#problematic MMCs

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

Spoilers ahead!

TWs: Abuse, ableism mention, miscarriage mention, suicide mention, stalking, revenge porn mention, child death mention, non-consensual somnophilia mention, forced pregnancy, rape mention

Problematic Millionaire/Billionaire/CEO/Tycoon Romance Male Leads Who Make Hades (Lore Olympus) Look Like Perfection Incarnate!

I ranked these guys differently here, color-wise, than I did on a certain list of mine.

The billionaire MMC (male main character) is a problematic romance hero known for generally being an asshole to his lover — Hades stands as THE ultimate exception to that rule — so I chose characters that stand out from the others regarding their douchebaggery towards the FMCs.

Cesare Falcone and his lover — The manga adaptation left out a lot of stuff, but it sure visually captured his jerkass energy perfectly. Don't let his orange status 🟠 fool you into thinking he's less of a cruel hero. This dude, not even a dark romance MMC, told his wife he would kill her if she cheated on him. Maybe he was bluffing, but still... yikes.

Billionaires are the dukes of contemporary romance, and vice versa (historical romance).

All of these guys got a HEA. Or will get one, in James Roth's case.

Top = Most Problematique

⚫ Richard Payne (Dark Obsession series by Zoe Blake)

Known for gaslighting his object of obsession into believing she was "actually" in the 19th century.

⚫ Gage Channing (The Devil's Kiss series by Gemma James)

Blackmailed the heroine to become his slave, or else he would have turned her over to the police and not paid for her sickly daughter's cancer treatment if she hadn't given in to his demands.

⚫️ Drew Kelley (The Underestimated series by Jettie Woodruff)

Abused his wife for 6 years over something that wasn't her fault.

⚫ Tony Rawlings (Consequences series by Aleatha Romig)

The man was a woman's worst nightmare.

He influenced the course of FMC's life for years, since she was a college sophomore (about 19 years old). His plans led to her abduction at the age of 26.

⚫ Joshua Smith (Tamara, Taken by Ginger Talbot)

A sadistic, billionaire/serial killer.

⚫ Quincy "Q" Mercer (Monsters in the Dark series by Pepper Winters)

🔴 Matthias von Herhardt (Cry, or Better Yet, Beg by Solche)

Coerced the heroine into becoming his mistress. She needed him to get her uncle/father-figure out of prison.

🔴 Nicholas Challoner (The Guarded Heart by Robyn Donald)

A proto-dark romance MMC?

Blackmailed the heroine into marrying him/ becoming his brood mare.

🔴 Alex Kreagan (Yesterday's Sin by Shirley Wine)

Kidnapped FMC and forcibly impregnated her. He sucks at apologizing.

🔴 Malachi Sterling (Shameless Vows by Katherine L. Evans)

The duke MMC caused his wife's miscarriage when he dragged her down a flight of stairs. He impregnated FMC with the main intention of taking their child away from her, and keeping them apart for the rest of her life.

🔴 Nikolas Constantinos (All That Glitters by Linda Howard)

Also something of a proto-dark romance MMC. And the word "no" doesn't exist in his dictionary. FMC tried to escape him, but he caught her; "I would have had you back within two days at the most."

🔴 Calvin Cutler (Descent by Sam Marino)

Abducted her cat.

🔴 Jesse Ward (This Man series by Jodi Ellen Malpas)

A meaner Christian Grey.

🔴 Milo Sinclair (Quarantine series by Drethi Anis)

A parental figure/legal guardian–dependant relationship mixed with romance and addiction. Makes for a very toxic dynamic.

🔴 James Roth (Singed series by Mia Knight)

Blackmailed his ex-wife into remarrying him. He treats her like she's his possession.

🔴 Sebastian Everett (Virtue & Vanity by Astrid Jane Ray)

His wife was completely terrified of him — and not in a fun, she-secretly-digs-that kind of way.

🔴 Gray Rutherford (Kiss From A Rose by Maya Alden)

Emotionally abused and neglected his wife to the point where she became suicidal. He treated her poorly for 20 years.

🔴 Callum McCord (Liars Like Us by J.T. Geissinger)

Manipulated FMC's life for five years, creating her dire financial situation to make her accept his marriage of convenience proposal. As if that wasn't bad enough, he recorded their marriage in Vatican City — trapping her! Divorce is illegal there.

🔴 Grayson Maxwell (Notice by K. Webster)

Makes Edward "watches Bella sleep at night" Cullen look normal.

Boss/employee; This guy snuck into FMC's apartment, did things to her while she was asleep, and hid/slept under her bed numerous times.

🟠 Miles Osborne (Everything for Her by Alexa Riley)

Started orchestrating the heroine's life after meeting her as a high schooler. He was five years older than her.

🟠 Lucio Masterton (At the Spaniard's Convenience by Margaret Mayo)

Destroyed FMC's small company — her life work that she ran for about 15 years — to make her dependent on him. He won.

🟠 Mark Walker (Faithless Duet by Skyler Mason)

Cheated on his wife for 15 YEARS out of spite.

🟠 Zack King (The Land Where Sinners Atone by V.F. Mason)

Had the FMC beaten to a pulp in prison, and stole her baby. He never apologized for the latter. Did not grovel.

🟠 Scott Blackstone (You Can Have Manhattan by P. Dangelico)

This man's the only MMC here that I hate. A lot. I'm still upset about the crappy cabin, and his public slandering of FMC. >:c

🟠 Noah Carter (Best Served Cold by Maya Alden)

Made a sex tape with FMC — without her knowledge — to blackmail her father. As a result, he ruined her life, and she lost her home.

🟠 Cesare Falcone (A Savage Betrayal by Lynne Graham)

Harlequin Presents sure loves its vengeful, rich Mediterranean heroes!

Isolated FMC at his castle home in Sicily, which was several miles away from the nearest village.

🟠 Killian Spencer (A Vow of Hate by Lylah James)

Repeatedly called the scarred heroine "beasty".

🟠 Christian Grey (Fifty Shades)

Many of the guys on this list make Grey look tame.

🟠 Preston Parker (Two Weeks Notice by Whitney G.)

FMC, who was also Preston's executive assistant, tried quitting her job on account of his bosshole ways — but she couldn't, since he had her sign a contract with an "indefinite employment term" fine-print clause written in white ink. What's more, every bonus she accepted added an additional year to the contract.

🟡 Hudson James (Say You Love Me by Sabre Rose)

Blamed his wife for their baby's death (as if he hadn't played a part in it), making her miserable. This couple's problems were solved with... cuckolding.

🟡 Sandro De Lucci (The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders)

The heroine attacked him, and he totally deserved it. Why did she do it? He blamed her for her miscarriage.

🟡 Bryce Palmer (A Husband's Regret by Natasha Anders)

Told his wife that he "never really loved her". He said it to hurt her.

🟡 Bram Gage (Going Nowhere Fast by Kati Wilde)

Considered FMC a bad influence on his sister. He was such an asshole about it.

🟡 Aristide Kourous (The Greek's Christmas Baby by Lucy Monroe)

Wouldn't believe his wife! >:c

Bottom = Least Problematique

[sp4ceboo]

rant but im a bit scared im going to get attacked

[capinejghafa]

Sophie Cousens is just one of those authors who could almost be a miss. A few things in her works could be edited out or framed in a way that doesn't take up chapters. However, her FMC are usually written so well and I'm charmed but her writing style. I do think that This Time Next Year was not a romance book (or at least it shouldn't be lol), but Is She Really Going With Him was definitely a romcom. Would probably read more if my library carried more of her books tbh

[aossimusings]

Claire from the Bear, and why she's not badly written, she's just not occupying the character role people expect of her and they don't know what to do with that

Alright. I'm bringing some film student analysis to The Bear, and subsequently, Claire, because I'm tired of people saying crazy things like, "she's a manic pixie dream girl" or that her character is underdeveloped or badly written or that she's pure male fantasy or any other crazy, extremist reaction to her character, when really, I think she's occupying a different character role than we're used to seeing from characters like hers, and in typical The Bear fashion, we as an audience are not being told how to interpret her character with words, but with visual and narrative structure.

Be warned, this is a very, very long post.

Lets take a minute to understand narrative structure in film:

There's an A plot and a B plot. The A plot is what is referred to as "the promise of the premise." It's why you come to watch what you watch. The B plot is all the emotional character development/growth that undergirds the A plot and makes it emotional and impactful. So in the Bear, The A plot is the whole thread of, let's fix the Beef -> let's make a new restaurant -> let's get a star, etc etc, that evolves with each season. The B plot is mostly centered on Carmy (although other characters also have their own smaller B-plots) and on him healing from his grief and family and kitchen trauma and finding himself as a person, etc etc.

Claire as a character is a B-plot character. Her role as a character is to be a part of Carmy's emotional B-plot development, whereas the rest of the characters in the show occupy roles in both the A plot and the B plot. In a show centered

The thing that I think is causing a lot of the discourse around her character is the fact that she's not occupying a typical character role for her sort of character, and then people don't know what to do with her. They're either trying to slot her into a a bad female character role (like a manic pixie dream girl) and are then angry that that type of character would be included in the show, or they think she's a badly written attempt at a more developed character and are then angry because they think her character was fumbled, when in fact, she's neither.

Let's take a minute to examine these two roles:

The Manic Pixie Dream Girl

A manic pixie dream girl as defined by the Oxford language dictionary is:

"(especially in film) a type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist."

On paper, I can see why people would say that she's a MPDG. She's a little quirky, and she appears to "inspire a greater appreciation for life" in Carmy. She's a doctor, but she's a bad driver, she loves Mondays, she shoplifted in high school for the adrenaline rush, etc, etc. But I would argue that she's not actually a MPDG because her role in the narrative is fundamentally different than that of a MPDG.

In terms of narrative, MPDGs are a catalyst. They are crucial to the movement of the plot and the development of the main character. Specifically, they're supposed to be a catalyst for main male character growth. This is part of why MPDGs are a sort of problematic character -- the idea that they don't get dimension as a character, yet their entire role is to catalyze the main male character's positive growth and evolution is sexist. They aid the MMC at the cost of their personhood.

However, notably, Claire doesn't actually inspire positive growth in Carmy. He is not made better for knowing her. He doesn't grow as a person, learn from his mistakes. He isn't calmer or nicer in the kitchen, he doesn't resolve any of his trauma, I would argue that he doesn't even have a "greater appreciation for life" as is critical to the relationship between the MMC and the MPDG; he is just as depressed and anxious for knowing her as he was when he didn't know her.

So Claire: not a manic pixie dream girl, despite being quirky and trying to "inspire a greater appreciation for life."

The Badly Written Main Female Character

I think for a lot of viewers, if Claire isn't a MPDG to them, she's viewed as a badly written, badly developed main female character, who isn't afforded a lot of screen time, and as such, is one dimensional because she doesn't get much character development.

Wait, what? She's a badly written main character without a lot of screen time to develop? But part of being a main character is to have significant screen time to develop! But Claire doesn't have a lot of screen time... Tina has more screen time. Sugar has more screen time. Marcus has more screen time. It's almost like...Claire isn't a main character, even though, as a love interest, she occupies a role typically only allowed to main characters.

So then...what is she? To understand her narrative role, we need to take a minute to understand what Carmy's B-plot has established thus far. My apologies for the following, very drawn out explanation of Carmy's mental health. I promise I'll return to Claire, but this is important.

Carmy's B-plot (aka, the emotional stuff)

Seasons 1 through 3 are essentially following Carmy having a slow, drawn out breakdown. Or rather, it's not slow. It's a pretty realistic depiction of someone who is pretty mentally/emotionally unwell continuing to not get the help that he needs, and trying to fix things unsuccessfully on his own. But admitting that he's unwell feels like admitting defeat, so he's trying to fix things while never actually admitting that he needs help, and as such, is in a self-destructive spiral of trying to fix things unsuccessfully, feeling out of control because of it, trying to fix different things unsuccessfully, feeling even more out of control, etc etc.

By S3, we have a better understanding of the Berzatto family structure: an unnamed father who walked out leaving them in debt, Donna who is/was an alcoholic and otherwise emotional black hole, Mikey who died at age 43 (born 1979, died 2022 as seen on his prayer card), Sugar who's 36 a year after his death (born 1988, confirmed by her hospital intake in Ice Chips), and Carmy who is 26 a year after Mikey's death (confirmed by the original script.) So when Carmy was born, Sugar was 10 and Mikey was 18. This is important because in light of Fishes and Ice Chips, Donna was an alcoholic for as long as they were children, was incredibly unpredictable with mood swings, poor emotional regulation and maybe even emotional abuse (see how Carmy and Sugar essentially are trying to regulate their mother's emotions in Fishes), and probably some physical altercations if Donna's behavior in Fishes is anything to go by. Sugar explicitly says that she frightened all of her children. Mikey was probably the de facto parent in a lot of instances, being the only other adult in the household. The fact that he was also an addict, and as seen in Fishes, also violent or unpredictable at times, complicates this. S3E1's scene with Sugar and Carmy at the airport implies that after Mikey started cutting Carmy out (and struggling with addiction) Sugar started to assume that parental role. So that's a whole fucked up childhood right there, with very little room to healthily develop emotions or coping mechanisms or an understanding of healthy relationships. In ice-chips, Sugar demonstrates that she's aware of this. "I ask people if they're okay way too much," and "I'd make myself sick to make you feel better." Everything with Carmy's character demonstrates that he does not have this self awareness.

Carmy explains in his al-anon monologue that the rhythm of the kitchen became soothing to him, because it was so rigid and so predictable (a direct contrast to his home life.) But while it was soothing, he also cut contact with people in his life, because the self-isolation made things "quiet" (and probably gave him a feeling of control, like most self-destructive impulses do) which led to him being incredibly isolated and incredibly dependent on work as a coping mechanism by the time he ends up working with the abusive NYC chef. Important thing to note about that: now his only coping mechanism has been polluted by abuse as well, and the trauma of that will haunt him increasingly throughout the seasons (coupled with the fact that he's probably never learned how to healthily process his own emotions, in part because he ended up having to set them aside to emotionally regulate his own mother.)

Then Mikey kills himself. (which again, is the fucked-up family figure of brother and parent and addict and idol all rolled into one suddenly dying on you after abruptly cutting your out of their life)

I say all this because I want to make very clear that mentally, Carmy is not well. Across his various al-anon monologues, the fridge conversation, his flashbacks, etc. it becomes really clear that he's never really had any sense of safety or security in his life except for maybe when he was 18-24 when he did the French Laundry, Ever, Noma, and Daniel. The amount of anxiety that he experiences in his day to day life is not normal, it's not healthy. It's exhausting and damaging. He's also probably pretty depressed, and probably had been even before Mikey and NYC chef. He talked about in al-anon that when he was a kid, he could never feel happy or excited about anything because he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop (arguably because of his mother, because if she was upset, she made everyone else upset to deal with it, and if she was happy, he was waiting for her mood to shift.) We very rarely actually see him happy or joyful in any of the seasons. So basically, as evidenced by that and what we see in the seasons, he's got this really damaging spiral of anxiety and depression, where he's so anxious he can't feel happy.

Pursuit of happiness is actually what brings us to Claire as a character. He meets her almost right after he talks in al-anon about the fact that he should "provide amusement and enjoyment" for himself. Then he meets her in a grocery store, and promptly, and deliberately, gives her the wrong phone number. Personally, I read this as Carmy knowing that he's not ready for a relationship. He pursues it anyways, for likely 2 reasons:

Pursuit of happiness. Sugar always wanted him to get away from the Beef in S1, now he's trying to get some space and do something to "provide amusement and enjoyment"

Mikey! In Fishes, Mikey was really excited about the prospect of Carmy dating Claire. At the time, Carmy was like WTF, but in the wake of Mikey's death, this is probably a way of connecting with him. See, I can do it! I can date a girl! I can do this thing that you thought would make me happy. I can be normal. I can be what you wanted.

Now a little film student analysis:

One thing that I love about the Bear is that they're really good at the whole concept of "show don't tell". You'll hear about this a lot in writing advice, but it's actually even more relevant in film. Here's a good example from the bear:

The Bear never, ever says that Carmy has anxiety. I'm not even sure if the word "anxiety" is even said onscreen. Instead, The Bear shows:

Carmy drinking bottles of Pepto Bismal and chewing fistfuls of Tums, yet rarely eating anything

Carmy sleep walking and almost setting his apartment on fire

the sheer amount of nervous energy he has (tapping spoons, sharpies, cigarettes, etc. , never standing still, being generally twitchy)

some really great tricks with filming and lens that make the world around him shift focus, shift perspective, blur, and otherwise visually simulate the effects of an anxiety/panic attack.

In film, you have to be incredibly intentional about what you keep in and out. In my first film class, when we were doing film analysis, a lot of people would start "I'm not sure if this was intentional, but..." and the film teachers immediately shut that down with this statement:

"assume everything is intentional. even if it wasn't, someone still chose to leave it in" meaning that, in film, what you see on screen is actually a fraction of the material that filmmakers had to work with; if something makes it through to the final cut, it was important.

I mentioned before that despite Claire occupying a main character role as a love interest, she does not get main character screen time. Like I said above, I think a lot of people perceive this as her character being done a disservice, that she's badly written, that she's meant to be this perfect male fantasy, etc, etc.

Firstly, I present to you the fact that characters such as Sugar, Sydney, Tina, Donna, all have absolutely beautiful storylines and arcs. They're complex, well-written characters. I don't believe that Claire's lack of screen time is because the show-runners secretly idolize manic pixie dream girls and women of "male fantasy" and thus Claire is supposed to be this perfect person who doesn't need any screen time to be developed (which feels like a thread I've seen a lot.). I really don't think the show runners are secret misogynists. Sorry.

What I do believe is that Claire as a character is not meant to be central to the story. The show very intentionally spends more time developing Carmy's relationships with Sydney, Tina, Sugar, Richie than it does with Claire. Why? A host of reasons.

1. Because Claire is a new form of escapism for him, not that the kitchen is no longer is sanctuary.

I talked before about how after the NYC chef, and I would argue, now that he's trying to start his own restaurant, his one safe space of the kitchen has become polluted with the same chaos and/or abuse from the rest of his life which he spent years running away from. But because he's so isolated, he has no where else to go. So he creates somewhere to go, by creating a relationship with Claire. That relationship is his new form of escapism.

The show communicates that to us in one very specific way: 90% of the time, if Carmy is with Claire, we don't see him. This is not 100% true 100% of the time, but there was a clear pattern that developed in S2 that time spent with Claire is time spent off screen. I think a lot of people see this as "not developing Claire's character" and not giving her screen time, when in fact it's more so about Carmy's absence.

When he ditches Sydney to move boxes with Claire, we never see that scene. We just assume that he was doing it.

When Sydney is trying to figure shit out in the restaurant by herself, it's implied that Carmy is with Claire, but we don't cut to them.

When Carmy talks to Sydney about all the menu things he talked about with Claire, we never see those scenes.

Why? Because he is escaping The Bear by being with her. It would be a very different narrative if we actually did see these scenes, because it would demonstrate that they have an emotional weight and importance in the show. Instead, they're defined by their absence.

Carmy and Claire's relationship is defined by its absence in the show.

2. Claire is not the right type of partner for Carmy, and we're not supposed to believe that she is.

I think it's interesting to look at Carmy's relationship with Claire through Sugar's relationship with Pete. I was talking with some people and they observed that in a lot of ways, it makes sense that Sugar would be with Pete because he is completely non-threatening. In many ways, he's the opposite to most of the men in the Berzatto family (note: I'm not saying Berzatto men are threatening.) But Berzatto men are loud, and opinionated. Some of them engage in behaviors such as: screaming in their kitchen, and throwing spoons and sharpies; throwing forks like darts at their relatives and also shouting; telling their nephews that there nothing and worthless and will never be anything; walking out on their families and leaving them in debt; lording their financial success over various family members. You also have Donna as a parental figure who also throws things violently, yells and screams, is an emotional black hole, and has aggressively grabbed Sugar at least once. Pete is about as far away from all of this as you can be.

I think that Claire is Carmy's Pete in a lot of ways. She's quiet, and calm, she's non-threatening, etc. She's not emotionally manipulative, she doesn't ask much of him (so when she does ask things of him, it's a welcome escape), she is a doctor, which is meant to help people. However, and part of why I don't think their relationship would work in the long run, is that Carmy doesn't need a Pete. Sugar has an emotional intelligence that Carmy doesn't, for one thing. For another, as alluded to by Ice Chips with Sugar listening to the podcast about Adult Children of Alcoholics, each of them were affected differently by their traumatic childhood. And quite frankly, I think that Carmy needs someone who can be gentle and empathic and quiet with him, but also someone who won't take his shit and can stand up to him. (because unlike Sugar, who tends to internalize everything, Carmy has a tendency to externalize everything.) He tends to take it out on the people around him, and I think he needs someone who can simultaneously shut that down and hear him out. And I don't think Claire is that.

3. The chemistry just isn't there.

I don't want to get into an argument about shipping. I can't predict if Carmy is going to get back with Claire after some emotional development, or if he's meant to be with Sydney, or whatever. Personally, I think that any discussion of a relationship is premature (and I think that Carmy knew that subconsciously when he gave Claire a wrong number and was very hesitant on the phone when she called him the first time.)

What I have observed is this: the few scenes that we do see of Carmy and Claire feel a lot less emotionally charged than other scenes in the show. Forgetting romantic relationships, there is so much more emotion and connection in the following scene than in the scenes we see with Carmy and Claire:

Richie and Carmy's conversation about purpose in S2.

Carmy and Sydney's conversation under the table in S2.

Carmy and Mikey's conversation in the pantry in Fishes.

The snippet in the fridge when Carmy's talking to Tina.

The scene with Claire that really sticks out to me having emotional weight is the scene in S3 where they talk about the days of the week, Carmy's hand scar, and Claire accidentally almost killing that girl in the ER. It hurt so much you couldn't feel it. Firstly, it's telling that that scene happened in flashback, not during their relationship, and secondly, the main thesis of that scene was more of a commentary on trauma than it was about their chemistry (ie, Carmy is so traumatized atm, he doesn't realize that he is because of how much it hurts.)

This demonstrates to me that a) the show writers can write emotionally powerful scenes, and scenes with chemistry, and b) the lack thereof in scenes with Claire was an intentional choice because it demonstrates that other relationships are more important for Carmy's character than the one with Claire.

For all that Carmy said that he loved Claire, we never see any evidence of it. It's told, not shown. Whereas his affection for other people in his life isn't mentioned, but it is shown: "I have time for this" and sitting down to talk to Richie about purpose. Buying Sydney a monogrammed chef's coat because she liked his.

His relationship with Claire is important for what it helps demonstrate: his desire for escapism, his self-destruction, his emotional immaturity, the fact that he has other very important relationships and that he needs to deepen those bonds, the fact that he needs to get his priorities in order. It's not so much about Claire. And maybe that will read as sexist to some, because it's more about him than it is about her, but I don't think she's really meant to be a main character either.

[bluiela]

Something I find really problematic with the other side of the fandom is how much they try to downplay Lucien's trauma and how they literally call people "toxic boy moms" for talking about his trauma BUT they literally blame all of Azriel's actions on either Gwyn or Rhys.

Like why it is Morally superior to downplay Lucien's trauma? (to them)

They do realize that downplaying men's trauma because men are supposed to all tough and strong and take everything they get with a grunt is also a form of internalized misogyny? (this is coming from people who weaponize misogyny like a crutch with any argument and that is the only reason I'm bringing this up)

This is a romance book following two characters there would be emotion growth for both. No one wants to read about a cardboard male character who is just there to tick all the dark broody MMC tropes (which e/riels drool at and want)

Like I'm sorry but why tf is he getting hated on for respecting Elain's boundaries and wishes and not imposing himself on her?!?

Why is talking about Lucien's trauma triggering their side of the fandom??

[hhighkey]

binge read ‘problematic summer romance’ by ali hazelwood and lowkey had me thinking about levi x younger reader/OC soooo bad the whole time

(like in the book MMC is FMC’s older brothers best friend … like Reader who’s erwin’s sister?? MMC wasn’t totally like levi but fit at times had be giggling) now i wanna write it

[bunniemoth]

I've crossed 10k on this oneshot and I have five bullet points left and I'm trying desperately at this point to just... get it out of my head before the weekend's over.

After that, I'm not sure what happens to it.

It's a good bit of writing (as getting punched in the gut a few times goes) but the content itself is terrifying and I'm actually a little nervous about being attached to the story.

I could just... turn the inbox off, you know, whatever -- turn off comments on Ao3, put it on anonymous, etc... but it's a different experience sitting in your own discomfort for five days while doing the thing and already feeling uncertain, but being so immersed in the story that you can take those elements that make you uncomfortable and look at them at arm's length and still tell yourself, "This is fiction," than putting it out there and worrying that someone else might... I don't know. Take it to heart? Aspire to sick, obsessive romance without being able to identify the red flags that (I think) are obvious? Assume these taboo and problematic as markers for what I think is sexy, and not be able to distinguish that it's not real, and if it was, it'd be unhealthy?

And I know that you can't control the reader. That's death of the author. Once it's out, it's done. Good luck. RIP yourself.

So my homework today (after researching voice changers, because that was the first thing I did this morning after waking up), is to read as many standard disclaimers from published dark romance authors as I can to model my own after (assuming I choose the Joja route and put it out there), and try to figure out if there's an intersection between that genre and yandere, and what the limits are. Because I have no idea.

I have very little experience with the latter, having only started reading manga this past year (and all of what I've read is horror.) And my experience in the dark romance arena hasn't added to my enrichment because most of the MMC's aren't exactly golden retriever boyfriends.

...

To that ends, I do love Sam gone dark.

[blottyink]

like 29% into Captive of the Horde King by Zoey Draven, this is fucking fun. This is a time. Like hear me out, he's not like the least problematic mmc but def not the most. Pls let this be such a fun ride 🙏

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

I'm back with another "the haters think this guy is a super problematic male love interest? 🤣" Lore Olympus post!

Before we get to Hades, let's discuss groveling in romance, aka making amends/an act of atonement. It's a highly popular trope because a good deal of MMCs are known for wronging their lovers or letting them down in some way (this is not even an exclusively dark romance situation!), making things up to them, and changing their cold/jerk ways.

Now, let's look at Hades and Persephone's relationship: the dude never hurt Persephone! How can he be "very problematique" if he doesn't even behave like your average romance novel hero? These two are such a harmonious couple, that they never had a massive row where Hades ended up saying something incredibly hurtful, and had to apologize soon afterwards. Like, the few arguments they did have resulted in them growing closer as a couple!

Behold, Hades and Persephone overall — sickly sweet (affectionate):

Haters, I would appreciate it if you guys recommended complained about couples who have ACTUALLY wronged each other in serious ways. I'm trying to grow my problematic ships collection, here. Persephone/Hades are too fluffy. Lol

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

i was just curious which one of the main ships in sjm universe wud u consider the most healthy and the most toxic(ig we agree which sad bat boi HL it is....).i prsnlly think the most healthy wud be hunt and bryce and hunt gets a lot of hate from the fans cuz they aren't used to the mmc not manipulating the fmc since rhys and have a hard time adjusting.....ur thoughts????

hi anon!!

i honestly don't really know haha

the most toxic id say is a tie between nessian/feysand.

the least problematic - id go with rowaelin. i know i ranted about them in the past, and i still believe that rowan's behavior is unacceptable (violence, the threats). but i will say that i think he maintains the healthiest relationship once he and aelin are actually in a committed relationships. unlike nessian and feysand, i don't think the negative habits pre-relationship bleed over into their established one. tbf i haven't read those books in over five years so the plotpoints aren't fresh in my mind.

i don't say hunt/bryce bc i think hosab really did them injustice. not only was hunt sidelined a lot in the last book - i also think the story just does not think of the implications of him being enslaved. like at all. i think bryce never actually takes into account hunts apprehensions and i felt like she treats him in the same way the book argues shahar was treating him. - i actually think i have more to say on that too!

[ballsballsbowls]

Stuff Your Kindle Day Part 3/5

People actually wanted to know what I was thinking and feeling and finding re SYKD this time, and we actually have multiple days of warning before SYKD so I have a little free time.

I'll throw out a few things to keep in mind and the slap the rest under a readmore since I assume the average person here doesn't want to read romance books.

Blah Blah SYKD website. There were 2000+ books last time and there’s definitely more this time.

Blah blah kindle but there’s other stores, too.

SYKD is tomorrow, June 20th. There's definitely stuff that will still not be free today even, though it's fairly uncommon from my experience.

If you’ve ever wondered how I end up finding some of the books that I read, it’s exactly what I’m doing here: reading a blurb and tags and going “…wild. Anyway, the price is right” and buying it anyway.

Urban Fantasy + Paranormal Romance

Observations:

PNR and Urban Fantasy are technically separate categories but they’re not sorted very well this time.

Opened up a book and it says ACTION PACKED MPREG on the cover in big bold letters and I could not stop laughing.

I actually like PNR and Urban Fantasy/PNR tends to be one of my worse categories. Lots of stuff that looks the same and feels the same and that I am definitely not the target audience for.

Looks Interesting:

Amethysts & Alchemy by Rachel Rener I eat rocks to harness the magic inside them. Hiding my abilities beneath a white lab coat, I work as a small-town pharmacist with my pig, Topie. But when my arch nemesis drags me to an ancient copper mine in China to unearth a brand-new mineral, my entire life is turned upside down. Because, as it turns out, not all minerals are meant to be eaten. Keywords: neurodivergent, cozy, rivals to lovers, emotional support pig, magical realism. GET Amethysts & Alchemy FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Wolves Wood (The Fox and the Howl #1) by L.B. Carter When Dot and Cooper stumble on the body of his pack's beta during a secret visit, she's accused. Now, the fox-shifter fueled by black magic has a 72-hour mourning period before Samhain to find the true culprit before the wolves begin a fox hunt. She can forget classes at uni, stuck in the middle of an ancient feud between shifters and witches in this star-crossed, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers Fox and the Hound retelling in Bristol, UK. Keywords: witches, shifters, new adult, m/f, friends to enemies to lovers, college, found family, closed door, funny ghosts, cute familiars, England, Autumn vibes GET Wolves Wood (The Fox and the Howl #1) FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Hot Summer's Prey by Latrexa Nova MISSING: the 6' green-eyed, total catch who swept me off my feet. But the memory of his mouth between my legs sure as heck isn't, even once I spot him reeling in a string of lovers who never seem to remember their trysts. After witnessing that literal monster between his legs, I have a million questions--especially: how do I get on it?Keywords: monster romance, extra spicy, bisexuals, plus-size rep, emphatic body positivity, beach romance, summer romance, sex worker-adjacent MMC, problematic courting tactics but in a cute rom com way, nudibranch/puppy sidekick (the same little guy, not at the same time), the shape of water gave you feelings down where its wetter, geoduck-inspired monster *anatomy*, also there's like a mystery plot?? GET Hot Summer's Prey FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Bigfoot Boss by Luna Cantrip Bailey's new boss has a big check book and even bigger feet. Sacha is a cryptid trying to live in a human's world, and he's willing to risk everything when his fated mate walks into his office. Keywords: fated-mates, monster romance, office romance, grumpy/sunshine, primal, big feet, bigger peen GET Bigfoot Boss FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Taking Out the Trash: An Instalove Fated Mates Paranormal Romance (Black Ops Fated Mates Why Choose Polyam Romance Book 1) by Zoey Indiana Taking Out the Trash is the first riveting tale in a series featuring rugged, tattooed, veteran shifter polyam romances. If you're a fan of diverse pairings (MMMFFMM), suspense, spice, and heart-thumping adventure ending in a cliffhanger, dive into this story. Experience my journey as a bi woman venturing into new passionate territories in Taking Out the Trash today! Keywords: mmmffmm, bi, bisexual, why choose, poly, polyam, polyamorus, ff, mm, mfm, shifter romance, funny, comedy, instalove, fated mates, demon, witch, chosen one, black ops, GET Taking Out the Trash: An Instalove Fated Mates Paranormal Romance (Black Ops Fated Mates Why Choose Polyam Romance Book 1) FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Rise of the Witch (The Yaga's Riders) by C. Rochelle This extra spicy, paranormal romance is loosely based on the Slavic folklore of Baba Yaga (with many creative liberties taken) and features mysterious forces in magical woods, a legendary witch, and the three men destined to find her. In other words, a grumpy witch just wants to be left alone in her chicken leg hut in the woods but three annoyingly hot men decide to make themselves her sexy problem. Keywords: Paranormal romance, Fated mates, Folklore retelling, Baba Yaga is a bad bish witch, no really she'll literally disembowel you, Polyamorous Why Choose (the men kiss and it MEANS SOMETHING), Enemies to lovers, Everyone has matching tattoos, Things get extra spicy and extra filthy (blood lube? unwashed va ju-ju voodoo? ritualistic forest smex?), Ride or die swan shifter bff (who will also disembowel you), Dark humor. GET Rise of the Witch (The Yaga's Riders) FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

The Mobster's Mate by Kiki Clark A human mob boss and an injured jaguar shifter brought together by a cruel enemy… and fate. The Mobster’s Mate is a full-length novel featuring a human with questionable morals and a jaguar shifter who only sees the best in him. Keywords: m/m, mafia romance, fated mates, found family, possessive MC, hurt/comfort, touch him and die, age gap GET The Mobster's Mate FOR FREE ON KINDLE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

I’ve read other books by the same author and recommend:

None

I’ve read this specific book and would recommend:

None

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

329. Straight by Chuck Tingle--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was SUCH a fun read!

STRAIGHT is my favourite Tingle book so far. I loved the characters, the horror, the wit, and the unique take on the zombie genre.

STRAIGHT had some great commentary on topics like allyship and how the LGBTQ+ community can come together when there is danger. But I also appreciated the exploration of the anger aimed at the community and felt IN the community. One of the things I love about horror sometimes is how certain situations are used as allegories for certain issues in our contemporary society and Tingle's book doesn't shy away from that. I loved how straight-forward the conversation was.

Overall, I laughed sometimes, cringed from the gore, and loved that I read this in October. I think that if you love horror and zombies and queer stories that are just pure fun with some great social commentary, then you might want to add this one to your TBR!

___

330. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am slowly making my way through King's work and while some are...something else, others like SALEM'S LOT are truly a great example of why he's been writing for so long.

SALEM'S LOT does one of the things I love so much about King's writing: it creates that eerie atmosphere full of trepidation. It felt like I was reading IT if it had been slightly faster paced. The way the story is full of foreshadowing, almost immediately uncomfortably creepy scenes, and a heavy note of wrongness, made this incredibly compelling. I wanted to keep reading and find out what would happen next and who would fall next to the pandemic plaguing the small town of Jerusalem's Lot.

I listened to the audiobook for this and I enjoyed hearing King's introductory chapter, mainly because he acknowledged how dated the story would be in parts, which it was. King's writing is full of problematic words and statements because of the time and what would make the reader uncomfortable. I am familiar with his writing so it doesn't put me off his writing anymore, even if it is still jarring as all hell to read.

That being said, SALEM'S LOT was 100% a classic horror story with that King flourish. It's obvious in how he knows how to bring characters to life with the smallest of details, or how he can demonize a whole town by blanketing it with the perfect word choices and masterful atmospheric writing. It was surprisingly to the point and really well-paced.

The characters were intriguing and kept the story moving relatively well. There were some disturbing moments and characters, and some really sad ones. But their actions and/or ends made this story all the more captivating and haunting.

I'd recommend this one if you like vampires and want a story about a town that is completely helpless against its inevitable demise.

___

331. King of Pride by Ana Huang--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I enjoyed the first book in this series more, KING OF PRIDE was a surprise. I was a big fan of the slow burn and the bursts of spice that freckled the story here and there (since I think that sometimes too much spice can be a bit overwhelming).

I loved the differences between the MCs and how they brought them together. I think one of the reasons why I'm such a fan of romances where the two MCs have a big wage difference between them is because they both help each other grow in ways they otherwise would not have experienced. One teaches the other to be more confident and the other teaches them to be more humble. I like the dynamic too because I love a MMC that treats the FMC like the queen that she is.

These two specific MCs had such a sweet love full of some spicy moments that jumped off the page. I could feel the attraction they felt because Huang let the relationship grow organically, rather than let it be one of those insta-romance novels. I loved how they teased each other and how she helped him get out of his shell more.

I also liked how much integrity the MMC had when it came to business, but also that he took action when he really needed to. I felt for the FMC and her fight against writer's block (because truly, same, bestie), mainly because it was a big part of her storyline and one of the things that kept her confidence low.

The climax pissed me off. Not because of the main couple, but the family meddling. I wanted to slap a few of the characters for their callousness and bullying.

But other than that frustrating moment in the book, I really enjoyed this one. It was sexy, romantic, and full of tension. Plus, that dedication was killer and so was the dirty talk. Phew.

___

332. Want by Gillian Anderson--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WANT was definitely something a bit outside of the norm for me. Mainly because I don't tend to read a lot of Well-being titles (which I'm classifying this as because it's a sexuality book). But I'm glad I gave it a shot because I found it very enjoyable and eye-opening.

Told through stories sent in anonymously, WANT was the kind of collection that a lot of people will benefit from reading because of how solitary sex and any sexual-related thoughts can be. I know there are places in the world where sex is still seen as something taboo and not meant to be discussed freely. I liked that this book gave women a chance to voice their sexual thoughts--even if some fell into the odd category.

I know I connected to some of the stories and they left me wide-eyed and seen. Other stories I didn't connect to, but it was still fascinating to see how other peoples' minds worked. To be honest, some stories were so over the top that I couldn't help but laugh a few times. Not to yuck anyone's yum, but some of these essays were...a choice.

That being said, I did appreciate how diverse the essays were and how they were categorized. I was a little wary at first that I would grow tired of the essay after essay approach, but the occasional re-introduction of Anderson in between chapters helped break up the monotony.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for essay collections of the sexual variety with some great diversity. There were many queer women and it was great getting to hear their voices!

___

333. The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If there is one thing I will say before I write the review--do yourself a favour and don't listen to the audiobook LOL.

^^I stick by this because the voice actor was a man and he sounded absolutely hilarious when he was voicing the female characters. To the point where it sometimes took me completely out of the story.

Anyway, I loved the concept of THE SECOND CHANCE OF DARIUS LOGAN. It was fun and the writing reminded me a lot of the MICHAEL VEY series, which I loved. I love origin stories set in a world completely new to me. I also just liked seeing the MC (who was usually a good teen) get what he had earned during the story.

Walker's social justice commentary was also eye-opening because when we usually read superhero stories, the worlds are completely fictional and often lack the very real issues plaguing our too-real world. Seeing these police officers treating the Black MC in such a racist way made me so angry, both because of the injustice of it all and because not even in fiction do Black teen boys get a break from the racism they face daily. In this way, this aspect of Walker's book made this book all the more powerful--especially because it bursts that idealistic bubble of "it doesn't happen here" when it comes to superheroes in fiction.

Another great part about this book was the exploration of grief and its effect on younger teens who grow without much support after their losses. That simmering anger CAN be a coping mechanism, even if it gets to the point where it can be detrimental. But I liked how he processed his loss and emotions in his own way as the book progressed, especially when he was given a second chance at life.

I'm excited for the sequel because of that somewhat cliffhanger-ish ending. While I wasn't a super huge fan of the narrative style of including too many moments of foreshadowing (I prefer this in horror), I still thought the story had some great pacing going for it and it was highly addictive because I wanted to know what would come next!

I'd recommend this to those who love superhero stories that have a bit more nuance to them than just stereotypical crime fighting.

___

334. Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly--⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the best things about these books is that they're bite-sized. Some would definitely benefit from being longer, but I'm glad this one was the length that it was.

I liked the idea that this novella was about two characters who come together after so many years, and have that history of one of the characters hating the other. One of the tropes I actually love is the "I hated you as a teen because I had a big crush on you that felt pointless," and this book had that and it was glorious. I DO think that the one character was a bit over-the-top with his meanness, especially with his biphobic comments.

The spice was good, if a little on the quick side (which I'm not surprised because this is a novella). But it was still some fun sprinkling of spice in a story that had started with such animosity between these two guys.

Overall, OUR FAVORITE SONGS was fun, but it followed a similar pattern as the first novella in the series (with problematic moments that took away from the overall cuteness of the story). It's definitely a good holiday read to enjoy with some tea, while sitting by a window when it's snowing. But keep in mind that there will be some moments in this book that will make you want to side-eye the characters.

___

335. The Great Cookie War by Caroline Stellings---⭐️

I received a copy from the publisher a LONG time ago.

First of all, I know this book wasn't for me. This is 100% a middle grade novel that isn't exactly accessible to adults (in my opinion) because of how much I had to suspend my disbelief with certain situations.

That being said, this story was a bit choppy. I admit that I went into this without having read the synopsis, but I typically do this with all of the books I read. But I expected...something else? What I got was a preachy book full of choppy writing and questionable characters--like that grandmother. God, she was awful. There's a scene where she is incredibly horrible to the MC and the "apology" is brushed over by telling us it happened rather than showing us. Which honestly sat wrong with me. We get the entire "I'm disappointed, you're horrible" speech, but not the apology that would make the grandmother take ownership of her abuse on the page for a young reader to see (and acknowledge that adults also need to apologize when they're wrong).

The story just didn't feel like something I wanted to invest my time with and to be honest, I don't know if I'd recommend it to the younger readers who come into the store. Simply because of how the MC is treated, or how choppy that writing was.

I can appreciate what this book is supposed to do and represent, but it was truly not something I enjoyed. I've read various MGLit titles before and this is one of the first times where I finished a middle grade book and felt so much ick.

I'm sure this will be great and relatable for a reader out there--definitely younger readers, and I hope they're able to appreciate it in a much better way than me!

___

336. Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it followed the MC over the span of a few years as her life changed and revealed some of the cruel truths of her life in a society that looks down on and excludes Indigenous people. It was an incredibly powerful portrayal of a young girl that was paralleled by the experiences of her non-Indigenous friend(s).

I will say, before I continue, that it was jarring to hear an older woman narrating the audiobook for this one--especially when a child gives the description of the cover of the book. I get that this is probably to emphasize that some of these experiences mirror that of the author, but it took me out of the book a few times.

WEIRD RULES TO FOLLOW was definitely a difficult read, especially as an adult seeing a child being excluded and discriminated against, but also seeing the home life she has and how it was affecting her during some of the more important development years of her life. I am not Indigenous, so I don't have any right to say whether this was done correctly or not, but I do want to say that I appreciated this story and the voice that the author gave to this young character.

I think young readers should read books like this one because even though it is set in the 80s, I'm sure there are still things they can relate to--especially in how their own families or friends or people around them interact with/talk about the Indigenous community. And there is, of course, mention of "those schools" (as said in the book), which shows the dark and complicated relationship there with residential schools and the trauma and hell they brought with them.

I highly recommend this book. It's short and powerful and poignant. And even though it's technically historical fiction, it is incredibly timely.

___

Happy reading!

[djinnandtea]

so I got some interest on this post where I tossed out that I wanted to talk more about monster romance and race and gender. it's been really nice to see a few folks are also wanting to hear/talk about it! I'm not prepared to say anything at length [eta: this turned out to be kind of a lie] with any certainty or research to back me up, but I thought I could post a rough outline of sorts of what I'd want to research and explore further, just as a starting point for myself but also a jumping off point if anyone else has any thoughts or resources.

I guess I'll start with gender first. I'm new to the romance genre generally, but I don't think it's a surprise that the genre has always been dominated by discourse around who reads romance and the kind of gender dynamics presented in a lot of conventional romance books (which are generally heterosexual/heteronormative in a lot of problematic ways). I'm thinking of the harlequin romances my mom and grandma used to read, but also of the discussions around colleen hoover's work and then the dark romance sub-genre too.

this means that there's the obvi discussion to be had about content vs. context. who is writing the romance, what informs their writing, what messaging comes through via choices made by the author, as well as by the context the author is writing in. I'm sure if you've been reading romance--even fanfic--for a while, you're well versed in some of these conversations, even if just in a casual way.

after considering romance on a macro level, I think you'd then have to look at some of those more micro sub-genres. where are gender norms accentuated and exaggerated, and to what end? why is dark romance a thing, why do (usually) straight white women want to fantasize about being in that kind of relationship? what's the purpose being met? (this is all asked non-judgmentally, btw, as I also enjoy dark romance.)

and maybe there are folks who would dislike my comparing of monster romance to dark romance, but I do think the two are related, especially based on a lot of posts I've seen since joining this corner of tumblr. I think there's a lot of interest in exploring ideas around control and dominance that dark romance and monster romance provide contained space for. if you watched my YouTube video, I touch on this a little bit more at the end as well.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot re: gender (like all the stories being told about lgbtq+ MCs), but this is just some initial thoughts at the fore of my brain.

as for race...........well. lol.

there's the very surface level question around what percentage of monster romance FMCs are white. I genuinely don't have this answer, and I know there are a lot of nonwhite FMCs too! but I'd be really curious to know the actual numbers here. why? well, bc diversity matters. but also because of the decades long narratives around white women as victims of men of color, and how that narrative has been used to weaponize whiteness and demonize blackness specifically, and non-whiteness more generally.

I am def not saying that all monster MMCs = depictions of non-whiteness, I'm just thinking about the connections between equating non-white people/bodies with monstrosity. I'm thinking of the historical framing of non-white people and communities as sub-human, as savages, as beastly. inhumane. monsters have kinda always been a metaphor for the other, including the non-white other, and I think it'd be naive of us to assume that vestiges of that brand of racism (which is still alive and well) never inform the ways creators engage with monster romance and monsterfucking, consciously AND unconsciously.

I'm also thinking about orientalism. I'm thinking of the exotification and classification of the east. the way westerners invaded the eastern world and began treating the people there like specimens. I'm thinking about how othering and abjecting and exotifying a culture or community or person can create a power-informed version of sexualizing that culture or community or person. like, othering/abjecting/exotifying can lead to creating a perverted sort of desiring. I have a special interest here because I'm arab, so this stuff feels particularly personal, but yeah. it makes my wheels turn.

there's also a dehumanizing element of turning an othered body into a piece of sexual meat. I'm thinking about the way monsters in these books are always excessive, the way their penises are always massive. we can't pretend that doesn't seem a little familiar to the degrading ways white people have also discussed black bodies, too. like. I'm not saying wanting our monsters to have big dicks is racist, I'm just saying there are some aspects of the genre that I think deserve to be ~unpacked~ and considered in a wider context that takes this kind of stuff into account. not as a confirmed given, but as an avenue worth approaching with curiosity, if only to point out the ways in which it's NOT a product of racism/anti-blackness.

obvi this post is not backed up at present with a single source because I'm just thinking out loud based on stuff I've read previously over the years that I definitely would need to revisit, so I totally get if you read this and think I'm being ridiculous. but if you saw my first post and were kinda wondering what I had in mind when making it, this is it.

[multi-fandom-lunatic]

I find it kind of strange when people defend booktok so staunchly because not only do the popular books end up not being that good, them seeming like fanfiction makes me turn this question onto myself. Like, 'if I write a self insert tropey fanfiction, shouldn't I feel proud of it?" and the answer (for me) is...no, not if I have nothing to say about the world that my character is inhabiting. We've all written self-inserts at one point, I'm sure - but it's the way the writer does it that matters. When I was a young teen, I wrote that kind of fanfiction and like many other young teens in that fandom, I explored ideas about the original world that the fanfic was set in. The problem with the books we're seeing now, is that they are being written by adults who don't want to explore themes and use tropes straight with no criticism. That's boring and overdone, I'm sorry. Some of the best original works I've read online have specifically explored tropes/subverted them and looked at the political side of things.

Booktok is the enemy of creativity - which is rather ironic because writing is something very creative. It's more akin to the ao3 bar, where you choose your fandom (type of characters), include/exclude crossovers (tropes), etc (the analogy needs work but the point stands). There isn't anything wrong in reading for pleasure, but Booktokers saying that "books are not political and for pleasure" defeats the whole point of the art.

Also, I'm irked by how many of Booktok's favourites are actual fanfiction. Red White and Royal Blue was Social Network fanfiction. And people seem to consider this peak romance? In reality it's a mishmash of common tropes and a romance that can only be described as sensational. It's written for pleasure, and that's fine, but we should be allowed to criticise it for its impact on society and its writing. Two things Booktokers just don't like.

I'm so surprised when people consider writing fanfiction akin to writing original stories. For context, I write fanfiction. A lot of it. I like to indulge in it but that's all it is: an indulgence. But when I write original stories... the pressure is ON. Thinking about what x means and how it impacts y is insanely important to me. I just find it to be a disservice when Booktok authors put fanfic on part with literature. And this is not to say that important themes can't be explored in fanfiction, because they certainly can, but ultimately, fanfiction is just for shits and giggles, and literature is something very, very political. They are absolutely not similar at all, because one is self indulgent and the other is an art form that is very political, and the way that both are being merged together is going to ruin effectively both of them.

Booktok has a weird idea of what's creative. They'll have the same copy paste assassin badass vanilla white conventionally attractive FMC with a MMC that's just a rip off of the Darkling from Shadow and Bone. They consider all the Hades and Persephone retellings and the "If Beauty and the Beast was steamy and there were hunters and the dude is hot" to be the epitome of creativity, but in reality, being able to shoehorn your own books into subpar tropes is honestly kind of insulting? If someone said my books were a mashup of books x and y I would be a little taken aback. Not because x and y are nesessarily bad works but because it's as if they aren't really reading the book and seeing it in its own light. I seriously don't know how authors take readers seriously when they say shit like that. IMO it's the Booktok version of having too many sequels/live actions/remakes in film. And ultimately, it's really fucking boring.

Thanks again for the ask! Booktok, aside from being problematic is just so... boring. Maybe people will realise how shit it is and it'll die? But I wouldn't keep my hopes up.

[fragmentedhekatean]

Lowkey playing around with the idea of writing a book about Hekate even tho there are already plenty of books on her history

but I'd line to go more indepth on what it means for her to be a maiden goddess- which a lot of ppl seem to not know??? and I'd want to talk about how modern new age spirituality has bastardized her especially when you also see her in media as a MMC model which has many problematic layers

I also don't see a lot of books that pair her history and cultural significance with modern practices. it's usually one or the other

lmao i know I got v few followers on here but *gestures vaguely*

[acourtofthought]

E/riels holding onto the “he wouldn’t consider Gwyn a friend” line is almost laughably stupid considering he wouldn’t call Elain a friend either. He literally says in his chapter that they do not speak to each other (how tf do you build a friendship or a relationship like that??). All they’ve done for a whole year is exchange glances and brush fingers lol

I very much doubt either of them will care about the other getting it on with someone else at this point.

You know what would have made for an interesting E/riel setup and what I think would be the best way to go about a rejected bond in this situation? If we saw Elain trying to get to know Lucien because he was her mate and Azriel silently longed for her. Where every moment Elain spent interacting with Lucien, figuring she should give this mating bond thing a try, Az's heart was breaking because he himself wanted the chance to make her happy regardless of her having a bond with Lucien. Where the reader could see that Lucien, despite being her mate, wasn't going to be the right male for her. Where his beliefs didn't align with her and where he was more concerned with himself than what she needed while Az stood there in the background being the support system she deserved, all the while she was missing out on him because she was convinced that the mating bond trumped all. Yet when it came time for her book, she finally realized Az was the one for her, had always been the one for her, bond or no bond. But that's not how SJM wrote things. Instead we have Elain refusing to get to know Lucien, which in an SJM book means there's some bigger emotion to go along with that. It's never so simple as "I don't like him" but usually something layered and complicated like "my feelings for him scare me so I'm going to run away". We have Lucien as the one who is silently waiting in the background, longing for Elain while still trying to do what is best for her though she's currently got her eyes turned in a different direction. Where the author has been steadily building the case for WHY Lucien is her perfect match, like his avoidance of violence (when cruelty bothers her), his being Heir to Day when she need sunshine, his ease while in nature which rivals hers. And we have Az acting out in problematic ways. Not caring if Graysen is killed, not being at all concerned about ripping apart the peace in their world, claiming Lucien isn't good enough, avoiding Elain because it bothers HIM rather than it being because it's what is right for her. I really do think SJM could have pulled off E/riel and an Elucien rejected mating bond had she set up the characters differently but with the way things are written, it really is easy to let go of any E/riel setup because Az is like a loose canon right now when it comes to her (not appealing in a MMC) and the most they had done for a year (before that near kiss) is glances and lingering touches. If SJM could undo Feye's engagement to someone she thought she loved in ACOMAF, then stepping back on E/riel in the next book is nothing in comparison.