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Three weeks for Dreamwidth: What are you currently reading?

I’m reading a novel and three fanfiction stories, one of which is finished and the other two are still ongoing.

* The book I’m reading is Winterwode by J. Tullos Hennig. It’s the third book in her series of books of the Wode, which currently consists of five books. The books tell (or retell) the story of Robin Hood, as he comes of age, discovers he’s a main part of the old pagan religion and has adventures as he gets older. In the books, some of the things we come to expect from a Robin Hood tale are changed somewhat. Robin is a gay man who falls in love with the son of a Christian nobleman. Maid Marian is Robin’s sister.

I was initionally drawn to the books thanks to it being a reimagining of Robin Hood with a queer perspective, and I can say the books are really wonderful. There’s a lot happening, a clash between the old pagan religion and the then-new Christian faith that is rapidly spreading. There’s a lot of adventure and intrigue, a lot of companionship (Robin’s merry men form a great lot of friends). There’s history in it, with the crusades going strong and the Knights Templar coming into play. There is magic in it, in a way that the stories read as something between fantasy and magic realism. I greatly recommend the book series.

* The main fanfiction story (the one that is finished) that I’m reading is the Spanish 1983 by Lookupthestars_ on Wattpad. It is a Marta & Fina fanfiction story from Sueños de Libertad, but it is set in a new timeframe (modern day) with a different setting. A young female reporter/ photographer, by chance, discovers a box full of beautiful black and white photographs by an unknown author who recently passed away. In awe of this find, she becomes intrigued with wanting to know more about this photographer and her life, and starts looking for clues in the photographs to learn more about the identity of this photographer. One thing she quickly discovers is that one woman is photographed multiple times over the course of years. She becomes fascinated by this woman in the pictures and searches for her identity, wanting to meet her and show her the pictures.

This story is a sapphic romance story, and it is beautifully written. Its quality is on par and sometimes even better than the published romance stories I read. I highly recommend this story to anyone who is a fan of sapphic romance (and knows Spanish, since it’s written in Spanish), even if you’re not familiar with the TV show. No previous knowledge of anything is required to read it; it just reads like an excellent book. Anyone who wants to check it out can find it HERE.

Three weeks for Dreamwidth: What’s your current OTP?

Currently, it’s Marta de la Reina and Fina Valero (ship name Mafin) from the Spanish telenovela Sueños de Libertad. The telenovela tells the tale of two rivaling families in a family perfume business in the 50’s in Spain, when the country was under a dictatorship. Homosexuality was illegal, and you could end up in prison if you were caught.

Doña Marta de la Reina, a noblewoman and daughter of one of the founders of the perfume factory, falls in love with perfume shop assistant Fina Valero, the daughter of the family’s driver. Marta is older than her, but they basically grew up in the same house. Fina has always admired Marta as a strong, independent woman who can achieve everything she puts her mind to. Marta, however, is married, a passionless marriage, and her husband is a doctor on a ship, so he’s often away for a long time. When Fina, who worked in the factory’s warehouse, has an interview to become a shop assistant and succeeds, they both start to fall in love with each other slowly.

Things are complicated because of society, Marta’s marriage, and the threat of prison, but they manage to love each other despite all odds, and it becomes a beautiful and gentle love story. They’re amazing together.