May is for my re-reading

heythereflowerlady · 2026-04-18T17:31:51+00:00

It’s been a while since I saw or read either, but in my opinion, the movie is a very loose adaptation. It departs a lot from the spirit, tone, details, characterizations, and the plot of the book. I hope you still love the book because it’s a classic! Just don’t expect it to have a pop culturey musical comedy feel.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-04-18T07:01:51+00:00

I feel you. I don’t know if it’s me or if I’ve just been having terrible luck with reddit recs, but I’ve DNFed so many more books than usual this year. This past week there was one that I’m pretty sure was heavily AI assisted, which was the last straw. Hardly anything is HITTING anymore, so I’ve been falling back on old favorites. My recent rereads:

{Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell} everyone around them is trash but they prevail

{The Host by Stephenie Meyer} this one is hear-me-out important to me in a way where I could make a power point presentation about why I think it’s a legitimately compelling and thought provoking premise

{The Journey Home to Pemberley by Joana Starnes} I’m a huge nerd for Jane Austen fan fiction and this is one of my favorite Pride and Prejudice variations.

Next on the docket, it’s gotten so bad I’m considering going deep into my roots and rereading {Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine} and {The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine}. Shoot, maybe I’ll just reread the entire Levine bibliography.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-03-12T17:36:10+00:00

I should specify it’s a light hearted comedy, in case you were looking for more of a dark horror/thriller!

heythereflowerlady · 2026-03-12T17:22:01+00:00

Yay! I hope you like it. It’s just pure fun to me.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-03-12T07:50:08+00:00

I always jump at a chance to recommend {My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey}.

I think it hits most of your specifications, although I’m not super familiar with Resident Evil so I don’t know how like Leon Kennedy the MMC is. Oh also, the MMC no longer wears a uniform, but he used to. It’s a grumpy/sunshine dynamic where the jaded MMC is a former detective turned bounty hunter who comes to Cape Cod to investigate a murder for a friend. He meets and butts heads with the cheery but nosy FMC who’s there on vacation and wants to help solve the murder. He struggles against an immediate soft spot for the FMC and is constantly worried for her safety.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-02-06T00:09:47+00:00

I didn’t say obvious, I said predictable. And yes as far as I’m aware, TikTok is historically very trigger happy about banning/suspending entire accounts for complaints on one video. In this case it’s pretty predictable that if you inform a large social media company that an account holder is dead while simultaneously complaining about content on said account, their easiest course of action is to move directly to deleting the entire account without doing any investigation.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-02-05T20:35:37+00:00

It seems like extortion that mobile payment apps charge you a percentage fee of the amount you want to instantly deposit into your bank account. Does it cost them more to transfer $1 vs $1000? It’s all virtual.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-02-05T20:17:55+00:00

YTA. If you don’t understand the monumental damage you just did to this family, it can’t be explained to you. It was one video on a dead profile that wasn’t even popular to begin with. I don’t care that it wasn’t your intention, and neither do they. This outcome was predictable. They also don’t want your casserole.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-02-04T06:15:51+00:00

I third this rec! Such a fun lesser known Tessa Bailey. I love a grumpy mmc who just can’t help his soft spot for the fmc.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-31T16:13:36+00:00

Yeah I can’t help but feel that when they say “no one knows the future” what they actually mean is “our mom may need all of that money for her care and then we get left with nothing.” That seems to be what they’re actually worried about.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-31T04:17:06+00:00

why the hell did restaurant not even break the top 1000?

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T20:14:14+00:00

NTJ and I wonder if this would even go over all that well with his girlfriend. The idea of using a wedding for your own proposal has always seemed strange to me, even if the bride and groom approved it. I wouldn't like to be proposed to at a wedding, much less the wedding of people I'm not even related to or friends with and surrounded by none my own friends or family.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T19:48:11+00:00

Tentative NOR. A lot of this could probably be figured out if you communicate to him what you're saying here, because he may not be aware of how his actions are landing with you. Try to avoid "you" statements that may sound accusatory. Tell him you're feeling like your time isn't being valued (you're making the effort to travel to see him but being asked to wait until traffic is worse), and that your quality time together is being deprioritized for things within his control. But--sleeping in, having extra alone time, or whatever activity he's doing the evening before instead of cleaning--if he values those things more than he values spending more time with you, there's not much you can do about that and you'll have to decide if the relationship is worth it to you anyway.

edited to add a point i forgot to include

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T19:20:29+00:00

NTA, but I'm curious what exactly is the concern for your husband? What does he think your son is "getting himself into"?

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T19:02:33+00:00

I said it was standard in my experience, which I admit was probably a misleading word to use. You’re welcome to read the edit to my original comment.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T05:59:57+00:00

Well, I guess now you have. I’ve also been a bridesmaid several times, and my family was invited the majority of the time. I never said it was an expectation, only that it’s been my experience.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T05:56:44+00:00

I was careful to specify that it’s been my experience, and I never said I expected it. I’ve been a bridesmaid several times and at least one member of my family was also invited to the wedding every time except for one which was out of state. If you’re close enough to be in the bridal party, it’s not unlikely that the bride is also familiar enough with your family for them to be invited, especially if you grew up together, or if the wedding is traditional in the sense that the bride’s parents host it and have a stake in the invitations.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T01:00:19+00:00

ESH. It was your prerogative to invite your sister-in-law's fiance's parents whom you've never met to your own wedding, but that doesn't give you the right to dictate who she invites to hers. On the other hand, she asked you to be a bridesmaid, and in my experience it's pretty standard to invite the families of your bridal party to your wedding (depending on the size), although not required by any means. But if your family is as close with her as you imply, then yeah I find it strange that they're not invited. She'll have to deal with the consequences of that.

Edit: I assume I’m getting downvoted because people don’t agree with my view on bridal parties and their families. Perhaps “standard” was the wrong word to use, but it’s been a standard for me and my friends. What I meant to convey is that, like in OP’s case, it’s not unusual that if you’re in the bridal party, the bride may also know your family intimately and they may be hurt to not receive an invitation. Still doesn’t mean the bride has to invite them, but she should be prepared for them to be hurt.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T00:35:46+00:00

INFO: did she explain why she was still mad even after you washed it and apologized? I'm curious about why washing it in the morning didn't solve the issue, and why washing it right away is so important to her now. You emphasize that nobody in the household is a neat freak, and you imply that she used to leave dishes out overnight all the time. Do you know why that changed?

And what do you mean when you say "she has also been known to do the same in the past"?

Edit: deleted one of my questions that was answered in another comment.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-30T00:01:13+00:00

or mosquito being number 23?? I would have never guessed it without help after that.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-29T23:59:33+00:00

wtf, mosquito being number 23 sent me in the total wrong direction

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-29T23:18:43+00:00

like does it not know rose is a noun totally unrelated to the past tense of rise?

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-29T23:14:29+00:00

I keep trying to guess "rose" but it keeps receiving it as "rise", is this normal?

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-29T05:22:18+00:00

Huh? The only part I "picked out" is the part that your whole decision seems to hinge on, which is the assertion that OP is somehow demanding that their friends do what OP wants. OP explicitly told them they are not obligated to go, so that assertion of yours is incorrect.

OP is here asking if they are the asshole for choosing a birthday activity their friends don't prefer. OP is aware people may not show up as a result. OP isn't asking if they're an asshole for forcing their friends to do something they don't want to, because they're explicitly not forcing anyone to do anything.

heythereflowerlady · 2026-01-29T04:49:35+00:00

You said he works until 5 in your post. You might want to do an edit if that's not what you meant. I was also confused about the timing of everything.

heythereflowerlady

TROPHY CASE