#and reading throne of glass

[hidiustd]

sometimes i want to use this profile for silly little posts about books i'm reading or just as a digital diary and then i forget i have a tumblr for a few months

and here i am again :)

[rubypomegranates]

"Libraries were full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons."

Sarah J. Maas "Throne of Glass"

[acourtofquestions]

“If you were to ask me what Throne of Glass is about…

I’d say it’s about the epic journey of a teenage assassin in a corrupt kingdom.

But if you were to ask me on a deeper level, I’d say…

It’s about how small acts of kindness can change the outcome of the world.

Money to a barmaid, waiting an extra minute to shoot, a warning in a competition, a cloak in a cold dungeon, a message on a wall, sharing your lavender soap.”

[cassianandfenrysaremyboyos]

Book phrases that make me go feral

"my wife"

"you came for me"

"who did this to you"

"if you touch her you die"

"I'll always find you"

[ruhnlidiasworld]

“Azriel can't have a book because SJM only have female protagonist”

Chaol Westfall somewhere in the MaasVerse:

[derangedthoughtssideblog]

when I finally have friends who like reading but I can't ask them for book recs because these mfs like everything and can't be trusted

[pergaminaa]

Friendly reminder that Dorian Havilliard pushed aside a valg prince possessing him just so that he can have a few seconds to rizz up the hot witch that showed up

[loverofpiggies]

Fantasy Novel Recommendations?

Hey yall! I've gotten SO big into reading novels, whenever I'm not working on my art or my video game I'm pouring into a new world!

But I keep getting frustrated with a lot of the fantasy novels I read, and I was pretty disappointed by Fourth Wing. Not that it was bad, there was a LOT that I found really interesting! Everything with the dragons in particular was really fascinating.

But... the romance subplot became the ENTIRE story and it was just really dull and frustrating to read. I loved so many things in the book, but that drove me so crazy I don't even think I'll read the second one.

If romance is the primary point, like Jane Austin novels? I'm totally fine with that! But... I don't really want it taking over completely in my fantasy novels.

Point is... I'm looking for fantasy novels with female leads, with minimal romance, or romance very much being secondary to the primary plot. Also if there can be little to no sex scenes, please and thank you. I'm not a prude, I just find a lot of it very boring. I come to books for stories, ya know?

I ADORED the Throne of Glass series, and any romance in there always stood secondary to the story, and felt pretty fluid and believable, so it never bothered me.

So yes, please give me any recommendations you have!! I'd love to check out new fantasy novels.

Anyway if you want any book recs yourself, these are some of my favorites: Throne of Glass series

Where the Crawdads Sing

This Is How You Lose The Time War

To Kill a Mockingbird

[darlingod]

When someone criticizes a book or character that I love:

[amaltheas-garden]

people still shocked that in the year of our lord 2024 some of us don't want to see Dany get her 'happy ending' by becoming the white savior who was promised

[caffeinatedcatlover]

Week 8 in my journal. The journal is already getting chunky, so I didn’t stick in many drawings this time.

[acourtofquestions]

"But maybe," he said, quietly enough that she looked at him again. He didn't smile, but his eyes were inquisitive. "Maybe we could find the way back together."

He would not apologize for today, or yesterday, or for any of it. And she would not ask him to, not now that she understood that in the weeks she had been looking at him it had been like gazing at a reflection. No wonder she had loathed him.

"I think," she said, barely more than whisper, "I would like that very much." He held out a hand. "Together, then." She studied the scarred, callused palm, then the tattooed face, full of a grim sort of hope.

Someone who might-who did understand what it was like to be crippled at your very core, someone who was still climbing inch by inch out of that abyss.

Perhaps they would never get out of it, perhaps they would never be whole again, but

"Together," she said, and took his outstretched hand.

And somewhere far and deep inside her, an ember began to glow.

[rosietrace]

This is a personal rant about my thoughts on Greek mythology retellings, and just the way Fantasy books and the publishing industry is at this point 🧍‍♀️

I have nothing against Greek mythology retellings, or just anything Greek mythology related in fantasy in general!

However, I have certain gripes about the way Greek mythology is portrayed in media, specifically in the way its interpreted in Fantasy.

[ More under the cut! ]

I love Percy Jackson, and I think that Uncle Rick did a wonderful job at expanding the world and making Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology entertaining and easily digestible for young audiences. Genuinely, he does a better job at writing children's books than R*wling could ever be capable of.

However, as much as I can love PJO as much as I do, I still find certain bits of the world building and character writing as... Very hit and miss.

To start, I don't like the way Ares was written in the series. I can understand that it would make sense for his personality to be that way, because he's the God of War and it helps with Clarisse's character development; but I find fault in it because Ares in the myths is nothing like PJO Ares. (He literally killed one of Poseidon's sons because he raped his daughter, Alcippe, and he's one of the only gods who doesn't hump anything that can breathe in air. At least Ares has the courtesy of asking for consent 💀)

The Gods being the reason behind WWII and Hitler being a child of Hades. All I must say.

The portrayal of the Aphrodite cabin

The fact that Athena can have children. Annabeth, pjo fandom at large, I love you are, but you gotta admit it must've felt weird when you first read the books and you find out Athena — the maiden Goddess of Wisdom — can have offspring. Regardless of the reasoning, I still find it weird 😭 (EDIT: I've now just remembered that it was a reference to how Athena herself was created 🤡 I'm a clown)

I get that the Hermes cabin is also the cabin for the unclaimed, but couldn't have Hestia's cabin worked too? She doesn't have offspring, sure, but it probably would've made more sense for the unclaimed to go to Hestia's cabin so that the Hermes cabin wouldn't be so crowded

This isn't really a world building issue, but I think I should bring it up: I'm not saying this against the Kane Chronicles fandom, but... Sadie and Anubis. Why. Like you can't convince me that no one WASN'T weirded out by that.

Less of a complaint and more of a question because I can't remember if the question was answered in HoO or not, but when Percy told the Gods to start claiming their unclaimed children and be more decent parents (as he should, go off king), did that request apply to the Romans at Camp Jupiter too? Because that's gotta have been confusing when the unclaimed kids at CP suddenly started getting claimed 😭😭

I could go on a whole ass tangent about PJO, but that would make this post longer than it needs to be 😭😭 and any of the points might not make much sense, since I haven't read the books in a LONG time

Off to the YA Fantasy segment... Hoo boy.

The oversaturation of Hades/Persephone retellings makes me SEETHE. Why is it always Hades and Persephone why can't it be something else 😭

I just don't like the “modern feminist” retellings of Greek myths in the YA Fantasy genre, in general. They tend to completely miss the point of the original myth, and it's the case with a lot of Hades and Persephone retellings where they try to paint Hades as the good guy taking Persephone away from her control freak mother, Demeter.

Because that wasn't what the myth was about. The myth isn't a love story, at least, not a romantic one. It was about Demeter's love for Persephone and how much she wanted her daughter back after Hades stole her away. Keep in mind, in the historical context of the myth, the daughters of women in ancient Greece never really get to see their mothers after their engagements are solidified.

If they wanted to make a “feminist” retelling of the myth, they'd have it centered around the love Demeter had for Persephone to almost doom the mortal realm to an eternal winter to get her back.

I love the myth of Hades and Persephone, truly, I do. I understand the appeal it has on people, the appeal it has one me. I can see why people adore the myth in the way they do because Hades is one of the better husbands in Greek mythology (a low bar, but my point still stands).

Personally, I blame Lore Olympus and especially the video of the myth by Overly Sarcastic Productions for the way the myth is portrayed in mass media. And I say this as a former LO fan and a fan of Overly Sarcastic Productions 😭

I'd also want to go into my many, MANY gripes about “Crown of Starlight” by Cait Corrain, but in all honesty? I don't think I can properly convey how much I DESPISE Cait and their book. So I'd highly recommend y'all to check out the videos about Cait Corrain by Reads With Rachel, WithCindy, and Xiran Jay Zhao on YouTube if you're interested in going into more detail about the controversies, especially for those who weren't made aware of it.

I feel like the publishing industry just... Isn't good anymore, after Booktok went viral. Reading has been “hot girlified”, and all Booktok seems to ask when they get recommended a book is: “Is it spicy??”

Reading is like fast fashion, now. It's all based around certain popular tropes that that's how books are promoted now. Not for the plot — or sometimes lack thereof — but for the tropes the book has.

The only thing I can thank Booktok for is that they helped me discover The Cruel Prince. And even then, it's marketed as romance on there, when it's a political fantasy with a romance subplot.

‼️ Woah! A secret bonus section! ‼️

I, personally, don't read — nor do I like — Sarah J Maas. (Especially considering the problematic aspects of her storytelling, character portrayals, and is (apparently, correct me if I'm wrong) a Zionist)

However, that isn't to say that I don't like some of the characters she makes. A lot of them have potential, actually! From what I've seen, I think Nesta, Gwyn, Azriel, Eris, Tamlin and Lucien from ACOTAR are the only characters I actually like, based on what I've heard — and seen — on anything in the SJM critical tag on this hellsite.

And while we're at it, let's discuss the elephant in the room with ACOTAR, right? Rhysand.

By all that is good and holy, I hate Rhysand so much and I think I'd hate him even more if I actually READ the books. I don't get why Booktok is so invested in him when Maas retconned Tamlin's character to make him look better as Feyre's love interest.

Also, from what I recall, didn't Rhysand sexually assault Feyre? And he didn't bother to apologize for it, and justified it with his sad tragic backstory??

I can't with y'all, istg 😭 the fact that “Feysand” is apparently a Hades and Persephone retelling too makes me even more mad about it because it isn't even a GOOD retelling. It just takes away what ACOTAR originally was— a Beauty and the Beast retelling, with Feyre and Tamlin as the leads.

Didn't Maas dedicate ACOTAR to her husband because “He would go under the mountain” for her??? BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY WASN'T RHYSAND WHO SAVED FEYRE FROM UTM, I'LL TELL YOU THAT

I think, out of all the series Maas has made thus far, Throne of Glass is the only one I ACTUALLY kind of like, based on what I've heard. Crescent City seems to be too complicated to understand, and even though I've never read it myself, I miss what ACOTAR could've been. (My hope lies with Nesta, Elucien and Gwynriel, at this point)

[roselensedeyes]

celeana/aelin and chaol ceased to exist as a couple the moment she was unable to forgive him for his part in nehemia's assassination. he didn't kill nehemia, but he trusted his kingdom more than he did celeana. in her eyes, he was as responsible as the person who held the weapon.

elain and lucien ceased to exist as a couple the moment she looked him in the eyes and told him "you were there. you betrayed us." he didn't kidnap nesta and elain and forced them into the cauldron, but in her eyes he's as responsible as ianthe, tamlin and he king of hybern.

[superducky800]

tog characters on a teacup ride

inspired by someone else’s post but expanded!

lysandra, elide, rowan, gaveiel: *calmly spinning slowly and chatting*

lorcan and manon: *sitting completely stone-faced the whole time, only here bc elide asked them*

chaol and yrene: *mildly panicked and queasy, worried about aelin, aedion, and fenrys*

aelin, aedion, and fenrys: *spinning as fast as possible and shrieking, someone starts standing at some point and almost falls out*

nesryn, sartaq, and borte: *treats it as a ruk flight training simulator*

dorian: *trying to rizz up manon from the side lines*

[sofiasjornal]

Rowan fell to his knees before her, putting his head in her lap as his arms wrapped around her waist. "I can't bear it, Aelin. I can't."

And with this I found that there’s a point when your body runs out of water and you can’t cry anymore 😭😭😭