Tuesday, 24 February 2026

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!
 

Thursday, 19 February 2026

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!
 

Thursday, 12 February 2026

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.
 

Tuesday, 10 February 2026

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.
 

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Tome Thursday: Lily & Thorne

 
Hello everyone!
 
Welcome to this week's book of choice.
 
Now if you've been following me for a bit, you might remember that this title seems familiar to some extent.
 
Perhaps you're thinking: have I seen this before?
 
Have you?
 
Well, turns out, you have!
 
Originally published as part of an anthology, this particular novella got expanded upon, rewritten, and re-published!
 
And, because I'm a good soul like that - and also, because Rhi Hargadon is an absolute ANGEL - I'm here to write a quick review about this new version of the tale.
 
Without further ado: Lily & Thorne!
 

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Talkie Tuesday: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

 

"Perhaps one day, when this terrible war is ended, 

we shall work again together, eh?

And Poirot will explain it all to you."

 
Hello everyone!
 
My, but it's been a WHILE since I've done one of these.
 
It's a shame really, because this piece tonight happens to be part of one of my all-time favourite series ever made, and I'm talking EVER.
 
There is nothing out there that can compare to it.
 
Basically, I'm someone who grew up watching Jeremy Brett play his way through Sherlock Holmes stories, then once I was old enough, I switched to this.
 
But apparently all I've ever done have been snippets and vague looks into the series, which won't do!
 
It's time to be more serious about it, possibly even gotta-catch-em-all serious.
 
So without further ado, let's hop straight into The Mysterious Affair at Styles.