laurinebruder

[laurinebruder]

May Goals

This has basically been my motto for all of April. Welcome, dear readers, it’s another month and time to look back on my goals from last month and see if I reached them.

To recap, my goals for April were:

1. Finish edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

2. Transcribe and edit Acts 2 and 3 of outline.

3. Send rest of outline to CP for feedback.

4. Read 4 new books this month.

5. Make edits to outline using input from CP.

6. Start writing Ambershield.

How did I do? Well, better than I thought, considering I had some major health problems this month. That and a new Nook. Oh the Nook is so shiny. And dangerous. I can now own all the books I want and they’ll fit in the palm of my hand.

Needless to say, I read more than 4 new books in April.

I read 40.

Funny story, that. My birthday was in April, so I decided to celebrate by investing in one thing I’ve always wanted but never let myself buy: a Nook. I bought it on April 1. So, one month and 40 books later (some amazing, some good, some meh, and some awful), I’m a little behind on my writing goals, but not as bad as I feared. There was also something else that held me up towards the end of the month.

A heart attack scare.

I won’t go into details, but it was terrifying. Luckily, it turned out to be inflammation in the heart wall, not an actual heart attack, thank all the gods. But life-and-death scares have a way of putting things in perspective, you know?

Anyway, how I did on my goals.

I finished editing Act 3, I transcribed all of Act 2 (which was a beast of epic proportions), and sent it to my CP for feedback. I haven’t gotten feedback from said CP on Act 2 yet, but she’s a self-pubbed author and has her own publishing/writing schedule to stick to, so it’s cool. And I did start writing Act 1 of Ambershield. So, I’d say I accomplished 4 and a half out of 6 goals for April. Which, considering how distracted I’ve been by books and health issues and figuring out where my future’s going, is pretty darn good.

I don’t know if I want to do set goals for May, but here’s what I’d like to accomplish:

1. Read a lotta books.

2. Work on writing something. Anything.

3. Get back into blog posting on a regular basis.

4. Start experimenting with website graphics and building them.

A lot of general goals, but ones I’d like to work towards for certain. I definitely want to get back into writing. It’s been amazing getting a month to read as many books as I want (although my wallet did cry a little) and I’ve gotten back into the romance genre as well as picked up some great new releases like Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody, and Iron Princess by Meghan March.

Hopefully May will be a more productive month and I can make real inroads on Ambershield and the other projects I’m planning. Someday, I’ll learn how to multitask when it comes to writing and hopefully that day will come in May.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment, like, share, or what have you if you've enjoyed this post and look for new posts on Tuesday. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

“young adult dystopian novels are so unrealistic lmao like they always have some random teenage girl rising up to inspire the world to make change.”

a hero emerges 

[laurinebruder]

Tips on writing an essay from my history professor

1. If you approach writing as a mystical event where you sit down at a blank page and expect to be visited by divine inspiration, you’re fucked. Writing is not a talent, it is a skill. It is a muscle. If you don’t use it, it dies.

2. Be comfortable with writing absolute garbage. Get all your thoughts down: write shit. Then edit; devote 50% of your time or more to editing. This is when you write your thesis. This is when you decide where paragraphs are.

3. Know how to use a comma. If you use more than two in a sentence, it’s too many. You’re doing something wrong. In American writing, beauty is not in the length and complexity of a sentence. Beauty is in short sentences, with a variety of structures.

4. If you can cut a word, cut it. Ask yourself, do I really need all these words? Keep only what is necessary, leave room for the important stuff.

5. Avoid canned expressions. The phrase ‘a needle in a haystack’ was effective the first time it was used in an essay – it no longer is. It would be better to write the most boring sentence than to write a cliche metaphor that serves no purpose.

6. When you use the word “which” you should probably be using the word “that.” If you don’t know, assume it should be “that.”

7. Avoid obscure vocabulary or jargon. Obscure vocabulary displays nothing about your intelligence or academic success.

8. Read good writing with the intention of absorbing how those authors write successfully.

[laurinebruder]

April Goals

It’s my birthday month, which means tomorrow, April 4th, I’ll be partying! ...And working, but that’s nothing new, haha.

What is new are my goals for this month, so let’s jump in!

As a recap, my goals for March were:

1. Finish edits on Act 2 of Ambershield outline.

2. Begin edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

3. (Possibly) Finish edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

4. Read 4 new books this month.

5. Write 2 book reviews.

Looking back on it, I thought these would be pretty reasonable goals, and they were, I just didn’t count on one thing: getting so wrapped up in my outlining that I forgot everything else, haha. Needless to say, I have finished drafting edits for Act 2 of my outline. Act 2 has officially become a beast, it’s absolutely huge, and there’s so much happening in it, which is how a good Act 2 is supposed to look. I had the goal to finish my drafting my March 31st and I swear to all the gods, the universe was being especially perverse that day.

I usually do all my writing at work, because I have the free time to do so, only work was insanely busy due to the holiday weekend and more people were gone than normal for a Friday night. So I didn’t end up doing any serious writing until around 3 AM, halfway through my shift. But by some miracle, I managed to pull it off.

But did I get to Act 3?

Why yes, yes I did.

I began Act 3 drafting on the night of the 31st going into the morning of the 1st, so it counts, in my opinion XD Funny enough, I’m almost finished with drafting the edits, which is a huge accomplishment for me, I’d like to think. So, while I haven’t finished Act 3, I still got a good chunk of it done, which I’m happy about.

But as I said above, I did get so wrapped up in my drafting that I didn’t get a chance to do anything else, including writing book reviews. Sorry about that ^^;;; I’ve been wanting to do more book reviews for a while now, but once I get into drafting, I swear I’m a machine. And a bit obsessive. It’s intense.

In addition to that, I only read 3 new books for March: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo, and Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks (I know, I threw a romance in there, shocking isn’t it?) I was planning to pick up The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton, but I just didn’t have enough time by the end of the month. So that’s going to be moved to my April reading list.

Speaking of, time to talk about my new goals.

My goals are a bit more ambitious this month since I’m feeling 100% better and I have something to help me on my reading goals. Wanna know what it is? I bought myself a Nook GlowLight 3 for my birthday! I’m so excited, it’s so pretty, and I’ve been wanting an e-reader for years because hoo boy, I cannot buy a fourth bookshelf. No way. Plus, instant book access at my fingertips. It’s going to be amazing.

So without further adieu, my April goals are:

1. Finish edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

2. Transcribe and edit Acts 2 and 3 of outline.

3. Send rest of outline to CP for feedback.

4. Read 4 new books this month.

5. Make edits to outline using input from CP.

6. Start writing Ambershield.

And there we have it! Man, I’m going to have a lot to do this month, but it’ll all be worth it, since Ambershield is finally coming together. I’ve promised myself, once I get input from my CP, there will be no more edits to the outline. I need to start writing the actual book. The outline’s already gone through 2 full drafts, Act 1 has gone through 3 (and is going to get another one with CP input added), so in total, the outline is going be on draft 3 by the time I’m ready to start writing. Draft upon draft, but at least I’ll still be getting it done.

I’m also super excited for all the new books coming out. I’ve been delaying opening and playing with my Nook, because I want to save it for my actual birthday. Delayed gratification and all that, you know.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment, like, share, or what have you if you've enjoyed this post and look for new posts on Tuesday. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

[laurinebruder]

March Goals

I will be straight up honest with you guys, February was a shit show in terms of my goals. In the course of the month, I saw my doctor three times, visited urgent care twice, and even went to the ER due to health issues. Needless to say, my goals suffered.

To remind (mostly) myself, my February goals were:

1. Read at least 4 new books.

2. Finish outlining rewrites for Ambershield.

3. Write 2 book reviews.

4. Post a blog post every Tuesday.

5. (Possibly) Start writing Act 1 of Ambershield.

So, how did I do?

Well...not as bad as I initially thought. I did read 4 new books (The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop, Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce, Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones) and even picked up a fifth book (Sightwitch by Susan Dennard.) If there's one good thing I could say about being ill for a solid month, it meant a lot of time to read. So that goal was accomplished.

I also wrote two book “reviews,” which weren't reviews, so much as they were thought processes. She Regrets Nothing turned out to be a book I regretted buying (it went back to the store within the week) and The Belles was a book that I enjoyed but had a glaring issue that I addressed at length.

The rest....not so good.

Due to my lack of energy, I didn't get a good start on the rewrites for Ambershield's outline. I also haven't started writing Act 1, although I finished a round of edits on its outline. My writing suffered a lot in February and now, with March, I'm hoping to get back on track. I've got a lot of catching up to do and I'm bound and determined to do it. I've done 2 rounds of edits on Act 1, I'm currently working on edits for Act 2, and Act 3 will be edited sometime later this month. I hope to start actually drafting the book by April (my birthday month, yay!)

I'm trying to be less ambitious in March, just because I dunno what life's going to throw at me and I don't want to set goals and not meet them, which is frustrating as hell. But I still want to make decent progress. So, here's my thoughts:

1. Finish edits on Act 2 of Ambershield outline.

2. Begin edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

3. (Possibly) Finish edits on Act 3 of Ambershield outline.

4. Read 4 new books this month.

5. Write 2 book reviews.

There, that seems to be doable. I haven't included my usual goal of steady blog posting schedule, since I've already missed a week this month due to blinding back pain. Seriously, the saga of my back pain and trying to pinpoint the source of it (I've narrowed it down between my new mattress and my new pillow) has been a challenge this past week. Further: my roomie is amazing and I dunno what I did to deserve a friend like her. She's played driver for the entire week as I've gone shopping for bed and office chairs and bedding and...so much else.

There aren't a lot of books coming out this month that I want to read, but there are definitely 2 that are coming out next week that I'll be picking up. I'm hoping to get a Kindle or a Nook for my birthday, but that may have to wait because buying beds is not cheap.

Either way, March is here, and with it, a glimpse of the spring that's coming. Here's hoping for a good month for everyone, no matter what your pursue.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment, like, share, or what have you if you've enjoyed this post and look for new posts on Tuesday. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

Writing Tag!

For my blog post this week, I decided to do a writing tag. This one is by @writerscreed. So, here we go!

Writers Creed Ask Game

1. What got you into writing?

The answer that immediately springs to mind is “fairy tales” but that's not true. It was Sailor Moon and Power Rangers. I was 9 years old and I created my first original character who was, somehow, both a Sailor Senshi and a Power Ranger. And it kind of exploded from there.

2. Favorite writer

Tamora Pierce. Hands down. No matter how many years pass by or how many new books come on the scene, I always swing back to Tamora Pierce.

3. Where do you get inspired most?

From other books, from TV shows, movies. I got really inspired by Coco recently, about the ideas of family and what family means.

4. What inspires you most?

I can't really say what inspires me “the most” because I can get inspiration anytime, anywhere, from anything.

5. What is your surrounding like while you’re writing?

An office, haha. Seriously, I'm incredibly lucky, and it's why I've stayed in my mediocre job instead of looking for something better. I work third shift in a call center and in between calls, I can do whatever kind of crafty project I want. I've written 2-3 novels in the course of my 6 years of employment at the office.

6. Favorite book

Don't make me pick! I can't pick!

7. Last time you read a book? What was it?

This past week, and I read 2 actually. I read “Everless” by Sara Holland and “Beneath the Haunting Sea” by Joanna Ruth Meyer.

8. Favourite quotes

“Whatever it is, I didn't do it.”

“You can't control over people, you can only control yourself.”

“Write something damnit! Even if it sucks, just get words on paper.”

“What the heckie is going on?” (From @sbbofficialblog)

9. Tag 5 favourite blogs that you admire

@jennamoreci, she's an amazing author and woman, whose advice, wit, and skills continue to inspire me.

@stdennard, who's created one of the most awesome worlds I've read in a while with her Witchlands novels and is just an overall awesome person.

@tamorapierce, my favorite author of all time.

@bitchesgetriches, whose advice about money and finances has helped me climb out of the hole of debt I've found myself in, and whose social commentary is both hilarious and thoughtful.

@bigfatscience, I know, they're not a writing blog either, but the amount of time, energy, and dedication they take to debunking fat phobia, fat myths, fat “science,” and all sorts of other things, as well as offering advice and support is awesome.

10. What does writing mean to you.

Wow, we're really going with the loaded questions, eh? Writing to me...means life. It's who I am, who I've always been, as far back as I can remember. I learned how to live through stories. I learned about morals and convictions and choices and sometimes you can't save everyone. Writing gave me an outlet to express myself when I had no other words. It gave me a chance to explore who I was as a teenager and now, who I am as an adult. Writing is everything.

11. Tag a writer you are a fan of and type in your feelings

Just one? Wow, that's cruel. I'll just refer you back to question 9.

12. Prose or Poetry? Why?

Prose. I can't write poetry for beans. Except haiku. Haiku are awesome.

13. How do you overcome writer’s block?

By fighting through it. Even if what I put down on the paper is absolute crap, it still keeps me in the writing mindset and, eventually, I will break out of it and find something better. If even that doesn't work, I read something new to get inspired.

14. Have you ever read your poem out loud in public? If so, where?

Nope, because I don't write poetry.

15. Favorite poet

Don't have one.

16. Do you write everyday?

I try to, but on my weekends, I tend to not write, except for my blog post. I need time to recharge the ol' batteries so to speak, so I can go back to work with a rested mind and a cleansed palette.

17. How do you integrate personal and general aspects of your writing? In other words, how do you blend your experiences with the subject of the poem?

Well, I don't know about poems, but when it comes to my writing, I just put it in there. If I want to write about family, I give the characters similar family experiences to myself. If I want to write about friendships I've had, I give the characters friends similar to those I have. I'm not really one for subtlety in that regard.

18. Do you enjoy collaborating? If so, what do you like about it?

I did when I was younger. I wrote IM roleplays with friends and it was great. But, it took energy away from the writing that I wanted to do for myself, so I don't do it so much anymore. I loved the camaraderie and the fact that I had someone there to bounce ideas off of and think things through with. Plus, the worlds and characters we created were a ton of fun.

19. Describe your writing style in a sentence.

Myself.

20. What is the favorite thing you’ve written so far? Why?

The Act 2 outline for my current WIP. It's like, the best Act 2 I've ever written in my writing career because I FINALLY understand story structure. But I got a feeling I can make it even better, so that's what I'm gonna do.

21. Confession time: have you ever written a poem while driving?

Nope, nor a book either.

Whoot, that was fun :D I do like writing about writing, and about other authors I admire. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

I want the world to understand computers don’t just do things, they only do what the user tells them to do.

“Digital art is cheating! The computer does it!” No, the user painted it.

“Digital music isn’t real! The computer makes it!” No, the user composed it.

“I don’t know what happened. The computer just started acting weird on its own.” NO, YOU’VE BEEN CLICKING ADS AGAIN, MOM.

[laurinebruder]

art takes hours to produce and seconds to consume so dont act suprised when artists get upset when their posts only get likes and no reblogs

similarly a piece of writing that takes a few minutes to read could have weeks of work behind it… dont take creativity for granted when ur getting it for free

[laurinebruder]

1. Neglecting Context

2. Relying on Jargon

3. Vaguely Attributing Thoughts or Actions

4. Expecting Perfect Memory

5. Poorly Explaining Strange Elements

6. Giving Important Information Late

7. Misusing Metaphorical Language

[laurinebruder]

Еще одно доказательство того, что коты - это жидкость…

[laurinebruder]

pick-me-ups for writers

for the self-conscious beginner: No one makes great things until the world intimately knows their mediocrity. Don’t think of your writing as terrible; think of it as preparing to contribute something great.

for the self-conscious late bloomer: Look at old writing as how far you’ve come. You can’t get to where you are today without covering all that past ground. For that, be proud.

for the perfectionist: Think about how much you complain about things you love—the mistakes and retcons in all your favorite series—and how you still love them anyway. Give yourself that same space.

for the realist: There will be people who hate your story even if it’s considered a classic. But there will be people who love your story, even if it is strange and unpopular.

for the fanfic writer: Your work isn’t lesser for not following canon. When you write, you’ve created a new work on its own. It can be, but does not have to be, limited by the source material. Canon is not the end-all, be-all. 

for the writer’s blocked: It doesn’t need to be perfect. Sometimes you have to move on and commit a few writing sins if it means you can create better things out of it.

for the lost: You started writing for a reason; remember that reason. It’s ok to move on. You are more than your writing. It will be here if you want to come back.

[laurinebruder]

When a Book Makes you Think

I love a good book. I've bought and read many over the past month, thanks to the Health Hellpit I've found myself in for most of February, and I love a book that makes me think. Makes me feel. Makes me gasp and question and analyze characters, plot, and themes, that's what I love about a good book.

One book has made me think harder than most.

But not for the reasons you think.

Let me explain.

One of the books I picked up in February was The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. I've wanted to read it since I read an excerpt from the first chapter. The description, the rich language, the world building, I knew the book was going to be amazing and I had it on my “to buy” list for at least six months before it was released on February 6th. I bought it the day it came out but horror of horrors, I had to wait a week before I felt even human enough to pick up a book, let alone concentrate on reading one.

Yes, my illness was that bad. Not life-threatening, but gods above and below, it felt like it some days.

Moving on, when I finally did pick up The Belles and ate it in one night at work (there's something to be said for working third shift), I wasn't wrong. The world building was exquisite. The description was as rich and lavish as a world obsessed with beauty would be. Clayton's writing drew me in. While it has flaws, one scene has stuck with me, even after two re-reads of the book.

Spoilers ahead for the book. You have been warned.

In the last third of the book, where the action is picking up, the protagonist, Camille, and her rival/friend Amber, essentially murder a young woman named Claudine, but that's not the part that got me thinking. The part that got me thinking was that Claudine, a side character, had been defined by two main characteristics: she was a lesbian and she was overweight. Her clandestine relationship with her servant and her struggles to find someone to marry are presented to build a sense of sympathy in the character. Her eating was also linked to her emotions, which, as someone who's a recovering emotional-eater, made me uncomfortable. She ate when she was rejected for marriage and she refused to get Belle treatments to look thinner, as is the standard for overweight people in the book. You fat? You see the Belles to get slim. At first I cheered for her independence and her desire to be herself, but then I stopped. And I thought.

This character is two of the most toxic tropes I could personally encounter. Her death falls into the category of “kill your gays” and her being defined by her weight in a world that values thinness is fat shaming.

I am an asexual lesbian. I'm fat. I've had eating disorders and I'm fighting my weight to prevent health concerns. This scene soured the entire book for me.

The scene serves several purposes. The first is to highlight how rotten the antagonist is. Alright, Sophia is terrible, but...we knew that. Throughout the book there are multiple instances of her instability, cruelty, and malice. Hell, she even breaks Camille's hand and sets her bed on fire. So, the reader has already seen the lengths Sophia will go to get what she wants. Does it really need to be pounded on again and again?

The second is more troubling to me. The scene serves to further the plot line and character arcs of Camille and Amber. While reading it, I couldn't help but think of another old cliché, “women in refrigerators,” where a superhero's girlfriend/wife/lover was tortured/killed/etc for the sole express purpose of furthering that hero's story/character.

In terms of plot, by killing the young woman, even if it was an accident, it gives Sophia the chance to strike against the pair. Camille does try to resist the order to perform the “treatments” on Claudine at first. She knows it's wrong, she knows what her power as a Belle can do, but in the end, she gives in to Amber's goading. They use Claudine as a tool to play “anything you can do, I can do better” until she's dead. While they're horrified at what they've done, it's so brief because the next minute, they're arrested and dragged off to the dungeons and possible execution. All of a sudden they're friends and allies again, like they didn't torture and kill someone just five minutes ago, with powers that they've been raised to believe are special and beautiful.

And while this isn't about purpose, the fact that the one character who was overweight, and chose to stay that way, was fat shamed and then killed? It's horrifying to me. It makes me ask: was that the point? Was she used to highlight the toxic nature of the beauty myth and culture? If so, why was that the point that had to be made? There were other women who loved women in the story, the queen for example. Yet, there wasn't a single other character in the book that was overweight. Not one. If they were overweight, they immediately wanted it to be changed.

Yes, fat shaming is a thing. It's terrible and it's prevalent and it's not going to go away anytime soon, not as long as people fear and loathe fatness. But this didn't have to be one of the traits that defined a character whose death served no real purpose. Any other scene, any other death, could have forwarded Camille and Amber's plot lines and further emphasized Sophia's cruelty. It didn't have to be Claudine.

This scene brought on a whole slew of more questions. Was this the only way to advance the plot? The character arcs? Why was the character defined only by her sexuality to elicit sympathy prior to her death? Why was this character chosen to die? Did Clayton overlook the implications of such a scene? Was it intentional? Was it not? Dhonielle Clayton is a sensitivity reader, shouldn't she have realized what implications this scene would have?

I don't believe it was intentional, I really don't. What a writer writes and what they believe are two different things. Still, when a writer writes something problematic, even if they don't believe in it, it's still problematic. To me, this scene is more than that, though. It's downright disgusting. When I first read it, I was shocked at the horrific way the character died. Then I was caught up in the whirlwind of the climax and revelations and unfolding action. When I read it a second time, that's when I started realizing the implications and that's when I started asking questions.

It took a long time for me to consider whether or not I wanted to keep the book on my shelves. While it made me think, it wasn't the kind of thinking I like to do after reading a good book. I didn't consider the characters, their futures, the themes, or anything. All I could think about was: why did I feel like another marginalized character was killed off for no reason?

So, in conclusion, when a book makes you think, it's often a good thing. But when a book makes you think about things that leave a bad impression, that's not so good. I just hope that the books improve and address both of these issues.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment, like, share, or what have you if you've enjoyed this post and look for new posts on Tuesday. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

Ree’s Reading Rambles: She Regrets Nothing

I know this is a bit outside the norm, but welcome dear readers, to another of Ree’s Reading Rambles. While I’ve picked up quite a few books for my reading pleasure, sadly She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop is not one I’ll be keeping on my shelves.

Let me explain.

Did Not Finish @ page 112 I was so disappointed in this book. I love Cinderella stories. In fact, Cinderella's my favorite fairy tale of all time. An abuse survivor finally getting the good life that they've earned by hanging onto their kindness and inner strength through years of torment...this isn't that story and the MC, Laila, is no Cinderella. At all. She Regrets Nothing follows the story of 25-year-old Laila, who begins the book at age 23, when she is suddenly orphaned following the death of her mother. At the funeral, who should she meet but three glamorous, attractive cousins from her father's side of the family? Even wilder, she's never heard of before. After a period of grieving (and a grief-driven, very brief marriage), Laila moves to NYC and moves in with her cousins to achieve the "lifestyle she feels she was unfairly denied" and boy does she do it. The quote taken from the summary of the book sums up Laila's character perfectly: grasping, fake, greedy, manipulative, and a user, hiding it all behind the sweet face of a small-town, Midwestern girl. I hated Laila and the fact that she's one of the narrative characters made it impossible for me to get through this book. Her self-entitlement oozed off the page and, to be frank, I found her twin cousins more interesting, even though they followed "rich people" tropes in that one is a philandering playboy and the other is a girl who spends all her time and money on clothes, fancy food, and plastic surgery. Laila, I felt, received a lot of negativity, being the poor country cousin to these wealthy socialites and I think that commentary could be read as classism. The only character to come from humble means in the world of the rich and she's painted in such a negative light? Seems dodgy to me. The one redeeming character I met was Liberty, but even she wasn't enough to save the book. While I enjoyed her character and the look into her world as a literary agent, I didn't think she was strong enough to carry half of the book AND make up for Laila's flaws. In fact, I found that in comparing the two, Laila was incredibly flawed while Liberty held little, if no, flaws. Liberty is the favorite grandchild, spoiled by her grandfather and family patriarch, something that her siblings and even her father never experienced. Laila, by contrast, is the daughter of the disgraced son, raised in poverty, with no one spoiling or treating her as the favorite. Liberty not only has the more privileged life, but also has the best friend with the incredible, super-hot, super-rich, super-awesome older brother, who's obviously going to head into a "love triangle" between Laila and Liberty, but end up choosing Liberty in the end most likely. Saw that coming a mile away. What really irked me about this book though was the not-so-hidden commentary on women and their "shelf life" of attractiveness. Every single woman in the book is obsessed with how she's "running out of time" to find the perfect man and that after 25, you "run out of options." Hell, Liberty and her best friend Reece are 32, a year older than me at the time of this review, and even they bemoan their fates in getting a guy when they're both successful, wealthy, beautiful, and have loving friends and family. It screams of privilege and internalized sexism and, much as I liked both Reece and Liberty, my opinion of them dropped. A lot. While I understand that this is fashionable NYC, the elite, the wealthy and beautiful, the tone of the book was incredibly off-putting, from the commentary about women to the privilege of the wealthy and beautiful to the way the main character came off as a greedy social climber. The book summary tries to make Laila sound determined and stubborn, that she "refuses to let it go without a fight" but she's not in the way that makes for an appealing heroine. Overall, this book wasn't for me and didn't appeal to me as a reader, but I can see how it would appeal to those who enjoy shows like Gossip Girl and daytime soaps and all that glitzy sort of drama. Needless to say, I'll be returning this book.

I’m disappointed that my reviews started out with a dud in terms of story and characters, but I’m hopeful that my next few will provide something more in the way of engaging stories and, more importantly, characters that I can get attached to. I can enjoy dislikeable characters, or characters you’re supposed to hate from the get go. They can be a ton of fun to hate, not gonna lie. But in this case, the greed and gold-digging and cheating I knew was coming was completely off-putting. Not something I want to read for fun.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment, like, share, or what have you if you've enjoyed this post and look for new posts on Tuesday. If you want to reach me on social media, I'm on Twitter @LaurineBruder or send a question to my ask box here on Tumblr. Take care, everyone, and I'll see you next time.

[laurinebruder]

Reasons to Keep Writing

•everyone starts small. just because you’re not big now, doesn’t mean you’ll never be. and if you’re just starting out, keep in mind those bigger blogs have been writing for much longer than you. building a following takes time. 

•there will always be someone who enjoys your writing. every like, reblog, and comment is one person who enjoyed what you wrote and i can assure you they want more! and remember, not everyone remembers to leave evidence that they liked your writing or they might just be too nervous to interact with you. invisible fans exist, and you’ve got them.

•going along with that last one, your writing has the potential to help others! you could write about a minority, or maybe you could publish a little something comforting at the exact time someone else needs it. and most of the time, when you affect someone like this they’ll tell you, whether it be through tags, or a private message or whatever. that’s an amazing feeling.

•getting a compliment from someone becomes a sure-fire way to make your day better. nothing feels greater than seeing a comment from someone saying how much they love something you worked hard on. maybe write down these comments somewhere, so you can look at them when you’re feeling negative about your skills as a writer.  

•writer’s block is not the end of your writing career. it sure feels like it sometimes, but everyone, even the popular writers you look up to, suffer from writer’s block. everyone puts out work they’re not 100% satisfied with sometimes, and that’s okay! when you get out of this slump, your writing will be better than ever before and you’ll enjoy it again. keep writing through a block so you can get there sooner.

These are the things I think about when I feel bad about my writing, so I hope they can help someone else too.

[laurinebruder]

HEADS UP: THE TSC EBOOK IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, IBOOKS, AND BARNES AND NOBLE FOR NOOK

Fuuuuuck they told me it’d be another week!!!!!

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