My biggest gripe with Colleen Hoover is how her marketing team targets *young readers!* I teach middle schoolers and I'm blown away at how they're all reading CoHo books (which portray super toxic relationships and glorify things that shouldn't be glorified which young readers soak up and don't know how to critically separate from reality the way adults can) because "everybody else is reading it" and their adults see a fun and colorful cover and don't question anything about it
@Sophia-rq6oo8 ай бұрын
This is generally a thing that bothers me with publishing: the way many books get marketed to the wrong audiences which either results in people too young for mature fiction reading that when they’re not supposed to or it fucks the authors over who got a swath of readers who thought they were getting one thing but got another that they didn’t want, while the target audience stays unaware… I know money above all else but this is such a short sighted way of handling book promotions & marketing imo
@herseriallife8 ай бұрын
I completely agree. Last week I tried to warn my colleague whose 14yr old daughter is binging CoHo books with her girlfriends, of the danger of her book regarding SA, consent, misogyny, racism… and she was like “I read one of her book and it’s cute romances… and it’s marketed to them: every teenage girls in France are reading CoHo…”🤢🤮
@zainabibrahimkhan63568 ай бұрын
YESSSSSSS!!!! I live in Pakistan and this is a MAJOR issue in my country.
@fae7y8 ай бұрын
@@zainabibrahimkhan6356hii, finally found my fellow pakistani girlie on here!!
@mkaia4718 ай бұрын
my face literally fell when i read your middle schoolers read coho 😬😖 that's got to be detrimental for people in some ways :(
@summercannon82388 ай бұрын
I work at a bookstore and I think my manager explains Colleen Hoover the best - "Colleen Hoover sells millions of books. McDonald's sells millions of burgers. But is McDonald's really the pinnacle of your dining experience?"
@jamie_leigh7 ай бұрын
Intense.
@robfab52046 ай бұрын
I'm screenshotting this. Gotta remember it. So freaking hilarious and accurate. And also kinda sad maybe. Sad but true
@Levitatingmarsipan4 ай бұрын
Does your manager always drop fire lines in causal conversation?
@summercannon82384 ай бұрын
@@Levitatingmarsipan he IS pretty iconic, i'm not gonna lie
@anotherstrawberry-dn3nr2 ай бұрын
Yep, fame ≠ quality (at least not in all cases, sometimes famous things are famous for a reason)
@audreydickinson80838 ай бұрын
I think a lot of people on booktok just haven't discovered AO3 yet and it shows in what they're reading
@sailorersa26448 ай бұрын
One theory that makes so much sense is that people who haven't had a wattpad / episode / whatever phase start off reading crappy books because that they haven't learned to filter through the bad
@persialionheart8 ай бұрын
@@sailorersa2644lmaooooo
@deenaavers69468 ай бұрын
i feel like this applies heavily in the “trope” area because as she was explaining it i was just thinking “these people just want Ao3 tags”
@thitpoulsen3528 ай бұрын
yeah, i was thinking this didn't really originate on tiktok, it came from fanfiction because people already knew the characters and the story and needed to know what the fic included since you specifically read it for that content, not for the story itself.
@saraferguson11567 ай бұрын
AO3?
@baileyinnarnia8 ай бұрын
PLEASE leave Colleen Hoover in the past I’m begging the world at this point
@veIvetreads8 ай бұрын
She's another James Patterson, haha!
@crystalite29098 ай бұрын
omg yes. please.
@renata3748 ай бұрын
yes!! oh my god everything that can be said about her books has already been said at this point. no one has anything new to add so i promise the world does not need one more opinion saying the same things!! i really get annoyed at repetitive contents on booktube
@maarii...8 ай бұрын
Fr, I can't take Collen Hoover anymore bro
@blah9147 ай бұрын
tbh ppl bitching ab CH is more annoying than she is. i read one book. its was fine. dont feel the need to read another. However, i cant seem to get away from the nattering and hating 🥴
@angie94278 ай бұрын
I wouldn't mind tropes so much if authors actually delivered, but if I have to read one more book with enemies to lovers trope where they slightly dislike each other for the first 20 pages...
@K.Hightower8 ай бұрын
Exactly that, I read Fourth Wing thinking it was enemies to lovers but its just that
@writerwiles24068 ай бұрын
true enemies to lovers is defined by its STAKES. Like you could get into serious shit for falling for the enemy. not just like a guy and a girl sniping at each other with half-assed insults for no good reason than a petty misunderstanding 😅😅
@Devilsubliminals8 ай бұрын
i hate enemies to lovers when people don’t do it right 😭 like sometimes its just straight up abusive and i’ll take the mild disliking and petty insults over that anyday lmao
@mkaia4718 ай бұрын
@@K.Hightower oh shit really? 🥱 welp there's another reason to not read the book haha
@K.Hightower8 ай бұрын
@@mkaia471 its pretty good but everyone calls it enemies to lovers which it isnt really is, the dragons and the sass make it up for it kinda
@L.Arroyo8 ай бұрын
I think the problem with special editions is when the author (and/or co.) decides to include special and different content in each special edition book, so it's no longer about what the edition looks like, but what it contains. Imagine expecting people to buy 5 copies of the same book so they can read 5 different extra chapters… that's a nasty move by the publishing industry.
@reyahh158 ай бұрын
i mean this makes sense if it’s like, the anniversary of the book or something. but doing it all at once or close together is sucky
@brianacelestin6298 ай бұрын
!! YES. Changing the physical aspects of the book is fine but the real harm comes when the content is changed. It's so obviously a cash grab, and honestly makes me think less of a story.
@morganechaili8 ай бұрын
It bothers me a lot. In my country there is a french musician (and I love her, her music is pure bliss) who literally released four (4!!) versions of her album, with two new songs each time. And of course every time a new one was released a few weeks later, nobody knew there would be yet another one. It's really not fair. 😠
@sxmmersnxw88298 ай бұрын
Its a good marketing technique but its backfiring a bit. You can find most of the secret chapters online for free
@brookedonaldson60458 ай бұрын
I agree! Comic book industry did this and it eventually backfired on them.
@whitesnowrabbit92968 ай бұрын
I guess the main problem with Collen Hoover books is that they are marketed as romance when they deal with abuse
@ophelili4never8 ай бұрын
Yes and no? Many other books are marketed as romance and romanticize abuse but nobody says anything about them
@whitesnowrabbit92968 ай бұрын
@@ophelili4never I think that mostly because the male leads in those books are written to be toxic but loved so we tend to forget the toxic part, and I don't Collen Hoover wrote hers to be loved.
@ophelili4never8 ай бұрын
@@whitesnowrabbit9296 that’s true but most kids read the books that they see are popular on medias and don’t care about if it’s marketed towards them or not, and they end up romanticizing toxic relationships. What i was trying to say is that lots of people that hate coho books so much because her books are toxic for kids don’t really care about all the abuse bc if they did, her books wouldn’t be the only ones getting criticized that much, lots of them just want to follow the “trend” of not liking coho and don’t really understand the issue 🤷🏽♀️
@Whos_4n48 ай бұрын
please remember that not all of her books contain abuse because some of y’all talk of her books as if all of them had toxic relationships
@whup71818 ай бұрын
@@Whos_4n4Many of the books that are so popular of hers DO have abuse tho. It’s not like if a person does a bad thing but then does a few good things, they’re forgiven for that bad thing
@may-rw5jj8 ай бұрын
My biggest quarrel with the new Romantasy genre is that although the books are written for adults getting past the YA stage, they are still written as if the author never learned how to actually write a book FOR adults. The only “adult” aspects are explicit sex scenes and cursing… but the writing, world building, and plot are all explained as if they are still writing to teenagers. They aren’t producing books for adults, but for people who want to read smut. It is really, really disappointing! The 4th Wing is a prime example of that.
@TheCoolestBookworm8 ай бұрын
I feel like sometimes I want an easy read that also has some ✨spice✨ and I just want my brain to relax and have a fun read and not have to read 10 pages of worldbuilding 😅
@may-rw5jj7 ай бұрын
@@TheCoolestBookworm Yeah, I get that. I said the same thing in another comment thread because it’s super understandable. It just sucks that some authors who write books like those get tenfold the amount of recognition for mid to low quality work than other authors who deserve the money and acknowledgement that tik tok famous authors receive. Again, The 4th Wing is an example of a series that did not deserve the fame it got. It was so bad & I cannot believe it’s already received production rights, lol.
@TheCoolestBookworm7 ай бұрын
Yeah I definitely think it was overhyped and other authors should have been more recognized but I think people liked it was because it was easy to read and got them back into the love of reading, and I love that about fourth wing that anyone can read and enjoy and maybe make that person want to read more books
@may-rw5jj7 ай бұрын
@@TheCoolestBookworm That is a really nice way of looking at it :)
@estheracquah75417 ай бұрын
@@TheCoolestBookwormI agree with wanting an easy read, especially if I’ve been in a reading slump. But I’m finding it’s becoming more and more common for books to just be.. kinda unfulfilling but they have spice so that makes it good enough. You know what I mean?
@pendragon20128 ай бұрын
For me, one thing I'd really like to see disappear is the idea that EVERYTHING needs a dark, gritty side so if you're right that this is going away, I'll be much happier. Great video, Leonie! Hope your holiday season is going well!
@clearly_a_raccon8 ай бұрын
Yessss!! I'm honestly kind of done with morally grey characters. Like kaz brekker is one of my fav ever characters but I'm much more of a fan of golden retriever and cinnamon roll characters especially in love interests
@pendragon20128 ай бұрын
@@clearly_a_raccon Morally gray characters are ok with me, but couldn't we have some genuinely good and evil characters too? And for the worst part is the kind of deep dive into slaughter and SA and all the rest. It's like "if I wanted to know more stories like that I'd watch the news, not read fantasy!"
@musingsunfiltered8 ай бұрын
I respectfully disagree with this take. I do agree that pure lighthearted tales have their place but as a lover of realism, I find it important to represent human complexity and nuance in works of art, even happier ones. Humans are both light and dark. But I do understand it’s mostly a matter of preference.
@pendragon20128 ай бұрын
@@musingsunfiltered Yeah, I don't mind flawed heroes or showing that sometimes the villains honestly thought they were doing right. I just prefer a little bit of uplift somewhere. Even a sad ending can bring a little hope. 🙂
@Ich-Existiere-Nicht8 ай бұрын
I like it when stuff is dark and 3-demensional but I agree. Not everything needs to be like this
@writerwiles24068 ай бұрын
I want actual fantasy prose back in books!!! Like no-one's saying it has to be at the level of George R R Martin but I'm tired of seeing modern slang and lingo in fantasy settings 😭 Also more period-appropriate names with actual thought put into them plssss
@Ellie_20077 ай бұрын
I feel you 😭 we can't have a character named violet than another named Xaden like cmonnn be creative stop giving basic names to some characters and then unique names to others.
@Summer.12Girl7 ай бұрын
A middle fiction fantasy series that I enjoy is the Kingdoms and Empires books by Jaclyn Moriarty, there's 5 of them (so far) and it's based around tweens who are on a magical journey and they discover something new and magical about themselves in the end. Two books have dual pov, but all the books are written in the pov of the characters. I would recommend reading them, and getting the matching hardcover set with illustrations by Kelly Canby, but that is relative to Australia so if you can't that's all good
@faeylin30106 ай бұрын
that's why I switched to Sci-Fi! :D feels so much more "magical" than most modern fantasy books :)
@shay-car6 ай бұрын
YES! Fourth Wing was cringe-inducing with all of the modern lingo like "in my __ era." Seriously? You expect me to feel immersed in this fictional world while you're calling everything "toxic," and Xaden is "sexy AF" ?
@KGiebink015 ай бұрын
try the priory of the orange tree! amazing world building, compelling characters, and beautiful prose
@taliasmith148 ай бұрын
unpopular opinion but i dont like tropification😭i could never put my finger down on why bookish content nowadays lowkey bothered me but you said my exact thoughts
@Funkyfreak1girl8 ай бұрын
It’s tough as the author because no one really buys your book unless you put tropes in it and usually it’s romance-specific tropes. Like I tried not to market my book without tropes and it got literally no traction and no one seemed to be picking it up but now that I use tropes in videos, people pick it up a bit more. But my book isn’t a spicy romance so the TikTok/insta crowd doesn’t really care anyway haha. It’s almost like people want variety but then choose the same tropes that they know anyway. It’s pretty disheartening as a writer tbh
@Briseisgone8 ай бұрын
@@Funkyfreak1girlwhat is your book's title ? :))
@williamerickson5208 ай бұрын
@@Funkyfreak1girl There's no such thing as trope free fiction. Tropes are the recognizable patterns that facilitate identification. You can avoid overused tropes, but that is about it.
@williamerickson5208 ай бұрын
Tropification is just overusing particular tropes and yes, it does get boring.
@elthereall8 ай бұрын
no I agree. I think it also misleads readers because sometimes things get advertised as a trope that isn’t really in it (ie the cruel prince which we see as enemies to lovers a lot but objectively the first book is not that - maybe the second book but absolutely not the first) and sometimes tropification keeps people from reading books they actually WOULD like if they had just heard the plot and not the tropes
@juststayhappy18 ай бұрын
My problem with tropification of books isn't so much with sorting/recommending books based on tropes they use to but with writing the books around the tropes that are popular on booktok. I read multiple books this year that were written like the author was playing trope bingo and trying to get as many tropes in as possible. Like it's not just enemies to friends to lovers it also has to have fake dating AND there's only one bed AND that trope where we find out guy had feelings all along... I'm tired. I want a story, not a collection of cliches.
@ophelili4never8 ай бұрын
Same, I recently read a book that had so many things going around the tropes that it was difficult to follow, It had enemies to lovers, single parenting, second change, evil twin (that’s a trope too now apparently) and marriage of convenience and also surprise pregnancy. That’s when I realised I was tired of books being written just for the tropes😅
@juststayhappy18 ай бұрын
@@ophelili4never oh wow, that's way worse than what I read. I usually get really tired when there's two or three tropes back to back, I think I would've DNF-ed that book hahaha
@ophelili4never8 ай бұрын
@@juststayhappy1 I DNF multiple times but I kept picking it up bc I was at my grandmother’s and had nothing else to read🥲
@maevem3167 ай бұрын
The fanfic-ication of writing 😭 This is the sort of thing that I roll my eyes at in fanfiction but mostly move on from, because it's amateur writing, that's how it goes sometimes. We should not have to deal with it in published books, come on! (I also read a romance this year that felt like this... when I looked into it, turns out it was originally written and posted on ao3, though as original fiction, so...)
@juststayhappy17 ай бұрын
@@maevem316 oh you're totally right!! Although I have to say I read some well-written, truly original fanfiction on ao3 back in the day and some really awful published fanfic-y books
@lizanderson65038 ай бұрын
I think "cozy" books are great for when you are in a reading slump or in between heavier reads and I love the potential that lies within the fantasy genre for more low stake books. I always wished some of the bigger fantasy novel series came with sidebooks that let us get to know the characters in a low pressure enviorment more. A slice of life look at the elves in LOTR would be amazing. Slice of life books are somewhat missing in fantasy and hope that this trend of "cozy" pushes us to see more of that specific subgenre within fantasy. So, i hope the "cozy" trend keeps up because it opens up a lot of doors within genres and lets authors know that not every single books needs to be high stake or emotionally intense. It helps keep a bit of balance in the publishing world.
@maryamasomewhathuman.78708 ай бұрын
Omg that would be amazing
@chuiga29358 ай бұрын
Do you have any recommendations for cozy fantasy books? Sounds like a genre I could enjoy.
@selkie.knits218 ай бұрын
YES a slice of life or less high stakes elven literature (I'm dabbling in a few writing projects with elves but I've hardly seen any good literature around!) even if it just nods to Tolkien instead of being direct fanfiction (dunno how copyright works with that).
@jinphany.8 ай бұрын
This is a bad example but the only i can think of at the moment, but in a court of frost and starlight (by sarah janet maas😂) it was nice to see the characters in a relaxed environment, because it allowed us to see more glimspes of the characters in their world and what their routine is and things like that.
@chuiga29358 ай бұрын
@@jinphany. I get what you mean, I just readed that tho xD.
@HelloDarling098 ай бұрын
Caleb Joseph, the original Hoover hater, started that trend with a genuine reflection and criticism of her and I agree, it's been done! He did the damn thing Edit: Joseph, not Hammer. Too overconfident in my abilities to remember things around the holidays
@letsgolesbians96178 ай бұрын
he literally converted me to a hoover hater hahaha
@sittinginacornerihaunt8 ай бұрын
i love him lol
@planethalima8 ай бұрын
Do you mean Caleb Joseph?
@prescilla2018 ай бұрын
The financial audit guy?
@HelloDarling098 ай бұрын
For the curious: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2ndgWiIaNCbadEsi=M3fuV4dG4P5oLlI9
@winterkind17728 ай бұрын
I like knowing about tropes, because sometimes I just need to scratch a certain itch. But I hate that some books are written to just fit a popular trope - esp. when it just feels so forced.
@randomgirl013008 ай бұрын
I think because media makes women seem like we're all the same and there's a right way to "girl", all women will eventually go through a "I'm not like other girls" phase whether it's doing sports, how you dress, what you read, what your hobbies are. We're all made to believe all other girls are like this and that, and we're not so we're cool. without realizing that we're all cool.
@thelitnerd8 ай бұрын
This is an excellent analysis
@OnlyAbriS7 ай бұрын
yes!
@introusas6 ай бұрын
People are extra cool when they are 100% themselves
@scionsilverbeat81498 ай бұрын
Romantacy - I want ACTUAL slow-burn relationship building to become a part of it. And for books without any lust to be written. Romantasy should technically be my favourite genre by definition. And yet I hate it for what it currently is in the adult category. Being an adult book is about SO MUCH more than just “ooooh look, they’re thirsty”
@may-rw5jj8 ай бұрын
Yes! Exactly. Authors think being an adult is finally being able to talk about sex and curse in every sentence. But what about actual adult writing? More mature sentence structures? Better immersion and rawness? Romantasy is completely lacking in being an actual genre for adults, and is instead a genre for people who want to read smut
@isabelaszmenezes8 ай бұрын
yesss lol some "adult" books are just wattpad fanfics with smut scenes
@flippanties8 ай бұрын
God yeah, this is why I dont read much romance at all. I'm a lover of the painful slowburn. The type where at least one of the main couple is in complete denial of their feelings for the longest time. I'm talking agonising pining for a majority of the book. But it just feels like I'm never gonna get this because authors just seem to want to get to the smut as soon as possible.
@Silverraine18 ай бұрын
Yes, this is why I prefer reading webnovels when I want romance because you get the slow-burn relationship building most of the time and smut is rare!
@NaraXyZ5678 ай бұрын
Try the folk of air series its really good. The romance is slow burn enemies to lovers and the intimate scenes aren't explicit like in a gross way. The plot is also really interesting.
@girlie75028 ай бұрын
tbh I don’t think a lot of romantasy are actually that much more mature than YA. on page sex is the only distinct difference imo
@rachecology8 ай бұрын
That and the age of the characters (sometimes). I like many things about ya fantasy, but I'm so tired of reading about teenagers when I'm in my 20s 😅
@VivCrepsley8 ай бұрын
Truee.
@elthereall8 ай бұрын
at one point in time we were all for a new genre called New Adult which encompassed the younger writing + older themes, but it’s sort of faded out of public perception and now we’re getting “romantasy” as a genre instead of NA fantasy which made way more sense imo
@mkaia4718 ай бұрын
@@elthereall oh shit you're right! i haven't heard of NA in a whiiiile
@Shalaena8 ай бұрын
@@elthereall The interesting part is that Fourth Wing is actually categorized as NA, not YA or Adult.
@fanni_sophia8 ай бұрын
My pet peeve is the: how spicy is it? question. People are asking this about every book, and it concerns me. I'm down for a spicy book, why not. But people were asking the author of Keeper of Enchanted rooms about how much doing the deed is in it. That book is the most tame urban fantasy ever. Nothing in the description talks about romance or spiciness. But I feel like lots of readers just go to Kindle Unlimited and expect every book to be a romantasy full of adult scenes. My concern is: If you only read spicy books, and this is the only thing that matters is how hot it is, ( no plot, no story, no world building, no characters ) when does it became a corn addiction?
@tedddybear8 ай бұрын
I mean, what is issue with just reading for porn?? I understand it would cross a line if you are asking authors specifically about it when their book is not marketed in such a way, but other than that, why does it even matter lmao.
@ila90638 ай бұрын
@@tedddybearthe issue is that if you are just reading for porn it means you have a problem. it’s like only watching porn.
@justjoe16698 ай бұрын
@@ila9063there is a big difference between reading spicy scenes and watching porn. For me a relationship without spice is just not what I want in my real life so I can’t connect on the same level when there is no spice but I should believe that this characters are in love.
@ila90638 ай бұрын
the gist of the difference is insignificant if we're honest. erotica is not a new concept only romantasy sets it in a fantasy world and adds subplots.@@justjoe1669
@fanni_sophia8 ай бұрын
@@justjoe1669 For most women, having an emotional connection is needed. This is why porn videos marketed to women are quite different. Now, we can argue about how reading or watching stimulates the brain differently. Even science is not sure about that yet. But I would still argue if you specifically only read books focused on sex as entertainment, that can become a problem the same way as videos or OnlyFans messaging.
@laurendavis45848 ай бұрын
Counter point for the Colleen Hoover (?) girly one; it's got nothing to do with being shallow. Yes, people always find something wrong with what girls read, especially the paradox of wanting girls to be 'soft' and then essentially bullying them for reading romance. But people not liking Hoover has NOTHING to do with her books being romance. It's because she romanticises abuse, and that's not okay.
@emilienocture72158 ай бұрын
honestly that's my thought. if a girl tells me she likes coho, it's like if someone tells me they liked after or 50 shades: if you like a book that romanticizes abuse, I will judge you like BIG side eye. I also feel bad for them because they could end up in abuse relationship without even realizing it. add haunting Adeline to that list too please, those fans are sooooo scary omg!!! I read romance myself so who am I to judge romance readers but abuse is a big NO
@TacticusPrime8 ай бұрын
People not liking Hoover definitely has something to do with just disliking things that girls like. It's the same situation as the backlash against Twilight. Those books are filled with romanticization of abuse, stalking, obsession, Mormonism, etc., and they were legitimately criticized for that. They were *also* targeted because they were a thing that girls liked. It's not an either/or situation.
@lydiarobles35278 ай бұрын
She’s also just such a bad writer at least in my opinion it’s almost impossible to get through a chapter
@saberchild8 ай бұрын
but i think leonie makes a clear distinction that some people aren't actually saying anything about colleen hoover or whats wrong with her, they're just using her as a stand in for "stupid shallow books"
@saberchild8 ай бұрын
if it was really just about colleen hoover then people would compare her to other modern romace authors right, theyre not all problematic. but when someone is saying "i dont read colleen hoover i read Dostoevsky" its like. side eye...
@andrewbunda13238 ай бұрын
I'm a bookseller, and I see so many people who buy tons and tons of books for a book haul that they see just because it's popular or because it looks pretty, which I have nothing against in theory, if you think you're going to like a book, or your collecting editions of your favorite books then it makes sense, but so many of those same people I see showing off huge book hauls either never actually read any of the books, or they end up not liking the book, but keep it on their shelves anyway because it looks pretty. Idk about other people, but I want my shelves to be a reflection of who I am as a reader, I want to have all my favorite and most loved books on display, of course there are books on my shelf I haven't read yet, because who doesn't have those, but I'm not going every other week and buying hundreds of dollars worth of books that I haven't even read the synopsis of. I think a lot of the algorithm promotes buying books and promoting the ones that become popular so that you can get more views and clicks, and I honestly don't fully blame the people involved just because I know social media and keeping up with trends can be exhausting. I think it would be so beneficial for places like booktok, which is so saturated with over-consumption and constant book hauls, to start promoting libraries and maybe unhauls and stuff. Libraries are amazing, and idk how accessible they are outside of the US, but here, a majority if not all libraries are free and genuinely such wonderful places for community. they do so much more than lend books out, and as a kid who grew up in a lower-class family who loved to ready, libraries were really a saving grace because I didn't have to waste money on books I didn't end up liking. I love a sprayed edge and a fancy hardback as much as the next person, but I think the over-consumption on the internet, and booktok specifically, is more than just that. (sorry for the essay lmao I apparently had a lot to say)
@auggiedoggiesmommy17347 ай бұрын
We pay for libraries through our taxes and it’s the BEST use of taxpayer money. Utah county does not have a good library system, but we moved and where we are now we are SO lucky. I LOVE my library.
@tears99277 ай бұрын
I completely agree. What's the point in buying a book if you don't like the contents of the book.
@Abyrae7 ай бұрын
I am in the process of rebuilding my bookshelf after having to get rid of most of my books years ago after some financial difficulties, so when I got some spare "fun" money, I tend to go to the nearest bookshop and buy a few books. Some are books I have actually read the synopsis of or have been recommended to me and I am looking forward to read. Others are spontaneous purchases because either it was on sale or, yes, it looked pretty. That said, while I have a big TBR pile, I do still read those books. And if I end up not liking them afterwards, I tend to either sell them at a much lower price than what I paid, or donate/gift them to people who might enjoy it or mentioned they were looking forward to read it. Why keep something you don't like when getting it of it means freeing up space for your potential new favourite book? I'm not at the point yet where I have so many books that I can only display my favourites. Maybe in a few years.
@andrewbunda13237 ай бұрын
@Abyrae I definitely have tons of books on my shelf that I haven't read yet but I also read them like you said, and agreed if i don't like them I donate or give them away etc. I'm more criticizing people who buy Hu dress of books and don't read them or keep them when they didn't dislike them bc they just like the cover etc. I hope that the shelf you're rebuilding us full of new favorites and books that make you feel at home and I wish you the best reading year
@Abyrae7 ай бұрын
@@andrewbunda1323 Thanks! You too!
@Yuna_David8 ай бұрын
I’m surprised romantasy has just started getting popular as a genre. I thought it’s just as popular as in my country, we call it romfant. I’m not a fan of the genre, but it’s very popular
@kimberlylopez32308 ай бұрын
Romantacy has always been popular, books by Linsy Sand, Sherrilyn Kenyon and JR Ward are all romantasy series. It’s just they were published before social media existed 🤷🏻♀️
@hallocher6088 ай бұрын
what country? :)
@Mia_M8 ай бұрын
I tend to choose fantasy not heavy on romance. I just find sometimes they skimp on the plot in favor of the love story.
@somatoes46678 ай бұрын
@@Mia_MMost romantasy readers would actually still call that plot. After all, romance books exist where the main plot is literally the love story. I don’t read romance so Im with you, but it’s not that romantasy books lack a plot, they just have two different plot lines going at once.
@user-pt4hb2bg5u8 ай бұрын
Romfant... Romfant🤌 This word is so magestic. It sounds really aristocratic. P. S. "Не знала, что встречу тут земляков)"
@francisneoralisamedrano13368 ай бұрын
I indeed need more gothic literature.
@williamerickson5208 ай бұрын
I've been reading the classic canon. Working on Frankenstein currently.
@Devilsubliminals8 ай бұрын
i really want to get into it! any reccs?
@desology1118 ай бұрын
YES !!
@williamerickson5208 ай бұрын
@@Devilsubliminals On the more horror side, there is, of course, the classic Frankenstein and Dracula. Otherwise there is Wuthering Heights, Mysteries of Udolpho, and the original: Castle of Otranto.
@severianthefool72338 ай бұрын
I recommend Gormenghast!
@nikkimilton4618 ай бұрын
I'm grateful for the romantasy / cozy fantasy trends because it finally shifts the fantasy pub away from YA and grim dark and gives me something new. For a LONG time, there wasn't a lot of new fantasy... everything was YA. Trad pub is always going to pursue popular trends to death but I'm so happy there have finally been shifts in what they publish.
@Zach646128 ай бұрын
There's been tons of fantasy published.
@jasminezed78398 ай бұрын
What do you mean? There's tons of new adult fantasy. Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb, Jim Butcher, and many more are all prolific authors who have put out a ton of new fantasy content over the last decade and are still writing. I guess Abercromnie and Butcher are kind of dark, but there are still tons of other fantasy novels coming out consistently without the romantasy trend. I'm glad you like it though (:
@Mia_M8 ай бұрын
Adult fantasy has always been a thing. YA fantasy is only more popular because it tends to be more marketable and there's potential for book to screen. But even in YA, there can be some really good stuff like the Children of Orisha series.
@phAntasyluvr_047 ай бұрын
ever read the Fever series by KM Moning? Like, that is for sure adult, grim-dark fantasy, but even though it has such detailed world-building, there is a good balance of character arcs and romance, especially later in the series. It's the only true adult fantasy I've read.
@alexandrac24728 ай бұрын
I love AO3's tagging system so part of me enjoys there being more of an emphasis on tropes. I'm a big mood reader so anything that will give me an inkling that this book will suit the mood I'm in is great. However the tiktok trope-based marketing goes a step too far especially when the tropes aren't even done well IMO.
@ines63588 ай бұрын
About the overconsumption (especially special edition) trend: I think that the biggest problem with it that has come out this year is that some authors, most notably Sarah J. Mass with her crescent city series, have started including certain important chapters of their books only in specific special editions making fans feel like they need to collect every single edition to get the full story. The booktuber Petrik Leo has a very good video about this. Definitely a trend to leave in 2023.
@romalibra_books8 ай бұрын
I want a cozy dystopian where we just follow Peeta and Katniss starting their new life after the 3rd book. And for them to meet Mosscap 🤖🌳
@philuuuw8 ай бұрын
take me, I'm all in!🌲
@Melanie-jy2nw21 күн бұрын
Have you heard about the new book coming out?
@kia-8838 ай бұрын
I honestly think Baldurs Gate 3 is helping the vampire comeback with Astarion, I’m deffo on board Edit: it also won game of the year 2023 and the voice actor for Astarion also won “Best Performance” this year too
@taybushel80778 ай бұрын
💯 agree
@mkaia4718 ай бұрын
is that the series name or standalone?
@kia-8838 ай бұрын
@@mkaia471 it’s actually a video game that came out this year
@lenashobbychannel8 ай бұрын
Yeah ive seen so many Astarion compilations...
@eternal79128 ай бұрын
I don't know why. I find Astarion to be one of the least interesting characters in the game, and he certainly didn't scratch my vampire itch very well.
@DwayneRidgwayOfficial8 ай бұрын
As a traditional epic fantasy reader, I'm so glad romantasy exists as a genre now. It genuinely hurts to see romantasy novels winning during years where some of the most intricately crafted, well told epic stories of our time are released. (Ignoring the fact that The Will of the Many got shafted even *with* these changes this year...)
@olenn928 ай бұрын
For me, the cozy vibes recently are welcomed because of how grim everything else in the world seems. It’s the ultimate escapism, like you mention with animal crossing during covid etc, and in books and general media, it’s nice to have something with minimal stakes, where you can just switch off and have a cute time x
@clemoswin8 ай бұрын
I don't know for other countries, but in France we do have a big problem with overconsumerism and collector books that wasn't a thing a few years ago. We used to have only paperbacks, and sometimes (but it was really rare) a beautiful hardback version, for an anniversary or something. But now, a lot of books (especially YA books) come out both in paperback and hardback / collector / sprayed edges / limited edition. And the collector version is sold out very quickly because people have the fear of missing out so they rush to buy it. I try to resist but I have done it myself, once or twice. I really don't like the vibe it's creating in the french book industry, the way we are pushed to buy books so quickly, just because they are pretty. The "if you don't buy it now, you will regret it" kind of pressure it's putting on us.
@Briseisgone8 ай бұрын
... the way I know which editors you're talking about... Now they're reprinting their first collectors, in even more details like sprayed edges that wasn't here when they started it. And the prices are.. 🫠🫠🫠
@booksandanni8 ай бұрын
It‘s the same in Germany, plus there have been some mistakes in printing and they really considered to trash them all because the versions of book 3 wouldn‘t match the other two. Talking about thousands of books 😱
@williamerickson5208 ай бұрын
It's a marketing tactic called artificial scarcity. It is manufactured and should be ignored completely.
@19Rena968 ай бұрын
@@booksandanni and the prices go upp because sprayed edges are more expensive than regular book without them..
@booksandanni8 ай бұрын
@@19Rena96 yeah, and books are getting pricier even without the sprayed edges…
@justwonder14048 ай бұрын
I haven't read any cosy fantasy but it trending makes a ton of sense to me. We have a war in Europe, a war in the Middle East, natural catastrophes, totalitarian regimes thriving while democracies struggle to get their sh*t together. I live in Ukraine and my tbr is mostly classics and fantasy. If I want something dark, I'll just read the news. I also hope we'll see more interesting fantasy subgenres in the future. That being said, boy am I here for Colleen Hoover bashing😅 Here's to hope disliking her becomes a trend instead of reading her. Girls deserve better fiction.
@samlstowell8 ай бұрын
I 100% agree, people are looking for comfort and escapism into things that make them feel good. The world has gone to sh*t. Wishing you safety and peace. ❤
@Ykibmh8 ай бұрын
"if I want something dark, I'll just read the news" 😂, hope the situation gets better for you!
@justwonder14048 ай бұрын
@@samlstowell thank you❤
@justwonder14048 ай бұрын
@@Ykibmh thanks, I hope so for all of us:)
@andoreskatalinvekony86428 ай бұрын
Read Anne of Green Gables if you haven't yet! It's perfect for escaping from reality into a happy, beautiful world.
@kiandrarodgers34368 ай бұрын
My appreciation for the romantasy genre is twofold: a) it means that people will stop demanding smut it teen/ya books. I work in a bookstore and a lot of people ask for teen with spice and I’m just like “ma’am this is for children”. (My beef here is also with publishing- I think there should be a teen 13-15 section and a young adult 16+ section because 16+ people can handle the introduction of romantic/sexual relationships which just aren’t age appropriate for young teens) but basically YES romantasy gives a space for smut people want.I’m also happy to see it because I remember last year seeing really well thought out fantasy books like Babel in the same category as the likes of SJM and Jennifer Armentrout for the goodreads choice awards was just really frustrating because they are two distinct genres. They fulfill different purposes and shouldn’t be compared to each other. So I’m happy to see the romantasy category grow
@nimue20598 ай бұрын
As a self declared vampire specialist, here are some recent vampire books: Cracked Coffins series by Beronika Keres Guides to Dating Vampires series by D.N. Bryn A Dowry of Blood and next year's An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Belle Morte series by Bella Higgin Lore & Lust series by Karla Nikole All These Bodies by Kendare Blake Crave series by Tracy Wolff The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite anthology The Beautiful series by Renée Ahdieh Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda Cruel Illusions and Vampires, Hearts and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston Dracula's Child by J.S. Barnes Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste A Duel with the Vampire Lord by Elise Kova Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw The Classified Dossier: Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula by Christian Klaver Adrian X Isolde series by Scarlett St. Clair Love Bites by Ry Herman Empire of the Vampire series by Jay Kristoff The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker Sucker by Daniel Hornsby Night's Edge by Liz Kerin Court of Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas This Blood that Binds Us by S.L. Cokeley Slaying the Vampire Conqueror and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter Youngblood by Sasha Laurens The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal Coming in 2024: Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk Vertigo Peaks by Dion Anja and an untitled toxic lesbian vampire book by V.E. Schwab
@elizabethc.99108 ай бұрын
Damn! I knew there were more, but wow! I have some new ones to add to my tbr now. I've read maybe 3-5 on that list, so I have a way to go! I just read The Beautiful series last month, so I need to read the last book that just came out, and I just read House of Hunger last week. I read a few others, too but not as recently...
@hainaz8 ай бұрын
Among these do you have any specific ones you would recommend?
@nimue20598 ай бұрын
@@hainaz I mean depending on what you're into... I can always recommend S.T. Gibson's work anf House of Hunger if you enjoy more gothic-leaning stories. I also really like the Cracked Coffins series. That being said, I haven't read all the books on this list. Many are just on my tbr.
@Devilsubliminals8 ай бұрын
thankyou so much oh my god
@telmamoutinho28638 ай бұрын
Omg @nimue2059 from where do you source this info? I also wanna be this updated about vampire themed books!
@valentinatsvetkova40198 ай бұрын
My biggest problem with these sprayed edges hardback books is that they're extremely expensive and when a book is popular you're suffocated by 2927393 special editions (which in a way also makes a book not that special). But I'm also jealous of the people who can afford such collections 😅
@Musikchic478 ай бұрын
I love this trend of just all types of fantasy is being accepted - that fantasy can fall into all types of sub-genres: grim, cozy, gothic, epic, whatever, it's just nice because I want to see all the things!
@gaygh0stt8 ай бұрын
i personally love people recommending/marketing books with tropes BUT only if the actual plot is also talked about, it also definitely only works with certain types of books (usually any book with romance) i think a lot of the recent trends with especially romance books being marketed with tropes is because a lot of new romance readers and writers are coming from fanfiction backgrounds and are trying to mimic AO3 tags
@josie24128 ай бұрын
i think one issue i have found in many in so called Romantacy books are that the characters are still often very teenager like so it still feel YA often... or they are just more or less sex books which is fine if that is what you are after but i would love a bit more of it being mix of both plot and sex, and not all so teenage like characters...
@izza69238 ай бұрын
THIS
@kimberlylopez32308 ай бұрын
Try anything by JR Ward, Lindsay Sands or Sherrilyn Kenyon they are a good mix.
@maryamasomewhathuman.78708 ай бұрын
@@kimberlylopez3230omg I'll look out for that
@issysomething10778 ай бұрын
Yes I totally agree! Most romantasy books are about teenagers, I mean I don’t mind it too much, I am 17 myself. But I do think authors need to include a wider age range. I also really struggle with the amount of smut in these books, see I actually really enjoyed the world and story (mainly the dragons) of fourth wing/iron flame but the smut took it down for me, give me more tension and love outside of sex, which imo is unnecessary in places.
@beepbooptop8 ай бұрын
About the sprayed edges I have to say. If you just buy the nice penguin book for example rhey they are the normal price for a paperback/hardcover. The sprayed edges books are extremely expensive and limited editions. They are especially made to make you buy them fast ("limited offers") and are extra expensive. They definitely have a different vibe than just normal different editions
@notokay32238 ай бұрын
Also I think people are calling it consumerist because people have multiple of those special/limited editions (youtubers being especially guilty of this). Like you don't need 3 copies of fourth wing or any book for that matter just because they have different covers/sprayed edges/a side story not published elsewhere/etc.
@sakurablossoms948 ай бұрын
Yeah, there is an author who is selling her limited special edition books for $110. And all it has is simple sprayed edges and a shiny title. That is absurd.
@violaivy8 ай бұрын
Yep the Penguin books are actually affordable and often the cheapest option for classics. Even their Clothbound series is not that expensive considering they're hardcovers and printed on good quality paper. Special sprayed editions, however are EXPENSIVE. And due to the limited quantities people resell them for ridiculous prices too.
@sabrinagu84018 ай бұрын
I would also say that the penguin classics or other collectible editions are more about the covers and the formatting of the book, but with sprayed edges, people put them up for display so that you can't even see the title, and it becomes more about the art on the sprayed edges than the actual title and author of the book. It unnerves me to see the books facing "the wrong way"😅
@Abyrae7 ай бұрын
NGL, I bought a special edition of Fourth Wing, but only because it was on sale after Christmas and it was only like one or two dollars more than the regular hardcover edition. I figured "eh, why not" since I didn't already have the book and wanted to read it out if curiousity due to it being both overhyped and negatively criticised depending on the platform you use. Would I have bought it if I already had the book? Nah. I will occasionslly splurge on a special edition, but I don't get obsessive about it. No need to buy the same book 5 times.
@tracksuitrob53487 ай бұрын
“Vampires are coming back” Me, who never knew they left: 🧍🏼♀️
@janetmorgan97288 ай бұрын
I think vampires can work in many different ways as far as the political/economic symbolism. Definitely not just in times of wealth, which we definitely are not seeing (at least where I live). They can serve as metaphors for the rich living off of the poor, for one. I did read house of hunger this year which was a unique vampire book but wasn't really my taste (more smut than I prefer). I think it's pretty new.
@pinocolada99338 ай бұрын
The worst thing I found in 2023 was Haunting Adeline in the Young adult section of local bookstores here 💀
@notllikethat8 ай бұрын
This is just wow, but tbh fully on the bookstore. That thing has a list of trigger warnings inside (at least it wasn't the second book)
@pinocolada99335 ай бұрын
@foreverdreamwithinadream6871 the store has now replaced the books. They are now in the "Novels" Section
@iristeodora76628 ай бұрын
I think part of the “I’m not a coleen hoover girlie” is also the allegations that her son abused his gf ( or something like that) and coleen ignored the girl and so people see it as “if you read coleen hoover you promote abuse”
@TiffWaffles6 ай бұрын
Well... most of her books romanticise abusive and toxic relationships, but I didn't know anything about her real life and what was going on. Wow, that is shitty if it's true.
@alvafairchild13Ай бұрын
Considering with the content that pretty much tracks
@RhiannonDoane8 ай бұрын
Another aspect of the ice hockey book trend that people aren't talking about is that a lot of those books are hockey player x figure skater romances. The fact that this very "masculine" sport has a built in "dainty, feminine" counterpart makes it SO EASY for cishet writers to insert cishet romance into the premise. It's literally "here's the boy version of the ice sport and here's the girl version, now let them kiss".
@sointu18 ай бұрын
So true. And now you've made me want to read a romance about a female hockey player and a male figure skater...
@oliviam36788 ай бұрын
When you started talking about how fast fashion is made, it reminded me of how some books are kind of just made to the "pattern" laid out by tropes-- although it's definitely not harmful in the way fast fashion, fast furniture, etc are! I just mean sometimes with the trope-y books it's like it's just a template where you put in different character names and settings. With the way things like Kindle Unlimited work, that's a lot of authors' bread and butter-- the more pages people read, the more you get paid, so it makes sense to put out as many pages as possible as quickly as possible, and having a template of tropes makes that easier. It also makes it easier to jump on microtrends and get max value out of them before they're forgotten. And then, advertising those "template" books by their tropes gets the attention of people who are interested in reading the same thing over and over, because for them it's often a comfort thing, the same way some people loooove Hallmark movies even though they're really all the same thing. Whether any of that ^^^ is good or bad for art and culture and whatever else, I don't know. But everybody's got to make a living, and everybody needs some way to relax, so I get it!
@starcrossreverie8 ай бұрын
I don't think limited editions are the main issue with overconsumption within the book community. It's the countless of videos where people do massive book hauls, and either in that video or a different one they admit they already have a lot of books they haven't even read yet. Book unhauls are either been popular for a while now or starting to trend, where people make videos showing the books they haven't read or finished and giving them away. Buying countless of books when their physical tbr are collecting dust on the shelves. Either for the sake of a book haul video or because they've been influenced by said videos.
@TiffWaffles6 ай бұрын
I buy books regularly because I love reading, but I've read most of the books on my shelves. There are some books I haven't read yet, but most of them have been read, and I get rid of books that I've read and didn't like or have lost interest in so I can find room for more books that I'd love. I am both a book reader and a book collector because I read books and I love collecting books, but sometimes on Booktube I see the issue you've mentioned, and it's like... seriously?
@poe.and.theholograms8 ай бұрын
the Bridgerton television series adaptation got me into actually reading Jane Austen novels, one of which was Northanger Abbey...which got me into early 19th century gothic literature.
@hey44228 ай бұрын
A trend I personally despise is seeing books that should be considered ya (in terms of characters, worldbuilding, writing style, plot) be marketed as "adult fantasy" simply becasue they have spicy scenes in it.
@elthereall8 ай бұрын
rip to when we all agreed to call those books New Adult like 3 years ago and now everyone just forgot about that I guess
@isaacwhy11787 ай бұрын
or the opposite, lower quality YA books containing a large amount of mature content for some reason
@Aivilcurie7 ай бұрын
I collect the barnes and noble leatherbounds and vintage-y editions in general, but one way I counteract my consumption is by reading books online, and *then* getting a paper copy if I really love it (and yet I still have 200 books on my shelf).
@Huangraisy8 ай бұрын
I haven’t even started the video but I already know I’m gonna agree with all of her points 😭
@0Silly_spaghetti08 ай бұрын
Me too
@bookaholicatnight8 ай бұрын
Same... 😂
@juliabishop14088 ай бұрын
Same here 😅
@clearly_a_raccon8 ай бұрын
Even if I didn't agree I know she's gonna convince me 😂
@lielshapiro93108 ай бұрын
Just a point about the hating Colleen Hoover and being 'not like the Colleen Hoover girlies' that I myself have fallen into a few times. I think it stems from the type of girlies who read this stuff most likely being the type of girls who made fun of us for reading books like 10 years ago. For example, I know I hate on these books quite alot (besides the valid criticisms) because my sister, who had never read a book in her life until this point, started devouring Colleen Hoover books. And I know we should be happy more people are getting into reading, but I think it's ultimately a trend right now because those same girls hated on us for liking books.
@melmarie60838 ай бұрын
YES THIS!
@ElinWinblad8 ай бұрын
A work lady at my job buys them for her 13/14 year old daughter 😑
@justine45818 ай бұрын
@@ElinWinblad Thats fucked up. Does she even know what shes giving her?
@maryamasomewhathuman.78708 ай бұрын
Omg same. I didn't think I cared that much and tbh at first I was just happy she was reading. Especially because if she can sit down and read 200 pages of college hoover in her free time, she can definitely read something she would genuinely like more and be more open minded to books. We're not just sitting down and reading random words to seem pretentious. I also know that she would like alot of non collene hoover books because of the conversions we have, though rarely. I think I made it clear several times that I wasn't criticising her because I thought I was better than her nor that it was because I was trying to not be like other girls but that the books were problematic and it would be better to leave them be. But like you said, these people were the same people that were judging us for reading a few years ago so seeing them talk about collen hoover like reading is cool now feels unhinged. I don't mind that much because atleast we both agree that picking up a book is not shameful but an okay and maybe even nice thing to do. We hadn't even had these convos alot but everytime I show even an ounce of dislike for Collen's books she projects her feelings about treating people like I know more than them and like I won't listen to them. I'm sure I wrote alot of mistakes.
@maryamasomewhathuman.78708 ай бұрын
Noooooooooooouuu@@ElinWinblad
@kaylag95798 ай бұрын
Brandon Sanderson wrote the Tress of the Emerald Sea specifically for his wife and what she likes. She is the one who encouraged him to publish it.
@christianwright58138 ай бұрын
My personal issue with Romantacy is its close association with YA. It doesn’t stand out as a unique entity it just feels like YA with the publishing parental controls taken off instead of its own matured form of writing and genre.
@elthereall8 ай бұрын
romantasy includes YA (even she mentioned divine rivals in the video which was marketed as ross’s YA debut) and I think that is inherently the biggest problem with romantasy as a genre
@Moonstar798 ай бұрын
The "not a Colleen Hoover girlie" being compared to "not like other girls" is such a great take lol
@badfaith4u8 ай бұрын
I love your video essays. These deep dive into books, book trends, and characters are so wonderful and fascinating.
@jiaminlin62758 ай бұрын
as a sustainability enthusiast, i love hearing your thoughts on comsumerism - despite loving the environment and all, i also love collecting things and i think you said it very well, as long as we're being mindful and doing our part to reduce our consumption (even if they are very small steps), it's great!
@alyssapinon96708 ай бұрын
Yes! When I was in college I took full advantage of the inter-library loan system. Now that I’m back home I mostly buy my fun books secondhand from websites I used to buy textbooks from. I’m not a perfect consumer by any means but I’m trying to do my part ❤
@thatmessy1328 ай бұрын
Ice-hockey is also really popular in M/M romance, has been for years. I think it's the potential for injury, warming each other up, cute ice-skating lessons, etc.
@melmarie60838 ай бұрын
What does M/M mean?
@tedddybear8 ай бұрын
Yes!! I’ve read a ton of mm hockey books. A lot of them fall flat for me tbh, mainly because I want more hockey in the books and sometimes the authors don’t really care about the hockey, it’s just the backdrop. Ik a lot of ppl have mixed feelings abt rpf, but I find a lot of hockey rpf to be more engaging/more hockey based and sometimes, better written.
@thatmessy1328 ай бұрын
@@melmarie6083 male/male. Gay, basically.
@thatmessy1328 ай бұрын
@tedddybear I love a sports movie, cannot stand it in written works.
@lilacfields8 ай бұрын
@@thatmessy132this is interesting bcs i feel the exact opposite! i feel like sports movies can be kind of boring and can’t actually go into the experience of being an athlete as much as you can with books
@dmadcat738 ай бұрын
When I was growing up Fantasy was a fringe genre populated by books like The Lord of the Rings, Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, Anne McAffrey's Pern (arguably sci-fi), or Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea books. All great books but the fantasy section of my branch library was half an aisle of shelves and lumped in with science-fiction. To me, the explosion in fantasy really started with TSR's publication of the Dragonlance trilogy and subsequently a huge number of Forgotten Realms books. The success of those books along with the maturing of the generation that grew up on Dungeons and Dragons and other fantasy TTRPGs drove the expansion of the Fantasy genre. Video games and the success of games like World of Warcraft drove the second (and even greater) explosion of Fantasy and brought it fully into the mainstream. This growth and success is, I think, why you're now seeing the Fantasy genre (that one aisle in my library) branching out and being sub-divided into all of the typical modern sub-genres. My wife, who doesn't read fantasy, mentioned that new Fantasy Romance section on goodreads and described it to her as Danielle Steel with Dragons. I expect those games are coming on the heels of its success.
@Bizarro698 ай бұрын
one of the things that attracted me to Harry Potter was some of the whimsical magic, which was everywhere in the earlier books and so much fun to read. I wish more writer's would focus on that.
@Bell_4146 ай бұрын
So you like the fantasy genre. You might then enjoy - Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Game of thrones, Six of crows (it's popular these days)
@AxolotLou8 ай бұрын
I will say though, Colleen Hoover is a great author if you want to learn english effectively. Last year, my english was bad asf, I only knew how to make small talk and my fluent friend made me read "ugly love". The vocabulary is simple, the story is far from having any depth or complexity, so do the characters, so I easily understood and got more familiar with the language. It's just that when you're already speaking english, her books feel dull and cringe (and I'm not even mentioning the problematic aspect of them)
@rosefamilia31695 ай бұрын
There are tons of book to read out there if you want to improve English language. Just match your reading level with the books, doesn't have to be CoHo books.
@AxolotLou5 ай бұрын
@@rosefamilia3169 yeah ig you’re right, but it’s not that deep either, like I read 2 books from her back then, and I didn’t get the idea that romanticizing abuse is okay. I didn’t get half of what it meant anyway, and looking back at it I’m glad I read them, because they weren’t discouraging, they were quite rewarding to read 🤷🏼♀️ but ofc any other simple but well rounded and unproblematic story would’ve been better
@rosefamilia31695 ай бұрын
@@AxolotLou lol, I am sure your reading taste have improved and updated simce then. English is also not my main language and I learned it first from reading something as simple and ridiculous as Goosebumps when I was a kid, lol. Happy reading anyways!
@AxolotLou5 ай бұрын
@@rosefamilia3169 yeah we have to begin somewhere anyway lol, happy reading to you too :)
@readbybee8 ай бұрын
This video and your commentary on the booktok experience…. Slay. Criticizing others tastes just divides us readers more and I’m so glad you spoke about how to handle criticism of authors without shaming readers. ❤
@krushkannon8 ай бұрын
me writing a dystopian vampire novel, not knowing they're making a comeback: 👁👄👁
@Moon-eg1bu7 ай бұрын
I need it
@miasharples8957 ай бұрын
Me writing an historical fantasy multi pov with an father and a daughter and yes, a love interest but they have friends and family and they don't shag on page 1, are in denial of their feelings, and theirs a reworking of a well-known myth and legend (Kelpies) and sigh...I'll see myself out
@TinyGhosty8 ай бұрын
Laura Purcell is an amazing modern gothic author, almost her entire career has focused on it. I hope established gothic authors are benefitting from an increase in interest beyond (and including) the classics.
@TheKeeperofStories8 ай бұрын
Corset was one of the most memorable books that I read this year. Today all kind of books are marketed as gothic and this is one of a few that acually makes sense.
@TinyGhosty8 ай бұрын
@@TheKeeperofStories Yeah, I have been pretty disappointed with a few brand new gothic novels/authors because they seem to just use an established genre setting or idea but throw in a bunch of tropes and themes from other unrelated genres. Have you read Silent Companions yet? I love all of Laura Purcell, but oh my goodness Silent Companions lives forever in my brain.
@woundworship8 ай бұрын
i think your romantasy theory is so true!! i think that the hole romantasy filled had an even smaller hole in it, previously filled by edward cullen and other vampire boys, damon salvatore and such. i think that hole is now filled by fae! its surely another trend thats gonna go away in a few years, but at least we're still gonna have holly black and her fae w us
@Trampolina20008 ай бұрын
About the silent reviews online: I really like them. I am hearing but never have sound on when scrolling through Instagram reels (bc I'm usually also watching a KZbin video or something) so something that I can follow without having to pause my yt vid to read and follow half-visible subtitles for? Amazing. I get the gist with 0 risk of getting spoiled, don't neeeeed to wear my glasses, there's no language barrier, I love this. Please don't let that trend die.
@katierasburn95718 ай бұрын
you can also watch them out in public without disturbing people around you or being unable to hear wtf they're saying
@KristinHBergenstein8 ай бұрын
One thing I do like that has been done recently with a lot of books, is the addition of trigger warnings. This allows readers to know what's going to be in the book and if it's something that they don't like due to personal taste or to past trauma to themselves or to those who they know, then it allows more people to be able to enjoy them. Of course there will always be critics, but to me this allows people to have a healthier relationship with books, especially with new authors.
@Hyzentley8 ай бұрын
About the Hunger Games resurgence: Next year the planned Uglies (first big YA dystopia, about a messy female friendship torn to shreds by the dystopian regime forcing everybody to undergo beauty surgery, really good) movie is meant to come out, I really do hope it is so good that it takes that hype and transforms that into a dystopia resurgence. Well, if it ever comes out at all, production was somewhat troubled.
@iammehowru8 ай бұрын
THEYRE FINALLY MAKING AN UGLIES MOVIE omfg I can't wait
@isabellaespinal67098 ай бұрын
If they do it well then I’m looking forward to it
@camila19258 ай бұрын
As a writer the tropification of books is like a nemesis lol
@eri.x.a5 ай бұрын
exactly tho!! im someone who im really really trying to get into writing (as a young teen) and tropes in book culture are a really hard roadblock to me getting started bc instead of creating original ideas i feel tied down to these silly tropes... its just really restricting
@blazephoenix36698 ай бұрын
I love romantic fantasy, and I won't deny it
@kavya12kohli8 ай бұрын
Ditto! Everytime I read fantasy, I'm looking for potential romantic pairings.
@justjoe16698 ай бұрын
Which books did you love? I’m searching but until now didn’t find one I really liked 😊
@auntyharry7 ай бұрын
And I like “cozy” reads! Describing a book as “cozy” doesn’t mean it is simplistic or lacks depth. I love the fact that I can read a genuinely engaging mystery that doesn’t have graphic violence. If you like romantic fantasy, you go for it! And I’ll keep enjoying my maligned “cozy” books.
@blazephoenix36697 ай бұрын
@@justjoe1669 I enjoyed enchantment of ravens
@blazephoenix36697 ай бұрын
@@auntyharry ok?
@em42006 ай бұрын
I think the "problem" with the rising Colleen Hoover Girl is that a lot of them never give other authors a chance. I genuinely know some girls in real life who have openly said something like "oh I hate reading it's so boring, but I like Colleen Hoover." I don't care if they love her, it's more that I want more people to enjoy reading and its community, and some of those girls just assume that she is the best romance author out there, and anything that's written by someone else isn't good.
@martinelanglois31588 ай бұрын
Enjoy the Holidays, get some rest, see people you love and have a Merry Christmas! 🎀
@ragingdevi8 ай бұрын
I feel like the surge in vampire stuff might be a combination of a second big year for Dracula Daily and Astarion taking over the internet when Baldur's Gate came out, but idk lol
@mthe13th8 ай бұрын
The last six or 7 books I read were ice hockey, more specifically MM ice hockey. I think the figure skater x hockey player dynamic is grat for some enemies or rivals to lovers. And specifically for MM the whole teamates getting together or rivals falling for each other is really easy to build and explore. There's also the fact they get injured easily so there's the caring for each other bit, dealing with failure, consoling each other when the lose, etc. To me they're just comfy winter books to set me in the mood of cold but not christmasy yet, kind of a guilty pleasure
@tedddybear8 ай бұрын
Ooh do you have any recs?? I’ve read a lot of mm hockey books but have been disappointed by most of them. Most recently I’ve read the EL Massey series which featured almost zero hockey despite being marketed as a hockey book (and I really enjoyed the material it was inspired by, OMGCP, so I was extra disappointed).
@vampabe5238 ай бұрын
The Poor Things movie and the upcoming Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Frankenstein kinda make it evident to me that Gothic will be a big interest next year. It was already here in a way but it will make its way to the general public and not just the niche corners of the internet.
@Kisulimisuli18 ай бұрын
Please tell me if there is someone else who HATES silent reviews >.< Like for me it doesnt tell anything about the books, only if the person liked it or not. Like tell me why, tell me why not. Or is it just me being really bad at interpreting what people mean when they just silently motion things XD
@mayagranger25428 ай бұрын
I used to love the silent review but until I always confused wether they like the book or not like example, they reviewing a disturbing horror thriller book. They make a disgusted reaction and I just confused did that person hate that book so that's why they make disgusting reaction or just want to show how disturbing and scary that book is
@mle22718 ай бұрын
Surprised you didn't talk about the Reylo fanfiction to published book pipeline. I think there were at least three this year that were Reylo fanfic rebranded into published books this year with quite a few more due out next year, plus the one that started it all, The Love Hypothesis. I personally want it to stop, and this is coming from a romance reader. I hate questioning if a book I'm reading was fanfiction first.
@kobzatimea84658 ай бұрын
I'd def love to see more vampire and gothic books, so hope we'll get more! Loved the video, got a lot of new info about trends I wasn't truly even aware of. Take care and I hope you'll have a nice holiday!
@evasl8 ай бұрын
I miss Anne Rice's kind of vamps.
@kobzatimea84658 ай бұрын
@@evasl me too!!
@mansaurus_wrex8 ай бұрын
i think the tropification thing also might be bc so many of the readers and writers who are creating and consuming books rn (esp on booktok it seems) came up on sites like ao3 and wattpad and tropes in this case have same function as “tags” on those sites.
@shalryma8 ай бұрын
It's not exactly a new thing, but I love that trigger warnings are much more of a thing now of a thing than they have ever been! It makes so much easier to curate my reading for my current mood and mental strength, and it has been great! I don't mind cozy literature being written and rediscovered, as this is something that people clearly want to read and if so, enjoy! I do mind "cozy" being stretched as a category to its absolute limits just because it's a popular hashtag. I like to read cozy books from time to time and some of the less popular recommendations I got (especially in the mystery and horror subgenre) actually were quite dark. Sprayed edges are fine and special editions, especially if they are available at book's launch, are also fine - in terms of overconsumption, what's really problematic is buying dozens of books way too often, proceeding not to read them, only to unhaul them unread or barely touched some time later. I'm guilty of that myself and I'm not proud of that - I don't need to be surrounded by 50+ unread books, I never start more than 3 at any given moment and I don't read crazy fast. I wish bookfluencers put some effort into popularizing libraries, book swaps and second-hand book shopping. I know some of them already do that, but giant book hauls of are still to much of a thing.
@thehelenafiles8 ай бұрын
Cozy fantasy has always been confusing to me, cause one of my favorite fantasy series is the Witcher, the world is super dark and brutal, but the first books brings me so much comfort and coziness, each chapter is just Geralt having little adventures and the fact that he's an outcast looked down for most people makes you relate to him. Anyway, coziness is very relative, and I highly recommend The Last Wish.
@isaacnewton90212 ай бұрын
Omg yes! The Witcher in general is such a breath of fresh air for me whenever I get tired of sifting for a good book (some days it feels more like dredging a riverbed, ngl). The way it starts with the premise of witcher's work being an unpleasant blue collar job and then weaves in social issues on top of that in plausible ways is just... exactly what I'm looking for from fantasy most days. And then the story can just be 'Geralt and Dandelion are hungry, but they suck at fishing so badly that everything goes horribly wrong' and I am enthralled. Comfy doesn't have to mean vapid as fuck, who'd have thought😭
@elizanarta8 ай бұрын
People are gonna be mad but I'm gonna say it, not all books need to be spicy
@mayagranger25428 ай бұрын
true like when someone recommend a romance books, the comments section was like 'is it spicy?' 'what is the spice rating?' which is annoying. they just don't read for plot
@CAiTLiNx3548 ай бұрын
I think what makes these new special editions seem more like cash grabs and blatant consumerism is how they all get released with “bonus content.” Depending on the series, it might feel like you need to buy every single edition just to get the full story. I do agree with you that just wanting to buy books to complete a set isn’t that big of an issue nor a new thing.
@Abby-jc2hp8 ай бұрын
Great video, Leonie!! Loved your theory about romantasy being a continuation of YA and that's why it's gaining so much traction. I also wonder how much of it is people who got back into reading via romance/romance recs on booktok now branching out? I think a lot of people who got back into reading through romance are now looking to dip their toes into other genres, and romantasy is a safe place to start because it contains that same romance, just with higher stakes, alongside what's oftentimes simple world building that's not overwhelming to first-time fantasy readers. It can be a much easier step than starting with a dense adult fantasy book and deciding fantasy may not be for them. It's super cool to see some booktubers talk about in their 2023 reading wrap up videos how they started the year as big romance girlies and now love fantasy! Romantasy can be a great way to bridge that gap, and if it gets people more into fantasy, I'm here for it!
@annthedreamer8 ай бұрын
Me, who only read danmei novels in this year, knowing nothing about these trends 😂😂 I enjoyed this video thank you 😊
@JBoulter118 ай бұрын
Cozy Becky Chambers Sci-Fi should never die.
@hi_there12398 ай бұрын
i'm conflicted on the tropes thing too, but i think my take is that i don't mind "here are books that have enemies to lovers/forced proximity/etc" as a jumping off point to find out more of the book, but if you're specifically talking about one particular book, i'd rather hear about what makes it special. just my opinion, hope that made sense lol also as someone who just took a "queering the gothic" course, bring on the gothic lit renaissance!!
@-Chiel8 ай бұрын
What a fun trend review! 8:40 yes PLEASE, make the video essay about romantasy (and all the other genres, too)! I love love love your deep dives into different bookish topics! You make watching your videos a joy by the way you present your arguments with sound reasoning and show your research for them but also leave room for conversation. That works wonders especially in the video essay format. Have a fun and rejuvenating Christmas break!
@limeparticle8 ай бұрын
I don’t necessarily understand getting the same book in more than one edition just to add to a collection, but this is not a stone I’m willing to throw in my glass house where I own probably more yarn than I can knit up in my remaining years 👀
@raoul_alexander8 ай бұрын
I'm not sure that I agree with your take on the special edition 'trend' as mostly being about an aesthetic difference that gets interpreted as one person being shallow. I do see your point that the Clothbound Classics and Penguin English Library books are designed with collectability in mind, but especially the Penguin black classics and others like Oxford World Classics have Introductions, Explanatory Notes, recommendations for Further Reading and such that make for a really good edition if you want to study and analyse the book. So there the design template is, in my opinion, less about a sense of collectability and more about setting an expectation as to what you're getting into with each edition. If I buy a Penguin English Library edition I'm mostly there to enjoy the story, and in turn, for more analytic reading I'll grab an edition with more paratext. And I don't think the special editions 'trend' for recently published books can be fully compared to this, because they're not necessarily serving a purpose beyond looking good. (Which is fine, I've also bought a special edition once or twice.) But my impression is that books these days get special editions upon release, when most people haven't even been able to read it. Or they get an anniversary edition when it hasn't even become clear if this is a book that will stand the test of time. This definitely sounds like consumerism to me, when the special edition is essentially part of the marketing campaign for a book. In that sense, I don't understand how those editions are comparable to matching editions of classics that give you more material than just the story (and are way cheaper too).
@bybookandbone8 ай бұрын
I need more cozy fantasy tbh xD I'd love to see more books like Legends & Lattes get published. If anyone has recommendations, throw them my way :D
@JennaThePanda8 ай бұрын
There is a book that just came out called the fellowship of bakers and magic. It seems to be the great British bake-off in a high fantasy setting, I have it on my tbr but haven’t read it yet, it sounds great for cozy fantasy though :)
@bybookandbone8 ай бұрын
@@JennaThePanda ooooh thank you! That sounds exactly like what I'm after
@heabooktubes8 ай бұрын
Ok I agree with your theory. I wasn’t able to find adult books that were what I wanted until I started reading romance. And my only issue with tropification is when the authors are writing the book for the trope, it can feel like copy and paste rather than an organic story they wanted to write.
@itsallenwow8 ай бұрын
I love your theory about romance fantasy! There are so many connections to like those 2010’s YA books we all read
@mackenzie30098 ай бұрын
“Tropification” has a place in the online book space, specifically readers naming and talking about what they enjoy. Not my thing (I mostly read literary fiction and avoid spoilers as much as possible) but everyone enjoys books differently. I especially understand new readers on booktok doing it, and I’ll support whatever makes reading more accessible to new people Where it really starts to bug me is the role it has in book marketing. Books are marketed and sold based on tropes, and authors/publishers use it (and HAVE to use it) more and more to get their books sold. It’s just sad to me personally and it really takes out a lot of depth from discussions and understanding of the books we read.
@veru.krejci8 ай бұрын
i like tropes when it comes to the main plot. like single parent trope, friends-to-lovers etc. i don’t think people should look further. it takes away the surprise of "oh my god! they’re sharing a bed". but unfortunately it became so popular there are 10 tropes for every book mentioned everywhere
@IntentionallyBookish7 ай бұрын
Love your takes! I do want to point out that “cozy mystery” is a mystery sub genre that’s been around long before the cozy trend. While these books are “cozy” in a sense, the plots usually involves specific points such as small towns, amateur sleuths, and off-page murders. A cozy mystery series I always recommend is Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop mystery series - 18 books deep so far with lots of food, setting, and character descriptions to fall in love with!
@georgeandrews13946 ай бұрын
Commented something similar before I saw your post. My mother's read those mysteries since I was a child and we moved to a place with a decent public library.
@melissarichten63238 ай бұрын
I get cozy fantasy. Ever since pandemic, I was looking for an escape from the stressful times. I hope more books should be written that way.
@suzankhachatryan84728 ай бұрын
I can't believe how me, a huge hockey fan, hasn't even heard about or dived into books about hockey lol I guess my love of reading and love of hockey were always kept separate and now I'm not sure I want to read any of these books haha Totally agree with you about the renaissance of the Hunger Games as well as the historical/gothic fantasies. I'm totally obsessed with this genre at the moment and totally want more more more..
@romalibra_books8 ай бұрын
Cozy fantasies are healing my soul 🤩 Emily Wilde was a big favorite this year and I did not see this coming (the fact that the main female character is autistic was a big +)
@emr22208 ай бұрын
the way you proposed how the book industry could turn into something like the fast fashion/furniture industries was really giving 'basis of a modern dystopian novel' hahaha
@emr22208 ай бұрын
also, i totally think hating on girls who like sarah j maas is the fantasy equivalent of hating on colleen hoover girlies
@nadiyah_i8 ай бұрын
not a fan of tropification tbh. i get why some ppl would like it with feeling like reading a specific trope at certain times or for certain moods but for me personally, i like to not know much about the book I'm reading so if i see something is described as having an enemies-to-lovers plot (for example), that basically spoils the plot. now i know, before it even happens, that these two characters that hate each other are going to fall in love, and that's something I'd rather find out for myself as I'm reading