#courtney milan

[inkcurlsandknives]

Thinking about what makes a compelling narrative

I've been watching and reading a lot of anime/manga and romance lately. They're one of my comfort genres. Way too many real life terrible things have been happening for me to be able to experience escapism into anything with a hint of grimdark. For example right now I'm watching My Happy Marriage/Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon, which is an Anime/Manga/light novel romance. It is blatantly a Cinderella story, where all the villain's are cartoonish-ly evil, while the MC is simply a cinnamon roll, too sweet, too soft and good for this world. The whole thing should not hang together as a functional or even strong narrative, much less a show both my partner and I are enjoying wholeheartedly.

I think it's secret is that it is completely and utterly earnest. I think as an audience we're more willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride when a story wears it's beating heart on its sleeve. I think a huge weakness of a lot of popular western media and fiction is that it feels like everyone is allergic to sincerity. Everyone's too busy cracking a glib one-liner or being grimdark and gritty to care deeply and honestly.

It's something that a lot of anime/manga and the romance genre at large has completely embraced. Even media that is actually quite dark like Jujitsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba feels like a breath of fresh air because of how earnest the protagonists are. Romance books have this in spades, some of my favorites have been, The Sun is Also a Star, Get a Life Chloe Brown, and The Devil Comes Courting.

I think a lot of the time we're too ready to turn up our noses at narratives and characters that care and care deeply. Writers will say it' simplistic, or a character archetype that's overdone. But I think the first step of getting your audience to care is to have characters who care, and to not be shy about it. Let the audience care with your characters, let stories be earnest and sincere and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Not everything has to be a clever twist or a joke or afraid of real feeling, and we do ourselves and the stories we tell a disservice when we tell ourselves that sincerity and earnestness are trite and only serious grim and hopeless things are real and engaging.

One thing I always strive for in my own stories is to have characters who care and care deeply, and often for conflicting things.

#Thinking about writing #what makes a compelling narrative #Romance #Anime #My happy marriage #jujitsu kaisen #Meta about stories #thinking about stories and narrative #the devil comes courting #courtney milan #manga #my writing

[leveragehunters]

This one hit me hard.

Thread is here: https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1665050612327927809

[Alt text in image]

#courtney milan #fascism #I'm a big fan of her (books and takes both) but this one really knocked me the fuck out #the dinosaur emoji is trans

[lets-steal-an-archive]

#fandom #courtney milan #bluesky #she's not wrong

[fated-mates]

A classic among classics, we’re talking ENEMIES TO LOVERS this week! We get to the bottom of what we think of as “enemies,” and how it differs from “rivals-to-lovers” and “friends-to-enemies-to-lovers” and “friends-to-lovers” (jk, we’ll never understand friends-to-lovers). We revisit some of our very favorite romances, talk about stakes, about impossible situations, and about how sexy hating someone can be.

#Enemies To Lovers #Rivals To Lovers #Childhood Friends To Lovers To Enemies To Lovers #A Heart Of Blood And Ashes #Milla Vane #Judith Mcnaught #Double Standards #A Kingdom Of Dreams #Kresley Cole #Dreams Of A Dark Warrior #Mila Finelli #Mafia Target #Mafia Madman #Courtney Milan #Unlocked #Ilona Andrews #Iron And Magic #Sarah Mayberry #Her Best Worst Mistake #Tessa Bailey #Asking For Trouble #Susan Elizabeth Phillips #Ain't She Sweet #Kate Canterbary #The Worst Guy #JJ Arias #Fighting For Control #Chayla Wolfberg #Late Night Love #Angelina M Lopez

[shewhotellsstories]

#courtney milan #book banning #media criticism #everything is critiquable

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Fiction About Women in STEM

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow (YA) Hold Me by Courtney Milan (NA) Chemistry Lessons by Jae Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

View On WordPress

#Astronomy #Chemistry #Chemistry Lessons #Courtney Milan #Hold Me #Honey Girl #How to Excavate a Heart #Jae #Jake Maia Arlow #Morgan Rogers #Olivia Waite #Paleoichthyology #The Lady&039;s Guide to Celestial Mechanics

[the-knights-who-say-book]

i love that the historical setting is never incidental to Courtney Milan’s historical romance books. it’s never just “they do not have cell phones and they do attend balls :)” and that’s it — she’s actually always in this setting to talk about the political or social or technological status/changes of the time

#Abi reads The Worth Saga #courtney milan

[jomiddlemarch]

What romance novel/novelist/series would you like to see made into a Netflix/Hulu style series, like Bridgerton, but maybe with more period accuracy?

Answer in the tags!

#courtney milan #the brothers sinister

[bettslovesromance]

Lately I've been reading fabulous series and just wanted to share my joy!

The only two series in the post that I've actually finished are Destiny by Beverly Jenkins and Cowboys of California by Rebekah Weatherspoon and both are magnificent 💜

I started The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan and The Cider Bar Sisters by Jackie Lau last year, but I've been taking my time reading them because of how good they are 💙

And this year, thanks to bookstagram, I discovered new to me authors Tracy Sumner and Daisy Jane and so far, I've loved the books I've read by each of them 🧡

I'm currently reading The Scandalous Vixen and The Brazen One

The post is in no particular order, I love and recommend all of them

#contemporary romance #historical romance #romance lover #romance reader #romancelandia #beverly jenkins #rebekah weatherspoon #courtney milan #tracy sumner #daisy jane #jackie lau

[transbookoftheday]

Hold Me by Courtney Milan

Jay na Thalang is a demanding, driven genius. He doesn’t know how to stop or even slow down. The instant he lays eyes on Maria Lopez, he knows that she is a sexy distraction he can’t afford. He’s done his best to keep her at arm’s length, and he’s succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Maria has always been cautious. Now that her once-tiny, apocalypse-centered blog is hitting the mainstream, she’s even more careful about preserving her online anonymity. She hasn’t sent so much as a picture to the commenter she’s interacted with for eighteen months—not even after emails, hour-long chats, and a friendship that is slowly turning into more. Maybe one day, they’ll meet and see what happens.

But unbeknownst to them both, Jay is Maria’s commenter. They’ve already met. They already hate each other. And two determined enemies are about to discover that they’ve been secretly falling in love…

#hold me #courtney milan #transfem #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr

[reddy-reads]

This is now a Courtney Milan blog

Kidding but not kidding

Yes I read another. This time it was The Suffragette Scandal. My heart melted. I was charmed. I cried. I had Big Big feelings

The thing about Ms Milan's book is that... even when the book is about [generic romantic plot], it is also about [other topic]. So like uhhh the Suffragette Scandal is about a suffragette and a scoundrel who find each themselves drawn to each other. But also it's about...

If you guessed feminism and gender equality, you're only partway there. It's about keeping up the push for change, for progress, knowing that the work is so big and the challenges so daunting that they simply won't be "fixed" in your lifetime. Call it fighting the good fight, lighting a candle in the dark, starfish (though they should be sea stars) throwing, gardening...

And you know what, this isn't even my favorite of Ms Milan's books. They all seem to do it. I just love her works so much.

#incoherent but complimentary burbling #genre romance #courtney milan

[teawithsgtbarnes]

Checking back in here with the violets I had for lunch yesterday. (Great for the lymph system)

I've deleted FB, Twitter, and the new Spoutible from my phone at least for the week. I had so much hope for Spoutible, then he went and tried to make lawyer/author and all around bad ass Courtney Milan, a villain.

People are addicted to the drama. The internet has been weaponized to the extent that on a platform without the "bad guys" people just turn on each other because they've been indoctrinated to think that you must be outraged at all times. Gonna go touch grass with the doggies ❤️✌️

#spoutible #courtney milan #social media #Violets

[evenaturtleduck]

Chloe and I are reading the same books :)

#and there was only one bed #currently reading #the duke who didn't #courtney milan

[readtilyoudie]

“I was avoiding you.”

His father chuckled obligingly.

Oliver didn’t laugh. Instead, he busied himself with his own rod and line.

“I see,” his father said after a moment. “What horrible thing have I done now?”

Oliver cast his line with vicious intent into the pool, watching little ripples rise up in the otherwise still water. “Not you. Me.”

His father didn’t say anything.

“I’m struggling with a question of ethics.”

“Ah.” Hugo Marshall’s gaze shifted to the horizon. “Is it a thorny question of ethics? Or is it the sort of ethical question where the right choice is easy, but the unethical answer is too tempting?”

The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister, #2) by Courtney Milan

#book quote #the heiress effect #brothers sinister #courtney milan #historical romance #regency #romance #quote #quotes #booklr #bookblr

[oncesneverenough]

There is one-room-left-trope and then there is 4-rooms-left-trope-but-the-heroine-pays-the-in-owner-to-say-there-is-only-one-room-left-so-she-can-share-with-the-hero

Chloe is the supreme leader of this trope, officially.

#the duke who didn’t #chloe x jeremy #historical romance #courtney milan

[shsenhaji]

📚 August Reading Round-Up 📚

Definitely read some great books in August.

Finally started the Vorkosigan Saga! I’ve also been making my way through the Rivers of London series as well as the Queen’s Thief series.

- The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (fast-paced, delightful, emotional, great worldbuilding, slight Penric vibes)

- “The Mountains of Mourning” by Lois McMaster Bujold (lyrical, poignant, important themes)

- The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (great character development, love the characters and their relationships)

- The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah (poetic, engaging, love the characters and the worldbuilding and the themes)

- Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (loved the themes and how Peter Grant’s identity impacted the plot, more sad but less stressful than Midnight Riot)

- Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (great worldbuilding and characters, a twisty plot, some great revelations)

- The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (Beautiful, a bit more quiet, highly enjoyable, loved the themes and the friendships)

- The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (Entertaining, fun, Costis my beloved)

- A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (Loved the worldbuilding and themes, Sophos my beloved, friendship, badass women)

- Divergent by Veronica Roth (a re-read, thoughtful and fun)

- Hunt the Stars by Jesse Mihalik (fun, MC is so caring, great worldbuilding and relationship development, thoughtful and sensitive depictions of trauma and PTSD)

- All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Delightful, unexpected, THE ENDING, the themes, Murderbot my beloved!!!!)

- A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan (cute, fun, all the feels)

- The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan (Gripping, loved the relationship and the characters, great themes, very moving)

#mine #books #reading #reading round-up #murderbot diaries #rivers of london #the grief of stones #the queen's thief #divergent #hunt the stars #a kiss for midwinter #the heiress effect #courtney milan #the stardust thief #chelsea abdullah #the vorkosigan saga #lois mcmaster bujold #the warrior's apprentice #the vor game