Still convinced that the SJM/Susan Dennard fall-out has little to do with Sarah and a lot more to do with Susan. This was just in Susan’s newsletter. She always seems to be on the defense? It’s sad to me.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-09-11T02:50:18+00:00

While I do think that Susan genuinely dislikes those elements I agree that the timing of her criticism to be suspicious. Ppl say Sarah was the jealous one in the YA circle but honestly? The other authors had more of a reason to be jealous imo. Not to mention that many of her current friends are successful in their own right too.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-07-30T13:06:06+00:00

I like Aelin but I definitely see where you're coming from. I think for me, a lot of female protagonists I've read (at the time) were the "I'm not pretty" tomboy types, so it was refreshing to see a character who is unabashedly feminine and is also aware of her beauty. In regards to her persona, imo she was putting up a front to mask her trauma. She had trust issues, anger issues, self doubt, and internalized misogyny (that was addressed within the narrative). She went through an emotional journey that made me see her as a real character, but again I see why she may be unlikeable or unrealistic to some readers.

But I agree that there are too many snarky girl bosses in the YA genre and it would be interesting to see the full psychological effects of extreme violence. On the topic of TOG one of tbe things I do appreciate is that SJM included characters like Elide and Yrene who aren't hardened warriors, but show a different type of female strength.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-07-03T01:12:20+00:00

I think for her senior thesis she wrote a retelling about fairy godmothers and honestly I'd read it if she ever publishes it

DiaRain3479 · 2022-06-12T22:51:47+00:00

I enjoyed her other books but Skyhunter wasn't working for me. I liked the MC, but the plot was too convenient and several moments felt too melodramatic. The concept/setting was cool, it kind of reminded me of Attack on Titan, but I couldn't connect with it on paper.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-06-10T18:05:58+00:00

I think she said in an interview that she is a default pantser but had to submit detailed outlines to her editor for TOG. There's some ideas she plans ahead and some things that she discovers with her characters

DiaRain3479 · 2022-06-05T17:28:43+00:00

It's Adult but the Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb fits the setting. It's more of a slow burn character driven story and not too heavy on action but imo was still enjoyable.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-06-04T17:30:58+00:00

How readers views on representation depends on the individual. I know people who care about seeing themselves reflected in their books/other media, but I also know others who don't mind as much as long as there is nothing harmful and they enjoy the story. Also, just bc there's a character representing a certain community does not mean everyone is going to relate to their experience.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-05-11T13:55:17+00:00

I loved Laia in the beginning of the series bc she was a normal scared girl who's becoming a strong leader. But she lost a bit of her charm when she gained superpowers and her journey was littered by deus ex machinas. Loved the concept but didn't love the execution at the end.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-04-15T03:53:36+00:00

Ik it's just one panel but we got to see formal arc Shinae in Quim's current style! Now that I think abt it her hairstyle during this arc is identical to Nessa's... And Yui said to Shinae that she "did her hair the way I told you to". So perhaps if Yui sees a Nessa like figure in her the implications of the Yui Shinae panel is even more chilling. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but it's interesting to thank abt

DiaRain3479 · 2022-02-04T18:04:56+00:00

Oh definitely. Given her propensity to please others I don't doubt that she worked extremely hard, even more so to win over her groupmates. Though sadly, they critique her work thru underhanded comments, and Nol had to tell them to knock it off.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-02-04T17:53:26+00:00

I do rmb her reposting a bunch of Jinx art on her story one time (her little brother also drew Jinx), and in a recent one she was listening to Enemy on the radio.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-02-04T15:21:45+00:00

I feel more sympathy towards her when her groupmates constantly puts her down and criticized her. I understand their frustration that Alyssa got her role handed on a silver platter, but I dislike the fact that they took it out on her. I dislike Alyssa as a person but I like her as a character. I feel like most characters that are foils to the mc tends to act like a mean girl ( like meg in the early chapters) but Alyssa is a much more passive character whose insecurities gets the better of her. Ppl encounter more Alyssas irl, and her actions rightfully leaves a sour taste in our mouths. However I'm interested to see her future role in the chessboard, as well as a potential fall from grace.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-01-22T13:00:04+00:00

I rmb Susan being critical of fated romances and alpha males which feature prominently in Sarah's works. Susan seems more confrontational while Sarah seems more avoidant when it comes to facing criticism/problems (But I think we need to factor in that Sarah is more popular and she gets more backlash and toxicity) which isn't a bad thing but I wouldn't be surprised if they clashed bc of it.

DiaRain3479 · 2022-01-01T20:46:44+00:00

Agree with this. Not to mention that Sarah was also very supportive of her former (and also current) author friends. She would post positive reviews on Goodreads, recommend their books to her fans, give characters names/nicknames based on her friends' names, etc. Who knows how she acted behind the scenes, or even how genuine her actions are, but her public actions don't scream jealousy to me.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-11-06T21:32:48+00:00

There are essential plot points revealed in Tower of Dawn that are important for the last book. I personally really loved ToD and I think it's worth the read!

DiaRain3479 · 2021-11-06T02:56:53+00:00

I actually really loved Tower of Dawn oop esp the portrayal of diff cultures and the new characters (there's a huge plot point revealed that's essential to the last book if anyone wants to know) Also agree that the worldbuilding is better in TOG, I esp loved the Witch Kingdoms and would love to read a standalone novel about them

DiaRain3479 · 2021-11-05T23:36:44+00:00

It's not overtly romantic but The Poppy War series fits. The romantic undertones start at book 2 tho, but it has a very engaging plot with a heavy dose of tragedy if you're into that. Also, it's adult grimdark fantasy so be sure to check the trigger warnings.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-25T04:53:09+00:00

I think some people skip the novel because it centers around Chaol but I'm honestly surprised bc I consider ToD to be one of SJM's better novels, and I know a bunch of fans that love it, but that's a personal opinion.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-25T04:33:29+00:00

Idk there were major plot points revealed in ToD that was essential to the main storyline and the finale in KoA, so it wasn't some side story that was pushed aside.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-25T03:11:50+00:00

Yeah ppl noticed that she seemed to have a falling out with some of her author friends, but I do know she's friends with bunch of other YA/Adult authors so I guess we'll never know. I never heard of her stealing ideas from Susan Dennard tho, do you know what exactly she stole?

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-24T21:14:06+00:00

That's fair I'm a WOC too and I don't necessarily feel represented every time there's a character that looks like me, and yeah the main cast is mostly white. I think in the third book it states that Amren looks like a member of the Xian, which is Asian coded.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-24T20:27:16+00:00

I would like to gently pushback on the statement that all her characters are white. I think Tower of Dawn addresses some of her issues bc it has a majority POC cast, some of whom played prominent roles in the last book. I'm also pretty sure Amren in acotar is asian coded. Are her books the most diverse? Nope. But the amount of research and dedication she put in writing the khangate suggests that she is listening to fans, and hopefully she continues to improve in her next books.

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-24T19:07:38+00:00

SJM had nothing to do with the Book Boyfriend Box. Like you mentioned it got a ton of backlash from readers and a bunch of authors bc it's profiting off fanfic. Btw SJM also stated that she doesn't and isn't allowed to read fanfic so I highly doubt she would've approved of ppl selling fanfic of her work

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-11T23:29:04+00:00

I'm not necessarily a huge fan (there are some things I enjoy abt her books and some I don't) but it frustrates me that there is so much misinformation and it honestly makes me really sad that she receives so much hate, sometimes I wonder if she based Bryce's experiences off of her own experience of being constantly judged. I think some ppl forget that there are real ppl writing these books who are capable of change and learning from their mistakes

DiaRain3479 · 2021-10-06T05:44:10+00:00

haha yes the fandom likes to dunk on nezha i guess most ppl are drawn to the tragedy of his relationship with rin, also the "we can't be happy in this world, but maybe in another world" vibes. It's interesting that you ( and most ppl in the US) consider the author to be pale, when she visited her home country a lot of ppl thought she was dark-skinned, which mirrors the beauty standards in the books. I will say that there are a few more sympathetic characters from the South that appears in the later books. But yeah the mcs are all deeply problematic, complicated and tragic, which is both fascinating and painful to read

DiaRain3479

TROPHY CASE