I’ve gotten back into the habit of going to the library once a week on the same day (Monday) to return stuff and pick up my holds. (This is also the best way I’ve found to get myself to return my books on time now that the library got rid of late fees) I keep thinking “this week the stack of new things will be smaller” but it never is. Surely I’ll run out of graphic novels I want to read that the library has at some point? But I’m glad it's not yet.

In other news I have now read more books this year than I did all of last year, which is pretty wild! Like sure they are all short things but I’m just reading so much more than I was few months ago and it’s really nice.

Red Threads by Ila Nguyen-Hayama—A graphic novel about a 15 year old girl in Tokyo who is invited to attend a magical school. This was very cute and charming if a little heavy on the info dumping about Japanese folklore. I really liked the main character's friendship with another girl at school.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 8-14 by N.D. Stevenson and Shannon Watters, et al.— I’d read up through Vol 10 years ago, but now I’m at stuff I haven’t read before. Still very fun!

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy by Chynna Clugston Flores et al. —A crossover between two very fun comics both featuring teams of teens who deal with supernatural mysteries – I enjoyed it a lot! I wish there was more time for cross team interactions but it would be hard to fit in and keep focus on the story

Animated Batman—It’s nice to be into media that my kid also is interested in. She doesn’t watch anything with subtitles, but she likes Batman. So I’ve watched a handful of episodes of the 90’s animated Batman with her. (I started from where she’s gotten to before so not at the beginning) In terms of Bat-fam its not doing a lot, most of the kids/sidekicks aren’t in this and those that are aren’t around much (though I’m told they show up more frequently latter on) However the show itself is very well crafted! I’m impressed with both the animation (the style! The attention to detail) and the storytelling

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: enthralled

kaberett

Ridiculous indulgent breakfast situation (though having now looked up Culinary Strata because A asked, I am extremely unconvinced that pistachio croissants with raspberries)... counts.
Therapy session, spent entirely talking about One Thing (with tendrils), has left me feeling distinctly more settled.
Today's primary Make Numbers Go Down project has been working my way through some of the short fiction I've had open in tabs since [mumble]. Highlight thus far is Naomi Kritzer's The Thing About Ghost Stories (cn parental death, dementia).
The other New Thing I started consuming today is A Physical Education, which is extremely and often graphically about diet culture and disordered eating, but which 11% of the way through the audio file I am Very Much Enjoying. Further updates to follow. (The library only has audio, I apparently put a hold on it seven weeks ago though I can't at this point remember where I came across it, and The First Headphones I Have Ever Tolerated remain excellent. Shokz OpenRun Pro.)
The Child liked the replacement mock cherries; spring flowers are excellent (we are firmly heading into daffodils now); Routine Dinner tonight DID work even though the app initially Frightened Me by claiming first available pickup was tomorrow morning.

dhampyresa

I've finished a play through of Slay the Princess. I really enjoyed it! I will now try to go after all the achievements héhéhé

I had to turn off the parallax and the ambient sound so I wouldn't get nauseous. Something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to motion sickness and/or vertigo.

mific posting in

gamechangerhr

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fth2026offerings posting in

fandomtrumpshate

All auction emails have been sent!

(But edits are ongoing)

If you signed up to offer an auction in FTH 2026, you should have email from us - be sure to look for both our gmail.com and proton.me addresses, and add the latter to your allow list.

If you do not have either a) an email with a link to your auction or b) an email explaining that there is a problem that needs to be fixed before we can post your auction, please do email us at this point.

If you have submitted edits via the edit form:

We are a bit behind on these and likely will not have them completely done tonight. If your edit has not gone through by the time we post that browsing is open, and at that time it has been at least 8 hours since you submitted the edit, please email us.

Browsing is not open yet!

Browsing will open at 8pm EST tomorrow, February 27.

Before then, the offerings blog is NOT to be considered ready for public consumption. We have plenty of work ahead of us, please do not send bidders to browse the auctions until it's officially open.

Thanks for your patience as we get all the finishing touches put on this year's auction!

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/26/the-big-idea-bernie-jean-schiebeling/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59632

Like blue eyes, height, or left-handedness, how much of our temper and ill manners can we contribute to our genetics? Author Bernie Jean Schiebeling explores the breakage of inherited anger, and what it’s like to fall victim to the temperament our parents passed unto us in the Big Idea for their newest novel, House, Body, Bird.

BERNIE JEAN SCHIEBELING:

My great-grandfather was not a good man.

Without getting into too many details, he was angry and abusive, so much so that my great-grandmother was able to divorce him in the late 1920s without too much trouble. After the divorce, my great-grandfather left—possibly fled—and then committed a string of burglaries across Kentucky and Tennessee while working as a door-to-door salesman. Many years later, my father met one of his ex-colleagues, who said the man had been incredible at sales. Less so at stealing, since he kept getting caught. “And,” he said, pointing at my dad’s breakfast plate, “I can tell you that you take your scrambled eggs the same way. So much pepper.”

Dad never met my great-grandfather (even Grandpa hardly knew him, since he was just a toddler during the divorce). But they both liked peppery eggs, and so do I.

Other echoes persisted too. Anger sometimes exploded from my grandfather, though less than the previous generation. My dad is calmer than his father, and I am calmer than him. Still, rage sometimes rises in me with the inevitable force of a king tide. I hear the ocean rushing in my ears—

—And I breathe through the impulse. I don’t have to do this. I don’t have to continue this tradition that—I hope—none of us wanted.

Inheritance is never clean. We gather too much over the course of a life, too many objects imbued with too many memories, to ever pass on an uncomplicated story to our descendants. In most cases, this is a gift, the last we give to our loved ones. Sometimes, however, it is a weapon, sharp-edged and dangerous to hold, and we have to figure out how to carry it anyway, or how to put it down in a way that hurts no one else. This is the big idea of House, Body, Bird.

The idea was larger than I expected. I didn’t mean for this to be a novella; I thought it would be a short story too long to sell to most markets, like most of the work I have in my drafts folder. I was about 15,000 words deep by the time I realized I was writing a book.

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been that surprised. Stories find their ideal length through their subject matter, and the more I thought about House, Body, Bird’s family and their home-slash-haunted-dollhouse-museum, the more I realized that the sheer amount of stuff in main character Birdie Goodbain’s inheritance—both dollhouses and the history behind those dollhouses—needed to show up on the page. I started including imagery wherever I could: descriptions of dolls, of difficult memories, of how haunted the body becomes from those memories. In the story’s earlier scenes, I wanted to crowd Birdie, make her tuck her elbows in as she navigated the rambling, watchful house.

Of course, this is only the first half of the difficult-inheritance-problem, the “Someone has willed me a weapon” half. I still had to find a good way to explore the second half of “Thanks, I hate it.” Birdie couldn’t stay scared. Thankfully, I had a solution; I just needed to reorganize some clutter.

When I first started writing the would-be short story, I had alternated between two point-of-views for Birdie, third-person limited and first-person. This created emotional whiplash as Birdie went from a meek third-person POV ruminating on the house’s creepiness to a furious first-person POV bashing through the walls with a meat tenderizer. By grouping all the third-person scenes together and following them with the first-person ones, Birdie had much cleaner character development. It’s relevant that the switch in perspective happens once Birdie commits to escaping and seizing her freedom. In that moment, she moves from third-person, where an unseen narrator observes and objectifies her (like a doll!), to first-person, where she narrates her experiences. While imagery had pushed up against the margins in the third-person section, Birdie’s opinions, observations, and memories pepper her own telling of the story. She gets space to breathe.

In keeping with the novella’s spirit of excess, Birdie’s sections are interspersed with ones from the haunted house’s point of view. Originally, this was useful because it allowed me to reference the previous Goodbain generations with a level of detail that wouldn’t have been possible for Birdie, but the house eventually became the story’s second emotional heart. Although I worried about overwriting throughout the drafting process, a maximalist approach to storytelling was what I needed for House, Body, Bird.

It’s funny—early on in the story, Birdie’s messed-up dad tells her, “We build, and build, and build.” The Goodbain family built and built and built their house as a way to create a family narrative worth passing on, as an attempt to build livelihoods and lives and love, and I did the same thing. I built and built and built the story to understand how Birdie’s family history loomed over her, and how she could create a new, more loving life in response to it.

House, Body, Bird: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Books-A-Million

Author socials: Website|Instagram|Bluesky

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/26/the-big-idea-bernie-jean-schiebeling/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59632

mythicmistress posting in

fancake

Fandom: Megamind
Pairings/Characters: Megamind/Roxanne Ritchi, Minion, Metro Man
Rating: M
Length: 168,535 words
Creator Links: impatientseamstress
Theme: Inept in Love

Summary: Roxanne Ritchi just wanted her shoes replaced.
Marrying her Supervillain in a surprise Vegas elopement was not part of the plan. It wasn't part of Megamind's plan either... Unfortunately, all of Metro City is way too excited to finally see them together for them to admit the truth. But they can solve this...somehow

Reccer's Notes: Oh, Megamind and Roxanne were being SO STUPID about each other, in the "I love her/him, but she/he couldn't possibly love me back" way. They managed to argue themselves into getting married, for crying out loud! (Didn't help that EVERYONE IN METRO CITY was shipping them...) There's also some fun worldbuilding done for what a world with superheroes, supervillains, and damsels would look like.

Fanwork Links: Rings (locked to AO3 users)

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/26/oh-look-an-airport/

Strange how I keep ending up at one.

This time, however, not on business. Visiting friends because now that the novel is in I can do that. I’ll be traveling on business very soon, however, first to San Antonio and then to Tucson. The life of an author is strangely itinerant.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/26/oh-look-an-airport/

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: hyperventilating

askamanager_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/02/can-i-ask-for-a-cost-of-living-raise-after-i-chose-to-move-to-a-more-expensive-city.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36438

A reader writes:

I’m a 32-year-old professional on a niche team for a large corporation and have been in my role for four years.

When I was interviewing, I was living in City A, a low-cost-of-living city that I really disliked. When I took my current job, they were clear that they allow my role to be performed from anywhere in the U.S., and I was hired at a salary consistent with my experience and then-geographic location.

About five months after starting, I moved to City B, a much-higher-cost-of-living city. My director told me that while my move was no problem logistically, I would not receive a pay increase for relocating, as the move was my initiative and the company didn’t care where I performed my work from. I agreed, because this made sense to me and I was desperate to get out of City A. Now, I’ve been in City B for a few years, received merit increases each year, and have only gotten good feedback from my team. I love my work, feel supported in my role, and see a real future for myself here. I also love living in City B and intend to stay here or a comparably-sized (and comparably-priced) coastal city long-term.

Despite all this, I can’t help but think about the fact that if I had just lived in City B at the time of hiring, I’d have started at a higher salary band based on my local cost of living and would certainly be making more each year. I get by alright, but am definitely not able to contribute to savings at the rate I should be and have no viable path to home ownership here with what I make. When I’ve seen comparable roles in my city advertised, they’re paying about 20% more than I make now.

Thinking about being here long-term, I worry that I’ll never really catch up to what I’d be making if I’d been hired while living here despite consistently receiving raises, but am not sure how to explain it to my higher-ups without sounding like A) I’m just being greedy or B) I’m reneging on the very clear conversation I had with my director when I moved, and am now expecting them to pay me more for a move I initiated.

I’m not sure at what point I should flag for them that while I want to stay here, I’m worried that doing so will keep my annual pay lower than it’d be if I applied elsewhere with a home address in a high-cost-of-living city. Is there a way to raise this conversation, or is this a lost cause since my job is a do-it-from-anywhere role and I chose to live someplace expensive? It feels like I’d be most easily able to bring this to a head if I got a higher-paying job offer from someplace else and brought it to my boss, but that feels risky, time-consuming, and like overkill when I don’t want to leave my job in the first place.

Any guidance is appreciated, even if that guidance is telling me that I’m being unnecessarily fixated on the “what ifs” of my salary. For what it’s worth, while my team has been fantastic, I am the youngest person by about a decade, the only woman, and the only one of my racial/ethnic background, all of which really seem to be compounding my stress about having an honest conversation about pay with my bosses.

I wrote back and asked more how cost-of-living pay normally works in the letter-writer’s company:

Generally, my company sets starting pay for people based on experience and the local market where they are living. If an employee transfers to a different location and begins working from an office there, their salary is updated for cost of living to make it competitive in their new local market. That didn’t apply to me because I work completely remotely and thus didn’t go through the whole office-transfer process when I moved.

Since my team is fully remote, I think there’s just not a clear policy that would address my situation. Most/all of the people on my team have lived in the same cities since they were hired and are settled there. When I moved after being hired, a few people noted that I was the first person they could remember to have moved a significant distance while on our team. So I think it’s not like they’re intentionally paying me less, mine just isn’t a situation that they’ve encountered recently.

It’s true that this isn’t something you could have raised just a few months after moving — when you’d clearly agreed that the move wouldn’t come with a pay raise since it was at your initiative rather than the company’s — but it’s been nearly four years. It’s more reasonable to revisit how your pay is structured now: you’ve been there a lot longer, your value has presumably increased significantly (you’d only been there five months when you first negotiated this!), and you’re thinking about what your future will look like long-term.

I would frame it this way: “Would Company consider a cost-of-living adjustment for me being in CityName? I know originally the plan was that my pay wouldn’t change when I moved, but now that I’ve been here a few years and I think have been contributing to the team at a high level, I’m hoping we can revisit my compensation. I’d love to stay with the company long-term and I also plan to be in CityName long-term. When I see comparable roles advertised here, they’re paying about 20% more than I make. My concern is that if I’d applied while living here originally, my salary would have been set higher from the start, and that difference will compound the longer I’m here.”

Again, it’s been four years and you’re more valuable to them now! It makes sense that you’re thinking about how and whether this can work for you long-term, and it makes sense that they would want to know how they can increase the chances of keeping you long-term. If your manager values you, they may be a lot more willing to work with you on this now than when you were only five months in.

They still might say no! That’s always a risk when you ask for a raise. But you won’t look greedy or out of line for asking.

The post can I ask for a cost-of-living raise after I chose to move to a more expensive city? appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/02/can-i-ask-for-a-cost-of-living-raise-after-i-chose-to-move-to-a-more-expensive-city.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36438

lirazel

I do a lot of work where my hands are occupied but my mind is not (hello, rehousing!!!) and may main exercise is walking so I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I am always looking for more.

My favorite ongoing podcasts are In Bed With the Right, Know Your Enemy, If Books Could Kill, Maintenance Phase, Panic World, and A Bit Fruity. These are the shows I listen to every episode of and (most of them) support on Patreon so I get extra episodes. Oh, and On the Nose from Jewish Currents.

There are a number I also like but don't listen to every episode of, just dipping in and out as they interest me. These include Behind the Bastards, Hoax!, HyperFixed, Search Engine, Straight White American Jesus, Culture Study, Decoder Ring, American Hysteria, Strongwilled, 5-4, and The Dream.

Then there are my classic favorites that I haven't listened to in a while but loved madly: You Must Remember This, You're Wrong About, and You Are Good.

One limited run I listened to lately was What Happened in Nashville, about the unregulated fertility treatment industry through the lens of a big scandal that happened in my hometown and found it interesting.

Things I like in a podcast:

+ Culture and/or history and/or current events through a leftist/feminist lens. It's really important to me that these are serious thinkers or deeply insightful people, even if what they're talking about is lighter fare
+ People who take culture and internet culture seriously but want to deeply critique it
+ Stuff about religion--not in the sense of being religious but in the sense of talking about how religion works in the world
+ Stuff that is well-researched
+ Stuff about moral panics
+ I tend to be drawn to podcasts that are created by people who are first and foremost either writers/journalists or scholars (with the exception of A Bit Fruity, all my favorite current podcasts are created by people in those categories)
+ Anything Michael Hobbes is involved with lol
+ Oh and my guilty pleasure is anything about cults (other people listen to true crime stuff, I listen to cult stuff)

Things I don't like in a podcast:
+ Humor podcasts (a lot of these people are very funny, but none of these podcasts are comedy podcasts)
+ Generic culture/pop culture stuff (by which I mean the sort of overviews of just what's going on in the world of pop culture)
+ Fiction (I'm sorry, but Welcome to Night Vale is the only one that ever truly worked for me)
+ Pure news podcasts
+ Interview podcasts that focus on celebs
+ Honestly anything about celebrities, I just don't care
+ Self-help stuff

elisem

Whoops! It was John Henry Newman's birthday the other day, and I missed the opportunity to post this again. It can be sung to at least one version of John Henry, though things may have to be adjusted here and there. Here ya go:

When John Henry Newman was an Anglican

He went down to the Holy See

Said I wanna see the Pope 'cause I got a crazy hope

That they're gonna make a Catholic out of me, Lord, Lord,

They're gonna make a Catholic out of me.

When John Henry Newman was a young man

He wrote about a Kindly Light

He called it "Pillar of Cloud," and if you sing it real loud

It'll lead you through the gloomy night, Lord, Lord,

It'll lead you through the gloomy night.

John Henry Newman was at Oxford

He was a deacon and a curate too

He got to be a vicar but decided it was quicker

To scribble down a tract or two, Lord, Lord

To scribble down a tract or two.

John Henry Newman up at Oxford

At St. Mary's chapel on the side

He told them in a lecture that it was his conjecture

The middle way was fine and wide, Lord, Lord

The middle way was fine and wide.

John Henry Newman got in trouble

Reading monophysite lore

"This bit about "securus" -- it doesn't reassure us

I think I better think a little more, Lord, Lord,

I think I better think at Littlemore. "

John Henry Newman had a buddy

Father Ambrose, he liked Rome

They liked St. Philip Neri, so in the vale of Mary

They built themselves a home sweet home, Lord, Lord,

They built themselves a home sweet home.

John Henry Newman got converted

And it made him feel alive

But he lost a few subscribers the day he swam the Tiber

On 9 October '45, Lord, Lord,

On 9 October '45.

John Henry Newman bought a ticket

John Henry Newman went to Rome

But though he got ordained, he did not remain

He packed his bags and headed home, Lord, Lord,

He packed his bags and headed home.

John Henry Newman went to Oscott

To have a little toast and jam

And in a blaze of glory to build an Oratory

They later moved to Birmingham, Lord, Lord,

They later moved to Birmingham.

John Henry Newman took exception

To what he heard Kingsley say

Newman said "I showed ya ; I wrote an Apologia

And it's Pro Vita Sua all the way, Lord, Lord,

It's Pro Vita Sua all the way."

John Henry Newman got promoted

And they gave him a big red hat

They put it on his head, and everybody said,

"Mercy, will you look at that, Lord, Lord,

Mercy, will you look at that."

When John Henry Newman was an old man

He was a little on the quiet side.

He got a telegram from heaven on August eleven

And laid down his missal and he died, Lord, Lord,

He laid down his missal and he died.

John Henry Newman in his coffin

On compost did recline

He said "I have chosen, by completely decomposing,

To leave not a relic here to find, Lord, Lord,

I will leave not a relic here to find."

There. That was written by me some while ago -- September 20, 2010, I guess it was. Enjoy!

andrewducker

Nice sunset.

(And lovely that the sun is up when I wake the kids at 7am and the sky still looks like this when I get home at 6pm)
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

askamanager_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/02/our-employee-is-criticizing-our-sponsors-on-social-media.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36472

A reader writes:

I oversee a public-facing department at a nonprofit. One of our long-time program managers is an oversharer. This includes on social media, where she has in the recent past criticized two of our sponsors in long Facebook posts, which included phrases like “Corporation X needs to get their crap together.” These were criticisms based on her personal experiences, not related to work (think complaining about the customer service at Corp X when she was shopping there). Yesterday, she followed up with more complaining during a program meeting that included clients.

I know she is connected to many of our volunteers and clients, as well as colleagues, on social media. She has also talks about promoting the program she manages on her personal accounts, so it’s clear to anyone following her that she is an employee. Our organization does not have any policies about social media use. Can I tell her to stop with the negative posts about sponsors and then hold her accountable, given her public-facing role? Should we instead create a policy about social media use that would ensure everyone in the company is getting the same message/equal treatment?

I answer this question — and two others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

Other questions I’m answering there today include:

I don’t want to keep meeting with my business mentor
Can I brush my teeth at work?

The post our employee is criticizing our sponsors on social media appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2026/02/our-employee-is-criticizing-our-sponsors-on-social-media.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=36472

fromtheheartofeurope_feed

Posted by fromtheheartofeurope

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/thursday-reading-97/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65648

Current
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins

Last books finished
Britain’s Other D-Day: The Politics of Decimalisation, by Andy Cook
Pavilion of Women, by Pearl S. Buck
The Fifth Elephant, by Terry Pratchett
Liberation: The Unoffical and Unauthorised Guide to Blake’s 7, by Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore
Serbian Folk Tales, ed. Jake Jackson

Next books
Ghost Stories, by George Mann et al
De gekste plek van België: 111 bizarre locaties en hun bijzondere verhaal, by Jeroen van der Spek (if I can find it)
A Power Unbound, by Freya Marske

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/thursday-reading-97/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65648

fromtheheartofeurope_feed

Posted by fromtheheartofeurope

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-dead-take-the-a-train-by-cassandra-khaw-and-richard-kadrey/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65482

Second paragraph of third chapter:

Tyler Banks was Thorne & Dirk’s head of Client Excisions, meaning he made problems disappear. Cut them entirely out of existence when necessary. However, he didn’t like getting his hands dirty with the seriously dangerous jobs. That’s what Julie was for— but she was the last thing on his mind as he stepped into the room.

Urban fantasy with our magically empowered heroine dealing with demonic intrusions and her own disastrous love life. I did not get very far because the horror scenes were gruesomely anatomical, and there is only so much of that that I can read. You can get The Dead Take the A Train here.

This was my top unread book acquired in 2024. Next on that pile is A Power Unbound, by Freya Marske, of which I have higher hopes.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-dead-take-the-a-train-by-cassandra-khaw-and-richard-kadrey/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65482

versegm posting in

fandomcalendar

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smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/mostly-contemporary-romances-10/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=166954

Sorcery and Small Magics

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy is $2.99! Thanks to everyone who let us know about this sale. This one is a queer fantasy with rivals who are now magically connected after a curse goes wrong. Last time this was on sale, the comments mention it’s a slow burn that will continue across multiple books.

Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.

He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.

That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Ellie Hayes and the Himbos

Ellie Hayes and the Himbos by Vanessa King is $2.99! This is not a Why Choose, but does have found family elements. The heroine also has chronic pain due to endometriosis. Reviews mention this one is pretty fun!

In this hilarious romantic comedy, a single woman moves in with three buff gym sharks after a medical scare—perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Hannah Bonam-Young

“A smart, big hearted, and unbelievably funny book.” — Cara Bastone, USA Today bestselling author of Promise Me Sunshine

Thirty-something Ellie Hayes is generally prepared for the worst—living with endometriosis will do that—but when a new medical flare-up points to a possible MS diagnosis, all her careful plans fall apart. Suddenly, Ellie needs a new lease (literally) on life and unexpectedly lands on the doorstep of a house shared by a trio of collegiate beefcakes.

Grant, Alistair, and Diego are toned, beautiful, and woefully short on practical skills. But type-A Ellie thinks living with them could be just the break she needs. She’ll teach them how to adult, and they’ll help her take charge of her fitness and embrace life in all its beautifully spontaneous glory.

Grant’s older brother Ian is the gorgeous man mountain she made out with the night she moved in. But as Ellie and Ian get closer, he feels less like a break from reality and more like an excellent life choice. Could a real relationship be possible, or will her traitorous body be a dealbreaker once again?

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For Never & Always

For Never & Always by Helena Greer is $2.99! Several of us were excited for this one when it came out! It’s book two in the Carrigan’s Christmasland series

One surprise inheritance, two best friends (now bitter exes), and three months to prove he loves her, forever and always, in this swoony second-chance romance for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur and Ashley Herring Blake.

Hannah Rosenstein should be happy: after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi “Blue” Matthews: her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner.

When Levi left Carrigan’s, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn’s cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he’s ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he planned: his family’s angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again.

Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He’ll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.

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Flirty Little Secret

Flirty Little Secret by Jessica Lepe is $3.99! This is a contemporary romance between two teachers at the same school. From what I remember, the heroine has anxiety and depression, and it doesn’t shy away from those experiences.

School counselor Lucy Galindo has a secret.

To her coworkers, friends, and even family, she’s shy, sweet, and constantly struggling to hold off disaster (read: manage her anxiety and depression). But online? She’s bold, confident, and always knows what to say—it’s how she’s become the wildly popular @TheMissGuidedCounselor. It’s also why she keeps her identity anonymous. Her followers would never trust the real Lucy with their problems.

History teacher Aldrich Fletcher thought a new job would give him some relief from his drama-filled family. Instead, he’s dodging his ex-girlfriend and pining over his new co-worker—who only ever seems to see him at his worst. Thankfully, he can count on his online confidant for advice . . . until he discovers @TheMissGuidedCounselor is Lucy.

Now Fletcher has a secret too. And while Lucy can’t deny there’s something between them, she’s not sure she can trust him. Can they both find the courage to share the truth and step out from behind their screens?

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https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/mostly-contemporary-romances-10/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=166954

mdlbear

Today I am thankful for...

Getting Scarlet repaired under warranty by the dealer. I'll be more thankful when we finally get her back. NO thanks for me not being persistant enough contacting Lizzy's dealer -- we sent her out to some random scooter repair place to get a flat tire fixed, and she came back broken. Might be related to an intermittent glitch we've noticed. But still...
Tea. Particularly genmaicha, 100g of which arrived at the house only a few minutes ago.
Also coffee.
Successfully trouble-shooting (home server)Nova -- turned out to be a bad power supply.
Mathematical rabbit-holes. Or else not so thankful, because they take up time that might otherwise be productive
Speed controls on videos. (Except for music videos, of course.)

Current Mood: grateful
Current Location: Schildhaven in Den Haag

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Violsva

Fanfic on AO3

February 2026

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forestofglory - Media Roundup: Onward!
princessofgeeks - OMG new vid rec
kaberett - some good things.
dhampyresa - Slay the Princess!
mific in gamechangerhr - Tuna Melts and Longitudinal Studies - rec
fth2026offerings in fandomtrumpshate - You should have email from us
scalziwhatever_feed - The Big Idea: Bernie Jean Schiebeling
mythicmistress in fancake - Megamind: Rings by impatientseamstress
scalziwhatever_feed - Oh, Look, an Airport
minoanmiss - I am cross with myself
askamanager_feed - can I ask for a cost-of-living raise after I chose to move to a more expensive city?
lirazel - your periodic podcast rec request post
elisem - Cardinal John Henry Newman filk, repeated
andrewducker - Photo cross-post
askamanager_feed - our employee is criticizing our sponsors on social media
fromtheheartofeurope_feed - Thursday reading
fromtheheartofeurope_feed - The Dead Take the A Train, by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
versegm in fandomcalendar - Multifandom Shelter for Abandoned Fics
smartbitches_feed - Mostly Contemporary Romances
mdlbear - Thankful Thursday

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Sorcery and Small Magics

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Ellie Hayes and the Himbos

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For Never & Always

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Flirty Little Secret

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