another romantasy disappointment (and two other book reviews)

[@MeMyshelfAndI]

people: When the Moon Hatched has beautiful writing! When the Moon Hatched: "A male I’ve become painfully familiar with, now watching me vomit all over the minuscule grains of stone I garner must be sand." me: ....

[@chance757]

is that really in there?? ewww

[@MeMyshelfAndI]

@@chance757 yep! it's part of the free excerpt available online.

[@chellyfishing]

The more I hear about When the Moon Hatched the sadder I get because it sounds like it has all that it needs to be a good story except that nobody told the author to rein it in a bit. People act like it’s the 19th century out here and they’re getting paid by the word.

[@jostinaluver]

Henderson did the same thing with House of Hunger. Started off with and interesting premise and squandered it by meandering for chapters on end and then gave us a rushed and quick and easy ending. Publishers need to bring back developmental editors.

[@marinakonrad5035]

"It was incredibly verbose. Every sentence to me felt like a clown car..." made me actually literally giggle out loud. I just have to say, I really appreciate not only your deeply considered opinions, but also you coming up with gems like these

[@ViolaVines]

I’ve found much more luck with less popular smaller indie romantasy and queer romantasy because they tend to not be clinging to the SJM style of fantasy as much. The popular ones have been a bit of a let down overall. I fully agree with your thoughts on when the moon hatched. Literally my exact thoughts. I wish it was tightened because the potential is so high! It had such cool ideas but I got lost/overwhelmed while reading.

[@axelgonzalez2806]

"why would i try to read something i dont think im going to like?" Cuz being a hater fucking rocks, and being proven right about hating on soemthing also rocks. Rock on, friends ❤❤❤.

[@moustik31]

On paper, Dark Academia and Romantasy should be my favorite genre but I have yet to read a book I enjoyed in both category. 🙃

[@LinnaAP]

Same 😢😅😢

[@tappkalina]

Same with childhood best friends to lovers. In theory that's my favorite trope, but it's so hard to execute well.

[@TheNumnutRandomness]

Me with "enemies-to-lovers" 😭. Hoards of "infuriatingly handsome" and negging love interests who give the MCs cringy pet names- truly a "Fine, I'll do it myself" trope for me.

[@alkhemiaaugustine3764]

Then i would suggest gothic romance fantasy/gothic fantasy

[@awkwardpotato27]

My constant joke I make about When the Moon Hatched is that Sarah A. Parker will only get her thesaurus back when she learns her lesson! I never want to read a conglomeration of flavors for a drink again.

[@MeMyshelfAndI]

@@awkwardpotato27 honestly the writing is so alien that my pet theory is that it's AI writing, probably put through one of those anti-plagiarism engines after that does enough synonym swaps until it no longer registers as plagiarism when you run it through

[@skyeoak3]

27:32 re: dev editing: I’ve noticed in my job recently that developmental editing is looked at as “expensive and to be avoided if possible.” Which is strange to me, because as a reader and writer I am SO AWARE of the importance of macro editing. I’m wondering if this attitude is widespread in the industry or not. Especially in genres where production timelines have shrunk dramatically! Out of curiosity, have you noticed any sort of souring on dev edits from managers or other editors?

[@EnragedTiefling]

The whole time you were discussing the "internal lake" all i could think of was the "inner goddess", and then you said that too! I have no desire to read this one, it's just SO LONG.

[@BritneyT.]

Sometimes almost-good stories are more frustrating than completely bad ones

[@CandyNunu]

The internal lake!!! It got to the stage where she was going to the lake and burying stuff in there and I lost all sense of what was real and what she was imagining. When she vanished off into her secret love hut with the guy, I was so certain it would turn out that the secret lake was actually a mirror for a real lake outside the hut, but no... There were a lot of elements about this book that could have been interesting if they were leaned into, but I feel like she just wanted them /all/ in there, and then they all fell over in favour of the romance. The character's big moment (killing the guy) felt almost passive. She didn't hunt him down; he turned up in her city after zero effort on her part. I just don't think romantasy is for me =/

[@JemilaBeReadin]

I’m really curious about the whole endeavor of editing (or the lack thereof) happening once a self-pubbed book has been acquired. I think it is definitely a cost cutting thing for publishers, but I’m also wondering if there is some hesitation because the book already has an audience that has read the self-published version. I can’t remember the name of it, but a romantasy book came out recently through a trad publisher that was originally self published. Apparently there were a significant amount of changes made between the two versions and I’ve heard its fans complaining about the changes.

[@Bella-pb6uk]

you might be talking about fear the flames by olivia rose darling! fans were pretty upset with the amount of changes in that one

[@sophayee]

I felt exactly the same way with When The Moon Hatched, but you articulated my thoughts much better than I ever could. I saw so much potential in it but it was weighed down by the things it didn't do well, the length and the unnecessarily purple prose.

[@sbwatches9289]

It’s a relief that someone else feels the same way about When The Moon Hatched! 😅 That lake……😤

[@mynameismarines]

I was like PLEASE, throw ME into the lake at this point

[@sbwatches9289]

@@mynameismarines😂😂😂

[@Sootielove]

I'm glad you mentioned realising you weren't into a book and had to restart. I'm pretty slow at picking up names/lore/personalities so I usually have to restart books with that pre-knowledge to get properly engaged

[@music_YT2023]

Loved these reviews. I tend to read what I predict to be 2 star books as palate cleansers between heavier work. I go into those with lower expectations and if they surprise me by being good or great, then all the better. It's more saddening when books that I am looking forward to (~4-5 star predictions) are disappointing (Legendborn, Will of the Many, and Strange the Dreamer's sequel in particular).

[@rowan2222]

A Metal From Heaven read like a fever dream and I loved that about it. It was disorienting at times but Marnie was disoriented so it fit together in a way that wouldn't have for a different story. I definitely do feel like I could articulate how I feel about it better if I re-read it! Definitely feels like one of those rare books that's better the second time around.

[@nylorac1984]

Shut the front door. "Internal Lake." My inner Fifty Shades Goddess is bursting with laughter.🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sablestar1956]

I soft DNF’d **When the Moon Hatched.** I was advised by a friend to read the book and not get the audio and I agree that seeing the art starting the chapters, etc. is the kinda details I appreciate…so I got the delux paperback. I loved the beginning of the story but DNF’d at p.450. It was just so boring, as soon as the cave battle side quest begain I checked out. There’s enough there for me to pick up before the year ends.

[@ninakocjancic9346]

Lovely lovely T-shirt! The sleeves!! My first impression upon starting the video

[@AJShiningThreads]

Thank you so much for sharing!! As a writer this is so important for us to hear what is not working! Im a student of Sanderson and HIS teacher Farland and some of these mistakes make me think these are young writers.

[@greenonionbabey]

The ending of Academy for Liars also made me angry lmao! The only reason I didn't dnf is because I was too annoyed and had to see how much worse it would get. It was so disappointing because the beginning was so strong and it had such cool ideas, but I feel like it just completely imploded at some point. Also didn't help that the "romance" started to softcore remind me of twilight 😭 I could not tell you exactly why, it just had the same ick for me. Easily the worst romance plot I've read this year

[@tinydragongirl]

To me, utilizing a large vocabulary is a dying art. It can be done well. I also enjoyed not knowing every word I read as a child and even still as an adult, but I want the author to understand and be comfortable and natural with their words, and not to feel like they are throwing them around to sound smart. It's easy to look a definition up as you read and come across an unfamiliar word, and reading is the way to increase your vocabulary, to become comfortable with less common words. In that vein, writing can be descriptive, even kind of lush or flowery, without being purple prose or sounding ridiculous. I hate to think people might turn away from lush prose or books that utilize a larger vocab because some authors do it poorly, but I see that attitude sometimes. I do think some people read for the story alone, though, and some people read for the wordcraft. Not all authors do both or either well.

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

I can't do romantasy. When the Moon Hatched is my least favorite book I have read this year but so many of my bookish friends with similar taste liked it. I do not understand. xD

[@LyraFay12]

Damn that sad about Academy of Liars because the year of the witching was good, mind you she did all the stuff in the house of hunger too.

[@jellybebe2753]

Love your reviews. They cover so many aspects of writing, it’s really helpful for readers (and writers!)

[@Catratbat]

This video has really helped me articulate why I can't get into romantacy even though I am really persistently trying. I love romance and I love fantasy but this particular genre, as you pointed out, doesnt typically do either very well. I want something like Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown or the c-drama Rise of Pheonix, you know, compelling characters in a political landscape that has stakes. Unfortunately I keep encountering unpalatable SJM fanfic. Thanks for the insight! My other current pet peave are books that are advertised as being like any of Jane Austens stories but aren't smart, interested in the status of women or insterested in class, and none of the characters are fun or silly. Wheres the Jane Austen in that???

[@Sharleen91]

I'm loving all the videos lately ❤

[@irispurpurea2616]

I have to recommend T Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series as the only romantasy I continue to enjoy!

[@layarose5930]

love your thoughts on metal from heaven! I was highly anticipating it because I'm obsessed with his YA trilogy, and that has similar prose - though it's cranked up to 100 in MFH (it's a bit more subtle in the scapegracers). I can definitely see how going into this without that context would be A Lot all at once haha. I didn't love the pacing + mass of info all at once initially but now it's one of my favourite books of the year!! (and the only book I've ever read as an arc then reread immediately upon release....other than the author's previous book)

[@ReadswithRachel]

Listening to you talk about Metal From Heaven, I feel like you would like The Dawnhounds

[@ReadswithRachel]

OH MY GOD THE INTERNAL LAKE I WAS LOSING IT

[@pal_lili_stine]

I felt similarly to you about metal from heaven when I first finished it, but I bumped my rating to 5 stars because it really stayed with me.

[@vanessagamooreads]

The way you worded your review of Metal From Heaven was so eloquent for something that is clearly a bit difficult to describe omg I wish I could speak like that

[@Disembowelingthepages]

I had the exact same experience with WTMH. I will read the sequel just from sheer curiosity. A developmental editor could have saved it.

[@amphoteric]

i dnf 'an academy for liars' after the first few chapters. i had high hopes but it was a snoozefest and i was yawning every sentence. alexis henderson's 'house of hunger' was a lot better read for me even though it's a totally different type of plot

[@michellemc7]

i love Alexis Henderson and i was really excited to read Academy for Liars but i havent seen a single person who liked it 😩

[@Lex77755]

I liked it, but I would have loved it if it’s ends like those bad ending horror stories

[@jadakiss228]

26:01 Exactly, after I read this I was so confused..

[@curiouslyimogen.7733]

you have one of the nicest laughs ive ever heard omfg

[@mastersal4644]

Side note from the first clip: Loving the lipstick - what shade is it? Now on to the video

[@LinnaAP]

Such a pity about when the moon hatched, especially the lake thing and the writing. Like, im not a person that cares that much about prose but some books recently (5 broken blades and the atlas 6) have really crossed even my low expectations about basic writing and character's inner dialogue. I still feel guilty about it but im dnfing things like that more and more.

[@elfreidahill4275]

Here freezing, dreading how and if I should dig my car out of the snow tomorrow so I go onto YT to cheer myself up and the first creator I see is a Floridian. I click on the video and lo and behold she has a tan 😭😭😂😂 I swear the universe is taunting me.

[@mynameismarines]

If it makes you feel better, I’m in Missouri visiting my friend and my skin is dry and itchy and my feet are cold

[@elfreidahill4275]

@mynameismarines the dry itch is no joke. Stay moisturized.

[@Beach652]

Thank you for articulating specifically why the writing in these books is so disappointing (When the Moon Hatched)... it's putting a finger on my frustrations with them. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on why these books are SO popular when the writing fails on so many fronts. I find it discouraging that this is what fandoms gather around and lift up (e.g. Yarros, and Maas). What is this teaching traditional publishers about what the market wants? Poorly developed characters, overwritten tomes, authors who don't trust readers and plot holes galore (as long as there are vibes and yearning). *sigh*

[@CherryCheetah]

I read Academy for Liars and completely agree with you - such a strong start, only to become such a disappointment of a book.

[@kylawapshott460]

'A pounding organ' is giving 'full-sized aortic pumps' 😂

[@HuckleberryCyn]

When The Moon Hatched disappointed me so goddamn much. I heard nothing but good things about. It also takes from the SJM school of ambiguous brown love interest. It is somehow better and worse because she seemed to be inspired by real Middle Eastern culture, but still called then savage barbarians.

[@brittanylianne3813]

Metal From Heaven was a personal let down for me. I was really heavily anticipating it given its Locked Tomb comparison. But Locked Tomb has characters with a sense of humor and characters with a lot of heart. Towards the end I was hate reading it because I was so close to the end but so tired of the world and the writing.

[@Heothbremel]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@CorscaddenSalvato]

OMG! You need to absolutely keep it! Whether it's true or not, this is special to you. People create packages, packages do not create people. Rock it girl, salute kislux !

[@EveLundmark-Bourke-wf7no]

Lol you might not want to say you hated An Academy of Liars but can happily say that lol it had some real potential but god Lennon was such an unpleasant character. I hated being in her head.

[@ribbonquest]

The internal lake talk makes me need to pee. I don't know i could get through repeated mentions over a prolonged period.

[@Nagchampa765]

Question!! I don’t have a big following or anything, but I kinda want to make a tiktok version of this at some point. Would that be okay if I credit you in the video and description? If not no worries but I wanted to ask!

[@mynameismarines]

Thanks for asking, but I’d rather you not share!

[@Nagchampa765]

@ totally cool ! :-)

[@mab2402]

Just a heads-up that august clarke is nonbinary and uses he/they pronouns.

[@kibert135]

Just so you know: I think August Clarke uses either they or he as pronouns.

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you!

[@Rebecca-hm6pw]

Just an FYI bc I didn’t see it mentioned in a quick scroll of the comments, but August Clarke uses he/they pronouns

[@mynameismarines]

It was mentioned, thank you.

[@Akkiwi1990]

I have a friend who is reading ACOTAR as like her first book since high school essentially, has been the type to say “I hate reading it’s so boring”, so I’m so excited that she found something that is giving her the like can’t put it down must keep reading feelings that I love so much, but it’s SJM 🫠 does anyone have some recs of books that do romantasy well that I can rec something new when she gets through the series?

[@MythicalDelenn]

If she's okay with YA with crossover appeal, I'd rec Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. I liked it a lot around the same time I was into Sarah J. Maas and have found it still holds up on reread as an adult. It's got just as much drama and romance, but I think it's better written. It doesn't have much, if any, sexual content, but Sarah J. Maas doesn't really have that much either compared to the page count. I haven't read it, but I've heard Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole is working even for fantasy readers who don't typically like romantasy so that might be worth a shot.