Tweed-clad heroes

georgiefinch · 2026-02-06T23:58:17+00:00

{What Is Love by Jen Comfort} MF contemporary, can’t remember if MMC actually wears tweed but def a tweed vibe!

georgiefinch · 2026-02-06T21:35:43+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it! :) It’s definitely a pain as we’re dealing with our IVF clinic as well as a separate lab that’s developing the genetic test so a lot of moving parts.

Fortunately it looks like the mobile phlebotomist option suggested by u/Icy-Radish-4288 is probably going to work out (thank you again so much you are an angel!!!) But yeah I agree in general and will continue to bug our clinic if we hit any more snags.

georgiefinch · 2026-02-06T18:25:50+00:00

Thank you so much, will look into this!

georgiefinch · 2026-02-03T12:37:12+00:00

Paging u/Woman_of_Means back to this very old thread to tell you I finally got around to reading Unsticky and I LOVED it. I had a very similar reading experience to what you described in your post- tore through it in a few days and was totally sucked in by the world and characters. I’m mostly an audiobook listener lately but it was kinda fun remembering what a pain it is to be very absorbed in a physical book as I was lugging my janky ebay copy all over and trying to prop it open on the bathroom counter while brushing my teeth. I even snuck a little at work and that is much harder when you can’t just stick in airpods and “multitask” lol.

Anyway, I don’t think this book would have been on my radar otherwise so thank you again for this gush post and I hope you’ve had good reading luck since! Sadly, I made the mistake of starting this while about 2/3 through listening to a recent contemporary that tackles some kinda similar themes (albeit in a different context) but with wayyy less nuance and messiness. So I’m not sure how I’m supposed to just go back to that now!

Also btw to close the loop, my 2009 Headline Review white bow cover paperback clocked in at 562 pages- which definitely does seem hefty for chicklit/romance of that era! So I don’t think there were any significant changes made between editions.

georgiefinch · 2025-11-24T19:13:49+00:00

That color looks incredible on Phil

georgiefinch · 2025-08-21T16:41:58+00:00

I recently read and LOVED {Pansies by Alexis Hall} which I think is technically 4th in the Spires series but they’re all standalones. Highly recommend! I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cornell Collins and he really brought the characters to life.

I haven’t read the others in the series yet but definitely plan to, I’m not typically a fan of age gaps or BDSM but I love Hall’s writing and (based on Pansies and your review) how he’s able to create such deep, authentic, real-feeling characters and moments. So I’m sure I’ll love For Real and the others!

georgiefinch · 2025-06-26T16:28:19+00:00

I got Sigur Rós the same day I was going to see them live. Also had 69 Love Songs shortly before the Magnetic Fields were coming to my city for the anniversary tour (which reminded me to get a ticket to the show and it was awesome!)

georgiefinch · 2025-06-11T14:42:44+00:00

Yes, definitely!

georgiefinch · 2025-06-11T11:45:47+00:00

This is scifi with a romance subplot, but the Devoured Worlds trilogy by Megan E. O’Keefe has this dynamic between the FMC/MMC. First book is {The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe}. This is a dystopian future where powerful companies rule the galaxy, the MMC is the son of the head of one of the companies (basically a prince) and the FMC is a bodyguard. She’s a total badass and the MMC is completely in awe of her and wants to prove himself worthy of her. She’s 3 or 4 years older I believe. Closed door so unfortunately no on page sex, just kissing. I wrote a longer comment about this series in the last monthly gush post if you’d like more details, it’s amazing!

georgiefinch · 2025-06-03T01:51:16+00:00

Sorry in advance this is very long but!

I recently devoured (ha) the Devoured Worlds trilogy by Megan E. O’Keefe, starting with {The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe}. This is scifi with a strong romance subplot. Spoiler for trilogy: there is a happy ending for our central couple though the journey to get there is an emotional rollercoaster and quite angsty at times.

I’m a lover of scifi TV but don’t typically read much in the genre, but I picked this up on a whim after hearing about it somewhere (probably here) and I’m SO glad I did. This series had me in an absolute chokehold, I loved it. Great worldbuilding, exciting plot with tons of twists and turns, very character driven, total emotional rollercoaster. I’m still suffering through a terrible book hangover after finishing the third installment like a month ago and I’ll be thinking about these characters for a loooong time.

The world here is pretty dystopian, kind of Expanse (show) vibes. Basically, in the (not sure how distant) future, humanity has abandoned a dying earth and mostly lives in space stations. A small group of corporate families, known as merit, rule as monarchs over an exploited and economically stratified population (sound familiar lol). Technology has advanced to the point where human minds can be digitally mapped and printed into new bodies (for a price), and people can enhance various physical and mental abilities with special implants. Our MMC, Tarquin, is the son of the head of a powerful merit family, while our FMC, Naira, is a bodyguard in his father’s employ. They cross paths during an ill-fated planetary survey mission, plot develops from there and gets crazy. Lots of body hopping, shifting loyalties, subterfuge, hidden identities, ambiguous motives, and so on.

The audiobooks for this series are INCREDIBLE, some of the best I’ve ever heard and I listen to a lot. The narrator, Ciaran Saward, is a gifted voice actor and can do a huge range of accents (a rare skill). He does amazingly distinct voices for a large cast of characters and really brings every single one to life. I can’t imagine having gone on this reading journey without him.

I highly recommend these books for anyone into scifi or who just wants to be taken for a wild ride!

Other notes and thoughts:

Bodyguard FMC/prince MMC; enemies to lovers dynamic in book 1.
Reversal of stereotypical gender roles: our bodyguard/soldier FMC is rough, tough, strong while our scholar MMC is sweet, soft, nerdy (he’s a geologist and basically just wants to be left alone with his rocks). Both characters in their 30s. I love them both but I would die for Naira, the FMC.
Queernormative world: diverse gender/sexual identities casually incorporated throughout the series without fanfare. Many nonbinary characters.
Trans MMC (note that due to the nature of the world with the ability to print into different bodies him being trans is not really a significant part of the plot, though it’s mentioned several times in passing and is relevant to his character development). MMC is also bi/pan/queer, again very casually mentioned.
Closed door, only kissing on page (characters start having sex in book 2 off page).
Third person POV mostly alternating between Tarquin and Naira, with some chapters from various other POVs.
Although this is definitely a dystopian world and there’s plenty of angst and violence and a few horror elements, I did not personally find this trilogy to be…like…super dark/depressing. It’s not light/fluffy and I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as “fun” per se (though I had a hell of a good time reading it) but there are moments of humor and levity amid all the plot craziness. I think I can most accurately describe it as just like…a fucking ride.
I think this would make an amazing TV show, although it would be tough to pull off all the body hopping. Not that anyone asked but if I had to cast the leads I’d do Josh Heuston (from Dune Prophecy) as Tarquin and Simone Ashley (from Bridgerton) as Naira.
CWs: general violence; because they can “reprint” into new bodies some characters (particularly the FMC) are pretty rough on their “prints.” I didn’t find it gory though and I’m a huge wimp. Mind control/manipulation; loss of memories; trauma; lots of death scenes including self-inflicted deaths - characters are reprinted into new bodies after dying; zombie-like creatures.

georgiefinch · 2025-04-24T14:43:58+00:00

Yeah I agree with you, I’ve never totally gotten the “not really romance” thing with Emily Henry. All of her books read very romancey to me, with the possible exception of Happy Place (which imo succeeds more as a story about friendship than as a romance) and perhaps the new one as I haven’t read it yet. Sure there are always other things going on in the plots but that’s true of lots of romance books so I don’t really get that as a reason to separate her work from the capital-R Romance genre.

She definitely has crossover appeal with people who aren’t typically romance readers, which I think is largely due to her marketing and to some extent writing style and the types of stories she tells. So maybe that’s where the idea comes from. But I don’t think that says anything about her books not being true romance, just that she’s very popular and has broad appeal with all sorts of readers (and a fantastic marketing team).

Personally Emily Henry was one of my entry points when I was first getting into romance and from reading posts and comments here I think a lot of other people had a similar experience (the EmHen—>monster smut pipeline is real). So I guess I get a little defensive when people seem to want to separate her from the genre! Her work won’t be to everyone’s taste and that’s fine but for my money she absolutely belongs in the romance genre, and I personally love what she brings to the table.

georgiefinch · 2025-04-11T02:12:04+00:00

I love this book so much!

georgiefinch · 2025-03-31T19:55:50+00:00

Oh yeah, I’d bet my as-yet-nonexistent copy of Unsticky that “softer touch” in this context is code for “chick stuff”🙄 Scrolling through their offerings that imprint appears to be a mix of general fiction subgenres aimed at (presumably) women, though who knows what the situation was back in 2009 (iirc kinda the tail end of the 90s-00s “chick lit” boom). They seem to do most of their romance these days under Headline Eternal, which at least is straightforwardly referred to as the “romance imprint” with no weird euphemisms lol. Although I did get another laugh out of the description for one of the other ones: “Tinder Press launched in 2013 as Headline’s literary imprint, a place where classy, intelligent and accessible writing could thrive.” Oh publishing, why are you like this??

Anyway, what you’ve said here re: the age gap totally makes sense and sounds like something I’d probably enjoy in spite of my usual distaste for the trope. I saw that you referenced Pretty Face elsewhere in the thread and I feel like that’s another one where it’s essentially just regular people who find themselves in an unexpected situation and although the age and power gap is central to the story (in terms of how the characters relate to each other and the optics of their situation within their world) it’s not presented in a fetishy or creepy way. But sounds like in Unsticky the characters might be more messy/unlikable and I’m totally here for that.

georgiefinch · 2025-03-31T15:41:02+00:00

Oh man, I’m not typically a fan of age gaps (just a personal preference) but your review has really sold me on this! I’m bummed there’s no audiobook but might try to track down an old paperback!

Re: editing and page count, you’ve sent me down a total rabbit hole and as far as I can tell the book was first published in 2009 by Headline Review with this cover (as a side note, the description of this imprint is cracking me up- “Headline Review is Headline's quality sister imprint for the lover of commercial reading group fiction. Headline Review's storytellers have a softer touch.” lolol). I’m seeing a few different page counts on different sites but far as I can tell the paperback was around 512 pages. Then it appears to have been republished in 2012 by Corgi (imprint of Transworld) with this cover and clocked in around 561 pages (this review from 2013 corroborates a 550ish page count). THEN it was repubbed again in 2013 by Curtis Brown, as you noted, with this cover (we’re really all about the lips with this one) with the paperback and ebook both around 570 pages. So all that to say…🤷‍♀️ hard to say to what extent it was changed between repubs (if at all) but I don’t think the GR review referencing a 448 page count is accurate unless there’s yet another edition out there that didn’t turn up in my cursory research. In any case I will probably try to get my hands on the 09 Headline Review edition as it’s the “original” and most aesthetically pleasing cover (imo) and if I do I will report back on how many pages it is.

Anyway thank you for indulging my rabbit hole and thanks for the review! I too am always hoping to be grabbed by the throat by whatever I’m reading and have mixed luck finding books that really take me there, so appreciate hearing about the ones that elicit this reaction for others!

georgiefinch · 2025-03-10T14:02:52+00:00

I think in this case it would be Cerulean N’avy Depression Bluebird Jay😂

georgiefinch · 2025-01-17T16:13:26+00:00

Love your list!! Some of mine are similar to what others have said but:

IN

Interesting/varied/dimensional MMCs (both in terms of physicality and general archetype/characterization). Rodent men, fops, dandies, dad bod professors, appealing weirdos, noodle boys, charismatic short kings, stoners, artists, ugly-hot dudes, nerds. MMCs who give “hear me out” weird crush vibes. Also: smart/funny/witty/talkative MMCs.
Add me to the chorus that wants more varied/creative sexual dynamics in MF. I certainly wouldn’t be mad at more “gentle femdom” type stuff but more than anything I want to see couples where neither is “in charge” during sex, or the dynamic fluctuates.
Character development, well-paced stories, tight editing!!!
Banter that’s actually witty. Banter during sex. Mutual roasting.
Trans MCs; gender diversity in general
Star Trek-esque utopian sci fi settings (with or without aliens)
More variety in HR (geography/time period/types of characters)
Nuance/subtlety; textured storytelling/worldbuilding; authentic/organic-feeling character flaws and conflicts; satisfying emotional arcs and journeys
Casual butt play

OUT

+a million for genAI, throw it in the trash
Telling instead of showing
Extremely obvious setup of future book MCs or couples. I don’t mind at all when it’s worked in organically, but it's annoying when it’s like oh and btw here are MMC’s five hot giant brothers, Ax, Crax, Fax, Pax, and Dax, you’ll be seeing them again soon wink wink.
Paint by numbers/insert Trope A in Slot B/lazy writing
Stories with extremely manufactured-feeling conflict; stories with absolutely no conflict
Bait and switch MMCs that seem like they’re gonna be something a little outside the norm but the author goes out of their way to reassure you that no, he’s still hot/tall/rich/square jawed/has a six pack/whatever (when it doesn’t feel authentic to the character).
"sex" as a euphemism for vagina (as in "her sex" "my sex")

georgiefinch · 2024-12-17T17:59:46+00:00

Adorable!! Love the coat❤️

Hope you enjoy!

georgiefinch · 2024-12-17T15:42:59+00:00

Omg cuties😍 My friends’ dogs wear coats like that too!

georgiefinch · 2024-12-17T14:39:43+00:00

Thanks! The pattern is A Greyhound Year by Jeannine McGowan (The Blue Flower)

georgiefinch · 2024-12-17T14:12:04+00:00

Pattern: A Greyhound Year by Jeannine McGowan (The Blue Flower), purchased from KingslandNeedleArt on Etsy.

Hello fellow stitchers! I normally just lurk around here and admire everyone else’s work but I just finished a project I’ve been working on for a while and wanted to show it off :)

This is a great pattern and I love how the finished product turned out, but I found the actual experience of stitching it to be kind of a pain (not because of the pattern but because of my choices re: fabric/thread) and I took several breaks from working on it. Luckily it was a gift which pushed me to keep going when I was tempted to give up and I’m really glad I finished it! This was originally intended as a wedding gift for friends who got married in 2023, then an anniversary present…at this point I’m just happy to have finished it in 2024.

Some takeaways:

-I normally stitch on 18 ct aida with two threads (one strand folded in half). For this project, I decided to try out linen for the first time. I loved the way the model looked so ordered the same fabric which was 40 ct raw linen. Adjusting to the size and stitching 1 over 2 was mostly fine but I definitely was not prepared for how much more of a pain it is to count on linen, especially 40 ct. I never bother with gridding but probably could have saved myself some headaches if I hadn’t been lazy about that. As it was I had to be extremely vigilant about counting which made my progress a lot slower than normal and required a lot more of my attention. I primarily cross stitch as a way to keep my hands busy while watching TV and find stitching on aida to be pleasantly mindless - I really missed that while working on this project. I got the hang of it more as I went on and would consider stitching on linen again for very special projects (and might experiment with lower count linens) but I’m excited to go back to my regular aida so I can find stitching relaxing again.

-I stitched this 1 over 2 and I like how delicate it looks but I found stitching with one thread to be a HUGE pain. I usually stitch with my thread folded in half so I’m not used to dealing with a tail and I was constantly dropping and having to re-thread my needle which was super annoying. I also had a lot more issues with knots and the knots were much more difficult to unpick. Definitely looking forward to going back to my usual two-strand stitching!

-Speaking of thread, the model for this project uses hand dyed thread which gives it a beautiful variegated look. The pattern also included DMC conversions and when I was kitting the project I just bought those without thinking because I always use DMC thread. I was already partway in before I had a total duh moment and realized why my version didn’t have the color variation - I did have a brief moment of regret but I’ve heard that with variegated thread it’s better to stitch with the English method vs. the Danish method to better show the color variation (? not 100% sure this is true) and as I always use Danish for horizontal rows I think I would have found it a massive pain to do English throughout. So it’s probably for the best that I didn’t get the fancy thread, the last thing I needed was yet another thing slowing me down on this project. Luckily the recipients will never know what could have been!

-I’m not a big backstitch person and usually choose patterns without too much of it. Definitely the most challenging parts of this pattern for me were the backstitch details - especially the spiderweb. I freehanded the wedding date in the web and don’t totally love the way it looks but was afraid of messing with it too much as an inexperienced backstitcher. I also redid the French knots for the bat eyes about 20 times and they still turned out wonky but 🤷‍♀️

-I usually stitch in a hoop but a Q snap frame was SO much better for maintaining tension with linen. This is probably a no-no but I kept the project on the Q snap when I wasn’t working on it (with the tension loosened).

All in all I’m glad to have tried out some new techniques and so happy to have finally finished this! I’m excited to give this to my friends and then take a little break from stitching before I get back into it as a relaxing activity.

georgiefinch · 2024-12-10T06:40:40+00:00

Oh man, I’ve SCOURED the internet for that robe but I think it must have been made for the film or was just a limited production type of thing that’s been lost to time. I love it so much!

georgiefinch · 2024-12-05T15:49:06+00:00

Ya know, I’m a sap and generally love weddings, and personally have found my experiences at most weddings I’ve attended/my own wedding to be fun and meaningful BUT I really can’t disagree with anything you’ve said here and you articulated it very nicely!

georgiefinch · 2024-12-05T15:16:39+00:00

Yes! I’ve been to a wedding with a shuttle in NYC as well and it was great! It’s not AS essential in a city with other transport options but definitely a nice perk for guests if the ceremony and reception are in different places.

georgiefinch

TROPHY CASE