Reading

Flint

Flint by Louis L'Amour

A man who left the West, and the fame he won in one shooting, to grow rich in the East, returns to the West.

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Tucker

Tucker by Louis L'Amour

An tale of adventure.

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author: g

Recent Reading: The Other Wind (and more)

That's a wrap, folks! Today I concluded the entirety of the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula Le Guin for the first time. The final book in this series is The Other Wind, but the collected volume I have also includes after that a few short stories by Le Guin set in the Earthsea universe as well as a lecture she gave at Oxford on gender and the Western archtype of a hero. Seemed best to lump these all together for this review.

I was emotional about this book from the start, and I can only imagine it was moreso for those who had been familiar with Ged and Tenar for decades before this book was published. The Earthsea Cycle begins with A Wizard of Earthsea in Ged's childhood, before he's even discovered his propensity for magic, and here at the start of The Other Wind, he is a man in his seventies, puttering about his old master's house and waiting for his wife and daughter to come home. We've gotten to see Ged throughout his life--as a child, apprentice, wizard, archmage, goatherd (take 2), old man--and this continuity and journey really got to me.

At the end of the previous novel, Tehanu, the mantle of hero is passed on narratively from Ged and Tenar to their adopted daughter, Tehanu, but it's here in The Other Wind that Tehanu really comes into herself. Given Tehanu's past trauma, the way she clings to Tenar and Ged makes sense, so it was very rewarding to see her grow into herself here and eventually claim the power she was told by the dragon Kalessin she possesses at the end of Tehanu.

As with Tehanu and Tales of Earthsea, women play a much more central role in The Other Wind. Our noble king, Lebannen, who came into his own in the third book of the original trilogy, is really blown hither-and-thither by the women of the book, who are the real plot-movers. Tehanu, the youthful rising power; Tenar, the wizened heroine; Irian, the free woman who's embraced the power Tehanu shares; Seserakh, the foreign princess who brings Kargish knowledge of dragons; these are the real players of the game. The kings and wizards who follow in their wake exist to help them carry out the plot.

As with all the Earthsea books, Le Guin focuses her fantasy without centering violence. The great plot of The Other Wind essentially boils down to righting an ancient wrong, and it is resolved through shared knowledge and cooperation. On the whole, the book feels quite positive and we leave Earthsea for this final time on a sweet and hopeful note.

The conclusion itself feels perfect: Ged and Tenar on Gont, talking of nothing, in the end. Who else but Le Guin would have concluded her epic fantasy series with her male hero explaining how he'd kept up the house in his wife's absence? The pair go for a walk in the woods, and that's where the overarching plot of Earthsea ends, beautiful in its simplicity.

If I had a complaint about Le Guin's writing, it's that she sometimes stows key elements of the plot in opaque dialogue between characters, which comes up a little here, but not as much as in Tehanu.

After The Other Wind come a few short stories by Le Guin set in the world of Earthsea. These are fun little tales, none longer than fifteen pages, which have nothing to do with any of the characters we know, until the final one. If you like the worldbuilding of Earthsea, these will be a great addition. The final one, for reasons I won't spoil, had me getting choked up even though I suspect from the opening paragraphs what was happening.

I had such fun exploring Earthsea and while I wish I had gotten into them when I was younger (because I know how much I would have enjoyed them as a teen!) I'm still glad to have found them now (and I can just envision the daydreams I would have spun about my own female mage OC if I had known about these books then...) I know I'll revisit Earthsea and the adventures of its heroes again, although I'll stick to the paper versions--I've heard nothing good about any of the attempted screen adaptations! It truly feels like this has been a journey, and what an enjoyable one its been.

Current Music: Perry Mason – Ozzy Osbourne

Haven't done this in a while

Intro:
Hi my name is Mint Chocolate Chip but I also go by more sensible names like The Overlord of The Pasta as well. That is actually a childhood nickname given to me when I was 42...

I'm abt 25.... A zillenial/zoomer-millenial hybrid and no, I was not grown in a lab despite the rumors.

I post frequently and the blahg is a hybrid between personal/recovery stuff for my cptsd and interests and passions. I am many things, but aren't we all? Things I regularly think about and do (or at least TRY to engage with regularly) are reading, writing, comicking (I'm trying my hand at my own super robot series. It's very.... Me), indulging my musicphilia, lifting, animals (dinosaurs and evolutionary theory oh my!), smol chubby things (think pibbins as an example) and generally trying new things in these categories.

I will say my personality is Cheerfully dark or darkly cheerful. A lot of gross, creepy, weird things cheer me up, make me laugh or inspire me to do better. And I am a very easily amused person who really likes jokes, but my ideas of what's funny can be really odd or morbid. Like I thought the movie Tusk was just okay but had a very life affirming message about personhood. Ultimately, scary stuff registers to me as beautiful. Is it because it's so scary it's pretty? Or it's not scary at all? I don't think I'll ever know, but the closest equivalent I can think of is what gothic fiction describes as "the sublime."

How I try to live can be summed up by something I wrote on my blog recently that I will paraphrase here:
1. Death is the ultimate equalizer. If it won't matter after you're dead, it's not going to matter while you're alive.

2. Being yourself is the only way out.

3. Everything you know and love will pass and be forgotten one day. Including you. It's like we all get to keep special secrets from the next generations.

Likes: Metal, classical music, jazz, french house, horror, sci fi, surrealism, reading, philosophy, Friedrich Nietszche (did I spell that right?), superheroes, mecha/super robot (real robot is okay), violent stuff, birds, birds being dinosaurs, bones, medsci, dentalsci, psychology, flexibility, playfulness, puns, wordplay, spicy food, clowns, birds, dragons. A lot more but I'll be here all day if I list everything. Fandoms include Sonic, Mario, Getter Robo, Pokemon, Batman, Spawn, Godzilla, Street Fighter, Story of Seasons, Stardew Valley. Again, a lot of fandoms. That's not even all of them. Most of all, anything filled with cheese, hopium or grossness is what I love most.

Dislikes: The way a certain strain of nerds are like that, people who are mean to animals, country music, folk music, SOME types of pop music (I enjoy the genre but am not fond of certain pop artists who are currently big) AI """art,""" rigidity and inflexibility.

I'm working on being more interested than interesting and I like people of different backgrounds. I like swapping thoughts with people who share similar feels abt things + have good boundaries. I like independent personalities who like to laugh.

As a warning, I wouldn't describe my blog as gloomy but very honest. I am someone who likes having the ability to be articulate and say what I mean and mean what I say, mental illness be damned! So I WILL talk abt the hard times, when mental illness hurts and stuff like that.

There will ALWAYS be TWs, but I'm mentioning this bc I don't think I will be good match for people who find that stuff inherently depressing as I don't see it that way at all and don't want to repress how I talk for the comfort of others. I am going through some major changes in my life after a lot of personal tragedy, including but not limited to homelessness, and I want to feel free to share it honestly.

On interactions:
Just bc it's in my dislikes doesn't mean I dislike people who like what I don't. Unless you're into some sick shit, I will be interested in hearing your differing perspective and would be open to friendship or whatever other type of platonic relationship it evolves into. I'm not someone who is easily scandalized or put off by people.

Though I admit, remembering to write back or to be unafraid to be emotionally vulnerable is NOT always easy and I'm trying hard to get better at it.

I don't tolerate ableism or any abusive rhetoric towards the poor or homeless.

Going back to what I said earlier. Most shit we are told matters actually does not matter and that fits a lot of nerd drama/discourse well. I will never see lolisho or whatever else some people go to bat for as some free speech issue I am obligated to fight for, I think it's disgusting, I don't have to justify myself and I'm not interested in being converted (people have tried that before). Those are the types of people who I block liberally.

I do not add minors.

If you are mentally well, NOT white trash, monosexual, or are just curious, I ask you to please be open minded and to ask questions if you decide to follow and interact. I am like. A random bi religious lady who was raised and identifies strongly with the white trash thing. I can't tell you how EVERYONE who falls under this very niche overlap thinks and I don't intend to, but I think I can tell you an excellent story.

Anythin else?
I'm white trash.

I never got to finish highschool.

I don't post horny stuff but I'm not allergic to discussing media that portrays sexuality or discussing sexuality itself.

I don't post many graphic pictures or vids, but I do like media with graphic stuff in it.

I don't get political, as a personal boundary and way to make sure I stay respectful online. Please do not push me to share my beliefs. I do not mind if YOU get political (tho a journal all about politics isn't my bag), but I will only share my political stances if I feel comfortable doing so.

Evolution is the most important scientific fact for me. It is a driving factor in my decision making and personal worldviews. I like that people are monkeys. Don't you think that's hilarious? I love that birds are dinosaurs.

I'm bi. I was agnostic for most of my life but I like that I started practicing christianity as an adult. I don't see these as contradictory. I like theistic evolution. I read a lot of things I disagree with anyway bc it's good for the soul.

I am someone's whose definition of freedom is "I am allowed free to do or say what I like" rather than "I am free from the consequences of what I do or say." So speaking honestly and openly is more abt self improvement than just being a dick and then saying "Well I'm just being HONEST! You're violating my freedoms if you push back or block me!" It's about having uncomfortable conversations and realizing we don't know everything and we never will and that's just more reason to keep having conversations.

Add me! Or don't. I don't really care.

Entry tags:

author: l

Recent Reading: Road to Ruin

I have a job again! \^o^/ This means I am back on the audiobook train and today I wrapped up Road to Ruin by Hana Lee, book 1 of the Magebike Courier duology. This is a low fantasy dystopian novel located in a place called the Mana Wastes, where protagonist Jin works as a courier transporting goods between protected cities. Jin runs a lot of odd jobs for various clients, but her most lucrative by far are Prince Kadrin and Princess Yi-Nereen. Jin has been ferrying love letters between them for three years--while hiding the fact that she's fallen in love with both of them. But everything changes when Yi-Nereen decides to run away and asks Jin to help her.

First, don't let the hokey title put you off. I started this one a bit warily, but it turned out to be quite a lot of fun! The worldbuilding is pretty light, but the novel seems aware of that and doesn't overpromise on that front. What is there serves its purpose well. It's not anything particularly novel, but not every book needs to be.

Jin, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin are all wonderful protagonists; each of them has a distinct personality, perspective, and motivations, and I really enjoyed all of them. I was rooting for them the whole book and it was great to watch their various interpersonal dynamics unfold. If you're a fan of stories about mutual pining, this one is definitely worth checking out. However, if that's not really your speed, I didn't feel like the book spent too much time harping on about feelings we all suspect or know are requited. The romance element is definitely there, and it's a significant motivator for all three of them, but there's plenty else going on in the book too.

The book avoids falling prey either to the Charybdis of black-and-white morality where everyone who stands in the way of the protagonists is evil, or to the Scylla of "everyone is friends if we just talk things out," which is a relief after some recent reads. There's definitely a sliding scale of antagonism here, with some characters who are obstacles but not necessarily bad people, and others who run much darker.

I also enjoyed the presence of the "Road Builders." Jin and her peers inhabit the Mana Wastes, a treacherous desert wasteland where little survives and almost none of it without human intervention. They sustain themselves with "talent"--magical abilities common among humans, but becoming less common by the day--and travel along ravaged roads built by some culture who came before, about which Jin and her peers know very little. These are the "Road Builders" and are, I believe, strongly hinted at to be us. Lee keeps them a pleasant mystery humming in the background of everything else going on.

There were a couple contrivances near the end to aid a dramatic conclusion, but nothing so egregious I wasn't willing to continue to play ball with the book. Similarly, I'm on the fence about where this book leaves the relationship between the main trio, because it feels a little too much like Lee felt it was a necessary hook into book 2, but I'll reserve judgement until I've actually read book 2. And perhaps it's better that everything doesn't wrap up too neatly here.

On the whole, I had a lot of fun with this book and I will definitely read the next one.

Jeeves and the Tie That Binds

Jeeves and the Tie That Binds by P.G. Wodehouse

The continuing adventures. Spoilers for the earlier works ahead.

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Financial C25K

Yesterday I found £5 on the way to work. Which I was excited about and initially thought I'd blow it on something. But then I was thinking about The Great Courses Plus and how the course on personal finance has a teacher, a financial adviser, who claims you can get financially stable on $5 per day (presumably over here that is £5 per day).

And I jokingly left a poll in WhatsApp for my colleagues about whether I should use the money to buy two EuroMillions tickets, buy chips, or follow the financial adviser lecture series I'm watching. To which one colleague replied that the savings option made her laugh so hard she choked on her cereal. Now, I get it - we don't make enough money to feel to secure that we can consistently provide £5 to the table per day. But, that's basically a morning coffee or my soda budget. But I am also one for believing you should believe the experts (not without critical thinking, of course) and I decided I'm going to try to follow his advice as well as the retirement planning course.

So I got paid today and I put £150 - the equivalent of £5/day for September - into savings. I found out who to contact to increasing my pension contribution by 2.5% (which would leave the total contributions per month including my employers to 12.5% - the absolute minimum they recommend to live to the same standard as your working years. It's not perfect given my age, but it's a start.)

I don't know how to follow all the advice. For example, unless I renounce my US citizenship, my investment options here are very limited. I suppose relinquishing my citizenship should actually be in my 'dream' list. Given I can hold a UK and an Irish passport, the US citizenship is just a major downer in building my life over here.

But I figure I can try to put £5/day into savings. And reduce my spending. And I can increase my contribution into my work pension. And if I can eventually get an extra £5,000, I can look at renouncing citizenship so I can then follow his investing advice.

The USA is so ridiculous to be honest. They're one of two countries to consider citizens tax-residents abroad, first of all. But they should be pragmatic about it. They don't actually charge taxes for anyone making $109,000. If you're making less than 30-50% of that, they should just let you renounce for free. That way we can hopefully invest and save enough to not be a burden on their own system in our senior years.

Basically the USA should be glad to be rid of most of us (less than 5% of US citizens abroad - if I recall correctly, less than 1% of US citizens abroad) - make enough money to actually owe taxes, so we're just administrative burden. But they keep us on unless we shell up $3,000 not including legal and administrative fees, making sure there are no back-taxes, etc. in case we... I don't know. Win the lottery or something.

And the insult to injury is all I want to do is try to ensure I'm not destitute as a senior.

Sanders' Rhetorical, or Union Sixth Reader

Sanders' Rhetorical, or Union Sixth Reader by Charles Walton Sanders

An advanced work of elocution.

Perhaps chiefly useful now for its selections and the light they cast on the era. It has several on the importance of the Union. It boasts of a wide variety, to fit young readers, and it does feature both prose and poetry on many different topics, fiction and non-fiction. I think it has more biographical essays than the earlier books in the series.

(Though it was amusing to read the side note that people used to eat a dish of fried dough known as a doughnut.)

Current Mood: hyper

doing this again 'cause the last one is very outdated

Name: Kia (They/Them)
Age group: 20s
Country: Australia
Subscription/Access Policy: Don't give out access to people unless we've been mutuals for awhile or already know each other.

Fannish Interests: Fic writing, editing, icons, reccing, meta
I like to post about: Just whatever I get up to in the week (mostly shorter posts). I'm also trying to make a habit of journaling any media I get into, but that's definitely a skill I need to work on.

About Me: Been on dreamwidth for about five months now. For a while I've mostly used my journal as a personal diary, but recently I've wanted to make more public posts about the various things I enjoy. I've kind of distanced myself from being online everywhere else, but I'm still up for meeting new people here. I'm ideally looking for other active journals to read and maybe become mutuals with. Don't have to be in the same fandoms, but as long as we have some common interests then that's good enough for me.

Other hobbies: Music, language learning, reading, gaming
I'm looking for people who are: Neurodivergent and/or queer people, nerds who post about fandom/media often (especially meta stuff but that's just personal preference), people interested in languages, people who post about cooking or just anyone who wants to see me scream into the void about things that vaguely matter to me

Journal Info:

Minors DNI
Occasional nsfw+vent posts (read intro post for more info)

Current Mood: hyper

👋wavey wavey👋

Name: Kia (They/Them)

Age: 20s

About Me: Been on dreamwidth for about five months now. For a while I've mostly used my journal as a personal diary, but recently I've wanted to make more public posts about the various things I enjoy. I've kind of distanced myself from being online everywhere else, but I'm still up for meeting new people here. I'm ideally looking for other active journals to read and maybe become mutuals with. Don't have to be in the same fandoms, but as long as we have some common interests then that's good enough for me.

I mostly post about: Just whatever I get up to in the week (mostly shorter posts). I'm also trying to make a habit of journaling any media I get into, but that's definitely a skill I need to work on.

My hobbies are: Writing, music, language learning, reading, gaming

My fandoms are: Various anime, comics, games etc. that I can't list out (my interests tend to change a lot)

I'm looking to meet people who: Neurodivergent and/or queer people, nerds who post about fandom/media often (especially meta stuff but that's just personal preference), people interested in languages, people who post about cooking or just anyone who wants to see me scream into the void about things that vaguely matter to me

My posting schedule tends to be: Anytime I want

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Anyone under 18, not too picky with anything else but as long as we still click in some way then we're good (I think me saying that I'm queer should be enough of a signal though)

Before adding me, you should know:

Don't give out access to people unless we've been mutuals for awhile or already know each other.
Occasional venting and suggestive/nsfw posts (you can read the terms in my intro post for more info)

Current Mood: calm

Wednesday Icons

Preview

See the icons here @

magicrubbish

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

The continuing adventures of Jeeves and Bertie.

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Trying the dreamwidth thing again!

Name: Celestial

Age: 31

I mostly post about:

my personal life, thoughts, day to day stuff. Sometimes mental health/trauma related stuff. Crafts, occasional outfit photos. Cat pics. I also recently did a huge family photo archiving project, so I want to share some cool old photos and what I know about the people in them.

My hobbies are:

I like dabbling in different types of crafts. Primarily into making beaded jewelry, but I've also been learning stained glass this year and that is really cool. Trying to get into reading again. Taking photos, doing home DIYs, watching a lot of movies and TV. I like fashion, but don't dress up much lately (trying to fix that).

My fandoms are:

not a huge fandom head in the traditional sense anymore. I'm a diehard My Chemical Romance fan since I was literally 10 years old. Also a big Nicolas Cage fan, almost finished with a quest to see every single movie of his. Can't think of many others off the top of my head but I fixate on stuff for a while and then forget about it.

I'm looking to meet people who:

are also neurodivergent (audhd here). have a wealth of different experiences and points of view. anyone who is willing to read and occasionally comment.

My posting schedule tends to be:

I'm aiming for once a week this time around, but may be more or less depending on what's going on in my life.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are:

No TERFs, no centrists or republicans, no Zionists. I don't care if you're personally religious but I'm not and don't appreciate that perspective in regards to my own life. No Harry Potter fans, it's lame if you're still into that given... everything. Don't be a shithead in general. And probably no one under 21.

Before adding me, you should know: Hmm. As I said, there may be the occasional post about mental health/trauma stuff. I'm also regrettably a true crime enjoyer, i rarely talk about it but if I do I'll tag. Unsure about anything else that might be relevant

How Right You Are, Jeeves

How Right You Are, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

The further adventures of Bertie and Jeeves. Minor spoilers for earlier works.

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155 icons of dredd

( 116 ) karl urban
( 39 ) olivia thirlby
cw: blood and violence

here @

sousaphone

(no subject)

Name: Nora Neurosismancer (they/she)

Age: 41

I mostly post about: Whatever is on my mind, also my daily poetry when I'm happy enough with it to share.

My hobbies are: Poetry, paganism, witchcraft, and so much music. I'm big into all things gothy: darkwave and coldwave, post-punk, synthpop, new wave, industrial, metal, and just outright werid shit. Oh, and I do competitive air guitar.

My fandoms are: Star Trek and Trek-adjacent stuff, also I'm deep in the fandom for various bands, especially DEVO.

I'm looking to meet people who: Post interesting stuff. Bonus points if you're trans or some other flavor of queer.

My posting schedule tends to be: I'm aiming for a couple posts a week.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: No minors, no TERFs, no Nazis, no Evangelical Christians, no Harry Potter.

Before adding me, you should know: I write some pretty emotional, and sometimes sexually oriented poetry. I've precious little filter about adult topics.

back again!

name: squid

age: 21

location: midwestern united states

i post about: i'm into a lot of things but what i end up posting about are monthly periodical-types of the music i discover and listen to (free for anybody to access) and the general musings and feelings of an anxious college guy (behind an access lock). i might someday make a dedicated post about history or politics or literature but i rarely feel like i have any meaningful contribution to what could be said. that's a very broad characterization but check my about me on my profile for a slightly more detailed synopsis

my hobbies are: my whole life revolves around music, more or less :] i listen to music extensively (squid771 on last.fm and rateyourmusic), collect vinyl records, and go to college studying sound engineering (i'm a senior!). i have an off-again, on-again recording project that i'll someday release something under. i play guitar, i'm an untrained singer, and i play various keyboard instruments. i always try to watch movies but usually that means i'll just gather a bunch, watch 2 in one night, and then go 6 months without watching another. i'm trying to read more (5 books read this year; infinitely times more than the past couple of years), i'm big into history (currently researching the george mcgovern 1972 campaign, and concurrently the history of how the word socialism/communism got such a negative connotation in the U.S.), and i like to walk around at night, or in the rain, or both. i try to appreciate the little things. i want to write, and learn esperanto, but i've never found enough consistent motivation to try either

my fandoms are: i haven't really considered myself to be really big enough on anything to be part of a fandom, but some of my favorite bands/artists are fishmans, stereolab, broadcast, nick drake, elliott smith, the radio dept., the field mice (all of sarah records really), brian eno, yo la tengo, ichiko aoba, and many many others! i could talk about music for days and days. as far as like forms of media go i'm big into the trails series (games 1-5, trails and crossbell; cold steel ruined the franchise), deltarune (haven't played undertale but i generally know what happens by osmosis), off, team fortress 2, and disco elysium; and then cowboy bebop, samurai champloo, NGE, general 2000s adult swim-core type stuff for anime

i'm looking to meet people who: i put a post up here about 6 months ago when i first started this account and i did get a lot of responses but nearly all of the people that replied to me aren't active anymore. i'm looking for people to really connect with and are in this site for the long haul (or at least for a while). i'm not too picky about sharing interests but having mutual appreciation for something always helps. the main thing though is that i'm just trying to make more friends :]

my posting schedule tends to be: whenever i feel like there's enough going enough in my life to post about something. this is usually like 2 to 5 times a month. i do tend to get wordy in my posts for what that's worth

when I add people, my dealbreakers are: i'm a very vague socialist so i'm not particularly chill with MAGA types or people who are just unnecessarily rude but i think there's like only 2 people on this site with those beliefs anyways

before adding me, you should know: i don't really comment much but i read everything that's posted. i get in my own head about responding to/posting comments and not feeling like i have enough to say. but i'm always looking to talk to more people and come out of my shell
i'm very depressed and mildly autistic and can be in my head a lot of the time, so the posts behind my access lock can get mopey and despondent. i'm doing the best i can to grapple with my emotions and the world around me so a little bit of empathy goes a long way. we're all going through something

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse

Another Jeeves novel. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones.

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Current Mood: blah

Multi fandom icons

Sherlock (mostly of Moriarty), Fleabag, Andrew Scott in Hamlet, Andrew Scott, Winona Ryder, Gillian Anderson, Little Mermaid, Moonstruck, Alice in Wonderland.

here

Entry tags:

author: c

Recent Reading: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Last night I finished Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, a sci-fi book about a motley crew of spacefarers who "drill" wormholes to enable rapid travel across space for the diverse galactic alliance known as the GC. At the start of the book, they are offered a bid on a particularly difficult, lucrative job, and can't resist taking the bait.

This should be (another) lesson to me in not going all-in on a creator because I've enjoyed one of their works. I loved Chambers' To Be Taught, if Fortunate, and I've heard plenty of internet praise for The Long Way, so when I saw it at the bookstore recently, I dropped $20 on it readily. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

First - if you picked up this book looking for the femslash, it's barely there, and it's a lot more friends-with-benefits than romance. The other two romances in the book get a lot more attention. This isn't a complaint from me, but if what you really want is F/F romance, it's not really here.

This is a character-driven book with barely a plot, which wouldn't be a problem if the characters were interesting. As it is, they are functionally interchangeable: a crew of people who are all optimistic, friendly, emotionally open, painstakingly polite, and obsessively well-intentioned (except for the one guy who's a Jerk, who exists to be a jerk whenever the scene calls for someone who needs to be less-than-fanatically-polite or there's a chance for Chambers to squeeze in another instance of his being a jerk, even when he's technically right). There is no character growth to speak of; none of these characters changes at all between the start of the book and the end. There's no complexity to anyone.

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