#author: sarah j maas

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌹Tag a friend in this community who you appreciate to send them a rose!

[emaswanned]

Me at any SJM man in a ballroom

[breadnabutterfingers]

What if…and hear me out on this! Nesta was the one hunting the wolf? What if Nesta killed Andras instead of Feyre and left with Tamlin to Prythian?

Let’s be real, Tamlin and Nesta are basically equals in a way that canon Tamlin and Feyre never were. 

At first, she’s suspicious but intrigued. Unlike Feyre, who saw Spring as a cage, Nesta sees opportunity.

Tamlin, instead of being patient, meets fire with fire. Their arguments are intense, but instead of pushing her away, they spark interesting conversations and discuss books.

It’s a slow burn, but Nesta doesn’t resist as much as Feyre did. She enjoys the control Tamlin gives her, not over him, necessarily, but over her own life for the first time. Maybe he even challenges her to embrace power in a way she’s never been allowed to.

Nesta, in return, teaches Tamlin how to stand up to the High Lords as an equal, instead of constantly trying to prove himself. Because Nesta says the words, Tamlin never sends her away. He keeps her safe, fights Amarantha, and never becomes broken the way he does in canon…

[sirenpearldust]

[lady-embers]

The Sunshine Couple

Elain is tuckered out from spending the day gardening and Lucien is doing some light reading while she sleeps as he wants to surprise her with an anniversary dinner 😴 💤

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A post shared by Margaret 🇱🇷 (@bookish_embers)

Characters belong to @sarahjmaas

Artist: b_astora on IG and Commissioner: Bookish_Embers

[sluttypatrickstar]

there is actually no fucking way you are saying this about bestselling white piece of shit fantasy author sarah j maas. there is actually no way you are comparing sarah j maas, a woman who used breonna taylor’s murder to promote her book, to women of colour who are regularly and routinely sidelined in the publishing industry and who struggle to get marketing budgets or publishing contracts in the first place and whose work is often pigeonholed. there is simply no way

[whendidmythoughtsgocrazy]

Leave this world a better place than how you found it.

k.b. // a court of wings and ruin - sarah j. maas

[aelinfireheartgalathynius]

I get that some people think it's funny to call SJM books "faerie porn" and that's fine, but...

It's gotten to a point where, when people talk to non-SJM readers who ask about the books, SJM readers will say with their whole chest "oh they're faerie porn books haha it's literally just porn!"

And it's started to get really grating for me. I've been reading SJM since Throne of Glass came out. These books are SO much more than the sex scenes, or even the romance (tbf romance is a common thread in all of her books, though same with a lot of male-written fantasy and those books don't get called romantasy, but I digress).

These books are something utterly unique and magical within the fantasy genre. I've been reading fantasy since I was in first grade (I'm 29) and I can honestly say that I have not come across anything like these books. Yes, SJM has flaws. Her books, especially early ones, have flaws. But overall, they are feats of world building, master classes in plot pacing and foreshadowing, and filled with enthralling characters and worlds and histories.

Diminishing them to the few sex scenes (a few of which are admittedly wild), most of which are also very emotionally significant to the characters, is doing Sarah and all of her books a disservice. And honestly, it's doing other potential readers a disservice when they decide not to read SJM due to the internet referring to it as porn and not "real" fantasy.

No one says that about authors like Patrick Rothfuss, but the second book in his hit fantasy series spends a significant amount of time focusing on the main character learning all about sex from a random forest faerie (don't get me started). Many male adult fantasy authors include sex scenes, some of which are extremely graphic, but no one calls their work porn — no, it's often referred to as "real" fantasy.

[cattraxneedsfood]

Okay I've been getting in to the romantasy world (I'm not ashamed, but alsooooo) and I just have to say these fandoms are so weird for me. I'm a fandom old, like not that old but I've been on tumblr since 2013, I was in the spn fandom, I've seen shit you know. And I will say my most interaction with these fandoms have been on Instagram and tiktok, which as we all know breeds a different fandom beast. But like, I feel like a lot of the fans Ive seen are very new to this kind of fandom world and they just don't follow the same rules I'm used to.

Like the critical analysis of the books tend to be lacking in my opinion. Obvs not everyone is like this but it's jarring hearing people use fandom language so wrong. Like the heavy use of fanfic terminology but just incorrect.

But the big one is the AI art. Like I think it's fairly well spread in tumblr fandoms that AI art is a big no go, so color me so surprised when I'm trying to look in to these big romantasy fandoms and it's like 70-80% AI art! I hate it, I'd rather be in a small fandom that doenst have a lot of content then see all this unorginal crap. Like all the art looks the same because of it. I hate it so much. Like fanart is for expression! To show what you've imagined! This stuff is garbage! And like some of these books have their problems but they have the strappings for a really good fandom and it's basically down the drain because it's overrun by AI slop.

Idk what I'm trying to say but I'm a little sad that I'm finally getting back in to reading and i really enjoy these series I've been in but have like no desire to interact with the fandom.

[acotarfrustrations]

Honestly we could REALLY get into the fact that a lot of the insanity in Acotar is an excellent exercise in why you can't really separate the art from the author.

Sjm's zionism is OBVIOUS in the text. The ic destabilize governments to the detriment of people they will never have to care for, steal artifacts from other countries, displace people, cause invasions, commit war crimes for 50 years "for the greater good" all while their own people are living under unchecked brutality and poverty.

They are rich megalomaniacs that care for no one but themselves and their own emotional and material satisfaction and they are PRAISED for it. In fact anyone who even remotely disagrees with the IC is almost always one of the villains in the story (Beron, Tamlin, etc) as if to condition the reader that asking questions that are critical of the IC puts you on the wrong side of the narrative morally.

All of that sounds REALLL familiar huh?

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

❄️ Celebrating the Winter Solstice ❄️

🦇 Good afternoon, my beloved bookish bats. We're headed to a friend's house to celebrate the Winter Solstice, which made me think of all the ways we naturally add magic & enchantment into our lives. Whether it's escaping into faraway lands with a book solo, playing a fantasy game with friends, or watching our favorite books come to life on the screen, there are a dozen ways we add magic into our world every day.

❓ How do you add magic to your life?

❄️ Here's my list: ✨ Reading cozy holiday romances next to a warm heater ❄️ Lighting a dozen (real & LED) candles around the house ✨ Watching silly holiday print sugar cookies bake in the oven ❄️ Cuddling up beside bae and our two kitties for warmth ✨ Watching old 80s/90s rom-com movies (where love feels like magic) ❄️ Attending a bonfire to celebrate the Winter Solstice among friends

[taliyaslibrary]

This with Tamlin in the spring court 🪷

[breadnabutterfingers]

HEAR. ME. OUT...

My stupidest ACOTAR crackship was always Tamlin/Cassian, even better if it's a genderswapped either way 😅 I just find it so funny that Cassian is allergic and can't exist in the Spring Court, and Tamlin has a rough spot for Illyrians, because of what happened between him and his ex-boyfriend Rhysand. Also, it would be so diabolical for Cassian to fall for someone like Tamlin, but they are actually quite similar and if you would forget about Cas being obsessed with Rhysand for just a second, he could totally fall for Tamlin... Exhibit A: both are battle-hardened warriors and deeply tied to violence. Both fight to protect, and both struggle with the consequences of their life.

Exhibit B: both love “obsessively” and their love is all-consuming, even if toxic.

Exhibit C: trauma bonding ?! 😏

Exhibit D (lol d…): both operate on raw emotion and physical power…feral attraction just dances on the tip of my dick, oh yeah, physical fights turning into intense fucks…👁️👄👁️

Exhibit E: both carry the weight of responsibility while being painfully lonely and alone. Cassian with the Illyrian army, Tamlin with his own Court.

Exhibit F: my favorite,😭 struggle with control  Tamlin constantly has a desperate need for control, but Cassian hates feeling powerless, whether in war or in relationships. DELICIOUS!🤌

Fam… we're talking enemies-to-lovers, we’re talking feral, passionate, uncontrollable chemistry, we’re talking two dominant, aggressive motherfuckers fueled by emotion. We’re talking healing, we’re loving the forbidden, the unexpected. We’re talking Rhysand’s utter horror at the idea of Cassian falling for Tamlin. THA DRAMAH MAMA.👌 The tension. The secrecy. The angst….ooooooohhhhh the angst….👁️🫦👁️

Toxiq? Yes, please!

Obsessive? Undoubtedly so!

Soft redemption? Oddly, a realistic possibility.

Like…hear me out, someone, please 

[highladyofterrasen7]

Me when I’m dead but my favourite author just dropped another book

[lady-embers]

Sarah can turn around relationships/buildup for couples pretty fast, despite any amount of buildup for them.

Look at Chaol and Aelin.

Look at Feyre and Tamlin.

Look at Dorian and Aelin/Sorscha.

Look at Azriel and Mor.

Sarah can introduce a couple meant for endgame and tell their story in one book.

Look at Chaol and Yrene. Yrene was a very minor character at one point yet became a bigger character in just one book with Chaol and helped significantly in the end of the series.

Look at Nesyrn and Sartaq. This relationship was built upon in just one book as more background but they still stood out on their own.

The other side might say they have 3 books of buildup but do they really when you look at the scenes and context within?

Also look at these facts:

Sarah introduced Gwyn to us in ACOSF. A new character who she made equal to Azriel.

Sarah wrote potential for Gwyn and Azriel in ACOSF. If you want to deny it, that's fine, but it's there.

Sarah has the typical endgame banter, shared history, competitive behavior between Gwyn and Azriel.

Sarah spent ONE book and ONE bonus chapter dismantling any "potential" buildup of previous characters to make way for a new endgame couple. The true endgame of Gwyn and Azriel.