#sierra reads chain of thorns

[merry-kuroo]

Thomas is down SO BAD for Alastair 😂 I don't even know how he's functioning at this point

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi Caro 🥰 would you be willing to do a top five ranking for 1. Top Five best love/sex scene writers for romance and 2. Top five best love/sex scene writers for specifically historical romance?

Hi! Of course I would, my filter is liberal and I love talking about sex scenes so much.

So generally speaking, I think the top 5 for me would be:

Sierra Simone--just the queen; she writes so many different types of sex scenes so well; monogamous, polyamorous, f/f, m/m, m/f, any combination of the above. The scenes feel varied and unique; there is a vast difference between the intense but also kind of funny sex you'll read in The Last Crimes of Peregrine Hind versus the weird, dark-yet-hot orgy scene in A Lesson in Thorns. Even the types of domination and give and take are different. Like, both Lesson and New Camelot feature an m/m/f dynamic, but the way Auden conducts himself as a dom is so different from the way Ash does. And the way Poe and St. Sebatian submit shares so few similarities with Greer and Embry's submission to Ash. She's amazing.

Joanna Shupe/Mila Finelli--there is obviously a big difference between the way she writes sex scenes as Joanna versus Mila (I would say that even the pretty intense sex in Joanna's self-published novellas isn't quite as high octane as what she writes as Mila). But either way, I think she manages to make the sex feel unique to the couples, and she makes it very interesting and at times funny. Like, even when characters are having rough sex, there's an element of humor to it when appropriate; like the scene in Mafia Madman when Enzo has Gia chained to his bed spread eagle and is fingerbanging her while his employees work on renovations in the same room, lol.

Tiffany Reisz--I think a lot of Tiffany's work straddles the line between romance and erotica, and I'm including her because like... she can write a really dark scene that does not express love in the way I imagine a lot of people see it, while still conveying the love. I mean, she wrote a Catholic priest who's an actual sadist and literally cannot get it up without inflicting pain... But I still found him very compelling and completely believe the love he feels for his lovers. Does she go too far sometimes? Yeah. But when she hits, I think she hits very well and Tiffany at her best is provocative while also creating this amazing emotional connection between the characters.

Kresley Cole--writes some of the most insane paranormal sex scenes (blood blowjobs, fucking on an altar in the jungle, heroes literally hulking out during sex) while somehow keeping you in touch with the romantic connection between the leads? Her non-PNR sex scenes are just as good. I just enjoy her creativity and total commitment to the cause. Like, I still think of her kicking IAD off with things like... Nikolai commanding Myst to come while holding her magic chain, and Lachlain chasing Emma through the woods in full beast mode to deflower her, lol.

Adriana Anders--I've only read one of her books thus far (oops) but Possession really blew me away in terms of sex scenes. Not just in terms of the kink involved (I mean, there's a consensual kidnapping) but in terms of the total acceptance of kinks and different means of sexual expression. You can feel the love and respecting for that world in her writing.

Historical-specific:

Joanna Shupe--all the same reasons as before, but I also feel like Joanna does a great job with writing sex scenes that are more inventive for trad historicals. I loved Lockwood being into rough sex, and this being treated as valid and not abusive. It feels like a lot of trad heroes have to apologize away even super light kinks to satisfy readers.

Grace Callaway--Super explicit and creative, with a focus on acts that aren't super common in historicals (butt stuff). I enjoy the kink positivity and normalization of like... the sexually voracious heroine. She writes with humor AND heat.

Elizabeth Hoyt--The icon. I love the individualized distinctions in her sex scenes, her commitment to writing sex in uncomfortable places (like death row) and the general earthiness with which she writes. It's very evocative.

Scarlett Peckham--Scarlett explicitly explores kink in her books, and writes a rarely truly submissive historical romance hero (it's not just "let her ride me" it's "thank you mistress may I have another"). At the same time, she also writes great dominant heroes. Her most recent book allowed the hero and heroine to have a random threesome with a buddy in the middle of the book. I so appreciate that approach.

Cat Sebastian--Cat's sex scenes aren't always as explicit as the above authors' (they kind of vary) but they're interesting and creative. Even when the pairing is m/f, they are not always straightforward heteronormative scenes in terms of their dynamics and preferences. She thinks outside the box.

[iliveiloveiwrite]

millie! hi! for the end of the ask of the year: 1,5 & 14! 🥰💓 hope you have a lovely day/night!!! 💓

Viti!!! 💓

1. Song of the year?

I shall answer with two more!

Released this year: Sigala ft James Arthur - Lasting Lover

Found this year: Joseph Angel - Empty Pack of Cigarettes

5. TV show of the year?

The final series of Schitt’s Creek had me in tears! That show was definitely one of my highlights this year!

14. Favourite book of the year?

I have read so many good ones this year! I shall recommend a few more!

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova 

A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone

Crave by Tracy Wolff

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight

Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge 

[merry-kuroo]

I'm about 200 pages into Chain of Thorns and I cannot believe Lucie and Jessie are the only ones with a normal relationship. James, Cordelia, and Matthew are going through IT. Anna and Ariadne are pining. Thomas is pining for Alastair (HE IS SO OBVIOUS), Christopher and Grace are bonding over science I guess but she's in jail.

So yeah. Everyone is a mess but Lucie and Jesse are just enjoying themselves and giggling 😭😭

[merry-kuroo]

Matthew and Cordelia having a moment and fighting demons on the Pont Alexandre is such a awesome call back to Tessa and Jem doing the exact same thing on Blackfriar's bridge 🥹 I love that for them ❤️

[merry-kuroo]

I don't know if any of my followers or mutual follow The Shadowhunter Chronicles as closely as I do! But I just wanted to let y'all know that I'll be tagging my spoilers for Chain of Thorns with -----> #chain of thorns #cot #cot spoilers #chain of thorns spoilers

and I'll be using my reading tag.

I don't think my live reading reactions will affect anyone, but I wanted to make people aware just in case 🥰

[merry-kuroo]

It really feels like nothing has happened in Chain of Thorns so far. I'm really tempted to skip to the end and get the answers that I've been waiting for.

[merry-kuroo]

Alright I skimmed the rest of Chain of Thorns and I honestly felt like I missed nothing. I got the answers to the questions I had. I'm sad my favorite character died because I did not expect it to be that person 😭

[merry-kuroo]

I also have some other books I'm itching to read and I feel like I've spent too much time on Chain of Thorns 🫠 I'm ready to wrap this up.

[merry-kuroo]

Yeah, it's time to skim Chain of Thorns until I notice something interesting and plot driven is happening 😓 I really hate doing that, especially since I was super excited for this book...but I need to get to the juicy stuff. I need answers.

[merry-kuroo]

Ugh, I'm loving this angst right now 😭 Cordelia is really going through it right now. Matthew, James, and Lucie haven't been truthful with her, and everything has finally been revealed (well except the stuff about the Gracelet).

I want to see Cordelia angry. It's totally understandable.

[merry-kuroo]

I'll never recover from the end of chapter 6 🫠

[merry-kuroo]

Will, Magnus, and James finally found Lucie and Jesse and my body was like "You know what you need? A throbbing headache" 🥰

So, I'm going to take a break from reading to take care of this problem, but what the hell I didn't want to leave off on a cliffhanger 😩

[merry-kuroo]

It's finally here 🥰

Cassandra Clare Q&A was awesome!! I'm so glad to have another personalized signed copy from her ☺️

And I love James' cover so much 😍

P.S. Cassandra Clare is so funny, and I think it's amazing that so many of the questions were centered around The Infernal Devices. It really shows how TID is so loved in the Shadowhunter Community after all these years ♥️

[merry-kuroo]

Oooh I'm very interested to see why the Inquisitor was taking notes on the Herondales and Lightwoods. I get why he's suspicious of the Herondales (due to Tessa), but why the Lightwoods? Is it because of the demon worm incident 😅

I remember seeing a theory on here a couple of years ago that suggested the Lightwoods may have something weird going on with them too because Gideon and Gabriel's dad was doing weird stuff with demons. I wonder if it affected Thomas in anyway?

(hahahaha no spoilers)

[merry-kuroo]

I have so many mixed feelings about The Last Hours as a whole trilogy. There were some moments I did enjoy but honestly I didn't enjoy the series as a whole. Not like The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices.

TDA was a rough ride for me too and the only book I liked in that series was Queen of Air and Darkness. That was a very good book and great way to end the trilogy.

But TLH? I don't know. I just wasn't invested in the characters and plot as much. The only character I love is Cordelia. I only read the series to find out the answers to the family tree 😅

I know it'll be a long time until TWP comes out but I think I'm going to wait until that trilogy is complete then I'll binge read the whole sitting. I still want to see how The Shadowhunter Chronicles will end but it makes me sad knowing I'll never have that same connection to the plot and characters like I did with TMI and TID.