Rachel > Recent Status Updates

Oof. It's an "aces stick together" story. Yikes.

Movie night. 😊

This is so warm and comfortable so far. I love it.

Yes, Arthur, you ARE courting him. Go on with your cute selves. Match up your mutual weirdnesses.

There's a lot of very specific points made—how-to's on this or that—but it all comes back to the point that a story is about how the protagonist(s) react(s) to the plot, and not about the plot itself.

Most interesting point so far is the assertion that a story is about how the plot affects the protagonist(s). The main thematic focus of a novel should set the stage for how and why the protagonist reacts to the plot in the ways they do.

Please wear underpants beneath your kilts. It's a sanitation issue. I've heard stories from rental companies. Many kilts have had to be burned.

Save the kilts. Wear your skivvies.

Pantscalibur. That is all.

You cannot convince me that Leslie isn't aromantic (and quite possibly also asexual). She's explicitly saying that she's being pressured into marriage because "it shouldn't matter, since she doesn't want anyone." Omg. My heart. I know she's only a minor character, but THANK YOU.

Portia is just starting to consider the idea that ADHD might explain certain facets of her personality, and this feels so real for me. 💜 I knew Cole was a great writer, but oof.

Y'all, THIS is what celibacy looks like. Asexuality? It ain't this.

Secrets revealed! Conflict! Communication problems! What's the reasonable solution to all this?

Well, if you're a genetically-enhanced super-soldier, it's "storming high-security compounds." Obviously.

My computer and phone Kindle apps don't sync well with each other, so I'll just have to read the last few chapters again.

Oh, no. How awful. /s

Even though this series is a sequel to the "Beyond" series, I'm not feeling any more lost with this first installment of "Gideon's Riders" than I would with the beginning of any new series. The worldbuilding and character relationships are clear enough, and even though there are allusions to the previous books, they're not required in order to understand the story.

I can get a lot of reading done on 2+ hours of bus-riding. Jackson's tendency to quick exhaustion when it comes to talking (especially with strangers/acquaintances) was a serious mood for me today. I, too, tend to shut down if forced to engage for longer than I'm prepared to do.

Jackson in the presence of children is meeeeee.

I've upgraded from "hey, this is pretty interesting" to "flipping back to the beginning of the book in search of patterns."

Yup. I like it.

Before I can get all the wrong pronunciations stuck in my head, I've Googled a Diné pronunciation guide. Knowing my luck, it's wrong, too. This is the internet, after all.

Someone come knock me out if I'm up reading this 'til 4 in the morning, because I probably will be.

I mean, it wasn't TOTALLY inappropriate for the waiting room of an outpatient surgery center...

Chocolate-chip cookies are standing in for whiskey now and I CAN'T STOP.

It's about to get real, y'all. 🍿

90-something John Chandler is a hopeless romantic, and I am here for it.

Aileana's pixie chaperone is drunk on honey and demanding that her dance partner toss her over his head, and if that doesn't get you interested in reading this book, I can't help you.