The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Jane Eyre fans. Gothic fiction fans. High romance, candlelit corridors, mysterious servants, hidden secrets, and decrepit manor house fans. I implore you: read this book.

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

What a stylish treat.

Think Constantine, with angels and demons and the battle for people's souls, mixed with 1940s Chicago and detective noir.

This is the magical world that C.L. Polk has built, as we join Helen Brandt, a paranormal detective on the hunt for the mysterious White City Vampire. Not only does Helen have to figure out and catch the Vampire, she's in a race against time to do it, with her own soul at stake.

She partners up with her girlfriend Edith, an awkward angel named Haraniel (I loved them so much) and her estranged brother Ted, who is part of a magical brotherhood.

It took me awhile to get the hang of this particular world, but once I was in, I was in. A gorgeously immersive urban fantasy, mixed with historical fiction mystery, and a sapphic romance that was utterly swoon-worthy. I thought I might know the end, but I didn't. :)

October reading. 🍂🍎📚

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Quite charmed by this. Imagine if all of Austen's characters inhabited the same sphere of existence. Now imagine them gathered together at the Knightleys for a summer house party, upon which the vile George Wickham imposes his sleaze. Not for long, though; on the first night, he is found murdered. One of the guests is guilty, and it's up to the young duo of Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney to solve the crime. If you like historical fiction and murder mysteries on the less grisly side, you'll find this enjoyable. The mystery is less whodunnit and more about the secrets being kept, but that's in true Christie fashion. If you like Austen (and I mean if you really like Austen; there's the full gamut here, from Pride & Prejudice to Mansfield Park) you'll be delighted to revisit beloved characters and see a glimpse into their futures.  My favourite part was the fresh addition of Jonathan and Juliet, who feel new and fun yet completely canon. There is also the definite, nicely done job of making it clear that Jonathan is a young man on the spectrum. It was a nice way to highlight neurodivergence, and Gray has included other touches of diversity that show up throughout. Overall, it reads a bit like really excellent fanfic; but that's a compliment. Claudia Gray has paid solid tribute to famous literary characters and managed to balance a fairly twisty mystery in between it all.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

There are moments in life, so monumental and still, that the memory can never be retrieved without a catch to the throat or an interruption to the beat of the heart. Can never be retrieved without the rumbling disquiet of how close that moment came to not having happened at all. I think this will be my favourite read of the year. Some books manage to capture not only your heart, but all the emotions that reside there, too. Still Life is such a book. It follows a group of friends from the war-ravaged countryside of Florence in the 1940s to a rainy neighbourhood pub in London, and back again to a light-filled pensione in Italy. These adults live and love and laugh and cry, and their paths cross over and over, redefining themselves, and the family they’ve found in each other, in the process. The book isn’t plot heavy at all. In fact, one could argue that nothing much happens. And yet, everything does. Life happens. All those tender, broken, heart-brimming, nothing moments that make up a lifetime. Sarah Winman’s style is quiet and a little wordy, it must be said. She doesn’t use quotation marks for dialogue, which is a stylistic choice that I normally avoid. It’s a character-driven novel, and it took me a few pages to adjust my pace and settle in. That’s the key, though; savour every word like a sip of good wine and a satisfying bite of pasta. It’s a slow read, and definitely sentimental. But it’s what my heart needed to read. It’s what we all need: a reminder that art and kindness and friendship are forms of love all their own. That as we live out our lives, the extraordinary is made up of all the ordinary days and moments.

Memo to self to start using this. 😁📚✨

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

Not just one of the best romance books I’ve read, but one of my favourite books this year.

Hattie Greenfield is idealistic and a bit sheltered by her upper-crust life and matching, upper-crust family. She fancies herself open-minded and progressive, even a bit rebellious, so when she crosses paths with the infamous Lord Lucian Blackstone, she welcomes a shocking, stolen, kiss. That sinfully delicious kiss has repercussions, though, which even the brooding and enigmatic Lucian must face. A hasty marriage and an escape to his native Scottish Highlands has Hattie reeling. The unexpected union forces both Hattie and Lucian to reveal the truest version of themselves to each other, and as titillating as the sexual tension between them is, I liked their character growth, and the questions the book asks, even more. Lucian’s business in the Highlands lands them in a small, poor, mining town. Hattie’s idealistic, unpracticed feminism clashes hard with the reality the women face. Lofty suffragette ideals in London tea rooms are hard to reconcile with mining mortalities and keeping a house running round the clock. Lucian, too, discovers that his personal truths are tested. Pragmatism doesn’t mean having to remain mired in negativity. I’ve never read a romance book where I’ve related to the main heroine so much. Hattie’s optimism was my own; the way she is forced to ask hard questions about her broad, easy answers to a utopian world made me think about my own views. Her feminist politics are wonderful, but they are challenged in a very real way. This book was surprisingly, and wonderfully, political. Still, Hattie’s character is never put down; she has lessons to teach as well as learn, and she brings out the best in Lucian by stretching his comfort zone. She's feminine and womanly but doesn't always say or do the right thing. She questions herself. I often think that heroines in romance novels sound and act like movie characters with overly snappy dialogue; they seem to react to each and every situation with the perfect quip and matching action. Hattie feels like a real woman: progressive but a product of the societal expectations of her time, winning and daring but not perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance (especially historical fiction) where the two leads feel like such symbiotic partners. They don’t lose themselves in each other but grow together. And the heat! Hattie and Lucian are gorgeous together: that slow build from their forbidden kiss to the eventual consummation of their marriage is hot. Every suggestive scene and progressively intimate moment is lush. Such a rewarding, romantic, fun, and genuinely thoughtful, feminist read. I enjoyed every moment. 

Today, I went to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence specifically to see this painting:

[ID: A painting depicting a woman who, aided by her maid, determinedly cuts off a man’s head with a sword. The man is on his back, eyes and mouth opened in terror, blood gushing from his throat while the two women forcefully hold him down. /end ID]

The painting is “Judith and Holofernes” by Artemisia Gentileschi, from 1612-13.

Artemisia, a talented young painter, was raped at age seventeen, by her father’s assistant in his painting studio. The rape was brought to trial, but Artemisia was tortured and physically shamed and “examined” to find out if she was speaking the truth. Her rapist got away with a light sentence: he had to leave Rome.

Artemisia, whose hands were badly damaged by the torture, still managed to continue her painting career, and eventually she became the first female member of the Fine Arts Academy of Florence.

This painting was a commission, but it is said that she channeled all of her rage about the rape and the way she was treated into this work.

I wouldn’t have known any of this hadn’t it been for the novel “Blood. Water. Paint.” by Joy McCullogh. I listened to the audiobook in 2020, narrated emphatically by Xe Sands - a YA novel written entirely in verse. It’s a powerful story that has stayed with me ever since.

I cannot recommend the book (or audiobook) enough, and standing in front of this painting today was an incredible experience.

Nedi Nezu (Good Medicine)

April was National Poetry Month here in Canada, and I fell in love with this luscious collection by Indigenous poet Tenille K. Campbell. The poems were gorgeous, centering on love and loving through an Indigenous lens. Some were quite 🌶, too, in an evocative, wild, and defiant way. The natural world provides a strong base, and this collection pulses deep in the blood. I loved it; a strong antidote to the grim, overwhelming world right now. Good medicine indeed. 

<swoons in springtime fantasy>

Villa Lattuada | by facibenifotografia

HELLO I JUST READ THE ENTIRETY OF YOUR DOLOKHOV FIC ON AO3 AND IMMEDIATELY CAME AND SEARCHED FOR YOU ON HERE AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY OTHER THAN I THINK YOU'RE VERY COOL AND SO IS CLARA SORRY IF YOU DON'T LIKE W&P ANYMORE AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

This absolutely made my day. I loved writing this fic; it's still my fave that I've ever written. Also, still love W&P. Thank you, anon! 😁💗

I needed to see this. You need to see this. <internal tension eases fractionally> 😌😊💗

Book Tag

Thanks for the tag @bbcfandomsuniverse. 🥰

Last book I bought: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, which people have been recommending to me for years. I’m (trying to be) on a book-buying ban until I read more of the books I have waiting on my shelf, but...

Last book I borrowed: Two library books. Currently reading Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller, and The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor.

Last book I was gifted: A biography of Alexandre Dumas, pere, which I’m very much looking forward to reading!

Last book I gave to someone else: I bought a copy of The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery and pushed it into a friend’s hands because I need everyone to read that book. 😁

Last book I started: The House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas; still reading it. 

Last book I finished: Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. 

Last book I gave 5 stars to: nedí nezų (Good Medicine) by Tenille K Campbell, a lush, stunning poetry collection which I want to buy (to support the Indigenous author) but also because it was *gorgeous* and it won’t get enough love.

Last book I gave 2 stars to: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. Madeline Miller ushered in an era of Greek mythology retellings and I’m here for it - but I have yet to find an author that lives up to her own excellent quality of writing. 

Tagging without obligation: @lulacat3, @hobbeshalftail3469, @highfunctioningflailgirl, @105nt, @hidetheteaspoons , @robinvenetiaa, @pools-of-venetianblue, @books-and-cookies, and anyone else who wants to play, and honestly, tag me back if you do, simply because I adore seeing what people are reading!

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

This was just so comfortingly adorable. The RomCom book genre has exploded in the past few years and I am here for it. If you’re in the mood for opposites-attract, fake-dating, sweet-with-a-little-spice, wlw-romance, then this one’s for you. 

Elle is a free-spirited but ambitious bi woman who is into astrology and the idea of true love entwined with fate. Darcy is a put-together lesbian who has moved to the city as an insurance actuary and has no plans to do anything silly like fall in love. After a disastrous first date, the two of them agree to fake date over the holidays; a strictly professional transaction...right? Of course, as resolved as both of them are not to let feelings get in the way, love might have something to do with it after all.

I liked the fact that Darcy and Elle’s story didn’t revolve around their coming out. I enjoyed the Seattle setting, and how the story takes place over the winter holidays. 

An undemanding read - I was hoping for a charming escape into a love story, and that’s exactly what Written in the Stars is. Reliable romantic comedy with tropes you love, but make it sapphic. I knew exactly where it was going, but I settled happily into the journey. 

Why yes I *did* check this book out exactly because I judged it by its adorable cover. 😌

<gasp> 💖

Rene Jules Lalique, Collaret, Gold, enamel, diamonds, ca. 1900

Such a beautiful book that I saw on the shelves today! Made me think of you, @notmanthelessbutnaturemore !