Ch. 29/30

Willoughby finally replies, but such with a disingenuous and insincere letter that he is clearly "deep in hardened villainy" (see above for villainy). He claims she must have mistaken him. She did NOT, sir! Even the author is moved to overwrought adjectives by his gaslighting nonsense. Unprincipled! Depraved!

Marianne in the throes of her self-absorbed misery lashes out at Elinor as she apparently now has a monopoly on unhappiness.

Ch. 27/28 - Berkeley St

Col. Brandon comes to visit daily "to look at Marianne and talk to Elinor", but Marianne is in a tizzy waiting for Willoughby and refusing to leave the house, even for common courtesy, but it makes no difference, as Willoughby is determinedly avoiding her!

When she does finally encounter him at a ball, he is distant and ignores all references to her dreadfully improper correspondence to him. She is very publicly wretched.

Chapters 23-26
Lucy Steele is determined to stake her claim on Edward. Elinor is convinced that Edward cannot possibly be in love with her, but she somehow is not upset with HIM for leading both of them on.

Marianne and Elinor then go to London with Mrs. Jennings (suddenly less intolerable to Marianne when she can be used to track down Willoughby...). Marianne sends him a note (so forward!) but the visitor at their door is Col Brandon instead.

Lucy works at the Columbus zoo with a troop of gorillas. She is incredibly excited to see them featured on a docuseries hosted by Kai Bridges, the (Steve Irwin-esque) son of her primatologist idol. But her first meeting with Kai doesn't go so well...

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Chapters 20-22

No sooner have the Palmers left (her very silly, him very dour), then the Misses Steele come to visit Barton. They get into Lady Middleton's good graces by indulging and cosseting her already spoiled children. Elinor has quite a sassy line in response to Lucy Steele's "horror" at quiet, well-behaved children:

"I confess that while I am at Barton Park, I never think of tame and quiet children with any abhorrence."

Chapters 17-19

Edward comes to visit, and Elinor has hope of the renewal of their quiet affection. But mostly Edward mopes about and is distant. There is a particularly vexing speech about how he wanted to do something useful with his life, but nobody presented him with the exact right thing, so now he is idle and useless. Woe is Edward!

#JaneAustenThenandNow
#Pemberlittens
@Crinoline_Laphroaig

Chapters 9-16 (catch-up)

Marianne takes a tumble down a hill and sprains her ankle, but is rescued most dashingly by a handsome young man. They are soon fully enamored of one another (and annoying with their carelessness for others, propriety or, indeed, reality, not to mention their insistence on being snotty about everyone).

Willoughby leaves with no official relationship status and an uncertain return, occasioning a great deal of wallowing.

"Oh my God, Ryder, henchman!" I cry, pointing at the terrifying man who just jumped out from behind a tree. "Henchman!"
The henchman looks at me in confusion. "No. Malcolm."
"The henchman's name is Malcolm!" I tell Ryder, who's standing right next to me and therefore doesn't actually require a play-by-play of the situation. "Malcolm has a gun!"

I snort-laughed.

My first read. I am catching up, read Chapters 1-8.

Marianne is So Much - all about the Depths of Every Feeling and Moderation is akin to Death! Marianne is Victorian Capitalization and many exclamation points. She both reminds me of myself as a teenager and would drive me absolutely bonkers in real life.

Not much to say yet about the more practical, grew up too soon Elinor. But I suspect I will like her very much.

Bees," I say to Tudie, standing slowly to give her cover.
"Bees?" she repeats. Then she gets it. "Oh, bees!" She throws the spell and it hits the guffawing bandit right in the face.
"My eyes!" he starts screaming. "I'm not supposed to get bees in them!"

I have to say, this meta fantasy/fairy tale is the right kind of absurd fun (so far). Reminds me a bit of The Tales of Pell in tone.

With Empress Sisi of Austria-Hungary at the restful Gödöllő Palace, enjoying time away from the restrictions of the Imperial court in Vienna (and being fussed over by dashing romantic rivals).

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Ashton Rasputin Hayes, we take care of our elders in this family. We do not just ship them off to another dimension. If she wants to slam my door and kill every plant I bring into this room, that's her prerogative."

Marlowe rebuking Ash for suggesting they exorcise the ghost of her Meemaw.

"Good?" Ash asks, eyeing my cup.
"Brain-altering good," I say. "Seriously. There's an amino acid called tryptophan, which is found in chocolate, and it's the precursor for serotonin." He smirks as I take another gulp. "Chocolate wants us to be happy. How can we not adore a food that cares so much about our well-being?"

"But let's be honest, shall we? When adults tell a child or a teenager that they're precocious, what they're really saying is, 'Please don't say that aloud.'"

The accuracy...

Also stationed at Arlington Hall, Virginia during WWII learning to break codes

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@Cupcake12

Back in Rennedawn, serving as apprentice to The Villain and attempting to fulfill or thwart an age old prophecy (and maybe smooch the Villain).

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@Cupcake12

Whisked off to Jakarta, Indonesia with Sharlot to escape an unsuitable relationship by spending the summer with family. Of course, family catfished the heir to the 2nd largest fortune in Indonesia and now the media think Sharlot is dating George Clooney Tanuwijaya...

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@Cupcake12

I'm at a manor house in the 1,000 Islands that has just been opened to the public after having been closed up when tragedy struck in 1932...
I expect new tour guide Marlowe will help uncover the mystery.

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@Cupcake12

Journalist Jack McEvoy is being downsized. Determined to go out in a Pulitzer-winning blaze of glory, he engages with a murder case to write something sensational to prove his worth. But when he finds himself on a serial killer's radar, only the actions of FBI profiler (and ex-flame) Rachel Walling save him from the killer's trap.

Investigation is pacy, but the reader knows too much too early, but also not enough about the killer to satisfy me.

Romantic suspense with a vicious serial killer abducting young women, a newly minted Lieutenant who gets mad every time the beautiful FBI profiler opens her mouth and an unfortunate approach to ethics. Add a hefty sprinkling of Google Translate phrases from Italian and Irish; bro-jokes and commitment-phobia; and whiplash from chapters of trauma and tears to hanky-panky. I think I sprained my eyes rolling them so hard.
Not for me.

A bookish squire, a blowhard knight, a cursed town beset by calamities and a dragon! Inspired by Wart and Sir Kay from Sword in the Stone, our protagonist squire sets out to solve the village's problems with research, observation and critical thinking.
Super charming with a wise-cracking dragon. Looking forward to more volumes!

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@Cupcake12

In a library in a small town in Washington state where part-timer Chloe has just found a bootleg copy of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer with flirtatious conversations in the margins...

A teen retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Prickly Vi Reyes masquerades as a boy on an Arthurian inspired MMORPG to avoid bullying. Jack "Duke" Orsino is football royalty who starts playing the game after a season-ending injury.
We have a GoT style TV show, a sff/gaming convention, tabletop D&D, feminism, computer gaming and both characters growing in a realistic way.
I really liked all the characters (with a few obvious exceptions).

A nameless young woman gets a job at the Ministry minding "expats" from other times and helping them assimilate. Hers is Lt. Graham Gore, lost during Franklin's lost expedition seeking the Northwest Passage.
The narrative touches on colonialism, bureaucracy, climate change. But then we got sex scenes which didn't work for me, and I went from very invested to having lost almost all interest.
And Why did we have the scenes from the Terror at all?

A fun children's graphic novel. Mulan is called to the palace to help protect the Emperor who finds himself in danger. She struggles to fit in at court (etiquette is hard), but is helped by Mushu, her grandmother and Li Shang.
I enjoyed the storyline, and the characters all looked "right" to me except for Mulan herself. But the interstitial artwork is lovely watercolors.
Fun and fitting the character.

A Gothic horror/thriller with dual timelines. In the present Shea Collins is stuck in a dead end life due to past trauma, but spends her leisure hours writing and managing her true crime blog. And one day she meets a famous (acquitted) suspect in some brutal local murders. St. James excels at creepy paranormal that seems like it could be real. I made the mistake of reading at night during a storm...Good Book, Bad Decision

Essentially a young Bletchley Circle set during the war and in America with a sweet sapphic love story. We have a team of 4, including a clever maid masquerading as her employer and a Black codebreaker destined to be a computer at NASA. Important war work and crimes connected in ways only the girls see.
Plenty of catnip for me!

A graphic novel queer retelling of Northanger Abbey set on a ranch in Texas. Cade Munoz is a horror movie fan with an overactive imagination and a huge crush on the son of his summer employer. So far, so cute.

Addie is a travel consultant sent to Edinburgh to help make the Heart of the Highlands family-run tour company more profitable. Logan is a kilted tour guide, son of the owner and a gifted storyteller. The book is a love letter to Scotland and a look at grief and connection. While I was sometimes annoyed at Addie's insistence on deflection and prickliness, it still felt real. Loved these two together.

"But what I'll never understand is why people are so quick to trash this one thing that‘s always been for women first."

I love the heroine's love of romances.

"The truth of it was that I'd probably never have the kind of luck with love the women who live in fictional seaside towns do."

"Contrite astronomers with strong erections and a poor understanding of female anatomy might well be what the literary market was missing."

Somehow...I think not...

"It told the story of an astronomer who had failed to notice the signs of a world-ending asteroid and roamed the empty streets of New York in search of forgiveness and family. And, apparently, excessive confirmation of his sexual prowess."

I feel like I have read that book...

Wombat likes everything just so - something her neighbors aren't as great at. But Wombat minds her own business. But when difficulties arise in the neighborhood, Wombat puts on her digging overalls and her gardening hat and does her best to help everyone out.
As if anyone needed another reason to love wombats, this is inspired by stories of wombats sharing their burrows (however reluctantly) with other critters during bushfires.

In a mansion, then reform school, now dorm at a prestigious boarding school in Maine, 11 students and staff find themselves trapped during a winter storm surge. Overnight, Headmaster Boddy turns up stabbed and the murderer must be present.
Inspired by the board game, our characters all have secrets that keep the reader guessing at the murderer's identity. I kept wavering as to who I thought it was. Enjoyable if light, looking forward to Book 2.

A "fix it" fic for Wuthering Heights. Instead of marrying Linton, Catherine Earnshaw is taken under the wing of a Great Aunt (Maria Branwell, nod to the Brontes' mother) and has a Season in town. Heathcliff is there under a new name, stirring revenge, but yearning for Catherine's love.
We get to bypass the murderous abusive rage and see these two find happiness. I enjoyed this, the nods to pen names and the move away from overwrought passion.

Not actually bad (not like Ripper), but this historical YA about a girl obsessed with forensic science falling in love in the mortuary and investigating the Jack the Ripper murders wasn't for me. It's gory (with pictures), certain of the artistic choices taking liberties with the time period annoyed me rather than serving the story. I was not charmed by the know-it-all love interest. Plus, I predicted the culprit and motivation early on.

Not my usual genre.
Three talented ballet dancers at a conservatory. Three competitive dance moms. A feckless French star turned ballet dancer looking to film his redemption and search for a scholarship student to Paris. Backstabbing, jealousy, burnout, grief, ambition, arson.
I enjoyed this - it would make a great drama of a miniseries.

Forensic anthropologist Kelsey stumbles across something big during one of her digs in the Philippines - something that leads to her former fiancé being murdered and her being next. Not able to trust law enforcement, she teams up (reluctantly) with her Navy SEAL ex Gage to investigate and take down a terrorist plot.
I liked the suspense in this one and the second chance aspect of the romance, but the fix for their big issue didn't work for me.

A cute YA romance featuring a teen baker from a Bangladeshi family with a talent for donuts and puns. We have a rival ex-girlfriend, a new crush, a saboteur and competitive baking - plus set in Ireland. Shireen rises above nasty social media bigotry and leans into her skills and flavors. Made me want to binge Nadiya's season of GBBO with a box of treats.

A bit of I Capture The Castle plus some Austen heroines. Our beautiful heroine is determined to marry rich to help save her family's crumbling estate, but her overly forthright tongue keeps frightening away prospects. When a handsome baron and his financially savvy cousin come to town, things are looking up - even if one of them is terribly annoying with his bluntness...

I may not be hopelessly devoted to this Regency era Grease! Retelling, but it's great for those Summer Nights... Tell you more? Tell you more?
It was lust at first sight when notorious rake Dane, heir presumptive to the Duke of Rydell sees prim and proper Sandrine floating in a secluded bay "drowning". I laughed so hard at his "rescue". And though Sandrine may be lousy with virginity, she has a wicked list she sets out to fulfill. Scandal!

Queen Elizabeth II's first investigation with an assistant private secretary - in this case a dependable, clever woman named Joan McGraw who had an "interesting war". When the Queen fears there may be a plot to sabotage her State Visits and murders in an acquaintance's house that may link to the Royal Family (however obliquely), she brings in Joan to help make discreet inquiries. An interesting denouement and I am half in love with Hector Ross.

A girl wakes up on a hillside, disoriented, covered in blood and with no memory of what happened to her or her best friends.
Great premise, right? This one is very twisty as Claire tries to work out what happened, and I loved a lot of the guesswork, but about 3/4 through it lost momentum in an ugly muddle and the final twist was a big NOPE from me.
She really had me gripped at the beginning, though, I'd try another of hers in a heartbeat.

Listen, if you liked The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, you will probably like this one. It suffered from a similar problem - I just couldn't believe the ignorance, naivete and utter incomprehension of the situation and surroundings. Our main character, a street kid who grows up thieving, can't recognize cruelty? For me, this really didn't work at all and I didn't get a sense of what life in Warsaw and the ghetto was like.
Recs tagged below:

Madeline Hathaway has grown up on the Ren Faire circuit, but the past year she lost her mother to illness and is grieving. The last stop for the summer was her mother's favorite but everything has changed.
Annoying bard Arthur brings her out of her shell and on little adventures, and it is mostly cute, fun and positive (both body and emotionally). Conflict ended up being a bit irksome as it was so wildly evident to everyone but those involved...

The second Phyllida Bright mystery, this one is a little less Downton mystery. It involves a bunch of bloodthirsty amateur detective writers, the famous Detection Club and the most lethal of English traditions - a village fete. It is once again up to Agatha Christie's housekeeper to puzzle out the culprit, motive and methods. I am still Team Dr Bhatt and his handsome inky black moustaches.

Honor is a people-pleaser and peacemaker for her dysfunctional family - all normal boundaries a mess from the reality show they starred on. Honor can't stand being alone, but is too mistrustful of others to connect outside of her family, so she clings to her family - until they fall apart.
I'm not sure the story actually unpacked the toxicity of her family, though Honor herself does improve. Hated all the jabs at Baylor, though.

I soft pick - this was an expectations problem. I was lured by the premise of a female artist stumbling across a naked man and using him as a model, only to find out he is a Duke. I expected hijinks and trading for modeling sessions and fun.
This went a lot deeper into PTSD, alcoholism, corruption, mental institutions - especially the last third went to some dark places and I'm not sure the pay-off really got out of them. More painting please!

Tentative pick - I don't usually love true crime, but this looks at Lollie and Julie as people and as a couple, not just as murder victims. The author's recurring theme is how women and marginalized groups feel unsafe in the outdoors and she attempts to counteract that but also highlight very real concerns. It is a tricky balance.
I was more interested in the evidence and investigations (and their mismanagement) and found her approach not lurid.