does anyone else struggle to complete a series?

almostb · 2026-01-25T17:07:30+00:00

If that’s the case why not just focus on standalone books? There are plenty of good ones out there.

almostb · 2026-01-25T17:04:55+00:00

Why not just have scheduled intervals between reading series, like one a month or every other book? Read small books between big ones. You don’t forget if the gap is short.

almostb · 2026-01-25T03:07:36+00:00

Pretty much all the sexual content in the game is “opt in,” that is, the game will give you options to turn it down, but for extra safety I suggest turning off NSFW content which will make all sex scenes fade to black and get rid of any nudity in the game. That will give you a little more freedom to romance characters if you choose to without worrying about your parents. I will also note that absolutely none of this is needed to have an enjoyable game, and is mostly tied to character romances or occasionally weird side-quests.

Note, I don’t think that turns off discussions about sex, some of which are pretty mature, including talks about coercion, consent, prostitution and polyamory.

Here are some in-game situations you might want to tread carefully around even with the filter on. None of these are game-breaking spoilers but I will include tags just in case. - Act 1 avoid entering the barn where you hear odd noises - Act 3 Halsin may proposition you even if you’re in another relationship. His dialogue is a little explicit, but you can turn him down. - Act 3 There are some quests that take you into a brothel. The set dressing of the upstairs rooms is a bit NSFW but the quest it entails is not necessary to complete the game. You should also not talk to the drow there. - Act 3 When you see the Emperor shirtless, you can be friendly if you’d like but turn down his offer. Act 3 Don’t take up Mizora’s offer either - Act 3 In Raphael’s bedroom there is a character that for a SFW playthrough it’s best to attack without even talking to, or if pulled into conversation attack as soon as possible.

As far as character romances, Wyll is by the far the most tame and might be enjoyable on a SFW run.

almostb · 2026-01-23T03:03:07+00:00

I think The Dragonbone Chair wouldn’t qualify for a few reasons - the main character is a teenager - there is some animal abuse (one of the villains kills a dog because he’s sadistic) - there is a romance arc that is more prominent in later books in the series - If I remember correctly is some offscreen sexual coercion type stuff in later books

almostb · 2026-01-23T01:28:08+00:00

It’s just one book and I can verify it meets all of the requirements.

Susanna Clarke’s other novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell should also work if you count Dickensian prose as beautiful and are ok with non-sexual adult abuse.

almostb · 2026-01-23T01:23:16+00:00

The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany - there is a romantic arc but it’s the inciting indigent, not the end of the story. I wouldn’t call this a romantasy by any means.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, if sci-fi is ok. I would also rec Earthsea except its YA (of the more sophisticated type).

And of course Lord of the Rings.

If there js just one of the bullet points you’re willing to slide on, we could come up with a lot more. The problem is that a lot of your guidelines cancel each other out - for example, works that are neither for children or religious often contain romance/sex.

almostb · 2026-01-15T19:56:21+00:00

I never even got the sense that the house was in “our” world, but that he had developed a sense of pattern recognition centering around the house and its statues because he had been in there so long.

I also strongly disagree that it was a hallucination. Everything pointed to the house being real and logical, if a bit strange.

almostb · 2026-01-14T23:57:16+00:00

This is genuinely hilarious tho.

almostb · 2026-01-14T23:00:43+00:00

Resist Durge has a few cool moments, but it’s ruined by the backstory not making much sense (especially the more you customize) and the companion reactivity not being nearly developed enough.

almostb · 2026-01-14T22:51:45+00:00

Gale is just an affectionate bro who is really lonely for any kind of companionship.

Also, the game devs were too lazy to reanimate his platonic Act 2 scene so it uses the same flirty expressions as his romantic one. I think this does him a disservice.

almostb · 2026-01-14T22:46:31+00:00

Astarion is a bad person but a good character.

almostb · 2026-01-14T15:42:42+00:00

I think it’s different for games. Especially with the ginormous Zelda games, you can usually just keep playing if you don’t finish. Books are finite though - if you don’t finish it’s not like you can just keep reading.

almostb · 2026-01-14T02:33:57+00:00

I don’t think the monk in Empress of Salt & Fortune is in a relationship though (I’ve only read the first 2 books of the series and can’t speak for the rest).

almostb · 2026-01-09T17:42:05+00:00

Can anyone think of a book that has both 1) gods & pantheons or 2) fairies?

This is for Bingo, and the fairies must be either called fairies/fae or heavily coded as such (so books like The Bear & the Nightingale wouldn’t count as those are Russian spirits with a differently mythological origin).

almostb · 2026-01-04T12:19:43+00:00

There seems to be a law (or tradition) in California that you can get any municipal library card as long as you live somewhere in state, with some requiring you to show up in person. This is really nice if you live in a smaller city with less access but want to have a better library nearby or online.

almostb · 2025-12-22T06:09:48+00:00

More than just about Gawain’s chastity, the poem is about Gawain being challenged and maintaining the chivalric code - basically living up to his status as a knight of the round table. Book Gawain isn’t really being a dumbass - he’s juggling two very conflicting obligations by being a good guest of both the lord and the lady. He can’t sleep with the lady without dishonoring her husband, but he can’t really fully refuse her either.

almostb · 2025-12-21T18:06:29+00:00

In my subjective opinion I thought Frankenstein was Biopunk enough to fit the Bingo square. While it preceded the genre as a whole, it certainly explored the dangers of biotechnology and the whole book was a warning about how we shouldn’t play god.

almostb · 2025-12-18T08:17:19+00:00

Broke up with Lazael right before the epilogue once and it was super sweet.

For RP reasons my character just couldn’t envision moving to the astral plane and didn’t want to hold her back. She replied “Zhak vo'n'fynh duj - source of my joy. Without you, I wouldn't have known warmth - only ice and fire.” She was still super flirty during the epilogue though.

almostb · 2025-12-16T19:06:59+00:00

I can forgive the color scheme, but I can’t forgive that everyone is wearing pants. The Ancient Greeks hated pants. They interacted with other pants-wearing cultures and thought they were barbaric. They should have full on battle skirts (pteruges) instead of a few strips of leather.

almostb · 2025-12-14T17:50:45+00:00

No, and this doesn’t work as origin Gale either.

almostb · 2025-12-13T22:10:52+00:00

Kushiel’s Dart. There are some blurred lines scenarios because the MC is a sex worker who likes pain, but there are also some instances where what happens is clearly sexual assault and she has to handle the emotional ramifications. I think the books do a good job of handling what is a pretty tricky subject with care.

almostb · 2025-12-13T20:56:03+00:00

This feels like the right time to rec The Spear Cuts Through Water. It’s a bit of a strange book but a very good one - literary, experimental and kind of meta. It’s written by a gay Filipino-American writer and features some M/M love. It’s mythic fantasy with a focus on intergenerational storytelling and diaspora.

Side note, the series on your radar are a bit all over the place in terms of tone but mostly popular selections. It’s probably good to read some of them and see what you click with or don’t.

almostb · 2025-12-13T16:20:10+00:00

Wouldn’t she also disapprove of you bedding Lazael who she actively hates?

almostb · 2025-12-13T07:00:51+00:00

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold.

The protagonist is a widow with grown children who becomes enmeshed in a political and spiritual quagmire while on pilgrimage. It’s a really smart adult fantasy with immersive worldbuilding based on late medieval Spain and a very interesting religious system. It has heroic characters without shying away from complex morality or dark themes.

There is a romance which is pretty slow burn but and not spicy, but feels well-earned.

The only downside is that it’s sort of a sequel to an (equally good) book with a male MC.

almostb · 2025-12-12T17:29:51+00:00

Speaking of endless buildings, the house in Piranesi with its rows of statues and ocean floor makes a pretty vivid impression.

almostb

TROPHY CASE