NYTimes article on Cat Sebastian - "She’s written another contemporary romance in the “Star Shipped” universe and is already planning the next “Dooryard Books” installment".
That's my girl... That's my good girl.
Kaylee ,'Serenity'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
bennett - Mar 12, 2026 6:51:10 am PDT #28594 of 28603
-t - Mar 12, 2026 7:00:41 am PDT #28595 of 28603
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Ooh, nice!
kat - Mar 13, 2026 11:38:21 am PDT #28596 of 28603
"The thing about dorks is we stick together. Mostly for gaming purposes but also because it wards off jocks, gutter clowns and other Stephen King-like threats." - Lauren Okie
I was listening to Cat Sebastian on the Fated Mates podcast and she was so great. I've been reading her books out of order because whatever comes up on libby when it comes up is what I'm reading.
-t - Mar 15, 2026 1:40:11 pm PDT #28597 of 28603
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Calling in sick Thursday and Friday has done wonders for my catching up on library loans! Haven’t made any further progress on the book club book, but very happy with Nobody’s Baby and Star Shipped. Simon is such a perfect woobie and the discord bits are spot on. Only a few pages into Hell’s Heart but I am very into it already
Unrelatedly, but I am including it so I can consider it more fully later, had the thought that the Golden Age of Detective Fiction was recapitulated by the rise of Cyberpunk. I don’t know what to with that thought so I am leaving it here to revisit.
Jessica - Mar 24, 2026 5:11:01 pm PDT #28598 of 28603
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Star Shipped is such top tier Sebastian. I can already tell this one will be a perennial comfort reread.
Jessica - Mar 25, 2026 6:35:01 am PDT #28599 of 28603
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Finished it last night and I'm worried people who didn't vibe with this book are going to be mean about Simon the way people were mean about Anya back in the day and it's going feel personal all over again.
-t - Mar 25, 2026 8:18:47 am PDT #28600 of 28603
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Oh no, I hadn't thought of that possibility. Surely everyone will love the book and Simon as much as I do?
One reason I am looking forward to the reported next book in the universe is the presumption that we will see Simon from someone else's POV which is always interesting.
Hell's Heart was super ambitious and made me remember how delightful The Affair of the Mysterious Letter was when I first came across that. I was crazy about it for the first 25% or so and could not quite sustain that through the whole thing. It's not like it went wrong, it just did not feel quite so specifically designed to appeal to me as the beginning did. Which is fine, I'm a very niche audience! And probably at least partially because I never read Moby Dick in an academic setting so I'm sure there are themes and resonances and literary whatnots that were just over my head. And some of the stylistic choices I like in theory but in practice kicked me out of the story more than anything. Still a very enjoyable read, don't get me wrong, I just started out *very* high on it and ended just an ordinary amount of into it.
Jessica - Mar 25, 2026 8:45:24 am PDT #28601 of 28603
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Surely everyone will love the book and Simon as much as I do?
They'd BETTER.
I'll be diving into Hell's Heart next. Latter-day Alexis Hall is not my favorite flavor of Alexis Hall and it's been ages since I last read Moby Dick, but I retain high hopes that I will enjoy it.
Jessica - Mar 26, 2026 5:06:02 am PDT #28602 of 28603
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
There is a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend reference on page freaking ONE?!?!! Okay I already love this book.
Jessica - Mar 26, 2026 5:06:34 am PDT #28603 of 28603
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
(I paused the audiobook to come post that.)