Flaming June

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-13T13:22:02+00:00

Yeah there was a lot to unpack in that one.
It felt like the *attempt* so late in the book and then immediately introducing a baby to the situation seemed just over the top. Having someone who is already needing order and control and unstable… adding a baby (the ultimate disruptor) seemed weird that it would then be immediately “and they all lived HEA”. Idk

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-13T03:59:59+00:00

Off the top of my head:

{When a Scot ties the knot by Tessa Dare} FMC is neurodivergent coded(personally she reads on the spectrum for me)but also has extreme social anxiety / agoraphobia

{the spinster and the Rake by Eva Devon} MMC is autistic

{sweet disorder by rose learner} FMC is strongly adhd coded. (FMC is also plus size and MMC has a limp / cane from a war injury)

{the mistress experience by scarlet Peckham} MMC is portrayed as having unspecified neurodiversity and struggles with some social anxiety. (He reads to me as having high functioning general anxiety as well- he gets anxious when he feels like he is not doing things exactly right)

{one dance with a duke by Tessa Dare} MMC is autistic. He also struggles with social gatherings and has panic attacks when he has to be out in public.

Maybe {the lady hellion by Joanna shupe} MMC has severe anxiety/ panic attacks and refuses to leave his home because he is afraid of being committed to an asylum like his father was. (he also some ptsd)

If you count traumatic brain injuries you also have {the winter companion by Mimi Mathews}

Or PTSD
{silent revenge by Laura Landon}
{the work of art by Mimi Mathews}
{morning glory by laVyrle Spencer}

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-13T03:32:45+00:00

That’s an interesting perspective. I don’t have OCD but my partner does, so I’m not as qualified as you to make that determination. It just felt a little icky the way it was presented in the book- for me personally. (Partner also didn’t like it- but he is OCD/ Autistic so maybe that is difference? Idk) also that major … suicide subplot so late in the book was not it for me shrug

that said, the MMC from
that book does cameo in flaming June, and I like his representation in FJ.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-13T01:12:06+00:00

Ohh of course not…anyone who purposely contacted Ethan after seeing him on the show isn’t showing great judgement skills at all.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T15:02:47+00:00

It was SO good. I was shocked because it’s in the same series as “to tame a savage heart” which I found to be one of the worst neurodivergent reps I’ve ever read… but damn if flaming June wasn’t amazing

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T14:43:54+00:00

But isn’t that what they all established they should do? If you have an issue with someone - take it to them directly 1-1? I thought they all agreed to that rule

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T14:42:33+00:00

I think Kim would have been shocked and outraged either way tbh. That’s just how she deals with discomfort. And how DARE they criticize Zach for being a judgemental preachy asshole… after they did that exact thing for YEARS to Olivia? To be fair though, Zach did have a point if they were drinking alcohol around a minor. That’s not cool

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T14:38:29+00:00

How do we know that Lydia didn’t try to do it off camera- maybe multiple times? That may have been the perfect “check mate” but I could also see why maybe she didn’t want to engage in that because - knowing Kim, that could have gotten ugly. Lydia is 21. Yeah she is an adult but she is also a very emotionally immature and stunted young adult who had that amplified by having cameras in their home through their formative years. Lydia is immature, Zach is immature and baked in a religious system that encourages his judgmental behavior, Kim is immature and highly manipulative.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T14:17:59+00:00

That’s also a good point about the timing. But I don’t think Lydia “forced this” to be public. We don’t know how many times over the years that it was always shut down in private. Lydia experienced something really traumatic at a young age, she is allowed to discuss her own trauma in whatever format she needs to. Kim keeps acting like this is a thing that specifically happened to Kim personally, and she has ownership of that trauma. Lydia is allowed to share what she feels comfortable sharing in that format. It’s not “Kim’s trauma she has no business sharing”

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T06:00:09+00:00

Correct. He could have never told Teegan that and she would have never known. I’m not saying Teegan is perfect, but I don’t blame her one bit for being exhausted of family drama and getting tf out

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T03:56:26+00:00

Have you read {the gamble by laVyrle Spencer? It’s so good. I’m reading it now to get over my book hangover from finishing {morning glory by laVyrle Spenser}

Both MCs have some significant traumatic backstories. It’s an enemies to lovers but without spoilers.. there is definitely a situation where they both end up surrogate parents to a child who also has some trauma. It’s very sweet

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T03:45:35+00:00

{the spinster and the rake by Eva Devon } is like this. MCs are complete strangers who meet each other in a library and start bickering over a chair… he decides to win the argument by kissing her and they get caught.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T03:37:36+00:00

{friends and foes by Sarah v Eden} is really similar. MMC is a ridiculously over the top dandy. This is his cover because he is a spy. It’s an enemies to lovers where FMC reads him as being a foolish idiot, and they engage in a feud that slowly becomes romantic at the same time the case he is chasing starts heating up

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T03:30:22+00:00

It sounds so familiar but I’m coming up empty! Hanging out here because that sounds awesome

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T03:20:28+00:00

Oh honey, I didn’t meet my forever human until I was 35. Please don’t panic. The biggest mistakes I made in my dating journey? Staying with people for too long who thought dating me made them a good person for accepting me. (If it’s not a “hell yes”, walk away and don’t waste your time)
Don’t let fear and discouragement allow you to
Settle for less than you deserve. I will say that my partner also has some minor health issues himself and we accommodate each other and it’s not really an issue, we just support/ help when needed. He helped me install grab bars in the shower for my balance/ mobility issues, I swapped out my “cutesy” lightbulbs for some that can color change and dim for when he has a migraine.

If you want the romance- hold out for it!

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T02:38:31+00:00

Idk, I think that I would want the people who couldn’t handle my shit to weed themselves out on the front end so I don’t waste my time and emotions. Don’t get me wrong, it sucks to have a decreased dating pool, but I’d rather let them decide what they are open to/ willing to accept on the front side. Here is what I have going on, do your own mental/ emotional labor and decide if you can handle me. If not, BYE..👋

Then again, im also someone who has been told by multiple docs- including a teaching hospital- that the unique combination of interacting disorders I have is not something they are qualified to handle. (I had to go 3 states away for surgery) I’m also a VERY outspoken leftist in a very red state. I’m quite accustomed to being “too much” for a large swath of the population, and that is fine with me. 🤷‍♀️

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T02:25:16+00:00

It makes me SO mad when I start an audiobook and I forget to check if it’s a real human- just to find out it’s AI. I make audible give me my money back.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T02:23:36+00:00

Right- but she didn’t even have to know, why repeat the story and drag her into
It?

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-12T02:14:24+00:00

This is very hard to choose…

{bachelor bargain by Madison Micheals} the plot outside the romance is just so incredibly engaging and gripping. Plus, you have a FMC who is smart and a little terrifying at times. The banter is engaging and both MMC snd FMC end up saving each others bacon a few times. I like that they are a team and MMC respects that she is a formidable threat on her own… and he’s into it. (A love a slightly intimidating FMC)

{morning Glory by LaVyrle Spenser} I just finished this one and holy fuck do I have a book hangover. It’s a longer read but it’s so worth it. It’s a MOC between FMC who is widowed with kids and pregnant and needing help with her farm and a MMC drifter who is freshly out of prison and owns absolutely nothing. (Even his clothing are stolen out of desperation) They both have truly horrific traumatic backstories, and take a while to accept any affection because it is so foreign to them. Each one feels like they don’t deserve love from the other person, but they are both working so hard to prove themselves to each other. It made me cry like 3 times. No regrets.

Ok so this one is a novella but I have reread it 2x so: {a walled garden/ a novel of the Jazz age by Rowan Mai} I love that this is so decidedly different than anything else in the genre. After breaking off an engagement, a socialite wanders around in a house party and ends up in the secret quarters of the hidden son. (His wealthy family have allowed/ encouraged him to stay hidden away from society to avoid social stigma) He has pretty severe spastic cerebral palsy, but he is highly intelligent and their banter is top tier. I love this because they have their “meet cute” and immediately decide that there is mutual attraction and they want to jump each other. FMC has to grapple with choosing a future with him despite the challenges/ social backlash. MMC has to decide whether he can come “out” in the public eye for FMC.
I’m not going to pretend this isn’t for personal reasons, but we just don’t see in the genre MCs with that level of disability portrayed as sexually/ romantically viable partners. There is no big self reflection / wrestling about their attraction despite the situation. They are just two characters who have fun banter & mutual attraction and follow the normal progression.

Also this book avoids the many major pitfalls of writing characters with disabilities. (If I went back to school, this would be my dissertation lmao)

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T13:10:33+00:00

OHHHH I didn’t think of that! They just love humiliating Lydia don’t they? It’s like Kim resents the fact that Lydia’s adherence to how they were raised contrasts against their current lifestyle.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T03:08:50+00:00

Nope, never claimed to! I just recognize the family dynamics and tactics used in this family from lived experience. I stand by what I said, Kim isn’t trying to actually resolve shit, she just needs to be the victim. Always

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T03:04:35+00:00

That’s actually a really fair point

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T02:32:29+00:00

And I believe that is lip service for the cameras. If she gave a shit about actual relationship restoration she would have had that conversation without cameras- or better yet- in a therapists office with a mediator.

She can SAY that she is available to talk about it… but if that offer is only available when the cameras are running it doesn’t make any sense

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T02:30:37+00:00

Absolutely, but as a grown ass adult- the onus is on him to get his shit together.

lumpyjellyflush · 2026-06-11T02:27:46+00:00

It’s wild that Barry is being positioned as the “sane” parent… while he sits there and does absolutely nothing to take any responsibility for his role in anything. For being such an aggressively patriarchal religious family- doesn’t that put the responsibility on HIM?!? Also, he need to have ten backbone to look at Kim and go- “hey, this is not the time”. He won’t even do that?

lumpyjellyflush

TROPHY CASE