u/Marali87

 I checked the search and the most recent topic on this seems to be from 6 years ago, lol.

I’m in the Netherlands and I feel like this dynamic is just so natural for me. I have struggled with resentment and misaligned expectations in my marriage, but practising traditional gender roles, surrender, respect and gratitude are helping me so much (plus I’ve always been a submissive but that seems only acceptable within the bedroom in my country).

I’m not at all conservative in any way, and not particularly religious (my husband even less so) but I still naturally gravitate towards traditional gender roles and femininity.

Most people here seem to come at it from a very American, religious and/or conservative perspective, which made me wonder if there are any other Europeans around here!

 

 

 

 

 

I know there are more important things in life, but this has been driving me up the wall, lol.

I used to have a burned cd with this cover track of the Mononoke Hime theme song. I absolutely don’t remember when or how I even got it, but it almost certaintly must have been from Limewire/Kazaa. Many many years later, I activiely tried to find this track again AND found it (on Youtube I think), but I've never been able to find it again. Modern Youtube searches are completely flooded with newer covers and the algorithm is just showing me the same tracks over and over again.

Here's everything I remember:

• It was almost certaintly sung by a native Japanese female vocalist (or she had a flawless accent).
• It was not in a classical/opera-style. In fact, I think the singer stayed in her chest voice the entire time, it was a bit sharp and powerful at times.
• It wasn’t an acoustic or acapella version, the instrumentation was almost the same as the original, though the arrangement was clearly different
• Instead of singing the verse and chorus once, then going into the “hmm hmmm” as most versions seem to do, this one repeated the chorus. Maybe it repeated the verse and the chorus, I can’t remember
• There were (female) backing vocals harmonizing in some parts and going “ah, ah, ah..." with a buildup before the vocalist repeated the song.
• It sounded professionally recorded, and I think this was before the YouTube days (or at least very early in the youtube days) so I suspect it came from an album rather than being a home recording.

I’ve been going through (Japanese) spotify tracks, and while there are tons of covers and tribute albums with this song, the exact cover I’m searching for remains a white whale…

If anyone knows anything, I am dying to find this track again. It’s haunting me now, lol. 

Edit to add: I just remembered that, in this version, the lyrics were slightly changed. In the original, they sing "omae no kokoro" and then "sonata no yokogao", but I THINK it was reversed in this cover. So "sonata no kokoro" and "omae no yokogao". Either that, or she uses "omae" in both cases.

Hi all!

So, my new book was recently released, and since I got many of my lovely ARC readers through this subreddit (thank you so much, ARC team!), I kinda wanted to brag about it a little in this self-promo post ❤️

Imagine a morally grey warlord who totally falls for her, a dark gothic castle, a forbidden tower, and an arranged marriage with plenty of spice 😄

This is honestly one of my personal favourite books. Like, seriously, if a human can feel chemistry with a story, this book and I were giving off sparks. I wrote it in Dutch first, and it continues to do very well in my home country. It even won an award, which is still one of the happiest achievements of my career! So it felt only natural to dip my toes into the English-speaking bookish world with it. And now it’s all translated, redesigned, and grown up ❤️

If a moody gothic vibe is your jam, or if you love an arranged marriage trope turned slow-burn love story, then maybe you and this book can become besties for a bit!

https://preview.redd.it/ndcfli8ppp1h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=339ec85f2d8a4fc4840d48b698ce77dab7f0cfd7

Blurb for The Honeybee and the Lord of Storms:

A mysterious lord visits Ioanna’s home, demanding that her father finally pay his debts. When her hand in marriage is offered instead, Ioanna is torn from her familiar life and taken to her husband’s dark keep at the edge of the world, near a border where warring clans draw ever closer. The castle is full of secrets, the storms are relentless, and though she tries to hate Lord Constantin, he looks at her as if she is everything he ever wanted. 

As enemy forces gather and Constantin’s strength begins to wane, Ioanna finds herself at the heart of a choice that could decide the fate of the kingdom. 

Together, they might stop the coming war, but doing so means trusting the man she never thought she could love, and confronting the darkness even he fears.

 

Tropes:

• Arranged marriage
• A morally grey, but very protective MMC
• Gentle FMC who finds her courage
• He falls first (she takes a good while)
• Spice 😄
• A dark, gothic castle hiding a dangerous secret
• Paranormal fantasy romance
• Politics and War
• Hurt & comfort

Also, while everyone’s idea of “dark” is a bit different, I’d classify this book as mid-dark, maybe. It does have some explicitly darker themes, so please do check the trigger warnings:

• Suspected pregnancy & loss (It’s not a big deal for much of the story, but it does play a role)
• (mild) dub-con in the beginning (by mmc)
• Instances of SA (not by mmc) both on- and off-screen

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday, or evening, depending on where you are!

(By the way, if you’re wondering, the lovely artwork for the picture was done by Bibi Illustrations, so look her up!)