2 LIGHT 2 LARK

[@dfw-k6z]

So soon? The book 1 chatter has barely died down, and here’s book 2 already. Like a second wave hitting you when you’re still coughing up salt water from the previous wave.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

As someone who was rolled once by an ocean wave - apt

[@Ema_Not_Emma]

Don't worry, the fifth wave will kill us all soon enough...

[@TheAdarkerglow]

I'm just guessing, but I think she rushed it out to maintain momentum, with minimal if any editorial interaction, because she sees the window of opportunity closing due to the heavy criticism. So get it out, get it sold, before even the dedicated fandom leaves in mass.

[@diewott1337]

Careful not to lose your clothing in these waves 😂

[@Air_Serpent]

I was surprised too. It was probably already being written during Light Lark's heyday.

[@tinniesealjiji]

2 light 2 lark is an amazing title

[@ComedyPlastic]

They should make that the official title of the book.

[@candacescorner3141]

agreed. and if for some ungodly reason a third one comes out it should be called Lightlark 3: This time it’s personal

[@JamesTullos]

A Good Day to Lightlark Lightlark: With a Vengeance The Lightlark Ultimatum The Good, the Bad, and the Lightlark Lightlark: Trinity Once Upon a Time in Lightlark Lightlark Beyond Thunderdome Lightlark for Life Lightlark: Tokyo Drift

[@wolf-gh2dz]

@@JamesTullos lightlark, lightlark reloaded, lightlark revolutions, and then years later she comes back and hits us with lightlark resurrections

[@LordMogatron]

​@@JamesTullosLightlark 2: Light Larker

[@ribbonquest]

Animal taming works by Pokemon rules. You gotta beat it up to earn its friendship.

[@novadestroyerthesundestroy890]

Laugh way too hard at this

[@enfieldlammergeier]

Ark survival evolved type beat

[@slenders1ckn3ss]

​@@enfieldlammergeiershe tamed a cool-lookin sabertooth and then just left it at camp. Like the rest of us do. Shoulda got a thyla...

[@enfieldlammergeier]

@@slenders1ckn3ss The real reason she didn’t enter the dragon’s cave for the first time to get the sword was because it was lagging too hard and they had to go do something else

[@ladyjellyfish4757]

You beat the f*ck out of it until it respects you

[@Budgetdisco]

“Ruler curses his people so that if they kill him in a coup, they will all die with him.” Holy crap that is terrifying and diabolical. I can imagine a better author taking this one concept and just running with it. I imagine the revolutionaries will have a plan to keep him alive - life support type of thing, but imprisoning him forever so he can’t rule. But maybe the king takes a cyanide pill or something when he’s captured, and everyone has like 2 weeks to break the curse or else die. That concept seems very dark and heavy for a book like Lightlark.

[@vvitch-mist20]

You came up with a really cool sci-fi book/book series.

[@omnipenne9101]

Curse him back with immortality and put him in an "I have no mouth and I must scream" situation.

[@addheading]

Someone write this right now. Not me because I already have a fantasy book to write but someone

[@vvitch-mist20]

@@addheading I'm sure numerous people could write this and it be a more engaging story than Nightbane.

[@lochness_jenni6116]

Omg. I would read the HECK out of that book! That sounds amazing!

[@NateReadsDiversely]

Alternate Isekai Title for Lightlark: "I'm Queen of a Realm and Have No Powers (But that doesn't matter at all)"

[@LittleMissLounge]

[And I Must Scream]

[@CAT-ve1tm]

When they said "maybe the real lightlark was the friends we made along the way," the book ceased to be an incoherent mess and became true art.

[@ComedyPlastic]

F in the chat for James' sanity. Your sacrifice will be preserved for posterity.

[@marianatheschizoid5912]

F

[@H0bO]

F

[@aleixskory]

F

[@typee3709]

F

[@usakosenpai6174]

F

[@cc-yi7vp]

Have I read/plan on reading either of those books? No. Did I immediately abandon my uni work to watch this video? Betcha

[@ComedyPlastic]

As you should.

[@cc-yi7vp]

Oro just *knowing* stuff is exactly how I approach all of my exams

[@connorodum6710]

Same

[@Saphia_]

​@@cc-yi7vp Teach me your skills. I am Isla with selective amnesia. Amnesia happens when I'm in the exam hall.

[@marianatheschizoid5912]

That’s how you know you got your priorities straight

[@cursedcontent4207]

Let's fuckin go. -One of the running theories is that Nightbane didn't get as much attention because it was released on the same day as Iron Flame, the Fourth Wing sequel, and that Aster is salty about that. -Fun fact, Aster said that it's pronounced eyes-la, and this is indicated in the book early on. Personally I like whichever pronunciation makes everyone as mad as possible while also not getting it right. -Nightbane is playing Skyrim and doing sidequests, all the while never visiting the Jarl's palace. -Ah yes, an heir. An excuse to get them to fuck. "Oh no I don't want to, I just HAVE to have an heir." -I knew a horse named Bear and a dog named Kitty, but for some reason a leopard named Lynx feels worse than both. -I don't think anyone expected Nightbane to be named after Fantasy Opioids. -Since it's fantasy but not technically confirmed medieval, maybe they do have EDM. Cleo should have a gun. You know, as a treat. -"I don't want to kill the king even though it would save everyone" has the same energy as "If god* had the power to end world hunger, he would have done it already. My singular wish is to resurrect my boyfriend" from City of Glass. (*edit: Turns out it was angels, not God, but same energy.) -And Lightlark being made from people from different dimensions and there's fuckery on the other side has Crescent City SJM energy Alex Aster Have An Original Thought Challenge Level One Million. -Try is debatable, but I suppose after seeing Fourth Wing it could have been worse. -Edit: Upon further consideration, VERY hard disagree on "trying." If you care about something, you put your heart and soul into making it good. It's not like LL and NB couldn't have been saucy pintrest moodboard books AND told a good story, and it's not like she can't afford an editor. From the way everything's cobbled together, it's hard to not see it as anything more than trend chasing. Where it differs from Fourth Wing (apart from controversy) is that Aster throws every cool idea that she likes it, with other worlds and rebellion and animal companions and magic ore and a lost sword and fantasy drugs. Fourth Wing isn't pretending to be anything other than dragon smut.

[@ayajade6683]

I didn't even know there was going to be a sequel

[@Saphia_]

At least Isss-la and Eye-la sound like names. What is Eyes-la 😭😭

[@DeviBuster]

The thing is is that eyes-la isn't the correct pronunciation either. It's eye-la. So if even the author can't get it right, it's free reign to say it the worst way possible tbh

[@vvitch-mist20]

You didn't describe Nightbane as the way I play Skyrim lol. Dragons are giant pests and they are a bitch to fight, so I just don't activate them.

[@MrDoenyon]

I need to see reviews from City of Glass now. :D

[@AllisonMiller30]

The thing about this book is that if it wasn’t so inconsistent and the author wasn’t spreading half truths about the story, it would have been forgotten about entirely.

[@CSRaeburn]

"There are people who have done multi-hour videos on Lightlark" - it's okay, James. We all watched Krimson suffer. @ 44:10 My view for all media is the same: Some like it, some don't. If you're throwing a tantrum because somebody doesn't like your favourite thing, that's a reflection on you, not on them.

[@heroicomica]

*Crow Caller *cough cough*

[@CSRaeburn]

@@heroicomica Thank you for introducing me to a new Booktuber. Now I face the choice: do I spent all day working and baking ahead of a potluck? Or do I spend three and a half hours watching a video essay about a book I’ll never read?

[@Saphia_]

Crow Caller is awesome. Also, why not both?

[@CSRaeburn]

@@Saphia_ I'm listening to Crow Caller while baking. My OCD brain won't let me watch video essays at the same time as working :(

[@Saphia_]

@@CSRaeburn I'm just the opposite. Can't do anything without my ears being busy. Hope you're enjoying her content.

[@teslashark]

The bird whose egg is the heart of Light lark is not a lark!

[@johannageisel5390]

Really??? What an amazing plot twist!

[@TheAdarkerglow]

These books really needed several editorial passes, the magic system doesn't make sense, the worldbuilding doesn't make sense, the characters are awful people, if she received any constructive criticism, I don't think she took it.

[@PhileasLiebmann]

Considering how she talks to and about critics and criticisms of her books on social media, I think she deliberately avoided that kind of input.

[@frostywing8941]

She had an agent for like ten years or so, but they apparently quit because Alex was way too attached to her first draft to make any changes

[@LookBrandonSkates]

Light Lark 3: no time to lark

[@serpenttailedangel]

"We're under a curse where if the king dies, we all die. This curse was placed in order to stop us from killing the king. We break it by killing the king." My brain is breaking listening to this.

[@aricaj.3006]

I swear I have heard several booktubers explain the plot of Lightlark at this point and I still have no idea what tf it's about. I don't know if this has to do with my verbal processing issues or if the plot was just so bland it failed to provide my brain with enough dopamine for me to care about retaining any information lmao

[@Tamaki742]

I vaguely got it but in the end I'm just pissed off by the worldbuilding or lack thereof.

[@TheTrueKarin]

I read it but honestly forgot the story when I reached the end. I was just so confused why the Autor was so crazy over sunnyside eggs. There were so many moments I just thought „Girl, eat breakfast. You need it.“

[@flippanties]

I read the first book but it was such a mess and so contradictory and ridiculous that I'm not entirely sure I even understand what happened in it

[@Tamaki742]

@@flippanties "Isla can only use the Star Stick (IT CAN'T BE STAR ROD OR LIKE STELLAR WAND OR SOMETHING) to places she has been to before." She went to Grim's palace somehow, and met Celeste/Aurora somehow. "Isla has been locked in her room most of her life." She somehow has secret(?) sleepovers with Celeste/Aurora AND good enough "friendship" to have an alliance with her. "Children born of 2 races can only have one of their parents' powers." Isla got Nightshade and Wildling powers to begin with. "Lightlark is surrounded by a magically induced storm for 99 years and only clear up for a year for the Centennial." Somehow they still have ingredients for artisanal chocolates like yknow, cacao beans itself and chilis, that couldn't have survived in that kind of environment and there's no way they could have had them transported from the outside because of said storms. And the people are living in cute houses for some reason. "Oro can always tell if a person is lying." Then why the hell did he not know that Celeste is Aurora the whole time. There are probably dozens more but I'm already forgetting things from the book.

[@flippanties]

@Tamaki742 lest we also forget that it makes no sense that no one attempted to kill another ruler during any of the Centennials from the past 500 years. Or that Isla at no point questions why no one else has tried to find and use the Bond Breaker during the past 500 years. Or the complete lack of chemistry between Oro and Isla to the point where finding out that he was her MAIN LOVE INTEREST felt like a plot twist I only saw coming because these kinds of books always have a love triangle. Or that the Wildings somehow managed to find enough human hearts to sustain their population for 500 years. God I could do this all day I will say I'm like six chapters into Nightbane and it seems like Aster has realised how dumb 'starstick' sounded so Isla has started calling it her 'portalling device'

[@Ellisepha]

Wait hold on, the curses are still a thing? I thought they broke the curses at the end of book 1 by killing Celeste/Aurora!

[@Saphia_]

So did I.

[@MrDoenyon]

same, I'm so confused. Also thought the rule of being in love was to share all your powers with each other, therefore she should have ALL powers, not just the two she was born with, as she's lovers with the king of lightlark ?

[@Saphia_]

@@MrDoenyon Right? Unless she loves him but he doesn't love her. I guess.

[@MrDoenyon]

@@Saphia_ true, except the whole thing was about him loving her and not really the opposite. So I'm so confused :D

[@Saphia_]

@@MrDoenyon I see. I don't even remember which way it was supposed to be lol. Neither of them had chemistry with each other, at least from what I've seen from the reviews.

[@klane2004]

You're the first of my "booktubers" to even cover this which is WILD given how much hype Lightlark got. But I'm stoked bc I don't read the books but I'm interested in the Trainwreck of the plot lol.

[@SofieLoaf]

I can't wait until Reads with Rachel gets her hands on it considering how much she despised the first😂

[@klane2004]

@@SofieLoaf YES! I love her. Or Krimson Rouge does another 7 hour long video about it lmao.

[@marocat4749]

Not the first i think, but its strange reviews on it are rare.

[@chandra_creator]

forgot it existed before i saw this vid in my feed

[@klane2004]

@@SofieLoaf Reads with Rachel came out with her vid about it finally! I've watched this one and that one and still have no idea what these books are about lmao.

[@javonyounger5107]

The thing is I really like the idea of a protagonist starting weak and eventually becoming one of if not the most powerful person in the setting. However, I want this to be costly, slow, and hard. Most of these books make it cheap, quick, and easy.

[@Choice-gi5zf]

I love that he tell us all about lightlark with a dagger in hand 😂

[@emory5533]

All right James. I don't want to burst your bubble, but the one line that you did like was actually my least favorite part of the entire book 😂 The line is cute out of context, but on the previous page Isla voices that she thinks she's a terrible ruler, weak, and a liar. And then on the next page he says "it's the things you like the least about yourself that I love the most" That line is cute for things like snort laughing, or stretch marks, maybe even like wrinkles, but not massive character flaws 😂 But I think we were supposed to just forget that Isla said that on the previous page... Because it's a cute cliché line. To quote One Direction, " You don't know you're beautiful! Oh oh! That's what makes you beautiful!"

[@emory5533]

Isla: I'm a liar, a coward, and a terrible ruler Oro: and that's what I love most about you baby gurl

[@meeweehi]

tbf if he was a villain it'd be a killer line lol like "yes baby girl make my job easier for me"

[@TheSlurpy11]

I'm still debating whether it was a blessing or a curse for Aster than Nightbane had the same release date as Iron Flame.

[@arkkon2740]

I'd say its a blessing. Alex was already on people's shitlist, someone had to take her place

[@ayajade6683]

Probably the person who has to have the you can't attack reviewers and proper behavior talks from the pr team who went if she is screaming into the void but no one knows I won't need to reign things in or drink at work

[@vvitch-mist20]

Why would publishers do that? I feel bad for Aster since I too would be a little irritated. (I don't write for money so it wouldn't ultimately matter to me, but her publishers did her dirty)

[@TheSlurpy11]

@@vvitch-mist20 Nightbane's release date was announced on Aster's Instagram back in MARCH. Fourth Wing hadn't even come out yet. Given that Lightlark was on the NYT best-sellers list for a year, I wonder if Yarros' publishers pushed Iron Flame out on Nightbane's release date intentionally 🤔 this was 100% not on Aster's publishers and I bet they were absolutely livid when Iron Flame's release date was set for 7th November back in June. Just seems like an odd coincidence, especially since there was absolutely no reason to publish Iron Flame just 6 months after Fourth Wing. Maybe they were worried that Nightbane hype would compete for space in people's minds and affect their sales? I work in marketing so this feels really fishy to me, like Red Tower was desperate to flood the market to drown the competition. Which is stupid, because people never just read 1 book in their lives. I'd love to see someone dig into this side of publishing.

[@mikankitsune0440]

As a developmental editor and author myself, Lightlark and Nightbane desperately needed developmental editing and then some. It's clear Alex Aster cannot take criticism and that's definitely a fatal flaw for a writer.

[@thelasthandbook6704]

The Boston Public Library currently has 536 ebook copies of Nightbane available to borrow on their website.530 are available.I wish I was exaggerating or being silly, but I am not.I'm guessing the publisher cut some kind of deal with libararies? Usually you would only see numbers like this when the BPL is pushing some sort of "commuity read" on their website. Which they're not for this.

[@vvitch-mist20]

536 seems excessive tbh.

[@TonyMarzipan]

Is it normal to have hundreds of ebook copies for that library?! I've never seen copies go beyond the tens or twenties at my library.

[@vvitch-mist20]

@@TonyMarzipan LightLark is a BookTok favorite. TikTok has an insane amount of users.

[@o0aitam0o]

my library also has over 80 copies of this book and they’re almost all available. I’ve never seen such an unread book have so many copies on Libby

[@vvitch-mist20]

@@o0aitam0o The first book went viral so they got copies thinking it'll match but the problem with shitty books that go viral is that the novelty runs out and if it's a shitty book no one will wanna read it.

[@NonAnonD]

I assume nightbane isn't being talked about quite as much because it's being overshadowed by Iron Flame (Fourth Wing Book 2) which released on the same day.

[@mercycunningham2813]

OK from someone who has a tiny tiny tiiiiny bit of insight in the publishing industrie Night Bane was probably already finished and in line editing given the fast pace of publishing the books. If not is was written very fast and the author had probably no chance to even rework it. Yes the absence of editing is upsetting. And I kind of hate the first sentence. Does Alex want us to know death tastes bitter? 😅

[@KamenRiderFeline]

Maybe she wanted to make a pun because berries of deadly nighshade plant taste bitter? "Death tasted bitter. Like Nightshade. Like GRIM." Some sort of edgy pseudoromantic BS like that? Maybe I'm giving her too much credit. Nightshade can reffer to eggplants too. Make of that what you will.

[@merrittanimation7721]

I recently reread the Dispossessed recently, and it also does the alternating present and flashback thing well. The difference there is that it actually has a plot.

[@lizabethhampton4537]

If Isla got trapped in a magical coma and had to go on a Memory World-esque journey through the past she doesn't remember to try to solve a problem, that would've been cool. But alas...

[@axeldenault1165]

Your reviews in those troubled times is a light in the lark

[@eldrichnemo9312]

This feels like someone printed out every chapter of a mobile isikai otome game, dumped the papers on the floor, then quickly gathered the mess up leaving the story shuffled out of order. Maybe that's what Aster could have invested her story in: hire an artist and employ a game company to make LightNight LarkBane a mobile game instead and make a pile of money from in-app purchases gating the spicy chapters behind DLC

[@frosty6032]

the most interesting part of this book is literally the offhand mentions of humans. i care more about the humans in that world than any of the main characters which says alot.

[@yeetbirdo]

There's a YA dystopian novel you might be interested in called "The Unwanteds." It's pretty different from the Hunger Games, so it might make for an interesting video.

[@Creature_and_Creation]

Yesss I loved that book as a kid. I would love to see him review it. I don't care if he rips it apart or if he praises it, either way, it will be very entertaining

[@johnthecrazedsskull81]

2 light 2 dark is the best title, don't change it.

[@arcadia_one_standard]

I saw this book in the window of a bookstore. Funnily, the first thing I thought of was your Lightlark video.

[@kitsong]

I'm incapable of following even your summary of this book. My brain remembers some of the individual things you say, but it can't connect them. Someone call SCP and tell them we've found a new anti-meme.

[@chloesantos8637]

Glad that Aster is making "dumb plot twists" a staple in her literature lmao (great video, glad you're talking about this so I don't have to read

[@carydorse705]

Is it just me Or why is Grim even attacking in the first place?

[@bookishnewt8468]

I don’t think an explanation was given…

[@merrittanimation7721]

Because he's an edgy bad boy

[@milliegeorge4469]

Basically he wanted to get to a portal in the main land, but for some reason Alex made it that he wanted too attack the whole light lark island, when he could have just gone into the portal with his people himself 💀

[@sonofdarkness4696]

petition for you to do an iron flame review (fourth wing 2)

[@StefanBrennan-dl1lx]

Where do I sign?

[@connorodum6710]

Fourth Wing 2 Infernal Boogaloo

[@mrbgarles6724]

Would be great but he did kind of swear to never review it iirc

[@Nebulousart]

2 forth 2 wing XD

[@Hi-uk1cu]

Yes

[@ameliadavidson360]

I love the way you frankly review books with just the right amount of snark. It's... Yes, the author is trying. She's not like EL James. I wish she would listen to some of the criticism though. Yes, some of it is due to the book not being advertised correctly/not enough pandering (though I see the criticism with the book not being properly advertised), but some of it was genuinely about her writing. I credit her for just wanting to do her own thing and sticking with it, but people also need to listen to constructive criticism to grow. Even if I didn't like Lightlark, I want authors to get better.

[@elliex9664]

I think a lot of people like Fourth Wing compared to Lightlark is because of the seemingly more mature approach to YA. Like there is no stupid or childish sounding stuff like a "starstick", "wildlings", "moonlings", or "starlings" in Fourth Wing. To me that sounds like something a 9 year old fantasy book about magic horses or something. Whereas the concept of dragons just seem more appealing and all of the rebellion stuff even though it is definitely not explore in any kind of way (authors just like to spit out the word "rebels" or "rebellion" to add some kind of tension even when it's not going anywhere plot-wise).

[@catherineelmore2004]

Thank you for the bad boy versus evil boy bit! That drives me bananas!

[@lanagomisc.6005]

The only reasons why I haven't watched any of the multi-hourlong videos are because Lightlark's story doesn't appeal to me and I'm not a masochist. I think this is the shortest video I've seen relating to the book. At least James is having fun, so I might start watching those videos, starting with his.

[@PhileasLiebmann]

I don't known why, but whenever someone mentions Oro all I can picture is the Magic: The Gathering card "Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" and it's very distracting.

[@TheTrueKarin]

Yeah, kinda makes sense. Everytime I read Oro I thought about Oreo and just got hungry. In the end I liked Oreo just more than him :/

[@eldrichnemo9312]

as someone ignorant to MtG I looked up his art and whoa, you're not kidding

[@PhileasLiebmann]

@@eldrichnemo9312 It's exactly the vibe, isn't it?

[@fictionalneritive]

You are definitely right about light lark's lack of following in comparison to fourth wing. These two sequels came out close enough together, but i mostly see iron flame reviews despite author controversy or maybe because of it? Its not worth watching that many iron flame reviews to find out which it is.

[@wilthomas]

did she really do something bad or are internet people just upset for no good reason again

[@jasminv8653]

​@@wilthomas not that you might think it's bad but she's been a pretty vocal israeli colonist supporter

[@wilthomas]

@@jasminv8653 yeah that's bad I probably wouldn't buy her books

[@marocat4749]

James was probably right its a cynical lazy trash and thus not worth talking about. Listening to the reviews, it, ok i hate her as person too now. She is worried about veterans.... relationships suffering in the disatance?! thats what she complained about?! not ptsd, not support for veterans, that?! I feel not bad calling her entitled.

[@purplecloudjumper]

The shadowhunter tv show was a massive success and was only cancelled due to a petty squabble between networks about episode count. It wasn’t a flop.

[@marocat4749]

Also i am sure its a pretty sucessful adaption, that did cut apearently a lot that, em, and really focus on what matters, alec and magnus. And it gets better every season. I am pretty sure they changed a fair bit and cut, but thats probably good too. And its a decent bufy knock off, which given the orign, yeah good 2000 ya vibes. And the finale works actually as finale.

[@pebbles3959]

You should read Lauren Loscig's debut novel War Hour. It's a proper YA fantasy (with no smut). I read it and it was good but I think there are definitely things to talk about

[@danieltobin4498]

Sounds interesting, what’s it about?

[@pebbles3959]

@@danieltobin4498 the main concept is that magic powers have to be earned in trials instead of being born with them.

[@bottomthor]

honestly, if someone took the ideas in this series and the world building and built on that foundation, brought the sequel ideas into the main and had memory coming back be a recurrant theme, it could be a decent story. as it stands the sequel feels like its making stuff up, which is fine! but to best do that you go back over the first stuff and weave stuff back in you really need to have a solid idea of your world and its backstory to build *on* i honestly respect that shes trying to make it work

[@vvitch-mist20]

She's trying to make it work bc she probably has a contract to fulfill and shot herself in the foot by finishing the whole plot in one go. It's not respectable bc she failed at properly pacing her book.

[@cookerobertallen]

i feel bad for 2 light 2 lark tbh. iron flame is so much worse.

[@lianneeden4873]

It's actually tragic that these books as bad as they are, because there are so many parts that could have been so cool in the hands of a better author. The imagery and aesthetics, for example, seem really interesting. Like, imagine the amazing visual art that could have come from it

[@ladyjellyfish4757]

I haven’t seen your videos in a bit till this. And omg the glow up! 🤩

[@lenapawlek7295]

Lol this is so cursed that there is already a second book - thanks for your sacrifice

[@orionh5535]

Maybe the real light, was the one we larked along the way.

[@Air_Serpent]

the way you pronounce Isla is the correct way you pronounce island in Spanish So you got that armor 🎉

[@weliveinasociety8797]

literally didn't know there was a sequel until this video

[@derekthomas2959]

Lightlark 2, Electric Boogaloo

[@milestrombley1466]

R.L. Stine always tells his students to plan their books first. Outlining is important. Period!

[@Ema_Not_Emma]

Oh god, I'm looking forward to this...

[@ovenbird1253]

The getting each other’s power through love/marriage thing feels like a weird rip off of a concept in the Mirror Visitor series…

[@gabrielauburn3398]

James Tooloes back to it again

[@stardust1815]

This is a great birthday present for me!

[@marianatheschizoid5912]

Happy Birthday! Definitely better than the one I got I literally got a war for my birthday…

[@split776]

I feel like the issue was the author straight up lied to promote Lightlark (promising tropes and scenes that weren't there etc) and once word spread the hype died and all that's left is a few critics, most of which were likely so frustrated with the first book that barely anyone's going to come back for book 2

[@marocat4749]

its probably more that she tried and rebecca yarros just ibetter at the lazy cynical pandering thing , while aster, is genuine.

[@ThinkingWithGaps]

Why is Grim attacking this stupid island(s) all of a sudden? And didn't they already break the curses?? How MANY fuckin curses are there??? And wasn't it a big point that Eesla avoided genocide of the Starlings via some plot convenience that I can't be arsed to remember, why are there only a hundred of them left now? lmao Thanks James, looking forward to 3 LIGHT 3 LARK

[@jlynnewebster]

2 Light 2 Lark. Don't even need to watch, thumbs up.

[@stardoogalaxie9314]

I'm ngl I have a bit of a softspot for Lightlark as a Bad Book sort of thing. Like it's not good and the writing is sluggish and weird, but its endlessly funny to me!

[@kimilynP]

thank you for your sacrifice

[@nont18411]

It’s a matter of time before Lightlark: Tokyo Drift

[@user-fs6fk9vm2g]

funny title! i see a lot of comments mentioning it but literally clicked just for that lmaoo

[@RocknRoll301199]

"Instead of having the character be hated for something that they are have them be hated for something that they did" Like in Chicken Little, got it

[@cur1ouscatf1sh]

I thought it was called “nightbang” and was choosing between several bad and inappropriate jokes about that, so you can imagine how distraught I was to realize that it was, in fact, nightbane. Which is stupid, sure, but not funny

[@elfqueenvictoria6585]

I read both Lightlark and Night bane and liked them both. I made a bingo sheet for each book with tropes and plot points I expected to happen and it just made the reading experience fun. There where definitely parts where I felt like I lost brain cells, but to be honest I'd read the rest of the series because they are just fun to read because of how bad they are.

[@owenbridgers]

I can only think of Kit Harington singing “Wildlin’” to Rose Leslie in that Cold Play musical for ‘Game of Thrones’

[@nobodynoone4]

Great video, great title (also great other title ideas in the comments, I actually had to watch 10 Minutes of the video twice because I couldn't stop laughing and therefore missed what you said)!

[@daniellemhall1358]

I'm only 20 seconds in but that was an amazing intro.

[@jo_helaci]

I've looked forward to this!!

[@JulianGreystoke]

Finally finished reading through this on my channel so i can finally watch this! For some reason i wanted to go into that mess blind...

[@MrDoenyon]

I really hope krimson Rogue does this book too, if only to see him squirm. :D

[@Andy2kk]

Man I love your videos

[@reptilesarecool6739]

Why is this man waving a knife at me while talking about a magic princess

[@reptilesarecool6739]

(To be clear this is a joke, I do in fact understand what is going on here. Shoutout for the great reviews as always)

[@yaho5785]

With all these books, I have to wonder, where the fuck was the editor??????

[@cursedcontent4207]

Locked outside by Alex Aster, probably.

[@eldrichnemo9312]

Aster has the kind of capital to not hire one, or pay one to edit very, VERY lightly

[@oddjam]

Thanks James. These are great

[@flameloude]

It's only been two weeks since the release!? Damn I thought it was a good month or two

[@CuteJellyfish95]

Nightbane was released on November 7th, 2023

[@KnightmarePhoenix_official]

The title of the video is too good omg

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

12:41 This is consistent with everyone else's names.

[@cadburyyork5052]

I too came here to say I love your title lol

[@cosmicflare_]

Pain

[@romulusnuma116]

Why do you have a knife?

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Its his last tether to sanity

[@johannageisel5390]

I thought it was to cut up the dead horse and feed it to us in edible pieces.

[@BigElbows]

On the leopard companion: Why there isn't a Bem-te-vi animal companion, or idk a monke? Why are all animal companions snakes (uncool, no limbs and usually with sneaky evil people), dogs (dog good, but very generic), catty creatures (from smilodon to a kitten, they all are the same but in different scales) or dragons (COOL, but people for some reason don't know how yo write dragons for some reason). Why not a fucking parrot that goes around screaming bloody murder to your enemies? An elefant to smash your foes and ride on the way of Rome? An monitor lizard with a bigass tail, just so the MC has a hard time keeping it alive? I still feel the most optimal option is a monke. They have thumbs, so they go bonk. They are jacked up, so their bonk hurts a lot. They are intelligent enough so you can talk with them using sign language.

[@SusavonPunk013]

if you ever think your plot isn't good enough, remember this series

[@robinronin]

My entire comment disappeared, it was so long and now I can’t add to it anymore. The KZbin AI that deletes comments is soooooo good at its fucking job /s 🙄 So yeah I enjoyed the video. Sorry my more engaging and interactive comment is gone, it was out of my hands 😬

[@giveandtake8428]

You actually are pronouncing Isla name correct per the author's saying it in one of interviews.

[@mothman_bathbomb]

if memory serves right, isn't Isla like literally 19 or 20??? she's married???? to a 500 something year old guy??? she went on like several quests with Grim all before the first book??? jeez girl I'm exhausted for you.

[@anjoliebarrios8906]

1:00 one of these people is Crow Caller. She dives into not only the story but the magic system, which is p cool.

[@Yuuki_Youtube]

I recently went through an experience like this one. I have written 4000 words about everything I hate about a book that I am not even half way through.

[@Flareontoast]

still confused by the fact that Oro is a love interest like. I always pictured him as middle age whenever I watched reviews.

[@weingyean]

I forgot oro existed...

[@mathuasher9184]

Supportive comment. Regardless, it's my hope that our kind host, one day, deems fit to sample anything at all by R.A Salvatore. Maybe "Homeland" specifically. But until then, I will Like and Listen.

[@marocat4749]

Em james, the originak isekai had a lot female protagonists, even digimon if that counts.But also inuyasha, 12 kingdoms thats really good, vision of escaflown, alice in wonderland, isekad was very female led-.

[@saniwa655]

you say "starling" i hear "starlink" and can't help but imagine a group of miniature Elon Musk à la Oompa Loompa

[@decasuffrage9021]

i just wanna add onto the point of people not noticing this book came out: the lightlark WIKI (im on there because i like making changes to the worlds of fantasy books and i did not remember a single detail about anything) has not gotten the cover for the second book on the site for comparison: warrior cats, an interest whose BEST descriptor is "niche" has the cover for a book that will be out next year on the site. did even?? the fans stop caring????

[@_spooky_mars_]

I wrote my first full book when I was 14. It lacked character arcs, the romance was weak, and it was a pretty dense read. However, since I had been planning it for two years prior, it definitely made more sense than this