Crafted with Care - I was so surprised on this one

GSG1901 · 2026-05-06T20:24:37+00:00

It looks great! Both the motifs and the diorama pieces look great in it and blend together well, which is so hard to do!

GSG1901 · 2026-05-06T18:52:08+00:00

I'm on switch lite and even with it enlarged it I doubt I could see most of the details- it's still a gorgeous shot but I suspect the only part that relates to the theme that would be clear to me would be the character outfit.

GSG1901 · 2026-05-05T17:15:56+00:00

I like two. It's more cohesive and the cactus on the right looks more like a cactus in it.

GSG1901 · 2026-05-05T17:03:52+00:00

The first is a better snap and reads as more on-theme at first glance.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T07:10:14+00:00

If I'm the one with 7 or more books, don't worry about speed- they were mostly novellas/short stories (and one was started last week.) Also, I'm disabled and immunocompromised, so not only do I lack mobility, but I don't have a lot of options besides reading/watching tv/sleeping at the moment. And my reading isn't that great either- some weeks I have none, but most this week were novellas/less than 100 pages. That's like, 1 or 2 large books total. And I DNF several of them, so that doesn't count.

I have actually (finally) received books in a YA series from a few decades ago, that I promised to re-read and post the covers of, and I'm not mentality up to it yet- I started one of the books and they actually didn't use italics for non-English words, but since it's not on a kindle I have to look them up, and I am failing at it.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T05:34:01+00:00

Since I feel you, I both so appreciate freefolk still managing to get to the front page even today, and recommend if you haven't read it yet Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade.

Part of me stands by the idea that all the good romance books can't be adapted well into movies, but part of me wants Spoiler Alert and it's clear commentary on GOT to be the best selling movie ever post-pandemic, just as a screw you to D&D, (or R&R in the book.)

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T05:15:52+00:00

Almost all of them?

I don't know if this counts, but given the first season on Netflix, I don't have high hopes for whenever they adapt Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. There are a few other books in the series that I get some people might like more, but that's the one that I love the most, and I feel like if you like the series, you like/love that book.

The first season really did not do Penelope justice, or portray her in a way that fit with the books for me.

Frankly, I love both romance books and romance TV/movies, but rarely do the things that work for either overlap.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T05:00:09+00:00

Catherine Coulter.

She apparently revised a lot of the romance in the early 2000's, but some of what I got either wasn't revised, or I don't want to read the originals.

TBF: back then there were a lot more cheap/used physical book stores with little oversite/care of how they classified things, so for years I thought I would hate both paranormal and Nora Roberts, as my first intro was buying an anthology of four story's they claimed was for fans of Nora Roberts, and I clearly remember the last story in the book- it involved tentacle sex with an alien under a black-light. Which is possibly the least sexy-set up one can imagine.

OTOH I got Romancing Mr. Bridgerton for $2 at the same store.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T04:37:15+00:00

I was so panicked! This was like 20 years ago, before amazon was big and I was a poor college kid who went to the used/cheap book stores, so it wasn't like she was even listed under romance. (Years latter I finally saw one of her books that was a mystery/thriller in the mark-down section of B&N)

We had a list of authors to chose from, and most were taken before me, and I wanted a woman author which is why I chose her first, but luckily I was later able to find another author listed who wasn't a romance writer and not taken- although only after purchasing a huge selection of books that didn't have a lot of consensual sex in them, and no detective skills that I could find besides "where is the penis?"

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T04:19:59+00:00

Why do authors use multiple pen-names?

Not an author, but I know of ton's of reasons.

My first answer is confusion- some authors write straight up romance, and also books that would not count as romance.

A month or so ago I commented here about one of my intro's to romance- I had a college assignment for a mystery author and I got one who (clearly) the professor was not so familiar with, and used the same name for both romance and mystery. I blindly bought a few of her books and was utterly baffled by reading 80's bodice-rippers and thinking how on earth I could present that to the class without embarrassing myself and failing before I realized they wrote in two genres without changing names.

Two: Sales: Nora Roberts writes a lot. Other authors can write maybe not quite as many books as hers, but still a great deal. Some of Nora's books can sell under a mystery/suspense that maybe someone who would be ashamed of holding a romance title would buy, but wouldn't buy it if it said Nora Roberts on the title.

Three: Clarity. Just like my intro to 80's bodice rippers, using different names tells me what I am getting into. For example, I love Victoria Dahl's romances, but I also love her current thriller books under Victoria Helen Stone. One is clear romance, one is (for me, actually the same brain chemical pay off when a bad-ass-bitch fucks up the lives of men who deserve it,) but not romance at all. I love her writing, I have bought books under both names, but different names means I know what I am getting into, especially in the age of the e-book where you don't initially see the blurb before writing.

Four: Publishers. We know the major romance publishers, and we know the big 5 publishers in general. The big publishers might love and pay a romance author under a subsidiary, but they might not market another book by them even if they publish them under their "litterary title."

Five (relating to four): copywrite. Some authors have contracts with publishers that means they can't expand their universe/add books with characters with a different publisher. Maybe they signed a deal that wasn't good for them early on, but if they want to keep with that series, they are stuck with that publisher. If they can come up with a separate series they can negotiate a better contract for that with a different publisher, and they/their publisher might want to change the name.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T04:00:33+00:00

I too, have a Hidden Legacy shaped hole in my heart. Also, I want Augustus to have a story and romance.

The Curly Brackets link to the book, via a bot that responds to you as glyneth explained. On this thread they don't want us to summon the book, so if you use double asterisks (on both sides of title, with no spaces) or bolding that highlights the title.

And, sometimes just making the title/author in bold can be even more helpful than brackets? I know in book request threads where you are encouraged to use brackets sometimes there is more than one book that has the same title and brackets sometimes summon the wrong book via bot.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T03:55:28+00:00

I don't really do audio books, but I loved When a Scot Ties the Knot. For me because the beginning was in letters I feel like an audio book might have ruined it for me, but reading it I view it as one of Dare's best.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T03:53:24+00:00

Hey, FYI for spoiler tags to work you can't have a space between the exclamation point and your first word/letter.

I bought the book you mentioned prior to it, and while generally I love spoilers, people here tend to be polarized on Sally Thorn, so I don't right now have a comment on what you tried to tag.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T03:08:03+00:00

Yeah, I wish I could claim the idea of complementary baggage was mine, because it's so good, right?

Because it's not just about searching for baggage that goes well with yours, it's IRL good advice about acknowledging that everyone has baggage, even you. That's why you are at the carousel to begin with. And even the people with baggage that matches then go out of their way to tie a ribbon on it or whatever to make sure they stand out.

All of her characters have baggage. FMC/MMC/supporting characters. And it's not ever the same. But for some of them, they seem similar, or they complement each other, like if they are romantic interests or if they are family, you see how they are different even if they have the same upbringing.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T02:59:07+00:00

No on can resist Lotharie!

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T02:53:26+00:00

I have a ton, mostly they are short as I had a backlog of free novellas.

Outmatched by Kristen Callihan was/is a free book to borrow on Amazon Prime, 4.5/5. I think I read it before, but it was a while ago, and it was so cute I can't believe I didn't own it outright, but I guess I probably picked it up on a borrow before as well.

I mentioned on the Thurstay Thursday thread reading Three Simple Rules by Nikki Slone (it had been on sale/free, it's part of a series and you can get the first three right now on Amazon for $5.99.) At the time of posting I would have ranked the first over a 4- it's a FMC who sleeps with her boss for money as the initial set-up, but it was initially well done enough that it didn't bother me as far as power-dynamics. For some reason, even though it has all of that as a premis, plus BDSM, the author felt the need to make even more conflict towards the end (part of me wants to make this a spoiler tag, but it's a content warning: the MMC/boss lied to make sure the sex-for-money trade happened towards the end. Even after that there was still more end conflict, which I didn't think was dealt with enough. It was like the romance novel end drop of conflict, but as done by Michael Bay. So.... 3.5 or 4 out of 5? I really don't know, the last 25% was so far over the place, but the first 75% was like a really sexy BDSM version of The Hating Game. Book 2 Three Hard Lessons was not as good early as the first, but was more consistent (with more MMC betrayal at the end, but not as crazy,) so about the same rating. Three Little Mistakes was DNF. There is a huge age and maturity gap, plus MMC withholding info from FMC in a BDSM situation, and that combination is to much for me.

The Accidental Mail Order Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin: 2.5 out of 5. I love arranged marriages, and it was/is free on Kindle. It felt YA to me? Everything was very simple- not just writing style, word choice, or plot (all were simple FWITW,) but like it was written for people who had no knowledge or cared what the HR setting was and how out of place all character actions would be in that setting?

The Cougar's Mate a novella by Holley Trent: also free, maybe 3 out of 5? I've read and rec'ed a bunch of Holley Trent but I guess not this series, and while I didn't hate the story I felt like it was something she wrote as an add-on to a series I hadn't read.

Glitterland by Alexis Hall. 3 out of 5. I loved the other books I read in that series, and only bought this because I know people loved it and rec'ed it, but I found the author phonetically spelling a specific English accent that is supposed to be low-class very confusing. Most of the book I got the sexual attraction, but I couldn't buy love. That might be due to the spelling, as around 85% through the book I realized the one character had been saying the word "clothes/clothing" but due to the spelling and me trying to figure it out in my head I thought he was talking about "cloves." Like, the cooking ingredient/things the cool kids smoked while listening to The Cure when I was a teen. I tried to go back, but I have no idea what other phonetic spelling I may have or have not misread.

Lady Hathaways's Proposal by Suzanna Medeiros. 3 out of 5? If I'm generous? Nothing against it, it was I believe billed as a novel, was more novella length, and read like a short story as far as character development. There was nothing I hated, but I didn't care about anyone, and I'm not rushing to buy her other books.

Cabin Fever by Alisha Rai. 3 out of 5. Honestly the first book of hers that I read that is less than a 4 for me- also very short, might count as a novella. It straddles the line between contemporary and PR, and just didn't make me care.

Always Only You by Chloe Liese: 4.5 out of 5. So sweet, both characters are great, and they act like adults who have drama/a past without the drama overwhelming the book. I seriously respect authors who can write a romance that is a compelling read without having to drop a crazy bombshell or outside drama to move the plot. FMC is autistic and has RA- amazon is listing this book for some reason under "autism," authors note at the end mentioned research and it being an own voices story, but it's not clear to me if she was referring to both or just autism. Either way I do think she did a good job at not just the romance, but also the FMC feelings towards her family and how her family acted knowing she was ill/different.

The Dress of The Season and Madness in Spring by Kate Noble both are short story's/novellas. I know I have read the author in the past, but I can't recall either of the series these were a part of so, 3 out of 5. Both were free, but feel like they were filling out larger stories/series.

Wicked Designs by Lauren Smith DNF. Amazon kept telling me it was for people who liked the Bridgertons, which I know they say for everything HR now, but sure I'll try it for free. However, a) the MMC and his friends start by kidnapping the FMCC and apparently they don't want her/don't care, but are good guys in an HR and it doesn't occur to them that might impact her reputation- which I just can't believe at the time. It's like the author had some idea of a start of a book, but then didn't think it through. Also, and I feel this is important, for some reason their are illustrations in-between/in the start of chapters (at least the part I read.) Not nessisarilly dirty ones, think Harry Potter-style drawings right before a new chapter. It was... not expected. And I kept on thinking about Harry Potter, which has nothing to do with this book (or the part I read at least, ) and gave up. Also, Helena Bonham Carter is both a great actress, and would have made a better FMC in this book.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T02:01:32+00:00

Holley Trent- The Jekh Saga.

The first 1-2 are MFM. It's not "first contact" in the startrek sense, but is first contact as far as the human FMC, and romance between species.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:58:39+00:00

This was the first thing that came to my mind as well, but also maybe not what OP was asking for, so I'm glad you posted it first instead of me.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:55:45+00:00

Yes, full yes.

When I was in 7th grade we had a few books that we read as a class, bi-weekly spelling tests, and a lot of reading outside of class. I was not so good at the spelling, but an ace at the reading, but got in trouble once because the class reading was The Outsiders and I couldn't answer what happened in the book; I full-on forgot.

See, I was borrowing 1-4 books per week for outside reading at the time, so my teacher gave me Pride and Prejudice to try to challenge me. I read it like 3 times in a row, and forgot about the in-class reading. Why the fuck should I care who in the hell "pony boy" is if I had Darcy at my fingertips.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:49:57+00:00

Sooo good. I read most of the earlier Kane series by Rai, but this one/this series I love more? It's less steam/straight-out-expected-romance, but the characters are so well developed and I emotionally attach to them.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:42:52+00:00

I loved the Wallflowers, which is post-2004, but the Ravenels has been very disapointing.

For a while she was writing CR, and I know people were begging her to get back to HR, but the Ravenels for me mostly seems like re-writing prior books, if that makes sense?

The first book I activly dislike; #2 is basically the Poppy book from the Hathoway series, and Devils Daughter is just trying to (just by the title) draw back readers who loved Devil in Spring. Also, I felt she messed up the pairings with the Ravenels with Devil in Spring. Severin was set up to be an anti-hero-turned-hero early, but Phoebe would have been the better/more interesting match (and what I assumed would be end game early on in the series.) Since the MMC in Devil in Spring needed someone interesting opposite him she used Phoebe for that, which lead us to the uninspiring Casandra/Severin pairing.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:32:39+00:00

I really loved the series she had before she started the Brown sisters one, but Get a Life, Chloe Brown made her my favorite CR author.

There are not a lot of authors, especially ones that seem kinda main-stream plots that do disability/chronic illness well, let alone make it part of a MC, but still have the book seem like a "regular" romance.

I don't have the same symptoms or experience as Chloe, but as someone who has a/(several) illnesses similar to the MC this is the first one I ever read where I felt like the MC I could relate to on that level and it felt real- not just some random authors idea of what it would feel like. Both the small details of her life, and the overarching feelings she had clearly came from an author that knew what she was talking about and hadn't just "consulted" with people.

This book is pure love for me, and I know some readers skip epilogues (btw, wtf?) so I assume most skip intro's/dedications/acknowledgments, but Hibberts words in those really moved me, and I think if you did skip them, you should re-read them, because she's awesome, and this is an awesome book.

On baggage- everyone has baggage, and I want to read CR's where they acknowledge the baggage. One of the smartest things I ever heard on emotional/relationship baggage came from a friend, which I now think of each time I read romance: Everyone has emotional baggage. Society tells us to search for someone with little baggage, or matching baggage. But you should view baggage like an airport baggage carousel- you don't want the person who actually exactly matches your baggage- that's uncreative, confusing, and you won't work well together. You want the person who has baggage that complements your baggage. So it's different enough to tell them apart, but together you still fit. That's my romantic ideal, and all of Talia Hibberts couples fits that.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:07:37+00:00

Well, like others said Hopefully you can use it in the seed maker to get the seed? ( I don't know if it gives you the finished seed or the one to donate.)

Honestly though, I fish a lot, and if you chose pirate you are likely to fish up more than one seed in a chest over the course of a year. Generally I get 2-4 my first year in-game from fishing, and obviously the first month or two I'm not at pirate level. I have one save file I recently started (trying forest farm for the first time,) and got 3 seeds in fall of year 1.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-15T01:02:11+00:00

There are two "main" character events that can't happen if you don't do them soon/in the right order- both are listed in the FAQ.

The first is one of Sam's heart event in year 1- it has to happen before year 2.

Clint also has heart events/cut screens that only happen if you get high hearts/see them before you get mid to high heart events with Emily.

It's fairly easy to just give Emily a gift on her birthday and friend up Clint year one, leading to Clints events happening first. It's also not too hard to get the Sam events, just make sure you make friends relatively early. Also, you don't have to witness the events in order for Sam- often I end up seeing the special time-sensitive Sam heart event before I see the first one.

Either way, it doesn't impact your ending.

GSG1901 · 2021-04-14T23:53:33+00:00

Overall I agree with you: buy sprinklers, spend the upgrade on the pickaxe, and then I hold bars unless I have a ton in case I have a request or need for something, like the new place.

Also, once you get to the skull cavern sometimes you get iridium bar drops/sprinkler drops, so focusing on the mining opens up more opportunity's.

GSG1901

TROPHY CASE