What is Romantasy? | Reading Experiment Vlog

[@magicalemmarose]

I’ll be watching the rest of the video but I choked on my tea and almost DIED laughing when you said ‘once you pop that cork on that champagne it’s flowing’ 😂😂😂

[@bookslikewhoa]

if you know, you know 😅

[@gabz49242]

Did you also notice the multiple shots of Mara cleaning the milky foam off the slightly phallic frother? Nice shout-out to the romance theme of the video 😁

[@ChristmasJourney]

What I really love about your videos is how respectful you are toward the books you don't like or even DNF. No hate, acknowledging the strong sides of the book, even if in the end it's not enough to keep reading. Just love that attitude. Internet needs more people like you. I wanna be more like you in this respect. Just thanks

[@nealsteplaws]

Romance Professor Mara on the case 😆 great video!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank you! 😁

[@overcommunikate]

24:30 you put into words what I've had a hard time saying about the "romantasy" genre. I also clutch my pearls when the characters read like teens even though the author is adamant they're adults. Maybe "new adult" should just be "hey they're for people in their early 20s" because these characters rarely act like people who've paid property tax.

[@bookishmelody]

Love your breakdown of fantasy romance v. romantasy in terms of structure and expectations

[@teganj9512]

I kid you not as soon as you said "do you have any book tubers you love to watch but don't agree on" I immediately thought of Olivia. 😂 love her

[@Nixreads]

Yup you are right! I need to move to adult fantasy with romance. I’ve been burned by the nonsensical fantasy worlds of romantasy lately 😂

[@andshereads]

Maybe cause I just finished it but Hurricane Wars sounds a whole lot like where Shadow & Bone wanted us to think it was going before Kirigan went bananaballs.

[@larryyonce]

I'm glad you're exploring romantasy so I won't have to . 😆🤔😎 . I'm up for recommendations.

[@LeeReads]

I agree I feel like there is no reason not to market a lot of these romantasies as fantasy with romantic subplots... And that they are ya/new adult. But with short-form recs (TikTok etc) I guess it is easier marketing to indicate that it may be Spicy... Even if it's not?? It's like lazy/inaccurate marketing! I love adult fantasy romance or romance in fantasy like t kingfisher and want more of THAT, publishing!!

[@brooke5258]

You live in such a cozy area, Mara. It's very picturesque. ❤ I like watching many booktubers for variety, esp ones with diff taste than mine. Bethany and I are complete opposite readers, but I adore her content. You are a mystery girlie like me, and I love your personality.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Aw thank you! Yes, I definitely relate to watching different channels for different things

[@NovelteaCorner]

This was a great video to watch. Romantasy is one of my least-favourite words in romance at the moment (it makes me cringe, most of the time) but I appreciate that it's trying to place those upper-YA fantasy romance books in a category that's easy to recognise. But I have very little inclination to pick them up.

[@thefairylibrarian3282]

I usually like to think of fantasy romance as a subgenre of romance (so a romance with a speculative element) and romantasy as a subgenre of fantasy (a fantasy story with a very strong romantic component. Usually i just devide up genres based on vibes though as genre is a social construct and a marketing tool anyway

[@lauracorsi3309]

Really informative investigation into this new trend. I learned a lot and now I don't have to do the deep dive.

[@heabooktubes]

I can see Romantasy being a new adult qualifier.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I think that's where I'm landing

[@BobbiReads]

Please don’t give up on Carissa Broadbent. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror IS part of a series. Each book is written by a different author. Try Serpent and the Wings of Night. So so so so good. I feel like the books you chose I wouldn’t consider Romantasy except for the Carissa Broadbent one. There are so many others. KU is a good place to find ones. You can also check out Covers with Cassidy or Mel Lenore Reads for recs!

[@thewildwomanofthewoods]

i was thinking about wether romantasy and fantasy romance was the same genre or not the other day, so psyched you're figuring it out for the people!

[@jreadingbooks]

I've been struggling with this genre myself recently (or maybe it's that I can't pinpoint the primary genre/readership it's targeting). Also, the way you described knitting is how I feel about crocheting which I only started doing recently. It's hypnotic!

[@obryana20]

I love hearing you talk about books. You have such unique insights every time. Also, agreed on following creators who don't read what you do. Most of the creators I follow don't have similar tastes, but I love hearing about other kinds of books that I might not have picked up otherwise.

[@allgirlreview433]

Your knitting is so pretty. I've restarted knitting this winter and it is so nice and cozy to do with an audio book.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'm loving the audio + knitting combo!

[@priscilla.t.a]

Your whole outfit looks so cozy, but your hat, so flipping cute 😍 I love all your experiment videos, and this was no exception. It was entertaining but also helped me realized that I LOVE YA fantasy when it doesn't have such heavy or central romantic elements; this kind of YA fantasy makes me pleasantly nostalgic for when I was an actual teen reader and desperately searched for fantasy stories about badass girls whose stories were NOT defined by romance. By the same realization, I now see clearly that when I don't like YA fantasy it's usually because there is a lot of romance and while I do now appreciate and enjoy romance books in general, it doesn't often work for me in YA, probably for exactly the same reasons you've outlined about maturity and appropriateness, hardly surprising given we aren't, or shouldn't be anyway, the target audience.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I tend to like YA aimed at the 13-15 demographic best; it reminds me of my YA reading days before it started getting super aged up

[@thisisabookchannel]

i could see those red sprayed edges from the intro i'm laughing already

[@isabellao18]

Love this! Also you need to read Throne of the Fallen!!

[@LoptrL]

I was also team funny looking blob until you mentioned it. I have down loaded the first Kati Wilde 😜

[@bookslikewhoa]

I hope you enjoy!

[@hannahmay11]

Love watching you knit so much😊❤ that feeling of pure engagement is what I love most too. It’s defo cut into my reading hours though 😅

[@bhsprinkle]

I tend to put up with romance in fantasy because it's in literally everything. I prefer just the adventure but I understand why it's in some books. I think there needs to be balance. If it's more romance than fantasy, I don't tend to enjoy it as much. I love plot. I love adventure. Sword swinging. Destroy the villains. That's more my speed. Thank you for an interesting video.

[@ChantalsShelfLife]

Great video! I have also been getting a lot of YA/new adult vibes from most of the stuff marketed as “romantasy” which your video largely confirmed for me. I’ll read some YA here or there but I am no longer in the target audience for it and generally prefer actual adults in my fiction, whether romance or otherwise. Loved your shoutout to T Kingfisher! I haven’t read Swordheart yet but it sounds along the lines of her Saint of Steel series which I love! I will have to check out Kati Wilde, that seems right up my alley next time I’m in the mood for a smutty adult romance.

[@deirdrebeecher3508]

After seeing mynameismarines video on red tower books. I am not surprised by your comments on Assistant to the Villain. The editor credit on both Maehrer and Yarros books is the publishing executive in charge of the imprint. So I doubt if either of those books were edited at all. 😥

[@literatureliz91]

Such a great video! I absolutely love the "reading experiment" POV. Can't wait to watch more videos like that ✨

[@MythicalDelenn]

I don't feel like smut should be the deciding factor on whether or not something is adult. There should be limits on the kind of sexual content in books for teenagers, but there should be space for adult books that don't involve sex. Otherwise, where do sex repulsed/sex averse asexual adults fit in? I haven't read much of it, but it seems like romantasy is just an excuse to write a YA book with smut that adults can enjoy because the characters are technically adults. People can read what they want to read, I just hope that publishers keep publishing YA fantasy that's actually for teenagers.

[@chelsey8737]

I definitely understand a lot of this and I think you have really good points. I'm in a subreddit for romance books and recently there was a whole thread about how so many firmly adult authors in their late 20's and up write very sexually explicit stories about 18 and 19-year-olds and if it's actually okay because they're so young but technically legal. It's an iffy place to sit and I have no idea what the right answers are but it ties into your point about how there should be lines in sexual content for various demographics at various ages. 18-year-olds feel like children to me and I get really uncomfortable reading explicitly sexual content about them but at the same time somebody who is 17/ 18/19/20 reading about those characters at that age doing those things should be allowed. I think there should be some sexual content in YA as a touchstone and exploration but romantasy gets, I think, marketed so heavily at teenagers as a standing for YA fantasy because its supposedly compulsively readable and easy entry but I don't know if 14-year-olds need to be reading about the sex scenes that are in Fourth Wing or Sarah J Maas books. Also your point about how sex shouldn't define the age demographic for a book is so on point. I get so annoyed when people say that something is adult because it has sex in it but not because it depicts someone being shot 5 times and graphically bleeding out. It freaks me out that adult content is sexual content when sexual content is more natural and healthy than graphic violence.

[@bookslikewhoa]

That's totally fair - probably as an aromantic person, I over emphasize the sexual elements because it's what I can most conceptualize as signaling a romantic relationship, but it's far from the only component. T. Kingfisher is a great example of an author who has no sex scenes or closed door sex scenes in her adult romances but the book still fully reads as adult (I wish I had mentioned this during my Swordheart shout out!)

[@skfjeskbnvijrdt]

Totally agree with this. Fourth Wing was the first of a few books I read that are supposedly young adults but are almost certainly written/voiced like 16 year olds, so when the smut comes around I feel high key uncomfy because little has been done to convince me I'm reading about consenting adults 😞

[@bhsprinkle]

Yes. I'm actually writing an sci-fi portal fantasy that's labeled Adult due to violence level and has no smut.

[@whiteraven562]

Some reasons people criticize Reylo as a ship: -People find it a bit suspect that Reylos ship her with Kylo Ren when Finn is right there and actually a nice person. But Finn is black, so it feels a little racist that people would rather ship Rey with the genocidal white guy than him, esp considering how racist portrayals of Finn can be in Reylo fics (insert obligatory "not all Reylos" here) -Kylo Ren committed genocide. He blew up multiple inhabited planets. This gets swept under the rug and basically forgotten about in the later movies. Rey, who's supposed to be a good guy, falls for him despite the genocide -Kylo Ren has school shooter vibes. Luke got had a vision or something about how Kylo would fall to the Dark Side and tried to kill him when he was younger. Kylo's response to this was...to murder all the other Jedi students at Luke's academy

[@starilvara]

Also a lot of Reylo types have been like super shitty (including outright racism) towards John Boyega. Not all of them of course, but it seems common enough (and apparently with very little internal pushback) that I tend to side eye the sub-fandom in general.

[@bookslikewhoa]

This is very helpful - thank you for taking the time to explain!

[@Angela41541]

that's interesting, i never would have looked at it like that. for me it's much simple -- i love a good love story with a villain guy and these two actors have great chemistry plus the films did make the relationship very shippable with all the sexual tension. plus i ship finn with poe who he has an interesting dynamic with and, again, great chemistry between the actors on and off screen. so it simply never occured to me that finn and rey could be a ship xD

[@Rumkeez]

"Kylo Ren has school shooter vibes" is so true! or at least he has the vibes of a young white guy who was radicalized online. like this guy has had the most privileged upbringing and still feels like the world owes him sth. it's uhhh disappointing to see (usu. white) women obsess over this dude when finn and poe are just there. but that's typical in most fandoms i guess.

[@R0SE727]

Also to me, it goes beyond just not wanting to ship Rey with Finn who is a nice guy. It’s like. ESPECIALLY the fact that Finn’s backstory fills the so much of the same content that reylos want from Kylo and they refuse to acknowledge it & would rather reattribute everything noteworthy about Finn to Kylo. Reylos constantly want to insert Kylo into the main trio as the “redeemed bad guy” & basically pretend Finn doesn’t exist. Kinda weird to replace the one black lead and keep everything else the same… SO much emphasis is given to making Kylo a good guy. when. That’s basically Finn’s entire character. He was on the bad side. He knew being part of the first order was wrong. And then he joined the good side. There’s a lot of pretending finn doesn’t exist & playing into stereotypes just to dismiss him as a love interest & that bleeding directly into treatment of John Boyega. Thank you honestly for bringing up the racism bc that honestly is what bothers me way more than the handwringing abt Kylo being a bad guy, as much as the redeeming a fascist character isn’t to my taste…

[@spokeninpages]

Great vlog! I can relate to many of your thoughts. (41, Mom, married for 16 years). I tend to read darker in the romantasy genre. A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane is an example. I've been in my serial killer romance era❤ I would love to see read some of those titles (Butcher & Blackbird, etc.)

[@shadowblackheart7556]

I used to ship Reylo and I still like them, I like the Hades/Persephone and enemies to lovers vibe they had, plus they had a connection throughout the movies, and you could see he reacted different to her. It was like any other dark romance out there, but the toxic fandom on both sides ruined it. Despite it being one of the most popular ships, fans couldn't ship in peace because of the constant harassment and threats. Then the third movie kind of buried it, that's my experience of it.

[@sassycatz4470]

You're the second booktuber I've watched today who was having a snowy day, and I know you're south of me. (I think the other person is as well.) I live in the Washington, DC area and we've been mostly in a snow hole these past few years. We had snow earlier in January, but February has been relatively warm, in the 50s on many days. I'm a snow person so I'm disappointed. Maybe I should move south.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I want to say there's an El Nino or some other weather phenomenon that's making it worse this year, but I may be very wrong there :D

[@paziis]

Gosh the original fanfic that Thea wrote and that then based the Hurricane Wars off IS SO GOOD. Like, you have no idea 😭 the book went through a lot of changes from the fic though, and sadly I didnt enjoy it that much (3.5 for me too). But knowing where the direction is going, I'm hoping to love the next two books.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I've heard it was epic!

[@BeantownMrs]

Romantasy isn't my thing, but I'm glad there is a genre that's really getting more people into reading.

[@Paris_Lavender]

So...romantasy is basically New Adult? The genre that publishing said was impossible to actually sell? Quelle surprise.

[@paperbacksgalore]

I 100% watch booktubers that don't have the same reading taste. A lot of my go-to people love horror and weird books, and I usually don't!!

[@sabrinasstory4809]

I loved this concept! If you still want to try out the genre I feel like you should try again without ones that were in the Goodreads category because I think most people who read the genre agreed that most of the looks there weren’t really fantasy romance. Most of the books that re really fantasy romance are indie and along the lines of Carissa broadbent but maybe the writing will work more for you

[@bookslikewhoa]

Aw, the Goodreads awards strike again! They can't seem to get any of the genres right :/

[@Gigi-nc4vc]

Am I wrong in assuming that when people describe something as new adult that it’s basically YA but with smut?? In that the characters are 18-22 years old, so the smut is okay, but the writing and tropes are very YA. I thought that was what new adult was hahaha

[@harshreality73]

Not sure if that’s what new adult is ‘supposed’ to be, but it’s how books in the genre usually end up IMO. I avoid this category because the characters usually read like 16 yo having adult sex. I don’t have an issue with teens exploring sex but there’s definitely a difference between the exploratory and sometimes awkward sex of a first time and what I think happens as an adult. Even for adults that are breaking their virginity. Seems it’s different than the experience I would read of someone doing that as a teenager

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, new adult is pretty nebulous but I think of it as protagonists between 20-25, trying to get established in their independent lives, less first experiences but still inexperienced in the adult world, etc.

[@M_aryAnne]

It just started snowing today here in Texas, or at least where I am at! My puppies are so excited!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Enjoy!

[@sandeesandwich2180]

I've had The Hurricane Wars on hold since October, but YA usually does not do it for me, so I may free up a spot on my hold list.

[@bookslikewhoa]

It's worth giving a try - I thought the writing was nice. But maybe not if you struggle to DNF ;)

[@TimeTravelReads]

The only two romantasy books I've read are Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen and Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup. Neither have a whole lot of smut, but they are definitely about adults. I appreciate that.

[@Sarasstorytime22]

I don't like books that are only about the romance but I really enjoy it when it is a part of a fantasy or sci-fi or even mystery book. So when I say I do not enjoy romance books its not an overarching comment and in no way aims to belittle romance lovers. I whole heartedly agree with you that people should read what they love and enjoy.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Amen!

[@anikamercier2651]

The Hurricane Wars has two face hers on top and flip it over and you’ll see his. I was glad Goodreads added the category but didn’t over love some of the choices in it. I will say a lot of the Romantasy I read (favorite genre) is adult or what I would call new adult. I think you’ll find a lot more adult in the full 20 Goodreads list. Carissa Broadbent series are all different and most people like one or the other but not both. I will say that read very different.

[@netogrof]

My understanding of Romantasy is that romance is the main plot over the fantasy elements and Fantasy Romance the romance would be the subplot and the book should be stronger in fantasy elements and plot.

[@Alewo2735]

I just wish we, as the bookish community, could agree on what is and is not romantasy and what books can contain smut. Because as a reader on the opposite end of the spectrum that wants to read adult fantasy and keeps falling into p0rn that I don't want.....I really wish smut were clearly indicated for these books. I respect the fantasy romance you read because it is very honest! This is a book about blue alien sex! Awesome. But I want to read a faerie book without flying f*cking that's not YA. I feel like that's way more of what's missing.

[@CheyeW13]

ABSOLUTELY. i wanna read an adult fantasy book with adult themes without stumbling into explicit smut. Not that I don't ever read that, but I prefer to *choose* when I do - like the traditional "Fantasy Romance" mara's talking about

[@danielleoliver1734]

I find that TikTok and instagram tends to give spice levels, though their classification isn’t always how I would rank them

[@bookslikewhoa]

T Kingfisher might be a good one to try for that - if there is sex, it is off page and usually it is more alluded to than anything (so far in my reading of her, anyways :))

[@TimeTravelReads]

Yep. I'm not always interested in smut, especially because I get a lot of audiobooks and sometimes I listen around my very conservative mother. I can't listen to romance around my mom because she might hear something embarrassing. It would be nice to have some romances about adults that I know in advance aren't smutty.

[@hiiiii1220]

Mara I’ve been waiting for this one 🙌🏼

[@Marie45610]

I actually didn't know that The Hurricane Wars was Adult Fantasy. The cover does look very YA. Edit: I'm reading a Fantasy Romance called Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup. It's part satire, it breaks the fourth wall a bit and it's a lot of fun. She's a creator on KZbin, she typically does videos on the realism of sword fights in movies and TV shows. And last year she did some skits about a "Fantasy Herione" and people kept asking her to write that story into a book so she did. It's a lot of fun. I'm fairly certain there's no smut, but I think you'd still enjoy it. The character is 36, and there is a joke about how a fantasy heroine is supposed to be young, and 36 is "old".

[@Steph_W]

I am curious about paranormal romance vs romantacy. I’m glad you did this video. Because I see these displays at the bookstore showcasing romantacy and wonder would I like it? But I am not a YA enjoyer Thank you. Does Jennifer Armentrout fall in to this category? Bc were cray for her a few years ago.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I would say yes, because I thought that big series from her read like New Adult to me. So based on my understanding, I'd call her more Romantasy than Fantasy Romance

[@winternight809]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I saw the cover of Hurricane Wars and said "oh no" out loud 😂 Edit: Ah, I'm glad you enjoyed it - the reason for my comment was that I have only see people either like it or _really_ dislike it, and I thought you were going to fall into the latter category 😄

[@monica_has116lentilsand2cats]

i‘m only ~20 minutes - loooving the sassy comments! 😁 ok, back to watching the video.

[@danielleoliver1734]

Snow sounds so good, it got over 45 Celsius here the last 3 days which is over 110 Fahrenheit, and after multiple days this hot over the last 3 weeks I’m over summer

[@bookslikewhoa]

Ugh, I hate that for you - I'm not a summer girly

[@boxersandbooks]

I hope you give Carissa Broadbent another try. I love her so much

[@cynthialovesbooks]

Great video! I was recommended (and loved) the Lady of Darkness series by Melissa Roehrich.

[@bardsblond589]

I would really love it if you tried reading Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent. I thought it was a great example of a Romantasy novel, and better than the one you tried from her.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'm very open to that - now that I know her vibe, I can better pick a time to try again

[@samanthasnow309]

I'm curious as to how many romantasy series are sheer cash grabs. One book sells well so suddenly we need 3 more. And for me, sometimes it seems like quantity over quality.

[@andshereads]

¿Dónde está the romance? Probably my favorite quote of the video. (Edit to fix Spanish spelling and grammar)

[@chelsey8737]

Usually if you hold down the letter, it'll give you the accents so holding n give you the ñ with a tilde over it. Same with o gives you ó for Dónde and á for está. So of thats the exact quote it would be ¿Dónde está the Spanish?

[@andshereads]

@@chelsey8737 😯 it worked!

[@dangerkayutak2032]

Swordheart was amazing!

[@CozyReaderKelly]

I don’t care if other people read and review Reylo stories, but I don’t read them. I just don’t see the appeal in the original couple. Once a person has tortured another person, I can’t get behind them having a romance. So the idea of shipping them makes me feel gross.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Very, very fair

[@JashanaC]

Saaaame, with The Jasad Heir. It was so forgettable for me - bummer times! I love a lost heir trope but I didn't like how it was done in that book.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yeah, it wasn't bad, just kind of meh :/

[@YukiiReads]

In my mind I interpret “romantasy” as YA or new adult/adult fantasy with romance elements. I consider “fantasy romance” as primarily a romance in a fantasy world. To me both “romantasy” and “fantasy romance” could be either YA, new adult or adult.

[@paloma_hill]

seee, now I need to find good romantasy because I love some angst and slow burn, once it's established relationship all the scenes sound the same to me lol.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yessss this may be a good genre for you to explore!

[@katherineeaster5799]

I agree about being uncomfortable reading YA romance. I try to stay away from that, so I haven't tried any romantasy or even new adult romance. If the character doesn't seem mature in dialogue or their actions, I don't really want to follow them in a romance. Now, I will reread books I read when I was younger. That doesn't feel weird to me.

[@lusalma5404]

I have to admit I hate the term romantasy; I much prefer fantasy romance or the term I see in regards to manwha - rofan :) Some Pure Fantasy Romance - Sharon Shinn :) (though no on page sex); your description of Hurricane Wars for some reason put me in mind of Into the Darklands by Michelle West.

[@chelsey8737]

I feel like romantasy and fantasy romance differ because of where you place the romance- front and center in romantasy and second in fantasy romance. To me, romantasy is predominantly romance just in a fantastical world or with fantasy elements. The fantasy can be a driving factor but ultimately people focus on and care for the romance because it drives the characters and their characterizations. If you took the romance out, the world would crumble bc the romance and involved characters have to engage to drive their actions. Fantasy romance on the other hand is driven by the fantasy setting or elements and just has romance. You could take the romance out and the story is still fundamental the same bc the romance is an extra layer, not the foundation.

[@starilvara]

This was my understanding, too, Romantasy seems to be about as 'fantasy' as the average fluffy Regency romance is 'historical fiction' - there's some set dressing and flavour text but that's generally about it? (Not always, but typically that seems to be the case). Which is all totally fine to want and enjoy! It's just not what I'm (usually, sometimes I just want a fun time where I don't need to worry about understanding the world) looking for, personally

[@crushgoil]

I understand it to be opposite… Fantasy romance being romance first and fantasy second, much more likely to have multiple smut scenes. Romantasy being fantasy first and romance second, more likely to be slow burn and more likely to have less smut.

[@starilvara]

@@crushgoil Mainly I think both terms are poorly defined, tbh.

[@themusicsnob]

Interesting project and one I appreciate as someone who trends more towards your taste when it comes to speculative romance. As for the problematic part of the ReyLo ship, the thing I find problematic about it is the fact that he is basically like a fascist murderer and it kind of gets brushed off as him being a misunderstood sad-boy. That being said, I just don’t think those movies were actually very coherent in general when it comes to their themes, so I’m not sure it’s the most egregious example of this issue maybe just a really well known one, haha.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yikes, yeah that's very fair. And HARD agree on the lack of thematic continuity between the movies

[@colleenhanson3284]

As a knitter I must ask…do you use ravelry? 😊

[@emmal7510]

I like T. Kingfisher's paladin books for fantasy romances. They're definitely aimed at adults, but they don't feature a lot of sexual content, so I'd disagree that that's a defining feature.

[@bookslikewhoa]

YES hard agree! I wish I'd mentioned that when I talked about Swordheart

[@amandaallen8945]

I love to counted cross stitch and audio book. Maybe a hobby for another winter?

[@tysephine]

I DNF'd The Hurricane Wars because it read too Reylo and it kept pulling me out of the story. I spent more time trying to figure out who correlates to who that I wasn't reading the book on its own merit.

[@SarahAtHeart]

I think part of the problem people have with ReyLo fanfic has to do with the existence of ReyLo itself in the films. Kylo Ren commits genocide in the films, and the fact that this just gets brushed over is rather disturbing. Like I get it's fiction and I'm all in favor of a redemption arc, but he's not just some sad boi with daddy issues. He's a war criminal. And the fact that he gets turned into this dark brooding romantic hero a la Heathcliff (and LucasFilms started this!) is just weird. I personally have liked the books I've read that started out as ReyLo fanfic and don't have a problem with it because the megalomaniac part is left out 😂

[@bookslikewhoa]

That totally makes sense

[@krisprepolec5616]

Hi from the Canadian Rockies. Nice for you to get some real sweater weather for a bit :-). I like Romcoms and am a longtime horror and mystery fan (not an HSP), but I despise manufactured unnecessary drama in my fiction and real life. No housewives, bachelor, or survivor for me. If someone is being a gossipy, bitchy, drama queen I find myself wanting the monster to take them out 😁 Because of this I don’t think most Romantacy will be my jam. Curious to see all your thoughts.

[@machinaheart]

I was wondering during your thoughts about "The Hurricane Wars": Is it only adult romance if they're doing the do for you? I read romance once in a while as well as "romance set in a fantasy world", but for me personally it does not matter if they're boinking or not. what's important is how much of the time is spent on the characters' relationship(s) with each other, the falling in love or navigating their relationship. is smut a prerequesite for romance (for you)? honest questions here, I totally don't want to come across as mean or nitpicky. that was just the impression I had with you comparing the first book you read with the second, but it's an impression, I could be so very wrong :3 and I am so very much of the same opinion about YA titles being aged up and leaving younger young adults in the dust sometimes. my take on the reylo thing is that I am extremely squicked out about kylo ren being a fascist mass murderer that is endlessly romanticised, and I just ... can't. that gave me the ick in the cinema and it still gives me the ick. it reads like n*zi romance to me and ... no, no, no. (I would not like stop watching people who like things based on reylo, but actual reylo shippers ... I don't understand that and think it's possible I'd want to stay away from people who are very into that pairing. hypothetically, I've never found someone where I had to ponder that.) lotsa blubber here: thanks so much for this fun video, it was great to watch while I did some hobbying (papercraft)

[@bookslikewhoa]

I think the sexual element is the most common route to signal the intended audience (adult vs. YA), but certainly is not required. T Kingfisher is a great example of fantasy romances that are very clearly targeted at adults but have no or closed door sex scenes. I think I overemphasized this in the video because it was part of what I found jarring, but that was my bad

[@machinaheart]

​@@bookslikewhoa ah! I get it now! and I think you made a clearer distinction near the end, but it stuck with me, so I wanted to make sure.

[@gabz49242]

I have a friend who lives just outside of Nashville, and I can't believe that for the last week or so, Nashville looks like that and Boston has been a consistent 35+ degrees. What was that about destroying our rock in space?

[@bookslikewhoa]

We're getting more snow tomorrow night :/

[@gabz49242]

@@bookslikewhoa Jealous, tbh. We moved here from AZ for seasons, and this year has not been it.

[@finchfry]

Reylo only annoys me because the "relationship" came about so abruptly and underdeveloped in the horribly written movies that it originates from. There's not anything particularly problematic that I know of, I just don't understand Reylo fans because the source material it came from isn't good and doesn't really give you anything romantic to work with, so I don't know how Reylo fanfic writers do it. Just because I don't get it though doesn't mean it's automatically bad (in fact I'm sure 99.9% of Reylo based writing is better than those movies lol).

[@jacsYT]

the more i hear the synopsis of the hurricane wars, the more glaringly obvious it’s a reylo fanfic

[@user-bg4ig7rl3d]

I don’t know what “ray-lo” is!! Is it a reference to Fifty Shades? I’m lost….😢

[@chelsey8737]

Reylo is a the ship name for Kyle Ren (the villain) and Rey (the protagonist) from Star Wars

[@mikouf9691]

Kylo (not Kyle)

[@foolishreader]

I prefer watching booktubers with different taste than me because then I don’t get spoiled for stuff I want to read.

[@bookslikewhoa]

great point!

[@anikamercier2651]

I freaking loved The Jasad Heir BUT I think the write did way too much in the one book. I did think it was good for a debut. I totally agree totally YA Fantasy.

[@amandab7125]

I liked The Jasad Heir, but when I picked it up I thought it was YA, maybe New Adult fantasy, but it does give very much Sarah Janet secret royalty. But I do agree, quite forgettable. Was more of a popcorn read than anything.

[@Shawna540]

I chose the Hurricane Wars for my work’s book club and sadly didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to… 😢

[@bookslikewhoa]

aw, that's too bad!

[@Plants.and.cats5]

Off topic but I absolutely LOVE your glasses. What brand are they?

[@bookslikewhoa]

GlassesUSA.com - I have an affiliate link in my description, but I've not checked if it works in a while 😅

[@bulletbeau9300]

Idk who is classifying romantasy but the hurricane wars is not it. I think you would have gotten a better idea of the genre by reading acotar (really not the first one), crescent city or fourth wing. I’d even maybe call the georgina kinkaid books romantasy though they predate the label.

[@tawnyachristensen7310]

Nice long vlog! No romance in my cold hearted body but fun to hear your opinions on it ;)

[@bookslikewhoa]

LOL I'm glad to entertain

[@CM-qj2lp]

📚

[@ReadBecca]

Before the whole GR category thing, I definitely saw sooo much sentiment from the fantasy crowd going "these are really romance just with a fantasy backdrop" totally ignoring that yea, they don't fit genre romance either since they do tend toward loooong series arcs that don't have HEA/HFN each book. So, I feel like a lot of times calling them romantasy are really just a way of saying they don't totally fit either place based on what those genres readers expect of their books, but they do significantly have both elements?

[@christeascozycorner]

"they definitely be fawkin" HAHAHAHAHA

[@danielleoliver1734]

I don’t think hurricane wars or Jasad Heir are romantasy, most books I’ve read that I would call romantasy are either adult or new adult age, most YA fantasy books have a strong romantic plot but I wouldn’t class them as romantasy (for me anyway)

[@peggyoneil2123]

I was just ranting to my patient, non bookish partner, that Im starting to get sick of how much reylo is infiltrating the romance world, or at least the bits I'm reading. If it's not true reylo (enemies to lovers) its reylo inspired (looks like Adam Driver, barely talks, everyone thinks is mean but he's a cinnamon roll) I like reylo I'm just tired of seeing it everywhere, I'm ready to read about different personalities and male body types, lol Edit: I do think the problem with reylo is cannon star wars reylo is neo fascist boy doesn't truly confront his issues with his actions or beliefs, yet the girl forgives him

[@parkercrystal1]

Slaying the Vampire... is in the Serpent and the Thorns/Crowns of Nyaxia universe. So you definitely missed a lot of world building.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I realized that after the fact - I am going to keep my eyes open for another one from her to try, because I did like the writing

[@ribbonquest]

Scimance? I think the definition of romantasy is still being ironed out. I recently read a cozy fantasy (another label that's still developing) with thirty-something characters and zero smut. Then saw it was tagged as romantasy. I don't like smut (speaking of watching booktubers with different tastes than your own...) and usually scroll past anything romantasy. But that's not even a sure-fire clue!

[@starilvara]

What was the book, please? I'm always looking for established adult leads...

[@ribbonquest]

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. I got an ARC but it doesn't actually come out until July. 😅 @@starilvara

[@starilvara]

Oh, nice, I'll keep an eye out for it!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Oh that's interesting - yeah, I think romantasy and cozy fantasy seem to me to be opposites so that's a very confusing set of tagging!😹

[@oonam3519]

Does anyone have any good, adult sapphic speculative (fantasy, scifi, paranormal) romance recs for me?

[@bookswithvero]

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri :)

[@bookslikewhoa]

This was what I was going to say! :D

[@joannemccarthy2486]

What the heck is raylow?

[@TheKris47]

It’s the fandom ship/pairing based on Kylo Ren and Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

[@CheyeW13]

afaik the "problematic" element of reylo is that many perceived the first movie of the trilogy to be setting up rey + finn, and thus perceive the rey + kylo storyline as sidelining and minimizing a Black male lead/romantic interest for an "unredeemable" white villain. beyond that, (in fandom tradition) a few loud reylo voices on a few platforms "defend" reylo to a degree that borders online harassment. since the trilogy's conclusion, i think it's died down for the most part. and i suppose take all this with a grain of salt, as I've never touched a star wars in my life

[@bookslikewhoa]

sounds like the toxic Star Wars fandom strikes again :/

[@melissalisea]

I thought romantasy was just a new term for fantasy romance? Just catchier for tiktok

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Maybe it’s just my broken mind but the amount of times I hear ‘Romantussy’ is positively disturbing 😂

[@user-bg4ig7rl3d]

Omg I will now never be able to hear this any other way!!!😮😮😮😮😮

[@bookslikewhoa]

☠️

[@emilygaynier]

My problem is reylo is the fandom. I just find them to be a lot

[@bookslikewhoa]

The Star Wars fandoms are definitely... a lot...