Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Category: Uncategorized

  • Betsy’s Book Report: Untethering Dark by Desiree M. Niccoli

    Betsy’s Book Report: Untethering Dark by Desiree M. Niccoli

    Set in the Black Forest (der Schwarzwald) in Germany we are introduced to Astrid a Hexe, a witch with aspirations to become a hag like her adopted mother, Mutter Perchta. Every Night for years Astrid has left out an offering to Altes Geweih, Old Antlers, an ancient forest protector who lives with her in the forest.

    Then one night a group of hikers come to Astrid’s home causing chaos, releasing her goats, and destroying her nightly offering to Altes Geweih. Realizing he has come and accepting her fate she brings a plate of cookies, and comes face to face with the monster in the woods. Expecting to be eaten, instead he allows her to live and accepts her offer of cookies.

    Soon she is flirting with him, and he is flirting back? He reveals his true name to her, Gudariks. And, Astrid begins to feel true attraction and affection for her unlikely new friend. The two of them have a burgeoning relationship that develops alongside the two also working together to attempt to rid the forest of a group of poachers who seem to be plaguing the forest.

    The characters in the book may be monsters, but they are beautifully developed and nuanced. The relationships also feel so real, including those between Astrid and her human friends. The inclusion of lore, history, and traditions of the area just adds to the richness of the story. I can believe that in this world there are mysteries in the dark woods that we cannot comprehend, set to protect the natural world from human corruption. In fact, I want to believe.

    I gave the book five stars and would recommend highly to monster romance lovers, and to those curious about the genre. I will warn you, though, that you may come out the other side with a longing for German Christmas Cookies.

    Untethering Dark by Desiree M. Niccoli is the first Monster Romance to be released by Harlequin books, a publisher every romance reader probably knows, and I was lucky enough to get approved to receive an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy). The book will be available February 4, 2025 as an ebook only at https://shop2.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780369762214_untethering-dark.html

  • 2024 Reading Recap

    2024 Reading Recap

    I read 575 books in 2024 according to goodreads, though I suspect a couple of ARCs and audiobooks may have been missed, and some of these books just blew me away with how well written they were, how immersive they were, how entertaining they were, how smutty they were, and occasionally how truly unhinged they were (looking at you Nicole Parker and Unfortunate Reads). Below is a collage of books I truly loved reading in 2024.

    Each of these books left an indelible mark on my mind and I would recommend them to anyone, well some of them I would recommend to anyone with a super open mind, but still…get into these.

    What were your favorite books of 2024?

  • 21 Days of Blogging

    21 Days of Blogging

    I am working on a new list of things I want to do when the world goes back to normal.

    • Visit NYC
      • See Hadestown on Broadway
      • Visit the Museum of Moving Image
    • Visit Nashville
    • Visit Philadelphia with Traci
      • Visit Mutter Museum
    • Visit DC
      • Visit Smithsonian
    • Go to the Bristol Renaissance Festival
    • Go to St Louis Renaissance Festival
    • Go to Sterling Renaissance Festival
    • Go to Michigan Renaissance Festival (again)
    • Go to Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival
    • Visit Sedona Arizona
    • Visit Iceland
    • Visit London
    • Visit Ireland
    • Visit Toronto

    So…I should probably start saving up. lol.

  • My Halloween Purchases…so far

    I love, love, love shopping during Halloween season! I get some of my best home goods during this time of the year. I haven’t gone as crazy in 2020 as I have in past years, but I have still bought some fun things.

    From Michaels: I bought several pieces from their pastel line to live on my self-love altar.

    Who doesn’t need a pastel pink shiny unicorn skull?

    From Home Goods/Marshalls the other day I bought a couple of pairs of Betsey Johnson Halloween Earrings.

    Skeletons, bats and spiders…oh, my.

    I have picked up other little odds and ends, but nothing super fun and exciting. The season is not over yet, though.

  • My Favorite Fictional Witches 🧙‍♀️

    I love movies, books, and tv shows about witches. They are inaccurate, over the top, hyperbolic, and totally my preferred entertainment. Here is a list of 5 of my favorite fictional witches:

    1. Granny Weatherwax – Terry Pratchett wrote his non leader of the witches in discworld to be a complex, nuanced, no nonsense woman and I hope I can have half her moxie when I grow up.

    2. Willow Rosenberg – Yes, she went evil for a bit and yes, she is a little out of control, but I loved her for so many seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before that, so…

    3. The various Owens sisters – It’s a cheat I know but I love the aunts and the sisters and the aunt’s aunt from the prequel. The Owens women make Practical Magic, well magical. Lol.

    4. Nancy Downs – The “crazy” member of the Coven in The Craft. She is the weirdo mister. Probably shouldn’t have invoked the spirit.

    5. The Coven – American Horror Story: Coven is still my favorite season and these girls are why. From the dramatic Fiona to the shy Zoe to the strong Queenie I love every one of these witches.

    Runners up: The Sanderson Sisters, Mildred Hubble, etc. I love witchy fiction!

    Who are your favorite fictional witches? Are there any you just hate? Tell me about it.

  • October 2 – Outfit of the Day

    My mom, sister and I are headed to the new District West nightclub to see Double Take starring Krystal Something Something, one of my favorite Columbus drag queens. As such I am fancy as fuck tonight! So I thought I would share what I am wearing.

    My dress is bodycon from Forever 21 a couple of years ago. My vest is from a thrift store and cost about $5. My boots are also thrifted and were $8. My mask is from Nina West and was a gift from my mother.

    My coffin hairclip is from Sugar Kitty Couture.

    My eyelashes are Maneater by Tarte. My lipstick is F*ck Kavanaugh by Lipslut.

    I am so excited to get out for a bit. The event is socially distanced with masks required when not drinking. Online tipping. I just am excited to be able to support my local performers. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

  • It Should be Opening Day…

    It Should be Opening Day…

    If the world was as it should be today would be the opening day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Seth and I would be making our first wander around the grounds saying our hellos to our Rennie family. We would have gotten there early in order to finish dressing in the parking lot, and would have met up with friends by the opening gate where the Queen and the cast would lay out what this year’s story is. I might have had game boards to hand out to patrons for wench collecting, holding my blackboard with some clever saying to gain people’s interest. I might have been handing out business cards for the guild inviting women to join us in our shenanigans. I would have hugged my friend, fellow wench and madame of vice, Sarah, in her booth the moment I was inside the gate and we would have caught up for a few minutes before the rush of patrons hit to begin shopping. I would have wandered to the Vikings hoard to say hello to the vikings and so Den Mom could tempt me with some beautiful new fur to add to my collection.

    This year there will be no faire as I know it. I am feeling the absence in my soul like a great weight which is fueling my anxiety and making my life feel shockingly off kilter. Faire has long been for me a place of escape and succor, and to lose that is a strange thing indeed.

    Seth and I had already made the decision in July to have our season passes rolled to 2021 because of the pandemic. With Seth working in a school he is already in a higher risk environment and we did not want to make that risk any greater by being in such a public space, even with the precautions they were taking. When they cancelled completely in August, though, it hurt. Partly because even with our passes suspended we had planned on attending at least once or twice during the run, and partly because it made the threat of the pandemic seem even that much more real.

    On the plus side, OhRen has created some limited ticket smaller events called Magical Days, Madrigal Nights and I have tickets to two out of three days,including tickets for the Madrigal Feast on Octber 10. IWG 73 is planning to meet up to perform the Hexenbrut which we can publish on our Youtube channel for Halloween. And I am sure we will find some other things to get into as well.

    There will be things that will fill the space on my calendar that faire is leaving behind, but I am not sure about the space in my heart.

    Here’s to a better, healthier 2021. Hip, Hip, Huzzah!

  • Headstones and Hitchcock

    Headstones and Hitchcock

    .A couple of weeks ago, Seth and I set off to explore Green Lawn Cemetery. Green Lawn is a large historical cemetery in Columbus.There are a number of “famous” Columbus figures buried within the cemetery and the abbey. I am a huge fan of walking in cemeteries, and this one was beautiful to visit. The grounds are full of beautiful trees of all kinds: oak, maidenhair ginkgo, various evergreens, and Ohio buckeye.

    I brought a plastic bag so I could pick up litter as we walked about, and Seth was happy removing branches that were laying atop grave sites and making piles under the trees. We cleaned grass off of markers that had been covered when the mowers moved through. We are talking about making a kit to take with us to make our cleanup easier next time with a small broom.

    We found a headstone of a type which I have never seen before. Where a headstone may say mother, father, sister, brother, etc. this one said Aunt. I loved it so much, and even more interesting was the fact that the Aunt in question had the fist name Salome. I believe that Aunt Salome is my spirit sister. I am absolutely in love with anyone who dies and is best known for being an aunt.

    The abbey at Green Lawn shows films outdoors to raise funds for upkeep during the summer. We went last Friday to see Notorious directed by Alfred Hitchcock. We got to visit the actual abbey, which is gorgeous with white marble and wrought iron. The film was entertaining. It was a Hitchcock I had never seen before, but it was very entertaining. There was an absolutely insane drunk driving scene that made me very tense, but Cary Grant who was actually in the car with the drunk driver Ingrid Bergman seemed generally unfazed. I love a good spy thriller though, so generally it was a good time. Next month they are showing Laura and in August The House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price. We intend to see those as well. There is something so lovely about watching a thriller with the abbey looming above us.

  • “He Couldn’t Believe it was only wednesday.”

    For the LGBTA+ book club at Prologue Bookshop we read the book The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I technically have until the end of the month to finish the book, but I devoured it in three days (It would have been less but apparently I actually have to work at work, how inconvenient.) This book is transporting, beautiful and shockingly prescient given the current climate. Immediately upon finishing I was ready to pick it up to read it again.

    The book opens introducing us to a social worker named Linus Baker. Linus solidifies himself as the most relatable character in the world as it is established that he is overweight and on a diet, he enjoys his job but hates his boss and he is having a bad week. “He couldn’t believe it was only Wednesday. And it was made worse when he realized it was actually Tuesday.” (Klune 18) One day he is surprised to be given a special dispensation by Extremely Upper Management to evaluate a very unusual orphanage.

    This book will make you laugh, cry, cheer and best of all think. It reminds us that our weirdness can be the best part of us. It teaches to use ones privilege to lift up those who do not share it. That it is not enough to not be racist, you need to be anti-racist. And, that family can look whatever way you need it to look.

    The House In The Cerulean Sea is a magical, magical, magical book and if you have not read it I cannot recommend it more. TJ Klune wrote to my soul with this book, and maybe he also speaks to yours. Buy the book from your local independent, and maybe even black owned, bookstore today.

  • How to Write a Holiday Movie

    I love those insane holiday movies produced by Hallmark, Freeform, Netflix and others. They make me laugh and occassionally cry, and they always have a happy ending. What makes them great is that you can absolutely see where the story is going in the first five or ten minutes and then you can just sit back and see how it all unfolds. Sometimes it involves magic, or just the spirit of the holidays, but it is always for the better of the main character. After watching far too many of these films I thought I would lay out a plan so you can write your own.

    1. Start with a girl who is from the city or from the country and is disillussioned with life/over worked/ having a crisis.
    2. For some reason she has to go to the city or country for work/family/something else.
    3. She meets a guy. He might be her ex. They might not like each other at first.
    4. She has to do something christmassy against her will and ends up working with that guy.
    5. They are falling in love but resisting it, or there is something working against them.
    6. Everything comes together in the end on Christmas/ Christmas Eve.

    That’s the basics. Now write your own and sell it to netflix.

    ❄☃️🤶🎅🎄