Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

Friday 22 September 2023

Friday Fics Fix - Let Me Explain


 

'He’s engulfed in the shadow of midnight wings. In the dim lantern light, Izzy examines the damage.'

 


Title: F3. Background: shiny geometry - it's funky


Yes, I'm rec'ing an Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) fic for the second week in a row.

(You can check out last week's F3 here, if you want.)

It's just what the universe wanted, dearest nerdlets, what can I say? The blogger is beholden to the universe's whims 😅

So, this is the fic the universe gave me for this week. 

I don't know why - presumably someone, somewhere, needs to read it. Which is weird, but we live in a weird world, and I was raised by hippies.

Friday 30 September 2022

Friday Fics Fix - It Works Weirdly Well


'She walked over to Thea and pulled one of the games out of the box. It was an old fashioned wooden box with the game’s name actually carved into the front. “Jumanji?”

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Ollie said. He joined them to take a look.'

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



Sometimes, you gotta give points for creativity, y'know?

And there ain't no-one more creative than fic authors! 😉

Friday 8 April 2022

Friday Fics Fix - Hijinks Ensue To A Soundtrack of Queen Music

 

'He had slept every night since they’d defied Heaven and Hell and it was becoming a bit of a habit.'


'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape


A lot of Good Omens (GO) fanfiction tends to revolve around the ship 'Ineffable Husbands' 

- and this week's fic rec is no different.

Friday 4 February 2022

Friday Fics Fix - Once Upon A SamBucky Fairytale

 

'“Um,” said Sam, looking from Bucky to the golden retriever, “Do you know the dog?”

“Uh,” said Bucky, picking the honestly very large dog up, and walking around Sam, “Sort of? Could you… wait a moment? Watch the soup.”'



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This is a weird fic.

Like, it's completely batpoop.

...And you know I love that 😉😅

Friday 21 January 2022

Friday Fics Fix - Night Magic

 

'The night wore on, and Merlin still hadn't found anything. The words were beginning to blur together on the page no matter how much he tried to clear his vision, so he finally gave in and went over to wake Lancelot.'




'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




I love the BBC TV show Merlin - and even years after it ended, it has a thriving fandom online.

...which, lucky for us, means that there are fic writers busily scribbling away to this day.

Friday 10 September 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Not That Strange

 

'The great fairy incident of 1822 was depicted in many paintings, the most famous of them being The Seelie Siege of London by an unknown painter with a penchant for alliteration.'

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape


Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is a behemoth of a book.

It's over 1000 pages of alternate history, set in a world where the titular characters are bringing magic back to England, against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.


Tuesday 20 April 2021

Review Time! - The Sigil by Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville



'The Sigil' with an artsy black marble background



* = commission link




'The Sigil' book cover with the silhouette of a person in a hoodie, and a glowing light
*
Title: The Sigil*


Author: Shakeil Kanish, Larissa Mandeville


Genre: Young Adult (New Adult crossover appeal,) Fantasy, Witches(-ish,) LGBTQ+ (relationships: M/M, side M/F, refs to F/F)

Friday 26 March 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Be There, Angel

 

'If Aziraphale didn’t know better, he might have thought his friend was crying, but it had been centuries since he’d seen Crowley do that.'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape

 


This week's fic is from the Good Omens fandom - the Amazon Prime TV series based on the book by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman that I still haven't gotten around to reading (*gasps*!)

And I think what impresses me the most about this fic is the way that it somehow manages to weave the content of the fic almost seamlessly into the canon.

Friday 19 February 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Keep Calm and Carry On

* = commission link



'The massive box of 64 crayons calls to me, every one of them waiting to be picked and pressed to a page. (I could have gone for the box of 120, but that seemed like too much.)'



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This week's fic is from a fandom that is super-popular, but also not especially well-known outside its core fanbase.

 ...which is why I'm going to do a very brief explanation of Carry On* aka the Simon Snowverse just so's we're all on the same page.

(I realise that a lot of die-hard fans are probably screaming that how could anyone not know about Simon Snow?! But we do not gatekeep here at Dora Reads, dearest nerdlets.)


(Fandom notes:

gatekeeping - also a non-fandom term, when used in fandom this typically takes the form of 'you're not a real fan of [insert fandom or genre or author, etc.] unless you've [insert arbitrary benchmark]')


Thursday 18 February 2021

Comics Wrap-Up - Bite the Lightning and Tell Me How It Tastes

 

'Comics Wrap-Up' with lined-notebook-style background and speech bubbles containing heart symbols


It's Thursday, somehow it's only February, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Everything is once again in the 'other stuff' category (dammit Loki!)

Wednesday 30 September 2020

Review! - Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of The Faun by Guillermo Del Toro and Cornelia Funke

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.




'Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun' against a background of a creepy forest




Title: Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of The Faun

'Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun' book cover with spooky forest and fairies and a girl walking into it

Author: Guillermo Del Toro and Cornelia Funke

Genre: Media Tie-In, Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales (-ish,) Magic Realism(-ish,) Young Adult (Maybe? Maybe just adult with YA appeal. It's kind of difficult to gage the age range here!)



Friday 11 September 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Padfoot and Moony's Guide to Raising Harry Potter (Ft. Diverse Representation!)

 

Note: For the foreseeable future the only Harry Potter fanfiction I'll be rec'ing will have Trans+/NB+ characters. 

I understand if you don't wanna read any posts about Harry Potter whatsoever, and I hope I'll see you when I'm rec'ing from a different fandom.



“Sirius, when is the last time you slept? Or ate a proper meal? Or took a bath? Don’t even bother answering that last one. You smell like something died in your hair..."

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



To rec this fic, I basically just wanted to go:

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...until you read it.

But I realised that's both exhausting and requiring of context. (Dammit!)


Friday 28 August 2020

From My TBR: 15 Young Adult and Middle Grade Books By Black Authors

 

(Warning: this post references racism and police brutality)


 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.



'From My TBR: 15 Young Adult and Middle Grade Books By Black Authors' against a background of the page-side of closed books, lined-up


There are three important reasons for me writing this post:

1. Black Lives still Matter.

2. It's always a good time to highlight diverse books.

and 3. There are so many amazing Black creators out there, who don't always get the recognition they deserve.


So here's a small selection of some of the Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) books on my TBR list that were written by Black authors.

For those of you who don't know the book-blog lingo - a TBR is a 'to-be-read' list. Mine is immortal and cannot be stopped. Send help.

For those of you who are British like me, and/or haven't heard the book blogging term, Middle Grade books are those aimed at (roughly) ages 8-12, or 8-14, depending who you ask.

(Quick disclaimer: obviously, I haven't read these books, just their synopses, so I don't know what they're like in terms of content, quality, etc.)


I hope you find something to add to your own TBR, and remember to support Black authors, and other Black creators.

There're so many talented Black authors out there who deserve our attention!


Thursday 4 June 2020

Comics Wrap-Up - Can't Erase the Scars With A Bandage

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.




'Comics Wrap-Up' with lined-notebook-style background and speech bubbles containing heart symbols


It's Thursday. 2020 is still 2020. Let's get some superhero-y goodness!

Friday 22 May 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Drarry In An Elevator



They stand in another stretch of silence before a great screeching sound reverberates throughout the elevator.



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




For reasons best known to yourselves, dearest nerdlets, one of my perenially popular posts - especially with Google searches - is Drarry In A Cupboard.

So, if you're a fan of Drarry in a cupboard, then I have a treat for you today - Drarry in an elevator!

(Anybody else mentally singing Aerosmith's 'Love In An Elevator'? Just me. Ok.)

(Fangirling notes: Drarry is Draco and Harry with a romantical and/or sexy-ness relationship.)

Friday 1 May 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Witches Loving Witches


'Ginny started to laugh. The Death Eater stopped walking. He was speaking angrily now, growling or snarling something.'



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Argh, how do I explain this week's fic?!?!

Well, for a start, it turns out good F/F fics are like buses - nothing for ages, then they come along one after the other.

Tuesday 28 April 2020

Mini-Review! - Legendary by Stephanie Garber

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.



'Legendary' in a black heart outlined in dripping red, there is a smattering of stars thrown across the whole image






Title: Legendary


Author: Stephanie Garber'Legendary' book cover with red Ace of Spades

Series: Caraval #2

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Amazon: USA





The Verdict:


I don't think I've ever enjoyed a second book so much when I found the first book so... meh.

Don't get me wrong - Caraval was ok. 


It was an enjoyable enough read. 

I did have some... issues... with it when I reviewed it a few years ago, but overall it was just ok.



Friday 17 April 2020

Friday Fics Fix - The Self-Care Fanfic Rec-List



Fanfiction is a fab form of self-care (which I know I've said more than once, but that's because it's true!)

And seeing as how:

a) we could all do with all the self-care we can get atm...

and b) I have written a lot of fanfiction posts over the years...




I figured I'd take a look over my blog archives, and select some of the most useful fics for self-care.

(Side-note: looking through my archive is super-weird!)



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