We know the solstice is the real holiday y’all are out here getting wild for, but like any bird of prey, the Christmas-Industrial-Complex must be fed. This week, Morgan and Isabeau take aim at propriety with Cecilia Grant’s Blackshear Family novella, A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong. When the uptight and proper Andrew Blackshear ventured to buy a falcon for his sister’s impending marriage, the last thing he expected was to himself become the hunted. Our heroine and daughter of the falconer, Lucy Sharp, is anything but conventional; and when a carriage ride from Andrew results in calamity, they must assume the role of happily married, in order to share a bed in the home of some acquaintances below their station. But as passion creeps into Andrew’s waking life, the couple must decide between ardent love and social customs. What’s your preferred mode of hunting? Does convention handcuff progress? And does dry humping ever really solve anything? While we hope y’all are forever grabbing life by the scruff of its rodent neck, for fuck sake please stay home this holiday season. You deserve a break anyway.
As routine takes hold at Thornfield Hall, Jane is getting restless. This week, our heroine journeys to post a letter, comes to the aid of an off-putting and unhandsome traveler, and finally puts a face to the swirling mystery of her employer. First time readers beware - spoilers abound in this chapter. Skip 28:10 - 33:17 to avoid spoiling more than the HEA.
Jane’s ad got a bite. This week, our heroine makes the acquaintance of her suspected employer, Mrs. Fairfax; Jane takes on the education of one Adèle Varens; and what’s the deal with Thornfield Hall?
Holidays are hitting different this year, what with all the plague, but we at Whoa!mance are pledging to keep our Christmas humor to the last. This week, Morgan and Isabeau shack up with this festive friends-to-lovers novella, One Bed for Christmas by Jackie Lau. Our hero, Wes Chang, a freelance artist and barbershop quartet mascot, is thrown by fate or meteorological happenstance into close proximity with his college friend, long time crush, and successful dating app CEO, Caitlin Ng, when a sudden snow storm leaves her stranded in Wes' modest working person’s apartment. What began as a convenience of warmth blossoms into a confirmation of long held desires, as Wes and Caitin are imbued with the magic of both holidays and snow days. Does capitalism prevent us from keeping the holiday spirit alive year round? Does the kaleidoscopic nature of Christmas belie a dragon chase of toxic nostalgia? Is the “one bed” a metaphor for our singular planet hurtling toward climate destruction, leaving us to grasp and cling to whomever happens to be closest? This one's dedicated to all the bars we wish we could close this holiday season. Stay home and stay safe.
Who knew bungling a health crisis could lead to a change in leadership? This week, conditions at Lowood improve when Mr. Brocklehurst files for unemployment, eight years fall away like a cartoon calendar, and our heroine has an epiphany about the classified ads.
This chapter hits way different during a global pandemic y’all. This week, Spring brings typhus to Lowood, Jane, in good health, is free to wander the grounds, and the harsh reality of Helen’s health comes into sharp focus.