#Amanda bouchet

[fated-mates]

An episode for the old school romance readers in the audience, we're talking about kidnapping this week! A trope that either absolutely works for readers (aka us) or absolutely doesn't, we talk about why that is, how the original romances of the 80s and 90s installed these buttons and how we still see the bones of old school kidnapping in delicious romances of today. That, and Jen reminds Sarah of books she wrote one time.

[wakingupnexttoyou]

Second in a series. I liked the first one hopefully this one is good as well!

[my-romance-library]

'The Kingmaker Chronicles' series - Amanda Bouchet

A Promise of Fire (#1)

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER...

Cat Fisa isn't who she pretends to be. She's perfectly content disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods—and her dangerous family—have saddled her with. As far as she's concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won't be anyone’s pawn.

But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever.

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker—the woman able to divine truth through lies—and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping her by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot...and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion—and maybe someday, his Queen?

“I may not be holding you with a magic rope anymore, but I will never let you go, and I will never leave you. I would defy creatures, and Gods, and terrible, brutal queens to keep you safe and by my side. I would move Mount Olympus itself to hold you in my arms and feel your heart beat against mine. You are my soul, and yes, I will fight for you and protect you until my dying breath.”

//

Breath of Fire (#2)

[thegirlandthewardrobe]

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

~5/5 Stars⭐️

This.was.so.fudging.good. WHAT THE HECK???? How am I supposed to move on with my life after this😭 But seriously, this book was absolutely amazing. I stumbled across this book after finishing Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros(still not over that one either tbh), which left me with the biggest book hangover of my life bro. I was looking for anything even remotely similar, dragons, magic, whatever. And let me tell you, A Promise of Fire delivered baby!! The story is so well written and the characters and world building are all solid as a 🪨. Even the side characters were amazing, and that’s a rare feeling for me! Cat is the kingmaker, which is basically this all powerful being with the ability to make or break anyone who sits on the throne. Power like that comes with a cost, and Cat has spent the majority of her life paying the price for it. That is until she joins a traveling circus(I promise it’s not as out of place as it sounds). There she runs into Griffin, the INSANELY hot, caring, and ruthless alpha sinta who has just dethroned the current royals and put his sister in charge instead. There’s nothing, and I mean nothing y’all, I wouldn’t do for Griffin. A kill and ask questions later man, who’s also the biggest softie in the realm? SIGN ME UP COACH. It should also be noted that the spice and angst in this book gave Fourth Wing and ACOTAR a run for its fudging money🥵 This was the slow burn of my dreamsss😩 Honestly, my only complaint about this book was that TRASH ENDING. Like, no really. What was that???? I genuinely thought I skipped a chapter and went straight to the end. But nope, just the world’s worst cliffy and a somewhat happy ending. I have so many questions still!!! I swear I could go on for days🙄 ANYWAYS.

As always,

Happy Reading❤️

[writers-potion]

Plotting Tips for Romantasy 𓆩🖤𓆪

Check out my masterpost for more tips :)

Okay, What IS romantasy?

Generally speaking, romantasy is a commercial subgenere that provides equal weightage to romance and fantasy.

If you can remove one side of the plot and still have a complete story, you may not be fulfilling genre expectations.

To summerize:

Romantic Fantasy = Fantasy + Romantic subplot

Fantasy ROmance = Romance + Fantasy subplot

Romantasy = Romance + Fantasy

Balancing Romance and Fantasy Elements

Combine two or more tropes from each genre.

Romantasy is all about an interesting mix-and-match. Think of your favorite romance/fantasy tropes, then marry them:

Enemies to Lovers discover a Portal to Faerieland in their Contemporary Office setting.

Grumpy and Sunshine accidentally anger a Troupe of vengeful witches while on a Road Trip

a Second Chance Couple is thrown into a Forced Proximity in order to plant hunt, and she must keep her Botanical Magical Powers a super-secret from him.

2. Integrate the two plots into one another.

The best way to juggle with two different plots is to integrate them into one another. For example,

Romance as a prerequisite for using magic: e.g. only when a witch meets her soulmate will se be able to use her wand.

Love between characters threatens the fantasy world. e.g. forbidden love between two magical species has now become a full-blown war.

Romance between non-human characters. The key is to remind your readers of the fantasy elemnts by giving the characters nonhuman conflicts, personalisties and values.

Common Genre Tropes for Romantasy

A female lens: The readership is largely made up of women - they want to read narratives that foreground women and their stories. Where the heroine loves the hero, the love interest should be likable.

Strong heroine who saves the day: Most common in books by women for women this includes fewer damsels in distress and plenty of dames doing the saving.

Enemies-to-lovers: This trope has plenty of scope for inter-species prejudices and love across (literal) battle lines, which is a common must in fantasy.

Friendship and found family: Portraying relationships from a romantics AND fantasy point of view is important. The hero who begins as the cool, aloof longer must eventually become part of a collective even if that's only through their partner.

Elemental magic: Who wouldn't want to be able to hurl fireballs or lightening bolts? It would be useful in a lovers' fight, too.

Popular Romantasy Books 📚

The best way to understand the genre norms is to read it for yourself!

A Court of Throns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas)

Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros)

Stardust (Neil Gaiman)

The Paper Magician (Charlie Holmberg)

A Promise of Fire (Amanda Bouchet)

The Paper Magician (Charlie Holmberg)

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

[acourtofmishapandmistakes]

Hi your memes are very funny, but do mind if I ask what books you would recommend that have similar vibes to actor or fantasy romance , thank you for your time

Hey! I appreciate you asking and for your kind words on my meme craftsmanship lol.

If you've finished ACOTAR and are looking to stay in the SJM universe I would recommend reading Throne of Glass and the Crescent City series, I know that's the generic answer but I think that reading it helped me build the world in ACOTAR even more than it already was. What I wall say is that TOG was harder for me to get into, don't get me wrong, I loved it, but I feel like ACOTAR was a quick and easy read for me and TOG required me to do a little more mapping of characters, plot points and actually looking at the front map which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea. It also just feels a little more young adult to me, which I know is an unpopular opinion, but the characters are younger and SJM was younger when she wrote it.

Outside of the SJM universe I quite enjoyed thematically:

"Serpent & Dove" by Shelby Mahurin - it's about a witch and witch hunter who are married to one another with a good mix of romance and conflict with insane amounts of world building.

"The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black - If you want to stay in the world of the fae, it's the first book in The Folk of the Air series about a girl living in the world of faeries (another really popular one)

"An Enchantment of Ravens" by Margaret Rogerson - About a portrait artist and the autumn prince of the fae - it's gorgeously written

"Wintersong" by S. Jae-Jones - A young girl travels into the legend of the Goblin King to save her sister (a darker read)

For me, ACOTAR was such a joy to read because it was funny, and the conversations felt real! For more of that with the romance elements I would recommend:

"Bring Me Their Hearts" by Sara Wolf - Featuring a really witty and sarcastic protagonist who must bring the heart of a prince to her witch master

"A Promise of Fire" by Amanda Bouchet - it's part of the Kingmaker Chronicles with Greek myth as inspiration

If you're in the doldrums of the post ACOTAR life I hear you. ACOTAR was my entire world for the three months I was in Prythian. Hopefully this gives you a jumping off point for more good reads... but let me know if you find anything else you loved!!!

[shotgun-collar]

Bookie mutuals add me on goodreads so i can get more recs for books <3

[emahriel]

Hey! Here are some that I really enjoyed: Amanda Bouchet is an incredible writer, please check her out. Start with the Kingmaker Chronicles. I also very much enjoyed Bec McMaster, both the legends of the storm series (amazing, really) and court of dreams are great places to start. All the characters in these novels are older, I believe anywhere between 20-35. I also thought the “his fair assassin” series was great but it doesn’t have as much spice.

Y'all are feeding me, thank you so much for the recommendations! I just saw Bec McMaster earlier while looking around, I'll have to investigate some more. I hadn't heard of Amanda Bouchet before though, I'll check their works for sure! Thank youuuu 🧡

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: Rebecca Yarros

Amanda Bouchet: Nightchaser

Captain Tess Bailey and her crew of Robin Hood-like thieves are desperate and on the run. Pursued by a vicious military general who wants them dead or alive, Tess has to decide if she can trust Shade Ganavan, a tall, dark, and arrogant stranger with ambiguous motivations.

What Tess and Shade don't know about each other might get them killed... unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other - while ignoring their off-the-charts chemistry.

This is the first volume of the "Endeavor" series.

Kate Golden: A Dawn of Onyx

Captured by a king of darkness. Forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford. To make it out of enemy territory, she'll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and dangerous beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

This is the first volume of "The Sacred Stones" trilogy.

Kate Dramis: The Curse of Saints

Has she been sent to save the realm or destroy it?

As Spymaster to the Queen, Aya's blood oath ensures she protects those she fights alongside - including Will, the Queen's Enforcer and Aya's bitter rival.

When rumors of dark magic rise in a nearby kingdom, both are sent to investigate.

But when Aya's power acts beyond her gods-given affinity, she risks being turned into a weapon in a war she doesn't know how to win.

And when her relationship with Will unexpectedly shifts, neither knows the danger that will follow...

This is the first volume of "The Curse of Saints" series.

Rebecca Ross: Divine Rivals

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

This is the first volume of the "Letters of Enchantment" series.

[iffltd]

                            S T A R   T R E K    the original series

                        2nd Season (September 1967 -- March 1968)  

  Great Guest Stars and the Memorable Characters they Portrayed 

T’Pau (Celia Lovsky) and T’Pring (Arlene Martel) from “Amok Time”   Apollo (Michael Forest) from “Who Mourns for Adonais”    Nomad (voice by Vic Perrin) from “The Changeling”    Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom) from “The Doomsday Machine”    Sarek of Vulcan  (Mark Lenard) and Amanda Grayson  (Jane Wyatt) from “Journey to Babel”    Eleen (Julie Newmar) from “Friday’s Child”      Nils Baris (William Schallert) and Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill), Captain Koloth (William Campbell) and Korax (Michael Pataki) from “The Trouble with Tribbles”     Bella Oxmyx (Anthony Caruso) and Jojo Krako  (Vic Tayback) from “A Piece of the Action”     Nona, a Kahn-ut-tu of the Hill People (Nancy Kovack) from “A Private Little War”     Kelinda (Barbara Bouchet) from “By Any Other Name”     Captain Ronald Tracey (Morgan Woodward) from “The Omega Glory”     Dr. Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) from “The Ultimate Computer”    Procounsel Claudius Marcus  (Logan Ramsey)  slave girl Drusilla (Lois Jewell) from “Bread and Circuses”     Roberta Lincoln (Teri Garr) and Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) from “Assignment: Earth”

[wild-bee-je]

Books I've Completed So Far This Year and What I Rated on Goodreads

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Voices from the Ape House by Beth Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ⭐️⭐️

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sourdough by Robin Sloan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Adventure Zone, Vol. 5: The Eleventh Hour by The McElroy's and Carey Pietsch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Through a Darkening Glass by R.S. Maxwell ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Homo Lupus by Casey Lown ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[fated-mates]

Let's do some book deals.

We only share deals on titles we've already featured on the podcast. We're not recommending these just because they're cheap.

They're good and cheap.

Naima Simone's SIN AND INK is $1. We talked about it in Widows and The Best Kisses.

We talked about Nikki Sloane's REDEMPTION in Taboo Romance. $1.

We covered Jeannie Lin's THE SWORD DANCER in Antiheroines. It's $2 today.

Anna Zabbo's COUNTERPOINT made an appearance in Rock Star Romance, our first proper episode. It's $2.

We mentioned Jude Deveraux's ETERNITY in Competence & Careers. It's $2.

We recommended Amanda Bouchet's A PROMISE OF FIRE in our Fantasy Romance episode. It's $2.

We discussed Kit Rocha's BEYOND SHAME in our crossover episode with Wicked Wallflowers. This bundle of Beyond Shame, Beyond Control, and Beyond Pain is $3.

Joanna Lindsey's LOVE ONLY ONCE is $5.49. We include it in Romance Families.

[wakingupnexttoyou]

It said for fans of Scarlett st. Clair, Sarah j Maas, and Jennifer Armentrout. The first two I have read and enjoyed and the third is next up on my reading list. So we will see how this goes!!

[nova-stardragon]

When did you first enter the ACOTAR fandom, and what drew you in?

Which, if any, of the books is your favorite?

Which canon pairing is your favorite?

I already know which crack pairing is your favorite, but do you have any other crack pairings that spark joy?

Also - do you have any other fandoms that you’re heavily invested in?

From Santa (Sorry Santa has been so busy lately. Santa is happy to get to know more about you! Santa can’t wait to get started on your gift, but Santa is procrastinating!)

Im not sure what first drew me into the acotar fandom - I think my friend introduced me to it accidentally (although she has no recollection of this lol). What really drew me in was the mix of fantasy and romance, and how relatable I found the characters.

Canon favorite pairing is probably Nesta and Cassian, I love them so much.

other favorite crack ships include Azris (Az x Eris), Nessaniel (Nesta and Cassian and Az, because we love a good poly throuple), Morlain (Mor and Elain), and i think that about covers it but I can probably come up with more if you need more lmao.

ACOTAR is definitely my most invested in fandom, but I’ve also read ToG and CC. Other fandoms not by SJM - I’ve been really enjoying the Dragon Prince on Netflix lately, my parents accidentally got me into Star Trek once and I’m not like in the fandom fandom but it’s definitely really good (I’ve only seen the original series and some random episodes of other things lol). I love love love the Kingmaker chronicles by Amanda Bouchet (I hope I spelled her name right), and basically everything by Ilona Andrews is really good.

Also sorry if this was late as well - I’m also getting progressively busier as the holidays approach 😭😂 hope you’re having a good holiday season, and it was nice hearing from you!!

[riley1cannon]

Danger on the Atlantic

First book of 2023! (Well, a bit of a holdover from last year, but I finished today.)

It’s the third in the series, with the fourth due in March, and has quickly become one of my favorite historical mystery series. We’re in the 1920s, and our heroine/narrator is Jane Wunderly, an American, who was not exactly distraught that her husband did not return from the War. (She has excellent reasons for this.) When we first meet her in Murder at Mena House, she’s on holiday with her aunt, and just learning to stretch her wings again, when she meets a Man of Mystery named Redvers, and promptly gets swept of in murder and intrigue.

In this book (and the Criminal Element review in the link is way better), she and Redvers embark on an ocean voyage back to the United States, no aunts to get in the way, which is especially delightful as our couple are posing as husband and wife in order to sniff out a German spy. 

So, spies, murder, romance, one of my top favorite tropes deployed--what more could I want to kick off the new year? 

Next up: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. (I’m a bit concerned it may not live up to all the hype, but fingers crossed.)

Also currently reading: Guild Boss by Jayne Castle, and Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet (that one’s another holdover from last year; make of that what you will).

[alexa-santi-author]

You can tell this list isn’t serious because Amanda Bouchet isn’t on it. I’m not saying she’s the greatest of all time, but she’s definitely fantasy romance. Including MZB is gross. 🤢

I do have a soft spot for Anne McCaffrey because I read all of her books back when I was a teenager. Almost all of them have romance as the major subplot at a minimum, but the sex is closed door. Plus, frankly, it was the 1960s/1970s, so the sex is a little rapey. Like, one of the romantic problems in Dragonflight is that F’lar didn’t realize Lessa was a virgin, so he basically raped her when their dragons flew and now she’s (understandably) wary of having sex with him.

thoughts on vulture's "12 romantasy authors to know"? except for jacqueline carey, i feel like they missed the chance to include proper romance/erotica authors.

This list is so boring and lacks innovation or knowledge of romance novels... is my first thought.

My second thought is that it once again underscores how much romantasy is not a subgenre or genre and is in fact a bullshit marketing thing. When I tell y'all this... Trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about, lol. Even if we can trace back to BookTok or many years ago when some blogger coined the term. It's not as organic as it seems. (... very literal online marketing stuff is, but that's another deal).

My opinions on the authors specifically:

Anne McCaffrey. Never read, have honestly never wanted to read, am unimpressed with the author's squeamishness around the dragons getting it on influencing the riders getting it on (and the narration cutting away when the dragons start going at it...)? Anyway, Fourth Wing also does this, and does not cut away from the Violet and Xaden Feelin' The Dragon Love. The excerpt doesn't make me want to read these books, and frankly people I trust don't seem enthused about them; nor would those people classify them as romance.

Marion Zimmer Bradley. I have read The Mists of Avalon, and I liked parts of it (and had severe issues with others) until I found out that MZB was an absolute MONSTER. Like, straight to Hell, do not pass go, MONSTER. I recommend looking at her Wikipedia page for more, but proceed with caution if you're not familiar--CSA. So I find it pretty weird that this person even recommended her here. Like, the little note under "Controversies" is incredibly weird. Maybe just don't recommend MZB. She's not controversial--she is, was, a HIDEOUS, scum of the Earth, vile human being. We can discuss her work and its influence, but this list is positioned as a rec list, and I frankly find that pretty... questionable.

Anyway, for the rest: her books are absolutely not romance, and are actually not even really romantic...? Like, most of the physical relationships in the books are coercive, extremely taboo and forbidden, or physical without involving emotion.

Diana Gabaldon. I think Diana is a talented writer, I'll stand by the fact that Outlander is not a romance unless you stop reading at the first book (which you totally can lol it honestly stands alone), she has disdain for romance while profiting off it, and she is obsessed with SA in her work so. Probably one of the closest things to a romance author here. Also, can I say, I hate "Smut Factor". Smut is such a dumb word to me.

Jacqueline Carey. Haven't read, have heard mixed things about, every romance reader I've seen qualifies this as "it's not a romance, but" lol. Maybe I'll read someday....

Cassandra Clare. Having read a good number of Cassie's books (9, I think?) nope lol. Heavy romantic elements in her books. Not romance novels. Not even a bit.

SJM. I think SJM is again, pretty close to romance? I think she embraces it more (because she's if nothing else a smart businesswoman)? But I find her books not great, and I really do debate their status as romance novels. I mean, having just read a fantasy romance that really did feel like a ROMANCE to me... SJM doesn't seem to hit the same marks.

I will say lol. Still mad about the MZB thing. When you compare the thing under "Controversies" for her compared to Cassie Clare and SJM... I mean, they did bad things, I'm not excusing that. But when you compare them to the actual criminal acts of MZB... Lol why is she here???

Danielle L. Jensen. No complaints from me after A Fate Inked in Blood, she belongs here. Maybe someday I'll try Bridge Kingdom again? But right now, I'm on the Unfated train.

Jennifer L. Armentrout. These do sound like romances, but I've never read them so I can't judge. I hear bad things from one of my friends so I doubt I'll get into them. The one thing I do want to read about is the ritualistic hookup between the heroine and her boyfriend and his best friend...? Which is apparently straighter than it should be? I don't know, dude. That's always a disappointment for me. ALL OR NOTHING.

Scarlett St. Clair. I've read one book by her. She's romance, but I... did not like it.

Naomi Novik. I read Uprooted back in the day. Would not call it a romance, but a fantasy with a romance subplot. Wasn't into it.

Carissa Broadbent. Haven't read. Intrigued?

Rebecca Yarros. I've read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. They don't reinvent the wheel, they have issues. They're also compulsively readable and I enjoyed them. I'm surprised there aren't any controversies listed here?

Of course. That may be a choice on Vulture's part.