strawberrybookfields

[strawberrybookfields]

Being a writer is constantly hyping yourself up and then falling into depression mode because everything you wrote is shit

[strawberrybookfields]

“…Sooooon…” they chant in a low whisper as the last week of August begins… 

[strawberrybookfields]

Why Do I Like the Antagonist So Much?

*SPOILERS* (Grisha Trilogy, Red Queen, Furyborn) *DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED*

This is a conversation I’ve had with my friends many times. And my desire to stop talking about it hasn’t died out. I just LOVE antagonist. I mean there is a type and you might figure that out by the end of all of this. But, I’m not ashamed. And honestly, I just find the antagonist to be A) really attractive and B) super interesting (sometimes more so than our protagonist). 

But, that isn’t to say our protagonist is boring. I have always loved my protagonist, I want what is best for them (except, possibly, Mare, jk). We are just more familiar with the protagonist, so I think finding a character you don’t know much about to be intriguing is normal. 

So, who are my favorite antagonists?

1. The Darkling - Holy. Crap. 

What a man? Honestly, I really don’t remember much from that series and I want to reread it, but I currently am not in possession of the series and my TBR is currently way too long. 

I kept turning the pages just to read more about him. I mean I wasn’t disinterested by Alina’s story, but . . . I did love the Darkling.

So, why does one like the Darkling? Mmmmmm... Personally, I knew (and I’m sure others knew) from the start he was the antagonist. And holy shit a really hot antagonist. It doesn’t matter, if you are the antagonist and you’ve got the dark hair and dark or pale mysterious eyes that have some hidden back story, I’m sold. Count me in. I only live and breath for you

And he was seductive. And I enjoyed that. Not that it was correct in the way he was using Alina, but I enjoyed him nonetheless. 

I’m not going to spoil much, but his back story and revelation at the end of the series had me sobbing and losing my head because he is absolutely beautiful and gorgeous. And I found his whole desire for power to be interesting because it is so much similar to other world leaders that I was like “oh”.

But seriously, I just wanted to know him more.

2. Maven 

I could spend weeks talking about how much and why I love Maven. So, first and foremost, I do not agree and condone his actions. Truthfully, everything he did was disgusting and evil. 

But.

You cannot tell me that his life is pretty sad. His mother borderline tortured him and totally rerouted his way of thinking. And he loved Mare (in his twisted little way). But, he still loved her. Personally, I think that is pretty powerful, considering what his mother did to his way of thinking, that he was still able to conjure some sort of feelings for her.

I mean he held onto his feelings for Mare like it was the last thing that kept him. He, in my opinion, thought what he was doing was keeping Mare safe. (Despite the fact he ruined her). And he did that because he had those feelings for her. And he was jealous. Understandably. But, he was A) youngish and B) tortured by his mom to see what Cal has as supposed to be his. 

Much like Mare and Cal, I truly wonder who he would have been had his mother not done what she did to him. Like Cal, I really wanted Maven to be fixed. I loved him. I knew there was someone good buried in there. And he was pretty relatable. He wasn’t sure of himself entirely, he wanted to be something he probably shouldn’t have been but faked his way through it all. And on top it all he was only eighteen. 

But, what he did was what he believed to be right. He had reasons, were they poor? Yes, but they were reasons.  

I LOVE Maven so freaking much. I can’t even explain it. His character, in my opinion, just had so much depth and I wish he had a better ending. I wanted him to be better. 

3. Corien 

Once again, another man who uses seduction to abuse a (somewhat) protagonist. (We all know she is the anti-hero. But what can you do?) I love Rielle’s story so much more because we get so much more CORIEN!

Like. He’s an angel. I’m sorry. He’s a freaking angel. And the angels in this story are evil. What a time?

Reading this series is solely me thriving off of the moments Corien makes an appearance. And, also, once again, another power-hungry man. We love that, don’t we?

Not really. But there is something charismatic and chilling when they are attractive and mysterious. And that is Corien. I WANT TO KNOW SO MUCH MORE ABOUT HIM. (*says the girl who hasn’t finished reading Kingsbane lol)

I’m not going to go into much more detail about my fav antagonists. But, it all makes sense. 

1. Author introduces hot male antagonist.

2. Author deprives us of moments with hot male antagonist.

3. Alix starts loving hot male antagonist.

4. Alix wants to know more about hot male antagonist. 

5. Alix’s favorite character is now the hot male antagonist.

There is just something that is so fundamentally right about me enjoying and loving them and no one can convince me otherwise. 

[strawberrybookfields]

The Book Slump

What a word? It’s what haunts every avid book reader. It is the one thing we hope to not happen to us, but it does. Whether life gets in the way or we just don’t like a book, it will unavoidably happen to you. (Unless you are superhuman and are immune to this phenomenon).

If you are unfamiliar with the term “Book Slump,” it is simply when a reader has no interest in reading anymore and just can’t seem to get into that book, even when they’ve been wanting to read these books for some time. But, guess what? Wanting to read such a book means absolutely nothing. Nothing. At all. 

And who am I to say this? 

...

Well, I was in a book slump for three years. 

Three years of my life when I could have been reading, wasted. Absolutely, gone. Forever. You can imagine how mad I am about this. And I will never get those three years I could have spent reading back. 

Before the beginning of my Freshman year, I was in the prime of my reading days. I had caught up with all of Sarah J. Maas’ books, waiting for the release of Queen of Shadows and A Court of Wings and Ruin. I NEEDED them. So, I filled that time with reading Red Queen and The Grisha Trilogy. 

The three days before my first day of high school, I started and finished The Grisha Trilogy and had absolutely no idea what to do with myself after finishing it. I was so absorbed with the story, I truly believed nothing could be as good as what I had read. Which, I had experienced after I had binged all of Cassandra Clare’s books. I was invested in the Darkling. I WANTED SO MUCH MORE OF THE DARKLING. The mention of his name was enough to make my heart pound as if I had just gone on a year-long run. 

*Side Tangent*

If there was an entire book series on just the Darkling and him alone. Damn. I would be so down for this book. I would read Crooked Kingdom at the speed of light. Honestly, the only reason I’m reading Crooked Kingdom is to read King of Scars lol. I hear the Darkling is mentioned. 

*End Tangent*

So, following this I decided it was in my best interest to pick up Glass Sword. Because, like my love for the Darkling, I LOVED Maven (and this could be a whole different post so I won’t go into much detail). I was so much more invested in Maven’s story than Mare and Cal’s, I believe I set myself up for the slump. 

The more work that piled up on me during my first month of high school the more I kept pushing my personal time for reading aside. And then I was introduced to K-Pop. “Oh, I’ll just watch this tonight and read tomorrow.” Or maybe not. Perhaps, just maybe, never.

I couldn’t really stand Mare or Cal, so why bother?

And so, I began my investment with K-Pop and I had no plans on messing around. Like how I had invested myself with reading, I solely filled my personal time with K-Pop related videos, instead of reading. Some time into the school year, I realized how little I was reading and attempted to read The Raven Boys. 

Whew. Um, nope. No. That was the last book I needed to be reading to pull myself out of the book slump. That isn’t to say it isn’t a good book, but I personally preferred a fully immersive young adult fantasy series told from the perspective of our female protagonist who had some type of interesting back story of sorts. So, you can guess how that one went down. 

And so the full immersion into the book slump began. My Sophomore year rolled around and my teacher decided to devote the first five minutes of each class to read a book. I decided Six of Crows was my best option since it is A) Leigh Bardugo and B) the first book to a series in the universe I love and C) since it is the first book, it’ll be easy to explain and seduce my fellow classmates to read.

Now, did I love it? Absolutely! I fell in love. Does that mean I have finished reading Crooked Kingdom? Barely started it. Oops. 

The second book I decided to read was Demian by Hermann Hesse, because of my K-Pop obsession. And I loved both of these books. A LOT.

So, now you might be thinking, “Alix, this is your moment. You can pull yourself out of this slump.”

Well, reading for fun again did cross my mind, but I truly didn’t even realize I was in a book slump until I got out of it.  So, no. I did not put my book slump to rest. 

Instead, I began the next year of high school attempting to read Lady Midnight and A Darker Shade of Magic. Which again, I set myself up for failure. Lady Midnight was too long for me (or so I thought, now I’m reading Sarah J. Maas and KoA is coming for me) and A Darker Shade of Magic was too complex. But, this time we were not doing an assignment on them and I had no motivation to finish them. 

Now, it’s senior year. And I’m taking a class on genocide. 

You read that right. 

My love for the books I read and the experiences I read began to fuel something in me, where I realized how much I enjoyed reading those books. And one day, while Marie Kondoing my bedroom, I saw it. That’s right. It. 

The damned book that put me in the slump in the first place. Laying on its side, a bookmark still marking where I had stopped three years earlier. And I picked it up and continued. 

And ever since, I haven’t stopped.

If you would like to see all the book I have read this year you can click right here. I mean it isn’t as impressive as some people’s, however, I take this as a feat any day considering the past three years. 

I mean, right now, it is very hard for me because I am reading Tower of Dawn and a lot of things are happening in my life right now, however I am so determined to finish this book and read other ones, I don’t think I will be running into a slump anytime soon. 

Yeah, Chaol... I still have some mixed feelings... 

So, what might be the point of this? Well, there could be many. For one, it is okay to fall into a slump. Most people do not have the same experience that I did. Good grief, a three-year slump. I would never wish that upon anyone. But, I do have to say is it gives you a break and helps restart that interest you have after it may have died a bit. The other thing is I really feel like I was able to explore another side of me I feel I never would have found before had I not entered this slump. 

The most important thing when it comes to slamming the door on a book slump is to not just read a book you want to read, but a book that will hold your attention and keep your interest. Wanting to read and enjoying the book’s content are two very different things. Because, if you don’t enjoy the content and you are reading about the boringness that is Mare and Cal, you won’t be getting anywhere.