The WORST Books I've Read (So Far) This Year

[@Thegirlnamedsomthing]

I had a short existensial crisis when you just casually threw out we're halfway through the year. You should be kinder with your audience Merph!

[@meurer13daniel]

End of the fisrt half of the year is only at the end of June. I find it funny how people mistaken early june as mid of the year

[@ВераБеленко-ц8о]

@@meurer13daniel and it is not even June yet

[@Thegirlnamedsomthing]

@@meurer13daniel That's true, still strange to think we're at the halfway point soon! It probably fits her schedule best to expand the definition a bit.

[@eoghanclark165]

Right 😅

[@FlyingFocs]

Me in the beginning of the year: "Heck yeah, I got my first draft done! I'll just take a short break, and get the second draft done in no time!" Me now: "Oh. oh...."

[@JulianGreystoke]

I hate hate hate when characters lie to the readers in their own head for no reason. It's such a cheap way to make a twist. Super duper no thanks!

[@britneynicole8903]

I always thought the reason they did that was so they could try to convince themselves of something.

[@JulianGreystoke]

@@britneynicole8903 well some might, but that needs to be done carefully, and so many writers skip that step

[@britneynicole8903]

@@JulianGreystoke Very true. In my opinion, I think if the writer is trying to make the character convince themself of something and they just cannot get it right, they should just cut that whole part out. I have read a few books in the past that do that sort of thing and I wished they had just gotten rid of it.

[@RandomWriter9110]

Same here! I despise books that do that. I just read a great book earlier this year that I loved up until the "twist" in the end. What you thought you read? Total lie! And not only that, but a lie from MULTIPLE CHARACTERS at the same time in ALL OF THEIR MINDS. So, you weren't just lied to from one character from their perspective; you were pretty much lied to by everyone in an attempt to make the twist ending work. I was so annoyed by that! It's such a cheap way for authors to write their endings.

[@vaboston]

When you mentioned the bit in Survive the Night about being in someone's head and them lying to the audience in their own head, I had flashbacks to a classmate's novel draft from my college novel writing class. That was the twist of the entire book. You're in this guy's 1st person narration, and he's lost his memories. He goes throughout the story interacting with various people he knows trying to figure out what happened, who he is, and who used the machine he invented to erase his memories and why. Then, at the very end of the book, it's revealed he never actually lost his memories. He was pretending the whole time in his own head for no reason other than to trick the (to him) non-existent reader that he would have no reason to deceive. I was mad.

[@ASHLEY.397]

Spoiler alert for the silent patient That’s a bit similar to the silent patient, where the killer was actually the main character while being in his own head, he was ‘figuring out what happened’ which just didn’t make sense to me

[@vaboston]

@@ASHLEY.397 There's one story I've read where the lying to the audience from 1st person actually worked due to the framing and how the twist was actually hinted at early on (it's a mystery novel, though, so I won't say which book), and one where it wasn't great but wasn't badly done enough to make me angry. It can be satisfying if done really well, but it's just not a good trick to try out if you aren't a really good author. It's too easy to irritate readers when they realize they've been lied to.

[@elaz925]

I read a YA zombie apocalypse book once called Alone, its about a group of friends on a subway in NYC, it crashes, they wake up after the crash to zombies everywhere. Weirdly, the whole book doesn't have quotation marks around the dialog. That's because the twist is his friends all died in the crash and they are in his head. Which as many reviews pointed out, didn't make sense because the other characters would often know, do, see or hear something that the main character did not. Or would I believe at one point one of the dead friends made a noise or something alerting a zombie, which could happen because they are not real. IDK I didn't finish the book because it was very hard to read without quotation marks.

[@Mayeur000Donz]

I feel bad for your classmate. Like, if somehow I wrote 80% of a book like that and then realized the mistake... I'd probably feel desperate to rationalize to myself why it works fine, just so all the time and investment in the idea wasn't wasted.

[@vaboston]

@@Mayeur000Donz I get that, but he still should have changed it. I say this as someone who has one novel self-published already and is editing a second, it wouldn't actually have been hard to fix. You find out near the end of the book, so all he'd have to do is change a bit of the last 10-15%, and probably not even that much of it. Until then, it seems as if the guy really has lost his memory and there's no indication that he's faking it. I probably rewrote more from 4 chapter of my book than he would have had to to fix that issue. He seemed to really want that twist, though, even though the general opinion of the class was that it didn't work. But we authors can be stubborn about clubbing our baby seals. I probably have a few in my story I should have killed off, myself, and I had to change a very emotionally poweful scene in my current work to be less powerful and have had to rework other parts because of changes I made to further books in the series. It's part of our job to change our works in ways we don't want to in order to make them better and more cohesive.

[@almogdov]

I will admit, I did not expect to hear the words "yeet a mermaid" in this video. well done.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

I kinda want to read this book now, just for that. 🤣🤣 🤣

[@britneynicole8903]

@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 Me too!

[@bingo36able]

Oh man, the lines you read from "This Close to Okay" made my whole body shake with equal parts cringe and an intense desire to reach for a red pen.

[@hatecake23]

PLUMP BEER?! I just. My brain can't deal with this.

[@britneynicole8903]

@@hatecake23 Right?!?! Those were such … creative sentences! Haha

[@dakotathrelkeld9644]

Books like Survive the Night make give me the hope that I too could be a New York Times bestselling author one day

[@swolechihuahua4905]

Merphy reads one piece: Oda releases 1044 Merphy reads Spy x Family: Endo releases twilight's flashbacks Merphy reads Hunter x Hunter: Togashi teases the return of the manga. What is this super power you have going on girl ?? 😆

[@synaesthesia888]

She needs to do a One Piece Openings reaction, that would be a fun video idea

[@Merdragoon]

Now I wonder if she tries Land of the Lustrous Manga if it would be the end of the 1000 year hiatus for Phos. (I'm teasing of course as I know that those are a bit more planned an handled differently compared to other Hiatuses xD)

[@Pablo360able]

Merphy must never read The Man in the High Castle, the results could be catastrophic

[@DrCabby]

@@Merdragoon Land of the lustrous is returning in June!!

[@Merdragoon]

@@DrCabby Wait, what? When was this announced? Where was this announced? I may actually consider picking up the manga to read it in it's entirety if it's true. (I donno why the story in the anime rubbed me the wrong way, but after the story was explained in a particular genre for the manga, had me curious of the manga itself and got to know the story through that way and do enjoy the art style of the Manga from what I've seen and enjoy the themes that were talked about in a different way. So I'm actually serious of considering picking up the Manga if I get the actual true confirmation of the story being returned.)

[@neondemon5137]

I can't tell if you're on the verge of tears or insanity while talking about Survive the Night.

[@lelnel6242]

'Survive the Night' sounds like a parody for horror movie buffs who had enough of the 'final girl' trope

[@leofrun]

For my mobile-only friends! Intro 0:00 Ad: 0:45 This Close To Okay 2:35 This Close To Okay SPOILERS 8:35 Survive the Night: 11:15 Survive the Night SPOILERS 17:10 River of Shadows 20:45 Outro 25:09

[@AFrolicInTheTomesxx]

?? I’m on mobile and the chapters she set show up perfectly fine for me

[@leofrun]

@@AFrolicInTheTomesxx Oh, nice! But I think that this is for people who want to skip to exactly a certain part with the click of a button instead of clicking on the timeline

[@hayapatel_]

@@leofrun description timestamps have worked for mobile for quite a while now! appreciate what you did though!

[@britneynicole8903]

Her timestamps worked great for me even on mobile. But, thank you!

[@KristenReviews]

As someone in grad school to go into therapy, the first book was a big yikes! Talk about starting off with a power imbalance. Now, when talking to people I do sometimes accidentally slip into “therapist mode” especially around a crisis but I still encourage someone to seek actual, professional help! At the end of the day, the most I can do is give suggestions and maybe provide insight. I leave diagnoses up and long-term mental health help to actual licensed people!!

[@britneynicole8903]

I have read something interesting recently where it says that a therapist is not supposed to date their patients. I know that, technically, Tally was not Bridge’s therapist, but just the fact that she was thinking of him as a patient is, in my opinion, similar.

[@natasagajic1061]

I dnf-ed This Close to Okay after just 20 pages. The woman sees a man who's about to jump off a bridge and her second thought is (paraphrasing) _He's so hot. I'm quite attracted to him._ 🤦‍♀️

[@AntediluvianRomance]

AND she calls him after an associated object instead of a name while feeling that way... That feels quite dehumanizing.

[@queerlibtardhippie9357]

Idk that feels realistic

[@brianmurphy250]

“I can fix him”

[@britneynicole8903]

Yes. That is not a normal response for someone to have when seeing someone at the brink of death.

[@britneynicole8903]

@@AntediluvianRomance And the best part of that is that she is a therapist, for goodness sake!

[@Lynn-CA]

*gets the popcorn ready for Survive the Night*

[@worstbuddyreaderEddi3]

Yeah I was afraid it would never happen..

[@gilasantos2477]

It’s beautiful I love it!

[@theonlyslagathor]

For Survive the Night, you forgot that she needed to be "Plucky". She's very plucky. Charlie is the most plucky main character you'll ever meet. did i mention she was plucky?

[@kate-ne]

I want to read that last book purely for the yeeting 😂💀🧜🏽‍♀️

[@MargarettaMs]

Same 🤣

[@merphynapier42]

YEET

[@britneynicole8903]

I had the same thought! It looks like that author has A LOT of books!

[@britneynicole8903]

Yes!! I know this is not related to anything except the word “yeet”, but a long time ago, some of my old friends and I created this game called YeetBall. You pass this ball around in a circle and you yell out the word Yeet as you are passing it to somebody else.

[@ktscreativeescape]

I DNF'd This Close to Okay because of how much she lied to him and just did ridiculously dangerous and stupid things. I would not trust her as my therapist.

[@britneynicole8903]

Same here!! Same thing with Mariana from The Maidens!

[@Bookdragon11]

Nooooooo, Merph, tell me more about the so weird it was funny-book! I wanna hear you talk about it in details! 😂

[@britneynicole8903]

The mermaid part was GREAT!

[@uptown3636]

Merphy seems to be enjoying booktube more recently (case in point, she smiled and laughed through this discussion of bad books). Maybe I just imagined her waning enthusiasm, but either way, I’m happy that she seems happy.

[@thecaffeinatedbookwyrm3051]

That book, This Close to Okay, sounds like I would have DNF'd it in the first few pages. And Survive the Night sounds like it would have been a Gone Girl situation: feeling betrayed by a book and throwing it at the wall.

[@trinityjohnson7954]

Better yet, feeling betrayed by a book and yeeting it out the window. XD

[@thecaffeinatedbookwyrm3051]

I see what you did there....... 😂

[@britneynicole8903]

@@trinityjohnson7954 😂😂

[@Bushwhacker-so4yk]

This Close to Okay, from the way you described it, sounds, well, this close to being a good story. I like the premise of stranger meeting another stranger by talking them away from a bridge, but the whole romance-but-also-therapist-relationship thing is so hard to get past. Also, those sentences you read out loud, yiiiikes.

[@britneynicole8903]

I wish that the main character was honest with the guy that she was dating/trying to help!

[@thewritestuffofficial]

I’m completely curious about River of Shadows. I feel that was going somewhere hilarious and now I kinda need to know more.

[@my_19th_personality]

Even when Merph talks about books she didnt like, she makes it highly interesting and fun 🤗

[@britneynicole8903]

Yes!

[@87n31]

Probably the best sponsored ad I've watched in a long while.

[@nathanmontgomery8650]

Yay watta wonderful video to wake up to being in my notifications keep up the good work.

[@tanneranderson9386]

I see Murphy’s manga collection has officially made itself some space (I see one piece, uzumaki and spy x family for sure) We’ll see how long it can be confined to just one shelf!

[@KristenReviews]

Also a part of me wanted Survive the Night to end up with the MC as the killer and the only reason she stayed on the road trip for so long was to flee from any suspicion, maybe find a next victim, and she stayed because she was confident she could just kill again.

[@britneynicole8903]

That would have been such a cool ending!

[@caitlyn.m.t9618]

Okay, so River of Shadows does sound hilarious. Like those two points had me laughing. Zombicorns? Yeeting a doll sized mermaid? That's top tier comedy. I loved that

[@britneynicole8903]

I think that would make a great show

[@britneynicole8903]

You know what would also make a great movie which I can find kind of ironic? Survive the Night! As Merphy was describing it, I was just visualizing what Charlie looked like and everything else. It made me laugh a lot!

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

Classic video love it and love you and your amazing channel love your family friend John xxx

[@danamytereads5304]

I love ranty Murphy!! 😂😂😂 None of those books sound appealing to me. I'm glad you talked about them! (The relationship in This Close to Okay sounds horrible. But I'm glad it ended the way you said it did. *avoiding spoilers* because that relationship sounded like a toxic hot mess. )

[@britneynicole8903]

I almost bought Survive the Night the other day! I just want to read it to laugh at it! And I agree! I really like the Tally and Bridge had the ending that they did!

[@jenniferdobbs7092]

In Survived the Night, I didn't have a problem with the ride thing, because of the year the book was set, however the rest of the book I totally agree with you! I rarely talk to a book as I'm reading, but I was definitely having wtf conversations with it!

[@britneynicole8903]

I would be saying things like: “Charlie! What is wrong with you? Get out of the car!! No, no, do not get back in the car. Are you stupid? Please, girl! Just call your boyfriend and tell him what is going on!”

[@rexgeorgerodriguez7620]

Great now I have books to read while on a break. Maybe after reading these books, my perceptions about them would be different from yours. I kinda interested on the first book lol I love torturing myself (figuratively)while reading.

[@thefairylibrarian3282]

Oh my goodness, I need to read about mermaids being yeeted out of boots right now! 🤣🤣

[@britneynicole8903]

That part was hilarious!

[@incrediblez900]

I like to think I’m talking for all of us, but we love the way you think and how you can articulate the feelings that we all have towards something that we all love… and hate. And also I like to think I’m speaking for the audience or maybe just myself 😅but we would love to to know your review and thoughts on Narnia.

[@britneynicole8903]

A Narnia review would be great!

[@danielleoliver1734]

I read River of Shadows because I like books where we go to the Underworld, and some bits were good but some were cringy bad. It’s not a good book but I’m completely going to read the next book which I think just came out

[@AnaCarolinaVanzetta]

I hate Charlie soooo much. It's been almost a year since I read it and I still think back at how much I hated it. I had never thrown a book before, but this one bounced of off my walls.

[@judgmentaltoast]

Honestly I love your rants so so so much 😂 ❤️

[@fletch44]

Lock Every Door, by Riley Sager, might be worth your time. I read it a couple years ago and I generally liked it. It was a pretty good mystery type of novel (mystery/suspense, not quite a “thriller” like the flawed Survive the Night was).

[@vegangurly]

Lock Every Door is the only Riley Sager I genuinely like. The ending lost me justtt a tad. But it’s so atmospheric and engrossing. Second best for me is Final Girls. Everyone loves Last Time I Lied. I thought that one was a stinker. And Home Before Dark was also pretty meh.

[@britneynicole8903]

That was a great book, but the ending was …. it depends on the type of horror you like. I personally liked it. To me, it made the book make a lot more sense!

[@Eldyra]

I fully agree with your pov on "Survive the Night", those characters were all SO stupid and so was the plot. I just finished the book to see, whether they all die the painful death they deserved 🤣 "Home Before Dark" by the author was really good, though.

[@surenderbeniwal8578]

Thanku Merph for the laughs, really needed it!

[@lb3240]

So, I picked up "a man called Ove" and I have to say, it is one of the best books I ever read. The rawness of the book is just... amazing. It's just a good book about an honest man. Ove actually reminds me a lot of my father. Definitely not disappointed. 11/10

[@TheHammy1987]

Oooh, I absolutely loved A Man Called Ove!!! Pretty much all of Backman's novels are amazing. He really knows what he's doing

[@lb3240]

So I finished the book... wow, what a JOURNEY... I can't stop gushing. It sooo good!

[@britneynicole8903]

I need to pick up that book

[@lb3240]

@@britneynicolewrites no but I really want to!

[@lb3240]

@@britneynicolewrites nice!! Let me know what you think!

[@britneynicole8903]

I just thought of another Riley Sager book that I really enjoyed - The Last Time I Lied. The first of his books that I read was Lock Every Door!

[@jessicamarie8588]

At first I was worried a tad to watch this only due to spoilers, and the thought "what if I DO ever want to read any of these...!? Cant ruin it for myself!" ... but honestly these books sound so very bad that I'm THANKFUL for the spoilers and felt I was spared and saved from EVER wasting a moment of my time hoping they would be good if I were to come across them. If I had a DO NOT read pile I'd add these lol Plusss I lucked out with 26 minutes of awesome content from someone worth actually listening to! Win all around!

[@pippaschroeder9660]

I trust her opinion enough to think that if she had so many problems with it I’d probably not enjoy it. Also I don’t have the time to read books I might not enjoy

[@jesse8924]

lol at Korey's foot being crushed while Merphy casually narrates.

[@fiho-ohif]

Speaking of recommendations I think you'd enjoy "The End of Mr. Y" I was hesitant but it turned out to be world crafting akin to The Poppy War but for a non-fantasy reader. Genuinely a gem I didn't expect it to be.

[@JessiicahhhTbh]

The End of Mr Y is BIZARRE but wonderful

[@melodye14]

Wow I didn't think that first book could get worse until you got to the fake email part..o.o

[@britneynicole8903]

Same here. Before that part, I was mildly interested in picking it up to laugh at the bad parts. That email thing crossed the line for me. Way to humiliate somebody, Bridge!

[@ajallen128]

Riley Sager is the Crown Prince of tremendously boring books with awful twists.

[@pintpullinggeek]

Fresh Cut Grass is fairly modest I'd say. Shiny day to you!

[@westmanpl]

I would disagree. FCG is naive, yes. Proven by its belief in a flat Exandria. But several of its traits, like its generosity can be better described as it simply does not value things in the same way.

[@w8ting4fri]

Did she say "escape" at 14:07 and then correct to "eXcape"??? What universe is this.

[@OracleTruth24]

What a wholesome Death character. What's the mileage on those Zombicorns? I'm looking for fuel efficiency

[@thewitchyreader6131]

Great video!

[@chelsea2059]

The fact that I just downloaded river of shadows not even 5 minutes ago… 😭😬

[@britneynicole8903]

I am going to read that book next!! It sounds so funny!

[@catmoon9936]

I crylaughed at the mermaid-boot-scene and the YEET! :D Oh god.. I kinda wanna pick this book up now just to read it and laugh tears, but I know I would probably also scream at the book so maybe I shouldn't do it. xD

[@britneynicole8903]

But, you know, sometimes it feels good to scream at a book!

[@Hermioneswish]

I haven’t read this Reilly Sager book yet and hopefully I still enjoy it. If you haven’t read any of his others I suggest you try The Last Time I Lied. It’s been my favourite of his books so far.

[@britneynicole8903]

Lock Every Door by him was very good as well.

[@Hermioneswish]

That was definitely creepy.

[@britneynicole8903]

@@Hermioneswish The ending of that book definitely was!

[@britneynicole8903]

I actually want to try this book more now after hearing Merphy describe it! I have heard a lot of negative discourse about this book, but now I am even more determined to pick it up.

[@Hermioneswish]

@@britneynicole8903 hopefully I’ll see in store soon. I’m also hoping to get the new Cara Hunter book too.

[@soundsoffiction2456]

Loved the ad! It didn't feel like an ad.

[@Mayeur000Donz]

I will say about the author effectively telling lies in 1st Person tho... My memory's not great, but I think I flipped back and forth through the pages a lot to try and understand if the author was contradicting themselves, and I seem to recall a part where the POV character didn't know who the protagonist actually was until they were given a sign later, and that resolved the problem for me.

[@ruthypoo2675]

This video was a lot of fun thank you! I listened to Survive the Night during a 9-hour overnight drive and it kept me entertained and awake. And when you’re alone in the car no one can hear you yelling at the idiotic main character and implausible storyline. 😉 And the ending was the most ridiculous of all. Quick question - During your break down of Survive the Night, why did you deliberately stop yourself from correctly pronouncing “escape” and start pronouncing it like ex-scape? Regional dialect??? 🤔 Anywho… watching this was a great way to start my day! 🌅

[@britneynicole8903]

I just want to yell at Charlie.

[@fnw100]

Your River of Shadows review had me wheezing

[@playwright82]

This Close to Okay sounds like somebody wrote it for therapy and their therapist suggested they publish it. Doesn't seem like something I would read.

[@Secondhelix]

Have you looked into the Wandering Inn? It's a webseries about a girl who gets pulled into a fantasy world with a video game leveling system, accidentally opens an Inn and her effect on the world at large. Very fun read, but also very long.

[@amandap7733]

That sounds cool. What site is it on?

[@britneynicole8903]

Who is the author?

[@Secondhelix]

@@britneynicole8903 They go by Pirateaba

[@Emmyx21]

Lol yes!! Survive the Night was such a hot mess express - the worst book I've read in YEARS

[@trinforeman54]

"Cuz I said so" 🤣🤣 I do hate that in books, so much.

[@JAKEBB]

Dang Time flies.

[@danielfrank5694]

Hey i know this is off topic but I really think you should read Full Metal Alchemist and also i love your videos i cant stop watching them you're amazing

[@angelacanedit]

I think she has? If I remember correctly

[@britneynicole8903]

Have you started the Marionettes series by Katie Wismer? It is so good!!

[@TheZachary86]

River of shadows sounds like a fun read

[@MrSilvUr]

Oh, I *am* so tired of getting recommendations from my many friends; I'm *so* looking forward to getting recommendation from someone that actually knows me -- this personality quiz!

[@lolthejoker]

17:38 ope there goes gravity Ope, there goes Rabbit, he choked He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy? No He won't have it, he knows his whole back's to these ropes It don't matter, he's dope, he knows that, but he's broke He's so stagnant, he knows, when he goes back to this mobile home, that's when it's Back to the lab again, yo, this whole rhapsody Better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him

[@myrojyn]

What's the name of the first book? Merphy said she didn't hate it and kept saying it was being this close | | to okay

[@ReturnToSenderz]

I see what you did there. 🤓😂

[@hfollman98]

I like Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, but I think his best book is Lock Every Door

[@britneynicole8903]

Lock Every Door was soo good! That is the Riley Sager book I recommend to people!

[@storyphile4518]

Nooo that thing from the second book you talked about? That ending thing? One of my least favorite tropes EVER On the other hand, these kinds of videos give me a glimmer of hope that maybe my book isn’t that bad lol

[@yaoiboilover]

Read TJ Klune!!!! His books make me laugh! Lightning-Struck Heart and House in the Cerulean Sea are my favorites!

[@newbrowny]

The book club I do with my friends have read two books this year, The Love Hypothesis and Pachinko. and omg. The love hypothesis is a straight up garbage book! Idk why everyone likes it???? so confusing. Not even good smut. And Pachinko was a 5/5 book for me. Great stuff.

[@zachryder3150]

See! Shorts work!

[@britneynicole8903]

I really want to make a tally of how many times Charlie mentions movies or movie references in Survive the Night … I am already on page 56. I am estimating around 60x now. 😳😳

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Halfway point of the year... April Fool's feels like last week

[@george-and-gracie7996]

Anybody know what is the book series with the woman standing with her back to us spread on the whitish book spines is? The artwork has me intrigued.

[@davidcunningham6525]

I believe those books are her collection of Jane Austen

[@TheHammy1987]

Totally agree on Survive the Night! I LOVED Home Before Dark, so I thought I might enjoy StN but honestly, Charly was so damn obnoxious and the fact that she just made all the wrong choices (and is totally aware of that fact, like wtf) made me not want to finish the book. I stopped reading about halfway through. Doesn't seem like I missed out much. I just couldn't do it even though I do try to finish every book I start. Sager can do so much better....

[@britneynicole8903]

That saddest part is that some real people are actually like Charlie.

[@pedanticperson1149]

Have you ever tried any of the LitRPG books that seem to be becoming more popular? I don't think I remember you ever mentioning any of them.... Re: This close to okay (which I haven't read) Wouldn't her being open/honest about her profession remove a central conflict of the book? Surely it's not supposed to be realistic or even about ppl who are functional/good at relationships, it's written to the drama/dysfunction in there; though I suppose it might also just be a sign of how dysfunctional some authors/people view relationships.

[@maddyd3422]

I was wondering if you’ve heard of / read the ancient chronicles of darkness?? :) would be so good to hear your thoughts x

[@zackpayton7421]

why are your stormlight books out of order

[@johnypanta6208]

I'm a simple person. I see a rant video about the worst books, I click... The sponsor sounds awesome!!! 👏👏👏

[@notrixamoris3318]

Yup HXH might be coming back for a few issues...

[@scheherazade2291]

You can tell Survive the Night is written by a man because most women would not do the things the female main character does in this book. A lot of women are hyper aware of safety and danger.

[@MIrfanPerdana]

Zombicorns and yeeting mermaids out of boots is just another day, another island in One Piece.

[@Ronin11111111]

The "This Close to Okay" spoilers were a huge sucker punch to my brain. Like... WOW, way to make the character absolutely wretched.

[@skyeoak3]

*in-depth description of getting a wasp out of the house… except the wasp is a tiny mermaid*

[@Mellybeans0919]

First video of yours I've watched and I am laughing so hard. Subscribed. I also could not stand Survive The Night.

[@emmas.m]

I'm currently 71% through "Survive the Night" but I am already SO FURIOUS with this book. Edit: the word "Undulate" is in this book If you had dnf'd it I think you'd have stopped there Edit 2: I officially do not like this book.

[@britneynicole8903]

That word seems to be in every book!

[@ZendikarMage42750]

I was not prepared to hear the word "zombicorns" heh heh

[@alexinator-hh5fe]

This should be a treat

[@hello1885-f1i]

There’s a webtoon called Hooves of Death about the zombie apocalypse except with unicorns and it’s so ridiculously funny

[@Crysta_mchenry]

Does anyone else see Fry from Futurama on the cover of This Close to Okay?

[@o_o-lj1ym]

Wdym we are near halfway through the year!? I’m having a crisis now

[@annasadek2897]

ASOIAF SPOILERS AHEAD When I think of how to make a part of a character a mystery to the reader even tho that character is a POV and we know their thoughts, I remind myself of Ned Stark. Like as far as I remember he never called Jon Snow his son in his head. We all assumed Jon is his bastard from Catelyn POV but then we learn when she asked Ned about Jon he said "He's my blood, that's all you need to know" and that's even more amazing because Ned didn't even lie while speaking. I love the mental gymnastics GRRM does, often his characters don't even lie while speaking, they just avoid the truth (or say the truth but we don't believe them, if you believe in the theory of Tyrion being a Targaryen) You can hide something from a reader even in close POV. You just gotta think

[@kvan8046]

Omg I love riley but survive the night was such a waste of time to read

[@EmilyParagraph]

ngl toxic, problematic relationships intrigue me so i just put in a hold for This Close to Okay at my library

[@paulogaspar8295]

for some reason the female public loves those stories.

[@AwkwardBookworm]

I’ve heard such negative things about Survive the night 😩

[@britneynicole8903]

I almost picked it up. Then I saw the reviews about it and watched Merphy’s review. I am so glad I did not buy it. I do not think I could handle the total stupidity.

[@3slicessenpai]

Hearing the Survive The Night narrative flaws really makes me appreciate how it's actively failing to do what Attack on Titan did so well for its twists, and that's make the characters smarter and more steps ahead than the reader. Yet it still contains no outright lies to the reader, just the total picture is painted to get the reader in a mindset that the twist will come and then everyone will be lost, but then, nope, the characters already knew the twist and were ready to react to it, hence all these small details you'll notice throughout the lead-up to said twist when you re-read/re-watch the scene. No character going "I'm confused!" in their minds one second but then "I totally knew this all along" the very next one.

[@JasperKazai]

I'd never heard of these books, so I looked them up on Goodreads to see other opinions on them. Both This Close to Okay and River of Shadows had something I personally hadn't seen before - the _author themselves_ has the top liked review (which is, obviously, 5 stars), and they talk about why they wrote it and how excited they are. That seems... really weird? There are other channels on Goodreads for authors to make posts. What they left as a "review" is not a review. Only one other person in those reviews' comments echoed my own confusion, and they got dogpiled on for being "rude." Anyways, I just thought that was a weird coincidence for 2 out of these 3 books.

[@samueldionne9675]

YEET!