kiriel123

I can't believe it's been like 5 months since my last post. I don't know where the time went...2023 kicking my ass

( Cut for work and life miscellany )

Time for another post about my recent book reads:

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len 7/10
Joan is spending summer with her relatives in London, living life as a normal person, with a crush on her coworker at the museum where she works, when everything comes crashing down. She discovers she's not as human as she thought, with a power to steal time from ordinary people and that her crush is a monster slayer of legend. After witnessing the massacre of her family, she becomes determined to change the present by teaming up with some newly made frenemies and using her newfound abilities to go back to the past. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I liked the monster lore and the way time looped in on itself in different ways at the end. Definitely will give the sequel a read when it comes out

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews 9/10
The last Catalina book in the Hidden Legacy series!! Plot-wise - Catalina unexpectedly needs to assume the role of Acting Warden of Texas when her boss and mentor is attacked and in a coma. As the conclusion to Catalina's trilogy it wrapped everything up so well, and I loved the revelations about her grandparents and Alessandro's family. Ilona Andrews does such a good job of writing strong familial relationships even though the series is focused on romance, and of course Catalina gets her well deserved happily ever after. When the main character switched from Nevada to Catalina after the first trilogy I was a bit worried I would lose interest but I love Catalina so much. After I finished Ruby Fever I re-read all 7 books starting with Burn for Me, and enjoyed seeing all the little easter eggs dropped in the first books come to fruition in this finale. I really hope they end up doing a third trilogy in this world centered around Arabella because I'm not ready to let it go!

Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kersten Gier 6/10
Another YA time travel series, lol I am predictable. Gwyneth inherits her family's time travel gene and all the responsibility that comes along with it. Conscripted into a mission with the handsome but snooty Gideon to collect blood from all the previous time travelers, Gwyneth has to make decisions about who to trust. I was intrigued enough by book 1 to read book 2 but let's just say that Emerald Green came in on reserve at my library and I let the hold lapse. I continually had to remind myself that Gwyneth is 16 in the books and therefore makes emotional impulse driven decisions, but I got tired of reading about it.

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley 7/10
Valery Kolkhanov is transferred from a Siberian prison to a secret nuclear facility known only as City 40 due to his nuclear specialist knowledge. Taking place in Russia in the 1960s and based on real events Valery has to contend with what to do when the radiation he's studying has very real effects on the people all around him. I very much enjoyed reading this, and I could tell the author did a lot of research around what might have actually happened during this timeframe. It definitely made me want to check out her other works

Jade City by Fonda Lee 7/10
Set in a fantastical world where Jade can heighten your senses and abilities, two families wrestle for control of their city and its Jade production. The focus is on the No-Peak clan, specifically the siblings Lan, Shae, and Hilo and their family. I liked it a lot and intend to continue, although I'll need to carve out time because the next two books in the trilogy are 600-700 pages each. I miss the days when I could devote myself to reading long complicated epic sagas, but sadly work saps so much energy that I can't always concentrate properly

The Last Sun/The Hanged Man/The Hourglass Throne by KD Edwards 7/10
This series has been on my list to read for soooo long I literally bought The Last Sun like two years ago and it didn't disappoint! In The Last Sun, Rune Saint John, the last scion of the fallen Sun Court, spends his days taking on odd jobs with his Companion, Brand. But when they get called on a case to find Lady Judgement's missing son, Addam, they get pulled into a mystery they never expected. I really enjoyed the unique world building here as well, though it threw me off a bit at first. The different courts are all based on Tarot (or, Tarot is based on the Courts) and after I understood the basis it was easier to follow. Also in The Hourglass Throne I was surprised when covid was included, as this is the first book I've read that actually inserted the pandemic into the narrative. Rune and Addam's relationship felt very quick to me in book 1, but I did like how it developed with Brand as well by the end of book 3. I think 9 books are planned for this series, although I'm not sure if the POV character will be switched in the future from Rune to someone else.

Ok, that's it for now!

One of the girls in my book club just started watching Shadowhunters and I was Totally Normal when talking to her about it because it's been a few years since my Shadowhunters obsession but it did make me feel nostalgic for the show, which means during my afternoon walk I was thinking about it and...what if Clary and Jonathan were switched??

This is going to get long, I can feel it.

The eldest child - Valentine didn't give that child demon blood. He gave him the angelic blood. That's his son and heir, who will inherit the nephilim legacy.

The second born child, the girl, the spare, she was the one who got the demon blood. And Jocelyn doesn't leave when she's still pregnant this time because baby Jonathan doesn't get all creepy evil (even though he was a BABY and Jocelyn just left him to Valentine's tender mercies but whatever we are off canon here), so she stays just a little longer. But when Clarissa Morgenstern is 6 months old her eyes turn fully black and she kills all the living plants in her vicinity, that's when Jocelyn takes her son and the mortal instruments and runs.

Jonathan Christopher was almost two when they ran, so he remembers his sister, for a while anyway. But Jocelyn eventually convinces him his sister wasn't real - he's always been an only child. We'll come back to him later.

Meanwhile Clarissa, with the benefit of her demon blood, has an eidetic memory. She remembers her brother, who was the only one in her family who ever showed her affection, and her mother, who left her. Valentine keeps her around for a while, but he still adopts Jace on a kid, who of course thinks he's Jonathan Wayland. He tells Clarissa to keep out of the way, locks her up, experiments on her, is very Valentine about it all basically.

But Clarissa is a smart girl, and just as in another timeline she was adept at using the gifts her angelic blood gave her, in this one she figures out how to use her demonic powers. Rots wooden doors, rusts iron bars from the inside out until a little push of her chubby child's hand is all that's needed to walk free. She's careful to keep as much from Valentine's knowledge as possible - her powers are for her, not for him. But she does discover Valentine is raising another boy, in another home.

She hates the new boy her father has taken in, an interloper who is trying to take her brother's place. "He's not Jonathan," she tells her father. Valentine shrugs, "Jonathan's gone, your whore of a mother stole him away, and so I had to find a someone else to fulfill his role. That's Jonathan enough for me." Clarissa doesn't respond to that, she almost never responds to statements which include her mother, and anyway, there's nothing more to say. "Stay away from him," Valentine says, as if he doesn't know that's the one thing guaranteed to make sure Clarissa approaches him (if I were actually plotting this I would probably make him say it on purpose and observe their interactions)

On one of his trips out, when he's left his fake son alone in the house, Clarissa appears before not-Jonathan. He's playing piano with broken fingers when the shadows suddenly part and a little redheaded girl stands in front of him.

"You're not Jonathan," she says. "What makes you think you have the right to take his place?"

Jonathan stands up, the piano keys clattering discordantly. "Who are you? How did you get in here?". She's tiny, her clothes ragged, eyes huge in a thin face. He approaches her slowly, like the wild untamed creature that she is.

Something about her face softens, as she stares at him unblinking. "Oh," she says. "You're not Jonathan. But you could still be mine, if you wanted."

Jonathan doesn't now what she means, or where she came from. It's been so long since he's seen anyone other than his father. He's standing a few inches away from her when she speaks again. "You can't have his name though. Jonathan was here first, it's only fair he gets to keep it."

"What do you mean?"

She tilts her head, still with that unchanging stare. "Poor lost little boy. You can be JC, until you find your own name. And if you never do then you can always be my Jace."

Before they can say anything else, noise comes from the front door - Valentine is back. She stiffens, calling the shadows around her again. "Don't tell him I was here. He'll be mad, and when he's mad, it always hurts worse."

"He hurts you?" Jonathan whispers, reaching out a hand towards her.

She steps back. "He tries. You're the one who hurts most. Remember," she lifts a finger to her lips. "I was never here." And she vanishes as suddenly as she'd appeared.

Later that night Jonathan says to his father over dinner, "all the heroic boys in stories, they have nicknames. I think it's time I had one too."

"Do you," Valentine says, eyebrows slightly raised.

"Yes," Jonathan says. "I was thinking - what about shortening Jonathan Christopher. JC. Jace."

Valentine tilts his head, and Jace is suddenly reminded of the girl at his gesture. "As you like - Jace."

Clarissa still approaches Jace when Valentine is not around and they form a bond. At the same time, she's exploring other areas in the world when her father is distracted with his experiments and other child. Humans are so much more fragile than they appear.

Valentine finds he has less and less control over her, making her a liability, and at the same time his deal with Lilith comes due - she was promised a child and she will have her child.

The night before he plans to send her to hell, Clarissa sneaks into Jace's bedroom, waking him up. "He's selling me tomorrow," she says.

"He can't!" Jace grabs her hand. "I won't let him, I'll keep you safe."

Clarissa looks at him, a hint of pity in her eyes. "You can't stop him. You're not strong enough yet. But don't worry - I told you before didn't I? You're mine. I'll come back for you."

Jace opens his mouth to argue with her more, but her eyes are fully black, and he knows her enough now to know when his words won't have any effect. "Let me give you something then - something to remember me."

"I don't need anything to remember you."

"It's only fair." He tightens his grip on her hand, but it's already beginning to fade like smoke between his fingers. "You gave me my name didn't you? So that's what I'll give you. To Father, you're Clarissa. But for me, you can be Clary."

"Clary," she repeats. Then she smiles. It's the first full smile he's ever seen from her. "Yes. That's fitting." For a moment the smoke tightens around his hand, feeling almost like a manacle. "Don't forget. No matter what else happens, you're mine." He nods, and blinks, and then she's gone.

It will be years before he sees her again.

The next day, Valentine sends Clary to hell. Lilith finds her, as she was always meant to, and clutches her close, her hands burning, burning burning. But Clarissa knows her demon powers better than her brother did in his other timeline, not enough to stop the pain of burning alive, but enough to put her skin back together afterwards.

Lilith wanted a child and now she has one. Her daughter, and no one else's. Clarissa has dead eyes and a dead heart and Lilith's demonic blood, and she learns very quickly.

After a few years, she figures out how to make a dark mirror to see into the upper world - but she can only see those she's connected to. Jace, for all their emotional bond, has no ties to her. But Jonathan - he shares her blood. She watches him, living a human life, with human friends, knowing nothing about his heritage. He's very popular her brother - athletic, smart, talented. She sees Jocelyn there too, a pale imitation of the woman she was.

Inevitably, Lilith finds out she's watching him, and watching Jocelyn. She goes into a rage - how dare Clarissa disrespect her like this. Does she think she has any other family but Lilith?? Lilith is the only one who matters, Lilith is /her mother/. She burns everything in sight.

Clarissa grabs Lilith back, eyes bright with reflected fire. "Do you think I care about Jocelyn Fairchild? She left me. But when she left me, she stole your other child."

Lilith pauses, eyes narrowing to slits, focused on Clarissa. "Father threw me away. Jocelyn abandoned me. You are my mother, the only parent I need. And if you are my mother, and he is my brother, then he is your child too. She took him away from us. He's /ours/."

"Oh you foolish child," Lilith whispers, hands stroking gently the lacerated skin she'd burnt on Clarissa's arms. "You are the one who shares my blood. He was given the blood of angels. The blood of our enemy."

"No." Clary says, utterly certain in her words. "He's mine. He's always been mine since the day I was born. Someday I'll reclaim him." She'd called him "ours" only to try to convince Lilith that Jonathan belonged with her, having a vague thought to bring him down to hell. Clary has no intention of sharing him with her second mother any more than with her first one. Lilith being uninterested in seeing him as her child mattered not at all to Clary.

Lilith laughs, anger gone for the moment. It will return, it always returns, but Clarissa knows how to handle it now. "If that's what you want to think daughter. But know this - if he knew you, he would despise you. He wouldn't hesitate a moment before killing you."

Clarissa sees no point in continuing the conversation. She lowers her head, and Lilith takes it for acquiescence. But Clary knows, regardless of what anyone says - she has two boys who belong to her. She draws both of them - Jonathan and Jace - using the ashes of her burned skin as ink. She'll get both of them back no matter what it takes.

Then, canon starts, Jon Fairchild takes the place of Clary. Jace still feels a bond to him, tied together by their angelic blood. Simon, god love him, isn't in the picture because Jon really is the all american football star and Simon is a nerd. Luke is still around, a pseudo father figure to Jon, but not close the way he was to Clary. Jon isn't insane like he was in canon timeline but - he's not Clary either. The relationships he has are different. Although he does share her ruthlessness - he'll do anything to get his mother back no matter who he hurts.

It cracks me up to think that at at the reveal of Valentine being the one to raise Jace, and Jon being Valentine's son, Jon and Jace think they're twins. Jace is the one who tells Jon that they have a little sister. Clary.

And when Clary comes back from hell and into the picture - well it's a whole different story. But that requires more thought and this is already long enough.

God, I know I read mainly Malec fic when I was in fandom but Clary gen fic is where my heart is at.

Another book review post - it really is a cross genre list this time.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow 7/10
A take on Sleeping Beauty. The main character, Zinnia, is chronically ill and isn't expected to live past 21. She latched onto the tale of Sleeping Beauty as a child, relating to Briar Rose, trapped sleeping in her tower, As her 21st birthday is likely to be the last one she'll have, her BFF Charm goes all out on a Sleeping Beauty themed party. But when Zinnia pricks her finger on the spinning wheel Charm used as part of the party decorations, she finds herself transported to another world with another Sleeping Beauty. A cute, short YA read, I enjoyed how the author played with the tropes of a classic fairy tale.

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire 7/10
The latest in the Wayward Children book series. This one focuses on Cora, who did not have a good time in the last book, and is now haunted by the specter of the previous world they went to. She leaves the Eleanor West Home for Wayward Children for the other school that caters to kids coming back from lost doorways - The Whitethorn Institute. While there she starts to uncover a conspiracy that is so much bigger than she could have suspected. I really enjoyed how this book expanded the world building of the series and Cora's journey in it.

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis 6/10
A YA retelling of The Cask of Amontillado. Tress lost everything the night her parents disappeared and at the heart of all her problems is her former BFF - Felicity. Now, on a night when a Halloween party has everyone out and drunk, Tress plans to take her revenge and wrench confessions from Felicity, even if it means Felicity's life hangs in the balance. Very creepy, I finished this right before bed and I had some regret about it. If you like gothic, small town horror, you'll probably like this.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 7/10
The Sun is slowly dying, condemning life on Earth to death within the next few decades. Ryland wakes on a space mission as the sole survivor of the crew to find a way to save the sun and therefore all life on Earth. But while everyone on his crew has died, that doesn't mean he's alone in space. Another world has also been impacted by the same parasite that's infected the sun and they've sent their own crew out as a hail mary as well. This was the first Andy Weir book I've read and I was impressed at how the science came across as legitimate but also readable. I did skim the last hundred pages or so when it got really science-y. I appreciated how he ended the book, even though it wasn't quite what I expected.

Guild Codex by Annette Marie 7/10
I started this series shortly before my free trial of kindle unlimited was up so I didn't have a chance to read all of the different spin-offs, but I got through the first few Spellbound books, all the Demonized books and all the (currently published) Unveiled books. Really fun magical world setting where people have different specializations in magic/power and join Guilds based on their skillset. I liked the main characters of all three series and the different plots. I've bought a few of them outside of kindle unlimited because I really enjoyed reading them, and I'll probably continue the Unveiled series when the next one comes out.

The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy 6/10
A book club pick that I never would have read on my own, but sometimes it's fun to read something different. This was written in 1980 and took place in the 60s and I found the view point into that time most interesting. Will is a senior about to graduate a prestigious military institute when he and his friends get pulled into a conspiracy around a shadow fraternity that has haunted the school for decades. Did not hold back when it came to the hazing freshmen experience and how military academies shape students who attend. I read that the author based a lot of the book on his own experiences and when this came out was blacklisted by almost all military schools.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 5/10
Caroline had been planning a romantic getaway with her husband to London but then she discovers that he's been cheating on her, so decides to do the getaway solo while she contemplates her future. She finds an old glass bottle in the river and decides to unravel the mystery of how it ended up there. The book jumps back and forth between present day with Caroline and the past, with the apothecary shop where the bottle came from, which caters to women looking to poison the men in their lives who have hurt them, run by Nella. I did not enjoy this at all, I found it very boring, and Caroline and Nella were both irritating I won't be reading anything else by this author. I did actually manage to finish the book, hence the 5 star rating.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 5/10
Another book club pick. Jacob Finch Bonner published a bestseller when he was young and has been writing nothing but duds since. He's embraced the, those who can't do, teach, mentality and now is a professor of writing for aspiring young authors. One of his students shares the plot of his novel and says it can't fail to become a worldwide phenomenon, but the student dies before it ever gets published. Jacob, not seeing any reason to waste this excellent plot, publishes the book himself, and as predicted returns to the days of bestselling fame. Only someone out there knows his idea is stolen - and is determined to make him pay for it. Also found this very tedious. Jacob is INSUFFERABLE, I could not have disliked him more, and the whole thing was a slog to read.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 7/10
Set in the 1950s, Lily Hu is in high school and loves math and science and maybe, possible girls as well. She and her fellow student and crush, Kath, bond and together secretly go to a lesbian bar, the Telegraph Club. This was delightful every step of the way. I loved Lily's journey, and her relationship with her family and her community and how that intertwines with her desires and future.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson 8/10
In a world where technology exists to jump between parallel realities, as long as you're already dead in that reality. Cara has access to the most worlds, her alternative selves almost universally dying young. She works for a company that gathers information on other worlds and uses it to predict the path their own world will take. But when her latest jump is done with bad intel she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy she couldn't have imagined. I loooooved this, I sat down to read it on Saturday morning and didn't stop until I was done on Saturday evening.

Wow, it's been a minute since I've been here hasn't it? Eh, nothing much exciting has happened to me anyway.

Here are all the books I've read so far in 2022 and my opinion on them

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo 6/10
 - A magical retelling of the Great Gatsby from the point of view of Jordan Baker, Vietnamese adoptee and best friend of Daisy Buchanan. Things I liked: Jordan's magic, exploration of her background, seeing the underside of New York City, Gatsby's parties being a demonic feeding ground, the revelation about Nick at the end. Things I didn't like: The Great Gatsby, which, lol, I know is a very wide criticism. Because this book built on the Great Gatsby it followed it's major plot points, and considering I didn't really like the original, that was a problem. I thought the author did a great job with Jordan, the New York setting, and the magical backdrop, but would I read it again? Probably not.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim 7/10
- I was really excited for this one, since I loved the Spin the Dawn duology so much, and it was great! Shiori is a spoiled princess with secret magic and an ~evil~ stepmother who is plotting to take the kingdom for her own. Her stepmother turns her brothers into cranes and curses Shiori to never speak on pain of her brother's death. Shiori's journey to break the curse takes her many places. A really fun read. Partway through I was like, why is this story so familiar and realized it had the same basis as Daughter of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier, which I was obsessed with when I was young. There are different twists in Six Crimson Cranes, and it takes in Chinese mythology rather Irish mythology (dragons instead of fae for example), and I can't wait to read the next book in the series when it comes out

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat 8/10
- Starts out as a bit of a generic Chosen One story, but turns it around. Historical magical London setting. Will is a descendant of the Light and is on the run from the Dark King's servants. He teams up with Violet, a girl who has her own secrets, and the Stewards to fight back. I was spoiled for the twist at the end but the author did a really good job writing it. Honestly, I was in a bit of a book slump before reading this one and it helped revitalize me, which is partly why it's rated so high.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall 7/10
 - very cute romantic comedy. Luc, unwillingly famous because of his rock star parents, gets a bad rep which causes donors at the non-profit he works at to pull out. In order to clean up his image he acquires a clean-cut fake boyfriend, Oliver. Obviously, being a romantic comedy, the fake relationship leads to real feelings. I liked it a lot and am excited for Husband Material

Dear Girls by Ali Wong 6/10
 - Ali Wong's memoir written in a letter format to her daughters. She talks about the life she's lived, the things she's learned, and dispenses sage advice to them. A good read, although, just like her comedy shows, it gets a little raunchy at times. I wouldn't re-read it which is why it doesn't make the 7 points on my scale, but I did enjoy it

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 5/10
 - A bank robbery goes wrong and the robber takes cover in an apartment viewing to avoid being caught. The book rotates between all 8 character viewpoints, and flashes back to both the apartment viewing itself and their own interpersonal drama. A book club pick that I would probably have never read on my own. Everyone in my book club loved it but me, lol, but I finished it. It was a quick read at least, and I did enjoy how the author tied it all together at the end

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater 6/10
 - sequel to Call Down the Hawk, where Ronan and Hennessey go all in on the Bryde cult, Declan and Jordan try to figure out how to keep dreams awake independent of their dreamers, and Carmen and Liliana reassess their loyalties. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Call Down the Hawk (Ronan annoyed me a bit and not enough Adam) but still good. Looking forward to the conclusion, Greywaren.

Wolfsong by TJ Klune 6/10
 - Ox grows up in a small town. His dad splits when he's a kid but he has his mom and his father figure with the town mechanic, and later on he has the Bennett family that moves in down the road, growing closest with their son, Joe. The Bennetts are all shifters, and bring Ox into a world of werewolves, magic, and power struggles. I liked the author's take on shifters, but parts of the book moved a bit slow for me. I will probably check out the sequels eventually though

Capture the Crown by Jennifer Estep 6/10
 - Gemma Ripley, pampered princess and secret spy. When she realizes an enemy country is stealing tearstone from the mines, she goes undercover to figure out why, and gets caught up in a royal plot, along with the enemy country's Prince, Leonidas. An easy YA fantasy read, that provided a pleasant afternoon

All the Feels by Olivia Dade 4/10
 - Lauren, a retired medical professional, is hired by her cousin to babysit Alex, actor on a very popular tv series who has caused one too many scandals. The characters spend most of the book vibing and falling in love, which is fine, but didn't really hold my attention. I didn't finish it because it bored me, which is why the book didn't merit the 5 rating. The author had obviously read fanfiction before, and this felt very much like one, where I was expected to already know and love the characters before starting. However, I didn't know and love the characters which made it difficult for me to care about what they were doing when nothing was happening. I stopped before getting to the apparently wild and crazy sex part, so can't speak to how that was. I appreciated the main girl wasn't a traditional romcom beauty, but it wasn't enough to get me to like the book by itself

The Bonds That Tie by J. Bree 7/10
 - reverse harem series that made me get kindle unlimited for the two months free trial lol. I bought the first three, and wanted to read more of the author's books, but sadly she's not in the library (probably because of the kindle contract) and I didn't have $60 to drop on her books. Oleander is bonded to 5 of the richest, hottest men, and she's spent her life running from them, in order to keep them safe. Not that they know that. Magical worldbuilding was fun, and even though there were parts where I rolled my eyes a bit, I had a blast with this series, and with the author's other series, Hannaford Prep.

My favorite pieces of fanfiction as a kid was re-imagined fairy tales. They weren't called fanfiction because some were actual published books, but it was still my first exposure to transformative works.

Here are some fairy tale re-imaginings that I would write, if I could actually sit down to write anything longer than a journal post:

Sleeping Beauty: I would change the story so that it actually is about Aurora. The first part can stay the same - given gifts by the fairies, cursed by Maleficient, raised in a secluded cottage in the forest, etc. But when she pricks her finger on the spinning wheel instead of switching points of view to focus on Prince Phillip and the daring rescue, I'd follow Sleeping Beauty into her sleep. The real fight takes place in her dreamscape, as Aurora battles her own internal insecurities and the power keeping her under.  There could also be a showdown between her and Maleficient. I'd keep the take where Maleficent has been unfairly treated by the kingdom/Aurora's family, because I like that, but Aurora was still innocent when she was cursed, and Maleficent's anger should have been taken out on the real culprits not a baby. It'd also be cool, since the curse affected the whole kingdom, if her birth parents or other nobles were pulled into the magic nightmares and there was a whole reckoning with them as well. Anyway, obviously Aurora triumphs at the end, and her defeat of her nightmares is what causes the ivy to stop fighting the Prince (I think that's what happens, he fights super sharp plants or w/e?) and he's able to get into the castle. Everyone wakes up. Happy ending still

Alice in Wonderland: Alice is a junior private investigator, whose firm has been hired to track down who is dealing the newest drug on the street, Wonderland. Normally this would go to someone more senior but their informant, known only as the White Rabbit, will only talk to Alice for plot reasons. Alice works to track down the supply of Wonderland, and it leads her down a rabbit hole of epic proportions. The Cheshire cat becomes her guide in a glittering world of crime, corruption, and wealth. I did at one point imagine the Red Queen as her secret bio-mom, who had also paid off the police department to let her rule her criminal empire in peace.

Little Red Riding Hood: humans encroach on the forest, cutting down trees and building their settlements, and the forest fights back. This is a fairly popular take on this fairy tale but I still like it. Little Red is a teenager who is saved by the Wolf from one of the King's Huntsmen, who take what they want as they want. No romance, only friendship between actual Wolf and human Little Red who can telepathically communicate (I did consider Little Red maybe having a bit of supernatural in her - part dryad or something). Anyway the King is determined to wipe out magic and Little Red + the rest of the forest is just as determined to not let that happen.

Rapunzel: Instead of the witch next door stealing Rapunzel away, or bargaining for her for her plant namesake, the witch next door sees how the husband treats the wife and when the baby born is a girl rather than a son and heir, the husband throws her out into the trash. The witch saves her and, disillusioned with humanity, builds her a tower so she'll be safe from harm. I really want a true mother-daughter relationship here.I don't have much else in my head something something with the prince and Rapunzel leaving her tower, and finding joy in humanity. But not with her birth family, she and the witch have a good, loving relationship still at the end

Cinderella: this is my favorite fairy tale, I imprinted upon it as a little girl and never got over it. I've seen or read soooo many version of Cinderella - original cartoon, Brandi version, Selena Gomez version, Hilary Duff version, that one with the Christmas elf, the one where Cinderella was a DJ, Ella Enchanted. Ash, Ever After, Cinder, The Ugly Stepsister, too many more to list (I even tried to watch the terrible amazon prime version but that was NOT Cinderella ok, it just took Cinderella's name in vain ugh it was so terrible). Anyway something about a masquerade ball and secret trysts just gets me. I feel like all the good re-imaginings are there I'd just take my favorite pieces from this story or that to put it together. Included in this list just because of my love for Cinderella not because I have anything coherent to add

I'm just really proud. The authors are still not alphabetical but all the books are now GROUPED by author. I only have two more boxes of unpacked books...I probably need another bookshelf.

Also you can't really tell in this picture but these books are double stacked and even though you can't see them the books in the back are also organized by author!

I feel like I've built up enough backlog of recently read books to justify this.

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri 8/10
Really liked the world building and magic structure in this one. Basic premise is Mehr, whose father is an Ambhan (dominant culture) governor and whose mother was Amrithi (persecuted culture) who left when Mehr was 9, gets coerced into marriage to a Saltborn Mystic. Once married she finds herself trapped by her husband's vows to continue perpetuating the religious leader's rule of the Empire and the Empire's victories over all other nations. I really enjoyed how this book gave Mehr agency over her own choices, even when she was basically trapped into making some of them. Will read the sequel when my library delivers it to me.

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid 7/10
Ok, I didn't actually read the summary before I picked up this book and honestly expected a little red riding hood theme based off the title, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's based on Hungarian mythology and did a really good job with the setting. Evike is the only girl in a small village who does not have any magical talent. When the woodsmen come for their yearly magical girl tribute to bring back to the capital, she's offered as a sacrifice to keep the more powerful girl in town. One of the woodsmen turns out to be surprise prince and the two get caught on adventures on the way back to the Capital and then try to start a revolution. I liked it, and the representation of Jewish people in this book is probably the best I've ever read in any fantasy book ever, which as a Jewish person who rarely sees herself in literature unless I'm reading a WWII book, I appreciated a lot. I probably wouldn't re-read it though because it got a little too graphic for my tastes at multiple parts (the woodsmen religion involves cutting off body parts to show their devotion and gain power and uhhh you really get the full picture of what that feels like). I am going to check out other books by this author.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn 7/10
Speaking of WWII books - this will be the third I've read from her (one of my book clubs REALLY like WWII fiction). This one centers on three women who worked as code breakers and translators at Bletchley Park. The writing was engaging and you can tell the author really did research. My book club actually got Kate Quinn to come to a virtual meeting so she talked a bit about the research and the decisions she made which supported my hypothesis. The only thing that threw me out of the story a few times was one of the girls was based on Prince Phillip's wartime girlfriend, so they had a little side romance going for part of the book and every time he was on the page I was like ew, glad old age finally got him so. I just pretended he was someone else made up in this time period. Kate Quinn does a really good job at making you care about the characters and their lives in general, so there were parts where I definitely cried in this.

The City We Became by NK Jemisin 6/10
I...really wanted to like this more. The concept of it is super cool and original, the summary sounded amazing but unfortunately when I actually started reading it, I found it really difficult to get into. Something about the writing style made it feel like work to read. This surprised me because I had previously read the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms books and I LOVED them, literally could not put them down, read all three of them one right after the other. In The City We Became there are 5 people (one for each burrough) who become Avatars of NY which is going through the process of becoming a City. Of course, there are other forces out there that don't want NY to be born and will do anything to stop it. Ihe descriptions of NY and how each person related to their burroughs was REALLY well done. And the book definitely highlighted systemic racism problems in the city - it was uncomfortable to read at times, but in a way that was very purposeful. The last 100 pages, the book did pick up a lot, and again this is a unique concept I haven't seen elsewhere. Undecided whether I'll read the second one. Probably I will.

Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke
This was a book club pick and I have to admit I didn't finish it. I read probably the first half and the last third, skipping the middle section. I was running short on time! The book focuses on a few different flight attendants for Pan Am back in the 1970s and their experiences working for the airline. It gets into historical stuff that was actually really interesting to learn about (like how common it was for planes to be hijacked, and a bit on Operation Babylift). I do plan to go back and read the middle. It reads like nonfiction almost - I'm not sure whether the women that were written about were real, but it felt like she had interviewed real stewardesses who worked during this time period.

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum 7/10
This book was...really depressing. Another book club pick, I don't think I would have read it on my own. It focuses on two different time periods - on a Palestinian girl who came to the US with her husband, and then a flashforward to the girl's granddaughter who is around 17-18. It really got deep into how women are silenced and abused behind closed doors. I actually stopped reading at one point to look up the author because I thought it was so awful that surely this must be a stereotypical exaggeration used for shock, but the author is a child of Palestinian immigrants and in an interview noted the book was semi-autobiographical, and that she was afraid to publish because she knew her community would turn against her. I will not be re-reading it, but I'm glad the author got to tell the story in her own words, and while it wasn't a fun read, it was probably a necessary one.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine 7/10
This book took a LONG time for me to get into, but it was an extremely LONG book, so that makes sense. The author broke my cardinal first rule of sci fi which is on the first page don't have more than 5 words that are incomprehensible, and I almost didn't pick it back up. But multiple people recommended it, so I forced myself, and it did get much better as it went on. Basic premise is Mahit is chosen to be an Ambassador for her small planet to the Empire. Her planet has a secret technology where they embed a previous person's consciousness/life who did their job before them. Mahit is stuck with an out of date copy and must use her own wits to survive what killed her predecessor. I read the author blurb after I finished and was NOT SURPRISED to find that she was a linguist before this because there was so much focus on language, pages and pages focused on poetry or the meaning of a word. And sometimes I found it very interesting and sometimes I was like it's literally ben 100 pages and nothing has happened at all they are still at this party where is the plot! I did like it overall and will probably read the sequel.

Ok, that's all the books I have patience for for now. There were a few other book club reads that I didn't actually like, so I don't see the point in documenting them here.

This is not a review of any movies, just me thinking about MDZS/Untamed characters in different movie roles. The thing I like about this, is that it requires no plot since the movie story is right there for the taking!!

First up: Mean Girls

I went through a LOT of thought process on this, seriously way too much, but here it goes:

As Cady Heron, we have Wei Wuxian, new to the school, but here and ready to make friends! He's traveled the world with his parents as rogue cultivators so this is his first time at a real school with regular kids and Cloud Recesses Academy is not ready for him.

Incidentally, I was this close to making Meng Yao Cady because the character who comes in and overthrows the Queen Bee before taking over the school does fit him well, but at the end of the day he was, as he always is, second choice.

Instead, Meng Yao has been cast as Gretchen Wieners. Meng Yao knows everything about everyone and makes sure the Queen Bee can stay at the top. Eager to please and only wanting a place to belong, this is the Meng Yao who still has hope in his heart for acceptance. He's sure that his father, the inventor of toaster strudel, will someday acknowledge him.

As Karen Smith we have...Xue Yang. His missing pinky can tell when it's raining. I have no other justification. Also we gotta have the demonic cultivation fan club together.

(Ok, I really debated having Meng Yao as Karen just for the "she made out with her cousin" bit rip Qin Su, but feel like Gretchen is a better representation of him. Also came very close to being Su She, I cannot lie. The missing pinky is what gave Xue Yang the edge here).

And then, of course, the Queen Bee himself, ruler of the cultivation world (school) - Wen Ruohan! (there was an alternate casting where it was Jin Guangshan but I couldn't do it. Also an alternate casting where Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, and Meng Yao played all iterations of the trio, but honestly, Wen Ruohan made the most sense by far).

Anyway, punk ass Wei Wuxian rolls into the school with his new methods of demonic cultivation and Wen Ruohan is like, you're really pretty, you should sit with us! I love your bracelet (that's the ugliest stygian tiger amulet I've ever seen in my life).

Janice and Damian were originally Wen Qing and Wen Ning which was pretty perfect because BFFs and also Wen Ruohan and Wen Qing used to be tight until Wen Ruohan threatened her brother and ruined her life, but my little Janice/Cady shipper heart has instead cast Lan Wangji as Janice and Nie Huaisang as Damian, who is too clueless to function. (also considered Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli as Janice and Damian and Wen Qing being Kevin G on the mathletes but again my shipper heart won out).

Wen Ruohan and Lan Wangji had a falling out at summer camp when Wen Ruohan had Lan Wangji's leg broken. Tragic.

Wen Chao is that guy who got punched in the face by Wen Ruohan once and it was awesome.

Aaron Samuals is cast as no one rip Aaron you don't exist in the MDZS version of Mean Girls, although back when Wen Qing was Janice, Aaron was played by Lan Wangji when thinking of the Aaron/Cady romance, and played by Wen Zhuliu when thinking of the Aaron/Regina romance. This is why he couldn't be cast, it just didn't work.

Instead of Aaron as a romantic interest we have the Jiang siblings (a 2 for one replacement) that Wei Wuxian meets in math class. Because of Parental Pressure, Jiang Cheng has to be number 1 in class, so Wei Wuxian dumbs himself down so as not to overshadow him. Jiang Yanli of course is Wei Wuxian's favorite person in the world.

Anyway Wei Wuxian starts attending school and is adopted by Wen Ruohan into his posse. Nie Huaisang convinces Wei Wuxian to play along because he knows Wen Ruohan and Meng Yao were responsible for his brother having to leave school and ending up in a psych ward for a few months. Wei Wuxian agrees because he wants to impress Lan Wangji with his skillz. At first, Wei Wuxian is like you know Wen Ruohan seems almost sweet but then he witnesses Wen Ruohan tear down Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli at the Halloween party leaving their social lives a disaster and it is ON.

The things Wen Ruohan has going for him:
1. Hot Body
2. Army of Corpses (sorry skanks)
3. Sorry I don't have a number three

All it takes is a little whisper here and there and both Meng Yao and Xue Yang are ripe for betrayal (good job Nie Huaisang). I honestly haven't thought too deeply about the take down, but basically the cafeteria scene and Meng Yao yells YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US and Wen Ruohan says FINE YOU CAN WALK HOME BITCHES and bam Wei Wuxian is now the new Queen Bee.

This of course goes terribly for him in the long run. He throws a house party and in the middle of it gets into a huge fight with Jiang Cheng. Wen Ruohan publishes his crazy ramblings on demonic cultivation and the whole school turns against him. He's still voted Prom Queen, though and after he throws the crown away, he and Lan Wangji dance at prom and make out.

The Wen siblings are mathletes and he fits in better with them than with the cool crowd.

Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue chaperone the prom and they both leave with Meng Yao.

Anyway, happy ending for everyone except Wen Ruohan who got hit by a bus and died for real (Meng Yao pushed him). Oh also, Lan Qiren is obviously Mrs. Norbury.

I was going to do another movie but this took way longer to type than I thought it would so I'll save Pirates of the Caribbean for another day.

It's interesting but most of the time the stories I tell in my head are not necessarily the stories I'm currently reading about (fic-wise).

For example, fic-wise I have a few standard stories I tell myself as I lie in bed waiting for sleep, and most of them are from fandoms I have not been in for ages. Highlights include:

Smallville: Clark and Lex got together and Lex convinces Clark to go along with whatever his schemes are. Clark, tired of allowing himself to be used to bolster Lex's power, but unable to say no when Lex asks because love/manipulation/whatever, yeets himself into an alternate universe where Lex never went to Smallville and so never met Clark, but instead ended up at a different small town factory, this one with no kryptonite around.

Lex actually did a good job managing that factory and found some semblance of humanity. In the meantime, Clark is now living his alternate self life which went to college and still works at the Daily News with Lois and he is not Superman even though he still helps people on the sly. He in fact gets Lois to some event on the night that she was attacked or w/e so she never gets the impetus to track down all his stories and write about him.

Clark and Lois fall in love but the timing is never right (because Clark is still in love with OG!Lex and also mourning the loss of his world even though he's the one who changed the timeline) and Lois is trying to figure out her own life. Through a series of events, Lois and Lex end up dating and fall for each other super hard. Eventually end up engaged. Eventual threesome after much angst.

I just do little side stories in my head in this universe - AU!Lex meeting Clark for the first time, Lois and Clark having supercharged conversations, Lois and Lex showing up at Clark's door at ass o clock for some breaking news thing and both going mad with lust at shirtless Clark. Lex doing something underhanded causing a temporary breakup with Lois before he promises to be better and Clark angsting about how his Lex never cared enough about him to try to be better. All sorts of things set in this universe that are very fun.

I have not read any smallville fic in like a decade but this is a tried and true bedtime story for myself.


Another one: All for the Game: I still occasionally keep up with fic in this fandom, and every few years I do reread the trilogy, just a good time. Anyway, it's another alternate universe where after Neil's mom died, he went right to the FBI and was like I want to take all the fuckers down, so he ends up in witness protection and testifies and stuff, and after the trial(s) are over, the FBI is like here we will give you the start of a new life, and enroll you as a student at Palmetto. During witness protection Neil didn't have a lot to do, so all he did was watch exy tapes from every college and pro game, he literally knows every player and their strengths and weakenesses. He also ran on the treadmill because he wasn't allowed outside which was a unique form of torture.

So he's a student at Palmetto and he works at the yogurt shop, I guess kind of similar to Pinkberry and in the yogurt shop there is a tv, and during his shift he puts exy on the tv because he's Neil. Anyway while some game is on he tells his coworker basically everything about the players on the screen at the time and predicts exactly what is going to happen during a live game. He gets so into it that he doesn't notice customers have entered the shop, and by customers I mean Kevin, Aaron, Andrew, and Nicky. Of course Kevin is immediately like counteracting some of his opinions and Neil is like I should not draw attention to myself but in true Neil fashion completely fails and gets drawn into intense exy convo with Kevin which is how he meets the Monsters and gets Andrew's notice.

Some random scenes in this one include: Neil joining the track team at Palmetto and being a real good runner and Kevin trying to steal him for Exy, Kevin trying to convince Neil to come try out for Exy in general, Andrew being super sus of Neil and them having intense conversations that are like two truths and a lie, the FBI agents showing up to hustle Neil out of town because his dad has sent the Romeros or someone after him, Neil meeting Matt and Dan after Kevin mentions him to them, etc.

Another example: Vampire Diaries: Elena ends up in an alternate universe where instead of Isabel giving her up for adoption to her parents she she has an abortion. Then she became a vampire like she did during the show, so the doppleganger was never born and in fact Katherine's bloodline ended with Isabel. Anyway in this world Fate or something offered Elena a choice - she could continue her life as a vampire in OG world, or she could start over back as a human but would lose everyone. Elena chooses humanity. I'm not sure what event sparks this, maybe that big Mystic Falls wipeout thing that caused Bonnie and Damon to go to the fake world. I don't really care. But Fate inserts Elena into this world and makes up a fake life for her with paperwork and all where she is in the system. So now she's nineteen, human, and works in a coffee shop in NY with three roommates to afford rent.

In this one, it's just scenes of different people meeting her and how it plays out. Sometimes she has a one night stand with Damon who is still convinced she's Katherine. Sometimes she meets Stefan!Doppleganger whose name I can't remember but he was a paramedic, and they get together. Sometimes those crazy witch people who needed only one doppleganger left alive try to do their blood spell but it doesn't work because of surprise Elena so Caroline and/or Enzo gets sent to hunt down Elena and kill her like they did with doppleganger!Stefan. Sometimes she decides she still wants to be a doctor and is taking night classes at the college where Alaric still works because he ended up not becoming a vampire hunter in this world due to plot changes with Isabel. Or she meets her own parents who were also professors, but obviously they are not her parents here. Sometimes Hunter!Jeremy walks into her coffeeshop and things happen. Sometimes they find out she's John's biological daughter but only after they've like tortured her for supernatural information. All sorts of scenes really.


There are others in my head but man this took way longer to write down than I thought, which is probably why all these have remained just in my head and never down on paper lol. But the point is I'm not actively in any of these fandoms and I don't search out fic for them but it's still what I tell myself as I sleep.

Bookwise, most original stories I tell myself land in the urban fantasy genre. That is my fave type to read but I feel like I've read a lot of space sci/fi recently which is interesting. Also more general fiction books but those are more for book clubs than my own picks.