How is it that Manda Collins never ceases to delight me? Her latest installment (and maybe final?) in her Ladies Most Scandalous series, A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril, is no exception to the reputation she's established as a charming author of historical romances, even when there's a murder to be solved. With all the chaos my life has been over the last four years, I've never been able to review one of her books, which is a shame because they're so deserving of all the ...
Musings
WOMS: The Gentleman’s Gambit
There are few books, especially works of fiction, I read where I desire to annotate little notes or underline sentences because of how deeply they resonate with me. I can only think of five books where I have done so, and they are my five most favourite and beloved novels. I have now read another I would add to that list. Evie Dunmore's The Gentleman's Gambit possessed every bit of charm and passion as her other books in her League of Extraordinary Women series. However, this book felt ...
WOMS: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
I should have read this series as a tweener. I would have been in love with Percy and Annabeth and Grover. I would have wanted to escape to Camp Half-Blood every summer. I was only a few years older than Percy when Rick Riordan introduced us to this feisty whippersnapper of a kid with a quick-witted tongue and even sharper reflexes. I could have grown up with him, but alas. This series has always been on my TBR. I'm not sure why I didn't make more of an effort to read it once I learned more ...
WOMS: The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic
This book messed me up. In a good way. The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a debut novel by Breanne Randall, marketed as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls, and I couldn't agree more. Though I've only seen one of those, and neither are necessarily favourites of mine, this is one of those rare examples when the comp titles are right on the money. This book takes you in, wraps you up in a cosy knitted blanket, hands you a warm cup of tea, and invites you to partake of the ...
I’m Back
I found my spark again. A lot has happened since I last wrote, even though it’s only been a couple of months. A lot of changes around me, in me. A lot of shackles have been removed. I don’t feel tied down anymore. I’m getting comfortable in my own skin again, too. It’s an exhilarating feeling, having the freedom to be oneself. I’ve chased my own authenticity for years now. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop, but I feel as though every day brings me closer and closer. Growing up, I was ...
A Hierarchy of Needs
I'm back momentarily to share one quick update, and something I recently learned which may help you as much as it has helped me by boosting my confidence about Life interrupting what is important to me over these last few years. In one of my recent sessions, my therapist and I were discussing ways to help communicate my needs during this time of learning about my autism since my diagnosis, and how to establish my boundaries more firmly with different areas which might demand more from me than ...
Glass Ball, Rubber Ball
I dropped the ball again. Except—as I heard someone once share how they manage the demands of Life—to me this was a rubber ball, not a glass one. I know this will bounce back, but I still should have shared yesterday. Anyway…I’d like you to meet two new friends of mine: Mr. & Mrs. Shroom. They hang out with me at work to let my coworkers know whether I’m having a good or bad mental health day. If good, Mrs. Shroom hangs out with me; if bad, well…her grumpy spouse joins me instead. ...
Accepting My Own Neurodivergence
Hello, my name is Lynn, and I have autism. Like many of you, this came as a shock to me, but then again, it didn’t. It rather came with a sense of relief, vindication, mingled with grief and indignation for not knowing sooner. You may recall how I have spoken about being an INFJ at great lengths, emphasizing that was the reason for my difference in perspective about the world. However, in recent years, I have developed a sense of…transcendence, for lack of a better term, knowing who I ...
Rabellah & the Carpenter: a Myth of Ada’mah
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The Hidden Power of Yud
I don't have much to share that I haven't already said in either of my last two blog posts where I both announced the upcoming changes to my blog---to be released later this month---and some changes at my day job, which proved to help amend the distress and attacks I endured earlier last year. (Still feels weird to think it, officially, was last year now.) In fact, I'm not sure I have much to share or say in this new year at all. Not yet, at least. There have been a lot---and I mean, a ...
