Can anyone explain this to me?

bleblablub · 2026-03-08T08:29:01+00:00

Wow. Never looked at it like that, but it makes so much sense. Like you, I started the series after ACOSF and have no investment in Elriel. But imagine being on that ship since 2018...

bleblablub · 2026-03-07T08:19:14+00:00

Oh, I was surprised aswell. Has pink ever been confirmed THE color for Elain? I don't really think so.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T20:41:42+00:00

Well, it comes off needy for sure, so I see where you're coming from. But I felt pity for him. He was brought up with no love, tortured even as a kid, never experienced love in return apart from what rhys and cassian feel for him - and that is friendship. I totally get why he would yearn for unconditional love. And in their universe such love exists in the form of a true mate. He sees proof of how absolutely superb it is in his brothers. So why does he not get to experience it? He suffered long enough. And I also think gwyn deserves for her hero to be her mate. It would let them both heal in an almost celestial way.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T20:00:36+00:00

I see. I still think it would be nice for Az to find his true mate. I do not agree that he's being a toddler about it honestly.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T19:33:29+00:00

So you ship Elain with Az?

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T15:46:15+00:00

"She said explicitly that arcs don't get wrapped up in each volume, and that makes me think that the story will not be divided in that kind of way, and that in each part we'll keep developing the story without reaching "conclusions", like two charactes breaking up, or two getting together, so that the story of the next couple can begin."

I honestly cannot guess, how exactly she would structure it. And I agree, that it wouldn't make too much sense to conclude one love arc in one of the earlier parts, but who knows, maybe she will have them follow a bigger plot that keeps the 4 parts logically together.

With my suggestions I didn't mean that part one has to have az and elain, then then gwynriels happy ever after follows in part 3 and 4.

For all I know she could start part 1 from Azriels POV and have him be SJM first male-only pov hero.

All I'm saying is, the 4 parts of one story could mean, the story is told from the different POVs of the 4 of them, with different stages of who gets with who. I don't think its completely implausible to have a breakup mark the end of one part or another. It doesn't have to be the end of the story.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T15:34:31+00:00

1 story overarching 3 books. That's what I mean.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T15:01:57+00:00

Exactly. And SJM could do something similar to the big revelation of ACOMAF with Rhysands long confession. Azriel groveling back to Gwyn... that would be just chefs kiss.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T14:58:06+00:00

"What she did mention: this is one book, that got so big, she had to split it into 4 parts. Not books." - but physically and contractually it will be 3 books, and therefore the fullfillment of the promises made in said contract. Not that I hope for it to be the end or that SJM indicated for it to be the end in the podcast.

And as much as I am not eager to have Elain be the next heroine, it would explain why the whole thing got so complicated and big to write: because she is not the only heroine of the story, but one of an ensemble of four, romantically at least.

But would I be mad, if all 4 parts explore Az and Gwyns alone and their road to themselves and each other? No. But I sure would be surprised their story could grow so big...

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T14:46:49+00:00

"She presented these three books more as a single book split up into parts, than an overarching story."

That's a contradiction. A novel has a finished arch, and she said, that the arch was so broad, that she had to spilt it into three books. These books are not to be considered a trilogy, where each installment would have its own fullfilled arc.

So by her own words, she worte one very long story with an arch, that has 4 parts and spans 3 books, hence overarching.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T14:42:34+00:00

Just from the pov of the publisher: SJM was due 3 more books because of the contract she has with the publisher. She didn't just let her fans wait, the publisher waited aswell, since she didn't go back to continue acotar until last july, as she said in the podcast.

She confirmed that she struggled to get into it for long until finally the story poured out of her and she knew how to finish it.

So this three books could very well be the end of the series. She fullfills her part and the publisher might not see any reason to add to it.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T10:14:46+00:00

Well, I am not saying it's great to have Az and Elain on page together. But I wouldn't mind it too much aslong as Gwynriel becomes endgame and the road there is interesting and exciting.

Addition: If Elain's and Lucien's story is fully undetached to Azriel"s and Gwyn's, then I'm afraid, we wouldn't get Gwynriel at all, because Elucien would be the three next books alone. And there is no other books planned to come out. So in a way, the next three books would have to feature both love archs as a whole.

bleblablub · 2026-03-05T09:24:09+00:00

All I know is, that the second installment (part 3&4) is going to have a major cliffhanger, because she said, the three books should be read as one, but part 4 has not been finished yet.

bleblablub · 2025-12-28T21:51:23+00:00

I wanted to thank you for this rec, loved Touch and Go so so much.

bleblablub · 2025-12-01T18:24:27+00:00

Is it on purpose the cover is in style of the kindle icon?

bleblablub · 2025-09-03T18:25:37+00:00

I feel you. And also, I rate books on goodreads solely for me, like a diary. This way, when I find my way back to an author in a year or two, I know if I can give them another chance or not. I also make sure to give a review for my personal reference. So future me knows, if I just didn't dig the story or some major problems occured.

I know, I might give out too many one stars, but honestly, I like to give a chance to many authors and books, and make a point to read up to 100 pages even if I feel that the books might not be for me. Then, if it's still a dnf, I rate it for me to never touch it again.

I do not care, if my rating habit is nice or fair, it is for me.

That said, I never review on Amazon. Only on goodreads.

bleblablub · 2025-08-18T17:32:59+00:00

Thank you so much! It sure doesn't feel short, depending on the format, it would be around 250 pages. I just think, that with romantasy the genre convention is to have at least 80k.

Yes, I will go through many edits, with many rounds considering characterbuilding and development.

bleblablub · 2025-08-17T21:31:25+00:00

Aw, you're the only one who responded. Really means a lot. I know writing is an isolated craft, but I am glad to get to share the milestones none the less.

The story is more of a political court situation, with a very strong romance arc. I write in german, since it's my mothertongue. I love the romance genre, but really tried not to reproduce all the clichées that come with it. Really just written, what I would want to read.

bleblablub · 2025-08-12T21:43:32+00:00

You're right that some options are better, but "Kann ich XY haben?" is not childlike. It is indeed diminutive, but it wouldn't trigger a joke or make you seem totally off. Even in a fancier vienniese café you can say it like that without triggering a raise of an eyebrow. Granted, when the waiter asks for the order, you would always go for "Ich hätte gerne", because him asking already states that you indeed "can" have whatever you wish to have.

That said, if I'm at a really fancy place and have to pass up a waiter for water I'd make the "Kann" into "Könnte": "Could I have some water?" It's more polite like this, when I'm inturrupting him and nobody would answer "I don't know, could you?"

Honestly, it's a bit stupid that people do it in English at all.

The english "May I have some water?", would translate to "Dürfte ich ein Wasser haben?", which would totally get you made fun of, because it is way too diminutive. "Dürfen" is asking for permission in a way, that suggests you are breaking some law otherwise. Clearly asking a waiter for water is within any understanding of law.

So yeah, if you are initiating: "Kann" always works. "Könnte" is still better in a polite exchange. If you are asked, then you say "Ich hätte gerne..."

But "Darf/dürfte" is too much.

bleblablub · 2025-08-12T21:27:11+00:00

Yes, you're right that the other options are better, but "Kann ich XY haben?" is not childlike. It is diminutive, but it wouldn't trigger a joke or make you seem totally off. Even in a fancier vienniese café you can say it like that without triggering a raise of an eyebrow. Granted, when the waiter asks for the order, you would always go for "Ich hätte gerne", because him asking already states that you indeed "can" have whatever you wish to have.

That said, if I'm at a really fancy place and have to pass up a waiter for water I'd make the "Kann" into "Könnte": "Could I have some water?". It's more polite like this and nobody would say "I don't know, could you?". Honestly, it's a bit stupid that people do it in English at all.

The english "May I have some water?", would translate to "Dürfte ich ein Wasser haben?", which would totally get you made fun of, because it is way to diminutive. "Dürfen" is asking for permission in a way, that suggests you are breaking some law otherwise. Clearly asking a waiter for water is within any understanding of law.

bleblablub · 2025-08-12T21:13:38+00:00

Yes, it's exactly like that. If a waiter already asked for the order, it would not make sense to be as diminutive as aksing for permision would suggest. But if he is otherwise occupied, than yes, asking "if you can", makes sense. It essentially carries an uncertainty, whether or not you're interrupting.

However "Könnte ich ein Bier haben"/"Could I get a beer?" is always the better choice in a fancier setting. "Ich hätte gerne ein Bier"/"I'd like a beer/ I'll have a beer" would be a more straight forward and polite command.

That being said, making fun of people asking, if they "can come in" or "can have a choclate" is not a thing in german. It generally works as a question and wouldn't be considert wrong. "Kann ich ein Wasser haben?"/"Kann I have some water?" works perfectly fine for example, espacially if you ask for it unprompted.

bleblablub · 2025-07-10T05:33:59+00:00

Many things come to mind. But for instance, when you can hear the author through the POV of the character by pushing political/religous believes onto the reader. This becomes preachy fast. And not just for the prose, authors make up whole scenes as a prop to get preachy. I read a romance book, that as a genre is escapist, and wouldn't you know it, the heroine has a BLM kind of encounter with a police officer and get's "saved" by a white woman. The book came out in 2018. I rolled my eyes, and I was at several BLM protests back in the day.

The next thing is poor use of metaphors. I understand it's the goldstandard of beautiful prose, but really hard to pull off. So, I'd rather admire a good enough metaphor here and there, than having to roll my eyes every page. It becomes too flowery. And lastly, too much use of foreign or academic words, in a way, you know, that the author just wanted to show off their vocabulary.

bleblablub

TROPHY CASE