Louisa Marchell
@louisamarchell.bsky.social
Writer of historical romance. Reader of everything. Perennial procrastinator. I'm mostly lurking while I try to avoid actually finishing a novel. Not actually a cat. she/her
I feel like the next step for Hallmark is a Hallmark movie set on the set of a Hallmark movie in which all of the actors are supportive and kind and helpful. They can just cast these dudes in all the male roles.
December 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I feel like the next step for Hallmark is a Hallmark movie set on the set of a Hallmark movie in which all of the actors are supportive and kind and helpful. They can just cast these dudes in all the male roles.
I am so delighted you are doing these, we are watching this show in real-time and it is an absolute delight, but so are your recaps.
December 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I am so delighted you are doing these, we are watching this show in real-time and it is an absolute delight, but so are your recaps.
So after loud yowling prompts failed to get me moving (45 minutes before medicine time), Cat Two is now sitting very firmly on my feet so he doesn't miss medicine time. Cat One, meanwhile, is sensibly nowhere to be seen. Sorry baby! Seizures are bad for you! (4/4)
December 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
So after loud yowling prompts failed to get me moving (45 minutes before medicine time), Cat Two is now sitting very firmly on my feet so he doesn't miss medicine time. Cat One, meanwhile, is sensibly nowhere to be seen. Sorry baby! Seizures are bad for you! (4/4)
Sure, Cat One hates it and it tastes bad because the vet is totally lying that "beef and marshmallow is a great flavor that cats love" and he has to get held down on the kitchen floor while I force a syringe down his throat. That's not Cat Two's problem, now is it? (3/4)
December 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Sure, Cat One hates it and it tastes bad because the vet is totally lying that "beef and marshmallow is a great flavor that cats love" and he has to get held down on the kitchen floor while I force a syringe down his throat. That's not Cat Two's problem, now is it? (3/4)
... at least when it comes to foods His Feline Highness deigns to consume, obviously.
Anyway, what this means is that Cat Two is very, very eager for his brother to get his medicine every evening. (2/4)
Anyway, what this means is that Cat Two is very, very eager for his brother to get his medicine every evening. (2/4)
December 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
... at least when it comes to foods His Feline Highness deigns to consume, obviously.
Anyway, what this means is that Cat Two is very, very eager for his brother to get his medicine every evening. (2/4)
Anyway, what this means is that Cat Two is very, very eager for his brother to get his medicine every evening. (2/4)
... Roman centurion's helmet, sweeping musketeer's hat with giant feather, pirate hat, baseball cap, newsboy flat cap, very sparkly tiara, elf hat, Cat in the Hat hat... (Can you tell I really like hats)
December 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
... Roman centurion's helmet, sweeping musketeer's hat with giant feather, pirate hat, baseball cap, newsboy flat cap, very sparkly tiara, elf hat, Cat in the Hat hat... (Can you tell I really like hats)
These are adorable! Some hat suggestions: 1960s pillbox hat, barbershop quartet-style straw boater, small child's sailor cap, one of those enormous 1890s Victorian hats (with or without veil), tweed deerstalker a la Sherlock Holmes...
December 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
These are adorable! Some hat suggestions: 1960s pillbox hat, barbershop quartet-style straw boater, small child's sailor cap, one of those enormous 1890s Victorian hats (with or without veil), tweed deerstalker a la Sherlock Holmes...
I will note that this kind of treatment was generally pretty exclusive to the officers, enlisted POWs in Germany were treated much, much worse (as were Russian POWs). But it's kind of mind-boggling to read the casualness with which all of this is described. (7/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I will note that this kind of treatment was generally pretty exclusive to the officers, enlisted POWs in Germany were treated much, much worse (as were Russian POWs). But it's kind of mind-boggling to read the casualness with which all of this is described. (7/7)
again WHILE FIGHTING AGAINST THE BRITISH and drop the notes behind British lines and the British then bundle up spare clothes etc. and DROP THEM BEHIND GERMAN LINES which the Germans collect and deliver to our heroes because of course we're all gentlemen here. (6/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
again WHILE FIGHTING AGAINST THE BRITISH and drop the notes behind British lines and the British then bundle up spare clothes etc. and DROP THEM BEHIND GERMAN LINES which the Germans collect and deliver to our heroes because of course we're all gentlemen here. (6/7)
and the German pilots say "what ho pip pip want to write some notes to your chappies" (paraphrased) and the British say "yes please" and write notes to their units saying "we're ok pls send us change of clothes etc." which the Germans then take up with them in their airplanes (5/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
and the German pilots say "what ho pip pip want to write some notes to your chappies" (paraphrased) and the British say "yes please" and write notes to their units saying "we're ok pls send us change of clothes etc." which the Germans then take up with them in their airplanes (5/7)
Evans et al agree they will not try to escape while they're staying with the German officers, and the Germans agree not to pump them for military info, so they have several days of collegial conversation about the dogfights WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AGAINST EACH OTHER (4/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Evans et al agree they will not try to escape while they're staying with the German officers, and the Germans agree not to pump them for military info, so they have several days of collegial conversation about the dogfights WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AGAINST EACH OTHER (4/7)
... So now all three of them are POWs in Turkey in a truly horrific-sounding prison, whence they are rescued by the GERMAN officers, who insist that of course the British should come stay with them and make them "guests of the mess" (3/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
... So now all three of them are POWs in Turkey in a truly horrific-sounding prison, whence they are rescued by the GERMAN officers, who insist that of course the British should come stay with them and make them "guests of the mess" (3/7)
... escaped, and promptly was sent back to fight over Turkey, where he crashed his airplane AGAIN and ended up a POW again, along with two colleagues who landed to try and help him get his plane running but instead landed on a rock and disabled their own... (2/7)
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
... escaped, and promptly was sent back to fight over Turkey, where he crashed his airplane AGAIN and ended up a POW again, along with two colleagues who landed to try and help him get his plane running but instead landed on a rock and disabled their own... (2/7)
... where "cozy" is basically "all vibes, no plot." For me as a reader I think I make higher demands on light cozy reads, because the author needs to be able to keep me engaged despite missing, well, much of a plot - which means the characterization and setting need to be absolutely on point.
November 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
... where "cozy" is basically "all vibes, no plot." For me as a reader I think I make higher demands on light cozy reads, because the author needs to be able to keep me engaged despite missing, well, much of a plot - which means the characterization and setting need to be absolutely on point.
Honestly I was using cute as kind of interchangeable for cozy. I like cozy as much as the next person - starting in December it will be All Hallmark Holiday Movies All The Time in this house - but I do feel like in romance we sometimes get what you describe... (1/2)
November 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Honestly I was using cute as kind of interchangeable for cozy. I like cozy as much as the next person - starting in December it will be All Hallmark Holiday Movies All The Time in this house - but I do feel like in romance we sometimes get what you describe... (1/2)
All of Gilbert's work seems to be available on Kobo Plus, which is where I read it. I also picked up the first of his Patrick Petrella books and it was fine, but not where I'd recommend starting - it's a police procedural so the emotional impact was lessened.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
All of Gilbert's work seems to be available on Kobo Plus, which is where I read it. I also picked up the first of his Patrick Petrella books and it was fine, but not where I'd recommend starting - it's a police procedural so the emotional impact was lessened.
Also excellent is "Death in Captivity," a murder mystery set in a POW camp in Italy during World War II; Gilbert was himself a POW in a camp in Italy during WWII and again the small details and gut-wrenching moments make for compelling reading.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Also excellent is "Death in Captivity," a murder mystery set in a POW camp in Italy during World War II; Gilbert was himself a POW in a camp in Italy during WWII and again the small details and gut-wrenching moments make for compelling reading.
Instead of engaging/empathizing with the heroic detective who will solve the crime and survive the book (obvs), we are engaging with the characters who are deeply emotionally invested in what has occurred and face life-changing consequences.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Instead of engaging/empathizing with the heroic detective who will solve the crime and survive the book (obvs), we are engaging with the characters who are deeply emotionally invested in what has occurred and face life-changing consequences.
The lack of attention to Hazlerigg himself and the correspondingly atypical structure of the books mean that they have much less of a series feel and are probably why the books aren't very well-known. But I feel like it gives the books real emotional impact.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The lack of attention to Hazlerigg himself and the correspondingly atypical structure of the books mean that they have much less of a series feel and are probably why the books aren't very well-known. But I feel like it gives the books real emotional impact.
I read, and very much enjoyed, the first Hazlerigg book, Close Quarters, and then moved onto the second, They Never Looked Inside, and as soon as Hazlerigg shows up in that one we get a HOLY SHIT gut-punch moment based on the first book which I won't spoil for you.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
I read, and very much enjoyed, the first Hazlerigg book, Close Quarters, and then moved onto the second, They Never Looked Inside, and as soon as Hazlerigg shows up in that one we get a HOLY SHIT gut-punch moment based on the first book which I won't spoil for you.