Enola Holmes: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan

If anything were to make you fall more in love with Sherlock Holmes...

It's Nancy Springer's depiction of him in her series Enola Holmes (and in this case, her four installation: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan). The smart but incredibly sweet and caring and amused version of Holmes, much similar to the original Arthur Conan Doyle version, without all of the hate speech and cold, untouchable exterior. We get a bit more of page time with Sherlock in this volume due to the fact that Enola has to team up with him to find (and then save) Lady Cecily.

["Enola is thrown into a tailspin when she receives a desperate message from her old friend, Lady Cecily. Enola knows she must help her friend before it's too late - but she doesn't know how! This complicated case has Enola hunting down clues all over London until she finally discovers the awful truth: Lady Cecily is being held prisoner! Enola must risk her own freedom and join forces with her brother, the famed Sherlock Holmes, to free Cecily. Can Enola trust her brother, and can they save Cecily in time?"]

These books are starting to blur a little bit. For how fast I'm reading through them. But I can't help it. They're soooo good. And all less than 250 pages. All middle-grade reading level. All simply intriguing (who doesn't love a good mystery with a good feminist narrator). Besides, the movie adaptation of The Case of the Missing Marques (book 1) will debut on Netflix at the end of the month, and I want to be fully informed on all things Enola before the first movie (of a "promised" film series) is released.

#enolaholmes #thecaseofthepeculiarpinkfan #nancyspringer #sherlockholmesretelling #sherlockholmes #authorconandoyle #suffragettes #feminists #books #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Goodbye August

August like took forever. But at the same time, sped by quickly. At the same time. August was a hyperbole and an anomaly. Yeah...

Just like 2019, I wanted to make some resolutions and (try to) stick to them. As a reminder, here were my updated resolutions.


2020 Resolutions:

     (1) Write [almost] every day

     (2) Don't stop reading

     (3) Completesomething (e.g. a manuscript)

     (4) Share love of books/writing
     (5) Be kinder to myself

(1) Not every day. Not every other day. Probably not even half of the days. But some day, yeah, I succeeded in writing/brainstorming/editing/planning/plotting by Captain Hook piece. 

(2) Books read this month: 7. And like three halves (started two books and abandoned them for the time being--starting a book right after I post this).

(3) Two Moves Ahead manuscript still just chilling, waiting for people to read it, waiting for me to do research to find an agent, waiting in general.

(4) Posts this month (including this one): 10.

(5) Feeling good about myself most days. Trying to make myself not hate my body some days. Other days I'm fine with how I look. Definitely gained weight, lost some, gained it back. Started to exercise again, got a cold, quit. Trying over again today/tomorrow/September (no more stress eating, then?) 

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

Any exciting September reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyeaugust #helloseptember #hello2020 #keeplearning #writeeveryday #dontstopreading #completesomething #getprofessional #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

Who's the better detective? Sherlock Holmes or his 14-year old little sister, Enola Holmes? 

["Everyone knows Dr. Watson is Sherlock Holmes' right-hand man - so when he goes missing, it's a shock. Even Sherlock hasn't, well, the slightest clue as to where he could be. Enola is intrigued, but weary; she's still hiding from her older brothers - and getting involved could be disastrous.

But when a bizarre bouquet shows up at the Watson residence, full of convolvulus, hawthorn, and white poppies, Enola must act. She dons her most discerning disguise yet to find the sender - and quickly, for Enola knows the blossoms symbolize death!"]

Who will find Dr. Watson first? Who can Enola trust (while trying to save John's life, while trying to save her own, while desperately missing her mother)? Who is going around wearing a false nose and sending asparagus leaves under the guise of sympathy bouquets?

Also, I think this is my favorite cover of them all. I mean, look at that hair! Those boots? And those tights?! Like wow. I wish you could (Enola could) wear that Victorian black dress with those modern, bright pink tights. That would look amazing. 

Next Up: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan.

#enolaholmes #thecaseofthebizarrebouquets #nancyspringer #sherlockholmesretelling #sherlockholmes #authorconandoyle #suffragettes #feminists #books #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady

The second in the series by Nancy Springer: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady. Lots more feminist movement stuff, a bunch of working class rights advocating, and just the right amount (for the time period) of female/poor bashing.

Plus a lot of costume changes and sisterly bonding (over being missing/secret-suffragettes).

["Enola's name backwards spells "alone," and alone she is, in the world's biggest, darkest, dirtiest city. She is being hunted down by the world's most famous detective - her own brother, Sherlock Holmes. For the sake of freedom she must elude him, but what can she do to ease her loneliness?

When she discovers a hidden cache of brilliant charcoal drawings, she feels as if she's a soul mate to the girl who drew them - but that girl, young Lady Cecily, has disappeared without a trace. Braving midnight streets where murderers roam, Enola must unravel the clues - a leaning ladder, a shifty-eyed sales clerk, political pamphlets - to find the left-handed lady, but in order to save Lady Cecily from a powerful villain, Enola risks revealing more than she should. Will hero own lonely heart betray her?"]

To see my complete obsessive paragraphs on this series and feminism as a whole (as well as the importance of said representation in children's literature), please see the post about The Case of the Missing Marques (the first installment of the Enola Holmes series).

Now I'm off to start the third novel: The Case of the Bizarre Bouqeuts. 

#enolaholmes #thecaseofthelefthandedlady #nancyspringer #sherlockholmesretelling #sherlockholmes #authorconandoyle #suffragettes #feminists #books #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marques

 I seriously love a good retelling. Let alone a Sherlock Holmes retelling (I'm seriously obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and his many adaptations--despite with Arthur Conan Doyle would think of what his "little stories" became (spoiler alert: he's rolling in his grave)).

And this books series (middle grade novels made for the modern feminist detective) is more than just a simple retelling. Nancy Springer created the character (and thus the series) Enola Holmes, the younger sister to Sherlock and Mycroft. Raised by their mother after their father's death alone in the wiles of the English countryside (at their familial estate of course). Their mother, a highly independent and intelligent woman far more advanced than the time period (a suffragette--our feminist fore-mothers) raises Enola not in the manner of a young lady who balances books on her head and sticks her pinky out at tea time. But one who wears knickerbockers instead of dresses, one who rides bikes and climbs trees and solves encoded messages. 

All of the books can be read alone but they do connect and move quickly from one story to the next. Each book has it's own individual mystery while maintaining an overall plot (and secondary--primary?--mystery) from one book to another.

The first book in the Enola Holmes series is The Case of the Missing Marques:

["When Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared—on her 14th birthday nonetheless—she knows she alone can find her. Disguising herself as a grieving widow, Enola sets out to the heart of London to uncover her mother’s whereabouts—but not even the last name Holmes can prepare her for what awaits. Suddenly involved in the kidnapping of the young Marquess of Basilwether, Enola must escape murderous villains, free the spoiled Marquess, and perhaps hardest of all, elude her shrewd older brother—all while collecting clues to her mother’s disappearance!"]

Enola spent the first book realizing who she is as well as her serious potential, all the while everyone in her life (excluding her missing mother) tells her that she is a simple child with a simple mind who will amount to nothing because she's a girl (lots of female bashing from the patriarchy in this series--which only flips on its own head to bash the patriarchy itself when Enola (and other women) succeed/excell).

A serious must read. Seriously. (I'm off to read the second one now--The Case of the Left-Handed Lady).

#enolaholmes #thecaseofthemissingmarques #nancyspringer #sherlockholmesretelling #sherlockholmes #authorconandoyle #suffragettes #feminists #books #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Pumpkin Mocha Breve

Pumpking Mocha Breve, anyone? 

Okay, so I don't like coffee, therefore mine was more of a pumpkin infused hot chocolate. It was a little sweet (okay, a lot sweet--sorry, Baz--it's like drinking a candy bar) (next time, I'll be cutting down on the vanilla syrup--and maybe the pumpkin). But it was really good. Like, it shouldn't have been that good.

Then again, Basilton Grimm Pitch isn't an idiot (and neither is Rainbow Rowell).

It's fall y'all. Pumpkin patch (and chocolate dipped frozen pumpkin pie on a stick) safely! ;)

#pumpkinmochabreve #ornot #pumpkinhotchocolate #itslikedrinkingacandybar #pumpkinheads #carryon #waywardson #anywaythewindblows #rainbowrowell #tyrannusbasiltongrimmpitch #simonsnow #books #LGBT #LGBTbooks #snowbaz #LGBTbooks #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Wesley James Ruined My Life

"Wesley James Ruined My Life" by Jennifer Honeybourn was just the book I needed. A fabulously easy read. A fantastic contemporary novel. A totally cliched (but still works) romance troupe. 

I'm in a book rut lately. I don't know if its the humidity (which is hella high) or just reading rollercoaster thing or the fact that I read a lot of really really (really) good books lately and it's hard to top them.

But Wesley James totally (or not) ruining Quinn's life (like I said--or not ;) ) definitely helped.

["ixteen-year-old Quinn Hardwick’s having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a home, her dad’s gambling addiction has flared back up and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend—until he ruined her life, that is.

So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn’s going to do is forgive and forget. She’s determined to remove him from her life and even the score all at once—by getting him fired.

But getting rid of Wesley isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to just get over it."]

#wesleyjamesruinedmylife #jenniferhoneybourn #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Love Interest

 Holy. Shit.

This book. This fucking book. Wow. It was soooo good. The premise by itself is utterly fantastic. Then Cale went and threw in that LGBT curve ball. And that one plot twist with you-know! And the other one with the-thing! Like holy freaking hell. Wow.

["There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection.
Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome.

The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be - whoever the girl doesn't choose will die.

What the boys don't expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both."]

Trigger Warnings: body image shaming, body image consciousness, suicide, death, violence, mental and emotional manipulation, basically straight up human trafficking meets teenage slavery?

... Just be warned, this book (and the list of trigger warnings) messes with your head. A lot. So like...what I did...was keep reminding yourself that its fiction and to take everything negative with a grain of salt. Focus on the romance. Look forward to the happy ending part (spoiler alert, there is one).

#theloveinterest #caledietrich #LGBT #LGBTbooks #distopian #sotra #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

There's Someone Inside Your House

My coworker recommended that I read this book after I read Stephanie Perkin's other books ("Anna and the French Kiss"; "Lola and the Boy Next Door"; and "Isla and the Happily Ever After"). And listen, I'm not a fan of horror books or horror movies. I'm very particular about my mystery novels. 

But this book...THIS book...was so fucking good. (and Netflix is making/has made a movie based off of it--release date TBD but 2020 sometime). 

Like so freaking fucking good. The switching POVs (you get to know the murder victims just a bit before Stephanie offs them--such a great authorial choice there). The perfect use of gaslighting and sense of paranoia. The small town, red-neck, hysteria mind-set was strong (and accurate).

["Love hurts...

Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.

Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets."]

Trigger warnings: blood/gore, death, suicide, gaslighting, violence, murder. stalking

Off to go buy/read Stephanie's other horror/mystery (stay paranoid y'all).

#theressomeoneinsideyourhouse #stephanieperkins #gaslighting #books #mystery #horror #mysterybooks #horrorbooks #bookstagram #bookphotography #annaandthefrenchkiss #loloandthebooknextdoor #islaandthehappilyeverafter #ilovebooks

The Friend Scheme

I see it a little fitting that I was watching (background watching) The Godfather series while reading "The Friend Scheme" by Cale Dietrich.

This book is one part Romeo and Juliet, one part Love Simon, one part All For The Game. A gangster, queer, star-crossed lovers story. With lots of nerdy gamer references. 

["High schooler Matt's father is rich, powerful, and seemingly untouchable—a criminal with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Matt's older brother Luke seems poised to do just that, with a bevy of hot girls in tow. But Matt has other ambitions—and attractions.

And attraction sometimes doesn't allow for good judgement. Matt wouldn't have guessed that when he makes a new friend, one who is also carrying a secret. The boys' connection turns romantic, a first for both. Now Matt must decide if he can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is meant to love."]

#thefriendscheme #caledietrich #books #LGBT #LGBTbooks #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Date Me, Bryson Keller

"Date Me, Bryson Keller" by Kevin van Whye was seriously, one of the best books that I've read in a while. Honestly, you need to go read this right now. Right. Now.

If you love contemporary queer novels. If you love fake dating tropes. If you love so many cute and fluffy moments. You need to go read this.

["Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.

Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?"]

Trigger warnings: homophobia and bullying

#datemebrysonkeller #kevinvanwhye #books #LGBTbooks #LGBT #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks