you know who can't be forgiven? Do you know who the true villain of Little Women is? 

It's Beth and here's why I hate her.

Beth is annoying. She is arguably the most annoying character in the book. She was the "goodest" of the sisters. This not because of anything she actively does for other people, but because she doesn't do anything bad, like the other characters. Beth does nothing. She doesn't effect the plot. She doesn't go anywhere. She doesn't come up with any good ideas. She is only good, because everyone else around her does things, both good and back. 

When one compares Beth to other "goodest" characters, she also comes out pretty flat. Jane Bennet is supposed to be the core of her sisters. Jane stops the infighting between her sisters, she advises Elizabeth, she empathy for her mother (which few other characters show). She is the "goodest" Bennet sister and gets her happy ending. Beth, on the other hand, helps her sister when she's sick and has to die for it. Beth didn't work to earn anything in the novel. Another type of "goodest" character is the abuse victim. Beth not a Cinderella or a Jane Eyre, where she's actually abused by her family and has to over come her situation. She's just sort of there.

It's pretty common for people to see Beth as the grounded, optimistic sister. She's not optimistic. She just wishes for things to be different or like how they were. because if she was, she would actually do something to help her family get out of their situation. The other three sisters do what they can while Beth just gazes wistfully out the window. I see her has more of a complainer than as an optimist. Amy March is greedy and a little lazy, but she marries well in order to provide for herself and her family. Meg also marries to help her family. Jo... well she shouldn't  have gotten married, but she did manage to follow her dreams. 

So... I hate Beth. And honestly, I think Alcott relished killing her off, just so she didn't have to write her character anymore.

Further Reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqaNyefJMtk&list=WL&index=5

Westering Women by Sandra Dallas

*A Trigger Warning: characters in this novel face traumas such as death, sexual assault, and other violence against women and children that will be referenced in this post.*

The Before:

I found Westering Women when scrolling through the audiobooks provided by my local library. I have been interested in the lives women throughout history. Although it is not a traditional romance novel, it is a story of love between women and the bonds of sisterhood. Recently, I have seen stories of friendship love become more common in literature. This can be seen in films such as "Bridesmaids" or "The Half of It". Although I haven't read it myself, from what I understand Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell is a novel with similar themes. 

The Feels:
Maggie is a great main character. She's a little bit naive and meek. I get the meekness, because she had been in an abusive relationship with her husband for years. I don't understand how she can be so naive though, especially since her husband was so monstrous to her.

Any character named Lavinia is always going to be terrible (Thank you "Downton Abbey"). This novel was actually able to help me build some empathy for a Lavinia.

When looking at reviews on Goodreads, I noticed a lot of people being upset with the "men bashing" in this book. I think what people don't understand that this novel portrays a fairly accurate depiction of how men were allowed to act historically. We really only hear about the abusive men, because we are following a group of women who were abused. It would be totally different if the book was about a group of high society women. Maybe then we would only one or two women who face violence from their husbands. The women we follow have faced trauma throughout their lives, which implies that everyone they know has faced some sort of trauma. Being surrounded by trauma is a trait most common in the people in our society that are the most down trodden. A way for men to deal wth their trauma (in a subconscious way) was/is for them to act out in violence. At the time this story takes place, the law and society even supports them being allow to act violently toward their wives. This was a harsh reality of the time and I really don't see this as the author bashing men in the novel. Yes, there are some men in the novel that do terrible things, but, to me, it does not come across as them doing these terrible things for no reason. Even if someone today were to argue with one of these men doing bad in the novel, he would argue back that his wife is his property and he could do what he wished with her and the law would openly be on his side. This is actually what started First Wave Feminism, women fighting back and supporting each other by pointing out that the constitution stated all people were free (...except for slaves... and American Indians... and other non-white people... and the Irish... and the Italians... oh and don't forget about children... and those in prison...) It's horrible, but this is the way things were... (are?)

The ending of the book makes some of the more dull parts worth it. Please know that there is a lot of suffering in this book, but it has a joyous ending.

The Concerns:
There is a lot in this book about sexual assault. I'm glad that Dallas addressed the suffering that many women have historically gone through. What bothered me was how the women reacted to their assaults. I understand that different people will react to trauma in different ways and I respect that. What I take issue with is that the women in this novel will react to other traumas they face, but they don't react to the sexual assaults that happen to them. I know that writing a character that has gone through sexual trauma can be difficult and I can tell Dallas clearly tried. I just wish she had developed the characters more, because otherwise, it makes it feel like sexual assault is being used as a plot point. One of the sexual assaults I feel should have been left out deals with a small child and her father. That felt a little unnecessarily violent and like a quickly forgotten plot point by the main characters. Instead she could have had the father hit or almost hit the child, because it would have left the mother with a similar reaction. Don't get me wrong, hitting a child is a terrible thing, but sexually assaulting a child is far worse and it was implied that it had happened before. In my opinion, that's just too much.

I'm not a fan of how race in portrayed in this book. Being a racist is common amongst the villains in the novel. For me, it trivializes racism. In the book you either think whites are better than everyone or not, which is just not the case in real life. The way the Native Americans are portrayed in the novel is actually fairly racist; the book gives off the a "noble savage" vibe. I kept waiting for the group to come across a Native American that they would help or would help them or join the group, but instead they were treated as either violent or drunks or abusive to "their women". We don't hear from any characters of color, we just hear what white characters have to say about them. Evelyn, the only black character, is highly educated and has been cared for as a loved servant by the wealthiest woman in the group. Maggie never really interacts with her and we never seen anything from her perspective.

Then I looked at her Goodreads profile and it stated that she writes about themes such as "human dignity". Not when it comes to people of color. Not when it comes to this particular book. I'm going to have to take off a lot of points for this. I am completely disappointed in Dallas.

Plot: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Meaningfullness: /210

Summer Romance Goals

So a few weeks ago, I made a dumb purchase. I saw a listing of 64 paperback romance novels on Etsy and I... couldn't not buy it. Because of this, I have decided to make one of my summer goals to read as many romance novels as possible. Although what I have are mostly heteronormative, I do plan on seeking out even more novels with LGBTQIAA themes. 

There is a secondary reason for me concentrating on romance novels right now. I am planning on applying to a few different MFA programs this summer. I have an idea for a gothic-romance heavily rooted in race and feminism that I really want to write. I think it would be a perfect first novel for me and I have found a lot of programs I could receive proper support in writing it.

As a I read through these novels, I also want to find new ways for me to look at the romance genre, aka the only genre dominated by female authors. I was really inspired to do all of this by a fantastic film analyst, Lindsay Ellis. Her video on Romance Novels opened my eyes to so many nuanced topics in romance.

Check out Lindsay's video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0l5yEY_IlY

Linda Castillo: Kate Burkholder Series (10.5)

Linda Castillo is one of my favorite murder mystery novelists. Right now, I am reading a few of her short stories that fit in between the full novels in the Kate Burkholder Series. I will be reading them a bit out of order, but I will keep all updates on this specific post, in an attempt to keep things at least a little bit organized. 

First Read: In Plain Sight (book 10.5)

The Summary:

A young Amish man hurt in a hit and run after a going to a dance with his English girlfriend. It's up to Kate to find the attacker before the attacker strikes again.

The Feels:
John and Kate are my favorite mystery couple. They have both faced trauma in the past and are actively working towards bettering themselves, not to mention the strong chemistry they have. The events of In Plain Sight are no exception to this. John takes a bit of a passive role, but he's always right there in order to support our favorite chief of police.

I love how Mona is becoming more of a lead character and I hope Castillo plays up more on Kate as a mentor to her. I like this powerful women mentor-mentee situation was played up a little in this story, being that Mona was one of the few characters Kate interacts with.

I liked the inclusion of the more modern slang in this story. Nice to see Castillo keeping up with the times.

The Concerns:
I think the story should have been a little bit longer in order to develop a few of the characters more. Ashley in particular feels a little too flat. 

I like that Mona was in this one. Would like to see more from Glock, the African American popo in this series. I know he is happily married (with kids, I think), but I can't help but ship him and Mona, even though Castillo implied in a different novel that she was with P.J.


Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Meaningfullness: 7/10

Murder is Easy: A Radio Drama

The romance was a little odd. It was quick and yet too  practical. 

I absolutely loved this one! Great twist ending.

Here is the link to the version I listened to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTX9fQp1TVY

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer

I've never read one of Heyer's novels. I read this one a few weeks ago, before starting this blog so everything's going to be in a bit of a different format.

The Feels:
The Corinthian was a fantastic novel! Start with an Austen base, throw in some Shakespeare, and a dash of Agatha Christie.

The protagonist is pretty proactive, which is nice.

There's also a lot in here about gender and LGBT+ theory. Is Sir Richard gay? Is he bi? Ploy? Metrosexual? (Do we use that term anymore?) I don't know and am I to say or judge as a straight-cis lady. All I know is that he appears to only feel attraction to one woman and this happens after he meets her dressed as a masculine clothing?

The Concerns:
SOOOO WHITE. Technically heteronormative, but you can read into in different ways. No really thoughts on class. The male lead is also a little condescending, but at least he's that way to everyone as opposed to just the main character.

Anyway, this novel is WONDERFUL! If you're an Austen fan, I couldn't recommend it more.

Plot: 10/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Meaningfullness: 8/10

Third Girl by Agatha Christie

Before Reading:
Today I've decided to tackle something that requires a little more effort on my end. Poirot novels are usually hit or miss with me. Third Girl in the past has been a big miss. I've tried to get into it before but usually give up after the first chapter or so.

While Reading:
It was odd that they knew Norma was a "third girl". I just think it's an odd part of Christie novels that everyone happens to know everything about everyone. It's like England is a small town made up of only rich people. This is why I usually prefer her Miss Marple series. Miss Marple is a much more self-aware character.

Random notes I made:

"Ha! She's shocked by all stuff at a so called 'supermarket'."

"Where is Hastings? I need Hastings."

"Wait, who is that again?"

"A wig... well I guess that's better than Clark Kent's glasses..."

After Reading:
This is a fairly run of the mill Christie. It had a good twist, but not one of her best. A few too many characters/couples for my taste. It's not a harmful book, but I personally didn't gain much from it either.

Plot: 7/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Meaningfulness: 3/10

A Wonderful Weekend with Mary Poppins

This weekend has been dedicated to sewing masks for hospitals in my area. While sewing I decided to pick up (or rather listen to) Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. I remember reading this novel when I was little and I was so excited when it came across my recommend page on YouTube.

Before Reading:

I don't remember much from when I first read the novel. Most of my memories are a weird jumble of the book, the Disney movie, and the Broadway musical. One scene that sticks out most in my mind is when a witch brakes off her finger and gives it to a baby? I have no idea where this story is going. Could get pretty weird. 

While Reading:

Yes! I love this! It is exactly what I need right now. It's a light hearted children's novel. Much funnier than I remember. I can't tell you the number of times its made me laugh out loud. 

Mary is a little different than I remember. She's very prim and proper in the Disney movie and the stage show. She is still is in the book, but there is a little more snark. She's also surprised at her own magic, which I thought was odd. This made her feel younger, like she hadn't quite realized  her own powers yet. This came up in the sidewalk chalk tea scene with Burt. They were both surprised with what they were wearing and who/what was at the cafe. 

The twins were wonderful. The part in which they talk to Mary about forgetting how to talk to animals was profound. It's the strongest moment in the novel. Travers was clearly highly aware of her audience, both children and adults. 

The story is highly progressive when it comes to animal rights. At one point Jane and Michael go to the zoo at night. Everything is "upside down" because all of the people at the zoo are the ones in the cages. There is a conversation that the animals have while watching the Admiral in a cage. He angrily shouts about being in cage and the animals see it as part of the "show". They refer to him as a "beast" and just sort of shake their heads at now brutish humans can be.

The witch finger thing was as weird as I remembered.

After Reading:

This was one of the best things I've done this weekend. I could not recommend Mary Poppins more. 

Plot: 9/10 *There were a couple parts where I zoned out

Writing Style: 10/10

Meaningful: 10/10 *It's a little typical Anglocentric, but hints of progressive ideas especially when it came to animals was powerful.

Here's the link to the audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-8alaK_KDI&t=9881s

Introduction

I've been thinking about how wonderful it would be to become a book reviewer. However, I kept telling myself that I have a job; I'm a teacher. Today is Day 23 of my Social Distancing during the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020. Today I've come to realize that my life can't just be teaching. Today I start my journey of reviews.

On this blog, I plan to review mainly books, although I do plan on review a few movies (mostly based off of books). Because it's difficult to give literature a single numerical value, I'm going to rate everything based off three critical areas; Plot, Writing Style, and Meaningfulness. The Plot score will be based on how much the piece kept my attention. The score forWriting Style will be determined by the quality of the writing. Finally, the Meaningfulness score will come from the value of the text in the world of literature (Is this text important? Will it make people think? Will it open minds?).



Can't wait to get started reading with you!

- The Lady Adventurer