The "female" and "male" thing is absolutely not petty lol; if I recall correctly, SJM is particularly infamous for using those words as nouns for characters and it reeks of bioessentialism. And any time a woman is referred to as a "female" it's an immediate red flag, on and off the page.
I'm working through the ACOTAR series now and it has endlessly bothered me every time she devolves into "male" and "female" tagging. I didn't know if I was being sensitive or gaslighting myself. Thank you for saying it!
@@parker.projects It's just one of many reasons I never want to touch SJM's work; not only does it immediately take me out of the story as I recoil into my skin, how much of a pattern it is across her work does indicate something about SJM's ideas about men and women. Her ill reputation with LGBTQ characters does not give me hope lol.
@@EFergDindrane Trust me, it's definitely not just incels. It's rife in the romantasy/romance and often fantasy genre. There's definitely a fetish aspect of it and all it serves, to me, is to make the book incredibly unsexy.
I'm sorry, I absolutely can't with authors who do that "the male/female" thing. It reminds me of those incel pick-up con-men who see women as things to be had. It baffles me why anyone would use that unironically in a romantic/sexual context.
The male/female thing was what made me put this book down. It’s awful and I think it’s done to emphasize the “sexiness” factor of the opposite sex. I’ve seen it in other books, but I am talking cringey 2000’s adult vampire romances like JR Ward. For me, this feels lazy and dated and like the author felt she was being really smart making this choice. Not once did she use the word “man”.
"Smelted stone topped with a ladle of cream." -- that is some writing right there. If only I knew what it meant. Or cared what it meant. I think I can take this off my library hold list. Thank you, Willow!
I researched this book because I was curious and the 'smelted stone topped with a ladle of cream' made me decide against it. It wasn't even the full quote you read, just that one bit of it made me say nope
Not petty, I remember the gender essentialism of SJM books being one of the key factors I moved on very quickly from her work. I don't want to be "not like the other girls" though and absolutely want to support romantasy with sincerity. So I am absolutely living vicariously through your experimentation hehehe. I shall have an easy time picking up the good stuff after Willow's Critical Filter™️
This made me cry laughing 🤣 thank you so much! And my condolences to you for your loss of all that time!! But what a passionate review! I’ve subscribed for books and you delivered! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Sounds like the sort of dime novels I read at my grandma's house when I was a teen. Lines that spoke of unbridled passion, sparks of desire that ignite a fire of burning lust and wild ecstasy. 😂
In one of the SJM books I've read, she implies that male and female are used to differentiate fae from human men and women. And yet... it still just feels somehow both pretentious and bioessentialist. It also doesn't make sense because there's an attempt to describe fae as instinctual and animalistic, but also noble and more civilized than humans? These fairy romantasy books try too hard to sound smart when they lack any sort of substance or nuance.
I can't bring myself to read straight romantasy anymore. It's too much of a minefield for me. I do run into some duds when I read queer romantasy ("The Crack at the Heart of Everything" was a dissappointment for me and most of what I read from AJ Sherwood infuriates me), but for the most part I have a fantastic time and a high bar is set. Both "Sorcery and Small Magics" by Maiga Doocy and "A Spell for Heartsickness" by Alistair Reeves were recent delightful romantasy reads. Also, I particularly enjoy books by Foz Meadows, Moniquill Blackgoose, Freya Marske, Allie Therin, and to a less intense degree of love but still entertaining Seth Haddon, Tavia Lark, Ben Alderson, and Alexandra Rowland.
My №1 rec romantasy is still "The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea" by Maggie Tokuda-Hall A few lesser but good ones are -The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska -A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske -Dragonfall by L.R Lam -Her Spell that binds Me by Luna Oblansky -Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M Marrineau (I read the adult version, but the clean YA version is pbly better) Some very good ones that may or may not count as romantasy -The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (5☆ all day!) -The Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (book one is the weakest in the series) -Providence Girls by Morgan Dante From the unhinged smut side of the fence that far exceed most -The Princess and the Foxgirl by Julie Law -Taken by the Witch Queen by Luna Fury One popular tragically bad one I would love your review of -One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
This is, no competition, the best online book review I've ever watched. Thank you, YT algorithm, for bringing me here on this dull, rainy day. Also, the "male/female" thing is totally a right wing dogwhistle. I got into it once on FB with some old douchebag (turns out he was my MIL's latest husband; she's been through quite a few; she's also a right-wing idiot) and it was terrifying and hilarious how triggered he was about being called out for it. I tried first to explain that the only English speakers who do this regularly are police, and they do it to objectify *everybody.* Long story short, he died a few months later, also a common theme amongst my MIL's husbands. Also, thanks for the info on Faebound; I've seen mostly good things about it but a few UA-camrs don't like it.
I do feel like Acotar was overhyped based on what I saw on booktok.. I don't think this was the best introduction into the genre but I have learned a few things from it after reading it as an aspiring writer creating my own fantasy romance it was helpful 😅
It is a rare occasion when the algorithm suggests a video and I like it. At first I was trying to see the book title, I work at a library and I like to see what people enjoy. This was a delightful view of a book someone didn’t enjoy. Also, I 100% agree about the female/male thing. 🤦🏾♀️ ❤
I was following along with you until the first person-present bit. It's fine if you hate it (I admit my bias in that i love it) but i don't think there's a need to shame people for the preference. Just because its use increased after the Hunger Games doesn't mean it's bad, or juvenile because it was used in a young adult series. I feel like I've seen plenty of Middle Grade and younger use third person past and it can come across to me as "Juvenile" in isolation but i also know that many writers make it work and have great, even more mature, stories with it. I wouldn't say people are automatically bad for using it. Perspective preference is just a preference and how well it works depends on the writer and how the reader personally feels about it.
It's been popular since long before the Hunger Games, though you'd usually see first person past tense more often (i.e. Twilight). First person in general is very popular for novels targeted at young adults/teens-to-twenties folk, and even more so for anything with even a minor focus on romance. First person isn't my favored writing style, but it suits certain books better than others. First person is amazing if you're dealing with a limited viewpoint or an unreliable narrator (or both!). It's also pretty handy for writers who want to let the reader live vicariously through the character. So you'll see it a lot of times for blank slate characters who don't have much personality or backstory, since instead the writer uses the shorthand of the first person perspective to put the *reader* into the character's perspective. While that's bad writing from a technical sense, it can also sell very well if the writer manages to appeal to a wide enough audience. For instance, Twilight is terribly written and, IMO, boring, but that whole series sold like hotcakes because the writer hit on a formula and tone that, for whatever reason, clicked with a broad audience at the time. Great literature it isn't, but it doesn't need to be--it is an escapist fantasy and just needs to entertain its audience and provide a sense of immersion. Also, many of its fans were more invested in "will they/won't they" or "Edward vs. Jacob" than more nuanced characterization, backstory, etc., so it was easy to sell that immersion by using first person.
I feel really bad for enjoying your rants, I'm so sorry, but you're so good at being angry. Speaking of romantasy I wonder if you checked out The Shepherd King duology? (I swear this isn't linked to my previous statement, I actually enjoyed those)
FYI - I'm really new to your channel, and I haven't updated myself on older videos, sorry if this comment is a bit off base. Your commentary on "a court of thorns and roses" was interesting - I've noted the popularity of this book, and I've read a few in the series. But your commentary made me realize why I found the popularity so strange - while I did like the plot and interest, and read about three books or so - it didn't engage me as I usually prefer. That's why - it was boring and uneventful. Which is weird as stuff do happen in the books - I didn't feel bored. But somehow the way it is written, it's just... droll, surface level. Your commentary on fourth wing was really interesting! I'll have to watch the full reviews for a few other books as well on our channel to gauge how we would think about the same books, but since I have been contemplating fourth wing - this was helpful! Thanks!
thank you willow for your service. i was feeling the siren call towards this book. "i know its hetero romantasy" i said to myself, "but its got dragons and the title is 'when the moon hatched', that sounds so cool. maybe this one will be okay". But now I know, and I am free.
i know my taste good enough to not even touch these very popular romantasy books, acotar, fourth wing, powerless, etc etc. but i picked up feabound, and im not big on romance at all and i dont particularly like fantasy, so i really dont know why i picked up this book actually, but hey, its queer, and you gotta try new things sometimes. i didnt particularly like it, but it wasnt at all as bad as i know i would think the more mainstream ones would be should i read them. but then i picked up godkiller by hannah kaner and wooo that quite honestly banged. interesting worldbuilding, characters, plot, and properly developed relationships. i really think you would like it. also, i fully agree with the male/female and first person present tense hate, its perfectly valid. also, id love to see a bookshelf tour :)
I really enjoyed Godkiller, too! I didn't enjoy the sequel, Sunbringer, quite as much, but I'm still excited for the trilogy's conclusion (next year I think?).
Your reaction to Fourth Wing reminds me of my rection to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I enjoy it, but in all the wrong ways and not at all how the author hoped I would.
I recently started listening to "Daughter of the blood," by Anne Bishop. There's a lot of male and female, and I cringe every time. I only kept going because the books are old and maybe that used to be normal. It still hurts. Gonna check out Fae Bound, though. That sounds interesting.
You DNF’d about the same spot I did (I made it 120 pages I think) and I feel so vindicated. The writing was too much! It constantly took me out of the text because I would read some nonsense description and be like “wait… what?!” Also Raeve was annoying and ragey and not in a fun way 😂
I am starting to like very very much rant videos about books be it I read them or never intent to. Great Video!!! The first person [present] POV is so prevalent that the other day a friend of mine was "I can't read this book it is in THIRD PERSON". I was 🧐 speachless for a moment and than "You could challange youself maybe it is your next favorite book." She was at least thinking about my sentence.... I'll never understand that unflexibility and set-in-your-ways that will make you discard a new experience, new knowledge ,new anything alltoghether.
In my experience for fantasy, it's really common (especially in ttrpg) that genders words are utilized when the character is not human, because only human characters are women and men. That's specific to their species. I do think it can come off as exclusive, especially from nonbinary characters and audience members, and a tool that's currently overly used. BUT I personally don't find it as egregious because it equally doesnt sit right with me to identify non human characters in human terms. I think that can be a dangerous habit to fall into, as it can be confusing for the audience.
For me it's the same with humans: if you use male/female as a noun, it's weird. If you use it as an adjective, it makes /a little/ more sense. And if you really wanna hone in on world-building and genders, create names unique to the genders/cultures of the nonhuman species you're writing (I'm reminded of the gender-specific terms for Gerudo in Legend of Zelda).
I’m not contradicting on the male/female thing.. Just an observation.. the more ‘supernatural’ romances that I was reading over a decade ago at this point, used male and female because the “species” wasn’t human.. Depending on the reading experiences/age of the author, they might not view it the same way you do.. Personally, I avoid as much political topic content as I possibly can, and only engage online on YT.. as someone who is technically ‘middle aged’ according to the calendar.. I don’t have the same level of sensitivity to things that come across as dog whistles to millennials or my gen Z kids.. I can understand how it’s more of a sensitivity for the younger generations.. but I can also promise that there’s a lot of people who use dog whistle terms unironically because they still associate terms with the prior sentiments.. no ill intent intended.. ATB
Thank you for the explanation about language, and exposition vs context. I loved how you explained why you didn't like it. This is not a book that I was looking to read but, honestly, I completely get what you are saying because I've felt the same with other books but I didn't understand WHY until right now. So, thank you so much for your honesty and authenticity :D Deeply appreciate you in this corner of booktube!
Leave those things, my goodness xDDD I recommend you read The phoenix keeper, it's a wonderful sapphic piece of literature that I think you would enjoy. It'd give it an 8.5/10, it you want a reference, and I think it could heal your heart a little bit of all these horrendous romantasy books full of nonsense you keep reading xDD If you don't read it now, I hope you have a better experience next!
Not petty at all. "The male" and "the female" are definitely giving Animal Planet. Also, the glasses chain puts the cherry on top of your rants in the best way. 🤣💜
THANK YOU - I completely agree about the first person present tense. I hated it in The Hunger Games (though I did like that book) and I've hated it since.
Only two minutes into the video BUT I'd been avoiding Fourth Wing because I'd only heard it was bad; this is the first time I've heard the 'bad and also a fun read' take. As someone who adores bad + funny romantasy I grabbed it immediately, so thank you for the recommendation!!
I think it predates the trend of the term "romantacy," but my fave is still Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn. The mission and learning to trust traveling companions on a spy mission is just as much, or more, than the romance of it, and it includes my favorite feminine rage scene of all time. Two of our primary lady characters who are very powerful in magic and social influence also highly respect common women and other marginalized folks. 👏💜
My favorite part of this book is that in a world full of magic and dragons somewhere in the writing process the author made the concious decision to have the Main character bested by a hidden arm snake.
When it came out I thought about buying it. Glad I always the first few pages/chapters before spending money because I really didn’t jive with the writing. Sorry you had to go through this mess of a book, but your video are always so entertaining and informative
Bloating and expanding the sentences with language… I feel as though the author took the wrong lessons from worldbuilding in fantasy. I even get bored of how much stuff could be skim read in LOTR (sorry, not sorry) because I’m more of a reader that appreciates the story first, world second. I’ll want to learn more if I don’t have trouble getting through the chunks of text describing a meal or something like that.
The male/female thing alone would be enough for me to DNF. I'm not even joking or exaggerating, I've done it before. It just gives me a full-body ick. Also, molten stone topped with cream? Is that supposed to be a sexy scent combo? Because it made me say "eww" out loud just imagining the cream hitting the hot rock.
I feel so bad for laughing at your pain, but you've just saved me a long library hold for a book I won't enjoy! You didn't ask for romantasy recs, but if you would like one, C. L. Polk is my favorite. Their Kingston Cycle trilogy (first novel is Witchmark) is the reason I read the genre. (Apologies if unwanted!)
Can I ask something? When and how it is ok to use the words male and female? I have a book idea in mind where the biology of the human body is important and affects their special abilities.
I am not qualified to comment, but can I help myself? No. So here is my unnecessary two cents: could you have a bio female have bio male powers? Or vice versa? I mean, identity is fluid, and you could sort of write in there that the main characters powers have masculine traits today, for example.
Female and male work better as adjectives, but when placed next to sex organs and biological components of the body, you might be better off using the scientific terms for body parts rather than applying male or female to them. There's more than two sexes, based on sex organs as well. It can skew towards gender-bioessentialist to consistently designate body parts as inherently 'female' or 'male.' That's just my suggestion though.
Like Willow says, they read better as adjectives (eg. "Male mages wear X, while female mages wear Y"). In terms of your story idea, though, maybe think through how exactly biology is affecting the magic - Is it via hormones? Height/muscle strength? Genes that are carried on the X or Y chromosome? - and then do some so research on, for example, how those things work in cis people, trans people, intersex people, etc. so that you can at least capture the variation accurately. A good example of this is in the book 'Manhunt', where there is a virus that interacts with testosterone to basically turn people into sexually aggressive murder zombies. BUT it isn't just "male" and "female" that matters! Cis women with PCOS are vulnerable because their testosterone levels are elevated, whereas trans women on hormone therapy or men who have been castrated are immune.
I'm not a fan of first person view point. It has to be exceptional for me to read it. I'm also not a fan of romancity or romance (unless it's gothic horror). This truly sounds terrible. I really enjoy your reviews.
Nice. I love a good rant. That being said, you started off by using a phrase "...which is supposed to be good". According to who? I find that these days more than ever, far far too many people go online to decide which books they 'should' read. Well, that's just stupid...
Devil's Advocate here: If the main character is supposed to be an elite assassin, the "male/female" thing may be intentionally creepy and objectifying, to show that this character is like a hunter that just views people as targets. I'm not saying that makes the writing good, but it might be a botched attempt at characterization rather than a conservative dog whistle. That's just a possibility that occurred to me, I've never heard of this book so the only context I have is the passages you shared in this video.
You probably hit the nail on the head. There's at least two writers I can think of who famously got their start in fanfiction, and I imagine that practice is extremely common at this point--so much so that it doesn't even bear mentioning anymore. I've seen a lot of highly praised fanfic that was terribly written.
If the other reviews I've watched about this book are anything to go off of, you stopped reading at about the point when it becomes even more convoluted, whilst also being very obvious and predictable, before ending up as a billion pages of exposition to the series as a whole rather than anything resembling a coherent story told over the course of one book. Good job listening to your instincts and saving yourself. 😂
Ok it sounds like overboated fantasy with no plot, but at least fantasy? I can see people liking prose and actual worldbuilding if, not realy a plot? the female male thing isnt bad, its just, once yiou establish in fantasy what the difference between maybe in question race and gender, using it that much is just dehumanising, just use his then.
This book was not on my radar and I have no desire to read it but still it so interesting hearing you talk about it haha EDIT to add that I 100% agree with you on the male/female thing. It sounds so freaking weird. Like are we animals here?
The "female" and "male" thing is absolutely not petty lol; if I recall correctly, SJM is particularly infamous for using those words as nouns for characters and it reeks of bioessentialism. And any time a woman is referred to as a "female" it's an immediate red flag, on and off the page.
100%
I'm working through the ACOTAR series now and it has endlessly bothered me every time she devolves into "male" and "female" tagging. I didn't know if I was being sensitive or gaslighting myself. Thank you for saying it!
I honestly thought only incels used "female" and "male" in that way. Holy cow.
@@parker.projects It's just one of many reasons I never want to touch SJM's work; not only does it immediately take me out of the story as I recoil into my skin, how much of a pattern it is across her work does indicate something about SJM's ideas about men and women. Her ill reputation with LGBTQ characters does not give me hope lol.
@@EFergDindrane Trust me, it's definitely not just incels. It's rife in the romantasy/romance and often fantasy genre. There's definitely a fetish aspect of it and all it serves, to me, is to make the book incredibly unsexy.
I'm sorry, I absolutely can't with authors who do that "the male/female" thing. It reminds me of those incel pick-up con-men who see women as things to be had. It baffles me why anyone would use that unironically in a romantic/sexual context.
Male/female makes things sound like a nature documentary. "The male arrives at the water hole, drawing the attention of the female."
So the male's penetrating eyes robbed the female of speech... one might say it caused a
pergantn pause
The male/female thing was what made me put this book down. It’s awful and I think it’s done to emphasize the “sexiness” factor of the opposite sex. I’ve seen it in other books, but I am talking cringey 2000’s adult vampire romances like JR Ward. For me, this feels lazy and dated and like the author felt she was being really smart making this choice. Not once did she use the word “man”.
"Smelted stone topped with a ladle of cream." -- that is some writing right there. If only I knew what it meant. Or cared what it meant. I think I can take this off my library hold list. Thank you, Willow!
It’s quietly terrible from every single angle… honestly it’s impressive
Oh how I hate the endless assassins in fantasy books...
Ahh, the classic immature writer trap - thinking that purpling the living daylights out of your text makes it seem more Intelligent & Good. 💀
I researched this book because I was curious and the 'smelted stone topped with a ladle of cream' made me decide against it. It wasn't even the full quote you read, just that one bit of it made me say nope
"Nope. Nope, that's not a sentence." 4:00 LOL.
Loved it 😂
Not petty, I remember the gender essentialism of SJM books being one of the key factors I moved on very quickly from her work. I don't want to be "not like the other girls" though and absolutely want to support romantasy with sincerity. So I am absolutely living vicariously through your experimentation hehehe. I shall have an easy time picking up the good stuff after Willow's Critical Filter™️
This made me cry laughing 🤣 thank you so much! And my condolences to you for your loss of all that time!! But what a passionate review! I’ve subscribed for books and you delivered! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Thank you for saving me precious time ... and pain. "What does that even mean?" sums it up perfectly. I do love your reviews 😂
Sounds like the sort of dime novels I read at my grandma's house when I was a teen. Lines that spoke of unbridled passion, sparks of desire that ignite a fire of burning lust and wild ecstasy. 😂
In one of the SJM books I've read, she implies that male and female are used to differentiate fae from human men and women. And yet... it still just feels somehow both pretentious and bioessentialist. It also doesn't make sense because there's an attempt to describe fae as instinctual and animalistic, but also noble and more civilized than humans? These fairy romantasy books try too hard to sound smart when they lack any sort of substance or nuance.
I can't bring myself to read straight romantasy anymore. It's too much of a minefield for me.
I do run into some duds when I read queer romantasy ("The Crack at the Heart of Everything" was a dissappointment for me and most of what I read from AJ Sherwood infuriates me), but for the most part I have a fantastic time and a high bar is set. Both "Sorcery and Small Magics" by Maiga Doocy and "A Spell for Heartsickness" by Alistair Reeves were recent delightful romantasy reads. Also, I particularly enjoy books by Foz Meadows, Moniquill Blackgoose, Freya Marske, Allie Therin, and to a less intense degree of love but still entertaining Seth Haddon, Tavia Lark, Ben Alderson, and Alexandra Rowland.
Thank you for doing this video. Message recieved. Will avoid the book.
You are not being petty about the male female thing. Your opinion makes sense.
My №1 rec romantasy is still "The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea" by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
A few lesser but good ones are
-The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
-A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske
-Dragonfall by L.R Lam
-Her Spell that binds Me by Luna Oblansky
-Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M Marrineau (I read the adult version, but the clean YA version is pbly better)
Some very good ones that may or may not count as romantasy
-The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (5☆ all day!)
-The Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (book one is the weakest in the series)
-Providence Girls by Morgan Dante
From the unhinged smut side of the fence that far exceed most
-The Princess and the Foxgirl by Julie Law
-Taken by the Witch Queen by Luna Fury
One popular tragically bad one I would love your review of
-One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Oh, no! I have it on my TBR, had high hopes for it...😔 Thank you for making these videos, life is too short for bad books :)
That whole male/female wording makes me think of Wild Kingdom or being on a Safari doing a documentary.
This is, no competition, the best online book review I've ever watched. Thank you, YT algorithm, for bringing me here on this dull, rainy day. Also, the "male/female" thing is totally a right wing dogwhistle. I got into it once on FB with some old douchebag (turns out he was my MIL's latest husband; she's been through quite a few; she's also a right-wing idiot) and it was terrifying and hilarious how triggered he was about being called out for it. I tried first to explain that the only English speakers who do this regularly are police, and they do it to objectify *everybody.* Long story short, he died a few months later, also a common theme amongst my MIL's husbands. Also, thanks for the info on Faebound; I've seen mostly good things about it but a few UA-camrs don't like it.
PS: I went to put your book on my Amazon wishlist. It was already there. As soon as some money drops (been some rough times), I'm getting it.
I do feel like Acotar was overhyped based on what I saw on booktok.. I don't think this was the best introduction into the genre but I have learned a few things from it after reading it as an aspiring writer creating my own fantasy romance it was helpful 😅
It is a rare occasion when the algorithm suggests a video and I like it. At first I was trying to see the book title, I work at a library and I like to see what people enjoy.
This was a delightful view of a book someone didn’t enjoy.
Also, I 100% agree about the female/male thing. 🤦🏾♀️
❤
I was following along with you until the first person-present bit. It's fine if you hate it (I admit my bias in that i love it) but i don't think there's a need to shame people for the preference. Just because its use increased after the Hunger Games doesn't mean it's bad, or juvenile because it was used in a young adult series. I feel like I've seen plenty of Middle Grade and younger use third person past and it can come across to me as "Juvenile" in isolation but i also know that many writers make it work and have great, even more mature, stories with it. I wouldn't say people are automatically bad for using it. Perspective preference is just a preference and how well it works depends on the writer and how the reader personally feels about it.
It's been popular since long before the Hunger Games, though you'd usually see first person past tense more often (i.e. Twilight). First person in general is very popular for novels targeted at young adults/teens-to-twenties folk, and even more so for anything with even a minor focus on romance.
First person isn't my favored writing style, but it suits certain books better than others. First person is amazing if you're dealing with a limited viewpoint or an unreliable narrator (or both!). It's also pretty handy for writers who want to let the reader live vicariously through the character. So you'll see it a lot of times for blank slate characters who don't have much personality or backstory, since instead the writer uses the shorthand of the first person perspective to put the *reader* into the character's perspective. While that's bad writing from a technical sense, it can also sell very well if the writer manages to appeal to a wide enough audience.
For instance, Twilight is terribly written and, IMO, boring, but that whole series sold like hotcakes because the writer hit on a formula and tone that, for whatever reason, clicked with a broad audience at the time. Great literature it isn't, but it doesn't need to be--it is an escapist fantasy and just needs to entertain its audience and provide a sense of immersion. Also, many of its fans were more invested in "will they/won't they" or "Edward vs. Jacob" than more nuanced characterization, backstory, etc., so it was easy to sell that immersion by using first person.
That thumbnail 😂 you are so adorable 🥰
I feel really bad for enjoying your rants, I'm so sorry, but you're so good at being angry.
Speaking of romantasy I wonder if you checked out The Shepherd King duology? (I swear this isn't linked to my previous statement, I actually enjoyed those)
FYI - I'm really new to your channel, and I haven't updated myself on older videos, sorry if this comment is a bit off base.
Your commentary on "a court of thorns and roses" was interesting - I've noted the popularity of this book, and I've read a few in the series. But your commentary made me realize why I found the popularity so strange - while I did like the plot and interest, and read about three books or so - it didn't engage me as I usually prefer. That's why - it was boring and uneventful. Which is weird as stuff do happen in the books - I didn't feel bored. But somehow the way it is written, it's just... droll, surface level.
Your commentary on fourth wing was really interesting! I'll have to watch the full reviews for a few other books as well on our channel to gauge how we would think about the same books, but since I have been contemplating fourth wing - this was helpful! Thanks!
thank you willow for your service.
i was feeling the siren call towards this book. "i know its hetero romantasy" i said to myself, "but its got dragons and the title is 'when the moon hatched', that sounds so cool. maybe this one will be okay". But now I know, and I am free.
i know my taste good enough to not even touch these very popular romantasy books, acotar, fourth wing, powerless, etc etc. but i picked up feabound, and im not big on romance at all and i dont particularly like fantasy, so i really dont know why i picked up this book actually, but hey, its queer, and you gotta try new things sometimes. i didnt particularly like it, but it wasnt at all as bad as i know i would think the more mainstream ones would be should i read them. but then i picked up godkiller by hannah kaner and wooo that quite honestly banged. interesting worldbuilding, characters, plot, and properly developed relationships. i really think you would like it. also, i fully agree with the male/female and first person present tense hate, its perfectly valid. also, id love to see a bookshelf tour :)
I really enjoyed Godkiller, too! I didn't enjoy the sequel, Sunbringer, quite as much, but I'm still excited for the trilogy's conclusion (next year I think?).
Willow: "Now in these opening chapthers she is on a mission to assassinate..."
Me: "...the readers"
😂
Her modus operandi is to bore them to death
Your reaction to Fourth Wing reminds me of my rection to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I enjoy it, but in all the wrong ways and not at all how the author hoped I would.
I recently started listening to "Daughter of the blood," by Anne Bishop. There's a lot of male and female, and I cringe every time. I only kept going because the books are old and maybe that used to be normal. It still hurts. Gonna check out Fae Bound, though. That sounds interesting.
You DNF’d about the same spot I did (I made it 120 pages I think) and I feel so vindicated. The writing was too much! It constantly took me out of the text because I would read some nonsense description and be like “wait… what?!” Also Raeve was annoying and ragey and not in a fun way 😂
I am starting to like very very much rant videos about books be it I read them or never intent to. Great Video!!!
The first person [present] POV is so prevalent that the other day a friend of mine was "I can't read this book it is in THIRD PERSON". I was 🧐 speachless for a moment and than "You could challange youself maybe it is your next favorite book." She was at least thinking about my sentence....
I'll never understand that unflexibility and set-in-your-ways that will make you discard a new experience, new knowledge ,new anything alltoghether.
Oh, no. I just ordered that book. Crud. She needs to invent necromancy so she can summon Hemingway as an editor.
In my experience for fantasy, it's really common (especially in ttrpg) that genders words are utilized when the character is not human, because only human characters are women and men. That's specific to their species.
I do think it can come off as exclusive, especially from nonbinary characters and audience members, and a tool that's currently overly used.
BUT I personally don't find it as egregious because it equally doesnt sit right with me to identify non human characters in human terms. I think that can be a dangerous habit to fall into, as it can be confusing for the audience.
For me it's the same with humans: if you use male/female as a noun, it's weird. If you use it as an adjective, it makes /a little/ more sense. And if you really wanna hone in on world-building and genders, create names unique to the genders/cultures of the nonhuman species you're writing (I'm reminded of the gender-specific terms for Gerudo in Legend of Zelda).
I feel your pain Willow, thank you for sharing your experience.
I’m not contradicting on the male/female thing..
Just an observation..
the more ‘supernatural’ romances that I was reading over a decade ago at this point, used male and female because the “species” wasn’t human..
Depending on the reading experiences/age of the author, they might not view it the same way you do..
Personally, I avoid as much political topic content as I possibly can, and only engage online on YT.. as someone who is technically ‘middle aged’ according to the calendar.. I don’t have the same level of sensitivity to things that come across as dog whistles to millennials or my gen Z kids..
I can understand how it’s more of a sensitivity for the younger generations..
but I can also promise that there’s a lot of people who use dog whistle terms unironically because they still associate terms with the prior sentiments.. no ill intent intended..
ATB
Thank you for the explanation about language, and exposition vs context. I loved how you explained why you didn't like it. This is not a book that I was looking to read but, honestly, I completely get what you are saying because I've felt the same with other books but I didn't understand WHY until right now. So, thank you so much for your honesty and authenticity :D Deeply appreciate you in this corner of booktube!
Leave those things, my goodness xDDD
I recommend you read The phoenix keeper, it's a wonderful sapphic piece of literature that I think you would enjoy. It'd give it an 8.5/10, it you want a reference, and I think it could heal your heart a little bit of all these horrendous romantasy books full of nonsense you keep reading xDD
If you don't read it now, I hope you have a better experience next!
i was planning to start my romantasy journey with When the Moon Hatched... I'll avoid it. abysmal is all I needed to hear
Not petty at all. "The male" and "the female" are definitely giving Animal Planet. Also, the glasses chain puts the cherry on top of your rants in the best way. 🤣💜
Sarah J Maas uses the male female thing too. It drives me crazy.
THANK YOU - I completely agree about the first person present tense. I hated it in The Hunger Games (though I did like that book) and I've hated it since.
Only two minutes into the video BUT I'd been avoiding Fourth Wing because I'd only heard it was bad; this is the first time I've heard the 'bad and also a fun read' take. As someone who adores bad + funny romantasy I grabbed it immediately, so thank you for the recommendation!!
I think it predates the trend of the term "romantacy," but my fave is still Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn. The mission and learning to trust traveling companions on a spy mission is just as much, or more, than the romance of it, and it includes my favorite feminine rage scene of all time. Two of our primary lady characters who are very powerful in magic and social influence also highly respect common women and other marginalized folks. 👏💜
My favorite part of this book is that in a world full of magic and dragons somewhere in the writing process the author made the concious decision to have the Main character bested by a hidden arm snake.
Thanks for warning me about this book i heard about it but still on the fence about it definitely won't be reading it
When it came out I thought about buying it. Glad I always the first few pages/chapters before spending money because I really didn’t jive with the writing. Sorry you had to go through this mess of a book, but your video are always so entertaining and informative
Bloating and expanding the sentences with language… I feel as though the author took the wrong lessons from worldbuilding in fantasy. I even get bored of how much stuff could be skim read in LOTR (sorry, not sorry) because I’m more of a reader that appreciates the story first, world second. I’ll want to learn more if I don’t have trouble getting through the chunks of text describing a meal or something like that.
It sounds like a GoodReads winner.
That's why I rarely DNF a book.... when its bad I keep reading so I can have fun ROASTING it in my review.. 📚.....👩💻👩💻....🤓🤓....📚📚
The male/female thing alone would be enough for me to DNF. I'm not even joking or exaggerating, I've done it before. It just gives me a full-body ick.
Also, molten stone topped with cream? Is that supposed to be a sexy scent combo? Because it made me say "eww" out loud just imagining the cream hitting the hot rock.
I feel so bad for laughing at your pain, but you've just saved me a long library hold for a book I won't enjoy!
You didn't ask for romantasy recs, but if you would like one, C. L. Polk is my favorite. Their Kingston Cycle trilogy (first novel is Witchmark) is the reason I read the genre. (Apologies if unwanted!)
I unintentionally dissociated on every fragment you read.
Can I ask something? When and how it is ok to use the words male and female? I have a book idea in mind where the biology of the human body is important and affects their special abilities.
I am not qualified to comment, but can I help myself? No. So here is my unnecessary two cents: could you have a bio female have bio male powers? Or vice versa? I mean, identity is fluid, and you could sort of write in there that the main characters powers have masculine traits today, for example.
I don’t know. But there could potentially be a way to write your story whilst being inclusive, and celebrate diversity 🎉
Maybe you could use biology still but not focused on gender! Body mass, muscle, strength, flexibility, etc.
Female and male work better as adjectives, but when placed next to sex organs and biological components of the body, you might be better off using the scientific terms for body parts rather than applying male or female to them. There's more than two sexes, based on sex organs as well. It can skew towards gender-bioessentialist to consistently designate body parts as inherently 'female' or 'male.' That's just my suggestion though.
Like Willow says, they read better as adjectives (eg. "Male mages wear X, while female mages wear Y"). In terms of your story idea, though, maybe think through how exactly biology is affecting the magic - Is it via hormones? Height/muscle strength? Genes that are carried on the X or Y chromosome? - and then do some so research on, for example, how those things work in cis people, trans people, intersex people, etc. so that you can at least capture the variation accurately.
A good example of this is in the book 'Manhunt', where there is a virus that interacts with testosterone to basically turn people into sexually aggressive murder zombies. BUT it isn't just "male" and "female" that matters! Cis women with PCOS are vulnerable because their testosterone levels are elevated, whereas trans women on hormone therapy or men who have been castrated are immune.
I love your PASSION🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
I cackled at this rant. Deliciously done Willow! Also, yes a dog whistle in my opinion
I detest first person books they're almost always disappointing.
I enjoyed hate-reading Fourth Wing. I don't think Romantasy is for me.
I'm not a fan of first person view point. It has to be exceptional for me to read it. I'm also not a fan of romancity or romance (unless it's gothic horror). This truly sounds terrible.
I really enjoy your reviews.
Nice. I love a good rant. That being said, you started off by using a phrase "...which is supposed to be good". According to who? I find that these days more than ever, far far too many people go online to decide which books they 'should' read. Well, that's just stupid...
Devil's Advocate here: If the main character is supposed to be an elite assassin, the "male/female" thing may be intentionally creepy and objectifying, to show that this character is like a hunter that just views people as targets. I'm not saying that makes the writing good, but it might be a botched attempt at characterization rather than a conservative dog whistle. That's just a possibility that occurred to me, I've never heard of this book so the only context I have is the passages you shared in this video.
Full of substance but lacked any of it… so they’re loud? Is that what the author is trying to say?
12:10 is just me when i'm trying to hit a word count
This was a thoroughly enjoyable rant.
Sounds like fanfiction writing. I love FF, but it's something I'd rather not spend my $$ on.
You probably hit the nail on the head. There's at least two writers I can think of who famously got their start in fanfiction, and I imagine that practice is extremely common at this point--so much so that it doesn't even bear mentioning anymore. I've seen a lot of highly praised fanfic that was terribly written.
If the other reviews I've watched about this book are anything to go off of, you stopped reading at about the point when it becomes even more convoluted, whilst also being very obvious and predictable, before ending up as a billion pages of exposition to the series as a whole rather than anything resembling a coherent story told over the course of one book. Good job listening to your instincts and saving yourself. 😂
Perfect review of said ‘book’ is perfect 🤩 ❤
Ew. Thanks for the warning
So how do you really feel?
How the hell did it get published?
Try One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. It’s really good! 👍🏽
Ok it sounds like overboated fantasy with no plot, but at least fantasy? I can see people liking prose and actual worldbuilding if, not realy a plot?
the female male thing isnt bad, its just, once yiou establish in fantasy what the difference between maybe in question race and gender, using it that much is just dehumanising, just use his then.
Talking about A male or A female is like referring to them solely on their genitals. It's beyond ridiculous and insulting.
Why? We've done it since the beginning of time..
@melissaann513 people have also been killing one another since the beginning of time. It doesn't make it right.
@@martinelanglois3158 Are you equating that calling someone male or female is on par with murder?
@@melissaann513 obviously not
I would live if you could do your take on ,masters of death’ by Olivie Blake please
It was so terrible
10:00 💯 agree 🙋♀️
This book was not on my radar and I have no desire to read it but still it so interesting hearing you talk about it haha
EDIT to add that I 100% agree with you on the male/female thing. It sounds so freaking weird. Like are we animals here?
I'm not entirely sure. So, did you like it, or didn't you?
Why would you think she liked it?
⚛️❤
Men are males and women are females. That's literally the definition. I don't get what you are taking about...
Other than the overly wordiness, it was the dialogue that was jarring to me. It fell into the category of funny by accident 🫣
Perhaps you should read an ebook sample of these books before deciding to buy them just a suggestion.