Marissa > Recent Status Updates

God forbid a girl has hobbies ✈️

I’m howling!!! 🤣✈️

The LA path is not as scenic or varied as Shoreditch, but it just means my focus must be sharper; I observe new flowers in bloom, the unique details of the other pedestrians I encounter. Sometimes I pass something that catches my eye, or ear, and I think, Gabe would love this; or remember when, together, we loved that?
I pause, grateful to run into him again.

The pacing reminds me a lot of Remarkably Bright Creatures. The flashbacks feel like I’m being invited to be part of a privately shared language between two people. I really appreciate how the relationships are handled. No one feels flattened or reduced to a role. Even the more complicated dynamics are treated with care, which makes everything feel grounded and believable.

Picked this up at the library believing it was a memoir. It’s not. Early days, but it already feels measured and intimate.

I’m sad it’s almost over

❤️

Stuart’s prose is such a breath of fresh air….controlled, precise, intelligent. No theatrics. No over explaining. This is dark done with restraint. I already want more Anne Stuart. If this is the standard, I’ve been reading the wrong kind of “dark” for a while.

I’m genuinely surprised by how much I’m enjoying this. Historical romance doesn’t always work for me because the tension can feel small and centered on society gossip rather than real stakes. But this historical romance has teeth! Okay Miss Stuart….excuse me for doubting your greatness. I didn’t know you knew ball 💅

I think my favorite thing about this book is Cam Rohan.

Okay Cam! I had no idea you were such boundary respecting menace you little baddie.

“Morality is only for the middle classes, sweet. The lower class can’t afford it, and the upper classes have entirely too much leisure time to fill”

🛸👽

🛸👽

I am pleasantly surprised. High stakes and funny and I’m only 10% in.

Cute little relatable moments…but also moments that absolutely track with the authors choices. Interesting.