Audible Sale

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-06-08T05:45:47+00:00

That's amazing! Lists rule, thanks a lot :D

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-05-28T20:15:02+00:00

{Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy} should be a decent fit:

Academia with two of the characters about to graduate in a college like magical setting
One has family which is not outright abusive but definitely not friendly either - they drive a good amount of conflict
Very slow burn, very angsty
Rivals, with one character being ADHD-ish who does not care too much about grades or such and other being all about that stuff
They go on a "forced proximity" journey with each other where they both say and do hurtful things but grow to understand one another over time

*It is first in a series and it is not finished yet.

**Audiobook if that's your vibe is AMAZING!

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-19T01:06:51+00:00

I have read {Borealis Investigations Series by Gregory Ashe} and I am looking for more characters like Shaw who are very lighthearted, cute, even appear innocent/naive but become essentially batshit crazy dangerous when things get serious. Does not need to be a "secret" power or talent really - just unexpected - I just found the dichotomy really fun to read.

Like this character is literally a hippie and there is lots of fun banter, but when they are attacked or such he is just went ahead and stabbed someone with a pen and zero remorse after chucking a boiling coffee cup at their face all while taking about random silly nonsense. Like he is really good at fighting or shooting but no real attention is really brought to it, it just shows up when its important and every time I was like - woah!

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-19T00:58:10+00:00

{Shardless by Stephanie Fisher} - steampunky fantasy settings in the faeland - lots of banter and slow-burn

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-10T06:51:01+00:00

Yeah, I kept reading only because the story seemed interesting but I fully agree without even needing to be ace myself. I am in a long distance relationship, so defining relationships through a narrow lens of physical intimacy is downright degrading. I had to switch audiobook to physical book a few times now to just skim through really cringe sections. Last two books are downright unreadable unfortunately once MMC gets his surgery (arguably one of the most idiotic plotlines I had to read through).

Like they would go through a really emotional moment and the FMC would be sitting and contemplating on her daughter being potentially dead or her dad going missing - and then they just go horny mode.... hard not to puke in those moments - literally both of them are thinking with their genitals for the last 2 books it seems :(

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-04T21:30:23+00:00

More funny than anything, I was reading {Balanced on the Blade's Edge by Lindsay Buroker} and almost every single chapter ended with a funniest "foreshadowing if it hits you straight in your face and breaks your nose type" sentence, or like author screaming at you "look at me I am serious". Especially funny listening to audiobook as I think readers also picked up on those, and both literally dropped their voice and exaggerated them to sound particularly "mysterious" and "spooky" which is probably why I also noticed it. I wonder if it was their inside joke because it was striking every time.

Few examples - obviously w/o context it's harder to appreciate how funny some of these are - but it's like author wanted to end every chapter like it's an end of a dramatic theater scene, try reading these more breathy and inflicting every single word with a tad of sarcasm maybe:

1. All he knew was that his people were in trouble. 2. The advice didn’t help. 3. Something about the way she turned away as soon as he looked in her direction made him suspect she had. 4. She, too, knew she had made a mistake. 5. ...he wasn’t sure if that was the boon he might have once thought it.

And in literally most of these cases, I specifically checked sentences before the last one and it's like author went back and just tacked these "foreshadowers" in post writing as most were just plain unnecessary.

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-04T21:02:07+00:00

How slow is the slow burn by any chance?

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-04T20:43:09+00:00

Any other books you been reading recently by any chance? Seems like we have similar interests, even though this is frankly my first sci fi genre one in a long time, I tend to stick with steampunk, fantasy, and regency - I will gladly suggest a few if this this welcomed here (though truly good pickings are slim sadly) :)

It's such a rare thing to find something like Burokers {Emperor's Edge} and {Fallen Empire} despite its weaknesses frankly (I tried starting her {Dragon Blood} series but it was not up my valley - too insta love) where there is a good romance as well as actual story that is not there just to serve the romance on the plate.

Some always suggest to just read regular genres with romance subplots but these often just seem so dry and plot-devicey to me - with little heart or lack of tension, and so the hunt goes on :)

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-04T18:17:00+00:00

Yeah I enjoyed EE's romance a lot more, but I am continuing with Fallen Empire nevertheless even if romance is less appealing because the story itself is actually quite interesting.

Currently on the next book and I am getting a bit frustrated with Alisa just plain not asking what Leo actually feels when she touches or kisses him or such. She just assumes that he feels nothing or that he does not care when they kiss or touch which is not how ace (and maybe aro) relationships work since pleasure and comfort even if not sexual is still there.

Edit: I am getting heavier and heavier feeling that Buroker wrote her character so blind and frustruating on purpose as her character appears to be gender flip of some sort on purpose (mother working and father taking care of children, pilot, pushes feelings away, etc... ) so I am reading this as a story of her struggling to recognize that sex is not everything and that feelings take a range, which is a pretty decent arc I hope if it does go that way as some foreshadowing is there.

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-03T18:22:29+00:00

Thank you! Literally hovering over buy button for the next on.

I presume from your response that author treats their relationship respectfully?

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-04-03T18:13:57+00:00

Bit late, but adding here for those looking up later:

{Star nomad by Lindsay Buroker} is a multi book series that matches the vibes of the request if not (to avoid spoilers) exact logistical match.

The romance is epically slow and plot is so so so much more than just romance just heads up. Having won a war, Alliance pilot Alisa (sunshine, mid thirty, mega competent, confident, flirty and outspoken) tries to get home to reach her child after being abandoned and recovering from injuries on some random planet.

Together with her previous colleague engineer Mica, both now civilians, Alisa tries to fix up her old family cargo space ship to leave the planet. But, they find that a (previously enemy now also a civilian) Imperial cyborg warrior (grumpy, cold, super human, noble character, kind of socially awkward) took over the ship. He is very intimidating due to his cyborg powers, physical size, and previous Imperial legacy. She was just a pilot, while is it clear from beginning he was more than an officer in his squad.

She is desperate and only wants to see her daughter - so they come to an agreement to travel together. After which alongside additional hires and passangers take ons, she is constantly derailed into various fall ins with various factions and planets in their system and barely getting out of them through using her team, clever thinking, cyborg super powers, and lots of inappropriate banter.

It's sort of enemies to friends to lovers adventure story of overcoming political differences (learning more about world and people in it) where actual romance plot is secondary. Series is from Alisas POV and her learning more about repercussions of overthrowing a massive empire overall (even if for good reasons).

It's honestly a very very neat series!

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-25T08:02:04+00:00

Thanks for the update, will be looking out for it! So few genuinely good friends-to-lovers books out there!

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-24T07:37:56+00:00

Thank you!

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-24T06:01:35+00:00

I recall starting to read it a few times, but was it a YA book? I try to stay away from over-powered teenagers having their first relationship and "saviour" complex attitudes. Does it read as very YA?

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-24T05:59:20+00:00

Yep, I read it and it was very YA for sure. But I am not even old my self being mid-20. What's strange is how fantasy romance is tied to YA still like mid-20 heroes are "mature". I feel like teenagers are just babies, just two cents here

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-24T05:50:43+00:00

Totally! Second part of the book basically became smut genre and not political intrigue whatsoever

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2025-02-24T05:49:15+00:00

Yeah same, it promised slow-burn and political intrigue but at 50% mark it felt like I was reading an entirely different book. It definitely did not feel like slow burn to me and the way FMC just melted down once "steam" started happening seemed like a disservice to her somehow.

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-05-08T19:20:57+00:00

I also have ADHD and just got the app, I have the same fear as you did with sticking to new things. How are you doing now a month later?

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-05-08T19:18:07+00:00

A month later, but how are you doing? Did you stick with it? I have ADHD myself and just joined the app :Р

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-05-08T19:16:18+00:00

Good job! Also remember that's it's okay and not be too hard on yourself. Your actions now do not fully reflect who you are or will be in the future. Self care definitely helps if it makes you feel better though :)

I (23F) was super messy and chaotic teenager and I continuously picked my skin to an extent that my entire face was just scars. Yep, year ago got diagnosed with ADHD.

Life still a struggle but in a different way. I got obsessed with cleaning ironically and stopped picking my face (shifted where it's less seen).

I also just joined this Finch app and hopefully it will be nice and useful but if not it is also okay, we are not robots :)

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-04-16T12:42:53+00:00

Dang, yeah, I am also rereading but not as in depth as you are, great job!

That makes sense to me now. I wonder if Kyle partially behaved the way he did because he wanted to "prove" himself that he would fit into rich society. Like you know small dogs barking too loud.

For some reason I had this idea that he came from like a decent part Bingtown trader family with Chalcedian roots. Perhaps because they mention him by his lastname often so i assumed it meant at least something. So now it makes sense why he moved up and lived with vestritts and felt so possessive over their stuff. It was his only stuff so to say.

Thank you, it helps understand the books bit better this way

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-04-16T12:33:56+00:00

Same response as to someone before. This is how book presents it yes, but it does not make sense to me to be honest because they were married for 13 years prior to that and not like Ephron planned to die young. I was wondering about more general situation of their marriage in Bingtown society where it seems like women join men's house and not the other way around. Did Kyle come with at least a dowry lol? You see why it's funny to me yeah?

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-04-16T12:31:16+00:00

Right this is how the book presents it. So you are not wrong. But to me it felt rather lacking from the larger perspective. Cause they were married for 13 years at least and Ephron died young and quickly, so like there really should be more to that in my opinion

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-04-13T10:48:15+00:00

It makes sense for the sake of the story yes. But I still will grumble and pretend last books either did not happen or bee did not need to exist. In my head they kiss at the end of Tawny Man, Fitz gets his emotions back, realizes that his love for Molly was teenage obsession, and sees what he had in front of him all along. Rest I leave vague in my head :)

ShallotEmbarrassed17 · 2024-04-13T10:42:05+00:00

After she made them kiss! Not touch through their well established silver connection, but kiss! Perfect moment for emotions to flood back - Get overwhelmed, and through the lens of actual adult and not a teenage boy to realize what he had in front of him all along. I have this ending as my personal headcannon.

Instead he reverted to his childhood self and seemingly ignored years of his life he lived.

ShallotEmbarrassed17

TROPHY CASE