ALMOST EVERY NIGHT the person who lives above me starts vacuuming their apartment, and it’s almost ALWAYS after midnight that they do this…

I have no idea what they do or what goes on up there…but at this point, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s some sort of strange “helps them get to sleep” routine–some people count sheep, this one vacuums

So I just finished S1 of “The Crown”, and that last episode was HARD to watch, knowing what was going to happen with Margaret. But the person I felt the most for was Elizabeth; torn between duty as a monarch and love for her sister, and the unfairness she was put into with having to make that decision.

Anyway, here are some thoughts I had with the show overall:

  • John Lithgow makes the best “outraged faces”
  • Claire Foy is amazing
  • Philip is an ass (dude, YOU gave up your titles, you KNEW what you were marrying into! Also, stop bullying your son)
  • Margaret–sometimes I sympathize for her, sometimes I find myself rolling my eyes and wanting to scream, “grow up!”
  • The Queen Mother–I’m sorry, but your daughter had a point when it came to educating/parenting
  • …but also, Elizabeth, don’t throw stones at glass houses, you’re not exactly “mother of the year” either
  • Eden shouldn’t throw stones either, when talking to Churchill about “age and health”
  • Edward–you are strangely sympathetic but also incredibly slimy–I blame the actor entirely ;oP
  • The Tory Government are every bit as out of touch then as they are now
  • The British tabloids are every bit as slimy then as they are now
  • VENETIA SCOTT DESERVED BETTER
  • And speaking of that episode (”Act of God”), did anyone else think “what would happen if this happened now?” Well, considering which party is running things, the answer is clear: we’re all going to die

cassiemortmain:

It’s been a while since I wrote anything for Sybil x Tom – but somehow, today, I was inspired to revisit a crossover fic I wrote for them a while ago – in my A Room with a View AU.

Since I missed the S/T fic exchange last Christmas, I’m dedicating this to the whole fandom, especially the lovely @yankeecountess .

Hope you enjoy!  (The image is not mine.)   

***

It was the book that did it.

If only Larry hadn’t found it, he would never have felt the need to read it aloud.  With Mr Branson, Tom Branson, reclining at her feet.  Listening to every word, just as she was.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought of it again. The details were clearly etched in her mind, like a pane of stained glass in an Italian cathedral.

The sunshine on her face, the tall grasses rustling against her dress, the song of a bird spiralling down from an achingly blue sky.  His arms around her, his lips on hers, the heat of his body… 

Whenever it came into her thoughts lately, she’d chided herself for being silly.

I’m engaged now.  I’m marrying Larry.  Anything else is… impossible.

And she told herself that was enough.  Had to be.

Until this afternoon.

As she listened to Larry reading the scene set on a Tuscan hillside, she felt a blush racing up her cheeks, her breath catching in her throat, her heart racing in her chest.

She turned her eyes down, but not before she caught Mr Branson looking at her.  He made her feel like a toasted crumpet, spread with the honey of his gaze, a gaze that melted into her very core.

Keep reading

And, just about now, somewhere in the manosphere, someone is furiously typing, “Stop whining, women over there are really suffering,” which actually means “Shut up and consider yourself lucky that we treat you as well as we do.” The idea that women’s rights are measured in terms of competition with other women is just about as sexist as something can get. It demonstrates an utter inability to imagine a world where women’s rights aren’t being traded and regulated by men.

Soraya Chemaly, ‘What Exactly Does ‘It’s A Man’s World’ Mean?’ (Role/Reboot)

Love is a Gift

romancingthebookworm:

“Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth” (Song 1:2)

Wallflower Most Wanted by Manda Collins

St. Martin’s Press:: 2018
Historical Romance – Regency
304 Pages

I don’t normally go in for Vicar heroes.

I’m not sure why? They come with really everything to recommend them: faith, compassion, a gentleness that is often denied to heroes in other vocations, and a strength of character that is drawn from a surety of their place in life! AKA: A+ Husband Material, go straight to the altar, do not pass go, do not collect a string of less-ideal men on the way.

You might think, then, that I’d spend more of my reading time with vicar heroes (and we certainly have a few). Or, for that matter, with inspirational romances. But I actually find the role of religion in non-religious romances much more fascinating and complex than the spoon-fed faith of inspirational romances. Tiffany Reisz has an amazing quote in one of her novellas, Something Nice, and while it pertains specifically to the Catholic church, I think it applies to most circumstances: “The Church is for human beings, not for saints and angels.” So I’ve always thought that faith comes through most beautifully in those who struggle with and question it the most. Thus my love of religious elements in non-Inspirational romances.

And as for Vicar heroes? I don’t know. Maybe I was afraid I’d find them too judgmental and pious? (I’m not good at being pious. I’m like the least pious Catholic ever. *sigh*) But Collins dispelled my concerns like that.

Our hero, and all-around-good-guy local vicar, Lord Benedick Lisle, is fabulous. He’s a refreshing change from my (much beloved) smooth and practiced charmers. Ben is a bit unsure of himself and his ability to fulfill his role as vicar, he’s a bit of a bumbler when it comes to his attraction to Sophia, and he doesn’t have a violent bone in his body unless it comes to protecting his loved ones. He’s refreshingly reliable and stable – and stability is exactly what our heroine, Sophia Hastings, needs. For heaven’s sake, she falls off a cliff at the beginning (a small one) and (figuratively) lands in Ben’s lap. Clearly she needs a little looking after.

In fact one of the things Ben asks Sophia, early in the novel, is whether no one has ever told her to take better care of herself, and i just…

Which is not to imply that Sophia can’t fend for herself, because nothing could be further from the truth. She’s a brilliant painter, fiercely independent, and stubborn quite literally to a fault. And Ben never debates that she can shift for herself – rather his statement acknowledges that everyone needs help from time to time, and to be looked after.

Because care, like love, is a gift we give one another. And I think Collins does a wonderful job bringing that fact to light in this relationship between two very different people, both of whom think they couldn’t possibly be the sort of person the other would deserve or want. Love isn’t earned. It’s given.

Things I loved:

1) Female Friendships – Okay so I need to go back and read the other books in this series because apparently I missed some death-defying hi-jinks. The main character is one of four heiresses, brought together by a rather eccentric patroness to live in this house on the coast and pursue their “unladylike” talents. By Wallflower Most Wanted their friendship is already well established, as is apparent from the way that they interact with and care for each other.

2) The Magically Appearing Brothers Lisle – Oh. Benedick’s brothers. I can’t remember how many there actually are, but they sort of just pop up during the book. First one, then two. And I laughed because Collins’ introduction of the second brother was genius. And poor Ben was so exasperated at these unexpected siblings just appearing from thin air. 

3) Positive representation of the real relationship between sex and faith – I hate when religious groups recoil from sex and make it into this dirty, forbidden thing. I hate it. It’s a level of interpretive extremeness that is almost never supported by the actual tenants or texts of whichever faith is doing the talking. One of the reasons I adore Tiffany Reisz so much is that her novels constantly challenge the idea that sexuality and faith are separate entities. Sexuality and organized religion, maybe, but sexuality and faith never. And Manda Collins gets that. So when, during his first time with Sophie, Ben muses that “Sex, he’d always considered, was a gift from God. That he was able to share that gift with the woman he loved was a blessing.” I just about levitated out of my seat.

4) Which leads me to the Dirty Talking Vicar. I don’t even have to explain this one. I’m just going to leave this quote here: “I don’t wish to kiss them until they make the little greedy noises you made last night.”

5) THERE’S NO MYSTICAL HYMEN! Gasp! That’s right. Sophia loses her virginity without that pesky mythic trope of the romance genre: the symbolic, anatomically inaccurate hymen.

6) That villain – Collin’s villain is basically Trump. I mean that’s what it comes down to. Her villain is a rich, corrupt businessman with political ambitions. And his plan for ascending to the political stage is to climb on to the backs of the very working men and women whom he exploits in his factories. He talks them up, and makes promises to them that he has no intention of keeping. Sound familiar?

Things I could live without:

I’ve got nothing. This may not be one of my top 10 read of 2018, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and very well done. Collins is clearly a very talented author!

TL;DR::

This was my first Manda Collins novel, and I am happy to say that it really was delightful! Really. Not an instant favorite, but definitely a fairly light, charming novel worth reading.