The Killing Code by Ellie Marney

Posted in Reading/Books by
Image is a photo of The Killing Code cover from my Kindle. The cover has white scraps of paper broken apart, but the pieces are aligned. In red, it says The Killing Code by Ellie Marney
Image is a screenshot from my Kindle.

I read The Killing Code by Ellie Marney a week or two ago, and I’m still thinking about this book. I am not usually drawn to historical fiction or romance, but the premise of this book drew me in. The Killing Code focuses on the women who helped break coded phrases and messages during WWII. Combining this premise with a murder mystery, I knew I had to bump this up to the top of my reading list. The Killing Code is a wonderfully written, historical thriller focusing on the women who helped the war effort.

Kit Sutherland is a code breaker working at Arlington Hall, helping to break codes from enemy lines. While Kit works for the war effort, she uncovers a string of murders that seem to be targeting girls who work for the government. Kit teams up with her supervisor, Moya Kershaw, Dottie Crawford, and Violet DuLac to review the evidence and find out who’s behind the murders.

I loved everything about this book! I loved the setting in Virginia and how they work in the same compound near Washington DC. I liked how, in each chapter of The Killing Code, there were quotes from actual codebreakers in the war. I thought it added to the aesthetic and setting of the book.

As far as the characters, I thought Kit’s backstory was really interesting, and I liked how it tied into the reveal of the killer. I can’t go into it in detail without spoiling the book. Kit and Moya develop a romantic relationship throughout the book, and I adored them together! They have very different personalities, but I thought they complemented each other. Dottie has personal attachments to the case as she knew one of the girls who was killed. Finally, there’s Violet, who faces racism throughout the book, along with contemplating whether she wants to submit her college application. Each of the characters had their own journey, which I thought helped define them and made them memorable.

Once I started The Killing Code, it didn’t take me long to finish the book. I looked forward to completing my day so I could get back to reading the book. While I think this book was written as a one-off, it would be interesting to see a sequel. It could focus on a different portion of history and on where everyone went after the war ended. The Killing Code was so good, and I will be on the lookout for Ellie Marney’s other books. I rated The Killing Code five stars on Goodreads.

Traveling for Conventions – Pros & Cons

Posted in Life Lately by
Image is a selfie of me from Planet Comicon. I'm wearing a black face mask. Behind me is the Planet Comic Con logo in white letters outlined in blue. There's a blue planet that looks like Saturn on the wall behind me.
Photo from Kansas City Comic Con – August 2021

It’s shocking, but I haven’t been to a single convention this year. I had plans on the weekends when the conventions were occurring, or I had to rethink my travel plans due to airfare price increases. In the past few years, I have found several out-of-state conventions that I love to attend. However, traveling for a convention has its downsides. I wanted to share my experience with traveling to conventions out of state, along with the pros and cons of both.

Pros

Exploring a New City

Indianapolis (Gen Con), Chicago (C2E2), and Kansas City (Planet Comic Con) are all cities I have visited because there was a convention that I was able to attend. I have been to Chicago and Kansas City many times, and yet I always find something new. It could be a new restaurant, brewery, or tourist attraction that I didn’t have time for on my prior trips.

Traveling + Conventions = My Two Favorite Things

Being able to combine my love of traveling with attending a convention has been a blast. I like being able to be a tourist while also taking a day off and cosplaying or browsing the artists who are tabling at the event. I still have Emerald City Comic Con on my list to visit, along with New York Comic Con.

Cons

Travel-related expenses

I’m fortunate because I have friends and family in various parts of the US. However, that only goes so far. I need to decide how I’m getting to the convention (flying, driving, or taking a train). Once I figure out my method of transportation, I have to weigh the costs and the PTO I have to take off work. While I love road trips, I wouldn’t consider driving to Seattle, for example, because of how time-consuming that would be. It gets to the point of contemplating if I have money to travel, especially now that I’m a homeowner.

Time Consuming

Traveling for a convention is time-consuming. It’s kind of nice to attend a convention within two to three hours of driving and be able to get home and relax. Waiting around at an airport or spending six hours in the car is a huge chunk of time out of my day.

In general, I think it’s worth it to travel for a convention if you like the city where the convention is held or the convention itself. I don’t think I would ever travel on a whim to a convention unless I researched the con beforehand. How far have you traveled for a convention? Let me know in the comments below.

New House – New Memories

Posted in Life Lately by
Image is a selfie of me and my husband. Behind us is a brown house with beige siding.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my husband and I bought a house! We spent last weekend moving our stuff with the help of friends and family willing to take the time to assist. It’s been a process of unpacking and deciding where everything is going in our new space. While living in an apartment worked for a while, it always felt temporary. This is the house that my husband and I plan on living in for many years to come.

Our house hunt started shortly after our trip to Austin. My husband and I talked about what’s next for us this year, and my husband brought up the idea of starting the process of buying a house. He was looking forward to the idea of making our house a home and putting our money into something that’s a long-term investment. Shortly after this conversation, we proceeded with the next steps, including partnering with a realtor.

Our house search was pretty organized. We knew exactly which area of the Twin Cities we wanted to live in, which helped narrow down our search. We devoted a full day to walking through six homes back-to-back. From there, we found a house that we loved, which led us to put in our offer. Our offer was accepted the next day. I remember my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest when our realtor told us that our offer was accepted.

From there, it was a lot of paperwork to fill out and different things that needed to be aligned. The process itself moved fairly quickly. I’m grateful to my husband, who took on a majority of the work and made this process easier to handle.

2022 has been a jam-packed year, and I’m thrilled to add geek elements to our home.

The Fate of Laudna – Critical Role

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by

Spoilers for Campaign #3 of Critical Role

I have talked about Critical Role many times, and plan to keep doing so. I have been watching both Campaign #3 Bells Hells, along with Campaign #1 Vox Machina, simultaneously, as I hope to eventually be fully caught up on all things Critical Role. Campaign #3 is having a major moment, and the fate of one major character is unknown. I wanted to talk about Laudna (played by Marisha Ray) and her fate.

Spoilers for Campaign #3 of Critical Role Ahead

Before I talk about the episode, I wanted to talk about Dungeons & Dragons mechanics, so summarizing a moment in Critical Role will make more sense. In Dungeons & Dragons, when a character loses all of their hit points (or health points if you will), they go unconscious. If the player isn’t healed, they roll a death saving throw, which is completed by rolling a 20-sided die. Rolling a 1-10 counts as a failure, while rolling an 11-20 is a success. If a player rolls a 1, they get two failed death-saving throws in one roll. With three death-saving throws accrued, a character dies.

In episode #34 of Campaign #3, Fearne (played by Ashley Johnson) and Orym (played by Liam O’Brien) are dead as they were killed in battle. Fresh Cut Grass (played by Sam Riegel) had a spell that he used to bring back Fearne, and once Fearne was alive, Fearne would bring back Orym using a similar spell. Before all of this happened, Laudna was down and had to roll death saves. Unfortunately, Marisha had a failed death save already and ended up rolling a natural 1, meaning her character, Laudna, dies. Once Fearne was brought back to life, she had to pick which character to save: Laudna or Orym. Fearne picked Orym, and Laudna permanently died. I’m probably not doing the best job at explaining this, but the whole cast was emotional. As I was listening to this episode, I also became a little emotional.

I mentioned it multiple times before, but I’m playing in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that occurs every other Thursday. When I created my character, Laudna was a big inspiration for me. To see that Laudna may be permanently dead was gut-wrenching, as she was one of my favorite characters throughout this campaign. I’m bummed because I like the other characters, but Laudna was special to me.

Character death can happen in Dungeons & Dragons. It doesn’t make me want to stop watching Critical Role by any means, but as mentioned, I’m a little bummed that one of my favorite characters isn’t going to appear anymore. There’s a part of me that is holding out for Laudna to come back, but it’s not likely. If you’re watching Critical Role, let me know in the comments how this felt for you or who your favorite character is in Campaign #3.

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare

Posted in Reading/Books by

I picked up Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare back in April at Independent Bookstore Day earlier this year. I was planning on reading this book in the month of October, but I ended up reading it earlier than I anticipated. Go Hex Yourself was a fun, spooky read, but I couldn’t help but want more from the story.

Reggie Johnson needs a job. She applied for a job in the paper, and in her eyes, she thought it was a position working for her favorite card game, “Spellcraft: The Magicking.” Instead, Reggie uncovers that she ended up applying to be a witch’s familiar. Reggie decides to take the job and is quickly introduced to Ben Magnus, who is the cousin of the witch Reggie is working for. Ben tries to put distance between himself and Reggie, but ultimately, a situation arises where Reggie and Ben are forced to work together to break a curse that was set upon someone close to them.

I adored the setting of Go Hex Yourself. It was hinted that this book takes place somewhere outside of Boston. I thought this worked well with the story as I kept picturing brick roads, gothic houses, and trees with changing leaves. Reggie ends up staying at this mansion while she works, and it’s described in detail what a witch’s laboratory looks like, and all these vials for potion making. I thought it helped me click with the story more as I could picture the environment Reggie is working under.

As far as the romance was concerned, I didn’t love Reggie and Ben together. It’s been hinted that this book is a “Reylo” book. For those who are unfamiliar, Reylo is a group of fans who believe that Kylo Ren and Rey from the Star Wars movies should be a romantic pairing. Ben is described as moody, having darker hair, and overall looking similar to Adam Driver, while Reggie has long brown hair, she’s quiet at certain times, and she comes from a rough background. I’m not a Reylo fan personally, and I think that had to do with the romance. I felt at times that Reggie and Ben weren’t made to be together, and I couldn’t help but think if they would actually last after the book ends.

I enjoyed reading Go Hex Yourself simply for all the spell casting and the story of how witches exist in the present day. Go Hex Yourself is part of a series, and I’m looking forward to the next book because that book stars Penny, someone Reggie interacts with in Go Hex Yourself. I found myself liking Penny more than Reggie at times, so I think the sequel will be something I will enjoy more than the first book. I rated Go Hex Yourself three stars on Goodreads.

Celebrating Spooky SZN – Door County

Posted in Life Lately by
Image is a photo from Door County Wisconsin. It's a photo from the beach and you can see Lake Michigan. Off to the right are several bright green trees.

I took a writing break, which was quite refreshing. During this time, I went with my husband’s family on a short trip to Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is a county in Wisconsin that consists of several towns right along the water. Green Bay is on the left side of Door County, and Lake Michigan is on the right. If you look at a Wisconsin state map, there’s a portion of Wisconsin that sticks out, and that’s where Door County is. I have never been to Door County before, and I was stunned by how beautiful this portion of Wisconsin is.

Everyone who has been to Door County would easily say it’s the most beautiful portion of the state. We would walk through all of these bay towns, and it felt like I was on the East Coast. There were restaurants, coffee shops, and small businesses that bordered the water. I found myself enjoying walking and taking in the scenery. Walking and hiking in general are one of my favorite forms of exercise, and Door County has plenty to offer.

Image was taken at a shop. There's a chalkboard sign saying Door County Peninsula Winery. It says Wine Tasting Starts Here Complimentary.

Door County is one of the best places to visit in the fall. As my husband and I drove up to Door County, we saw several billboards for a winery that made Halloween wines. Door County Peninsula Winery has three specialty wines that they make every Halloween. When we went to their indoor space, they had it all decked out in Halloween decorations. It made the experience more fun. Everywhere we went in Door County seemed to have some sort of Halloween decoration hung up. Besides visiting various distilleries and wineries, there are also plenty of apple orchards and barns to visit that sell local homemade goods. No matter where we went, each place was so lively.

Visiting Door County was a perfect, local trip, and I’m glad I could take a mini break to unwind and come back feeling recharged. As far as vacations, this is my last big trip of the year. I have a friend getting married next month, and with the holidays coming up, I probably won’t have the time to travel anywhere else. Door County was exactly what I needed, and now I’m even more excited for Halloween.

Is there too much Superhero Content?

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by

I love reading comics, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering what I write on BizarreBrunette. I wrote about She-Hulk last weekend, and when I mention the negative reviews, another theme I’m seeing is people who feel there’s too much superhero content, specifically Marvel releasing their shows on Disney+. I wanted to dive into this as I think it’s an interesting topic to discuss.

Image is a promotional poster for Marvel's Captain America New World Order. It shows Marvel's logo and the font against a black background.

Personally, I’m all for Marvel, DC, or comics-related movies or TV series. I like living in a time where we are seeing beloved characters and their stories being adapted. As a DC Comics fan, I never thought I would see Doctor Fate in a live-action movie, especially when Doctor Fate is being played by Pierce Brosnan. I’m also excited for Captain America: New World Order coming out in 2024, The Marvels coming out in 2023, and Thunderbolts coming out in 2024. I want to see more Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) appearances throughout the Marvel universe. I’m curious if Joaquin Torres (played by Danny Ramirez) will have a bigger role in Captain America: New World Order.

I can understand if someone isn’t a comics or superhero fan, I can see where this is a lot of content to keep up with. It seems like there is always something new coming out, and it’s easy to get behind on watching every movie or TV series. I think it’s normal to feel some sort of fatigue. While I am a big fan of superhero content, I have to take a break and watch a completely unrelated movie or TV series, so I can dive back in when I’m ready.

As mentioned, I’m all for the superhero content. It’s been awesome to see comics so heavily represented, and I enjoy hearing about people who are getting into comics for the first time. I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments; do you feel that there is too much superhero content?

Pirate Spotted at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Posted in Cosplay, Life Lately by

The last time I went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival was in 2019 or pre-pandemic. I was planning to attend in 2021, but wedding plans quickly booked my weekends. I wanted to make it a priority to attend this year. I’m so glad I was able to go.

Normally, we always drive to Ren Fest, but this year we decided to take the bus. There’s a bus that will do drop-offs at the entrance. It’s well known that Ren Fest has extremely long wait times to get into the fairgrounds. By long, I mean you could easily be waiting 2+ hours to park a car. Once I found out the bus was an option, I kick myself as to why I didn’t do this years ago. It was so slick. There were times that the bus had to wait, but once we got closer, there was a bus line created, so we could bypass a lot of the car lines. I think it took 20-30 minutes to get there versus hours waiting in a car.

In previous years, we tried to go towards the middle of September as it’s supposed to be cooler. However, the weekend we went, it was 80 degrees! It was nice not being cold, but it messed with the tradition. I used to always order soup in a bread bowl, but it was too hot. I opted for potato skins, chicken fajita, and a chicken wrap for dinner. I did stick with the apple cider float, which I still love. It’s the perfect fall beverage.

Image is a photo of me sitting on a bench. I'm wearing all red and dressed like a pirate. I have tall black boots, a wide red hat and a red pirate jacket. Next to me is a skeleton. Above the bench is a sign for Lavigne Leather.

This year, I decided to wear a full costume! I decided to go with a pirate look. I rented my costume from Royal Fashions Costume Emporium, which I have been doing since 2018, except I would always rent for a convention and not for Ren Fest. Renting a costume is great because it’s cheap and I don’t have to store it anywhere. It was a little bit hot, so I ended up not wearing my red pirate jacket as I really didn’t want to overheat. Wearing a costume for the Ren Fest is so fun, and I plan on doing this every year going forward.

We spent six full hours at Ren Fest, which included seeing two live shows, shopping, and walking around. I missed going to Ren Fest, so I’m happy that I was able to go this year.

Image is a selfie of me wearing a red pirate hat and I'm wearing a black long sleeve blouse shirt.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by
Image is a promotional poster for the TV show, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. It shows a woman dressed professionally sitting on a bench. Behind her is the New York City skyline.

She–Hulk: Attorney at Law has been getting a lot of hate online. Currently, the show is listed with an average 2.2-star rating on Google. I don’t know much about She-Hulk as a character, so I’m not exactly sure how comic-book-accurate the series is. After watching all episodes on Disney+, I think She-Hulk isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. It’s not my favorite Marvel series, but I think it’s a fun show to watch as long as you don’t go into it trying to nitpick every scene.

She-Hulk stars Jennifer Walters (played by Tatiana Maslany) as she navigates her stressful job as an attorney. In an unfortunate accident, she is exposed to Bruce Banner’s (played by Mark Ruffalo) blood. As such, she transforms into She-Hulk. Unlike the Hulk, She-Hulk retains her identity and controls her transformation at will. She tries to return to her regular life, but it’s quickly revealed that she has powers. Now that her powers are known, Jennifer is struggling to find anonymity and protect her privacy.

As mentioned, I don’t think She-Hulk is a bad show. I like all the guest appearances from Wong (played by Benedict Wong), Bruce, and Abomination (played by Tim Roth), who was in Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk movie back in 2008. I watched the latest episode, which features Madisynn King (played by Patty Guggenheim), and she’s a funny addition to the series.

When I read about She-Hulk and hate online, I usually see two types of arguments. The first is the idea that the series hates men. There’s a scene from episode #1 when Bruce and Jennifer are talking about anger and being in control. Jennifer makes a comment somewhere along the lines of how being a woman in the world always prompts anger and fear. When I watched this episode, it didn’t pull me out of the watching experience, as I didn’t think this comment was out of line. I think this was added because Jennifer is a lawyer, and one of her co-workers is sexist, which is why Jennifer would think this. To me, it didn’t feel out of place.

The second argument I see online is bashing Megan Thee Stallion’s guest appearance. If you watch the episode, everything makes sense. Jennifer’s co-worker, Dennis Bukowski (played by Drew Matthews), is fooled into thinking he’s dating Megan Thee Stallion when really it was a shape-shifting elf from New Asgard. In one of the after-credits scenes, Megan Thee Stallion is showing Jennifer how to twerk. I’m not following the backlash; I think the after-credits scene is entertaining. It’s supposed to be fun. If I had to guess, I think viewers were looking for a more serious She-Hulk series, whereas this series is more about Jennifer having fun with her powers and how they mix with her life as a lawyer, along with being single and dating.

Honestly, I like She-Hulk. I’m curious to see how the show will play out, especially with a potential cameo from Daredevil.

Animal Crossing meets Disney in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Posted in Gaming by

Back in 2005-2006, I used to play an online game called VMK. VMK, also known as Virtual Magic Kingdom, was an online multiplayer game that I used to play all the time growing up. I loved being able to explore Disney Parks, customize my character, and go on quests in various areas of the game. When I heard about Disney’s Dreamlight Valley, it reminded me of VMK. I decided to try it out because it’s available on Xbox Game Pass.

Dreamlight Valley opens with the player being dropped into Dreamlight Valley. Dreamlight Valley looks a bit creepy with these magical thorns overgrowing everywhere. As explained by Merlin, an event called the Forgetting had Disney and Pixar characters forgetting who they were. They retreated into the castle, leaving the rest of the land to be desolate and lonely. Merlin tasks the player to help save the land and clean it up a bit.

Dreamlight Valley relies a lot on quests. As you complete tasks, you can level up. I love games where I can level up my character; it feels rewarding for all the time devoted to playing. As a big Animal Crossing fan, I like customizing my character and my house. One of the first tasks I completed was helping Scrooge McDuck open his shop. From there, I purchased a rainbow gaming PC and a dress for my character to wear because why not?

I didn’t realize the game isn’t out yet. This is apparently the early access version, which you can play if you have access to Xbox Game Pass or if you buy a Founder’s Pack edition of the game. I would love to see more mini-games that could be played to earn coins, gems, or other things to craft with.

Disney Dreamlight Valley has a lot of potential, and I’m curious if any changes will be made to the game by the time it releases in 2023.