Good luck, and well done it can be pretty interesting. Spirit cycle kinda does that and even uses various genre. Maybe she recounters past friends and ,who knows.
I've got a few ideas for this myself. I wanna do something about soulmates getting reincarnated and make it queer, and subvert some more tropes. But writing stuff needs energy and tiiiime
1:17:15 I suspect the reason the underground cities isn't gone into in depth because they are very much real rather the author's inventions, and she kinda just assumed other people knew about them. They're pretty cool, people in those areas built downwards because the ground was easy to dig into and bulding materials like wood are hard tofind nearby. They found an entire city under a dude's house when he fell through the floor or something. They also get mentioned a lot in conspiracy circles because "oooh they muct have needed help from aliens/atlanteans/whatever to build these places."
That's refreshing to know that someone can recognize a passionate amateur. Me: **Knowing my first ever novel is in the works and I'm trying to craft a coherent plot**
James-, James please,, I can't with your German sentences in the thumbnails because I can read those and they give me such a jumpscare every time, I'm still chuckling at this one😂
Different genre entirely, but if you enjoy books where the main character is absolutely not a good person, I thoroughly recommend "I Am Not a Serial Killer" by Dan Wells, and all of its sequels. It's about a teenage sociopath, obsessed with serial killers, whose town is host to a string of bizarre murders.
I always wonder whether that whole subgenre of angels romance was born not only because of the popularity of supernatural romances à la Twilight, but also because of the popularity of, well, Supernatural. I mean… The grip Destiel has had on Tumblr culture for the last 15 years… It’s hard to miss it. Unfortunately, those books fail to capture WHY it’s so compelling (and I don’t think it’s due to them being het).
These books all blend together in my mind but I remember this one being one of my favorites. I found the demon dog thing really cool when I was like 12. I hate that I read almost all these books you’ve covered 😮💨 lol
Would you ever read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater? Or any of her books? I would be really interested to see your opinion on her books/writing, because I LIKE her works but she definitely deserves constructive criticism.
The part you mentioned where the memories nearly overwhelmed the 5th wave girl reminds me of Alia from Dune, who became an Abomination controlled by Harkonnen because of her unlocked memories.
Bro, I'm European. I have no idea where michigan is or know about its surfability. I'm not even completely sure if it's a state or a city (and I don't care)
It's actually pretty tolerable. Now, Embrace (shirvington) is a pretty similar series about fighting evil angels (sorta?). I hate the love triangle so freaking much. Lincoln lies to her about everything and yet everyone is mad at Violet Eden for not wanting to forgive him. Phoenix is so indescribably bad I can't even describe it. Meanwhile, Violet Eden is constantly said to not run, but, like, she does? From basically everything?
She's also the Specialest Mary Sue. Most Gregori have 1 or 2 special senses, she has 5. She also has the most specialest powers, being descended of a higher order than anyone else. Also she's obnoxious.
Try reviewing the Demonblood series by Penelope King It's about a girl who is half human/ half demon but her human and demon halves are "seperated" so it's like one body but two souls. The demon half is trying to find a way to fix themselves, while the human half is trying to live a normal life. And it's a romance but there is some action
God sending in the Angelarmy at the last secound sounds like Heaven follows the Monroe-Doctrin: Do everything you can exept sending in troops until you have no other choice left, the send them in hard!
I remember when I was in highschool (like 10 years ago) I was really into this series called The Fallen by Thomas Sniegoski (or something like that. Different from Fallen by Lauren Kate) that I thought was the shit. Would love to see if it holds up.
I literally just found my old copy of this book two days ago! Also if you haven't already, you should do The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, or Fury by Elizabeth Miles!
Oh yes, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer I read the entire trilogy and never figured out what the actual plot was. The first one had really good atmosphere I remember that clearly but over all the books just fell so flat.
@@calibaby6913 if you're looking for a story with good atmosphere, I highly recommend checking out the popular series The Atlas Six if you haven't already. It's a great medium-dark academia story about 7 mages from around the world who are invited to this exclusive secret magical society where they have to train for a year. But the school can be deadly. Or if you're looking for a REAL dark academia book, please check out the best dark academia/my fav book: Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko translated from Russian by Julia Meitov Hersey. It's about this girl Sasha who is approached by a weird stranger and forced to do these weird tasks as a way to become enrolled at the Institute of Special Technologies. There, Sasha goes through a terrifying but exhilarating metamorphosis as she learns about the true nature of reality. It's such a great book and the atmosphere is perfect.
13:30 I'd argue the surfing thing is not redundant, since for anyone who doesn't know American geography it's not clear wether you can surf in Michigan or not.
13:25 not American here. I did not know michigan was a landlocked state. So I would argue it is not redundant. Edit. It is not landlocked as it turns out just not a surfing destination. My point still stands.
Michigan isn't landlocked. It's got quite a lot of coast, and it has two halves referred to as the "upper peninsula" and the "lower peninsula" because the state is literally split in half by the inland seas known as the Great Lakes. It's not a surfing destination, in the same sense that Alaska is not a surfing destination, but people very much do surf there like they do in Alaska. It's just cold as balls and the weather is generally foul.
1:17:29 a few myths from ancient cultures describe extensive underground tunnels and dwellings where advanced civilisations or human ancestors live. it's cropped up in a few modern conspiracy theories, particularly in the offshoots of 'hollow earth'. idk who's credited with but i think some people believe that giants live underground and there's also a myth / conspiracy theory that giants are the descendants of nephilim so maybe the author was very loosely referring to this? i doubt it though since it's a 2010s ya and not an 80s novel by a cryptozoologist
incidentally there a book written by a cryptozoologist on this topic. he thinks that bigfoot lives in these tunnels and pops up to the surface via caves every so often, and that's how bigfoot appears and reappars all over america and is never caught. doesn't explain why there are no photos but oh well.
and great video as per, super funny plus i really liked the discussion on how to prevent the middle part of a book from being bloated and directionless, I've been trying to work that out for ages
I've been a fan of yours for a while now. Have you ever considered reviewing the Skulduggery Pleasant series? It's a YA series with a female protagonist but not a lot of romance, thankfully. It's pretty long, and divided into 3 series: the original (and best, in my book), which spans from Skulduggery Pleasant to Dying of the Light (9 books long); the sequel series (which has its problems, mostly because it was cut from 9 books to 6 while the author, Derek Landy, was in the middle of writing the 5th), which spans from Resurrection to Until the End (6 books long); and the prequel series, which so far has only 1 book, Hell Breaks Loose. It was my first real novel series, and the humour, dialogue, plot, and characterisation I remember as being quite good (mostly in the original series). I think you'd quite enjoy it.
It's strange that people think they can write perfect stories with little training or thought. At least I know that my stories and paintings aren't good enough for quick cash, but I can still have fun
Can you review Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la cruz? I enjoyed it and I'm curious what'll your thoughts on the series. It's an Elite student like gossip girl meets Angel/Vampire book.
This reminds me a manga called angel sanctuary. Well, how can I start it, is a brother who have a crush in his sister and he discovered he is an angel called Alexis who happened to be an rebel angel ( but female angel) and he need to fight with others angels trying to kill him or kidnapped his sister. The manga is really crazy 😮
I'd like to know your opinion on Demigods Academy. If you've already done it, please don't come to my house and shit on my bed. Just point me to where it is. :)
Legit baffles me how anyone could like this tripe. The writing was utterly bland and voiceless (as a slush pile reader i honestly marvel how anyone made it past the opening page), the designer name dropping gave me american psycho flashbacks, the pop culture references were aging (i will also forever judge anyone born after 1995 who lists 16 candles as one of their fae movies) and the deus ex machina + insta love was so cringe. It was also a major blatant rip off of buffy.
Bro why the fk are all your thumbnails in German? I never understood that and it's so weird. Me and my friends have a inside joke where we will talk really poor german / imitate german (we all speak Dutch), your thumbnails remind me of that.
In all fairness, Gabriel as a woman isn't nothing new in stories. Two of my best examples on top of my head would be the Lucifer TV series and the Shin Megami Tensei version.
38:49 I wonder if Arcangel Angel Gabrielle is female. She is, in the other book called Angel Fire, by Andrew M Greeley. The men writing the bible just didn't want to say Gabrielle is female, especially not in the fight-scenes.
Also a lot of times angel have not a gender, or a definitive gender. I mean a lot of angels gender isnt specified, but sometimes they go by gabriel, sometimes gabriella, why should angel care about that?! Also enby angels whatever, would make angel fun.
Woman here. I love lovers destined to be together no matter what time period/timeline, planet or universe they're in. When this trope is done well, it is the ultimate pining and longing that adds ✨️ to the romance when it finally happens.
I guess I'm old fashioned because I degree with the bit where you say friends with benefits can be and is a thing. I feel friendships get ruined the moment a sexual element is thrown in. And sex is something folks should have once a relationship between the two is confirmed or if the two are already on the way to becoming official.
I love it whenever James says he has to read a line here, I can never tell how strange the line will be
I feel it's only appropriate to give fair warning to the audience. When I read weird books these lines just punch me right in the face.
Her murdered teacher was psychic? God, I hope he didn't have to listen to her internal monologue about his chest hair 😅
Favourite line I have ever heard you say “if you suggest something I’ve already done I’m going to go to your house and shit on your bed”
Absolute gold
I love that James kept calling the book AngelFall. That shows how Fallen left a deep impact on him.😅
Nah he's just been on that Titanfall 2 grind
I kinda want to attempt a "girl in reincarnation cycle" story now.
Good luck, and well done it can be pretty interesting.
Spirit cycle kinda does that and even uses various genre.
Maybe she recounters past friends and ,who knows.
same
I've got a few ideas for this myself. I wanna do something about soulmates getting reincarnated and make it queer, and subvert some more tropes. But writing stuff needs energy and tiiiime
1:17:15 I suspect the reason the underground cities isn't gone into in depth because they are very much real rather the author's inventions, and she kinda just assumed other people knew about them. They're pretty cool, people in those areas built downwards because the ground was easy to dig into and bulding materials like wood are hard tofind nearby. They found an entire city under a dude's house when he fell through the floor or something. They also get mentioned a lot in conspiracy circles because "oooh they muct have needed help from aliens/atlanteans/whatever to build these places."
That's refreshing to know that someone can recognize a passionate amateur.
Me: **Knowing my first ever novel is in the works and I'm trying to craft a coherent plot**
James-, James please,, I can't with your German sentences in the thumbnails because I can read those and they give me such a jumpscare every time, I'm still chuckling at this one😂
that'S why I came here - like : WHAT THE HELL is this book?
10:52
James: Start with a banger.
Darren Shan: Starts series on a toilet.
how could you spoil that spider-man's real name is peter parker and bruce wayne's real name is batman wtf
9.5 minutes into a 1.5 HOUR video "Since this video will be shorter"
Different genre entirely, but if you enjoy books where the main character is absolutely not a good person, I thoroughly recommend "I Am Not a Serial Killer" by Dan Wells, and all of its sequels. It's about a teenage sociopath, obsessed with serial killers, whose town is host to a string of bizarre murders.
I always wonder whether that whole subgenre of angels romance was born not only because of the popularity of supernatural romances à la Twilight, but also because of the popularity of, well, Supernatural.
I mean… The grip Destiel has had on Tumblr culture for the last 15 years… It’s hard to miss it. Unfortunately, those books fail to capture WHY it’s so compelling (and I don’t think it’s due to them being het).
"Te amo." "Y yo a ti, Cas."
bro that shirt 🤣
LOL
I seen that same shirt at Comic Con this year! 😂
Raise your arms please, I want to see it clearer.
I want that sooo bad UwU
Lilith is also a demon. Depending on the work, she is either the Queen of Demons, a species, or the wife of Asmodeus and/or Samael.
Cool, I love these 1+ hour long videos.
same I always put them in the background while cleaning my room haha
These books all blend together in my mind but I remember this one being one of my favorites. I found the demon dog thing really cool when I was like 12. I hate that I read almost all these books you’ve covered 😮💨 lol
Would you ever read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater? Or any of her books? I would be really interested to see your opinion on her books/writing, because I LIKE her works but she definitely deserves constructive criticism.
The part you mentioned where the memories nearly overwhelmed the 5th wave girl reminds me of Alia from Dune, who became an Abomination controlled by Harkonnen because of her unlocked memories.
I just looked it up, and you CAN surf in michigan. The great lakes have big enough waves for it.
I love these longer videos. One day I hope our good host sees fit to read and review anything at all by R.A. Salvatore.
Another video??? We're being absolutely blessed with James content and I'm not complaining in the slightest!
Gabriel is trans confirmed and a fighter despite being a messenger in the Bible. She went through the greatest character arc of all time.
Where issss the introduction song? It’s not very good but it’s not too long…
I hope the author sees this, because I think it's a shame she vanished as an author on the market. Would love to see her grow as an author!
Bro, I'm European. I have no idea where michigan is or know about its surfability. I'm not even completely sure if it's a state or a city (and I don't care)
I have now realized why Crow Caller is a fan.
YOUR SHIRT SIR? TOO SOON 😢
That was an awesome review! Thank you for making the books sound so entertaining!!!
It's actually pretty tolerable. Now, Embrace (shirvington) is a pretty similar series about fighting evil angels (sorta?). I hate the love triangle so freaking much.
Lincoln lies to her about everything and yet everyone is mad at Violet Eden for not wanting to forgive him. Phoenix is so indescribably bad I can't even describe it.
Meanwhile, Violet Eden is constantly said to not run, but, like, she does? From basically everything?
She's also the Specialest Mary Sue. Most Gregori have 1 or 2 special senses, she has 5. She also has the most specialest powers, being descended of a higher order than anyone else. Also she's obnoxious.
You really had to take the most glorified translation for penis
I am so old that I thought you were referencing the website "Angelfire"....oh lawd!
Same.
I think it's a solo book but I recommend Angel Burn!
Every time you said Landon I thought of Blandon from Spongebob.
Your T-Shirt makes me want to cry 🥺
This sounds EXACTLY like Vampire Diaries
Try reviewing the Demonblood series by Penelope King
It's about a girl who is half human/ half demon but her human and demon halves are "seperated" so it's like one body but two souls.
The demon half is trying to find a way to fix themselves, while the human half is trying to live a normal life.
And it's a romance but there is some action
Here’s the thing: this is Buffy with angels and Buffy is already good
I'm curious, how is this series similar to Buffy?
@@pink_waffle maybe it’s just the description, but the one girl in the world with weird supernatural power and supernatural boyfriend kills demons
The way you described this series sounds exactly like how the second draft of my first novel is. Fortunately, I feel great about draft 3
God sending in the Angelarmy at the last secound sounds like Heaven follows the Monroe-Doctrin: Do everything you can exept sending in troops until you have no other choice left, the send them in hard!
I remember when I was in highschool (like 10 years ago) I was really into this series called The Fallen by Thomas Sniegoski (or something like that. Different from Fallen by Lauren Kate) that I thought was the shit. Would love to see if it holds up.
Those endgame mercenaries are Diamond Dogs for sure
There actually are surfing spots in Michigan, hint a major body of water where you can surf shares its name with the state.
i knew it, the bible really is trans
I literally just found my old copy of this book two days ago!
Also if you haven't already, you should do The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, or Fury by Elizabeth Miles!
Oh yes, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer I read the entire trilogy and never figured out what the actual plot was. The first one had really good atmosphere I remember that clearly but over all the books just fell so flat.
@@calibaby6913 if you're looking for a story with good atmosphere, I highly recommend checking out the popular series The Atlas Six if you haven't already. It's a great medium-dark academia story about 7 mages from around the world who are invited to this exclusive secret magical society where they have to train for a year. But the school can be deadly.
Or if you're looking for a REAL dark academia book, please check out the best dark academia/my fav book: Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko translated from Russian by Julia Meitov Hersey. It's about this girl Sasha who is approached by a weird stranger and forced to do these weird tasks as a way to become enrolled at the Institute of Special Technologies. There, Sasha goes through a terrifying but exhilarating metamorphosis as she learns about the true nature of reality. It's such a great book and the atmosphere is perfect.
@@BooksRebound Oh I’ve heard of The Atlas Six but not Vita Nostra which sounds great putting those on my library list asap! Thanks for the recs :)
I remember really liking Mara Dyer as a middle schooler, I wonder if it was actually any good or not haha. I’d love to see him review it for sure.
how has nobody mentioned his godamn shirt
13:30 I'd argue the surfing thing is not redundant, since for anyone who doesn't know American geography it's not clear wether you can surf in Michigan or not.
It is possible to surf in the Great Lakes region. And it is possible to surf in Michigan.
Not the shirt😭
i usually just listen to ur videos while playing games so idk if you wore it b4 but that shirt is perfect
I remember really enjoying this book when I was 13-14 and I’m glad to have it revisited with a more critical lens years later
I can read german and the title is cursed
13:25 not American here. I did not know michigan was a landlocked state. So I would argue it is not redundant.
Edit. It is not landlocked as it turns out just not a surfing destination. My point still stands.
Michigan isn't landlocked. It's got quite a lot of coast, and it has two halves referred to as the "upper peninsula" and the "lower peninsula" because the state is literally split in half by the inland seas known as the Great Lakes.
It's not a surfing destination, in the same sense that Alaska is not a surfing destination, but people very much do surf there like they do in Alaska. It's just cold as balls and the weather is generally foul.
@@maledictionwolf oh, I did not know that. (As evidenced lol) thanks :)
13:19 "He was one of those guys who thought that surfer hair was the only way to go, even here in Michigan."
"...even here in Michigan." "...even..." Like: It might make sense in some places, but he thinks so "...even here in Michigan."
Like, Michigan is an extreme case. It's an "even."
Saw your books you going to tackle reviewing Game of thrones? Maybe Darkwar by glen cook (also did the black Company)?
12:06 i would totally wonder something like that im just a weirdo lmao
39:29 Naked glove-puppetry.
Now I want a series with a bunch of archangels reincarnated as humans.
1:17:29 a few myths from ancient cultures describe extensive underground tunnels and dwellings where advanced civilisations or human ancestors live. it's cropped up in a few modern conspiracy theories, particularly in the offshoots of 'hollow earth'. idk who's credited with but i think some people believe that giants live underground and there's also a myth / conspiracy theory that giants are the descendants of nephilim so maybe the author was very loosely referring to this? i doubt it though since it's a 2010s ya and not an 80s novel by a cryptozoologist
incidentally there a book written by a cryptozoologist on this topic. he thinks that bigfoot lives in these tunnels and pops up to the surface via caves every so often, and that's how bigfoot appears and reappars all over america and is never caught. doesn't explain why there are no photos but oh well.
and great video as per, super funny plus i really liked the discussion on how to prevent the middle part of a book from being bloated and directionless, I've been trying to work that out for ages
I've been a fan of yours for a while now. Have you ever considered reviewing the Skulduggery Pleasant series?
It's a YA series with a female protagonist but not a lot of romance, thankfully. It's pretty long, and divided into 3 series: the original (and best, in my book), which spans from Skulduggery Pleasant to Dying of the Light (9 books long); the sequel series (which has its problems, mostly because it was cut from 9 books to 6 while the author, Derek Landy, was in the middle of writing the 5th), which spans from Resurrection to Until the End (6 books long); and the prequel series, which so far has only 1 book, Hell Breaks Loose.
It was my first real novel series, and the humour, dialogue, plot, and characterisation I remember as being quite good (mostly in the original series). I think you'd quite enjoy it.
Yooo, I remember Skulduggery Pleasant! Never finished reading it, though.
love the shirt
21:19 nanatsu no taisai or seven deadly sins also had that with Meliodas and Elizabeth, but it was a twist revealed in the 3rd or 4th season.
It's strange that people think they can write perfect stories with little training or thought. At least I know that my stories and paintings aren't good enough for quick cash, but I can still have fun
This book is stupid but I kinda liked it....
Most of the books I've read sumed up
39:16 Fuck yeah!! 🥳🥳
Can you review Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la cruz? I enjoyed it and I'm curious what'll your thoughts on the series. It's an Elite student like gossip girl meets Angel/Vampire book.
Wondering about your teachers chest hair isn't THAT weird or unique if your ADHD. 🤣 I've often hyper focused on nose hairs as a distraction
This series seems very Buffy the Reaper Slayer.
This reminds me a manga called angel sanctuary. Well, how can I start it, is a brother who have a crush in his sister and he discovered he is an angel called Alexis who happened to be an rebel angel ( but female angel) and he need to fight with others angels trying to kill him or kidnapped his sister. The manga is really crazy 😮
Am I the only one who gets a Buffy vibe from this series?
nice shirt btw
Thatt's a dope shirt
It depends on how it’s spelled. If it’s spelled Samuel it’s said Samuel.
1:26:27, oh boy, you should read a web comic called Homestuck
Ultrakill 🤝 Angelfire --> archangel Gabriel is trans
9:57 ..so you’re saying it’s Will Herondale😂🤔
What‘s the lore behind the german?
You mean, the german words on the thumbnails? I guess James only put them on german because he like the language.
Deutsch ist eine lustige Sprache, lmao
@@JamesTullos how many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb? 1, wir sind sehr effizient und verstehen keinen Spaß!
I was wondering that too xD
@@JamesTullos in der tat. Ich hätte wohl eher fragen sollen woher du deutsch kannst
why is there german in the thumbnail i am so confused allthough I enjoy casually scrolling over 'GLIED'
Maybe he is learning German and likes to make jokes like thisß
I'd like to know your opinion on Demigods Academy. If you've already done it, please don't come to my house and shit on my bed. Just point me to where it is. :)
James, warum ist der Text auf deinen Thumbnails immer Deutsch?
Weil er Deutsch lernt und angeben will. 😂
Und warum nicht.
@@marocat4749 sry hat mich nur interessiert. War ja nicht als Vorwurf gemeint 💀
That shirt made me do a double take.
Thanks I hate it. /Jk
that shirt is foul James, wtf
Wiso sind seine Thumbnails in deutsch?
Ich frag mich das auch, ich sah dieses Video und dachte, es sei auf Deutsch😓
Why is the thumbnail german?
ew fedora in thumbnail lmao
Legit baffles me how anyone could like this tripe. The writing was utterly bland and voiceless (as a slush pile reader i honestly marvel how anyone made it past the opening page), the designer name dropping gave me american psycho flashbacks, the pop culture references were aging (i will also forever judge anyone born after 1995 who lists 16 candles as one of their fae movies) and the deus ex machina + insta love was so cringe. It was also a major blatant rip off of buffy.
What’s with the German thumbnails 😭
I’m genuinely so confused every time I see it
What is that abominable T-shirt, sir? 👀
Bro why the fk are all your thumbnails in German? I never understood that and it's so weird. Me and my friends have a inside joke where we will talk really poor german / imitate german (we all speak Dutch), your thumbnails remind me of that.
In all fairness, Gabriel as a woman isn't nothing new in stories. Two of my best examples on top of my head would be the Lucifer TV series and the Shin Megami Tensei version.
38:49 I wonder if Arcangel Angel Gabrielle is female. She is, in the other book called Angel Fire, by Andrew M Greeley. The men writing the bible just didn't want to say Gabrielle is female, especially not in the fight-scenes.
That's really not how the angels ended up in the bible...
Also a lot of times angel have not a gender, or a definitive gender.
I mean a lot of angels gender isnt specified, but sometimes they go by gabriel, sometimes gabriella,
why should angel care about that?! Also enby angels whatever, would make angel fun.
Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince ARE the saggy middle of Harry Potter.
I want to read this series now
Woman here. I love lovers destined to be together no matter what time period/timeline, planet or universe they're in. When this trope is done well, it is the ultimate pining and longing that adds ✨️ to the romance when it finally happens.
I guess I'm old fashioned because I degree with the bit where you say friends with benefits can be and is a thing. I feel friendships get ruined the moment a sexual element is thrown in. And sex is something folks should have once a relationship between the two is confirmed or if the two are already on the way to becoming official.