#ALL OF THESE ARE ADULT BOOKS EXCEPT FOR TAHEREH MAFI'S BUT SHE SAID THE NEXT BOOK WILL HAVE A LITTLE MORE *fire emoji*

[lanterns-and-daydreams]

I dont like Rina Kent.

I said it. I don't like her.

I like LOG. I have read LOG. Well, except gowar.

But there's a lot of things that I just generally don't like about her as an author. Or a little bit even as a person.

Here's some things that I just can't get over or find it a little hard to:

(TW// opinion ⚠️)

1. She's clearly mysogynistic

That's pretty clear now. Rina clearly has a thing for antagonising women. Now I'm not saying she makes no male villains. There was the Zane dude is gow and Devlin in gom, but her male villains have little to no screen time to build them up as villains, and even then they just feel flat. Now her female villains. Example being Maya. What the hell did Maya do? I know what she did, and it was pretty clear she has no malicious intent. If she was threatened as a child, that was bound to stay forever. And I doubt Mia wouldn't forgive her even after two whole years. But Rina clearly likes making female villains more. Not saying there's anything wrong with that, but you can clearly see what's wrong with the way rina does that.

2. Every other mmc is a rapist

You will never be able to convince me that that's not true. Examples are so clearly Kayden, Killian (yes, I know chapter 2 was changed, but that doesn't change the fact that she wrote it in the first place), Aiden (or so I've heard), Nikolai (yes, Nikolai. The alley scene in god of fury was not consensual. Brandon was drunk.), Adrian.

She clearly has a thing for romanticising rape and that is not okay. Her audience are mostly impressionable teens and she knows that. And it still wouldn't be okay if they were adults. She writes cnc horribly and uses it as an excuse to justify rape. The only okay account of cnc I could find was the cottage scene in god of wrath where Jeremy gives Cecily the option to run or don't, and she chooses to run.

3. Same story over and over again with different characters and slightly different interactions.

Every LoG book is literally:

Fmc is all sad and yearning for a man to call her own -> meets mmc -> he either doesn't like her or traumatises her -> the badass realises she isn't as badass as she thought she was -> lots of sex -> he shows up at her house while she's visiting her parents -> dad hates him, mom loves him -> more sex -> something bad happens -> they break up -> something bad happens to fmc -> the mmc's inner alpha comes out to save her -> theres an optional hospital scene before or after saving -> they kiss and have sex -> mmc proposes -> optional chapter of dad accepting mmc.

And let's be honest, god of fury is also up that alley, despite being a little bit more distinct and unique.

4. Lame excuses for no research

She said she has no personal experience with being a lesbian so she isn't gonna write wlw. So she has personal experience with mlm? Girl be fr. How did you write mlm, with research right? It's not that hard. Everyone can do it.

5. A very shitty excuse for not even making diverse SIDE characters.

I know Rina said she won't be writing black characters because she doesn't know about their struggles and doesn't want to be offensive, and that's valid, however, all of her side characters are pale as a sheet too, it's not that hard to just even mention a poc walking by. She has no world building, and it makes her world look like a blank slate aside from the scene she describes on the point. Other authors also write poc characters without being offensive, or just characters that aren't of their own ethnicity.

Is jlb Pakistani or Indian? No. Do the female authors who write good mlm have experience in mlm? No. Is Tahereh Mafi Japanese? No.

6. The petnames.

On a more humorous note, what are those nicknames brother?? Little monster? Little purple? Whats next, little bitch? Rina trust me, there's better things to say, girl. Like not everything needs the word 'little' in it.

7. I REMEMBER her saying Niko and Bran were based off real people who are her friends which is absolutely disgusting because why are you imagining your friends having sex. And yes, there is a difference between inspired and based, and I remember her writing based because I was weirded out by it back then.

8. She has awful stereotypes for gay men.

Now this itself I've seen many gay men say on platforms like Instagram, and now I myself can't say much on it because I'm not a gay man, but if someone with experience in that field says it's harmful, it's harmful.

9. The abused NEVER finds a single problem w the abuser.

I hate this about her. The cliff scene with Killian never got brought up, the alley scene with Nikolai never got brought up, and WHY? What were those scenes for then? To turn on your audience? To turn you on when you're writing them? What was their point if they never provided any development? A person is shaped by the things they experience in life, but clearly all RK characters experience is undiluted love and a raging libido.

10. The unnecessary women hate.

Back to this point again, because I said so. Like okay Rina, I have no problem with you writing mlm, but why are you making all of their girlfriends slutty cheaters? Like she cannot find a better way to get them to break up so that the men can get together. Clara was horrible, and the audience wanted her gone too. The book would've had a bigger impact if we didn't. What if Brandon loved her? What if he treated her like a queen? I know it's the buildup of the whole Demisexual thing, but there were better ways to do that. Other examples are Cherry, and Vaughn's girlfriend. Theyve been together for so long, there's no way she just cheated because a pretty boy with a snatched waist came along. And Gareth!!! It was 100% not okay for him to be making fun of Kayden's ex wife who was gang raped. In what world would you believe that was okay? And then Kayden goes and does the same—minus gang part—to Gareth.

11. Forced inclusivity

This has been a current issue in the community in the regards of Vaughn and Yulian, with a lot of fans agreeing and a lot disagreeing. I won't take a side yet, because on one hand, great, they're her characters, I don't get to tell her what to do. But on the other hand, it feels very forced. We didn't not know who yulian was before KTV, which resulted in absolutely no buildup of character. We saw Nikobran coming, and Jerelan was so there. Even Gayden (that's such a funny name) was implied in god of fury.

But Vaughn and Yulian came out of no where. Rina said it herself that Vaughn was loyal, and I completely understand the argument that that doesn't mean that his girl was loyal. But it was nearly about to be a decade dude! Also that makes it feel like Rina is straying from her plot, and its making it look like that she's just writing mlm because of god of fury which a lot of people liked.

And I know some people will say "There's so many straight books she wrote, let the LGBTQ+ have something" and my point does not mean that they shouldn't have something or that Rina should strictly write straight romance. But it feels like it's just forced inclusivity. If she just randomly decided to give Nikolai a straight romance, not all of us would agree to it, because that's just not what it was giving yknow? Also there's no guarantee Yulian will be anything like people want him to be.

On an ending note, you may agree or disagree with my points, any of them, all of them. This is my opinion. If you have anything to add, go on. If you have anything to say, go on. I'm willing to listen. But you can't deny that there is some things that are just not okay. And Rina doesn't seem to realise them.

[harryforvogue]

Hey bestie it’s me again!! So since I loved ouabh I was wondering if you have any other book recs for me! (Bc now I trust you with my life in terms of books!!) doesn’t have to be fantasy either I’m good with whatever :)

HI OMG YAY!

so i recently read "gods behaving badly" by marie phillips which was so funny and entertaining. i really enjoyed it. it's about greek gods and goddesses in the modern era. has literally every "big" deity so it's great to see everyone together. it's also a super quick read.

if you want a romance series, i HIGHLY recommend "the league of extraordinary women" by evie dunmore. it is SO underrated and historically accurate and FEMINIST-Y!!!! plus all the male love interests are CHEF'S kiss and i believe the next one is gonna be middle eastern / north african? idk but he calls the female love interest habibi so....... i literally talk about this series all the time it's so GOOD. and you can read it out of order. the 3rd book is my fave because i can't resist a hades&persephone inspired story.

i'm currently reading several books because i have no self control. i'm reading hester by laurie lico albanese which is the story of how nathaniel hawthorne was inspired to write the scarlet letter. it's cute. nathaniel is cute. it IS a little slow though, but very interesting. it's got witch trails and some romance.

i'm also reading these infinite threads which is the second book in the this woven kingdom series by tahereh mafi. no complains there.

and finally, i'm reading abby jimenez's yours truly which just came out this week and so far it's been pretty good! i like jacob. he's like if alex nilsen from people we meet on vacation was mixed with my character faye. so.... super anxious and paranoid. super relatable!

hope that helps!!!!!!! lmk if you end up reading any of these!

[kaimaciel]

Top Worst Books I’ve read in 2018

It’s that wonderful time of the year again, where I scream and rant at books that disappointed or pissed me off all the while trying to avoid hate comments.

This is my personal list of books that I did not enjoy. If one of your favorite books is in here, don’t take it as an insult towards you. I’m not saying these books are bad, I just did not like them. 

Alright? So, let’s start.

The Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

There was a lot I didn’t like in these series. First of all, the writing style. I understand what the author was trying to with the crossed words that represented Juliette’s true thoughts, but it really got on my nerves. 

Then there was the plot. This is supposed to be a dystopian future, but that’s really a backdrop for the romance and, a love triangle. While I agree that Adam was not suitable for Juliette, I really couldn’t get into Warner. In the first book, he was straight up a sadistic psychopath, then the rest of the books he does a complete 180º, it felt like a completely different character was created so that he could be a good love interest for Juliette.

And if the romance is the most important thing in the plot, it’s a bad sign I was mostly interested in the secret connection between the Adam and Warner and how much I wanted to see that developed. At the end of the third book, I sort of wanted to follow another character but Juliette.

And what the hell was that ending? It was one of the most anti-climatic endings I have ever seen.

I know the series will continue with another 3 books, but I doubt I will continue it. I’m not interested enough.

The Fandom by Anna Day

Okay, what the hell were the people in charge of the Portuguese cover thinking?

It’s so ugly! At first, I thought I was looking at a Jo Nesbo book. Oh well... I could forgive the cover if the story made up for it, but it did not.

This book had so much potential. A group of cosplayers is transported into their favorite dystopian series and realize how reading about it is a lot better than living through it. 

The main character Violet was so annoying and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Everyone except for Katie, Nate and Ash were scum or really annoying. I couldn’t connect with any of them. And the way they went after Alice for her looks and her fanfictions (she dared to write stories in the bad guys POV!!!) it really pissed me off. I understand in the context of the story but my God! I write fanfiction. If someone said stuff like that to me I would kick them in the gonads. 

And that ending. What the hell?! 

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I like plot twists. One plot twist is fine. Two is awesome. Three... it might be too much. Four, five... just what the hell am I reading?

There were so many twists and lies in this book I honestly can’t give you a synopsis because I can’t remember what happened and who was supposed to be who.

This book felt like being drunk and high during a festival. A lot of pretty colors, but nothing substantial. 

The Savior’s Champion by Jenna Moreci   

Oh, Jenna... why?

I've watched Jenna's videos for a while and I was pretty excited to finally read one of her books. First the positives, the writing style was very good and the plot very intriguing. I could not wait to read the next chapter and find out who lived and who died. Unfortunately, I must admit that in the end I was disappointed with the story. For someone who makes such good list of tropes and character pet peeves, there were a lot of characters who felt tropey, with their trope being the only characteristic they had. I did not really like the relationship between Tobias and Leila, most because they became each other's whole world. I also felt disappointed on how Flynn's character was handled, the selfish, coward rich boy has been done to death and I wished that trope could have been avoided for something different. Regarding the twist, I saw it a mile away and kept reading hoping it wouldn't come true, that I would be surprised, but no.

It was not bad, but it could have been a lot better.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

Pride and Prejudice with a murder mystery written by the great P. D. James. This book had everything to be a blast and it felt so flat on every front.

The characters we know and love from Pride and Prejudice are boring caricatures of themselves, the mystery was dull and resolution equally boring.

This was a bad fanfiction from start to finish. What a waste!

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

A bit of context. Mary Higgins Clark was my favorite mystery author when I was a teenager. I collected all the books I could find and read them on the same day. They were compelling and easy to read. 

As I grew up and started reading other books by different authors, I found myself looking for more complex themes and characters. 

Clark’s books are good and simple, just like her characters, but they were too simple for my adult tastes now. The good guys are practically saints, the bad guys are evil. They became too flat for me to truly enjoy like I used to.

The mystery part is fine, but I can’t for the life of me remember the plot or the ending a few months after reading the book. A forgettable book is sometimes worse than a bad book. It left no impression on me.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

DNF (Did Not Finish) around page 200

Long story short, this book wasn’t for me. 

The premise looked very interesting. People are tested and only the very best get sent to a prestigious magic school, it looks like Harry Potter in college and, sure enough, it is a lot more mature.

But the plot was all over the place. The main character, Quentin, was such a boring and annoying protagonist that staying inside his head was giving me a migraine. His lack of interest on anything unless it’s magic related or the Fillory books seriously pissed me off. 

The plot felt rushed and very weird at several parts of the book. I lost interest. I don’t care about the characters, the magic or the weird sex stuff happening in animal form. 

I’m out!

And finally, it pains me to announce my number 1 worst book of 2018. I can handle bad books or forgettable books, but this was my most anticipated book for 2018, from a series that I love with all my heart. It let me down so much... 

The Testament of Loki by Joanne Harris

Now, let me say this isn't a bad book, it was well written and ties the events between Gospel, Runemarks and even Runelight quite well. I'm glad this book promoted a bit of friendship between Loki and Thor. My disappointment with this story was mostly due to my dislike of the whole body sharing, switching and stealing, which I personally hate. 

Also, Loki's love for Meg felt rushed and confusing, as if it was only there to give Jumps a girlfriend and a damsel in distress for them to save. Meg was nice and BAM, both Loki and Jumps were in love with her. What? Are we talking about the same Loki from Runemarks? I know human emotions were influencing him and all, but that was one of the worst cases of insta love I have ever seen. 

And the fact that Jumps’s eating disorder and other mental health problems get resolved because Loki makes her eat pizza and gives her a makeover. That is not how mental disorders work, not by a long shot. 

The human characters were flat, merely vessels for the gods to inhabit. Evan is his disability, Stella is a shallow beauty, Meg is nice and likes girls, and Jumps, the human girl sharing her body with Loki, was little more fleshed out but, honestly, aside from her problems with her body image and her sexuality, I can’t remember anything about her. I really wish this sequel didn’t happen inside a YA contemporary novel.  

This isn't a bad story, but it fails to capture the magic and wonder I felt while reading Runemarks.