Thoughts on AN ARCANE INHERITANCE

~ shawnaborman ~ 5 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely last Wednesday of 2025? I’m back! It was a nice break in which I did nothing productive. So, the usual. Anyway! I’m here to do my last book review of the year. Can you believe it’s already that time again? I decided to try some dark fantasy (they marketed it as dark academia, but eh… dark fantasy is broader and more accurate) this month to switch things up a bit. An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole was released on the 30th (yesterday) from Poisoned Pen Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

An Arcane Inheritance follows Ellory Morgan as she settles into her freshman year at Warren University, an ivy league school with a rumored sordid past. Along with competing to keep her grades up, working, and trying to maintain a social life, Ellory has to deal with intense bouts of déjà vu. Throw in a rivalry (maybe more) with one of the hottest/richest guys in school and a search to uncover the school’s darkest secrets and it’s down to Ellory to figure out what’s going on. Can she do it by herself? Does she have to?

Pacing and plot: ugh. This was a slow one. And honestly, super confusing. There was so much stuff that happened off the page that should’ve been an integral part of the story. But instead, we get told about every fucking time someone changes their outfit. I really couldn’t care less that every dude in this book has an ungodly amount of button downs to go under their equally stupid number of vests. Get to the story. Tell me about the missing eight. Oh, we’re summoning one of them by a pond? Probably should’ve led up to that a bit better. Your besties have been having déjà vu experiences of their own? We’re just glancing over that, but you’re telling me someone wears combat boots with another douchey rich boy outfit? Sure. That’s… cool, I guess. Like, I get setting the mood and world building and all that, but when it comes at the expense of the story, it should be reprioritized (cut… I mean that the outfits should be cut in favor of actual plot).

Characters: a big nope. The only character with any real flesh, so to speak, is Ellory. Granted, at the end, there’s a reason the rest are just her ideal versions of character stereotypes. It’s a stupid reason, but it’s still a reason. Ellory herself was okay. Kind of all talk, no action, but that’s mostly because so much of the plot (her chances for growth) happens off the page. Also, her weird obsession with saying Hudson Graves instead of just picking his first or last name makes her sound like a Saturday morning cartoon baddie. “I shall destroy Hudson Graves! -cue squeaky maniacal laughter-” It’s a bit ridiculous. And their rivals to romance plotline is kind of abrupt. I was also disappointed that the bad people were just generic rich old white folks. At least make the main bad dude interesting. But nope.

Writing: pretty much the only thing that made the book worth reading. Despite the focus on clothes, the writing was beautiful. Sometimes it was over the top, but mostly it stayed on the right side of flowery. I did enjoy it from a writer’s perspective.

Ultimately, I wasn’t a fan of An Arcane Inheritance. I thought maybe I was being too harsh. Maybe people like hearing about clothes. But I did check out some reviews to see if I should rethink things and realized very quickly that I’m not alone. I see good things about Cole’s other books, so I might check them out since I liked the writing, but this one is definitely skippable.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. The writing is good, but the execution as a whole leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re already a fan, try it. If not, try something else by Cole first.

Winter Break

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m okay, just tired and have nothing to write about. Not even the spark of an idea. So, I’ve decided to take most of the rest of December off. I’ll be back on the 31st with the December book review. If something interesting happens before then, I might come back early. But if you don’t hear from me before then, don’t worry. I’ll be back. Have a wonderful holiday season no matter what you celebrate. I’ll still be active on my social media pages if you stalk me there!

Thanksgiving Recap

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely first Wednesday of December? Things here are usual. We currently have two meetings (my annual and a nursing assessment to make sure I’m still cripple enough for my CLASS benefits) and Sophia’s yearly vet visit. Haven’t decided on Christmas plans yet. Anyway, I thought I would provide you with a Thanksgiving recap since there’s nothing much to ramble about.

It was a very nice day. Dad and I dressed up a bit because Texas de Brazil used to enforce a smart casual dress code. Not so much now, but most people still dressed up. Anyway, the only two negative things of the day happened early on. We got lost on the way to the restaurant because 635 is constantly under construction and the signage is horrible. Instead of ending up at our exit, we wound up in the Express lanes and couldn’t get off until Webb Chapel. It wasn’t a horrible detour, but I was trying to avoid tolls by taking the Parkway up to Beltline. Ah well. We arrived ten minutes early instead of twenty. This was followed by the next negative thing. Despite having reservations for 3:30, we were informed there would be a 45 minute wait. I didn’t really mind. It just meant I sat around people watching instead of sitting at home on the computer. But the fact that 45 minutes turned into an hour and 15 minutes was annoying. The manager didn’t bother making rounds to apologize while everyone was waiting. He only came around when people complained. They kept taking walk-ins even though they didn’t even have enough space for people with reservations. I know it would probably take away from income, but holidays should be reservation only if you’re that busy, or at least limit the number of walk-ins. Enforcing time limits is another option. According to the manager (who did show up to apologize as we were leaving), the whole wait time fiasco occurs every holiday they’re open. They should have a better way to prioritize reservations by now. Pre-covid, the wait time was 20 minutes at the outside on Thanksgiving with reservations. Figure out how to compensate for the changes. But we were eventually seated at that coveted table by the end of the bar right next to where all the waiters gather to tally orders and all that. Which wasn’t actually bad at all. Our waiter was absolutely fabulous. He was unsure of me at first, but once he figured out I could talk, he treated me like a person. He was attentive, but not overbearing. If we wanted something, he made sure we got it. The food was mostly delicious. The parmesan pork was disappointingly dry, but everything else was amazing as usual. I tried the passion fruit mousse for dessert. It was more of a yogurt than a mousse, but it still tasted good. I’ll think I’ll stick with crème brûlée in the future, though. The valet people were all very nice as well. We skipped the highway on the way home and took Beltline all the way. It was longer, but better than 635. And to top off a lovely day, our neighbor brought us some turkey and potatoes and rice and black beans and other yummy stuff.

That was our day. How was your Thanksgiving? As always, feel free to share your thoughts here or on my social media pages!

Thoughts on MURDER AMONG THE STACKS

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Are those who celebrate ready for Turkey Day? We are. Well, it’s the last Wednesday of November, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a hybrid cozy mystery/word search puzzle. It was certainly something different. Murder Among the Stacks by Rosie A. Point was released from Adams Media yesterday (the 25th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Murder Among the Stacks follows Abby Jones and her cat Reggie as they try to make a go it by opening a bookstore in a small town. Abby’s fresh off a bad break up and looking for distractions. When a hot author is murdered at a book signing in her bookstore, Abby gets all the distractions she wants and more. She’s an avid word search solver, so at the end of each chapter is a puzzle for the reader, so they can help collect clues and solve the murder alongside Abby.

The story: surprisingly cute. Each chapter is only one page, so it’s basically just an outline of a story. No flesh, nowhere to really hide anything. But it hits all the cozy mystery tropes all the same. The characters are all stereotypes with no real room to grow. It’s not bad, but avid cozy mystery fans will not be buying this for the story.

The puzzles: standard word searches for the most part. I honestly stopped doing the puzzles about halfway through because there was no way for me to circle the words. It would’ve been a lot more fun if I had a hardcopy or if they created a way to highlight the words in the ebook. Not sure how the final version will work, if they even release an ebook version. But the paperback version should be lovely.

The layout: super cute. There are lots of illustrations to keep the book interesting. The puzzle that reveals the killer has an added trick to it. There’s an answer key at the end. It’s very nicely designed.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Murder Among the Stacks for what it is. It’s definitely more of a puzzle book with a twist of cozy mystery. I would probably have preferred a crossword or something, but to each their own.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It’s a cute concept and if you enjoy word searches with a little story, I do recommend it. But it’s not something to pick up if you’re looking for a regular cozy mystery.

Accessible, But Not

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about normal. We have reservations at Texas de Brazil for Thanksgiving this year. Dad hasn’t felt like cooking lately and no one ever invites us anywhere, so we made our own plans. Do you have plans for Turkey Day? Anyway, I don’t have much to ramble about lately, but while making the reservations, I started thinking about the Dallas location and how it was “accessible.” I usually try to stick with stories about cripple privilege and the good things that come with being disabled, but I see a lot of people talk about their experiences with accessibility that really isn’t accessible. Things that don’t really bother me, but apparently make other people uncomfortable. I don’t want people who read my blog to think I’ve never run into these issues, because I have. So, here are a few examples of accessibility that isn’t really accessible that I’ve encountered in daily life.

When they say “It was accessible…”

1. At Texas de Brazil in Dallas, their accessible entrance was a ramp in the back by the dumpsters that led to a hallway by the kitchen which led up front. We haven’t been to this location in years, so I don’t know if they’ve renovated or something. Anyway, I never thought much about it, but apparently entrances like this make people feel like they’re something to be ashamed of, trash smuggled in through a back door. I can see where they’re coming from. I never really cared as long as the service was good and the staff didn’t get annoyed. But the real reason this kind of entrance isn’t actually accessible is because someone has to go to the front entrance to let them know I needed to use the ramp. There are disabled people who go out alone. If they can’t get in the front entrance to let someone know they need the ramp at the back entrance, it’s not really accessible, is it? I’m always with someone, so it’s not a big deal for me, but it’s still weird. Anyway, there are other locations that are far more accessible, but we actually stopped going to the Dallas location because our van bottomed out getting in and out of the parking lot.

2. The Mansion at Turtle Creek’s accessibility was kind of wild. It’s been just about 10 years since we went. My 30th birthday. So I really hope they’ve renovated, but I doubt it. Anyway, we get there and the initial entrance is perfect. No steps. Nice people to get the door. Inside, there are two or three steps up to the dining area. No built in ramp. They bring over these two little ramps that fit the steps perfectly that they can line up with my wheels. Okay, cool. But it’s so steep that Dad and one of the waiters has to assist me just so I don’t flip over. Technically accessible I guess, but it’s actually pretty dangerous for me and whoever has to assist me. Plus, it was kind of embarrassing to require so much of a todo just to get up a couple of steps. Overall, it got the job done, but it wasn’t really all that accessible.

3. This is really the only one that ever pissed me off. SMU. The accessibility at that school is so hit or miss. In some of the older buildings, they have elevators that barely fit a skinny person standing up. Yes, I graduated forever ago, but those elevators still exist. Still. I’ve asked. The accessibility answer was to move my classes to other buildings. The excuse for not installing larger elevators? They can’t afford it. Meanwhile, all the sports crap was constantly being upgraded. There was also a running joke when I was there that SMU didn’t care about anything needing repairs/upgrades as long as all the fountains worked. Other accessibility features that weren’t accessible were the door openers. Even on the new buildings, they were either too high, set off to the side where they weren’t even reachable, or they were tiny little things you had to stick your finger in a hole to get to. There were only like 3 that I could actually use myself. It was so annoying.

But yeah. Accessible things that aren’t actually accessible are an ever-present issue. I just try to ignore them as much as I can. I’m lucky I don’t go out by myself or it would be a much bigger problem. What kind of accessibility issues have you encountered where accessible wasn’t actually accessible? Feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!

A Look Inside Black Bear Diner

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. Apparently, I’m anemic and have a severe vitamin D deficiency. That’s about it. Otherwise, things are normal. After the doctor’s appointment, we went for a late lunch at Black Bear Diner in Mesquite. Check the website for locations and hours. We’ve been there twice now. For the people who are familiar with the area, it’s where the Chinese buffet was on restaurant row. So, I decided to do a review. Any pictures are borrowed from Google because I didn’t think about taking any.

First, a reminder of my rating system:

MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.

Accessibility: There’s a nice ramp out front and plenty of room to get in easily. The handicap parking spaces are directly across from the ramp, so it’s easy access. The tables are a little high, which is great for me since my chair is on the tall side. You have to check out at the front. There’s a tall counter, so it would probably be annoying if you’re there on your own, but the staff is nice, so I have no doubt they would figure out a way to help.

Service: It was great. Our waiter was Hunter both times. He didn’t hesitate to talk to me directly, so he gets bonus points. He gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and made sure we were taken care of. He made the experience pleasant overall.

Food: The breakfast items were delicious. I especially liked the Bacon Avocado Benedict. Dad enjoyed his “The Grizz” with a waffle instead of pancakes. Dinner items weren’t as good. The chicken fried steak was the “pre-chewed” kind. That ultra processed patty that is basically just steak crumbles, so not very good unless that’s what you like. The chicken and waffle was good. The chili was not chili, but it was an okay bean stew.

Dessert: They have a nice selection. We only had the berry cobbler, but it was yummy. Everything else looks good too.

Price: Good sized portions at a relatively cheap price. It’s worth it.

My rating:
MMMM

Thoughts on THE BOOK OF AUTUMN

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Dad got a new phone because he decided it would be fun to tumble into the pond with his old one in his pocket. That damn water hose just snaked out and grabbed him by the ankle. Splash. He’s fine. Fish are fine. Dogs just sat there and laughed at him. Lost about 4 years worth of pictures, but apparently everything else was backed up. Otherwise, life is still going. Today is the last Wednesday of October, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a dark fantasy in the hopes of getting some spooky vibes. The Book of Autumn by Molly O’Sullivan was released yesterday (the 28th) by Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

The Book of Autumn follows Marcella Gibbons as she returns to her alma mater, a school of magic deep in the New Mexico deserts, to help solve a brutal murder and eerie magical plight. She must delve into her troubled past to save the life of another troubled young woman and perhaps the entire school. But can she get out of the shadow of her dimidium, the other half of her magical soul, long enough to shine on her own?

Plot and pacing. The plot has a lot of potential, but in actuality, it’s super muddy and makes very little sense. There’s no real reason why Cella and Max are even needed. No one cooperates with them. They both blatantly ignore obvious clues for no reason other than to drag the story out. There’s this whole thing with mushrooms that never really comes to anything. It’s just a confusing mess and everything is crammed into the last 20% of the book, which makes the first 80% of the book useless. It’s far too drawn out and the ending ends up being confusing and jarring. It’s just not executed well at all.

The characters. They’re all selfish and deliberately ignorant. The only one with any sense is Luce and that’s not saying much. None of them know how to have a conversation, which would solve so many issues right up front. These are supposed to be adults, but they all act like they’re 12. I just really hate stupid people. I really wanted to DNF this one because of them, but I pushed through.

The writing. So, this book was supposed to mimic an academic paper with footnotes and references and everything, but it didn’t work for me. Most of the footnotes just felt like stuff the author was told to cut and decided to sneak it back in under the guise of academia. It should’ve stayed cut or been blended back into the story itself. Beyond that, pretty much the only redeeming feature of this book was the descriptions. The New Mexico setting sounded beautiful.

Ultimately, I really didn’t like The Book of Autumn. It sounds like a great story, but missed every mark. I’m trying really hard to think of nice or at least constructive things to say. Nothing is coming, so this review will have to stay short.

Overall, I gave it 1 out of 5 stars. I struggled really hard to get through this one and just can’t bring myself to recommend it.

Cripple Life in Modern Times: Medicaid

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here were annoying this past week. The good: Dad’s colonoscopy was fine and we got food afterwards. In case you don’t know, you do NOT have to be sedated to get one, so don’t let that stop you. You have to be adamant about it and remind them every time they call and day of, but yeah. It’s fine. The bad: on Friday, I got a letter saying my Medicaid was rejected because I didn’t turn in my renewal paperwork. That was a blatant lie. I turned it in 5 days after I got the initial letter saying that I needed to do it. I later found out some stuff was missing, but all they said I needed to turn in was the signature page. I did that on the same day I got the letter telling me stuff was missing. Ugh. Anyway. I have nothing to blog about, so here are the details of the Medicaid clusterfuck if you’re interested.

October 17th: Got a letter canceling my Medicaid because they didn’t receive my renewal paperwork.
Uh, what? That is completely untrue. Here’s the original timeline:
July 12th: Received an email saying I have a letter in my YourTexasBenefits account. The letter informs me it’s time to renew my benefits and I have 30 days to do it.
July 17th: I submit the paperwork via my CLASS case manager who faxes it in.
August 4th: I haven’t heard anything, so I call to make sure my paperwork was received. I’m assured it was and told it could take 30 to 90 days for a response.
August 29th: Received a letter via snail mail saying that my paperwork wasn’t received and I had 5 days to submit any missing items. Called the same day (recorded every call from here on) and was told they just needed the signature page. Sent the page that day.
September 2nd: It was a holiday weekend, so this was the earliest I could call to confirm they received it. They did.
September 11th: Got an email saying that my paperwork wasn’t received. Called and was told everything was received and under review. All I could do was wait.
October 17th. Denied. Called and was initially told that my paperwork was not processed. After she spoke to her supervisor, I was suddenly at fault for not sending the signature page in within 5 days of the letter even though I sent it the day I received the letter.
October 20th: My CLASS caseworker came over and we called together. Got swapped around to three different people. One had to dig around to find my paperwork, the second swore it hadn’t been submitted in a timely manner until she actually looked at the dates, and the third one took one look and said I submitted everything when I was supposed to, so she reopened my case and input all my stuff, only asking me to verify that I only have one bank account. She approved it and said there shouldn’t be any gaps in my coverage.
October 21st: Received a letter via my YourTexasBenefits account with the approval letter.

I really don’t know why they have to make everything so difficult. Why can’t they assign a case worker to be on your renewal or application or whatever from the beginning of the process to the end? It doesn’t have to be the same person every year, but it would be so much easier than cold calling 2-1-1 and hoping you get in touch with someone who knows what they’re doing. It would also be better for them because they wouldn’t have to research every call they get and hope everyone else took notes. The way they handle Medicaid in Texas doesn’t make sense to me. But I’m good for another year (maybe, who knows with all the cuts the Nazis… oops, I meant Republicans… are trying to push through), so I’m going to stop thinking about it now.

New TV

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? Our new TV finally arrived. Got it from Best Buy and let them do all the work. It was a bit expensive to have them take down the old one and install the new one, but I think it was worth it. Dad wanted to be macho and do it himself, but our old one was a plasma (so, 150ish lbs) and the wall mount was being stupid, so I didn’t really want him finagling it out by himself even though I know he would’ve figured out a way. The Geek Squad guys (Michael and Jonathan, I believe) got it out pretty quick, installed a new mount Dad bought that should make life easier (it lets you pull the TV out about 26″ and swivels), then put up the new TV. They even did the initial setup of the Roku stick, so we didn’t have to worry about pairing the remote. I made sure we got signed in to all our stuff and we spent the rest of the day (Tuesday) watching TV. Anyway, here’s a stock photo of the LG G5 because I’m too lazy to have Dad take a picture of our stuff. The image quality is great so far and the white is certainly bright. I’m going to watch some more now.