I read WHEN THE MOON HATCHED so you don't have to

[@ReadswithRachel]

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[@marocat4749]

Have you read pern?

[@ReadswithRachel]

@@marocat4749not yet!

[@elaw7109]

​@@ReadswithRachel You'll love pern, at least for how it'll make you go "Oh, this is where literally every subsequent dragon book stole large bits and pieces from"

[@jessw8478]

Whenver the author refers to men as males in these books, I realize the extent of Sarah J Maas's influence and i take more psychic damage

[@ReadswithRachel]

Don’t let the hardcore SJM fans hear you. They’ll show up to say “it’s because they’re not HUMAN they’re FAE”

[@jasminv8653]

She genuinely changed the written english language's connotations within genre fiction to be MORE bioessentialist wrt to gender than they already were. 😭

[@LeoWolfish]

Lol, I agree and your current avatar matches this feeling perfectly. It honestly takes me out of the story, however briefly.

[@Moony1568]

I feel ya… sigh 😞

[@reyniki4820]

I once opened a book and saw "male" in the opening line Never have I closed a book faster

[@TheSorcerock]

Ngl When the moon hatched is a great title for a horror novel, like the ominous energy with it goes so hard and it implies both eldritch and cosmic horror

[@tmd_95]

So many of these trash books have great titles...It kind of drives me nuts because my interest gets piqued by their titles and the cover art, and I'm drawn to them even though I KNOW they're bad

[@snowyyzoe]

You should check out local 58. It’s a horror series on KZbin that uses the moon in a really unique way

[@TheNumnutRandomness]

It's almost like... the Moon is some great... yolky thing.

[@pochaccocino]

​@@TheNumnutRandomness NOOO LMAO

[@OrangeNoNukegara]

Bro hasn't seen local58

[@opalsandwhiteroses]

As someone who used to hunt for geodes a lot as a kid, I can tell you that, surprisingly, a freshly split stone does actually have a smell. It kinda smells like dust but heavier, very earthy but not like dirt, and faintly metallic.

[@SarcasticShrubbery]

Yes! Came here to say the same thing, based on having had a crush on a stonemason's apprentice as a teen and visiting him at his workshop 😂 to this day, the smell of freshly cut stone gives me all kinds of feelings.

[@CandyNunu]

I was thinking this also! A lot of the descriptions were a bit much, but stone DOES have a smell, especially once split. All those particles, and the method is important as well..

[@saedoll2507]

Can agree! I did lapidary, when you cut rocks (wet) they have a smell.

[@user-hk3ef9sf4j]

As someone who just liked to throw stones as a kid, I second that lol I've always liked the smell it's kinda tasty like flour, except the ones that are too metallic

[@jaxj968]

oh thanks for clarifying!!

[@mst3kharris]

I am begging for just one romantasy author to understand that assassins ambush their targets, kill them, and then leave as fast and quietly as possible. None of this hanging around, being quippy, slicing them up, and explaining things to them: that’s just asking for someone to notice. Furthermore, why dress up and perform to catch his attention at all? Why not lurk outside until he leaves, then follow him? Also, did she have a bone saw with her? How did she cut off his hand with just a dagger? I’m not even getting into the numerous questions that were raised by the planet not rotating.

[@maximillian1109]

She probably cut off the hand by cutting through the joint. When I used to help with butchering sheep at my parents farm as a teen, all you needed to do to remove the legs were cutting around the knee joint, twist, and slice of a tendon or two that were stubborn.

[@mst3kharris]

@@maximillian1109It says she waved his own hand at him, and I assumed that meant she had left enough wrist that she could use it as a makeshift handle. I guess she could just hold his hand and wave it at him, though.

[@capt.kneecaps5237]

if you had a tidal locked planet you’d probably have some life in the twilight area in between the two halves so technically the “eastest” point would be a sun scorched wasteland while the “westest” point would be a permafrost desert, so not a lot of north-south emphasis

[@mst3kharris]

@ the article I read said civilization would gravitate to the twilight area but that the weather would be violent due to the vast atmospheric differences.

[@jungtothehuimang]

Wouldn't a flat, stationary planet get completely roasted by its sun? Specifically bc being a flat and stationary planet would lack any atmospheric protections against the sun??? Idk, I get that it's fantasy, I just think the concept of flat stationary planets is stupid as hell. I don't get the point of convoluting your world building this much, in such a non-sensical way. It's so goofy.

[@legendaryfrog4880]

Rachel: "Boy do I have thoughts!" "Yup. You suuuure do."

[@ReadswithRachel]

I have never gotten to the point quickly in my ENTIRE LIFE lol

[@dudamendes4816]

The way i did the same thing lol

[@glowlngx]

@@ReadswithRachel and we thank you for it!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thanks for watching the feature film length content lmao

[@steverainbow2.0]

Omg i dint see the time I thought it was like 30 minutes, we got a movie 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@bunayaka]

sorry i saw "-Grandmah: Grandma" in the glossary at 2:04 and had to stop to laugh bc what

[@bunayaka]

i am now at the point where u brought it up. its still so funny

[@easolinas1233]

More or less my response. If your worldbuilding involves slightly misspelling words for no adequately-explained reason, it's likely not very good.

[@84rinne_moo]

Grandemaw

[@lizabethhampton4537]

Glad I'm not the only one!

[@Staci1611]

@@bunayaka I swear I read it as grandmash at first lmao.

[@Lila-pw5sr]

It seems like so many of these romantasy books, Lightlark, Fourth Wing, Powerless, this one, are just a sequence of scenes and tropes instead of a plot. A nightclub/ball scene, the guy takes care of her. The characters are so similar too. The badass, hard and emotionally unavailable girl who uses a dagger, the edgy "dangerous " black haired guy who is always described as beings massive -bonus if he has shadow powers.

[@carissacaressacarossa]

Do we have The Darkling to blame for romantasy's shadow power obsession or is it Xaden's fault lol

[@dylannoah8512]

​@@carissacaressacarossa Xaden is just another one of these "shadow daddies." I think even though he doesn't have shadow magic, Rhysand is more of the template. His brother Azriel has shadow magic.

[@ritac9769]

I've never read any of these, but all of this sounds like a bunch of Mistborn ripoffs.

[@dustrose8101]

@@ritac9769 they fucking wish they were ripping off mistborn

[@DeviBuster]

Don't forget the silly, cringey nicknames/pet names the love interest gives the main characters. That always irritates me, it's so embarrassing. No one's calling anyone that stuff irl.

[@monster-enthusiast]

Sounds like a case of "I need a story for all my worldbuilding but idk how to do that."

[@oinkersboinkers7188]

Exactly what I was thinking, but I can hardly blame them, I love an immersive world

[@alyssum130]

That is why not everyone should be a writer. There are real writers and hobby writers. Everyone can be a hobby writer and write a shi**y fanfiction or wattpad story. But not everyone can be a real writer. If you are not willing to put much time into it like Tolkin or Martin, just spare us this garbage book. That's why I hate romantasy. It's just the same old thing, with lots of spice in a fantasy setting that is flat and not explained. I don't even buy this garbage anymore.

[@Lila-pw5sr]

Tbh, it sounds like this started as someone's D&D world that they decided to write about. So much world building but not much of anything else

[@MhandleM]

@@alyssum130 theres no need to be disrespectful tho, anyone who writes is a writer, quality does not dictate this

[@davidchess1985]

Relatable tbh.

[@alexandraburkot337]

distantly amused by the heroic amount of effort that went into the glossary but the author couldn't be bothered to come up with different swear words 💀

[@jasminv8653]

Stoooooppppp

[@kbird6208]

I just commented along the same lines. Like the easiest thing is to make up new curses.

[@MicroMeowz]

Downfall of Romantasy Narration (tm)

[@Moony1568]

To be fair, coming up with expletives that don’t sound stupid is real hard.

[@jaxj968]

LMAOOOOO

[@jacobdavis3359]

Why are the titles banging but the stories crap. If I give my book a crappy title will it be a bestseller? It seems like everything is Acotar and I’m tired of the same story over and over again.

[@platedlizard]

I suspect publishers are spending less time on structural edits in order to capitalize on trends but idk

[@WhiteWolf-lm7gj]

I'll never forgive the Love Hypothesis for being so bad

[@sciencefantastic]

May I interest you in a retelling of Besuty and the Beast that is gender flipped and Gothic and pretty good

[@moths.asleep]

That’s how I feel about ‘Draw down the moon’ or whatever it’s called (in my opinion! If you like it, that’s awesome

[@ragingdevi]

​@@sciencefantasticI'm interested? Please tell me?

[@lordknightalex]

i was solidly on the "its not my thing but i can see why someone would be into this" camp until "*split you like an egg*"??!!!!! girl no 😭

[@ReadswithRachel]

When I tell you even KZbin hates that line bc I tried to put a screenshot of it in the thumbnail and they demonetized the video twice over it!!!

[@easolinas1233]

I don't even understand how that works. Eggs don't generally "split."

[@bolomanx]

@@easolinas1233 I think it refers to the shell when it cracks. It becomes 2 different pieces of shell

[@goldenhorde6944]

@@bolomanx that's not how shells work bro. The only thing I can think of this referring to is the yolk, which just makes me think of That One Scene from Moral Orel.

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

A lot of romantasies have a problem with ignoring the worldbuilding and just putting the romance in ✨Generic✨Fantasy✨Setting✨ and failing to explain what worldbuilding elements they do remember to include. This book has the opposite problem, like the author cared more about showing off the setting than telling the story. I think maybe instead of writing a novel, Sarah Parker would have been happier making an RPG setting.

[@glowlngx]

the cover of this book has drawn my attention multiple times but i don't know if i'll ever trust a recent dragon book until i hear you say it's passable at the very least.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Fair!!

[@MarcelleLeiturasPreguicosas]

I almost bought the Brazilian edition because it came with a dragon pin, a sticker, 1 card with 2 fan arts (one front other back) and a bookmark, if you search for "O despertar da lua caída + Brindes" you can see everything. Then I saw some people saying it was boring then I passed this

[@0Demonheart]

Try Ascendant by Micheal R Miller. Everyone I have recommended it to has absolutely loved it. I have bought 3 copies for different people as Christmas gifts this year it’s that good. I let a friend borrow it and everyone at her work ended up reading it and loving it. My copy was so absolutely beat up I used it to justify buying the signed hardback editions. Summary: ‘Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within. But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows. Holt has one chance to survive. He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon’s magical core. A unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come, and prove to the world that a servant is worthy after all.’

[@emackenzie]

"Fans of witty banter and strong, sassy protagonists" So is it the authors or the publishers killing originality with the same MCs in different fonts?

[@ReadswithRachel]

It is both imo

[@HeartseekerJinx]

It’s an ouroboros. Books with the same kind of MC get big on Booktok, publishers and agents respond to that market trend by publishing more books like that, authors see more books like that/read more books like that and either a) genuinely like those stories or b) cynically assume a story like that is a guaranteed book deal. From my understanding, publishers don’t really drive the market. They’re more comfortable responding to it and publishing safe bets. Because that’s what every book is, a bet. For example, ACOTAR was published in 2015 but we didn’t see all these ACOTARish books until recently because it wasn’t a blockbuster series until booktok. Now that it is, publishers are trying to come out with things that will compete, but they didn’t make ACOTAR the new standard. Readers did.

[@JesseRowanShawe]

The good thing about seeing "fans of witty banter and strong, sassy protagonists" is that I immediately knew that I would not enjoy this book

[@Evelyn_Okay]

🙋🏼‍♀️ i vote for Rachel to do one of those Trope Teir Lists bc I'm genuinely interested in hearing her justify her guilty pleasures

[@AnitaSleap1080z]

You have my vote! I wanna see that too!

[@meiday154]

Oooh that sounds like fun!

[@Beerambling]

I've never heard of this book, but I love the imagery the title gives me of a moon cracking like an egg.

[@ReadswithRachel]

What's fun is, even the "moon" in this scenario is not a moon at all

[@Beerambling]

@@ReadswithRachel Oh, Thats disappointing.

[@renee1390]

Oh no it’s like reverse LightLark

[@fionamclary7631]

I hate that egg cracking imagery does get used in this book, but in the most cursed way possible

[@ReadswithRachel]

Return of the Yolky Thing™️

[@vinny_s]

700 page romantasy Sarah... Where have I seen this before?

[@ReadswithRachel]

rings a bell FOR SURE

[@valhatan3907]

It's always Sarah ...

[@araneljones]

​@@valhatan3907my name is Sarah. It's ALWAYS Sarah.

[@jaxj968]

OH MY GOODNESS YOURE RIGHT

[@fynnsternis6432]

on one hand it's good that some of the names are so obvious, bulder, rayne, ignose, dae, slumber, so that it's easier to remember what those are, on the other hand, i'm sorry, an earth god called bulder and a water god called rayne? I am BEGGING you.

[@definitelynotashark1799]

Those names are something that belong in a children's book or in a on the nose tongue in cheek kinda thing like Discworld, NOTHING in between.

[@industrialsunflower]

@@fynnsternis6432 tbf it kind of tracks with how etymology in mythologies work in real life, especially is said deities are personification of natural and meteorological phenomena. Vulcan is the god of volcanos, Gaia literally means Earth, Amaterasu comes from the verb Amateru (shine in the sky), Zeus is the continuation of prehistoric Dyeus (daylight sky). We have some degree of separation and normalization so they don’t look weird, but in general humans can be really straightforward when naming stuff 😅

[@ThestralGlow]

I was immediately lost at "The god who has earth powers is called boulder."

[@palamedes4740]

Is it this bad? I've been researching Greek mythology for my own Greek-inspired world, and I was surprised own many of the etymologies of their names are just related to their domains.

[@dms-f16]

THE BOULDER IS CONFUSED ABOUT THIS REALIZATION!!

[@zi2651]

I also love a glossary! I prefer it being in the back rather than the front though. A glossary in the front kind of feels like a spoiler? Like, I would rather be introduced to these things organically in the narrative. Encylcopedia-like explanations of these terms, creatures, types of magic, etc don't compare to actually seeing how the characters interact with or view these things.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Totally, I think it depends on the book but I prefer to have it at the back.

[@zi2651]

I've seen When the Moon Hatched every time I go to Walmart and at first I was intrigued, but seeing SEVERAL pages of worldbuilding which, I believe, leads to a creation myth (i.e., more worldbuilding) before actually getting to the story and the main characters was such a turn-off. Also, some of the names for things in the glossary were just silly lol

[@ReadswithRachel]

i was bewildered by the choice to use the glossary to explain that "mah" and "pah" were mother and father. It's implied! We understand!

[@dulcimerthefairy4793]

100%

[@marocat4749]

In a sequel maybe, but usually, yes in thr back makes way more sense, i mean any glossary usually is in the end.

[@marysnyder9405]

The love interest being too close to Rhysand for comfort is how I felt about Fourth Wing! Literally how I described it to my husband is "she's a Mary Sue, and he's literally just Rhysand. There is nothing about his character that differentiates him from Rhysand." I was shocked when I read Fourth Wing, that he was so similar. Obviously you can tell from the beginning that Rhysand was Xaden's blueprint, but when Xaden started speaking to Violet telepathically, I literally yelled "come ON!" It made it such obvious ACOTAR fanfic in my mind that I couldn't believe it.

[@gabz49242]

I have read a few books recently where it felt like nothing happened within a sizable book, but people I'd talk to about it online were like, 'Oh, but it's a great setup for the rest of the series!" Dude, if I have to read over 400 pages, something should happen. Honestly, there should be at least the inkling of a plot or some kind of conflict within the first hundred pages. Otherwise, I'm not continuing.

[@ReadswithRachel]

the only time i felt like i'm glad i kept going was in the plated prisoner series but in a "this is garbage but its my kind of garbage" way. But I maintain that the first book is the bad kind of garbage, pretty much unreadable, and I'm shocked i continued.

[@turtlestar87]

A whole-ass glossary of lore and made-up words for everyday objects, but we’re still using the g-slur?? Make it make sense.

[@DarwinRoger893]

The g slur???!!

[@vortexwriting1026]

​@@DarwinRoger893I'm going to not say it for obvious reasons, but it's a not so nice word for Romani people, also often used as a word to describe fortune tellers. It's been considered a disrespectful word to use since around 1975, and as more Romani advocates have come forward with how the word has been used to dehumanize them It's become more apparent that the word should be[and is] regarded as a slur.

[@jasminv8653]

​@@vortexwriting1026 some british traveller groups use it for neutral self-denomination and society work, but you're absolutely right, for most romani and travellers globally it's a slur for sure and not how we should refer to them. Also not how we should refer to 'witchy boho thief character' anywhere ever lol.

[@LeoWolfish]

@@vortexwriting1026 For a more non offensive way of informing people it is also the name of a tart baked in Kent with Condensed milk and brown sugar to make the filling. Random and off topic hey on the off chance someone too young asks and doesn't get what word it is. I shall now slink away to be random another day mwhahaha.

[@Blasho950]

the word has a lot less weight in America, i think. Its even in a song that plays over the soundtrack at my work all the time. Still a crazy thing to put in her book, especially if she *did* know it was a slur??

[@devonmmi]

i feel like a lot of these authors are just like "i like writing words :)" and that's literally it

[@kiss_my_ash]

Yeah, I feel like that's me haha That's why I'm not an author

[@ndawn90]

More like "I like writing words that I made up" 🤣

[@ishathakor]

that raeve eluwin twist was so obvious that literally the second you mentioned eluwin's pov i went "oh, i get it. that's her before she lost her memories" and then i was right

[@vaguefairee]

I was enjoying the world building in this one and was having fun reading it at first but the problem for me is that the prose was way too flowery and told us nothing. Also "babe laden womb" or whatever way the pregnant woman was described in the beginning folloowed almost immediately by "I see you asshole." I will never forget lmao. And I personally hate it whenever male and female is used for people, it reminds me way too much of creepy incels and takes me out of the story. I will give this book credit though in that it did help get me reading and writing again, after struggling with depression for months.

[@micahguillemette3344]

So glad it at least helped you in some ways! Whenever i see "male" and "female" in fantasy i just wonder why and how strict gender roles exactly like ours exist in another world and why no one is branching out.

[@MeMyshelfAndI]

There's a free excerpt available to read online. And as soon as I saw this alien sentence, I knew I couldn't handle the writing for a full book: "A male I’ve become painfully familiar with, now watching me vomit all over the minuscule grains of stone I garner must be sand." what do you mean _garner must be sand?_ that's literally the definition of sand, yes! 💀

[@Womynxx]

“Miniscule grains of stone”?! Please tell me you’re joking. 🤦🏾‍♀️ That’s so unnecessary! Does this author get paid by the word?

[@MeMyshelfAndI]

@@Womynxx I wish I was joking! It's still up on The Nerd Daily website. Honestly embarrassing

[@kymar4810]

Whenever Rachel has Thoughts™️, I know I'm in for a good time.

[@ReadswithRachel]

And certainly at least two hours of it 😂

[@kymar4810]

​@ReadswithRachel and we love every minute 😂

[@grossberglawoffices9910]

Only 8 minutes in and I feel like I exactly know what a freshly split stone smells like. Maybe it’s because I’ve mined for opals before and go rock hounding a lot but it smells really dusty 🤔 rocks do kinda have a smell to them but that analogy doesn’t work very well for people who aren’t really into rocks!

[@Darkfyyre]

i'm really into rocks but even i don't know what that smells like haha. maybe i would if i was able-bodied enough to go breaking some open though, cause that sounds fun as heck (childhood dream was to become a paleo person digging for dinos, but alas). descriptions like that sound neat in concept, but will only resonate with the most niche fraction of readers, like yourself, but there's something fun knowing that it does, in fact, resonate with SOMEONE out there. goes to show just how wide ranging human experiences can be!

[@DrTansy]

As a geologist, I too can confirm that rocks smell like dust. Unless the rock is saturated in oil, then it smells like, well, oil. ;) Hello fellow rock hounds! edit: typo

[@pauieeepau]

I feel like I can smell rocks when they're wet, coz there's always an dust-and-iron-like smell when I walk over rock/gravel paths when it rains or when I'm near wet river stones. And big boulders smell dusty to me too.

[@definitelynotashark1799]

Definitely a mixture of dust and a metallic smell when it's freshly cracked. The metallic smell can last for quite a while if the rock has the right composition. Some smell more volcanic. I looooved smelling my geodes. My credentials are being a rock autistic as a kid and spending all my free time and money on rocks and rock related experiences.

[@valhatan3907]

​@@pauieeepaulike petricor?

[@nenemarrin]

I am 80% sure this is book at the least partially began as an Elderscrolls fan fiction, particularly of Skyrim. The lore was just filtered through a generic, romance-centric lense to make it into another marketable romantasy book. I know at this point it’s a widely used cliche of the genre, but the memory loss/prisoner start matches up with Skyrim. The piecing together of a dragon and “reviving” a soul is more iffy parallel. But then there’s that diadem/stone that the royal family wears which sounds straight up like the Amulet of Kings. The rebel group she’s a part of seems like a weird combination of the Dark Brotherhood, the Morag Tong and the Stormcloaks. The creation myth with all the gods killing/punishing (or you could say betraying) one “Void” god is eerily similar to the story of Lorkhan/Shor. His current personality sounds exactly like Sithis, another Padomaic entity who is a sort of the same god in a way I am not equipped to get into here. That and the fact that the MC’s daughter is in love with him reminds me again of the Dark Brotherhood’s “Mother.” Idk. I might be reading too much into it, lol. But if the plot is lackluster because the badly-incorporated but deep world-building takes precedent over the story, that’s The Elderscrolls in a nutshell for you. That being said…while I can still find a lot to enjoy in TES, whatever world this book tried to establish falls flat to me. It seems to be really held back by the romantasy genre and the tropes therein.

[@micahguillemette3344]

I read the first lines and had a flashback to the "oh hey, you're awake" meme

[@pauieeepau]

I think i know what stones smell like, but it's more wet stone than a freshly-split stone. There's an iron and dirt smell. But that might vary with what minerals are inside.

[@InfiniTori]

It wasn't made super clear in the book (spoiler alert) but the Other is supposed to be the consciousness of her dragon I think. I think it's implied when her dragon took her up to turn into stone, she also kind of healed her? but since they were fused together I guess somehow her dragon's mind went into her and takes over sometimes

[@ReadswithRachel]

OH MY GOD I can’t believe I didn’t even consider this

[@jasiejam]

I haven't even read the book but as Rachel was talking I was like "OHHHH the Other is the dragon isn't it??" and then came to the comments to see if anyone confirmed that, so thank you 😂💖

[@appelsinpiken]

I thought that at some point into the review, but now I'm opting for that other god, because why not 😂

[@moultingrook8091]

Omg how did I not pick that up!?

[@starshapedseal]

it sounds like there's so many cool concepts in this book, but it really would've benefited from parker talking back and forth with a couple people to hash out plot and the long-windedness. that's such a shame because i LOVE when authors develop entirely separate, complete worlds down to the most minute detail. at the very least, i hope parker looks back on this book and some of the valid criticism and uses it to get better because it sounds like she's got a TON of potential that i would hate to see squandered!!

[@mslilymarie4181]

That was my exact experience with this book myself! Absolutely loved all the ideas happening in here but the MC was so focused on kicking guys in the crotch and amorously attending to the contents of said crotches that it just completely ruined it for me 🥲 really wanted to have a good time but it just got showered in that ACOTAR kool-aid

[@grlwnder7343]

I love when you speak portuguese!! its amazing to see you getting better every time. you should try reading a brazilian cozy romance something, i have a few recommendations that are available in kindle unlimited!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Obrigada! I will definitely take those recommendations! Cozy romance is the perfect genre to practice with

[@katherinehavegreen515]

Ayo, brazilian here! Me dá essas sugestões? XD

[@happibuni123]

When Rachel said 'King Kaan sounds dumb' i was so happy someone said it 😂 i just want to point out Kaan is a real name and it means king. So people are going round saying king king and its been bothering me so much 😂.

[@mirimariana]

Bread Naan

[@jaxj968]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA KING KING LMAOOOO

[@jaxj968]

@@mirimarianaChai tea

[@abnercliff9624]

World building is not storytelling, this is a perfect example of this

[@Ava-wn8wt]

@@abnercliff9624 this!!! People I’ve talked about this book with have been like “but it’s HIGH fantasy, it’s going to drag on a bit and be confusing” and I was like… but no.. the world building is incredible and I DO understand it, but THERES BARELY ANY STORY!!!!

[@RileyDaemonCreations]

There are a lot of concepts here that sound really cool. LOVE the idea of someone hearing the song/voice of a locked away god and falling in love with him.

[@jaxj968]

yes! like that in itself seems like it would’ve been a cooler story than whatever the hell was happening here. i will say, the world building was hella cool

[@Bird_Stork_Amenphus]

Oh crap, so now it's not enough that we have a mind palace, we now need a MIND LAKE TOO??? What's next? A mind apartment complex? A mind strip mall?? I'm so glad you did a review on this book, I had it on my TBR but you know what...I think I'm good. 🤣

[@FabulousCadaverous]

They skipped completely over the mind moat for the mind palace. I thought that would be step 2 before lake.

[@micahguillemette3344]

A "mind strip mall" sounds perfect for a crack fic

[@ninjasandcoffee]

Comparing moons to eggs gave me Lightlark flashbacks

[@jaxj968]

this entire book gave me Lightlark flashbacks XDD the second i heard “parchment lark” and “firelark” i was like “oh here we go again”

[@martinareads]

"or an ease with which i slay" is such a funny sentence, out of context

[@ledafrost]

legit I snapped when she said it

[@jaxj968]

@@ledafrostno fr i was cackling

[@Sofianunes12]

This books with zero plot or sense but with gorgeous covers remind me of that Aretha Franklin meme: "Uh.... Great gowns, beautiful gowns"

[@NortonTaylor]

Biggest eye roll at the fate herder, "it's not a deus ex machina if I make up a magical creatures whose literal only drive is making plot conveniences happen."

[@isynielsen2716]

The Goose Girl has a somewhat similar magic system except that instead of it being the languages of the gods, they hear the language of each thing, and the premise is that every part of the world had its own individual languages that humans have forgotten how to hear. The main character can talk to birds and her horse because she learned to listen and because she was there when her horse was born to hear it speak its name. I absolutely love that book (and the whole series, which is called the Books of Bayern collectively) and I think Shannon Hale crafted her world and magic system so beautifully

[@MC-lm7de]

I was thinking about Books of Bayern too!

[@jaxj968]

yes The Goose Girl is so pretty!!! loved it

[@jojol.2630]

Shannon Hale mention! I just reread book of 1000 days, still love it

[@isaacbenrubi9613]

The moon has hatched? That makes sense. I've had issues with moon ants for weeks!

[@ashannaredwolf8485]

Best comment, thank you

[@SemiIocon]

Having a glossary can totally work, but also, readers tend to (in my experience as a reader at least, because I totally do this) replace concepts they have never heard of with things they already understand. Like the "fleshthread" description, my brain went "oh, so a doctor, got it". I don't know if it is helpful for a book to use fancy words for concepts that the brain will automatically replace with a familiar concept anyway.

[@danaslitlist1]

I always get skeeved out when (especially white) authors perpetuate the “tribe characters speak in the broken language, are going to fight for the right to marry the (white) female character and produce heirs even if she doesn’t want it because they don’t understand/respect women” trope. Like?? Are we not done with this?!

[@Abbybbyb]

Thank you so much for this, I wanted to know what happened but couldn't bring myself to continue past the line about reshaping a turd.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I can’t believe the mc literally had poop in her mouth and we were hustling supposed to skate past it like it didn’t happen

[@MyEuropeanDream]

"Glossary's aren't essential" "But why else would it be so many pages?!" As someone who has published to KDP.. I wonder if its considered "reading" if you skip between page 40 and 680 to check the glossary.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Good question!

[@alldolledupinstraps]

Well, since some people on booktok think it's okay to only read dialogue and nothing else, to some people, probably.

[@MyEuropeanDream]

@@alldolledupinstraps They.. what?... I was not aware of that insanity. What I meant was more regarding the Amazon/Kindle back-end where you as an author are paid per "page read". If the last 20 pages are 'glossary' and people constantly skip 400 pages forward and back again, couldn't that inflate the numbers a smidge?

[@vortexwriting1026]

It's not, Kindle only counts each page one time, so even if you reread a book five times It's only counted once.

[@frankensteinlives]

There is something incredibly funny about drawing a circle on someone's forehead to comfort them. Maybe it'd be more impactful if it was a religious symbol that we'd learned to value as much as the character did, but as it is I just can't imagine anyone caring.

[@kyras8468]

i keep seeing this at my local target and am just stunned at the size, especially when compared to the plot, which seems so simple. favorite book with the amnesia plot is probably Nona the Ninth!

[@ReadswithRachel]

I still need to continue that series!

[@MC-lm7de]

YES Nona the Ninth!

[@micahguillemette3344]

I'm not sure if Nona qualifies as amnesia? Cause she's a soul in a different body. Harrow definitely does cause she lobotomises herself so she forgets but Nona is in the wrong body, i thought that was why she didnt know who she is.

[@kyras8468]

@ *SPOILER WARNING* maybe i interpreted the end of the book wrong, but isn’t nona revealed to be alecto, who forgot who she was?

[@micahguillemette3344]

@@kyras8468 Yeah but i thought that was cause her soul is in a different body and she's been asleep for so long before that?

[@geologyjohnson7700]

Depending on the stone it could smell like concrete/cement, sulphur, rotten egg, bbq, petrol, or blood. Not something most people would know unless they had spent a lot of time splitting rocks.

[@ColinsComments]

Weathered stones will smell like whatever they are surrounded by; dust, soil, moss, algae, etc. So freshly split stones do have a distinct smell, they kinda smell like clean sand. It's hard to describe. A field trip to a rock quarry may be necessary.

[@kbird6208]

Lol. Or visit a river with a young boy who likes smashing things.

[@rileyw1059]

The repressed memories, the amnesia - the fact that you like that idea in a book reminds me that I would love to hear your thoughts on the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor! One of my favourite series, but I feel like it is really underrated!

[@ReadswithRachel]

I own it! I need to read it

[@dulcimerthefairy4793]

@@ReadswithRachelit’s so good! I’m so glad this commenter mentioned it because I KNEW I had read a book with that whole forgotten-other-life thing and loved it but couldn’t remember what it was. This series does it so well. She also does it to some extent in the third story in her book ‘Lips Touch,’ which is also excellent.

[@thechef9246]

So, funny story. I once met a guy in a Bloodborne PVP PlayStation group (I swear this is relevant) who I became good friends with for an extraordinarily short amount of time. He spoke about how he wanted to be a writer, and he had an idea of a very specific book In his head he wanted to write that he began to lore dump on me. Honestly, I don’t know if it was any good, because it didn’t sound like the type of thing I’d ever read. But this guy, whose book I am still keeping an eye out for, had a very important story beat about the moon hatching and being an egg for a giant monster. Specifically, it seemed like a lot of the stuff he spoke about was the state of the world when it starts, and the moon hatching was some sort of inciting incident, so I could imagine the title involving the “moon hatching”. That’s why I clicked on this video, and I was very disappointed to hear that it had nothing to do with him.

[@just-jessiejames8241]

I legitimately opened this book in Barnes and Noble, and I could not get into it at all. I was so confused, constantly trying to go back to the glossary, fumbling, and the lack of on page explanation just tore me right out of the book. I couldn't get into a rhythm with how i was thrown into a deep end with so many phrases, words, and things that I did NOT understand the meanings of. Im sure others enjoyed this book, but I just.. could not

[@coffee_cookies_books]

I've read plenty of books where a whole different world is the environment, Dune comes to mind. I didn't need a damn glossary to figure it out. I would prefer the development of the "environment" and world as part of the damn story. God I DNF'd this one at about 50 pages. I couldn't read it any further. I give you great props for actually reading this. This story just wasn't for me.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Yeah it's interesting because this has a very similar world as The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco (in that book we have a world separated into segments due to lack of turning, a bit similar to this one) but it was explained organically throughout the text. No glossary. So I think it could have been done without the glossary being necessary, which i maintain the glossary was SUPER needed for me to understand wtf was happening here.

[@coffee_cookies_books]

@@ReadswithRachel Now if she had a way with words like you do, she'd have had a winning book!!!

[@ReadswithRachel]

a way with words LOL thats a nice way to say that i never know when to STOP TALKING

[@coffee_cookies_books]

@@ReadswithRachel It works for me!!! HAHAHA

[@AwkwardPasta004]

i was walking my dog when i got the notification and i cackled in excitement. my dog was so concerned lol

[@ReadswithRachel]

Tell your dog i said hi friend

[@AwkwardPasta004]

@@ReadswithRachel sure thing! We are both watching the video. My dog has to be well educated.

[@Sistertotherain9]

I like spanreeds from the Stormlight Archives. You trap a spren (a kind of spirit) in a gemstone, cut the gemstone in half, and put each half on a different pen. They're linked so that whatever one writes the other will, also. To take turns you have to twist the gemstones to indicate who's supposed to write, and to have a conversation with more than two parties you have to use a relay station where some poor scribe has to keep track of several paired pens and write everybody's contributions to everybody else in what I can only think of as a very slow group chat.

[@dustrose8101]

Sanderson is very focused in his worldbuilding which tends to hinge on a bunch of interconnected concepts like spren and the shards and manifestations of investiture which makes it really easy to follow as opposed to a bunch of disparate concepts scattered around. Example is the impact of the Heralds on Rosharan society, there's many people named after them, months are named after them, their names are in numbers, etc.

[@Sistertotherain9]

​@@dustrose8101 I'm a big fan of his work. It's not without flaws, but overall it's pretty enjoyable, and the parts I don't like at least make me think.

[@dustrose8101]

@Sistertotherain9 i didn't mean for that to come off like I was explaining stuff you already knew whoops it was intended to just be examples for the sake of the comment 😅. But yeah he's a very direct writer which is greatly appriciated.

[@Sistertotherain9]

@@dustrose8101 No worries, I read it as a fellow fan being complimentary in a shared admiration and not as a lecture, and my intended tone was supposed to reflect that. I could and do geek out about aspects of his writing I love at the drop of a hat, and I just assumed you were doing the same thing! He's not perfect, but his commitment to learning from his mistakes is rather more endearing and relatable than perfection ever could be. I also really like his direct, "adequate" prose. I'm not an especially flowery thinker myself, and it's just refreshing to not have to translate sometimes.

[@Heriarka]

It's not the "freshly split stone" that sets me off (Stone dust? Sure.) it's the "softened with the notes of something buttery" You can't just stack these! Images need a link between them, or you're just throwing words together. "Oh, how can I say he's rugged, but also tasty? Aha, I know."

[@jasminv8653]

Butter, famous for softening the crunch of stones.

[@mst3kharris]

Every time Rachel says Kaan’s name, part of me relives Captain Kirk shouting, “Khan!” from _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan._ I just needed to share that.

[@morganmcinroy4211]

Ooh the parchment lark is possibly inspired by dnd! They use them in one of the cities (Waterdeep) and they call them paper birds! They go straight to the person you send the message to and if they get caught my somone else they turn into ashes. Very cool idea and definitely a fun way for messages in a fantasy world. Edit: there may be an earlier version of this in fantasy I just know the dnd version.

[@melanieyputo]

I'm portuguese, and I just wanted to say that, your portuguese is getting very good. I know you're learning the brazilian portuguese, but I can still appreciate it 😊

[@goldendew5759]

Always so happy to see the 2 hour mark in my subscription tab !!! Its gonna be good

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad everyone enjoys the longer videos!

[@michellecgb]

I searched my brain for a reference of what stone smells like and it seems that I don’t have it. We should really spend more time smelling stones.

[@jordanneuber6779]

it’s simultaneously giving early and late throne of glass

[@definitelynotashark1799]

OMG the god names??? I'm sick and that section definitely helped me clear my sinuses 💀

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad I could help!

[@thegnome73]

My theory on the Rhysand similarities: perhaps for the author this whole book was an exercise in rewriting the parts she didnt like about Rhysand's story to solidify her own head canon.

[@ReadswithRachel]

If you're here early sound off in the comments and also tell me your favorite book with the amnesia trope!

[@Beerambling]

I love me some percy jackson on calypso's island slowly forgetting everything.

[@phantasmagoric_al]

I'm not sure if I've read anything with the amnesia trope specifically! The closest is probably Sorcerers and Saints by Amy Kuivalainen, where no one remembers the main character after meeting her (until they do!)

[@goldendew5759]

I dont have any example but i wanted to sound off in the comments regardless woo

[@ReadswithRachel]

Oh thats like Addie Larue!!

[@thevillainofthisstory]

​@Beerambling I was going to say Percy Jackson The Son of Neptune 😅

[@abhijnabhat7694]

I legit read over 200 pages with the plot going nowhere and hopped on KZbin looking for the full plot coz I couldn't get through it 😂😂

[@griffinkimball2454]

All I could think of when you mentioned liking the having lived a previous life trope is how Optimus Prime was actually the thirteenth Prime in the aligned continuity

[@lilyab-z9p]

NEGL, while I couldn't get through this much purple prose, I'm honestly pretty engaged with the story and characters, hearing you talk about them. So I hope you review the sequel!

[@ReadswithRachel]

I'm going to read the sequel! I'll let you know if it’s better

[@lilyab-z9p]

@@ReadswithRachel Looking forward to it!

[@h2o2630]

“A peanut butter sandwich is more sexual than an egg!” The way I hollered 😂

[@Amehana]

A freshly split stone smells a bit like petrichor. Not exactly, but close. It also smells a bit different depending on what sort of stone. I did strange things to entertain myself as a kid, most of them because I wanted to be a geologist.

[@FeliciaZezili]

@@Amehana what sort of stone smells of blood? I need to know for reasons.

[@JayeEllis]

That's what I thought. It would smell like petrichor. Thanks!

[@Amehana]

@@FeliciaZezili iron ore.

[@FeliciaZezili]

@Amehana thank you for the information

[@silverdreams3]

27:24 😅 not quite true... I work in lapidary as a hobby, which is the cutting and shaping of stone into usable jewels for jewelry. It definitely DOES have a very distinct smell, particularly when it's warm to hot (which is usually when it's being cut or right before it splits...), but it's /kinda/ hard to describe... probably because it's been a minute since I've been able to get at the machines. 😅😅😅

[@alegriazuin3276]

... so the elemental gods are named cloud, boulder, rain and ignis. huh

[@NadirEatsRocks]

Girl, I just added this to my TBR earlier 😭 The cover art is so pretty. I do like worldbuilding-heavy stories so I might still enjoy this but... oof.

[@ReadswithRachel]

The cover is gorgeous, isn't it? One of the best I've seen in a while.

[@ofthewilderwoods]

My hardback came with light blue edges too…so pretty Alas I agree with Rachel that most of the book is superfluous and with so much in the book it’s hard to remember what details are actually important

[@HeartseekerJinx]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke has a similar trope to what you described at 14:15! And it’s a really lovely read.

[@ReadswithRachel]

that's one of my favorite books!

[@HeartseekerJinx]

@@ReadswithRachel Oh mine too! I’m reading her other novel right now, but Piranesi is definitely going to be up there in my favorites forever.

[@DrTansy]

Oh my gosh yes! How could I forget; also one of my top books of all time.

[@IzzysTravelDiaries]

You talked about the glossary and all the other stuff, and then you said "then we have a map". I heard NAP. I thought yeah, you'll need a nap after cramming all of that in your head.

[@Staci1611]

😂😂😂

[@SorasShadow1]

when i hear "split stone" i think the smell is the dust that it can kick up into your face, so....gritty, dusty, sandy smell? a beach without the ocean maybe? the sensation of getting sand thrown into your face? literally none of that sounds enticing in the slightest! i remember reading Eragon as a kid and even then i barely needed the glossary, and i'd argue they're similarly well-built worlds.

[@cadburyyork5052]

That's what I thought too. My brother split stones when I was a kid, and it smelled like more of what was around us (sand, rocks, dust). Weird, but I remember the taste in the air.

[@SF-hn5um]

I read the book title in the thumbnail as "When There Is No Plot" 😂

[@KalikaRoo31]

🐉And in defense of the smell of fresh cut stone: I can vouch that it does have a small, or more when metal or another stone (in my experience quarts) is hit really hard against the stone creating sparks. The is a notable and very distinct smell. I don't really know how to best describe it other than, "Warm, smokey but burnt". It's a very nostalgic aroma for me.

[@KewlImp]

Fugue state. That is what you were looking for. This might make it on my list. I've been reading a lot of dragon rider fiction because its my jam. This comes off as fantasy with dragons. Great video.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad you’ll try it out! I think it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but those who love it are REALLY going to love it

[@moultingrook8091]

2:09:42 the parchment lark at the end was actually really sweet. If I remember from when I read the book, the enchantment allows for the recipient to send a response. When Raeve at the beginning of the book fucks off and lets the lark go, it finds its way back to the original person who sent it. So the insinuation is that Raeves daughter sent a parchment lark to her mother saying “I need you” even though her mother was dead (but not reeaaalllyyyy). All in all this book needed 20x more rounds of editing and trimming but there were really some excellent ideas in there that I wish were expounded on, like the dragons and the magic and the gods… There really were large portions of the book that despite the amount of description, didn’t actually have enough relatable, tangible meat to them to know what was going on. Like the mind lake thing. And the dance scene. I got roped in so hard and then lost so quickly, holding on for 700+ pages because I thought it would turn back around and then it didn’t. 1.5 to 2 stars is where I rated it too. Honestly I would give the sequel a second chance even though I didn’t have that great of a time with the first one. I did (try) to read another one of Parker’s earlier works, To Bleed a Crystal Bloom. I rarely DNF even when I’m not enjoying a book but I COULD. NOT. with that one. Honestly one I would love to see you rip it apart. Take all your issues with WtMH and kick them up several notches while also dialing down the non-existent plot even more.

[@eveellisen]

45:45 The bounty hunter cowboy guy kinda just feels like the Ghoul from the Fallout show

[@lucius9774]

This feels very much like a D&D campaign that never happened, source: I'm at that stage of my ttrpg adventure rn lmao. Not saying the author is in the same situation, but damn, does it hits home the way things happen. Also! Rachel, seu português tá ótimo, sempre me choca um pouco quando ouço. Parabéns, e se prepare pra gírias e modo de falar quando visitar, confunde muitos gringos que tentam conversar por aqui djsjsjsj

[@0Demonheart]

I have a dragon rider fantasy recommendation to compare with Fourth Wing. I’m new to your channel so I’m not sure if you’ve read this one but it’s called Ascendant by Micheal R Miller. It’s a part of a series called The Songs of Chaos, it has lots of wholesome moments and the series just keeps getting better as it goes. Summary: ‘Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within. But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows. Holt has one chance to survive. He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon’s magical core. A unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come, and prove to the world that a servant is worthy after all.’

[@Zee-iv9oe]

not sure if anyone else has point this out but ignose is just a riff on ignus which is latin for fire

[@onceuponbookshelf]

I’m so happy you did this video. I was watching the powerless one before this and was like I realllly hope she did when the moon hatched 😂 thank you for this. I don’t understand how this book got so much love

[@jasmine_mariah]

the random cowboy bounty hunter is SO FUNNY to me

[@stefanialasagna4737]

I honestly loved this book so much. Books are like art, theyre all subject to opinions. It was a wild ride and very enjoyable.

[@chloesantos8637]

Man, all these ideas were so cool! Why did they all have to go to waste 😭

[@paradoxtatorstudios9681]

the fallen-dragon moons where such a cool idea i can't believe it was used in a vapid generic romance book 😭

[@felipefilardimelo550]

Hello, I'm Brazilian and I'm so happy to see a person trying to learn portuguese to visit a friend, I hope you enjoy it and also have a good time with our literature

[@BaroqueFlutist00]

this book.... needed several more editors who didn't have their head so far up their butt that it came out the other end and was watching endless tiktok

[@Zee-iv9oe]

also you should read a memory called empire. the communication methods are super awesome. it’s sci-fi rather than fantasy but it reads like fantasy to me because i’m not very smart haha

[@AMpersand_videos]

I love the title and I'm a pretty big fantasy fan but 5:37 I can't tell if it's too late in the evening or if the description is literally impossible to parse

[@kaytoomuchsalt5100]

Same, I was the woman doing math meme for a lot of that summary. 😭😭 I got the gist but it’s word soup.

[@Deliafuchs]

Oh thank god! i was waiting for this one… and almost read it myself. Cant wait to watch this. THANK YOU RACHEL!

[@Smartpplz161]

This is the first fantasy book I read since I was a teenager purely by chance. Had no idea it was a book tok hit. To say I was confused was an understatement. I’m so excited to watch this lol

[@nspvml]

Rachel your hair looks so bomb in this video like omg

[@eincryptid]

But Rhysand does have two "brothers"-Azriel and Cassian 😂