Annie
@annebornschein.bsky.social
Used to be over there, now I'm over here
I am trying my darnedest even to bite my teeth together simultaneous to the T. It doesn't work! I can MAYBE do it while doing the N.
December 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I am trying my darnedest even to bite my teeth together simultaneous to the T. It doesn't work! I can MAYBE do it while doing the N.
"Tame bodice ripping"? It sounds like the author has no idea where the term "bodice ripper" comes from. It is such a strange juxtaposition.
December 3, 2025 at 10:51 AM
"Tame bodice ripping"? It sounds like the author has no idea where the term "bodice ripper" comes from. It is such a strange juxtaposition.
The Suffragette Scandal contains an entire f/f romance as the B-plotline!!
December 1, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The Suffragette Scandal contains an entire f/f romance as the B-plotline!!
There was just so much to say last night 😂 I was soooo tempted to drop what I was doing to write a full scholarly response even though I don't do academic writing these days.
December 1, 2025 at 12:54 PM
There was just so much to say last night 😂 I was soooo tempted to drop what I was doing to write a full scholarly response even though I don't do academic writing these days.
Precisely! I just don't think the author of the article engaged with paratextual conventions of romance OR self-publishing constraints in this line of analysis.
December 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Precisely! I just don't think the author of the article engaged with paratextual conventions of romance OR self-publishing constraints in this line of analysis.
I don't know that the original post is still on her website but CM has talked about her process for designing covers, which basically involved editing stock photos of women in bridal gowns because that is where you can find dresses that evoke period dresses. mediadiversified.org/2015/02/08/c...
Can we talk about black women in stock photos?
An excerpt from Courtney Milan’s website courtneymilan.com to continue reading ‘Can we talk about black women in stock photos?’ click here Trigger warning for racism. I’ve talked…
mediadiversified.org
December 1, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I don't know that the original post is still on her website but CM has talked about her process for designing covers, which basically involved editing stock photos of women in bridal gowns because that is where you can find dresses that evoke period dresses. mediadiversified.org/2015/02/08/c...
Here is the back cover. I think the verb "anticipates" is doing a LOT of lifting to mediate between the actual text and an interpretation that minimizes Free's agency/frames her as reliant on Edward.
December 1, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Here is the back cover. I think the verb "anticipates" is doing a LOT of lifting to mediate between the actual text and an interpretation that minimizes Free's agency/frames her as reliant on Edward.
Thanks! Yes, that one looks more obscure. It looks like only used paperbacks available for purchase in US, no ebook.
December 1, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Thanks! Yes, that one looks more obscure. It looks like only used paperbacks available for purchase in US, no ebook.
At this point I kinda just hope the dust-up leads to some new folks buying/reading the series. Which would be kind of an own goal for the scholar.
December 1, 2025 at 4:12 AM
At this point I kinda just hope the dust-up leads to some new folks buying/reading the series. Which would be kind of an own goal for the scholar.
Truly. I have not been so incensed on a literary topic in AGES.
December 1, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Truly. I have not been so incensed on a literary topic in AGES.
I am also curious about what review process the article went through. Did anyone else who had actually read the novels see this before publication? These are not obscure titles or authors.
December 1, 2025 at 4:01 AM
I am also curious about what review process the article went through. Did anyone else who had actually read the novels see this before publication? These are not obscure titles or authors.
Right!! You don't have to look hard to find books doing that messaging. Holding CM up as an author who thinks feminism is no longer necessary would be hilarious to me if it weren't so damned insulting to what she does in her work.
December 1, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Right!! You don't have to look hard to find books doing that messaging. Holding CM up as an author who thinks feminism is no longer necessary would be hilarious to me if it weren't so damned insulting to what she does in her work.
It holds up beautifully to rereading
December 1, 2025 at 3:52 AM
It holds up beautifully to rereading
Yeah, I just don't know how you read that book and come out with an interpretation so divorced from the actual text. It is not exactly subtle 😂
December 1, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Yeah, I just don't know how you read that book and come out with an interpretation so divorced from the actual text. It is not exactly subtle 😂
The Kindle/Amz blurb also doesn't currently say any of that.
December 1, 2025 at 3:47 AM
The Kindle/Amz blurb also doesn't currently say any of that.
Could be? I don't have a copy on me but kind of want to check.
December 1, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Could be? I don't have a copy on me but kind of want to check.
You can't even tell from that angle whether the front of the dress is low cut. (Usually the front is what is referred to with that descriptor, no?)
December 1, 2025 at 3:42 AM
You can't even tell from that angle whether the front of the dress is low cut. (Usually the front is what is referred to with that descriptor, no?)
I am also struggling to reconcile the description of the cover with the cover on my edition, which is, I think, the only one the book has ever had. I don't see any text on the cover image that matches what is described here.
December 1, 2025 at 3:39 AM
I am also struggling to reconcile the description of the cover with the cover on my edition, which is, I think, the only one the book has ever had. I don't see any text on the cover image that matches what is described here.
This! They visit, she hates it, they make a plan so that they won't be tied to the property.
December 1, 2025 at 3:29 AM
This! They visit, she hates it, they make a plan so that they won't be tied to the property.
Right! Edward is afraid that his family/title/obligations will sabotage Free's goals and he rejects that outcome. He prioritizes her and her goals. Because he respects her and finds her properly amazing.
December 1, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Right! Edward is afraid that his family/title/obligations will sabotage Free's goals and he rejects that outcome. He prioritizes her and her goals. Because he respects her and finds her properly amazing.
What kind of note? Something like that informal online consensus is that the article did not accurately portray the novels' political engagement?
December 1, 2025 at 3:23 AM
What kind of note? Something like that informal online consensus is that the article did not accurately portray the novels' political engagement?
Yeah, it is a misreading of the point of the ending. Edward's title and its trappings are an impediment to Free's goals. That ending resolves the problem in a radically egalitarian way so that the couple, as a united front, can go forth and continue the fight, very much on Free's terms.
December 1, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Yeah, it is a misreading of the point of the ending. Edward's title and its trappings are an impediment to Free's goals. That ending resolves the problem in a radically egalitarian way so that the couple, as a united front, can go forth and continue the fight, very much on Free's terms.
Okay, so she read the author's note that spells out the book's message and still came away with post-feminist vision? I don't even know what to say, other than that this looks to be cherrypicking to force a text to fit the author's premise.
December 1, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Okay, so she read the author's note that spells out the book's message and still came away with post-feminist vision? I don't even know what to say, other than that this looks to be cherrypicking to force a text to fit the author's premise.
Yes, she is pretty explicit about her intent and mindset. I wonder whether the author of that article even read the author's note.
December 1, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Yes, she is pretty explicit about her intent and mindset. I wonder whether the author of that article even read the author's note.