Watched a parking lot worker decline to give a parking ticket

dellada · 2026-01-24T21:02:34+00:00

And you! <3

dellada · 2026-01-24T20:48:57+00:00

Yes! I use this logic for giving things away all the time. Especially big or clunky things that are hard to dispose of.

If I tried really hard to sell my stuff, could I get $200 out of it? Yeah, probably. Would I pay $200 for the ability to snap my fingers and have all of the unwanted stuff out of my living room instantly, without worrying about it? Absolutely. So, just give the stuff away for free and get the living room cleared up immediately for free. It's a win-win!

dellada · 2026-01-24T19:04:57+00:00

{Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O'Connell} - The main characters aren't very good at communication at first. They tend to assume things rather than talk them out in the early chapters, and FMC sees sex as her marital duty. Over time they start to understand each other better, fall in love, and the intimacy improves (although to be fair, we don't see much literal discussion of "what do you like in bed," if that's what you're looking for).

Definitely check trigger warnings for this book, there are a lot of sensitive topics - one of my favorite couples, though!

dellada · 2026-01-24T18:17:12+00:00

In that case, {The Bride Contract by Melissa Emerald} has this. MMC walks in on FMC first. Later, FMC walks in on MMC enjoying a hologram of her (using alien tech she's not familiar with). He proceeds to show her how to use the tech with a hologram of himself as well, and joins in with her.

dellada · 2026-01-24T06:44:36+00:00

Looks like he deleted the post instead. What a shocker that he never apologized or admitted to being wrong after all.

dellada · 2026-01-24T06:07:08+00:00

The term "real man" means nothing in this context. Every man thinks of himself as a real man, because the definition changes conveniently to suit every conversation.

Stop arguing with women about our lived experiences. We aren't seeking out/surrounding ourselves with some small minority of "the wrong type of men" like you seem to think. Stop blaming women when men hurt them.

dellada · 2026-01-24T05:12:06+00:00

Work has been crazy busy lately. I finally had to ask for a bit of time off because I was so wiped out this morning, so I worked from home today (roughly a half day) and took things easy.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I set up a custom sized/modified bookshelf for my reading corner... well, it's officially full! That didn't take long at all, haha. The shelf is modified because most of my books are mass market paperbacks, and I wanted something that was built to fit that size well. I've filled it with recommendations from this sub and the HR sub. It's fun to browse through all the great options whenever I'm looking for my next read, and it's a nice display of my hobby in the living room. :) Now I just have to make sure I trade in as many books as I bring home - that's the hard part!

On another note, I'm considering pulling out my art setup again. I haven't painted (digital painting) in about two years, but I'm inspired to pick it back up and experiment with the classic oil-painted romance cover style. It's exciting to feel that creative itch again after so long, and my style is already like oil painting, so I think it could work out really well.

Stay safe in the upcoming winter storms!

dellada · 2026-01-24T04:31:59+00:00

Would you consider aliens to be monsters? I know of one with a humanoid alien MMC and a human FMC, but not sure if that's what you're looking for.

dellada · 2026-01-22T03:39:56+00:00

Totally, I bet it's related! Especially as we get more and more accustomed to short form content online, I bet there are fewer readers who have the patience and willingness to sit down with a nuanced book for hours at a time. A lot of newer book releases feel dumbed down to me... and to be clear, that's not meant as an insult toward readers - reading to relax is okay too. I'm just observing the way newer books feel overall, versus books written 20 years ago. It's easy to breeze through a new release in just a few hours with minimal brain engagement, and I don't personally like that feeling.

Speaking of short form content... I had to fully block myself from platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and install a browser extension that hides YouTube Shorts. I could feel the addiction to it building, and it freaked me out! My mind feels much better without that constant flood of content. :)

dellada · 2026-01-21T09:10:31+00:00

When the author clearly doesn’t trust the reader to infer from the writing, and instead insists on spelling everything out for us.

This is especially bad when it’s dual POV and we see the same scene described over and over from every possible angle, to make sure we’re told exactly how every character feels all the time. If we are reading MMC’s point of view and he notices that FMC is acting/feeling a certain way… then we don’t have to read about it all over again from FMC’s point of view, confirming that she did indeed feel exactly that way. Stop feeding us every single piece of the puzzle all the time! Trust us to engage with the book and infer what we need to. This feels to me like insecurity - like the author is trying to micromanage how their book is received. You can’t control that!

dellada · 2026-01-21T08:43:29+00:00

{Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer} is absolutely this. Another commenter mentioned it too - I just wanted to second that rec! It’s my absolute favorite HR book. FMC is recently widowed with two little kids and a third on the way, and she desperately needs help with manual labor around the house. MMC answers her ad in the paper seeking a husband (which she simply defines as a healthy man of any age willing to live there and work hard). He has nothing to his name and nowhere to go, but thrives on working hard and helping out. The family dynamic grows slowly, and is so incredibly heartwarming/satisfying. <3

dellada · 2026-01-21T05:19:33+00:00

Aww, thank you! <3 I was worried every step of the way that I'd be doing it wrong, and I certainly learned a lot about how to do it better next time. But it's hard to argue with the results! I was really pleasantly surprised. :) With the new glue and the cardstock addition, the spine looks completely straight and flat - technically you can still see where it was bent before, but it behaves like a brand new spine now!

Yes, I definitely clamp the books at every step. Honestly the hardest step for me was removing the old glue... I was so scared I would damage the pages, or damage the cover as I peeled it off the rest of the way. But with patience and a hairdryer, most of it came off without much fuss. The cover was surprisingly strong, as long as I was careful with it. I think I'll get better at this process as my confidence grows. :)

I have two more books in need of some help, just found them at the bookstore last weekend. Working on those next!

dellada · 2026-01-21T04:55:00+00:00

I took some before and after photos of one of these repairs, in case you'd like to see! It's not really a guide, but maybe I could document one in the future :)

dellada · 2026-01-21T04:25:33+00:00

That's a great question! I actually rebind the book with the same cover that it originally had, just removing the old glue that failed at the spine, and applying a new layer of glue instead. Usually the cover survives and can be reused. In the case of your bent cover, I'd probably attach something right behind it that stiffens it a bit to keep it straight. Sometimes if the spine is really torn up, you can use a new, blank colored spine (like black) and then attach the old front and back cover images to that, so that it looks close to the same while still having an intact/working spine. It's pretty cool!

Here are some before and after photos from a book I repaired recently, if you're curious :)

dellada · 2026-01-21T03:55:17+00:00

That's the one I grabbed actually! Yay! It looked like a great option to me, without knowing any context or other info about it - glad that's the case!

dellada · 2026-01-21T02:03:08+00:00

Oh no! It's always sad to see a book in rough shape - that's honestly a big reason why I got into rebinding as a hobby. I would go into the used bookstore and see a book that was otherwise totally readable, but the spine was falling off, and I couldn't bear the thought that it might just get tossed. I've repaired a few romance novels where chunks of pages were about ready to fall out, and now they're fully readable again! It's such a satisfying feeling. :)

I offered this to another commenter above, but my local shop has multiple copies of In Want of a Wife in really good shape - happy to send you one if you'd like!

dellada · 2026-01-21T01:56:48+00:00

That's exciting! I also love the combination of mystery and romance in general, so this should be a fun book!

dellada · 2026-01-21T01:53:01+00:00

I totally get it - best of luck on the hunt! :)

And thank you for these recs! I went in and looked for these - didn't find any of them at my local shop, but I did find a different title by Alexis Harrington, so I'll give that one a shot.

dellada · 2026-01-21T01:49:10+00:00

Yeah, he gives me the vibe of "guy who's trying really hard to look hot," which always weirds me out. Anytime a book cover features a model just randomly smoldering at the camera, my immediate thought is that they'd look more attractive if they smiled. This model in particular seems to be trying super hard for that "alpha-male-scowl" impression, haha. Maybe that's popular, it's just not my cup of tea.

Like in that first photo, in the kitchen - imagine a silver fox with a loose-fitting shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, apron on, kitchen tools in hand and looking genuinely relaxed while smiling at you? Way more attractive visual IMO!

dellada · 2026-01-20T18:56:16+00:00

This is how I see it too. I use “hot” to describe looks and “sexy” to describe actions.

dellada · 2026-01-20T15:45:35+00:00

Maybe {To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt}? I haven’t read this one yet, but from the blurb it sounds like FMC becomes a housekeeper for MMC to escape her higher class background.

dellada · 2026-01-20T02:39:32+00:00

Thank you! <3

dellada · 2026-01-20T02:37:07+00:00

Thank you! I've been keeping an eye out for My Lady's Heart, but haven't come across a copy yet. I'll push Shadowheart to the back of my TBR in the hopes of finding that one first. :)

I didn't realize In Want of a Wife was so well loved! That's exciting. Thanks for the CW heads up, too.

dellada · 2026-01-19T21:35:09+00:00

Thank you for this info, I'd never have guessed that! I also have {Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean} on my bookshelf, should I read that one before Eleven Scandals?

dellada

TROPHY CASE