Dallas > Recent Status Updates

This novella is /lovely/. I never thought I'd feel compassion for Mr. Collins in a P&P world, but here I am, hand over heart.

"Indeed, for the first time in my life, I knew what men meant when they spoke of the divine."

Phew, there is so much /plot/ happening in this book right now; I'm literally fanning the pages and setting it down so I can breathe through it and process!

Helena is going to get /wrecked/ from multiple sides, and that's saying a lot because she's already been tortured monumentally.

The beginning of this novel was slow-going, but my goodness, the ramp up!

"I loved Sadie Shaw more than words could wield the matter, dearer than eyesight, space and liberty."

Oooof. Okay, that one hit me.

For the first 186 pages, I was casually interested because I adore world-building and lore, but once a hefty plot point was dropped, I became invested.

(To be fair, I wouldn't normally stick around for investment, but since this novel is over 1000 pages long, exceptions must be given. Also, I didn't know anything about the author's preferred genres before I purchased the book, but! I can sense a good read.)

"But when he looks at Mark, he just thinks: Of course I'd take that risk.

I'm swooning!

Describing the act of falling in love is a centuries' (millennia?) long feat that many have swung a bat at (pun intended for this novel), but Cat Sebastian is so damn good at explaining it in an almost visceral way. It's lovely to read off the page.

"It's a tug and a /yes/ and a /there he is/."

Simple but poetic as all hell, and you GET it.
You can feel it.

Goodness me. This entire read so far has been the two protagonists not saying what is foremost in their heads and them spoiling for a big fight and a fuck.

The tension has made me SO anxious that I keep picking the book up, reading a page, and then putting the book down again because I'm both waiting for and dreading the fallout.

And none of this is a complaint. It's damn good writing if I'm feeling this way!

"...and I thought how in the last few weeks, the idea of him had sometimes made me nervous but the reality of him always comforted me."

"Tell me you don't watch porn without telling me you don't watch porn."

"I find it narratively unsatisfying," I said.

"Yeah, I think you might be missing the point."

"Marveling at the perfection of that leaf, I was reminded that aesthetic beauty is as much about how and whether you look as what you see. From the quark to the supernova, the wonders do not cease. It is our attentiveness that is in short supply, our ability and willingness to do the work that awe requires."