The Twilight Child by Sally Warner

The other book I picked up was one I just ran across on the shelf. I read the inside flap and decided to give it a shot. Twilight Child by Sally Warner is another story dealing with faeries and other mythical creatures like brounies and selkies. It was a book that delved into the history and mythology of Finland, which is not really a topic I would have come up with for a novel but it is a fantastic book.

The main character has the rare ability to see and speak to the mythical creatures she encounters, and because she crosses into many lands she meets several types. But they aren't the focus of the story, instead it is her journey from her homeland into Scotland, and the tale of how she lost her family and the land she loved.

Eleni is a good heroine for girls to look up to, though she can be a bit of a Pollyanna, looking for the best in everyone to a fault. The only fault I could find with the book is that it spends a lot of time with her voyage from Finland to Scotland, but then her time in Scotland seems to pass too quickly and with not enough detail. I wanted to know so much about all the people who help her there, but they don't get fleshed out nearly as much as I'd like. The book could have easily had an extra 100 pages to make these characters more alive and the plot wouldn't have had to change.

But I would still say that it is a good book for people who love fantasy novels to pick up, even if it is a bit off the beaten path.

The Ruby Key by Holly Lisle

I've decided to spend the summer at the library, because I honestly believe that the best cure for writer's block is reading. I also think my writing and my imagination have suffered lately because I haven't been reading as much lately.

For the first trip, I just browsed the YA section and picked up two books that looked promising. The first, The Ruby Key, is one I'd wanted to read for a while. The author, Holly Lisle, is a personal favorite of mine. I've had the pleasure of meeting her once, at a rousing Technicon a few years ago. I enjoy her work, and I think that The Ruby Key might be the best book of hers that I have ever read.

The world she creates is so beautiful, so layered, and so complete, that I felt at home there almost instantly. I admit, I don't actually enjoy stories about faeries all that often. I thought the series that contains Tithe (by Holly Black) was pretty enjoyable, but so many stories about the fae are about the courts and the politics. Court intrigue and politics don't really catch my attention most times.

But this novel didn't really have that problem. It had all the best things about faerie stories, and even some court intrigue, without any of the things that I normally find tiresome. I devoured it, refusing to go to bed until I'd finished it. When I got to the library the next day and a copy of the sequel, The Silver Door, wasn't readily available I got upset because I wanted to know so desperately what happened next.

I also want to add that I was very happy to find a story that had a cat who exhibited all the best and worst things about cats that I love. I'm very much a cat person, and the cat in this book was one that I'd love to sit and talk to. There were quite a few lines in the book that I think any cat person would love, so I would heavily recommend it to them.

Upset of the year

In the third season of Top Chef, Casey started winning challenges partway through the season. She took home plenty of different wins, and in the end it was her game to lose.

Then, in the last meal and the last challenge, she lost it. She put together a lackluster meal and in the end she had nobody to blame but herself.

Last night, Jerrell did the same thing.



There is no other way to explain this. I was Jerrell's game to lose and he lost it. Everybody is so upset that Kenley is still in but the fact is no matter what came before, Kenley went home and actually made something that was better than what Jerrell made.

I don't understand how he could like these dresses and think they're beautiful. I was talking to somebody about him the other day and I said that I still couldn't really get behind him because his early stuff had some pretty serious missteps. This dress is going back to what he was making at the beginning of the show.

The poofs of fabric on the chest are borderline ridiculous. What are they there for? What do they add to the dress? Nothing. The skirt itself is just messy. The whole dress is very messy and unkempt. I have met not one single bride who wants to look unkempt. Brides are some of the most put-together people ever.

The bridesmaid's dress showed no effort at all. It was made out of a fabric that showed too many wrinkles and creases, which is a common problem with Jerrell. It was an interesting color, but I didn't see how it really related to the bride's dress at all. They weren't a set, they didn't go together really. I just don't understand it.

The more I look at these pictures the more baffled I am that Jerrell thought that messy would actually be acceptable.



This is the thing about Kenley's dresses, as much as they aren't my style and as much as I don't like them, they're really well made.

You can go on about how her dress is a rip-off, but this is my problem with that statement: I think the dress is not a rip-off of a specific garment made by a specific designer. I think it's just generally not all that original. When she said there's no silhouettes like that, I wanted to smack her. I thought it looked like something Bjork has worn but I couldn't come up with a specific dress like Michael Kors did.

But I can't deny that both were at least well made, fun, and well done. I have a very big issue with the bottom of the bridesmaid's skirt. That problem primarily being that absolutely hate bubble skirts and that I especially hate extremely short bubble skirts.

Actually, I was surprised nobody said that her bridesmaid's dress was boring and derivative. Because it was nothing special, it was barely noticeable. The top is exactly like a thousand dresses I've seen and the bottom doesn't do anything special enough to offset that.

I wish they had declared a winner in this episode just so I at least would feel that Kenley knew that while she did well she didn't have a slam dunk either. But I guess at this point the final collections are made, so what could she learn?

As for the whole liking ropes thing...and when have you ever used ropes before Kenley? I mean, I think they can be pretty cool when used right, but that seemed out of left field.



I don't understand what's very wedding or bride-like about this dress. I don't think it's the color that is throwing me because well, I've seen bridesmaid's dresses of all kinds of colors. But the fabric itself wasn't really well suited for all the ruffles and pleats and folds that ended up on the dress. It didn't feel right, somehow.

I don't know why the judges disliked the bridesmaid's dress so much, honestly. It was a little odd that they said it was underworked because it seemed the right amount of work when you compared it to the wedding dress. But the other thing was that it wasn't really different enough from the wedding dress to feel like something you'd put a bridesmaid in.

But I do want to say thank you to Korto for saying bridesmaids are allowed to be beautiful. Brides that are all worried about their bridesmaids stealing the show are just far too insecure for my tastes. But then, I have a very very long rant about making good choices during the wedding and getting rid of the whole "it's about me" ridiculousness.



Why they chose not to actually display any of the great features of either of these dresses on the Bravo site confuses me. Why was there no photo shoot of these garments? Since I avoid spoilers, I haven't look at any of the collections so I can't get better pictures. Bah!

First, Leanne's wedding dress was by far the best one out there. It didn't fit my personal aesthetic at all, I wouldn't in a million years wear it or encourage anybody else to. But I have to say that it was innovative, it was interesting, and it was certainly what fashion is all about. The only thing I hated was that the model walked the runway with her hands in her pockets.

It's interesting that it had pockets. I might have liked pockets in my wedding dress even. But the way that it changes everything about the model's posture and walk was horrible. She could have shown that it had pockets without schlumping down the runway.

I loved the bridesmaid's dress. I thought it was just beautiful, though a little short for my tastes. My bridesmaid's wore tea length skirts, so it's not that I think it should be to the floor. But it's been a constant this season that the dresses have just felt too short. Have they not been thinking about their model's measurements?

But all that aside, I really loved it. The color was just absolutely beautiful.

Leanne was the clear winner, and I admit that I want her to take it all home. But I would be fine with Korto winning too.

The only reason I wouldn't want Kenley to win is because I agree with Television Without Pity, she seems more of a stylist than a designer. I feel she does a great job putting together bits and pieces from other people, but that her work has never really struck me as being really original. It doesn't strike me as copying either, just not as creative as she thinks it is.