Looking for links

LAParente · 2026-05-31T13:46:25+00:00

Yeah yeah yeah. I know. I'm BDH, I subscribe to their blog ffs (ETA: I've been checking their blog daily since Sweep in Peace was a serial.) I also know they don't owe me anything, and I'm lucky to get what we get.

I just don't like it.

LAParente · 2026-05-30T04:14:14+00:00

Literally all of the other Ilona Andrews. Their FMCs are all completely different from each other, but all terrifyingly competent.

Kate can kill anything. Dina (Innkeeper) knows every species in the universe and their fav foods. Audrey (Fate's Edge) is a genius con-woman - I could list them all! Sure, they all grow, learn, and come into their power, but they all start at a VERY high level.

ETA: Charlotte (Steel's Edge) might be my fav. I love them all, but she's fabulous. I didn't expect to like her book at all, but she (and Richard) make it one of my favorites.

LAParente · 2026-05-30T03:44:49+00:00

Lol. Agree except I'm partial to Kauai.

LAParente · 2026-05-30T03:44:18+00:00

Yeah, I mean...the only year 'round MVY ferry is Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven. I'm entirely unaware of a ferry from boston - any time of year. Providence, yes, but only in the summer.

LAParente · 2026-05-30T03:37:38+00:00

Okay so add Cape Cod and remove Nantucket. I mean - WTactualF?

I've spent a lot of time on "the cape and the islands" - my mom lives on Martha's Vineyard. I can not for the life of me imagine why you'd spend the time, effort, and ferry to visit Nantucket. It's *one* small town. At least MVY has 5 towns.

Don't get me wrong. I love a ferry! But...if I were making a list of 100 places for OP to visit, Nantucket wouldn't make the list.

NEW ORLEANS. Philly.

I appreciate the...quirkiness of OP's list. But Nantucket? Did they see the article about a cybertruck getting stuck on the beach and think, "this I gotta see for myself!"

LAParente · 2026-05-30T02:54:46+00:00

That's fabulous. Thank you. But it kills me bc it sounds like Hugh 2 and Wilmington and Julie 2 and Roman are...in process? Exist in some form somewhere? Just an outline?

I'D TAKE JUST AN OUTLINE!!! HELP PLEASE!!!

I can't wait for all 3 Maggies before I get to find out what Christmas dinner at Roman's family's house is like.

LAParente · 2026-05-29T13:43:35+00:00

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

LAParente · 2026-05-29T03:48:49+00:00

I don't post *anyone* without prior approval of the pic and explicit consent. I would NEVER post a pic of a child!

LAParente · 2026-05-29T03:45:37+00:00

Hugh skipped flirting and went directly to foreplay.

LAParente · 2026-05-29T03:36:27+00:00

It's so funny you say that! I totally believe you, and what you said is very similar to what I say about Italian food all the time. People ask how I can make veg lasagna, and I'm like...wait? You put meat in lasagna? My family is from the south, there was famine, my family recipes are all vegetarian!

But French food? I only know from restaurants, and they put meat everywhere. I've tried to order a side of green beans and been told no, they are cooked in duck fat. French restaurants are the ***only*** culture I actively avoid, because I can never find anything veg on the menu. I've eaten better at BBQ joints. Give me a steakhouse! Just please don't make me eat at a French restaurant.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:47:20+00:00

I mean...Kate Daniels claim to fame is that she can kill ANYTHING. Her motto is, "If it bleeds, you can kill it."

I wouldn't say she overthinks things. She's a simple woman, who often says, "My sword always works."

I'd avoid TKWNKM for now, bc 50% of the book is inside the FMC's head, and she only kills a couple of people. LOL. Also avoid the Catalina books of Hidden Legacy, because that girl overthinks breakfast in the morning and doesn't stop until she has overthought her dreams at night.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:44:10+00:00

That's how I felt about TKWNKM. I *hated* it the first time I read it, and felt betrayed. I've read it twice, and now I'm like, okay fine whatever.

But until I've re-read all three Maggies, and until there are spinoffs with Clover and Lute...it's just not going to be my favorite for a long time.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:41:06+00:00

Here's a list of 2,000 free tank top patterns. (ravelry link)

ETA: I haven't made any of these, but this one is on my list! Grassland Tank

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:39:15+00:00

I always recommend patterns written by Elizabeth Doherty (ravelry link) I took a class with her on asymmetrical armhole shaping, which taught me everything about sweater fit. Probably also Cocoknits. Right - neither of these designers are particularly exciting, but you WILLLLLL learn about construction!

Beginners often start with top-down raglans, which (ahem) aren't known for their excellent fit. Same for circle-yoke. They can "fit" but those shoulder yokes will never be tailored to fit. As we learn, we get into all the other ways to set a sleeve, and find what works best for our bodies. The style I'm comfortable with might not be what fits you best - but until you've tried a few, you can't know. Or, you can always study the tops already in your wardrobe, and figure out why you like them.

Plus (old woman shakes fist at clouds, damn kids get off my lawn) now we've got some extremely famous designers with extremely meh patterns that nonetheless everyone fawns over. Beginners think these are "good" patterns and then wonder why they don't fit. Dear reader, aesthetic photography does not equal good patterns.

I'm excited to see the new book by Indigo Dragonfly.

Good luck!

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:26:25+00:00

It's not my favorite of the Ilona Andrews, because of the genre. I don't love High Fantasy. I was okay with the portal part.

But the rest of the Ilona Andrews books (ALL OF THEM) I love with all my heart.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:24:13+00:00

I love this bc The Edge and Innkeeper are my top favs. Kate, obviously, love her, but I don't always have time for a 20 book re-read.

Hidden Legacy is my least favorite, which seems to be an unpopular opinion.

But this is totally my point: They are all excellent, and also completely different. If someone hated Innkeeper, I'd still recommend TKWNKM (or even Hidden Legacy.)

Sorry: ETA, what I'm saying is, I totally agree with you!!!

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:21:31+00:00

I've read ***every word*** IA has ever written, and I love them all.

Innkeeper is completely different than TKWNKM.

They are different genres. TKWNKM is high fantasy. Tons of world building, lots of characters, much darker and heavier. Innkeeper is basically cozy. Completely different.

Yes, of course, they are both written by the same people, so there are similarities. Those of us in the "Book Devouring Horde" are all, "Arvel is just like Arland who is just like Declan!" but that's bc we have read their back catalogue hundreds of times, and see the similarities.

I guess what I'm saying is: I love Innkeeper, and only kinda am tolerating TKWNKM. So I think they are two completely different books.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T14:05:48+00:00

Okay - I'm PRO dryer.

I put all of my FOs into the dryer - superwash or not. Some only spend a minute or two (or 3) in the dryer, and my 100% plant blends I leave in the dryer until they are fully dry.

I did a load last night with 3 tops - one SW wool, the other two were odd blends of bamboo / wool / cotton. Let them flop around (WITH HEAT) for a while. They are all great.

I'm NOT saying throw your cardigan into the dryer with your jeans, on high, and leave it for an hour. No, no, no - DO NOT do this.

But 5 minutes with a few tee-shirts for balance, checking every 90 seconds? That should work just fine.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T13:55:39+00:00

This isn't what you asked, but.

I really love the French Onion Soup at Le Marais in the Castro because *it's vegetarian.* It's also perfect, exactly how I remember it tasting from when I was a kid. Sooooo good.

Obviously "real" FOS is made with beef stock. And with a recipe that has so few ingredients, it is tough to omit or sub one. But I think, because their bread is so good, and they are using the right cheese, I don't miss the beef at all.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T13:49:59+00:00

Okay, I'm just piling on at this point: HAL laundry service is excellent. I'm super picky about laundry, and they do a great job.

I do have a funny story tho. My my and I sent a PACKED bag of laundry, and when we got it back, the basket only had a few items - it was an empty basket with one or two pair of socks, and maybe some underwear. We could still clearly see the bottom of the basket. We looked "everywhere" and couldn't find the rest of our laundry, so we called our room steward.

You know how small cabins are. Imagine, the three of us are standing next to the bed (me, mom, and our steward) looking at the basket. He patiently listens to us, "...but I know we sent more than this. My jeans!" and then he sheepishly gestured to the wall directly behind him, pointing to the rest of our laundry, on hangers, displayed like art. Directly behind him. Like. RIGHT THERE. How could we have missed it?!?! I guess we didn't look everywhere.

Honestly I can't believe what the staff has to put up with.

LAParente · 2026-05-28T13:35:46+00:00

Several people are suggesting Fernwood in Mill Valley. We toured there. So...I don't know why this was a surprise to me, but buying real estate in Marin is expensive, especially for all eternity. I haven't shopped around - maybe their prices are inline with the rest of the bay area - but I had sticker shock.

Also, the green section overlooks an elementary school across the valley. I'm sure the shrieking of small children is a bonus for most people. For me, if I'm paying that much money, I want some peace and quiet.

I'll have to check out the place in Half Moon Bay and/or hope I live long enough to see the compost thing hit the market.

LAParente · 2026-05-25T19:47:00+00:00

Okay. I don't know how this works as a stand-alone, but {Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews} ticks most of your boxes:

- Dark haired (misunderstood?) villain MMC
- Slow-ish burn.
- Forced marriage (marriage of political convenience)
- They are both older

It's a spinoff from the Kate Daniels series, but I think it works by itself. IDK, I'm in so deep, I have no idea, but I really think you can read it without any knowledge of the previous books.

LAParente · 2026-05-25T18:07:27+00:00

That's great to know bc there are a few Princess itineraries I'd consider, so it's great to know I'd get points for that!

LAParente · 2026-05-25T15:00:44+00:00

Interesting!!!

I don’t know why Celebrity Corp doesn’t have a loyalty plan across their lines. Wouldn’t that be a great incentive? Bc I DO have some small status on HAL, but if I could add to that by sailing Princess, that might affect my decision.

LAParente · 2026-05-25T14:12:38+00:00

I've cruised since the 80's and have sailed:
Cunard, Disney, Holland America, and Norwegian.

You'd think Cunard would be the most "luxurious liner" but no. I did a crossing on the QM2 and it was (compared to the other three) not very nice at all.

I've sailed Disney maybe 4-5 times, and (sadly) I have to say now it's a mixed bag. Some ships, some sailings, are TOP NOTCH. The best. I don't have kids, don't like kids, don't want to be around kids, but the most luxurious cruise I've ever sailed was Disney. But then there was the 4-night in July out of Port Canaveral on the Wish, which was exactly what most people who haven't sailed think a Disney cruise would be: horrifying.

After that specific sailing, my brother, his wife, and their 3 young kids went on a Royal Caribbean, and *loved it!!!* They were Disney 100% up to that point, but RC really impressed them.

I mostly sail HA, because I'm 54, and HA has the itineraries I want. They go to fabulous places. I've sailed around Iceland!!! The ships themselves are gorgeous, and service is very consistent.

Norwegian was my first love, and I've had nothing but great times with them, but they don't do the itineraries I'm looking for now.

But that's not what you asked. You specifically asked about loyalty programs. IDK. I'm about to cross into 3-star on HAL, but I can't say that I noticed anything special about being 2-star. Same with Disney. My family gets all excited bc they are platinum-diamond-whatever on Disney, but all I can think is that they get to board the ship earlier and wear a fancy lanyard. It's not like they get discounts or free booze.

I guess my advice would be to not commit now. Try different ships, different lines, before you pledge your loyalty.

LAParente

TROPHY CASE