#sarah a. parker

[booksandfantasies]

Mini haul of books I got my friend for her birthday. I hope she loves these books as much as I do.

[thestrangerthings]

Fall Special Edition Reading Challenge

Whoops! I've got a big TBR problem and a chunk of that is thanks to my love for special editions. The issue? I haven't read more than half of the SE's I own, and I can't keep allowing myself to purchase more when I don't even know if I like what I have. Plus I'm beyond out of space on my shelves and I think it's about time I start unhauling what I don't like instead of excusing their existence "because they're pretty."

So for this fall/autumn season, from September through November, I'm challenging myself to finish all 19 of my currently unread SE's and decide if they stay or if they go. Technically more books I preordered have arrived since taking these photos, and there are more to be delivered this fall, but I will not be forcing myself to include them.

Have you read any of these? If so, did you enjoy them? Are there some in here you want to read, but haven't had the chance yet?

Feel free to comment or tag the SE you like best just based on looks!

[tawneybel]

When the Moon Hatched Monsters

Just finished my latest buddy read, When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker. Like most romantasy, I ended up liking the fantasy more than the romance lol. But not so much the dragons. They’re everywhere in fantasy and it’s hard to make them stand out. Like, most of the time I prefer “girly” dragons (as discussed here) from children’s media. Because they’re almost always more interesting than standard fantasy dragons. 

But it had some great original (takes on) creatures! Parchment larks are basically sentient paper airplanes. Ticks can carry and infect dragons with rabies. It’s as sad and as scary as it sounds. One dragon gets euthanized. 

There’s a monster called a trogg who’s humanoid and she eat objects like chairs and jewelry. 

Orifices in her palms secrete bioluminescent mucus. Strands of it decorate her lair’s ceiling. The mucus is made of memories. 

My favorite is the octimar! As you can guess, it’s a cephalopod. An octimar can “blend almost entirely with [its] surroundings” (pg. 548). It’s eyeless, translucent, and has a brain in its head, instead of in its tentacles. Raeve describes teeth and not radula, so I like to think it’s also intentionally more humanoid. “Octimars can weave promises upon flesh, bind them to blood, body, and soul.” The one she encounters was used in gambling (i.e., guarding gold coins). 

[summaryi]

When the Moon Hatched - Sarah A. Parker

reluctant 2/5

ok i havent finished yet but

the world is interesting so far

not enough known about characters

-------

but the one thing that might push this into DNF territory for me DESPITE THE INTERESTING WORLD

is the fucking fantasy spelling of known and existing concepts

like fucking dae and day

if you make up a creature person place concept whatever

yeah have it your way

use the beautiful spellings of faerie instead of fairy

but fucking

having to read dae which means day when the word day already exists and dae just means day

not my cup of tea

but i press on

wanna know about these moons

and the POV switches are in such tiny font compared to the rest of the text i was flipping back and forth to find it

and something just happened but im like?? i didnt have the time to get invested

so this doesnt mean anything to me

---

ive kept reading and im really torn???? some parts are breathtakingly sweet and soft, like a nostalgic memory

and some parts are

so

disjointed

huh??

i feel like a third of it is lovingly crafted

and tbe other two thirds are just slapped together to fill pages

its a weird fucking experience

-----

im fucking incensed what the hell

one of the chapters ripped my heart out and tore it into shreds

and three chapters later there are so many fucking unnecessary made up fantasy words just crammed together holy hell

was this written by two different people

and if youre going to use your own made up words

give us some fucking explanation or show and tell

if i dont know whats going on because none of the words make sense how can i fucking read jesus christ

what the hell is going on in this book

im actually pissed because the quality of the writing is so inconsistent

----

ok i finished it

am i fucking stupid? is it the kindle editions? or do all these books keep fucking putting pronunciation guides and glossaries at the back with zero indication they're there, not even a * or page at the front

maybe its a me problem but holy fuck

put the map at the back and the definitions and pronunciation at tne FRONT

AND THE FUCKING TRIGGER WARNINGS TOO WHY ARE THEY the last possible item

is it me??? am i the problem???

but like, ok, have the separate pronunciation guide and the glossary or definitions at the end

i still want some kind of BRIEF in-story explanation

people DO this to GREAT effect

it's fucking practical

and it does NOT break the stupid "show, dont tell" rule to have a character just do a quick "oh, MC is new/amnesiac/willfully ignorant, here's a 2 sentence primer"

anyways

overall, hate this book

it is NOT for me

i can sort of see why its paced and split the way it is? but also i cant

it feels very.......... it just feels like only a tiny sliver of the entire book is well polished

and the rest of it is slag, just tossed in

like????

the parts that i enjoy were enough to get me to finish the book but holy shit im pissed off

it could be so good!!!! but it's not!!!! overall the idea and the plot and all the strings are very good!!! but its so badly woven!!!!!!! except for a few shining hero moments

but what the fuck!!! it should all be equally good!!!!!!!!!!!

am i just a hater??? idk everyones fucking sucking this books dick and like

its like

a delicious meal that got dropped in a puddle full of shit

like there are pieces i liked! they were good! i see the potential! but fucking christ it was not a michelin experience and those tasty bites were not worth the rest of this meal??????? aaaaakrslhbgliugraiaubefigawrlharfk

[shipatfirstsight]

Favorite books of 2024 3/?

[ruerecs]

PSA! you don't have to have smut in your fic to make it good.

for all the butthurt people in my reblogs, i’m literally a writer too. that’s literally why i made this post, never said you shouldn’t. just said you don’t have to? (all the people complaining about this post just know i’m laughing at your replies🙂‍↕️)

[ifuckinglovelemondemon-srs]

You know a characther is fucked up and traumatized when they are wearing one of these

Edit: half of this characther were put against my will

Edit 2: i reached the fucking tag limit

[diamondthorns]

Because lies are pretty little masks we place on our words to tint the truth into something palatable.

Sarah A. Parker, ‘To Bleed A Crystal Bloom’

[avasillva]

But you get it, though. You might not be her father, but you were someone’s. See, I could tell.

THE LAST OF US S01E01: When You're Lost in the Darkness S01E05: Endure and Survive

[popculturebaby]

Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth for Entertainment Weekly, 1999

[booksandfantasies]

Some indie fantasy books that I think deserve so much love.

[tvandfilm]

Sex and the City, I Heart NY (S04E18)

[veryberryjelly]

LAST DAY

to send in requests for my 1.5k dinner party! i’m you by to continue writing the requests i haven’t already posted but today is the last day to send something in!

send asks to my inbox !

[ultrakillblast]

ED WOOD (1994)

[believeripley]

Just Tommy Miller enjoying watching his nieces give his brother shit.

[ruerecs]

fanfic writers NEVER contemplate or apologise for your fic being over 3-5k words long, we readers LOVE longer fics!! anyways have a good day/night 🙂‍↕️