#but this trilogy destroyed my ass when I read it two years ago
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I’m currently rereading Red Rising so I hope y’all are ready for the emotional breakdown that follows
#red rising#I’m finally getting back into reading#which is very nice#but this trilogy destroyed my ass when I read it two years ago
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Actually i will say on KAYF...
The basic premise of KAYF was an idea I first got roughly ten years ago after watching various vampire media. (Let the Right One In, Shiki, etc.) Not the whole plot, but the basic premise of a (queer) couple broken up by one becoming a vampire while their town is being destroyed by...well, vampires. Originally with my friend's and my Star Wars ocs from the MMO swtor we were obsessed with and made a billion AUs for, but very quickly it became its own thing in my head with new OCs.
But at that point in my life i was not writing fiction. I was always too self conscious of my writing because someone flamed my cringeybwriting on Neopets when I was, like...8 or something. So I literally went a full ass decade without writing fiction (with the exception of a couple attempts i immediately abandoned because I hated them) until I decided to try again with South Park fanfiction because i don't even know. Which includes The Thief, which I was shocked people liked. It was a TERRIBLE point in my life, I should say, so having people enjoy what I wrote and saying nice things about it was quite literally one of the only good things I had.
But anyway I still had that vampire idea in the back of my head, but just as random scenes that played in my head of the two main charades + the person who ended up being Estella. (Though originally her and Scott's role was combined.) The plot wasn't really defined or anything, but the basic ending was in my head from the very very beginning.
Anyway...2020. i was supposed to see MCR. Then COVID postponed it. I was very sad about this. So I extra emo-ly listened to a shit ton of MCR. And listening to MCR, suddenly I was thinking about that vampire story and their music pretty much helped me put the plot into place. The terminal illness plotline. The vampire of the pairing being obsessed to save his love and the cruelty from the other vampires regarding that. And ofc the song Kill All Your Friends itself gave me the set up of an IT-like time skip where someone died and they all go back.
They were all still 100% OCs in my head at this point. I didn't really have much confidence anyone would like these idea but, I was actively writing South Park fanfiction people liked well enough. I'd only ever written fanfiction. So I was like "huh I guess I can make this idea Creek".
So I did. And then wrote three chapters and didn't update for a full year.
But then in 2021 it became my ADHD obsession. I stopped caring about The Thief Trilogy. All I could think of was KAYF and wrote the rest of it in three or so months... Over 100k words. Pretty sure the update schedule was longer than that, but I spaced out chapters by a week long after I was finished.
And people seemed to like it. It was too dark to be as popular as the Thief Trilogy, but I knew that. It was a much more personal story, though, especially with how emotional it was, so it meant SO MUCH to me that anyone liked it. Also because The Thief Trilogy feels basically just like a bloated fanfiction adaptation of the SOT game to me, while KAYF feels like mine, so the kind words for it meant even more in a way.
Until someone I thought was a friend trashed it relentlessly. Like, I'm fine with constructive criticism but they were just horrible. Spoiled the plot for people who wanted to read it directly after i asked them not to, went on condescending rants about how there was too much filler, how Tweek in it was an awful character who deserved to die, claimed characters were all too unsympathetic, joked about parts I meant in earnest, etc. And they got really mad at me that my feelings were hurt by this. It was a whole thing.
Anyway, I'm still to this day years later obsessed with this story year. I think about it every day, which is probably more unhealthy ADHD shit. And I always think about how to make it better. I hate how I wrote it so fast and didn't think about certain details or pacing or what have you. Like, once I finished writing it, I was sad because I wanted to keep writing it. I still do.
I hate that I disappoint people by not having it out there. I want it out there, just not the version I rushed in three months.
So, for now, the fic is hidden. Indefinitely.
Anyway if you read all this tl;dr rambling congratulations I guess.
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actually i'm not done talking about the String Theory Trilogy. Basically, it's a set of Star Trek Voyager tie-in novels set between seasons 4 and 5 that I think were trying to fill in some of the discrepancies that popped up in Season 5. But, fuck, what a way to do it. I read them about 13 years ago, and I can't just reread them willy-nilly because my genius ass had to buy the DRM protected ebooks so they're trapped on a laptop that I lost years ago.
So for funsies, I'll try and describe the books based on the plot points I remember! Spoilers, I guess.
the crew have to rescue a colony ship trying to outrun a supernova that's going to destroy their home planet
that home planet is in a weird sublayer of reality or something because when Voyager enters it, weird shit starts happening, including one of the crew members turning into something like maple syrup and melting
B'Elanna and Seven are injured in an accident and the only way to complete their away mission is for Seven to assimilate B'Elanna and create a collective of two. This leads to telepathy and eventually, the two of them switch personalities because of course they do
the colony ship rescue mission literally falls apart when they try to tractor the ship out of that sublayer of space and the alien ship and all the occupants dissolve
Voyager gets trapped in the sublayer too, and the only way out is to blow up the white dwarf star that is somehow connecting the sublayer to normal space. So guess what the crew does next.
when the dust settles and Voyager is back in normal space having reunited with the away team, Harry takes one look at Seven and B'Elanna, who have switched personalities and B'Elanna is now sporting cybernetic implants, and just says, "We didn't get back to the right reality," in the most matter-of-fact tone possible, because nothing surprises this crew anymore.
And that's just the first book.
in the second book, they come across a space station orbiting a black hole. this space station refills all the resources on Voyager, because this was the author's best explanation for why the ship didn't run out of power or torpedoes or shuttles.
Janeway's order to blow up the white dwarf star has, somehow, started a chain reaction that will eventually unravel reality, so now she has to prove that the crew didn't do it on purpose or something
Susperia (the Caretaker's mate), or some other Nacene entity, sneaks onto the ship to take revenge on the crew for fucking up reality, so she poses as Janeway's sister and alters the memories of the crew to think she had always been there.
except there are two people on the ship who aren't affected by her rewrites - Harry Kim and Naomi Wildman - because they are quantum duplicates of their original selves with a slightly different phase signature and she didn't account for them
also the reason they had to go to the space station was because Tuvok stole a shuttle and ran away to it, because something told him to do it
shit happens, tom and harry are kidnapped, tuvok is gone, the doctor is gone, no one knows what's happening anymore and that's the end of book two
Turns out each book has a different author (i looked them up) and it's starting to feel like they're trying do outdo each other.
tom and harry have been pulled into the Q continuum where Q needs their help to catch a rouge Q
catching the guy involves tom winning a race as a microbe inside a cat's digestive system (i'm not kidding), then beat the guy at gambling in a casino, because only in games of chance do the Q feel the thrill of not being in total control
meanwhile, the Doc is thousands of years in the past on the Ocampa homeworld, having possessed a man who was killed in a war, so now he has a living, breathing body
they fight this war with flame swords and psychic powers, in case you were worried things were going to get subtle
janeway is being tried for destabilizing reality and is currently braindead in sickbay while her consciousness is in ghost court or wherever that's happening
tom and harry lose betting game played by the Q and the loss blows up the planet they were trying to rescue those aliens from back in the first book and somehow they learn that it and the sublayer of space were the leftovers of some kind of temporal fuck-up eons ago and weren't actually meant to exist.
the sublayer comes apart, the space station is ruined and sucked into the black hole, but it's all okay because either the rouge Q learned the error of his ways or the judge of ghost court decided this mess wasn't janeway's fault and all those aliens are saved and sent to space heaven
the Doc altered the course of time on Ocampa, and it means that in the modern day, it started raining again
i forget the actual resolution, but everyone ends up back on Voyager safe and sound, more or less. janeway apparently suffered some brain damage that will make her act angry and out of character sometimes, but they can't tell her why because who the fuck would believe it? (i forget the actual reason why they couldn't tell her)
also, the sublayer collapsing into the black where the space station used to be also sucked up all the light within nine light years, creating the Void, from the episode 'Night'
which means this book/WHOLE TRILOGY was the explanation for why there was no light in that spot in space and why janeway had depression for that episode and why she seemed so angry in subsequent episodes
yeah, those books were a trip. I should read them again.
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Kenzieam Masterlist
ALL MY STORIES ARE RATED ‘M’ AND CONTAIN (TO SOME EXTENT): VIOLENCE, BAD LANGUAGE, LOTS OF SMUT AND ADULT SUBJECTS.
**MANY ALSO CONTAIN TRIGGER WARNINGS, PLEASE READ ALL WARNINGS CAREFULLY**
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ERIC AND FOX
Eric & Fox Trilogy
FIRE FOX - The Original. A new transfer from Amity, Fox is part of the new group of Dauntless initiates. She's harboring major secrets and has a serious chip on her shoulder. She immediately catches the eye of her inscrutable instructor, Eric. He's fire, she's fire; will they survive if they collide?
Chapter One - Two- Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven
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EMBERS AND ASH - The sequel to 'Fire Fox', a continuation of Eric and Fox's story. Someone from Fox's past comes back and wants their pound of flesh. Will Fox survive? Will Eric survive without her?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine
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PHOENIX RISING - The continuation of Eric and Fox. The sequel to Embers and Ash. Pregnancy has a few surprises in store for Fox and Eric is involved in a horrific accident...will he live to see his family grow?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve - Thirteen - Fourteen - Fifteen - Sixteen - Seventeen
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Eric’s POV
Through the Eyes of the Predator - This is Eric's POV as Fox arrives at Dauntless as a new initiate. What does he think of the mysterious redhead from Amity? Does he even realize she's stolen his heart until it's too late?
Chapter One - Two
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I Never Thought I’d Be Here - Fox and Eric's wedding from the big guy's POV.
Chapter One - Two
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Eric and Fox Standalone Series
Dauntless, Candor or Cut - Fox is dared to spend 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' with Eric during a game of Dauntless or Candor. An alternate story-line for Eric and Fox.
Pier Confessions - Eric and Fox are trapped together out at Navy Pier after an injured Fox misses the train.
The Experiment - Eric and Fox are ordered to participate in a controversial breeding program proposed by the Factions to increase the population, but they absolutely hate each other, will this experiment bring them together or tear everything apart?
Chapter One - Two -Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight
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Highest Bidder - Fox agrees to be auctioned off as a date for a Dauntless charity and ends up being won by the one man in Dauntless she didn't want. Things get a little heated before they heat up.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four
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Amity Confidential - Eric and Fox are just regular friends and coworkers when they get 'volunteered' to attend the infamous 'Summer Love' festival in Amity. Things go sideways in a hurry and Eric and Fox are suddenly confronted with emotions they thought they'd hidden even from themselves.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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The Right Wrong Choice - Fox is a shy Candor who gets so nervous at her choosing ceremony (presided over by our favourite murderous babysitter) that she accidentally chooses the wrong faction. She and Eric are immediately at odds, will they kiss or kill each other?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven (Eric’s Story)
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Deep Inside You - A smutty little oneshot featuring my favourites: Eric and Fox. Basically a Porn Without a Plot.
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Regret - Fox is married to Eric's older brother, Ethan and on the surface, it looks like the perfect relationship, but underneath it all, darkness lies. Fox is sleeping with Eric behind his back, and Ethan is not the perfect man everyone thinks he is; will they survive his rage when he finds out?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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Eric’s Letter - Eric writes a letter to his love during a dark time of his life.
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Lost Girl - Fox has been missing for two years, since her last mission went bad. Then, Eric receives news that she's been found. But she's a completely different person, who doesn't remember her relationship with him and has been conditioned to hate both Dauntless and Eric. Can he break through to her?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine
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My Eric Headcanon: Eric’s Sexual Kinks and Preferences
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Trick or Treat - An Eric and Fox Halloween Oneshot
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You and Me and the Devil Makes Three - Eric and Fox hate each other, but since they’re co-workers, Max banishes them to a remote Amity cabin with the order to stay until they can get along... they’re either going to end up engaged or dead....
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six
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Alone in the Dark (In Progress) - A new virus starts decimating the factions and those that survive start showing frightening side-effects....
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve (Eric Alone)
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The Reaper and the Vixen - An AU with Biker!Eric X Fox and all the troubles that try to keep them apart.
Chapter One - Two (Fox’s Secret) - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve - The Final Chapter
Reader “I’m a Gonna Try” Requests
Request One - Jai as a big, tough biker
Request Two - ‘Like a Virgin’
Request Three - Kyle Reese fluff
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IVAR AND SERA
The Return of the Viking Daughter - AU Vikings story. The Lothbrok brothers were always Sera's neighbours growing up, but a devastating revelation when Sera's sixteen tears them apart for years. What will happen when she returns, and realizes that Ivar loved her then, and still loves her now?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve
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Sera Shadow - Ragnar returns to Kattegat with someone new, someone who catches the eye of his youngest son.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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Shadows and Ghosts - The continuation of Sera Shadow
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Alternate Ending A - Alternate Ending B
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Stars and Shadows (In Progress) - AU Vikings. Teenage Sera meets teenage Ivar and sparks fly, but her new stepfather, Harald Black, doesn’t approve.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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BUCKY AND LEVI
The Call of the Void - What happens if Natasha's sister isn't really dead, like the Black Widow thought? What if she was trained to track and kill the Winter Soldier but was abandoned by HYDRA when her experiment went awry and the Avengers release her from cyrofreeze?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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Surrender to the Call (In Progress) - The sequel to "The Call of the Void." Levi has been retaken by HYDRA and Bucky is desperate to find her before they destroy her completely. Can the team find Levi while there is still something left to save?
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven
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It’s Time - AU. Five years ago, Levi left; heartbroken and vowing never to return. Now, family calls her back. She's not ready to face the reason she left and she's definitely not ready for the emotions a certain dark-haired man still stir in her.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five
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Full Circle - The sequel to It’s Time, with Lev reaching the end of her pregnancy; but will ghosts from the past threaten their newfound and hard-fought happiness???
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five
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Body Shots - Basically porn with a thinly-veiled plot.
This is meant to be read after ‘It’s Time- the Final Chapter.
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The Breakdown - A more detailed account of the events leading up to Lev disappearing to Seattle for five years….
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Good Morning, Baby - Set during Full Circle, Bucky and Lev learn whether they’re having a boy or a girl……
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I Never Stopped (In Progress) - AU. Levi discovers she’s not who she always thought, instead she’s Steve Rogers missing sister, abducted eighteen years ago.....
Prologue - Chapter One - Two - Three
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Druid - Biker AU. Bucky is the President of the Druids MC and Levi is back in town to take care of her dying father. They meet through mutual friends and Bucky is immediately (still) taken with the girl he secretly fantasized about in high school, but he’s an outlaw biker and she has a life halfway across the country, will Bucky have a chance to make her his???
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve
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Winter WTF - Prompt: “What are you doing under the Christmas Tree?” - “All I remember is there was tequila shots.”
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Linked (In Progress) - Bucky and Levi find themselves connected through tragedy, can they let go of the past to find their future????
Chapter One - Two
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Not Happening, Doll - Levi and Bucky cannot stand each other (or rather, the former Winter Soldier cannot stand to be around the Avenger’s newest member and, like the ass he is, he won’t divulge why) and of course, they get teamed up for a new mission. It’s deep cover this time and not only do they have to work together, they have to pretend they’re MARRIED.
Heaven help them….
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten
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Dirty Redhead (One Shot) - Just Bucky and Lev fluff
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Not My Circus (One Shot) - More Bucky and Lev fluff
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The Tutor - Levi the jock needs help in high school and her twin brother, Steve, volunteers his newest friend, Bucky. Seemingly just to piss her off, Bucky accepts but soon realizes there’s more to the Levi than she lets the average spectator see.
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six Seven
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Blame It On The Moon - The Avengers play ‘Truth or Dare’....
Moonstruck (In Progress) - Sequel to ‘Blame It On The Moon
Chapter One - Two
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The Devil Won’t Drag Me Down (In Progress) - Lev is a fugitive from HYDRA hiding in the far north when she’s surprised by the team on an unrelated mission. Her strong reaction to Bucky stumps everyone, including the former Winter Soldier himself, but Lev is reluctant to divulge their haunted past.
Chapter One -
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Save My Life (In Progress) - Paramedic Bucky Barnes has seen it all and it’s definitely taken a toll on his mind and body, witnessing senseless death, all but wading through it at times as he is the first responder to so many ghastly accidents and mishaps. The widow of one of his former patients haunts him long after his brief, chaotic contact with her and destiny conspires to cross their paths again. Can the broken man and grieving woman find peace together?
Prologue - Chapter One - Two
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For You (Oneshot) - Lev is a veteran of the adult stage, the songs mean nothing to her anymore, except for one and it’s only for one person.
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Beauty and the Blackheart (In Progress) - Lev, the serious one, is visiting her wild-child twin brother, Clint. There she meets Bucky, a tall, dark, brooding mystery who’s her total opposite in every way. Of course, she’s intrigued even as her mind screams to run for safety, but what could go wrong, right??
Chapter One - Two - Three - Four
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Not You (In Progress) - In this one, Bucky finds his dream woman, the one who takes his breath away but what if she’s already taken? What’s more important, your own happiness or the happiness of others, namely your friends? And, if you have to steal it, was it yours to begin with??
Chapter One - Two - Three
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About Last Night (In Progress) - Lev wakes up the morning after a wild night at the Compound and realizes she hasn’t spent the night alone. The fact that the man unconscious beside her is her most trusted teammate is besides the point, he’s also her best friend and
NOW WHAT THE FUCK DOES SHE DO???
Teaser - Chapter One - Two
Remember Me (In Progress) - Chapter One
The Blue Plate Diner (In Progress) - Chapter One - Two
September - Based on Corb Lund’s ‘September’, Bucky begs for Lev not to leave him, not yet.
Us This Way - How many times will Lev let James hurt her? How long will she stand by and watch him break her heart and, when she finally leaves, will James be able to bring her back? Based on Lady Gaga’s ‘Always Remember Us This Way’.
Get the Chance - Oneshot - Bucky goes looking for The Hobbit.
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CHRIS AND RAEN
Destroyed Masterlist - What happens if Chris survived the bank robbery?
The Quarry - Another chapter in my Chris and Raen stories, set between the final chapter and epilogue, I hope you enjoy.
************************************************************************* LOKI AND REMY
Mortal (In Progress) - Remy is new to the team and is instantly intrigued when she meets the God of Mischief, Loki Odinson, for the first time. Although the dark prince has definitely been knocked down a few pegs, he still rejects the ‘tiny mortal’ when she shows her interest. Will Remy ever be able to catch his eye?
Chapter One- Two - Three - Four
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Updated: March 30, 2021
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This is part two of this list here HANGED MAN PROMO REC LIST. I’m going to split these up in a slightly different way than the other list, but I will still go into a bit of detail as to why I think a fan of The Last Sun would enjoy these books too.
Fey Novels
I’m going to start with basically anything and everything by Holly Black, because she knows how to build fantastical, beautiful, scary worlds that are detailed and fleshed out in a similar way to how the world of The Last Sun is.
The Folk of the Air series is comprised of three books, The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing, and I devoured all three as soon as I got my hands on them. I’m typing this fresh off of having read the third and last book of the trilogy in fact. In terms of LGBT rep the main character’s sister has a female love interest and there are other characters scattered throughout who are very obviously not heterosexual. Lots of political intrigue and power moves between the courts too, which is another reason why TLS readers might enjoy!
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a stand alone novel (sadly). “Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.” It’s just really good in all honesty, kick ass characters, strong friendships and family bonds, great plot and one of the main characters is gay and another is bisexual.
Tithe and the sequel Ironside are both very good and a more ‘urban’ fantasy than Folk or Forest which, to me at least, are more pure fantasy in a way although all of them take place in the modern world. It’s been a while since I read these two specifically, Tithe has a gay main supporting character who I really liked, and he’s also in Ironside too.
Moving away from Holly Black but staying within the realm of fey magic the Wicked Lovely series is a beautiful mix of urban and fey magic. Each book in the series stays within the same world and plot line but generally delves into a different character’s POV. Ink Exchange is technically the second book in the series but my favourite and IMO can be read alone, but I would recommend the entire thing. Two of my favourite bisexual characters are heavily featured in this and pop up through out the rest of the series, sometimes only a little and sometimes a whole lot.
Prince of Air and Darkness by M.A. Grant. “The only human student at Mather’s School of Magick, Phineas Smith has a target on his back. Born with the rare ability to tap into unlimited magick, he finds both Faerie Courts want his allegiance—and will do anything to get it. They don’t realize he can’t levitate a feather, much less defend the Faerie Realm as it slips into civil war.” I MEAN how could you read that description as a TLS reader and NOT want to give this one a go????
Abhorsen Series
In another realm entirely the Abhorsen series is a stunning example of world building which starts with the novel Sabriel, then Lirael and then Abhorsen. I can’t remember there being any lgbt characters in these three, I read them like ten years ago and they were published in 1996 so that kind of explains that, but I love them so much, they’re so well written and I really think fans of TLS will like these. They aren’t urban, but they’re very fantasy and the magic system is super interesting. Possibly one of my favourites in any book ever.
“Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.”
Comics
I recommended the Batwoman series last time, this time the rec I’m making is for a comic series called The Wicked & the Divine. The art work is beautiful and concept is unique and intriguing: “Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead.” It’s also lovely and diverse in it’s cast. I think fans of TLS will enjoy the characters in this especially.
Saga is also very popular with sci fi fantasy fans, so I think a lot of TLS fan will be into this if they wanna give comics a go. “When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.” I’ve only personally read the first issue of this but I enjoyed it a lot. The art is really pretty and it’s quite diverse from what I’ve heard/seen, but I’m not 100% sure about lgbt characters. I know there are some in but I’m not sure how prominent they are.
DRAGONS
Dragons. That’s all i’m saying. If Rune could turn into a dragon or ride a dragon... ahh the possibilities are endless. If anyone asks why this rec section is on the list i’m just gonna say its part of my shiny new determination to see Rune turn into a dragon in a sequel later down the line. I think we only see a dragon once in The Last Sun right at the start but man. It got me hankering for more you know? K.D. Edwards if you’re reading this... you know what to do ;) .
The King’s Dragon by W.M. Fawkes and Sam Burns. “Lord Tristram Radcliffe has a secret—he is the only dragon at the king’s court in Llangard. It’s a secret he’s kept from the knights he’s fought beside, from the ladies who bat their lashes at him, and from his closest companion, Prince Reynold. If it were to get out, he’d be banished to the Mawrcraig Mountains along with the rest of his kind, but the kingdom of men is the only one he’s ever known, and his heart lives in the stone halls of those who’d count him an enemy.”
Silk & Steel by Ariana Nash. “A tormented dragon prince. A captured elven assassin. Duty demands they fight for their people, but love has other plans.”
Other
Spellbound by Allie Therin. “Arthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric…and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether.” Another disclaimer: I haven’t read this one yet but the reason it’s on my list in the first place is because it gave me some TLS vibes so I thought i’d bring it to everyone else’s attention too!
Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford. “Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone's rescue when something shadowy appears.”
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. THIS BOOK. oh my god. “Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.” Such a beautiful, well crafted fantasy world. Such rich characters. Ugh i love it and the f/f romance it brings to the table.
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I wanna put my RoS thoughts under the cut while they are still fresh (just got out of the film about an hour ago)
tbh its only been an hour but im less and less pleased with it as time goes on, i guess i know how the people who didn’t like TLJ felt now. I worry that the complaints people had made me jaded tho cause like, luke’s death and Rey’s parents being no one were bigger deals and i was really blown away by both TFA and TLJ, and i wasn’t by RoS
Maybe it’s cause I’m tired, had a hell of a time getting home, and I have an exam tomorrow so the conditions weren’t ideal.
The fanservice was really bad, people can kiss JJ’s ass all they want but in both his films he overused the OT characters. Lando popping up for no reason not once but twice? Bringing back Luke AND Han from the dead? Luke raising his x-wing from a swamp? The only good OT character that got screen time was C3PO which falls back to my “more droid interaction is good star wars” theory. Not to mention bringing back Palps in general. The ST’s reliance of fan favs was always tiring.
By the way it’s sort of BS that all the Jedi are doing their force ghost shit when qui-gon spent his entire life learning how to do it. i suppose force obi-wan could’ve taught Luke? idk it’s getting tiring, let people die
They had to have baby yoda try force healing so rey could start doing it to everyone
BTW Raylo kiss? gross and unnecessary. The romantic tension between them was gross and unnecessary overall so like, fuck all of that? It makes me want to throw out my Rey cosplay
Of course the big reveal of Rey’s parentage - why the fuck. First off I have a lot of questions about Palps, mainly how the Jedi didn’t find him as a child. but why does he have a random son (who looks like Owen Lars) who is way younger than him???
I did like the part about sith becoming stronger every time they struck one of each other down, sort of also implied a corruption that turns the killer to the dark side. This is something that my dad proposed to me years ago and I’ve always thought was cool: the premise that the punishment for killing a sith lord is that you become one yourself (ala Anakin and Dooku, also raising the stakes for Luke to kill Vader or Palps)
Bringing back Palps at the end of the trilogy is what made it most jarring. Like i think having him appear earlier would’ve worked but at this point it’s like what? even the opening crawl is like “Palpatine is out there for some reason idk”. with the background of the “First Order” the “Final Order” makes sense.
On the flip side, WHY WOULD REYS PARENTS HIDE HER ON JAKKU which was the site of the emperor’s contingency plan and thus closely tied to him? Shitty Tattooine would’ve made more sense.
Finn’s force sensitivity was neat, but again came out of nowhere in this movie. Also I think it was supposed to be the thing he wanted to talk to her about when Poe wasn’t there but why did Poe have to not be there? It’s weird.
btw rose got totally jarjar’d it was rly sad and Finn was back to his Rey obsession.
Rey taking on the Skywalker name was presumptuous, and also it means the Skywalker trilogy isn’t over because she is one so everyone wait for ep 10-13 coming in the next decade or so
also people have GOT to stop throwing lightsabers in random places
Rey’s lightsabres being yellow means something i think but I dont know what so if you have read this far please let me know.
Anyway - I feel like the main problem is the movie wrapped up an issue that wasn’t even present in the other two films. Kylo’s redemption took a back seat to destroying Palpatine. Even the resistance was focused on Palps. He just flew in out of nowhere. Again some of the concepts were quite good but the movie itself fit in to the rest of the trilogy pooly imo.
I have an overall beef with the main trio as well and how infrequently they are actually together, but I’ve had that since TFA. neat characters, not really a trio, mainly because of how they kept stacking them with the OT trio.
#star wars#star wars spoilers#star wars rise of skywalker#i think that's everything i needed to get out of my system before i head to bed. good night.
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Reviews for 3 New Adult Novels
So I got a little bored and decided to take a short break from YA fantasy. I spent a good amount of time browsing the Kindle Unlimited catalog (I very recently found out that even if you don’t pay for Kindle Unlimited these books are still much cheaper than others. It’s like $3-4 for a book compared to the usual 9.99. Incredible). During my search, I came across the New Adult genre (seriously - why is Kindle Unlimited FILLED with NA books?) and because I’ve been needing to obsess over some steamy romance lately I picked up two of the most angsty NA books I could find plus one that simply had stellar reviews on Goodreads. And then I proceeded to finish all three books within about a week. To top it off, two of these books are like 700-page novels. It’s amazing how much one can accomplish when you have literally nothing better to do with your life, isn’t it? Yes, I am poking fun at myself. But it’s all temporary. I’m going to actually try my best to keep these three reviews as spoiler-free as possible, for once.
I’m going to start with Devious Lies by Parker Huntington, as that is the first NA book I finished reading this week. So this 700 page behemoth of a book features your standard enemies-to-lovers with a little bit of suspense/mystery added in for flavor. Oh, and sprinkled with some SERIOUS angst and brooding on top. It also features an age-gap romance, and is slow-burn. Devious Lies is basically about rich girl Emery Winthrop who, at 18 years old, is forced to forgo her rich girl life when her father goes under investigation for embezzlement and subsequently goes in hiding. When the embezzlement is leaked, this basically screws over everyone who’s employed by Emery’s father and everyone who invested stocks in his company. This includes a HUGE amount of people in the southern town Emery grew up in. This also includes the Prescott brothers, Reed and Nash. Reed is the boy that Emery had the biggest crush on her entire life, but Nash is ultimately the main love interest and POV that we see aside from Emery’s.
After the whole embezzlement thing which is a huge factor leading to Nash’s father’s death, Nash is pretty much hellbent on seeking revenge on the Winthrops. By the time the story really gets going, Nash is in his 30s and has essentially built a multi-billion dollar enterprise and of course is one hell of an angsty playboy. Emery is around 22 years old, fresh out of college (paid for by herself) and gets hooked up with a job working for Nash. Nash finds out, and makes it his life goal to make Emery’s life as difficult as possible while trying to find out where her dad is hiding. The entire story is about the progression of their relationship and the secrets surrounding the embezzlement.
So this is probably one of the better angsty love stories I’ve ever read. And that’s saying a lot because I’ve never liked angst all that much (tried it with The Cruel Prince and although I really didn’t like it I actually have been considering giving that trilogy another chance). Angst is usually so... unbelievably NOT well written at all b/c I feel like angsty characters are just angsty without a good enough backstory to defend it. This tends to be more so prominent in contemporary romance novels, or maybe that’s just because I’m a lot pickier when it comes to contemporary romance. But for Devious Lies, I think Huntington does a pretty good job at charging the main characters with believable and understandable angst. Nash grew up almost in poverty and his dad literally worked himself to death while watching trust-fund baby Emery grow up like a southern princess. The embezzlement destroyed Nash’s dad, so I can see why he blames the entirety of the Winthrop family for the hardships he faced growing up. Not to mention, Nash’s life story is the embodiment of a rags-to-riches story so of course he’s going to look down on Emery who supposedly gets millions of dollars per month just from her trust fund.
Devious Lies is told from two alternating POVS, Emery & Nash, and I think the scene I anticipated the most was when Nash found out that Emery isn’t getting a single penny out of her trust fund and that Emery is actually living in poverty and working to survive, not out of boredom. We know that Emery’s life is incredibly tough from the very beginning, considering her family name is tainted and she owes student loans on top of helping fund someone else’s college tuition. Nash doesn’t find out about this until maybe past the halfway point of the book, and for me that was probably my favorite part of the entire book - the realization of how much of a complete ass he’s been to her and how she really is the last person who deserved to be targeted by his thirst for vengeance. This is also when their relationship hits a major turning point and finally dips out of the ‘enemies’ part of enemies-to-lovers.
I think my biggest issue with Devious Lies is how unnecessarily long it is. I think it could absolutely be cut down to around 400 pages, since there were a lot of chapters (especially in the very beginning) that could’ve been very easily abridged or completely left out. The first several chapters covers major events from before Emery goes to college and Nash strikes rich, and from what I can tell these chapters are there to lay out character foundations. But Huntington really could have made these SO MUCH shorter and gotten to the actual story way quicker without sacrificing any character building. Just my two cents, although it seems like most reviewers on Goodreads agree with me over this regard. So despite some unnecessary chapters or parts that could have been left out, I think I’d still give this book a solid 4/5 simply because the author managed to write contemporary romantic angst without making me want to die of second-hand embarrassment. Not to mention, the big plot twists near the end of the story were quite well written and totally worth sticking around for in my opinion.
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Second book is The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata. Apparently Zapata is like a god at writing sports romance, and this book was rated #1 on some kind of Goodreads list plus it was like 4 bucks or something so of course I had to check it out. This large book is around 600+ pages, but out of the three books that I’m reviewing in this post today this is DEFINITELY my favorite one of the three. I haven’t read a sports romance since I was 15 and obsessed with the Escape to New Zealand series, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this outside of mega muscle dudes and steamy sex scenes with said mega muscle dudes. But this book managed to exceed whatever I was expecting AND to my surprise only had one actual full-blown sex scene. Which was very tactfully placed and made for a beautiful end to a truly slow-burn romance. And by truly, I mean seriously truly slow-burn. My god, I don’t think I’ve ever read a slow-burn as freaking slow as this one. But wow it was so worth the snail pacing of their relationship. Speaking of the relationship, I need to talk about our two main characters.
We’ve got Vanessa who is super in debt and has been working as a famous football player’s (Aiden) assistant in every way possible for two years by the start of the story. She finally has enough in her savings to quit and focus on her graphic design freelance career, so she leaves and over a month later her boss is at her door asking her to marry him so he could get his US citizenship. The rest of the story is about the progression of their relationship after they get married and move in with each other. Unfortunately this book was written solely in Vanessa’s POV, and I say unfortunately because I would’ve really loved to have some Aiden POV chapters too. He’s not exactly a hardcore brooder, but he’s also not super open about himself either so at times it was REALLY hard to gauge what was going on in his brain. Despite this fact, it became really obvious that he was falling for Vanessa because he started doing more and more stuff for her as their relationship progressed. There were so two scenes in particular where all he did was just show up and be endearingly supportive and I was ready to bawl my eyes out over how uplifting it all was.
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is just one hell of an uplifting and puts-a-smile-on-your-face type of romance. It’s incredibly slow, and at some parts you may be like “oh my god jUST KISS ALREADY!” but when it all inevitably falls in place by the end you will realize just how worth it the ride was. Zapata does an amazing job of portraying a really healthy loving relationship where both members are just so supportive of each other and genuinely want the best for each other. They are actually relationship goals!! I was actually kind of SAD when I finished this book because despite the happy ending I just needed more wholesomeness. And even more unfortunately, there is no sequel and there is no add-on telling the story from Aiden’s POV. So for anyone who’s looking for a healthy dose of wholesomeness, wants something to tug at their heartstrings, and doesn’t mind just a little bit of sex, this book is 5/5 perfection.
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Last book will be one that I just finished reading about an hour ago, The Kiss Thief by L.J. Shen. Now this one I kind of had to debate on for a little bit before I ultimately decided to read it. I found it on Goodreads around the same time I found The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, but after reading its synopsis the first time I got a little bit turned off by it. Not sure why, and I’m not sure what changed my mind but I ended up giving it a try earlier this afternoon and well well well what do you know I ended up reading it all in almost one sitting. The Kiss Thief, like the previous two books I reviewed in this post, is also a New Adult book (with more graphic scenes than Deviant Lies actually) featuring an enemies-to-lovers relationship between a 19-year-old daughter of a mobster and a 30-year-old US senator. Yep, that’s an 11-year age gap right there. Probably one of the most drastic age gaps I’ve seen in a book, but hey I guess some people are into those. The Chicago mobster’s daughter is named Francesca, and her dad gives her away to Wolfe Keaton for marriage due to reasons that become apparent much later on in the book. This book not only depicts the progression of Francesca and Wolfe’s relationship, but also of Francesca’s growth from a sheltered child into a woman.
Francesca pretty much grew up as a princess, went to an elite boarding school in Europe for most of her life, and was super sheltered. To top it all off, she belonged to an incredibly old-fashioned “traditional” family where women were not expected to go to college but instead stayed at home and pumped out heirs while their husbands told them what to do. Francesca basically grew up her whole life thinking this was her destiny, along with marrying her childhood crush Angelo. But she gets thrown into Wolfe’s arms pretty quickly and early on in the book, and all hell breaks loose as these two absolutely chaotic crackheads go head-to-head with each other. Wolfe is seeking vengeance (why are all the angsty romance novels always centered around seeking revenge?) over something Francesca’s father did, while Francesca just wants to go home and be with Angelo. But things start to change when Francesca realizes Wolfe is actually willing to offer her certain freedoms that her father would never allow. Some of these freedoms include learning how to drive and going to college.
While Wolfe is ultimately the hero to our heroine, he’s such an asshat for maybe the first 50% of the book. He’s broken (just like every single male love interest in every single book ever) for reasons that occurred in his past, he’s hell bent on revenge, and he’s vowed to never take a wife or fall in love. Obviously this all changes once he is engaged to Francesca, whose own stubbornness, willpower, and innocence takes him on one hell of a roller coaster of emotions. These two, and their relationship, are incredibly explosive but good god half the time they are SO toxic for each other. Their relationship is like the epitome of that one couple you know where they keep breaking up and getting back together again, or they keep getting into fights due to miscommunication, or they keep cheating on each other because the other did it first. When their relationship is good it’s pretty dang good, but when it goes south everything just turns into a living nightmare. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this book to people who are easily triggered by toxic relationships (and I mean truly emotionally toxic relationships), but outside of that it’s definitely not a bad read at all. The progression of Francesca and Wolfe’s relationship is actually relatively unique because it’s anything but linear. There are so many ups and so many downs, which makes the peaking points even more heart-wrenching in my opinion. Especially towards the end, the scene between Wolfe and Francesca’s father. Oh god, my heart couldn’t take it anymore. After this book I’m going to need to find a nice YA fantasy book that tones down the romance. And the steaminess, because The Kiss Thief definitely had PLENTY of those. I think of the three books I reviewed in this post, The Kiss Thief is the most graphic (although tbh I think its sex scenes are the most well written of the three). I’m thinking this book gets a 4/5 from me because while it’s good, I didn’t think there was anything about it that made it really special for me. It simply told an entertaining story, it had a unique progression of enemies-to-lovers, and the character progression of the heroine was fairly believable.
In conclusion I recommend Devious Lies and The Kiss Thief for those looking for an angsty romance, and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me for those looking for wholesome slow-burn that will leave your heart feeling kinda fuzzy.
#book reviews#new adult#devious lies#parker huntington#the wall of winnipeg and me#mariana zapata#the kiss thief#lj shen#contemporary romance#romance#slow burn romance#enemies-to-lovers
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Clara Reads City of Bones Part 3: Hogwarts Institute for Witchcraft and Shadowhunting
The Plot Thus Far
When last we left off, our lovable cardboard cutout protagonist, Clary Fray, had been attacked by a demon called a Ravener and taken to a place called “The Institute”. After three days of recovery, she has an uncomfortable (for us) conversation with Isabelle Lightwood, where we learn that Isabelle is hot and that we, the audience, should hate her for that, and also that Jace Wayland lives with the Lightwood family because his parents are dead. We are meant to feel bad about this. We are meant to feel sorry for Jace, which is a bit of a tall order, considering that Jace Wayland is the worst person to ever smirk and shrug his way through a YA book. If I were trapped in an elevator with him I wouldn’t even wait five minutes to be rescued, I’d pry those doors open and just drop. Death is cruel but quality time with Jace Wayland is crueler.
So Clary leaves the hospital wing and goes down a long hallway, lead by the sound of someone playing a piano. Last time I said that it was Alec (Isabelle’s brother) who played piano, and that it was his only character trait, but nope!! It’s actually my favorite boy Jace, that sack of human refuse! So I guess Alec has no personality, actually. Anyway, they have some “witty” “banter”, and then Alec takes her to the library to talk to the head of the Institute, Hodge Starkweather, and, yeah. I think it’s time to talk about the Harry Potter stuff.
The Harry Potter Stuff
You know how E.L. James made minor changes to her crappy Twilight fanfic and then published it as 50 Shades of Gray? Well, as near as anyone can figure out, this is basically the same thing that Cassandra Clare did with her Harry Potter fanfic The Draco Trilogy. Just change the names, tweak the backstories ever so slightly, slap on a crappy cover and publish that sucker! It’s technically not plagiarism anymore! This is how you end up with stuff like "The Institute”, a secret school to teach young magic kids to control their powers, or Hodge Starkweather, elderly magic professor, who, one could argue, is a crackpot old fool teaching our protagonists magic tricks. (Gosh, how does Clare come up with this stuff?)
This obviously isn’t proof of any kind, but when the villain of your story is named “Valentine” and he’s an evil magic user who has been dead for sixteen years (the age of our secretly magic protagonist) and the main characters are afraid to even say his name...yeah, it doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out where all of this comes from.
Now all this is frustrating, but it’s also hilarious. I mean, the big bad of the story is called Valentine. VALENTINE. And I actually laughed out loud for several minuted when I first read the name “Hodge Starkweather” to myself. I still get a little chuckle typing this. Oh, and since the word “muggle” would have JK Rowling’s lawyers on her ass faster than light, the word Cassandra Clare uses for non-magic people is...”Mundie”. It’s short for “mundane”. Like...first of all this is objectively hilarious. Second, mundane just means “normal”. If the Shadowhunter society is magical, then aren’t they they mundane ones? I know humans don’t have magic, but we still figured how to like, fly and stuff. That has to count for something. If I saw a dog that taught himself how to read, I wouldn’t like, make fun of him for not also being able to talk. I’d be like “Shit! That’s a pretty impressive fucking dog!” like what the fuck?
Anyway, this is all just a roundabout way to say that obviously this used to be a HP fic that through some twist of fate landed a publishing deal. And you know, it’s not as brain-meltingly bad as 50SoG, so who cares? Cassandra Clare’s just having fun, so who cares if her writing gets published?
Well...
The Plagiarism
So, yeah, she plagiarized lot. Like a lot. The Draco Trilogy has lines of dialogue taken directly from shows like Red Dwarf, Black Adder, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novels. Quoting shows apparently used to be pretty common in the early days of fanfiction, so there is context to consider here, but it gets worse. Cassandra Clare lifted almost a whole chapter, nearly word for word, from an out-of-print fantasy series called The Hidden Land, by Pamela Dean. On top of that, Clare was sued in 2016 by author Sherrilyn Kenyon, whose Darkhunter series predates Clares Shadowhunters series. (And for the record, Clare’s series was originally titled Darkhunters. Yikes.) You guys can read the full(ish) stories here and here.
I Guess I Have To Keep Talking About The Plot Now
Sigh. So after Hodge Starkweather (A+ naming there) tells them about Valentine, he explains that Shadowhunters are angel-human hybrids? Or something? They’re special, and they fight demons. Also faries, vampires, werewolves, all that stuff exists. We’re stuck with the Shadowhunters, however, because God has punished me for my hubris, and my work is never done. (Oh look, I just plagiarized Brian David Gibert. I’m a real author now, like Cassandra Clare!) The Shadowhunters were started thousands of years ago by a man named, I shit you not, Jonathan Shadowhunter. JONATHAN. FUCKING. SHADOWHUNTER. Why the fuck am I trying to come up with clever names for my characters? I should just name them all “Alex Clarasbook” and call it a fucking day. Fuck.
Anyway after a thrilling conversation with Alec-Who-Has-No-Personality, we find out that he does have a personality! His personality is that he hates humans. Oh, excuse me, “mundies.” Yep, that’s the best way to make a character relatable. Just make ‘em fucking racist. It’s okay though, it’s only magical racism so it evens out. Have I mentioned that this story has no poc?
(Oh also Clary’s mom was a Shadowhunter, but 1. I hate Clary and 2. literally a newborn baby could’ve figured that out, so)
Clary and Jace leave the Institute to go back to Clary’s house, and Clary slaps Jace, an act that brings me such joy that only the birth of my firstborn child will ever eclipse it, and even then, it will be it close tie. The moment is quickly over, however, as Clary immediately feels bad about it, because again, she is not a character. She’s a Walmart mannequin created for Jace to make out with. Then she sees two girls looking at Jace, and, in what can only be called the true essence of the book, “Clary turned instant traitor against her gender.” Just as a reminder, Clary sucks.
Anyway they get to her house, kill a giant, talk to a witch, yaddah yaddah yaddah. Basically nothing happens except the inevitable unraveling of my mental processes. I had to stop reading there because I have better things to do with my life besides destroying the few braincells I have left. I’ll post the next part soon, as soon as I can read more than five pages without wanting to fling the book off a seaside cliff into the frothing mist that obscures the swell and crash of the unforgiving waves. Until then, please enjoy some of my favorite bad lines.
Selected Passages (And Commentary)
“Jace chuckled. Clary could tell that he had come up behind her and was standing there with his hands in his pockets, grinning that infuriating grin of his.” (She knew all that without looking?)
“Attacked. Clary wondered if this was a euphemism for ‘murdered’.” (Clary you’re literally the dumbest person I’ve ever met.)
“Clary let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in.” (This may just be me being petty, but I hate this cliche so much.)
“‘You may be the only guy my age I’ve ever met who knows what bergamot is, much less that it’s in Earl Grey tea.” (Ah yes, that famous stereotype, that boys don’t know about tea. Oh, you like tea? Name three kinds. I hear sexist gatekeeping is a real problem in the tea community. I am not having a good time.)
“Dorothea chuckled. ‘It’s good to see a young woman eat her fill. In my day, girls were robust, strapping creatures, not twigs like they are nowadays.’ ‘Thanks,’ Clary said. She thought of Isabelle’s tiny waist and felt suddenly gigantic.” (Cassandra Clare’s super feminist, guys. You can tell because she’s always pitting her female characters against each other.)
Rating So Far
3/10-Bad. Jonathan Shadowhunter gets an entire 10/10. I’m going to have my name legally changed to Jonathan Shadowhunter.
#Clara Reads City of Bones#city of bones#shadowhunters#the mortal instruments#come at me i wanna fight
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What’s in a name? Kylo Ren as a sentient simulacrum
If my cultural sociologist’s heart soared when Ren turned out to be a heroine of postmodern time, Kylo Ben had my brain from the moment his parentage was revealed. Because this – this here, ladies and gentlemen, is a specimen of its own kind – a sentient simulacrum on a quest to destroy its meaning. And doing a terribly good job, judging by what the viewers think. Because he represents another tempting demon of postmodernity – a belief that everything is a matter of agreement and thus, of will and all one has to do is have a will strong enough to subjugate all of reality to its knees. This is nietzschean ubermensch in all his glory of overestimating the power of will and consciousness, things we have become obsessed with believing in. Kylo Ren isn’t a complicated answer to a question what would Anakin’s and Padme’s grandson and Han’s and Leia’s son grow up to be?, he’s a very ready made, willed, chosen answer to a question what would Darth Vader’s grandson be?
Objectively speaking, there’s every stake against Kylo Ben. He killed his father in a story about familial love. He’s in charge of evil empire in a story about fighting evil. He’s hinted at a romance in a story where romances ended in tragedy. But such is a nature of simulation: it laughs in the face of objectivity. It knows every objective symptom and has already found a way to cause it without referring to the core. Hypoerbolically speaking, everything objective can be faked and as such lies within simulation’s power. Simulation is something different from pretending. Pretending can be objectively revealed for what it is. You pretend that you had a good sleep by putting ice cubes and concealer under your eyes, your problems with focus will still be apparent. You simulate a good sleep by drinking enough coffee to seem – and FEEL – awake. And yes, Kylo Ben is totally the type of person who drinks coffee as black as his soul because sleep is for the weak. A simulacrum won’t recognise itself for what it is because it believes itself to be its only meaning. All that matters are the appearances. And it won’t drop the act when it’s not observed, because it’s always acting for itself. If anything, it’s precisesly other eyes that will see the bs. We’re all amazing actors in our own heads. The problem is to be ones for a different audience.
Take the moment he drops his mask during the bridge scene. You’re right to read it as consciously symbolic gesture. But the act isn’t for Han, at least, not only, it’s for him. He doesn’t need the mask to do what he’s about to do. It’s him, Kylo Ren who has already destroyed Han Solo’s weak and foolish son, about to commit another conscious, willful action. He won’t feel remorse.
He does very much feel remorse. There is no one close enough to him in that moment for him to fake it. This is a rebellion, albeit overdue and still passive, of the self against ego’s will, of meaning against simulacrum.The best metaphor of a difference between a meaning and a simulacrum in Star Wars is basically Ben Solo and Kylo Ren. So, should we feel safe that in a story destroying the simulacra bendemption is sure?
I’m not going to sugar coat it for you – it’s not.
In fact, if you’ve ever heard an antibendemption argument that made terrifyingly much sense, there’s a good chance someone who made it has a degree of knowledge about postmodern thought. Because Kylo Ben has been as much of a ready made redemption material as FO has been ready made villains. He’s literally the grandson of the redemption of this saga. And isn’t the hero worship of Skywalkers the best sign that they’re one of the husks that need to burn for the meaning to reemerge? Truthfully, a strong redemption needs an unredeemed counterpart, a Judas in The Second Testament, to really hit home. Yes, the Skywalkers are what created the basic messages of the saga, now let them go away and continue their essence detached from the husks, preferably leaving a strong warning in the last generation. Anakin’s redemption was the original one, now let it be carried by the likes of Galen, Bodhi and, according to some idiots, Finn, not his own bloodline.
There’s just one problem. Anakin’s not redeemed.
Let that sink in.
Anakin’s redemption did not take place
I don’t want to generalize, but I make a solid guess that most people on tumblr who identify with protagonists of the sequels are in their 20s to 30s., so Anakin’s redemption was a cultural given in our lives. Yeah, he’s done some bad things but in the end he loved Luke and died for him, and anyway, he’s shown as a force ghost in the end (anyone still remembering the old Anakin on Endor?), so he’s fine. What a heartwarming story of redemptive power of love! One that we’ve been rewatching whenever world seemed completely wrong, perhaps the story that helped us forgive people who’ve hurt us, one that has given us so much hope...
did not happen.
Arite, let’s have a look at what exactly was Darth Vader forgiven for, back in 1985:
walking into a room full of already dead people
choking one good guy
apparently he killed some jedi including Luke’s dad who knows how long time ago (I mean, to a 5 year old me Luke could have been anywhere from 15 to 35 years old)
being locked up with Leia and some syringed ball? they called it a mind probe later?
passively watching destruction of Alderaan which was aaaaaawesome one moment the planet was there and then pew pew it was gone
uuh... swinging his lightsaber at disappearing Obi-Wan?
piloting one of the TIEs during a military situation
choking some imperial officers, who cares
organising the worst “meet the in-laws” dinner in history
ordering Han to be frozen in carbonite
cutting off Luke’s arm, he gets a new one some 15 minutes later
he’s actually Luke’s dad?!?????
he does nothing in RotJ. nothing. oh, ok, he says “sister” in a creepy manner, it’s your daughter you’re talking about, you creep
So yeah. This is what he had to be narratively forgiven when he saved Luke and got his ass killed in the process. Additionally, the man who appears as a force ghost is around the same age as Obi-Wan, so 60? maybe even 70? Clearly, if he became Luke’s dad around the time he became Darth Vader, he couldn’t have been serving the empire for more than one third of his life and kicked ass with the good guys for the remaining two thirds. I’m so glad he found the absolution he clearly deserved.
And then prequels happened. And we got Anakin killing a whole village of sand people (off screen), slaughtering some 20 children (off screen), expressing desire to make the Empire his own and choking his pregnant wife because he had a bad dream. And this is only his record on the day he turns to the dark side. He’s in his twenties at a time, which means that he has spent half of his life as Darth Vader.
Uhmmmm... no one said anything about killing children back in the 80s, right? But still, we can go with this. Because Anakin’s fall was tailored for his redemption – induced by possessive love for his wife, undone by selfless love for his son, manipulated just enough to be forgiven, terrible just enough for the payment to be his life. And anyway, there’s the whole prophecy thing. Thus originals and prequels form a complete story of Anakin’s fall and redemption. Apparently.
Because then sequels happen! Yahoo! And there was Vader 2.0, wow he can actually freeze blaster bolts in the air, impressive, anyway, can’t wait for the next generation of Skywalkers to appear. UUh, but there’s something wrong. Village isn’t slaughtered off screen, we watch the fire and hear the screams... Oh and then there’s the mind probe scene and mind probe is apparently a painful psychological violation, giving people connotations with rape... Vader 2.0 is this trilogy’s Skywalker?!!!!! Oh, and the destruction of Hosian system is nothing cool, there are terrified people on Couruscant... whaaaaaaaaa, he killed Han Solo, WHYYYYY?!!!!!!!! Oh anyway, maybe he’s adopted, Rey is the one worthy of being saint Anakin’s grandchild.
I think you get the drift. Violence is presented much more realistically in the sequels than either originals or prequels and consequently viewers are willing to see Kylo Ben as more evil than Darth Anakin – even though, appealing to the reason, Anakin has been serving the Empire for two decades which for Kylo to equal he would have to have joined FO when he was 10. But that’s it – we must not underestimate the power of visual representation. Describing something, insinuating it off screen simply doesn’t have the same impact as playing it out before our eyes. Still, after TFA it’s still simple to just say Kylo Ben IS more irredeemable than Darth Anakin.
But then Rouge One happens and Darth Vader shows himself as a goddamn killing machine he has always been, cutting and choking rebels like they’re butter. More, he chokes Krennic into subjugation, which has a completely different vibe to it than his anger/force insult it’s his dad you’re talking about! induced chokes in originals – this here is deliberate abuse of power. And of course, there are all the remaining extended materials showing Vader as an actually evil character – not one we’re told is evil, only actually doing evil things.
So ask yourselves this – if Anakin’s story unfolded itself chronologically and with sequels’ uncensored depiction of war, if we have actually seen the Tuskans burn and scream in agony, if clone wars weren’t softened by villains being droids, watched all the padawans die at Anakin’s hand, then were granted 20 years of abuse of power, watched Leia get “mind raped” by man we knew to be her father, seen terror of Alderaanians, had prequels’ Obi-Wan for our childhood’s hero, force choking wasn’t framed as a pythonic comic relief, knew Vader cut off his son’s arm knowing the pain it gives and discovered that he’s still as power hungry as twenty years earlier – would Anakin’s redemption feel earned at the end? Would it feel real? Would it have that cathartic hopeful power which became franchise’s legacy? Because what, he didn’t let his kid get fried in front of him? He, who burned the world because he dreamt of his wife’s death? Or because he died early enough to not overtake the Empire?
Anakin’s redemption did not take place. Franchise’s message has been a lie all along – or a hypocrisy because why would Anakin and his mighty Skywalker blood grandson get redeemed but Dooku or Maul not? Clearly, Vader has done more evil than these two combined and Kylo Ren is now Palpatine 3.0 showing he was after power all along. Anakin’s force ghost? An illusion for children.
But it’s ok. Lies can give lasting fruits. Growing up is accepting they’re lies and going on with your life.
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13 Things We Learned About Travel by Watching Star Wars
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Luke yearns to get away over a binary sunset. (Video: Benguitar9000/YouTube)
Are you excited yet about Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens? We sure are!
So
when someone tells me they’re going to try traveling someplace soon, I
give them my best Yoda impersonation: “DO or do not. There is no try.”
With J.J. Abrams revving up the Star Wars hype machine again,
it got us at Yahoo Travel thinking about how the original films are as
much a travel guide as they are a classic mythological space opera. We
see diverse lands and fascinating modes of transportation, all in a
story sparked by one farm boy looking far, far away to the heavens with
wanderlust.
You don’t think we can come up with 10 travel lessons learned from Star Wars?
As Han Solo once said, never tell me the odds! Here are 13 of them that
will teach you a Jedi’s wisdom when on the road, inspired by the
thousands of times I’ve watched the original trilogy (no dorks here!).
One
note: I’ve purged most of the prequel movies from my memory in protest
to George Lucas, but I do include one romance-related reference to them
here.
Han Solo was the original Uber
(Video: Daniel M. Kobayashi/YouTube)
Ride sharing was cool in the Star Wars films
long before their geeky fans in Silicon Valley thought of it. Obi-Wan
didn’t use an app to find Han, but he did go to a part of town where
rent-a-pilots were known to congregate, and he arranged to ride a
vehicle driven by its cocky owner. Notice any parallels?
When
Han found out they were running from the Empire, he even used surge
pricing on them! How much more Uber can you get? Can’t you just picture
Princess Leia calling CEO Travis Kalanick a “scruffy-looking nerf
herder”?
Related: Go Far, Far Away to See Where the New ‘Star Wars’ Was Filmed
Also like Han, Uber shoots first at its critics, and it’s known to keep a secret compartment or
two. We just hope Uber will follow his lead and learn that underneath
that bad-boy exterior, the company has a heart of gold. (We’re not
holding our breath.) One thing is for sure: Anyone would give the
Millennium Falcon a five-star rating.
If you must lie to customs, play it cool
(Video: Daniel M. Kobayashi/YouTube)
Repeat after me: “These aren’t the Cuban cigars you’re looking for.”
Maybe
you shouldn’t risk it with American customs, but travel to enough
countries and you’re probably going to need to employ some Jedi mind
tricks against sketchy border-control people. In my case it was the
officers at the Syrian airport six years ago, when I had to calmly deny
my father was from Syria — had they known the truth, under law I could
have been drafted in the Syrian army even though I was born in the U.S.
Talk about going to the Dark Side.
Pack a versatile wardrobe for any occasion
(Video: Stormcab/YouTube)
We’ve
got to hand it to Princess Leia — in addition to being the kick-ass,
courageous leader of a rebellion against an evil government, she can
really pick an outfit. When she was dodging Imperial starships in Episode IV, she was dressed in a practical white robe with that iconic hair bun; on frigid Hoth in Episode V, she wore smart layers. And when cavorting with Ewoks in Return of the Jedi? She was all about that camo look, baby. And all this was despite most of her wardrobe getting blown up on Alderaan!
Preadolescent boys like me were most intrigued by Leia’s Slave Girl outfit while trapped on Jabba’s sail barge in Jedi. But we’re not going there, OK?
Resist the temptation to have an unplanned wedding when you travel
(Video: Daniel Ard/YouTube)
Hey,
girlfriend, I understand how you feel traveling with that guy you’re
dating. He’s tall, handsome, and saying super-romantic things such as, “I don’t like sand.” You’re
light years from home and alone with this person, surrounded by
digitally enhanced scenery. Sure, he had one bad night and slaughtered
some innocent locals, and he hinted at his desire to become a galactic
dictator. But just look at those eyes! And it’s like he can read your
mind!
Don’t
jump into any big relationship decisions without getting back to
reality and giving it some thought. Padme didn’t follow that advice, and
she got married on the road to a future Sith Lord who knocked her up,
then indirectly murdered her.
Don’t go into bad neighborhoods by yourself or without telling someone
(Video: joncarr/YouTube)
Luke
learns this the hard way when he takes his landspeeder into the
Jundland Wastes, chasing after Artoo without even telling his aunt and
uncle. True, he wasn’t technically alone, but would you want C-3PO
having your back in a fight?
We’re
not saying you should stick to tourist areas when you travel — some of
the best experiences are off the beaten path — but have a sidekick and
make sure you know exactly how you’d get out of a hairy situation. Luke
got bailed out not once but twice when you include his kerfuffle at the
Mos Eisley Cantina, but we don’t all have exiled Jedi Masters looking
out for us, now do we?
No, really, Luke … DON’T go into dangerous places by yourself!
(Video: schultzstudio/YouTube)
Yup, he did it again in The Empire Strikes Back,
only this time in the snow at his tauntaun’s expense. Luke gets bailed
out more times than American banks. If you’re traversing any desolate,
icy terrain, have someone to help you fight off Wampa creatures so Han
Solo doesn’t need to rescue you.
When traveling with the boss, DO NOT slack off
(Video: DRMMRI14/YouTube)
It
might start with sleeping in before the conference. Then you have a
couple too many drinks at the hotel bar and embarrass yourself. Before
you know it, you’re pulling out of hyperspace too close and letting your
sworn enemies know you’re there. Then this happens, and you’ve failed your boss for the last time. And remember, the Emperor is not as forgiving as he is.
Don’t crash at a friend’s house unless you’re on good terms
(Video: Canale di BenguitarBis/YouTube)
We understand Han and the gang didn’t exactly have an Airbnb search at their disposal while ducking Star Destroyers in The Empire Strikes Back.
But by his own admission he didn’t trust his frenemy Lando and hadn’t
spoken with him lately, yet he chose to fly to Bespin anyway. All that
got him was betrayal, electroshock torture, and a frozen date with Boba
Fett. Lando did redeem himself by saving Han, but still.
A
general rule: If it’s been more than a couple of years since you talked
to the person, don’t ask to crash with them if you don’t fully trust
them.
Back up your photos and video as you travel … just in case you’re attacked by a Star Destroyer
(Video: QuoteTheGuy/YouTube)
When
most of us travel, we accumulate files that we can’t risk losing: a
photo of that glorious beach sunset, a video of your kids playing in a
Parisian fountain, a blueprint to destroy the same Death Star that blew
up your home planet. You know, typical souvenirs.
Princess
Leia knows this, as demonstrated by the way she quickly reacted to
Darth Vader’s boarding party by saving the Rebel plans inside the most
reliable flash drive in the galaxy, R2-D2. Even if you don’t have an
astromech droid handy, carry a USB memory stick with lots of space.
You can find Zen in exotic places … with the right instructor
GIF11
(Video: Canale di BenguitarBis/YouTube)
Luke Skywalker was not into glamping.
He flew to an ugly swamp to learn how to untap his spiritual potential
from a cranky old guide who was on his back all the time. But what a
guide Yoda was, and despite a frustrating start and that one bad trip
where he saw his evil father’s face as his own, Luke emerged a far
stronger and wiser person ready to take on the universe. Plus Yoda
showed him how to get your vehicle out of the mud.
When you’re shopping at a mobile flea market in the desert, inspect the merchandise closely
Would you buy a droid from these guys? (Courtesy: Wookieepedia)
While
the pre-Jedi Luke Skywalker was trying to whine his way out of the Jawa
market — “But I was going to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!”—
Uncle Owen was the one who questioned and picked out C-3P0, the most
overqualified farm droid ever, because Threepio spoke the right
language.
This
was the right call. On the other hand, Owen passed on R2-D2 for that
defective red look-alike droid without a good inspection. Thankfully the
droid broke down on the spot, so they were able to exchange it for
Luke’s future X-Wing copilot.
Related: Eye Massagers and Star Wars Toasters — Odd Gifts From SkyMall for the Holiday Season
Really,
Owen and Luke should have known better. It’s not like the Jawas were
Amazon, with a credible return policy: They were fly-by-night merchants.
When you’re traveling through a foreign town and dealing with a street
vendor you’ll never see again, you need to trust but verify.
Be friendly with the locals and they may help you out of a jam
The cutest secret weapons you ever saw. (Courtesy: Wookieepedia)
I
tried going through this article without an Ewok reference — they’re my
least favorite part of the original movies, and it’s hard to believe
that a family of teddy bears could take down the Empire. Still, there’s a
lesson to be learned here: While the Empire threatened the Ewoks, Leia
befriended them, which swung the odds in the Rebels’ favor in the Battle
of Endor.
A parsec is a measurement of travel time … or is it?
We confess, we’re not sure what the lesson is here, but it needs to be said in any mention of Star Wars and
travel. As Han Solo tries to price-gouge Obi-Wan and Luke for a ride on
the Falcon, he brags that his ship is so fast, it “made the Kessel Run
in less than 12 parsecs.”
Only thing is, a parsec is
a unit of distance, not time. It’s kind of like saying, “My car is so
fast, I drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than 400 miles!”
Either this was a rookie math mistake by George Lucas, a con attempt by Han, or something else: Han shortening the Kessel Run from 18 parsecs to 12 by bravely flying close to black holes. We’ll probably never know, and nerds like me will be debating it years from now in our nursing homes.
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top 5 favorite books?
Shoot man, I ask you to send in some stuff and you go on ahead and send me one of the hardest questions to answer? Wow. Okay, let’s see here… considering that we’re referring to books instead of manga…
1. The Amulet of Samarkand [The Bartimaeus Trilogy]–The first book in a series in which the main character switches between a snarky djinn named Bartimaeus and a budding magician named Nathanial who summons him to get vengeance on another magician who humiliated him. It ends up getting them entangled in a plot that threatens to destroy the entirety of London and potentially the world. I think that one of my favorite traits of the book series are the footnotes that are supplied on Bartimaeus’ segments–I found myself flipping past chapters often just so I could see when Bartimaeus’ next part would be. The footnotes provide great insight into the particularities of the world that the summoned entities come from and occasionally either include a curt history lesson, a magnanimous feat that Bartimaeus had achieved, or a snarky comment or two. I just love it.2. The Book Thief–Death details the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl who is made to live with foster parents during World War II in Communist Germany. It’s a powerful piece that will make you cry, and the depiction of Death is incredibly mesmerizing in its own right. @nik-knight showed me the book years ago. The movie doesn’t come close to doing it justice.3. 1984–An interesting tale of a dystopian society in which Winston Something lives in (I’ve only read it once, lol). The entire nation of Great Britain is under the control of a figure that may or may not exist known as Big Brother, and his eyes are constantly watching over the streets. I read it for school but I’d say that it is worth an attempt to read.4. The Prisoner of Azkaban [The Harry Potter Trilogy]–I just. I really like Sirius, okay? And Buckbeak. And plus Hermione punches Draco in his fucking smarmy-ass face.5. The Name of the Wind–Now, here is where ir gets interesting. The Name of the Wind… I first started reading it when I was in Middle School, and I never actually ended up finishing it. I got halfway through before I had to turn it back into the library. The majority of the book is a flashback as a writer details the story of the main character, from his time of youth to his time that he spent in school and even beyond that. The Name of the Wind was a story I thought I would be incredibly bored with at first, especially because it’s such a long story (about 500-600 pages, thereabout), but when I was reading it, it was a fantastic adventure. I want to finish reading it at some point, but I forgot where exactly I was in it. :S
I’m pretty sure that there are a lot more books that I’ve read in the past, but as of now, these are the books that come to mind whenever someone says ‘books’. I really need to start reading more books these days, if I have to be honest with myself.
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⭐️hey nice job. what’s the book recommendation you’ve posted about a couple times lately?
thanks virtual gym buddy, it’s thanks to you :3.
i’m. glad you asked. :DDDD
it’s R. Scott Bakker’s The Darkness That Comes Before, the first book in his Prince of Nothing trilogy. it’s about uhhhhh... it’s complicated. but basically it’s like. the main character is a hybrid of batman, sherlock holmes and a supercomputer. he goes out into a fantasy world after his people spent 2000 years in seclusion, brought on by a giant fuckoff apocalypse that destroyed this world’s version of the roman/greek empires. the rest of society has carried on and the hub of humanity is sort of meditteranean, indian, persian ish? other main characters include the biggest toughest barbarian, who comes from essentially a scythian type culture? a prostitute who lives in what is essentially the vatican i guess. and a wizard spy who is part of a sect of wizards whose life mission is to uhh prevent another apocalypse basically? basically there’s like. weird fuck aliens. who want to murder everyone on earth. cus uhh then they won’t go to hell. becauuuuse...
“There are no crimes,” he mumbled afterward, “when no one is left alive.”
so basically yeah! uhh there’s an ancient conspiracy to bring about the apocalypse but for real this time, the wizard spy guy is spying and tryna stop it, except no one respects him or his other wizard friends cus no one has seen the evil fuck aliens in like 300 years. there’s a new pope who is oddly good at everything, he’s gonna call a holy war on the muslims basically cus they control jerusalem. everyone listed above kinda worms their way into the holy war one way or another, and then it’s basically a speedrun of the first crusade.
it’s uhhhh COMPLICATED and HARD TO EXPLAIN so sorry if that does not sound very appealing. i have yet to really perfect the pitch of it (to be fair neither has the fucking author or his publishers marketing team lmao they don’t know what to do with it). another way to pitch it is basically a realllllly dark high fantasy world, with some lord of the rings influence, with the twist that there’s objective morality. the author’s stated intent on making it was to make a fantasy world religion influenced by like old testament and old hindu morality, where like if you fuck up you’re just damned no take backsies. so this is that, and everything kinda stems from that. he’s i think a philosophy phd dropout, with a sharp interest in neuroscience, and it’s also kinda about his philosophy, which can kinda be summed up as neuro-skepticism? where he thinks that the further neuroscience advances the more we’ll realize that motivation comes from nothing, that man’s search for meaning will end in the realization that meaning was a useful evolutionary tool. that also plays a really big roll: the title refers to what the main characters cult thing refers to motivation as, i.e. the “darkness that comes before” the self, the place they can’t understand where their decisions etc. stem from, i.e. their soul, which they’ve made their life mission to understand and therefore comprehend the absolute. the stuff about there being no crimes when no one is alive is also a neat philosophy thing, which i don’t necessarily understand fully but it’s part of the metaphysics of the universe too
IF YOU CAN’T TELL I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS FUCKING BOOOK. as unappealing as i may have made it sound, it’s my favourite fucking book/series and it’s hardly close. i’m hoping to meet the man himself soon, i missed the last fan meetup a year or two ago. i fuckin moderate the subreddit for it cus i started a reread/first time read discussion thread for it. it’s just. so nuanced and complex and intelligent and heartwrenching at times and kicks so much ass at times
NOW. uhh. fair warning. the content even when it’s not requiring a trigger warning is somewhat really dark. in Those Scenes it really need a TW attached. there’s uhhh. r*pe. a lot. as drama, in war, by creepy aliens, by one of the main characters (the barbarian). the reason i still like the series as much as i do is because i know bakker knows what he’s doing when he does it; he’s not putting it in for fun or to get off to it like some fantasy writers i could mention, it’s an intentional horrible morass of evil shit (i think he also said it was intentionally to alienate his more progressive readers, make them go “holy fucking shit”, that type of thing. not cus he hates them but just cus sorta sympathizing too much with any particular character or liking the world too much really doesn’t go along with the themes lmao). i was real suspicious he would end up being a fucking terry goodkind type of fella (there i mentioned his name) cus there’s like a fifty fifty when you read this type of book. like several main characters are obvious power fantasies for a while for instance. but no he knows for sure what he’s doing.
that tangent aside, yeah, consider there being every content warning you can easily imagine being on this book. if any of that sort of thing triggers you or anything you should probably avoid. if it doesn’t it’ll still squick you out to be entirely fucking honest, but you can probably make it thru
i guess that’s another thing i like about it, it’s part horror. also part lovecraftian metaphysical horror but it’s reeeeeeeaaaaally subtle. like just barely there except for one recurring part in the second series and one specific part in book five or six. so YEAH.
i guess the best recommendation would be “if you liked game of thrones” maybe? that’s the best cultural touchstone, but it’s not that similar. just in the sense that they both are dark and serve as deconstructions of a lot of standard tolkienian fantasy tropes.
ANYWAY YEAH! that’s my spiel. i impart you all with that recommendation and the ability to infer my reddit username if you so choose i guess
#high school anon#star emoji anon#this went way longer than i expected#anyone who wants to get into this series#lemme know#i know a guy#who am i kidding i am the guy#also i'll link u the readthrough so u can get other first time readers discussion/reactions#Anonymous
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Broken In Silence by Katze Snow Blog Tour
Darkness is a pleasure to be desired…
Title: Broken in Silence by Katze Snow
Series: (Demons and Wolves #1)
Author: Katze Snow
Genre: Supernatural/Paranormal erotica
Publisher: Indie publishing
Release Date: March 18, 2017
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34388355-broken-in-silencehttps://youtu.be/qZgTRF-Jo_M
Blurb
Darkness is a pleasure to be desired… Tannerian Wulfric is a leader—a strong alpha who bows to no-one, especially those who try to undermine his authority. When an opportunity arises, he grabs it with both hands and lets nothing get in his way. Trouble is, his brother has been caught in the crossfire of glorious retribution, and Tanner is in need of assistance. For many years, Alex Jonas has lived his life in peace. But when fate lands him in the hands of his ex-lover and alpha, he finds himself in the centre of a feud he never knew existed, and must immerse himself in ways he had never imagined. One chance encounter, one night, and everything comes crashing down around him. Alex must fight for his life while Tanner fights for one thing and one thing only—vengeance, which has never tasted sweeter. Can Tanner avenge his family’s death without spilling more blood? Or will his inner demon tear apart everything he has worked for, and lose the man who owns his heart? Warning: Contains strong use of language, violence, and graphic, erotic scenes which will require a cold shower to calm yourself down. Proceed with caution! HFN.
Buy Links
Kindle
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Excerpt
Tanner’s lips assaulted Sebastian’s, and he was surprised to find the vampire’s lips expectant in return. Lust overtook them. Heat rose into their bodies and, for a moment, Sebastian dared to push Tanner away from him. But the hybrid wolf was vastly stronger than he. Tanner pinned his hands above his head and his short fingernails dug into Sebastian’s wrists, causing blood to trickle down the vampire’s neck. He panted into Tanner’s mouth, attempting to hopelessly resist him, but Tanner would not yield. This lousy vampire needed to be taught a lesson—not to mention the vampire’s dick was as hard as rock between them. Tanner wasn’t one to shy away from his responsibility. Not like he had done with Alex an hour ago. Sebastian could say what he wanted, but there was no way the vampire had paid a visit simply to scold him. It might’ve been over fifty years since their last encounter, but Sebastian’s lust for Tanner was as clear as day, and he couldn’t conceal it. This was what Sebastian had come here for. To be fucked by the man who could physically give him what he wanted, which was Tobias Wulfric. In one impossibly swift movement, Tanner unleashed Sebastian’s hands from their cage above and thrust him down onto his knees. “Now, first of all, you’re going to suck my dick whether you want to or not, and you better be good at it or else I’m going to tear your ass to pieces. In fact, I’m going to do that anyway—rip your guts out from inside and watch them trickle down your filthy little ass while I plunge into you. That’s what you want, is it not? For Tobias to mark his territory? Well, let me do that for him since he’ll never be the one to touch you.” Sebastian glared up at him, his almond-shaped eyes raw with hatred, turning bloodier by the second. “No hands, just teeth,” Tanner warned him, and the vampire’s shoulders tensed. But, Sebastian couldn’t deny how aroused he was, especially the whisper of a moan that escaped him when he took Tanner's zip between his lips, and gently pulled down until he released his cock from his pants. Sebastian was so wanton, so erratic and proud that Tanner couldn’t restrain himself. Didn’t want to restrain himself. Erratic fucks like this drove him wild and he wanted to destroy his ass until there was nothing left.
Exclusive Excerpt
Sebastian glared up at him, his almond-shaped eyes raw with hatred, turning bloodier by the second. “No hands, just teeth,” Tanner warned him, and the vampire’s shoulders tensed. But, Sebastian couldn’t deny how aroused he was, especially the whisper of a moan that escaped him when he took Tanner's zip between his lips, and gently pulled down until he released his cock from his pants. Sebastian was so wanton, so erratic and proud that Tanner couldn’t restrain himself.Didn’t want to restrain himself. Erratic fucks like this drove him wild and he wanted to destroy his ass until there was nothing left.
Giveaway
One lucky winner will get an e-copy of Broken in Silence
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6d41b92d107/
Author Q&A
Top 5 snacks
Crème Eggs. Duh!
Pizza. Texas BBQ is my fave!
Pringles. Mmmmm, Pringles. Sour Cream or Salted are the best.
Hard-boiled, fruity sweets.
Anything that’s milk chocolate. I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate.
Top 5 films
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Harry Potter (Fantastic Beasts is slowly climbing into my heart!)
John Wick
Juno
Pretty Woman
But I also really love Disney! Inside Out and Monsters University are my favourite right now. I watch them at least every night!
Top 5 must read books
Strain by Amelia C. Gormley (MM post-apocalyptic)
Haven City series by Zoe Perdita (MM paranormal, Dragon and Flame is my favourite)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (I’ve read this sooooo many times and never get tired of it. Mr Rochester
Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (I cried so much reading this (and watching the film) which NEVER happens to me. Loved, loved, loved this creation!)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (way better than the film, if you ask me. Go figures.)
About the Author
Katze Snow never learned when to shut up. Food and coffee are what encourage Katze to function in a semi-normal, sort of socially acceptable way. Doses of sarcasm and sass are what she lives for, and her wolf, Kiba, who is Katze's little furbaby. She's been writing since she was a child, but finally published her debut novel, Alpha's Bane, in Autumn 2016. While Katze also writes MF, MM is where her heart truly lies. Her writing is dark, gritty, and takes satire to a whole new level. Come and join her! But be warned: Katze likes her men dark, twisted and all kinds of fucked up, and she hopes you do too.
Website plus subscription list: www.katzesnow.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snowlings Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/katzesnowling
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Guest Post: A Kingdom's Fall #horror #newreleases #newfiction
Author Interview
What genre(s) do you write and why?
My work resides in the horror realm and all its subgenres. A gross-out gag, splatterpunk shock, or spine-tingling chill makes us remember we’re alive. And knowing my work makes some people’s genitalia retract into their innards gives me wood.
What was the most difficult part of writing your most recent book?
Finding time to write the third book in The Human-Undead War trilogy proved a chore. I had to decline offers for short story contributions, deny requests to beta read and edit fellow writers’ work, ignore submission calls, and limit my social media presence for about 8 months. With my wife back in school full-time and unpredictable daily work hours at my day job, I was lucky to scrape by with 30 minutes a day for writing. It drove me to the brink of madness!
What do you feel your books offer readers?
An intriguing escape from reality, and a fresh take on vampires. Anyone tired of pussy-ass, sparkly vamps ought to see merit in The Human-Undead War series. I’d love to think I’m revitalizing the genre like Brian Lumley did with his Necroscope series, but sales and exposure beg to differ. Some day, perhaps…
What was the first book you ever had published? How much time did it take from writing your first book to having it published?
The first book was Dark Intentions, Book 1 in The Human-Undead War Trilogy. From concept to publication, it took approximately 8 years. That included some snags in the publishing process (infamous “kerfuffles”) which set me back almost 2 years.
What other careers have you had?
I’ve been a paper boy, grocery bagger, a fast food cook/cashier, pot dealer, phone operator for a taxi company and multiple telemarketing gigs, gas station attendant, obsessive plasma donor, pizza delivery driver, warehouse laborer, and I’ve held management positions at multiple businesses, including my current employer.
Many won’t admit this, but pizza delivery can be quite lucrative. I miss that cash-in-hand every night, and the crazy fucks you meet along the way are great story fodder.
How would you describe yourself if you were “speed dating” your readers?
A chubby bald guy who’s rough around the edges, likes to tease and titillate, and has a dark sense of humor.
Where are you from?
♪In northeastern Iowa, born and raised,
On the farmland is where I spent most of my days…♪
Okay, I’ll stop now. The tune’s stuck in your noggin now, though, isn’t it?
What do you do for fun?
Fun? Sorry, I don’t understand this foreign word. Please translate.
Has your life changed significantly since becoming a published writer?
I think I’m poorer now than I was before I started writing for publication! However, my soul has been enriched. I’ve made tons of awesome, supportive writing-minded friends, a few fans, and a few bucks. It makes up for the constant business expenses (books on hand, business cards, advertisements, bookmarks, contests).
Otherwise, no, not much has changed. I’m still just an introvert peon working for The Man.
Do you work on one project at a time? Or do you multi-task?
I must stay focused on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking often results in more white hairs cropping up on my chin and me needing several Snickers bars to calm the fuck down.
What kind of kid were you? Which social path did you take?
In grade school, I was the fat kid who compensated with comedy, but I was a loner outside of school. I lived on a farm, and even with siblings, I could often be found roaming our land alone, talking to myself and acting out scenes in my head. I usually had my nose crammed into a book’s delicious-smelling spine as well. Once I hit middle school, my introvert side kicked into high gear. Since then, I’ve maintained a small group of core friends and tend to avoid large (or popular) groups of people.
Do you have any pets?
Two cats, Tubba and Target, and a wiener, Spot.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you travel?
I took a few years of Spanish in high school, and I loved everything about it. Spain seems like a gorgeous, culturally rich place to visit.
Please tell us 5 miscellaneous facts about yourself.
-I’m a huge advocate for literacy and will drop spare change every time I go to The Dollar General.
-I once popped what I thought was an Ecstasy pill only to discover it was a horse tranquilizer. Good times.
-Nothing turns me on more than a clean, spotless home.
-When I awoke in my cell after being arrested for drunk driving a decade ago, every county inmate hassled me for my extreme overnight snoring.
-I once masturbated 13 times in one day.
Please share with us your future projects and upcoming releases.
A Kingdom’s Fall, the conclusion to The Human-Undead War Trilogy, will be out later this year. I’ll also have a story in VS: Extreme, a charity anthology pitting US against UK horror writers. I was in the inaugural VS last year and took home some accolades, so I hope to defend my title in style this year. David Owain Hughes and I are also co-editing an anthology titled Fuck the Rules, and that should be out late this year or early 2018. It’s our way of throwing up the middle finger to rules while still exposing raw talent and crisp, finely tuned stories.
After that, I don’t know. Time to pursue my writing endeavors has been limited and will continue to be for several more years. I may disappear for a bit. But I’ll be back.
Please share any links you would like listed in the Interview. Website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Patreon, Instagram etc.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JondrashekAuthor
Twitter: @jondrashek
Website/Blog: www.jondrashek.com
Instagram: @jondrashek
BRIEF AUTHOR BIO:
Jonathan Edward Ondrashek loves to spew word vomit onto the masses. He’s had an array of poetry, reviews, articles, and interviews published in the past decade. His short stories have appeared in the anthologies Fifty Shades of Slay, Rejected for Content 4: Highway to Hell, Crossroads in the Dark II: Urban Legends, and the highly acclaimed VS: US vs UK Horror. The first two books in The Human-Undead War Trilogy, Dark Intentions and Patriarch, debuted in 2016, along with two co-edited horror anthologies: What Goes Around and Man Behind the Mask. If he isn’t working at his day job, reading, or writing, he’s probably drinking beer and making his wife regret marrying a lunatic. Feel free to stalk him on social media. He loves that shit.
A Kingdom’s Fall (The Human-Undead War Trilogy, Volume 3)
After staking his claim as the rightful Undead patriarch and returning to the United States, Barnaby has sent his followers on missions to eradicate humankind once and for all. He still plots to cast the world into darkness and reign supreme. But to ensure the Undead’s ascent to godhood, he will need to destroy the Human Army and confront his nemesis, Brian Koltz.
However, President Strajowskie understands the stakes involved, and he’s heading to the front line to go all out against Barnaby and his hordes.
Meanwhile, an insurgent army led by the former Undead general, Scott Hammers, approaches Haven. Brian and his people are prepared, but he discovers a traitor in their midst and dark deeds being done against his knowledge. Can he and Haven survive the ensuing battle without being torn apart from within?
As all sides vie for victory, a confrontation between Brian and Barnaby appears inevitable. And both now understand one kingdom must fall if the other is to survive.
BOOK EXCERPT:
“You’re a pilot?” the woman asked.
Lester blushed and ran a hand through his red curls. “Yeah.”
She stared at the center of her shoddy table. Candlelight flickered. Dark bags beneath her eyes devoured her high, protruding cheekbones. “Scar told us wasn’t none of them left,” she said with a slow honey-dipped drawl. “Said no one took to the skies anymore. That’s why he was sailing ‘cross water, before his ship wrecked.”
Lester almost snorted but held his derision in check. Barnaby sure did choose a lame nickname while he was here. He found it unnerving how the Vampirons revered such a devil. Then again, they didn’t know what he was.
Hell, even God doesn’t know what he is.
“Very few still exist,” Roterie said. He meandered away from the humble open-spaced kitchen and plopped onto the chair opposite Mrs. Deekins. He rested his hands behind his head and kicked his feet up. Dirt and sand sprinkled down from the soles of his shoes and cascaded across the table. “That’s why your husband was wise to follow Scar and find us.”
“Well, I can’t thank you enough for coming here and telling me how Zeke’s doing. Me and the kids’ve been worried sick.”
It shows, Lester thought. Mrs. Deekins was bone-thin, though canned goods and somewhat-fresh fruits lined the makeshift countertops inside the kitchen. Grime caked her skin in an oily sheen. Bloodshot, yellowed eyes protruded from their sockets, and her fake fangs jutted out below her upper lip. With thin, frayed hair sticking out at every angle atop her scalp, she looked like a buck-toothed, emaciated vampire hippie.
And the stench was horrendous. The quaint mud hut reeked of rotten eggs, spoiled milk, and decaying meat. Worse still was Mrs. Deekins herself. Even from the front doorway, he could smell the layers of sweat, shit, and piss emanating from her body in sickening droves.
That reminds me. It’s been a week or two since I took a bath, Lester thought, avoiding the urge to sniff his armpits and test his own scent.
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Broken In Silence by Katze Snow Blog Tour
Darkness is a pleasure to be desired…
Title: Broken in Silence by Katze Snow
Series: (Demons and Wolves #1)
Author: Katze Snow
Genre: Supernatural/Paranormal erotica
Publisher: Indie publishing
Release Date: March 18, 2017
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34388355-broken-in-silencehttps://youtu.be/qZgTRF-Jo_M
Blurb
Darkness is a pleasure to be desired… Tannerian Wulfric is a leader—a strong alpha who bows to no-one, especially those who try to undermine his authority. When an opportunity arises, he grabs it with both hands and lets nothing get in his way. Trouble is, his brother has been caught in the crossfire of glorious retribution, and Tanner is in need of assistance. For many years, Alex Jonas has lived his life in peace. But when fate lands him in the hands of his ex-lover and alpha, he finds himself in the centre of a feud he never knew existed, and must immerse himself in ways he had never imagined. One chance encounter, one night, and everything comes crashing down around him. Alex must fight for his life while Tanner fights for one thing and one thing only—vengeance, which has never tasted sweeter. Can Tanner avenge his family’s death without spilling more blood? Or will his inner demon tear apart everything he has worked for, and lose the man who owns his heart? Warning: Contains strong use of language, violence, and graphic, erotic scenes which will require a cold shower to calm yourself down. Proceed with caution! HFN.
Buy Links
Kindle
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XHPYN9R
Excerpt
Tanner’s lips assaulted Sebastian’s, and he was surprised to find the vampire’s lips expectant in return. Lust overtook them. Heat rose into their bodies and, for a moment, Sebastian dared to push Tanner away from him. But the hybrid wolf was vastly stronger than he. Tanner pinned his hands above his head and his short fingernails dug into Sebastian’s wrists, causing blood to trickle down the vampire’s neck. He panted into Tanner’s mouth, attempting to hopelessly resist him, but Tanner would not yield. This lousy vampire needed to be taught a lesson—not to mention the vampire’s dick was as hard as rock between them. Tanner wasn’t one to shy away from his responsibility. Not like he had done with Alex an hour ago. Sebastian could say what he wanted, but there was no way the vampire had paid a visit simply to scold him. It might’ve been over fifty years since their last encounter, but Sebastian’s lust for Tanner was as clear as day, and he couldn’t conceal it. This was what Sebastian had come here for. To be fucked by the man who could physically give him what he wanted, which was Tobias Wulfric. In one impossibly swift movement, Tanner unleashed Sebastian’s hands from their cage above and thrust him down onto his knees. “Now, first of all, you’re going to suck my dick whether you want to or not, and you better be good at it or else I’m going to tear your ass to pieces. In fact, I’m going to do that anyway—rip your guts out from inside and watch them trickle down your filthy little ass while I plunge into you. That’s what you want, is it not? For Tobias to mark his territory? Well, let me do that for him since he’ll never be the one to touch you.” Sebastian glared up at him, his almond-shaped eyes raw with hatred, turning bloodier by the second. “No hands, just teeth,” Tanner warned him, and the vampire’s shoulders tensed. But, Sebastian couldn’t deny how aroused he was, especially the whisper of a moan that escaped him when he took Tanner's zip between his lips, and gently pulled down until he released his cock from his pants. Sebastian was so wanton, so erratic and proud that Tanner couldn’t restrain himself. Didn’t want to restrain himself. Erratic fucks like this drove him wild and he wanted to destroy his ass until there was nothing left.
Exclusive Excerpt
Sebastian glared up at him, his almond-shaped eyes raw with hatred, turning bloodier by the second. “No hands, just teeth,” Tanner warned him, and the vampire’s shoulders tensed. But, Sebastian couldn’t deny how aroused he was, especially the whisper of a moan that escaped him when he took Tanner's zip between his lips, and gently pulled down until he released his cock from his pants. Sebastian was so wanton, so erratic and proud that Tanner couldn’t restrain himself.Didn’t want to restrain himself. Erratic fucks like this drove him wild and he wanted to destroy his ass until there was nothing left.
Giveaway
One lucky winner will get an e-copy of Broken in Silence
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6d41b92d107/
Author Q&A
Top 5 snacks
Crème Eggs. Duh!
Pizza. Texas BBQ is my fave!
Pringles. Mmmmm, Pringles. Sour Cream or Salted are the best.
Hard-boiled, fruity sweets.
Anything that’s milk chocolate. I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate.
Top 5 films
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Harry Potter (Fantastic Beasts is slowly climbing into my heart!)
John Wick
Juno
Pretty Woman
But I also really love Disney! Inside Out and Monsters University are my favourite right now. I watch them at least every night!
Top 5 must read books
Strain by Amelia C. Gormley (MM post-apocalyptic)
Haven City series by Zoe Perdita (MM paranormal, Dragon and Flame is my favourite)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (I’ve read this sooooo many times and never get tired of it. Mr Rochester
Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (I cried so much reading this (and watching the film) which NEVER happens to me. Loved, loved, loved this creation!)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (way better than the film, if you ask me. Go figures.)
About the Author
Katze Snow never learned when to shut up. Food and coffee are what encourage Katze to function in a semi-normal, sort of socially acceptable way. Doses of sarcasm and sass are what she lives for, and her wolf, Kiba, who is Katze's little furbaby. She's been writing since she was a child, but finally published her debut novel, Alpha's Bane, in Autumn 2016. While Katze also writes MF, MM is where her heart truly lies. Her writing is dark, gritty, and takes satire to a whole new level. Come and join her! But be warned: Katze likes her men dark, twisted and all kinds of fucked up, and she hopes you do too.
Website plus subscription list: www.katzesnow.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snowlings Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/katzesnowling
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