Sometimes you find a product that’s so ridiculous that first, you basically laugh your head off, and then it becomes indespensiible to you. As it did happen to me, here. Also, the best books of the year. On to my December best beauty finds and more!
Face Wash Wrist Bands
Don’t you hate washing your face while water drips down your arms and leaves wet spots in your pajamas or shirt? Yes? Then I have a solution for you. Like a headband that holds back your hair, wrist bands are made from similar materials and absorb water that’s dripping down your wrists. If you remember 80s tennis pros – yes, it’s that look.
I threw a pair into my basket when I shopped at YesStyle the last time (they were about 3$). Yes, they look a bit ridiculous, but also work. I honestly can’t say anything else about them (they’re wrist bands, even I can’t write a novel-length review about that!). They’re one of these ridiculous things that seem superfluous until you try them out and realise you can’t imagine your life without them.
Books. So many books.
I had a rather hard and exhausting year. I was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disorder late in 2022, and full of fighting spirit I determined to not be changed by that. Sweet summer child! (Call that idiot.) Oh well, in 2023 I realized that having a chronic illness doesn’t only mean to take some pills every day. It means having to deal with all things of crap. Those range from side effects of said pills to an innumerable number of effects that stem from that illness. You also sit in waiting rooms a lot.
And books saved me. I needed so badly to escape into another world at times, and I want to point out a few authors especially to whom I owe thanks. Because boy, did they deliver throughout 2023!
Romances
KJ Charles writes mostly romances. She writes, in fact, very hot m/m romance mostly, but she’s a VERY prolific writer, and never, ever repeats a theme or characterization. Her characters aren’t cookie cutter repetitive, but always unique. She can write a Georgette Heyer or Agatha Christie pastiche with the same ease as a detective noir or fantasy. She always entertains me: For dipping your toes into her oeuvre, I recommend Spectered Isle, Band Sinister and Any Old Diamonds.
Similar, but so very different is Freya Marske’s trilogy The Last Binding which is described as ‘queer historical fantasy’. It’s set in an alternative Edwardian England, where magic is wielded by an elite. I went into it expecting some cozy fantasy, and that most emphatically is it not. I’m very happy that I decided to stick with it! Her characters are very intricately built, her world-building is top-notch, and the sex very hot. I was also pleased to see that the second book actually depicts a f/f relationship.
Other, very women-centric books
And now for something completely different… The Change by Kirsten Miller is a crime novel whose three heroines develop superpowers during menopause. It can only be described as a romp – I flew through it, albeit its dark subtext, and I want to be Harriet when I grow up. (The next best thing would be a movie in which Helen Mirren plays Harriet.)
Femina by Janina Ramirez is a non-fiction deep-dive into the Middle Ages through the eyes of forgotten, maligned or ostracized women. The genius approach is that each chapter first sets the stage and paints a vivid picture of the surroundings of the woman depicted, then gives us the modern angle of the discovery we’re about to encounter. It makes her non-fiction absolutely engrossing and brings the Middle Ages vividly to life.
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