This is all about the trip down memory lane. It sounds strange at first to think a book, dead leaves stuffed full of inky imprints of soul, could come with a strong sensory memory attached to anything other than your eyes. But if you think about it, a lot of different things combine to be part of the reading experience. Where you were, what you were going through at the time, your environment, even what you were eating. Most of…
Today’s niche trope is all about choosing to love. To me, the decision to step up as a parent figure is the definition of heroic, because it hits close to my own personal experience. I have been a single mom and I have been lucky enough to find a second chance with the most amazing husband and stepfather in the entire world. He’s the best. No arguing. Also, he’s mine. But you can have these books which feature a love…
This trope flavor du jour starts with a firm, succulent base of Brooding Big Bad. Spicy hints of Shades of Grey add to the morality, while robust kicks of Standoffish, Blunt, and Guarded finish the dish for a well-rounded palate. The discerning reader will love the fact that this character absolutely has no time for anyone in the world . . . except for that one, special someone they can’t resist. They are secretly (OH so secretly) soft and protective…
Quick internet search tells me that a nerd is defined as; “a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, interested in obscure or not-popular things, and lacking social skills.” Basically? I am ALL OF THOSE THINGS. It’s like the internet knows my life!* *Dear NSA Agent skimming my blog: please do spend some quality time with my trope rec posts. I promise you will need reading material because my life is very boring and these books are more fun. Also…
As we all know, one of the Ten Bookworm Commandments is: Thou shalt never be satisfied with a movie adaptation because THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER. Obviously, the prompter for this blog post (Kibby of The Dark Forest Co) just wanted to fling that match and watch the bookworm world burn. While standing there looking cool, backlit by the flames, walking away in slow motion. I approve, which is why I wrote this post defying one of the cardinal bookworm…
For this post it’s that trope, nearly always employed in an enemies-to-lovers type situation, where one of the duo gets sick/injured or is suddenly in imminent danger. Ruh-roh, Scooby! Because they are acting like antagonists life conspires to basically FORCE their defenses down in a way the character would probably never do on their own. Isn’t it the best? When they’re happily spatting, all defensive maneuvers deployed, sarcasm shots launching A+ hard, and then it’s all “Wait, you’re sick? Really…
Another trope rec post! This time the specific mood I’m in is that carefully arranged, sometimes mail-ordered happily ever after. I’ve always loved mail-order bride books (despite knowing arranged marriage is much more complicated in real life). This isn’t reality, this is fiction, and in fiction picking a partner like you’re ordering an entrée from a menu ends perfectly every time. For this list I’m focusing on the mail-order trope but including some of the more standard arranged-marriage books because…
In the grand tradition of December, let’s do some wrapping up. Wrap some presents. Wrap-up your holiday shopping. Write lots of wrap-up lists. Wrap-up small, misbehaving children Krampus style to mail to . . . haha . . . ooops. Don’t do that. Got carried away there. Number Of Books I Read: 265 Left unsupervised again. Plus, worldwide pandemic, quarantine, and stress-reading to the maximum amount possible. I’m talking reading a probably unhealthy amount from March to May. Number of…
Yep, it’s time for another trope recommendation post. This one is my very, very favorite, ride or die, auto-buy trope, so this will be a very long rec post. Be warned! Do I know there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of retellings of this fairy tale? Yep. Does that stop me from buying them and hoping more come out? NOPE. Something about seeing through outward appearances to the genuine, worthy, real person within has always caught my attention. You know that…
It’s autumn and I’m so happy. We live in a pretty temperate zone of North America, all things considered. The seasons rest gently on us here. Spring is soft & wonderful, winter isn’t usually so full of snow we can’t get around, and I enjoy the hot days and long evenings in summer. It’s just…they’re not my favorite. Sorry, other seasons. Fall is totally my favorite child. When autumn shows up I am ready to grab it and hug it…