Sometimes I play video games because I want to beat stuff up. But I wanna beat stuff up, for, like, a purpose, man. Like to save the world or help a charming character survive a difficult scrape. In this third installment about the games that got me through nursing school, I’m focusing on games where you gotta fight but there’s also some real narrative juice. Basically all of these games are RPGs and roguelites. RPGs … Continue reading The Games That Got Me Through Nursing School, Part Three: Fighting and Surviving in Roguelites and RPGs →
I’m back for my second installment on the video games that helped me survive nursing school without shooting my cortisol levels perpetually to the moon (that’s one of the primary stress hormones, if you are blessed enough to not need to know this information). In my first installment, I talked about sim games, which are my go-to for all-round stress relief. But I find that sometimes, when using a particular part of my brain a … Continue reading The Puzzle and Card Games That Got Me Through Nursing School →
Hello, Bitchery!!! If you missed me, it’s because I spent basically all of 2021 and 2022 in graduate nursing school, and then the first couple months of 2023 studying for a licensing exam. Through this process, I have found that one of the only ways I find I can actually unwind from cramming my brain full of massive amounts of information at a rapid pace is by playing video games. As you might imagine, I … Continue reading The Life Sim Games That Got Me Through Nursing School →
Y’all, this book is kinda bananas, but I also think it will definitely be some people’s catnip, so I have to Alert the Bitchery. I mentioned Velvet in Watcha Reading a while ago (like, a really long while ago before I was sucked into the vortex that was nursing school). I described it as having fanfiction vibes then, and I stand by that assessment. Like, it’s not obviously veiled fanfiction of anything in particular; it … Continue reading Velvet by Lisette Marshall →
Hoo boy, was this book a mixed bag. Here are my main takeaways for potential readers, sorted into the good, the bad, and the meh: The good: The premise and world-building are intriguing and fun once things get going, and the third-act action is genuinely a nail-biter (after an otherwise slow-ish plot). There are several very engaging lady secondary characters of supernatural origin. Also, most of the major secondary characters are queer. Finally, I love … Continue reading Shadow of the Swan by Nicola M. Cameron →
Hark and LO, bitchery! It is I, your intrepid fantasy romance correspondent, delighted to inform you I have found a winner. The Shadow and the Sun is a fun, sexy, pretty well-written, and unabashedly FANTASY romance novel. The setup is this: in a medieval-ish fantasy world called Quoregna, a warrior woman named Halina, who is the bastard daughter of the king of Ursinum, is charged with a mission to convince a reclusive wizard, the Shadow … Continue reading The Shadow and The Sun by Monica Enderle Pierce →
Payback’s a Witch was a fun, spooky, sexy way to kick off my autumnal reading. With enjoyable characters with clear development, a sultry queer romance, a delightfully magical setting, and beautiful prose, there’s lots and lots to like here. At the outset of the story, Emmy Harlow is returning to her magical hometown of Thistle Grove after a whopping nine-year absence, during which time she has not seen any of her family or childhood friends … Continue reading Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper →
Heartbreak Incorporated is kind of a bonkers book, and I love that about it. It commits pretty hard to its own premise of a sexy, mysterious man breaking up relationships for money while also maybe doing vigilante justice on the side, and the aspiring journalist who wants to uncover all of his secrets (in both a sexy way and a hard-boiled PI kind of way). Also, there are demons, and this book is very queer. … Continue reading Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi →
Bitchery, I am on a quest to bring you all of the fantasy romance and romantic fantasy I can get my hands on. As a part of this quest I finally picked up Vengeance Born, a fantasy romance from 2012 that has been on my TBR for a few years now. There were some things I quite liked about this series opener and some things that made me shake my head and sigh, but overall, … Continue reading Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin →
Bitchery, I struggled with this book. Not with the reading of it, so much, but with trying to parse my feelings and opinions on it, which are complicated. I was very excited about this #OwnVoices book about a trans witch bound in a magical engagement with his childhood best friend, a fae prince. And the initial chapters really drew me in. I wanted to like this so badly!!! But I ultimately kind of did not. … Continue reading The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon →
One of my absolute favorite things about visiting Japan was eating many varieties of wagashi in enormous quantities. Wagashi are traditional japanese sweets, originating as accompaniments to the bitter flavors of green tea used in traditional tea ceremony. Making wagashi can be an incredible art form, yielding small confections that look like miniature sculptures. They are beautiful and delicious. So as you can imagine I one-clicked so hard when I discovered Something’s Wrong With Us, … Continue reading Soggy Bottoms: Murder, Mayhem, and Manju Edition →
