Spoil Me

Thank you so much again to Rosalie Oceanna-Kolb for sponsoring this whole book!
In this episode, Constantine returns with a very surprising therapy for healing Rae, and I'm a little bit thrown by how this all goes down. You want something uncomfortably sexual yet grotesque? Step aside, True Blood, you ain't got nothin on the scene in this section.
Also, I am really impressed with how mature and real-life the themes in this book are, despite dealing with some very heavy supernatural shit. The way that McKinley writes trauma is just so well thought out, and I have a lot of respect for her follow-through in that regard.
Make sure that if you decide to pick up a copy, you use my link and help me out! https://amzn.to/2wWrrkU

Y'all, this show is a lot of fun. Many thanks to Jacqui for commissioning this episode!
I think that if I were Veronica, one of the toughest things about the job that would be helping people who made really foolish decisions without judging them. In this episode she helps out Georgia, another student (and Wallace's crush) who handed over several thousand dollars to a total stranger and trusted that dude to pay her back with 200% interest. She tracks down the scam artists and ruins their whole day, and it's pretty damn satisfying.
There's still the whole thing with Lilly, of course, and I really am no closer to figuring out who could have killed her. I adore the girl from the flashbacks we've seen so far, though, and I'm extra mad at whoever it was. We're going to find you, buster!
Thanks so much for listening, and we will see you next week!

It's time for the next episode of Fire & Hemlock, brought to you by Patricia Bing Grant, in which I begin to realize that this whole book is going to be much more emotional than I realized.
I am a big fan of this book and at this point would consider it one of my favorites that has been commissioned so far. That said, it's nothing like what I expected, and I was unprepared for how deeply personal it feels and how nuanced and adult a lot of the themes are. I'm a big fan of how Wynn Jones has handled a lot of this subject matter, and I keep being surprised at how much she seems to make me feel in a few short sentences.
I hope that if you haven't read this book already, you'll consider picking it up. I don't just mean that for the sake of me getting a cut from Amazon, either. But if you'd like to support me, definitely use my link! https://amzn.to/2wVM41n

Many thanks to Melanie Linares for commissioning my very first Spoil Me! episode covering a movie! Although I was nervous about watching this, I was also very interested in Pan's Labyrinth for a long time and could never get up the nerve to watch it; my sensitivity to things involving torture is quite high and I wasn't really sure I could handle it. So when Melanie commissioned it, I was glad to have a reason to finally make myself watch it.
This movie is...a lot. I start out the show not really sure how I felt about it as a whole, and kind of mixed up in my interpretations of certain scenes and themes. Obviously the art direction is top-notch, and the acting is wonderful, but there was something about it overall that I found kind of unsatisfying, and I kind of put my finger on it towards the end of the recording.
Overall though, this movie is a work of art and well worth watching. Thank you again to Melanie for the commission, and thank you all for listening!

Thank you again to Rosalie Oceanna-Kolb for sponsoring this whole book! I'm really loving the mythology and finding myself a little bummed out that there's only one book's worth rather than a whole series. Apparently McKinley had said she's toying with the idea of writing a sequel, but I'm not going to hold my breath because I don't think I can take the disappointment of another author not coming through with a book I want!
This section came as a bit of a surprise because the narrative turns to dealing with Rae's trauma more than it specifically focuses on plot, which I really wasn't expecting. I'm totally fine with it, though, because it is handled really well and is compelling, which is not something I often say about depictions of PTSD. I'm really rooting for Rae, and I'm curious how she's going to deal with these (very persistent) dudes from SOF.
If you would like to read along, you can pick up a copy here: https://amzn.to/2vKX9BS

Thanks to D'Nique for ordering another episode of Parable Of The Sower by Octavia Butler, because I was so curious about where the story was going! Turns out that after reading this next section I'm still not entirely sure, but everything is still compelling enough that it doesn't matter.
I reread the last 3 chapters to refresh my memory before continuing on, and this trio of chapters has a lot to do with trust and Lauren feeling like nobody can really understand her point of view, because the one girl she confides in runs and tells on her. Turns out that Lauren isn't entirely correct; her father understands her point of view, but he's a little smarter in how he goes about preparing people for the worst.
There's a lot more info dropped in this section about how the community works, the makeup of the other families, and how everyone tries their best to get along even though there is just some horrific shit happening. It's simultaneously a little inspiring and incredibly depressing. Hmm.
Thank you again, D'Nique, and I hope you all enjoyed listening!

This episode of Spoil Me! covering Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is brought to you by Jill, and I'm very hopeful that I will get to continue reading it soon because this was a helluvan opening few chapters.
We are introduced to a world not entirely unlike our own, but about a century behind when it comes to technology (as far as I've seen) and with a whole race of people with magical powers who are traded and sold into indentured servitude.
Problem is, they've just been handed the key to their own escape, and while freedom is a tempting proposition, it comes with a price.
If you're interested in reading along with me, you can pick up a copy of the book here! https://amzn.to/2QaHC75
Thanks for listening, and thanks to Jill for the commission!

Hello, Marshmallows! I'm here with the next installment of Veronica Mars, brought to you by Agnes Leguillon, and this show has been really fun so far so imagine my surprise when I started low-key bawling my eyes out.
This episode was doing a lot, and I was really pleasantly surprised at how things were handled because it could have gone in any number of directions. But thankfully there was a resolution to the whole storyline that was not horrifically transphobic, and in fact was really moving and sweet and hopeful, and I'm very grateful for that.
Also happening in this episode is a closer look at Duncan than we've gotten so far. He's a surprisingly complex guy, as we are discovering, and it turns out he's not handling his sister's death well at all. In fact, he almost kills himself taking a header off the bleachers in order to get Veronica's attention. Yikes, Duncan.
Thanks so much to Agnes for sponsoring this one, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

This week's episode is brought to you by Devin Mathews!
I know that I keep saying how much this book has been catching me by surprise, but I'm dead serious...I haven't seen any of this stuff coming. Walking across an air bridge to reach the World Gates? A bizarre hate-monster that chases them through those gates? I don't know what to think, except for...MAYBE GIVE UP ON THAT PEN, NITA!

Join me as I discover the awesome world of Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynn Jones, sponsored by Patricia Bing Grant.