pride & prejudice (2005)

joe wright director's commentary

Fantasy Romance Recommendations Pt.2

This is list number 2 and it will be focusing on Urban Fantasy and Contemporary romance with fantasy elements. For more traditional Fantasy recs, check list 1!  Maybe it will help someone somewhere. XD ***Some of the books listed here are not Romance novels officially but all have romance and have HFN or HEA endings Urban Fantasy Romance (Paranormal Romance) 

Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews 2 Trilogies Nevada Baylor is a Truthseeker; she is able to tell when people lie. When her family's detective agency is tasked with apprehending a powerful fire wielding psychopath, it puts them on the path of collision with the powerful magical elite who rules Houston. Guildcodex Series by Annette Marie 4 Series. Spellbound, Demonized, Unveiled and Wraped. When feisty redhead Tori landed a job at a sketchy pub, she had no idea she'd just joined a magic guild. And the three guys she drenched with a margarita during her first shift? Yeah, they were mages. She's about to get a crash course in the world of magic and mythics. Mercernary Librarians Trilogy by Kit Rocha Meet the Mercenary Librarians: a trio of information brokers who join forces with a squad of elite super-soldiers to use their knowledge to help the hopeless in a dystopian post-apocalyptic United States ruled by a corporate autocracy. Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh A world shared by Changeling, a race of animal shifters , the Psy, a race of powerful psychic who live without emotions and Humans. Tension between the 3 races are rising. The Firebrand Series by Helen Harper Emma, an aspiring detective, is placed with the Supernatural Squad in London. Soon she is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant,  wakes up twelve hours later in the morgue – and is very much alive. Contemporary Romance with Fantasy Elements The Dead Romantic by Ashley Poston Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem... she no longer believes in love. Then her new editor shows up at her front door as a ghost. Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life. A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong Thorne Manor has always been haunted...and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt’s house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier.

Fantasy Romance Recommendations Pt.1

I'm a big fan of Fantasy Romance books but I've noticed that a lot of recommendations lists have the same books over and over again. Nothing against Sarah J Maas, Jennifer Armentrout and Holly Black, but I have read their books already and I'm looking for new suggestions. And thus, I decided to make my own little list (with help from @housebaylor and @shirewalker). Maybe it will help someone somewhere. XD ***Some of the books listed here are not Romance novels officially but all have romance and have HFN or HEA endings Fantasy Romances The Fallen Empire Trilogy by Grace Draven The Kraelian Empire has ruled with an iron fist for centuries, its grip unyielding until the power of three women, and the men devoted to them, break it.

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden Vasya Petrovna is a young woman gifted with the Sight which allows her to see spirits who inhabits the world. The arrival of Christianity spells trouble for her and the world of the spirits at large. This story has her rebel against her fate as a woman in medieval Russia, go on a great adventure and meet amazing characters.  One of my favourite.

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher A subversive take on Fairytales! After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra―the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter―has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. Celia and Marco's beautiful story of challenges, love and magic. Beautiful haunting magic. Radiance by Grace Draven Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart. The Bird and The Sword by Amy Harmon Magic is forbidden and gifted people are sentenced to death. Lark, a voiceless young woman, has a gift she must keep hidden. The day her mother was killed, she told lark's father she wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if Lark's died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky. A Fate of Wrath and Flame by K.A. Tucker Portal Fantasy! Gifted thief Romeria is transported into another world into the body of a treacherous princess. Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom. Only read the first book so far Married to Magic Trilogy by Elise Kova Shared Universe, Fantasy Romance, Stand Alone Novels About Young Women and their Unexpected Romances with Magical Men Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer and everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects. Only read the first book Promise of Darkness by Bec McMaster Princess. Tribute. Sacrifice. Is she the one prophesied to unite two warring Fae courts? Or the one bound to destroy them? If you like S.J.Maas you might like this YA Fantasy Romances Uprooted by Naomi Novik Agnieszka lives in a quiet village bordering a corrupted Wood. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Multiple POVs fairytale Miryem gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. The Girl who fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh Mina's people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering. An Enchantment of Raven by Margaret Rogerson With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson Elisabeth was raised in a magical library where dark magical grimoire are kept. She hopes to become a Warden whos job is protecting the Kingdom from their powers. Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. Shielded by Katlynn Flanders Hidden Princess, arranged marriage, yearning! A kingdom ravaged by war, and the princess who might be the key to saving not only those closest to her, but the kingdom itself, if she reveals the very secret that could destroy her. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs. A Crown of Wishes by Rosha Chokshi Book 2 of a series. A captured princess and a wise prince team up and to win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. ****Part 2: Urban Fantasy recs to follow.****

FAMILY PAPER DOLLS MONTH

These Bushytail squirrel paper dolls are pretty cute.

Oops, I never uploaded this one to Tumblr (which I only realized when someone else did, but then was kind enough to tag me, thank you)!

This is the comic that kickstarted my obsession with telling stories with as few panels as I could (usually 10-11 haha), so it’s got a soft spot in my heart. 

De-stressing with some endgame premarital canoodling ❤️

My first fanart of Cove, main character from Our life : Beginning and Always (@gb-patch) to celebrate the launch of the last DLC 🥰 If you are feeling down, treat yourself with this heart-warming game, you will have happy tears and a wonderful story to remember.

     I couldn’t help but smile. “See? If we’re not dead in a month, we might be very happy together.”

here it is guys! nikolai and alina enjoying a soft, quiet moment in spring by the sea <3

“Vasya,” said his voice in her ear. “Vasya.” Cruelty in that voice—and winter wind and old moonlight. Even a rough note of tenderness.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

for @shirewalker and  @chococonut

“Happy Yule, Te’lise.”

Yule IS a thing in Thedas, hush! I declare it!

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays! 🤍

❤❤

“Everything I have done, every change I have made to that circus, every impossible feat and astounding sight, I have done for her.”

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for @shirewalker ✨

Aaaa ;0; thank you so much

This edit is so good!!! The book was so good. Thank youuu!!

Merry Christmas ❤❤

Saving his life had only been a fortunate coincidence for him. Falling in love with her, his greatest failure so far.

Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven for @chococonut ✨

She likes to hug him and he likes to look at her.

“I’m a Chinese American, so of course I spend all my free time in a secret monastery learning kung fu and practicing spiritual cultivation. Because one day a demon king shall descend onto Houston and only my Ninth Level Thunder Fist Punch will stand in his way.”

Stephen Jiang from Hidden Legacy

for @acotars @shirewalker and @chococonut, I was held by gun point to edit him.

I am sinking at the bottom of the deep, deep sea

Hidden Legacy. Sea, magic and pirates Au for @shirewalker and @chococonut

This basically says everything I feel about The winternight Trilogy. Some of my all time favourite books. 

“I am becoming myself. I am a witch, and I am going to save us.” 

I just can’t stop thinking about how amazing The Winter of the Witch was; it gave me basically everything I wanted and more than I dared hope. The magic of dark fairytales, vividly real blending of fantasy and historical setting, and fierce yet flawed and vulnerable heroine in the center of it all, making mistakes, learning, growing. Vasya really had to face all the darkest parts of herself in this story and accept them, along with the fact that magic she can use really has the price in The Winter’s world. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

Also, Morozko and his relationship with Vasya… I honestly want to weep when I think about it. It’s tender and complicated and raw,  just so full of feeling, Vasya and Morozko acknowledging all their past mistakes and learning and healing from them, but also not forgetting what they both are, mortal and immortal. Still they continue to learn from each other, challenge each other in a way no one else can. Truly the best kind of use of death and the maiden trope. “You are not alone, anymore.”

Katherine Arden’s writing continues to be breathtakingly beautiful. I can’t wait to see what she will create next. To quote myself: please read The Winternight Trilogy if you enjoy beautifully written historical fantasy and fairy tales and amazing heroines and death-gods who can’t help but love said amazing heroines. The way Arden explores other themes, like the meaning of family and faith and confrontation between pagan world and christianity is also endlessly fascinating to me. Plus, there are some really great magical horses. Thank you. 😭