#all i mean is that it’s more adult fantasy than YA fantasy so i’m predicting i’ll age into it

[hanzajesthanza]

hussite trilogy goes so hard even though i know i missed so much. i can’t wait to come back to it in like five years and have my world totally rocked

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

AIGHT Y’ALL I wasn’t tagged but I’m doing this anyways because f u c k  i t

It's the year 2021 and you're obsessed with The Karate Kid. How are you feeling?

Deadasss weird as fuck, my dude. Like...out of all the things I could’ve predicted happening in our lord’s year 2021, it definitely was NOT getting hyperfixated on a hammy gay ship with a punk and a nerd from a goddamn karate soap opera. And yet...here we are??? I will never understand hyperfixations, my guy. But I’ve met a lot of really cool people in this fandom, so I can’t really complain.

Did you grow up with TKK or are you new to the series?

I have never seen a single Karate Kid movie in my entire life. When I was a kid, it looked kinda dumb so I never got into it XD But then I saw my roommate watching Cobra Kai on Youtube Red one day (he has every streaming service known to man) and I was hooked. And...here I am!

We gotta do the basics. Favorite character:  

Literally EVERYONE except for Kreese, Yasmine, Kyler, and Tory, sorry stans

Okay but if we gotta pick, Johnny Lawrence is my Problematic Fave. Also I love my boy Daniel, he’s trying his best!!! And Amanda LaRusso, we stan a queen!!!

Among the kids, definitely Miguel, with Demetri as a close second. I also love Sam, Aisha, Moon, and Hawk (pre- and post-Bastardization Arc, anyways XD)!

Favorite ship:  

Take a look at my username and take a WILD FUCKING GUESS lmao Yes it’s Eli/Demetri because DUH, every interaction they have is so fucking gay and Eli fucking saved him!!! And came back to him!!! And betrayed the world’s most terrifying dojo with a WAR CRIMINAL SENSEI all for Demetri!!! And how Demetri was willing to forgive him for everything at the drop of a hat because he always had faith there was still good in his best friend??? That’s TRUE LOVE motherfuckers. Please let them kiss in Season 4. I will sell you all of my limbs. Sam/Miguel is a close second because they’re cute as shit and it’s just so lovely to see two people so unapologetically smitten with each other. They are in LOVE, and I will RIOT if they break up again!!! Keep Sam and Miguel together 2k21!!!

Underrated character:

SAMANTHA LARUSSO!!! The amount of hate my girl gets for acting like a normal teenager and fucking up occasionally JUST like the rest of the cast makes me want to start punching things. She cares SO MUCH about her friends!!! And she loves the shit out of Miguel!!! She hasn’t always been the best friend but you know what??? Neither has Hawk, and we still forgave his ass!!! Also LET HER BE FEMININE but also kick utter ass, my god!!! Femininity should not be synonymous with being weak, y’all! ALSO DEMETRI, like yes, he likes to complain and occasionally run his mouth, but guess what else he likes to do??? Never give up on the love of his life his best friend Eli Moskowitz and refuse to lose faith in him no matter how much of a little shit he’s become, and I for one think that’s very badass of him. Also the way he takes care of Eli pre-Cobra Kai in his own snarky bastard way makes me absolutely Weak and needs more appreciation. Like the dude has charisma and COULD have probably made other friends and left Eli behind if he wanted, but did he??? No, he wants the weepy loser with the lip scar in the polo shirts and dorky sweaters and will protect him as much as his wimpy ass is able!!!

Underrated ship (don’t say therapy, lol):  

Among the adults, Daniel/Amanda!!! Like maybe I just don’t watch that much tv, but it seems kinda rare to me to see a happily married hetero couple, and it’s just nice to see a married couple who genuinely love each other and where there’s not like...lingering resentment or some shit. I feel like this ship gets overshadowed by Lawrusso a lot (which like--okay, fair!!! Daniel and Johnny do have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, and the gay undertones are undeniable, so I get it), and it makes me kinda sad. I do love Lawrusso, but I don’t like when Amanda has to get her heart broke for it to happen, you feel? Among the kids, honestly YasMoon. Like I really love the idea of Yasmine trying to better herself because of Moon’s influence on her and because Moon like...inspires her to be a better person, I guess? With their pretty strong friendship, it just makes more sense to me for Yasmine to get a redemption arc through Moon than through Demetri. ALSO girls DO often pull the whole “mean girl” shtick to cover up being closeted lesbians, and Moon IS canonically bi, so it could work!!! I just think this one could be a really interesting Friends to Lovers take, and could make a really nice coming-out arc for Yas. And MoonPiper too, honestly!!! Like they only got 5 seconds of screentime so I understand WHY it’s underrated, but I still love what we DID get and loved that there was a canon gay ship (even if only for 1 scene lmao). I’m really excited to potentially see more of them in Season 4!!! Please, I’m begging!!!

Wax On, Wax Off or Sweep the Leg?

Sweep the Leg because it will always be deeply hilarious to me how Demetri took note of the first move Eli ever used on him and spent presumably weeks perfecting it OUT OF SPITE just to get him back with it at the soccer game MONTHS later. Just goes to show how OBSESSED Demetri is with Eli and their little karate rivalry which is just NOT straight, I’m sorry

Which of Daniel’s dumb little outfits is your favorite?

There’s something so funny about this pretentious little fuck walking around in fancy suits once he becomes a #SuccessfulBusinessman, and still occasionally trying to do karate in a full-ass suit (take THAT, Tom Cole’s boba!!!) I’m also a big fan of how he looks in his gi with his little headband. Still killing that look as a 40-50-something!!!

Character from the films you most want to return, who’s not Terry Silver:

Tbh I have still never seen a single Karate Kid movie (they took them off of Netflix, RIP), so...I don’t really care if they bring anyone else back??? I’m invested in the characters we already have in the show, I don’t need some rando from the movies to make a cameo to have a good time XD The only character I really wanted them to bring back was Ali, and they already did, so like...I’m good??? That’s all I really needed, I can die in peace now XD

Scene that lives in your head rent-free:

Basically any fluffy Elimetri scene, but 5 in particular: ~Miguel first meeting Eli and Demetri at the lunch table, and Eli looking at Demetri like he hung every goddamn star in the sky ~Demetri going off at a terrifying, “unhinged” karate sensei on the first day of Cobra Kai because he made fun of Eli’s lip and Demetri is not about that shit ~ELI STEALING DEMETRI’S NACHO AND SMIRKING AT HIM, LIKE EXCUSE ME SIR PLEASE BE A LITTLE LESS HOMOSEXUAL IN FRONT OF YOUR GIRLFRIEND ~Eli yanking Demetri onstage during Valley Fest to hold a board, and Demetri being visibly like...extremely turned on when Eli breaks said board ~ELI SAVING DEMETRI DURING THE CHRISTMAS FIGHT, ELI APOLOGIZING, DEMETRI AND ELI KICKING COBRA ASS TOGETHER AKSBDCUWYVCBU

Will Anthony LaRusso ever be relevant?

I hope not! He’s kind of a funny meme character to pop up now and again but I don’t think he deserves a serious plotline when there are so many more interesting characters to follow.

You live in The Valley and are forced into the karate gang war. Which dojo do you join?

Miyagi-Do because Cobra Kai would eat me alive. Also I’d probably straight up get stuck and die in that cement mixer, if I even made it that far XD Besides, being salty that your friend who you have a crush on likes martial arts better than you and starting martial arts to impress them but also being too lazy to join anything TOO intense is a Big Mood and I am certainly not speaking from personal experience here, no sirree

What’s your training montage song?

"Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna for a weight-training and bicep-flexing montage, “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons for a more intense punching-and-kicking-shit montage. I don’t know why this is, I just feel it in my heart.

It’s the crossover event of the century! Which TV show are you combining with Cobra Kai for an hour-long Saturday night special?

*Briefly panics because I don’t actually watch that much TV and most of the stuff I do watch is fantasy/sci fi shit that absolutely would not work for a CK crossover*

Hmmmm okay but ACTUALLY

You know what would be fucking funny as hell would be an It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover. Allow me to elaborate: ~The Gang goes to LA on vacation during the height of the Karate Dojo Wars. They literally can get barely anything done without all these goddamn karate-fighting teenagers getting in the way. ~They are all very annoyed by this. Even the most obscure of tourist attractions is eventually intercepted by karate fights. ~Mac tries to join Cobra Kai because he sees all this karate fighting on, and wants to unquestionably prove both his badassery and masculinity. Both Johnny and Kreese are like “Wtf are you doing here? Aren’t you like 30?” ~Mac gets a planet-sized crush on Johnny after all of 5 minutes and endlessly gushes to the gang about him. The gang mercilessly roast him about this and about how much of a pathetic loser with his life together in no way whatsoever Johnny sounds like. They proceed to have exactly 0 self awareness about this. ~The Waitress is in town visiting family or something, and Charlie is stalking her, as per usual. However, every time he’s about to go up and talk to her, a pack of battling Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais throwing punches and kicks everywhere blocks his path. One times, Mac is among one of these packs and Charlie is like “???? He didn’t get kicked out of that teen karate dojo yet???” ~Seeing how much the Kids These Days seem to like fighting, Charlie drops by a local high school to try and sell Fight Milk to the kids doing karate. Only Kyler and Brucks buy into it, and subsequently get the entire West Valley High wrestling team sick. Charlie is inevitably arrested, as Counselor Blatt thinks he’s selling the kids drugs. ~Dennis makes a plan to have sex with every hot chick he can in Los Angeles. He meets Ali on a dating app post-divorce, and inevitably tries to bang her. It doesn’t work. ~Frank crashes the rental car, and inevitably the gang ends up at one of Daniel’s dealerships. Dee quickly takes a liking to Daniel and is like “Watch, assholes--Imma homewreck this guy’s marriage.” She starts frequenting the dealerships to attempt to flirt with Daniel, until one day she walks in on him having sex with Johnny in a back room and she’s like “Is that the guy from Mac’s goddamn dojo?!?!” ~Dennis, of course, tries to sleep with Amanda. Amanda is not having it, and rebukes him in the most snarky, Amanda-esque way possible. Dennis is just like “Oh not AGAIN--the women in this goddamn diva city have too high of standards!” ~Later on, the gang is at the beach and Dennis spots the blonde lady he went out on an ill-fate date with, and decides to give it another shot--that is, until he sees her go up and kiss another woman and he’s like “IS THAT THE LADY FROM THE CAR DEALERSHIP??? STUPID-KARATE-KICK-COMMERCIAL’S WIFE?!? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.” ~Dee complains to Dennis about her lack of luck getting laid, and Dennis is just like “Oh come ON, is everyone in Los Angeles gay???” Smash cut to Hawk and Demetri having sex, Moon and Piper making out, Bert and Nate holding hands, Chris and Mitch doing oral, and Amanda, Ali, and Carmen having a threesome. ~Frank tries to scam Kreese into buying cheaply-made karate equipment for his dojo. The gang ends up having to leave LA because Kreese is quite literally plotting all of their murders.

For tagging, uuuuhhhhhh @jackonthelongwalk @soe-leo @max-eagle-fang @cc-tinslebee @backawayfromthegay @asphodel-storm do the thing, if y’all haven’t yet!

[exciting]

As requested, books / series I read in 2020 in the order I read them, with a few brief thoughts. (This took me a hot second because there are a few and also I moved cities) Should I keep a consistent goodreads? Yes I should but I didn’t think of that at the time, so bone apple teeth & sorry if I offend you abt your faves x

P.S. I can’t figure out how to do a read more on mobile so long post ahead!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas - This is one of the most vivid published fantasy books I have ever read... I read it twice in rapid succession. The fandom POPS off. I must say I have issues with certain aspects e.g. fae lore completely ignored à la Twilight, all love interests 500+ years old and technically a different species, etc (I’m not going to deconstruct the entire series here but just know that I could... Nesta deserves better)

Cruel Prince by Holly Black - This fucking slaps, HB clearly has done her research, the lore is near immaculate, and it explores the Fae in such a unique way, tying it to the modern world subtly and seamlessly. My only qualm was that the books felt quite short; truly wish there had been more content.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (6/7) - So basically I read this in one single, hyperfixated fit which meant I literally locked myself in my room for three days straight and read all six books back to back in a row from morning to the wee hours. Which is not to say it was spectacular; although it was a VERY rich world, sometimes it was too much... this felt like 6 stories in one. Ik she was young when she wrote this but it is my humble opinion that SJM needs a better editor & I personally think Rowan is a grade A asshole / straight up abusive (& personally think the ACOTAR Tamlin plot was born from that?). It’s good but not as good as ACOTAR. Skip-read the last book. 

Grishaverse (Shadow and Bone) by Leigh Bardugo (3) - This is essential to read before SOC but was very much simply a YA fantasy book, although the world was cool and the way the love plot played out was, imo, a subtle middle finger to the fantasy trope. Felt very much aimed at younger readers though? Really liked the sandwhich structure of the Proluge and Epilogue, especially in #2

Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo (2) - INCREDIBLE continuation of Grishaverse, better than the original series by a mile. It has the range, the diversity, the representation (the male lead is a disabled asexual and still the most cunning of the entire cast of characters), the plot is phenomenal, and it manages such a well rounded plot in only two books which means nothing is stretched out or squeezed in more than need be. Deserves all the praise it gets.

King of Scars series by Leigh Bardugo (0.5/1) - Personally I don’t consider this book canon, and while it’s nice to see the rest of Nina’s journey & the world again & everyone else, I don't like it. I will, however, be reading book 2 when it comes out, so shame on me, I suppose.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (1/1) - this was incredibly cool although it went off in a completely different direction than I thought it would based off the first few chapters? One of my favourite YA-author-debuts-New-Adult novels in 2020 though!

Crescent City by Sarah J Maas (1/1) - This was supposed to be SJM/s New Adult debut, although personally I would put her other series in New Adult, and I can’t say a remarkable amount was different with this except they said “fuck” and “ass” a lot. WHY is the romantic interest 500 years old AGAIN. I just... don’t... I just don’t think it was necessary... the world was cool though, and the last half of the book was riveting, but the beginning was quite slow and I thought the sword thing was predictable. I am interested to see where this goes though.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (3) - This world is so fucking cool... four Londons aka parallel universes & the one in ‘our’ world is set in industrial era London. Magic, girls dressing up as boys, thieves, pirates, royalty... it all just slaps. Schwab is an incredible writer & I was completely immersed.

Midnight Sun by SMeyer - I didn’t think anything could possibly detract even further from the Twilight story but I was sorely mistaken... seeing the stalking from Edward’s POV - and it was worse than depicted in Twilight, for the record - completely obliterated any sort of romance the first half of the original book may have portrayed. I still hold the opinion that the entire series would have been better if some kind of vampire lore had been abided by, if only to see all of the villains thwarted by someone dropping a bag of rice on the ground, forcing them to have to count them all.

An ember in the Ash by Sabaa Tahir  (3/4) - This was just a very stereotypical ya fantasy series, emphasis on the YOUNG... it wasn’t anything to write home about but I remember quite enjoying it at the time. 

The Power by Naomi Alderman - This book is FUCKING incredible and EXCEPTIONALLY thought provoking... essentially women alone develop a power of electric shock etc. and then take over the world from men, and it explores feminism and the balance between equality & tipping the scales in the other direction. Written by a friend of M.Atwood in a similar tone to handmaids tale, I would say? Content warning; there are some exceptionally graphic scenes in the latter half of the novel. 

Hamlet by Wllm Shksp - I can’t believe it took me this long to finally read it but Ophelia is my favourite name in the entire world & we love to see a woman go batshit (although she didn’t deserve that). 

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - this was unsettling in the best sense of the word... it was a little slow & honestly more of a concept than a big reveal, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished it? A Secret History vibes but make it blurry like the memory of all those dystopian novels you read when you were young?

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E. Schwab - This is without a doubt my book of the year, and probably the best book I read in 2020? I stayed up all night on a friend’s couch reading it, got a book hangover and reread the ending, and then thrust it upon my mother who doesn’t usually read but read this, and loved it just as much. HIGHLY recommend and you HAVE to read it, it’s beautiful and endearing and just plain wonderful.

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat (3/3) - I went into this knowing it was going to be terrible, because I had received a blow by blow telling me as much; although I must say that it did learn a remarkable amount of new words, the books did get better as the series went on, and it did have a rather charming ending? BIG content warning for almost everything.

Sapiens by Yuval Harari - mind-expanding & must recommend for everyone, there is everything in this and I daresay everyone should posses this kind of knowledge? I listened to it as an audiobook (which I recommend because it’s rather hearty) but will be buying this in hardcopy & rereading it with annotations. 

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read, and certainly the most beautiful portrayal of the story of Achilles and the battle of Troy I have ever seen. Patroclus deserved the justice that was given to him in this book; indeed, all of the characters were written with justice and grace. Highly recommend.

Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan (3/5) - Apollo is my favourite Greek God, and the sexiest greek god, and Rick Riordan’s writing slaps, as always. It did pain me to see Apollo, the sexy immortal, have to be forced back into a 16 year old’s body but everything else? Whimsical & wonderful, as expected. 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong - a retelling of Romeo and Juliette, except it’s set in Shanghai in the 1920′s, and the protagonists already have a history. Very well done, characters are incredibly diverse in race, sexual orientation, gender, and ability / disability (and honestly, representation has never appeared so effortless and elegant). Also it includes a monster and possible magic. Incredibly underrated and highly recommend.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix. E Harrow - this was such a unique concept, and truly captivating, the story was charming, and felt like the kind of beautiful fairytale you would read as children but with more grit? ABSOLUTELY recommend this one

The Pisces by Melissa Broder - I hated this so much, not my vibe at all. Mermaid smut x therapy but make it cynical and judgemental (I know there was a moral in there but that’s not my point) also the dog dies.

Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith (1/2) - really interesting & unique concept (all unwritten novels / ideas reside in a special library that is part of Hell and then sometimes the books can come to life) however, my first thought upon reading this was “this reads as if it’s stemmed from one of those writing prompt tumblr posts” bc of the tone and whatever and as it turns out I was somewhat correct, it did stem from a short story (not bad just obvious). It did kind of settle down as it went on but I found reading it kind of a drag, and I don’t think I will read the second one.

Abandon by Meg Cabot - 1. Meg Cabot’s writing always fucking slaps 2. Hades and Persephone but make it modern & very 2000′s & somehow kind of unique 3. I literally loved this, sue me

Medusa Girls (Sweet Venom) by Tera Childs - Like Percy Jackson except they are descendants of Medusa so they are Gorgons and have fangs & venom (hence the title). Gave me very 2000′s vibes? Quite cool but tbh I found the books quite short (like two hours each, if that)? Do NOT read the GoodReads description of the book before you read it, you will spoil it for yourself.

Bring me their Hearts by Sara Wolf - In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated YA series I read in 2020. The heroine is endearing, self aware, witty, and loves to look pretty even while kicking ass which in my opinion is an incredibly underrated trait. Also, immortality without being hundreds of years old? VERY sexy. HIGHLY recommend. 

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova - High commendation to be given for the fact that it is a standalone and yet manages to fit in the plot of what would usually be a full fantasy trilogy without cutting corners or being a million miles long? Also sweet storyline & beautiful ending? If you liked ACOTAR you should read this as a “what would have / could have been had SJM had a different editor” (No shade I promise).

The Iron Fae by Julie Kagawa (4/4 + novellas) - Incredibly detailed faerie set around the modern world & our current use of technology & iron in it. Very neat adventure-style series, by the time I read the last novella I was well and truly done with the world (aka provided enough content to be fulfilling). Was definitely aimed at a younger audience though, NO smut / smut was brushed over.

The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black (3/3 SS) - This is technically the prequel to Cruel prince, set in the modern world, but with the fae world inside it as it traditional? All I have to say is that it is excellent & I highly recommend it.

Bridgerton series (The Duke and I) by Julia Quinn (9/9) - I read this after watching the Netflix show twice through and I am obsessed, although the books were not quite as elegant as the show, and some parts that made me cringe either by their portrayal (it is very firmly set in the 19th century and thus some things are not handled with tact or grace), the characters were exceptionally loveable and I am so excited to see where the show takes them! Lovely language & an abundance of words I had never seen before (always a plus). 

[nestavipers]

Santa here 🎅 or Groucho 🥸 which you can call me if you want to avoid the acotar secret Santa tag! I think it’s fitting—we both wear glasses and have the same hideously bushy eyebrows. Thankfully, I do not share the mustache.

BINBONS ❤️❤️❤️ OMG. I love Shadow & Bone, books and the show. Were you around on tumblr before the show came out and the all the backstage interviews with the cast were used to create S&B reality tv show memes? They were SOOOO FUNNY, and I swear, everyone was passing them around! I used to have a blog (that I wound up deleting for reasons 🤷‍♀️) where I wrote Billy Russo imagines (mostly smut, if we’re being honest, because like…smut is just fun to write) and other Ben Barnes characters, and some Shadow & Bone. He and Charlie Hunnam are my two major weaknesses. 🤣 Don’t judge me but I really wouldn’t blame you if you did.

But I’m guessing you’re also a Shadow & Bone fan? Do you have a preference of books over the Netflix show? And the most important question—Mal or the Darkling? I’m all about the Darkling she says, surprising no one Also, if you’ve read the books, what do you think about the newer ones with Nikolai’s character? I haven’t read past the original trilogy and Six of Crows (which I personally couldn’t get into—I just couldn’t suspend my belief enough for a heist story where everyone is conveniently within a perfect teen age range and all the adults are like, WE HAVE NO ISSUES WITH TEENS IN THESE SITUATIONS AND IN FACT I TOTALLY SUPPORT KAZ BREKKER AND HIS GOONS WITH THESE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS THINGS THAT COULD COST/PAY ME A LOT OF MONEY, and then I read These Violent Delights and I was physically pained by adult mafia bosses sending their teenage children out to be badass authority figures/track down information/I can only pretend so much, okay?), but I read that the Darkling comes back?

Okay, about the age gap between Feyre and Rhys. I am SO GLAD that it’s not just me that thinks it’s a little uncomfortable for Feyre to be with a 500-year-old I really shouldn’t say anything since I’m writing an age gap story myself and having a grand old time with it buuut is it me, though, or is a trend in YA or New Adult stories to pair young women up with older guys? Like, acotar has the obvious centuries age gap. FBAA is the same. There are all the vampire stories, of course, like Twilight or TVD. In fantasy, at least, it seems to be a thing?

ALSO, what do you mean “albeit minus the violent swordplay”? Your friendships don’t involve violent swordplay? 😅 That’s not normal?

A Shadow in the Ember—GIVE ME SPOILERS. I’m like 11th in line for the ebook from my library 😭😭😭😭 which is not the longest I’ve ever waited for a book, but still! Oh, oh, but here’s my theory for the next book (or whenever he shows back up in the story, BECAUSE I DEMAND SATISFACTION FOR THIS): Malik has not actually sided with Isbeth and is playing along the same way Ian was. I really want to see some Malik/Casteel interactions, even if only in flashbacks, and I want to see Malik get a cool storyline of some kind! Also, a little less plot exposition balanced with gratuitous smut (which felt like was the bulk of book 3) would be nice. I just want more intrigue and actual story to happen. The last one felt like it dragged through parts and JLA was balancing it out with odd domestic fluff or sex until the cliffhanger. 🤦‍♀️ how about you? Any predictions or hopes?

My pup is fine, btw—fine-ish. He had luxating patella, which is a fancy way of saying that his kneecap won’t stay in position (please don’t be offended if I’m assuming you don’t know about dogs and you do), which is typical of smaller breeds since smaller bones mean less space for kneecaps. So, his was out more than it was in, and on top of that he tore his ACL, so he could barely walk on that leg and it had to be surgically fixed. He’s still in pain, though, so he has to go back to the vet this week 😣 do you have any pets? Are you a cat or a dog person?

I know Bitten! I haven’t really read the books, but I have seen the TV show (which I’m sure is basically a separate thing with how many changes they made, because that’s how it always happens!), which I LOVE. Even though they have this weird fascination with showing off Clay’s bare ass every chance they get. 😂 Have you seen the show? Does it compare well, or is it a poor bastardization of the books?

I have a confession—I have not watched Bridgerton yet (although I love Alex Meyers commentary on it on YouTube, about how it’s a Gossip Girl story about the perils of being the only redhead in England 🤣 ) and I’m not an Outlander fan. I started the books and show for Outlander a while ago and I just couldn’t get into it (as much as the actors for the show are amazing), but I’m generally not too into time travel stories, anyway. Not sure why, it’s just not a thing I’ve enjoyed most of the time? 🤷‍♀️ But, so, IS Bridgerton worth the watch, or are the books better? Because I’ve heard of Lisa Kleypas, but I’ve never tried her books.

ALSO—ALSO. Oh hell, I’m just going to save your whole post so I can find all the book recs and then kiss any social life I have goodbye because there are too many books to read and I’m sure everyone will understand that right?

Also stole your notes hack and wrote this out completely there beforehand so I could just copy and paste 🤣 so thank you for that!

Okay, as a fellow BlindTM person and a fan of alliteration, I’m calling you ‘spectacle santa’ from here on in hahaha.

Yes, I’ve been an S&B book fan for a long time and was SO PUMPED to see how they incorporated the SOC lore and characters into the show. I was not part of the tumblr fandom for the show but I’ve been following the Grishaverse subreddit and most of the memes either got cross-posted there or my friend would text them to me later. I never watched The Punisher and tbh didn’t even realize Binbons was in it until your message (and me googling Billy Russo in confusion). I’ve been semi-following his career since Prince Caspian but other than Dorian Grey and Westworld muuuuuch later, I kind of lost track of what he was up to until S&B.

The only thing I’ve seen Charlie Hunnam in is Crimson Peak, but even just from that I can totally see the appeal. Also omg this is a judgement free zone in terms of fandom behaviour. I have truly seen it all and been part of my fair share of cringeworthy fandom stuff in the past (I can’t figure out to put the wincing emoji face here but just imagine it is).

I looooooooove show Mal (Archie was PERFECT casting) and I tolerate book Mal, but tbh I am ride or die for Nikolai. Like, when they announce the actors for season 2 I am going to pass out. He is my Nesta of the Grishaverse. Segueing into your next q, I’ve read KOS and ROW and while I really, really loved KOS, ROW felt like fan service and tbh kind of reminded me of ACOFAS in that I was like … am I on ao3 right now???? I don’t want to spoil you but there’s a plot line with a major character that made absolutely no sense to me and that I’m still scratching my head over. Anyway, would say KOS is worth it if you like Nikolai, otherwise don’t bother (though, yes, the Darkling does come back but in a weird, wattpad-esque way that I personally did not vibe with At All.)

And omggggg yes seriously the ages of the characters in SOC made absolutely no sense and I always mentally age them up to at least early twenties. I think of myself back when I was a dumbass 17 year old and like … sometimes I think it’s a miracle I survived to adulthood. I actually just picked up a copy of These Violent Delights as a Christmas gift for myself (it’s my first Christmas away from my family so I thought I’d buy a few things and wrap them up so I have something to open on the 25th like a total dork) so I will get back to you on that after I’ve read it.

In general, significant age gaps are one of my big No’s of fiction and unfortunately fantasy is full of them. Like, Bella and Edward was hard enough for me to swallow because he was literally (like, the literal version of literally) old enough to be her grandfather. I don’t care if Rhys/Cassian/Az are all physically young and hot still, they are mentally 500 freaking years old but somehow only possess the mental maturity levels of frat boys in their early 20s. SJM seems to have a real obsession with these gigantic age gaps in all of her books and I am just Not About It.

I haven’t actually gotten too far into ASITE yet (I’m racing against the clock to finish my pile of library books before they’re due) but I am really enjoying what I’ve read so far (more than I did the first Blood & Ash book actually but I am also meh about Casteel which didn't make his whole thing with Poppy very compelling for me).

I LOVE YOUR THEORY. I am super intrigued by Malik’s true allegiance and I looooove storylines about family feuds and strife and drama, so there’s so much juicy story potential I can’t wait to read about in the next book.

I also want more actual story earlier. The vast majority of her books is just ‘we walk and talk here, we walk and talk there, we sleep in this inn, we walk and talk somewhere new, oh look more sleeping somewhere else’ and THEN she’ll throw some giant plot twist in at the very end (which is actually not all that different from ACOSF but I actually enjoyed all the character development in that case because I want Nesta to marry me)

I’m so glad to hear your dog is fine! I had a friend in high school who had the same problem (her kneecaps kept moving around and she wore knee braces for years before eventually having surgery for it). I hope the vet is able to make the residual pain go away, poor pup :( I don’t currently have a pet but my roommate has a cat who I ADORE and I basically get all the benefits of pet ownership with none of the responsibilities, it’s a pretty sweet set up hahaha. I am equally a cat and dog person though! I fostered a dog about a year ago back when I was quarantining with my parents and it was such a great experience. I hope to eventually get my own dog.

Omg I could not get through Bitten the show, to me it was a terrible adaptation but I also hold the book in really high regard so my standards probably weren’t very fair. I highly, highly suggest giving the book a try because it’s just excellent and there’s this whole [note that I had to stop writing here to go pick up and cuddle my roommate’s cat who was crying for attention in the other room but who is now purring away next to me on my bed] fun supernatural world with all of these awesome characters over the span of like 13 books to explore. It’s one of my comfort series, for sure (though of course … there is an Age Gap romance in the last couple of books but I just cringe my way through it).

LOL at the Gossip Girl/perils of being a redhead thing re: Bridgerton. I enjoyed the show, it’s a lot of fun and a great watch over the holidays, but IMO the books were better. Book 2 is AMAZING so I’m so excited about season 2, and if we ever manage to get to book 6 I will be overjoyed because it’s the best in the series IMO.

Outlander definitely isn’t for everyone, that’s totally fair! I’ve been a fan for a very, very long time and it was one of my earliest fandoms (back when it was awkward teenage me and a bunch of middle aged women leaving comments on an old-school message board years before the show was ever a thing) so it will always have a big soft spot in my heart. I love time travel romance as a genre so if that genre doesn’t appeal to you, Outlander definitely isn’t the right fit.

I did the same thing as you and immediately filed away the books recs you gave on goodreads, I can’t wait to see how many of them are already available to borrow at the library!

And I’m going to go back and tag all of our chats with ‘spectacle santa’ so you can always find them that way later ;)

I HOPE YOUR WEEK IS OFF TO A BEAUTIFUL START, MY FELLOW BESPECTACLED FRIEND <3 Did you get up to anything exciting this weekend btw?

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: Artemis Fowl

Since the early 2000s, Artemis Fowl has been languishing in development hell, and it really is a mystery as to why. The series has everything you could possibly want for a blockbuster young adult franchise: it’s a charming blend of science and fantasy with rich worldbuilding and mythology, it has enjoyable and even complex characters who go through great character arcs over the course of the series, it has an enjoyable major antagonist, an insufferable smug villain protagonist who goes through a stellar redemption arc over the course of the series, and tons of crazy heists that combine scheming and fairy magic. There was no reason this couldn’t have existed as a competitor to the Harry Potter series, but alas, it was not to be. The young adult fantasy franchise languished for decades in development hell, until finally Disney pulled it out and put Kenneth Branagh at the helm. Finally, we were going to get the Artemis Fowl adaptation we deserved!

Except we didn’t.

Artemis Fowl is legitimately one of the worst adaptations of any work of fiction ever. It has been held up alongside The Last Airbender and The Lightning Thief as part of the Unholy Trinity of terrible adaptations, and I’m not even going to try and pretend that this “Honor” isn’t well and truly earned. This film is an utterly abominable bastardization of the beloved franchise, to the point where this feels like an entirely different story that had familiar names slapped on it at the last second. If you want to know what horrific extents this film has butchered the story and characters, read onward, but there’s no way I’m going to pretend this film isn’t awful right off the bat.

There is literally nothing in this film that works. Nothing at all. Starting from the opening scene, the establishing shots, you can tell things are wrong – there are news people around Fowl Manor? Mulch is being interrogated? What is going on? The film from the word go is simply making one thing absolutely and abundantly clear: this is not the Artemis Fowl you know. The film goes out of its way to do the opposite of the franchise, merely using names and vague concepts in an attempt to sucker fans into watching it. Butler’s first name, an emotional reveal from the third book, is common knowledge; Opal Koboi, a cunning and threatening major villain who was the antagonist for almost every novel starting with the second, is here reduced to basically a personification of the voice on the phone from Scream; Root, once a short-tempered man who was hard on Holly as a method of tough love to push her to be the very best LEP had to offer to prove women belonged on the force, is here a woman who, while just as angry as ever, robs Holly of a major part of her arc and reduces her to plucky female sidekick. And even outside of that, as its own thing, the movie is just utterly incomprehensible. The story is rushed and confusing, with lots of exposition and action but with no context or cohesion. Things happen and things go from scene to scene, but none of it makes any sort of sense. A character will switch allegiances within a few minutes, characters will somehow find a way to survive deadly attacks offscreen… the worst offender is a character death they try to push off as emotional, despite there being no reason to care for this character, and when all hope seems lost, a deus ex machina saves the day! My wife, who is unfamiliar with the series, and I, a huge fan, both struggled to figure out what was going on at any given point; the movie is really that bad at communicating what is happening, which is even more baffling because the film is a pathetic hour and a half in length, a distressingly short amount of time to establish a new science-fantasy franchise of this scale.

The characters are almost all terrible. Artemis is the standout with how awful he is; no longer the cunning criminal masterminds of the book, Artemis here is more of a somewhat smug little brat who is overly emotional and, worst of all, NICE. He’s so nice in fact that by the end of the film he has managed to speedrun his character development and arcs with Mulch and Holly, who consider him their close friend and ally. Butler is pretty bad here as well, mostly because he is given almost nothing to do and is seemingly only there because he was in the book. In fact, his crowning moment – when he took on the troll – is instead given to Artemis and even Holly, with Butler ending up severely injured. It’s a bit nasty that they changed Butler to be black and then had his (white) master steal his greatest moment; it’s giving me flashbacks to Kazaam. Opal is hit pretty bad as well; being made the big bad of this loose adaptation of the first book’s plot – which is amusingly one of the few books she had absolutely no role in – wouldn’t be so rough if she was more of a presence and not just some vague, hooded figure who threatens Artemis over the phone and generally does nothing to warrant being an adaptation of the baddest bitch in the series. She’s rather ineffectual and they even try and give her a sort of sympathetic motivation, one where she resents humans for pushing her kind underground. It really is a disgusting waste of a character who could easily rival heavy hitters like Voldemort in the awesome and theatrically evil department.

Holly is almost okay, but her entire arc and a big chunk of her narrative purpose is robbed by making Commander Root a woman. Root, played by Judi Dench, is honestly one of the better characters since Dench has Root dropping lines like “Top o’ the morning to ya” with gravelly deadpan seriousness which makes the character unintentionally hilarious, but the cheap laughs don’t really make up for butchering the story of one of fiction’s finest ladies. As a side note, they have made Holly 100% white despite her skin being described as nut brown rather frequently in the book, and the now white Holly together with Artemis steal away Butler’s biggest moment. And that’s not even getting into how they neutered Juliet, who has also been race lifted but was turned into a child who barely appeared in the film. I’m not usually one to toss about racism accusations, but there’s a lot of red flags here that Branagh’s usual colorblind casting just doesn’t excuse.

The most consistently enjoyable performance is Josh Gad’s as Mulch. From the moment he was cast, I knew he’d do a good job and capture the spirit of the character, and he does! ...sort of. The decision to have Mulch be a giant dwarf and narrate the story in a crappy Batman impression while also violating literally the most important law of fairy culture (don’t tell the humans anything about us) by spilling the beans to M16 is unbearably stupid, and a lot of his jokes are just relentlessly unfunny. But I think that Gad does leak a bit of that Mulch charm at a few points, and it’s apparent he at least somewhat gets his character, which is not something that can be said for anyone else in this film. Sadly, much like his standout performance as Lefou in the live action Beauty and the Beast, he can’t possibly save the trainwreck of a film he’s in.

I guess I’m not entirely surprised by this film. I mean, a lot of quality young adult literature from the past two decades has been horrifically mangled in the wake of Harry Potter – Inkheart, The Golden Compass, The Lightning Thief, Ender’s Game, and Eragon – so this movie really isn’t an anomaly. But it is the culmination of a horrible trend. This is the zenith of horrible young adult adaptations, or perhaps I should say the nadir of adaptations as a whole? For all the flak I could give those other adaptations, on some fundamental level they still understood something about the source material. Ender’s Game still understood it could not erase the ending where children are revealed to be being conscripted to perform the ethnic cleansing of an alien race. Eragon couldn’t completely ruin Saphira, try as it might. The Lightning Thief… well, I mean, I guess the Medusa scene was mostly faithful. But Artemis Fowl? Artemis Fowl goes out of its way to be the opposite of its literary counterpart that there is no way to justify even saying it is based on the book by Eoin Colfer; it would be like having a movie about kids hanging out at the mall and doing mundane stuff, except they’re all named Jesus and Peter and Paul and then saying it’s based on the Bible. Just using names doesn’t mean anything, you actually have to use the themes and characterizations too, and this movie does none of that.

This movie is most comparable to The Emoji Movie. Neither of these works really deserve to be called a “Film” since they are basically whatever it is they’re trying so desperately to be stripped down to the bare essentials. The Emoji Movie is the most basic, by-the-numbers animated adventure film with a “be yourself” message you could ever hope to see, with a story so absolutely basic that just watching the trailer will allow you to predict the every motion of the plot. Artemis Fowl on the other hand is the most cliche-ridden fantasy epic franchise-starter you could imagine, and that’s if you’re able to penetrate the ridiculously dense and cluttered story and are able to make sense of what’s going on. I can think of absolutely no one this film could ever appeal to. There’s not a single redeeming thing about it. The movie is flashy, trashy junk that should never have been released, and Disney honestly did the right thing by releasing this on their streaming service because it would be outright disgusting to charge movie ticket prices for this tripe. The fact Disney has more faith in the eternally-delayed New Mutants theatrically speaks volumes about the quality of this film.

I can’t in good conscious say that this is the worst film of all time. F4ntastic is probably a much worse butchering of characters than this film; Disaster Movie is much more horrendously offensive and unfunny than this; hell, Chicken Little is probably a worse Disney movie because as awful as everyone in this film is, at least they aren’t Buck Cluck! But I don’t think there’s a single movie I hate more than this one. Lucy can finally move over and sleep easy knowing that the fact it’s not based on a pre-existing work has finally saved it from the #1 spot on my worst list; Artemis Fowl is now the reigning champ. Kenneth Branagh should be ashamed of himself for making and releasing this (and doubly ashamed for having the gall to unironically compare his slaughtering of Artemis Fowl’s character to Michael Corleone), Disney should be shamed for putting more money into this film than they did into BLM charities, and I hope that Eoin Colfer finds whatever he was paid worth it to see his greatest creation butchered and disrespected like this.

[magpiefngrl]

Book Recs Jan-Jun 2020

I’ve been reading voraciously these past six months (my Goodreads challenge says 68 books so far). Here are some memorable reads, grouped according to what you might be into.

I want queer romance please:

Brothers of the North Wild Sea by Harper Fox (m/m historical)

This book ruined me (in a good way). Or maybe it isn’t good that I’ll be carrying it inside my heart for ever and ever till the end of my days, my lip wobbling at the mere thought of it. A wonderful romance, a pairing I adored, gorgeous prose, a fascinating historical background (medieval times, north of England, Viking invasions). There’s a faint supernatural undercurrent that becomes more prominent at the very end. I sobbed through the last few pages with fear, with relief, with happiness. Highly, highly recced.

Bitter Springs by Laura Stone (m/m historical)

Every historical novel I’ve read is set in the UK, so the fact that this is a US historical book was fascinating to me. Two POC cowboys fall in love while seeking mustangs in the wilderness of Texas (?? idk where Del Rio is). It’s sweet and loving with a side-serving of jealousy when a former lover briefly appears on the scene; but mainly it’s two men getting to know each other and falling in love in the desert. I loved the horses too.

The Sins of Cities trilogy by KJ Charles. (3 books, 3 different couples, interconnected, m/m historical)

OK so the first book in the series didn’t do much for me. A pairing who loves to be domestic and sweet and to drink tea by the fire is cute... but I got bored. The second one, though... I think my eyes popped out of my head from the sheer heat of it. Justin Lazarus shot to the Top-5 of my fave characters of all time, and I’d willingly kill all of you for him, sorry that’s how it is. The trilogy is a murder mystery set in Victorian London, and unlike most romance series, you’ll need to read the books in order. Overall, this isn’t my fave series of KJC, but it was fun nonetheless, and it does have Justin in it so it’s worth a read.

Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles (m/m historical)

This one is amazing!!! This is KJC’s latest, first in a trilogy with the same pairing, which means the HEA is 2 books away (it doesn’t mean that this ends unhappy; another reader called it the WNDY ending -- We’re Not Done Yet). Boy, this is a scorcher. Set in the 1920s, it features spies, secret societies, murder, lies, kidnapping, grey characters with elastic morals: these are all catnip for me, and I inhaled this novel twice in a week. Highly recced for anyone into a gay historical romance, who loves a bit of pulp with their gay sex. The second installment is out next month.

The 13th Hex (novella) and Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk (both m/m historical paranormal, but different universes)

I can’t say I’m enamoured by Hawk’s writing skills; in fact, I usually feel a tad let-down by the prose, mainly because the books have such potential. Hawk’s plotting is fantastic and his world-building fascinating and truly unique. I just love both of these worlds and their magic systems. Hot sex too. I don’t want to discourage people: I’m possibly just too fussy with prose. Hawk is super popular and you should give his books a shot. Widdershins is free! (In case it sways you: Hawk recently came out as a trans man.)

Unnatural by Joanna Chambers (m/m historical)

I read a few romances by Chambers lately, some less satisfying than others. This one is a standalone companion novel to her most popular series, called Enlightenment, set in Regency Britain. It’s a well-written fast read; a friends-to-lovers romance, with lots of tension and chemistry between the leads. As in all Chambers books that I’ve read so far, there’s lots of angst about one’s homosexuality (very era-appropriate) and lots of pull-and-push before it ends in a very HEA.

****

Do you have anything with fantasy and/or magic, my kind lady?

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (alternate history, Napoleonic wars with dragons)

Do you like dragons who talk and bond with honourable officers during times of war? Do you love soulmate bonds and sentiments such as: “I’ll do anything for you” and “You’re mine” but when it’s people, it makes you uncomfortable? Well, here former Naval officer Lawrence and his dragon Temeraire (and all dragons with their handlers) have this bond, and it’s the best thing ever. I’m in love with Temeraire, I shiver at the profound bond between Lawrence and his intelligent dragon, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series by a beloved author (ahem).

The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare (YA urban fantasy)

I don’t hold the best opinion of Clare’s writing skills so I was pleasantly surprised when I read the first installment a few years back (Lady Midnight). I decided to reread it during quarantine, and then I moved on to the second one, Lord of Shadows. They’re both long novels, tightly-plotted, with several romances evolving on page.

I was excited to read the last one, A Queen of Air and Darkness, but alas! I didn’t love it. To start with, it’s 1000 pages long, and unlike books of that length that I’ve read, you feel it. The book drags. Everyone and their mother has a POV and a love story on page. There are no subplots, because they’re all Plots: all afforded equal space in the narrative, so there’s lots happening at the same time, but the story doesn’t feel like it’s moving forward with a good pace. As the end of the trilogy, Clare indulges in some of her fave elements, namely mentioning someone’s eye colour every three pages, or having every single person paired up by the end (something which bothers me a great deal). There are a few plot contrivances that ensure her main pairing conveniently gets their HEA. I confess I skimmed most of the last part of the book. I’m happy I read it and got to the end of the story, but I can’t say I was satisfied. If you’re looking for an undemanding, escapist fantasy, though, it’s the ticket: it certainly worked for me when I had quarantine brain.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amar El-Mochtar & Max Gladstone

Sci-fi, literary af, two time-travel agents from opposing Agencies bent on destroying each other, exchange letters and fall in love. I’m completely torn in half: half of the book (the prose, the imagination) left my jaw on the floor. The rest of it left me cold and indifferent. Wonderful prose, couldn’t get into the characters. Short and dense.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Queer fantasy novel that gives strong Dangerous Liaisons vibes. Written in 1987, one of the first fantasy novels to feature a society where same-sex is accepted. The writing is beautiful, the plot twisty. There’s no actual magic, but there are sword fights, courtroom drama, intrigue. Good fun if you like that kind of thing.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Adult fantasy. So far (I’m half-way through) it’s phenomenal. I’ve seen it recced everywhere and was so happy to see that Scribd offered it in my subscription. Set in a Chinese-inspired world, it features a vivid setting and memorable characters, and I’m loving it. I predict it’ll be my new fave. Do heed the content warnings (pretty much every CW you can think of applies); it’s quite dark as it progresses.

A bunch of novellas and short stories by Aliette de Bodard

This author came to my notice about a year ago. I’ve been following her on twitter ever since, but didn’t have the chance to read any of her work until I saw she had a bunch of stuff available on Scribd. I read a couple of sci-fi novellas set in a Vietnamese-inspired future; The Citadel of Weeping Pearls was my fave.

She’s also published a fantasy trilogy with fallen angels and magic set in a war-ravaged Paris, which sounds awesome. I haven’t read it, can’t afford to yet, but I did read two short stories set in that ‘verse and they were fabulous. The atmosphere, the setting, the premise, the Fallen of the Dominion universe just sounds like very much my thing. Here’s a link to some free stories they offer, if you want to check out her writing.

The Autobiography of a Traitor and a Half-Savage by Alix E. Harrow

I read a short story by Harrow several months ago and was blown away. I’ve rarely fell so fast and so deeply in love with an author. I haven’t read her debut yet, but I came across this short novella and she blew me away again. It’s a story set in the US, magical realism rather than fantasy imo, and it’s about colonialism and the land, and it’s so powerful. You can read it for free at Tor.com. Please do, it’s incredible.

******

[camryndaytona]

Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is one of the most popular and successful young adult authors of today, however, a huge percentage of her fans have no idea of her past where she was know more for her bullying than her writing. I started this as a post on my “You Should Know” instagram, but eventually it got way too big and I had to create a post for it as well.

Terms to Know

Big Name Fan

Or “BNF” is an old term mostly used during the early 2000s, before ff.net or AO3.

They were the biggest names in fandom, producing the most popular art or fanfics.

Getting on the wrong side of a BNF could lock you out from the entire fandom, as you would be blocked from any forum they (or they friends) moderated.

The Inner Circle

In the early 2000s the Harry Potter fandom was essentially ruled by the Inner Circle. 

Although most of the Inner Circle changed constantly due to fandom drama and scandals, one member stayed for almost it’s entire duration: Cassie Claire

ff.net

Fanfiction.net

One of the early and most popular sites for hosting fanfiction.

The Draco Trilogy

Draco Dormiens

Author’s Summary: When an accident in Potions class turns Harry into Draco and Draco into Harry, each is trapped playing the part of the other. Romance, mistaken identities, Really Cunning Plans, evil bake sales, a love triangle, and snogs galore.

Draco Sinister

Author’s Summary: When Hermione is kidnapped, Harry and Draco must team up to rescue her from a thousand-year-old evil that threatens the entire wizarding world. Cursed demon swords, love potions, time travel, dementors, flying dragons, Draco wears leather, and everybody dies at least once. Except when they don’t.

It is notable for being the source of the Draco in Leather Pants trope as well as the catalyst for the Cassandra Claire plagiarism wank.

Draco Veritas

Author’s Summary: The sequel to Draco Sinister, featuring winter at Hogwarts, snogging, Quidditch, mysterious things and Rhysenn Malfoy.

Why was the Trilogy so popular?

As most people in fandom probably know, there’s usually two subsets of shippers: gay and straight (please note that, back in the early 2000s, there was still a lot of homophobia, and the heterosexual ships were undeniably more popular for that reason).

Since The Draco Trilogy had both Draco/Hermione and a lot of Harry/Draco subtext, fans of both ships flocked to the fic.

The Plagiarism 

Although she’d done it all along, it wasn’t until the second fanfic, Draco Sinister, that fans began to catch on. What was “it?”

Cassie including a lot of quotations from other work. And I mean a LOT. She lifted entire conversations and paragraphs from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, and Terry Pratchett. At first she didn’t even mention this “inspiration,” so everyone assumed that this wit was all hers.

Once she was called out, she put a standard disclaimer at the top of her work, which was worded to imply that she might have borrowed a few, small quotes here and there, not that she was taking paragraphs and scenes. When she was called out for her continued plagiarism she switched to claiming that she “forgot” what her sources were.

Finally a former fan called Avocado got tired of it and reported her to ff.net. Within a day her works were taken down.

Predictably the fandom melted down over this and accusations began to fly. Cassie used her status as a BNF to ban anyone mildly critical of her from any message board or mailing list. A friend of Cassie’s claimed to be a real life lawyer and harrassed young fans with seemingly legal threats. There are even threats of people calling the police in an early form of “swatting.” Cassie tried to get a “hater” kicked out of university for “hacking” her and a REAL lawyer had to be involved before Cassie admitting to making it all up.

After all that began to die down, as she was working on the third installment of the trilogy, Cassie began accusing her friend and fellow BNF, Aja, of plagiarizing her. When that failed to incite the anger she wanted against Aja, Cassie began to claim that Aja was posting leaked spoilers for the Draco Trilogy. This infighting between the two lead to the collapse of The Inner Circle.

Laptop Gate

Although the third part of the Trilogy wasn’t as popular as the first two, due to the plagiarism scandal, it still racked up a ton of views when she began posting it. So when there was a potential threat to the continuation of the saga, readers were horrified.

This potential threat was a break in and the loss of Cassie’s computer.

Almost immediately after the robbery was announced Cassie’s lawyer friend (who was also her roommate) popped up again. This time, they were raising money to replace the laptops of Cassie and her roommates that had been stolen in the break in. Any extra money from the fundraiser would go to some vaguely mentioned charity.

Divisive comments poured in.

Some people expressed frustration that more “meaningful” fundraisers (like someone who had lost everything in a fire) didn’t get anywhere near as much attention and support.

Fans were even less happy when no proof was provided of either the break in or the charitable donation of excess funds (which was reported to be over $10,000).

When called out they changed the subject and posted links to another fan that was also fundraising (although they never posted any charity before or after, even when asked to do so the lawyer friend claimed to be “too busy” to share a link).

Published Works

After enjoying her celebrity as the Queen of Fanfiction, it’s no surprise that Cassie decided to venture into actual, original published works.

Except they weren’t that original, because it’s Cassie and she really, really seems to like “borrowing” from herself and others.

Let’s start with some name changes

Cassie

Cassandra Claire (with an i) is her fanfiction name

Cassandra Clare (without an i) is her published name

You may be surprised by how well this name change suited her. For a long time, before exposes began to be posted, you could google her published name without finding out about her history in fandom. Additionally, some of her victims from her fanfic days read her published books without realizing who the author actually was (until they started to recognize the quotes and paragraphs that she’d lifted straight from her fanfiction)

Her Writing

“Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s Ginny/Ron incest romance fanfiction.

“The Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s published work, about two fake siblings who fall in love with each other.

Similarities to Harry Potter

Now I haven’t read Mortal Instruments or The Mortal Instruments so I’ll let someone who has read them both do some explaining:

When I opened the book, I knew that Clary was Ginny. Alec was Harry. Isabelle was Clare’s version of Blaise (who back then was not officially male or female, and could therefore be interpreted by fandom either way). Valentine was a strange mixture of Lucius and Voldemort. And Jace, of course, was undeniably Draco.

Jace is so Draco, in fact, that it’s impossible to see him as his own character. The way Clare characterizes Jace is the exact same way she characterized her Draco. They share lines (the ones she didn’t steal from Buffy, of course), they share nervous tics, they share appearances, and they even share memories. The second I read the scene in which Jace tells Clary the story about the boy and the falcon, I felt an unpleasant jolt of recognition: that story is one Draco tells in one of the Draco Trilogy installments. I couldn’t remember which one. I couldn’t even remember who Draco told it to (Harry? Ginny? Hermione?). But I knew it was if not word for word taken from her fanfiction, it was very, very close.

Yikes. That’s a lot of similarities.

The same person I quoted about went on to say that the fanfiction was still much better than her published work, and that she’d rather re-read the fanfic than the non-fanfic.

Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dark Hunters

Almost immediately after The Mortal Instruments (the non-fanfic one) became popular, Sherrilyn Kenyon slapped it with a lawsuit for copying her urban fantasy series, Dark Hunters.

Kenyon fans attacked Claire fans, Cassie’s history was brought to light, and Cassie got to pull out her favorite argument “you hate me because I’m Jewish.” Which is interesting, because I’ve been working on this for two weeks, and I only just learned that she’s Jewish when I read about her accusing others of anti-Semitism.

Now as Cassie apologists will tell you, Kenyon did ultimately lose that suit, but it’s really, really starting to get repetitive over here.

I’ll borrow a quote from Ryan Givens, “If you meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you’re the asshole.” Or in this case, maybe you’re the plagiarist.

Common Questions

Has Cassie apologized for this?

She did occasionally

Has Cassie changed?

My opinion is no. She’s not.

Let’s see, as the “Queen of YA Literature” she has:

used Copy Right strikes to prevent people from calling out problematic passages in her books

sent her fans after critics

posted a hilariously ironic blog about cyber bullying

attacked her OWN FANS because they didn’t like the ending of a book

currently complains about people posting her real name (which is Judith Rumelt, in case you wanted to know) despite her own history of publishing people’s actual phone numbers online

Calls critics anti-Semetic while having this quote in her book

Claims that she was threatened when someone called her friend an “ignorant duck” 

Loves Token Minorities

Wrote a questionable almost rape

My Thoughts

I don’t like Cassie.

I really don’t.

And look, I’m not saying that Cassie is a narcissist, but here’s a fun little saying called The Narcissist’s Prayer:

That didn’t happen. And if it did, it wasn’t that bad. And if it was, that’s not a big deal. And if it is, that’s not my fault. And if it was, I didn’t mean it. And if I did… You deserved it.

Does any of that sound familiar, because it should. It’s basically Cassie’s text book responce of “avoid admitting fault until there’s too much proof, say I didn’t do it on purpose, blame someone else, claim to be the victim, find another person to accuse of drama.”

Now I’m going to again quote from ProblematicYA because I absolutely love their writing. In this quote, they’re talking about how all of Cassie’s books, even those set in different times or cities, follow the same pattern. Non-Shadowhunter meets Shadowhunter (who is basically Draco).

So what’s really my problem? My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is a marginally talented writer who has one story and one cast of characters up her sleeve, and yet somehow she’s sold millions and millions of books based on this. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series was partially copied from her fanfiction trilogy, which copied a plethora of other authors, not even including J.K. Rowling, who provided her with the characters, premise, and setting for her beloved trilogy. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is in the authorly equivalent of a time loop, and has come full circle. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is, in essence, writing fanfiction of her own work, and it is getting published and she is getting paid bank for it, when other far more original and talented authors are getting absolutely nothing for their hard work. I may despise Stephenie Meyer and the world she’s created, but at least Twilight and its accompanying works are her own original product; at least she deserves to reap the benefits of the crazy fandom she’s inspired.

Look. I don’t believe in dredging up ancient history just to hurt people. Shit we did when we were teens shouldn’t be held against us as adults. People grow and change a lot from what they were as teens.

But bitch, you actually have to GROW AND CHANGE. And Cassie hasn’t.

Also, try actually apologizing for what you’ve done instead of silencing critics.

Sources and More Information

As always, I love, love, love fanlore and I linked to many of their articles throughout this post.

A user on the HobbyDrama subreddit made a great write up called The Cassandra Cla(i)re Saga.

ProblematicYA wrote several amazing articles on the subject:

Why I Have A Problem With Cassandra Clare and Why You Should Too

anti-bullying ya queen cassandra clare is a massive bully. water also wet.

They also have an entire tag dedicated to Cassie

Alli6 wrote Things you should Know

Cassandra Clare, Rape Culture, and the Oft-Forgotten Metaphor by The Book Lantern.

SnarkTheater also has pages of things tagged as Cassie Claire, including chapter by chapter break downs of the books.

source http://camryndaytona.com/2020/06/cassandra-clare?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cassandra-clare

[consummate-deviant]

Regarding Entrapta and Autism

Howdy!  Merry Holidays, locks and tumblrs.  Winter is coming soon!  Everyone excited about that?  No?  Really?  Just me?  Aww, well alright.  I ain’t your dad.

Another short one this week.  Didn’t plan on writing anything, but then, I never really do.  Got into an Entrapdak sorta mood, and scoured the internet for stuff relating to the ship, and I happened upon a post... somewhere (My memory isn’t great, and I’m in more places for this fandom than I’d care to admit)... that stuck with me.  The post alleged that Entrapta couldn’t be autistic, because if she were, she would have to be high-functioning autistic, and high functioning autistic adults don’t behave like she does.

Now, I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that this is a perspective that’s particularly widespread or popular around these parts... indeed, the post that made the claim was the first time I’d ever heard it... and was quite possibly a deliberate troll.  I couldn’t even find it again when I searched for it to do this post.  I planned to ignore it... but it’s a viewpoint that just wouldn’t stop nagging me, y’know?  After a few days I decided I had to go ahead and disagree with it, just for my own peace of mind.  Well, this is my blog, after all! So I reckon I’mma do that now.  Read on if ya want... or don’t... you know the drill by now.  

So, like, I feel the best way to start is to break the statement down into its component parts.

1.) Entrapta would have to have a high-functioning variation of autism.

2.) Adults with such disorders don’t behave like she does [with the implicit modifier of ‘in the real world’]

3.) Because 1 and 2 are incompatible, Entrapta isn’t autistic

I don’t feel like statement 1 can really be contested.  “High Functioning Autism” is more of a colloquial category than a medical diagnosis, but even in that capacity it’s only meaning is “person who has symptoms of autism, but no intellectual impairment”... Given her status as Etheria’s smartest woman, we can safely assume that Entrapta has no intellectual impairments, so indeed, if we are to assume she’s autistic, we would have to assume she was high-functioning.  

Statement 2 is where the argument falls apart, because it makes the same assumption that a lot of flawed character takes about SPOP peeps make: that characters in a fantasy setting can be compared 1:1 to people who live normal lives in real society.  

With regard to the assumption that High-functioning homies in the real world don’t behave like Entrapta... well, first of all I wonder how many such people this person has ever interacted with in a more personal setting... because I know quite a few who do... but second of all I do see what they mean in everyday social interactions.

Autistic =/= stupid, and by the time they reach adulthood, many people on the spectrum, either thanks to having a good support network or simply years to engage in trial and error, do get the hang of ritualistic social interactions.  Autism entails a lack of ability to intuit appropriate responses/behaviors in social situations, but with enough study of the same interaction multiple times, it gradually becomes less a question of intuition and more a question of analyzing data, which is considerably easier to do.  With enough time, support, and dedication, an adult on the spectrum can navigate social situations independently... maybe even find success in customer service jobs, provided said customer interactions are highly-ritualized, tend to follow a predictable series of conversation branches, and there’s a supervisor/manager nearby to take over if a customer breaks the script for some reason.  

So yeah... in public, you don’t see many adults who would be considered high-functioning and on the spectrum behave like Entrapta does... but, like, do you see what those adults you’re comparing her to have... that she clearly didn’t?  The support of understanding adults who patiently guided them as children, and time to practice social interactions in a safe environment.

Entrapta, if pictures are to be believed, was raised by robots.  Robots she probably designed herself... and thus which probably aren’t any more socially capable than she is.  The small number of humans she interacts with are: a.) Subservient to her, due to the caste system of their society

and

b.) kinda... super, duuuper intimidated by her small army of robots... perhaps correctly so, as it would turn out, but still. People on the spectrum don’t magically get better at social interaction because they age... it’s not like hair growing or vocal pitch shifting... it’s the result of patient work and the opportunity to develop.  Entrapta had neither, so obviously, in spite of her age, she’s not nearly as socially developed as a woman her age would probably be had she been born into the real world.

...Also, she’s ADHD-coded, too... so that doesn’t help her much.  

And so we reach the end of another one of my things I sometimes write.  This one had less point than even my other things I sometimes write, but I had to write it, so here it is.  Look, I’m *not* an expert on autism, I get that, and if I have something factually wrong, I encourage anyone to correct me.  My one claim to any amount of understanding about autism is the relatively unremarkable happenstance of living with it for a few decades.  I’m not saying that denying Entrapta is autistic-coded is inherently wrong... though that’s a character interpretation I can’t personally say I agree with...  just that this argument, specificially, doesn’t jive with me. 

Soo... hey!  If you’re gonna drink a hot beverage, make sure it has some peppermint flavoring in it... unless you’re allergic to peppermint, ‘cuz then that would probably be bad... otherwise do it!  It’s December!  December and Peppermint go hand in hand, right?  No? Really?  Just me?  Aww, well alright. I ain’t your dad. 

[magic-and-myths]

Dragonfly Masterpost

Recently I’ve gained an immense amount of followers (thanks so much I love all of you, keep writing you’re all worth it) and I thought I’d get y’all up to speed on where Dragonfly is at.

Summary: Dragonfly is a high/Celtic fantasy story in which I break every single expectation and hope any fantasy reader has ever had. I also explore the depths of humanity, the repercussions of physically existing gods, and whatever the hell magic is. It centers mostly around young adults and immortal beings (it’s a good mix trust me), and is a little gory for YA but I’m not exactly sure what age group I’m aiming for.

Characters: I have four main characters, and one antagonist who I love more than anything.  We have Rin, the shy but knowledgeable bard who may not be very good at fighting, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try. He worships Tora, the goddess of the night sky, and his faith is absolute. He’s the hardest for me to write because my faith is very shakable  while his is not. Fern is a druid who travels with her lovable animal companions Sanji the stag, and Mira the screech owl. She’s always looking on the bright side and being a ray of sunshine (this is also hard for me to write), but if anyone threatens her adventuring family or her god (Kolesh, god of nature) she won’t hesitate to beat the crap out of them with her living wood staff or awesome botany skills. Zoe is genius inventor and engineer with rune crafting skills that are completely unmatched. She’s brash and confident and will never back down from any fight. She abandoned her origin god, Tunosi goddess of knowledge, in favor of Halor, the god of strength. If there’s the slightest bit of trouble she will instantly be in the fray, throwing flaming punches or pulling various explosives out of her signature enchanted dress that HAS POCKETS?! Kaya is the main focus of the first book. She’s a conjurer of immense power but limited social skills. As a child she was abused and then abandoned after her only parent figure, her sister, died (more on that later). She begged all the gods for help, and when none came she decided to fend for herself. This has led her to become an unfiltered pessimist, and an anarchist whose been trying to overthrow the gods for years. Despite this, she’s caring and always ready to help someone in need, just maybe not to trust them. “What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it to help a little kid?” And last but not least is Luma, the antagonist. At the start of the novel Luma has been dead for eight years. She was slain in a struggle known as the Wasting of the Wandering Woods, cut down by the Brightbringers, armored knights loyal to Orathia, goddess of the sun (it was in this battle that Kaya’s sister was killed).  Luma is a chosen one. She was born with a gift for magic. She can physically see it, flowing around the world. This has allowed her to master all eight types of magic when nobody other than the gods has even managed more than one. She believes (correctly) the gods have become corrupt, vain, and complacent, and is doing her absolute best to get them the frick outta town. Even if she has to kill every civilian that gets in her way.

World: Oh boy is this the best part. I have spent years with this world stuck inside my head, and now it’s coming out. So everyone, meet Arcana. Arcana is a forest covered world, geographically based on the North Eastern portion of North America. It’s an old world with old rules and threats that boil just beneath the leafy green exterior. It’s ruled by eight gods, eight forms of magic, and eight chaotic beasts called “terrors.” It is not a world of kings, or empires, or armies. It’s a world of individual people, doing their absolute best to survive in conditions that are so far out of their control. You see, magic and gods are dangerous to have around, and if you don’t have a god or magic on your side the people who do are going to murder the crap outta you. You won’t find any civilization larger than an alliance of city states, and even those aren’t safe.

Plot: Surprise, Luma’s back! I’ll bet you didn’t see that coming. Haha I got you. After discovering that the woman who murdered her sister is no longer dead, Kaya sets off on a quest to kill her. She somehow manages to find Rin, Zoe, and Fern who tag along on this world saving quest. However, when Kaya realizes that she’s doing exactly what the gods want her to do, and that Luma might be her best shot at overthrowing the deities that failed her, she has a choice to make. She can side with the her sister’s killer and cleanse the world of hypocrisy and corruption, and leave nothing but ash behind, or she can side with the gods that she so despises and save a world that will always be ruled by fear.

Title: At this point you’re probably thinking “wow Nathan Dragonfly is a super badass title, how did you come up with it?” Well first off, thank you dear reader, I’m flattered. And secondly: I made up a myth. In Arcana there’s an ancient myth that when the gods were creating animals, the created the dragonfly. But soon they became jealous of its beauty, and sought to destroy it. However they had made the dragonfly too fast, and could not catch it. So now the dragonfly lives on, both faster and more beautiful than the gods, but always having to look over its shoulder. The dragonfly is never safe. You can probably tell that Kaya is a dragonfly. While she’s not beautiful in the typical boring way, her soul is ablaze with beauty and strength far beyond what the gods could imagine. And she’s much faster than they are. (now you all can see why my name’s magic and myths we have plenty of both here).

What it’s not: If you’re looking for any of these things then I’m sorry, because they are not going to be in Dragonfly. I hope you find them though, sometimes I’m sad I’m not writing about them. 1. a chosen one story. Nobody in this book was chosen for anything. They’re all fighting and running and living and dying on their own strength and merit. There are no prophesies. Although I do include some predictions of the future from Tora in the night sky, they’re mostly to validate how much prophesies do not belong in this story. 2. a battle saga on an epic scale. I mentioned this earlier, but there are no massive armies in Arcana. I find them unrealistic in the setting and very impersonal. If someone is swinging a sword in this story you know their name, and why they’re swinging. 3. a romance. There is little to no romance in this book. Feel free to ship all you want, but chances are that nothing is making it into the final cut. This isn’t because I’m a heartless monster who wants all of my characters to die alone and afraid. I just think that romance is going to get in the way of the story that I’m trying to tell. And we need more I-will-die-for-you platonic relationships anyways. 4. anything edgy. While some of my themes and situations can get really dark really fast, writing edgy just isn’t my style. There will be very few dramatic or somber moments in this book. My characters are human, and they try to undercut fear or awkwardness with humor just like anybody. My writing style is made to not take itself seriously. Characters will poke fun at names like the Wasting of the Wandering Woods. Why so much alliteration? Was this made for a children’s story? 5. filled with fantasy races. I’m going to do my absolute best to represent humans from all different races, as far as fantasy races go we have jack squat in Dragonfly. I find that humans are dramatic, complicated, and interesting enough on their own; they don’t need help from outside species. While I do have various creatures like fae and spirits and dragons, they are not widespread or civilized. Humans are all we have, and oh boy is it still enough.

[abookhaven]

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: book review

Okay guys I have so much to say about this amazing novel.

NOn Spoiler:

Children of Blood and Bone is an amazing novel that follows 3 perspectives. One of a princess, a prince, and the daughter of a powerful, magical Reaper. The book follows Zélie Adebola, a daughter of a once powerful Reaper- a person who contains death magic. In this amazing fantasy world magic is gone but Zélie remembers the days when magic and the maji (the magic wielders blessed by the gods) flourished. Under the rule of a ruthless king, the maji were hunted and killed off, leaving the land of Orisha without magic. But when a chance to bring magic back is presented to Zélie, she knows she must succeed no matter what the cost to free her people from the tyranny of the monarchy and a world that has come to hate and fear her kind. Zélie teams up with a runaway princess and other awesome characters to outwit the evil king and the heir prince to fulfill her quest of bringing magic back to the world and free her people. But along the way Zélie faces unimaginable obstacles and tragedies as she tries to control her own powers and understand the world she lives in, and if her duty is stronger than her feelings for an enemy. IF you enjoy Black Panther or Avatar the Last Air Bender, this book is like a lovely mash of the two with so many other fantastical elements thrown in, making it unique and such an adventure of a read.  

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Alright, let’s get into this. !!!

This book was so freaking good, I just want to go on and on about it! It has everything I love about fantasy: giant animals people ride, super awesome magical powers, a badass female protagonist and other super awesome cast of characters we love to hate and hate to love, and an amazing quest that must be fulfilled. The whole imagery of the world is GORGEOUS! Like, the diviners having white hair and some have light colored eyes that contrast with their dark skin is so pretty. And the food clothing descriptions just make me drool. Like this world is a combination of Black Panther and Avatar the Last Air Bender. Two of my favorite things combined!! Yessss Pleassse!!!!      

For the girls:

Adeyemi does such an amazing job of bringing Zélie to life from the very first page. We learn that Zélie is a stubborn, loyal girl who loves her family and friends above anything else. What I love about Zélie’s character is that she is strong and independent before her magic is even awakened. Her skill with her staff and knowledge of the gods and magic gives her an edge that only allows her to become even more powerful with her magic. Zélie’s character also does have obvious faults that constantly work against her, such as her stubbornness and her smart mouth. But these faults all stem from a deep love for her people and a sense of duty and justice, which makes her faults more like strengths. She refuses to stay silent and passive when her people are beaten and broken, like when she ran after her mother after she was pulled from their home and hung in the tree, or when she buys water at the well and offers it to some of the diviners and laborers in the stocks because they can’t even afford a sip of water.

I also enjoyed the relationship development between Zélie and Amari. At first Zélie detests Amari for being the princess and daughter of the tyrant king, but eventually Zélie begins to realize that even the royal princess has suffered the tyranny of her father and that she shouldn’t judge Amari for her family. Eventually, both girls begin to trust and rely on one another and become close friends. Amari is the first person Zélie tells after her magic disappears. And Amari doesn’t get angry or upset like her brother, Tzain, usually does when  Zélie withholds information. Amari does become slightly worried, but she puts her faith in Zélie and tells her that even so, they must try anyways, because Amari’s faith in Zélie never wavers once. THey are such a badass pair of women together!!!!! I really appreciated Adeyemi making Amari’s character not a feeble princess who only has her wit to help her, but rather she made Amari a skilled fighter with a gentle side. Unlike Zélie, who’s instinct is to jump in head first, Amari is more levelheaded and quiet and adds a nice balance to their trio.

Now for the boys:

I liked Tzain’s character because he definitely feels like the male version of  Zélie. Throughout most of the novel Tzain’s character faults  Zélie ‘s character for not thinking about her actions and for always putting those she loves in danger. But Tzain isn’t much more level headed than   Zélie. He is quick to jump in and fight or defend those he loves, just like  Zélie, only he doesn’t have the pressure of being a diviner like his sister does. This world really delves into how prejudices shape the view of certain people, and  Zélie is looked down on for being a female and a diviner. I think having Tzain’s character with  Zélie throughout the novel was important for  Zélie because she has already lost the rest of her family and friends, so her brother gives her strength and something to fight for. BUut I didn’t like how he was so quick to judge  Zélie for her feelings for Inan, when he himself had feelings for Amari, or when he leaves the camp because he is so angry at  Zélie for kissing Inan and then the soldiers attack and  Zélie is left alone because Amari runs after Tzain. It’s understandable for Tzain to not like Inan, but I didn’t like how quickly he gave up on her sister. But after  Zélie is captured and tortured, I think Tzain knows he was wrong and his character grows to see that loving people means supporting them even when we’re angry. Plus I was all for Amari and Tzain together, because like I said before, she adds a nice balance to his hot headedness.

Now Idk how to even start with Inan. I think aftter wading through so many mixed feelings for the royal prince, I mostly pity him. Inan was raised to become the king one day, and his whole life has been filled with a hatred for magic and the maji. He has been taught to choose his duty over all else and this is what makes him a weak and dangerous character, especially to Zélie. At the beginning of the novel we have hope that Inan will realize he is on the wrong side and he will use his power to do good and join Zélie on her quest. Because as a new maji himself, Inan is forced to experience the life of a magic wielder and to feel the fear so many of his subjects felt when they were hunted down and killed. Inan begins to see the other side of the story as Zélie shares her memories with him and he feels all her pain and rage. Inan begins to understand the injustice and tyranny his father has subjected the maji and diviners to. And our hope for him to change only grows with his understanding. But it’s when he is given a choice, to choose Zélie and help her free her people or help his father destroy magic for good, that we see the truth and watch as he draws a line in the sand. Even after seeing and feeling everything, after being a maji himself, Inan still chooses to help his father destroy magic because he is afraid and doesn’t understand. It was at the point when he betrays Zélie at the temple when I decided Zélie deserved a better love interest. We almost can’t fault Inan for making his choices because he’s predictable. Even as a child he was willing to hurt those he loves, like when he cut Amari’s back open with a sword. Amari defied her father as a child and an adult, but Inan has always followed his father’s orders and this makes him weak. I pity his character because in his heart he thinks he’s doing what’s right, but he only hurts everyone in the process and his own father turns on him in the end.  Inan also makes me sad. He has been raised in such a hateful and prejudice environment that he was almost doomed from the start. Amari had the benefit of being defiant since a child, and she also had her maid Binta, a diviner, to help her gain perspective. But Inan never had anything like that. He is the heir prince, so he felt the full force from their father. But I haven’t given up on Inan. Although I loathe the choices he made at the end of the novel, I understand why he made them. Fear is a powerful force, and of all the characters in the novel, Inan is the most afraid, even when he has never experienced life like the other diviners. I’m not sure what Inan will do in the second novel, or if he even survives, but I hope he overcomes his fear and finally becomes the great ruler he can be, and succeeds in uniting the maji and Orishians when his father and grandfather both failed.

Okayy I know this was super long, and I have so many more thoughts, like how I love Zélie’s giant lionaire, Nailah, or mama Agba’s amazing staff fighting and her Seer powers! But all I can really say is that this novel was amazing! Tomi Adeyemi has created a one of a kind fantasy world that combines African mythology, culture and lore, making it super unique in the YA universe. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting a super epic read. I will be avidly awaiting the next installment! Also I’m SUPER EXCITED THAT ITS BECOMING A MOVIE! FOX will be adapting the novel into a film and you can bet my little butt will be in one of those theater seats when it comes out. !!!!!!!!!!!

[welcometohighwater]

i’ve got just under three hours left of my current audiobook, and thank god. it’s formulaic and predictable, and therefore boring, and therefore a chore to get through

i’m really starting to wonder if i haven’t (finally) grown out of young adult fiction (about time am i right ladies?)

problem is that i hate more adult fiction than i am bored with ya fiction. i used to love mysteries, or i thought i did but that was really just sherlock holmes stories and the occasional cat-based cozy mystery; everything else is a procedural and usually starring cops. high fantasy is absolutely terrifying, given both the size of the books and generally the whole Culture of it. ditto, often, for sci-fi. i’m just not interested in much junk food general fiction as it is largely romance-driven, and the stereotypes of Literary Fiction are gross (yeah i’m thinking of those College Lit Professors With An Alcohol Problem And A Rocky Marriage Has A Midlife Crisis And Wants To Fuck A Student books). i have a weak stomach and can’t always handle horror. and as far as i’m concerned psychological thriller suspense books are painful predictable and also the worst things out there; i don’t not care about the toxic marriages of middle class white people, murder is trite, and i especially don’t want to read about dangerously codependent mothers, i’ve had quite enough of that in my life thank you

like i KNOW what my problem is, and it’s that i’m not reading diverse. i’m not reading books by BIPOC, or queer people, or disabled people. part of that is still how fucked the publishing industry is, straight cis upper middle class white books are still published and promoted more, and i worry sometimes that the idea of diverse books has become too buzzy, too trendy; when books by diverse authors get published and make a splash it seems like they’re often marketed (when marketing is directed at a white audience anyway) as being Good Books BECAUSE they’re by diverse authors and feature characters of color or who are queer or disabled. and absolutely it is important for characters to be as broadly painted and colorful as people in the world actually are, but also, they’re just good stories. they’re not good stories BECAUSE they have representation, they are good stories that happen to have authentic characters (unless, obviously, they’re issue books or whatever, but we need books with all sorts of characters beyond those too). likewise it’s good and often important to consider the writer when thinking about the stories being told, how their experiences as black or trans or bisexual or deaf or whatever else influences the story they’re telling, but i sometimes feel like (white cis straight abled etc) people are reading books by authors who have lives different from theirs are doing so for like, clout. like, read these books because they are GOOD BOOKS by GOOD WRITERS, not to unlock some achievement or whatever

anyway this post has totally gotten away from me lmao point is that i can’t seem to find any books that hold my attention these days except really good poetry and the occasional nonfiction book and also discworld (by which i mean my fourth-and-a-half reread of the color of magic in the past year)

[janiedean]

Why don't you like Harry Potter?

I could reply ‘because it’s not a given that anyone would like it’ but if we want to be specific (SORRY ANYONE WHO LIKES IT TAKE IT AS MY PERSONAL OPINION):

I tend to not care about things where the protagonists are teenagers and in high school (asoiaf is the exception and the teenagers/children aren’t all of it and they’re not in high school) in general and HP is basically that except with magic

I am absolutely not into **magic** stuff when we’re discussing fantasy - I like lotr and asoiaf and discworld (which is satire/trope subversion anyway) and I have other exceptions but stuff like WIZARDS AND WITCHES AND STUFF is one of the things that I can care less as far as fiction is concerned

I find it really too simplistic in plot conception and execution, like I read maybe a bit of it and I couldn’t get into the style whatsoever because I thought it was nothing special

I watched like movie four and a part of two and I fell asleep during both for how little I could care

there is like one damned gray character in those books/films - ONE - and I’ve been hearing discourse about whether he’s GOOD OR BAD since I was in middle school

I’ve been withstanding snape discourse since middle school excuse me if I can’t stand it anymore

my friends back in the day couldn’t talk about literally anything else so if you didn’t care you either were uncool or you just had to listen to them harping about it when I was just like CAN WE TALK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE

they also proceeded to spoil me the entire thing at least for the main stuff so why the hell would I be interested if I already know everything and excuse me it sounds like the least interesting chosen hero story in existence to me at least

(no honestly harry is such a Chosen Hero trope in all the worst ways like sorry I really don’t care)

I’ve read/seen so much shit with the same moral which was better written and conceived that I’m nowhere near interested in getting into that, too

I really don’t care about wizards under the age of eighteen (and over the age of eighteen it’s... a very selected choice)

I can’t stand that this fandom is so entitled that they got eight movies, one play, the books, THE PREQUELS, I don’t even know how fucking much extra canon and so on and THEY HAVE TO KEEP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT EVERY OTHER MOMENT and the play was shitty, and the prequels are cash grab and the movies sucked and HERMIONE’S DRESS WAS PINK AND NOT BLUE AND THAT WAS A PLOT POINT THAT I HAD TO SEE DISCUSSED FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS LIKE WHY DO YOU FUCKING CARE WHAT HERMIONE’S DRESS LOOKS LIKE, never mind that y’all have such a large fandom you can find virtually any pairing or ship or kink in it but of course I only see wanking about stuff when my favorite fantasy series is a perpetual yuletide fave, my otp has twenty fics half of which are tied to me somehow and got one shitty movie after years which sucked ass but of course AFTER EIGHT MOVIES THE PROBLEM IS *HERMIONE’S DRESS*

the harry/hermione vs ron/hermione shipwar that people still can’t let go about wanted to make me go murder people back when I had to read discourse about it oN LIVEJOURNAL, ON TUMBLR, ON FB AND IRL at the same time

the fucking snape discourse

the fact that people can’t seem to tag their posts with hp assuming that everyone likes it so I had to blacklist that, snape, hermione and idk how many characters just to make sure that shit wasn’t on my dash anymore and I still see it

once I said that I wasn’t gonna read it anyway because if I did I’d only care for some of the adults and I knew they were gonna die since everyone spoiled it for me already and then someone had the disgrace to say ‘if you liked theon in asoiaf you’d probably like snape as a character’ and I had to go through four hours of anon wanking about SNAPE DISCOURSE when I didn’t even know how to reply and my experience with this fandom is ALWAYS like that

I find it utterly boring and predictable and I can’t care less

also: let’s get it out of the way that I watched fantastic beasts with friends who dragged me and I didn’t dislike it actually I thought it was cute and GUESS WHY IT WAS BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS AN ADULT AND DIDN’T GO TO SCHOOL and it was touching somehow more serious themes than your usual trite YA stuff that the original is, and obviously the fandom is so full with discourse I’d never even touch it with a ten foot pole but it also shows people can’t seem to read/interpret anything related to HP in a sane way and without realizing that IT’S NOT ALL BLACK AND WHITE GDI, same as apparently they can’t let go of the fact that they have to put poor snape in one specific box instead of admitting that assholes can do good things for a good cause without meaning they aren’t assholes and be fucking done with it already. I also have no ill will towards poor jkr who has decent political views and only made money out of doing what she liked but which I have a feeling is a way better adult writer than YA writer but she never will have the chance to because if she gets out of the HP sphere no one cares about what she produces and/or doesn’t get it (guys I had to read there wasn’t racism talk in FB when it was set in the US like what did you think wizards not being able to marry normal humans was standing for).

but tldr: I find it a bunch of YA re-heated tropes put together in a way that can work for kids and was very smartly put together but is not really greatly written and does not work for me and I can’t give less of a fuck about the original series especially about teenager protagonists, the fandom is the incarnation of walking discourse, I hate that everyone seems to assume that you have to like HP and that it’s impossible that you might actually not give a fuck, I hate that I’ve had to hear HP discourse/talk since I was nine years old ie for the previous twenty years of my life, I hate that I can’t seem to escape idiotic discourse even if I try to get it out of my way and ah I forgot, I can’t anymore with people fighting bloody battles over freaking hogwarts houses and ah wait again I hate how in any small fandom in existence you won’t find a lot of things but THE HOGWARTS AU HAS TO BE THERE and if you don’t care for it you’ll have to read it anyway while being bored out of your mind because you really just don’t care for that setting.

ah, and I’m sick tired of having to justify the fact that I don’t like HP to about everyone I know irl because apparently it’s impossible that I can, you know, not like something that everyone else likes.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

again: I don’t mind discussing it on my terms and with people I know who also know I’m not interested in reading or watching it, but I’m really sick tired of seeing it everywhere after twenty years of telling everyone I don’t care. I mean. twenty years. I’m glad people enjoy it and I’m glad it got people into books and I absolutely don’t want to tell people they shouldn’t enjoy it because I can’t get into it - it’s their childhood and their favorite series and I’m sure it was great for them same as the stuff I liked was good for me - but it doesn’t mean I actually have to like it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ellanainthetardis]

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto My rating: 4 of 5 stars 3.5 The best word to describe this book is: long. I don't mean that in a bad way though. The lore and the word-building are absolutely mind-blowing. The construction of the backstory is almost flawless and it clearly shows a great amount of work. It's honestly one of the best detailed fantasy book I've read in a while. However, that makes for a very slow-paced story. I wouldn't say it dragged but I honestly felt a feeling of "it's long" reading it. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen, for the pace to pick up, for the usual climax in the story... And it never really came. Sure there is some actual action in the last 100 pages or so but it came too little too late and it left me with an overall impression that nothing really happened in the whole book. ((view spoiler)[ the battle was tense and gripping enough but, again, it wasn't action packed (hide spoiler)] This volume felt very introductive, which is fine, but 500+ pages is a bit long for an introduction. The whole book felt more turned toward the past (which I guess is logical given the themes) than to the present, which I hope will get better in the sequel? I just wished there had been more plot twists in there because as far as I can recall there was only one big one and it was so predictable it was obvious from chapter 2 ((view spoiler)[ I mean seriously who didn't see the reincarnation thing coming? (hide spoiler)]). It didn't keep me into the story at all times, several time I checked the pages count to see if I was closer to the end than to the beginning. As a consequences, I also felt like (maybe aside for Sev) there wasn't really anything at stake? ((view spoiler)[ because so far the Riders have no cause and the main goal of Nicka and Tristan are just to become Riders (master and apprentice respectively) which when put in contrast with the stakes of the Blood War seem trivial? At least Sev has to fight for his life so... (hide spoiler)]) The characters were cool but because of this overall impression that the book was more turned toward the past than the present, it was hard to entirely connect with them (particularly Sev, I felt). I did very much enjoy the treatment of escaping an abusive relationship (well enjoy isn't the right word but you know what I mean), I thought it was really believable and well done. Other than that I'm looking forward to discovering more of the characters in the sequel. Hopefully with more pheonixes because for a book about pheonixes, I didn't get enough of them in there. (view spoiler)[ I spent 200 pages waiting for Xephyra to come back seriously (hide spoiler)] All in all, if you want some action packed fantasy, this one isn't for you. It's a lot more political, it read a lot more adult fantasy than YA too so I figure it's only YA because of the characters age (which, by the way, feels forced, because as is often the case with that sort of YA fantasy, the characters read much older than they are on paper - Val for instance, reads more as a 20/30 yo than 16 (((view spoiler)[ yes I know, totally justified by the end but still (hide spoiler)])) Tristan clearly reads as a 20 yo too, Veronicka sounds like a 18/19 etc etc). Nevertheless, the writing was beautiful and I will definitely pick up the sequel at some point (hopefully) but not any time soon because I feel like I need to digest this one first. View all my reviews

[lgbt-ya]

Dreadnought and Sovereign - the Nemesis series

Published by Diversion books on 26th July 2017

Genres: superheroes, trans, young adult, fantasy, LGBT

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

Blurb: Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero.Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl. 

It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head.

She doesn’t have much time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Interview with the author, April Daniels:

Hi, welcome to LGBT YA! Could you start by introducing us to the world of the Nemesis series?

Hello! I’d be glad to. The Nemesis series (Dreadnought, out in January, and Sovereign, out later this month) mainly takes place in New Port City, a metropolis that is described in a lot of my initial project notes as Not-Seattle. It’s a major American city in Northwest Washington on Puget Sound, but unlike its real-world counterpart it was the dominant population center on the west coast for much of the 20th century, which means it is both larger and more heavily urbanized than any real-world city in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle might exist as a small suburb, but it hasn’t appeared in the books. 

Approximately seventy years prior to the start of the series, a new wave of increasingly powerful super-humans appeared in the world stage. Superheroes and vigilantes are a part of everyday life, albeit one that most people don’t have much experience with.

This is the environment our narrator, teenage trans girl Danielle Tozer finds herself growing up in, and she is something of a superhero fangirl. When Dreadnought, the greatest hero in the world, gets shot out of the sky in front of her and she inherits his powers, Danielle’s body is changed to be what she always wanted it to be, and suddenly there’s no hiding that she’s a girl. On top of that she quickly learns that the world of professional superheroes is far less welcoming than she had hoped. I tried to ride the line between bleak cynicism in the flawed institutional design of the superhero laws and the optimistic sincerity of some of the heroes trying to work within a broken system. 

I wanted to create the feeling of a DC or Marvel style comic book universe with decades of history that shapes the present, but without the impenetrable continuity snarls and obscure back-story that characterize a lot of the output of the Big Two. 

Who is your favourite character in your books? What advice would you give them?

Calamity is an absolute blast to write, but she should learn to duck. How much of Dreadnought is inspired by your own experiences (excluding the magic!)?

A lot of the stuff relating to being trans, especially the description of dysphoria, are taken from my own life. The emotional damage that results from abuse is from my experiences as well, although the format of the abuse I endured was considerably different than the one Danielle confronts in Dreadnought. 

Dreadnought was your first published novel. What was the publication process like for you? 

I went to school to become a writer, enrolling in one of the few undergrad creative writing programs in the country at UC Santa Cruz. I thought I’d be published shortly after graduating, but it took nine years and I was homeless for some of that. Don’t do this to get rich.

When I finally had a manuscript I knew I could sell, I started querying agents. Querytracker.net is where you want to start that process. It’s long and stressful and difficult but eventually an agent said yes and we got to move on to the next stressful wait, but this time I had an agent doing the hard part. That’s when things started to feel a little real.

I was lucky in that we got an offer in our first round of submissions. We landed with Diversion Books, a smaller publisher, and working together my editors and I put the manuscript into publishable shape. 

Then there was a lot more waiting, and nerves and anxiety and then one day I was published and it sort of took me by surprise. At first it was sort of just another data point: okay, milestone passed, on to the next one. About 24 hours later I had a breakdown sob-laugh-cry fit for about an hour.

And that’s the publishing process. 

What are some of your favourite diverse SFF books?

Right now, I’m really into Martha Wells’ work, which often deals with protagonists who clearly have some kind of significant trauma in their pasts. This isn’t a sort of character background that’s marketed as diversity, but in the sense of being literature that helps someone recognize themselves and feel a little more complete, a little better able to face the day, then her work certain falls under the umbrella of diverse SFF books. Books that I really, really needed this year.  

Do you think diversity is a trend in publishing? What would you, as a trans reader, like to see more of in the future of publishing?

I think diversity has been a trend for a while, and we’ve been seeing the limits of that approach for some time now. The common pattern, historically, is that authors who did not have any personal experience with a particular kind of marginalization would read two or three books, decide they were an expert, and then write a book about The Trans Experience or whatever. This would only be annoying if it stopped there, but it can do real harm by perpetuating stereotypes and blocking marginalized authors out of the market. That’s where not thinking too deeply about diversity gets you; nothing actually changes, except the wallpaper.

Things are looking up, though. I don’t expect that this will never happen again, but I do think people are starting to move toward the understanding that if you want to read a book about a trans person, you should read a book by a trans person. The own-voices movement is one I’m a huge fan of. I think that’s probably the right strategy for where we are at the moment.

Obviously this doesn’t mean authors can’t write characters who are unlike themselves; it means authors shouldn’t claim to speak for others. 

Nobody can speak for us as well as we can speak for ourselves, and that’s true no matter who you are, unless you’re in politics. Publishers should to worry less about diversity in books, and more about diversifying the people whose work gets accepted for publication and promoted. The solution will need to start at home, so this will mean diversifying their own staffs as well. 

What advice would you give to authors who are planning to include a trans character in their next works?

It’s not too difficult, I don’t think. Don’t describe their bodies in a way that’s any more detailed or lurid than you would a cisgender body. Give them personality features aside from being trans. Don’t get cute with pronouns, don’t do a “surprising reveal”, and don’t kill them. Pretend we’re people and you can’t go too far wrong.

What are you writing next?

Can’t say, but past experience suggests people will like it. 

Finally, what’s your favourite conspiracy theory?

The best conspiracy theory is the one that NASA killed JFK to keep him from telling Khrushchev about the alien castles on the Moon. The book you want to read is called Dark Mission by Richard Hoagland and it is the most batshit story you will ever hear. 

From the Masonic ritual allegedly conducted shortly after the Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquillity to the crank-a-licious numerology chapter, this book has it all, and also grainy photographs reputed to be of kilometres-tall crystal structures on the Moon. A perfect blend of kitschy Americana and paranoid hallucinations, this book has my highest recommendation for conspiracy fans of all sorts. 

Thank you for asking.

April Daniels was born in a military hospital just before it was shut down for chronic malpractice—in hindsight, that should have been an omen. After various tribulations in childhood and the frankly disconcerting discovery that she was a girl, she graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in literature, and then promptly lost her job during the 2008 stock crash and recession. After she recovered from homelessness, she completed her first manuscript by scribbling a few sentences at a time between calls while working in the customer support department for a well-known video game console. This book was mainly porn, with a few swordfights included for variety. When April realized she couldn’t pitch her book without blushing, she decided to write something else. During yet another period of unemployment, she wrote Dreadnought.

She has a number of hobbies, most of which are boring and predictable. As nostalgia for the 1990s comes into its full bloom, she has become ever more convinced that she was born two or three years too late and missed all the good stuff the first time around. Having recently become a pagan, April is currently enduring the karmic backlash for all the times she was smug about her atheism.

Early in her writing practice, April set her narrative defaults to “lots of lesbians” and never looked back.

Follow April on tumblr at @msaprildaniels

[willreadforbooze]

Hello!

Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =)

Sam’s Updates

I had such a good (but busy) week. It’s going to be crazy few weeks but I’m excited. If I do this right, it’ll be really good for me. I also got to see my two best friends from college this weekend and it was THE BEST.

What I read this week:

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart: This is a YA story about a world where women have like… zero rights. Our main character has been selected to be a “Grace” which I’m assuming is like a harem for the heir to the throne. Linz wrote a review for this when it came out. This book was ok. I predicted how it would end for the most part. I’ll keep going with the series but yeah.

Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Malone Scott: This is a leadership book that my boss recommended for me. I’m the type of person that always says what I mean and I never lie. You can see how being a boss with this quality can be sensitive. This book helps harness that honesty into providing the best feedback for your team and how to help them (and you) be your best selves.

What I’m currently reading:

  Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore: So this is a story of a family that always has 5 girls, 5 cousins. The men that spawn these women disappear, so it’s always the women. 5 ladies, 5 mothers, 5 Grandmas (abuelas), when suddenly a boy appears. He has no memories. So look, I’m reading this on my phone and I was worried that I wouldn’t reach for it. I WAS WRONG. I am loving this.

Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: So this is where I would normally tell you what this book is about, but IM NOT GONNA. It’s so much better to go into Erin’s books blind and I’m not going to ruin that. What I WILL say is it’s got a giant (as in world size) library. I am loving this so much.

The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin: This is the second book in the Inheritance series. Parker wrote a hilarious review. I didn’t love the first one as much as Broken Kingdoms but this story is about a different character and I’m enjoying that. Listening on audio.

Linz’s Updates

I’ve spent all week trying to shake Oktoberfest jet lag and also there was work gross. BUT it’s a holiday weekend for moi, so I’m gonna do nothing but read Monday. And meal prep. And laundry. And maybe finally celebrate my wedding anniversary?

What Linz read:

The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel Jose Older: An advanced copy of this contemporary adult novel fell into my lap at ALA and ummmmmmmm IT’S AMAZING. I’ve never actually read anything by Older (I can’t with urban fantasy), so this was my first time reading his work and I adored it. Will be writing a review soon, book comes out Nov. 5 (so not long to wait!).

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer: I mostly read this because we got a copy of book 2 from ALA…but I’m not sure if I’m gonna read it. This kind-of retelling of Beauty and the Beast is…fine? There are some aspects I really liked, and Kemmerer’s writing is pretty good, but I dunno, there were some issues I couldn’t get past. (BTW Sam’s review here.)

What Linz didn’t finish:

Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake: The fourth and dear god hopefully last book in the Three Dark Crowns series. Technically this hit my DNF list while coming back from Munich, but I needed a way to bring this up–LET A TRILOGY BE A TRILOGY. Adding more books completely ruins the flow and now I’m completely turned off on a series that I would have been ride or die for. (I’m gonna assume it was an editorial staff decision and direct all my rage at the publisher.)  It didn’t work here, and I’ll say it, it reaaaaaally didn’t work for the Throne of Glass series. You want authors to write more books in the universe? LET THEM DO THAT. Look at Cinda Williams Chima. (Editor’s Note: GIRL, I HEAR YOU)

What Linz is currently reading:

Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson: Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy! This also comes out Nov. 5. Two sisters have been trapped inside the Citadel of the Paladins with their mom for 15 years (hold, this isn’t a horror story), until a stranger manages to get in and change everything. I’m saving all thoughts for the review.

Minda’s Updates

I’ve been in Columbus (my hometown) all weekend, with my wonderful mother hosting our family baby shower. So, you know, feeling incredibly grateful with a small heaping of guilt that I don’t see them more.

What Minda finished:

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – This is our book club read for next month. The story is set in 1920’s Mexico following Casiopea, a Cinderella-type person. Her life changes when she finds her fate tied to that of the Mayan god of death. 3/5 shots, review to come!

What Minda is reading now:

These Divided Shores (Stream Raiders #2) by Sara Raasch – From the author of Snow Like Ashes, this new series focuses on the island nation of Grace Loray as it is attempted to be taken over by the pious mainland. The magic of the series is plant-based, which I just find fascinating. I’m about 60% of the way done. So far so good, except for the small child I complained about in my review of the first one, These Rebel Waves (link), too.

HEIST by Kezzy Sparks – A debut magic-based paranormal suspense novel, out Oct 31. To my understanding, the story focuses on witch-hunter and wizardess Mel who is on the case for a genital-stealing witch. Sounds bonkers, right? I can’t wait.

Ginny’s Updates:

Whatsup. This has been a fucking exciting week and I am emotionally exhausted so now lets talk about the emotionless topic of books (hahahaha I have so many feelings about books). I am so very tired if that wasn’t obvious.

Currently Reading:

Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire: Get ready for this, this was a week of a lot of Seanan McGuire. This is a book of short stories McGuire has written of the course of her career. there are some things from early on and some more recent, but they’re all pretty darn spooky or hit you right in the feels which makes this perfect for it Halloween release (I think?). I find myself taking a few minutes at least between stories so that I can process which is not a normal thing for me.

Finished:

Tempest by Beverly Jenkins: Third book in the Old West series, and I think it’s pretty safe to say this was my favorite of the series. Regan is a ton of fun (also a more modern thinker than most of hte people in her times) but this book features an adorable daughter, a father who would do anything for said daughter, a few obviously evil characters but a really intriguing sense of place. 5/5

Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire: This is book six of the Toby Daye series. Toby is asked to do a favor for a friend which is never as simple as could be expected. This book is wild and there will be a review. So deal with a one line summary.

Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson: It was lovingly suggested that I write a review for this so now that is the plan. This is the third book in the Wax and Wayne series in which Wax is supposed to get married except there’s an interruption and then he needs to hunt down an object of major power because given his track record clearly that will go smoothly… review to come.

Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh: As soon as these books come up from the library I’m going to read them. That’s not a question. #6 in the Psy-Changeling series, this book follows characters introduced in earlier books, Dorian (a changeling that cannot actually transform) and Ashaya (a Medical Psy who works on DNA level) are both snarky and sharp edged where need be and have amazing chemistry, need to find a way to stop the experiment the Psy had been running inadvertently putting Ashaya’s son in trouble while her psychotic twin sister hunts here down. Pretty exciting stuff. The characters in this book were more fully realized than in previous books and I’m really enjoying the way the plots build the world and already existing characters. 5/5

Until next time, we main forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Ginny, Linz, and Minda

Weekly Wrap Up: Oct 6- 13, 2019 Hello! Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =) Sam's Updates I had such a good (but busy) week.

[gayreads]

YA Book Review: Pet

Title: Pet

Author: Akwaeke Emezi

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Publisher: Random House

Release date: 9/10/19

From the publisher: There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question–How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

Review: Boy, there’s a lot to like about this book. First of all, the protagonist, Jam, is a selectively mute trans girl who does not suffer for her gender. She’s loved! Her parents love her, her friends love her. That was so refreshing to read. Second, Akwaeke Emezi has a mind like no one else’s. I recently read their adult debut, Freshwater, and it was a wholly unique, memorable book. Pet is, too - you won’t find anything else like it on the YA landscape right now. I’m glad new authors with interesting stories to tell are breaking into this age group, because teens need to read about trans girls making friends with monsters to hunt down child abusers. That’s cool as hell. Pet itself is also very neat, and the way its true nature is revealed at the end of the book, tying together themes woven throughout the book... that was my favorite part, personally. It probably helps that I’m a huge sucker both for religious imagery used in unexpected ways and for bonds between kids and frightening fantasy creatures. The social commentary, too, is excellent. It’s something that isn’t often addressed in YA fiction: the importance of weeding out abusers even in “enlightened” circles, the way even good people can accidentally turn a blind eye in favor of peace of mind, the idea that having the right politics does not mean you can’t hurt the people around you. 

The one problem I have - and unfortunately it’s a pretty big one - is that in between all this excellent stuff, the great protagonist and the message and the giant feathery beast and the effective ending, is... filler. The actual plot doesn’t amount to much, which isn’t necessarily a problem - I don’t mind a more cerebral, introspective book. It’s just that in the place of moving the plot forward is a lot of explaining and re-explaining. It was as if Emezi was worried that the reader wouldn’t understand why Jam was doing what she was doing or feeling what she was feeling, and often outlined things that just didn’t need to be outlined again: for example, they repeatedly, explicitly explained that other people could not see Pet unless it wanted them to. I did not need reminding of that; it was easy to understand in the first place, context made it easy to remember, and I just wanted to get on with the story. The narrative was also often less intense than it could have been. At one point Jam wonders to herself, “Had the plan worked already--so quickly?” The answer, we find out mere sentences later, is yes, it has. Her plan has gone off without a hitch. No hurdles. She even predicts the eventual blowup long before it happens - “She knew it would come back and blow up and be worse” - effectively ruining any tension the situation could have rendered. Stuff like that made the book less enjoyable than it could have been.

I still think the good makes up for the less-than-good, though, and I think people should read this one. It’s an interesting, unique fantasy read with a truly memorable protagonist, and it has some great things to say.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Final verdict: recommended