It’s been a year since Oasis stumbled away from Blessed Falls with wings carved into her back and too many scars to count. A year spent razing delusions of being an angel’s vessel, proving to her brother that she doesn’t belong in a psych ward, and mourning the loss of her mother’s vinyl pressed ashes. […]
An Ordinary Wonder is a story of the courage needed to be yourself. Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self. Back home, weighed […]
For three years of the War Between the States, Marlie Lynch has helped the cause in peace: with coded letters about anti-Rebel uprisings in her Carolina woods, tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, and silent aid to fleeing slave and Freeman alike. Her formerly enslaved mother’s traditions and the name of a white father she […]
Suddenly single, in her forties, and eager to do what it takes to start over, Elaina Samuels meets three women with similar circumstances at a cash-for-gold event. They quickly become friends and form the No Sweat Pants Allowed – Wine Club. This newly found alliance brings about some humorous escapades, a few tears, and a […]
Hello book bees and welcome to another discussion post. Today I want to talk about what happens when authors fictionalize or include real mythology in their works of fiction. This does not include retellings such as Madeline Miller’s Circe and The Song of Achilles, but does include such works as American Gods by Neil Gaiman, […]
For this discussion, I really want to answer three questions about putting familial drama into a novel. First: is it necessary to do so? This is a bit of a subjective question because it could vary from book to book, but still. Second: is it realistically portrayed? And third: is it cathartic to read about? […]
Introduction: Why I’m asking this question Recently when trying to find a book to fulfill a prompt in a readathon, I found myself reading the Goodreads reviews of Seafire. I saw a common theme that several folks were not a fan of the “romance” plotline in the book, and that it felt rushed and unnecessary. […]
All right buckle in book bees. We’re tackling dragons today! Dragons are pretty iconic, especially in the bookish community. A lot of fantasy readers get their start consuming the iconic Dragonology and then spiral through the most popular dragon books. A lot of us dream of having a dragon ourselves, or just getting to ride […]
Introduction: What I mean by “historically accurate” To start with, if you’re looking for a blogger who holds up abused and poorly written female characters in historical fiction and says ‘at least they’re accurate’ then you’ve come to the wrong post. See yourself out if that’s something you agree with, and pull up a chair […]
Hello book bees and welcome to another discussion! Today we’ll be covering Vikings, and specifically Vikings in fiction. This is a topic I’ve got a bit of background in. When I was in undergraduate school I studied some Viking history, and went on to pursue a graduate degree in Denmark thus gaining a lot more […]
Cups and Cards and Books 