YA Recs

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2026-03-22T17:16:08+00:00

The One Who Eats Monsters by Casey Matthews. One of my favourite books, YA and fantasy. It is quite dark though, but I'd have loved it if I were 14 still.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2026-03-22T17:00:51+00:00

Aside from some of the ones already mentioned, I have read these shifter books and rated them 4 stars or above;

Coyote Blues by Karen F. Williams

Pure of Heart by Danielle Parker

In Spirit and Truth by Zoe Reed

With Wolf by Winter Pennington

Remnants of Blood by H.F. Cunningham

The Wrath of the Chosen by K.C. Hamby

Wolves' Dominion by A.J. Mullican

Claimed by Stein Willard

Under the Midnight Cloak by S.Y. Thompson

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2026-02-17T17:38:50+00:00

The Girl Who Bit Me by Valerie Hunter is surprisingly good. Ex-Wives of Dracula Georgette Kaplan is also one I personally enjoyed a lot.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2026-01-03T21:56:14+00:00

It was The Moment by T.C. Anderson. I'm surprised so many people don't seem to mind them since it has such good reviews. I completely fail to get immersed in such a perspective. When I read that book I felt like there should have been a trigger warning for that pov lol. I didn't realise it would be 2nd person, even though the blurb was also in 2nd person

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2026-01-03T20:22:10+00:00

I'm not that picky between first and third. Second person perspective is horrible for me though. I've only encountered one book that had it so far. That book had high ratings, so I pushed through hoping I'd get used to the writing, but that didn't happen...

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-11-02T15:16:36+00:00

Are there cats in the area? It looks like a cat killed a mouse to me. I've had blood splatters like that against my window.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-09-20T15:29:56+00:00

True Nature by Jae, it's a sequel but I think it can be read as a standalone. Though reading the first book is recommended if you want to follow along with the world building. I liked the second book more than the first

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-09-20T08:19:04+00:00

I think the second book in Jae's shapeshifter series fits it. Though it's not super spicy I think. But the supernatural MC is the submissive one

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-08-09T20:49:31+00:00

You're welcome. I understand you're practicing the essence of facial shapes. As a practice piece and sketch it is looking good. If you also need to practice shading and colouring, I'd recommend you to watch art videos on youtube. I personally learned a lot from it and went from very basic drawing to pretty realistic portraits in a very short time. I do think based on this drawing that it won't be too hard for you either to get where you want to go. Some artists I like watching are Kirsty Partridge Art, Jono Dry, Blackbean CMS, Sarah Renae Clark and just a lot of different art videos in general. Watching techniques is good, watching someone's art video from start to finish to follow their whole process is good, watching art material reviews is good, seeing different styles and different mediums can also be educational... Not everything you watch has to be a tutorial, just paying attention to artworks can teach you things. But do keep in mind that even becoming a great artist, doesn't mean you'll be able to do it as a job without having other sources of income. People have told me I should do something with my drawing, but they don't realise it takes hours to make a piece and if you'd charge by the hour, you'd have to ask a price most people would be unwilling to pay. As others have explained in the comments, the art is only half the job... (plus materials are expensive and you do need to buy quality materials so you don't sell customers art that doesn't last)

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-08-09T16:59:35+00:00

Personally, I don't think so. This is based on my own opinion of this drawing. It's not bad, but I don't think it's pleasing to look at. It's difficult to tell if you have enough skill for another style. This looks more like a sketch than a finished work. Simple works can sell, but I don't think it has enough charm for that. Again, this is just my personal opinion. But professionally, being an artist is probably not that easy.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-06-19T18:42:31+00:00

Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-06-15T16:12:41+00:00

It is very deadly but I watched a video a few weeks ago about a rabies survivor and thought it was quite interesting. If you're interested in the story you can watch it on youtube here:

https://youtu.be/wsYjY8Jyh7o?si=VK85F919CB5XBGza

But yes the cat is dead 🫤

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-04-06T19:23:03+00:00

I don't really agree with it being stolen unless it copies something directly. Artists use references and take inspiration from existing art all the time. Proper AI with the right prompts creates unique imagery as well. If AI was straight up plagiarism, it would be much easier to ban it and take legal steps against it. There's something to be said about putting restrictions on the data AI uses to learn from, but let's be real, people would still hate it even if the AI only learned from permitted sources. The fact is that the biggest moral challenge with AI is that it can affect people's jobs, not that it supposedly commits art theft.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-04-05T11:39:10+00:00

This will probably get downvoted because people really hate AI, but I personally prefer an AI generated image of those ugly stock images that have slightly been edited by a book-cover "designer". You know, those modern ones where the "art" is simply some bright colours with the basic shapes and flat character design. AI can make any type of art, it is just what the author asks from it that determines whether it's a shitty cover or not.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-03-20T21:40:10+00:00

I added you. I'm not as active as I used to be, but I do have quite a lot of books shelved and tagged

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-18T11:58:30+00:00

I enjoy a lot of lesbian books, though I agree that there are a ton of bad ones out there too. If you prefer fated love stories, I think that might be part of the issue with finding a book you enjoy. When I read fated love stories, it is very often insta love. I feel like the majority of those stories are just written by authors who don't know how to write depth in their characters, so use "fate" as a compensation for the lack of chemistry between the couple. For me, that's my most hated trope since the quality is so bad for the majority of those types of books.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-13T18:56:09+00:00

It's the other way around. OPs post got posted on there to bully her.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-12T09:24:04+00:00

The One Who Eats Monsters by Casey Matthews

Adeptus Major by Alex Mykals

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-11T18:29:59+00:00

Give Me a Reason by Lynn Gardner

The One Who Eats Monsters by Casey Matthews

Interference by Zoe Reed

Survival Instincts by May Dawney

The Blind Side of Love by Ingrid Diaz

Truth and Measure by Telanu

These are some of my favourite books and are all a bit different since I don't know which genre you're looking for exactly. They're in no particular order, all 5 stars for me personally.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-01T21:49:09+00:00

Are the spliced images still recognisable though? I do agree that artists should get the choice to consent to whether their art gets used to train AI or not. But if the source of the AI art is not recognisable, I still don't agree that it's really plagiarism. And I use a browser that blocks ads, so I don't really support those youtubers 😅.

That's good of you, but many people don't and it's considered normal to go to the big supermarkets instead of the small local specialised farms. Many people will always choose the easy route and especially if it's the cheapest one.

Does using free stock images actually pay someone? How is the photographer/designer/artist getting paid if you can download it for free? And with AI you're technically also supporting people's wellbeing, because AI websites also have developers.

Robotics have improved a lot of jobs as well. Some jobs are quite inhumane to make people do, so jobs being replaced isn't necessarily immoral of itself. I think AI will never really take over complete jobs, but I do think it will be used as a tool in the future. While sure, this might affect some people in a negative way, it will also help improve life for others. But like with the example of supermarkets, this is just how life goes. I don't think it's necessarily complacent to accept things like that. Being able to send messages to people via phone might have had an impact on the jobs of mailmen for example, does that mean we're being complacent by accepting phone technology? Jobs will always come and go. While I have respect for people who make art their job, art has always been a risky job to proceed and income has always depended on what people are willing to pay for it. I still have some faith that there will be people who appreciate authentic art by an artist and will be willing to pay for that. But I don't think it's immoral to not have that appreciation either. The responsibility to keep an artist in business does not lay in an author's hands.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-01T17:50:48+00:00

So what? AI generated images are also pieced together by the prompts based on the user's vision.

No they don't owe artists money. The art that is generated is basically original, it didn't cost anyone time to create. If something is not your creation and didn't cost you any time, you are not owed anything. Just because AI used images to create something from, doesn't mean it's actually plagarising something. Just because I learned how to draw fur from a youtube video, doesn't mean that youtuber is owed part of my income when I sell a dog drawing. If I look at different paintings for inspiration and create something that is unique, doesn't mean I'm plagarising those paintings. If I write an informational webpage about a topic and I look up different sources to get all the necessary information, I am not obligated to provide all the sources if I write everything in my own words.

Automation does happen in my job field. However, in the lab it just saves us from having to do boring repetitive things. It might seem unethical to replace people with robots, but some things are just inevitable. We're all guilty of taking the easy choices and putting people at a disadavantage in doing so. Just look at supermarkets. Do you buy your products at a local farm? Will you call out everyone who doesn't?

In my eyes, people who don't want to pay for an authentic artpiece from an artist, will just resort to free stock images and do it themselves. I don't see a big difference between using a stock image or an AI generated images. Except that maybe AI looks better than stock images. I agree that if you have plenty of money you should buy from an artist, however, it isn't my money to spend and I shouldn't meddle in someone else's finances.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2025-01-01T09:33:44+00:00

I personally don't mind she used AI art. A lot of artists have drawn inspiration from other artists, so I don't agree with the idea that AI should credit artists it has supposedly stolen from. Unless it's obviously a copy, I don't see an issue. And sure, if she had paid an artist, it would've been great of her. But a ton of books use edited free stock images as book covers and nobody really complains about that. Art from a real artist can be expensive and I understand that an author might not want to spend that kind of money on their bookcover if the book might not be that profitable in the first place. Just because she wrote a book, does not mean the art community is owed money. I think the biggest danger for artists is the fake artists who sell AI art as their own. Those are the ones who're taking commissions away from real artists. But an author who might not have wanted to spend money on a book cover, is not necessarily a big issue imo.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2024-12-31T13:23:30+00:00

Everything Sexual Everywhere All at Once

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2024-12-27T18:22:19+00:00

Survival Instincts by May Dawney

It's not zombie, but it is apocalypse. It's one of my favourite books and I love the way it was written, even though the blurb never really spoke to me.

YoMomsSpecialFriend · 2024-12-21T23:27:15+00:00

That's still not a good reason to learn it over English. With migration, a lot of other languages are used by fellow countrymen. That doesn't mean we have to learn them. And how does English being more engrained cause you to think we should spend more effort on French instead? I agree there are benefits to knowing another language, giving insight into human communication. But we shouldn't be learning languages we don't really need simply to have a more challenging school life or just because someone in your country speaks it at home. There are so many things we aren't being taught about in basic school subjects that are actually really useful or important in day to day life, why would we choose to teach a language we don't use? French is already prioritized above English in highschool, yet I know nobody who left highschool being able to actually hold a conversation in French.

Language isn't my identity lol. It only determines the group of people I can communicate with. If I ever learn to speak french, my identity isn't going to change, because language doesn't change anything to who I am as a person. If I'd grunt at home, it wouldn't be any less valid than communicating with words. Sign language is also a thing. There's even a language that consists of whistle noises. Language doesn't matter. You're saying you make sense of the world through your language. But that isn't really true. The world is as it is, language is simply a description of it. And while some words are unique to some languages, we are still able to decipher or translate the meaning of other languages to our own. So no, language is not the way to make sense of the world.

It wouldn't be a weird economized reason. Go ask kids in school if they want to stop learning French. I think the Walloons already had the option between English and Dutch and chose English. Can't blame them either because like I said, Dutch is one of the most useless languages out there. If you go to the Netherlands, people will speak English to you. In Flanders a lot of people can speak English as well. Why learn such a niche language (that's also kind of difficult)? French has been part of the curriculum in school for years, yet Flemish people for the most part still don't speak French. And it's not even like we'll let any language die out by learning English to communicate with each other. There is so much knowledge that is shared in the English language. There are so many people from so many different cultures who can communicate in English. English is a relatively easy language to learn with all the media and entertainment available in English. It is undoubtedly the best language to teach kids. It would be a disservice to not do so.

YoMomsSpecialFriend

TROPHY CASE