#especially a canon that is written by one sarah j maas

[bangtanjjks]

Ah.... I think a part of the reason why the ACOTAR fandom have felt more hostile lately is because people can never just peacefully making up scenario of two character or more kissing around here without getting someone else write a whole ass essay with "proof" on why that pair will never work™ ..... You can't ship anyone in peace in this fandom without having One (1) person trying to debunk your ship😭 once or twice is fine. But with every single ships that's not canon? That's just tiring.

Example:

*some post about rhysta and how their dynamic will work if they're in a relationship*

Some person: making a 5 paragraphs essay on why rhysta will not work in a romantic relationship backed with proof of excerpt from the book like they're quoting the bible

I get IT!!!! WE'RE FANTASIZING ABOUT TWO FICTIONAL CHARACTERS KISSING. this is NOT the academic/scientific community, I do not need to have you peer review the text of two pair of characters fucking just because of canon

[onemustalwaysbecarefulofbooks]

Why I Dislike Rhysand, Part 2: #NotMyHighLord

Part 2 in the rant I have suppressed for the past several years. Rhysand Stans, be warned, this is not for you. Be prepared to see critiquing of SJM’s writing as well. Proceed at your own risk!! 

I feel like this section of the rant is going to be the one that most people have seen, heard, or expressed themselves already. I myself have seen many posts and takes on this before. There will probably be the least amount of original ideas in this post. Nonetheless, I can’t turn down an opportunity to finally say it in my own words. 

In Part 1 of my rant (and many other posts), I discussed how Sarah J Maas blatantly has an insane sort of obsession with Rhysand. It is impossible not to notice and acknowledge if you read the series from start to finish. All it takes is about 2 minutes listening to her speak about anything related to him for you to see it as well. He is unequivocally Her Favorite and she has demonstrated that by deeming him to be THE MOST of many different things, especially in comparison with others. I made a post last summer about how I really struggle to define what I think of Sarah as an author overall. She has given me some of my favorite fictional characters of all time, written scenes and exchanges between characters that I carry in my heart and soul and overall provided me with an endless amount of entertainment. On the other hand, a GLARING fault I find there to be with her is that she often writes in an extremely puzzling and contradictory way: beating us over the head with something about a character she presents as being true, verbally stated through the dialogue of characters or through the narrative of the story, while having these characters act and behave in a totally OPPOSITE way to the way they are being described by everyone. And this obviously contradictory behavior is never addressed by anyone in the story--or if it is, the ones calling attention to it are vilified and shown in a negative light, even though they are providing commentary on actions carried out canonly by these characters. 

In the simplest form, it’s like this: The author creates a character who others routinely say is the most kind, unselfish, loving, and generous person to grace the planet. An opportunity will NEVER be lost to state these things, through the narrative and through the dialogue of other characters. The fandom comes to accept these things as totally canon traits. You hear the author repeat these same beliefs. The character becomes a favorite of the fandom, who praises him/her for being so kind and selfless. You get excited to read about such a character and open the book yourself. . .only to find scene after scene where the character acts in a way that is cruel, selfish, and arrogant. All while everyone else continues to laud them for being so wonderful. There is a direct contradiction between what you’re seeing and what you’re being told. Tons and tons of readers seem to find nothing unusual about this. You’re left with the feeling that you’re in some kind of insane asylum where nothing makes sense but no one questions it. 

This is the feeling I get whenever I hear about what an amazing High Lord Rhysand is. 

As we’ve established, SJM is obsessed with Rhys. Therefore, she automatically makes Rhys the best at whatever he does. One day I’d love to do a drinking game where we take a shot every time someone reminds us that Rhys is The Most Powerful High Lord In Prythian’s History (he should really just get that phrase trademarked at this point). But in addition to that, we are also often reminded about what a good, just, fair, and progressive beloved ruler he is. 

Rhys as High King: he could think of no other male he’d trust more. No other male who would be a fairer ruler than Rhys. And with Feyre as High Queen. . .Prythian would be blessed to have such leaders. (Cassian, ACOSF, page 451) 

There are a lot of ACOTAR lines that provoke actual visceral anger and disgust in me. This is probably in my All Time Top 3.

Yeah, Rhysand is SUCH a great High Lord!! Didn’t you know. . . there are no slums in Velaris!!

There’s just, you know, female mutilation going on in the mountains!

Where to even BEGIN unloading? 

I guess I’ll begin here: One of the reasons I strongly dislike Rhysand as a character is because he’s a terrible High Lord.

(And what makes me infuriated and passionately dislike Rhysand is the fact that we are beaten over the head by what an exceptionally wonderful High Lord he is despite the glaring faults shown in the text). 

I really really fail to understand how anyone can believe any differently, when it is canonly stated that two thirds of Rhysand’s court are hellish and terrible places. Women are oppressed and mutilated, people who are brutal and cruel are basically given free reign to do as they please, there is not an ounce of respect given to their so-called true ruler. 

And Rhys, “The Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s History” has done. . .nothing. Nothing to truly change either of these places. 

Let’s start with Illyria. 

We all know how horrible life is for Illyrian females. They are forbidden to train, are viewed as vessels for breeding, and have their wings clipped at a young age so they can’t fly. Cassian’s mother is raped by an Illyrian warrior and then worked to death, when her body is dumped off a cliff. Azriel’s mother has her young son taken from her by the male who sired him and relies on his mercy as to when he can be released from his literal prison cell to see him. Rhys’s mother was starving herself so she wouldn't get her period, which is when her wings would have been clipped when she was saved from her fate by his father’s mating bond. Emerie and her mother are horrifically abused by her father, resulting in her mother’s death. Emerie tells Nesta and Gwyn that he would slam her head into walls, crunch her fingers in doors, and that he broke her fucking back. Like most females, her wings are clipped so she’s unable to fly. Upon her father’s death, she gains control of his store much to the displeasure of her male family members who frequently harass and threaten her about it. 

It’s plain to see that these are not randomly occurring isolated situations. Abuse can happen anywhere, with anyone, but there is CLEARLY a cultivated system of abuse and oppression among Illyrian females. Rhys tells us that he has banned the clipping of Illyrian female wings and is slowly working towards implementing changes that will allow women to have more freedom and choices. He tells Feyre that the Illyrians are “slow to change” and that it will take a long time to completely undo the way they’ve lived their lives for centuries. 

I’m sorry, I call BULLSHIT.

The attempts we’ve seen towards this so far in the story have been half-assed at best. Rhysand makes these laws but doesn’t put anything into place to actually enforce them. In ACOMAF, we get this from Devlon, the war lord who rules over the Windhaven camp:

“Another inspection? Your dog,” he jerked his chin toward Cassian, “was here just the other week. The girls are training.”

Rhysand’s strategy to prevent female wing clipping: Tell the violent sexist males with all the power in the camps that it’s banned. Send Cassian in once a week to check up on it. 

That’s it. 

Allow me to demonstrate how utterly ridiculous and contradictory this is.

In ACOMAF, we have the scene where the IC visits the Court of Nightmares (oh don’t worry, we’ll touch on this place in a bit). Right before their departure, Keir insults Feyre and calls her a whore. (Sidenote: no one should ever be called a whore and I am no way in the SLIGHTEST defending Keir but honestly, I don’t know what Rhys expected. It’s like when Rhys goes out of his way to act evil and do evil things and then everyone takes offense to people calling him evil. He dresses Feyre up in skimpy revealing clothing, has her sit on his lap on his throne, and proceeds to basically finger her in front of an entire throne room of people. It’s stated a million times that fae can sense and smell arousal, and both her and Rhys are both completely turned on by this. Feyre calls HERSELF his whore: “The High Lord’s whore. Who I’d become Under the Mountain--who the world expected me to be. The dangerous new pet that Mor’s father would now seek to feel out.” Like. . .buddy, you have her play and act the part of “The High Lord’s whore” and make a public scene in front of a man who has no respect for women, and then are enraged when he calls her a whore. What did you think he would do?? How did you think he would respond?? It’s almost like he was purposely trying to goad Kier into a reaction so he could punish him for it, honestly). 

ANYWAY. . .Keir calls Feyre a whore. And Rhys loses his shit:

Night exploded into the room.

People cried out. And when the darkness cleared, Keir was on his knees.

Rhys still lounged on the throne. His face a mask of frozen rage.

“Apologize”, Rhys said. My heart thundered at the pure command, the utter wrath.

Keir’s neck muscles strained, and sweat broke out on his lip.

“I said,” Rhys intoned with such a horrible calm, “apologize”.

The Steward groaned. And when another heartbeat paused--

Bone cracked. Keir screamed.

And I watched--I watched as his arm fractured into not tow, not three, but four different pieces, the skin going taut and loose in all the wrong spots--

Another crack. His elbow disintegrated. My stomach churned.

Keir began sobbing, the tears half from rage, judging by the hatred in his eyes as he looked at me, then Rhys. But his lip formed the words, I’m sorry.

The bones of his other arm splintered, and it was an effort not to cringe.

Rhys smiled as Keir screamed again and said to the room, “Should I kill him for it?”

No one answered.

Rhys chuckled. He said to his Steward, “When you wake up, you’re not to see a healer. If I hear that you do. . .” Another crack--Keir’s pinkie finger went saggy. The male shrieked. “If I hear that you do, I’ll carve you into pieces and bury them where no one can stand a chance of putting you together again.”

Keir’s eyes widened in true terror now. Then, as if an invisible hand had struck the consciousness from him, he collapsed to the floor.

Rhys said to no one in particular, “Dump him in his room”. 

Now. . .does this in ANY way, shape, or form seem like a man who has trouble getting people who are opposed to him to do what he wants them to do?????????

Rhys doesn’t even move off of his throne and he has Keir groveling on the floor with his arm shattered into pieces. It takes no effort whatsoever on his part. He is, after all, The Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s History, in case you’d forgotten. He later laments to Feyre about how ashamed he is for her to see “that side” of him. Feyre says:

“You’re my friend--and I understand that you’re High Lord. I understand that you will defend your true court, and punish threats against it.”

DO YOU SEE THE RIDICULOUSNESS AT PLAY HERE.

Sarah. You can not have it both ways. You can not have Rhys claim that he is “doing all he can” to defend the Illyrian females and protect them from the violent males in their lives and then simultaneously give us this scene. Keir hates Rhys’s guts and I’m sure would gladly not only refuse every order he gave him, but also run him through with a sword. Does it seem like any bit of this matters in this moment? 

One of the responses to this I stumbled across on Reddit literally floored me. Someone brought up this very argument, that Rhys had more power to control the situation in Illyria if he really wanted to, and I saw several people respond with: “Well, if he literally tried to control them, either through physical intimidation or mind control, then he’d be a tyrant, and that’s not who Rhys is. That’s not who he wants to be. Is that really what you’re suggesting?? You want him to be a tyrant who controls people???”

Um. . .YES???

Like. . .do these people hear what they’re saying??? Do they understand the concept of “context matters”????. Do I want Rhys to walk around flaunting his power over innocent law abiding citizens of the Night Court who are minding their own business and not hurting anybody? Obviously no. But do I want him to use his power in a meaningful way to punish people who are physically mutating and beating women to death??? Hello??? The lengths some people will go to to defend this man is incredible.

What is the POINT of Rhysand having all this power if he doesn’t use it to defend the good and the innocent??? What is the POINT of him being “tHE mOsT poWERful HiGH lORD in PryTHIAN’S hIsTorY” if he sits on his power while innocent people in his court are being abused under his watch???

Spoilers for Queen of Shadows: To me, this is like someone saying Lysandra shouldn’t slit Arobynn’s throat in his sleep because it would make her a murderer. Is that what I want??? For Lysandra to be a murderer?? Does the average person deserve to have their throat slit in their sleep?? No. But does Arobynn?? YES. 

These Illyrian males, if they are behaving in the ways we hear about in the story, DESERVE to have their asses handed to them by Rhysand! They DESERVE whatever punishment comes their way! Don’t want your arm shattered into a million pieces?? Don’t fucking mutilate and beat your wife!!! Easy as that!!

For real change to come about in the Illyrian camps, there needs to be a zero tolerance policy, with public punishment and humiliation, to send a message to everyone that this kind of thing will no longer be tolerated under any circumstances. There needs to be trustworthy people from Rhys’s court stationed there at all times to actually enforce this. I’m not saying that there wouldn't be things that slip past the enforcers, or that Rhys and the Inner Circle have the power to actually change the will and opinions of the males who do this kind of thing. They almost certainly won’t gain any respect from these males. But at the end of the day, it’s very simple. You don’t have to like it, or us, but you WILL stop partaking in this behavior. If you don’t, your consequence is going to be so severe you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it. 

One might ask, This seems pretty straightforward, why hasn’t Rhys attempted anything like this already?? If these males are willing to commit such evil deeds, why even waste his time at all with them? Who CARES if they go rogue and refuse to fight for him anymore? Could it possibly be because he needs the Illyrian soldiers as the main component of his armies? He doesn’t want to outwardly anger these war generals so strongly that they no longer cooperate or associate with him? 

So, what you’re saying is. . .Rhys turns a blind eye to female abuse in his court . .because he needs the might from these people in his armies.

If I’m wrong and you have a rebuttal, I’m all ears. But I’m not really sure what other conclusion I’m supposed to arrive at. Rhys CAN control, humiliate, and intimidate powerful people who go against him. But he’s choosing not to do it here. . .why? Because controlling and intimidating people is bad?? Even if it’s directed towards those who are killing and mutilating innocent people?? I don’t understand and I don’t think I ever will. 

Honestly, I thought the reason Illyria was being left as such a mess was deliberately done, because that was what Nesta’s story and arc was going to revolve heavily around. When they announced in that teaser way back in 2018 that she was going with Cassian to train in the Illyrian mountains, I was fully convinced that that was how she was going to “find herself”, by changing the lives of the Illyrian women and empowering them. I thought she would be a major catalyst in whatever happened there. And. . .that’s not what happened. Maybe that part of the story is still yet to be told, maybe she’s saving it for Azriel’s book or something. . .who knows. For the time being, I guess it’s just there for aesthetics, so the Bat Boys can have a tragic backstory. Still, even if it DOES change in later books, I would still be left wondering why Rhys, who Sarah claims is as different from the other High Lords as humans are to fae, didn’t do something about it sooner. 

On the subject of Illyrians, let’s talk about Feyre and her shape-shifted Illyrian wings for a minute. I’m sure everyone knows what I’m going to say, and you might argue that this is a critique of Feyre’s character and not Rhys’s. I both agree and disagree with that and to explain my reasoning, we’re going to have to back up a little bit. 

I made a post a couple years ago about how Feyre’s title as High Lady holds no real weight in the ACOTAR world and is nothing more than a fancy title and a sign of respect from her husband. Which is admirable in it’s own right, but it’s not truly what all the stans make it out to be. It’s stated as canon fact in the series that the High Lord is determined by whoever this mystical force (is it supposed to be The Mother? I don’t even know) in each court chooses. It’s not a monarchy. If I don’t like my High Lord, I can’t go out and kill him and declare myself the new High Lord. The magic of the court decides who it is. That’s how you end up having people like Tamlin, who have no desire to be High Lord become one. 

Anyway, all of this means that Feyre is NOT equal in power to Rhys, no matter what title he gives her. Let’s pretend their dumb-ass suicide pact doesn’t exist and Feyre can live on if he were to die. If Rhys were to die, Feyre wouldn't continue on as the magical High Lady ruler of the Night Court, while they all just did without a High Lord. The magic would select someone else to be the High Lord, with no regard for her. Feyre is only “High Lady” because Rhys says she is. She has no magical tie to the Night Court. She is a ruler in title only.

Don’t like it? Doesn’t sound very feminist?? Yeah, I’d agree. And for some insane reason, TAMLIN is blamed for the lack of High Ladies in Prythian rather than, uh. . .the woman who created the magic system that made it this way!!! 

(Seriously, the fact that Tamlin is shit on for telling Feyre there are no High Ladies is asinine. Tamlin is not giving personal commentary, he is stating fact. Remember how shocked everyone is when the IC shows up to the High Lord’s meeting in ACOWAR and Rhys announces that Feyre is High Lady? There AREN’T any High Ladies of Prythian! But in ACOMAF, SJM has Rhys tell Feyre that there absolutely are. This is what I mean when I say SJM makes Rhys say and do completely nonsensical things simply for the sake of inflating him as a character. Logic doesn’t have to enter the conversation, if it makes him look good, that’s all that matters. Even if it directly contradicts something SHE wrote!!! It’s mind blowing, honestly). 

Wow, I got REALLY side tracked!! Anyway, you get the point: Feyre’s role as High Lady is really just a fancy title with no true magical tie behind it. But despite this, she is still Rhys’s wife, and therefore a certain level of respect is expected to be given to her. 

And if I were an Illyrian female, I’d find it REAL hard to conjure up any of that respect. 

In my opinion, SJM is guilty of not truly writing these characters with the scope that their immortality entails. Feyre is physically mature and an adult by human standards. But what constitutes an “adult” by fae standards? The IC is collectively thousands of years old. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have a hard time seeing someone in their early twenties as someone super young and naive. Especially if this someone wasn’t born a fae and was only transformed into one within the past couple years. 

Think about it. . .how many times have you had a conversation with someone who is older than you, maybe by generations, maybe by just several years and they’ve made comments about how young you are, or how “one day you’ll feel differently” or “one day you’ll understand”. They speak with a wisdom that they claim comes from simply existing longer and going through phases of life you haven’t reached yet. 

Now imagine somehow being over 500 years old and interacting with someone who is 21. They’d be an infant to you!! 

My point in saying this isn’t necessarily to say that I think Feysand’s relationship is creepy because he’s so much older than her. It’s really to say that, as I’ve stated, you can’t really hold Rhys and Feyre accountable in the same way as far as being high fae leaders goes. She hasn’t been alive even a fraction of the amount of time he has and she wasn’t born a fae. This isn’t her fault and I don’t think it’s something she should necessarily be disrespected for. She’s definitely smart and capable of making her own observations and decisions but at the end of the day, I don’t think you can really argue that it falls back on Rhys to help to guide and navigate her through this political life they lead. Rhys had been leading a country for 500 years by the time Feyre was shitting in diapers. Their experience is NOT the same. 

So at the end of the day, I think that Feyre’s use of Illyrian wings says as much about Rhys as it does about her. 

Imagine the pain and the anger you would feel as an Illyrian woman to see your so-called “High Lady” flaunting the wings you were born with and using them to escape to the freedom of the skies, something you had been denied of against your will. She knows nothing of the trials and tribulations you face each day, the abuse you endure. She was not born into your culture, nor does she take the time to try and help you, or get to know you, or learn about you. But she shifts the Illyrian wings onto her back and takes to the sky to do really important things like have sexual intercourse with the High Lord above the most populated city in the court, while you remain trapped on the ground. Imagine the anger you’d feel at your so-called High Lord, who allows his new wife to flutter around Velaris on perfect un-maimed wings, while claiming he wants to advocate for and protect you but does the bare minimum. 

To be clear: I most certainly hold Feyre accountable for this thoughtless decision. She is more than capable of deciding for herself what she feels is right and wrong. But as I’ve stated, I have a really hard time not also putting part of the blame on Rhys here. As I established, Feyre was not born into fae culture and she is a child compared to most of the fae living in the Night Court. Rhys, on the other hand, is over 500 years old, has Illyrian culture in his bloodline, and has been living among these people, leading them, for almost his entire life. I’d like to think he’d have the foresight to pull Feyre aside and explain to her that while she may not have initially considered it, it could be viewed as disrespectful and offensive for the Illyrian women to see her gallivanting around with Illyrian wings when most of theirs have been clipped. 

If I were an Illyrian women, I think it would be nearly impossible for me not to feel a strong bitterness towards Feyre and Rhysand. One could make the argument that Feyre is young and naive and doesn’t truly understand Illyrian culture. The same argument could NOT be said about Rhys. 

So thanks, High Lord, for flapping around shiny happy Velaris with your wife and her fake Illyrian wings, having kinky Illyrian wing sex, while doing the bare minimum to help and protect the women who were actually BORN with Illyrian wings. 

Alright, moving on from that mess, let’s touch on the Court of Nightmares. 

Now, a lot of what I have to say here is going to be the same as what I said about Illyria. But honestly, I feel like this place gets the even shorter end of the stick. 

One of the most truly bizarre things to me in the ACOTAR series is this idea that the people of Hewn City/the Court of Nightmares are somehow just all evil malicious wicked people who are happy to live sequestered in this underground kingdom. This is a super weird notion and I’m not sure at all how Sarah validates it. Especially when a character like Mor exists. You’re telling me she was the only “dreamer” born into the Court of Nightmares? No one else is suffering the way she was? I don’t get it. 

I’ve heard the argument made before that it’s quite possible that this kind of wickedness is specific only to Mor’s family. I’ve heard people say that we’ve never really seen anything in the Court of Nightmares other than the household she grew up in. So it’s actually quite plausible, people say, that the rest of the court is just a normal court, there’s no evidence to suggest that this kind of abuse is happening among the entire group of people. (They claim we are “reaching” for things to blame Rhys for). 

Yeah, NO. Sorry, that’s just a willfully stupid take. Here’s what we hear about this place from ACOMAF:

“The nobility of the Night Court fall into one of three categories: those who hated me enough that when Amarantha took over, they joined her court and later found themselves dead; those who hated me enough to try to overthrow me and faced the consequences; and those who hated me, but not enough to be stupid and have since tolerated a half-breed’s rule, especially when it so rarely interferes with their miserable lives.”

“Are they--are they the ones who live beneath the mountain?”

A nod. “In the Hewn City, yes. I gave it to them, for not being fools. They’re happy to stay there, rarely leaving, ruling themselves and being as wicked as they please, for all eternity.” 

That was the court he must have shown Amarantha when she first arrived--and its wickedness must have pleased her enough that she modeled her own after it. (pages 175-176)

Not enough to convince you? Here’s Mor explaining it in her own words:

“In the Court of Nightmares,” she went on, that voice falling soft and a bit cold once more, “females are. . .prized. Our virginity is guarded, then sold off to the highest bidder--whatever male will be of the most advantage to our families.”

‘I was born stronger than anyone in my family. Even the males. And I couldn’t hide it, because they could smell it--the same way you can smell a High Lord’s Heir before he comes to power. The power leaves a mark, an. . .echo. When I was twelve, before I bled, I  prayed it meant no male would take me as a wife, that I would escape what my elder cousins had endured: loveless, sometimes brutal, marriages.”

“But then I began bleeding a few days after I turned seventeen. And the moment my first blood came, my power awoke in full force, and even that gods-damned mountain trembled around us. But instead of being horrified, every single ruling family in the Hewn City saw me as a prize mare. Saw that power and wanted it bred into their bloodline, over and over again.”

Is everyone sufficiently convinced now? Okay great. 

And Rhys, by his own omission, allows them to “rule themselves” as a reward for not being foolish enough to challenge HIS authority.

But do they REALLY rule themselves?? Take a second and scroll back up to read the excerpt I already included where Keir calls Feyre a whore and Rhys absolutely wrecks him. Who does it seem like is really in charge here? 

I’m sorry, I get viscerally angry over this. In the Court of Nightmares scene, Keir is written 100% completely and totally as Rhysand’s groveling little bitch. He is literally nothing compared to Rhys. Rhys is total power and domination. Seriously:

He led me the few steps onto the dais--to the throne. He sat, smiling faintly at his monstrous court. He owned every inch of the throne. These people. (page 409)

Before Rhys, Keir was nothing more than a sullen child. Yet I knew Mor’s father was older. Far older. The Steward clung to power, it seemed. 

Rhys was power. (page 411) 

This entire scene honestly disgusts me and is so stupid. Rhys swaggers in and the entire throne room drops to one knee in submission. It’s told over and over that he exudes raw power that no one there can even hope to compete with. We’re told he “owns” the people, that Keir is nothing more than a child compared to him. He snaps his fingers and orders Keir to bring Feyre wine and he does it! Mor calls Rhys “Your High Lord” when speaking to Keir. Keir “grovels” when Rhys suggests that the wine he brought them is poisoned. And then the ordeal where he starts shattering bones in his arm one at a time, forbidding him from seeking any healing on pain of death, eventually knocking him out. 

SO IF THIS IS THE CASE. . .WHY. TOLERATE. KEIR. AT. ALL????????????????

If this is how easy it is to control this man, why on EARTH is he given one INCH of control in this place???? The whole scene loses its meaning entirely. . .why do they need to STEAL this orb from him?? In ACOWAR, why does Rhys need to BARGAIN with him about the use of his armies??? (at the expense of Mor’s feelings and security!!!!) Why are these people ALLOWED to treat females the way they treated Mor??!? 

There are two answers here and both of them are shitty:

Option 1) SJM just wants to write scenes to fulfill her dark!Rhys fetish. She needs the Court of Nightmares for her Rhys aesthetic. That’s where the true reason for scenes like this begin and end. She wants to write scenes where we all marvel and swoon at Rhys’s “raw power”. We don’t need logic, it has no place here. We’re supposed to ignore everything else and just swoon over Rhys, as usual. We’re not really supposed to think too hard about Keir because he’s literally just a prop that is there for the purpose of having Rhys flex his power. It’s the epitome of wanting to have your cake and eat it too. She wants all aspects of what makes Rhys sexy and doesn’t care how she makes it happen. She wants the hot, powerful, wicked High Lord we got to see in ACOTAR, but she also wants the saint she made him out to be in the rest of the series. So we’re just supposed to ignore the fact that in making it plainly obvious that he is able to control these people means that he should be able to apply this to making innocent people’s lives better down there but isn’t. 

Option 2) Rhys is deliberately allowing the wickedness and evil behavior to continue to put on a front for the rest of the world. He says that the Court of Nightmares is the version the outside world gets to see of the Night Court. It’s how Amarantha came to design her own court with it as an inspiration. It’s why everyone has such a negative view of the Night Court. Rhys is praised by the IC and pitied by much of the fandom for the “sacrifice” he makes in putting on this evil front and lets the world believe of him, in order to protect his “true” court--the Court of Dreams, the City of Starlight. I’m sorry, what sacrifice???? What is Rhys sacrificing of himself by doing this? He sits on his throne in total control and power while others grovel at his feet. I’m supposed to feel sorry for him that his reputation is being tarnished by the rest of the world seeing this while people like Mor are having nails driven into their bodies because they went against their family’s wishes regarding their virginity and marriage??? No, I’m sorry. The only people I feel sorry for are the people he is doing this on the backs of. Because the fact of the matter is: Rhys needs an evil court to put on this show for the rest of the world. And you can not have evil people without evil deeds. And you can not have evil deeds without victims. Evil people are evil because of their actions to other people. 

So Option 2 is. . .Rhys is allowing people to be abused in the Court of Nightmares and not putting a stop to it because he needs an “Evil Court” smokescreen to protect his REAL court. 

Again. . .do you see why I have such a hard time liking him???

Also, after ACOMAF the whole world knows about Velaris anyway. So there’s no need for a smokescreen evil court anymore. But has anything changed?? NOPE. 

Not only that. . .but if this is the face he puts on for the people of the Hewn City, this is who most of the people there probably believe him to truly be. If another female, or anyone else really, is in a horrible situation like Mor’s, what would make them think that Rhys is someone they could approach or reach out to for help? They're probably terrified of him! The whole situation is just so fucked up and awful. 

What’s also fucked up and awful is the fact that while all of this exists in both Illyria and the Hewn City, Rhys has a shelter/sanctuary in Velaris for abused women. Sorry, get your fake feminism out of here. You can’t stick that detail into the story and expect it to erase blatant abuse of women happening in two thirds of Rhysand’s court. . .under his watch!!!!! When he has the power to stop it!!! 

I’ve heard many people try and make the claim that Rhys is written to be contradictory in this way to prove that he is a “morally gray character” and to that, I call total bullshit. For one, allowing the blatant abuse of women when you have the power to stop it isn’t “morally gray” , its borderline irredeemable. And two, I’ve said it before. . .listen to SJM talk about Rhys. Read the ACOTAR series. This woman is so far up his butthole, I’m wondering if he somehow offered her her own riverfront mansion. She honestly believes him to be God’s gift to humanity!! 

So again, we’re back to my same age-old question: Is SJM a good writer or a bad writer?? I don’t really think it’s as simple as sticking one word on her writing to label it one way or the other. As I said, I’ve gotten immense enjoyment out of some of Sarah’s work and have been blown away by the places she takes her characters and stories. But in this case. . .it’s objectively awful. You’re giving me this character who you’re constantly telling me is good and righteous and incredible, beating me over the head with the level of worship he gets by the narrative, but then you’re making him do things that are like really blatantly terrible. And he faces NO accountability for it! Like???? You are the author??? You can control the things he does?? If you really believe that he’s that great, why don’t you just write him that way??? Why beat us over the head with how great he is, only to make him do awful things and then completely ignore them?? I’m telling you, it’s almost bizarre. . .like she’s seeing just how far she can go with what people will excuse. It's mind boggling!! 

(Honestly what’s even more mind boggling is the sheer number of people who lap this up and accept it completely. For the life of me, I can not understand how people are so blind to this stuff!) 

You can’t have it both ways, Sarah. You can’t tell us Rhys is the most powerful high lord ever born and expect me to believe that there’s nothing more he can do for Illyrian females and the “dreamers” of the Court of Nightmares. Especially when we’ve seen him demonstrate otherwise! Like I said earlier. . .if he’s not using his power for good, what is even the point of it?? 

So, to sum up: We are told over and over again how utterly powerful and incomparable Rhys is as well as what an honorable and giving High Lord he is. We see raw power displays from him where he swiftly and forcefully exerts brutal punishment on those who offend or go against him without so much as breaking a sweat. Despite this, he adopts a passive view on the Illyrians, banning wing clipping and the mistreatment of females but not doing anything to really enforce it, and continues to allow females in the Court of Nightmares to be abused and brutalized because he needs his evil Night Court aesthetic to protect the IC and Velaris. 

My Ick Factor is OFF THE CHARTS. 

And let me just end by saying….try and picture our Queen and Savior, Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius allowing the mutilation and abuse of women in Terrasen because “change is slow to happen”….and she needed some armies. AELIN WOULD NEVER.

It is a dream of mine to see her humble Rhys.

So, yeah. . .Rhys is a terrible High Lord. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Part 3 is probably my most highly anticipated rant---we’ll call it “Let’s Talk About Tamlin”. Coming soon! 

[lia-land]

Winter by Marissa Meyer

5/5

What a beautiful story. I have nothing bad to say about this book. This might actually be the first time.

This is the sixth book I’ve read this year that was over 800 pages, but this is the first one that didn’t feel like it. It was perfectly paced and the plot didn’t feel overly complicated at any point. With books this long, the characters or plot or both can sometimes feel tedious, but this was so good.

I thought I might find this series too childish, but I didn’t at all. It’s a great story that didn’t rely on shock value through random and underdeveloped plot twists, as many YA books tend to do these days. I really like how she introduced characters throughout this series. For example, we met Thorne in book 2, and then he ends up being the main love interest in book 3, similar to how we met Jacin in book 3 and he’s a main character in book 4. They were subtle introductions where we could form opinions on the characters prior to knowing that they were love interests. I would give this book 5 stars just for this alone.

I immediately noticed from Chapter 1 that we are getting more detailed descriptions of surroundings. I’ve found Meyer to be an author who mostly relies on dialogue, which I personally prefer, as some authors tend to overdo it with the descriptions (Sarah J Maas' interior design book aka Tower of Dawn). Meyer strikes a great balance of both in this book. I often find with YA series that quality of writing tends to decrease as the series goes on and publishers rush things, but this was the complete opposite. I enjoyed Winter as much as Cinder and Cress, and much more than Scarlet.

In YA, authors tend to simplify wars. Often, huge wars happen and they end in a matter of days. That is not entirely realistic (not that fantasy has to be realistic, but this specifically tends to be skipped over lazily). Of course, wars can and have ended in a matter of days in real life, but that’s very uncommon. Here, Meyer maintained that battle element, while also not turning into a full on war, so that she could end the actual battle in one night. This is also beneficial for us as readers because action scenes in YA are not always popular, especially when they’re only introduced in the final book of the series. The main fight in this book was contained to one night and it was on a smaller scale, so it remained more realistic while also not adding a bunch of action scenes. My expectations were low in this regard, so I was expecting for there to be a huge war between Luna and Earth contained into this one book, bur Meyer made the right decision in not doing that.

The ending was perfectly done. I would like to read more books about the characters lives following the events of Winter, but I don’t absolutely need it. (Update: I've since seen that Meyer has written non-canon short stories in this world. This is the best way to do it for this ending. Veronica Roth should take notes). The ending didn’t leave any obvious unanswered questions, in my opinion. It was a very well written story from start to finish. Even though I didn’t enjoy Scarlet, I can appreciate that it was a good story that tied into the rest of the series well and Scarlet as a character became very likeable in this final book.

The length of this book is interesting because it’s more than twice as long as the previous books in this series. I wonder if this was for contractual reasons or if she just wanted to keep the theme of naming each book after a different character, and didn’t want to ruin that by separating this story and making it a 5 book series or introducing a fifth fairytale.

My favorite aspect of this book and this series as a whole is how Meyer integrated all the stories, while still maintaining their importance as independent characters. Perhaps this applies slightly less to Wolf (and Scarlet until the second half of Winter). With this many main characters, it would have been easy for some of them to get lost in the background, but it was very well executed here.

Overall, this entire plot was so unique. This is a take on fairytale retellings that will be very hard to beat. I can’t understand why this series is not more popular than it is. It would also be such an amazing TV show, although expensive. I hope this story gets the recognition it deserves one day. I’m really going to miss these wonderful characters, even Wolf

[alltheworldsinmyhead]

Fic writer interview

I was tagged by @marauders-groupie - thank you so much love, this was so fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

51

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

287865

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin (17)

The 100 (TV) (13)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga (11)

Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo (3)

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas (3)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2)

Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (1)

Miraculous Ladybug (1)

also, not on ao3, but during Dark FF.Net Ages: Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Teen Wolf and Mortal Instruments and probably dozens more I can’t remember rn.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of them are for Gendry x Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire

1. I’ll spend this summer by your side - childhood friends to lovers, arranged marriage, canon divergence

 2. your lips, my lips, apocalypse - modern au, smut

3. on and on it spins - modern au, outsider’s POV

4. it was a pretty good bad idea, wasn’t it though? - friends to lovers, smut, modern au

5. our love full of storms - domestic, hurt/comfort, kid fic, modern au

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do - I love interacting with readers in the comments section and it gives me a chance to re-read said comments (which instantly makes my day. every time and without fail)

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

For ASOIAF: somewhere between sorrow and bliss probably. It’s also easily the most controversial thing, fandom-wise, I’ve ever written hahah. for now i am winter and be still, my tongue are pretty damn angsty too

For FMA:B : soon you'll get better cause this fic is high-key me processing my mom’s death and i’ll never get used to it

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yup, most notably on here's to the mess we make - oh, good old days of bellarke vs clexa fandom war. Miss it now

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yup, both explicit and kinda vague. I think I wrote vanilla a few times too, but I definitely most enjoy writing kinky sex with BDSM elements

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I had, I am unaware

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Same as above

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

As you can clearly see in the list of the fandoms I write for, it changes quite often. I would say my all time fav OTPs are probably gendrya, royai, stydia, bellarke, victuuri and kanej, but tbh this list is never-ending and never-closing

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’ve got a few gendrya stories started but I don’t think I’ll come back to writing for this ship 

15. What are your writing strengths?

Tbh, I have no idea. I was praised for my descriptions a lot and I guess I am generally happy with the flow of my fics. 

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots, PLOTS! I cannot construct plots for shit. Also, English is not my native language so I obviously make lots of mistakes which I cannot always detect myself. 

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it’s done well, it’s a fantastic technique (Murder Ballad comes to my mind especially). But it is not very often done well and it can be very distracting and irritating for the reader. 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Probably Harry Potter, but it was over 15 years ago so who the hell knows. 

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

it's still you (the 100) - I have a deep, deep fondness for this fic, even for how unpolished it is

our love full of storms (ASOIAF) - probably the best thing I’ve ever written, tbh

somewhere between sorrow and bliss (ASOIAF)  - the one fic where i went with my guts instead of choosing the ending my readers wanted me to choose

i’m tagging @yanak324, @duskandstarlight and @whatanybodygets cause i am VERY curious of their answers

[exciting]

please do your anti-recommendation list !!!! dying to see if we hate the same ones >:)

I could very likely get hastag cancelled for this, but I essentially have very strong opinions about YA / NA fantasy novels that are doing the bare minimum, with fandoms that are absolutely rabid and I seldom see critical thought in? Enemies to lovers esque shit, but instead of the Romeo & Juliette (inherently problematic in itself) "we have ideological differences, potentially brought on by structures larger than ourselves, but at the core we are not that different, we overcome those differences to find love" it's very much "Boy abuses girl, boy treats girl like rabid animal. Girl abuses boy back. Often, couple is isolated from the outside world & develop a stockholm-esque love for each other. Boy sees girls scars, insert 'who did that to you!' even though boy has potentially hurt the girl just as badly (but iTs dIFfErEnT). Boy gets *righteously angry*, prior toxicities of relationship are brushed away, happily ever after". ALSO the very "Taming Of the Shrew" type trope of "domesticating a girl to make her fall in love" makes me go absolutely FERAL. NOT TO MENTION that often there is the most tokenistic diversity in these kinds of books, which makes me feel like exfoliating my face <3 I could keep going; realistically I have at least 5 essay-length rants locked & loaded at any one time about this genre in particular (is that cringe? Maybe, who cares, I'm hot <3)... but I'm obviously just stalling...

Anyway, my list of books you should not read but rather go and look at the One Star GoodReads section are:

Sarah J Maas' ACOTAR Series (Especially ACOSF, the one star reviews kept me afloat through that shitshow) AND her Crescent City Series (Criticism as above)... on that note, MOST books titled "A *blank* of *blank* and *blank*" are bound to be tropey & problematic; Leigh Bardugo's KOS series (Which she clearly just wrote to provide new content for the TV show, so pop off I guess... but it shouldn't be considered canon); Melissa Broder's The Pisces (the protag's head was a horrible place to be in); C.S. Pacat's Captive Prince Series (Do NOT)... also the classics like anything past like the halfway point of the first Twilight book (You only need to know up to the vampire reveal to be able to make fun of it <3); any Twilight BDSM derivitive (1. It's weird that there's more than one, 2. WattPad fictions are literally better than these); Harry Potter (Is the concept cool and a cultural cornerstone? Maybe. Is the writing style overrated? Absolutely); and, most importantly, as you probably gathered from above, I fucking HATE Taming of the Shrew <3

There are considerably more that I have read recently & hated with a passion because they were just badly written, but most of those were ARC's from the publisher and either unpublished or recently published so I feel bad slandering them lmao... anyway, bone apple tea, enjoy x

[bookswithelli]

a darker shade of magic: review

synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

review under the cut!

stars: ★★★★☆

First of all, although I rated this book 4 stars, there were some issues with it (mainly involving representation and characterization). I rated it 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it despite its issues, but I recognize that the mediocre representation may turn others away from this book.

characters & representation

Before I begin this section of the review, I would like to say that I am not visually impaired and therefore do not have any authority on that subject. My comments on the treatment of Lila's missing eye are merely based on my own observations and what I have heard from visually impaired people on the topic.

Lila:

A cross-dressing thief and aspiring pirate with a penchant for knives, Lila Bard brings to mind the likes of Inej Ghafa from Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean. There were times when I really liked Lila; she can be sassy and morally questionable which is always interesting to see when well done. However, her character had a few issues that I wanted to address.

“Delilah Bard looked like a king. No...she looked like a conqueror.” pg. 289

When will fantasy authors stop romanticising conquerors and colonization?! This may be a smaller issue since aside from White London (which is villainized) there is no mention of it in the overarching plot, but this line just really bothered me. It makes me think that V.E. Schwab is a fan of adult and YA fantasy authors like Sarah J. Maas and others who write their main characters to be colonizers and romanticize it in the process. I don’t think this line was necessary at all, and I wish the second sentence had been removed or modified to something a little less problematic (e.g. she looked like a pirate/captain/etc.)

"How did you lose it...your eye?" -Master Tieren, pg. 327

It is revealed near the end of the book that Lila has been missing an eye for as long as she can remember, and she wears a glass eye as a replacement. This is all well and good, but the consequences of her impaired vision are never explored. The only reason the reader knows that Lila is missing an eye is because the author tells them. The narrative never discusses how Lila's lack of an eye affects her day to day life, and it's only brought into the story when it is needed for the plot.

It’s also worth mentioning that Lila is the only female character with a large role in this book, and no matter how “feminist” her character is, there’s not a lot of women in this book that are portrayed positively and with depth.

Rhy:

I actually really liked Rhy and I loved his relationship with Kell. I love sibling love in books and we so rarely get positive sibling relationships, so this was nice to see! It’s also really important to have queer people of color in books. However, I don’t think Rhy’s character is good bi/pan representation (I will refer to him as bi in this review for the sake of brevity, but it’s worth mentioning that neither term is mentioned so Rhy could canonically identify as either).

“He would flirt with a nicely upholstered chair, and he never takes anything seriously.” -Kell, pg. 254

As a queer girl who has identified as bisexual in the past and may in the future, this is bad bi rep 101. Schwab is perpetuating the stereotype of the “promiscuous bi”, or one who flirts and/or sleeps with everyone and everything. This is not a bad characteristic in itself, but it is harmful bi rep because that is the way every bi character is portrayed in media. It reinforces the idea that bisexual people in real life are all like this, and it also reinforces biphobes’ points of view when they say that bisexual people are more likely to cheat because they sleep with more people. This is pretty much the most common stereotype of a bisexual person, so while I doubt that Schwab intended to be harmful in her portrayal of Rhy, it shows that she did not do much research on LGBT+ rep when writing her characters. I do know that some bi people were not bothered by this; however, I believe that writers should stay away from stereotypes, especially when writing characters that are marginalized. Even though promiscuity is not an inherently bad trait, it is harmful when applied to bisexual people because it reinforces real peoples’ beliefs and affects real life bisexuals. This is especially important here because Rhy is the only narrative-confirmed LGBT+ character in the first book. It's not the worst representation I've seen, since Rhy does have a personality outside his flirtatiousness and promiscuity (in fact, it's confirmed that this is a coping mechanism for him) but it's certainly not the best, and I'm just tired of seeing bisexual people represented this way in fiction.

Kell:

I know a lot of people who didn’t like Kell very much, and that is understandable. However, I found him really compelling. It’s refreshing to see a male lead in this genre who’s not jacked and a brooding asshole whose only redeeming quality is his dick size. He’s definitely moody, but not to the point where he becomes an abusive alpha male type guy (yes, I am aware that this is a very low bar). I genuinely enjoyed his character because he’s flawed. He’s stubborn and moody but he’s incredibly caring and he genuinely wants to help people. He feels alienated from his family so he rebels and gets himself in trouble. His character is written well because he’s not perfect by any means, but he’s still likeable and you still root for him.

Holland:

Holland is what every YA love interest wishes they were. Honestly. He’s given no excuses for his actions, and yet he is still sympathetic. You understand that he is under the control of Astrid and Athos, but you also understand that all he has done for years is carry out their orders, and that changes a person. His story is heartbreaking, but that doesn’t change what he has done. He knows it, Kell knows it, Lila knows it, the reader knows it. Honestly, if he were in a YA fantasy romance, I bet Holland would be the love interest; his female “mate” would change him for the better, and he would never face the consequences of his actions. That makes his arc in this story all the more enjoyable. Holland is one of my favorite characters of all time, and not because he’s a perfect “book boyfriend” or whatever, but because his story and character are genuinely interesting and executed well.

worldbuilding

I loved the worldbuilding in this book. There was a bit of an info-dump in the beginning, but I’m willing to look past that because the world was so engaging and interesting that I forgot about the dense first chapter once I got past it. Each London has a distinct feel, and they are all almost tangible. The descriptions of each made me feel like I was in the Londons along with Kell and Lila. It seems like the system would be complicated, but Lila sums it up well:

“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London.” -pg. 198

After the initial info-dump, Schwab weaves information about the magic system seamlessly through the book, leaving enough mystery for the reader to wonder at what might happen in the next books, but never leaving out so much that the reader is confused. I really appreciated the rules that existed around magic. It’s draining, and Antari magic requires blood, which means there is a limit to how much you can perform at once. Magic is seen to affect the world beyond the characters and their main conflict, which I was very happy about as well. There are too many fantasy novels where the magic system has no rules and only exists to further the plot, but in this world you can see it everywhere. The politics of Red London and White London are affected by magic, even where it is not necessarily relevant to the plot. You can see small amounts of magic being performed in the streets of Red London: spells to protect from thieves, etc. Magic is normal for the people in Red London, and it is treated as such in the text.

pacing & plot

This book flew along. I’ve read it multiple times now, and every time, I can’t stop until I finish. And then I want to move along to the next book immediately. It manages to keep up a great pace and still build up to an exciting climax. Schwab’s lyrical writing is not flowery, but it draws the reader in and carries them along the story effortlessly. It’s very engaging and accessible language, which makes it a good stepping stone into adult fantasy (especially if you’re coming from YA).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The representation that it gets praised so highly for is disappointing, but aside from that I enjoyed most of the characters and the writing was beautiful. The plot and world were engaging and made me want to read the second book immediately (even though I’m on my 3rd or 4th reread). I would recommend this book for fans of YA fantasy who want to get into adult fantasy - this book is categorized as adult, but I found it a lot easier to read than other adult fantasies. For me, this book is a reminder that you can recognize the flaws in a book and still enjoy it, so remember to stay critical, even of your favorite books :)

[writing-with-olive]

 so no one actually tagged me in this, but I thought it would be really cool to do one of these, and I came across this set of questions, so I decide to just go for it! 

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them.

1. Are there any writers you look up to?

absolutely. right now, my top favorites are Sarah J. Maas, and Rick Riordan. I love their writing styles, and their characters. I love how deep each of the characters are. SJM especially. Rick Riordan's style is also super funny, which is difficult for me to do personally, but I'm trying :) I've read most of each of their books at least six times each.

2. What made you start writing?

I've "started" writing several times. When I was younger, say 3-4, we had writing time in my preschool, where we took these pictures precut for us from magazines and glued it on paper and wrote a story about it. I've had writing time in almost all of my classes until I got to fourth grade when it stopped. 

I started writing seriously when one of my teachers began a writer's workshop class when I was in sixth grade. I've been writing ever sense.

3. On a scale of one-to-ten, how good would you say your writing is?

Well that depends. My WIP in general? or my writing right now? I've improved so much that the scores are drastically different. Right now, I'd say somewhere about a 6-7. Not bad, but still a lot of room for growth. My WIP in general? probably closer to a 5. I've been working on Project Toxin (my WIP) for over a year now, and you can tell the progress I've made as a writer just by looking at the prose in the beginning versus the end. It's not a bad thing though; I'm glad that I'm getting better.

4. How do you come up with your characters?

Most times, characters just come to me, half formed, and a little flat. It's more about making them whole characters than just completly coming up with new ones. Usually a string of dialogue comes first, or just a general attitude about the world. Sometimes it's an ability or situation, though, and I just build on it from there. If characters are created out of necessity, then I start with how they're supposed to interact with my main character, and then build backward: why did they do that? what would prompt them to act like that. After I get to their backstory, then I can really turn them into 3D characters.

5. Who was the first character you ever came up with?

Oof. I don't actually remember. The earliest that I actually put effort into writing (rather than a few paragraphs and giving up) and still remember the name was a character naimed Reagan. She was kinda flat to be honest, and didn't have much of a personality, but I do remember that she was the Smart One in the group.

6. Who is the most recent character you have come up with?

Recently I came up with a character named Caemryn, (pronounced Camron, I just needed the name to fit with the setting). She's kinda selfish, and really only cares about her survival. She's got magic, which is kinda the biggest thing you can get discriminated against in her world. She's also an orphan because her parents left her after they realised she had been born with magic. After that hurt, she won't admit she loves anyone in any way, and doesn't talk to people unless she really has to. Also she's canonically aroace (and no, it's not because of trauma. her aroace-ness came first)

7. What would you give for any one of your characters to become real?

That really depends on the character. I think that some characters would do a lot more harm than good if they were real (we really do not need people in this world who abduct children just for the psychological effect). One of my characters, though Quinn Erto, is really cool though, so I would give a lot for them to become real. Just maybe not their brother. Quinn's brother is kinda an asshole sometimes.

8. What would you say is the strangest thing you have ever written?

I wrote a short story (emphasis on short) about riding a moose while going down a zipline in a combative version of capture the flag at one point.

9: Do you have any lines you recently wrote that you are particularly proud of?

Not really regarding my main WIP's - most of the stuff I've been doing this month has been worldbuilding/planning/character dev for my new WIP, so I haven't written much in the way of prose recently.

That being said, I wrote a flash fiction piece earlier today, and one of the lines I really like is:

"Then everyone gasps - ya know, like you do when a child shows you a piece of splattered paint and you have to show them How Cool It Looks, and you smile really big. But the sky is unlike any child's splatter of paint. So much more."

I think it just captures the voice of the narrator really well, and I think it's also kinda funny, which is something I usually have a very hard time writing.

10. Would you prefer to write for yourself, or an audience?

Sort of a mix of both, but mostly for myself. I love seeing the stories come to life, but at the same time, I'm going to share them eventually, when I publish them. But I think even if I wasn't going to publish them, I would still write, which I guess means I write more for myself. 

11. Do you listen to music while you write?

Absolutely. It can't be anything with words, unless the words really fit the scene I'm writing, but anything instrumental is awesome. I particularly like listening to soundtracks, as long as they're not the actual songs from the movie. (so like the background music). Recently, I've found The Mandalorian to be a really good soundtrack to write to.

my questions:

1. What time of day do you usually get your writing in?

2. Who’s your favorite character to write for? (and why?)

3. What style/genre do you prefer to write in?

4. Why do you write?

5. How did you choose the premise of your WIP?

6. Who do you think has made the most impact on your writing?

7. What kind of scenes do you have the most fun writing (dialogue, kissing, fight, travel, etc)

8. How has social distancing influenced your writing?

9. Do you drink coffee or tea when you write? or something else?

10. Have you/do you plan to publish any of your WIP’s?

11. What other media or real life has inspired your story (books, movies, shows, video games, real life events, plays, etc)

I’m tagging @writing-with-melon, @pens-swords-stuff, @owlsofstarlight, @writingonesdreams, @theupdatednotepad, @trickster-writes, @saxoniowrites, @marewriteblr, @bebewrites, @jessicacaseyauthor, @ingrid-sterling

[thebookishgoddess]

ELLA’S MONTHLY WRAP-UP: SEPTEMBER 2018

I’m not going to lie. September was a slow month for reading, in my most honest opinion. Mainly because I’ve only just gotten used to my work schedule. And lo’ and behold, that schedule changes right into October. Life’s never really simple in this industry I work in--making it hard for me to read my beloved books. But it’s not to say it hasn’t been a great month overall! I’ve received a few amazing books from some close bookish friends, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Also, September was the month of The 39th Manila International Book Fair here in the Philippines and let’s just say it’s been a semi-blast (mostly because I didn’t get to see my #LadyBirds because arghhh work), but it was fun because I got to go with two of my co-workers! More on that in this wrap-up, so let’s get right into it!

So if you guys followed my August Wrap-Up, you all know I just got a job last month and it was super new to me. It still feels a bit new even after a month of working for the industry I’m in. It’s not the first time I worked in this industry, but it is the first time where I managed to get a decent dayshift--just very crappy rest days. But overall, I’m slowly getting used to it, and the whole month of September working in my job just proves that I just needed time to adjust to it.

And adjusting to work also meant adjusting my reading schedule. Let me tell you, it has not been easy. The best I could do on a regular work day is read my books/listen to my audiobooks during break time or when there’s no work to be done on a particular day. I mostly do my reading on my rest days, though two days really isn’t enough to read as many books as I wish in one go. Ya girl’s gotta get her decent shut eye at some point.

But less into that, and more into some of the actual bookish things that’s happen this month!

39TH MANILA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR

September was, as I’ve mentioned in the intro, the month for The 39th Manila International Book Fair. It is the biggest book fair in the country to date, the closest we can get to a YALLFest or BEA here, mainly. I normally go with friends to this yearly event, though sadly, with my schedule being Thursdays to Mondays, I only managed to go on the first day of the event (which was on a Wednesday). But it’s not to say I didn’t have fun!

I went to MIBF with my co-worker, RB, and my Team Leader, Ces. You guys could not believe my delight when I heard that a few people at work loves to read books as much as I do. The moment I told them there was a book fair, they were stoked to come with--and am actually surprised they’ve never heard of it before.

We went on the first day (Wednesday) and bought just a few books because we were into the second week after payday so we had very few funds to start with! Here’s my mini MIBF haul:

Mini MIBF Haul: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir & A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I was so frustrated because Book Binge Bazaar happened on a day when I was at work. Luckily, I was able to go because the BBB at MIBF is up until 12 midnight. I come out at 8 in the evening, and I just knew I had to go to the BBB event even if I was only left with leftover books after a whole day of bookworms hoarding every P175 book they can find. I managed to get three for myself, one each for my co-worker and Team Leader, and one for my little brother.

Mini BBB Haul: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead, The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid and The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.

It was not a lot, but it felt good to at least get a few books from this amazing sale!

BOOK TRADE WITH BOOKISH FRIENDS

After the big #BookishWish event on Twitter had slowly died out into September, I thought that it shouldn’t end this way. So I started up a little trade train on my Twitter account. Granted, I was only able to offer up two books from my pile--but I was happy to give those two books new homes.

I was also able to receive one of the books on my #BookishWish, plus a lil’ gift from one of my #LadyBirds friends from the BBB event that I wasn’t able to get much into.

I traded out my copy of These Rebel Waves with #LadyBird Shai (@themeanderingsoul) for her Throne of Glass copy. Then I traded my Don’t Look Back with #LadyBird Angel (@whimsy_wanders) for her Beauty Queens copy.

Mini Book Trade Haul: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas & Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.

And a little (or not so little, considering how big this hardcover was) post-birthday gift from one of my #LadyBirds, Ailla (@MioneJeanPotter)! She snagged me a gorgeous hardcover of A Court of Misty and Fury from the BBB event. I cannot thank her enough for this precious copy!

Post-Birthday Gift: A Court Of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Last, but not the least though, the last #BookishWish granted from the event. The Scorpio Races PLUS a little Matthias Helver from the Six of Crows Duology magnetic bookmark from one of my closest and dearest friends in college, Clare (@thebookishpoppet)! I traded my copy of An Ember In The Ashes (one that I got from Shai) over to hers because she wanted to read it after she saw how I raved about it. I’m super excited for her to dabble into the beauty that is the Ember Quartet.

#BookishWish: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

BOOKS READ THIS MONTH

Adjusting to this month with my reading was very difficult, so I was only able to read a handful of books. I mostly just finished the rest of the ACOTAR books and decided that I will do one reread this year of the amazing Harry Potter series.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Now, you guys may be wondering why I haven’t written a review for the ACOTAR books yet, especially since I’ve expressed several times that I enjoyed reading this series and even went as far as to purchase merch for it.

The honest answer? I was too lazy to write one out. I had planned on writing a review for ACOTAR the moment I finished it, but September was a difficult month to get book reviews out.

Will I ever write a book review for the books? Probably not. My thoughts for the books are long overdue. But to give an overall impression of the books, let’s just say that I absolutely enjoyed all of it. Also, ACOFAS is lowkey not canon because that book was a disaster POV wise and plot wise. I think majority of the fandom can agree with me on that. But I do look forward to more ACOTAR books! I have all three of the series’s books (not intending to buy ACOFAS at all lmao), so that says a lot. I am excited to see where Maas takes the rest of these characters to. I heard there were going to be spinoffs for each character/ship, so we’ll see!

When will you start reading new books? Riiiiight after I finish Harry Potter. I wanted to cheat on my Goodreads a little bit after I made a bloody fool of myself by changing my reading stats of 30 books to 50 books, so I must pay the price. But I will say that I’ll get into Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco right after! I just purchased the book on my second salary and I’ve been tempted the whole way home to read it. But I have to wait just a little more for it.

SEPTEMBER BOOK HAUL

It’s an amazing month for filling up my bookshelf! I can’t thank my friends, MIBF and BBB enough for lessening my shelf space. To be honest, my bookshelf is more of a book trunk at this point. I’m still asking my dad to make me a bookshelf. He said he might have one made for on Christmas, so we’ll see!

Thanks for tuning in to my little rambles for September’s wrap-up! I look forward to writing something out for this blog again, especially with NaNoWriMo looming ever closer. But that’s another story to tell right before October ends.

Happy October and autumn, everyone!

[musicislife1396]

So, I was planning to do a review post today. But I just really didn’t feel like being thoughtful and critical and all that. So as I was watching some Booktube in procrastination, I came across this tag. I saw Sam from Thoughts on Tomes do it, and I believe the original creator is Kirstin @ Kirstin Reads. Even though people sometimes OTPs from film and TV, I will only use book couples because otherwise, this will turn into a full blown dissertation on my ships.

Alright, here we go. Prepare for a lot of fangirling, ranting and so forth. This is going to be a long post. Grab some popcorn.

1. Pick an unpopular OTP that you ship

Hmm… I’m not sure how unpopular this is because it’s the Harry Potter fandom. I don’t think there is any ship that is unpopular in the Harry Potter fandom, but Snape and Lily Potter. I love Snape and I wanted him to be happy. And I understand that it wasn’t going to be a good relationship and I absolutely think that Lily did the right thing getting away because it was toxic. Although, I personally feel like she made a  mistake giving up on him, not necessarily as a romantic interest, but as a friend. I strongly believe in not giving up on your friends. I will go to hell just to drag a friend out of there and I think that’s one of the most powerful kinds of love that is or should be the foundation of romantic relationships as well. And for all his faults, Snape had that loyalty, that unconditional love that cannot be explained by infatuation or attraction or fluffy romantic butterflies. That’s why some of my favourite OTPs are based on friendship.

I didn’t necessarily want them to be canon, but my heart still ships them together in a “What if” sort of way. And I also personally believe that, at least as far as we are shown, which might be biased because we only see Snape’s memories, but I don’t think James Potter was a good choice either. He was immature and an ass and we don’t see him growing out of that. So I really don’t care at all about that relationship.

Okay, that derailed. I feel very passionately about this. I have written longer essays than this on obscure, background Harry Potter stuff. But let’s move on now.

2. Pick an OTP that you didn’t ship at first but do now

I don’t really know what to say for this. I usually either ship a couple or I don’t. Well, sometimes I’m just indifferent. But I don’t think I’ve ever not shipped a couple and then shipped them. Actually, I have just not from books, so for this question I will pick a TV couple and that is Willow and Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I did not like Tara at first at all. And I was a hardcore Willow/Oz shipper and I wanted them to get back together and I just did not like this ship at all. But then Tara really grew on me. And especially after re-watching the show. I still don’t really like her as a character in season 4. But I do like her in later seasons. My favourite Willow OTP is still her and Oz, but her and Tara are my second. I really, really hate everyone else that Willow is ever with. I can’t… just no.

3. Pick your most hated NOTP

BUFFY AND RILEY! Okay, I said I’m not doing TV shows, but I needed that out there. My most hated book NOTP… there are different ways I could look at this. I could tell you just an OTP that I hate because I hate the book and the characters. Or I could tell you an OTP that that I just don’t like them together. I’m going to do both, because I can’t decide.

An OTP that I just hate because I hate the book and the characters is Mare and prince whatever his name is. Cal, Cat, Cam. I don’t even remember. I absolutely hate Mare with a passion, if you’ve read my review of Glass Sword, you know how much I hate that book and Mare in particular. I don’t really have a problem with Cal. I just don’t care about him because he’s so one-dimensional and tropey and boring that I just don’t care.

And one OTP that I just don’t ship them together is Celaena Sardothien and Chaol from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.

 Art by Linneart

I never particularly liked Chaol. I don’t hate him, but he’s a little bit too boring and self-righteous for my taste. But I really did not like him with Celaena. I literally ship her with anyone else more than I ship her with Chaol. Anyone. I got a really sibling-y vibe from them for some reason and I don’t… that’s just wrong. I can’t ship that. It doesn’t work for me. And I really think that their relationship was completely ruined by them being together. I think there was potential for a good friendship there, but it was completely ruined and that kind of annoys me.

4. Pick an OTP that took waaaayyyy too long to get together

I don’t have any such OTP. I quite enjoy slow-burn romances. I hate, hate, hate insta love and I actually really like relationships where the two partners grow together, grow to know and love each other. So I don’t have an answer for this.

5. Pick your favourite non-canon OTP

I don’t know… maybe Ruby and Clancy from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I mean, not really. I like Clancy because he’s so clever and scheming. I don’t particularly care about Ruby though. I don’t know. I can’t think of any other answer though, so I’ll go with Ruby and Clancy.

6. Pick Your favourite BROTP

Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Forever. I just love them, they’re my babies. I love their friendship so much, I don’t even know how to explain my love for them, I just ugh! I love them. That scene in Clockwork Princess. If you’ve read the book, you know which one I’m talking about. When Will is on his way to… wherever he was going. It broke my heart. I cried so much just… I cried.

7. Pick an OTP you adored in the books but not as much in the movie or tv adaptation

Jace and Clary from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

Art by Firelordwael

I love Clace. I am a very hardcore Clace shipper, but I did not really feel the relationship in either of the adaptations. I did not like Jace at all in the film, even though I loved Lily Collins as Clary. And in the show… I’ve yet to see season 2 of it. But I had a lot of problems with the first season of the show and the relationship between Clary and Jace was one of them. I didn’t feel it at all.

8. Pick a popular OTP that no matter how hard you tried you just can’t ship it

Dorian and Sorscha or whatever her name is from Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Mass. I can’t even find any nice fanart of them.

I’m always picking the same series, but I just really didn’t like this relationship. I know a lot of people did and were really upset by what happened, but I just didn’t really care. I was even a bit relieved, because it just rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like that relationship was used as a crutch and I don’t like that kind of relationship. I like relationships where the two partners make each other better. And that just wasn’t it.

It wasn’t a good, healthy relationship. They had nothing in common. Her crush on him felt like a celebrity crush and I felt like he was only with her because he was broken and lost and needed a crutch. And I think that a lover is never a good crutch. At least, not a new lover. Like, getting into a new relationship as a crutch… I don’t like that. I don’t agree with it, I cannot get behind it no matter how much I try.

9. Pick your favourite LGBT+ OTP

Hmmm… I’m gonna go with Alucard and Rhy from the Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab.

Art by Victoria Ying

I love this series. I love all the characters. I just, I love them. Nothing more to say.

10. Pick your al time favourite OTP/s

I mean, there are so many! I would say maybe Feyre and Rhys. My babies.

Art by Charlie Bowater

Some other ships I absolutely love are Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

Art by projectnelm

Will and Tessa from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Art by Taratjah

To name a few. I could go on and on naming OTPs and showing you pretty fanart, but this post is long enough as it is, so I will stop here.

Feel free to do this tag if you want to. Let me know some of your ships, let me know if you agree or disagree with some of the things I said.

OTP Book Tag So, I was planning to do a review post today. But I just really didn't feel like being thoughtful and critical and all that.

[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).