#dying to play starfield in a few days

[bellaxgiornata]

"Streamer takes seven hours to manually fly to Pluto in Starfield"

"...more than 1000 planets to land on..."

Me: *foaming at the mouth over my upgraded PC because of how expansive this game is*

Matt, Frank, and Mikey:

[tjbanni]

Emil has got to go.

Recently the news came out that Emil Pagliarulo was responding to criticism of the new Starfield expansion pack by coping and arguing with people who have legitimate concerns about what the hell is going on at Bethesda. Since day one people have wondered why big empty worlds are supposed to be appealing, why the writing is as lackluster as it is, and now: why the Shattered Space DLC feels like it’s just an underwhelming part of the base game that was ripped out and sold separately a year later.

To briefly go over Emil’s history: he’s been working at BGS since the days of Oblivion and has been credited with writing the Dark Brotherhood questline of Oblivion, the main quest of Skyrim, the main quests of Fallout 3 and 4, and is now the design director of Fallout 76 and Starfield. And I swear the only reason he got as far as he is now is because of people praising the Oblivion DB quest (which I’ll get into, don’t worry).

These days Emil likes to talk about how Starfield is the best game that Bethesda has ever made and that the DLC may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s okay, because the small fanbase of Starfield is growing, I guess.

Starfield is the best game we’ve ever made

How’s that, again? What’s it best at?

Biggest world Bethesda has made? Debatably; there’s still Daggerfall.

Is it the best because of the combat? Sure, but the combat system for Fallout 4 was 10 years out of date on arrival.

The facial animation? Sometimes breaks and looks like Bioshock Infinite when it actually does work.

The characters? Safe and inoffensive when you’ve made literal psychopaths likeable in the past.

The save file management system? Doesn’t even bother to save a screenshot of where you were in the game when you saved.

If this is the best Bethesda game, it didn’t have anything to do with Emil Pagliarulo.

When it comes to the new DLC: a lot of people (myself included) thought this would be like the Far Harbor DLC of Fallout 4, where it featured some great content that made up for the lacking core content. That was our cope for the last few months.

Now the DLC is out and not only does it somehow perform horrendously, but people are talking about how Andreja — a character who should have some interesting things to say about the setting of this DLC — is barely utilized, how the DLC contains about five hours of worthwhile hand-crafted content surrounded by procedurally-crafted slop. Who was in charge of the design of the DLC? It wasn’t Will Shen; it was Emil Pagliarulo.

And why was Emil Pagliarulo put in a position to handle such big projects? Honestly, I don’t know, because he never proved that he could handle something like this.

Starfield doesn’t have any intelligent alien life, political conflict, hard-hitting questions, or NPCs you can kill unless the script says you can. It’s a game about being a nobody who happens upon a rock that unlocks superpowers and the secret of inter-universal travel — and the reason why is because Bethesda unironically believes people want to live in their games.

Fallout 4 is about a parent who wakes up in the post-apocalypse and tries to weave their way through contrivances and side quests to find that their son is now in charge of a robot-making company.

Skyrim is about a person of prophecy who has superpowers for some reason because a dragon wants to eat the world for some reason and also you must either kill the only good dragon in the world or leave the person telling you to kill him stuck in a cave for eight years — or at least that’s what I did.

Fallout 3 is about a kid trying to find their dad — an inversion of Fallout 4. Originally this game ended with that kid dying, which led Bethesda to learn the wrong lesson about how to make people keep playing their games beyond the main story when they added DLC that spared this kid character’s life. This game also introduced a morality system because ERR MEH GERD SHOULD I BLOW UP THESE INNOCENT TOWN PEOPLE OR NO??

And then there is Oblivion. Emil didn’t write the contrived main quest for that, but he was in charge of the Dark Brotherhood questline: a questline that starts if you murder an NPC for no reason. This quest was highly praised, but I’m starting to think people are only praising this quest in hindsight because of how lackluster the Skyrim version of it was. This quest introduced the classic Emil Pagliarulo twist: where, in this game’s case, you find out you’ve been a pawn in the game of an edgy Hot Topic customer who lives with rotting animal carcasses — someone who orders you to get all the stupid quirky two-dimensional people in the DB hideout out of his way.

Everyone loves this questline because a lot of people think a narrative twist is a substitute for good writing. Sorry to tell you this, but: no.

I’m speaking as someone who liked all the games I criticized here when I say once more: Emil Pagliarulo has got to go.

[satashiiwrites]

wip whenever/Wednesday

so… i know I’ve been tagged a few times in the last two weeks or so but work has been a dumpster fire like usual. Working on my day off at getting a few things spiffed up for posting but I keep returning to this idea so it’s getting expounded upon (and it’s not because my starfield character looks like Glawen’s twin….)

Ahem. Bel and Glawen are couples goals.

Still needs a title tho.

Tagging @monsterrae1 @tkwritesdumbassassins @quietborderline @missanniewhimsy @westernlarch @rosieposiepuddingnpie @whimsyswastry @outtoshatter @alyxmastershipper @valandhirwriter and anyone else who wants to play along. No pressure as always.

Wip whenever banner by radiochatter.

Title: Untitled Bel/Glawen Foundation fic (taking suggestions at this point)

Fandom: Foundation TV

Pairing: Bel Riose/Glawen Curr, likely mentions of Cleon XVII/Demerzel

Fic summary:

Bel Riose has believed his husband dead for the last six years.  It’s a punishment worse than death, knowing that it was his defiance that signed his lover’s death warrant. Now, Empire has summoned him back to Trantor because there is a job only the Hero of the Twentieth Fleet can do… and his Glawen is alive. 

Tags/warnings: angst. Mention of previous torture/imprisonment (canon for tv series). Glawen is dripping words of revolution in his husband’s ear eventually. First draft. Pining—all the angsty pining. Reunions. Space opera/science fiction setting. Suicidal thoughts because Bel wants to be with Glawen.

He doesn’t believe her. Not really.  

Bel does a good impression of being unbroken, but it’s a simulacrum of his former self. Years of torture and constant reminders that his husband had been executed because of his decisions have broken something essential in him.  

He used to think he was fearless. 

Now, he is nothing but fear. 

He fears that Demerzel isn’t lying, and he fears that she is. 

Bel makes no effort to rid himself of the filth he’s become accustomed to. If Empire wants to speak with him, he will see him as he is. He’s proud of the dirt underneath his fingernails and the grit that has tattooed itself into his sunburnt skin. His gait, once so proud, is now unsteady, and his muscles atrophied from almost starvation.

Imprisonment has carved away all his excesses and all of his niceties.  

He’s remade the legions he used to command out of his fellow prisoners. He is one of them, and he bargains only for them. A man of his people and one who would die for them just as he would have for any of his soldiers that had been his downfall. 

If Demerzel is merciful, she’ll finally allow him to die and be reconnected with his husband—his Glawen. 

The journey to Trantor is mercifully quick from the salt fields of Lepsis. Each kilometer they travel is another step closer to his death, and the resolve that has sustained him for the last six years sharpens his tongue into a blade that he will use to deal the final blow to his own ego. 

He already died six years ago with his Glawen. The husk Lady Demerzel escorts is his shade, vengeful and vicious. 

Hollowed out yet burning with an intellect bound only by oaths he was foolish enough to still believe because he has nothing else. Perhaps he really will still be of some use… or perhaps not. 

Glawen…I’m so sorry…

Damn him to the darkest and deepest hole. There’s a part of him that hopes his husband is alive. That Demerzel isn’t lying to him, and he has been torturing himself for six years for no reason. 

It can’t be real. This new gambit is a lie.

An attempt is made to allow him to clean himself up. One glance in a mirror is all it takes for him to refuse. His hair is long and straggly, touching his shoulders in clumps dyed the red of the dirt he slept in the last six years. Sores cover his joints, and the latest laceration left by a whip upon his face is untended. His teeth are yellow from the nutrient paste that’s been his only sustenance.  

If Empire calls him like a master does its dog, he will remain an unclean cur to the last breath. Let the genetic monstrosity be offended by his smell and see what an abused animal looks like. 

Demerzel’s barest hint of a smirk makes him bare his rotting teeth at her, swallowing the urge to growl. He’s pleased her and hopes it will be enough for her to grant him his final release. 

Barefoot, he walks the halls of the palace. More than one courtier covers their nose as he passes, and whispers follow him. Despite his changed appearance, he is recognized. General Bel Riose, Hero of the Twentieth Fleet and husband to Glawen Curr, his Fleet Supremus, now fallen, widowed, and renamed prisoner 731. 

A living example of the hubris of defying Empire’s will—even if it had been the right thing to do. 

He’s brought to the throne room, and the cracked part of his mind cackles manically, calling him a stupid dog as he’s brought to heel and paraded about, the brand on the back of his neck itching to remind him he is property. 

Emperor Dawn cannot hide his response to Bel’s hygiene, but the other two, Day and Dusk, are unmoved but he spies an irritated light in Day’s eyes. The collars about Dawn’s and Dusk’s necks suggest they are as much pets of Day as Bel is, and this observation amuses him enough that he stands proudly before them, unbowed.  

They’re all wearing those fucking blue dresses, the shade darkening with age from the powder blue of Dawn’s to the midnight of Dusk’s.  Dawn is a pasty faced teenager and Dusk a prematurely aged and impotent troll. 

[xolaanii]

I'm going to be able to play starfield in a few days and I'm dying to do it

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Severed Bonds

Summary: Edge, Jedi Knight, is lost in a Galaxy without the Jedi Order and the only one left to him is one who already betrayed them all.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Star Wars AU, Darkfic, Angst, Minor Character Deaths, Friends to Enemies to ?, Hatesex...?, Trauma, Implied Possible Insanity

Note: In the Star Wars Universe, Order 66 was a direct command for the Clone Troopers to kill their Jedi leaders. In the movies, this happened in the Revenge of the Sith, and it nearly wiped out all the Jedi in existence.

This story is set directly after that. So...yeah, it gets a little dark. 

Ah, but Star Wars was one of my very first fandoms and imagining Rus as a Sith Lord and Edge as a Jedi Knight was too much to resist. Particularly when you have Cheapbourbon's gorgeous art to thank for planting the idea in my head.

Check it out here!

I've taken liberties with both the Star Wars and the Undertale universes, of course. Played fast and loose with canon. It's more fun that way. As an extra warning, this isn't my normal fluffiness and I can't exactly call it a happy ending. None of the character deaths references are either of our boys.

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Consciousness came slowly, painfully so. Edge barely opened his sockets, enough to glance around the room he was in.

It was an unfamiliar medical bay and there was no one in sight. He sat up, stifling a groan at the ache in his skull. A medical droid powered up and left its charging station to come to him, metal hands urging him to lay back.

Its mechanical voice said with bland urgency, “Sir, you should lay down.”

He pushed the droid roughly aside and staggered to his feet. It moved back, out of his way, watching in silence, but if it was alerting a captor, it was too late to stop it.

All his clothing was clean and folded on a tray at the end of the bed. By time he pulled on his outer robe, Edge had found his balance, suppressing his headache with practiced ease, and no one came to investigate his waking.

His lightsaber was also on the tray and Edge took it automatically, clipping it to his belt.

Memory of what happened was fragmented; the suppressed pain did not eliminate the injury. His team traveling to seek out the Sith, that much he recalled, and there had been…an attack? An ambush? He needed answers before he chose his path.

He sank to his knees with the fluid grace despite his injuries, closing his sockets and reaching out with the Force. What he felt made him gasp, an unexpectedly wrenching cry of pain from within the universe itself and he hastily blocked it, kept his touch light, close. Memory came, as shocking as the pain flowing through the Force, and Edge opened his sockets.

There was only one other living presence on this ship and it was one he knew, all too well.

The ship was small and the walk to the cockpit was a short one. The other was sitting in the pilot’s seat, but the star field told Edge they were in hyperspace. His hands on the controls meant nothing. Familiar hands, long fingers of bone.

It was the first time in years he'd seen Rus anywhere except from the other side of a battlefield.

The lightsaber at his side was not a design that Edge knew, but he knew the color of its crystal. Red, as blazing crimson red as his own eye lights, though the meaning behind it was not one of a chance of birth. It was a choice.

Once his lightsaber had been green, complimenting the blue of Edge’s. They’d made them together, the one Edge still possessed and the one that Rus abandoned all those years ago.

Rus did not reach for his lightsaber, did not so much as look at him, even when he spoke.

"Where are the others?" Edge marveled at his own calm. He was a Jedi Knight and yet even he had his limits. The memory of the troopers who were supposed to be their allies turning on them, their blasters firing, of his fellow Knights falling beneath that deadly rain was fresh in his mind.

"they're gone," Rus said curtly. “all of them.” His voice was unchanged, even after all this time. Except for the underlying note of gentle humor that it had always held. His endless laughter was gone.

As gone as the other Jedi. "That's not possible."

But the Force told him otherwise; it cried to him, a universe worth of mourning and there was nothing but gaping emptiness at the other end of every bond. His team, Jedi he'd known and trusted for years were gone. Friends, teachers, students. Every mental path led to ragged emptiness. Where once the collective consciousness of the Jedi was a galaxy, now there was only the rare twinkle of a dying star.

It was no wonder he was so calm, he was probably going into shock

It was only his years of training that allowed him to keep his control. "You did this. This is because of you. You turned against us, turned to the Dark side."

Rus did not deny it but even as he said it, Edge could feel that it wasn't entirely true. He’d watched in quiet despair the depths that Rus sank to since his turning, watched as he killed when he should have been fighting at their side and yet. Rus had betrayed them, true, but this genocide was beyond even what he’d shown himself capable of.

They’d begun in the same crèche, he and Rus. Trained together as children, worked together as Padawans. They were knighted together, well on their way to being permanently teamed. Until with one desperate, reckless kiss, Rus destroyed it all.

On a mission with only the two of them, negotiations failed and turned violent. They’d only barely survived and ended up in the hold of a rickety transport they’d managed to barter passage on, huddled together against the cold. They were exhausted beyond reckoning and too tired to sleep. Edge trying to meditate, to reconcile what they’d gone through coming so close to dying, when there was a whisper in that darkness, his name.

“edge—“

Rus’s mouth had been hot, desperate against his own, pleading wordlessly, and Edge pushed him away.

He could still remember the look on Rus’s face, the raw emotion that no true Jedi would show.

It all collapsed so quickly after that, like a child’s balancing game destroyed by an ill wind.

And now they were here and the emptiness in his mind was as raw, as anguished, as Rus had been that day.

"Where are you taking me?" Edge asked, finally.

"i don't know. far away." Rus made a ragged sound, a mockery of his past laughter. "my Master has been calling to me, demanding my return. we need to get as far away as we can."

It would never be far enough. Through the Force all things were possible. Even darkness.

Edge sank into the co-pilot seat, staring at the starfield speeding outside. "You could have let me die."

Again there was that laughter and Rus shook his head. "i couldn't. i never could. not you, never you. it was always you, always, you were my downfall to begin with!" His anger trailed away into a low, broken chuckle, even now finding humor. “i gave up everything for you.”

"You gave up everything for yourself," Edge told him coolly. That was the truth of it, that was the Master’s teachings. The Jedi used their power for the benefit of all. To want for yourself was the path of the Sith and the proof of it was sitting before him. "I am not a possession for you to own."

"i didn't want to own you, i wanted--" Rus let out a low, shuddery breath. "it doesn't matter anymore. probably never did.”

"You left my lightsaber."

His laughter was bordering on hysteria now and Edge wondered if Rus was completely sane. Wondered the same thing about himself, if his preternatural calm was closer to a loss of self.

"i did,” Rus giggled, rocking in his seat. “i did. i wasn't entirely sure we'd be able to escape, and i didn't want to leave you helpless if we were boarded. me, they would probably spare, my master prefers to mete out his punishments himself, but you? you would only be another dead Jedi."

His control was slipping, cracking, Edge noted distantly, wondering again at his own sanity. "They are truly gone, all of them."

"most of them, yes. i expect a few have managed to escape. like you."

"Even the younglings, the little ones."

"yes." Rus swallowed hard, that maddening humor slipping away. “i didn't know. i wouldn't have--when the order came..." He shuddered with a thin rattle of bones, muffled beneath his dark robes. “this wasn’t the war i was meant to be fighting. the jedi are wrong, they expect us to cage our emotions and hide from the power that's possible, they are...were…"

"Rus--"

"they killed them all," Rus whispered. He never looked away from the hyperspace surrounding them, but his hands fell away from the controls, "i have blood on my hands, on my soul, i've never pretended otherwise, this was a war, but they...they shot them in the back. honor is a useless construct for those who choose death, but they killed children, they…that…"

“It was a war, this was what you wanted,” Edge said. The numbness in his soul was spreading, leaving him as empty as the Force. “And now you’re running away from it.”

“not you,” Rus said, softly, and he finally looked at Edge. There was nothing to mark his fall, nothing that named him Sith, save for the burning eye lights in his sockets. “that was too high a price.”

“Higher than your own soul?”

“too high a price,” Rus repeated. He grinned and it was savage.

If Edge was emptiness, then Rus was an overfilled cup and his hatred spilled out to sear them all.

His lightsaber was heavy at his hip. He could kill Rus right now, finally end this; the years of searching, of watching others being cut down beneath the glow of crimson. Edge didn't reach for it and wondered distantly if Rus had known he wouldn't or if he didn't care. “Asgore will find you.”

That smile turned bitter, a dead remnant of his former self. “he will, eventually, and my master will kill me. but then, it’s hardly the first time i’ve given up everything for you.”

Edge stood, striding out of the cockpit and away from what was left of his friend. And the Jedi.

~~*~~

In the weeks that passed, Rus mostly stayed away from him. It was a small ship, some interaction was unavoidable, but passing by each other in the common areas was more like walking past a ghost, a wraith who hardly looked at him.

Those fleeting glances told him that Rus was exhausted, darkened shadows sinking in beneath his sockets. The courses he plotted seemed nonsensical, likely trying to avoid Imperial forces.

Edge paid it little mind. He spent his nights sleeping and his days meditating. Reaching out for others through the static of emptiness, feeling through the Force for survivors.

But no one came.

There was nothing but the pulse of the one already on the ship. Rus’s Force signature was nothing like his former exuberance, all his gentle light darkened with anger, with hate.

It still felt like him. Edge pushed it to the side, and reached out further, searching for others that never reached back.

~~*~~

Another week passed and they landed on Soonia to refuel. An outskirts planet, the sort where power was law and the Empire had no control. It was little more than a trading post, but there was an outdoor market, shouts from those hawking their wares ringing through the growing heat of the morning.

Edge walked through it, his robes concealed beneath a dark cloak. Small stalls lined the walkways, with questionable meats turning on spits as they displayed a colorful array of the local fruits, fish, stolen wares, and everything else beneath the double suns.

He had no credits, not a thing to barter with. He was, however, not without skill and it only took a few nudges, a couple waves of his hand to net some fresh supplies, better than the gruel that has been sustaining them.

The afternoon was getting unpleasantly warm by the time he carried them back to the ship and he was preparing an evening meal when Rus returned. Edge had no idea what Rus traded for fuel, but he was limping and there was a ghost of bruise on his cheek bone that made his soul clench.

He stopped when he saw Edge.

“you came back,” Rus said, blankly.

For the first time, it occurred to Edge that he could have left. Bartered for passage on one of the other ships and Rus expected him to do it. They would be hunting him, true, as they were hunting all Jedi, but he would be infinitely safer away from Rus, who was marked as a traitor to be executed by the Emperor himself.

Distantly, he found himself saying, “Where else do I have to go?”

Edge turned his attention back to the fresh pala fruit he was slicing, sticky juice sluicing over his fingers. It would be delicious when it was warmed.

Rus stood for a long moment, watching. Then he limped slowly to one of the chairs and sat, waiting in silence until Edge set a plate in front of him.

They still rarely spoke but from that day forward, they took their meals together.

~~*~~

At the hour for his nightly meditations, Edge couldn’t focus.

Every day, morning and night, he searched for others, other Jedi who escaped, and every time he was greeted by nothingness. There was no one out there, the tendrils of the Force that tethered him his entire life were severed, still raw and bleeding even with the passing time.

They were gone, all of them. He knew it, had known it, but tonight was when belief sank in its teeth. They were gone and he was completely, utterly alone.

The taste of salt broke his concentration and Edge opened his sockets, wiping his tears away roughly with his sleeve. The Jedi were gone, dead, destroyed. Everyone he knew was dust.

All but one.

Edge rose slowly, walked out the door of his tiny sleeping quarters. The next room was barely two steps away and it was unlocked. He opened it, stepping inside.

On the narrow bed Rus stirred, his skull lifting from the pillows as he asked, “edge? what are you doing?”

There was only sleepiness in his voice, no hint of fear or his endless anger. Almost, Edge could pretend this was another time, another place.

Rus said nothing as Edge stripped off his robes and climbed into the bed, finding bones that matched the bareness of his own.

Edge had been with others. Sexual intercourse was not strictly forbidden, and he’d found momentary pleasures before, both between the thighs of another and others between his.

This was not sex; this was punishing Rus’s body and his own. Not with pain, no, the hurts they bore weren’t of the flesh, but of the soul.

It was an echo of that first kiss so long ago in a clammy, rusted hold; this was that moment, frozen in time, twisted and darkened and waiting for him.

He swept his hands over Rus, touching the sleek bones he’d denied himself before. There were new scars, stories gouged into him that Edge did not want to learn. Pain that he couldn’t bear to share, not on top of what he already carried.

The need within him burned and he pushed Rus’s knees apart almost desperately, settling between his femurs as he sought the only connection he could.

Rus cried out as he slid into him and the sound of it was the most honest thing they’d shared since that single, damning kiss.

Rolling his hips, Edge fucked him slowly, watching Rus coming apart beneath him. Fingers clawed at his rib cage, clutching him, holding him desperately and Edge allowed it. Giving him the body he’d denied Rus before.

He took his own back, scraping his teeth against the line of Rus’s jaw, tasting his mouth again and again, sharing his own desperation, his own raw need.

The brink came too fast, inexorably, and he could feel Rus reaching for him. Not with his hands, those clung to him, refused to release their hold. It was a shaky, tentative mental touch through the Force, reaching out to him.

Edge didn’t hesitate, opening himself up to the first Force contact he’d felt in weeks. The torn bond between them that had broken when Rus abandoned the Order was waiting for him. It was as damaged as the others that lay within Edge but when he reached for this one, it connected.

Despite everything, despite all the anger, the hate, Rus splayed open his soul to him and Edge did not cringe from the poison of his mental touch. His soul was filled with the Dark Side, layers of darkness, of rage and hate drenched in blood, and beneath it all, flaking away like layers of paint, was the Rus he knew, that he had always known and wasn’t allowed to love.

So broken, so hurt, so angry, that gentle soul buried in pain. But there.

In the shimmer of merging thought, he saw memory that wasn’t his own. The moment Edge’s team found him and before they could attack came Rus’s realization of what was truly happening. The clone troopers raising their weapon and—Rus caught the one aiming at Edge’s back with a brutal use of Force, lifting him from the ground and throwing him into a wall. His shot went wild, left Edge with only a graze on the side of his skull rather than a fatal injury. The other Jedi fell beneath the onslaught, dead and dying, while Rus’s lightsaber flashed, crimson slashing through the troopers until their screams faded.

Rus, picking him up, carrying him to the ship. Rus, caring for his injury. Rus, here and now, writhing beneath him.

When he came, his seed fell over Edge’s hand, dripping onto his rib cage, and only then did Edge close his sockets, losing himself in the slick heat, in this moment, in this life that was now his, theirs, until his own pleasure fell over him, raw and real, burning within him, flaring in his own soul.

Within the Force they reclaimed their bond and in that embrace, Edge learned what it was like to fall.

-finis-

Read Chapter 2

[aion-rsa]

Elden Ring Delay Throws the 2022 Video Game Release Schedule Into Chaos

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

From Software has recently confirmed that they’ve decided to delay Elden Ring‘s release date from January 23, 2022, to February 25, 2022, and, in the process, have thrown an already hectic 2022 release schedule into chaos.

First off, the Elden Ring delay itself seems simple enough and probably isn’t enough reason to make fans worry that there are serious problems behind the scenes. Many people were stunned to see Elden Ring get such an “early” release date in the first place, and the Elden Ring team seems to be saying that they just need a little time to get it right. That isn’t to say that there won’t be more Elden Ring delays, but at the moment, this seems to be more of a standard delay rather than the early stages of a Cyberpunk 2077 situation.

Important message: ELDEN RING will release on Feb 25, 2022, as the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations. Thank you for your trust & patience. We look forward to seeing you experience the game in the Closed Network Test in Nov. The #ELDENRING Team

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) October 18, 2021

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

More important than Elden Ring‘s release date at the moment, though, is the fact that Elden Ring‘s delay has turned an already hectic upcoming release schedule into an absolute madhouse.

Look, 2022 is going to be a busy year for video games no matter what happens next. A combination of natural timing and quite a few recent delays mean that by the end of the year we will, ideally, finally get to play Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Starfield, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and possibly many, many more highly-anticipated titles. It was always going to be wild.

However, this delay completely changes the game. Just take a look at the current video game release schedule for February 2022:

Dying Light 2 – February 4 Horizon Forbidden West – February 18 Destiny 2: The Witch Queen – February 22 Elden Ring – February 25 Saints Row – February 25 Yes, not only are there five major games set to be released within a few weeks of each other during February 2022 but two of those games are currently scheduled to be released on the same day.

The good people of Twitter have also noticed that February 2022 is looking a little crazy at the moment, and, in the grand tradition of the internet, have come up with some accurate and hilarious responses to this bit of release date insanity.

Elden ring has been delayed until feb 25. Look at feb 2021 now: Feb 4: Dying light 2 Feb 18: SONY Horizon Forbidden west Feb 22: Destiny 2 The Witch Queen Feb 22: SIFU Feb 25: Saints Row reboot Feb 25: Elden Ring WTF?????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/ofynyvNvGH

— Pyo 5️⃣ (@mrpyo1) October 18, 2021

– Horizon Forbidden West: 18th February – Witch Queen: 22nd February – Elden Ring: 25th February How am I going to have the hyuckin time for all of these 😫 pic.twitter.com/UJlNu1rE93

— Dr.Chrizmostein 💀 (@Chrizmo__) October 18, 2021

So wait… Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring exactly 1 week apart. I am screwed. https://t.co/C8FTAIMMRq

— MBG (@xMBGx) October 18, 2021

Saints row reading the news that Elden Ring getting delayed to February: pic.twitter.com/IymjTwpitT

— USOVINNY (@hawaiinguy808) October 18, 2021

As that last tweet mentions, it’s incredibly likely that Saints Row will be delayed in response to Elden Ring‘s new release date. At the very least, that certainly seems to be the most logical immediate response to this announcement. Of course, the Saints Row team may be wondering whether or not Elden Ring could get delayed again and whether or not that possibility means that they shouldn’t delay their own game quite yet.

That’s the heart of the problem with the 2022 video game release schedule at the moment. Each potential upcoming delay could just end up pushing that delayed game into the atmosphere of some other major release date. While your guess is as good as ours regarding how “scared” specific studios are to release their major upcoming games so close to other specific games, I can guarantee you that nobody wants to face a “same day” or even “same week” scenario if they can avoid it, and there’s still a lot of room for those scenarios to happen.

That’s where things could get a little grim for gamers. While the prospect of having to choose between so many major games in a short amount of time is a legitimate concern for studios and consumers, the only logical solution to that problem is for more studios to consider delaying their projects into late 2022 or even 2023. Mind you, the state of the industry at the moment and the ways that studios are still battling the effects of developing new games during the Covid-19 pandemic mean that those longer delays may just be inevitable at this point regardless of what the competition chooses to do.

There is, hypothetically, enough room on the 2022 release schedule for all these games to find a home for themselves and ultimately make 2022 one of the most bountiful years in video game history. However, when you take a look at how many games are left on the slate and attempt to arrange their hypothetical release dates in such a way that gives everything ample room to breathe…well, I suppose the message here is that you had better prepare yourself for more short-term and long-term delays to come or a battle for our attention, time, and money the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite some time.

The post Elden Ring Delay Throws the 2022 Video Game Release Schedule Into Chaos appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[lifeofaliterarynerd]

Anticipated Releases: April 2017

Alone in Paris by Ashley Earley (Apr 1) // Taylor Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem. Though her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.

The End of Our Story by  Meg Haston (Apr 4) // Bridge and Wil have been entangled in each other’s lives for years. Under the white-hot Florida sun, they went from kids daring each other to swim past the breakers to teenagers stealing kisses between classes. But when Bridge betrayed Wil during their junior year, she shattered his heart and their relationship along with it.

Alex, Approximately by Jean Bennett  (Apr 4) // Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush. A charming teen spin on You’ve Got Mail.

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer (Apr 4) // Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope. Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past. When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers.

Gem & Dixie by Sara Zarr (Apr 4) // Gem has never known what it is to have security. She’s never known an adult she can truly rely on. But the one constant in her life has been Dixie. Gem grew up taking care of her sister when no one else could: not their mother, whose issues make it hard for her to keep food on the table; and definitely not their father, whose intermittent presence is the only thing worse than his frequent absence. Even as Gem and Dixie have grown apart, they’ve always had each other.  

The Last Things You Said by Sara Biren (Apr 4) // Last summer, Lucy’s and Ben’s lives changed in an instant. One moment, they were shyly flirting on a lake raft, finally about to admit their feelings to each other after years of yearning. In the next, Trixie—Lucy’s best friend and Ben’s sister—was gone, her heart giving out during a routine swim. And just like that, the idyllic world they knew turned upside down, and the would-be couple drifted apart, swallowed up by their grief. Now it’s a year later in their small lake town, and as the anniversary of Trixie’s death looms, Lucy and Ben’s undeniable connection pulls them back together.

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (Apr 4) // Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that's now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth's robotic "mech" armies for decades with no end in sight. After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel's programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis--even though her plan to win the war will kill him.

Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima (Apr 4) // Alyssa ana'Raisa is the reluctant princess heir to the Gray Wolf throne of Fells, a queendom embroiled in a seemingly endless war. Hardened by too many losses, Lyss is more comfortable striking with a sword than maneuvering at court. After a brush with death, she goes on the offensive, meaning to end the war that has raged her whole life. If her gamble doesn't pay off, she could lose her queendom before she even ascends to the throne.

Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor (Apr 4) // Reggie Mason is all too familiar with "the Three Stages of Depression." She believes she’s unlocked the secret to keeping herself safe: Nobody can hurt you if you never let them in. Reggie encounters an unexpected challenge to her misanthropy: a Twizzler-chomping, indie film-making narcissist named Snake. Snake’s presence, while reassuring, is not exactly stable—especially since his ex-girlfriend is seven months pregnant. As Reggie falls for Snake, she must decide whether it’s time to rewrite the rules that have defined her.

Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant (Apr 4) // Eva Walker is a seventeen-year-old math genius. And if that doesn’t do wonders for her popularity, there’s another thing that makes it even worse: when she touches another person or anything that belongs to them — from clothes to textbooks to cell phones — she sees a vision of their emotions. She can read a person’s fears and anxieties, their secrets and loves … and what they have yet to learn about calculus. This is helpful for her work as a math tutor, but it means she can never get close to people. Then one day a new student walks into Eva’s life. His jacket gives off so much emotional trauma that she falls to the floor. Eva is instantly drawn to Zenn, a handsome and soulful artist who also has a troubled home life, and her feelings only grow when she realizes that she can touch Zenn’s skin without having visions. But when she discovers the history that links them, the truth threatens to tear the two apart.

Speak of Me As I Am by Sonia Belasco (Apr 4) // Melanie and Damon are both living in the shadow of loss. For Melanie, it's the loss of her larger-than-life artist mother, taken by cancer well before her time. For Damon, it’s the loss of his best friend, Carlos, who took his own life. As they struggle to fill the empty spaces their loved ones left behind, fate conspires to bring them together. But when the two join their school’s production of Othello, the play they both hoped would be a distraction becomes a test of who they truly are, both together and on their own. And more than anything else, they discover that it just might be possible to live their lives without completely letting go of their sadness.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston (Apr 4) // Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot.

But Then I Came Back by Estelle Laurie (Apr 4) // Eden Jones, a 17-year-old girl, feels lost after surviving a near fatal accident. Unable to connect with her family and friends, Eden forms an unlikely relationship with Joe, a boy who comes to the hospital to visit Jasmine, a friend who may soon be gone forever. Eden is the only person who can get through to Jasmine, but is she brave enough to face a world that’s bigger and more magical than she ever would have allowed?

Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han (Apr 4) // Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding. But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Apr 4) // At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas (Apr 6) // Grace has Asperger's and her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more. Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.

Who’s That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane (Apr 7) // When Edie is caught in a compromising position at her colleagues’ wedding, all the blame falls on her – turns out that personal popularity in the office is not that different from your schooldays, and if the groom is the head boy, Edie is closer to the geek with NHS glasses and purple braces. Ostracised by her colleagues, her boss suggests an extended sabbatical and has the perfect project to fill it – ghostwriting an autobiography for hot new talent, Elliot Owen. All she has to do is keep her head down, get on with the star and not snog him. Easy, right?

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (Apr 11) // Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.

Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis (Apr 11) // Khosa is Given to the Sea, a girl born to be fed to the water, her flesh preventing a wave like the one that destroyed the Kingdom of Stille in days of old. But before she’s allowed to dance – an uncontrollable twitching of the limbs that will carry her to the shore in a frenzy – she must produce an heir. Yet the thought of human touch sends shudders down her spine that not even the sound of the tide can match.

Literally by Lucy Keating (Apr 11) // Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word?

The Takedown by Corrie Wang (Apr 11) // Kyla Cheng doesn't expect you to like her. For the record, she doesn't need you to. On track to be valedictorian, she's president of her community club, a debate team champ, plus the yummy Mackenzie Rodriguez has firmly attached himself to her hip. She and her three high-powered best friends don't just own their senior year at their exclusive Park Slope, Brooklyn high school, they practically define the hated species Popular. Kyla's even managed to make it through high school completely unscathed. Until someone takes issue with this arrangement.

Alex and Eliza: A Love Story by Melissa de la Cruz (Apr 11) // 1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.

Fireworks by Katie Cotugno (Apr 18) // It was always meant to be Olivia. She was the talented one, the one who had been training to be a star her whole life. Her best friend, Dana, was the level-headed one, always on the sidelines, cheering her best friend along. But everything changes when Dana tags along with Olivia to Orlando for the weekend, where superproducer Guy Monroe is holding auditions for a new singing group, and Dana is discovered too. Dana, who’s never sung more than Olivia’s backup. Dana, who wasn’t even looking for fame. Next thing she knows, she and Olivia are training to be pop stars, and Dana is falling for Alex, the earnest, endlessly talented boy who’s destined to be the next big thing.

Meg & Linus by Hanna Nowinski (Apr 18) // Meg and Linus are best friends bound by a shared love of school, a coffee obsession, and being queer. It’s not always easy to be the nerdy lesbian or gay kid in a suburban town. But they have each other. And a few Star Trek boxed sets. They're pretty happy. But then Sophia, Meg’s longtime girlfriend, breaks up with Meg. Linus starts tutoring the totally dreamy new kid, Danny—and Meg thinks setting them up is the perfect project to distract herself from her own heartbreak. But Linus isn’t so sure Danny even likes guys, and maybe Sophia isn't quite as out of the picture as Meg thought she was.

Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology by Danielle Binks (Apr 24) // With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares (Apr 25) // Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.

The Wonder of Us by Kim Culbertson (Apr 25) // Riya and Abby are: Best friends. Complete opposites. Living on different continents. Currently mad at each other. About to travel around Europe.

Legion by Julie Kagawa (Apr 25) // Dragon hatchling Ember Hill was never prepared to find love at all--dragons do not suffer human emotions--let alone the love of a human and a former dragonslayer, at that. With ex-soldier Garret dying at her feet after sacrificing his freedom and his life to expose the deepest of betrayals, Ember knows only that nothing she was taught by dragon organization Talon is true. About humans, about rogue dragons, about herself and what she's capable of doing and feeling.

North of Happy by Ali Alsaid (Apr 25) // Carlos Portillo has always led a privileged and sheltered life. A dual citizen of Mexico and the US, he lives in Mexico City with his wealthy family where he attends an elite international school. His friends and peers-fellow rich kids-have plans to attend college somewhere in the US or Europe and someday take over their parents' businesses. Always a rule follower and a parent pleaser, Carlos is more than happy to tread the well-worn path in front of him. When his older brother, Felix--who has dropped out of college to live a life of travel--is tragically killed, Carlos begins hearing his brother's voice, giving him advice and pushing him to rebel against his father's plan for him.

The Dead List by Jennifer L Armentrout (Apr 25) // When Ella is mysteriously attacked on her way home from a party, her entire life changes as she finds herself at the center of an attempted murder investigation. Ella tries to move on, but her attacker isn't done yet.

[afoolsingenuity]

Looking Forward // April 2017

I’m mixing things up a bit this month. Normally I only include books which I haven’t read yet and I am excited to read but this month I decided to include all the books I’ve both read and haven’t which are being released this month. I want to get folks excited for books and I want to make sure everyone wants to read too. Basically, I am attempting to spread the love whilst failing epically at talking myself out of spending money.

 Geekerella - Ashley Poston Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Retelling, Young Adult Release Date: 4th April 2017 Red Sister – Mark Lawrence Genre: Fantasy Release Date: 6th April 2017

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

It's not until you're broken that you find your sharpest edge.

A brilliant new series from the bestselling author of PRINCE OF THORNS.

"I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin"

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

A brilliant new series from the bestselling author of PRINCE OF THORNS.

Why Am I Excited?

Well, I’ve read it so it’s easy to give reasons why I’m excited for everyone else to get reading but it is one I want to get my own copy of. I mean, it’s a brilliant book and it’s one for all those who have been a part of any fandom ever. Also, I am very much in love with Darien and I’m not normally a fan of celebrities in books.

Why Am I Excited?

I got an ARC of this book in my Illumicrate box and I’ve not started yet but it sounds amazing. I’ve not read anything from Mark Lawrence before so I am a little nervous about it. It looks utterly awesome, though.

Letters to the Lost – Brigid Kemmerer Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Release Date: 6th April 2017 Alex, Approximately – Jenn Bennett Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Release Date: 6th April 2017

Juliet Young has always written letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither of them knows that they're not actually strangers. When real life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. This emotional, compulsively-readable romance will sweep everyone off their feet.

Bailey “Mink” Rydell has met the boy of her dreams. They share a love of films and talk all day – Alex is perfect. Well, apart from the fact that they’ve never actually met . . . and neither of them knows the other’s real name.

When Bailey moves to sunny California to live with her dad, who happens to live in the same town as Alex, she decides to track him down. But finding someone based on online conversations alone proves harder than Bailey thought, and with her irritating but charismatic (and potentially attractive?) colleague Porter Roth distracting her at every turn, will she ever get to meet the mysterious Alex?

From the author of Night Owls comes a story of summer, first love and hidden identities . . .

Why Am I Excited?

Another book I have read already but had to make sure got a feature because it is an utterly amazing read. I know some people haven’t enjoyed it but I seriously loved this book. I loved the connection between Juliet and Declan and they were utterly adorable and then the book dealt with grief and a complicated relationship between parents and children. I just loved it.

Why Am I Excited?

I have been excited about this book for ages and all I see is rave reviews of this book. I want to read it so bad so I need to get a hold of a copy. I mean Jenn Bennett writes good books anyway but this is a sex positive books which everyone seems to have loved I want to read like last week.

Duels and Deceptions – Cindy Anstey Genre: Historical, Romance, Young Adult Release Date: 11th April 2017 The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Release Date: 11th April 2017

Miss Lydia Whitfield, heiress to the family fortune, has her future entirely planned out. She will run the family estate until she marries the man of her late father's choosing, and then she will spend the rest of her days as a devoted wife. Confident in those arrangements, Lydia has tasked her young law clerk, Mr. Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is going according to plan.

Until Lydia—and Robert along with her—is kidnapped. Someone is after her fortune and won't hesitate to destroy her reputation to get it. With Robert's help, Lydia strives to keep her family's good name intact and expose whoever is behind the devious plot. But as their investigation delves deeper and their affections for each other grow, Lydia starts to wonder whether her carefully planned future is in fact what she truly wants…

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.

There's only one problem: Molly's coworker, Reid. He's a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.

Right?

Why Am I Excited?

I mean, it’s a historical and a romance and it sounds awesome. I heard about this book last year and I’ve just been counting down to the release ever since. I have enjoyed all the Swoon Reads books I’ve gotten so I don’t doubt I will feel the same about this one. I just need it in my life already.

Why Am I Excited?

Another one I actually have an ARC of but I’ve not read it yet. I am so excited/nervous about this one as I’ve not actually read an Albertalli book before but I heard about this one at the beginning of the year and I wanted to get reading it.

Fireworks – Katie Cotugno Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Release Date: 11th April 2017 It Happened on Love Street – Lia Riley Genre: Contemporary, Romance Release Date: 25th April 2017

From Katie Cotugno, bestselling author of 99 Days, comes Fireworks—about a girl who is competing with her best friend to become the new pop star of the moment—and all the drama and romance that comes with it—set in Orlando during the late-'90s boy-and-girl-band craze.

It was always meant to be Olivia. She was the talented one, the one who had been training to be a star her whole life. Her best friend, Dana, was the level-headed one, always on the sidelines, cheering her best friend along.

But everything changes when Dana tags along with Olivia to Orlando for the weekend, where superproducer Guy Monroe is holding auditions for a new singing group, and Dana is discovered too. Dana, who’s never sung more than Olivia’s backup. Dana, who wasn’t even looking for fame. Next thing she knows, she and Olivia are training to be pop stars, and Dana is falling for Alex, the earnest, endlessly talented boy who’s destined to be the next big thing.

It should be a dream come true, but as the days of grueling practice and constant competition take their toll, things between Olivia and Dana start to shift . . . and there’s only room at the top for one girl. For Olivia, it’s her chance at her dream. For Dana, it’s a chance to escape a future that seems to be closing in on her. And for these lifelong best friends, it’s the adventure of a lifetime—if they can make it through.

Set in evocative 1990s Orlando, New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno’s Fireworks brings to life the complexity of friendship, the excitement of first love, and the feeling of being on the verge of greatness.

The most romantic place she never wanted to be . . .

Pepper Knight moved to Everland, Georgia, as step one in her plan for a successful legal career. But after this big-city gal's plans go awry, going home with her tail between her legs isn't an option. So when the town vet-and her sexy new neighbor-offers Pepper a temporary dog-walking job, she jumps at the chance. No one needs to know that man's best friend is her worst nightmare . . . or that Everland's hot animal whisperer leaves her panting.

The last thing Rhett Valentine wants is to be the center of small-town gossip. After his first love left him at the altar, he's been there, done that. These days, life is simple, just the way he likes it. But sultry southern nights get complicated once sparks fly between him and the knockout next door. When she proposes a sexy, secret fling-all the deliciousness and none of the prying neighbors-it seems too good to be true. And it is. Because Pepper's determined to leave Love Street, and when she goes, she just might take his heart with her . . .

Why Am I Excited?

A book set in the 90s? I am totally down for that. I have enjoyed Cotugno’s past two books, I had issues with them but I enjoyed them and this is the last chance I’m giving her to totally impress me but I am excited. I think it’s the 90s setting, I am a 90s child after all.

Why Am I Excited?

I blame this one on Nick. All of it. She told me about this book on Twitter and then I got myself a review copy! What?!?! I am insanely excited to get reading but I’ve been waiting to read until it’s closer to the release because that’s how I roll. I adore romance and I trust Nick’s opinion absolutely.

And those are my books for April (maybe, if I can get them all anyway). Have you read any of these? Is there one I should read first? And have any missed any books because you know what I need is more books on my TBR?

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