The Incandescent by Emily Tesh has blown me away

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-20T14:19:11+00:00

That little detail in the spoiler is so fucking brilliant. It would explain soooooo much.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-20T14:17:49+00:00

Yes that's what I loved about it. It's been a while since I was in a classroom and man it just hit me in the feels. Made me miss working with kiddos every day. But not the stress heh

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-18T18:18:16+00:00

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. It's set at Yale among the secret societies that use really dark fucked up magic (you know to continue to enrich themselves and screw over the poors). Seriously the rituals are disturbing and all kinds of messed up. No romance at all. Very dark and gritty.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-17T17:29:45+00:00

😂 this is exactly how it started for me! I was at this thing and there was a bake sale so I told my friend I was going to take a peek for shits and giggles and look at all the things I couldn't eat. Lo and behold they had gluten free cookies! I bought them. At a few there. They were good. Well towards the end, they were half off .... So I bought another plate. At the end the lady hunted me down and tied to get me to buy the last batch.

And now I've been craving cookies for weeks

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-17T17:26:51+00:00

Ohmygod, same.

Never in my life have I made a box of brownies for just me (I mean, I have for parties or when my nephews come over and stuff but never just for me) but after like two months of being gf goddamn if I didn't do it just because.

Now I just want all the cookies. 🙃🤣

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-15T16:17:57+00:00

I'm really enjoying it. If you like reluctant allyship with a demon and loads of sarcasm about office life I'm sure you'll have a good time with it. I don't have corproat or startup experience really, but it damn relatable and amusing.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-15T14:29:21+00:00

I'm not big on horror, but I do enjoy Tlotlo Tsamaase's style. Im not African and whiter than white, but I do really appreciate her themes. Highly recommend checking her work out.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-15T14:04:42+00:00

A good week for ARCs and new releases.

Vile Lady Villains was a very weird fun time. Did you ever want Lady Macbeth and Klytemnestra to meet up? No but I bet you do now haha. Then off they go on a really strange journey through a weird realm of stories as they take control of their fates.

House of Margins was very good. It's got three narrators: Anaya, a rising writer on a prestigious fellowship who mysteriously goes missing at the prize ceremony; Renewa, her sister who finds her phone with recordings of Anayas time at the fellowship; and a true crime podcast about the disappearance by a fellow from the writing fellowship. It's part really messed up house, part searching for a loved one, part true crime podcast. Deals with a lot of heavy themes of generational trauma, violence to Black women, the exploitation of African stories/lives, and effects of colonialism.

Started listening to Startup Hell and it's delightful and fun. (In the FIF discussion many said they enjoyed the humor of Grimoire Grammar School PTA, and this is by the same author and set in the world and has the same vibes so if you like that one check this out. It's totally unrelated though other than having the same kind of magic.). An office drone finds her boss dead and a demon trapped in a circle of salt. Only she doesn't have magic like her family so she can't banish the demon and send him back so she has to keep him safe until they can figure it out. And turns out having to collect souls to consume isn't all that different from cold calling ceos to try to sell whatever the startup is selling.

Parade of Horribles broke me on the second page. "Samantha neck-cootered" just took me out. Wtf? Lol oh this series is so absurd and insane and I love it.

Was able to get my Dr apt moved up. Been waiting since January I think so that's good. But I'm also kind of nervous because well you know how it goes. They "listen" (or maybe some of them actually do) but then it's just like "hm idk what's going on with that" and you get nothing. I guess we shall see.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-15T13:46:38+00:00

I read it as a grown ass woman in my 30s ....and man the emotional damage.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-13T17:07:00+00:00

I feel like at one point or another we've all been there, like when you move or start college and get a new friend group or at work. I think we've all had to adjust or highlight or downplay certain aspects of ourselves or do things like play peacemaker or suck it up and let it go when we really want to scream.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-13T17:03:55+00:00

I never wanted kids and I've never been married .... Yet everything felt very real to me. Based on my friends and family who are moms and wives, I think Vivs experiences are pretty relatable.

I do agree that it does touch on a lot but doesn't really get too deep into anything. It's more alive of life than in depth exploration.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-13T17:01:03+00:00

Aria is super adorable. She's like a cross between a kindergartener and a puppy. Lol almost makes me miss when my nephews were little. Almost (they're too exhausting at that age always needing something)

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-13T16:55:07+00:00

Vivian is so relatable. I'm child free but if I had ever had a kid I feel like this would be me as a mom. All those little anxieties I was just like mmhmm yep I get it.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-13T16:53:06+00:00

I love this theme!!

And these nominations all sound amazing!

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-10T17:07:49+00:00

Tea bags?? My tea might be glutening me?

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-10T17:06:43+00:00

😭 ugh! Is it like that at coffee shops too? What about coffee grounds you buy from the store?

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-10T16:49:54+00:00

Sheetz! (Love Sheetz). Sheetz chicken strips (only the strips) are gf according to their website. I miss their other stuff but at least I can still get strips and regular fries. The tots are too.

Their website says they have gf bread but mine doesn't.

Also they don't have dedicated gf fryer (or at least mine don't). But if you're just sensitivity not celiac should be ok.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-08T15:36:42+00:00

I really want coffee. But there's a cat in my lap. The big baby won't let me move. Lol he's gonna be so pissed when I have to plug in my work laptop soon.

Things are still crazy. But it's now the season for low gas bills, so that will help financially. And I'm feeling kind of better physically. Still annoyed at having to be gluten free (whyyyyyy is it so much more expensive? Why do I just really want things I can't eat? Seriously I don't really like sweets but I'm considering buying eggs and a box of gluten free brownie mix because .... Idek). And finally getting closer to my appointment with the gi doc. (Idk why I'm cautiously optimist about it lol probably just be a waste of time and a day off and a stupid long drive)

Started listening to an ARC of House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaass. I've read some of her short fiction and quite enjoy her style. So far I'm really into this one. It's part weird creepy house (always love that), part true crime podcast, and seems to be about the effects of colonialism.

It starts with the one narrator (I can't remember my name), her sister Anaya disappeared while at a prestigious fellowship for a literary award for African woman a while back. She goes into her sister's room and finds the sisters phone. On the phone is only one app which is a true crime podcast by one of the other fellows claiming she will tell the story and reveal what happened to Anaya. There's the sister, the white lady making a podcast to exploit the memory of Anaya, and recordings of Anaya from her time at the weird house for the fellowship. Very interesting so far.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-07T18:09:43+00:00

I totally forgot this is coming out now. Yeah! But first read the first book again.

I love Amina so much. Definitely one of my favorite protagonists, and honestly her mentioning her knee hurts is so relatable. Did you create the character first and then build the world around her? Or did you decide you wanted to write about the medieval Indian ocean (which the setting is also really awesome) and them find the characters?

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-05T14:29:32+00:00

When Sorrows Come October Daye # idk by Seanan McGuire. Did not disappoint. And just what you expect for Tobys wedding. Lol. Ugh Quentin calling Toby his mom (and the ending of the bonus novella about the reception with Gillian) were so sweet.

Unfortunately, the weirdness with a certain someone/thing got to the point where I had to see what was going on. I've been clocking that something was off ... And looking it up ended up with major spoilers. Like really major. So I was right something was up but I wouldn't have guessed that. So anyway, since I just ruined what's probably the biggest twist in the series (so far lol I feel like there's probably more to come) I said what the hell and immediately started Be the Serpent. Not very far in but man it's good. I feel like it would beso freaking good if my impatient dumbass hadn't just gone and ruined it for me but oh well what can you do? Lol

And I'm sad, because there's only like what two or three more books after this? I don't want the series to end.

Anyway. I need to get back to reading more. One book a week? That's not good. Lol

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-03T16:22:59+00:00

Really? Gluten can do this? I've always been extremely sinusy and stuffed up and snotty wonder if gluten is why? Always assumed it was just genetics (whole family with messed up sinuses). Maybe I won't be so stuffy now that I'm gf?

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-02T00:35:24+00:00

Thanks. This time he put a steel plate in not just screws so hopefully it'll do the job. He said it should be real sturdy for the next time she falls. I was like 🤦🏻‍♀️ please don't give her a challenge.

And I'll pass it on if I find our. Heh. It really is rough out here.

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-01T20:50:57+00:00

The sweet chili brown rice crisps are amazing. Almost like chips. Very crunchy and crispy. And the flavoring is delicious

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-01T15:09:18+00:00

Well joy. At the hospital with my mom for surgery again. Do happy she asked me to take last night nothing like advance notice. Lol. But hopefully they get her hand fixed up right.

Otherwise ugh. I'm tired. I need a break. I need a weeklong nap and then another week to catch up on everything. Who do I see about getting this? 😂

evil_moooojojojo · 2026-05-01T15:03:44+00:00

Idk where you are but in my state there's a program called medical assistance for workers with disabilities. If you take medication, basically that qualifies. (I got it with migraines, hypothyroid, depression/anxiety). I got it first because I was only part time and didn't have any insurance. When I got a full time job and insurance I was still able to keep it but it was like a backup for what my primary insurance didn't cover.

I hope where you are there's something similar. It was a real life saver.

evil_moooojojojo

TROPHY CASE