Kerensa > Recent Status Updates

technically this book is actually only 300 pages long if you set aside all the pages of references and whatnot. which means i only have 70 pages left and i CAN finish this book today before i skulk back to the library to return it! (it is overdue)

almost couldn't finish this because of how 🥺🥺🥺 almost every character is. e and henery are my guiding lights. also where was the plot for 80% of the book and why did i have to sit through so many letters of effusive "i miss you more" "no i miss YOU more" back and forth

enjoying this so much that it successfully made tracing and cutting out pattern pieces bearable 🙏🤸‍♀️

🧍‍♀️ what do you mean i forgot to mark this book as currently reading on goodreads and now i have no idea when i started it...anyway um it's really. good.

really enjoying this so far. although we still have not yet reached the murder (which is fine, i'm in no rush)

another audio read! november/december is audio read season!

needed a new sewing audiobook. really enjoying this one so far (it's both informative AND very engagingly written) and i can follow along well even though I don't have much background knowledge on the tudor era at present.

"Cliopher did not like that mocking expression. Did not like what it implied of his Radiancy's state of soul, did not like it aimed outward, particularly did not like seeing his Radiancy aiming it inward at himself. It was not the sort of self-aware humour that healed; it was a hard carapace to shield the wounds it was itself inflicting."

oh! ow!

it's sort of crazy learning about how much oppression and exploitation (and environmental damage) is entwined with the production of cotton and then thinking about how much ~natural fibers are held up and valorized within sewing and crafting communities! basically everything is intersectional everything is multilayered.

cliopher's family: soooo are you in love with the emperor
cliopher: no!
me: lowkey yes

decided to estimate percentage because i clearly selected a different edition than the one i'm actually reading (the paperback is like 750 pages, not 970). anywayyyyyy cliopher mdang i love you so muchhhh, mwah mwah

started rereading this on audio 2 days ago because i needed motivation/accompaniment for my laundry. turns out it is also pretty good motivation/accompaniment for physical therapy (unsurprising!).

started reading this on 10/21 and i am highlighting a ridiculous amount. so far, i think it makes a really good follow up to Women's Work so i'm glad i'm reading them in this order

it just occurred to me that the sons of the dystopian dictator in this book have the same names as the brothers in the inheritance games LOL. goes to show that authors think the names jameson and grayson give off wealthy energy, i guess? (this book was published 7 years earlier and it may be a coincidence, who knows)

i'm back on my bullshit (reading YA dystopians).

this one is actually better thought out than a lot of them so far? like it actually seems to have a political thesis instead of being a story constructed for the sole purpose of forcing a teen girl MC to live in a mansion and wear a pretty dress (although don't worry, our lead is still being forced to do those things. LOL. can't deviate TOO too much)

this reminds me a bit of the girl who fell beneath the sea except i am liking this more so far. also it made me crave spicy noodles at midnight last night LOL

i really don't care about the characters or stakes so far...maybe i will DNF this one

middle aged men are BACK from vacation and our lead is being tormented by fancy clothes. as always, i am enthralled

"wow, this book sure would be great for goblin emperor fans," i say loudly and to no one in particular, glancing around to see if any of my friends and fellow readers will take the obvious bait.

who knew middle aged men going on vacation could be so gripping

"He had spent his lifetime working within an ancient, complex, and corrupt bureacracy and court. He no longer believed one could legislate out of existence greed, or stupidity, or sheer perversity of will.
It reassured him that neither could one legislate out of existence love, or hope, or the desire for beauty."

cliopher we're only 21 pages in. is it ok for me to already love you?

alas, i am reading this for the discourse

guys do you think maia drazhar would like personal attention asmr roleplay videos or would he not enjoy them because he has to sit through getting dressed for his imperial duties daily? discuss in the comments

flea treatment as romance...why yes