Tome Thursday: Poison Petals

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to tonight's book of choice.

 

And oh MAN is it a GOOD one!

 

So a while back in 2025, I joined this cute little ARC team - for Ms Lea Rose.

 

This was after I read Where We Burn, which introduced me to Hot Daddy Cowboy Christian Crawford and convinced me that I need to switch religions so I can worship at that altar.

 

I'm only partially joking.

 

But I've had the honour and privilege to read several more of Ms Rose's books, and pretty much all of them have been absolute bangers, so I wasn't even all that worried going into this one.

 

Did I not quite feel 100% about the beginning part of this duet? Yes.

 

But the ending one? Oh it's absolute magic.

 

Let's stop talking about the trappings and go straight into Poison Petals.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Mardaani

 

"This is India!"

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back to another one of those moments where you probably look at the blog and go 'oh heck, she's doing it again'.

 

Because yes, yes I am!

 

I can never stay away from Bollywood for long.

 

I mean, I'm still not quite over the last movie I watched, but that's beside the point, as right now, tonight, I'm picking one of the newer ones.

 

And one of the ones with a female lead I absolutely ADORE.

 

Rani Mukerji is just -chef's kiss- I have to watch more of her work. She's amazing.

 

So without further ado, let's hop right into the drama of tonight's movie of choice.

 

Because that's what we're getting with Mardaani.

 

Tome Thursday: Ghost Overboard

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back to the blog.

 

For tonight's book of choice, we're picking a series that's been ongoing for a bit, but always seems to keep fresh no matter which one you choose to read!

 

I've been a fan of Dina Marie's work since I accidentally stumbled upon Going Ghost, and I've loved the rest of the books ever since.

 

I'm sure plenty of people out there will argue with me and say these books are short, bring nothing to the table, and are much too simple to be considered proper sleuthing ones.

 

I disagree!

 

It doesn't always have to be a crime so deep you need to bring out Holmes or Poirot.

 

Sometimes, all you need is logical thinking, a little bit of luck, and a ghostly companion while you're at it.

 

So let's check that out in Ghost Overboard.

 

Talkie Tuesday: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

 

"In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave;

In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just;

In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the innocent."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome, welcome, back to the continent of Westeros, and the stories and (mis)adventures that happen to take place within it.

 

Now, I've by this point made my peace with the fact Martin will absolutely never finish his A Song of Ice and Fire series. That's cool, that's great, let's move along now.

 

And yes, season 8 was basically trash and we're not here to talk about it again.

 

House of the Dragon returns for its third season this summer, but IN THE MEANTIME, we get to talk about our very favourite hedge knight!

 

Buckle up, grab those spears, make sure your shields are strong and reinforced enough, and then find the nearest snorting charger, because we're about to enter a tournament, and boy, will you need all the luck you can get to survive it.

 

The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, everybody!

 

Tome Thursday: The Blood Locket Mystery

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back to the blog.

 

I'm finally climbing out of the hole that is our Mardi Gras, which we celebrated just this week, and for which the bakery I work at produced ... insane amounts of sweet treats, let's put it that way.

 

So we're FINALLY now entering more normal stages again, and I don't feel like I'm drowning anymore.

 

Instead, I get to enjoy some really, really good books.

 

Among them is this one.

 

I actually read it much sooner than it's making the debut here on the blog, but I just couldn't get to it sooner.

 

Too many books, too little time.

 

Now, at last, here we are back in Byrd Nash's imaginary world where ghosts run around and ghost talkers try to lasso them back, and one apprentice finds herself on her own for a mysterious case.

 

That's what we get in The Blood Locket Mystery!

 

Tome Thursday: Elemental Awakening

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome to tonight's book of choice, which landed in my lap literally forever ago and completely at random - so random, in fact, that I can't even remember how!

 

Although I have vague recollections of finding a post asking for ARC readers for it, and applying thinking that it was never going to happen, yet here I am.

 

Having read the ARC, backed the Kickstarter project, and now seeing the book release into the world.

 

Because yes, it's release week, bby!

 

The official published prints went live February 9, and it has been a WILD ride. It's only getting better too, because the second book is coming this summer, there's a novella focusing on a fan favoured side character slated for autumn ... it's a good time to be in this world, is what I'm saying.

 

So buckle up, get your fingers all flexed and ready, sharpen those swords, and dust off ye ole leathers from our Empyrean drought; here there be dragons!

 

Let's walk with them in Elemental Awakening.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Sikandar

 

"No one is above the law."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to this week's movie of choice.

 

And boy, is it a GOOD one.

 

Of course, if you look at IMDB or any of the movie critics' sites, you'll probably think this stinks to high hell and won't ever touch it.

 

I've learned not to trust those evaluations, because more often than not my personal taste will diverge WILDLY from what the world says you should or shouldn't like. It always comes down to what YOU personally want.

 

And this one is beautiful, with a soulful story that made me cry at least three times (but who's counting?!?).

 

Buckle up, then, grab some tissues, and of course your favourite snacks, because we'll be running into Bollywood at full-speed.

 

It's time for Sikandar.