#and if it doesn't read like rho i'm sorry.

[redwayfarers]

🤎 multiple kisses / kisses all over / kiss after kiss for whichever ship you feel like <3

Ty for dropping by <3

🤎 multiple kisses / kisses all over / kiss after kiss // ship: Thesor x Rhodarth

In hindsight, Thesor now realises, needing an army as a moral support to accept Rhodarth's invitation for a walk sounds so silly. He almost reminds himself of how he acted in Vodena, but that too makes so much sense he can't fully find fault in his own behavior.

He hasn't been this interested in anyone for decades, he's almost forgotten how it feels to.. look forward to things. To the barest of smiles, and the steadiness of their presence, and the laughter and the touch of hands, one that is devoid of any carnal desire but desirable nonetheless.

That's not to say he doesn't want to sleep with Rhodarth. He just wants other things too. That knowledge is far scarier than he'll ever let on.

"Rhodarth," Thesor calls, trying to will his voice into something calm, "I'm curious. How short was the shortest person you've ever been with?"

Rhodarth laughs. "Shorter than you, I assure you."

Thesor huffs. "Most certainly, but that doesn't answer my question." He knows he isn't very tall, and he's seen how tall Cassander grew up to be, but there is an appeal to just burrowing against a much taller person's side. He won't do it, of course, not here. He's just curious.

"And the honest answer is that I do not remember," Rhodarth continues, "although there have been shorter people."

"And how did you solve the issue of kissing without breaking your neck?" Thesor presses. Emboldened by his own question, he brushes a hand against Rhodarth's - he's not yet entirely sure of their levels of comfort respectively regarding public displays of affection like this. Rhodarth seems content to leave it at that, though there's warmth in his yellow eyes.

"I think I know what your melusine friend would suggest," he says. "Climbing a tree. Inteus would suggest it as a joke, but Ionneon would be very serious about it."

"She'd even offer me support as I climb," Thesor shakes his head. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Not kiss me," Rhodarth says and Thesor stops dead in his tracks. There's a content smile on his face, and the wind plays with his hair, showing tips of pointed ears. The corners of his eyes crease, but it's a joyful thing. Thesor has a feeling he needs more of that in his life.

"I don't see any trees nearby," he states and it makes him bury his face in his hand to breathe out the laughter that presses down in his throat.

"I suppose we'll just have to find another way, then," Rhodarth supplies, and walks a little back to where Thesor stands, holding the the sash he borrowed from Oria earlier. He then looks around - no signs of life beside them - and leans down. "I do think my neck can endure a couple of kisses though," he adds quietly and closes the gap between them.

Thesor leans into it and closes his eyes. It's hardly their first kiss, but there's something about emotionally charged kisses that leaves him breathless and stunned, something he cannot quite get enough of.

"I'm curious how many," he says once they part for air. "And only then will we go looking for trees I can climb."

Rhodarth merely nods and kisses him again. And suddenly, it doesn't feel quite as frightening as it had before.

[the-introverted-writer-for-life]

Should I make this into a series?

(answer in the comments)

CW: drugging, betrayal

With the cold winter sun piercing through the evergreen treetops, the group steadily made their way through the frozen forest towards their destination. The snow crunched audibly under their boots, and all was still in the air. Not a bird tweeted, not a badger rustled.

“So where exactly are we going, Elijah?” Lucia asked, gently pushing a fir tree branch out of her path.

“Somewhere I want to show you,” grinned Elijah. “Oh, you'll see.” He led them on, trudging through the frozen undergrowth. He didn't seem to be following a path, but he looked like he knew the way confidently and carried on without any notable hesitation.

Rhoswen gazed up at the dappled spots of light filtering through the trees. It had been a week since she had rescued Elijah from one of their traps that he had accidentally fallen into, and she was beginning to trust him more and more. She had watched him carefully, ready to note down anything that might portray allegiance to the Academy she was running from - but there had been nothing.

“Here we are!” Elijah suddenly announced, planting both feet in the snow and throwing his arms wide.

“Mate… this is literally no different than where we've just been stomping through for the past five million hours,” Jude remarked, if a little snappily.

Elijah said nothing, but eyes glinted with something Rhoswen didn't like. Then he turned to her. “Rhos, come here a bit.” Rhoswen hesitated, looking round the group for reassurance.

Then the realisation clicked.

“Where's Lucia?” she called.

Indeed, Lucia was nowhere to be seen.

Jude and Eleanor looked round, calling her name, and then waited.

Nothing.

Jude turned on Elijah. “What have you done with her?” He snapped, advancing fast.

“Nothing, I swear. I don't know where she is any more than you do,” Elijah replied.

Jude flared up. He had never trusted Elijah at all, not one bit. “I said. What. Have. You. Done. With. Her,” he intoned menacingly.

“Jude, stop. Maybe he genuinely doesn't know where she's gone. Speaking of which, where's her mum?” Rhoswen asked, moving to look beyond Jude's shoulder.

“What the…” Jude breathed.

Rhoswen turned to Elijah. “Elijah, if this is some kind of sick prank you've got us all into, I suggest you tell us and stop it. It's not funny.”

But Elijah only shook his head, looking just as confused as anyone else.

“Argh!”

“Jude! Jude!”

Jude was gone. Rhoswen stood alone with Elijah, staring at the last spot she had seen Jude, and feeling utterly sick to the core.

Elijah moved behind her, placing his left hand on her left arm. “I'm sorry, Rhoswen,” he whispered down her neck.

Without warning, Rhoswen felt a thick cloth clamped over her mouth and nose - so thick she could barely breathe. An arm whipped around her torso, pinning hers to her sides tight, leaving no room for struggle.

The trees in front grew blurry; her eyes drooped closed. The fight had gone out of her as her legs crumpled and everything faded into blackness.

Thanks for reading! If anyone wants to be tagged then feel free to ask =)

[normal-thoughts-official]

Fandom racism anon here and yeah absolutely (I didn't realise I had anon on lol)

Because while LOTR has problems within its themes (ie the orcs can be seen as to be coded as people of colour, especially since they ride elephants) the explicit message of the book is evil bad

Because the only people who work for sauron are evil. There are no morally grey people, they aren't misguided or tricked they just are evil and want to take over the world

And yeah I totally agree that this is more of a literal take on like empirical war (is that the word) and that makes total sense considering Tolkiens history

Whereas I would say that the allegories in shaowhunters is way more based on racial conflict within a country itself especially slavery, I can't remember if this is show Canon but is it that they have the warlock tropheys? I remember that in the books magnus talks about shadowhunters hanging warlock marks on their walls? (sorry to bring the books up)

Idk it's very hollow to me, unlike with LOTR though it's a different allegory it's totally irritating to show many of these supremecists as morally misled. LOTR says bad guys are bad guys, shadowhunters says well yeah they did follow a guy which thinks that downworlders are subhuman and should be eradicated but they just made a mistake

I want to compare this to tfatws which while it isn't really fantasy I just feel like it shows how the priorities of the writer can impact the message of the show so powerfully (I know u aren't up to date so I'm gonna be pretty vague)

There's a scene in tfatws where the new white perfect captain America does something bad and doesn't pay for the consequences - done to comment on white privelege and how America condones white supremacy and how Sam is in comparison to that

Mayrse and Robert revealed to be part of the circle! And paid no consequences Shock horror my parents were the bad guys (even rho they were either implicitly or explicitly extremely racist the entire time) also I haven't finished the seires but do the lightwoods ever try to get their parents to face the consequences?)

Only one actual really critiques the situation and the reality behind it whereas the other one is just to centre the white characters once again and present them in a further sympathetic light

AND ANOTHER THING! I was mostly talking about show Canon here and I'm sorry to bring up the books but I literally can't believe I hadn't picked up in this before.

So like downworlders = people of colour, Simon is a vampire so is coded as a person of colour. However in the books in the last one he stops being a vampire and becomes a shadowhunters instead, coincidentally that's also when he starts dating Izzy HOW IS THIS ABLE TO HAPPEN!!????

I mean I know cassandra clare is lazy right? The original seires is by far the worst of all her writings but come ON!!!!! By the allegory has he become the white man!????? These books made no fuckin sense when I read them at 15 and they make no sense now I'm digressing anyways

I don't know man I wrote this ask because I was trying to find some fantasy book recommendations on booktube and SO MANY of them were about slavery or general ly extrême préjudice with à White protagonist to save this 'poor souls'.

Also I was watching guardians of the galexy the other day and realised nearly every movie set in space is just bigger stakes imperialism - planets instead of countries. Literally star wars, star trek, guardians of the galexy 2, avengers infinity war - all are facing genocidal imperialistic villains without actually paying much, if any attention to those effected

Just writing this ask made me exhausted I'm so tired of lazy writing and exploiting other people's struggle. I'm white and I'm trying to be more critical about the movies, shows and books I watch and read but let me know if I said something off here❤️❤️ you gotta get up to date with tfatws man, Sambucky nation is THRIVING!!!!

i'm not sure i agree that the whole "the evil people are evil" thing is a good thing, because i feel like more often than not making the bad characters just like... unidimensionally evil just means that the reader will be like "lol i could NEVER be that guy" and when it comes to racism that is a dangerous road to take because white people already believe that racism is something that Only The Most Evil People, Ergo, Not Me, Can Do, which makes discussions of stuff like subconscious racial bias and active antiracist work become more difficult because people don't believe they CAN be racist unless they're like, Lord Voldemort

which is not to say that racism should be treated as morally ambiguous, just that the workings of racism should be represented as something that is not done only by the Most Hardcore And Evil, but rather as a part of a system of oppression that affects the way everyone sees the world and interacts with it and lives in it

yes the warlock trophies are mentioned in the show, albeit very quickly (there is a circle member who tells magnus that his cat eyes will make "a nice addition to his collection" and then it's never mentioned again because this is sh and we love using racism for shock value but then not actually treating it as a serious plot point or something that affects oppressed ppl). and you are absolutely right, shadowhunters (and hp, and most fantasy books) has genocide as its core conflict and treats it, like you said, in a very hollow way, treating racism as both not a big deal and not something that is part of a system of oppression, but really the actions of a few Very Bad People. it's almost impressive how they manage to do both at the same time tbh

i think you hit the nail right on the head with this comment, actually. for most of these works, racism is SHOCK VALUE. it's just like "lol isn't it bad that this bad guy wants to kill a gazillion people just because they are muggles? now that is fucked up" but it's not actually an issue. in fact, when this guy is defeated, the whole problem is over! racism is not something that is embedded into that world, it's not a systemic issue, it's not even actually part of what drives the plot. the things that led to this person not only existing but rising to power and gathering enough followers to be a real threat to the whole world are never mentioned. it's like racists are born out of thin air, which is dangerously close to implying that racism is just a natural part of life, tbh

anyway my point is, it is never supposed to be questioned, it is never part of a deeper plot or story, its implications are barely addressed except for a few fleeting comments them and there; so, it's not a critique, it's shock value, even though it is frequently disguised as a critique (which is always empty and shallow anyway. like what is the REAL critique in works like hp or sh/tsc other than "genocide is bad"? wow such a groundbreaking take evelyn)

about simon and the book thing: i actually knew about this and the weird thing about this is that, like... simon is jewish, and he's implied to be ashkenazi (calls his grandma bubbe which is yiddish, which is a language spoken by the ashkenazi ppl), and it seems like cc is always toeing the line between him being accepted by shadowhunters and then not accepted by them, which sounds a lot like antisemitic tropes and history of swinging between (ashkenazi) jewish ppl being seen as the model minority myth and thus used as an example by white christians, and being hated and persecuted. i'm not super qualified to talk about this since i'm not jewish and i'm still learning about/unlearning antisemitism and its tropes, and i don't really have a fully formed thought on that, tbh; it just reminds me of the whole "model minority" swinging, where one second simon is part of the majority, the other he's not, but always he is supposed to give up a part of himself and his identity in other to be "assimilated" by shadowhunter culture. this article (link) covers a book on jewish people and assimilationism into USan culture, this article (link) covers british jews' relationship with being considered an ethnic group, and this article (link) talks a bit about the model minority myth from the perspective of an asian jewish woman

it just really calls to my attention that cc chose to make her ashkenazi jewish character start off as a downworlder and then become a shadowhunter. i don't think she made that decision as a conscious nod to this history, because it would require being informed on antisemitism lol but it's incredible how you can always see bigoted stereotypes shining through her narrative choices completely by accident. it just really shows how ingrained it is in our collective minds and culture

and anyway, making a character go from the oppressed group to just suddenly become the oppressor is just. wtf. not how oppression works, but most of all, really disrespectful, especially because she clearly treats it as an "upgrade"/"glowup" that earns him the Love Of His Life

also, out of curiosity, are you french? it seems like your autocorrect changed a few words and i'm pretty sure extrême and préjudice are the french versions of these words, and since u said ur white, that's where my money would be lol

[woozi]

the thirst tweets yza 😭😭😭 i cannot. as much as fun this was, we were so close to getting jaebs with cats <//3

headlocking sk 😭😭 DJJDSKSK i would stand there like wonu clapping in the soop, for you <3. it's hindi ( actually it's my 2nd language but i speak in it the most w ppl outside of family djdjdjk ) my mother tongue is almost dwording djdjdkdk </3 i think im last gen who still speaks it, kids these days only know hindi or english.

ALSO!!! the footwork in senses choreo???? i liked it sm <3 yugyeom makes it look so easy to move like that?!?

same jdjdkddk godddd sometimes it takes a month to complete a drama which i like and started on my own will and sometimes it only takes 3 days. it doesn't matter how much i love something if i won't watch it, then I won't watch or consume it at all 💀.

ohhh, i've known jamie as an after school club mc first and singer second. like there was this time i was suddenly obsessed w eric nam's before we begin album i think around that time i first listened to one or two songs of jamie ( it was all spotify's doing jddjks) but then i forgot abt both and went back to listening to my regular ones. honestly i feel like i've gotten to know and appreciate jype artists ( those i know ) more, only after they've changed agencies it could just be me or my timing tho djdjdjh. have you listened to hanbin's solo album? honestly it's been no.1 album from 1st half of 2021 for me. i was not even looking forward to it or even knew djdjsk but i'm so glad i did i really like the songs & lyrics.

almost whatever jackson has released after mirrors has been to my taste leaving few bsides here and there. i love lmly <3 idk why for some reason i tend to mix pretty please and lmly up a lot djdjsk maybe it's bc of white tee and jeans. both mvs concept and songs are fantastic but if i have to pick one w/ mv & only considering the song, i do love lmly a little bit more then pretty please. wbu? <3

mark kept saying ' when we go back ' during the live so i got more confused each time, went on twt and got to know djdjdk. twt list of both svt & got7 of update accounts is like my newspaper, in free time i open it to see what is going on, sometimes jdjddk.

and of course i know abt woozi's cover <3 i've listened to it a lot jdjdksk he's so <//3

i could listen to his voice all day.

there is one cover of 10 cm hoshi dropped last year i like it sm <3 it made me so happy!!, around that i was obsessed with some of 10 cm's songs. help is one of my most favorite.

i really really wish for dokyeom to cover more day6 songs or just any songs </3 would really appreciate one from mr. joshu_acoustic too 😿.

did you see the way dokyeom woke up with a smile on his face in 5th in the sopp ep <//3 he's so precious 😭 (i'll try to link next time idk links go through asks tho djjddj sometimes tumblr eats it up). i don't even know what a smile is for first 2 hours after i've woken up. also i think i like this (sk coming and karaoke one - 5th) ep a lil more bc of that half minute of singer cheol it served us. i need him to sing more omg <//3

the soop song tho it's so sweet 😭💕. i love love how they brainstorm and make songs it's such an interesting process. i love what going seventeen is now but i miss watching the song making & recording process (even rho they do show it in inse after cb but jdjdks). the one where they made gose song, recorded it and made choreo/mv i love. it's still remains as one of my most favorite ep. they compose & write songs so smoothly & make it look so effortless <3

thank you for letting me ramble abt silly little things and responding to them, yza <3 love hanging out w/ you. i hope you're also having fun djjddj (i'll try to keep these short fr 😭 djdkdk i feel a bit bad for making you read so much nonsense :3)

take care of yourself, yza <3 sending good week wishes. - 🪂🪂🪂

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT TO SEE JAEBEOM READ THIRST TWEETS BEFORE MY VERY EYES WHICH ALTERNATE AU IS THIS 😭

also mood tbh we could've gotten something like jacks' puppy vid </3

LIKE WONU CLAPPING FJKDJKFDJFD in true infj fashion <3 wait naurr that's so sad </3 do they not teach it in schools?

ALSO YES OH MY GODDDDDDDDD house king show us ur fancy moves <3 as a fellow dancer i am throwing him my shoe rn <3 also i literally have never seen smth like this in kpop how did people fucking sleep on this icb it..

I FULLY RELATE HELLO????????????????? what dramas have u been watching? and which genres are u into? <3 i also just finished vincenzo today it was so good 😭 took me like.. a week, i think (?), though bc svt has SO MUCH content and i dont like being behind on svt shit esp bc i also run an update blog lmaooo 😭

WAIT I FORGOT SHE ALSO DID EMCEEING 😭 she's such a fun person </3 AND ERIC NAM FDKJDFJK i have one-sided beef w him lmao when he was still new to the scene he would reply to everyone's @s but he never replied to me so i felt v .. </3 (also this is what.. 13 year old me speaking so this def does not reflect how i feel abt him now JKJKFJKDFF) i also get that </3 i feel like jype doesn't manage them well (i dont know shit behind the scenes and shit abt the industry in-depth but u know... it Kind Of Shows esp w how the artists themselves speak abt the agency lol). and i have not!! i am truly a svtpoppie 😭 i will though bc u recommended it to me <3 i also have been seeing him frequently on tiktok lol, ALSO BC OF LEE HI!!

honestly i haven't been keeping up w his albums anymore just the title tracks so i cant say much 😭 i also def prefer lmly over pretty please i was actually obsessed w it for a while!! i love jackson's vision so much though, the cinematography is EVERYTHING

literally reading abt what our boys have been up to like reading the morning paper KJDSFKJDSJKSJKD

V GOOD FOR U TO HAVE COME ACROSS THE COVER... I JUST DISCOVERED IT BY ACCIDENT 😭 also i have to agree although i definitely do not want to admit that i am more than willing to listen to some man sing to me all day 😭😭😭😭😭 jihoon's voice is just... different to me for some reason. i have a hard time picking between him & seokmin tbh </3 hbu, who's ur fave svt vocalist?

ALSO YES THAT WAS SO CUTE OF HIM!! AND V ON BRAND TOO </3 the way u listen to 10cm..... im giving u an award rn <3 im guessing you listen to k-indie too?

DK THOUGH... I'M VERY MUCH WILLING TO ADMIT THAT I'D LISTEN TO HIM ALL DAY.... something about him... AND NOT THE JOSHU_ACOUSTIC FJDJFDJKFD 😭😭😭 i hate his username so much- why... WHY...

I DID!!!!!!!!! and i was so surprised too bc.. who wakes up smiling?????? what'd he dream of???????????? he's such a happy person i cant imagine what thats like 😭 the first thing i do when i wake up is make the >:| face JFJKFDKJFD also oh my god i just read that you're experiencing the same thing 😭😭 bestie trait!! KJJKFDKJFD ALSO YOU COULDN'T BE MORE RIGHT?????????? im always campaigning for vocalist coups im SOOO glad u feel the same way <3 his voice is just so comforting to me </3 idk i just really like his timbre

and v true omg i'm always fascinated to see how they actually work all this out!! the bts recording/choreo making vids are also my favorite gfkjdfkjdfj HOW ARE WE SO SIMILAR WE MIGHT AS WELL BE THE SAME PERSON 😭also jihoon in that gose behind vid........... in universe factory............... i still think about that Look from time to time... 😭this is also why i respect the boys sm tbh. everyone in the industry undeniably works so hard but to actually get this much creative freedom and to basically lead the group and their direction music and performance-wise is so insane to me... no wonder jihoon's always in his studio. i couldnt be happier that they get to live off of doing what they like im also so so proud of them they must work so hard <3 esp w all the content they're giving us.. icb it's always like this in caratland im so used to being an ahgase that gets like.... 1 cb a year😭

AND NOOO OMG DON'T BE SORRY I REALLY LOOOVE GETTING UR MESSAGES </3 and i love how lengthy they are makes me feel like ur just not making small talk (i hate small talk sm 😭) and that you're actually interested <3 i genuinely love bonding w u through these little asks i can never thank u enough for sending them <3 i hope ur having a lovely week as well!! u can always talk to me even if it's not kpop related and u just want to talk abt life or when u need some cheering up <3

[blossom-hwa]

LINA!! HOW DARE U MAKE ME CRY WITH YOUR AMAZING WRITING! I ALREADY RBED AND RAMBLED IN THE TAGS ON BOTH MY BLOGS BUT !!! MISS THIS IS TOO FAR IMMA HAVE TO ASK I TO HANDOVER THOSE AMAZING WRITING SKILLS THEY ARE TOO DANGEROUS >:( OKAY BUT seriously the dynamic between the pairing, the scenes, the word building. It felt like you conveyed a whole 20k words worth of emotion in 2k and I think that's a sign that u are a queen and Lina's writing >>>

The timing of each scene, the moments were all so perfectly crafted I cannot,,, KSKSKDJJS NY BRAIN CANNOT HANDLE THIS! Each scene was perfect and I was so engrossed till the very end and when it ended I was like WAIT?? THAT'S RHE END?? I NEED MORE !! I NEED MORE AMAZING LINA WRITING!!

The last scene had me in tears I kid u not. ;-; like the raw feelings of not wanting to leave but willing to wait it's just AAAAAAA scream !!!!! It was perfect ;-; if u ever consider making a sequel to it pls I'll be the first one to say yes and read it (no pressure rho! U already put out so much amazing content, I'm just so so intrigued to know more ;-;)

I just love this fic and I will continue to preach about it THIS FIC IS A MUST READ IF U WANT HEARTWARMING BUT AT THE SAME TIME HEARTBREAKING ANGST.

anyways rant over shdjdhhddj sorry if this doesn't make any sense this is just 99% screaming ;-;

AHHHHHHHHH I SAW YOUR REBLOGS TODAY ON FOR YOU AND DAWN I CRIED!! I really cried :((( thank you for being so kind and for reading it, I’m really glad you enjoyed it SO MUCH seriously it means the WORLD to me. this really boosted my mood when I first saw you sent it in (sorry I only replied to it now, just didn’t have the time/energy earlier :/) but gosh anyway I'm tearing up again thank you dawn for the lovely comments I really love you and hope you have a wonderful weekend <3 <3 <3

[luminouslumity]

Thoughts On: Three Dark Crowns Series

So, I finished re-reading the books that are currently out for the Three Dark Crowns series, and here are my thoughts.

Three Dark Crowns: The plot and political intrigue alone are enough to keep me invested, and the characters are all really interesting. My favorite queen is of course Arsinoe, but I still love Mirabella and Katharine too and felt bad for all three of them, especially Kat. The storyline is very intriguing as well. As far as relationships are concerned, I absolutely loved the friendships in this book, especially Arsinoe and Jules' friendship. Mirabella's friendship with Bree and Elizabeth is another great one, though I wish we had gotten to see more of it. I also love how affectionate alot of these characters are with one another. And as far as romantic relationships go, ArsinoexBilly is my favorite. I still don't know how to feel about Pietyr 's relationship with Kat in general, and Joseph... Oh, Joseph. If you ask me, he and Jules were better off as just friends, if even that. Which brings me to my next point in that I also wasn't a huge fan at the inclusion of a love triangle, but at least it doesn't become a huge focus. As for the twist at the end, I kind of already guessed what it was just by reading the blurb, but I don't mind; it just makes it more interesting.

Overall, I thought this book is a decent introduction to the series.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕

One Dark Throne: I found this book to be alot better than the first. It's definitely more intense thanks to the queens now entering the Ascension Year, so alot more is at stake here. I'm also glad that the love triangle between Jules, Joseph, and Mirabella was concluded fairly quickly and I liked that Joseph actually took responsibility for his actions (doesn't excuse his cheating, but still...). But honestly, I wasn't that upset when he died and felt more bad for Arsinoe and Jules in terms of losing their friend, especially when they had finally reached the mainland. As for Jules herself, I do feel like her storyline is more interesting in this book and I like how we got to see how the war gift works. I also liked how no matter how Jules feels about Mirabella, she's still willing to help her take down Katharine.

Speaking of Kat, I loved her in this book! She was so creepy, but in a strangely enjoyable way. I didn't even mind that she won! From the first book, I knew it was going to be either her or Arsinoe who would be the Queen Crowned since the underdog usually wins in these stories, so this didn't come as a surprise to me. I'm still not sure how to feel about her and Pietyr in general, but when I was reading, I couldn't decide if I wanted Katharine, Pietyr, and Nicolas to all destroy each other or if they were the toxic, murderous OT3 I never knew I wanted. That said however, I'm actually glad Nicolas is dead, but it was still such a dreadful way to die. And as you can guess by the cover, I got the Barnes and Noble edition, so it came with an additional scene after Nicolas died. It was enjoyable in a sort of creepy way, but I almost feel sorry for Nicolas because of how his corpse was treated.

As for Arsinoe, I like how we got to her using her abilities and her relationship with Billy is still as adorable as ever, as is the latter's relationship with Harriet and friendship with Mirabella. And somehow him befriending a chicken doesn't surprise me at all. I also liked how we got to actually see the Black Cottage and learn a little about the queens' past while they were still with Willa, and I also liked that we finally got to meet Caragh. I was wondering about her relationship with Madrigal after reading the first book, so I'm glad we got to see a bit of it here.

Natalia being killed was something I wasn't expecting at all—least of all by Chatworth—and I immediately felt bad for Kat, so I practically cheered when Rho killed William Sr. right after. And I don't even like Rho!

As far as the ending is concerned, I'm so happy that Arsinoe and Mirabella finally got off that crazy island and will probably live with Billy now, but I'm upset that Jules went back. At the same time though, I do think this will be good for her at least character-wise, since it means she'll be able to grow into her own person. However, I am so glad that there'll be a third book and I hope that she and Arsinoe will reunite sometime in TDR, if not the fourth book.

Overall, this is definitely one of my favorite books in the series so far.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

The Oracle Queen: First of all, I thought the prologue was pretty cute, what with seeing the queens as little girls. But it also makes me sad, knowing what's to come. In fact, that's pretty much how I felt when I was re-reading the main story TOQ as well. My overall feelings on it remain the same; as a lover of political intrigue, I still greatly enjoyed the story, even if it was pretty predictable as to where it was going to go. I also enjoyed the characters, even the antagonists. Elsabet and her friends didn't deserve their fates, and I hope they're all at least reunited in death. As for the antagonists, Francesca Arron was certainly one I loved to hate, and the same goes for Sonia and William. I'm still not sure how to feel about Gilbert, though. Sure, he regretted his involvement in Francesca's plot, but too little too late there, Gil. However, I thought it was really sweet how he brought Jonathon's portrait to Elsie at the end of the story. And yet, more than anything else, I think that's the part that saddened me the most—not the deaths or Elsabet being remembered as a mad queen, but the reminder of a once happier time. A very bittersweet way to end such a tragic tale, if you ask me.

Also, the moral of this story seems to be to never trust an Arron. And never trust anyone named William at least as far as this series is concerned, because they'll probably backstab you (except Billy, because he's pure).

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

The Young Queens: I thought it was great we got Camille's PoV in the prologue and why she switched Arsinoe and Katharine, and some more insight on a queen's connection to the Goddess. Her relationship with Philippe seems sweet, and I felt sorry that her life with the Arrons wasn't all that great. That said, it was still a horrible thing to switch the girls just to get revenge, although it really does make me wonder if she would've even considered making the switch at all had she been treated better by the Arrons or if she would have done it anyway. It also just makes me feel even more sorry for Kat and just about every poisoner queen who has been under their care. I can only imagine what they would've done to Arsinoe had they taken her in.

As for the main story itself, I felt really sorry for Willa and the triplets, especially during the claiming, but it was adorable seeing the queens, Jules, Joseph, and Bree as kids. I liked seeing more insight on Matthew and Caragh's relationship as well as their relationship with Jules, and the same goes for Jules' own early relationship with Madrigal. It seems like she genuinely does love Jules, she just doesn't know how to show it and likely has no idea what she's doing, thus becoming a terrible role model and mother to her in the process. I also liked how we got to see how Jules came to be protective of Arsinoe and how she met Camden.

The little glimpses of Mirabella's early friendship with Bree were cute to see, and it was also interesting to see just how she became friends with Luca and the temple's favorite, but I can only imagine how horrible it was for her to be locked in a basement of all things, and for three years at that. And Katharine's was probably the cutest of all. I loved her interactions with Natalia, and it's just always nice to see her happy in general, considering her situation.

I was however disappointed that most of the Wolf Spring chapters focused on Jules and Caragh. Arsinoe got a PoV, but it was only in the epilogue and it didn't even cover the entire thing, either. Another thing I didn't like is that we didn't get to see Arsinoe's escape attempt; instead, it just skips to the trial.

Also, this is something I noticed on the back cover of Queens of Fennbirn, but I find it pretty funny that the blurb implies we'll be seeing the queens' lives in the Black Cottage up until the claiming even though we only see them at the Black Cottage three times, four if you count the prologue in The Oracle Queen. Talk about misleading. Although, I certainly wouldn't mind if we ever got a novella about the queens and Willa, just being a little family together. It'd probably be the most adorable thing I'd ever read. And I know this is just a nitpick, but why is the "n" in naturalist capitalized in the blurb?

Overall, I thought this novella was at the very least just okay.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

As for the series in general, I find it to be pretty good and it has definitely become my one favorites, especially when it contains two of my favorite parts of a story: political intrigue and complex characters. Almost everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do and what they think is best. However, I do still have my problems with these books: the pacing for instance can get pretty slow at times, and a little rushed in others. I also feel like a bit more detail could go into the descriptions at least as far as the characters are concerned. In terms of the writing, it's a little annoying whenever Kendare uses contractions and then suddenly doesn't. And maybe this is me just being nitpicky, but sometimes the exposition just seems unnecessary; for example, did we really need to have Luca telling Sara how Starfall Lake got its name? And did we really need to be reminded that Queen Elo was called "the fire breather" every time she gets mentioned?

Another thing is how some sentences are structured. Here's one example: "The island can never have another Elsabet," Luca says, referring to Queen Elsabet, a sight-gifted queen who, upon seeing an assassination plot, had three whole houses of people executed.

The wording just seems odd to me. I feel like a better alternative could be something like: "The island can never have another Elsabet," Luca says, referring to the last sight-gifted queen who, upon seeing an assassination plot, had three whole houses executed. Not perfect, but at least it doesn't feel redundant.

But I still love this series, flaws and all. I'll definitely be buying Two Dark Reigns when it comes out.

Overall rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗