Jamie McGuire | AUTHORS BEHAVING BADLY

[@vaniasbooks]

it's always "it's FICTIONAL" and NEVER "i should've condemned this abusive behavior in my book"

[@KittyxKult]

She can’t condemn what she perpetuates with her own children

[@KittyxKult]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. it absolutely is the author’s responsibility. If they can’t do that, they don’t know how to write and have no business publishing a book. You can’t just have a villain wreak havoc over 400 pages and just be like “and that was ok bc his dick game was strong”

[@KittyxKult]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. if you think much of the literature you just described doesn’t very clearly illustrate a difference between author and character beliefs, and condemn the inappropriate actions of characters, you are not as well read as you think you are lmao. And for those works that don’t, sweaty being considered a classic doesn’t free a book from criticism and problematic content. 😂

[@KittyxKult]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. the issue here is you think it has to be plainly written as “this characters actions are naughty and I do not support them.” Also the absolute shitshow of your brain to compare COLLEEN HOOVER (Edit and also Jamie maguire) to the classics. Oscar Wilde is throwing up and crying in his grave rn

[@KittyxKult]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. Dostoevsky literally runs his character into a pit of isolation and despair because of his horrible attitudes and behaviors and this leads him to confess and reform but ok please compare it to a book about an abusive partner who literally never changes and still gets sexualized and glorified 😂

[@AMFibers]

I cannot believe how many authors say, "I'm not promoting abuse, I'm exploring it!" Ma'am, your book presents an abusive relationship as an amazing love story. That's different than writing about an abusive relationship and showing that it's not healthy. Instead of teaching young women (and other young adults) that this relationship is abusive and therefore a problem, you're teaching them that abuse is okay because their partner loves them. A LOT of abusers love the people they abuse - that doesn't make it not abuse.

[@jumpinjoint]

“as the mother of a white male, i need to point at black males to make myself feel better” it would be such a shame if her coffee was hundreds of degrees too hot and spilled on her lap.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I hope all of her food is undercooked, over salted, and that she never sleeps peacefully for the rest of her days

[@scoutz0rs]

She’s one of the main reasons I made my goodreads account a pseudonym. She’s an absolute villain in every way conceivable.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Smart idea!

[@maggiewinnike7309]

One of my favorite authors, Jenny Trout was talking about how toxic Jamie McGuire is years and years ago and people tried to gas light her and sent her so much hate. I'm glad more people are catching on to what a terrible human being she is.

[@eneyavorodecky]

I was thinking the same. Btw, remember when Jenny shared the story about the weirdo who tried to make her own book (the book for mortals or whatever that stupid book was, I don't remember the name anymore) a best seller and then insisted that the black woman who was a genuine best selling author with her book "The hate u give" was somehow sus, bc apparently black women being popular authors is sus?

[@easilydistractedauthor]

Ahh Lani Sarem. I will never get tired of people rehashing the crap she pulled.

[@eneyavorodecky]

@@easilydistractedauthor yes!!! That one. Rachel absolutely would have a blast with that story, if she is not familiar with it. 😂

[@maggiewinnike7309]

@@eneyavorodecky Honestly if I put out a book and I was beat out of the best seller list by Angie Thomas I wouldn't even be mad about it because The Hate U Give was fucking phenomenal .

[@easilydistractedauthor]

​@@maggiewinnike7309 hilariously enough, Sarem did "beat out" The Hate U Give because she and her cronies went around to bookstores that reported to the NYT Bestseller List and did bulk orders of her book to skyrocket to the top. Unfortunately for her, no one knew about the book at all, so investigative journalists sussed out her crap and knocked her off the list. And she still maintains she deserved that spot. There are stickers on Handbook for Mortals that say "NYT #1 Bestseller for 23 hours". I am not kidding.

[@easilydistractedauthor]

Although nowhere near as bad, Becca Fitzpatrick, author of Hush, Hush, wrote out this whole stupid "Be Kind" blog post that basically said no one should ever write negative reviews, ever. All because someone didn't like her book. And it's SUPER condescending. If you could ever squeeze that little nugget in sometime, I'll be ready with popcorn.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Ohhh I’ll put this on my list

[@demongoose666]

hush hush is a great example of publishers selling anything no matter how horribly written and half assed it is, as long as it matches a certain publishing trend (in this case, extremely questionable paranormal romances after twilight blew up).

[@chloestarshine]

@@ReadswithRachel I met Becca at a signing years ago when I still thought books like hers were good. She asked who my favourite character was and seemed genuinely surprised and confused when I said it was the main female and not the male love interest, I don't think she had any intention of any feminism in the story, which now I clearly know because I tried to reread Hush, Hush as an adult and the girl hate is absolutely horrible in it.

[@isaacgray2909]

Oh wow. I actually read the book back in high school. Couldn't remember anything other than "yeah it's a Twilight clone" and I only read it to get points for my reading curriculum. Reality is much stranger the more you learn

[@afckingegg7585]

I remember my mom wouldn't let me read Hush, Hush when I was like 14, so of course I did anyway. It made me uncomfortable and gross but I didn't have the vocabulary to explain why or how. Nowadays I hope kids that age are more informed about consent than I was at the time, but she has no right to demand only praise when she wrote something that harmful and badly written

[@sianceinwenauthor]

She was SO MUCH WORSE than I realised. I hope her kids recover. 💗

[@ReadswithRachel]

Same. Truly.

[@ponilo99]

when you first mentioned jamie's response to bad reviews, I thought "wouldn't it be fucked up if she were projecting her son's/partner's/father's behavior on this fictional character?", but then you got to her treatment of her kids, and it somehow made everything worse truly despicable

[@Marinlss]

I read beautiful disaster as a teenager (13-14) and even though I thought Travis was too much, I was too young to understand how bad it was. Even went to see her when she came to my country around that time, funny she talked about how it wasn't for teens and there were girls younger then me there. I never forgot how she avoided my hug and I didn't got as much time with her (not a cute picture) compared to other girls in line and listening to this makes things make more sense now...

[@moustik31]

Hate when this happens. Black readers are in a lot of unrequited-love relationships with popular mainstream writers. 😕

[@Tareltonlives]

Apparently they made a movie out of Beautiful Disaster, only with the abuse drastically toned down and the tone made into a comedy. And McGuire was outraged and threw an EL James Tantrum

[@Romanticoutlaw]

people say "it's just fiction" like jaws didn't endanger sharks and 50 shades didn't shape normies' conception of bdsm for the worse. Like yeah, fiction isn't reality, but that doesn't mean it can't impact it

[@mimisezlol]

The impact of Jaws on shark populations cannot be understated; after its release, sharks have essentially endured an apocalyptic degree of slaughter from humanity. It's bad. It's real fucking bad. Shit's grim for a group of animals that has survived almost every single known major extinction event this planet has had.

[@VickiWeavil]

Goes to show that just because someone can write a few books, it doesn't mean they're actually intelligent.

[@ReadswithRachel]

True!

[@moustik31]

Sadly, a lot of people are able to put together a handful of mainstream harmful tropes/bigotry and call it fiction. Reading mandatory "classics" in school nearly broke my sense of self. 🙃

[@HeathersHeroesAndHeroines]

I'll admit I subbed and unsubbed when I first found your channel because all the fundy negativity turned me off since I was definitely raised that way. However, YOU'RE FREAKING AWESOME. Your vids kept popping up in my recommendations, and I kept watching. I realized my initial discomfort was just because the things I've been taught were being challenged. I'm neurodiverse, and I've come to realize I took a lot of things as solid facts at a young age because they were being taught by people I love. I've done a lot of growing and rethinking things I've been taught over the past few years. I'm still in the process of it, learning the difference between what I've been taught I should think verses my actual views. The more of your blunt commentary I hear (like on purity culture, etc), the more I find myself agreeing with you. Anyway, just here to say thanks for being so open about your shift away from fundamentalism and challenging me and other viewers to be more thoughtful of others and to let go of the ideals that divide us. Nothing to do with this particular video, just thoughts I'd actually comment for once. Resubbed and here to stay. Seriously, THANK YOU, you're helping me further my journey toward REAL acceptance and love and understanding.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I have no words. I’m so thankful you’re here. Thank you for telling me all of this. I deeply appreciate you and your journey ♥️

[@HeathersHeroesAndHeroines]

@@ReadswithRachel you're so sweet.

[@moustik31]

I was raised fundie as well, I'm so happy, that you started on a deconstructing journey too.

[@baddidea4863]

This book helped me realize I was gay because the thought of being with a guy, especially one like Travis, disgusted me

[@TanaNanner]

My mom told my siblings that she hoped my husband and I never had kids. She didn't say it to my face, but when I found out, I was mortified. Now, she is harassing me to have kids. So go figure.

[@equinoxcrow]

Wouldn't be surprised that she spends her days Googleing herself and responding to anything she finds. She might even respond to this one. Notice us, Hateful-senpai!

[@MichellesLibrary]

I remember reading Beautiful Disaster and trying to figure out why people were attracted to Trevor?? Was that his name idk either way he was SO abusive and I hate myself for reading it

[@t.a.summers]

Travis Maddox. Yeah, he was terrible.

[@MichellesLibrary]

@@t.a.summers that’s the one yeah

[@MichellesLibrary]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. the whole point of the book is that you’re rooting for these people to get together right? Travis is abusive and manipulative why would I want to root for that?

[@MichellesLibrary]

@@M.H.I.A.F.T. ok Taylor swift have a good day

[@GrayTimber]

She's just like my mom. I had to run away in secret ~7 years ago. Then I put her on a severe information diet. Then two years ago I had enough when she threatened to call the cops and report me missing because I didn't want to call her and deal with her hysterics while doing my taxes lmfao Eden is far better off, and if she ever needs support should any legal shit go down, I put some money down on her gofundme Oh, and the "It's just fiction" line is said so often by people who don't know a damn thing about how fictions affects people. Jaws put sharks in the endangered list. What a mess

[@librarianontheloose]

I've watched every one of your Authors Behaving Badly videos today because if there's one thing I have always loved, since way on back when Cassandra Clare was causing HER chaos trainwreck, it's authors being messy (or felonious). There's something about writing that seems to open the floodgate of totally bananas behavior. You're gifting us with the best content here.

[@icravedeath.1200]

What happened with Cassandra Clare.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

@@icravedeath.1200 the livejournal era Harry Potter fandom was wild

[@icravedeath.1200]

@@phoenixfritzinger9185 nice gundam pfp.

[@Tareltonlives]

@@phoenixfritzinger9185 I was there, Gandalf. I was there 3000 years ago when I saw the strength of men fail. To be more specific I was on LJ and Fictionalley Park. I was still homophobic but even I could see how horrible Cassandra Claire was both as an author and as a person. She had just left when I joined the community but she still had her cronies.

[@WhatsGnat]

My mother has spoken to me like jamie does in her messages to her daughter and it was validating to hear you say that it's wrong

[@themidnightlibrarian5159]

Good lord! Read Beautiful Disaster in my early college days and hated it with a passion. Was shocked to learn that it was a fricken series! And was just done with the internet when I heard about the movie adaptation. Glad I never picked anything else up by her cuz jeebus! Love the energy you put into these!

[@ReadswithRachel]

And it just got its first official sequel last week featuring the main characters. How does she still have a career?! Thank you ♥️

[@themidnightlibrarian5159]

@@ReadswithRachel 🤢🤢

[@hanasheik]

This is so weirdly timed. I completely forgot Jamie McGuire's shenanigans, and then I was reminded yesterday when I saw that she threw shade at some authors recently in an FB post. She spewed some nonsense about how she thinks authors should hit bestseller lists on their own merit, and if an author is contributing to a multi-author anthology, and the anthology is on a bestseller list, then it's not a deserved title, and it makes these besteller lists "less special". It's like she's scared we're going to forget her and acts up to remind us she still exists. 😑

[@RomanticRosebud]

Troubling how many of these toxic relationship books are written by equally messed up authors. It's sad that this is what they put out to young teens who think it's alright to have or be in relationships like this. BD was the Pinaccle of how awful a person JM is. YIKES.

[@Amnic2017]

I wonder if this is a statistic. There seems to be some correlation here. 🤔

[@felicitypevideos4224]

Well … she was right on one thing. Toxic people fall in love and apparently she’s one of them. And writes books glorifying them too…

[@phatpharm06]

I believe I remember her saying something about “her Travis”. I think that’s why she took the “Travis is an abusive person” to heart.

[@Tareltonlives]

She thinks she's writing Wuthering Heights but Wuthering Heights was quite aware of how horrible these people were and how self-destructive they were. It was a critique of a society that creates people like Heathcliff. I think JM thought it was romantic.

[@Tjnovakart]

Man, I’ve never heard of this woman or her books but all I can say is that she’s 100% the embodiment of the term “hate boner” lmao

[@ReadswithRachel]

Lmaooooo

[@t.a.summers]

Oh this brings back so many terrible memories of her going after reviewers over BD, I'm glad more people know about how awful she's been. I read several of her books way back when and they consistently had the same, terrible relationship dynamics. But JM has been awful not only in her books but to so many people.

[@t.a.summers]

And I feel so bad for her daughter and other kids. They deserve so much better.

[@angelaholmes8888]

@@t.a.summers yeah I feel sorry for her daughter

[@Tareltonlives]

I knew JM was a terrible author and her books were really terrible, but I had no idea how bad she was as a person. I usually give people the benefit of a doubt- "Okay, Deathly Hallows sucked but J K Rowling just made a mistake, she's not a horrible person" .

[@exist4046]

@@Tareltonlivesman i wish Rowling had only been an eccentric woman who made shitty decisions while writing HP, because at least then i couldve said “maybe shes changed” but nope shes a complete lunatic

[@CourtneeRae]

A bunch of authors I follow put together an anthology with the proceeds going towards the fight for reproductive justice and of course JM shit all over it. She's an awful, awful person.

[@mrsiz218]

Sigh… where to begin. I am an author. A self-published one. I follow groups of authors to learn my craft, how to treat my hobby like a business etc. one of the first things I learned from the groups I’m learning from is get a thick skin, do not read reviews as they are not for you they are for other readers and NEVER EVER engage or respond to a reviewer. It’s unprofessional and bad business. I’ll admit I was a fan of Ms M at first, that was because I saw her as a success. Doing what I wanted to do and succeeding at it. I actually belonged to her reading group for a very short time. One day a man posted a comment about his own book that was coming out and Ms M saw it has him spamming her. I didn’t get that impression. I thought he was a new author just commenting about his book then she and a bunch of her followers just went in on this guy and ripped his head off. He apologized, but she wasn’t having it. Even the poor guy’s wife chimes in in his defense. Basically, they were saying he made a mistake he didn’t mean to be spammy and he actually didn’t realize he was doing so. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. I haven’t been back since. Everybody was new once and newbies make mistakes. I just hope he didn’t lose his spark over that. Not every author is like that, bruh. But yeah, it left me with the ‘wow she’s not really a nice person is she?’ vibe. It’s a shame.

[@angelaholmes8888]

Wow she's truly a vicious person

[@ayajade6683]

One my favorite self pub authors has stated I only read comments on Goodreads if there is a question, it's an announcement thread or when they get an alert for people using slurs in their reviews.

[@beeaggro2593]

@@ayajade6683 Which is the healthy way to do it. You can interact with fans and talk about whats on your mind or things but like. Holy shit.

[@emillyw5622]

Thank you for doing this, I read this book as a teenager and loved it and it took me a long time to realise just how toxic these kinds of books and the relationships they portray are, particularly for that kind of age group where our thinking is most vulnerable.

[@angelaholmes8888]

Yeah I was in my teens when I read her books I did enjoy them but now that I'm older not so much

[@bottompercy]

The sarcastic "swoon"s and "what a man"s every 5 seconds are exactly why i watch these videos 😂❤

[@poincianab12]

Absolutely not. She is ridiculous. Having married (late in life) a man I knew all my life that turned out to be narcissistic enough to act like this..there is nothing romantic abt this and it shouldn't be a YA book without finding a way to explain how damaging this is. And yeah I divorced the guy...someone wasnt going to survive that situation

[@valerieysabel123]

Off topic, but the silver eyeliner is absolutely gorgeous on you! Couldn’t keep my eyes off of it! ❤

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thank you so much! I’ve been having fun dipping my toes (figuratively) in makeup

[@felicitypevideos4224]

Admitting your life is better without your child is wild … and reminds me of abusive people I’ve known.

[@angelgroove2981]

ngl lowkey wondering where Jamie McGuire was on January 6th edit: I KNEW IT

[@stay_gzb]

I didn't know anything about Jamie McGuire prior to watching this video, but now knowing that she said all these things about abusive romance stories, only for Beautiful Disaster to be made into a movie that actively clowns the notion of Trevor and Abby being a reasonable endgame or couple to root for is HILARIOUS to me, holy shit. I cannot believe that the hill she was willing to die on is one that the movie based on her OWN novel didn't even side with her on 💀😭😭

[@superman8372]

Gone Girl is one of my favorite books. It shows abuse perfectly. Nick and Amy hate each other and we know it through clues and diaries . That’s why I love the abuse in the book. It works because it’s not romanticized. Now beautiful disaster… phew yikes.

[@searchanddiscover]

This woman as well as a few other authors especially during the 2020 protests is one of the reasons I decided to steer clear of authors that are very active on social media outside of just promoting their books.

[@livforreading]

Holy shit this is worse than I could’ve imagined for an author I’ve like heard of as being popular??? Madness

[@melanietahna]

I’m not even halfway through and I cannot believe this woman. The issue isn’t hurt people being in love, it’s hurt people choosing abusive behavior in a relationship, and this author romanticizing that. Looking forward to being gross out by the rest of this video. Love your content!

[@jkwonsmiff]

If you're going to depict an abusive/toxic relationship in a novel, okay. But do it with your whole chest from day one. Be vocal about it. Don't market it as something romantic or something to aspire to. And for fuck's sake don't act like people are idiots when they point out they were deceived by the way you marketed your own book. "I never meant for it to be marketed as young adult" girl the option to self-publish was there in 2011. It sure was. Could've pushed it however you wanted to. You did not care when you signed that contract, come on. Lmaoooo So glad to be a patron of yours, Rachel!!! Thank you for the shout-out, I had the biggest grin on my face during your intro. Love what you do

[@eneyavorodecky]

I am betting money she saw the relationship as beaufully flawed and not as a shit ton of red flags. I do not think she even comprehends what people are criticising in the story. Also, that woman is a parent of a man? Welp, I pity whomever that person brings home bc even if he is the loveliest person under the sun, nobody deserves to be subjecteded to McGuire's antics. Geez.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thank you so much SJ!!!

[@meghannpalmer7417]

My sister in law gifted me the book Beautiful Disaster. I’m grateful for the gift, by the way. We are always exchanging books. However, she deemed it unfit for her classroom (she’s a high school teacher). This book should be called Dumpster S*it Fire Disaster. It glorifies abuse, misogyny, drinking and driving, underage drinking etc. Fine, I get it (somewhat), if it were targeted to an older audience. However, it’s not. The protagonist is 18 or 19. Just reading McGuires rant response on this reviewer’s review makes my blood boil. She explored nothing about the relationship or it’s toxicity. You can be in love but that doesn’t make the relationship healthy. Get out of reviewers spaces. Ughh she’s hot garbage 0/10-don’t recommend.

[@meghannpalmer7417]

Oh I will NOT watch that adaptation ughh ughh what a piece of sh*t. The vaccine does not enter the nucleus where the DNA is housed. Gawd, these people are dumb af. Ughh Candace Owens. Privileged stupid af white woman, sit the eff down

[@ReadswithRachel]

She’s still in review spaces to this day. It’s wild. She never learns.

[@bybookandbone]

"It's not funny ha ha, it's funny scary", the way you said that sent me xD edit* wow she sure does hit every branch on the shitty tree

[@yamileglellelsoloxhoy]

wow they are going to have to do a a lot of marketing to erase all the shit that this woman has left for years when all over in the internet when her movie comes out. Her P.R team is in trouble

[@hl-river8580]

i am SO sorry this is only tangentially related god i remember a few years ago (oh god more like 10 yrs ago oh man) encouraging ppl who wanted to get published that they really needed to get on twitter cuz that's where all the publishers are. seems now they're all on tiktok so it is with a heavy heart, you've finally convinced me to download that app

[@ReadswithRachel]

It took me a while to jump on the tiktok train too. Choo choo, friend.

[@TheRPGNerd]

"ITS FICTIONAL!" translation: idc about people who actually went through this horrible thing, because i wanna write about it without it being bad! like. i have a character who went thru some horrible shit. but its very much shown as a bad thing. you can write about dark subjects, we arent asking you not to, we arent even asking you to have a big "THIS IS BAD" at the top! you can show something as bad via the story. for example, said character i made now hunts down the people who did that bad thing to him, leading the main person who did it to live in constant paranoia (he eventually dies lol) we dont mind you showing these things. but you can show these things while showing them as bad. it really isnt that hard, i promise. (i should note: i have been through abuse, and i know others who went through that as well. i absolutely listened to them on it, as the character was for a very small rp group between friends) also the idea that all "emotionally scarred" people are abusers... yikes???

[@katiemarsh4970]

Thank you for giving the context at the beginning that she is currently self-published…if not, I would of spent the entire video asking, “How is she still getting books published????!!!!!” Great work, as always Rachel! ❤

[@TheCheery101]

The “Nickhyun 2PM” in the corner search bar made me like this creator even more

[@annacolesworthy4315]

I both love and hate these videos, I constantly think that peoples ignorance and bullshit can no longer surprise me and then I get a notification from you. Keep doing the lords work lol

[@ReadswithRachel]

Lmaooooo thank you ♥️

[@sproutygamerreads7947]

I have been non contact almost 10 years from mom with NPD and even longer from my dad with NPD. I hope Eden is doing well, plus hugs to you.

[@TheTrueKarin]

36 months and going strong. I have better things to do then to listen to there bs😅

[@livforreading]

I could watch you analyze literally anything for DAYS omg I’m obsessed

[@katendress6142]

I would bet my next paycheck that she's opposed to teenagers in *the target age range for her books* having access to books by queer authors or featuring queer characters because she doesn't want them to be "influenced" to think that they might not be cisgender and/or heterosexual.

[@peakdelvalle197]

I was honestly just clicking this to get to your channel and watch a more recent video, but then you said the word "doozie" and I stopped in my tracks

[@AutsiticAlien007]

Also can I say like about a year and 4 months later, the movie has a sequel coming out…. I just lost so much respect for quite a few people

[@RinLockhart]

McGuire is literally stuck at age 16.

[@book_nerd9]

Someone gifted me her book last year but i never read it because their was rumors of her been a horrible person but i didn't know it was that bad. Thanks for letting me know I'm going to get rid of the book Today

[@louisev9707]

I got it in a mystery book box this Christmas from my cousins but I haven't really looked at any of the books in it yet. Wasn't familiar with the author or the book, but after listening to this, I'm thinking this is not a book I will donate or leave in a little library box but pop in the shredder or carve it into book art or something. Good to have a DNR this early in the new year cause then I can look for better recommendations

[@lianajay04]

as someone that read beautiful disaster at around 13 years old almost 7 years ago, i don't think i was fully aware of how truly toxic the relationship depicted was. but i remember being aware enough that i took it as just another story. it was similar to what I'd seen on wattpad so i knew not to idealize any of it. i knew it wasn't healthy to a certain extent. and i'm thankful it worked out that way for me. plus, i eventually forgot the story completely so it didn't affect on the long-run. that being said however, i have seen first-hand how one of my friends slowly got into reading this kind of stories more and more to the point that all she knows about relationships and all her expectations are based on bad books with abusive relationships. i've drifted apart from her for other reasons but i sometimes still worry about her and the day she gets into an actual relationship. i hope she never has to go through a relationship like that to learn that it's not okay, but me talking to her about it has never worked

[@Angelica_Rodriguez39]

"it's a fictional story with fictional situations" mere lines after "do you really believe emotionally scarred people don't walk this earth and fall in love" is... a choice

[@legendaryfrog4880]

I'm REALLY tired of all the Chicago hate. It's no more or less dangerous than any other major City in the U.S. The second she said that I knew exactly what kind of person she is.

[@TheAbigailDee]

It gets worse. Every sentence.

[@Marscandy1]

I’m so glad I DNFD her book. Justified!

[@cynthialovesbooks]

I didn't even know who she was. I saw someone post on IG about her series (advertising for it) and I was interested. Then someone else mentioned her bad behavior and that interest quickly dissipated. News that authors like this continue to thrive while other authors who are just as, or more, deserving get overlooked continues to echo that there is no justice in the world.

[@louisev9707]

I don't quite know how to articulate it, but while watching this vid and listening to you narrate this author's response in Goodreads I can't stop looking at the '400 Bad Request' error message on the page. It's just fitting somehow.

[@franfrommn]

I had to go through my kindle library and check! I read Beautiful Disasters at the end of high school/beginning of college and idolized the male lead character. Re-reading the synopsis and having experienced an abusive relationship that character is sooooo abusive. I used to read books like that all the time. This was a tough retrospective for me.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

Seriously, why do we think it’s romantic when guys lose all control and are violently possessive???

[@bitterrootsimmer]

18:20 N NO NO GOD FUCKING DAMIT. One of my favourite things to do is watch really bad movies, this was one of them. I am so uncomfortable learning that I either directly or indirectly supported a horrible horrible person.

[@carlajenkins1990]

Call this Good Rule #1 for authors: Never get into a Pissy Fight with a book reviewer.

[@ignaciorlimon1]

As someone who ended an abusive relationship (physical and emotional) that ended in SA, I would never want a book to be floating around that was promoted for being representative of a relationship like that. And I’d like to add I’m shocked! lmao The woman kept one upping herself like she was in a race to the finish for sh**iest person. The love b*m*ing and vindictive behavior people w/ NPD do really is something else, I really hope cluster b personality disorders get more light going forward so people are aware of what a nightmare it is to have them harass you. 👋🏼 If you’re Rachel’s MIL … we all know. lol Ya creep.

[@cgi_angel6001]

I hope you've distanced yourself from that creep and are beginning to heal. 💕🙏

[@TurdusRufiventris]

What the fuck? Not all cluster B people are like this. I sincerely hope you are speaking out of ignorance, but armchair diagnosing someone else's abuser is seriously unhinged. Sometimes people are just abusive and egocentric, and that's that.

[@torijarrett215]

Good god. I read BD when I was a wee lil preteen and thought it was the best thing ever. And it ABSOLUTELY influenced how I saw relationships for a long time. Thank GOD for growth and realizing that the relationship she wrote about was just….abuse full stop. You’re doing the work, Rachel! 🙌🏻🫶🏻

[@generous1star]

I love how much you laughed in this one!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thank you! I try to edit my laughs out typically bc I feel like a hyena

[@Bound2Books]

Don't forget she had an oly fans where she read her book LOLOLOLOLOL (shudders in gross). I have not liked her for a long time. She blocked me because I called her out.

[@zevrxn]

reminder that it doesn't actually matter that sex and gender are different things because sex isn't a definite binary either. intersex people exist in a vast spectrum of ways and the myth of biological sex is detrimental to many of them. some of them suffer with unnecessary genital surgeries as babies to make them conform to a "biological sex". they grow up being forced into a mold that isn't who they are but in a different way than trans people. one very strong thing i heard an intersex person say was "i spent my whole life thinking i was a failure as a woman (for having fertility issues) until i found out i wasn't a woman at all".

[@ReadswithRachel]

I agree, they are different and neither are binary. When we are talking to people like Jaime, though, we have to start with the conversation about how those are two different things before we can even have a conversation about how neither are binary. Because people like Jaime are unlikely to move onto the second point because they will get stuck on the first.

[@sarafournier4672]

Oofff…I agree with you and so many about glorifying these types of toxic relationships in stories and not bringing up that what is happening is abuse. It’s shadowed with “they fell in love” or “they’re just protective”. They aren’t. And these types of YA novels did have a hand in my own brain feeling that what my own abusive relationships were giving me was “love”. These types of stories did weigh in on a younger me staying in three awful, toxic, abusive relationships thinking I could change them or that they just loved me so much that it showed in anger. This is why I have such a difficult time justifying “romance” novels with an abusive nature. It’s truly upsetting.

[@Pondemonium89]

Oof and a yikes on that author Your make up is amazinggg and it's so cute how you got excited about your tier 4 patrons when currently you have quite a few of them ❤❤❤

[@sapphodryad]

i apparently read her book in 2016 and gave it 1 star, i dont remember a single thing about it, but holy shit i had no idea about ANY of this. every time you said YET ANOTHER absolutely horrible thing she did or said i was just shocked. like there can't be more right? right?? wrong. there's always more despicable shit with these people and i dont know how i manage to keep being surprised

[@Tiffmidon]

Can you please do an “Authors Behaving Badly” on Lani Sarem and her book Handbook for Mortals? She was at Boston Fan Expo and I bought her book not knowing any of the controversy on it. I knew I was in trouble when I saw it had a 1.2 star rating on Goodreads… I still feel embarrassed/scammed by her and wish I could get rid of it but she personalized it and autographed it 😢.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Yeah actually she’s next on the list, serendipitous as that is

[@RachelFinston]

I love this series, you do the research and I get to gasp at the gossip.

[@athegrey]

as someone from oklahoma the second you said it i was filled with dread

[@MortMe0430]

Holy guacamole. I'd heard about BD being terrible and having an abusive relationship and had already decided it wasn't up my alley (thank you, Sam of 'Thought on Tomes'), but the cesspool is soooo much deeper and nastier than I'd previously heard. I would wonder how cartoonishly sh!theaded a person could be to hit all these terrible bingo squares, but the last 3-6 years have re-calibrated my threshold of shock.

[@captainnemo7690]

My personal hot (read: extremely tepid but I think correct) take on depicting an abusive relationship is not that the abuser has to have their eyes pecked out by ravens and a sign saying "abuse is bad" placed on their grave, but that you do have a responsibility to portray the damage that it does to the person being abused. I think it is, actually, genuinely unfair to expect all stories that feature abuse to end with fairytale-style comeuppance because that's simply not realistic, which I think some bad-faith crusaders have pushed for in the past. This doesn't apply to the sort of thing McGuire is writing, but I have seen both fanfiction and original writers who touch on abuse being accused of endorsing abuse because the abuser wasn't castrated by the end of the story/book, which is nonsensical. But it's also not realistic to depict people as suffering no meaningful consequences from being abused besides short-lived, situational anxiety. I think there are several routes to criticizing abusive behavior, and none of them require a soapbox speech by the main character or narration, and it's in incredibly bad faith for McGuire to pretend that she's just depicting dysfunctional people in a dysfunctional relationship when there are very much ways to depict that without flattening any of the trauma that stems from being involved in such a relationship. That's not just irresponsible, it's bad characterization.

[@HaapainenRouske]

I'm so happy for you that this channel is doing well and it works for you! That's so amazing to hear!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thank you! It’s been so encouraging getting the feedback I’ve been getting

[@kierstenhale763]

It’s the romanticizing the abusive and toxic behavior tho. That’s why I hate the After series. They emphasize the protective and rare cute parts and forgive the scary and abusive parts.

[@phatpharm06]

The movie adaptation really pisses me off. It’s such a horrible relationship.

[@mybookishdelights4767]

ohhh boy did I relate to this! The daughter's tiktok hurt me. I'm so sad for the other kids because depending on how old they are, the narcissist will start to poison them. I've been no contact with the narcissist in my life for 12 years and I've never regretted a day of it. Hang in there Rachel!

[@nic4666]

I had no idea. Thank you. Keep spreading the word

[@Nikodraws149]

Every time I hear the words "Posted about Lizzo" My crops wilt and I instantly grow exhausted. Even I, someone who has never heard a lizzo song, scream into the wind. "Leave Lizzo Alone."

[@justanormalfish]

Those texts made me feel queasy too... way too familiar. Jamie McGuire doesn't even deserve the title of "mother."

[@geektanic]

This is the review I needed. Beautiful Disaster was on my TBR because it was so highly recommended and I do both read and write romance (pseudonymously). My friend was permanently injured by the Proud Boys for daring to be a brown woman trying to catch public transit to work. I have my own trauma from police-related racial violence. I hate how racist people get to occupy every space and then make us feel like invaders for trying to do the same by literally e x i s t i n g.

[@gabriellelue]

What if your patron SJ is secretly SJ Maas because she knows the therapy she’s caused you to need through the CC series 😂

[@ReadswithRachel]

COULD U IMAGINE OMG

[@sarahc9306]

I’m so angry I ever paid for one of her books. I’m comforted by the fact that I never liked it.

[@Stonedandbookish]

To say that people who speak up about being triggered/uncomfortable with abuse have never been through it and had the ability to cope with it is straight up disgusting Im uncomfortable with that stuff BECAUSE ive been through it and saw it play out with my own parents Like wth

[@AliZmusic]

Oooh, I've heard of her before. Excited for this episode

[@flora9866]

Kinda insane that she said ppl that didnt like the relationship in BD were on a “high golden tower” or whatever, instead of thinking “maybe some of these reviewers are abuse survivors”

[@MortMe0430]

I also love (read:hate) the "flawed, damaged people can fall in love!" copout. Nah, the crap from that excerpt ain't love. Not genuinely. Far be it for me to gatekeep, girlboss, etc, but violence and possessiveness and threats are not real love. It can be infatuation, lust, projection or displacement of trauma, an ego-boost, entitlement, validation, or whatever. But none of that is remotely romantic. And imo not enough media depicts / romanticizes people just vibing in a healthy constructive way together. Not perfect, not without hiccups, but mutually respectful, compatible and functional. Is that too much to ask?

[@26349]

Lol my toxic and ab*sive mother used to also tell me to never procreate. Most often in mornings before school(9th, 10th grade). Toxic narcissists are such a toll on our mental health, my god

[@lostinbarcelona]

Your authors behaving badly series is important for so many reasons but for this one especially. I am on book twitter fairly constantly and missed all of this. I have never read Beautiful Disaster but it was on my eventual tbr, but I never want to support someone like this.

[@ReadswithRachel]

That’s good to know! I’m a big advocate of knowing who your money is supporting, so helping people figure out if they want to monetarily support certain authors or not is part of why I do this.

[@emmyrose77]

read that bk when I was in hs. I remember being creeper out/scared when Abby left him & he chased after the car, banging on it. Looking back all think is yikes what the fuck?! that scene is forever ingrained in my head.

[@idongesitusen5764]

Can’t she tell distributors/retailers what its classification is if she’s self-publishing?

[@strikingdiamonds]

Honestly, seeing some of the content that gets published nowadays is inspiring me to finish my book. It's a Lower YA Fantasy deconstruction of the superhero genre.

[@JenniferPV]

Had no idea, thanks for enlightening me! Will definitely avoid her works now.

[@jenny5272]

Just looked it up and nooo, it's the Sprouse twin I like. Feel so betrayed.

[@theblueiMe]

who googled nickhun 2pm while reading the Jamie's blog post? I too would need to cleanse my eyes after reading it.

[@wtheckJackie]

Adaptation???!!! This author should not have a platform. Yikes.

[@angelaholmes8888]

Yeah she definitely doesn't deserve a platform