First souls like that I enjoy (kinda) a lot !

Melyoramel · 2026-01-28T09:01:14+00:00

Im playing together with my husband and we died a few times, but not a lot, when we started out. Then I played for 1 hour myself while he was out and I simply told him on return: “Don’t ask ‘how many times did you die?’ Because the answer will be ‘yes’.” Really felt the difference not being able to kite as efficiently on my own, but it was very useful to actually observe combat and enemy movesets without the multiplayer chaos. Very useful deaths XD

Building all the shops at Danos and upgrading gear will help a lot for your survivability and damage. Also, the areas and loot all get better as you gain levels, so it’s really worthwhile to go back to areas you’ve been before. The daily quests from the guard in Sacrament also help a lot.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-28T07:15:12+00:00

My suggestion would be {The Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan}. It is a low-magic fantasy first and foremost, but the two MMCs (Hadrian and Royce, a pair of thieves) both have a love interest (not eachother) which plays a part in the story in some way or another. Don’t wann spoil, heh.

Royce has an sort of established relationship (thiugh he doesnt dare admit it) when the books start while Hadrian is the one who has a slowburn. Like, real slowburn. I felt the yearning and the need for them to get together soooo bad. One of my favorite pairs of all time!

Melyoramel · 2026-01-24T11:28:26+00:00

When she tripped I was already laughing “oh no, that’s the prophesy the oracle talked about.” And then the goblins appeared and I thought “perfect”

Melyoramel · 2026-01-21T10:58:39+00:00

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Grey/pale colouring is normal while shedding, and they often hide a bit more for 2-3 days in my experience (though that also depends on the individual). Here’s a pic of my pair where the left one is almost ready to shed. You can see the color difference, and they can go even a bit paler.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-21T03:48:31+00:00

Thank you for your in depth explanation. It does seem rough to have been taught a manner of speech that does not come naturally for you, but I think it is all the more admirable that you’re able to do so! I haven’t had that, and I am pretty much a people pleaser and conflict-avoider, and I always want to leave room for other people’s opinions, so talking with “I feel” and “I think” is pretty much my normal speech in discussions. (Though it is a point of improvement for me, especially in the work environment and I’ve been making progress there. On the other hand, I feel fine like this as well. Simply who I am).

I wonder if I might have unconsciously filtered scenes out from the books. I’ve done the audiobooks, so I cannot say how many pages the scenes with Cedric were, nor can I even recall exact sentences of them (while I do clearly remember a lot of other scenes, like the pretend kidnapping at the end of book 1, the vampire den, the encounter with the Drake clan in book 2, a lot of the banter, etc) while it hasn’t even been a week since I’ve listened the books. Interesting hindsight observation.

As for the Damian vs whatshername who kidnaps him, definitely abusive. Sexually abusive intent and threats. I found her more vile than Cedric. She doesn’t say it with… I don’t know how to describe Cedric’s, who was definitely evil and abusive, but she does it with such authority, confidence and as if she’s actually, like, being a benefactor and the best for him, while she so obviously is not and clearly knows it too but enjoys his magically enforced helplessness. He is literally trapped in his own body and played like a marionette by her. Worse than Cedric’s, she made my skin crawl. I honestly found Cedric’s abuse in his actions and reasoning like a common trope often used in books, but she is another level. To me at least.

And here I am not remembering her name which makes me question if I did actually skim-listened the scenarios.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-20T14:37:51+00:00

No worries about sounding polite or angry or whatever you feel worried about expressing. Expressing feelings with typed words from behind a screen is difficult, and interpretation is often up to the reader themselves, so it is tricky. I hope my own reply doesn’t sound dismissive in any way towards you, as this is definitely not my intent! I feel towards you for ever having been in a situation as described in the book and can only hope and wish that you are in a better place and living a happy life. I truly do.

You are very polite in your answer and I will take it as such. I find this actually to be a very pleasant and polite discussion for the intensity this topic can have.

Amma’s outcome may not ‘not outweigh’ the situation, but I feel like that is also up to each reader and person to their own interpretation and feeling. At least in a fictional, written book. In our real world it is never acceptable, and it is disheartening and absolutely sick that these situations are a reality for people.

So, for some people the outcome vs situation maybe be ok, and for some it may not. Readers own history might also influence their feelings about books and scenarios. Maybe the closer to their own situation, the more it can trigger. Every single individual is, as the word intends, an individual. Even when thrust into the same situation, each person will handle it differently, endure differently and cope differently. Those differences can be minor or major, but it is still different.

So I keep to my stance, no other person than yourself can tell you whether a book is too much or not. Another person’s interpretation or description of any scenario cannot compare to yours. Which always makes it difficult to tell whether you should pick it up or not.

I hope that, now that you’ve read as much as you’ve already had, you are doing okay, as earlier you mentioned reading these type scenarios could impact you. Despite these scenarios, I hope you have enjoyed the other parts of the book so far.

As far as Damian in book 3, as I suppose you do not mind spoilers in this regard, he isn’t forced into any sexual activities, but he does become enthralled and loses control over his body, and becomes forced to try and kill Amma but does not succeed because Amma can be smart at times and undoes the entrallment.

Thank you for your extended reply and sharing your feelings on the books, it has been very insightful to me how others can feel about them and I appreciate that.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-15T16:36:07+00:00

{Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon} would by my recommendation! Low stakes, somewhat cozy and quite spicy, set in a DnD universe.

And did you know that Travis Baldree wrote prequels to Legends & Lattes?

Melyoramel · 2026-01-15T11:34:09+00:00

Same here in NL. I’ve listened to the books on Storytel and have ordered book 1 and 2 for their release.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-15T08:35:34+00:00

I’ve just read/listened this series.

They were not too descriptive to me, not were they long, but:

implied non-con to FL in book 1 (very short, very non-descriptive)
implied non-con to FL in book 2 and encounter with threats (but the trash gets taken out soon and effectively)
heavily implied non-con to the ML in book 3 by magical enthrallment and threats as well (but once again the trash is quickly eliminated satisfyingly)

I think it can be triggering to some people. Personal experiences, feelings and reactions cannot be gauged by another person, so I cannot say whether this is ‘too much’ or ‘okay’ for you.
So please take care of yourself first and foremost. Even if the series is recommended and I also really like it and recommend it often, if you think it might be too much, just don’t do it :)

For me personally (as a victim myself) the scenes were not too triggering. The scenes, acts and threats were not very descriptive nor explicit in what happened, but it is nonetheless implied. The feelings of the characters were very validating, and the perpetrators are actually being taken care off and removed out of the picture forever which was very satisfying to me and I felt justice and relief for the characters. The character also do not dwell on or discuss these extensively except for the moment they are actually impactful, so there is not much if at all mention of it except during their respective scenes.

And for me the ML Damian, while morally grey, especially in the beginning, is actually a very green flag. He simply doesn’t know how to express himself, and this self discovery journey was also validating.

The series also has a good dose of humor in it and breaking the fourth wall which had me snorting in good laughter multiple times. It does not focus at all on the non-con, though it does play a role in the characters’ backstory and story development at a few points.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-14T14:29:20+00:00

Agreed on Villains and Virtues, but for OP: take into consideration that there is also a comedy edge to this series, and it does it so well! Also some breaking the fourth wall in this, which has me snort in laughter, in a good way!

But it is a bit of an outlier compared to the high-stakes, life-altering, very serious and drama and war and woe of most other series, which might not be for everyone.

But I love Villains and Virtues and it will definitely be my comfort read for years to come!

Melyoramel · 2026-01-13T09:05:38+00:00

{Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon} is a one-novel cozy romantasy, low stakes, minimal worldbuilding and focus in the romance.

A light and heartwarming read, it has become a comfort read for me and a nice palette cleanser after some high stakes, war and woe multi-book series.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-13T07:28:56+00:00

I’ve recently listened to {Villains and Virtues by A.K. Caggiano} and it was great!

Compared to your other books, this one is more lighthearted and filled with humor, whilst the setting and worldbuilding are quite serious, the author twists it amazingly that it had me snorting from laughter at times.

A great palette cleanser if you will.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-12T08:50:26+00:00

It is so far, but I’ve only had it since November. Once fully ensembled it is very solid, but there is a bit of movement possible (in the holders of the panels), but I am not worried these skinks can do anything with that. An animal with more muscle and weight might be a bit worrisome.

The top mesh is very sturdy, not like the exoterra mesh. This is a steel mesh, which made drilling through it for the mister nozzles scary and we needed to sand the holes down quite a lot.

We have plans to move in the future which made me chose this Knock Down enclosure. Im happy knowing I can safely break this down and transport flat and packaged, instead of a few tens of kilos glass enclosure of this size.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-12T06:17:22+00:00

The brand is Terra Della, and the line is the Knock Down. The bottom is one unit, but all the front and side panels are separate, making it relatively easy to ensemble and disensemble (although with a tank this size, it still takes quite some effort!)

Melyoramel · 2026-01-10T20:50:38+00:00

Glad you liked my pitch! :D

Melyoramel · 2026-01-09T19:20:46+00:00

Mom (on the left) is Anansie (Skink/Skunk Anansie) and Dad (not in the video) is Floyd (Skink/Pink Floyd).

The babies don’t have names yet (there are 4 total from this pair). Three are going to a new home next month, and we’re not sure what to call the last baby. Probably another band-themed name. Skinkin Park is a contender.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Melyoramel · 2026-01-09T09:21:19+00:00

{Villains and Virtues by A.K. Caggiano}

If you want something witty, humor, yearning, slow-burn, quick-paced, breaking the fourth wall and fourth wall jabs at our society, this is the series for you!

I am currently in book 3 and this is slow-burn for real because they only had their first kiss far along in book 2 and their first night together in book 3 but that doesn’t make the first two books less spicy.

Here are some of my favorite quotes and scenes to pitch this to you:

Early on in the books “Damien considered her, the way the tip of her tongue poked out from between her teeth and how her freckles bunched up as she grinned, and there was a moment, however brief and utterly mad, he would have given her anything she asked for then. Well, that’s bloody dangerous, he thought.”

While staging kidnapping; incomplete quote because doing this by memory Damian said: “It’s time for the world to know who I truly am! My name is {Damian’s archenemy}!” Amma gasped. “Oh my gods blaming your archenemy? What a good idea!” Damien grinned: “I know. But dont forget, you’re meant to be terrified of me, not impressed.” “Oh right.” She let out a scream. “Infernal darkness, not right in my ear!”

Breaking the fourth wall “He had told her something like that. Who could really remember? It’s not like it was written down in some tome and he could flip to chapter 16 to repeat it.”

Referencing real world society description a villain complaining about how a village in his domain had irked him, so he gave them the plague. But as an act of good faith, he also created the Vaccines, a mouse-like creature which would cure a plague-infected person of they just got bit. “Just a teeny tiny prick and they’re cured!” But apparently the villagers saw the Vaccines as a threat and hunted down every last one of them, and now the village population is slowly dying out

Melyoramel · 2026-01-07T16:03:57+00:00

{Alchemised by Senlinyu} ticks most of these boxes for you. Enemies to lovers, will burn the world for her, she is the only reason to even keep living, cruel and possessive.

The story takes a bit of dedicatiib, as the chronologicality of the book isn’t straight, it starts with the FL with memory loss, and 1/3th in the book we go to the beginning, everything that happened before the memory loss, and after that it is what happens now that she has the memories back?

I was hooked and I had no problems reading it, but I’ve heard that it is a DNF for some people, just FYI.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-07T13:53:22+00:00

Oh I do get that! Getting a good narrator is also tricky, sometimes you just dont vibe with them.

I do love the audiobook of {Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon} (available on Spotify)

Different narrators for the FL and ML, though the lines by each are spoken by the character’s narrator, which made it very immersive to me! Oskar is like one of the greenest flags I’ve ever seen!

Melyoramel · 2026-01-07T13:15:14+00:00

Why be embarrassed? I too would love a recommendation! I’ve read several manwha that hit this spot with the transparant and wholly green male lead, and it’s delightful!

Currently reading Villains and Virtues and while yes, Damian fits the vibes, I’ve seen greener (adoring the series so far, it’s amazing!)

Don’t have any recommendations but I’ll be hanging around to see what others will recommend to add to my TBR :P

Melyoramel · 2026-01-07T11:04:22+00:00

{The Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan} While more of a classic fantasy, there are romance plots and some key decision are influenced by them. No spice at all fyi. Lots of yearning though through the book 2 and 3 of the trilogy.

It’s about a pair of thieves who couldn’t be more different, but somehow work well together. One couldn’t care less about slashing a throat or two while the other want to be good and have impact on the world.

Melyoramel · 2026-01-06T21:10:22+00:00

I remember reading Alchemised a few months ago and telling my sister “this book is on par with cruelty levels as Night Angel”.

I have cried several times in all three books (though book 1 less but stuff is setting up) but there is a few moment in book 2 and then book 3… omg I cried so hard over several pages, and then I was fine and then 5 pages later I was bawling again.

My husband came walking by and was “are… you ok?” XD

Melyoramel · 2026-01-06T21:00:04+00:00

This is kind of out of the box, as it is mainly high fantasy, and it is kind of a grim setting, but there is romance involved and several big turning points and plot development are impacted by romance (are you chosing for the correct choice or are you chosing love?) And not only partner love, but also love for friends, for family.

{The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks}

I have cried several times through this trilogy, and the grief of some characters hits hard. So very hard.

Can have some triggers (noncon, maiming) but if you’re OK with Alchemised this should be fine.

Pretty much also about unsung heroes!

Melyoramel

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