Honestly hot take but I’d actually respect these books more if they stopped trying to justify their weird kinks through technicalities. ‘Technically’ she’s not underaged, ‘technically’ they’re not related, piss off. An eighteen year old is just as much of a child as a seventeen year old, and step cousins are just as related as biological cousins. It’s weird and gross either way but it’s ultimately a fantasy and nobody can stop them from having a fantasy, but lean into it or don’t do it at all. Half-assing it just makes them a coward who invalidates step families and thinks 18 is a magic number to make things less creepy
Those are not really kinks imo , they are straight-up crimes tbh. I agree either way. They could explore the whole sharing thing without inserting children into the circus. Like there is a book with a similar premise called den of vipers. I did not read it, but at least the woman is in her mid-20s, not teen so yeah that one is better than whatever this is.
Those are not kinks imo , they are straight-up crimes :) I understand the love for the whole sharing kink thing but writers could explore this without inserting teenagers into the circus especially a neglected child :) There is a dumb book with the same premise called den of vipers I didn't read it but I know the woman is in her mid-20s so I could live with that , at least she is a grown woman.
Penelope Douglas giving the guys the surname ‘van der Berg’ is actually hilarious coz that just means ‘from the mountain’. They’re mountain men called mountain man. Best part of the book imo
i want an alternate version of this story where like. tiernan befriends the 17 y/o daughter of the owners of the general store in town or whatever (i'm picturing an awkward lanky baby butch mall goth) and they have a not-so-long-distance texting relationship over the course of the winter where they fall in cringe teen lesbian love, and in the spring they run far away together, never to return to this weird creepy incest mountain
For me the nonverbal love interest seems to be a way to portray those men as animalistic/primal/feral similar to the brute/alpha male/savage tropes. Like the way the book portrays the guy and the others talk about him is almost as if he's an wild animal or a guard dog
As someone who struggles with periodic bouts of being non-verbal it's so frustrating to see a mutism becoming a trope like this. It seems that mute people in these books are always portrayed as being uneducated and with an inability to control their emotions or actions which just feels ableist to me. I hate it.
@jungtothehuimang yeah, also often it's coupled with that power of love bullshit that the Heroine tames- I mean _loves him so much he gains the capacity to talk_ or have some weird sixth sense to just magically understand that are so tiring 😭
I know that this is meant to be an erotica, but I can't help but to think about how this could've been a nice story about a lonely girl who finds a family that actually care about her. Like, change it to a very lonely and neglected teen girl (I don't care enough to remember and write their names) who's trying to cope with the loss of her parents (because lets face it, even if she wasn't close to them, that's a big loss to go through at her age) suddenly finding out that she has an uncle and cousins she has never met. When she moves in, she tries to cope through cleaning, simultaneously trying to make herself useful so she'll be seen. Instead of being grossly misogynistic, the uncle is just very distant and emotionally stunted, thus resulting in his sons not being all that well rounded either. The new addition to their dynamic throws everything a bit out of order, but they can see that the girl needs help, and decide to their best to help her (through ways not involving sex). Thus resulting in a kinda found family for the girl and a healthier family dynamic for the guys. Shame that the author is way too booktok brained to consider writing a story that doesn’t involve very questionable smut.
@@ExAstrisScientia1701I was so terrified Fruits Basket was going to turn into something like this crazy book and I was so glad when it didn’t 😭😭 it’s one of my all time favorite comfort shows now
Yeah I’ve seen several “mute psychopath” love interests recently and it’s just… really odd imo as someone who can go nonverbal at times (and can’t control it). I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum but I have yet to see a story in which a mute character is featured who DOESNT have a, “Speak for me baby 😏🥺” moment with their love interest. It’s a weird and (in my opinion) subtly ableist trope, because the quoteunquote “normal” person wants to feel special by being the person to finally push the other to speak, instead of making the nonverbal character feel special by accepting them as they are, and helping them feel comfortable and safe.
I have autism and there are times why I physically cannot speak no matter how badly I want to, and that scene made my stomach drop out. My dad was always really mean about it when I was a kid and would go non-verbal. If I met a man who did that to me I would leave him so quickly. Terrifying.
@@Faceless_Cryptidyes exactly! I agree with you so much! It does feel so ableist that "love" can cure someone with select mutism or who struggles with being non-verbal. Love should not want to "cure" a person, it should learn to adapt to that person and meet their needs. It feels so gross that the mute trope is used almost exclusively as a way to make non-mute characters seem magical and special for being able to heal them. Yuck.
I was raised in Colorado, and hearing this book describe it like it’s this desolate wilderness during winter kills me. This isn’t the Arctic. This isn’t Lost. People literally come here to ski all the time.
@pastabird2078 i totally agree, you're right. Im also from CO, maybe the author was imagining like northern Larimer county and the mountains up there? But it's not a desolate wasteland, there's neighborhoods! And like, communities!
24:52 - Actually, sucking out the venom trick is extremely inefficient and dangerous! You simply cannot get your mouth to the wound fast enough to get it out, and even then it's not a very practical way to do that. Also even if you don't die of the venom, you still might get an infection this way, so that's nice. The only proper way to deal with a bite from a venomous animal is urgent medical care and an antidote.
Weirdly the thing that always bothers me the most about this book is that it COULD have been a really beautiful story about a girl who has everything but no family finally finding people who love her and care about her, AND INSTEAD ITS INCEST PORN
At this point I just want a (preferably queer) romance where the nonverbal character is actually treated like a human and doesn’t make themselves talk after they meet the right person If I have to write it myself I will
The trope made me so irrationally angry with the sequel to the video game Dishonored lol. Including the ‘thought the mute bodyguard was her adoptive dad? Actually he’s a generic gruff video game guy and her bio dad’ felt like the narrative was smugly assuring me ‘don’t worry, it’s ~real’ and this implicitly telling me it wouldn’t have been as valid or real otherwise
not a book but there's a pretty cute korean bl webtoon called sign with a deaf love interest that fits that premise kinda. technically the deaf guy is more semi-verbal than nonverbal and his voice is somewhat central to the premise (which is that the protag is very attracted to deaf guy's voice and it's a problem because deaf guy is his boss and owns the cafe he works at) but narratively the onus is placed on protagonist boy to learn ways to communicate with a hearing impaired person rather than deaf guy feeling like he needs to speak more for their relationship to work. it's not a perfect series (like some aspects are a bit contrived and unrealistic and the pacing isn't always the best) and there's a LOT of sex scenes which may or may not be your cup of tea but it's worth checking out. i read it on one of those free manga reader sites bc i'm a broke bitch but if you want to support the author and not have to deal with inconsistent quality fan translations i'm pretty sure the proper official version is on lezhin
If you’re at all into legend of Zelda there’s a lot of really good Link (especially botw) fics where he’s non verbal (sometimes trauma reasons, sometimes weird logic to do with the video game, sometimes lord stuff about him reincarnating so many times) and typically it’s treated with a lot of respect
I'm writing a nonverbal character who only ever makes the sound of her sister's nickname once. Even when she develops a crush on someone, she still doesn't speak.
My boyfriend asked me why I watch these videos instead of reading the book..oh hunny 😂😂😂 I watch these specifically so I never have to read the book. Thank you for your sacrifice 😂🫡
Exactly. If I want to read the book after listening to the review, its money and time well spent. If I don't I save not only time and money but my sanity. Dark romances aren't exactly my preference, but I do have a curiosity here and there. There are so many terrible ones I get sick while reading and sometimes triggers things I've tried to forget. One of the reasons I avoid dark romances. These reviews fuel that curiosity without triggering bad memories. Plus, there are some well written dark romances out there.
NO my husband is a Kaleb with a K and I've so far been marked happily safe from having his name in a book... and now.... that streak has been ruined with THIS book? Of all the books?? Oh how upsetting for me personally
All I’ve heard about this book is how it’s incest. She’s never met these men, grew up alone and sheltered. They’re also not blood related. They show her their weird form of affection. I don’t really blame the victim here. However, the guys calling her family & then sexing her up are gross. I really just thought people were being nit-picky over a badly written book. AND THEN, and then-I heard your Jake voice. Somehow, hearing that voice, for that character was EYE opening. I have never been so turned off in my entire life. I shudder.
Yeah, the fact that they didn't grow up together DOES make a difference imo. HOWEVER. Uncle Jake now has legal custody of Tiernan, so having a romantic/sexual relationship with her is EXTREMELY irresponsible. The cousins are imo too old for her to be seeing, aside from being.... y'know, legally her cousins.... so I wouldn't want her to be with ANY of these jerks. BUT THEN. They start calling her "cuz" and "lil girl" & talking about how "pure & innocent" she is 👀 Jake wants her to call him "uncle", he wants to act like a father figure and """discipline""" her. Like. THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM, IMO. I wouldn't wanna date my dad's step brother or that step brother's kids, but they're all essentially strangers so if the book was actually GOOD with complex characters & meaningful world building, that would be one thing. But these characters are about as shallow as a damn puddle, there's misogyny & ableism as far as the eye can see, and it just feels......idk mean-spirited overall. Not sure how to describe it, but I've watched movies with that vibe too. Feels cynical & cruel, a shock-jock's idea of telling a good story. To make ppl go "Omg 😮" and then move on. Idk I'd rather books be more than......that. Every book has its audience, but like.....every audience needs different books, so if we could have some....other books to read? Please? b l e a s e 🥲
I literally never comment, but whatever! Anxiety can go suck it. I just really wanted to say that your videos make me super happy. When I'm watching them it feels like I'm gossping with my friend - "And then he did THAT! 🤮", "OH EM GEE NO WAY 😱!". It makes me feel super free and comfortable. I often find myself being super engaged! Verbally reacting and making faces, etc. You also remind me a lot of my mom, because I feel that both of you are absolutely awesome ladies who went through a LOT of shit but continue to rock on, even if hard things come back to you sometimes. I feel that people don't thank others enough for just... existing, being themselves and living. So I genuinely want to do that - HEY! THANK YOU FOR EXISTING AND BEING YOURSELF! ❤️ 😂 Looking forward to cozying up and watching this nightmare-inducing trainwreck of a book now 🎉
Fun Fact: My father is one of eight kids, three of those kids are his stepsiblings ... I've referred to them/their kids as my aunt/uncle and cousin(s) my whole life, needless to say, the entire premise made me pretty nauseous. 🤮
I have a step-cousin but I refer to him as my cousin so i’m with you on that one. like, he’s my fuckin cousin. I physically cannot let my brain think of him any other way. 🤢
Mom’s family was the same. Siblings, blood or not. I was 15 when I learned about half siblings and step siblings just cause it never mattered much to them lol
I read that book (unfortunately) and while reading I really wished it to be just a christmas, feel good book. No sexual content, just a girl learns what family is and Jake learns how to communicate with his sons while dealing with Tiernan's trauma and they become a happy family and it ends 😂 it was not like that though and gave me trauma instead
24:40 Don't try to suck out the venom! It doesn't do much of anything except introduce mouth germs to a wound. - Get a safe distance away from the snake. - Remove jewelry and loosen tight-fitting clothing. - Loosely splint or otherwise immobilize the extremity in a functional position. - As a default action, maintain the bitten extremity in a neutral position with regard to the heart. Other potential actions should be guided by an experienced clinician. - Get to a hospital, preferably transported by an EMS provider. In general, supine positioning will prepare providers in managing possible effects such as hypotension and/or vomiting. - Avoid useless and/or potentially harmful interventions, such as tourniquets, incision, suction, cryotherapy, or electric shock.
By “gun or rifle” I think what they were trying to say was “a gun, maybe a rifle.”. Here’s an example with something else “he had a dog with him, maybe a German shepherd.” .
39:12 I don't know a lot, but I know this kind of portrayal of nonverbal people is dehumanizing and dangerous. How did this get to print???? 51:21 Do you ever hear something so bad it makes you existential? Where your brain skips from thought one of "wow i hate this" to "what am i even doing here? How did i end up in this moment? Should i finally change my habits so i dont end up in this position again? What is the meaning of life??"
i am SO EXCITED to hear how bad this book is. i dont have the mental strength to read bad books, so these types of reviews are doing me so many favours 🙏
Omg I'm SO tired of nonverbal (and similars) characters in these dumpster quality books being portraided as animalistic uncivilized creatures. Every single. time. Just... Everything about it. The continuous excuse in every book that they can't be taught basic things like not being a 🍇ist like they're completely feral despite stating that they have fully developed adult brains. The Mc who barely knows them assuming what they're thinking and mean when they're some kind of non verbal communication, and somehow that's supposed to be sexy???. The complete lack of trying to understand each other. The sudden speaking from one day to the other bc the MC is such a godsend it just magically healed their trauma. It all just circles back to blatant abelism that they can't be, idk, casual members of society, or, God forbid, good partners?? I can't with any more of these. Nonverbal character that are pets or a psychopath need to go.
I could not agree with you more it is so supremely frustrating and I'm so tired of disabled characters being infantilized or treated like they are monsters for their disability. Or that their disabilities need to be "fixed by love". Ew. Nasty.
the absolute heart attack i had when i saw this book in target a while ago. audibly went "oh my god it's the incest book" and my sister looked at me weird 💀
I’m low key obsessed with your rants. Can’t wait to see this channel blow up. Haunting Adeline rant is my favorite deep cleaning background. It’s almost memorized at this point. 😂
20 minutes in and this book is KILLING ME omg!!! 💀💀💀💀 After the uncle bought her candy, I guess she was just supposed to be over the fact that her parents JUST died. 40 minutes in!! I NEED THEM ALL GONE. These "dark" romance books need to be JAILED!!! Why are you forcing her to cook you and your sons meals!!!??? This is KILLING ME!!!!
As someone who has always been attracted to people older than me, it is supremely irritating the way age gap books are always written to be predatory. Why can't a woman just enjoy older men just because? Why is it always a barely legal girl who was abused by her father in some way ending up with an older man who act like her father and also abuses her? It's so annoying. I am all for age gaps. When it's written like this however, it is not just an innocent age gap, it's icky.
From the other long reviews I’ve seen, Penelope Douglas loooves writing rapey controlling abusive dudes as the love interest, so I wouldn’t recommend their other books. I understand these are all a fantasy but I just…don’t know why *this* in particular is a fantasy for anybody. 😟
Venom actually can’t be sucked out from a snakebite. If you are bitten I believe you are supposed to stay calm and as still as possible and call for help.
Not every idea someone has for a book is needed to be written nor should it be published. Penelope has demonstrated this for me personally and I will be scheduling an appointment with my psychiatrist
46:46 😂😂😂😂 I’m dying laughing “what are you a vampire?” And then him saying snatch. I feel so bad you have to read these but your reviews are the best😂
My state is having a winter storm warning and I’m watching this rant review 😭 Thank you for suffering through reading this book to relieve my boredom 😌
you actually should just flat out never suck on any kind of wound including venomous snake bites. you won't actually extract a meaningful amount of venom, and sucking on a bite runs the risk of causing further tissue damage and introducing bacteria from your mouth into the puncture wound which can lead to infection. if you get bit by a snake the best thing you can do is go to the hospital, even if its far away. if you're in the US you're not going to get bitten by anything with venom strong enough to be deadly within a matter of hours (the deadliest snake we have here is the eastern diamondback whose bite has about a 20% mortality rate and takes around 48 hours to kill a person) so just go to a doctor and have them administer antivenom instead of putting your germy mouth all over an open wound
what i want to know is why there is all that talk about being like family... like if you plan for them to bang and they aren't related blablabla why would you go out of your way to mix in stuff about them interacting like siblings?
Also can I please just add quickly, I hate that these books take no time to build any chemistry. It's just 0 to 1000. The male love interests are mean, and the FMC is basically a child. Icky. Don't like it.
Thank you suffering this for our entertainment. I appreciate both how you do the voices as well as how you censor. I kinda hate it because it's due to puritan policy but at the same time it's both funnier AND makes it easier/funnier to deal with the grossness of the fiction
I understand the love for the whole sharing kink thing but writers could explore this without inserting teenagers into the circus especially a neglected child :) There is a dumb book with the same premise called den of vipers I didn't read it but I know the woman is in her mid-20s so I could live with that , at least she is a grown woman. This book and the wild leave the teenagers out of this please ? Anyways happy new year , and love the and look and set ❤❤
All that talk about The Wild and I just _had_ to check it out. So I watched your video on it. I miss the person I was before I knew about this "beautiful love story." 🤮
Every time I see this book being reviewed, I have to watch it. But if I had to read it? Well... you know that gif of the badger jumping off the cliff? That's me.
I'm sure it says something about me that I don't really want to examine that this is the 2nd "i hated this book and need to share the misery with the internet" video I have watched for this particular book. I will say thank you, because you have made the experience very entertaining and I have definitely burst out laughing several times.
1:28:57 You reminded me of that scene in Bridesmaids where Kristen Wiig is throwing her head around in her car pretending to be Helen and swerving all over the road. Had me cracking up!
Thank you once again for your sacrifice 🙏 Atp I can’t work on my college assignments without you suffering in the background. It gives me a sense of camaraderie.
The first 500 people to use my link skl.sh/weirdobookclub01251 will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare!
how dare they call it "why choose" when she CHOOSES one of them?
I wasn’t even mad about that until I read this comment. 😂 wtf you’re right
Wait a damn minute
omg ur right i was so distracted by the outrageous plot i didnt even realise-
Honestly wish she didn’t choose any of them and just moved out as soon as possible.
I guess it counts if she gets intimate with more that one of them prior to choosing? Idk
Have I already watched multiple rant videos about Credence? Yes.
Am I just as excited to watch this as if I’ve never heard of the book? Also yes
Same😂 I just had to see her reaction this uhh "masterpiece"
same😭
Lol ditto
I’m looping my fiancé in on this one though 😅
Same, though
Honestly hot take but I’d actually respect these books more if they stopped trying to justify their weird kinks through technicalities. ‘Technically’ she’s not underaged, ‘technically’ they’re not related, piss off. An eighteen year old is just as much of a child as a seventeen year old, and step cousins are just as related as biological cousins. It’s weird and gross either way but it’s ultimately a fantasy and nobody can stop them from having a fantasy, but lean into it or don’t do it at all. Half-assing it just makes them a coward who invalidates step families and thinks 18 is a magic number to make things less creepy
The age is always so creepy and gross like I would rather these people in their damn 30s.
I actually agree with this wholeheartedly 👏🏾 go all in or not at all
@tyler-df3wy ikr? The least they couldve done is to make the mc like mid 20s to 30s
Those are not really kinks imo , they are straight-up crimes tbh.
I agree either way.
They could explore the whole sharing thing without inserting children into the circus. Like there is a book with a similar premise called den of vipers. I did not read it, but at least the woman is in her mid-20s, not teen so yeah that one is better than whatever this is.
Those are not kinks imo , they are straight-up crimes :)
I understand the love for the whole sharing kink thing but writers could explore this without inserting teenagers into the circus especially a neglected child :)
There is a dumb book with the same premise called den of vipers I didn't read it but I know the woman is in her mid-20s so I could live with that , at least she is a grown woman.
1. The bangs look SUPER cute omg
2. Thank you for your suffering so that we may be spared this book.
Penelope Douglas giving the guys the surname ‘van der Berg’ is actually hilarious coz that just means ‘from the mountain’. They’re mountain men called mountain man. Best part of the book imo
Penelope’s creativity clearly knows no bounds.
That's Colleen Hoover-level naming right there
i want an alternate version of this story where like. tiernan befriends the 17 y/o daughter of the owners of the general store in town or whatever (i'm picturing an awkward lanky baby butch mall goth) and they have a not-so-long-distance texting relationship over the course of the winter where they fall in cringe teen lesbian love, and in the spring they run far away together, never to return to this weird creepy incest mountain
5 stars, no notes, waiting for the film adaptation 😤🤌
You better get to ao3!!! I need this now
I demand that you write, publish and then get a film deal for this story.
For me the nonverbal love interest seems to be a way to portray those men as animalistic/primal/feral similar to the brute/alpha male/savage tropes. Like the way the book portrays the guy and the others talk about him is almost as if he's an wild animal or a guard dog
As someone who struggles with periodic bouts of being non-verbal it's so frustrating to see a mutism becoming a trope like this. It seems that mute people in these books are always portrayed as being uneducated and with an inability to control their emotions or actions which just feels ableist to me. I hate it.
@jungtothehuimang yeah, also often it's coupled with that power of love bullshit that the Heroine tames- I mean _loves him so much he gains the capacity to talk_ or have some weird sixth sense to just magically understand that are so tiring 😭
@juniawetmann1311 it's so awful 😭😭😭 I hate it here! We need some romance where non-verbal characters are affirmed. Please authors I beg you.
I know that this is meant to be an erotica, but I can't help but to think about how this could've been a nice story about a lonely girl who finds a family that actually care about her.
Like, change it to a very lonely and neglected teen girl (I don't care enough to remember and write their names) who's trying to cope with the loss of her parents (because lets face it, even if she wasn't close to them, that's a big loss to go through at her age) suddenly finding out that she has an uncle and cousins she has never met. When she moves in, she tries to cope through cleaning, simultaneously trying to make herself useful so she'll be seen.
Instead of being grossly misogynistic, the uncle is just very distant and emotionally stunted, thus resulting in his sons not being all that well rounded either. The new addition to their dynamic throws everything a bit out of order, but they can see that the girl needs help, and decide to their best to help her (through ways not involving sex).
Thus resulting in a kinda found family for the girl and a healthier family dynamic for the guys.
Shame that the author is way too booktok brained to consider writing a story that doesn’t involve very questionable smut.
I think you just wrote Anne of Green Gables
sounds kind of like fruits basket
@@ExAstrisScientia1701I was so terrified Fruits Basket was going to turn into something like this crazy book and I was so glad when it didn’t 😭😭 it’s one of my all time favorite comfort shows now
I cannot express how excited and terrified I am for this rant
As someone who is occasionally nonverbal, the "you need to use your words" shit is just scary to me, not sexy, lmao.
RIGHT 😂
Same!! Makes me angry too, bc if I can't talk & someone decides to be a jerk about it, screw em 😡
Yeah I’ve seen several “mute psychopath” love interests recently and it’s just… really odd imo as someone who can go nonverbal at times (and can’t control it). I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum but I have yet to see a story in which a mute character is featured who DOESNT have a, “Speak for me baby 😏🥺” moment with their love interest. It’s a weird and (in my opinion) subtly ableist trope, because the quoteunquote “normal” person wants to feel special by being the person to finally push the other to speak, instead of making the nonverbal character feel special by accepting them as they are, and helping them feel comfortable and safe.
I have autism and there are times why I physically cannot speak no matter how badly I want to, and that scene made my stomach drop out.
My dad was always really mean about it when I was a kid and would go non-verbal. If I met a man who did that to me I would leave him so quickly. Terrifying.
@@Faceless_Cryptidyes exactly! I agree with you so much! It does feel so ableist that "love" can cure someone with select mutism or who struggles with being non-verbal. Love should not want to "cure" a person, it should learn to adapt to that person and meet their needs. It feels so gross that the mute trope is used almost exclusively as a way to make non-mute characters seem magical and special for being able to heal them. Yuck.
I was raised in Colorado, and hearing this book describe it like it’s this desolate wilderness during winter kills me. This isn’t the Arctic. This isn’t Lost. People literally come here to ski all the time.
@pastabird2078 i totally agree, you're right. Im also from CO, maybe the author was imagining like northern Larimer county and the mountains up there? But it's not a desolate wasteland, there's neighborhoods! And like, communities!
Today I got married and Natalie posted a review of Credence... it's an awesome day
Congratulations!
Congrats! Hope everything went off without a hitch for y'all 🎉🎉
Congratulations!!!!
Congrats!!!!
Congrats! ❤
24:52 - Actually, sucking out the venom trick is extremely inefficient and dangerous! You simply cannot get your mouth to the wound fast enough to get it out, and even then it's not a very practical way to do that. Also even if you don't die of the venom, you still might get an infection this way, so that's nice. The only proper way to deal with a bite from a venomous animal is urgent medical care and an antidote.
Weirdly the thing that always bothers me the most about this book is that it COULD have been a really beautiful story about a girl who has everything but no family finally finding people who love her and care about her, AND INSTEAD ITS INCEST PORN
@@lilachoney8516 I literally thought the same thing! Lowkey rewriting it in my head
At this point I just want a (preferably queer) romance where the nonverbal character is actually treated like a human and doesn’t make themselves talk after they meet the right person
If I have to write it myself I will
i am prepared to start a fan club for you if you start writing rn
The trope made me so irrationally angry with the sequel to the video game Dishonored lol. Including the ‘thought the mute bodyguard was her adoptive dad? Actually he’s a generic gruff video game guy and her bio dad’ felt like the narrative was smugly assuring me ‘don’t worry, it’s ~real’ and this implicitly telling me it wouldn’t have been as valid or real otherwise
not a book but there's a pretty cute korean bl webtoon called sign with a deaf love interest that fits that premise kinda. technically the deaf guy is more semi-verbal than nonverbal and his voice is somewhat central to the premise (which is that the protag is very attracted to deaf guy's voice and it's a problem because deaf guy is his boss and owns the cafe he works at) but narratively the onus is placed on protagonist boy to learn ways to communicate with a hearing impaired person rather than deaf guy feeling like he needs to speak more for their relationship to work. it's not a perfect series (like some aspects are a bit contrived and unrealistic and the pacing isn't always the best) and there's a LOT of sex scenes which may or may not be your cup of tea but it's worth checking out. i read it on one of those free manga reader sites bc i'm a broke bitch but if you want to support the author and not have to deal with inconsistent quality fan translations i'm pretty sure the proper official version is on lezhin
If you’re at all into legend of Zelda there’s a lot of really good Link (especially botw) fics where he’s non verbal (sometimes trauma reasons, sometimes weird logic to do with the video game, sometimes lord stuff about him reincarnating so many times) and typically it’s treated with a lot of respect
I'm writing a nonverbal character who only ever makes the sound of her sister's nickname once. Even when she develops a crush on someone, she still doesn't speak.
My boyfriend asked me why I watch these videos instead of reading the book..oh hunny 😂😂😂 I watch these specifically so I never have to read the book. Thank you for your sacrifice 😂🫡
My bf asked me how I know the books I saw at the bookshop were bad, had to tell him there are people making videos about how bad they are xD
Exactly. If I want to read the book after listening to the review, its money and time well spent. If I don't I save not only time and money but my sanity. Dark romances aren't exactly my preference, but I do have a curiosity here and there. There are so many terrible ones I get sick while reading and sometimes triggers things I've tried to forget. One of the reasons I avoid dark romances. These reviews fuel that curiosity without triggering bad memories. Plus, there are some well written dark romances out there.
Same
i like how they make sure to specify that they are not blood related as if that's the worst thing that's going on in this situation
Wait, this travesty is OVER 500 PAGES LONG?!?! That’s just cruel, man.
I can’t believe you put yourself through this. My condolences.
its why choose because im wondering why someone chose to write this
“Raw, next question” ENDED me 😭💀💀
The hair: flawless.
The set: stunning.
The book: cancer.
Your suffering: appreciated.
NO my husband is a Kaleb with a K and I've so far been marked happily safe from having his name in a book... and now.... that streak has been ruined with THIS book? Of all the books?? Oh how upsetting for me personally
Would he be willing to change his name?
@ I think now that I’ve learned about book Kaleb’s role…. My husband might have to, it might be a dealbreaker
Hoping that your Kaleb is not a half-beast demon man
no I relate my bf is named Noah 😭😭
Mine is a Jack so he’s always a non-problematic animated pumpkin man in these books. I am lucky.
All I’ve heard about this book is how it’s incest. She’s never met these men, grew up alone and sheltered. They’re also not blood related. They show her their weird form of affection. I don’t really blame the victim here.
However, the guys calling her family & then sexing her up are gross. I really just thought people were being nit-picky over a badly written book.
AND THEN, and then-I heard your Jake voice. Somehow, hearing that voice, for that character was EYE opening. I have never been so turned off in my entire life. I shudder.
Yeah, the fact that they didn't grow up together DOES make a difference imo. HOWEVER. Uncle Jake now has legal custody of Tiernan, so having a romantic/sexual relationship with her is EXTREMELY irresponsible. The cousins are imo too old for her to be seeing, aside from being.... y'know, legally her cousins.... so I wouldn't want her to be with ANY of these jerks.
BUT THEN. They start calling her "cuz" and "lil girl" & talking about how "pure & innocent" she is 👀 Jake wants her to call him "uncle", he wants to act like a father figure and """discipline""" her. Like. THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM, IMO.
I wouldn't wanna date my dad's step brother or that step brother's kids, but they're all essentially strangers so if the book was actually GOOD with complex characters & meaningful world building, that would be one thing. But these characters are about as shallow as a damn puddle, there's misogyny & ableism as far as the eye can see, and it just feels......idk mean-spirited overall. Not sure how to describe it, but I've watched movies with that vibe too. Feels cynical & cruel, a shock-jock's idea of telling a good story. To make ppl go "Omg 😮" and then move on.
Idk I'd rather books be more than......that. Every book has its audience, but like.....every audience needs different books, so if we could have some....other books to read? Please? b l e a s e 🥲
I knew we were at the gates of hell when Zade appeared with a single rose for Penelope.
Love how Jake's answer to "you're an asshole" is "wait til you see the son that I raised"
I literally never comment, but whatever! Anxiety can go suck it.
I just really wanted to say that your videos make me super happy. When I'm watching them it feels like I'm gossping with my friend - "And then he did THAT! 🤮", "OH EM GEE NO WAY 😱!". It makes me feel super free and comfortable. I often find myself being super engaged! Verbally reacting and making faces, etc.
You also remind me a lot of my mom, because I feel that both of you are absolutely awesome ladies who went through a LOT of shit but continue to rock on, even if hard things come back to you sometimes. I feel that people don't thank others enough for just... existing, being themselves and living.
So I genuinely want to do that - HEY! THANK YOU FOR EXISTING AND BEING YOURSELF! ❤️ 😂
Looking forward to cozying up and watching this nightmare-inducing trainwreck of a book now 🎉
Fun Fact: My father is one of eight kids, three of those kids are his stepsiblings ... I've referred to them/their kids as my aunt/uncle and cousin(s) my whole life, needless to say, the entire premise made me pretty nauseous. 🤮
Yeah my mom's family was basically the Brady Bunch. I didn't even grow up with any of them. They're still family. 🤢
I have a step-cousin but I refer to him as my cousin so i’m with you on that one. like, he’s my fuckin cousin. I physically cannot let my brain think of him any other way. 🤢
Mom’s family was the same. Siblings, blood or not. I was 15 when I learned about half siblings and step siblings just cause it never mattered much to them lol
I read that book (unfortunately) and while reading I really wished it to be just a christmas, feel good book. No sexual content, just a girl learns what family is and Jake learns how to communicate with his sons while dealing with Tiernan's trauma and they become a happy family and it ends 😂 it was not like that though and gave me trauma instead
Beans was a healing salve for all of us lol. He deserves an extra treat for his service.
I’m autistic and i go nonverbal during meltdowns and the portrayal of Kaleb being nonverbal pisses me off. it’s so poorly done
Beans is gonna have to work overtime with this one.
the funny thing is... he stayed in the room with me the whole time and he gave his rating at the end!
OMG THE BEANS RATING (Certified by the Board of Beans, on a scale of one to 🎵BEANIE BABYY🎵)
@@weirdobookclub Beans ratings are the new standard of quality.
24:40 Don't try to suck out the venom! It doesn't do much of anything except introduce mouth germs to a wound.
- Get a safe distance away from the snake.
- Remove jewelry and loosen tight-fitting clothing.
- Loosely splint or otherwise immobilize the extremity in a functional position.
- As a default action, maintain the bitten extremity in a neutral position with regard to the heart. Other potential actions should be guided by an experienced clinician.
- Get to a hospital, preferably transported by an EMS provider. In general, supine positioning will prepare providers in managing possible effects such as hypotension and/or vomiting.
- Avoid useless and/or potentially harmful interventions, such as tourniquets, incision, suction, cryotherapy, or electric shock.
I like to fantasize about living alone in a cabin in the mountains, but then I remember I need internet and grocery delivery to survive.
By “gun or rifle” I think what they were trying to say was “a gun, maybe a rifle.”. Here’s an example with something else “he had a dog with him, maybe a German shepherd.” .
I hate-read this book and I love nothing more than having a collective "WHAT!" with people about it.
Please! The cutaways to "Thunder Rolls" and then the 90s truck commercial at the beginning has me dying! 🤣😭
39:12 I don't know a lot, but I know this kind of portrayal of nonverbal people is dehumanizing and dangerous. How did this get to print????
51:21 Do you ever hear something so bad it makes you existential? Where your brain skips from thought one of "wow i hate this" to "what am i even doing here? How did i end up in this moment? Should i finally change my habits so i dont end up in this position again? What is the meaning of life??"
i am SO EXCITED to hear how bad this book is. i dont have the mental strength to read bad books, so these types of reviews are doing me so many favours 🙏
I'm so excited for this, I can't even tell you. I've been looking forward to this review ever since you announced you reading it.
SAME i cannot wait
I hope y'all love it!
Omg I'm SO tired of nonverbal (and similars) characters in these dumpster quality books being portraided as animalistic uncivilized creatures. Every single. time.
Just... Everything about it. The continuous excuse in every book that they can't be taught basic things like not being a 🍇ist like they're completely feral despite stating that they have fully developed adult brains. The Mc who barely knows them assuming what they're thinking and mean when they're some kind of non verbal communication, and somehow that's supposed to be sexy???. The complete lack of trying to understand each other. The sudden speaking from one day to the other bc the MC is such a godsend it just magically healed their trauma. It all just circles back to blatant abelism that they can't be, idk, casual members of society, or, God forbid, good partners??
I can't with any more of these. Nonverbal character that are pets or a psychopath need to go.
I could not agree with you more it is so supremely frustrating and I'm so tired of disabled characters being infantilized or treated like they are monsters for their disability. Or that their disabilities need to be "fixed by love". Ew. Nasty.
the absolute heart attack i had when i saw this book in target a while ago. audibly went "oh my god it's the incest book" and my sister looked at me weird 💀
I’m low key obsessed with your rants. Can’t wait to see this channel blow up. Haunting Adeline rant is my favorite deep cleaning background. It’s almost memorized at this point. 😂
oh girl i've been WAITING, DYING, DREADING for this one, i'm so excited to hear you rant about that catastrophe of a book
20 minutes in and this book is KILLING ME omg!!! 💀💀💀💀 After the uncle bought her candy, I guess she was just supposed to be over the fact that her parents JUST died.
40 minutes in!! I NEED THEM ALL GONE. These "dark" romance books need to be JAILED!!!
Why are you forcing her to cook you and your sons meals!!!??? This is KILLING ME!!!!
CHOOSE THE BEARS, TIERNAN
Also you used the Michael Sheen laugh from Breaking Dawn, I love you ❤️
As someone who has always been attracted to people older than me, it is supremely irritating the way age gap books are always written to be predatory. Why can't a woman just enjoy older men just because? Why is it always a barely legal girl who was abused by her father in some way ending up with an older man who act like her father and also abuses her? It's so annoying. I am all for age gaps. When it's written like this however, it is not just an innocent age gap, it's icky.
From the other long reviews I’ve seen, Penelope Douglas loooves writing rapey controlling abusive dudes as the love interest, so I wouldn’t recommend their other books. I understand these are all a fantasy but I just…don’t know why *this* in particular is a fantasy for anybody. 😟
Oh god it's 560 pages?? Good lord how am I always shocked that these monstrosities are also absolute Tomes
This, do really these books need to be longer than 200 pages top?
the little inserts in between are fiiire hahahahaha I died with
when 50 Cent entered 😂😂😂😂😂
your musical interjections are perfectly timed and hilarious thank you
“ A Single rose for you” *Zade voice*
HE'S HERE. THE MEGALODON 🦈
Venom actually can’t be sucked out from a snakebite. If you are bitten I believe you are supposed to stay calm and as still as possible and call for help.
I chronically rewatch NewlyNova's review of this book, so I'm ecstacic to add this video to my playlist of favorites 🙃
The fact that Beans gave it a 2…. He’s walking a different path than the rest of us 😭 (just kidding Beans can do no wrong lol)
Ooh baby I been waiting for this. TEAR THIS BOOK TO SHREDS GIRL 😂🔥
I can't listen to The Candy Shop the same way for a couple days. 😂 Great vid.
I'm so sorry haha
1. Your hair is so pretty. 2. EVERYONE SHUSH MY SHOWS ON
You are absolutely my hero for reading and retelling these horrible stories so that we don't have to because I can't do that to myself
Not every idea someone has for a book is needed to be written nor should it be published. Penelope has demonstrated this for me personally and I will be scheduling an appointment with my psychiatrist
46:46 😂😂😂😂 I’m dying laughing “what are you a vampire?” And then him saying snatch. I feel so bad you have to read these but your reviews are the best😂
Beans trying to escape 😂
Also the bangs are a LOOK, very cute 🥰
My state is having a winter storm warning and I’m watching this rant review 😭 Thank you for suffering through reading this book to relieve my boredom 😌
you actually should just flat out never suck on any kind of wound including venomous snake bites. you won't actually extract a meaningful amount of venom, and sucking on a bite runs the risk of causing further tissue damage and introducing bacteria from your mouth into the puncture wound which can lead to infection. if you get bit by a snake the best thing you can do is go to the hospital, even if its far away. if you're in the US you're not going to get bitten by anything with venom strong enough to be deadly within a matter of hours (the deadliest snake we have here is the eastern diamondback whose bite has about a 20% mortality rate and takes around 48 hours to kill a person) so just go to a doctor and have them administer antivenom instead of putting your germy mouth all over an open wound
The "Pop Up Video" clip just transported me back a couple decades so thank you for that experience LOL. Excellent video, love hearing your commentary!
what i want to know is why there is all that talk about being like family... like if you plan for them to bang and they aren't related blablabla why would you go out of your way to mix in stuff about them interacting like siblings?
Also can I please just add quickly, I hate that these books take no time to build any chemistry. It's just 0 to 1000. The male love interests are mean, and the FMC is basically a child. Icky. Don't like it.
that new intro is absolutely fab! and congrats on the sponsor-big deal! your channel is growing so much, and you should be so proud! love from Dubai!
Thank you suffering this for our entertainment. I appreciate both how you do the voices as well as how you censor. I kinda hate it because it's due to puritan policy but at the same time it's both funnier AND makes it easier/funnier to deal with the grossness of the fiction
Shoutout for the reminder to know your limits. I think a lot of people forget to do that with the garbage we consume sometimes
The best part? Beans betraying us all by giving the book a 2/5!
I agree
A twist I did not see coming!
Oh Gosh.. I remember checking this book out to see how crazy it was. It is unreadable.
We don't pay you enough.
I understand the love for the whole sharing kink thing but writers could explore this without inserting teenagers into the circus especially a neglected child :)
There is a dumb book with the same premise called den of vipers I didn't read it but I know the woman is in her mid-20s so I could live with that , at least she is a grown woman.
This book and the wild leave the teenagers out of this please ?
Anyways happy new year , and love the and look and set ❤❤
“give me my star back” has me SCREAMING. hahahahahahhaa .
i HATE that this book is sold in walmart!!!!! walmart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg i love the bangs so much
All that talk about The Wild and I just _had_ to check it out. So I watched your video on it.
I miss the person I was before I knew about this "beautiful love story." 🤮
I cannot get over how ugly this book cover is
This book is beyond unhinged. Is PD okay? And the people who gave it 5 stars???
The bangs? The set? The sass?? MY ABSOLUTE FAV BRING IT ONNNNN
its my first day of the winter quarter and im teaching at 8:30 am so I needed this friend
I cackled at “raw, next question” 😂 thank you for sparing me from these books 👏🏻
Every time I see this book being reviewed, I have to watch it. But if I had to read it? Well... you know that gif of the badger jumping off the cliff? That's me.
I’m in the same boat here lol
@@grace-4072 Thumbs up, my good friend. =P
THE BANGS ARE BANGING (not their uncle & cousins tho)
my favorite genre of youtube video is multiple hour long videos ranting/explaining books I've never read and never plan to read
The amount of times I burst out laughing while watching, I just love your content and appreciate your sacrifices lol
I'm sure it says something about me that I don't really want to examine that this is the 2nd "i hated this book and need to share the misery with the internet" video I have watched for this particular book. I will say thank you, because you have made the experience very entertaining and I have definitely burst out laughing several times.
14:56 i just adore the voices you do for everyone btw they make it sooo fun to listen to!
I swear Ive heard this entire plot in another dark romance, but I'm stumped. Did I watch a different review of the same book and forget?
1:28:57 You reminded me of that scene in Bridesmaids where Kristen Wiig is throwing her head around in her car pretending to be Helen and swerving all over the road. Had me cracking up!
idk what possessed the author to write this and i'm not sure i want to know
i'm scared
I saw someone else review this. LOL they had a mental break down.
I’ve noticed that there are a lot of incestuous relationships in this author’s books. Or families date someone that their other family members dated.
Every time you use a Degrassi next generation clip it adds back a little bit of the life I lost by hearing about these awful books 💖
NATALIEEEEE!!!
1.) love the hair, set and intro
2.) thank you for suffering through this book for us ❤
Your Uncle Jake voice is amazing!!! Hahahah!!! Hysterical 😭 🤣
The adventure time references are feeding me
Thank you once again for your sacrifice 🙏 Atp I can’t work on my college assignments without you suffering in the background. It gives me a sense of camaraderie.