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Sunshine Challenge #2
Jul. 8th, 2020 11:37 am
So the first things I think of when given this color prompt are:
OitnB which I never got fannish about
Buddhist robes (the color of saffron and transformation) which probably inspired the next two:
Padme and her handmaidens in The Phantom Menace per my icon and
Aang and the Air Nomads in the Avatar series
Otherwise it's not a particularly popular color theme in fannish things, but it is obviously a fave of Kacey Musgraves because she's always wearing it?
Like even the fan on the cover of Golden Hour is blood orange
And since I'm a big fan of her music, that's my post. LOL I might GIF some Star Wars orange things
I adored probably the first 80% of this book. Like I was reallly loving the spooky atmosphere, lush worldbuilding and the brilliant grown up murder mystery twist on the fairytale (The twelve dancing princesses). I appreciated how it was subverting the evil stepmother trope, and that the Middle Child was actually getting to be the MC of a fantasy book! And then it lost me with the unconvincing romance, the shoehorned in boyfriend superpowers to solve OTT supernatural meddling and the reversion to ugly stereotypical tropes. I am so disappointed- this could have been great and the last 150 pages or so made it just okay. First 500 pages of this is excellent though. 
I think the reason modern AUs annoy me is the same reason this book failed to satisfy. Oh look, two people who fail to communicate over and over and hurt each other terribly each time, rinse and repeat ad nauseum. Also there is no narrative catharsis- the author leaves the ending open ended right after one of the characters finally demonstrates some real growth. Maybe it's realistic, but it sure isn't satisfying to me as a reader. 
This was a super neat idea, but one of those rare cases where I wanted the author to Tell a little more instead of Show. The worldbuilding was just so out there (going to war over the way people set their calendar, because it alters the way numbers/physics works) that I just felt rather lost for the first several hundred pages, although I really liked both Kel Cheris and General Shuos Jedao as adversarial characters that have to work together, especially because the latter is a ghost downloaded into her brain. Like I'm still unclear on the difference between the different ships (moths) because there just wasn't enough background info given. I might read the next at some point- anybody else read this series?
Two girls, one abandoned in an orphanage and one a ghost, and their stories. I honestly could have dispensed with the ghost's story- Frankie's was a lot more compelling, and solving the mystery of how and why the ghost girl (Pearl) died isn't cathartic or triumphant.
This was so good! Engaging, eye opening and funny, even though some of the anecdotes were harrowing. I'd read another book by him anyday and I think I should read more memoirs by comedians!
Imagine being Aunt Petunia- growing up bitter over your magical sister while somehow the magic skipped right over you. Now picture her as Jessica Jones and the magic school as something more modern and actual high school-y like Legacies. Add a murder mystery to solve and presto! I really enjoyed this- the MC is flawed, but she's so smart and she's freaking trying. 
I actually should have included this in my last batch of book reviews. I enjoyed this- it's been a while since I read a travel memoir and man, did it make me ache for my backpacker days! Makes me want to travel again, which I know, I know, but wishlists and planning are half the fun, right? 