reading TikTok's favorite books: the zodiac academy

Wow, I hated this. 😬
Want to read a book with me? I'm hosting a sci-fi/fantasy book club through Chirp Books! Each month I pick a new title that is deeply discounted on Chirp, I'll post reading updates on my socials, and you'll be asked to give your feedback on the book at the end of the month. In June, we are reading An Unkindness of Ghosts, which you can get for just $2.99 on Chirp. Follow along here: chirpbooks.com/marines
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Goodreads: / the-awakening
cw: death of a loved one, arson, drowning, car accident, bullying, emotional verbal and physical abuse, coercion, non-con, sexual harassment, violence, blood, alcohol use, drug use, fat phobia
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[@futchslug]

If people wanna read trash fiction more power to them but the idea everyone either needs to praise a book or shut up is absolutely wild 😐😐😐

[@ariichans]

People are allowed to have opinions?! I’m so confused about this need to baby authors. They’re, for the most part, adults and booktok needs to understand that not everyone needs to like the same things they do. This is like… an elementary school lesson. You said it so well that it’s toxic positivity and respectability politics.

[@mynameismarines]

It's not all of BookTok, but it's definitely constantly popping up-- this need to defend authors because somehow, reviewing their work harshly or critically equals bullying them as a person. There is truly missing context for what reviews are and do, who they are for, and separating art from the artist!

[@NC-dw1ir]

Honestly! No other profession works this way. If a doctor left is car keys in these people's chest cavities, I guess they should thank them instead of criticizing their sh*tty job. Ridiculous. If you pay money for food at a restaurant and you return the plate because everything is undercooked and cold because it came out the freezer, I guess it's bullying to want your money back. The mentality is warped to accept all mediocrity. There is no merit system with authors anymore, as long as they publish something, no matter how bad it is, people defend it to the death. I want to be an author but I don't want a bunch of sycophants policing reviews of my books. Book reviews are for readers, not authors.

[@BookChats]

So, BookTok really is having all the conversations of 2012 era BookTube

[@mynameismarines]

YES. It is absolutely wild to see it happening. The toxic positivity stuff, though, is even worse there than it ever was on BT and I can’t help but think it’s primarily because authors have flooded that space

[@hypnotikerotix]

@@mynameismarines I also heard that many unpublished authors or indie authors have to essentially do their own marketing which is creating this influx of them on booktok.

[@moustik31]

Yes, new generation, new platform!

[@katieg2449]

The way you kept breaking out in laughter really made this review all the better, truly communicated how bad and bizarre the book was 👍

[@mynameismarines]

Absolutely incapable of keeping a straight face while talking about magic college high school and the rest of this bad story 😂

[@bybookandbone]

Ooooh I hate that pov. Negative reviews are important, as are positive and mediocre. If you're always positive, then there's no real point reviewing because you can't be trusted. How many people think they don't like to read because they pick up books with inflated ratings? Always love to watch your videos :D Thanks for taking one for the team xD

[@mynameismarines]

I agree. I get the know reviewers the most when they’ve got a variety of opinions. I get why negative reviews might not be every reviewer’s style, but it’s definitely my favorite to watch!!

[@bybookandbone]

@@mynameismarines Exactly! They are fun to watch :3

[@BookChats]

I've seen people make an "only positive" or primarily positive reviews thing work but they do it by never talking about books they disliked so they simply wouldn't review Zodiac Twins magic bully high school. Also, in terms of trust in a largely positive review they will still talk about things that bothers them or might bother other people. Although I do prefer really thorough roasts like Mari's

[@StellaStars631]

Zodiac academy was one of those books that I read like three pages of and tapped out. My brain couldn’t do it. Thanks for pushing through so I know I made the right choice.

[@mynameismarines]

It is immediately apparent that this book sucks and it doesn’t get better.

[@ssj4rit]

I love booktok. Whenever they recommend a book I know to stay away.

[@slenders1ckn3ss]

"I want to touch his hair" I'm screamingggggg

[@Latriise]

This book is not my genre and not aimed at me. So I had no intention of reading it. But I still watched every minute of this review. The shade was incredible. I laughed so many times.

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you! I’m this was still entertaining for people who haven’t read it ❤️

[@arp711]

I'm sorry you had to experience this utter dreck, but TBH, there is almost nothing more joyful than watching you laugh at how absolutely God awful some books are. Also, these authors seriously need new friends, because apparently not a single one of them had the nerve to tell them "This is bad and you should feel bad."

[@mynameismarines]

No!! And instead they have BookTok telling them this was great?!?!? I am truly at a loss here considering not only is it bad quality but I had an actively terrible time reading it.

[@katerinaschneider7904]

well, it is fine to not like the book and even think it is bad, but to straight up say that they should feel bad for writing a shitty book is kinda bad as well. there are plenty of people who love the book so i am glad that they didnt have any friend (hopefull) who would tell them they should feel like shit for writing this book. because i would be said to miss out on this book. yes, i absolutely understand why you hated it, and it has so many flaws, it could be better, but still, plenty people love. that "you should feel bad" comment just really made me upset. all you had to do is say "i wish they had at least one friend giving them constructive critism and giving them tips on how to make it a better book)"

[@tamalito97]

Me talking, in a subreddit, about how i was done reading Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by the 3rd book bc i felt like the author didn't even know what to do with the story anymore and there are like 4 more books in the series. Every single comment i got: yeah... but it gets better by the 4th book!!! Like sir/madam I'm not reading any more books i don't enjoy just bc it might get better wtf

[@mynameismarines]

Honestly, like is everyone going to buy the book for you and compensate you for your time?? No? Then NO MORE READING.

[@nicoleeverett1696]

I tried reading book 1 of Zodiac Academy and I felt like I was reading a rough draft of a fanfic, I just couldn't push through it. Your giggling pretty up sums up how I felt while reading this book along with my eyes rolling 😂

[@emilynewcomb123]

You really took one for the team. I'm so glad that I saw this before ever reading the book, because knowing myself I would force myself to keeping read the whole series and suffer through it 😅

[@mynameismarines]

Then you could find out if the series really gets better by book 4, 5, or 6 or whatever!! Lord knows I don't think I'll make it that far...

[@erintoney7137]

You have the cutest laugh. And I’m surprised anyone managed to get through the first book. I DNF’d immediately after they got into the houses.

[@StephanyMarieShop]

I somehow made it through almost 5 of these books, because I kept thinking they would get better and I felt like I had to finish the series because that’s how my brain works. When it comes to books, I’m not very hard to impress. I’ll read pretty much anything. I love reading garbage books. I kept thinking they would get better. And while some aspects did improve, these books were such a mess. The typos, the bad writing, the lack of editing. And I can usually overlook a lot, but when it’s so bad, that even I notice, it’s pretty bad. When it comes to the plot, nothing good ever happened to these characters. The plot just kept making me angrier and angrier. And then, even when something good finally did happen, it was followed up by another batch of awful events. I got to the point where I was becoming seriously stressed out by a series of books, and I just had to stop.

[@gracedays7443]

I think the toxic positivity in a lot of bookish spaces is a large part of what’s kept me out of the book community. There’s no point in engaging with media at all if we’re going to restrict what engagement is and isn’t allowed. The idea that negative reviews keep readers from their favorite books is really childish in my opinion, and robs readers of their own agency. I’ve read negative reviews of books and gone “ooo, I want to read that!” Negative reviews don’t make our decisions for us. Also, as someone who wants to be an author one day I HATE the idea of discouraging readers of giving honest reviews or opinions. It’s disrespectful to the author and discourages creatives from seeking the helpful criticism that allows them to improve. I’m taking a writing class currently and our peer review instructions explicitly discourage us from being too or overly positive because that doesn’t help the writer grow their skills. Positivity with no criticism is pointless 😭

[@hypnotikerotix]

I just love your reviews! Especially the fact that you actually dissect the books and not just fangirl over “omg 🥵 guy characters”. Unlike many of these favorites booktok books, your reviews have substance.

[@ravyn2817]

I’ve never understood why bully/dark/enemy to lovers romances go so far, to the point of actual physical/emotional abuse and excuse it as “we're mates!” or “I had an abusive past!” Like, um, Derek Souza would never. That’s my extent. Call me a marshmallow all you want. I wanted to pull my hair out when it was Punk 57 and Corrupt & Hideaway (which I DNFed at chapter two or three) after the third disgusting comment about women and threatening r-word against a woman to hurt a man.

[@WildeBookGarden]

Oof, I'm so sorry you suffered through this but grateful you gave us this hilarious content from it 😅 okay YES, that 'I guess I'll make them adults so I can write the sexytimes and not be weird about it' is a real vibe from some authors and it is Uncomfy nooo, your reenactment of the people who read 7 books!! 😂😂😂 I was about to say 'no Marines, don't make yourself read any more of them!' but then I remembered I am currently stubbornly rage-reading Robin Hobb because people aggressively act like you can't have an opinion about them UNTIL YOU READ ALL 16, so now I'm like 'fine!!! I'll do it so I can complain THOROUGHLY' (it is possible I will like later books more which I am genuinely hoping for! but even if not I probably will keep going because there is nothing that makes me more determined than people acting like 'I'm just not GETTING IT so I don't get to have an opinion yet') what a wild time at Magic High School-College!!

[@mynameismarines]

Any time a romance book starts with characters a day after 18, I’m already suspicious. I saw your latest wrap up with a Robin Hobb and as I said there, I’M FASCINATED. Also though you are 100% right that people talk about the extended series as better once you read the first trilogy and perfection at some point, but it’s a lot of investment, especially given how gosh darn BIG those books are.

[@danaslitlist1]

I don’t trust people who say no book deserves one star reviews….because there are so many books that absolutely do!😂😂 and if you claim there aren’t then you aren’t reading enough. Negative reviews are good and natural and there’s no need to act like authors cannot benefit from criticism. But most importantly; reviews aren’t for the author (not mine anyway). They’re for me and fellow readers. No review is keeping someone from picking it up but many reviews have saved me from dropping money or wasting my time on a book/series that aren’t good

[@ariellee2329]

I don’t understand people who say “oh, but the books get so much better after the first (few)” why would I force myself to hate read these books to get to the good ones? Who does this? My time is precious I don’t want to spend it reading books I hate.

[@mynameismarines]

Not to mention that you pay for books??? I only have so much time and money and I’m supposed to gamble it on authors who write 4 terrible books in the hopes it gets better???

[@karmaisabitchbitch]

crying, as someone who has read first 4 books of this series thinking it would get better, spoilers, it does not thj5ı4w5phkotg so i agree with all the low star ratings, the first 3 books were what i'd call trash fun

[@karmaisabitchbitch]

btw, i think a well-done vers of this series is the ren crown series, but tbf tht series has way less romance in it lol

[@mynameismarines]

Unfortunately, this was so trash, I couldn't have fun. It was too painful.

[@karmaisabitchbitch]

@@mynameismarines tht's fair, it was definitely one of those books where i turned off my brain

[@jasminv8653]

This sounds exactly like the ca. 2009 supernatural romance era of teen lit that I'm guessing the authors just never grew out of.

[@bookishcreature8907]

Aaaahh yes, I’ve missed your very thoughtful, thorough reviews, especially the salty ones 😋

[@mynameismarines]

You just know a salty one would bring me back here 😂

[@dntTrustAho]

Your laugh is so infectious, I love it! 😅

[@JayEllisAlexander]

I personally love videos based on bad book reviews. It inspires me as a writer in the best of ways lmao

[@MaryaHach]

Never read this book, and never plan to, but I'm always happy to listen to you talk about books. You always give me something to think about. I'm absolutely joining the book club, looking forward to it!

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you so much!!! I started the book club last month and it was such a blast. ❤️

[@nursemain3174]

It’s so weird that ppl don’t want books getting negative reviews

[@mynameismarines]

Very weird indeed. People think it's a personal attack when it isn't!!

[@IxiaRayne]

Your laugh is a delight! ♥

[@thefriesofLockeLamora]

Yay, so glad to see you back on KZbin. 3:58 I hate it when a book does that. Sometimes I go on to hate read idek why. Jess took one for the team. Thank you for joining the brave fight.

[@authorskylermason]

Your reviews are solid gold. I read them to get craft knowledge for my own work.

[@TrixiesBookshelf]

EXACTLY!!! Agree with almost everything you said. You're so well-spoken.

[@wonderfulkitty]

Yay, you’re back!!

[@mynameismarines]

I'm here! On that quarterly upload schedule... 😂

[@ChloeFrizzle]

Highly entertaining review. Thanks for breaking this down so thoroughly.

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you for watching! 🥰

[@SarahAtHeart]

This was incredibly entertaining! Your sacrifice of sanity is appreciated 😄

[@mynameismarines]

You know, that's how I comfort myself. I read it so someone else doesn't have to.

[@mevstheangrymob]

Negative reviews are just as helpful as positive ones. If I’m sitting on the fence about a book or series I will check the reviews for tropes & whatnots that I don’t enjoy reading & those hints can exist both within negative & positive reviews. If a negative review harps on how poorly written a book is, well, that’s not enough to sway my decision to not read it because there are books I love that others have found poorly written. but if a negative review points out that the book is homophobic or hateful to marginalized groups that review will sway my decision to not read it because that’s content I’m not interested in reading. If a positive review mentions the book being a bully romance that’ll help me determine it’s not a book for me because that’s not a trope I enjoy.

[@dixieAQHA]

Kindle just served me an ad for this book! I did not purchase it, but I am so excited to hear you talk about it!

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Your laughing throughout this had me laughing the whole time!! 🤣🤣

[@lyddie465]

your incredulous giggling is just so good

[@Jojo-lc4vm]

I love your review.. Completely loves ZODIAC ACADEMY, but your review was yours yet very accurate. The twisted sisters are known for heading your heart after giving you a glimpse of hope. It's not everyone cup of tea BUT I loved your thoughts, laugh, and I would've loved to go back and forth with ya on this!

[@Jeffrey.e]

I am so happy to see you back on KZbin, I missed you!!!

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you! I took a lil break to give myself a chance to miss YT lol. I was feeling a little down about it, but I'm feeling ~inspired~ now.

[@Jeffrey.e]

@@mynameismarines totally understand! :)

[@HSPaisley]

I am two minutes is and SO excited for this review 🤣

[@Blindfold-Me]

I can’t speak for everyone, but negative reviews of a book intrigue me more than positive ones

[@ryn_jackson]

Maybe you should do the book version of that thing where people react to the first and last episode of a long running show & just skip to the final book.

[@mynameismarines]

oh my god. Can you imagine me trying to fill in the blanks because last time I saw all of these assholes they were trying to kill each other.

[@ryn_jackson]

@@mynameismarines they may still be trying to kill each other in the final book - there's no reason to believe any plot or character development is going to happen 😂

[@JulianGreystoke]

I put so much effort and work into my writing... But apparently I just need to find the right subject and write whatever, then Book Tok sells it for me. Dammit.

[@mynameismarines]

I wish I could tell you even what books BookTok picks to hype because there are so many authors trying to crack that code. But on a cycle, it feels like they pick a terrible book and just hype it to death.

[@JulianGreystoke]

@@mynameismarines much like fanfic (which I stan) it seems these books rely on one or two big tropes and don't worry about quality writing or an actual plot.

[@mynameismarines]

@@JulianGreystoke Very true. Enemies to lovers? You're in. Reverse harem? Get on in here. Etc.

[@onarosebeam]

Came here from your worst books of 2022 video and I’m addicted to the way you giggled through this video!

[@ashleypasleybashley]

I was never interested in this series but it is still l nice to know what its about because I’m not going to read it myself so thank you!!!

[@mynameismarines]

You are very welcome. If I can save others the pain, I've done my job here.

[@EvieEvangelion]

I think booktok has a big problem with the sunk cost fallacy. Cause like I have heard the line "Oh it gets good at book 3(or 4)" so offend. Like I heard it with the Throne of Glass series too

[@lilmaibe]

I only had a look at excerpts of the book but... I kinda got the feeling it's also one of the stories that tries to *tell* the reader what to think about it?

[@bobaorc7839]

I read the summary of the first book on Kindle and noped out. It had all the workings of a Livejournal post from 2009

[@squidyinkydink]

I don’t have TikTok and I guess I’m not missing much 😂 I appreciate this review though! 💜

[@mynameismarines]

There is a lot of good stuff on TikTok and I'm having a ton of fun, but it did take some wading through a ton of stuff I wasn't interested in to get my algorithm to the right spot.

[@squidyinkydink]

@@mynameismarines I just have a hard time with social media. I have a compulsive need to always be reaching for it, so I just limit myself to KZbin. It helps ensure I actually do some reading 😁

[@jennom2195]

Marines is such a pretty name!

[@daniellemhall1358]

The kind of bully romance I like: bully has a real or perceived reason to hate/feel aggression toward their subject, but it wars with their attraction to the person. The bullying ends when the conflict is explored and cleared up and the romance begins. How many books have I found like that? Maybe two. It's really frustrating.

[@kfkfiles]

What's the name of the two books?

[@daniellemhall1358]

@@kfkfiles I can't remember. I wanna try to find them again. I read the last one a year or two ago. If I find/remember them I will post a reply.

[@kfkfiles]

@@daniellemhall1358 thank you

[@bobaorc7839]

Just bullies having personalities in any genre goes a long way. Bully Revenge manwha (Korean Manga) has this problem, where 99% of all these stories make the bullies unrepentant monsters killing parents/pets and SAing the protagonist for HOURS of preamble. They're not characters. They're not there to have their own arcs, be challenged on their worldviews, or have any kind of development. They're props, pins for the protagonists to bowl over. Shoutout to Shark for actually having a really interesting and compelling bully character. He's a jerkwad, but it's not for the sake of being a jerkwad. He was never singling out the protagonist, he was fighting and beating up everyone regardless of strength or size.

[@hazelmorera5946]

The way I enjoyed the crap out of this review!! 🔥 I’m both delighted by it, and laughing at your takes, but also I feel sorry that you went through this terrible reading experience lol I started reading the first book a few weeks back because I figured “let’s see what the fuss is about,” read maybe 40-50 pages, then decided I could not deal with the horrible writing and DNF’d. Thanks for reading it so I wouldn’t have to 😂

[@jojibug4207]

I'm so unsure about this series...I might read it out of sheer curiosity at this point! ha, side-note: I can't NOT giggle when she giggles...love it!

[@khadijadirir8082]

It would be fun if you read all seven for us but at least book 2!

[@mynameismarines]

All 7!!! 😳😳

[@GatekeeperGuardian-wv3cd]

The more I hear about this, the more this sounds like House of Night

[@dimerymichaels3539]

There are already so many books in this series?!?! 🫣

[@mynameismarines]

APPARENTLY. That feels illegal to me, honestly.

[@imnothere6696]

You would think if they were two princesses they would do whatever it took to PROTECT them from the bullying. Also WHY WOULD YOU GET WITH YOUR BULLY/ABUSER?

[@mynameismarines]

I have NO IDEA why anything that happened in this book happened. I swear to you that it would go from one scene where the boys were like... setting them on fire... to another scene where they were like "wow, but he is so handsome." Make it make sense.

[@imnothere6696]

Also if you have to go through 4 other books for it to be good, your series sucks xD.

[@rae8546]

haven't even read the book but i love this review, and your giggling about all the nonsense is super infectious 😄 slogging through four books until a series gets better sounds like such a waste of time and i don't understand how anyone can seriously recommend that. if you do want to give it another try, maybe you could just read summaries and then jump back into it at book 4 or 5? (whichever one people say is "when it gets good") sidenote, i can't believe that some people are honestly arguing for there to be only positive reviews?!? that's a totally incomprehensible mindset to me

[@0okuzukirio0]

I didn't give a book 0 star because they worth a zero. I give a zero because I cannot go any lower. It's my zero and if people decided to not read a book because I voiced out my bad experience with a book, that's their issue tho?

[@mynameismarines]

People tried to make this point to OP and she was like “some people are easily influenced and influencers need to be careful.” It was then that I realized this person actually had no idea how reviews or like the internet works 😅

[@0okuzukirio0]

@@mynameismarines lol then let's life teach those "easily influenced" a lesson in judgement and independent thinking. Some good lessons can be learned the hard way. Well, the OP might've been one of those, i hope he/she'll grow up soon.

[@starkidgirl101]

I know this is a bit old. Buuut people who say there should never be negative reviews is soooooo DUMB!! There’s been many reviews that are negative that have gotten me to read the book because either 1) I wanna read it and see how bad it is for myself or 2) some of the negative things they mention might be tropes and things I love. So yeahhhh that’s so ridiculous and I hate when people say “no negative reviews!” Like shut upppp. I legit love watching/reading bad reviews on things that I love because I think they’re so funny and/or they point out things I might not have noticed through my rose colored glasses

[@jrowme9230]

I dnf it before the end of the fire house hazing … just couldn’t follow it and kept mixing the characters voices and completely confused which guy was who?! :/

[@joreads8782]

Did I miss it? Do you agree it should be zero stars, was waiting for some resolution on the whole one star vs no star? FYI I really enjoyed this!

[@mynameismarines]

OH so I don’t give anything lower than 1 star because that’s how Goodreads works, but this is 0 stars in my heart.

[@arkkon2740]

The children yearn for high school vampire diaries

[@booksvsmovies]

Not to shade on self-pubbed books, I have read good ones, but I find so many series have terrible endings as a cheap ploy to get you to buy the next book an I absolutely HATE it. Some authors have no confidence that their writing was good enough to compel readers to continue.

[@mynameismarines]

Yes, this is also something I’ve seen a lot in self pub. It doesn’t even just feel cliffhanger-y, but just a dead stop. Something you would expect more in serialized fiction.

[@Juiceharlot]

Booktok is so immature and I'm glad I don't follow on suggestions from there. That place is wild.

[@mynameismarines]

I've found some really good reviewers on there, but it took some work. The recs I got when I first joined booktok were not it for me.

[@okidokiboki]

i lost it when you lost it at sexy harry potter

[@yourmom9474]

a book is PAPER!!! you can’t bully paper! if someone were talking bad about the AUTHORS with no just cause, THAT would be bullying. critiques are not attacks, they’re opinions.

[@bebella9005]

the more you talked about the book, the more gobsmacked I became...

[@kat8559]

Idk ... if you're up for it you could skim all of the books (or jump to the last one) to put it to rest. If you can tell just by looking at a page that it's edited badly you should be able to tell pretty quickly if it actually does get better 😂😭 Ty for this public service, take care of yourself 💖🙏

[@kat8559]

I get the sense that booktok has a lot of literal children lol

[@mynameismarines]

That's true, I would know pretty quickly, at least when it comes to the writing and editing, if that improves from book to book. We'll see how it goes if/when I start skimming book 2.

[@tess42]

oh brb adding "petty betty" to my permanent vocab

[@mynameismarines]

It's a good one and also applies to me a lot, if I'm being very self aware.

[@alyrica0505]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I do not agree with only positively reviewing books (frankly it is ridiculous, IMO).. Nothing is universally loved or hated so some readers not liking a book is not only expected but provides as much valuabe insight as positive reviews. Either positive or negative reviews could ( and have) convince me to read or not read a book.

[@mynameismarines]

I get convinced by negative reviews all the time!! I think the important thing is to get to know the reviewer, and the way I do that best is by hearing their positive and negative opinions. I totally get why people decide not to negatively review on their own channels, but that isn't the kind of content I gravitate towards. I want balance and honesty!

[@alyrica0505]

@@mynameismarines I agree 100%!

[@moustik31]

Or buy it. Books are ex-pen-si-ve! I use reviews to help me save some money. Also, I'm all for 0/1 stars bec. some authors are really giving us subpar books. If I feel, the author did a half-*ssed job, is wasting my time, I'll definitely point it out. 🤷🏾‍♀️ Also somoene's negative review is someone's next favorite book. Some of my favorite Booktubers have the exact opposite taste than mine, every books they hate, I know I'll love. It never fails. 😂 NB: I feel, that the part left off this convo is the most important one IMO and it's about how BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ writers are being drowned in "bad" reviews, that are just textbook racism and bigotry. THESE "negative" reviews really are problematic and tend to tank the average rating of diverse books on Goodreads for ex. It infuriates me, bec. every week, tiktok will hype up a new mediocre White writers and make millionnaire out of them.

[@trinistar1930]

I completely agree with you these books are awful ! This just promotes abusers !

[@irenamcg]

OMG the blasphemy, giving a boog negative review 😂 booktok people are obviously missing the point of having the mix of positive and negative reviews and taking from them what suits you and decide if that book is for you or not. But that's why I don't bother with booktok anyway, the quality is very low just because of those new insta book content that doesn't have quality and deep analysis which book people can give in longer videos - like on YT.

[@mynameismarines]

I definitely have found some great reviewers on there but there is also just a lot more volume of content to sift through to get there. They are also having a ton of the new book community discourse that BookTube had when I joined back in 2012

[@seductiveraven4895]

There was character development

[@mynameismarines]

uh-huh, like what

[@seductiveraven4895]

@@mynameismarines I actually like your videos, but in the beginning of the first book tory and darcy feel like they don't want to be heirs, and don't belong and that changes throughout the series.

[@mynameismarines]

@@seductiveraven4895 I didn’t read the series, I read the first book and even the first book should have an arc, even if more changes happen later. It did not. The characters were flat.

[@arkkon2740]

​​@@seductiveraven4895Tbh this change shouldn't take one or two books to come to fruition. If it starts off as not wanting this and then easing into it then sure, but it took them multiple books to change this mindset despite the fact that they have multiple powers, incentive in inheritance, nigh infinite dating options given that it was made clear to the reader and all they have to do is go through this academy. There's almost no rules that apply to them, but the only reasons why they want to leave isn't some inevitable thing, they just don't make the action to attempt to stop it. And remember, they either go through it and gain power and riches, which is what they want, or lose it all and go back to a life of theft on the streets

[@nicky5669]

after reading three dark romance books consecutively for a book club I think it's safe to say that this genre just isn't for me. most of the time it seems like this genre is used by authors as an excuse to write the most awful shit where the mmcs are bullying and borderline abusing (in some cases even raping) the fmc and when someone get's upset about the portrayal or how these heavy themes are dealt with (if the author even bothers to do that) they can say "well it's dark romance 🤷". And this book was not only bad but also boring...

[@GrimReader]

Booktok and teen to early twenties readers are fascinating they can point out and recognise unhealthy relationship practices and grooming and then absolutely throw all in on abusive relationships as escapism.

[@moustik31]

I'm so mad bec. as a fan of astrologie, I really expected that series to use the lore for their world building. Edit: omg the racism! 🤦🏾‍♀️😐

[@mynameismarines]

I was like tell me the daily horoscope isn't the only thing we get from the Zodiac Academy. AND IT WAS. AND THEN IT WAS RACIST.

[@katekursive1370]

I don't know, I think Mein Kumpf deserves zero stars. Controversial, I know

[@mynameismarines]

People were saying this to the OP on TikTok and she was blocking them lol. A good time.

[@AbiofPellinor]

I knew this was gunna be bad before I even saw the thumbnail lol

[@shelliingle571]

That book sounds so horrible. I can't believe why they wrote something's a piece of garbage and marketing as a best seller. It sounds like nothing but mainly focused on abusive relationships after some Booktuber had praised that "the series was great" and how ignorant that they had blocked someone after the other Booktuber shared own personal opinion on it.

[@Risivia]

Oof, it’s like my most hated YA trope became its own genre. Can someone explain the appeal of books likes this? Because I honestly don’t get it. This kind of book would be repulsive to me.

[@quirkyblackenby]

Yeah I don’t believe in pushing through books in a series either. I will literally stop reading in the middle of series. I don’t care. Not gonna waste my time like that. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@nisoZ]

I miss your videos, especially that I have a very firm policy against joining TikTok xx

[@mynameismarines]

Aww, it’s just easier to make TT content, but I’m trying to get back in the habit of doing both!

[@nisoZ]

@@mynameismarines You have no idea how much your own pop culture and book critique influenced my reading and watching habits! You're one of the most brilliant creators out there and it's a shame that the KZbin algorithm doesn't care about brilliance and cultural value. Have a great weekend xx

[@shannonigans_]

the authors being british with the weird race stuff yeah, makes sense.

[@mynameismarines]

lol

[@jasminv8653]

Dunno how to tell you this but there are british people from all racial backgrounds, it's an empire you know. White english? More like it.

[@logan2113]

I’m living for your laugh 🤩 Scathing review tho… I can’t help but think this is a self published novel written by teenagers who want to be/self insert as the twins? I know nothing about it, someone tell me I’m right or otherwise fire the publisher 😂

[@mynameismarines]

They are definitely grown women and yes this is self published!

[@logan2113]

@@mynameismarines ohhhhhh that is uncomfortable 😅

[@noonlemur]

i love these reviews, i always wind up laughing along with you...also lol "it gets good 4 books in" sounds like series stockholm syndrome Edit: wrote this comment about 2 seconds before you said stockholm syndrome oops!!

[@mynameismarines]

Great minds lol. Honestly, how are you gonna suffer for 4 books and then try and convince me to do the same?!?

[@noonlemur]

@@mynameismarines really though!!! ...can't believe this is how people convinced me to read the first five books of the Dresden FIles (do not recommend)...

[@mynameismarines]

@@noonlemur I'M READING STORM FRONT RIGHT NOW. I AM AGHAST. SEND HELP.

[@noonlemur]

​@@mynameismarines nooOOOOOOooOOO ᶦ ᵐᵉᵃⁿ ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵃᶦᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʳᵉᵛᶦᵉʷ ᵒᶠ ᶦᵗ but still nooo i truly hope that experience is over soon !

[@Doomslug]

Standards are so low nowadays... 😂

[@safaiaryu12]

Omg. I want to say don't torture yourself by reading more of this, but I'm also curious, lol! This sounds so terrible it's not even funny.

[@mynameismarines]

See, that's where I am too! I don't want to torture myself but... I HAVE TO KNOW.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

The whole idea that bad reviews are preventing people from reading. Their favorite books is so stupid, I have read plenty of books from people’s negative reviews. Does she not have any agency? Does she only like and read things people tell her are good???

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Good person DOES NOT MEAN good author!!!

[@bookshelfhoney]

This book series sounds kind of like a bad Netflix show that you keep watching cause you just can't decide what else to watch, except it's so much more effort cause you have to read it with your own eyes and brain 😣

[@mynameismarines]

That's true. I mean, usually those shows for me have a bit of campiness or something you can at least laugh along to. This book for me was only pain.

[@hanasheik]

So are all the books 900+ pages??? ...cuz that's a whole lotta words.

[@mynameismarines]

This first one was 450ish pages but the most recent entries I hear are like double that. Not unrelatedly, part of the way Kindle Unlimited pages is by page read

[@mergesviz]

I started reading the sample on Goodreads and initially I was like “oh, at least we aren’t constantly filtering!” and then I got to page two and noped out. Like it’s… _interesting…_

[@vns_moon]

I loathed this book. I don't have the words to describe how much I hated this book. I've read AO3 Smut that is better written and properly edited. I couldn't tell the difference between Tory and Darcy's chapter because they sound the same. I'm on my second one they spelled hiccup wrong. It doesn't get better.

[@leothelion6245]

insane children's logic behind "no negative reviews >:(!!!" aside, it's genuinely concerning that this is a romantic ideal for tik tok. take time to heal and quit reading actual garbage I'm begging and screaming and throwing up

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Lol I’ve heard this is the best and worst book 😂😂😂

[@mynameismarines]

There is no best. NO BEST.

[@mlibbym]

Sounds like a ripoff of Cruel Prince...

[@TheGoofy1932]

This does answer some questions for me though. I could Never understand the love and devotion that crappy authors like Maas, Armentrount and Clare receive. However, if you're measuring them against this flaming pile of 💩, then I guess it makes those others look "good". 🤷‍♀️